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Posted on 04/13/2003 5:15:41 PM PDT by AM2000
Ahmed Chalabi, head of Iraqi National Congress and tipped to lead a post-war government in Iraq has said the Indian democratic system should be taken up as a model for his country, and expressed his desire to visit India.
"Democracy in India is a marvel of civilization. We hope in some respects to have a political system similar to India," Chalabi, now involved in the US-led efforts to form a new interim government, told Third Eye TV, which covers the war for Doordarshan.
Chalabi said the road to set up a proper democratic system akin to India would be completed in less then two years, according to a release from Third Eye.
"India is a great country. It is special for us. India also developed on her own and achieved great technological advancement. I am devoted to India and would like to visit India soon," Chalabi said in his first interview to Indian media.
"US General (Jay) Garner will come in to restore basic services. The interim government will also draft the constitution and get it discussed in a constituent assembly," he said, describing the process lying ahead for the interim administration.
"People will vote in a referendum, elections will also take place," he said, while denying he is in the race for any leadership position.
"I am more interested in building institutions of civil society so that a firm foundation for democracy is set."
Chalabi said his sole aim is the liberation of Iraq and his role in politics is almost finished.
When asked what happens if the Iraqis elect him, he said, "That is a hypothetical question."
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I'm not talking about the obese Godzilla we have today, but what our Founding Fathers hammered together for us by 1789? They had a pretty good template!
Dunno. One of the major differences between the Indian and the American system is that the Indian system concentrates a lot more power at the national level than the American does. Maybe Chalabi feels that's what Iraq needs to hold it together?
I think Chalabi was mostly just being polite to the Indians.
The big question concerning Chalabi, whether he really looted Jordan's Petra Bank (he was convicted in abstenia), does come to mind here. India is a country with a lot to be proud but just as much to be shocked by. One of the shockers is that many politicians are plain and simple career criminals. There was a column at the excellent Indian site www.swaminomics.org on this a while back.
Other than the troublesome tendency to assassinate its leaders on a frequent basis, India's democracy manages to handle a multitude of ethnicities and religions without civil war.
Quite an achievement in that part of the world.
That's not a bad idea. India's system was pretty much given to them by the Brits. It is Democratic, and at this point, might be politically more acceptable than making it look like they were forced to copy the American model.
They do have more in common with India than with the US - they're more of an equivalent size geographically, and they both have tribal distinctions that we never had.
Well, good. I stand corrected. There seems to be no downside to an Indian-style democracy.
Whatever Iraq gets will be an improvement, it will need a strong federal government with great autonomy for the regions. Much like our founders devised and which has been eroded.
This is the model that exists in India also. As you can see, the democratic states of India answer only to the Federal government, with its headquarters in New Delhi, the capitol. India also has a Constitution, something that does NOT exist in Britain.
The states are: Andaman, Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Manipur, Bihar, Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Orissa, Daman & Diu, Pondicherry, Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sikkim, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal, Karnataka, West Bengal, and Kerala.
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