What is Democracy?

 In the words of Abraham Lincoln," Democracy is government of the People,by the people and for the people".

The word democracy comes from a Greek word 'demokratia'. In Greek ,'demos' means people and 'kratia' means rules. Therefore, democracy means rule by the people.

A common definition of democracy is - democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people. This definition  clearly seperates  democracy from the non- democratic government.

However, the concept of democracy also implies that-

a) Democracy gives every man the right to be his own oppressor.

b)Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.

c) Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.

d) All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy. 

Apart from these , democracy must be based on a free and fair election where those currently in power have a fair chance of losing.