Etymologically, the term "Democracy" consists of two Greek words "Demos" meaning 'the people' and

"Kratos" meaning 'power'. The literal meaning of the word "Democracy" is "Power of the people".
According to Aristotle, democracy is a "government by many". Greek democracy was at its best in the
ancient Athens. The Greek word corresponding to democracy suggested a system in which 'the people'
performed 'the ruling'.

The modern concept of Democracy was propounded by Abraham Lincoln. It implies that ruling power
rests with the people without distinction of caste, creed, colour or sex. Most of the modem states
including India which emerged out of colonial rule in the second half of the 20th Century, adopted
democracy as the guiding principle of political ideology. In modern times, however, democracy has
acquired a much wider connotation. It is used not only for a specific form of social and political control
but also, more generally, to denote a certain way of life. Ideally, the democratic way of life is
characterised by respect for the dignity of the individual, encouragement of the uniqueness in human
beings rather than the imposition of a set pattern, co-operation, free exchange and development of
progressive ideas and tolerance of intellectual differences

Further, Bernard Shaw mentions the value of education in a

democracy. “Democracy implies election of the corrupt few by the
ignorant many. Therefore, education is the major means to enrich the
strengths and overcome the weaknesses of the people. It is also a
means for the widespread diffusion of democratic values”.
Radhakrishnan commission (1948-49) said, “Education is the
great instrument of social emancipation, by which
democracy establishes, maintains and protects the spirit of
equality among its members”.