Comment on the changing democratic profile of India. (UPSC CSE Mains 2019 - Sociology, Paper 2)
- The notion of democracy is built on the premise that all citizens of a State are equal and that the nation offers an opportunity to all members of the society to participate in the process of self-governance. Democracy, considered by most to be the best way to govern a nation, succeeds only when a full cross section of society takes part in the process in equal measure. This, in turn should lead to the common person’s participation in the political process of the nation as a normal pattern.
- In India—the world’s largest democracy by population—this two-step process is still falling short with participation of the general public after the completion of the electoral process being negligible and restricted to the elite few. The poorer sections of society are deprived of a voice and does not take part in the governance process till the next democratic elections. In other words, the democratic success of the nation is not shared by all.
- Since becoming independent from British rule, India has practised democracy, and over the past 70 years, has also adapted the concept to create a uniquely Indian model. The democratic process as practised in India has its advantages and also its share of challenges that make it cumbersome and less than optimal in a number of instances.
- Ever since the first elections held in 1952, there is no doubt that there has been multi-fold increase in the level of political awareness in the country as a whole. This is a positive move forward in a nation where a large part of the population are still uneducated and live a hand-to-mouth existence.
- In the Indian practice of democracy, value-based politics the mainstay for the well-being of any nation, has been squandered and sacrificed at the altar of power worship. The quest for power has subsumed all altruistic purposes and initiatives.
Changing Trends
- Indian politics primarily based on the influence of a pluralistic society with many minorities in terms of religion, caste, and language. The prevailing multi-party system emerged as an anti-dote to the monolithic Congress Party.
- The politics of coalitions, This was brought on by the regional parties making in-roads into national politics through the election of their representatives into the Central parliament.
- Centralisation of power as a trend in Indian political development brings out two disparate but vaguely connected factors, in last decade or so.
- National issues at the strategic level, which were then debated as being critical to the nation’s development.
- Voters are starting to distinguish and discriminate between State challenges and Central Government issues.
- Electorate is becoming progressively younger, better educated and politically more aware.
- National security imperatives, have become priorities with the demographic changes.
Indian democracy is in a constant process of developing discontinuities in its political system. Therefore, the evolving trends in democratic development, the electoral process and the political system cannot be predicted based on the analysis of one election.
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