Rebuilding democracy from the bottom Up:An NGO experiment in Karnataka

Jagadish, B. and Siddegowda, Y.S (2013) Rebuilding democracy from the bottom Up:An NGO experiment in Karnataka. Journal of Media and Social Development, 1 (2). pp. 46-61. ISSN 2320-8244

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Abstract

India is the world's largest democracy governed by world'slongest written constitution. One of the most important features of India's democratic structure is elections held once in every five years. Free and fair elections are indispensable for a healthy democracy. Elections form the mainstay of Indian Democracy too. However, democracy is hampered by four C's -Corruption, Criminalization, Casteism and Communalism. In the context of the Assembly elections in Karnataka State during 2013, Vivekananda Institute for Leadership Development (V-LEAD) along with civil organizations initiated "Making Democracy Work" Campaign with the objectives of spreading awareness about the role of citizens in democracy, registering their names for election, motivating young and first-time voters to participate, providing background information of all contesting candidates, minimizing buying of votes and ensuring free and fair elections. Public programs and media engagement activities were conducted in all 11 Assembly constituencies of Mysore District in Karnataka covering 704 villages and 41 urban wards. It is observed that there was an increase by 4.81 per cent voting in 2013 compared to 2008. Voting percentages of all the 11 Assembly constituencies of Mysore District also increased. Role of civic society and media in creating awareness among the citizens and innovative pedagogy adopted during the campaign are discussed in this paper.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Democracy, Non-Governmental Organization,Corruption, Criminalization, Stakeholders.
Subjects:	A Arts and Humanities > Social Work
Divisions:	Department of > Social Work
Depositing User:	Dr Raju C
Date Deposited:	04 Feb 2021 09:45
Last Modified:	04 Feb 2021 09:45
URI:	http://eprints.uni-mysore.ac.in/id/eprint/15690

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