Democracy in India success or failure? (essay)
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Answer:
Democracy as rightly defined by Abraham Lincoln is ‘Government of the people, for the people and by the people.’ Thus the people have a major stake in the functioning of the government, which is a major reason for this system of government thriving in the world. Such a form of government is bound to succeed, as it owes its strength to the popular support of the people. India is in fact one of the largest democratic country in the world, a fact in which we pride ourselves.
Though India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, as a nation, it is quite young. India is the world’s largest democratic country (second largest in area and second most populated country). Democracy was ushered in India when the Constitution of India was framed on 26th of January, 1950, the world’s longest written constitution. Democracy in India should ideally function as a well-oiled machine but certain detrimental factors throw the spanner in the works, the result of which is that the constitutional goals and democratic aspirations of India remains unrealized.This form of government is nothing new to as; in fact it is in our ethos. The form of collective decision making practiced in Gram Panchayats, dates back to times immemorial, when democratic practices were unheard of in the world.
However, with our becoming independent, the architects of our constitution laid out the foundations of a truly democratic and secular country. They rightly visualised that a country as large as India, with a vast multitude of caste, creed and religion, could only thrive in a democracy setup, where the aspiration of the people could be effectively reflected.
Keeping this in mind they framed our constitution, which has adopted all the good facets of the American and British constitution. In order that it truly reflect the aspirations of the people, provision of reservations were made for backward classes and communities, so that they could have an effective say in the governance of the country. Such provisions were made in every sphere like Education, Employment, Legislature and Parliament, so that all segment of the population enjoy the fruit of freedom without feeling alienated.
There is no denying the fact that democracy is still the most successful form of government in the world today. There is, however, an urgent need for us to educate our masses and also have a relook at our constitution. The anomalies and distortions that have crept in over time inadvertently should be set right. This is of crucial importance, if we really want democracy to succeed in India. For as Abraham Lincoln rightly said “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”