What do we mean by Democracy?

Abraham Lincoln had defined Democracy as

the government-Of the People, By the People, For the People. Is it true for
India? Is the Government here really working or even worried about the
People? Millions of citizens are struggling everyday just to get food for
survival. Thousands of youth are struggling just to get a job. Many of us are
being killed everyday in terrorist and similar attacks. And all this has been
going on since long. What have been the Governments doing? We just get the
news of an ever increasing amount of corruption and decreasing standard of the
politics in our Country.

In a Democracy, elections are the biggest opportunity to bring about the

changes. And VOTE is the biggest weapon for this change. We are lucky to have
a democracy in our country, in which every adult has a right to cast vote. We
are the biggest democracy in the world, but, at the same time, we are
continuously becoming a weaker and weaker democracy. We have some of our
MPs and MLAs in our parliament who have serious criminal charges against
them. Many of these have also been convicted by the courts. But, there number
is continuously growing as political parties are giving protection to them, just
for personal gains. But this severely affects the future of our nation and its
citizens.

If we are worried about our future and the future of our country, then all of us
must cast our votes. Voting is not only our Right. In fact, it is our
responsibility as a citizen and we all must fulfill this responsibility with
seriousness. We all MUST cast our vote and must also inspire others to cast
their votes because this is the strongest weapon in our hands with the help of
which we can solve our problems and can bring a great revolution in the
country without a drop of blood.

I do not want to name any one political party. It is up to the Individual to decide
whom he/she wants to vote. But, before casting our vote, we must think about
the past performance of the particular party & its agenda for the future. We all
must vote without getting affected by the factors like caste or religion. Instead
our focus should be on factors like the partys stand on National Security,
Terrorism, Poverty, Unemployment, Poverty, Literacy and other important
issues.

As a voter, Youth can play a major role in the elections because a large amount
of our voters belong to the young generation. We must remember that we are
not voting for someone else. In fact, our vote will help us build a better future
for ourselves. So, we must Vote and must also inspire others to cast their vote.
As per the rules of the Election commission of India, Every voter must have his
name registered in the Electoral Rolls (Voters List). If you dont have your
name registered in the list, you cant vote. Also, voters must also have an
identity card which is known as Voters ID card. If you dont have any of these,
then you wont be allowed to vote. Visit the local Election office to know about
the procedure and forms to register your name in the Voters List and to have an
ID. If you already have all of these, then dont forget to cast your vote and also
to tell others to do so. Because only then, can we hope to see some
improvements in the situation of our Nation. Also, those who dont fulfill their
responsibility towards the country, have no right to ask for their rights. I
would like to quote John F.Kennedy here-Ask not what the country has done
for you. Ask what you have done for the country. So, if we cant do anything
else for our country, lets at least cast our vote with responsibility and lets
unite to bring positive changes in our life and to make our own future better.

In a perfect democracy, voting is the opportunity to elect or re-elect government

officials and allows you to have a voice at any level of government and the
areas that affect the life of citizens. Voting helps to eliminate the threat of a
tyrannical government. A vote cast today have a way of having impact to the
present and future generations that follow. The responsibility to be a good
citizen, and citizenship requires voting during an election. Voting gives the
population an equal opportunity completely blind of sex, race, origin, education
in contributing to community development. This explains the argument that
without freedom of information, our choices are distorted. Voting helps to shape
public policy on a local and national level especially when you a well informed
about the government activities. Voting for a candidate with little or no chance
of winning or for the lesser of two evils is both a priviledge and obligation in a
democratic republic.
Meanwhile, on the other hand a citizen that just decide not to vote without
resonable reason is a plain ignorance. Apathy to voting may be due to lack of
willingness or illiteracy. Inaction does not breed change, but only worsen the
situation. The citizens apathy or laziness to show up and make their votes count
is frequently lead to country in a very vulnerable and perilous position due to
incompetent and irresponsible leaders. If you dont vote during an election, you
are surely voting indirectly against democracy and making way for
irresponsible leaders. By not voting, you give away your right to influence the
government overall. According to Smithstein 1, if you decide not to vote, you
are taking away the will of the majority that governs.,but replaces it with
the will of the minority. It is essencial that registering and voting are really
ways that we can control the way we live in a democratic dispensation. The
sheer volume of non-voters simply destroy democratic process making it
gradually slip away. Your only vote can make a difference because many local
elections can be decided by just a single, solitary vote or handful of votes. If you
dont vote, it encourages bad officials. Voting is the formost way to exhibit good
citizenship and civil responsibility. People should get involved in elections and
educated in all political measures. By this they become a good and responsible
participatory citizens. We should always remember that some people sacrifice
their lives to preserve our freedom and let us have this voting opportunity as
our sacred right. True democracy demands the involvement of the people
otherwise in absence of that there is no democracy.
In a democracy we have to remember that people have died and fought for the
right for all citizens in that democracy to vote. Therefore, even if you only vote
by spoiling your ballot paper, it is vitally important to participate in the
mechanics of democracy to recognise the tremendous sacrifice and effort of
some of our descendants for whom this right was forbidden.