Let us take a glimpse

on…..

Democracy
and
Constitution
After the end of colonial rule in different parts
of the world during the first half of the 20th
century, the newly independent nations opted
for a form of government wherein people
themselves would elect their leaders and be at
the helm of decision making. As a result,
democracy emerged as the most popular form
of government in the nations.
The preference for democracy received a
boost in the early 1970, when a wave of
political changes swept across the world,
making a transition from totalitarianism,
monarchy, dictatorship and other non-
democratic forms of government through
democracy.

Let us at first, throw some light about the

different challenges faced by countries
during the era of democratisation.
Chile, a Latin American country, attained independence from the
colonial rule of Spain in 1918. For over 150 years following its
independence, Chile was ruled by oligarchs, dictators and
authoritarian leaders. After 1970, Salvador Allende, as the
President, adopted a socialist path to bring about socialist changes
required for the all-round development of the country. He attached
priority to taking welfare measures that would benefit the poor and
prevent their exploitation before the privileged sections. Allende’s
pro-poor policies were opposed by landlords, corporate and clergy.
A military coup was led by General Augusto Pinochet, in which
Allende was killed. Pinochet rules Chile for almost 18 years in
autocratic style. Finally democracy returned to Chile when Michelle
Bachelet was elected as President.
In the 1980s, Poland was ruled by the Polish United Workers’ Party. This was a
Communist party. The government of the Soviet Union controlled the government in
Poland. People were put in prison for opposing the government. Independent Trade
Unions were not allowed in Poland. On 14 August 1980, the workers of Lenin Shipyard,
in Gdansk, went on a strike. This shipyard belonged to the Government and strikes were
illegal. The strike started because a women crane operator was dismissed from service
in an unjust manner. Soon Lech Walesa, joined the strike. The strike began to spread
across the whole city. The workers started raising greater demands. They wanted the
right to form independent trade unions, release of political prisoners and also an end
to censorship of the press. An independent trade union “Solidarity” was formed.
However, it brought to light the widespread corruption and mismanagement in the
government. The Polish government was not happy with this. In the year 1981, the
government imposed martial law in the country. Thousands of Solidarity members were
jailed. Freedom to organise, protest and express opinions was once again taken away
from the people.
Democracy in different dimensions

“Democracy is a government of the people, by the people, and for the

people.“-------------- Abraham Lincoln
 “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are
prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is
education.”----------Franklin D. Roosevelt
 “Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the
rulers”--------------Aristotle
 “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they
want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”-------------H.L. Mencken
The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by
abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.--------- Mahatma Gandhi
 “A healthy democracy requires a decent society; it requires that we are
honourable, generous, tolerant and respectful.-----------Charles W
Pickering
Five Major Principles of Democracy

 Democracy is a form of government in which rulers

are elected by the people and these rulers have the right
to take the final decisions on behalf of the people.

 A democracy must be based on free and fair election

where those currently in power have a fair chance of
losing.

 In a democracy, each adult citizen has one vote and

each vote must have one value.

 A democratic government rules within limits set by

the constitution.
 A democratic government is a better government because it is a
more accountable form of government.
 Democracy improves the quality of decision making
 Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts.
It is suitable the countries like India. India having diversity of
language, religion and cultures. Democracy in India made it possible
to keep unity in diversity. In a democracy no one is a permanent
winner or loser.
 Democracy is better than other forms of government because it
allows us to correct its own mistakes.
 Democracy enhances the dignity of citizens, because it is based on
the principle of political equality, on recognizing that the poorest and
least educated have the same status as the rich and the educated.
 Leaders keep on changing in a democracy. This leads to
instability.
Democracy is all about political competition and power
play. There is no scope for morality.
Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the
people. It leads to bad decisions.
Democracy leads to corruption for it is based on
electoral competition.
Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them; they
should not decide anything.
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles
or established precedents according to which a
state or other organization is governed. These
rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the
entity is. When these principles are written
down into a single document or set of legal
documents, those documents may be said to
embody a written constitution; if they are
written down in a single comprehensive
document, it is said to embody a codified
constitution. Some constitutions are uncodified,
but written in numerous fundamental Acts of a
legislature, court cases or treaties.
1. A Constitution generates a degree of trust and coordination
that is necessary for different kind of people to live together.
2. A Constitution specifies how the government will be
constituted, who will have power to take which decisions.
3. A Constitution lays down limits on the powers of the
government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are.
4. A Constitution expresses the aspirations of the people about
creating a good society.
5. All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily
democratic. But all countries that are democratic will have
constitutions.
 The Indian
Constitution

Let us know about the emergence and the

salient features of Indian Constitution.
Emergence of Indian Constitution

In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India with the following features -
universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equality and to protecting the rights of minorities. In 1931, the
resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s constitution
should look like with the following features - universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equality and to
protecting the rights of minorities. The experience gained by Indians in the working of the legislative institutions of
the colonial period proved to be very useful for the country in setting up its own institutions. Indian constitution
adopted many institutional details and procedures from colonial laws like the Government of India Act 1935. Our
leaders gained confidence to learn from other countries, but on our own terms. Many of our leaders were inspired by
the ideals of French Revolution, the practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain, the Bill of Rights in the US and the
socialist revolution in Russia. At that time the people of India were emerging from the status of subjects to that of
citizens. The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences. This was a traumatic
experience for the people of India. At least ten lakh people were killed on both sides of the border in partition related
violence. The British had left it to the rulers of the princely states to decide whether they wanted to merge with India
or with Pakistan or remain independent. The merger of these princely states was a difficult and uncertain task. The
drafting of the document called the constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives called the
Constituent Assembly. Election to the Constituent Assembly was held in July 1946. The Constituent Assembly that
wrote the Indian constitution had 299 members. Its first meeting was held in December 1946. The Constituent
Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner. First some basic principles were decided and agreed
upon. Then a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar prepared a draft constitution for discussion. Several
rounds of thorough discussion took place on the Draft Constitution, clause by clause. More than two thousand
amendments were considered. The members deliberated for 114 days spread over three years. The Assembly adopted
the Constitution on 26 November 1949 but it came into effect on January 26, 1950. To mark this day we celebrate
January 26 as Republic Day every year.
The preamble to the Constitution of
India is a brief introductory
statement that sets out guiding
people and principles of the
document, and it indicates the
source from which the ordinary
document derives its authority,
meaning, the people. The hopes and
aspirations of the people as well as
the ideals before our nation are
described in the preamble in clear
words. It may be considered as the
heart and soul of Constitution. The
preamble can be referred to as the
preface which highlights the entire
Constitution. It was adopted on 26
November 1949 by the Constituent
Assembly and came into effect on
26th January 1950.
The journey through democracy is
a large one, but this presentation
has tried to cover up the basic
aspects of democratization era.
Hope you all have liked the
presentation.

A 10-7 & 10-8 duo

presentation.