A simple definition

 The word democracy comes from a Greek word ‘Demokratia’. In Greek ‘demos’ means
people and ‘kratia’ means rule. So de-mocracy is rule by the people.
 Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.
FEATURES OF DEMOCRACY:-
Major decisions by elected leaders:-
 In a democracy the final decision-making power must rest with those elected by the
people
Case of military coup in Pakistan:-
 In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999.
 He overthrew a democratically elected government and declared himself the ‘Chief
Executive’ of the country.
 Later he changed his designation to President and in 2002 held a referendum in the
country that granted him a five-year extension.
 Pakistani media, human rights organisations and activists said that the elected rulers do
whatever they referendum was based on malpractices and fraud.
 In August 2002 he issued a ‘Legal Framework Order’ that amended the Constitution of
Pakistan.
 According to this Order, the President can dismiss the national and provincial
assemblies.
 The work of the civilian cabinet is supervised by a National Security Council which is
dominated by military officers.
 After passing this law, elections were held to the national and provincial assemblies.
 So Pakistan has had elections, elected representatives have some powers. But the final
power rests with military officers and General Musharraf himself.
Can we say that the rulers are elected by the people in Pakistan?
 Not quite. People may have elected their representatives to the national and provincial
assemblies but those elected representatives are not really the rulers.
 They cannot take the final decisions.
 The power to take final decision rests with army officials and with General Musharraf,
and none of them are elected by the people.
Free and fair electoral competition
 A democracy must be based on a free and fair election where those currently in power
have a fair chance of losing.
Election in China:-
 In China, elections are regularly held after every five years for electing the country’s
parliament, called Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (National People’s Congress).
 The National People’s Congress has the power to appoint the President of the country.
 It has nearly 3,000 members elected from all over China. Some members are elected by
the army.
 Before contesting elections, a candidate needs the approval of the Chinese Communist
Party.
 Only those who are members of the Chinese Communist Party or eight smaller parties
allied to it were allowed to contest elections held in 2002-03.
 The government is always formed by the Communist Party.
In Mexico:-
  Since its independence in 1930, Mexico holds elections after every six years to elect its
President.
 The country has never been under a military or dictator’s rule. But until 2000 every
election was won by a party called PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party).
 Opposition parties did contest elections, but never managed to win. The PRI was known
to use many dirty tricks to win elections.
 All those who were employed in government offices had to attend its party meetings.
Teachers of government schools used to force parents to vote for the PRI.
 Media largely ignored the activities of opposition political parties except to criticise them.
 Sometimes the polling booths were shifted from one place to another in the last minute,
which made it difficult for people to cast their votes.
 The PRI spent a large sum of money in the campaign for its candidates.
One person, one vote, one value
 In a democracy, each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one
value.
There are many instances of denial of equal right to vote:-
 In Saudi Arabia women do not have the right to vote.
 Estonia has made its citizenship rules in such a way that people belonging to Russian
minority find it difficult to get the right to vote.
 In Fiji, the electoral system is such that the vote of an indigenous Fiji has more value
than that of an Indian-Fijian.
Rule of law and respect for rights
 A democratic government rules within limits set by constitutional law and citizens’ rights.
Government of Zimbabwe:-
 Zimbabwe attained independence from White minority rule in 1980.
 Since then the country has been ruled by ZANU-PF, the party that led the freedom
struggle.
 Its leader, Robert Mugabe, has been ruling the country since independence.
 Elections have been held regularly and always won by ZANU-PF.
 President Mugabe is popular but also uses unfair practices in elections.
 Over the years his government has changed the constitution several times to increase
the powers of the President and make him less accountable.
 Opposition party workers are harassed and their meeting disrupted.
 Public protests and demonstrations against the government are declared illegal.
 There is a law that limits the right to criticise the President. Television and radio are
controlled by the government and give only the ruling party’s version.
 There are independent newspapers but the government harasses those journalists who
go against it.
 The government has ignored some court judgments that went against it and has
pressurised judges.
WHY DEMOCRACY?
Arguments against democracy:-
 Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.
 Democracy is all about political competition and power play. There is no scope for
morality.
 So many people have to be consulted in a democracy that it leads to delays.
  Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people. It leads to bad decisions.
 Democracy leads to corruption for it is based on electoral competition.
 Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them; they should not decide anything.
Arguments for democracy
First:-
 A democratic government is a better government because it is a more accountable form
of government.
Famine in China:-
 China’s famine of 1958-1961 was the worst recorded famine in world history.
 Nearly three crore people died in this famine.
 During those days, India’s economic condition was not much better than China. Yet
India did not have a famine of the kind China had.
 Economists think that this was a result of different government policies in the two
countries.
 The existence of democracy in India made the Indian government respond to food
scarcity in a way that the Chinese government did not.
 They point out that no large-scale famine has ever taken place in an independent
and democratic country.
 If China too had multiparty elections, an opposition party and a press free to criticise
the government, then so many people may not have died in the famine.
Second:-
 Democracy improves the quality of decision-making.
Why:-
 Democracy is based on consultation and discussion. A democratic decision always
involves many persons, discussions and meetings.
 When a number of people put their heads together, they are able to point out
possible mistakes in any decision.
 This takes time. But there is a big advantage in taking time over important decisions.
This reduces the chances of rash or irresponsible decisions.
Third:-
 Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts.
How:-
 In democracy, no one is a permanent winner. No one is a permanent loser.
 Different groups can live with one another peacefully.
Fourth:-
 Democracy enhances the dignity of citizens.
How:-
 Democracy is based on the principle of political equality, on recognising that the poorest
and the least educated have the same status as the rich and the educated.
 People are not subjects of a ruler, they are the rulers themselves.
 Even when they make mistakes, they are responsible for their conduct.
Fifth:-
 Democracy is better than other forms of government because it allows us to correct its
own mistakes.
How:-
 The advantage in a democracy is that mistakes cannot be hidden for long.
  There is a space for public discussion on these mistakes. And there is a room for
correction.
 Either the rulers have to change their decisions, or the rulers can be changed.
BROADER MEANING OF DEMOCRACY:-
The majority of people rule through their elected representatives become necessary because:-
 Modern democracies involve such a large number of people that it is physically
impossible for them to sit together and take a collective decision.
 Even if they could, the citizen does not have the time, the desire or the skills to take part
in all the decisions.
Broader meaning:-
 A democratic decision involves consultation with and consent of all those who are
affected by that decision.
 Those who are not powerful have the same say in taking the decision as those who are
powerful. This can apply to a government or a family or any other organisation. Thus
democracy is also a principle that can be applied to any sphere of life.
 Sometimes we use the word democracy not to describe any existing government but to
set up an ideal standard that all democracies must aim to become: eg., “True
democracy will come to this country only when no one goes hungry to bed.”

 There is no country having a perfect democracy.