Page 2 - Indian Democracy

Anatomy of a democratic coup

How did the Weimar Republic, Germany's first democracy, fall to the Nazis? Takeover reprises the dramatic six months before Hitler's rise

People have reposed faith in democratic system: PM Modi during Mann Ki Baat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said people had reposed their unwavering faith in the Constitution and the democratic system of the country by their participation in the 2024 general elections. The prime minister made the remarks in his Mann Ki Baat radio address, the first after the polls. The radio broadcast had had taken a break in February ahead of the general elections. "Today, I thank the countrymen for reposing their unwavering faith in our Constitution and the democratic system of the country," Modi said. He said the 2024 election was the biggest election in the world. "Such a big election has never taken place in any country in the world. More than 65 crore people voted in the election," the prime minister said. He congratulated the Election Commission and every person associated with the election process. During the radio address, the prime minister spoke of initiatives such as 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' launched on the World Environment Day to plant trees. "I am glad

'Constitutional Morality' essential to India's diversity: CJI Chandrachud

Espousing the importance of implementing Constitutional Morality' in Indian jurisprudence, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday insisted on the commitment of courts to ensure diversity, inclusion and tolerance. Speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day East Zone II Regional Conference of the National Judicial Academy, the CJI also focused on the importance of technological advancements in the justice delivery system. CJI Chandrachud elaborated on the notion of Constitutional Morality' as a restraining factor on the state that should derive from the Preambluar values of the Constitution. Underlining the country's federal structure that's marked by a great deal of diversity, the CJI focused on the role of judges in preserving the diversity of India. I am reticent when people call courts a temple of justice. Because that would mean the judges are deities which they are not. They are instead servers of the people, who deliver justice with compassion and empathy, CJ

Govt must focus on current issues: Oppn slams Modi over 'Emergency' remark

Opposition leaders hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "Emergency" remark on Monday, questioning his government's style of functioning and saying that it needs to focus on present issues. Addressing the media in the Parliament complex ahead of the start of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Modi mentioned that the anniversary of the Emergency falls on June 25 and termed it a black spot in India's parliamentary history when the Constitution was discarded and the country turned into a prison. Reacting to the remark, Mahua Moitra of the TMC said the BJP fell short of a majority in the election because the people of the country have realised that it is against the Constitution. "From 303, the BJP is down to 240, they are running a minority government. They kept saying '400-paar' but could not even get a simple majority. "The only reason is that the people of the country have understood that there is BJP on one side and the Constitution on the other. People have chose

People's blessing in elections a 'victory of democracy': PM Modi in Italy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted the recently-held Lok Sabha elections in his address at an outreach session of the G7 summit here and said the "blessings" that the people of India have given in the form of a historic win in the polls is a "victory of democracy". The prime minister in his speech also shared some figures to underline the mammoth scale of the world's largest democratic exercise in India which was held between April 19 and June 1 in seven phases. Votes were counted on June 4. Modi is in Italy to attend the 50th G7 Summit at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. He addressed an outreach session on artificial intelligence, energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean, alongside leaders from other countries, including Pope Francis. This is his first foreign visit after being sworn in as the prime minister of India for the third consecutive time after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's victory in the general elections. "The blessings

Voters proved West wrong about Indian democracy: Indian-American leader

Prominent Indian-American leader Jasdeep Singh Jassee said the recently concluded polls in India have not only highlighted the robust electoral process in the country but also sent a powerful message to the world about the resilience and vibrancy of its democracy. Despite a wave of scepticism from the Western media regarding the integrity of India's democratic processes, the results have decisively dispelled such doubts, Sikhs for America leader Jasdeep Singh Jassee told PTI in an interview. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to take oath for a third consecutive term, a first in over 60 years. Singh, who was in Punjab for two weeks during the general elections, said that the allegations appearing in the west of a compromised Election Commission and malfunctioning voting machines have been proven baseless, underscoring the legitimacy and fairness of the elections in the country. "The people of India, through their votes, have demonstrated that they prioritise the nation's overall .

US commends India's elections, refrains from commenting on results

The US on Tuesday praised India's parliamentary elections as the "largest exercise of democracy in history", while refraining from commenting on the outcomes of the polls. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller commended the Indian government and its voters for successfully completing the massive electoral process. "On behalf of the United States, we want to commend the government of India and voters there for successfully completing and participating in such a massive electoral undertaking, and we look forward to seeing final results," he stated during his daily news briefing. Miller emphasised the US stance on not commenting on electoral winners and losers worldwide. "I'm also not going to comment on winners and losers in elections as is our case around the world. What is important for us and what we have seen over the past six weeks is the largest exercise of democracy in history, as the Indian people came to the polls," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday

UN Chief congratulates India for engaging in massive democratic exercise

United N Secretary General Antonio Guterres has congratulated the people of India for engaging in the "massive exercise of democracy", his spokesperson said on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to lead the government for the third successive term following results of the 2024 general elections in the world's largest democracy. "We can't officially comment until all the voting, all the counting has been done. But we understand that the counting is still taking place. We hope to have a much more official statement once everything has been said and done, Florencia Soto Nio, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing in response to a question on the results of the Indian elections. "We of course want to congratulate the people of India for engaging in this massive exercise of democracy as they are the largest democratic elections in the world, she said. The BJP, whose candidates had contested in the name of Modi, won or was ahead in

An open record of dissent

This compendium is indeed a record of not one, but an entire series of revolutionary acts by a group who chose not to hang up their boots

Festival of democracy to be successful when it defeats dictators: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged people on Saturday to vote for change and asserted that the "festival of democracy" will be considered successful only when democratic powers defeat the dictatorial ones. He said the last phase of voting to save the Constitution and democracy was underway in the country and the INDIA bloc was fighting the dictatorial powers with courage. "The battle is now in its final phase. The public has stood firmly with us in every phase. After six phases, people want to see us win," Kharge said in a post on 'X'. The people want to see the Congress' guarantees fulfilled, he added. "This time the country has supported and sided with 'Yuva Nyay, Kisaan Nyay, Nari Nyay, Shramik Nyay and Hissedari Nyay. "This festival of democracy will be considered successful only when the democratic powers defeat the dictatorial powers," the Congress leader said. "Today, when you press the EVM button for 57 seats in 8 states and Union territories, think about the Pre

LS polls 2024: Democracy thrives when people are engaged says PM Modi

Union Home Minister also appealed to the voters to come out and vote against appeasement and corruption

Your one vote will protect democracy, Constitution: Priyanka to voters

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday urged people to cast their ballot in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls, stressing that their vote will free the country from inflation, unemployment and economic crisis. Voting is being held in 49 constituencies in six states and two union territories in the fifth phase, which will decide the electoral fate of several prominent leaders like former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah. In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "With your one vote, Rs 1 lakh will come into the account of a woman from every poor family annually, every citizen will get the facility of free treatment worth Rs 25 lakh, the youth will get 30 lakh government jobs, the youth will get apprenticeship worth (Rs) 1 lakh annually, and SC/ST/OBC will get proper participation." "Your one vote will protect democracy and the Constitution of the country," the ..

India among the few vibrant democracies across world, says White House

Applauding the people of India for exercising their right to vote, the White House on Friday said there are not too many more vibrant democracies in the world than India. Not too many more vibrant democracies in the world than India. And we applaud the Indian people for exercising, you know, their ability to vote, and to have a voice in their future government. And we wish them well throughout the process, of course, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters at a news conference here. Kirby was responding to a question on the ongoing Indian elections, wherein over 969 million people are exercising their right to franchise at one million polling stations to elect 545 members of parliament from thousands of candidates representing as many as 2,660 registered political parties. Responding to another question, Kirby said the India-US relationship has strengthened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular during the last three years of the Bide

Megalomania plus cult is dangerous

We box our leaders into a moral binary - all greatness or all sin. The reality is that it is a mix, and what you see is what you get

LS polls: PM Modi calls for 'democracy duty' as voting begins in Phase 4

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday morning expressed hope that people will vote in large numbers to strengthen democracy while Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged voters including those in Jammu and Kashmir to reach polling booths in record numbers as polling began for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.Taking to X, PM Modi said, "In today's 4th Phase of the Lok Sabha elections, 96 seats across 10 States and UTs are going to the polls. I am sure people in these constituencies will vote in large numbers and the young voters as well as women voters will power this surge in voting. Come, let's all do our duty and strengthen our democracy!"Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged voters including those in Jammu and Kashmir to reach polling booths in record numbers."In the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, I appeal to the voters of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir to reach polling booths in record numbers to form a government whose ...

Can a 1970s idea save democracy today?

Chandler deserves credit for refusing to relegate his book to the airy realm of wistful abstraction

US Ambassador Eric Garcetti dismisses concerns about democracy in India

The Biden administration's top diplomat in New Delhi on Thursday dismissed concerns being raised in certain quarters about democracy in India and observed that in many ways Indians are better that the Americans. At an event organised here by the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think-tank, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told the audience he was confident that "10 years from now India is going to be a vibrant democracy as it is today in terms of free and fair elections". "Again there's things that probably are worse and there's things that are better. They have a law, you can't go more than two kilometers to vote. So there'll be one guy who lives in the mountains as a monk (at) someplace. They will walk for two days to bring the voting machine, execute the vote," he said, responding to a question expressing concerns over the status of democracy in India. He said that during elections times in India, there are people who check trucks to make sure that nobody has cash

AI's capacity to damage democracy, elections may be hard to detect

Meta's WhatsApp makes it possible to scale communication thanks to its 'Channels' feature, which can broadcast to thousands

Those who talk about 'jihad' are tarnishing democracy: UP CM Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that those who talk about 'jihad' are tarnishing democracy and they should remember that India is the land of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna. Adityanath was addressing a public meeting in Farrukhabad in support of sitting BJP MP Mukesh Rajput, who is seeking re-election from the Lok Sabha constituency. His remarks came days after Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Maria Alam, the niece of senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, called for "vote jihad" in favour of Naval Kishore Shakya, the INDIA bloc candidate from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh. According to a statement issued by the BJP, Adityanath said the people of the SP and the Congress are trying to create divisions on religious lines. "This is a conspiracy to Islamise India. Under this, they talk about vote jihad. There is no jihad in voting, we have to vote for the strongest democracy in the world so that our rights are protected," he said. Addressing a public

Why India's voter turnout is low and improving it will be complicated

Its numbers trail those of several developing countries like Indonesia and Brazil