Conscience - based politics: any takers ?

Politics: Subject to the important reservation that opposition allegations of power abuse and corrupt practices have not been proved as yet in a court of law against embattled Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the "conscience" factor could be said to be important in the current politics of South-East and South Asia.

In contrast to the civil societies and publics of South Asia, with the possible exception of India, some South East Asian polities seem to be demanding a greater degree of accountability and good governance from their governments.

The current political unrest in Thailand is a case in point. Besides being accused of committing human rights excesses by the Thai political opposition, Premier Shinawatra is said to have blatantly manipulated "tax laws to suit the business interests of his family".

These are some of the allegations against Shinawatra which led to current, massive opposition-led protest demonstrations calling for the Premier's resignation and to the cry that the April 2 parliamentary poll be boycotted by the public.

The poll was called by the Premier, three years ahead of schedule, to end the political crisis, which step is seen by some as only a prelude to a "constitutional mess". For, some 200 of the 400 seats of Parliament are expected to go unfilled on account of opposition calls to voters to indicate that they have "abstained" from voting, on their ballot sheets. However, it is a constitutional requirement that all 400 seats be filled for the functioning of the legislature.

While clearer contours of the Thai political crisis would emerge over the next few days, it is heartening that sections of the Thai public are deeply sensitive to governance issues, including corruption in public life.

Extra - parliamentary means, such as mass mobilizations for the creation of political instability, are certainly not the avenues of acquiring political power in a functional democracy, but public awareness of misgovernance and its roots and the popular demand for accountable governance are contributory factors towards democratic development. From this point of view, the Thai political crisis is pregnant with possibilities.

Likewise, reported military coup attempts aimed at seizing power in the Philippines could in no way be endorsed or welcomed but public demands for more accountable governance, based on perceptions of misgovernance, need to be welcomed on account of their potential to strengthen the democratic process.

However, right now, it is in India that "conscience" is emerging most clearly as a factor to take account of in governance and politics. Congress party chief, Sonia Gandhi, is reported to have resigned her seat in Parliament besides stepping - down from the position of head of the National Advisory Council, in response to her "inner conscience" which made her see the anomaly of holding two public positions simultaneously, which, of course, are financed by the tax-paying public.

Apparently, Gandhi's gesture of renouncing these positions has met with sizeable public approval. A recent public opinion poll said 60 percent of those questioned had approved the Congress chief's decision.

It should be conceded that the vibrancy and level of development of a democracy are assessed on the basis of the degree to which conscience informs and shapes public life.

If public figures do not see themselves as being bound by their consciences to take this or that decision in the public interest, democracy in this region could be considered doomed.

The same fate awaits those polities in this part of the world which have desenticized themselves or are indifferent to issues such as misgovernance and power-abuse.