Democracy in India
India is often considered to have the world's largest democracy.[1][2] Elections in India started with the 1951–52 Indian general election. India was one of the first few countries in the world to adopt universal adult franchise right from independence, granting both men and women equal voting rights.[3]
In recent years, under the premiership of Narendra Modi, India has experienced significant democratic backsliding.[4][5][6][7] The Economist Democracy Index classifies India as a flawed democracy.[8] The Freedom House classifies India as partly free.[9]
History
[edit]Early Shakyas, Koliyas, Mallakas, and Licchavis claim assemblies open to wealthy men of certain class.[10] Other saṅghas and gaṇas had councils of unelected nobles, which don't meet the standards of democracy. Greek historian Diodorus writes two centuries after the time of Alexander the Great about democratic states in India,[11] but lacks evidence for elections considering the word "democracy" around the 3rd century BCE could mean any autonomous state.[12][13] In the 10th century, the election of local representatives for the village bodies during the Chola Empire is claimed in Vaikunda Perumal Temple's inscriptions.[14][15][16]
Reservations
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India reserves 84 and 47 seats in the two houses of the Parliament respectively, for marginalized sections of society, as per Part XVI of the Constitution of India. In 2023, the Indian parliament passed the One Hundred and Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of India, reserving 33% of Indian legislature for women.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Richetta, Cécile; Harbers, Imke; van Wingerden, Enrike (2023). "The subnational electoral coercion in India (SECI) data set, 1985–2015" (PDF). Electoral Studies. 85. doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102662. ISSN 0261-3794.
- ^ Guha, Ramachandra (2008). India after Gandhi : the history of the world's largest democracy (Indian ed.). India: Picador. ISBN 9780330505543.
- ^ "Universal Adult Franchise". Unacademy. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
- ^ Brunkert, Lennart; Kruse, Stefan; Welzel, Christian (3 April 2019). "A tale of culture-bound regime evolution: the centennial democratic trend and its recent reversal". Democratization. 26 (3): 422–443. doi:10.1080/13510347.2018.1542430. ISSN 1351-0347. S2CID 148625260. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ Khaitan, Tarunabh (26 May 2020). "Killing a Constitution with a Thousand Cuts: Executive Aggrandizement and Party-state Fusion in India". Law & Ethics of Human Rights. 14 (1): 49–95. doi:10.1515/lehr-2020-2009. hdl:11343/241852. ISSN 2194-6531. S2CID 221083830.
- ^ Ganguly, Sumit (18 September 2020). "India's Democracy Is Under Threat". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ Goel, Vindu; Gettleman, Jeffrey (2 April 2020). "Under Modi, India's Press Is Not So Free Anymore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ Dutta, Anisha (22 June 2023). "India secretly works to preserve reputation on global Democracy Index". The Guardian.
- ^ "India is now only 'partly free' under Modi, says report". BBC. 3 March 2021.
- ^ Robinson, 1997, p. 23[full citation needed]
- ^ Diodorus 2.39[full citation needed]
- ^ Larsen, 1973, pp. 45–46[full citation needed]
- ^ de Sainte, 2006, pp. 321–3
- ^ R., Nagaswamy (2003). Uttaramerur. Chennai: Tamil Arts Academy. pp. 12–16.
- ^ Padmaja, T. (7 March 2024). Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamilnāḍu. Abhinav Publications. p. 88. ISBN 9788170173984.
- ^ Vaikunta perumal temple inscriptions, Uttiramerur, TN and democratic election practices 1000 years ago, Navrang India, September 02, 2022
