HIMACHAL PRADESH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, SHIMLA

SUBJECT: POLITICAL SCIENCE

TOPIC: ESSENTIALS OF A DEMOCRACY

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Ved Prakash Sharma Vihaan Acharya

1st Semester, B.A. LLB. (Hons.)

No. – 1020212269
1. Cover Page 1
2. Table of Contents 2
3. Acknowledgement 3
4. Declaration 4
5. What is Democracy 5
6. Legitimacy of the Government 6
7. Representative Democracy 7-8
8. Actual Democracy 9
9. Essentials of a Democracy 10-12
10. Conclusion 13
11. Works Cited 14
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project has been successful with great efforts and dedication and immense help from
numerous people. Every work and every worker needs assistance and help in completing a
task. I sincerely express my gratitude and appreciation towards everyone who helped me in
this assignment.

I, Vihaan Acharya, a student of Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla would
like to express my special note of thanks to my assignment guide and mentor, Dr. Ved
Prakash Sharma for his guidance and mentorship during the project.
 DECLARATION

I, Vihaan Acharya, 1st year B.A. LLB. Student at Himachal Pradesh National Law University,
Shimla hereby declare that this assignment has been completed by me and this has not been
submitted in any other university.

I declare that I have not copied my assignment from any resource and have authentically
subscribed to the formal ethics and values while completing my assignment.
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Democracy is a form of governance in which people of the region are the decision makers. It
is a form of government in which people are the authority and have the right to form rules
and legislations, or to choose the legislators. Over the years, ‗Democracy‘ has become more
of a subjective term, rather than an objective one. Interpretation of what Democracy actually
is differs from people, culture and area.

Some consider Democracy as a depiction of Fundamental Rights, including the right to

speech, while some consider it as a measure of equality. According to some people,
Democracy means the freedom given to the people in all aspects. It is natural for a term to get
romanticized and get different definitions in a world full of intellectuals.

Democracy has been defined and quoted differently by different people and authorities which
gives a broad and clear understanding of the concept. Some of them are :-

 ―Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in
ordinary people.‖
—HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK

 ―Democracy is a process, not a static condition. It is becoming, rather than being. It

can easily be lost, but never is fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle.‖
—FEDERAL JUDGE WILLIAM H. HASTIE

 ―Chief among our gains must be reckoned this possibility of choice, the recognition of
many possible ways of life, where other civilizations have recognized only one.‖
—MARGARET MEAD

 ―Democracy means not ‗I am as good as you are,‘ but ‗You are as good as I am.‘‖
—REV. THEODORE PARKER

 ―The government is us; we are the government, you and I.‖

—THEODORE ROOSEVELT

 ―In a democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen.‖

—SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FELIX FRANKFURTER
. . . . . . . . THE LEGITIMACY OF THE GOVERNMENT. . . . . . . . .

According to Locke, within the hypothetical ―state of nature‖ that precedes the creation of
human societies, men live ―equal one of another without subordination or subjection,‖ and
that they are perfectly liberal to act and to eliminate their possessions as they see fit, within
the bounds of law . From these and other premises Locke draws the conclusion that political
society—i.e., government—insofar because it is legitimate, represents a agreement among
those that have ―consented to form one Community or Government…wherein the bulk have a
right to act and conclude the remainder.‖ These two ideas—the consent of the governed and
majority rule—became central to all or any subsequent theories of democracy. For Locke
they're inextricably connected: ―For if the consent of the bulk shall not in reason, be received,
because the act of the entire, and conclude every individual; nothing but the consent of each
individual can make anything be the act of the whole: But such a consent is next to
impossible ever to be had.‖ Thus no government is legitimate unless it enjoys the consent of
the governed, which consent can't be rendered except through democracy

Given these conclusions, it's somewhat surprising that Locke‘s description of the various
sorts of government (he calls them ―commonwealths‖) doesn't explicitly prescribe democracy
because the only legitimate system. Writing in England within the 1680s, a generation after
the Commonwealth ended with the restoration of the monarchy (1660), Locke was more
circumspect than this. Nevertheless, a careful reading of the relevant passages of the Second
Treatise shows that Locke remains faithful his fundamentals, which the sole legitimate sort of
government is that, supported the consent of the governed.

Locke differentiates the varied sorts of government on the idea of where the people prefer to
place the facility to form laws. His categories are the normal ones: If the people retain the
legislative power for themselves, along side the facility to appoint those that execute the laws,
then ―the sort of the govt may be a perfect Democracy.‖ If they put the facility ―into the
hands of a couple of select Men, and their Heirs or Successors,…then it's an Oligarchy:
alternatively into the hands of 1 Man, then it's a Monarchy.‖ Nevertheless, his analysis is way
more subversive of nondemocratic sorts of government than it appears to be. For regardless
of the sort of government, the last word source of sovereign power is that the people, and
every one legitimate government must rest on their consent. Therefore, if a government
abuses its trust and violates the people‘s fundamental rights—particularly the proper to
property—the people are entitled to rebel and replace that government with another to whose
laws they will willingly give their consent. And who is to guage whether the govt has abused
its trust? Again, Locke is unequivocal: the people themselves are to form that judgment.
Although he doesn't use the term, Locke thus unambiguously affirms the proper of revolution
against a despotic government.
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In modern representative democracies, the features of ideal democracy, to the extent that they
exist, are realized through a spread of political institutions. These institutions, which are
broadly similar in several countries despite significant differences in constitutional structure,
were entirely new in human history at the time of their introduction in Europe and therefore
the us within the 18th century. Among the foremost important of them is of course the
institution of representation itself, through which all major government decisions and policies
are made by popularly elected officials, who are accountable to the electorate for his or her
actions. Other important institutions include:

 Free, fair, and frequent elections: Citizens may participate in such elections both as
voters and as candidates (though age and residence restrictions could also be
imposed).

 Freedom of expression: Citizens may express themselves publicly on a broad range

of politically relevant subjects without worrying of punishment (see freedom of
speech).

 Independent sources of data: There exist sources of political information that aren't
under the control of the govt or any single group and whose right to publish or
otherwise disseminate information is protected by law; moreover, all citizens are
entitled to hunt out and use such sources of data .

 Freedom of association: Citizens have the proper to make and to participate in

independent political organizations, including parties and interest groups.

Institutions like these developed in Europe and therefore the us in various political and
historical circumstances, and therefore the impulses that fostered them weren't always
themselves democratic. Yet, as they developed, it became increasingly apparent that they
were necessary for achieving a satisfactory level of democracy in any political association as
large as a nation-state.
The relation between these institutions and therefore the features of ideal democracy that are
realized through them are often summarized as follows. In an association as large as a nation-
state, representation is important for effective participation and for citizen control of the
agenda; free, fair, and frequent elections are necessary for effective participation and for
equality in voting; and freedom of expression, independent sources of data , and freedom of
association are each necessary for effective participation, an informed electorate, and citizen
control of the agenda.
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTUAL DEMOCRACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Since Aristotle‘s time, political philosophers generally have insisted that no actual form of
government is probably going to achieve, to the fullest extent possible, all the features of its
corresponding ideal. Thus, whereas the institutions of the many actual systems are sufficient
to achieve a comparatively high level of democracy, they're almost never sufficient to realize
anything like perfect or ideal democracy. Nevertheless, such institutions may produce a
satisfactory approximation of the ideal—as presumably they did in Athens within the 5th
century BCE, when the term democracy was coined, and within the us within the early 19th
century, when Tocqueville, like most others in America et al. , unhesitatingly called the
country a democracy.

For associations that are small in population and area, the political institutions of direct
democracy seem best to approximate the perfect of ―government by the people.‖ In such a
democracy all matters of importance to the association as an entire are often selected by the
citizens. Citizens have the chance to debate the policies that precede them and to collect
information directly from those they consider well informed, also as from other sources. they
will meet at a convenient place—the Pnyx in Athens, the Forum in Rome, the Palazzo Ducale
in Venice, or the government building during a New England village—to discuss the policy
further and to supply amendments or revisions. Finally, their decision is rendered during a
vote, all votes being counted equal, with the votes of a majority prevailing.

It is thus easy to ascertain why direct democracies are sometimes thought to approach ideal
democracy far more closely than representative systems ever could, and why the foremost
ardent advocates of direct democracy have sometimes insisted, as Rousseau did within the
agreement , that the term representative democracy is self-contradictory. Yet, views like these
have did not win many converts.
. . . . . . . . . . .FEATURES / ESSENTIALS OF A DEMOCRACY . . . . . . . .

At a minimum, a perfect democracy would have the subsequent features:

 Effective participation: Before a policy is adopted or rejected, members of the

democracy have the chance to form their views about the policy known to other
members.
Active participation includes the competences that citizens got to reach A level of
awareness of themselves in reference to the environments they're plunged into, so as
to require sensible decisions and participate actively and positively within the
democratic cultures they survive in and they must understand the veracity of the
decisions and be an active part of the discussion.

It is not enough to figure only on fixing democratic institutions and processes. These
institutions and processes must be put to figure creating opportunities for citizens to
steer healthy and productive lives. Ensuring that government actually works for the
general public good requires informed, organized, active and peaceful citizen
participation. Citizens must, therefore, understand ideas about citizenship, politics and
government. they have knowledge to form decisions about policy choices and
therefore the proper use of authority, along side the talents to voice their concerns, act
collectively and hold public officials (i.e., elected representatives, civil servants, and
appointed leaders) accountable.

The term citizen has an inherently political meaning that suggests a particular sort of
relationship between the people and government. Citizens have a group of rights and
responsibilities, including the proper to participate in decisions that affect public
welfare. Additionally to the intrinsic democratic value, participation is an instrumental
driver of democratic and socio-economic change, and a fundamental thanks to
empower citizens. Emphasizing locally-led, issue-driven approaches.

 Equality in voting: Members of the democracy have the chance to vote for or against
the policy, and every one votes are counted as equal.

A founding principle of varied sorts of democracy, political egalitarianism was a

thought which was supported by Jefferson and it's an idea almost like moral
reciprocity and legal equality. the thought suggests all citizens of a particular country
must be treated equally solely counting on their citizenship status, not on their race,
religion and the way clever or how rich they're . Equal citizenship is actually the core
 of political egalitarianism. this is often expressed in such principles as one-
person/one-vote, equality before the law, and equal rights of free speech.

It is important for a political system to pursue the one person one vote one value
system as it ensures proper transparency, equality and chance, chance to win the
elections. One person one vote means every eligible voter has one vote to cast during the
election. Universal Adult franchise system grants one vote to every eligible person.

This is very important as everyone gets an equal opportunity to elect their leader.

 Informed electorate: Members of the democracy have the chance, within an

inexpensive amount of your time, to find out about the policy and about possible
alternative policies and their likely consequences.

Our democracy is desperately turning to a stock of commerce – one which the

equation of wealth with politics is that the outstanding feature; a political culture
defined by the motive of direct financial gains, characterized by huge campaign
expenses, with a terrifying concentration of wealth, influence and power within the
hands of a couple of politicians who claim to be the messiahs of the people.

Nigeria achieved a democratic franchise from the pre-independence days in some

parts of the country; with a dangling question of the way to devise a qualitative
franchise, the electorate having the capacity to exercise their franchise in manners that
cause good governance and development. The role of an informed electorate during a
democracy is assessed into three segments viz: pre-election (assessment of
candidates‘ credentials of competence and therefore the viability of their manifestos);
during election (exercising franchise in civilized, free and patriotic manner); post-
election (holding leaders accountable and duty sure to discharge their constitutional
responsibilities and to fulfill campaign promises).

 Citizen control of the agenda: The democracy, and only the democracy, decides
what matters are placed on the decision-making agenda and the way they're placed
there. Thus, the democratic process is ―open‖ within the sense that the democracy can
change the policies of the association at any time.

 Inclusion: Each and each member of the democracy is entitled to participate within
the association within the ways just described.
  Fundamental rights: Each of the required features of ideal democracy prescribes a
right that's itself a necessary feature of ideal democracy: thus every member of the
democracy features a right to speak with others, a right to possess his voted counted
equally with the votes of others, a right to collect information, a right to participate on
an equal footing with other members, and a right, with other members, to exercise
control of the agenda. Democracy, therefore, consists of quite just political processes;
it's also necessarily a system of fundamental rights.

The Fundamental Rights are named so because they're protected and guaranteed by
the Constitution, which is that the organic law of India. The elemental Rights are
included partially III of the Indian Constitution from Articles 12 to Article 35. All the
elemental Rights within the Indian Constitution are taken from or inspired from the
Constitution of the USA i.e., Bill of Rights. Part III is additionally described because
the Magna Carta of India. It carries a really comprehensive and long list of
‗justiciable‘ Fundamental Rights.

Originally, the Indian Constitution provided 7 Fundamental Rights which has now been
revised to 6 Fundamental Rights which are as follow-:

1. Right to equality (Articles 14–18)

2. Right to freedom (Articles 19–22)

3. Right against exploitation (Articles 23–24)

4. Right to freedom of religion (Articles 25–28)

5. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29–30)

6. Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32)

The right to property was deleted from the list of Fundamental Rights by the 44th
Constitutional Amendment Act of 1978 and made a legal right under Article 300-A in Part
XII of the ConstitutionIndian Constitution.
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Democracy, as a practical concept, has emerged as a widely recognized and applauded

political structure. The government of any region can be categorized as democratic if it
fulfills the essentials of a Democracy.

The concept of democracy has emerged as a result of a gradual change within the principles
that govern the distribution of power within the society.

It should be understood that while the principle of participation publicly life has relevancy
and desirable, it's not necessarily essential to democracy. In many instances voters are largely
uninformed about many political issues and should have biases on certain others. as an
example , a particular group within the society may only be passionate and informed about
issues that directly relate to them and hence, they'll lobby for these issues while disregarding
the needs of the remainder of the population. Furthermore, voters might not be educated
enough then could also be incapable of creating beneficial decisions or fully understanding
the impacts of their decisions. When this happens, they'll be taken advantage of by politicians
who appeal to their emotions rather than their intellect. Post reinforces this argument by
stating that while participation may be a necessary condition for this identification, it's not a
sufficient condition. Realistically, there'll always be people that feel destitute, marginalized,
stigmatized, and subordinated. However, democracy ensures that citizens are nonetheless
liberal to engage publicly discourse.

Ultimately, the essence of this project brings the understanding that democracy in any society
is significant for people to take care of identification with their governments.
 WORK CITED

1. Dahl, Robert A. ―A Democratic Dilemma: System Effectiveness versus Citizen

Participation.‖ Political Science Quarterly 109, no. 1 (1994): 23–34.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2151659.
2. Wikipedia contributors. (2022, February 18). Democracy. In Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:40, February 18, 2022,
from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracy&oldid=1072586320
3. Britannica : https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy/Features-of-ideal-democracy