Our Country REPUBLIC OF INDIA: CELEBRATING62 YRS OF SUCCESSFUL YEARS OF DEMOCRACY............
History of India’s Democracy
A serious claim for early democratic institutions comes from the independent "republics" of India, sanghas and ganas, which existed as early as the sixth century BCE and persisted in some areas until the fourth century CE. The evidence is scattered and no pure historical source exists for that period. In addition, Diodorus (a Greek historian writing two centuries after the time of Alexander the Great's invasion of India), without offering any detail, mentions that independent and democratic states existed in India. However, modern scholars note that the word democracy at the third century BC and later had been degraded and could mean any autonomous state no matter how oligarchic it was.
The main characteristics of the gana seem to be a monarch, usually called raja and a deliberative assembly. The assembly met regularly in which at least in some states attendance was open to all free men, and discussed all major state decisions. It had also full financial, administrative, and judicial authority. Other officers, who are rarely mentioned, obeyed the decisions of the assembly. The monarch was elected by the gana and apparently he always belonged to a family of the noble K'satriya Varna. The monarch coordinated his activities with the assembly and in some states along with a council of other nobles. The Licchavis had a primary governing body of 7,077 rajas, the heads of the most important families. On the other hand, the Shakyas, the Gautama Buddha's people, had the assembly open to all men, rich and poor.
Scholars differ over how to describe these governments and the vague, sporadic quality of the evidence allows for wide disagreements. Some emphasize the central role of the assemblies and thus tout them as democracies; other scholars focus on the upper class domination of the leadership and possible control of the assembly and see an oligarchy or an aristocracy. Despite the obvious power of the assembly, it has not yet been established if the composition and participation was truly popular. The first main obstacle is the lack of evidence describing the popular power of the assembly. This is reflected in the Artha' shastra, an ancient handbook for monarchs on how to rule efficiently. It contains a chapter on dealing with the sangas, which includes injunctions on manipulating the noble leaders, yet it does not mention how to influence the mass of the citizens – a surprising omission if democratic bodies, not the aristocratic families, actively controlled the republican governments. Another issue is the persistence of the four-tiered Varna class system.The duties and privileges on the members of each particular caste – which were rigid enough to prohibit someone sharing a meal with those of another order – might have affected the role members were expected to play in the state, regardless of the formal institutions. The lack of the concept of citizen equality across caste system boundaries lead many scholars to believe that the true nature of ganas and sanghas would not be comparable to that of truly democratic institutions.
The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Manmahon Singh. Pratibha Patil is the current President and head of state. The President serves a five-year term; he or she appoints the Prime Minister.
The Indian Parliament or Sansad is made up of the 245-member Rajya Sabha or upper house and the 545-member Lok Sabha or lower house. The Rajya Sabha is elected by state legislatures for six-year terms, while the Lok Sabha is elected directly by the people to five-year terms.
The judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, High Courts that hear appeals, and many trial courts.
The people of India represent over 2,000 different ethno-linguistic groups. About 24% of the population belongs to one of the Scheduled Castes (the "untouchables") or Scheduled Tribes; these are historically discriminated-against groups given special recognition in the Indian Constitution.
Although the country has at least 35 cities with more than one million residents, the vast majority of Indians live in rural areas - some 72% of the total population.
The languages with the most native speakers are: Hindi, 422 million; Bengali, 83 million; Telugu, 74 million; Marthi, 72 million; and Tamil, 61 million.
The diversity of spoken languages is matched by a number of written scripts. Many are unique to India, although some northern Indian languages such as Urdu and Panjabi may be written in a form of Perso-Arabic script.
Currently, about 80% of the population is Hindu, 13% is Muslim, 2.3% Christian, 1.9% Sikh, and there are smaller populations of Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Jews and Jains.
Historically, two religious branches of thought developed in ancient India. The Shramana led to Buddhism and Jainism, while the Vedic tradition developed into Hinduism.
Modern India is a secular state, but religious tensions do flare from time to time, particularly between Hindus and Muslims or Hindus and Sikhs.
History of India’s Democracy
A serious claim for early democratic institutions comes from the independent "republics" of India, sanghas and ganas, which existed as early as the sixth century BCE and persisted in some areas until the fourth century CE. The evidence is scattered and no pure historical source exists for that period. In addition, Diodorus (a Greek historian writing two centuries after the time of Alexander the Great's invasion of India), without offering any detail, mentions that independent and democratic states existed in India. However, modern scholars note that the word democracy at the third century BC and later had been degraded and could mean any autonomous state no matter how oligarchic it was.
The main characteristics of the gana seem to be a monarch, usually called raja and a deliberative assembly. The assembly met regularly in which at least in some states attendance was open to all free men, and discussed all major state decisions. It had also full financial, administrative, and judicial authority. Other officers, who are rarely mentioned, obeyed the decisions of the assembly. The monarch was elected by the gana and apparently he always belonged to a family of the noble K'satriya Varna. The monarch coordinated his activities with the assembly and in some states along with a council of other nobles. The Licchavis had a primary governing body of 7,077 rajas, the heads of the most important families. On the other hand, the Shakyas, the Gautama Buddha's people, had the assembly open to all men, rich and poor.
Scholars differ over how to describe these governments and the vague, sporadic quality of the evidence allows for wide disagreements. Some emphasize the central role of the assemblies and thus tout them as democracies; other scholars focus on the upper class domination of the leadership and possible control of the assembly and see an oligarchy or an aristocracy. Despite the obvious power of the assembly, it has not yet been established if the composition and participation was truly popular. The first main obstacle is the lack of evidence describing the popular power of the assembly. This is reflected in the Artha' shastra, an ancient handbook for monarchs on how to rule efficiently. It contains a chapter on dealing with the sangas, which includes injunctions on manipulating the noble leaders, yet it does not mention how to influence the mass of the citizens – a surprising omission if democratic bodies, not the aristocratic families, actively controlled the republican governments. Another issue is the persistence of the four-tiered Varna class system.The duties and privileges on the members of each particular caste – which were rigid enough to prohibit someone sharing a meal with those of another order – might have affected the role members were expected to play in the state, regardless of the formal institutions. The lack of the concept of citizen equality across caste system boundaries lead many scholars to believe that the true nature of ganas and sanghas would not be comparable to that of truly democratic institutions.
India's Government:
India is a parliamentary democracy.The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Manmahon Singh. Pratibha Patil is the current President and head of state. The President serves a five-year term; he or she appoints the Prime Minister.
The Indian Parliament or Sansad is made up of the 245-member Rajya Sabha or upper house and the 545-member Lok Sabha or lower house. The Rajya Sabha is elected by state legislatures for six-year terms, while the Lok Sabha is elected directly by the people to five-year terms.
The judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, High Courts that hear appeals, and many trial courts.
Population of India:
India is the second most populous nation on Earth, with approximately 1.2 billion citizens. The country's annual population growth rate is 1.55%.The people of India represent over 2,000 different ethno-linguistic groups. About 24% of the population belongs to one of the Scheduled Castes (the "untouchables") or Scheduled Tribes; these are historically discriminated-against groups given special recognition in the Indian Constitution.
Although the country has at least 35 cities with more than one million residents, the vast majority of Indians live in rural areas - some 72% of the total population.
Current Population of India 2012 | ||||
| Rank | State or union territory | Population (2011 Census) | Density (per km²) | Sex ratio |
| 01 | Uttar Pradesh | 199,581,477 | 828 | 908 |
| 02 | Maharashtra | 112,372,972 | 365 | 946 |
| 03 | Bihar | 103,804,637 | 1102 | 916 |
| 04 | West Bengal | 91,347,736 | 1029 | 947 |
| 05 | Andhra Pradesh | 84,665,533 | 308 | 992 |
| 06 | 72,597,565 | 236 | 930 | |
| 07 | Tamil Nadu | 72,138,958 | 555 | 995 |
| 08 | 68,621,012 | 201 | 926 | |
| 09 | 61,130,704 | 319 | 968 | |
| 10 | 60,383,628 | 308 | 918 | |
| 11 | 41,947,358 | 269 | 978 | |
| 12 | Kerala | 33,387,677 | 859 | 1,084 |
| 13 | Jharkhand | 32,966,238 | 414 | 947 |
| 14 | Assam | 31,169,272 | 397 | 954 |
| 15 | 27,704,236 | 550 | 893 | |
| 16 | Haryana | 25,353,081 | 573 | 877 |
| 17 | Chhattisgarh | 25,540,196 | 189 | 991 |
| 18 | Jammu and Kashmir | 12,548,926 | 56 | 883 |
| 19 | Uttarakhand | 10,116,752 | 189 | 963 |
| 20 | Himachal Pradesh | 6,856,509 | 123 | 974 |
| 21 | Tripura | 3,671,032 | 350 | 961 |
| 22 | Meghalaya | 2,964,007 | 132 | 986 |
| 23 | Manipur | 2,721,756 | 122 | 987 |
| 24 | Nagaland | 1,980,602 | 119 | 931 |
| 25 | Goa | 1,457,723 | 394 | 968 |
| 26 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,382,611 | 17 | 920 |
| 27 | Mizoram | 1,091,014 | 52 | 975 |
| 28 | Sikkim | 607,688 | 86 | 889 |
| UT1 | 16,753,235 | 9,340 | 866 | |
| UT2 | Puducherry | 1,244,464 | 2,598 | 1,038 |
| UT3 | Chandigarh | 1,054,686 | 9,252 | 818 |
| UT4 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 379,944 | 46 | 878 |
| UT5 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 342,853 | 698 | 775 |
| UT6 | Daman and Diu | 242,911 | 2,169 | 618 |
| UT7 | Lakshadweep | 64,429 | 2,013 | 946 |
| Total | India | 1,210,193,422 | 382 | 940 |
India's Languages:
India has two official languages - Hindi and English. However, its citizens speak an array of languages spanning the Indo-European, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burmic linguistic families. More than 1,500 languages are spoken today in India.The languages with the most native speakers are: Hindi, 422 million; Bengali, 83 million; Telugu, 74 million; Marthi, 72 million; and Tamil, 61 million.
The diversity of spoken languages is matched by a number of written scripts. Many are unique to India, although some northern Indian languages such as Urdu and Panjabi may be written in a form of Perso-Arabic script.
Religion in India:
Greater India is the birthplace of a number of religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism.Currently, about 80% of the population is Hindu, 13% is Muslim, 2.3% Christian, 1.9% Sikh, and there are smaller populations of Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Jews and Jains.
Historically, two religious branches of thought developed in ancient India. The Shramana led to Buddhism and Jainism, while the Vedic tradition developed into Hinduism.
Modern India is a secular state, but religious tensions do flare from time to time, particularly between Hindus and Muslims or Hindus and Sikhs.
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