International Day of Democracy

Democracy survives when we defend the right to vote, the right to speak, and the right to dissent.

September 15 is the International Day of Democracy—designated by the United Nations in 2007 and first observed in 2008—to remind the world that democracy is meant to be government of the people, by the people, and for the people. India, the world’s largest democracy, embodies that vision on an unmatched scale: more than 900 million eligible voters and elections that shape the future through ballots, not bullets.

But today, the reality raises hard questions. Voices of dissent are being silenced. Activists and protesters spend years in jail without trial or bail. Opposition leaders—including elected Chief Ministers—are imprisoned. Popularly chosen governments fall to backroom deals and defections. Even the Election Commission, tasked with safeguarding free and fair polls, faces allegations of bias: names vanishing from rolls, duplicate IDs, multiple votes by one person while another is blocked from casting a single ballot, and turnout figures that spike overnight.

These are not minor errors. They undermine trust in the process itself. India has long been celebrated as a democratic beacon in the Global South. Today, that beacon flickers—and requires our care.

On this Democracy Day, celebration should be thought of a commitment to protect the essence of democracy—our vote, our voice, and our right to dissent.