New Delhi: A majority of Indians gave the thumbs up to the Narendra Modi Government with a sizeable segment -- 27 per cent -- supporting the notion of a ''strong leader''. A 38-nation Pew Research Center survey found that “In India, where the economy has grown on average by 6.9% since 2012, 85% (of people) trust their national government.” The survey on governance and trust among key countries, noted that 55 per cent of Indians supported autocracy in one way or the other. Notably in Vietnam, Indonesia, India and South Africa, many of the respondents polled expressed that military rule was a good way to govern.
The Pew report found more than half in each of the nations surveted considered representative democracy a very or somewhat good way to govern their country. Yet pro-democracy attitudes coexisted, to varying degrees, with openness to nondemocratic forms of governance, including the rule by experts, a strong leader or the military in all countries, the findings showed.
The reason attributed for this was a pervasive feeling of dissatisfaction. ''People in wealthier nations and in those that have more fully democratic systems tend to be more committed to representative democracy. And in many nations, people with less education, those who are on the ideological right and those who are dissatisfied with the way democracy is currently working in their country are more willing to consider nondemocratic alternatives.'' People also veered towards direct democracy where majorities in nearly all nations placed less emphasis on elected representatives.
Sixty six per cent said direct democracy – in which citizens, rather than elected officials, voted on major issues – would be a good way to govern. This idea was especially popular among Western European populists. The survey was conducted among 41,953 respondents in 38 countries from February 16 to May 8, this year. According to the survey, large numbers in many nations would entertain political systems that were ''inconsistent with liberal democracy''. When asked about a system in which experts, not elected representatives, made key decisions based on what they thought was best for the country, a median of 49 percent of the polled across these 38 countries opined that this would be a good way to run their nation. (UNI)
