Of the People, By the People, For the People; Image Source: Freepik

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It is most likely that Indians have either once or twice read the preamble of this country in school assemblies or have encountered it written on the first page of their textbooks. In any case, it is certain you are also aware of the keywords beginning with "We, the People of India" which describe the core features of our constitution. However, did you ever ponder why the initials are like this or if anything this structure might indicate?

Certainly, It does! For the simple reason that the constitution promises to put the nationality of the Indian people above all else, this structure clearly represents the theory behind India being a democratic country. It doesn't matter what religion you follow or what community you belong to, regardless of your social position or gender, if it's not for the people in this country, then it's not for the country.

The idea of democracy thereby simply guarantees 'a rule of people', where the head of the state is not ruling but working for its people, as they also hold the power to dissolve the presidency of their elected head. Interestingly, India is one of the largest democracies in the world, where citizens are bestowed with this superpower to elect their own representatives. It was however during the golden age of classical antiquity in Athens that democracy became known in a political and philosophical sense.

> The term came into being in 508-507 BC and was created by Cleisthenes, more commonly known as "The Father of Athenian Democracy". Hence, the original Greek word Demos means "the people" while Kratos means "strength".

In recognition of the modern world, both the theory and the practice of democracy underwent profound changes over the centuries. One could say that direct democracy practiced in ancient times was more than enough for general governance. Likewise, in others, societal inequalities and military power among communities made it natural for hierarchical and authoritarian forms of social organization to be adopted as another means of governance.

Thus, the democracy we see today is far ahead of what Greeks devised, merely because it has been influenced by the creation of various political structures and the everchanging dynamics of different human societies. However, the principles of this system are to be upheld by the head of state, as he or she is obligated to protect the national or international standards and respect the rights of every citizen to express autonomy over their state. 

What is interesting to realize is that although this is just a way of representing the socio-political system of a country, it is able to provide protection, freedom, and identification of one's nationalities. Moreover, there are more than 150 countries in the world that call themselves democratic.

In order to celebrate more than half of all human societies and their ability to claim freedom, the UN General Assembly declared the **International Day of Democracy** every year on the 15th of September, every year. As of today, democracy is recognized globally as civil society with a strong humanist orientation and a focus on human rights. Therefore, it has provided the opportunity for people, government, and non-governmental organisations to come forward, support, and consolidate democracy that has been spread over the world.

> The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in article 21(3) that democracy and human rights are inextricably linked: *“The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”*

In a similar way, India declared itself as a democracy when it became independent of British occupation in 1947. As a democratic state, citizens of India are the ultimate beneficiaries of protection who can effectively realise their basic human rights, for which even a constant dialogue was decided to be maintained between social and political actors in parliamentary form. Hence, democracy as a whole can thus be described as '*of the people, by the people, and for the people*'.

Democracy, the most common word of this century, but, do you think you know what it means to be a democratic person or what it takes to live in a country that is democratic? Certainly, we have this whole day to discuss it briefly. 