The tyranny of the majority is a product of the democratic process that could end up killing democracy itself. It stifles dissent, criticis...
The tyranny of the majority is a product of the democratic process that could end up killing democracy itself. It stifles dissent, criticism and all shades of the opinion except that of the brute majority. As the 19th-century British political thinker JS Mill noted, the tyranny of the majority does not limit itself to the political sphere but also encroaches on the social and personal domains of citizens and the community.
In order to limit the tyranny of the majority, democratic constitutions all over the world adopt some restraints on authority, such as guaranteeing the rights of citizens. But what about a situation when rulers under the guise of majority rule short circuit democracy by concentrating authority in themselves or abandoning rationality in decision-making and in policy?
Under the tyranny of the majority, wrote De Tocqueville, rulers base their claim to rule on numbers, not on righteousness or excellence. They substitute rule of law with rule by law. All differing opinions are viewed as challenges to the ruler.
Indira’s Emergency
The gravest instance India has experienced of the democratic process being subverted by a ruler was the Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi in 1975, when civil liberties were suspended. But the tyranny of the majority gives rulers the scope...
