Democratic Invention in India s Northeast Sikkim: Role of Actors and Organisations

Getting a firm hold on the process of democratisation has not been an easy task. The process of inventing democracy in the region which has experienced a different set of rule for a long time is often challenging, the intense power struggle, the viability of the situation, the human suffering, the hope and the despair. The most promising insights in the process of democratisation comes from understanding the factors that shape political behavior and the way in which people, political actors and institutions interact with one another in the establishment of the new system. The effective participation of the citizens as political actors and organisations provides the principal bodies representing and articulating public concerns and which will act as a medium of negotiation. Therefore, the paper intends to focus upon the role of actors and organisations that played a major role in Sikkim democratisation process and at the same time discusses how parties have engaged with one another in helping citizens understand, navigate and shape the process of democratic establishment. Democracy as a term indicates the equality of opportunity as between different individuals and different classes, not only political, but also educational, social and economic opportunity (Gillin, 1919). The meaning of democracy as a form of government goes way back to the understanding of the Greek Philosopher, however the usage of its term in the western society can be traced through the definition given by Dahl (1971), Schumpeter (1942) who has defined democracy as a political space or institution where there is relatively low barrier on the participation of the people, a genuine political competition and the active involvement of citizens in the formation of an independent association or organisations. The realisation of the forms of democracy has been the essential task in any democratic invention. Many a times when people speak of democracy, they usually refer to the political democracy, limiting its definition to the government or the state. However, if we need to understand the essence of real democracy, it needs to possess the characteristics of participation of the people in all the spheres of relationships. The broader understanding of democratic invention in the state becomes possible with the involvement of the study of political actors and various political institutions that emerge or re-emerge during the process of democratisation. Therefore, the study focusses upon the role of actors and organisations in the democratic invention of India’s northeast Sikkim, which was once a monarchical institution.

Keywords:
 Sikkim, Democratic invention, Actors, Organisations