Indian Democracy: A Story of Success or Failure?
Introduction
- India is considered a great experiment in democracy worldwide due to the large scale at which it operates, and it is largely functional if we compare it to other states such as Pakistan.
- However, the question whether Indian democracy is truly successful or not remains to be answered since there are differing viewpoints on the issue.
- First, it is important to understand what a democracy is before we measure the success of India as a democracy. It is a political system that is governed through a larger consensus of the people being governed and a common way of doing this is through elections, plebiscites, referenda, etc.
- Main argument of the essay: Success or failure of democracy is an objective opinion depending upon how one defines a successful democracy. However, Indian democracy can be considered successful despite some drawbacks due to the immense success it has achieved in certain areas.
Body
How can we define a successful democracy?
- One common way of defining it is the occurrence of frequent, independent, and transparent elections wherein people get to choose their political leaders in a democratic manner.
- However, elections are not enough according to some. A true democracy should ensure social justice and equality along with political equality. Therefore, the success of a democracy can be measured by the achievements the country has made in providing social security, healthcare, access to opportunities, and freedom from exploitation to all of its citizens.
Some instances of success of Indian democracy:
- Even if we consider the point on elections, India has showed a great strength in carrying out frequent elections across the country despite its vast size. The central and state election commissions garner respect from even the common people in protecting their voting rights. The Indian judiciary has from time to time stepped in to allow free and fair elections.
- Legislations such as RTI and Lokpal have given voice to common people to challenge the irregularities and assert their rights. It is a sure sign of success of the country as a democracy.
- As a political system, each citizen stands equal in front of the government with equal voting rights. Untouchability and similar forms of social discrimination have been abolished by the Constitution, which has given many people new confidence to live with dignity.
- The Indian government has launched multiple initiatives such as universal immunization, RTE (right to education), PDS (public distribution system), and MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005), which are efforts to provide physical as well as social security to disadvantaged people.
Problems with functioning of Indian democracy:
- Rampant corruption is present at many levels. The incidences of several scams, such as the 2G and coal scams, have raised questions about the functioning of a successful democracy, as there have been nexuses between businesses, politicians, and government officials.
- Though most of India reports free elections, there are still instances of rigged elections and mindless use of money to gather votes. In some places, people from marginalized groups are pressurized and bullied to vote against their wishes by the locally powerful people.
- According to recent reports, India is the second-most unequal country in the world in terms of wealth distribution after Russia. India’s democracy cannot be called successful with such high levels of economic inequality.
Conclusion
- India, the largest democracy in the world, has amazed political scientists and observers and is often called a experiment’ in the democratic system of governance.
- The success of a democracy depends on one’s definition of a successful democracy. However, it should be recognized chat merely carrying our elections every five years does not determine the success of a democracy; it is more complex than that.
- In India’s case, there are instances of both success and failure if we look at the progress made since independence. There are political equality and measures towards socio-economic transformation but there are economic inequality and corruption coo.
- In the life of a country, it is too early to call the functioning of a democracy a success or failure, given that India became free only in 1947. Therefore, we can only say that Indian democracy is on a definite journey towards a successful democracy, as there are certainly genuine improvements made in governance, political system, social structure, and economy since independence.
Notes
- Keywords: Indian democracy, success, failure
- This is a popular topic, given the range of arguments that can be made and the candidates’ familiarity with the subject. You must make creative and analytical arguments in order to differentiate your essay from others.
- As an aspiring civil servant, one should have a positive and optimistic outlook on the functioning of Indian democracy; however, you must also present its drawbacks impartially.