What are the Challenges of Democracy?

In this chapter, we will conclude all the theories and speculations that you have about the challenges to Indian democracy. There are some suggestions provided in the notes through which you will be able to approach certain questions that are related to democratic politics in India.

We are going to discuss the different questions that people have such as what are the challenges of democracy in India? What are the measures to take in order to reform these different challenges that exist in the democracy of India?

Understanding All About Challenges to Indian Democracy

As a student, you might have come across this particular chapter of democratic politics in your book of Political Science. So, it is not a surprise that you need to know about the different challenges to democracy. This is exactly what we are going to do here. India, as a democratic country, has to go through a lot of different challenges. Some of these challenges are something that we are going to talk about right here.

Inefficiency and Corruption

One of the main challenges faced by Indian democracy would have to be the presence of corruption in the country. In these democratic countries, there are several political parties that are governed by certain political leaders. Also, every single government-controlled department in India has a senior officer as well. However, the only problem here is that these leaders and officers often turn out to be dishonest and corrupt. There are bribes taken by the officers and leaders and this leads to the lack of trust among the people. This is something that can severely affect the functioning of the government.

Role Played By Different Anti-Social Elements

Another one of the main challenges of Indian democracy often arises during the time of the elections and that is the role which is played by several anti-social elements. Most people who tend to vote are often bribed and provided with perks in order to cast their vote for a particular party or a candidate. There are also some problems with rigging that take place during the time of elections. Such problems can cause an unfair government to rule the country.

Social And Economic Inequalities

One of the most common challenges before Indian democracy is the problem of socio-economic inequality that is seen amongst the people who reside in the country. We all are familiar with the fact that all of the citizens of a democratic country have their own right to vote as well as fight in the elections. But it is a very common happening that this privilege is only provided to the rich.

Communalism and Casteism

It is a very common case that during the elections, most weight is provided to the religion and the caste of any particular candidate. Not to mention that political parties also have this prejudice for the religion of the candidates when they are distributing the tickets. This is one of the very common obstacles to democracy wherein people don’t get equal rights due to their religion.

Political Reforms as A Solution to the Challenge of Democracy

Democracy reforms or political reforms are basically the solutions and suggestions that are made in order to overcome all the problems of democracy. Law really has a very crucial role to play when it comes to discouraging wrong practices and encouraging good political practices. One of the great examples of political reform would be the Right to Information as it allows and empowers the citizens of the country to have access to information regarding the happenings in the government. This also allows people to play their roles as watchdogs for the democracy of the country.

The main goal of these political reforms should actually be on the strengthening of the good practices of democracy in the best way. Another one of the most important things about the political reforms is that these shouldn’t just be considering the great solutions but should also be thinking about the implementation and the execution of it too. Political reforms are the ultimate solution to the challenges that are faced by the democracy of a country.

Redefining Democracy

A particular form of government where the rulers are effectively selected by the people of the country can be defined as democracy. These rulers need to take all of the major decisions regarding the welfare of the country. In order to elect the rulers, there are certain elections that take place and everyone is provided with an equal and fair opportunity to make their choice of the rulers who would occupy the seats in the government.