In historical times, most countries of the world had hereditary rulers. These kings made laws and ruled according to their whims and fancies. The people had no say in the affairs of the government. The quality of governance depended on the personality of the king. However, things have now changed. In India, we have a democratic form of government.

   Democracy is a government, of the people, by the people and for the people. The government depends on the consent of the governed, that is, of the people. It is a government in which the people reign supreme. Here, sovereignty means the supreme power to take decisions, the power above which there could be no higher authority.

   In a democracy, the people or the citizens as a whole exercise this supreme power. However, practically speaking, this means that there must be some mechanism available to the people to participate in the decision-making process and they must exercise control over the government. The government remains in power only as long as the people wish it to be in power