The Conditions Essential for the Success of Democracy

An independent judiciary, able to hold the government to the law and to protect rights against a majority.

An independent election commission, since the body that conducts the election decides in practice who may compete. Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission, and chapter 900's State Election Commissions perform the same function for local bodies.

Freedom of speech, press and association, without which the voter cannot know and the opposition cannot organise.

The rule of law, so that power is exercised through known general rules applied by independent courts, which is chapter 190's legal rational authority in constitutional form.

An organised opposition, ready to take office. Where there is no alternative, an election offers no choice.

A neutral administration and armed forces, serving whichever government is elected.

Effective local government, which is where most citizens actually encounter public power and where participation is possible, and which is chapters 900 to 920.

A federal or decentralised structure, in a large and diverse country, so that defeat at the centre is not total exclusion.

Which conditions carry the rest

An answer that ranks is much stronger than one that lists, and two conditions do most of the work.

The acceptance of defeat. Every institution above can exist on paper and fail if those who lose an election will not hand over. Conversely, where losers concede, a great deal else can be repaired.

Independent institutions with the power to say no. Elections alone do not make a democracy, because a government that controls the courts, the election commission and the press can win elections indefinitely. The condition is not that these institutions exist but that they are able to rule against the government of the day and be obeyed.

And the two are connected. Independent institutions are what make defeat survivable, because a party out of office retains its rights, its property and its liberty, and can expect to compete again. Where losing office means prosecution and ruin, nobody concedes.

Testing the conditions against India

MU's question is about success, so the honest thing is to test the list against the case the student lives in.

What India had, at the outset, that helped. A constitution with enforceable rights and an independent judiciary; a national movement that had accustomed a large population to organised political activity; and a leadership committed to constitutional methods.

What India lacked. Literacy, prosperity, and any historical experience of universal franchise.

What happened. Elections have been held at regular intervals for over seventy years; governments have been defeated and have handed over, at the Union and in the States, repeatedly; the franchise has been extended in practice as much as in law, with turnout among poorer voters frequently exceeding that among the well off; and social groups excluded for centuries have obtained office.

Where the conditions have been under strain. The Emergency, when elections were postponed and rights suspended, which is chapter 850's material; the criminalisation of politics and the influence of money, which is chapter 840; and pressure on independent institutions, which is chapter 860.

The conclusion an answer should reach. The Indian experience shows that literacy and prosperity are not preconditions, and that acceptance of defeat and institutional independence are. That is a real contribution to the theory and not merely a national observation.

A worked example

Two countries hold elections on the same day. Both have universal suffrage, secret ballots, several parties and a written constitution.

In the first, the governing party loses, concedes within a day, and hands over. The former ministers become the opposition, retain their seats, criticise the new government in the House, and expect to contest again.

In the second, the governing party loses narrowly, alleges fraud, the election commission's members are its own appointees and decline to certify the result, the courts defer, and the outgoing ministers are told that prosecutions await them if they leave office.

The formal conditions are identical. Suffrage, ballot, parties, constitution.

What differs is the two that carry the rest. In the second country nobody can afford to lose, and the institutions that would have made losing survivable are not independent. The election is real and the democracy is not.

That is the answer to MU's question in one example: the conditions essential for the success of democracy are not the visible machinery but what makes the machinery's verdict acceptable to the side that loses.

Distinctions that carry marks

What this topic is NOT

It is not a list. Group the conditions, rank them, and test them, or the answer is a catalogue.

It is not the claim that poor countries cannot be democracies. India refutes it, and saying so is the most useful thing an Indian student can contribute here.

Elections are not sufficient. A government that controls the courts, the commission and the press can hold elections indefinitely and lose none.

And the conditions are not permanent achievements. They are maintained continuously or they decay, which is what chapter 840 is about.

Quick revision

1. Social: education; tolerance and acceptance of dissent; acceptance of the electoral verdict; a sense of common citizenship; participation.
2. Economic: security of subsistence; limitation of inequality, since political equality does not survive severe economic inequality.
3. Institutional: free and fair elections; an independent judiciary; an independent election commission under article 324; freedom of speech, press and association; the rule of law; an organised opposition; a neutral administration; effective local government; and decentralisation.
4. Two conditions carry the rest: the acceptance of defeat, and independent institutions able to rule against the government and be obeyed. They are connected, because independence is what makes defeat survivable.
5. The Indian test: literacy and prosperity are not preconditions, as India's adoption of universal adult franchise in a poor and largely illiterate society showed; acceptance of defeat and institutional independence are.
6. The conditions are maintained or they decay, which is chapter 840.

Test yourself

1. Group the conditions essential for the success of democracy. Social conditions: education sufficient to obtain and assess information, tolerance and acceptance of dissent, acceptance of the electoral verdict, a sense of common citizenship, and public participation. Economic conditions: security of subsistence, since a person whose livelihood is precarious cannot deliberate or risk offending a patron, and a limitation of inequality, since political equality does not survive severe economic inequality. Institutional conditions: free and fair elections at fixed intervals on universal adult franchise, an independent judiciary and election commission, freedom of speech, press and association, the rule of law, an organised opposition, a neutral administration, effective local government and decentralisation.

2. Which two conditions carry the rest, and why? The acceptance of defeat and the independence of institutions able to rule against the government and be obeyed. Every other condition can exist on paper and fail if those who lose an election will not hand over, and elections continue to be held in states where the government controls the courts, the commission and the press and therefore never loses. The two are connected: independent institutions are what make defeat survivable, since a party out of office keeps its rights, property and liberty and can expect to compete again, whereas where losing office means prosecution and ruin nobody concedes.

3. Are literacy and prosperity preconditions of democracy? No, and the Indian experience is the evidence. India adopted universal adult franchise at once, in a society that was poor and largely illiterate and had no prior experience of it, and elections have been held at regular intervals for over seventy years, governments have been defeated and have handed over repeatedly at the Union and in the States, turnout among poorer voters has frequently exceeded that among the well off, and groups excluded for centuries have obtained office. Literacy and prosperity make democracy easier; they are not conditions precedent, and an answer claiming otherwise must confront the Indian case.

4. Why is an organised opposition a condition and not a by-product? Because without an alternative ready to take office an election offers no choice, and the government's accountability becomes theoretical. An opposition performs three functions no other body performs: it scrutinises, forcing the government to explain; it presents an alternative programme, which is what makes the vote a decision rather than a ratification; and it stands ready to govern, which is what makes the threat of defeat real. Where the opposition is disorganised, prosecuted or absorbed, elections continue to be held and cease to decide anything.

5. How should the Indian experience be used in an answer on this topic? As a test of the list rather than as an illustration of it. India had a constitution with enforceable rights, an independent judiciary, a population accustomed to organised political activity by the national movement, and a leadership committed to constitutional methods; it lacked literacy, prosperity and any prior experience of universal franchise. The record of regular elections, repeated alternations of government, high participation among the poor and the entry into office of long excluded groups establishes which conditions are truly necessary. The strains, in the Emergency, in the criminalisation of politics and the influence of money, and in pressure on independent institutions, show which conditions must be continuously maintained.