Democracy may be defined as the system of government in which the power of the nation is vested among the people, who either rule the nation directly or with the help of the institutions which are been elected freely. One of the largest democracy which has been popular in the world for its system of governance is India.

1. India: The largest Democracy of the world 1
India: The largest Democracy of the world
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2. India: The largest Democracy of the world 2
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................3
Why India is a Democratic nation?...............................................................................................................3
The system of Governance in India...............................................................................................................3
How India became the democratic country?................................................................................................4
Party System in India: ...................................................................................................................................4
Factors effecting the dominance of two party system:................................................................................5
Footfalls of Indian Democratic Governance System.....................................................................................5
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................................6
References ....................................................................................................................................................6

3. India: The largest Democracy of the world 3
Introduction
Democracy may be defined as the system of government in which the power of the nation is
vested among the people, who either rule the nation directly or with the help of the institutions
which are been elected freely. One of the largest democracy which has been popular in the world
for its system of governance is India.
Why India is a Democratic nation?
In India, the government is formed by the election of different representatives at a regular time
interval. These representatives, later forms the parliament legislation and forms the responsible
government. The democracy of India is for the people, by the people and of the people. The
participation of the people of the nation in the government is a difficult task, but, India has been
successfully maintaining its democracy.
The system of Governance in India
There are two forms of governance in a democratic country. One of these is unitary and another
one is federal. The system of governance which is followed in India is the federal government
and it is responsible for the parliaments and the government in the states which are elected and is
equally responsible for the creation of the legislative assemblies. In order to allocate the

4. India: The largest Democracy of the world 4
government, the people need to be educated in order to understand which representative would
be good for the nation (Jayal, 2007).
How India became the democratic country?
After attaining freedom in the year 1947 from the colonial rule of British Empire, India declared
itself as the democratic federal republic. The first democratic election were held in the year 1952.
The constitution was written and the laws were formed. The people of the nation were given the
power to form the assembly and the elections were held.
Party System in India:
In India a single party is elected for the time span of 5 years post which the elections are held in
the nation. However, since the start of the federal system, India has been showing the
characteristics of a two party system. These parties includes the United Progressive Alliance and
the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which are the two major players in the nation. Both
NDA and UPA consists of alliance of a number of smaller. In most of the elections UPA has
been victorious. Thus, India is a country where two parties has been dominant (Mendelsohn,
2007).

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Factors effecting the dominance of two party system:
1) The two parties which has dominated in India includes the members who have been involved
in the freedom struggle. Mahatma Gandhi, who formed the Indian National Congress party
during the time of independence and is the Father of the nation is a person who has led India to
freedom. As a result of the same, the people trusted these leaders and UPA emerged as the most
successful party in India.
2) In order to build a successful nation it is important that a strong party should turn up. In India,
both the parties were formed by the alliance of a number of small parties. Thus, these alliance
parties were much more powerful than other parties. This was the biggest reason for the success
of these parties in the nation (Rao & Venkateswarlu, 1987).
3) These parties concentrated of winning the people’s trust not only in the national level, but also
within the states. In the states, where the state legislative parties were very strong, these parties
formed alliances.
4) These parties produced a number of true and eminent leaders. Some of the major examples
includes, Indira Gandhi, Atal Vihari Vajpayee who have given their entire life for the nation.
Footfalls of Indian Democratic Governance System
India is a country where the powers are in the hands of the people. Thus the people has the right
to give the vote. But, the system of election in India is taken as a festival. For a large number of
people, particularly the ones which includes village population, the people do not understand the
importance of voting (Mahajan, 1998). A number of problems such as illiteracy and poverty has
been existing in India. Due to these problems, the people are unable to cast their vote in a proper

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manner. The advantage of the same is taken by the ambitious people who motivate these people
for false promises to win elections. Thus, Indian democratic system has failed for a number of
things.
Conclusion
India is a large country and the largest democracy of the world. Though, it is tough to maintain
such a democracy, but, India has been successful in the maintenance of the same. Though, there
are a number of problems in the System of Governance in India, but, it has continued to thrive in
a peaceful and successful manner. In this, essay, the type of governance, the democracy and the
factors leading to the party system in India has been discussed.
References
Jayal, N. G. (2007). Democracy in India. OUP Catalogue.
Mendelsohn, O. (1993). Democracy in India. Asian Studies Review, 17(1), 43-50.
Rao, V. B., & Venkateswarlu, B. (1987). Parliamentary Democracy in India. Mittal Publications.
Mahajan, G. (1998). Identities and rights: Aspects of liberal democracy in India. Oxford
University Press, USA.