FAILURE OF DEMOCRACY IN INDIA

In Support:
My dear friends, I support this motion. In my view, democracy in our country has failed miserably! Why? Let me ask why not? The poor people in our country have no voice. Some basic rights like right to health, right to education are often denied. Poverty, illiteracy and so ignorance have kept a vast majority of people in the dark. So they are out of the path of development and of personal freedom. Most common people often fail to access the administration, police or judiciary. We are told, India is progressing, but the economic disparity is also rising in this country. Majority of our people cannot enjoy the fruit of democracy. Powerful and corrupt politicians control everything; they control even the education system which is the backbone of a country! As a common man, we often loss the faith in democracy when we see govt. officials accept bribes, police act in favour of some people and so on. There are some immense problems in our country - the social segregation, religious sentiments, conservative social outlook, our inferiority complex as a third world country etc. often act against the exercise of democracy. Democracy in this country is enjoyed by only a handful few! I think democracy in our country has taken a backseat!

Against:
My dear friends, I wish to speak against this motion. All of us know, India is the largest democracy in the world! It is not an easy task though, to maintain the path of democracy with the huge and diverse population! Our constitution is so powerful! The constitutional right gives all of us power to fight against corruptions and wrong doings by powerful people to maintain democracy! Imagine, there is this all powerful law of RTI (Right To Information act) by which we reserve the right to know everything the way our Govt. functions. We can ask questions. Actually, knowledge establishes democracy. Our freedom to speak, the freedom to exercise our basic rights is the signs that democracy exists here. Imagine, the smooth flow of information exchange through all kinds of social networks and internet. This is a clear sign that we enjoy democracy in our country. In recent times, we have seen how anti-Govt., anticorruption movements and protests against various wrong doings have gained importance. The freedom of press in our country is another important milestone towards democracy. The media enjoys the freedom to circulate any news to us without any prevention. This is certainly democracy! We can observe free and reasonably fair election by an independent Election Commission. This is very important! Our multi-party political system is definitely a great sign of democracy! Our judiciary is most of the time not influenced by the people in power! Anyone can approach the law of the land and can receive justice in due time. So, my dear friends, you understand, our democracy not only exists but it is gaining strength!

Abhijit Kar Gupta, Panskura Banamali College, kg.abhi@gmail.com