Many countries that gained freedom from colonialism experienced non-democratic rule because leaders decided that at such a nascent stage national unity was their priority and that democracy would introduce differences and conflicts. It took various forms: nominal democracy but effective control by one leader, one-party rule, or direct army rule. Non-democratic regimes always started with a promise of restoring democracy very soon. But once they established themselves, it was very difficult to dislodge them. The conditions in India were not very different. 

Challenge of Building Democracy

There are many challenges that a nation faces and it is only through democratic politics that those challenges are faced. 

• Competition and power are two most visible things about politics but the purpose of political activity is and should be deciding and pursuing public interest. 
  • This is the route our leaders decided to take.
• Adoption of Constitution: Our constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and signed on 24 January 1950 and it came into effect on 26 January 1950. 
  • At that time the country was being ruled by an interim government. So it became necessary to install the first democratically elected government of a country. 
  • However, leaders of newly independent India decided to overcome all challenges.
    •  Leaders here were deeply committed to the idea of democracy because they viewed politics as a way of solving problems and not just a road to power.

India’s Democratic Experiment

Establishment of the Election Commission: Election Commission of India was set up in January 1950. 

• Sukumar Sen was the first Chief Election Commissioner. It was not going to be easy to hold a free and fair election in a country of India’s size. 
• Delimitation and Electoral Rolls: Holding an election requires delimitation or drawing boundaries of electoral constituencies, preparing electoral rolls, or a list of all citizens eligible to vote.
• Preparation for First General Election: Preparing for first general election was a mammoth exercise. No election on this scale had ever been conducted in the world before. 
  • At that time there were 17 crore eligible voters, who had to elect about 3,200 MLAs and 489 Members of Lok Sabha. 
  • Election Commission therefore had to train over 3 lakh officers and polling staff to conduct the elections.
• Challenges of Literacy and Democracy: Only 15% of eligible voters were literate hence first general election was also the first big test of democracy in a poor and illiterate country. 
  • Till then democracy had existed only in prosperous countries, mainly in Europe and North America, where nearly everyone was literate. 
• Bold Experiment with Universal Adult Franchise: Many European nations had not even given voting rights to women hence India’s experiment with universal adult franchise appeared very bold and risky. 
  • An Indian editor called it “biggest gamble in history”. Organiser, a magazine, wrote that Jawaharlal Nehru “would live to confess failure of universal adult franchise in India”. 
  • A British member of the Indian Civil Service claimed that “a future and more enlightened age will view with astonishment the absurd farce of recording the votes of millions of illiterate people”.
• Execution of First General Election: Elections were postponed twice and finally held from October 1951 to February 1952. 
  • It took six months for campaigning, polling, and counting to be completed. 
  • Elections were competitive and the level of participation was encouraging as more than half of eligible voters turned out to vote on the day of elections.
• Global Impact of India’s 1952 Election: India’s general election of 1952 became a landmark in the history of democracy all over the world. 
  • It proved that democracy could be practiced anywhere in the world even in conditions of poverty or illiteracy. 

Conclusion

India’s commitment to democracy, despite challenges of poverty and illiteracy, set it apart from many post-colonial nations. Unlike others, which fell into non-democratic regimes, India embraced universal adult franchise and held its first general election in 1952, proving that democracy could thrive anywhere. This bold experiment underscored that politics should prioritize public interest, and it highlighted the significant role of democratic processes in addressing national challenges.

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