154 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Chapter 2
This Chapter consists of the text of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’ s address delivered at Pune on Monday, the 22nd December
1952* under the title, “Conditions precedent for the successful working of Democrary.—Editors.
Chapter 3
Why Parliamentary Government needs an opposition Party ?
Parliamentary Democracy cannot work without the people of educated public opinion. Both Government and Parliament to act rightly must know what public opinion is.
To make it clear, it is necessary to make a distinction between education and propaganda. Government by Propaganda is quite a different thing from Government by Education. Propaganda means presentation of the pros of the matter. Education means Government after hearing pros and cons.
If it is necessary to have both pros and cons presented to the people with regard to any matter calling for the decision of Parliament, then it is obvious that there must be two parties, one party presenting the pros and the other cons, with the existence of party there is nothing but dictatorship. To avoid dictatorship there is a necessity for a second party. This is a crucial matter. People are more concerned with good administration than with good laws. Laws may be good but its administration may be bad.
Whatever the administration of laws turns out to be good or bad depends upon the freedom of officer who is appointed to administer it. When there is only one party, the officer is at the mercy of his political chief called the Minister. The Minister’s existence depends upon pleasing the voters and often the Minister is required to force the officer to do wrong to benefit the voters. If there was an opposition party, such action of the Minister would be exposed and the mischief stopped.
- Since the speech is published on Pp. 472-486 in Part 3 of this Volume the text is not reproduced here.