Neloson Mandela was in prison for about 27 years more than a quarter of a century. Never for once did he demand any extraordinary facility like supply of his home made food or permission to meet his family members more than the one allowed under the jail rules once a while.
Even in this part of the world political elders like Bacha Khan, Gandhi and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad were subjected to long jail terms but they or their party men never raised a hue and cry that they are not being provided living facilities of their choice in jail. Granted that the jail menual presently operative in the counry needs to be amended and updated making its provisons humane but one shouldn’t forget that jail is jail.
To get any criminal released from prison by putting pressure on the detaining authority through demonstration of street power is as condemnable and suicidal for the law and order of any country as cowing down of the authority under such pressure because that sets up a suicidal trend for law and order of the society.
Parliamentary democracy demnds from its executioners a very farsighted attitude and behavior to run the country which unfortunately hasn’t struck roots in this country hitherto.
From 1951 to 1958 the politicians were in the saddle in this country. It was a fairly long period for promoting true parliamentary traditions in the counry and laying foundations of true parliamentary democracy.
From 1970 to 1977 the politicians again got an opportunity to put the country on the democratic rails.
After an hiatus of some years they again remained in corridors of power between 1989 to 1999. They could have learnt from their past follies but like the Bourbons they learnt nothing and forgot nothing. The same story was repeated in the period after the aforementioned era and frankly speaking one doesn’t see any change in their behavior for the good of democracy hitherto.
