A question about Democracy in India

[livingdead]

It's good to have a choice, but too many choices can be problem. Don't have to be the US presidential system, the British two- party system would limit the number of cooks.

british dont have two party system

 

[Fattyacids]

british dont have two party system

Not presently, but traditionally two main party.

 

[mahesh.]

Is India a true democracy?

Yes. There is no rigging as far as I know in present day elections. Not even in village panchayat elections now a days.

Not presently, but traditionally two main party.

I think having just a two party will reduce any problems at all. Just people have to make sense while voting.

 

[Soumitra]

I specifically said 'unpopular govt.'- since that isn't the case right now

Ya this govt is Topping the popularity charts
1 Economy down the gutter
2 No Jobs
3 Rupee in a free fall without a parachute
4 Scam after scam competing with each other for more no. of zeros
5 Spending money like water on populist schemes in hope that people will make a mistake again and vote them back
6 Inflation eating away whatever savings the common man has
7 Govt eyeing temple gold to shore up its finances

You are right this is the most popular govt.

 

[Mritunjaya]

I always wondered, with Canada and US not having that many people and all.

What's the situation with protests and riots and stuff in India?

If China were to become democratic I want to know, the right to protest in a country as large as India and China would it work?

Is it manageable? Are there a lot of it? Even if there isn't a lot of it, when it does happen, does it disrupt daily life?

Would it cause Chaos?

US has 350 million people with more guns than people. Still it is largely "peaceful" (disregarding the gun culture and high level of paranoia) and does not have riots.

Protests and Riots are two different things.

1. Riots are largely a Urban phenomena, so yes as China get's more urbanized the fear of riots increases.

Regarding Riots, it is a collective burst of protest against injustice that keeps piling on without anyone noticing it or doing anything about it. The only way to counter that is to have a Strong, Efficient and Effective Judiciary that can actually deliver Justice.

Lack of Justice delivery is the largest contributer to Riots. So if China wishes to prevent Riots, then it has to ensure its Jusitice system is not broken, or if it is broken it needs to be fixed.

2. Protests are a normal and natural phenomena. It gets violent ONLY when all avenues of peaceful demonstration is blocked. As long as any govt. provides opportunities for protesters to protest peacefully in public it will not result in anything more drastic than affect public opinion. In China where modifying public opinion is one of the major duties of the govt. it can have a serious impact. The only way then to fix the problem is to slowly transition China into a more open society that will allow for protest and where govt. slowly withdraws from shaping public opinion.


In any case, Riots subside when the people have vented their frustration by damaging property or more serious violent actions. It is similar to a diffusing Rage by acting out your anger. e.g. hitting a pillow or shouting into a pillow etc.. No Riot can be sustained forever.....there is a natural barrier where people run out of steam.

 

[scorpionx]

@Genesis:

During the struggle of Indian Independence especially in the 30's,Indians under the leadership of M K Gandhi had developed an unique way of protesting against the oppressive policies of the totalitarian sub-militia regime of the British. The protesters,in most of the cases,adopting a peaceful gesture violated the laws,while the police continued to beat them up with Steal clad wooden sticks.The protest,never crossing the barrier of patience and calmness continued until all of them bleed to severe injuries,death in some cases.But the protesters never hit back.

This method,we Indians have got from inheritance. Although the freedom struggle was not restricted to non violence during the period of partition but today in modern India,the protests against government's policy can be believed to be influenced by the non violence methods we adopted during those days of freedom movement. If you have noticed,there is a striking dissimilarity between the protests we observe in present day South America or Japan for example and that of India.

So,in Indian Democracy today,the method of protest we adopt is mostly peaceful and it turns violent in the most extreme and rare cases.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Ya this govt is Topping the popularity charts
1 Economy down the gutter
2 No Jobs
3 Rupee in a free fall without a parachute
4 Scam after scam competing with each other for more no. of zeros
5 Spending money like water on populist schemes in hope that people will make a mistake again and vote them back
6 Inflation eating away whatever savings the common man has
7 Govt eyeing temple gold to shore up its financess

You are right this is the most popular govt.

Win elections or stay quiet

 

[Fireurimagination]

Win elections or stay quiet

If a party wins elections it's doesn't mean that it has got a licence for the next 5 years to loot and plunder the country

 

[GR!FF!N]

It's good to have a choice, but too many choices can be problem. Don't have to be the US presidential system, the British two- party system would limit the number of cooks.

we barely restrict our citizens to some degree of freedom..in our country,party means ideas..now,every party has different agenda and different domains..anybody can stand as leader and citizens can choose him via vote..see,thats doesn't force him to join any of the tow camps..he can make camp of his own,different from others..it might be messy(in your eye),but its necessary...

 

[AfsarHamesha]

you should have asked him why he thinks so.. we got democratic institutions in place...

Really? Then what's with all the "khap" panchayats, socially-sanctioned honor killings (panchayat officials are "elected" fyi), institutionalized caste discrimination, widespread use of bonded labor (in many states including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, AP), child labor (children denied education so they can work in tea stalls and brick factories).

All these are signs of a third-world feudal society stuck in a 16th century mindset, can you honestly call it a democracy?

regular elections.. govt listens to people and opposition ...

Any novice would tell you how easy it is to manipulate elections in India, especially if you're a ruling party. Most political parties hire hoodlums to influence/scare people to vote for men of their choice. Then there are caste and religion-based vote blocs which is a shame in the name of democracy.

From the government to opposition, all Indian political parties are corrupt to the core. There isn't a single honest leader in your entire parliament. In fact, quite a good number of your parliamentarians and MLAs have criminal records including rape, murder, kidnapping, robbery.

Government and opposition is hand in glove to partake of corruption benefits.

a functioning judiciary and independent election commission...
what is missing?]

Two million pending cases...no respect for copyright law, many respectable Indian companies openly flout patent protections endorsed by Western governments....judicial killings.....police torture.....rapists running amok with no fear of punishment.

Has a single Indian politician ever been sentenced for their crimes?

Let's face it, you don't have a functioning judicial system in India.....just a bunch of kangaroo courts that call themselves the law.

 

[livingdead]

Really? Then what's with all the "khap" panchayats, socially-sanctioned honor killings (panchayat officials are "elected" fyi), institutionalized caste discrimination, widespread use of bonded labor (in many states including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, AP), child labor (children denied education so they can work in tea stalls and brick factories).

All these are signs of a third-world feudal society stuck in a 16th century mindset, can you honestly call it a democracy?



Any novice would tell you how easy it is to manipulate elections in India, especially if you're a ruling party. Most political parties hire hoodlums to influence/scare people to vote for men of their choice. Then there are caste and religion-based vote blocs which is a shame in the name of democracy.

From the government to opposition, all Indian political parties are corrupt to the core. There isn't a single honest leader in your entire parliament. In fact, quite a good number of your parliamentarians and MLAs have criminal records including rape, murder, kidnapping, robbery.

Government and opposition is hand in glove to partake of corruption benefits.





Two million pending cases...no respect for copyright law, many respectable Indian companies openly flout patent protections endorsed by Western governments....judicial killings.....police torture.....rapists running amok with no fear of punishment.

Has a single Indian politician ever been sentenced for their crimes?

Let's face it, you don't have a functioning judicial system in India.....just a bunch of kangaroo courts that call themselves the law.

1. khap panchayats are not elected. They are found in only one state called haryana.
2. Vote rigging is a thing of the past, even then large scale rigging was always difficult hence power switched hands many times. Currently people(psephologists) can even predict how many seats will be won by which party with quite great accuracy, that wont be possible if vote rigging/booth capturing is taken into account. It happens here and there, but large size of people in constituencies works against that.
3. Indian judiciary might be called slow but hardly kangaroo courts. You will rarely see a case where a person convicted due to grudge of ruler or govt. The very fact that courts adhere to 'innoncent till prove guilty' and judicial independence make them a judiciary as good as any. The lack of conviction should be blamed on police/investigative agency.