Is Democracy successful in India?

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" -Abraham Lincoln

"Democracy" comes from Greek words Demos & Kratos. Demos which mean people & Kratos which mean power, so democracy means the power of the people.

Democracy is a belief that focuses on the people. More importantly it focuses on the individual. It revolves around us. In democracy it takes into account the self-decision, but what we want is as well as best for the others. It is not only a belief, but also a great power when it put into practice. Democracy gives people a power to have a voice, which is important because we want to hear others opinion, but in the end we have the freedom to make our own choices. In democracy we have the power to choose. As we can see The Superheroes "The Spiderman", "The Batman" & "The Lord Krishna" with great power having great responsibility. The power that we have, with our own choices, comes with a lot of responsibility in democracy. Our responsibility in democracy starts with us. As the next part of democracy as a citizen of India, we have to believe that we are the one, and we can create a difference. Our Voice Counts, Our Choice can make an impact, now it is up to us to do our part.

India is the second most populous country in the world, is one of the world's oldest civilizations is now a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic & Republic country. After Mughal and Rajput control, colonization by European powers in the mid-eighteenth century. The world's largest democracy by electorate was created after independence in 1947 under the leadership of Indian National Congress. Elections to its Parliament are held once every five years. India is a constitutional republic governed under the world's longest written constitution, federally consisting of 29 states and seven centrally administered union territories, with New Delhi as the nation's capital.

Now the question is democracy successful in India? According to Samuel Huntington, Indian democracy as an institution was facing few crises at the eve of independence. They were: crises of national integration, crises of identity, crises of participation, crises of penetration and crises of legitimacy. Thus we can see the number of challenges, which the newly independent and decolonized India was facing while adopting the system of democracy. Besides there are linguistic problems, caste system, economic class, poverty and illiteracy. To add to them malnutrition and poor health conditions reflected the clear picture of India.

Another inescapable difficulty in the way of Indian democracy is India's geographical location on the map of Asia. All along her frontiers, India is surrounded by countries on all sides which having somehow kind of autocratic rule in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and even the communistic China. India the last democratic country in Asia is having a real tough time surrounded by autocratic ideals. There can be no real democracy where there are gross and glaring inequalities of various types and it shows in almost all spheres of life. A large sections of people who live in poverty, to them democracy conveys little meaning; it only fetches a contempt smile. There is no justice for the poor, the weak, the helpless and the under-dog. Thus, India is not fit to be described a full-fledged democracy. As long as there are religious, or caste, or class wars, there can be no real democracy in India. The protagonists of democracy must hang their heads in shame on hearing of Bhagalpur blinding, gang-murders of rival caste groups in U.P. and Bihar, the communal notes in U.P. and Gujarat, and the violence situation over linguistic issue in Punjab, Assam, and in the South. This virus of caste and communal hatred is bound to eat into the vitals of democracy in India.

According to studies, the 2014 general election is likely to be the most expensive election in Indian history, with a massive Rs. 30,000 crores being spent by the government, political parties and candidates. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had seized over Rs. 217 crores in cash all over the country. The biggest portion of this expense will be the money spent by candidates and parties on election campaigning. As numerous loopholes and lack of transparency spoil the current election finance system in India, candidates and parties are able to raise and

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Is Democracy successful in India?

spend money without making any declarations of the sources. There is a need to take comprehensive steps and corroborate financial information in order to ensure transparency and accountability in raising and spending money. Since there is no state funding of elections in India, candidates and parties have to raise money on their own for campaign expenses. Hence, there is no level playing field for candidates. This is clearly shown by the data from Lok Sabha 2004 and 2009, where the poorest 20 per cent of candidates, in terms of their declared financial assets, had a one per cent chance of winning parliamentary elections, whereas the richest one, in contrast, had a greater than 25 percent chance.

But after all the turbulent in India, democracy still exists in its unique forms. Arguably it is the best form of government. Democracy would thus appear differently to different classes of India. To more privilege classes of society it would mean the freedom of enterprise and to the lower orders it would mean equality and representation. But whatever the contradictions democracy may offers, Indian democracy will continue in spite of its paradoxical and surprising history.

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