National Voters’ Day – The Power of Vote

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TOPIC: General studies 2 

National Voters Day is mark of the power of every individual vote.

Historically…

The origin of Indian democracy, in particular the establishment of its edifice through the implementation of universal adult franchise, was an ingeniously Indian enterprise. It was no legacy of colonial rule, and was largely driven by the Indians, often by people of modest means. The turning of all adults into voters was a staggering democratic state-building operation of inclusion and scale, which surpassed any previous experience in democratic world history. This work was undertaken by Indian bureaucrats between August 1947, when the country became independent, and January 1950, when it adopted the Constitution.

Philosophically…

The fundamental problem lies in viewing voting as a transaction, the aim of which is to get some benefit for an individual or a group. But we have to recognise that voting is not like any other transaction. The duty that is inherent in the act of voting is an ethical duty, not just a constitutional one. It is the duty of having to act not for individual benefit, such as money or ideology, but for the benefit of the larger society. Such benefit for the larger society will include others benefiting as much as each one of us does through each of our votes. This duty is the ethical rationality related to voting. It is also a recognition that a democratic action like voting is primarily for the good of something larger than one’s self interests.

Politically…

Participation in the democratic and electoral processes is integral to the successful running of any democracy and the very basis of wholesome democratic elections. A voter is the bedrock of the institution of democracy.

Tata Institute of Social Sciences had the following suggestions for EC to increase voter participation at polls:

Facts

2020 theme of National Voters’ Day is – ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy’.

Two Books Launched

Belief in the Ballot-II: An anthology of 101 human stories from across the nation about elections.

The Centenarian Voters: Sentinels of Our Democracy: Enumerates the stories and experiences of 51 centenarians across India, who braved difficult terrain, poor health and other challenges to come out and vote.

Connecting the Dots:

  1. A voter is the bedrock of the institution of democracy. Discuss.
  2. Active participation in a democracy should be voluntary. Is compulsory voting against democracy? Substantiate your answer with a critical examination of the above statement.

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