The word ?democracy?, as we know, comes from two Greek words meaning ?the rule of people?. Modern forms of democracy find their origin in Western Europe, more particularly in England, and this concept has spread to most countries except totalitarian ones, some of which use the term ?Democratic Republic? to hide the fact that they are autocratic regimes.

But democracy, as we understand it today, means the rule of the majority after the people have made their choice through free elections based on universal suffrage. What was perhaps not foreseen was the use made of that ?rule? in between two elections.

This intervening period can be a period of excesses if there are no checks and balances. In the USA, although the President is elected directly by the people, he does not enjoy the same power as the prime minister of Mauritius, say, enjoys. There is the Senate and the House of Representatives which can prevent him from doing what he wants, even standing in the way of the appointment of secretaries of State.

India, which has a parliamentary system of democracy like ours, is however a much more vibrant democracy. This is perhaps due to the fact that Indians like to argue, as Amartya Sen, the Economics Nobel prize winner, points out in his book, The argumentative Indian.

But there are also other important factors. The Judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court and the High Courts, have a lot of power to question decisions of the Cabinet and of ministers as well as of private bodies. When the director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was sacked by the minister of Health, the Supreme Court reinstated him pending a thorough hearing.

There is also the Election Commission which can rule on many issues, including the admissibility of pre-election promises. The minister of Human Resource Development was summoned by the Election Commission when he decided that the Higher Education Institutions like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and the Medical Colleges should reserve nearly half their student intake for applicants from the Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes presumably with an eye on the forthcoming elections in some States. Doctors went on strike and the media added their voice to force the Government to have a re-think.

This is an example of the formidable checks the media and the people can exercise. There are many free and private newspapers and television channels in really democratic States which hound culprits and people who make an abuse of their power, be they in the private or public sector. They act as ?chiens de garde? against the abuse of power.

No comparison at all with the soporific news dished out by the local television channel, ever eager to show ministers overviewing the construction of a road or the cleaning of the environment or being present at little known ceremonies.

Modern democracy has its roots in Athens. But in ancient India also we had the Buddhist Emperor Asoka more than 2000 years ago and the Moghul Emperor Akbar more than 400 years ago wanting to govern India by taking the advice of respected people from all walks of life irrespective of their cultural background and religious beliefs.

Are we doing justice to the true spirit of democracy when we allow a political party which wins most of the seats with less than half the votes cast to claim that it represents Mauritius and has the right to pass partisan laws, even amend the Constitution, as was done in 1982, to get rid of officers whose only fault was to have served the previous government, and ride roughshod over the majority of the population?

Worse still, democracy can be highjacked in between two elections and replaced by a one-man show. The State (with a capital S) which exists ?in perpetuity? cannot be appropriated by governments (with a small g) which are only transitory.

The democratic process will be strengthened if the election system allows for a more representative Parliament, if the Electoral Commission has wider powers to make regulations concerning how elections should be held and fought, if the Judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, can also be a watchdog of the fundamental rights of the individual, and if free television channels can operate to provide independent news and discussions.

Each and every Mauritian can then, with due respect to Rudyard Kipling , proclaim: ?If all these safeguards are put in place, then you will be a democracy, my country.?

Surendra BISSOONDOYAL