Republic, "res publica" or public interest, or affair matters regarding public. In this forms of government, the soveriegnty or the ultimate authority that rules over things, would rest with people or their representative.
The underlying concept is the --source-- of legitimacy. The sovereign in the case of a Republic Legally and constituionally are the --People--, who elect their representatives, to create laws, form government and of course change the laws or those governments via a known process based on the voting process. This is in contrast to other forms, where the sovereign get's his/her legitimacy from sources OTHER than people: Be it god or other "god-related" forms.
The same way, when we buy a TV or get medical care, we try to find what is the best available, when it comes to running of government we need to find the best forms available, learn from Humanities experience and adopt the best. I find the composition of India, a very interesting one, here's the CIA fact book on Iran and India:
Languages:
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Religions:
Shia Moslem 89%, Sunni Moslem 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%
India:
Languages:
Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
Religions:
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
A quick glance at the above, shows how diverse Iran is but also how much more diverse India is! In some way, India is very similar to Iran, but with an order of magnitude in complexity! Yet inspite all the shortcoming due to the Huge population of close to 1.2 billion, India is a thriving economy and the constitution is written with rights of all groups respected and enforced by law.
India's constituion was draffed in 1947 by an assembly in sessions open to public that lasted almost 6 months! After many delibration and modification the assembly signed a docmuent which became law of all India.
//lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf
of interests are the order (part I defines the state, part II defines citizenship, and part III defines FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS). Then in latter parts we have structure of government etc etc. The order is important as it unequivocally and clearly defines citizens rights, without *ifs* and *buts*. Which insures India, is a Republic before all, of and by people. As we all know there are many other regimes that may carry the name Republic, like Egypt or Iran, but with additionsl like "islamic" or "arab" which negates the essence of Republic.
Here are couple of interesting statements about Indian Constitution:
Sir Anthony Eden, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said at the time about Indian constituion:
-- Of all the experiments in government, which have been attempted since the beginning of time, I believe that the Indian venture into parliamentary government is the most exciting. A vast subcontinent is attempting to apply to its tens and thousands of millions a system of free democracy.It is a brave thing to try to do so. The Indian venture is not a pale imitation of our practice at home, but a magnified and multiplied reproduction on a scale we have never dreamt of. If it succeeds, its influence on Asia is incalculable for good."
American Constitutional authority, Granville Austin, wrote that what the Indian Constituent Assembly began was "perhaps the greatest political venture since that originated in Philadelphia in 1787."
And 60 years later the outcome is not questioned by anyone. Happy Republic Day India!
Recently by aynak | Comments | Date |
---|---|---|
To the ignorant censor machine at iranian.com what the fuck? | 5 | Aug 31, 2012 |
Did FIVB (International Volleyball Federation) shortchange Asia/Iran in summer Olympics? | - | Aug 02, 2012 |
Who is telling the truth? Fakhravr? Batebi? Neither? | 8 | Jul 31, 2012 |
Person | About | Day |
---|---|---|
نسرین ستوده: زندانی روز | Dec 04 | |
Saeed Malekpour: Prisoner of the day | Lawyer says death sentence suspended | Dec 03 |
Majid Tavakoli: Prisoner of the day | Iterview with mother | Dec 02 |
احسان نراقی: جامعه شناس و نویسنده ۱۳۰۵-۱۳۹۱ | Dec 02 | |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day | 46 days on hunger strike | Dec 01 |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Graffiti | In Barcelona | Nov 30 |
گوهر عشقی: مادر ستار بهشتی | Nov 30 | |
Abdollah Momeni: Prisoner of the day | Activist denied leave and family visits for 1.5 years | Nov 30 |
محمد کلالی: یکی از حمله کنندگان به سفارت ایران در برلین | Nov 29 | |
Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |
No Comment ... ;0)
by Darius Kadivar on Thu Mar 17, 2011 06:25 AM PDTIndia vote 'influenced by cash' (bbc)
Thank you MM
by aynak on Thu Jan 27, 2011 07:24 PM PSTFor rescuing me from a boring and mondane dicussion.
As you correctly point out, not everyone accepts Hindi as official language. On one of my trips to India, I realized how sometimes English is used to fill that gap. But the interesting matter here, is:
On Telegu or Tamil speakers, they can learn their mother tongue. In the case of Iran, we need to respect the rights of Azaris, Kurds, and Arabic speakers to do that in addition in school. I do favor a mandatory national language, but all should be free to practice their local language.
The more I look at the various model, a Fedral model looks the most appealing. India actually uses that, so does Germany, and of course U.S. That is, there is a lot of state autonomy and decision making at local level.
Distribution and de-centralization of power in my view is key to
a:insure a more democratic governance
b:avoid accumulation of power at the hand of a would be dictator. The biggest mistake of Iranian revolution was not knowing what to replace the old system with. Searching and trying to find the answer for the "day after" is 99% of the work.
May we all have good dreams.
EXACTLY Thank you for Proving my Point ! ;0))
by Darius Kadivar on Thu Jan 27, 2011 01:23 PM PSTPakistan would have definitively been better off had it remained part of the Persian Empire ...
Diplomatic History: Pakistan's Bhutto Greeted by Shah of Iran
LOL
Moral Relativism Debate (1 of 2)
Moral Relativism (2 of 2)
Happy birthday to the largest world democracy; India
by MM on Thu Jan 27, 2011 01:20 PM PSTThe Indian democracy is a good model for Iran's future. But, as you mentioned in your piece, like India, there should be some time devoted to hash out the differences beteen the races, languages and religions, before a constitution is ratified.
For example, from what I understand, India has 18 major languages with probably hundreds of dialects and the communication was a major problem. To make matters worse, Tamils refused to communicate in Hindi, even if they knew Hindi (sorta analogous to the French!!!). So, they compromised and made English the official language for communication. This is just an example of a major compromise reached in India in order to overcome an impasse, and I am not suggesting that Iran should do the same.
One thing that the Iranians should not do is to vote for a system and then let the system write a constitution for everyone. This includes all former constitutions with their inherent flaws. I do not want to see Yogi Berra's famous quote repeated in Iran "It's deja vu all over again"
There are plenty of suggested constitutions some with major flaws and some that are not complete yet. They should all be discussed, the good parts extracted and the bad parts dumped.
قانون اساسی پیشنهادی ایران سکولار
قانون اساسی پيشنهادي حقوقدانان جنبش سبز
مانیفست پيشنهادي جمشید آزادی نژاد قانون اساسي پيشنهادي كاوه شيرزاد قانون اساسی پيشنهادي بینش نوین قانون اساسی پيشنهادي اردشیر دولت قانون اساسي پيشنهادي بهرام مسکنییانپیشنویس قانون اساسی پیشنهادی ک. م
قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران
قانون اساسی مشروطه و متمم آن
قانون اساسی فنلاند
قانون اساسی کانادا
قانون اساسی آلمان
قانون اساسی ایالات متحده آمریکا
قانون اساسی سوئیس
قانون اساسی فرانسه
Re:I Believe in Individual Intelligence less in Collective Wisdo
by aynak on Thu Jan 27, 2011 01:06 PM PST"You are the one who is mentioning India as a Role Model for Iran not me ..."
Of course and you are the one that says, India is what it is because it was a colony. I mentioned both Pakistan and Bangaladesh, which were all part of the colony, and yet their systems are as screwed up as any. So being a colony of U.K is NOT the reason for their working model.
May we all have good dreams.
I Believe in Individual Intelligence less in Collective Wisdom
by Darius Kadivar on Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:55 PM PSTWhich is rarely achieved in history regardless of nationality or race ...
That is a Blunt Fact !
You are the one who is mentioning India as a Role Model for Iran not me ... Well as the devils advocate I am telling you how and why historically they made it and we did not !
So try and Find something better than my deemed "Inferiority Complex" or my deemed endorsement of "Neo Colonialism" to Gun Down My arguments ...
But Can You ? ;0)
OSS 117 - Le pistolet
Re:Do you wanna know why the Indians made it and Iranians didn't
by aynak on Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:32 PM PSTKadivar wrote:
"Precisely because India was a British Colony and Iran Never Was !"
I thought you inferiority complex only manifest itself in your unconditional support for Pahlavis. Based on the above, it goes deeper! Really, stop linking and start thinking. What is known as Bangaladesh, Pakistan today were all part of India and under British rule. Half of the world was a British colony. In your twisted logic, people of India were Zeelch? Do you even read back what you write and ponder? I know independent thinking is a crime among your ilk, but at least double check the crap, before you embarrass yourself.
Sure India used common laws of England and MODIFIED it, so the useless king has no rule in India, but the basics of andy development can look at other models, use what is good and remove what is useless. You don't have to be a colony to do that.
May we all have good dreams.
Do you wanna know why the Indians made it and Iranians didn't ?
by Darius Kadivar on Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:29 PM PSTPrecisely because India was a British Colony and Iran Never Was !
I should add just like the Tunisians under the French (which explains until further notice ) how differently and fairly peacefully they have handled their revolution to date with not as an aim to merely destroy all things past but with the intention of Repairing what went wrong :
Tunisia could benefit from bitter lessons of Iran’s clumsy '79 revolution
Exactly Contrary to us:
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE: IRI's Reign of Terror Begins (BBC Report 1979)
That explains how they learned from the British how to run an administration :
HISTORY FORUM: How Truly Democratic is The British Monarchy ?
They even went as far as keep ENGLISH as their Official Administrative Language:
The Official Languages Act, 1963 (As Amended 1967 - Language in India
Something which we ANGLOPHOBIC :
SOURCES OF FURY:Nader Naderpour on origins of IRI's "Death Slogans" towards US and Israel
BRILLIANTLY PROUD and STUBBORN Iranians could NOT even with a Democratic Constitution handed to us on a Silver Plate:
THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY: How Would You Evaluate Iran's Democracy Index in 1953 ?
PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY: Shah Delivers Speech to Parliament (1951)
PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY: Mozaffaredin Shah Signs First Draft of the Constitution (1906)
So indeed Happy Republic Day India :
Shah of Iran at the United Nations 1948
I was simply wishing India Republic a happy birth-day Kadivar
by aynak on Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:36 AM PSTwhy do you find that so troubling? Perhaps, the fact that India \is home for so many ethnic groups and religions and for the most part and considering the state the rest of Asia is in, a functioning democracy and negates the ONLY reason for existence of a king given by monarchists (i.e a uniting entity) is bothering you. But that is the reality. They don't need a king, we don't need a king, and look yourself in the mirror and see: "Gosh darnet, you don't need a king".
You should try to search within yourself, what is it that really makes you want to have someone as your master, but worse what is it that makes you want to impose a king on all the rest? Stop linking and start thinking.
May we all have good dreams.
Yes Well I guess we all fetch the dough where it's available
by Darius Kadivar on Thu Jan 27, 2011 05:14 AM PSTEven in the country that invented the notion "res publica"...
Silvio Berlusconi Picks his nose
And here are two others for the ride ...
berlusconi has fun
Queen pissed-off by Berlusconi shouting "Mr Obama!" G20
But let me conclude with my dear comrade's favorite punch line :
"Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything."
;0)
کدیور، آن که نان از عمل خویش خورد منت خاندان پهلوی نبرد.
aynakThu Jan 27, 2011 02:26 AM PST
respect yourself bro
May we all have good dreams.
Obama bows to bring the dough for his people
by aynak on Thu Jan 27, 2011 02:23 AM PSTYou bow to get a favor, from the king. if you can't tell the difference, you should continue to bow, as may be that is your only hope.
May we all have good dreams.
Indeed ;0))
by Darius Kadivar on Thu Jan 27, 2011 01:55 AM PSTOBAMA BOWS in SLOW MOTION, 2 camera angles
Two Bows One President
A simple advantage of a Republic
by aynak on Wed Jan 26, 2011 09:17 PM PSTas anyone living in U.S can see, there is NOONE worthy of bowig to, or kissing their hands or feet. That's below human dignity.
May we all have good dreams.
Birdie num num ...
by Darius Kadivar on Wed Jan 26, 2011 06:09 PM PSTThe Party, Peter Sellers