The coat needs alterations

We Indians came to look upon Britain's system as a model of good governance

Whither India? The election results would doubtless make discussion more realistic, the gun is jumped deliberately to emphasise that the basic problems run so deep, we are down to grim alternatives no matter who next misgoverns us.  At its root, the apparatus and methodology of government we adopted on independence have been becoming increasingly unsuited for our needs or to their own true spirit. We have driven ourselves into facing either authoritarianism or anarchy — or both. Can we avoid them?

Montesquieu, Hamilton, among other fathers of democracy, noted “government must be fitted to a nation as a coat to an