Democracy and equalities

Democracy, theoretically, is all about equality — political, economic and cultural — and, that too, of all citizens irrespective of their ethnic, religious and gender identity. While we sporadically hear some generalised talks of inequalities between the rich and the poor, Bengalis and non-Bengalis, Muslims and Hindus, and even men and women, at some seminars and symposiums, the mainstream political parties of the ruling elite do not have any well-thought-out political, economic or cultural programme to ensure democratic equality among the citizens. What we find in their written charters is nothing more than a few lines of rhetorical utterances about the need of doing away with economic inequalities between the rich and the poor and, of course, a few vague words about the need for the ‘empowerment of women’. In practice, they, while in power, pursue policies that continue to breed inequalities of all shades.