The famous definition of democracy-A form of government by the people,for the people and of the people.This definition holds good even today,the only confusion is-Is it really a form of government for the people? This doubt needs a lot of analysis and therapy. It is true that of all the different forms of government, democracy is not the best but the most suitable form of governance by the government elected by the mandate of the common people.
Now,let us ask a question, can democracy be questioned?is it right to question the working of the democracy?
There are different groups of people who live in a democratic state and their needs ought to be divergent and sometimes conflicting too.Has democracy fulfilled the demands of all the people?
The adherents of democracy will surely say that the modern democracy need not any improvement and it's a fiasco to question the legacy and the workings of a democratic state.
But even the best needs improvement in order to become better than the previous.
Now,let us think about the people of a democratic state.They can be categorised as-
(1)Middle class or working class:They always think that there is not any scope for the improvement of democracy,they are the people who always think that there is always an excess democracy in our country.They are cynical of criticism and democratic means of resistance.For them nation ana government are the same.They take criticism of government as the criticism of nation.They hardly think beyond the norms set by the government according to it's vested interests.These people believes in the hegemony of leaders and the government They are the most powerful people and thus represents a particular ideology and are always close to any government as far as the matters of vote bank politics is concerned.
(2)The other class is the class of intelligensia and the intellectuals.For them there is always less democracy, they demands more and more privileges in a democracy. In nation like ours,a new sub class has emerged under this class,they are the group of liberals. Liberals are still a confused class,they see everything from the mirror of politics.They are hardly ready to accept the new ideas many times.They are always sceptic and cynical in approach towards the democracy.Robert Frost defined-Liberals as someone who would not take even his own side in an argument.They are just fond of raising questions without having a prior solution.But,they are the people who always try to make the workings of democracy more and more transparent. They act as pressure groups.
(3)The story and reality of the third class is most tragic and disappointing.They are the poor people who hardly know anything about democracy,government and democratic principles.It is where the democracy fails.The emancipation of this class is always a litmus test for democracy. Country like ours have a very large number of people belonging to this class. The democracy has become a burden for the poors whose festival they celebrate reluctantly at an interval of 5 years.What is the use of a democracy where the poorest remain poor as always?What is the use of a democracy which has failed to fulfill the needs of a large number of people? What is the dead ends of a democracy?
Indeed,every democracy has a last frontier beyond which it needs therapy,revolutionary changes and democratic reforms.In present world the scepticism of democracy is the scepticism of-too much bureaucracy, emergence of nepotism in politics,plutocracy and the crony capitalism, the attack of dissent, interference in food habits and the interference of too much vested ideas promoted by the existing governments.
But,it is still the most suitable form of governance by the elected government and there is always a scope for more democracy.
