Indian democracy presents a paradox of sorts. Global observers of democracy—think-tanks ‘measuring’ democracy and Western governments— claim India’s democracy is in trouble.
Electoral democracy, autocracy?
These institutions now openly say that India is, at best, an ‘electoral democracy’ and is more likely, an ‘autocracy’. In contrast, freely conducted surveys and—above all—elections tell a very different story.
Global Attitudes Survey
The latest Global Attitudes Survey conducted by Pew Research Center from February 7 to April 21, shows that 74 per cent Indians are satisfied with democracy. The sample size was 3,545 and “…includes an oversample of majority Muslim sub-districts, but the data is weighted to reflect the national population of India.”
The survey was carried out in a face-to-face mode. It is done every year in spring in different countries. In India, there was a break for four years (from 2020 to 2023) for which no data is available.
Satisfaction with Indian democracy
The results for India since 2017 are consistent: a majority of individuals surveyed have expressed satisfaction with the way democracy is working in the country. The highest percentage was reported in the 2017 edition when 79 per cent of those surveyed expressed satisfaction while the lowest level was reported in 2018 when only 54 per cent said they were satisfied. The average of those saying they are satisfied over five years (2017, 2018, 2019, 2024, and 2025) is 70.8 per cent.
This is in sharp contrast with the global trend since 2021 when the median percentage of those saying they are dissatisfied with democracy in their country has gone up from 52 per cent in 2021 to 64 per cent in 2025.
Those reporting satisfaction with democracy stood at 35 per cent in 2025. These figures are for 12 high-income countries in the West, and Japan and South Korea in Asia.
Disclaimer: Excerpts from “Why Indian democracy works” by Siddharth Singh, originally published in Open Magazine on July 11, 2025.
Read the original article here: https://openthemagazine.com/feature/why-indian-democracy-works/
