The Mighty Wond
Introduction
India is the largest democracy in the world. There are many countries in the world that have democratic systems.We have been witnessing elections being held in the country at different levels for over six decades.
Municipal and Panchayat elections also do take place. But, can a country be called a democracy only on the basis of the fact that elections are organized regularly? Think over it, because we know that there are some countries where elections do take place, but those are not democracies in true sense. Then the question is what does democracy actually mean? What are the factors which makes a country democratic?. We are confronting a number of challenges. There are many critical problems that need to be solved, so that India marches ahead as a progressive democratic country. The present lesson discusses all these issues and focuses especially on the challenges that our country has been facing.
Objectives Identify major challenges to Indian democracy and appreciate those as potential opportunities to make it successful; recognise the corrective measures for improving the Indian democratic system and assess the efforts; and identify the roles of citizens in a democracy based on experiences of life.
UNDERSTANDING DEMOCRACY
Let us begin with understanding the meaning of democracy and the conditions that are essential for its successful functioning. This will help us in appreciating the challenges to Indian democracy.
Meaning of Democracy
When we are asked to define democracy, we generally quote a very popular definition: “Democracy is a government of the people, for the people, by the people.”Whenever we define democracy, we begin by quoting its meaning in ancient Greece.We state that the term ‘democracy’ comes from the Greek word demokratia which means “rule of the people”. It was coined from two words: demos that means “people”
India is the largest democracy in the world. There are many countries in the world that have democratic systems.We have been witnessing elections being held in the country at different levels for over six decades.
Municipal and Panchayat elections also do take place. But, can a country be called a democracy only on the basis of the fact that elections are organized regularly? Think over it, because we know that there are some countries where elections do take place, but those are not democracies in true sense. Then the question is what does democracy actually mean? What are the factors which makes a country democratic?. We are confronting a number of challenges. There are many critical problems that need to be solved, so that India marches ahead as a progressive democratic country. The present lesson discusses all these issues and focuses especially on the challenges that our country has been facing.
Objectives Identify major challenges to Indian democracy and appreciate those as potential opportunities to make it successful; recognise the corrective measures for improving the Indian democratic system and assess the efforts; and identify the roles of citizens in a democracy based on experiences of life.
UNDERSTANDING DEMOCRACY
Let us begin with understanding the meaning of democracy and the conditions that are essential for its successful functioning. This will help us in appreciating the challenges to Indian democracy.
Meaning of Democracy
When we are asked to define democracy, we generally quote a very popular definition: “Democracy is a government of the people, for the people, by the people.”Whenever we define democracy, we begin by quoting its meaning in ancient Greece.We state that the term ‘democracy’ comes from the Greek word demokratia which means “rule of the people”. It was coined from two words: demos that means “people”