A Shift from Unitary Government to Democracy in India - Article Example

India’s Political System: A Shift from Unitary Government to Democracy Introduction India is regarded as the world’s largest democracy with a votingpopulation of around 1.2 billion people (BBC, 2014). In a news article written by Chatterjee (2013), the Indian democracy is not an exception to a decisive shift in power regarding the governmental operations of democracies around the world. India’s shift to “peripheral people power” from central power characterizes the country’s rapid changes of democracy, where the essence of democratization will likely affect greater number individuals in less span of time (Chatterjee, 2013). This paper aims to discuss the influx in India’s form of government from a unitary government ruled by a single party into what is now a democratic state. Further, this seeks to discuss the key characteristics, issues, legitimacy, social and political factors, as well as the wave of democracy that has affected India’s present government system. Key Characteristics Democracy suggests a rule by the people. India is among those developing nations that have fostered a democratic multi-party system since it gained its independence where it adopted a parliamentary government with the President acting as the Constitutional head and the Prime Minister as the real head of the executive (Sharma, 2011, p. 146). Moreover, national unity, social revolution and stability are strongly enshrined in the Indian Constitution, which promotes the goal of a parliamentary democracy, fundamental rights and principles. Since India is notably the largest democracy, its Constitution also features the administrative procedures for Judiciary operation, selection of the members of Legislature, division between the Union and States, tax imposition, public services, electoral systems, and other salient characteristics for its democratic governance (Abbas, Kumar, & Alam, 2011, p. 98). As such, it is through its liberal democratic government that the Indian society can facilitate the recognition and exercise of human rights including the right of suffrage and be elected, or realize politically democratic values that are characterized by equality and absence of gender and social discrimination. Issues Among the issues that have pushed India into a democracy include those affecting the civil society, the pressures of seeking autonomy, as well as with globalization that has largely influenced the political ideologies and policies of the state (Shively, 2014). As an opinion, however, other issues that may have propelled India to become a democratic state involve economic, social, and religious challenges that have created both positive and negative impact on the state’s policy-making, as well as with the exercise of power and authority. Such issues are often critical in realizing the goals and objectives of a democratic government system. For instance, the state-level political reforms imply an increase in the number of women participation in local government, wherein evidence shows that the increase is mainly driven by the fewer occurrences of documented crimes especially among Indian women (Iyer, et al., 2012). Corruption, quality of education, justice system, transparency and accountability in the government were also among the issues that have pushed the state into a democratic institution (Chatterjee, 2013). Legitimacy From a political science perspective, legitimacy is often defined as a public recognition and acceptance of a governing authority which exercises political power according to acceptable standards of laws, regulations, and political agenda. One type of political legitimacy that supported India’s current government system is the practice of traditional legitimacy. Weber (as cited in Lamb, 2014) identifies traditional legitimacy on the basis of societal norms, habits, and customs that have been held by institutions from traditional government. India considers the consistency in the actualization of a democratic political system in terms of individual rights that have been continuous in its political history; hence, this manifests the practice of traditional legitimacy (Sivaramakrishnan, 2011, p. 909). This can also be attributed on its governance about how it envisions the state to be governed on the basis of political legitimacy. Social Capital, Political Culture, and Political Socialization The contributions of social capital, political culture, and political socialization to the creation of India’s present government have been significant in the way it has shaped public opinion, satisfied societal expectations, build public trust, and promote the values of democracy. As an opinion, the influx of Indian democratic government for the past two decades has brought significant changes to the competence and political will of the state. This is manifested on the trust of both voters and politicians’ ability to promote the welfare of their government and political society, as well as with their willingness to contribute for their collective interests. As reported by Chatterjee (2013), constant positive changes must be imposed on the vested interests and ambitions of politicians in order to provide room for competence so they could lead the people with competence and efficiency that could promote public trust and shape constructive public perceptions. Wave of Democracy In late 1960’s, the political landscape in India started to change which paved the way for the country to have its first democratic upsurge marked by the expansion in the participatory base as evidenced in the increase in political competition, voter turnout, and the lower castes that affected the state’s political system (Yadav, 2000 as cited in Pushkar, 2012). However, in the 1990’s, India underwent a second wave of a democratic upsurge when the unprivileged class in society were caught up with those who were “socially privileged” in terms of political activities, as well as with the electoral system (Pushkar, 2012, p. 120). This has also influenced public trust in the legitimacy of the country’s democratic system which was similar to the increase of public trust during the 1970’s. Conclusion Overall, the thrust of this paper discussed the influx of an Indian unitary government to democracy which highlighted on the characteristics, issues, legitimacy, social and political aspects, and wave of democracy that have influenced or contributed to a shift in its present political system. In particular, its Constitution characterizes the features of a liberal democratic government where all individuals could vote and participate in public affairs. Also, economic, social and political issues have largely pushed the state to a democracy. The practice of traditional legitimacy has supported India’s democratic system and influenced by the second wave of democracy that occurred in 1990s. References Abbas, H., Kumar, R., & Alam, M. (2011). Indian government and politics. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd. BBC. (2014). India: World’s largest democracy. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/india-worlds-largest-democracy/10104.html Chatterjee, D. (2013, January 26). Elections 2014: Rethinking democracy. The Economic Times. Retrieved from http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/recent/26-1-13%20editorial.pdf Iyer, L., Mani, A., Mishra, P., & Topalova, P. (2012). The power of political voice: Womens political representation and crime in India. American Economic Journal, 4(4), 165-193. Lamb, R. (2014). Rethinking legitimacy and illegitimacy: A new approach to assessing support and opposition across disciplines. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Pushkar, S. (2012). Democracy and infant mortality in India’s mini-democracies: A preliminary theoretical inquiry and analysis. Journal of South Asian Development, 7(2), 109-137. Sharma, B.K. (2011). Introduction to the constitution of India. (6th ed.). New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. Shively, W.P. (2014). Power and choice: An introduction to political science. (14th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Sivaramakrishnan, K. (2011). Environment, law, and democracy in India. The Journal of Asian Studies, 70(4), 905-928. Read More