India, a Beacon of Democracy for the World: Diversity, Argumentation and Mutual Respect

For a democratic system to thrive, there must be the prevalence of democratic values in society, viz., diversity of ideas, culture of argumentation and tolerance of criticism. India has been a beacon of democracy, even after several centuries of resistance to foreign aggression and the fight against colonialism, because of (i) its diverse darshanas - Charvaka, Buddhist, Jain, Samkhya, Yoga, Advaita, Dvaita, etc.; (ii) a culture of shastrartha - openness to purva paksha (opponent’s view) and readiness to engage in rigorous intellectual disputations; and (iii) mutual respect (that goes beyond tolerance) of different sampradayas, including readiness to absorb criticisms by correcting one’s mistakes in uttara paksha (defence of one’s tradition). Thus, India has always been oriented toward democratic values. In contrast, the European countries adopted diversity, argumentation and tolerance, only after a lot of bloodshed, at the end of World War II in the West and the Cold War in the East. India granted universal adult suffrage in its constitution in 1949 and implemented it in its first democratic election in 1952, while the US did so only in 1965 and Switzerland in 1971. In this way, India has a better tradition of democratic values than either Europe or America, and this self-confidence is reflected in our regular, free and fair elections.

Published as “India, a Beacon of Democracy for the World: Diversity, Argumentation and Mutual Respect”, VideshNeeti, 16 May 2024, 1 (3): 1.