Essay on the role of citizens

Democracy is defined by Abraham Lincoln as, “a government of the people, for the people and by the people”. It means that the people govern themselves through representatives duly elected by them. When the elected representatives run the government, it is called representative democracy. Most of the modern democracies are representative (indirect) democracies. The idea is that politically all people are equal and must be given the right to decide the formation of the government.

In democracy, political parties have an important role. Democracy is not possible without political parties. During the elections, these parties select their candidates who contest the elections from their representative constituencies. The party that gets the maximum number of candidates elected is invited to form the government. The other parties from the opposition. The leader of the elected party becomes the Prime Minister.

Importance of Voting in a Democracy:

Voting has great importance in democracy. The citizens must be very careful while voting for a candidate. They must vote for an honest, selfless and competent candidate. The contestant should have a secular outlook. One must not vote in favor of a candidate who believes in casteism or regionalism. Candidates who are under the influence of any particular caste or religion and profess to promote only that caste or community do not believe in preserving national integrity.

Such narrow-minded people cannot serve the people impartially. We should not vote for any candidate in return for any personal favor and should not succumb to any temptation. While considering a candidate we must also make sure that the party he belongs to believes in the well-being of the people and would do nothing to harm the integrity of the nation.

Problems before Indian Democracy:

It is extremely essential for every citizen to cast his vote in an election. But a large number of people in our country give election the least priority. Many literate and backward people do not understand the importance of voting. They are ignorant about their rights. There are many reasons as to why such people do not vote. Often they are not aware of politics and are not acquainted with the names of the candidates. Therefore, they do not care to vote. Some feel that they have no personal gain and so do not care about the candidates and party that comes to power. Some people are simply lazy and give many lame excuses. But this only shows that such people are irresponsible and lack civic sense.