Question

Here are different opinions about what made India a democracy. How much importance would you give to each of these factors? a) Democracy in India is a gift of the British rulers. We received training to work with representative legislative institutions under the British rule. b) Freedom Struggle challenged the colonial exploitation and denial of different freedoms to Indians. Free India could not be anything but democratic. c) We were lucky to have leaders who had democratic convictions. The denial of democracy in several other newly independent countries shows the important role of these leaders.

Answer 1

Answers:

a) Democracy in India is a gift of the British rulers. We received training to work with representative legislative institutions under the British rule.

Answer:

• It is far fetched to say that British rulers gifted democracy to India. Indian freedom fighters had to fight for freedom. Freedom is the most essential prerequisite to have complete democracy in a country. Under British rulers, Indians did not have freedom.
• Voting rights were given only to a few people under the British rule.
• Very weak legislatures were introduced by the colonial British Government.
• However, to help develop a consensus over the institutional design, the political institutions which existed during colonial rule helped in familiarizing with political institutions.
• All over British India, in 1937, elections were conducted for Ministries and Provincial Legislatures.
• These Governments were not completely democratic.
• Indians found that the experience that was gained out of working in legislative institutions during colonial rule, did help Indians while working and setting up their own institutions in independent India.
• Hence, the Government of India Act of 1935 provided many procedures and details which were adopted in Indian Constitution.
• It must be noted that this experience was obtained after too many struggles of our leaders and it was never gifted by the British government.
• It must also be noted that many of our leaders were inspired by the Bill of Rights in the United States of America (USA), the ideals of French Revolution, the socialist revolution of Russia – which inspired a system of economic and social equality and also the parliamentary system of democracy practiced in Britain.
• All these were not simply imitated by the leaders who framed our constitution.
• It was debated at every step whether it is applicable to our country and citizens.
• Yet they were not simply imitating what others had done. At each step they were questioning whether these things suited our country.
• The draft constitution was prepared for discussion.
• Clause by clause there was discussion on the draft constitution.
• The number of amendments that were considered was more than two thousand.
• Spread over three years, the members of the constituent assembly debated for 114 days.
• All these efforts led to the creation of the Constitution of India, which is the foundation of democracy in India, and it was in no way gifted by the British government.

b) Freedom Struggle challenged the colonial exploitation and denial of different freedoms to Indians. Free India could not be anything but democratic.

• Indian constitution was the focus in the resolution of the Indian National Congress in the Karachi session which was held in 1931.
• It was committed to include protection of rights to minorities, right to equality and freedom, inclusion of universal adult franchise in the Constitution of India.
• Hence, even before the constituent assembly met to discuss the constitution, the basic values mentioned above were already agreed upon by all the leaders.
• The foundation of Indian democracy is its constitution, which nurtured the values that guided and inspired the freedom struggle.
• Indian Constitution has a Preamble which embeds these values.
• The draft constitution was prepared for discussion.
• Clause by clause there was discussion on the draft constitution.
• The number of amendments that were considered was more than two thousand.
• Spread over three years, the members of the constituent assembly debated for 114 days.
• All the articles in the Indian Constitution are guided by the Preamble of the Constitution.
• Changes in the society and the aspirations of the people were considered by the leaders who crafted the Constitution of India.
• To accommodate the changes that come with time, makers of Indian constitution made sure that the constitution could be altered and should not remain static, as this will help in meeting the needs of people in future.
• The Indian Constitution lays down clear procedures for choosing people that can govern India, and there is clear demarcation of powers between different institutions of democracy.
• It lays strong emphasis on protecting the fundamental rights of citizens of India.
• All these were envisaged by the creators of Indian Constitution as they learnt through the experiences of exploitation that people had to undergo under the colonial rule.

c) We were lucky to have leaders who had democratic convictions. The denial of democracy in several other newly independent countries shows the important role of these leaders.

• India did not have to create a consensus about what Indian democracy should look like, this situation was not the same in other countries.
• This agreement on democracy kept evolving right during the course of our freedom struggle.
• Our freedom struggle was not just a fight against colonial rule, but also a fight to transform the politics and society, and rejuvenate India.
• The basic idea was accepted by everyone, although there were wide differences within the freedom struggle on the path India should follow after independence.
• A constitution of India was drafted way back in 1928, by Motilal Nehru and Congress leaders.
• Indian constitution was the focus in the resolution of the Indian National Congress in the Karachi session which was held in 1931.
• It was committed to include protection of rights to minorities, right to equality and freedom, inclusion of universal adult franchise in the Constitution of India.
• Hence, even before the constituent assembly met to discuss the constitution, the basic values mentioned above were already agreed upon by all the leaders.
• India did not look as secure as it is today, when the constitution was being framed by our leaders. There were anxieties.
• Yet, the democratic convictions of our leaders helped India to be a successful democratic nation.