Direct democracy and its devices

Detail

1. What direct democracy means

• Direct democracy: the citizens make decisions themselves. They do not elect representatives to decide for them.
• Representative democracy works the other way. People elect representatives, and those representatives make laws and run the government. India, the UK and the USA work mainly this way.
• Semi-direct democracy: an elected legislature makes most laws. Citizens can still vote directly on some issues through devices such as the referendum and the initiative.

2. Classic and living examples

• Athens (ancient Greece): citizens met in an assembly and decided matters themselves.
• Only adult male citizens could take part.
• Women, workers, slaves and foreigners were kept out, so only a small part of the people really ruled.

• The early republics of Greece and Rome show that "rule by the people" was narrow in practice.

• Switzerland today:

• Some cantons still hold open-air Landsgemeinde meetings. A canton is a Swiss state. At these meetings citizens vote by a show of hands. Examples are Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus.
• The Swiss also vote on national questions several times a year.
• Swiss citizens can force a national vote on any issue by collecting 100,000 signatures [2].

3. Switzerland: semi-direct, not purely direct

• The error: one NCERT chapter calls Switzerland a "direct democracy" and says its "President is the Head of the Government". Both claims are wrong.
• The correct picture:
• Federal Assembly: an elected parliament makes the laws.
• Federal Council: a seven-member group runs the government together. It is a collegial (shared) executive.
• President: the office rotates every year. The President is only "first among equals" and is not the head of government.
• So Switzerland is semi-direct: representatives govern, but citizens can veto laws or start new ones.

4. Limits of direct democracy

• Size: it works for a village or a small canton, but not for a country of crores of people.

• NCERT's school example: if every student sat on the school committee, nothing would get decided. Electing a few representatives solves this.

• Time: people have jobs. They cannot debate every law.

• Expertise: budgets, defence and treaties need specialist knowledge that most voters do not have.
• Majoritarian risk: a majority vote can override the rights of minorities.
• In the Class 9 NCERT "Team A" exercise, people decide everything directly. This is the pure direct model.

5. The four devices of direct democracy

Device	Who starts it	Meaning	Examples
Referendum	The government or legislature (or the Constitution makes it compulsory)	A measure the government puts to the people for approval [8]	Swiss constitutional amendments (mandatory); Swiss laws (optional); Brexit (2016); Scotland independence vote (2014); Italy
Initiative	Citizens	A proposal for a law that comes from the people [8]	Switzerland: 100,000 signatures [2]; many US states
Recall	Citizens	Voters remove a public official before the term ends [9]	California governor (2003); recall of some local body heads in India
Plebiscite	The government	Latin for "decree of the people". The people vote on a question, and the result may be binding or only advisory [10]. In practice it is used for sovereignty or territory	Junagadh (Feb 1948); Goa Opinion Poll (Jan 1967); Sikkim (Apr 1975)

(a) Referendum

• Mandatory (obligatory) referendum: in Switzerland, every amendment to the Constitution must go to the people.
• Optional referendum: citizens can challenge a law passed by the Federal Assembly. They need 50,000 signatures within 100 days of the law's publication [3].
• Other examples:
• Brexit (2016): UK voters chose to leave the European Union.
• Scotland (2014): a vote on independence from the UK.
• Italy: has held several referendums.

(b) Initiative

• Here citizens propose a law or an amendment and force a vote on it.
• Switzerland: 100,000 signatures put a constitutional amendment proposal to a national vote [2].

• The Federal Council and the Federal Assembly must give their recommendation within fixed deadlines. They may also offer a counter-proposal (their own alternative text) [2].

• Recent Swiss examples:

• 2021: a ban on face coverings, often called the "burqa ban", was approved [2].
• 2020–21: an initiative to make businesses responsible for human rights abuses abroad failed [12].

• 2022: an initiative to protect young people from tobacco advertisements was approved [13].

• USA: many states allow citizens to put laws on the ballot.

(c) Recall

• Meaning: voters can ask for their representative to be removed and a fresh election held [6].
• USA: the California governor was recalled in 2003.
• India, MPs and MLAs: there is no recall for MPs or MLAs.
• India, local bodies: some states have recall laws for municipal posts.
• Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have processes to recall corporators, but with strict conditions [6].

• Chhattisgarh: three-fourths of fellow councillors must start the recall. The official is removed if a majority of voters vote against them. A recall can begin only after the official has served two years. Three municipal council presidents were removed this way in 2008 [6].

• Constituent Assembly (1949): members debated whether voters should be able to recall MPs who fail in their duties. The idea was not adopted [7].

• 2011: the anti-corruption movement demanded a "right to recall".
• Problem for legislators: under the anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule), MPs and MLAs must vote on party lines. Breaking the party line can cost them their seat. If the party line goes against local interests, the member risks disqualification for defying the party, or recall for obeying it. So recall suits directly elected executive posts better than legislative seats [6].

(d) Plebiscite

• Junagadh (February 1948): the Nawab had chosen Pakistan. In the plebiscite the people voted overwhelmingly to join India.
• Goa Opinion Poll (January 1967): voters chose to stay a separate Union Territory rather than merge with Maharashtra. It is the only referendum-type vote held under a central law since Independence.
• Sikkim (April 1975): a referendum ended the monarchy and approved merger with India. Sikkim became India's 22nd state on 16 May 1975 [11].
• Kashmir: a plebiscite was promised, but it was never held.

6. Direct democracy and the Indian Constitution

• There is no referendum, initiative or recall for national or state laws, or for MPs and MLAs.
• Amending the Constitution (Art. 368) is done only by Parliament: 1. An amendment bill can be introduced in either House of Parliament. 2. Each House must pass it by a special majority: a majority of the House's total membership, and two-thirds of the members present and voting. 3. For federal provisions (for example the election of the President, the distribution of powers, or representation of states in Parliament), at least half of the state legislatures must also ratify it by a simple majority. 4. The President must give assent. This duty was made compulsory by the 24th Amendment, 1971.

• At no stage do the people vote directly.

• Gram sabha: India's closest thing to direct democracy

• Art. 243(b): the gram sabha is made up of all persons on the electoral roll of the village panchayat area.
• Art. 243A: "A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide." [4]
• Both were inserted by the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992, which created Part IX of the Constitution [4].
• Why it counts as direct democracy: every adult resident can take part, discuss development priorities and hold the panchayat to account [5].

• Limit: its real powers depend on state laws, so they vary from state to state [5].

• Ward sabhas / area sabhas: these are similar citizen meetings in urban wards, set up under some state municipal laws.

7. Debate: should India use referendums?

• Possible uses: creating new states, or major constitutional changes.
• For:
• Decisions approved by the people directly carry more legitimacy.

• It strengthens popular sovereignty (the idea that final power belongs to the people).

• Against:

• Populism: a simple "yes or no" choice can be swayed by emotion.
• Minority rights: a majority vote could override them. The Constitution's safeguards exist to protect minorities from this.
• Information gaps: many voters may not understand complex questions.
• Size and cost: India has nearly a billion voters.
• Federal risk: a statehood vote could stir regional tension.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 243A: the gram sabha exercises the powers that the state legislature gives it by law. It was inserted by the 73rd Amendment, 1992 [4].
• Swiss popular initiative = 100,000 signatures. Swiss optional referendum = 50,000 signatures within 100 days [2][3].
• Trap: the Swiss President is not the head of government. The President rotates every year as "first among equals" in a seven-member Federal Council.
• Trap: India has no recall for MPs or MLAs. Recall exists only for some municipal posts (Bihar, MP, Chhattisgarh) [6].
• Initiative starts with the people. A referendum is a measure referred by the government to the people [8].
• Sikkim became the 22nd state on 16 May 1975, after the April 1975 referendum [11].
• Chronology: Junagadh plebiscite (Feb 1948) → Goa Opinion Poll (Jan 1967) → Sikkim referendum (Apr 1975).
• Landsgemeinde (open-air citizen assembly) still meets in Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus.
• Athens: women, slaves and foreigners were excluded from the assembly. It was "direct" but not inclusive.

Mains Points

• Recall in India: it adds accountability, but it clashes with the Tenth Schedule party whip. It suits directly elected local executives better than legislators. The Constituent Assembly considered it and rejected it [6][7].
• Referendums for statehood or constitutional change: they add legitimacy, but they carry risks of majoritarianism, populism and voter information gaps. India's answer is the Art. 368 special majority, with state ratification as a federal check.
• Strengthen the gram sabha instead of copying Swiss national referendums. Give it fixed powers, a quorum and mandatory meetings. It already brings direct democracy to the village level [4][5].
• Swiss lesson: semi-direct democracy works because Switzerland is small, decentralised and has a long civic culture. That experience does not transfer easily to a large, diverse country like India.