INDIA’S EXPERIMENT WITH DEMOCRACY

India is considered the world’s largest democracy. India’s experiment with democracy began soon after gaining its independence in 1947 from the British. It went ahead with establishing itself as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and a republic by enshrining these objectives and principles in its world’s longest written constitution. The constitution also clearly states the aspirations of the people to acquire the modern values of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity in its Preamble. The Indian constitution was written after reviewing several other constitutions of the world, adopting parts which fit with India’s cultural and political diversity with certain modifications, creating its own parts, all this after due deliberations, discussions, debates and finally voting. 

What Was in Store For Us?

The British left India in a state of dismay, facing one of the deadliest humanitarian crises it will ever face. The country was facing extreme poverty where majority of its population finding it difficult to make its ends meet along with severe food security issues, rampant illiteracy and widespread economic inequalities. Public health infrastructure was in shambles with Average life expectancy at the time of independence being just 32. India faced communal tensions as well as caste based atrocities and violence. Much has to be accredited to the national freedom movement which induced among the Indians a deep sense of nationalism and respect for India’s diversity in every walk of life. This acted as glue in holding the masses together in the face of adversity.

Is It A Much LARGER Process?

In a diverse country like India, it is not possible for any policy, scheme or law to get widespread acceptance at once, it is a much larger process. As long as the process is democratic, dissent is promoted and not curbed; none of the problems faced by India are insurmountable. Voting a government to power is not a panacea to the existing problems but goes a long way in addressing these issues and keeping faith in the democratic process of the country. This spirit and faith in democracy has been showcased by India at several junctures post-independence while facing various socio-economic, political and governance related challenges. Some of the major instances in the history of independent India, depicting India’s survival as a democracy have been discussed in the following passages, helping us to reach to a conclusion.

What Are The Instances?

• The first instance which can showcase India’s democratic stance was when its first independent government came out with its three ambitious Land Reforms brought in the 1950s. These reforms aimed at bridging the inequality in terms of land resources by abolishing the Zamindari Reforms brought in the 1790s by the British East India Company, putting ceilings on the extent of land to be held by an individual and giving rights of ownership of land to tenants. These reforms, although, were not very successful in its implementation in majority of the states and did not produce the expected results, but it definitely upheld the democratic principles and aspirations of India.
• Second instance was rather more explicitly highlighted in the form of protests by the Telugu speaking communities which led to the formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1953 by carving out the northern part of Madras. This, formation of states on linguistic basis, was earlier not recommended by the government appointed commission but a middle ground was reached which later came out in the form of iStates Reorganization Act of 1956. The will of the people was facilitated by the reasoning and policies of the government, a clear representation of a democracy. 
• The next instance came in the form of judiciary of India. Multiple tussles occurred between the powers of the parliament and judiciary to consider, invoke and amend parts of the constitution. The Indian Judiciary has time and again played the role of protector of fundamental rights of the people inter alia without encroaching upon the powers of the incumbent government and the parliament, gloriously upholding the values of democracy. As a landmark verdict in the Keshavanand Bharti case of 1973, the Supreme Court laid down the basic structure doctrine and checked powers of the parliament to amend the Constitution, thereby playing its role of the guardian and the sole interpreter of the constitution,
• The 44th Constitutional Amendment was a little more dramatic for it to be called just an instance. It came after the true dark period of the Indian democracy, the 1975-77 National Emergency invoked by the Indira Gandhi government. This phase displayed the strongest commitment of the people of India in the favor of maintaining the true principles of democracy. Mass protests and agitation against the much authoritarian government in power and the true nationalistic sentiments led to the so called overthrow of the government and a new government came in power after due elections. The 44th amendment act progressively altered the grounds for invoking the emergency provisions of the Constitution which ensured that such misuse of power and authority never sees the light again in India.
• The Anti-defection law of 1986 came out as a respect to the authority of people over the government and parliament. This law introduced in the 10th schedule of the constitution, put a brake on such representatives to some extent who would jump from one party to another after getting elected thus defeating the sole purpose of representative democracy. This law raised the accountability of the elected representative and highlighted that it is not his/her individual decision but the decision of the people who elected him to change his political stance while in office.
• LPG reforms of 1991 are more importantly known for its ability to put India on a path of rapid economic growth, but this was also a rare instance of showcasing the much larger democratic spirit of the country. This phase showed how a minority government in the parliament led by P.V. Narsimha Rao with an able finance minister in the form of Dr.Manmohan Singh, amid crises in all possible spheres governing a country pulled Indians out of the impending economic hardships, breaking the shackles of corrupt bureaucracy and thus restoring faith in a democratically elected government.
• Right to Information Act, 2005, a progressive legislation giving the citizens a real tool to question the government, hold it accountable and bringing about transparency in governance can be termed as a very much significant instance of upholding the principle and spirit of democracy. By undervaluing the possibility of disruptions due to increased accountability, the government in power showcased the true spirit of democratic governance.

DID WE SUCCEED?

With the above instances in mind, it can be rightly concluded that so far, India’s experiment with democracy has been successful. The 18 months of Emergency being the only blot till now which surfaced the flaws in the system and dealt by the civil society coming out in the open. It can’t be said that all the challenges which India faced since independence have been duly dealt with but certainly they have not been able to demolish India’s core values and India has emerged victorious with its democratic aspirations.