Diverse Democracies

Indian democracy goes the way of the Lincoln principle of “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” 

But do you think this is how you see or experience democracy?

We may be the people who do not know the value of democracy, or we may be the people who choose to live discreetly under power, or are we the people who are claiming our rights?

Democracy does not happen so easily. People’s interaction and involvement are necessary to maintain it. We often hear people complain that our democracy is diminishing, but the reality is that democracies have always had their flaws. Either we are ineligible for it, or we are underestimating it, and there is no democracy left in the world that is perfect or free of a need for improvement. There is a time for all kinds of systems of government, and democracy is no exception. Democracy and its purpose will change from time to time as the dynamics of the country, region, and world change.

Indian democracy has reached a dead end. Democracies worldwide have their own stories. Democracy should continuously evolve. It is essential to identify the problems, propose solutions, and put them into practice to ensure that democracy survives until a new system arrives. And a new system is supposed to gradually replace democracy to meet the needs of a growing population and changing times.

We frequently complain that leaders are more corrupt than ever, that democracy is failing, and that corruption is everywhere. But these are not reasons to give away democracy for an alternate system.

Especially in India, there is a lot of corruption, and when there is no intervention by the people, it will increase, and despite efforts to fight it, it keeps getting worse. The issue exists as a result of influential people and groups abusing the system for their advantage. However, that does not imply that we abandon democracy as a system.

We thus have an unquestionable problem, and most of the time, we just survive and don’t complain. Every day, there are a variety of significant changes that affect us as humans. To meet the new challenges of modernity, our leaders and rulers are changing and evolving just like we, the common people. Democracies too must adapt to this shifting environment to survive.

There once was a time when moral leaders or someone with moral policies or principles guided the nation, but that was then, and this is now.

Today, we can see that neither ideology nor policy exists. Or we can say more policies are made against people. However, a lot of leaders are more concerned with garnering and showing off their wealth, power, and personal style, as well as the number of vehicles and residences they own, than with actually serving their people.

It wasn’t like that in earlier times. Leaders had a much stronger focus on providing for their people and implementing policies for a better society. Increasing one’s wealth was viewed as a crime. Things have changed now, and likewise, people have changed significantly.

The issue is with us. We, the democratic citizens, are receiving what we deserve because of our actions. We create our own identities and are more focused on living a shining life, utilizing social media as much as possible, and updating our lifestyle every day, and that’s the same with our leaders too.

We are supposed to consider who we are and what we deserve before complaining about our leaders today. They evolve alongside us, as we evolve. We offer them a bribe, and they accept it. If people don’t pay bribes to the leaders, they will be forced to stop taking bribes.

They construct additional roads in response to our demands in the name of development. However, making too many roads has created a significant problem for our future without us realizing the dangers and issues this can cause.

Simply put, we show a herd mentality, calling for more construction and roads—the so-called infrastructure development. We are only concentrating on better things and a better way of life. Our leaders are therefore putting an increased emphasis on fostering our progress through development.

Earlier, the most well-known leader was the one who had the greatest degree of support from the general public, but as society advanced, so did our understanding of what makes a good leader. Today, a leader is someone who lacks positive public support and receives mass support from his own party, which he either created or placed loyalists in many positions. The person who the public despises the most is regarded as a popular leader.

Democracy is affected by a leader’s success or failure and by the results they produce. Whether these results are positive or negative does not matter now. As democracy evolves, the problem of corruption also increases in some countries. That renders a devastating effect on society as a whole.

From a wider perspective, we will see nothing wrong with how our lives shape under these leaders in the so-called democracy. At the same time, the average person would believe that complaining about anyone is pointless. And as generation after generation slips into their comfort zones, democracy will completely change its course and simply be of the leaders, by the leaders, and for the leaders.