Seeing Dystopia in India’s democracy

Context: The state’s attachment to the procedures of democracy has not been matched by concern for a ful?lling life for Indians.

Democracy in India:

• Structural Form of Democracy: can be seen in the following features:

• A multi-party election system with universal suffrage (subject only to age restriction).
• An independent press and judiciary
• A guarantee of civil liberties justiciable in a court of law.

• Credit of world’s largest democracy.

 Issues with democracy in India

• Lost focus on the well-being of the people: People’s perception of well-being acts as an important parameter, which seems to be declining in the case of India.

• For, E.g. In the UN’s World Happiness Report for 2020, India is ranked 144 out of the 153 countries evaluated.
• While all the other democracies of western Europe are in the top 10 and the U.S is at close to 20.

• Lack of focus on capabilities development of citizens: 

• There is a lack of state’s intervention in developing capabilities facing various socio-economic issues for E.g. 

• A person born into poverty or a woman born into wealth but into a world with social sanction against education for women.
• Historically, the caste system in India had excluded a large section from education.
• While private initiative should not be de­legitimised, it has had only a limited impact on building capabilities in India as it has focused on those with the ability to pay.

• Low Human Development indicators: In 2019, India ranked 129th out of 189 countries, in the United Nations Human Development Index (- main elements: health & education).

• Neglect and Repression of Rights and Liberties:

• Freedom of speech had been restricted by the First Amendment to the Constitution and the Directive Principles that had enjoined upon the state to promote health and education had been all but forgotten.
• Inconsequential investments in health during COVID has led to the deaths of millions.
• Rising Dystopia: Declining trust between citizens and the state is being witnessed in the clashes between the two amid COVID.
• Dystopia was imagined as a place where the people experience great su?ering as they fend for themselves under the watchful eyes of an authoritarian state.