Policy, Politics and Public Perception in India: Challenges to Democratic Governance

Abstract: Democratic governance is sustained not merely through periodic elections but through the continuous interaction between public policy, political competition, institutional accountability, and citizens' perceptions of the state. In India, this relationship has acquired particular significance because democratic politics operates within a socially diverse and economically unequal society. This paper examines the relationship between policy, politics, and public perception through the analytical sequence of policy → political communication → public perception → institutional trust → democratic legitimacy. Drawing upon the works of Rajni Kothari, Granville Austin, Partha Chatterjee, Niraja Gopal Jayal, Ashutosh Varshney, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Amartya Sen, and Christophe Jaffrelot, among others, the paper argues that contemporary challenges to Indian democratic governance cannot be understood only through the lens of electoral competition. They also concern the manner in which policies are formulated, communicated, and interpreted by citizens. The farmers' protests of 2020–21 and debates surrounding the Citizenship Amendment Act provide contrasting examples of how policy can generate competing political narratives and divergent perceptions of legitimacy. Recent Lokniti-CSDS evidence further demonstrates that Indian citizens remain deeply engaged with elections while simultaneously holding complex views about government performance, democratic rights, and political communication. The paper concludes that the durability of Indian democracy depends upon maintaining institutional accountability, informed public reasoning, meaningful participation, and the capacity of governments to translate electoral mandates into legitimate and responsive governance.

Keywords: Indian democracy, public policy, political communication, public perception, democratic governance, institutional trust, political participation.