Democracy in India

India is considered by some to have the world's largest democracy. Elections in India started with the 1951–52 Indian general election. India was one of the first few countries in the world to adopt universal adult franchise right from independence, granting both men and women equal voting rights.
In recent years, under the premiership of Narendra Modi, India has experienced significant democratic backsliding. The Economist Democracy Index classifies India as a flawed democracy. The Freedom House classifies India as partly free.
The constitution of India is the supreme legal document of the country and the longest written national constitution in the world. It declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic. It establishes the framework that defines the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions. It also sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. The day of adoption of the constitution is celebrated every year on 26 January as Republic Day.
Reservation is a form of affirmative action that was established during the British Raj. It reserves seats for "socially and economically backward citizens" in higher education admissions, employment, political bodies, etc. Part XVI of the Constitution deals with reservation in the legislature. In 2023, Parliament passed the One Hundred and Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of India, which reserves 33% of legislative seats for women, with the aim of implementation by 2047.
Early Shakyas, Koliyas, Mallakas, and Licchavis claim assemblies open to wealthy men of certain class. Other saṅghas and gaṇas had councils of unelected nobles, which don't meet the standards of democracy. Greek historian Diodorus writes, two centuries after the time of Alexander the Great, about democratic states in India, but lacks evidence for elections, considering the word "democracy" around the 3rd century BCE could mean any autonomous state. In the 10th century, the election of local representatives for the village bodies during the Chola Empire is claimed in Vaikunda Perumal Temple's inscriptions.
After nearly two centuries of British colonial rule—initially under the East India Company and later under direct governance by the British crown—India gained independence in 1947 following a nationalist anti-colonial movement. This movement was largely led by the Indian National Congress (INC; also known simply as the "Congress") and prominent figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. India emerged as a sovereign, democratic republic in 1950, with the adoption of the world's longest written constitution, and held its first general election between late 1951 and early 1952, implementing universal suffrage and drawing inspiration from the Westminster system. The Congress sweeped a landslide victory and Nehru was elected as the first prime minister of the country. This established India as the world's largest liberal democracy.
After independence, the Congress became India's dominant political party, winning landslide victories in the 1957 and 1962 elections. Nehru remains the country's longest-serving prime minister, having held the office for 16 years. Nehru's premiership embraced republicanism, secularism, social democracy, and non-alignment during the Cold War. The Indian caste system persisted, despite the outlawing of caste-based discrimination. The Congress also evolved into an increasingly clientelist party. While socialist government regulations expanded significantly in what became known as the License Raj, capitalism also consolidated. Nehru's premiership failed to satisfy the urban and rural poor, the unemployed, and the Hindu nationalists and fundamentalists. Nehru died in 1964 and was succeeded as prime minister by Lal Bahadur Shastri. Shastri died just two years later, in 1966, and was succeeded by Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, India's first and only female prime minister.
Following a decline in support for Congress in the 1967 election, Gandhi embraced an increasingly left-wing populist platform. This led to opposition from the party's right-wing, ultimately causing Congress to split in 1969 into the conservative and anti-socialist Congress (O), and the Gandhi-led socialist Congress (R). Gandhi's Congress (R) won a landslide victory in the 1971 election. Gandhi garnered an immense cult of personality and centralised power. Though many praised her for her state socialism and protectionism, others criticised her for insincere socialism and Machiavellianism.
Rising economic turmoil led to an increase in civil unrest. Gandhi's increasing control over the judiciary led to multiple constitutional crises. The Allahabad High Court found Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractice. In the face of massive political opposition and disorder across the country, Gandhi enacted a state of emergency. The Emergency began in 1975, and saw nationwide censorship, mass arrests of dissenters and political opponents, the suspension of fundamental rights, widespread forced sterilization, and an extreme centralisation of power. In 1977, Gandhi called for fresh elections, which resulted in a landslide victory for the Janata Party, a broad anti-Congress coalition. Janata Party leader Morarji Desai subsequently became the country's first non-Congress prime minister.
The Desai Premiership ended the state of emergency and amended the constitution to make it more difficult for the government to declare emergencies. Desai's economic policies had little succeess. Significant ideological and political divisions eroded the Janata government. In 1979, Desai resigned and Charan Singh was appointed prime minister. Singh himself resigned just months later. In the 1980 election, Congress resurged, facilitating Indira Gandhi's return to power. Following her assassination in 1984, her son Rajiv Gandhi succeeded her as prime minister, with the Nehru–Gandhi family evolving into a political dynasty.
For the year 2024, India was ranked as the 19th most electoral democratic country in Asia, amid a process of democratic backsliding, according to the V-Dem Democracy indices.