CAN INDIAN DEMOCRACY COIN INTO MAJORITY DICTATORSHIP?

CAN INDIAN DEMOCRACY COIN INTO MAJORITY DICTATORSHIP?

Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy. In other words, the most exasperated form of despotism and slavery evolves from most extreme liberty.

Before pondering upon certain conditions and constraints that have potential to change democracy into dictatorship, we must get deep understanding and insight into these two menacing terms.

DEMOCRACY Vs. DICTATORSHIP-

 

DEMOCRACY	DICTATORSHIP
·       The leader of party with majority of voted from people is in control	A leader is in full control over a party and the country
·       Political power is secured by winning a fair election	Government firmly controls all the facets of the state.
·       The government prioritize the rights of an individual	The government highly disregards the rights of an individual.
The party in control can even criticize government actions.	The party in control doesn’t permit any of the elections and oppositions
·      The government has less control over the people and their leisure activities	The government is in control of every element of the lives of people.
·     Examples- India, the United States are some of the contemporary examples where people of the country have political freedom and equality	Examples- Burundi, North Korea, Equatorial Guinea are some of the contemporary examples where the country is in control of a dictator

POTENTIALITY OF DICTATORSHIP TO EMERGE IN DEMOCRACY-

There arises a the vital question as to whether the most aggravated form of absolutism, that is, ‘Dictatorship’ can be evolved in a democracy? Can dictators be empowered in a democratic form of government?

Dictatorship is the most unforeseen form of government that has arisen among educated and cultural people. Let us understand this with the help of a popular example of Germany which is one of the most considerable cases.

Germany was considered to have one of the eminent and best educational systems in the world that can immunize people from ‘barbarism’. However, after World War I, the prosperity of education soared and there occurred some German anti- Semitic Agitation during the late 19^th century. Then why highly educated Germans embraced a lunatic like ‘Hitler’? The vague and bad policies caused economic and political crises and the circumstances in German changed for the worse. The German government led their people to believe that we're winning in World War I but they were denied the true fact that they were losing. The Germans felt betrayed and as a result of this, the most bitter democracy of Germany was discredited.

Therefore, Hitler became the National Socialist German Worker’s Party and started ruling the country and gained steadfast control over the people and the ‘dictatorship’ came into the play.

Hence, the dictator can come to power in democratic form of government.

RECENT INCIDENT THAT HAS POTENTIAL TO CONVERT DEMOCRACY INTO DICTATORSHIP-

It is to note that crises incidents have potential and capacity to turn democracy into dictatorship!

United States Fruitless Democratic Government to Change into Dictatorship?

In times of COVID-19, there arose a crucial question on Donald Trump’s Government, that on what basis majority of working-class voters chose a self-centered, bragging, peevish and untruthful president? If the government itself is selfish and disregards the safety and protection of people of the country, then there are changes in the conversion of democratic government to dictatorship. If we look upon such a situation and analyze the same, we can draw upon the following factors that could convert any democratic form of government into a dictatorship-

·       If labor unions are destroyed, people would be left with no way to bargain for their wages

·       If education the system is undercut or undermined, people would think less for themselves

·       People would become ironic and contemptuous about democracy

·       People if become economically insecure and anxious, then this may convince people that all they need is a strong and brawny man that can fix everything right to its place

CAN INDIAN DEMOCRACY TURN INTO MAJORITY DICTATORSHIP?

 

The threatening crises have capacity and potential that may turn Indian Democracy into the vex form of tyranny, that is, Dictatorship. The three pillars of Indian Democracy which are-

Ø  LEGISLATURE

Ø  EXECUTIVE

Ø  JUDICIARY

safeguards the legality of the country. Further, Narendra Modi’s Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) secured political power thereby giving birth to questions about the future of the world’s largest democracy. This is because; it is believed that BJP is systematically compressing the voice of Indian Citizens by undermining democratic institutions.

Recently, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi compared Narendra Modi to Adolf Hitler and told that if anybody questions Modi would be considered as anti-national.

However, Modi’s political achievement and willingness to reshape and put India at the forefront in every facet within the developing spectrum raised a question as to whether Modi is a dictator and our Democracy is weakening? Therefore, the answer is totally objective and depends on our definition of dictatorship.

I understand that if people trust each other and distrust their leader, it is a democratic form of government. But if people distrust each other and highly trust their leader, it is a dictatorship.

The possible crisis incidents, cognitive changes, perceived threats or civic engagement can turn World’s largest democracy into a majority dictatorship. Another factor could be cult of personality. How? The policies and beliefs of Modi’s government to foster religious identity and cultural tribalism often raise doubt about his authoritarianism.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, I feel that there are chances that our Indian Democracy can coin into majority dictatorship and there may be a danger to conducting elections in future and elections becoming a mere ritual, because of the overreaching control of Modi’s government. Certainly, there are chances that during upheaval times, there prevails instability that paves a path for the dictator to rule the country.

GURNEET KAUR

BBA LLB (H)

ICFAI UNIVERSITY

DEHRADUN

Email ID- gurneetkaur53@gmail.com

 

Disclaimer: This article is the personal opinion of the author. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any Indian Government or any other Government of the world.