The Democracy in India
Essay No. 01
Inequality of rights and disparity of opportunities have been breeding grounds for revolutions. So on the ruins of monarchy and aristocracy, democracy has come into being with its doctrine of political equality. It is undoubtedly a grand social ideal. According to George Bernard Shaw, “It is a social order aiming at the greatest available welfare for the whole population and not for a class.” “A world in which, the voice of the people is the voice of God and the political capacity and sagacity of everyone over the age of twenty-one is infinite and infallible.’
According to eminent political theorists, there are three basic conditions, which a democracy must fulfill. It must aim at the greatest good of the largest number it must aim at setting differences through discussions and compromise and it must work for the establishment of an egalitarian society. If we cast a critical glance backward, we shall see that the evolution of a genuinely democratic system in India has been continuously blighted by these factors ever since we became free.
Efforts to secure the greatest good to the largest number have been blocked by the undue attachment to self-interest on the part of the citizen, the legislator, and the minister alike. The most eloquent proof of this is the widespread incidence of corruption in its various forms. There is almost no sphere of national life, which can be described as free of the taint of corruption. The ministers, legislators, and officials indulge in it equally.
Party spirit, which has been enumerated above as the second factor which can blight the growth of democratic tradition anywhere, has manifested in India in several ways. It is this party spirit that inspires exclusive tendencies that are today endangering the unity of the country. Moreover in India, people are not so much for the individual candidates as for the party to which he belongs. Independent candidates normally stand little chances in elections. Since elections are contested by political parties, the merit of the candidates seeking an election does not count.
The third essential characteristic of a democracy is that it must work for the establishment of an egalitarian society, a society in which there is equal opportunity for all. This is evidently impossible when private self-interest and party spirit are so much to the fore. The politician, in his anxiety to turn everything to personal advantage dictates policy in every sphere from education to social welfare and does not hesitate to inject parochialism whenever he can. This conspiracy of self-seeking has made the attainment of the goal of an egalitarian society almost an impossibility. A democratic Government needs not only a parliamentary majority but also a parliamentary minority, the latter functioning as the strong opposition. Parliamentary democracy cannot work successfully unless the ruling party and the opposition parties agree to bicker peacefully and to settle differences through constitutional means. Unfortunately, the Parliament sessions in India are now presenting scenes of chaos and confusion more than that of settlement. No important issue is properly discussed because the ruling group and the opposition waste time in allegations and counter-allegations more than settling any issues. The sessions of Parliament have become more a formality than looking into the problems of different sections, regions, and aspects of the country
Thus the present democratic setup seems to have proved unequal to the exigencies of India. So there is the need to modify the traditional institutions of democracy to suit the present-day conditions.
Essay No. 02
Democracy in India
The growth of democracy can be said to start in India with the institution of the first representative government under the Prime Ministership of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
Although democracy is an ideal form of government because the people themselves the government through their representatives, democratic ideas cannot be planted in the minds of the people through lessons or books for those are learnt by the people through their own experience. More than that democracy is a way of life and society where equality, liberty, and fraternity reign supreme and it also ensures the dignity of the individuals.
India is the largest democracy in the world. It! has a Parliamentary form of democracy which means the government can remain in power only so long as it enjoys the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament and the moment it loses its confidence it has to vacate the office.
It is a disturbing factor that caste and community play a big part in the selection of candidates by all the political parties. Similarly, voters also keep caste consideration in mind while voting which is undesirable.
We lack a healthy balance between ruling and opposition parties as they seem to prefer their own interest above the smooth running of government. Opposition votes too, are divided among many parties. Besides the opposition parties oppose just for the sake of opposition.
The role of the Governor has become a bit controversial as it is alleged that he acts as an agent of the central government and uses his discretion against the government of the state.
Democracy cannot be said to have achieved its role here as it has failed to provide basic needs of the people like food, clothes, and shelter. Also, a big number of our politicians have become corrupt.
Essay No. 03
Democracy
The ancient Greek word ‘democracy’ means literally ‘rule by the demos’. Demos actually means the people and the ‘people’ implies the whole population or adult population of a tribe or nation in a territory or area. The government of the people, by the people, is the next definition. In fact, it is the rule of the people, by the people, for the people is the next meaning. They may differ on some or all the issues but still, the traditional democracy leads them towards a governmental goal.
In practice, people depict the majority of the population which has vested powers to take decisions in matters. The very resolutions are carried and obeyed by the masses of the country. The concept does not permit the enforcement of decisions on minorities by the majority. Rather, democracy thrives on the willing co-operation of the minority with the majority. In other words, minority and opposition parties to have a vital role in the working of a democratic setup.
Democracy guarantees some basic rights and freedom for individuals and their voters. These rights are known as fundamental rights. Democracy imposes rule by the adopted constitution or by traditional ruling as in U.K. Indian democracy is governed by its own constitution which was adopted by the Parliament in 1950. Dr. Rajendra Prasad took over as the first President of India. The practice continues for all the matters pertaining to ruling in democracy. The system guarantees freedom for speech, equality, and the right for worship among other rights to the people.
Although, democracy permits a complete value of freedom for its people, yet it has certain serious drawbacks in the imposition. It is a little cumbersome process. The output achieved is also slow and costly. Moulding masses for a common solution is not easy work. It is more of weighing the frogs in a common pan. Each one of the people has their own opinion and it presents an anti-speed process to enforce it easily. It is more of a very costly process. People occupying the ruling seats evaluate the powers with term of their stay on the seat of authorities. Replacements, elections and by-elections are in the common phase in democracy. The entire process involves a lot of finances and indirectly the funds are taxed on the normal taxpayers. This breeds corruption in the employees and politicians and they misuse the powers. The majority rule tempts party politics to grab votes. They tend to adopt unfair methods to capture seats/booths and votes. Thus, a bad element is steamed to capture control. A part of the human energies is spent in maintaining clear grouping with the leaders and, thus, very little remains in balance for fulfilling the needs of the people.
Justice in democracy is more like supervision. Judges are more people’s voice minded and they take extra care in deciding the issue. The political protection inhales an air of favouritism and choicest bestowing this spoils less the people’s faith in this channel.
Despite these drawbacks, people find better results in the adoption of this change in setup and they willingly wish to adopt it with all the lacking in it. The system has better popularity when we find the failure for other channels. Let us hope that this will improve and will produce a better set in course of time. Let people be the best judge and let them be decisive about the next shape of democracy.
