Grievance Redressal Mechanisms Political Science YouTube Lecture Handouts

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Grievance Redressal Mechanisms Political Science

  • Grievance Redressal Mechanisms are institutions established in order to satisfy complaints of consumers.
  • Every public body provides some goods or services and when the provision is not up to the mark, complaints are bound to rise.
  • Inability to redress these complaints can lead to dissatisfaction among the citizens and negatively impact the stability of the state.
  • Therefore, all governments build such institutions so that they can ensure timely redressal of grievances and complaints.

History and Background of Grievance Redressal Mechanisms

  • Grievance Redressal Mechanisms are not a modern creation and can be traced back to antiquity.
  • Kautilya՚s Arthashastra recommends the King to take care of the wishes of his subjects and give first priority to their welfare.
  • The King appointed officers in every bhukti (division) to receive grievances of the people.
  • The officers represented grievances of the individual as well as Srenis.
  • Sreni referred to guilds, that is conglomerates of merchants, traders or artisans.
  • Every Sreni had representatives, mostly hereditary and those representatives took complaints from the aggrieved members.
  • In ancient Greece, Aristotle established a similar method of grievance redressal.
  • Grievance redressal in ancient Greece was done through courts and all those who had complaints could approach it.

Drawbacks of the Ancient Method

  • Owing to the fact that the prominent system of polity back then was monarchy, the King had almost unlimited powers.
  • The King was not accountable to the people as he ruled by a divine mandate.
  • This meant that if the King՚s officers engage in corruption, the punishment relied entirely on the King, who was above all.
  • Lack of accountability ensured that the only way the King could listen to his subjects was through armed rebellions.

Modern Grievance Redressal System: Origin

  • With the rise of Enlightened and educated masses, feudal monarchies started to collapse in Europe.
  • Modern nation states, accountable to its citizens and ruling in their name, started to emerge.
  • These nation states created various pragmatic ways of ensuring that people՚s grievances are addressed.
  • The first was Universal Adult Franchise where every citizen was entitled to vote.
  • Law makers were now elected directly by the people. If people had grievances against them, they wouldn՚t receive votes.
  • Second was the political party system. A political party is an organisation that assimilates people՚s demands and grievances and then wages an election campaign based on it.
  • Thus, a legislature-based grievance methods were one of the first modern redressal mechanisms.

Executive and Administrative Measures

  • Legislative methods of grievance redressal were a good start but they weren՚t enough.
  • This was because elections happen only once in four or five years (depends on country to country) .
  • Therefore, immediate redressal of grievances is necessary.
  • With the rise of modern technology, governments and administrators started to utilise methods such as hotlines, email IDs etc.
  • Any individual or organisation that has been facing any sort of hurdles, such as red tape, corruption, delays etc can appeal to a higher authority.
  • Indian Government established a Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.
  • This organisation deals with any grievance except the ones that are sub judice (pending in a Court of Law) .
Illustration: Executive and Administrative Measures

Lok Pal

  • Corruption has been a major grievance of Indian citizens since 1947.
  • Lokpal was established in 2019 as a tool to counter corruption and ensure greater accountability of the people in power towards the citizens.
  • Lokpal has the power to investigate anyone in charge whether he՚s the Prime Minister or government employees.
  • Any complaint under the Lok Pal Act has to be under the Prevention of Corruption Act, filed against a public servant.
Illustration: Lok Pal

Multiple Choice Questions

Which ancient text of India recommends that the King should appoint officers to look into people՚s grievances?

A. Gautama Dharma sutra

B. Jatakas

C. Kautilya՚s Arthashastra

D. Brihaspati Dharma shastra

Answer: C

Lokpal has the power to investigate:

A. Prime Minister, unless it concerns matters of foreign affairs

B. Group A, B, C, D government personnel

C. Judges

D. All of these

Answer: D

Mayank