Question- Consider the following statements on International Day of Democracy 2018.
(i)The theme of international Day of Democracy 2018 was ‘Democracy under strain: solutions for a changing world’.
(ii)It is celebrated on 15th of September every year.
(iii)World celebrated 11th International Day of Democracy in the year 2018.
Correct statements-
(a)Only (i)
(b)Only (ii)
(c)Only (i) and (ii)
(d)All the above
Answer-(d) all the above
International Day of Democracy-
- World celebrated the 11th International Day of Democracy 2018 in pursuance of UN resolution.
- The theme of international Day of Democracy 2018 was ‘Democracy under strain: Solutions for a changing World’.
- It is celebrated on 15th of September every year.
- More than 120 of the 192 countries in the world have some form of democracy.
- The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly through a resolution in 2007 to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy.
- It was observed for the first time in 2008.
Global state of Democracy Index (GSoD)
- International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), an inter-country organization publishes the Global state of Democracy index (GSoD.
- According to the GSoD report analyses India’s performance on all the above-mentioned indicators and shows that the country has done moderately well.
- It looks at the trends in democratization from 1975 to 2017.
- IDEA aims to study the factors which threaten democracy throughout the world and those that make it strong and resilient.
Challenges to democracy
- One of the major challenges to democracy is people losing faith in it.
- The reasons for such are disillusionment, corruption, Nepotism, Poverty, Gender injustice and Unemployment.
- This often leads to people disengaging with key public policies issues which, in turn, makes those in power less accountable.
Factors responsible for robust democracy in India
- Election commission has played an important role in conducting free and fair elections in the country.
- An independent judiciary is another reason for the resilience of democracy in India. The apex court has given judgments that keep a check on government and ensure a transparent and accountable system.
Connecting the dots
- Democracy does not merely mean voting rights for people but also empowering people by granting them equality.
- It also means the creation of mechanism to resolves differences through dialogue and with mutual respect and understanding.
References -Anurag Kumar