Essay on The Role of The opposition In Democracy Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.
Wherever the parliamentary system of government has been established, the importance of a healthy, effective, vigilant and wide-awake opposition has been realised. The British Parliament is generally acknowledged to be the “Mother of Parliaments”. It has also become the model of a system where the opposition is officially recognised as Her Majesty’s Opposition. The largest minority party constitutes the official opposition in British Parliament, with its own council popularly known as the “Shadow Cabinet”. The leader of the opposition in Britain is accorded official recognition and provided with several facilities to enable him to function properly. He is regarded as the future Prime Minister since his party offers a viable alternative to the government of the day. Similarly, in India, the leader of opposition is accorded the full status of a cabinet rank
The common belief that a healthy opposition is essential for the sound working of democracy implies that unless there is a vigilant opposition constantly on the alert and even watchful of the government’s policies and actions, the ruling party would tend to become complacent and tardy. But when there are well-informed critics ever-ready to expose the wrongs committed by the Government and to bring to light its acts of omission and commission, the ruling party can hardly afford to be slack and negligent in the performance of its duty towards the country namely, to provide an efficient and sound administration. The parliamentary system of government works very smoothly where there are two principal political parties, more or less equally matched, the one out of power ever-ready to take over the reins of administration whenever the majority party is voted out of office, or resigns on a major issue, or is reduced to minority as a result of defections or resignations of members. The constant tug-of-war between the majority and the minority keeps the government on its toes and this ensures good government.
Generally, it is the opposition parties that are supposed to play an effective role in keeping the government of the day alert and active. But a vigilant public also plays his role. Democracy, after all, is participation in the administration in a responsible manner. “The democratic problem”, said the well-known commentator Lindsay, “is the control of the organisation of power by common man”. The citizens of a democratic country must be “thinking men and women”, possessing independent opinions and capable of taking intelligent interest in public affairs. It has been rightly said that the success of a democracy depends upon the ability, character and the power of discrimination which the people are expected to possess. In fact, democracy is reduced to an empty show if the citizens begin to behave like sheep and dumb cattle and develop the crowd mentality of being driven whichever way the leaders dictate.
Active and intelligent participation of the people in public affairs can be assured if they are adequately educated. Without education there can be no intelligent discussion and participation in the process of government. Education produces rational human beings, and the power of thinking develops the power to discriminate between good and bad. A citizen of a democratic regime is not merely to obey; he has also to see if his obedience is rational and warranted. A citizen is expected to develop the power of vigilance and ability to distinguish between chalk and cheese. People, who follow Bentham’s maxim, “While I will obey promptly, I will censure freely”, are true citizens of a democratic State. They possess the power to judge right and wrong and also the ability to criticise. It is this ability to judge and discriminate that leads to responsible criticism and healthy democracy.
The people generally also have an important role to play in a democracy—that of intelligent critics, and no democratic government worth the name can afford to ignore or bypass public criticism. If it were to commit this folly, it would soon become unpopular, lose its hold on the people and its majority in the legislature. This would signal its exit and facilitate the entry of the opposition into the citadel of power. Consequently, there is a reversal of roles—the party in power goes out of office and assumes the role of opposition, while the party sitting until then on the opposition benches becomes the ruling party. But the switch-over cannot, by the very nature of things, be permanent. If the new incumbents of office fail to come up to the people’s expectations and if the new opposition remains strong and vigilant, it can come back to power once again. The smooth transition and the changeover from the Treasury Benches in the legislature to the opposition wings is a valuable characteristic of democracy. In dictatorship the transition is seldom smooth. There are frequent coups, counter-coups, bloodshed and revolutions with considerable dislocation of life and normal business.
Democracy provides an outlet and a safety valve for people’s anger and frustration, and this outlet is open criticism of the Government whenever and wherever it does something wrong or fails to adopt the right course as demanded by the public interest. Thus the public shares the role of opposition whenever occasion demands it. The Press also has a vital role to play in a democracy. It is the popular forum for educating the public viewpoint. Actually the Press not only reflects public opinion and is the people’s voice in a democracy, it also helps to build up public opinion. The Press should really be a zealous guardian of the people’s rights; privileges and liberties. The newspapers are the watchdogs and guardians of the public interest, like the opposition parties in a legislature.
Granted that it is the function of the opposition to oppose, but whether it is the opposition in Parliament or the critics of the Government in public or the newspapers in the country, all criticism has to be made, and the opposition voiced, in a responsible and healthy manner. If the opposition behaves irresponsibility and indulges in unhealthy and destructive criticism instead of constructive discussions, the entire democratic fabric is endangered. Both sides—the ruling party and the opposition—have to observe the rules of the game. They must not play foul; for one foul inevitably leads to another and yet another and then the end of the folly is nowhere in sight. Democracy then becomes a mess. It is quite obvious that unless the people are vigilant and alert, all power would pass into the hands of clever professional politicians who seldom hesitate to exploit the ignorant masses and pursue policies that help them to perpetuate their rule.
While opposition is essential for sound working of a democracy, such opposition has to be responsible and healthy. The purpose of the opposition is to keep the Government on its toes and to prevent misuse of power. But the true function of opposition can be performed only when there is discipline, a sense of responsibility all round and a desire to give the topmost priority to the public interest as against personal or party interests. Discipline and responsible conduct ensure steady and smooth progress of all democratic structures, but the lack of discipline of a healthy, constructive approach inevitably leads to instability, confusion and reversal of economic progress.
