The Crisis Of Governance
'Democracy in South Asia is not about people, it is about access to state power.' This is the harsh indictment of the 1999 Report on Human Development in South Asia, which analyzes the crisis of governance that grips the region. The report has been prepared by the Islamabad based policy think tank, Mahbub-ul-Haq Human Development Centre (HDC).

All the South Asian countries, except Bhutan, share at least the formal trappings of democracy. Why then, despite their democratic leanings, have South Asian states failed to provide their people freedom from the worst forms of deprivation? This paradox forms the political crux of South Asia's crisis of governance, and the report addresses the likewise questions.

The report stresses the need to establish democracy and participation beyond mere voting. It points to some disturbing features of the state of democracy in the region:

  • Confidence in state systems varies, with only 30 to 40 per cent of voters in most countries feeling they have access to elected representatives. It seems that people trust institutions but not the individuals who run them.
  • In India and Pakistan, between one-third and one-half of parliamentarians are landlords. In addition, big industrialists, civil and military bureaucrats, and political dynasties remain power players to varying degrees across the region.
  • There is increasing corruption and criminalization in public life.
  • Election expenditures and accounts of major parties are not open to public scrutiny. Women and minorities are poorly represented in the overall state structure. While they make up half of the electorate, women hold just 7 per cent of the seats in South Asia's parliaments.
  • Internal disputes are seldom settled amicably.
  • At the same time, there are signs of institutional weaknesses in many parts of the region.
  • Lower courts have too many cases and too few judges: there are 2170 cases pending in front of every judge and cases can last generations.
  • The civil service is growing - the size of the public sector has increased between two and four times since the mid 1970s; overstaffed (especially at lower levels); underpaid; politically influenced; and unable to deliver public services to people transparently and equitably.
  • Parliaments are elitist, poorly attended, dominated by the majority, and not open to women and minorities. Women form just 2 to 11 per cent of the region's parliamentarians.
The report observes that 'democracy has not done much to change the lives of millions of ordinary South Asians, who are still unable to read and write, to drink clean water, and to make a decent living, let alone access their rights to free speech and personal freedom.' It suggests that there are many reasons why democracy may not always bring desired fruits: first, sharp income disparities and concentration of economic power; second, widespread feudalism; third, absence of a democratic culture that emphasizes consensus and power sharing; fourth, growing influence of money on the political process; fifth, absence of adequate checks and balances on state power, such as an impartial judiciary, a vibrant civil society and a free press; and sixth, mass poverty and illiteracy that locks people into client-patron relationships with their leaders and keeps them ignorant of their civic rights and duties. Unfortunately, South Asian societies display many of these features. Even as people are free to elect their leaders, the reins of power remain in the hands of a select few while ordinary citizens find themselves excluded from wider decision-making.

And yet, there are some hopeful signs that South Asian political systems are opening up -in the setting up of independent local governments in some parts of South Asia, and the stirrings created by a vibrant civil society, a freer media, and more activist Supreme Courts. The report presents concrete reforms aimed at broadening peoples' participation in the political system and restoring the sanctity of state institutions.

The 1999 HDC report, The crises of governance, analyzes issues of governance from political, economic, social and civic perspectives. It provides an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon of corruption and advocates a concrete and realist agenda for promoting 'human governance' in the region. In this regard the report introduces a new index that ranks countries according to their performance in the spheres of economic, political and civic governance. The report assembles a wealth of unique statistical material on issues of governance and human development in an easy-to-read, comparative format. It also features results from citizen's survey conducted in five South Asian countries. The annual reports on Human Development in South Asia are the standard reference on regional human development issues. They are a valuable resource for policy makers, academic researchers and the general public

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