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It’s hard to see how much Índia will remain a democracy and it does have its problems. But certainly it seems far less of a revisionist power than China.
by kranke155 4y ago
It’s hard to see how much Índia will remain a democracy and it does have its problems. But certainly it seems far less of a revisionist power than China.
- shmde 4y agoTreading on slippery slope are we. You talk about democracy but the USA itself is a two party democracy not a true democracy at heart. In India you can start your own political party and contest in elections. Since it got independence from the Britishers, India has stayed a democracy and will hopefully remain so. (Unless maybe CIA organises a coup d'état)
- cronix 4y agoIf you elect representatives to vote on your behalf, it's not a "true democracy."
- KrishnaShripad 4y agoWhen you vote directly, you risk voting for an authoritarian whom you can never recall in case he doesn't work in your interest or turns into a Dictator. In a representative democracy, the representatives are more approachable to the Citizens. This allows one to hold the representative accountable in case the Leader turns autocratic/dictatorial. Citizens can build pressure on Representatives from their own area rather than trying to galvanize a nation-wide agitation against a Dictator. And with a billion+ people voting, there is no way to reasonably expect to hold a single Leader accountable. Direct Democracy doesn't work if the population is too big. Anything greater than a few thousand people you will need Representative Democracy. So when one says "True Democracy" it invariably points to Representative Democracy with a Multi-Party system. Direct Democracy is a dead idea from the get go.
- vivegi 4y agoIndia is a democratic republic. Says so in the preamble of our constitution. It is a parliamentary democracy. We directly vote for the representatives in our local municipalities/corporations, state legislatures and central (federal) legislature.
- bcrosby95 4y agoIt's not that simple in the US. For example, many states have proposition systems which is a direct democracy: the residents can vote directly on laws themselves. There's good and bad things about this, but overall I think it's good - it's a way around a state legislature trying to do wildly unpopular things.
- achow 4y agoThis is new. You mean the current right wing ruling party? It has a very large vocal, visible and genuine support from large population of India. That is democracy by any definition. This support is for progressive policies and anti-corruption principles. Not all section of population agree on progress at the cost of right wing philosophies, but that again is in line with the rules of democracy.
- kranke155 4y agoI’ve heard mixed things from Indians. I suppose the question might *not* be how much it remains a democracy - you are correct that the ruling party appears to have wide popular support - but how limited some freedoms might be for non Hindus.
- programmer_dude 4y agoPlease name some of these limitations.
- ignoramous 4y ago> you are correct that the ruling party appears to have wide popular support And where they don't have that support, they "buy" elected reps: https://www.google.com/search?q=bjp+buy+mp+mla https://www.google.com/search?q=bjp+buy+mp+mla
- KrishnaShripad 4y ago> but how limited some freedoms might be for non Hindus. Where exactly is freedoms limited for non Hindus? Can you name some of these freedoms that have been limited?
- smoldesu 4y agoDemocracy and authoritarianism are not mutually exclusive. I think most people's gripes aren't with their political leanings, but the way they chose to respond to things like the Farmer Protest (where Modi's administration basically admitted they were wrong). Stifling communication and censoring the internet isn't what any just democratic ruler does, regardless of their party affiliation.
- Qtips87 4y ago
- pyuser583 4y agoThere are very concerning things happening in India, but it is a very democratic country.