Democracy

I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Democracy is the road to socialism.
- Karl Marx

Democracy is an impossible thing until the power is shared by all…Even a pariah, a labourer, who makes it possible for you to earn your living, will have his share in self-government – Swarajya or democracy.
- Mahatma Gandhi (Young India, December 1, 1927)

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.
- Aristotle

Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.
- George Bernard Shaw

In democracy it's your vote that counts; In feudalism it's your count that votes.
- Mogens Jallberg

Democracy is defined as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Democracy is a form of government in which people are governed by their own elected representatives. Democracy guarantees some basic rights and freedom for individuals and its voters. These rights are known as fundamental rights.
India is the biggest democracy in the world, with a population of over one billion. India, a union of states, is a sovereign socialist, secular, democratic, republic, with a parliamentary system of government. The republic is governed in terms of the Constitution, which was adopted on 26 November, 1949 and came into force on 26 January, 1950.
It is not possible for all the people in a big country like India to participate in the government. This is why they are required to exercise their franchise and elect their representatives at regular intervals. These representatives from the parliament legislate and form responsible government.
India became a democratic republic infused with the spirit of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. The Preamble, the Directive Principles of State policy and the Fundamental Rights reflect the Indian ideology as well as the caste, creed, religion, property, or sex have the right to cast their vote. After and election, the majority party or coalition forms the government and its leader become the Prime Minister.

Alliances

India has a history of alliances and breakdown of alliances. However, there are three alliances on a national level in India, competing with each other for the position of Government. The member parties work in harmony for gratifying national interests, although a party can jump ships. The three alliances -

• National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - Centre-Right coalition led by BJP was formed in 1998 after the elections. NDA formed a government, although the government didn't last long as AIADMK withdrew support from it resulting in 1999 general elections, in which NDA won and resumed power. The coalition government went on to complete the full five-years term, becoming the first non-Congress government to do so. In the 2014 General Elections, NDA once again returned to power for the second time, with a historic mandate of 336 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats. BJP itself won 282 seats, thereby electing Narendra Modi as the head of the government.

• United Progressive Alliance (UPA) - Centre-Left coalition led by Indian National Congress; this alliance was created after the 2004 general elections, with the alliance forming the Government. The alliance even after losing some of its members, was reelected in 2009 General Elections with Manmohan Singh as head of the government.

• Third front - A coalition of parties which do not belong to any of the above camps due to certain issues. One of the party in the alliance, the CPI(M), prior to 2009 general elections, was a member party of the UPA. The alliance has no official leading party, and smaller parties often enter and leave the alliance according to political convenience. Many of these parties ally at national level but contest against each other at state level. The inherent problem with such a third front is that they are only bound together by the fact that they are not aligned to either of the two 'main' alliances, and not through similar ideological stances. This often means that this alliance is merely an alliance in name and does not really provide a united front which can serve as an alternative to the two historically prominent alliances. Therefore, despite the presence of this so called Third front and seemingly alternative options, Indian politics by and large remains a de facto two party system at the national level.

Majority rule is often listed as a characteristic of democracy. Hence, democracy allows for political minorities to be oppressed by the "tyranny of the majority" in the absence of legal protections of individual or group rights. An essential part of an "ideal" representative democracy is competitive elections that are substantively and procedurally "fair," i.e., just and equitable. In some countries, freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and internet democracy are considered important to ensure that voters are well informed, enabling them to vote according to their own interests.

It has also been suggested that a basic feature of democracy is the capacity of all voters to participate freely and fully in the life of their society. With its emphasis on notions of social contract and the collective will of all the voters, democracy can also be characterized as a form of political collectivism because it is defined as a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in lawmaking.

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