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Choose any one democratic institution in India (Parliament, Election Commission, Judiciary, or Panchayat) and prepare a short note on its role in democracy and how it ensures accountability and participation.
- (a) Its role in democracy
- (b) How it ensures accountability and participation
Show Answer
In short:
The Election Commission makes participation possible at the scale of a hundred crore voters.
- The worked example below uses the Election Commission of India.
(a) Its role in democracy
- It conducts elections to Parliament, State Assemblies and other offices.
- It is the institution behind the Electoral Process and the values of participation and equality.
- It makes participation possible at a very large scale, with over 96.8 crore registered voters in 2024.
- Elections are conducted in 22 scheduled languages, along with several other languages.
- More than one million polling stations are set up, and in some cases a polling station is created even for a single voter.
- Election symbols are used so that every citizen, including those who cannot read, can vote independently.
(b) How it ensures accountability and participation
- Because elections are held periodically, a government that fails can be voted out, as happened in 1977.
- It registers voters and sets up polling stations even in mountains, forests, deserts and islands.
- It enforces the rules laid down by the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Other institutions you could choose
| Institution | Role | How it ensures accountability |
|---|---|---|
| Parliament | Makes laws | Question Hour, debates, and review of the government's work |
| Judiciary | Interprets laws | Reviews government actions, declares unconstitutional laws void, and hears Public Interest Litigation |
| Panchayat | Local self-government | The Gram Sabha decides, records are maintained, and seats are reserved |
Revision: How the Election Commission ensures participation
Registers voters
96.8 crore in 2024
Sets up polling stations
over one million
Conducts elections
in 22 scheduled languages
↓
Periodic elections mean a government that fails can be voted out
