A functioning democracy envisages specific roles to be played by its elected representatives, the Executive, the Judiciary, the President, Cabinet of Ministers and the Union of India. To achieve this, we in India gave ourselves our Constitution.
The Constitution recognizes each of these entities through separation of powers, assignment of distinct roles, specific responsibilities, duties and obligations backed with constitutionally mandated checks and balances to their exercise.
Here is an attempt to liken the workings of a democracy through a game of chess ...
Analogically, the Sovereign is represented by its President - fits the bill of a King in a game of Chess.
The Office of the Prime Minister would perhaps be likened to a multi-faceted Queen on a chess board.
An independent and impartial judiciary is somewhat similar to the Bishops in the game of chess.
The armed forces of the nation are like the Knights on the chess board, as they occupy strategic positions in our territories or vantage points in enemy territory to defend the King and defuse the enemy's advances.
The bureaucracy, the law enforcement machinery in general can be likened to the Rooks on the chess board.
The elected representatives are the Pawns on a chess board since they are, in effect, the mouth piece of pressure groups, power brokers, industrial houses, media companies, caste, language or religion based denominations et al.
Each side represents the Union that owes allegiance to its National 🚩Flag at all times. For owing such allegiance to the Union, their best interests are meant to be taken care of at all times.
When each entity on the Chess Board fulfills its assigned roles, responsibilities, obligations, and duties one can maneuver winning moves, advance into enemy positions and eventually win.
So long as these roles and rules that govern each entity are assessed, understood and accepted, what follows is an interesting power play without any dichotomy or overlapping of roles and responsibilities.
In Chess, as in democratic governance, there are an endless number of possible variations. That said, some moves are time-tested and popular. An underlying principle in chess as in politics and governance is to try to control the center. The chess board's center is typically defined as the four squares right in the middle of the board. In a typical democratic governance model the Four-Squares in the centre symbolize national security, sovereignty, national interest and adherence to the rule of law. A democratically run government should never give up or compromise on these four squares but should instead develop this systematically to make it a powerful democracy.
In Chess, the center and its four squares are important because pieces of either side tend to become more mobile since they occupy the center. A centrally-placed Knight can move to (and control) eight squares. Whereas Knight in the corner controls just two squares.
Just so, in politics and governance too, the Central occupation and Center control are two basic pre-requisites of strategy and governance which underlay almost all popular chess openings. A White pawn would like to occupy the squares d4 and e4. ...while Black's chess opening strategy is to occupy both d5 and e5 with it's own pawns.
Both sides of the game are also trying to prevent each other from achieving their strategic goal. So, in most chess openings, neither player actually achieves it. But it's a good opening chess strategy for which both sides usually strive. The pawns cannot stand alone on these squares and need to be constantly supported by other chess pieces.
This is exactly how it ought to be in democratic governance. All round support to each democratic institution.
A "developing move" in both Chess and democratic Governance is one which gets a side off of its starting square into a vantage position (where they can actually develop and accomplish something, either aiding your attack or defense) as soon as you can.
And the reason why you'll usually want to develop each of your Knights before your Bishops is because it's easier to find a good square on the chess board for your Knights. Likewise in governance, unwavering authority of the state is paramount before establishing a system of rule of law.
Good chess and governance strategy suggests that your King's safety is crucial; therefore "castle early if you can", they say.
A big exception to the principle of centralizing your pieces concerns your King. In the opening and middlegame, the center is the worst place for your King. Castling is a great way to safeguard your King from schemed moves and even checkmate - it gets the King away from the center and simultaneously develops one of your Rooks at the same time. Top level chess strategy!
Good chess strategy suggests you don't advance more than one or two pawns in the chess opening, and definitely not pawns in front of your castled King. So is the case in governance where you need to advance a couple of pawns so that your pieces can develop, but be aware that advancing lots of pawns will weaken your defenses. So the best chess opening strategy is to move one or two pawns in the opening, but not more.
As you progress in your chess game and your moves in democratic governance, you will learn that there are always exceptions to general strategic principles.
In both Chess and in Governance you must avoid making exchange moves which develop another piece for the opponent and take care to avoid premature attacks on opponents.
Good moves in democracy was during the Emergency days of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, wherein the judiciary played a stellar and important interventionist role and restored democracy. During the Seventies and the Nineties Indo Pak war, the Defence Corp responded to overtures made by Pakistan across Kashmir and Kargil and defeated the enemy. During Parliamentary and Assembly elections, the Election Commission played a stellar and independent role in the conduct of elections and prevention of wrongful electoral practices. In recent times, the Comptroller Audit General brought forth a revelation during the 2G scam and was able to expose corrupt persons who were part of it. The media (the fourth estate) played an important role when the Police failed to act against murderers and other offenders. There are many more examples of this.
In Chess the Queen is your most powerful
piece but she can't win a chess game all by
herself.
She's also a very enticing target for your opponent early in a game where she can be easily trapped on a crowded chessboard.
Good Chess strategy suggests you don't bring your Queen out early. Generally, chess opening strategy dictates that the Queen is one of the last pieces you'll develop.
However, examine a scenario in a game of Chess, where the Queen moves out towards the other side and becomes a soft target. She is then forced to move about like a gracing cow enticing orders from anyone and everyone including the rook on the opposite side. Trapped and unable to move to a safer position she is under attack? How would the game be if, the queen allows herself to be manipulated by every other pawn on the chess board including the opposite side? Or, worse still if the Queen no longer owes allegiance to her own King and fails to budge or act in times of trouble? Instead of taking an attacking position she acquiesces to everything wrong done by the enemy side and compromises her own position by becoming indifferent to the plight or position of her King.
Imagine a game of Chess where the Knight, instead of developing vantage positions and taking new positions makes the Kingdom vulnerable to checks from the enemy, or fails to diffuse the enemy by occupying strategic positions and easily gives up crucial four square positions when it moves forward into enemy territory;
Image a game of Chess where a Bishop often shoots oneself in the foot and never believes in remaining accountable, independent or impartial, but is instead someone who has the uncanny knack of always getting into stale mate situation, trapped there by convoluted legalese and unable to move in any meaningful direction, whatsoever unless it's towards its own detriment; Imagine a game of Chess where the pawns decide to commit hara-kiri by moving into the wrong position at the wrong time in a most cavalier fashion that jeopardizes every one else's position on the board of chess. Imagine a game, where the Rook castles with the King late into the game and now owes allegiance to the Queen on the enemies' side.
Could this be a suitable state of our Union...?
