Definitions of Democracy:
- According to Dicey, “Democracy is a government in which the governing body is comparatively a large fraction of entire nation.”
- According to Seeley, ‘Democracy is a government in which everyone has a share.”
- According .to Abraham Lincoln, “Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people”.
Importance of Democracy : Presently, most of countries have adopted the democratic form of government and that’s why the importance of democracy has increased.
The importance of democracy is given below ;
- Equality: In democracy, no one is discriminated on any bases as it is based on equality. In this everyone is given equal rights and value of every one’s vote is same.
- Representative of Public Opinion: Actually democracy is representative of the public opinion. Democratic government is elected by the people and it forms the law on the basis of public opinion. If the government does not work according to public opinion, it can be removed.
- Protector of Individual Liberty: Only democracy is a type of government in which individual liberties of the public are protected. In democracy, people have the right to express their opinion, to criticize and to form associations. Even the freedom of press is also protected in this system.
- Political Awareness: In democracy, elections are held on regular basis with which people become politically aware. Different political parties form public opinion and they continually evaluate the government. It leads to the development of political consciouness among the people.
- Development of Moral Qualities: Out of all the governments’ only democracy helps in the development of moral qualities among the people. It also helps in building their high character. It develops the qualities to co-operate, tolerence etc, among the people.
