An Overview of Democracy And Diversity
It is a fact that democracy has a very important role to play when it comes to the proper and effective functioning of a country. Hence, there are many countries that tend to follow the democratic way of running the government. By gathering information about this chapter, you will be able to understand the role of democracy in responding to various social differences in the country. Also, you will get to know about several inequalities and divisions that take place in the countries as well. There are some general lessons about certain social differentiation that can lead to clashes and much more. This chapter on the democratic politics of the country is certainly very important and our notes on democracy and diversity are going to be a great help to you.
Understanding All About Diversity And Democracy in India
The importance of diversity and democracy is a lot in India. In this section, we are going to have a little discussion about it in the best way.
Democracy can be defined as a particular system in which the common people of the country are allowed to select or cast their votes for any representative of their choice. The representative will be chosen on behalf of a particular political party. Hence, there is simply no scope for discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, religion, gender, and other aspects. This is what we mean when we say that India is a democratic country.
The inclusion of diversity in the study of politics and sociology states that diversity is something that can be used for the description of different entities that are a part of the country. These entities could be student bodies and neighbourhoods and so much more. These groups tend to consist of certain members that have differences that are identifiable. Now, what are these differences? Well, the differences might be in their lifestyles and their cultural backgrounds.
Diversity is a term that describes certain differences in the ethnic and racial classifications of people. This could include age, religion, gender, physical abilities, philosophy, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic background, intelligence, physical health, behaviour, and some other features that can be identified.
Finding The Unity in Diversity
When it comes to diverse democracy, it can be said that it is important to have certain unity in diversity as well. We all know that India is a country that prides itself to be democratic. Hence, unity and diversity co-existing can be shown perfectly by giving the example of this country.
Some Factors That Can Allow The Unity in Diversity
To have unity co-exist along with diversity, there are various aspects that communities and groups need to work on. We are going to mention some of these aspects right here so that you can gather a deeper understanding of the subject without any hassle for sure.
1. Religious Unity
The people who belong to different religious groups get to practice their religion without having to fear any unfair outcomes. Also, people need to respect other religions as well. This is the only way for diverse religions to exist peacefully with one another.
2. Geographical Unity
There are many different physical features of the country that have actually cut the people from the entirety of the world and allowed the people to feel like one in a very natural manner. This is something that has led to geographical unity amongst the people.
3. Linguistic Unity
Every single one of the states in India comprises its own literature and people speak a certain language that is different from one another. There are also some states where people tend to speak more than one or two languages in total. Not to mention that the dialects in India tend to change from one place to another. People speaking a certain type of language need to respect others speaking different languages and hence will foster unity with democracy and diversity.
4. Cultural Unity
Diversity exists in the form of people belonging to different regions as well. Some people that belong to other parts of the country have differences in their looks and complexion. Not to mention that there is a difference in their attires and dresses as well. The eating habits, trades, creeds, castes, customers, practices, and traditions are also different from one another. However, all the different regions coexist harmoniously and that actually helps in the involvement of unity with diverse regions.
5. Political Unity
It is a known fact that about 29 states in India come under a single constitution and that is an example enough of political unity. So, it can be said without a doubt that diverse democracy can exist with proper unity in the best way.
FAQs on Diverse Democracy
1. How Does a Social Difference Turn Into a Social Division?
Ans: Social differences and social divisions are two parts of a diverse democracy consisting of people from different religions, castes, regions, and some other aspects. The case of social division takes place when there is a particular social difference overlapping with another form of social difference. There are certain situations that lead to social divisions. This only happens when a particular kind of social difference has more importance than the other kind of social difference. In this case, the people start to feel that they belong to several communities which are different from one another. Basically, the differences which then turn into certain social divisions in the country are termed overlapping differences.
2. How Can Social Divisions Have an Impact on Politics in a Country?
Ans: We all know that democracy is something that involves having different political parties compete with each other to gain the lead in a country. The competition between these political parties tends to cause a certain form of division in society as different people seem to offer their support to different political parties. In case these parties start to have competitions on the basis of these social divisions that exist between the people, there is a chance that a social division will change into a political one. This leads to the creation of conflicts within the country. In some cases, that also leads to violence and in some rare cases, the disintegration of an entire country.
