Challenges Threatening India’s Democracy

Challenges Threatening India’s Democracy

Democracy in India has always been a work in progress. As India marks 70 years of independence, its democratic institutions are suffering from weaknesses that the government has done little to address.

What are the Challenges?

The biggest challenge faced by India's democratic system has always been societal—or even systemic— Challenges threaten to undermine democratic governance in India.

In recent years, these weaknesses have come to the fore in the form of concentrated disadvantage faced by particular groups or communities, particularly in view of rising intolerance and violence toward marginalized communities.

In recent years, threats to India's democracy have intensified. A group of leaders and activists known as the Hindu Mahasabha has threatened violent violence if elections do not go smoothly.

Areas of concern for India

India's democratic system is a widely admired system that offers equal opportunity and freedom to its people. Its institutions are still young, however, and large sections of the population do not have full participation in them. There are many areas where shortcomings exist, and the concerns they raise reflect well on India's democracy and freedom. Some of them are-

• Recession: The Indian economy is in recession and is among the worst-performing among major nations
• Cybersecurity attack: India ranked second only to the US among the countries most impacted by the ransomware
• Concerns with India’ foreign relation like (i) India-China dispute– China unwillingness to reach a reasonable settlement along the Line of Actual Control and (ii) India-Pakistan relations– China and Pakistan have signed a new military memorandum of understanding to boost their already close defence relationship.
• West Asia: India has to balance its ties with all regional power in west Asia. India’s close relationship with Israel is another sore point with west Asia.