Democracy and republic

Look at the Preamble to the Constitution in your textbook. It was adopted on 26 November 1949 and calls India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. It promises every citizen justice (social, economic and political), liberty (of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship), equality (of status and opportunity) and fraternity (respect for each person and the unity of the nation).

Notice that it uses both 'democratic' and 'republic'. Why both, when people often treat the two words as the same?

British rule lasted nearly two hundred years, but at Independence India did not simply copy the British system. In both India and the UK, people elect representatives and the government answers to parliament. But Britain has had a monarch (king or queen) as head of state for centuries. Our Constitution makers decided India's head of state, the President, would be elected: not directly by the people, but by elected representatives.

Democracy means 'rule by the people' (Greek demos = people, kratos = rule). People choose their government through free and fair elections.

In a republic, the head of state is elected, not born into the job. And the rulers' power is limited by a constitution or laws. A country can be both, like India or the USA. But not every democracy is a republic: the UK, Canada and Sweden are democracies with a monarch, so they are not republics.

A story from America shows the republican spirit. In 1782, as the American War of Independence was ending, one of George Washington's officers wrote suggesting he should become king of America. Washington firmly refused: he believed only in government by the people under a constitution. Years later, in 1789, he was elected the first President of the United States.

India is a democratic republic, and its Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to every citizen. The Constitution and laws make sure that rule by the majority does not trample anyone's rights. For example, tribal lands are protected: companies and outsiders cannot buy or lease them without the local community's consent, and mining was not allowed in the sacred hills of the Dongria Kondh tribe in Odisha.

A small example of the same idea. A Resident Welfare Association (RWA) banned deliveries after 9 PM, by majority vote. A few residents objected that this would hurt the sick and the elderly, but they were outvoted. Was that fair?

One night an elderly resident collapsed from low blood sugar, because her medicine could not be delivered in time. The RWA then changed its rule to allow food and medicines after 9 PM, protecting the minority.

That is a republic in action: the rule of law is stronger than the wishes of the majority. Republics like India, France and the USA guard against the 'dominance of the majority', when only the majority's interests count and minorities lose their rights. Elected leaders cannot pass laws that go against basic rights like freedom of speech, religion or equality before the law.

And why have government at all? Kauṭilya's answer in the Arthashastra: the ruler must follow Raja Dharma and keep law and order. Without it, society falls into Matsya nyāya, 'the law of the fishes', where the big fish (the powerful) eat the small fish (the weak).