Indian Democracy, 1957
| Date | 01 September 1957 |
| Author | R. M. Bennett |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070205701200306 |
| Published date | 01 September 1957 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
INDIAN
DEMOCRACY,
1957
R,.
M.
Bennett*
HE
Indian
general
elections
have
been described as
the
world's
greatest
experiment
in
democracy. Independence
came
to
India
in
1947
and
in
the
second
general
election
just
completed
some
494
seats
in
the
Lok
Sahha
(or
Lower
House
of
the
Indian
Parliament)
were
contested
and
in
the
state
legis-
latures
some
2,996.
To
elect
this
large number
of
representatives
the
franchise
was
extended
to
some
190
million
voters.
Whereas
in
the
first
general
elections
of
1951-52
the
voting
took
place
over
three
months,
in
1957
barely
three
weeks
were
given,
from
Sunday,
February
24,
to
Thursday,
March
14.
To
ensure
efficient
and
orderly
elections,
an
army
of
approxi-
mately
one
million
officials
was
required,
not
counting
attendant
police
and
district
officers.
There
were
more
than
two
hundred
thousand
polling
stations
which
varied from
elaborate
offices
in
urban
centres
to
straw shelters
6
feet
by
6
feet
in
the
remotest
jungle
villages.
The
right
to
vote was
not
denied
to
any
one
by
reason
of
inaccessibility.
Approximately
three
million
ballot
boxes
were
used.
Since
a
majority
of voters
were
illiterate,
each
poli-
tical
party
was given
a
symbol.
For
instance
the
Congress
Party
maintained
its
nationally
known symbol
of
a
yoke
of
oxen.
The
Communist
took
a
sheaf
of
grain
and
a
sickle.
The
symbol
of
the
Praja
Socialist
Party
was
a
hut
and
that
of
the
Jan
Sangh
a
lamp.
Other
parties
were given
other
symbols
by
the
National
Election
Commission
which
was
responsible
for
an
equable
and
proper distribution.
All
parties
seemed
to
have
an
abundant
supply of
paint,
paper
and ink, and
while
the
coloured
poster
display
compared
favourably with
that
of
1951-52,
this
election
was
quiet
and
almost
dispirited.
Certainly
indifference was
not
unknown.
The
Congress
Party
seemed
to
have
access
to
unlimited
funds
and
their
loudspeaker equipment and
anciliary
mechanics
dominated
*The
author,
Rev.
R.
M.
Bennett, a
graduate
of
McMaster
University,
is
a
Baptist
missionary
who
has
been
a
first-hand
observer
of
Indian
affairs
since
1929.
During
the
war
he
commanded
a
unit
of
Indian
engineers
and
served
in
the
Punjab
and
on
the northwest
frontier.
At
present,
Mr.
Bennett
is
in
Andhra
State,
India.
He
is
a member
of
the
CIIA
and
a
frequent contributor to
this
journal.
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