November Activity – Time Travel with Indian Democracy – Teacher’s Section

Introduction

In simple words, democracy means rule of the people. US President Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as government of the people, by the people, and for the people. 

People are involved in decision-making at various levels of the government. At the ward/Gram Sabha level, people directly give their opinions to frame the policies at the local scale. However, at the state level and the national level, people participate in decision-making through elected representatives.

Democracy puts power in the hands of the citizens. In a democracy, people are supposed to be their own masters. Democracy, to put it simply, is a more civilised manner of fighting. It places more focus on discussion and persuasion rather than the use of armed forces. In a democracy, the ballot is more powerful than the bullet.

Gandhiji opined that India will achieve true independence, that is Swaraj, only when the concept of Gram Swaraj is engrained. Therefore, local government bodies like the Gram Sabhas should be empowered to take decisions and implement them.

Keywords: Democracy, ‘Time Travel’ note on Indian Democracy.

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