Why hasn't democracy worked in India?
karenb  Updated: 2004-09-30 09:43

After all, if we have free speech and the chance to elect our government officials, wouldn't that solve all our problems -- we'd be able to speak out against tyranny, and get rid of corrupt officials and all that!

Or would we?

Why doesn't "American style democracy" work in countries like India? And why wouldn't it in China?

Well, we're comparing apples and oranges -- two very different people, with different cultures, different histories, different worldviews, etc.

American-style democracy works fairly well in America, and the majority of Americans wouldn't have it any other way. They might gripe and complain about this and that, but in the end, most Americans are pretty satisfied with the system.

But can it work in every country? No! Its success depends on a combination of several important factors.

There is the need of finances to fund campaigns. Because India is dealing with appalling poverty, the poor really don't have a voice, because they can't afford to fund campaigns to sponsor a candidate who will represent their needs. Now in most democracies, the candidates are largely funded by various individuals and co-operations. But there needs to be a strong system of checks and balances (on fund raising) for it all to work. Otherwise, you have the corrupt people "buying" government positions.

There's also religious problems in India. Because the Muslims (not to mention Christians) are a minority, they are underrepresented in government, and thus ancient shrines are destroyed and people's rights trampled. So even though "freedom of religion" may be on the books, it isn't truly a reality.

Too many times, in a democracy, voting will follow "tribal" lines rather than issues, and power will be held by whoever is the largest group.

And we must also consider the sheer size of the populations of both India and China, compared to America, which began as a small, fledgling nation with a sparse population, and "grew into" democracy.

Finally, perhaps the most important element for democracy to work is for people to be able to think for themselves and make clear, logical decisions. That's the whole point of democracy -- each person gets to vote, but they're supposed to think through the issues, decide for themselves what's right and what's wrong, and vote accordingly for the person they believe best represents their viewpoint. Now it's very difficult for a person to do this if he is illiterate because he can't read about the issues and debates and what each candidate has to say. He can't inspect thier voting record in the past. So if some candidate comes to his village and makes some grandious promise, the person will probably vote for him, without really understanding that this candidate could very well be corrupt and an inefficient leader. And in India, where more than 1/3 of the population IS illiterate, then voting is largely ineffective in producing a government truly representative of the people.

The above content represents the view of the author only.

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