Introduction
There has been an in-depth relationship between democracy and India and it is inherent in Indian context. India, despite having diverse cultures, is the largest democracy of the world. There is no country other than India having so many customs, religions, casts, traditions and linguistics. Even then, we have been successfully running an efficient democratic set-up for the last 60 years since our Independence. Indian democracy is undoubtedly going to have its influence and eternal charisma throughout the world.
Democracy
It is the system of governance of the people, by the people and for the people. In a precise manner, in a democratic set up, all the importance is given to the citizens of the country who act as the creator, protector and destroyer of the government in their nation. In democracy, all the citizens irrespective of their status, castes or religion are considered equal and are free to exercise their veto power.
Prerequisites for a good democratic set-up are as follows:
• Electoral group which are educated enough to cast their vote wisely, keeping in mind the efficiency of the candidate and the pride of the nation.
• Unbiased and independent judicial system, which is free from any governmental or political interference; so that the judicial system could not be influenced by anyone in the country
• Freedom of Press, which is free from the hold of any politician, VIP or any other strong person in terms of power or wealth. The freedom of press is like an entry ticket for a call to fight against corruption.
• Unblemished moral integrity is another main requisite for a smooth democracy.
Role of Opposition in Democracy
In democracy, the opposition has a good hold and a strong role to play in the efficient working of the government. An efficient, undeniably honest, brilliant, strong and courageous opposition is a must to bring out the best output from the government. They can unlock and reveal all the loopholes within the government and their ministers to the outside world. Without an opposition, a government would be more like an autocracy, especially if the supreme power is in the hands of an autocrat.
Indian Democracy
Indian democracy, being the largest democracy in the world, bestows us with enough power to participate and enjoy the free and fair elections with an unlimited freedom of exercising our franchise in a secret manner. Indian democratic set-up, which is just like a puzzle, needs much efficient handling to maintain peace, taking into account people of diverse cultures from various sectors having different interests and requirements. Even a single outrageous step could result into violent agitations and disorder in the whole country.
Impacts of Indian Democracy
Indian democratic set-up has given many positive outcomes till now. Our country is gradually developing to be a supreme power. We need to utilise the different traits inherent in our society, viz. manpower, brilliance, skill, determination, efficiency, etc., in the best possible manner to enjoy the freedom in its full entirety. A few areas where democracy has a clear advantage are as follows:
• Fundamental rights and secularism: Our fundamental rights are safeguarded all the time. Our constitution ensures proper shielding of our rights, which is the major motivating factor in democracy. We also maintained the best provisions to keep our esteem up as an ideal secular state, since our declaration to be a secular state.
• Agricultural sector: Agriculture and farming are the inherent foundations on which our country stands. Although a major chunk of the present generation is not associated with this field, yet a lot has been explored in this sector and few of the youngsters are still making a mark in this sector to improve and increase the yield more.
• Industrialisation: Industrialisation has left its footprints all over the globe including India also within its reach. An outcome of Industrialisation has been the improvement in the standard of living of an average Indian citizen and a civilised lifestyle.
• Employment opportunities: Instead of lack of employment opportunities, the ever-increasing population has been the major cause of unemployment. In fact, a marked increase has been noticed in the number of employment opportunities, quality of work and salary on careful monitoring of employment index.
• Education and literacy: Indian education system has a reputation of being the best in the world. The demand and market of our geniuses is great worldwide. Our insatiability for much higher payrolls leads to the brain drain. Otherwise, India would have been in the forefront as a leading economy in the world because of its supreme education and literacy level.
• Independence of Press and Judiciary: The press and judiciary in India functions with an unlimited sovereignty. For an effective democratic set-up, we have tried to maintain this major requirement in the best possible manner.
Democratic Set-Up in India AT Present
With the spread of globalisation, we are falling apart from our customs and tradition in a blind rush to emulate western lifestyle. Even after leaving aside the external factors, a few internal challenges within our country are also obstructive to our progress. A few of these factors are given as follows:
• The inability to stagnate the ever-increasing population by application of stringent laws
• Corruption
• A major chunk of our population still lingering on and below poverty line
• Communalism, casteism, fundamentalism, religion and inter-state tensions
• Inappropriate law and order situation in the country
• Coalition government and its impact on the economy of the country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our democratic establishment are efficient enough, but we need to keep an eye on the negative factors seriously affecting our economy. It is necessary to curtail the flow of negative influencing factors to preserve our pride of being the largest democracy of the world.