India: Democratic Becoming and Development Transitions (Article Review)

            The challenge facing the development in India is its diverse ethnicity and whether their gearing with democracy will be the key for their development. This review intends to determine the key factor of India’s government to pursue their development. The effect of liberalization of India to address their differences for pursuing development, first the standard of education offered in India is not compatible for their diverse population. There is some racial discrimination and the elites handle the power for their own sake while the most people in India suffer illiterateness in political, economical and social discrimination. Because of the high-level of illiterate, Indian people has a low civic virtue wherein they are not capable of protesting to address their grievances and lack of cooperation because of diversity. The ethnical diversity is a major factor why India’s development seems hard to observed, the racial discrimination and the impotency of the government to provide good governance to its people. The formations of government institution are weak and the interference of western nation to the decision making of the government has a huge impact on the challenges faced by the Indian government. This is an attempt to see an in-depth analytical observation on the factors of the deficits on India’s government. It will focus on the three major factors that are essential to development and the hindrances to the road of development of India’s government. Asian countries have facing a great challenge to install western democracy to their government. The wave of democratization seems a big influence for the aspiration of Asian countries to offer a democratic type of government. India is performing well in economical aspect, gaining a high-rate in their gross national product (GNP) but the rate of poverty is dramatically increasing. The reason for this uncomplimentary effect is the ethnic diversity, wherein there are racial discrimination and religious conflicts. It is very common to an Asian country to have diverse culture, religion and poverty occurrence that may serves as reasons for their slow development. The wise utilization of public funds and a great allotment on education will be the essential matter for pursuance of development. The formulation for establishing government to fit the diverse ethnicity and to address communal problems that results in social disorder, the equal representation of different beliefs and interest is an essential factor to unite India’s people. 

            The liberal-democracy of India is performing well in increasing its economical performance it is credited to those elite who runs the government. The hunt for development is in a new form of political system is gradually noticed, transitional development is somehow the key to India’s development. The developing countries like India have a hard time finding the missing factor to attain a developed nation. The democratization offers a great opportunity to achieve development, but it is the ideal perception of the westerners. The formation of good of government would not show an importance because of illiteracy in politics. The development of ethnic groups of India depends on the delivery of service of the government; the basic factor that is in need is education for developing Indian’s civic virtue. The road to democracy is aspired by most of Asian countries but every Asian country faces a great challenge. The challenge is how to fit the democratic form of government in an originally monarchial type of government and with the diverse ethnicity or different religious beliefs. Their constructive initiative was directed toward language reform, legal reform, establishing a vernacular press, depending the freedom of press, and articulating the rights of women, particularly widows ( India: Democratic Becoming and Development Transitions- Jyotirindra Das Gupta). The deficiency of India’s democratic institution to provide information to its people to be used as a weapon to seek redresses for their grievances and may give an initiative to reform India’s government. In democratic theory, democracy allows people to participate on the decision making of the government and it is the deficits of India’s government to address the problem of diversity.

            Improving their identity, being nationalism is a major contribution on the development of a nation. The colonial interventions of westerners are the reason for the disorder of India’s society. Let the Indian people find an answer to their communal conflicts, the formulation of a government by representing different inhabitants in India would create a better government that can address the problems of Indian society. Racial representation must be part of the goal of the government, to acknowledge the different inhabitants in India. Understanding the diversity must put into the Indian political context; the political mechanism of India must surely determine the rights to pursue human development. The contribution of the society will be the biggest factor to attain the genuine democracy that will deliver India to development. Developing countries have problems setting their priorities towards development; India is focusing on the security of their territory and putting a huge investment to military. Admittedly such balancing acts are favored by the configuration of social division, structural diversities, and the ecological differences in a complex country like India (India: Democratic Becoming and Development Transitions- Jyotirindra Das Gupta). The government must formulate policies or establishment of institution that will address the differences of Indian people. Unity of different inhabitants shall be the primary focus of the national government, providing a general Indian identity among different ethnicity to form a unity.

            Looking back on the history of India, a colonial hangover makes it difficult for many to accept the form of democracy has attained by making those people speak for and rule themselves (India: Democratic Becoming and Development Transitions- Jyotirindra Das Gupta). The colonial mentality of the Indian makes them hard to understand a foreign form of government and the privileges to speak or represent themselves to the government. That mentality is engraved into the Indian culture until Mohandas Ghandi introduced the concept of unity among diverse ethnicity in India. Racial ideology the dominates the Indian culture has begun to evolved into an one general identity but the challenge facing the democracy and development in India is cause by successive discrimination of religious beliefs.

            The electoral process has seemed to be like in other Asian countries, the most powerful and well-known are the one who can only win the election. The use of popularity and greed is the thing that is essential to attain power.  The riches and elites can only participate in the national election; there is no definite representation of different class and ethnicity. The participation of common people to govern themselves has not come to maturity. Political maturity is a basic element to have a society can pursue development.

            For the conclusion, the development of India is determined on how they will effectively organize and run the democratic institutions to pursue their development. The efficiency of the government delivering basic service and generalizing the concept of unity among diverse ethnicity in India must be prioritized by the government. The development of India is complimented with the political maturity of its people and a strong political will that put an end to racial discrimination. The determination of the Indian people to achieved peace and unity on the challenges faced by the diverse inhabitants of India will be attained with a democratic form of government. It is a matter of educating your people and providing a full support of the government for human development. The development of political, economical and social lies into the determination of Indian people to pursue development. Mobilizing the society toward a good government will be the most efficient to attain maturity in the Indian political, economical and social aspect.