Most of the developing countries face the problem of institutionalization. Few of the newly independent nations have been satisfied with the institutions they inherited. Recently, a debate has been going on in our country about the form of government.
Should India go in for a Presidential form of government in view of the peculiar problems being faced by the Indian polity today? There are a large number of political parties, mostly based on narrow, communal, and sectarian interests. Regionalism is on the increase.
The State governments do not enjoy stability. Chief Ministers have to be changed very often. Caste and communal factors are playing havoc with national integration. The Prime Minister has to decide things with the elections in mind.
Many decisions favourable for the economy of the country in the long run cannot be taken because they may put the people to temporary hardship. Therefore, the economic progress is not as high as it should be.
One of the major consequences of the Presidential system will be that politics will become genuinely national. The President will be elected by the entire nation and will be the elected leader of the country.
It will be national and not local issues that will dominate the elections. The Presidential candidates will have to develop a national outlook in order to be acceptable to the various regions.
More important, it will lead to a two-party system beginning with a broad alliance of like- minded parties. This will cause a dramatic change in the political scene. The small regional and local parties will in course of time disappear.
They will either merge or be absorbed by the national parties. At the same time, those national parties will not be able to ignore local or regional problems. It is the interaction of national, regional and local issues that will decide the texture of politics.
A candidate will have to adopt a platform which will mean all things to all men. That would mean diluting of...