New Delhi, Dec 17: Democracy is the remedy for almost all social ailments as it allows a fair exercise of public reason, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen said.
Delivering a lecture on "Democracy and Its Critics" in New Delhi, the renowned economist entertained questions from the audience that ranged from political empowerment of women to disarmament.
The lecture, organised by the United Nations Foundation, was attended by former media baron Ted Turner and West Bengal Governor Gopal Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson.
The Nobel laureate drew a parallel between US efforts to divide Iraqi society and what the British had attempted in India during colonial rule.
"The British tried to project Mahatma Gandhi as a Hindu leader but he had support across all religions. Today, democracy in India is imperfect but in a population that is 80 per cent Hindu, we have a Sikh as a Prime Minister, a Muslim as the President and a Christian lady as the head of the Congress," he explained.
"Britain chose to accelerate religious differences but that didn't work," Sen added, implying the US would met a similar fate in Iraq.
"Imperfect democracy" is a theme Sen often touches on, referring to the skewered educational and healthcare systems, lack of land reforms, the gender bias that exists and the marginalisation of the backward classes.
"Despite its best efforts, US efforts to foist its brand of democracy in Iraq will not succeed as this is based on dividing society rather that ensuring its participation in governance", he said while delivering a stinging rebuke to the US.
"The focus on religion and ethnic identity led to foggy thinking on the part of those who did not find weapons of mass destruction and are now looking for a new cause (to stay on in Iraq)," he asserted.
Bureau Report
