The BJP’s leadership says that disputes about mosques, temples and rights to worship, which are tearing up Indian society, will be settled by courts according to the Constitution. Pew Research Center surveys and the Global State of Democracy Report, 2021, reveal that two-thirds of citizens in democratic countries, including the U.S., do not trust institutions such as elected assemblies and courts to represent their will. Another horrific assassination of school children in the U.S. has caused the U.S. President to throw up his hands. The U.S. Senate is divided, and the Supreme Court continues to refer to the Second Amendment of the Constitution to disallow any dilution of a fundamental right of citizens to bear arms. The looming possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court denying women their rights to reproductive health is dividing the U.S. further. In India, laws regarding citizenship and sedition are being used to curb the fundamental rights of citizens and are being contested in the courts.
The U.S. and India are democracies founded on written Constitutions, which state the democratic principles adopted by ‘We, the People’ living within the geographical boundaries of these countries. The Constitutions define the institutions which are required to maintain democracy — principally elected assemblies and independent courts.
