An unresponsive government breeds an irresponsible opposition

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deserves a cheer for having the wisdom and the courage to draw up a code of conduct for itself (and other parties), setting limits to Opposition. Sundry activists and militants might condemn this as a weak kneed and untimely compromise. They would be wrong.

That the people have an inherent right to peaceful and democratic organisation, demonstration and agitation, is beyond question. But there are limits to Opposition, which should never be wilfully disruptive or destructive. That way lies anarchy. India is in transition to a new order and needs time to arrive. Meanwhile, the existing system is under great strain and nothing less than the credibility of the democratic alternative is at stake. To place this in jeopardy by rendering it unworkable, would be folly and would play right into the hands of those who reject democracy and seek more authoritarian solutions under various labels.

I recently travelled from Santiniketan (Bolpur) to Delhi by the Upper India Express, a device that runs on square wheels. The daylight hours, traversing Bihar from Sahibganj through Bhagalpur to Buxar, found the train bouncing along behind schedule, with what appeared to be a series of chain-pulling episodes. Hordes of ticketless youths and others amiably stepped on and off at involuntary wayside halts.