India is considered to be the world's most populous democracy.Elections in the country started with the1951–52 Indian general election. India was among the first post-colonial nations to adoptuniversal adult suffrage, granting all adult citizens equal voting rights.
In recent years, under thepremiership ofNarendra Modi, India has experienced significantdemocratic backsliding.The Economist Democracy Index classifies India as aflawed democracy. TheFreedom House classifies India aspartly free.
EarlyShakyas,Koliyas,Mallakas, andLicchavis are recorded as having assemblies that were accessible to affluent men of certain social classes.[1] Othersaṅghas andgaṇas had councils of unelected nobles; these bodies did not conform to modern standards of democracy and functioned more similarly to eliteoligarchic councils. The Greek historianDiodorus, writing approximately two centuries after the time ofAlexander the Great, refers to democratic states in India.[2] However, there is a lack of evidence for electoral processes, and the term "democracy" in the 3rd century BCE may have referred more broadly to autonomous polities rather than representative governance.[3][4] In the 10th century CE, inscriptions at theVaikunda Perumal Temple suggest the election of local representatives to village councils during theChola Empire.[5][6][7]
Following nearly two centuries of British colonial rule—initiallyunder the East India Company and laterunder direct governance by the British Crown—India gainedindependence in 1947 after a sustainednationalist anti-colonial movement.[8] This movement was predominantly led by theIndian National Congress (INC; also known simply as the "Congress") and prominent figures such asMahatma Gandhi andJawaharlal Nehru.[9] However, the movement was also shaped by a diverse range of ideological influences, includingcommunism,Dalit leaders, and to a lesser extent,Hindutva, afar-righthindu nationalist ideology, though the latter's participation is debated.[10][11][12] Prominent figures associated with these currents includedB. R. Ambedkar, a leading advocate for the abolition of thecaste system, andSubhas Chandra Bose, amilitantnationalist leader, allied with theAxis Powers inWorld War II. The independence process was marred by a surge of religious and communal divisions, culminating in abloody partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. This division created two separate nations:Pakistan with a Muslim majority, and India with a Hindu majority. The partition was characterised by widespread violence, mass displacement, andone of the largest refugee crises in history.[13][14] India formally became a sovereign, democratic republic in 1950 with the adoption of theworld's longest written constitution. The constitution was drafted by aConstituent Assembly, chaired by Ambedkar.[15] The country heldits first general election between late 1951 and early 1952, implementinguniversal adult suffrage, and drawing heavy inspiration from theWestminster parliamentary system.[16][17] The Congress secured a decisive electoral victory and Nehru was elected asthe firstprime minister of the country.[18] This established India as the world's largest liberal democracy.[19]
After independence, the Congress emerged as India's dominant political party. Thereorganization of Indian states in 1956 along linguistic lines—transforming thecolonial-era presidencies and provinces and fully integrating over 500princely states—both responded to and further fueled the rise of notable regional movements.[20] Congress secured a decisive victory in the1957 general election.[21] Notably, 1957 also witnessed a landmark development in the state ofKerala, where theCommunist Party of India (CPI), under the leadership ofE. M. S. Namboodiripad, formed the government—marking one of the first democratically elected communist governments in the world.[22] The Congress maintained its political dominance by winning the1962 general election in another landslide. Nehru remains the longest-serving holder of the office of the prime minister, having led the country for sixteen years.[23] Nehru's premiership embracedrepublicanism,[24]secularism,[25]social democracy,[26] and a policy ofnon-alignment during theCold War.[27] Thecaste system persisted, despite the constitutional abolition of caste-based discrimination.[28] At the same time, the Congress developed into an increasinglyclientelist organisation.[29] Socialist government regulations expanded significantly in what became known as theLicence Raj. However, these regulations often favoured established industrialists and large corporations, while disadvantaging small businesses,[30] thereby contributing to the consolidation of capitalism.[26] Nehru's leadership is considered to have failed in satisfying theurban and rural poor, theunemployed, and theHindu nationalists and fundamentalists.[31] Nehrudied in 1964 and was succeeded as prime minister byLal Bahadur Shastri.[32][33] Shastri's untimely death just two years later, in 1966, led to his succession by Nehru's daughter,Indira Gandhi, India's first and only female prime minister.[34] Nehru is often regarded as the architect of modern India.[35]
In response to a decline in support for Congress in the1967 general election, Indira Gandhi embraced an increasinglypopulist platform.[36] This led to opposition from the party'sright-wing, ultimately causing Congress to split in 1969 into the conservative and anti-socialistCongress (O),[37] and the Gandhi-led socialistCongress (R).[33] Gandhi's Congress (R) won a landslide victory in the1971 general election.[38] She is credited to havecentralised power, and her political base has been described as acult of personality.[39] Though many praised her for herstate socialism andprotectionism,[40][41] others criticised her allegedMachiavellianism and perceived insincerity regarding her socialist stance.[a]
Meanwhile, in 1967, an armed peasant revolt erupted in the village ofNaxalbari in the state ofWest Bengal, led by tribals and radicalMaoist-inspired communists. This event, known as theNaxalbari uprising, marked the inception of theNaxalite–Maoist insurgency—aprotracted conflict that has persisted for decades.[42][43]
Rising economic turmoil led to an increase incivil unrest.[44][45] Gandhi's increasing control over the judiciary, alongside undermining and bypassing of court rulings, sparked multiple constitutional crises.[46] In 1974, a wave of student-led protests in the state ofBihar, initially sparked by inflation, unemployment, and corruption, rapidly escalated into a broader movement of mass resistance, demanding systemic transformation and directly challenging Gandhi's authority. Known as theBihar Movement, it was led by socialist leaderJayaprakash Narayan, who called for a "total revolution".[47][48] On 12 June 1975, theAllahabad High Court found Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractice in theRaj Narain verdict.[49] In the face of massive political opposition, disorder, and dissent across the country, Gandhi enacted a state of emergency.[39]The Emergency began on 25 June 1975 and saw unprecedented nationwide censorship, mass arrests of dissenters and political opponents, widespread forced sterilisation, the suspension of the constitution, the nullification offundamental rights, and a dictatorial centralisation of power.[39][50] In 1977,Gandhi called for fresh elections, which resulted in a historic landslide victory for theJanata Party, a broad anti-Congress coalition. Janata Party leaderMorarji Desai subsequently became the country's first non-Congress prime minister.[51]
TheDesai Premiership ended the state of emergency and amended the constitution to make it more difficult for the government to declare emergencies.[52][53] Desai's economic policies were met with little success.[54] Significant ideological and political divisions eroded the Janata government. In 1979, Desai resigned andCharan Singh was appointed prime minister. Singh himself resigned just months later. In the1980 election, Congress resurged, facilitating Indira Gandhi's return to power.[55] Gandhi wasassassination in 1984 by herSikh bodyguards in the aftermath ofOperation Blue Star, a deeply controversial military action in theGolden Temple, a sacred site inSikhism, in an attempt to crack down onSikh separatists.[56] Her followers reacted by conducting aseries of nationwide anti-Sikh pogroms, leading to the deaths of thousands.[57][58] Indira Gandhi's son,Rajiv Gandhi, succeeded her as prime minister, with theNehru–Gandhi family evolving into a political dynasty.[59] The Congress government faced criticism for its handling of the anti-Sikh violence. Many accused the party of complicity, failing to bring the majority of perpetrators to justice, and allegedly providing state support or engaging in cover-ups.[b] The events of 1984 contributed to the intensification of thePunjab insurgency, a Sikh separatist movement that escalated into a decade-long armed conflict inPunjab, the state with the largest Sikh population.[60]
Rajiv Gandhi won a landslide victory in the1984 election. At the age of 40, he became India's youngest prime minister. His tenure saw a shift towards economic deregulation.[61] The Congress was defeated in1989, andV. P. Singh of theJanata Dal coalition assumed office. His implementation of theMandal Commission report—expandingreservations for lower caste Hindus—sparkedsignificant social and political unrest.[62] The 1990s also marked the ascent ofHindutva in Indian politics, with thedemolition of the Babri Masjid.[63] Following Singh's ousting through amotion of no confidence,Chandra Shekhar briefly served as prime minister before resigning in 1991. With the1991 election, the Congress returned to power underP. V. Narasimha Rao, whose government initiatedsweeping economic liberalisation amidst asevere balance of payments crisis.[64][65] The Congress lost the1996 election.Atal Bihari Vajpayee of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), closely affiliated with theright-wingHindutvaparamilitary organisationRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), briefly became prime minister but his government fell within days.[66] Two successiveUnited Front coalition governments underH. D. Deve Gowda andInder Kumar Gujral followed, both short-lived due to political instability.[66] Vajpayee returned to power in 1998, and after another brief collapse, led the BJP-organisedNational Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition to victory in the1999 election.[67] He became the first non-Congress prime minister to complete a full term.[68] His government conductedsuccessful nuclear weapons tests in 1998, continued economic liberalisation, and improveddiplomatic relations with the United States.[69] Dependent on coalition support and led by the moderate Vajpayee,[70] the BJP was unable to advance key ideological goals, which sowed dissent among hardliners within the party.[71] In 2002, a series of widespreadanti-Muslim pogroms across Gujarat, led to the deaths of over a thousand people.[72] The state government, led bychief ministerNarendra Modi, is considered complicit in the riots, and he has faced serious accusations of state-sponsored terrorism.[c]
The2004 general election resulted in the Congress returning to power, leading theUnited Progressive Alliance (UPA), a coalition ofcentrist andcentre-left parties.[73] Following the election,Manmohan Singh assumed office as the firstSikh and non-Hindu prime minister. Singh continued the process of economic liberalisation and is widely credited with contributing to a period of sustained economic growth in India.[74] His administration's handling of theGreat Recession enabled the country to navigate the economic downturn more effectively than many other nations.[75] He sought reconciliation with Pakistan and deepened ties with the United States.[76] Singh secured a second term following the UPA's victory in the2009 general election.[77] His government became increasingly associated with corruption, as it was implicated in several high-profile scandals.[78][79][80] The constraints of coalition politics contributed to what was widely perceived by the public as policy paralysis, although some contended that this perception was exaggerated or manufactured.[81][82] Despite robust economic growth, increases ineconomic inequality andunemployment also took place.[83][84] His later administration witnessed public disillusionment and a decline in popular support.[85][86] Meanwhile,Hindutva continued rising in the country, with many attributing the perceived failures of Singh's administration as a significant contributing factor.[87] The clearance of Narendra Modi for the 2002 Gujarat riots, by a special panel ofIndia's Supreme Court in 2012, led to anger and disbelief among the country'sMuslim communities.[88] In the2014 general election, the BJP, led by Modi, adopted aright-wing populist platform.[89] The party achieved a historic landslide victory, marking the first occasion since 1984 that a single party secured an outright majority in the parliament. The election was seen as the end of the dominance of the Congress in India's political landscape.[90][91]
Upon his inauguration, Narendra Modi became the first prime minister of India to be born after the country's independence. His first term primarily focused on reducingbureaucratic red tape,[92] implementing extensive economic liberalisation,[93] and overhauling the economic system.[93] These initiatives were accompanied by an expansion of certain government handouts,[94] even as welfare programmes and government spending were scaled back.[95] These policies continued into his successive terms. In the2019 general election, he secured another landslide victory.
Modi's second term witnessed a pronounced ideological shift towardsHindutva.[96][97] He has been widely credited with engineering a shift in India toright-wing politics, contributing to the state-backed mainstreaming of Hindutva, previously considered to be on the political fringe.[d] High levels of economic growth and development[98] have coincided with an intensification of economic inequality, reaching levels surpassing those observed during the colonial era. This has been described by many scholars, academics, and experts as "Billionaire Raj" or India'sGilded Age, and is generally considered to be a crystallisation of trends that had emerged in the 1990s. The administration has faced criticism for allegedly fosteringcrony capitalism.[e] Modi's government was criticised for mishandling theCOVID-19 pandemic.[99][100] Furthermore, the pandemic contributed to a broadercost-of-living crisis that persisted beyond its conclusion.[101][102]
Throughout his tenure, many observers have noted a significant and sustaineddecline in democratic norms in India. The Modi government has employed state power to suppress dissent across various sectors, including the arts, academia, journalism, and the political opposition, while also leading to anincreasingly right-wing and pro-government mainstream media.[f] His political base has been compared to acult of personality.[103][104] In the2024 general election, the BJP lost its parliamentary majority and now leads an NDA coalition government. The result coincided with a globalanti-incumbency wave and a resurgence of the opposition, led by the Congress party—though gains were largely driven by regional parties rather than a full revival of the Congress.[105][106]
The constitution of India is the supreme legal document of the country and the longest written national constitution in the world. It declares India to be asovereign,socialist,secular, anddemocraticrepublic.[107] It establishes the framework that defines the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions. It also sets outfundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens.[108] The day of adoption of the constitution is celebrated every year on 26 January asRepublic Day.[109][110]
The parliament of India is the country's supreme legislative body and follows abicameral structure comprising theRajya Sabha (Council of States) and theLok Sabha (House of the People).[111] Thepresident of India, who serves as the ceremonialhead of state, is also a formal component of the legislature.[112] The president is elected to a five-year term by anelectoral college comprising the elected members of both houses of parliament, as well as elected members of state legislatures.[111]Parliament House inNew Delhi is the seat of India's parliament, housing both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is thelower house of the parliament. Its members are directly elected by Indian citizens throughuniversal adult franchise, representingparliamentary constituencies across the country under afirst-past-the-post electoral system.[113]General elections are held once every five years, although early elections may be called if the house is dissolved by the president on the advice of theprime minister and thecouncil of ministers. During astate of emergency, the term of the Lok Sabha may be extended beyond five years.[108] The Lok Sabha is the principal centre of legislative authority in India, where major national laws are introduced, debated, and passed; the executive branch is primarily responsible and accountable to this house. The prime minister typically serves as theleader of the house in Lok Sabha, and the ruling party or coalition largely drives the legislative agenda.[111]
Amotion of no confidence is a formal proposal in the Lok Sabha asserting that the ruling government no longer has the support of the majority of the house; if passed, it obliges the entire government to resign.[111]
The current Lok Sabha, theeighteenth since independence, comprises 543 seats, all filled bymembers of parliament elected in the2024 Indian general election.[114]
The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States, is theupper house of the parliament.[115] It currently has 245 seats.Its members are elected by the members of the state legislative assemblies through a system ofproportional representation, by means of asingle transferable vote. Members servestaggered six-year terms, with one-third of the house being elected every two years. In addition, twelve members are nominated directly by the president, in recognition of their distinguished contributions to fields such asthe arts andthe sciences.[111][108]
While the Rajya Sabha has the constitutional authority to introduce, debate, and pass most categories of national legislation—with the sole exception ofmoney bills, which fall exclusively within the domain of the Lok Sabha[108]—it primarily functions as a revisory chamber and rarely obstructs significant legislation approved by the lower house. Nevertheless, on occasion, it has exercised its powers to delay or seek amendments to major legislative proposals passed by the Lok Sabha.[111]
The state legislature of India consists of the state legislative assemblies and the state legislative councils. While the majority ofIndian states and union territories function under aunicameral legislature, six states maintain a bicameral system, with the state legislative councils serving as the upper house.[116] Notably, money bills fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the state legislative assemblies. In the event of a disagreement between the two houses of the state legislature, the decision of the state legislative assembly prevails.[108][117]
The state legislative assembly, also known as the Vidhan Sabha or the Saasana Sabha, is the legislative body that functions as the unicameral legislature in twenty-two states and all union territories of India. In six states, it serves as the lower house of a bicameral legislature.[118]Members of the legislative assemby are directly elected by the electorate of individual constituencies through general elections held every five years, unless dissolved sooner by thegovernor on the advice of thechief minister.[119] State legislative assemblies are the locus of legislative authority in their specific states or union territories. Analogous to the Lok Sabha at the national level, a motion of no confidence may be introduced and passed within a state legislative assembly; if successful, the incumbent state government is obliged to resign.[108][117]
The state legislative council, also known as the Vidhan Parishad or the Saasana Mandali, functions as the upper house in the bicameral legislature of select Indian states.[120] A state legislative assembly may pass a resolution by a special majority to establish or dissolve the council.[121] Members of a state legislative council serve staggered terms of six years, with one-third of the members retiring every two years. The composition of the council reflects a blend of indirect election and nomination, designed to represent various interest groups and areas of expertise. Although the state legislative council performs a reviewing and advisory role, it holds limited legislative power. As of now, six Indian states possess such councils:Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Karnataka,Maharashtra,Telangana, andUttar Pradesh.[118][120]
Reservation is a form ofaffirmative action that was established during theBritish Raj.[122] It reserves seats for "socially and economically backward"castes and communities, in higher education admissions, public sector employment, and political bodies, for adequate representation.[123][124]
In 2023, Parliament passed theOne Hundred and Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of India, which reserves 33% of legislative seats for women.[125][126]
Numerous media outlets[127][128][129] and academic scholars[130][131] have extensively documented thedemocratic backsliding seen in India under the premiership ofNarendra Modi.
Laws on sedition, defamation, and counterterrorism, as well as harassment and raids by tax officers, have been used to silence critics and dissenting voices.[132][133][134][135] Organisations such as theEnforcement Directorate and theCentral Bureau of Investigation have been used to attack the opposition.[103][136] The Modi administration has delayed, suppressed, and withheld official government data, such as those related tounemployment, mob lynchings, andfarmer suicides, among others.[137]
India's "referee institutions", such as the judiciary, investigative agencies, theElection Commission of India (ECI), theCentral Information Commission (CIC),Lokpal, among others have been significantly weakened due to coercion and deference, patronage and interference, as well as neglect and institutional deprivation. Ideological alignment with the BJP, career incentives, and public opinion pressures, have caused and worsened institutional weakening.[138] This has coincided with the erosion of public trust in institutions and democratic foundations like therule of law.[139] The2025 Indian electoral controversy emerged due to allegedelectoral fraud and the collusion of the ECI with the ruling BJP during the2024 Indian general election.
Internet censorship has worsened, with a significant rise in the banning and blocking of websites, apps, and accounts on social media, alongside the suppression of online information, which are considered to be critical of the government.[140][141][142] Furthermore, throughout Modi's tenure as prime minister, the Indian media landscape has shifted markedly towards a right-wing and pro-government orientation. This alignment has sometimes beenpejoratively referred to as 'Godi media', a term used to criticise perceived media subservience to the ruling establishment.[143][144][129]
In 2021, theV-Dem Institute downgraded India from 'flawed democracy' to 'electoral autocracy'.[145] In a 2023 report, the institute characterised India as "one of the worst autocratisers in the last 10 years."[146] In 2024, India was ranked as the 19th most electorallydemocratic country in Asia, amid a process of democratic backsliding, according to theV-Dem Democracy indices.[147] In 2023, India was ranked 161 out of 180 countries in theWorld Press Freedom Index, published byReporters Without Borders.[148] TheDemocracy Index, published bythe Economist Group, classifies India as a 'flawed democracy'.[149] TheFreedom House classifies India as 'partly free'.[127]
