THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-January 4, 2017- Topic 1
Secularising the election
The Supreme Court has grappled with the question whether a provision in
electoral law that makes it a corrupt practice to use religion, race, caste or
language as a ground for canvassing votes in an election is a bar limited to
the groups to which candidates or their rivals belong, or whether it is a
general prohibition on sectarian appeals. Section 123(3) of the Representation
of the People Act, 1951, as amended in 1961, gave rise to this doubt.
By a four-three majority, a seven-member Bench has ruled that it is a general prohibition on the use of religion or any other communal or sectarian value in the electoral arena. The minority favoured limiting the ambit of the sub-section to cover only candidates who sought votes on such grounds, or the rivals they wanted the voters not to back on similar grounds. That secularism is the bedrock of our democracy is undisputed. That the electoral process ought not to permit appeals to the electorate on these narrow grounds is equally beyond doubt. Against this backdrop, it is only logical that the Supreme Court should decide that it is a “corrupt practice” for candidates to use any caste or communal parameters to canvass for votes or to discredit a rival, regardless of whether the candidates themselves belong to such religious, communal or linguistic groups.
By a four-three majority, a seven-member Bench has ruled that it is a general prohibition on the use of religion or any other communal or sectarian value in the electoral arena. The minority favoured limiting the ambit of the sub-section to cover only candidates who sought votes on such grounds, or the rivals they wanted the voters not to back on similar grounds. That secularism is the bedrock of our democracy is undisputed. That the electoral process ought not to permit appeals to the electorate on these narrow grounds is equally beyond doubt. Against this backdrop, it is only logical that the Supreme Court should decide that it is a “corrupt practice” for candidates to use any caste or communal parameters to canvass for votes or to discredit a rival, regardless of whether the candidates themselves belong to such religious, communal or linguistic groups.
It is interesting that the dispute turned on a single pronoun, ‘his’, that
was introduced in the 1961 amendment. The majority opinion favours a ‘purposive
interpretation’, holding that it covered the candidates as well as the voter.
It finds support in legislative history and our constitutional ethos. The
purpose of the amendment was to widen the scope of the particular corrupt
practice. Given that secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution, it has
been interpreted in the light of Parliament’s intention to prohibit any
religious or sectarian appeal for votes. There is a justifiable worry that a
wider interpretation may lead to eliminating from the poll discourse political
issues that turn on religion, caste or language. After all, this is a country
in which sections of society suffer deprivation and historical injustices based
on religious or caste identity. But the overall message is clear. It is left to
the wisdom of judges dealing with election cases to draw the line between what
is permissible and what is not, and look at the context in which some
statements are made before deciding whether they constitute a corrupt practice.
The majority verdict will find resonance with all those who swear by the
primacy of secularism in the public domain. The minority view nuances this with
a reminder that legal issues need to be seen in their social context.
Vocabulary
Grapple: engage in a close fight or struggle without weapons.
Example: Passersby grappled with the man after the knife attack
Synonyms: wrestle, struggle, tussle, brawl, fight, scuffle, battle
Canvassing: solicit votes from electors in
a constituency.
Example: In each ward, two workers canvassed some 2,000 voters
Synonyms: campaign, electioneer, stump, barnstorm
Sectarian: denoting or concerning a sect or sects.
Example: Ethnic and sectarian differences
Synonyms: factional, separatist, partisan, parti pris, doctrinaire, dogmatic
Arena: a level area surrounded by seats for spectators, in which
sports, entertainments, and other public events are held.
Example: Whole towns could be surrounded, or a mile-wide dragnet thrown over an area
which contained sporting arenas .
Synonyms: stadium, amphitheater, coliseum, sportsplex, field, ring
Secular: denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have
no religious or spiritual basis.
Example: Secular buildings
Synonyms: nonreligious, areligious, lay, temporal, worldly
Interpreted: explain the meaning of information,
words, or actions.
Example: The evidence is difficult to interpret
Synonyms: explain, elucidate, expound, explicate, clarify, illuminate
Deprivation: the damaging lack of material
benefits considered to be basic necessities in a society.
Example: Low wages mean that 3.75 million people suffer serious deprivation
Synonyms: poverty, impoverishment, penury, privation, hardship, destitution
Resonance: the quality in a sound of being deep, full, and
reverberating.
Example: The resonance of his voice