Citizen consciousness and democratic culture based on moral values<\/strong><\/p>\n Tomnath Upreti<\/strong><\/p>\n Under-Secretary, Government of Nepal<\/strong><\/p>\n Kathmandu. Although democracy is the main system of governance in the modern political system, its effectiveness is not ensured only by the constitution, elections, political parties and institutional structures. <\/p>\n The real success of democracy depends on the consciousness of the citizens, the morality of the leadership, the accountability of institutions and the democratic culture expressed in social behavior. Therefore, it is not enough to understand democracy only as a technique of governance, it is also necessary to adopt it as a way of life, social culture and moral discipline. <\/p>\n The institutional structure of democracy ensures rights. But moral values teach the responsible use of those rights. The Constitution gives freedom to the citizens. Morality determines the dignity of that freedom. The law determines the limits of behavior. Conscience defines the meaning of those limits. <\/p>\n In this sense, the rule of law along with the rule of law and a culture of self-discipline are necessary for the stability of democracy. Spirituality is a concept related to the inner consciousness of a person, self-awareness, wisdom, compassion, restraint and purpose in life. Spirituality leads a person towards internal sophistication rather than external achievement. It motivates one to control selfishness, greed, arrogance and intolerance. Such internal discipline is of special importance in a democratic society. In a democracy, citizens enjoy wide freedom. But if freedom is irresponsible, anarchy can arise. Therefore, duty with rights, responsibility with freedom, and tolerance with dissent are necessary. <\/p>\n The Srimad <\/p>\n Bhagavad-gita presents the concept of selfless karma by linking karma with duty. If we look at its philosophical essence with public life, it can be concluded that position, power and authority should be used for the public good rather than for personal gain. The Upanishads have given importance to self-consciousness and the search for truth. <\/p>\n Concepts such as “truth” and “self-realization” can form the basis of integrity, prudence and self-discipline in public life. But in a democratic state, spirituality should not be used in the sense of making any one religious belief the standard of the state. The basis of democratic spirituality should be universal human values. Compassion, truth, non-violence, justice, tolerance, friendship and coexistence are common values that all communities can accept. Ethics is a value system that guides an individual’s decisions, behavior, and public conduct.<\/p>\n Integrity, transparency, impartiality, accountability, justice, tolerance and compassion are the basic moral values of democratic culture. Even if the formal structure of democratic institutions is strong, if the conduct of the leadership and citizens is immoral, then democracy is weak. Corruption, abuse of power, nepotism, favoritism, self-centered decisions and misuse of public resources are the main reasons for weakening faith in democratic institutions. <\/p>\n The philosopher Immanuel Kant found the basis of morality in the duty and conscience of the individual. When applying his ideas to public administration, the person in office should give priority to public duty over personal interest. Similarly, John Rawls’s thinking on justice highlights the importance of equality, fairness and institutional justice. The moral basis of democracy is also linked to these concepts. <\/p>\n The first basis of democratic culture is civic consciousness. An informed citizen does not only seek his rights. He also understands his duties. Voting rights are an important right of democracy. But if it is exercised on the basis of personal greed, racial or community prejudice, momentary emotional excitement or misinformation, the quality of democratic decisions can be weakened.<\/p>\n Therefore, democratic citizenship should not be limited to the ability to vote. It should include the ability to receive information, fact-checking, respect for different views, participation in public debate, respect for the law and social responsibility. <\/p>\n Today, digital technology and social media have broadened citizen participation. This has created new opportunities for democratic dialogue. But due to misinformation, hate speech, character assassination and digital mobstership, new challenges have also arisen. In such a situation, the development of ethical digital citizenship has become a new necessity of democratic culture. <\/p>\n The quality of democracy is related to the moral quality of leadership. The purpose of democratic leadership is not only to gain power but also to protect public trust and promote public interest. Ethical leadership is transparent. It is accountable. It listens to criticism. It does not see dissent as an enemy. Public office is not used as a means of personal prestige or gain. Decisions are based on evidence, law, justice and public interest. Abraham Lincoln’s democratic ideals centered on the governance of the people and accountability to the people.<\/p>\n Even in modern democracies, the legitimacy of leadership is not achieved only through elections, but its continuity is ensured by moral conduct and public trust. <\/p>\n In a democratic state, public administration is the main means of direct communication between the citizen and the state. The citizen experiences the state mostly through the administrative service. Therefore, the behavior of the administration can build or undermine the citizen’s trust in democracy. Legal provisions alone are not enough to make public administration efficient, fair, transparent, accountable and result-oriented. <\/p>\n Civil servants need a sense of public service, professional ethics and respect for the citizens. Nepotism, favoritism, service, favoritism and self-centered decisions are serious challenges to democratic governance. To control such tendencies, it is necessary to strengthen competence, transparent decision-making, conflict of interest management, effective monitoring, social responsibility and institutional accountability. <\/p>\n Education is the long-term basis of democratic culture. Education is not only a means of knowledge, skills and employment. It is also the process of building a person’s character, attitude and values. <\/p>\n The family is the first social school for children. After that, schools, communities and state institutions play a role in building civic character. Values like truth, non-violence, compassion, equality, justice, cooperation, environmental consciousness and coexistence need to be linked to the practical aspects of education. <\/p>\n The ancient sentiment of “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramaya” wishes for the happiness and well-being of all. Similarly, the ideal of “Sarvjan Hitay, Sarvajana Sukhay” inspires to give priority to collective welfare in public life. These concepts can be taken forward by communicating with modern democratic values\u2014human rights, social justice, inclusivity and equality. <\/p>\n Democracy is a pluralistic system. There is a diversity of ideas, languages, cultures, beliefs and lifestyles in society. The beauty of democracy lies in respecting this diversity. Dissent is not a weakness of democracy. It is a proof of its vibrancy. The problem is not disagreement. The problem is intolerance towards dissent. Therefore, democratic culture should develop a culture of dialogue. Refraining from making criticism a personal attack, respecting dissent, listening to the voice of the weaker community, and protecting the rights of the minority in the decisions of the majority are the indicators of democratic maturity. <\/p>\n Modernity, consumerism, and rapid technological changes have made life easier. But at the same time, individualism, competitive tension, and self-centered behavior also seem to have increased. Failure to maintain a balance between material achievement and moral achievement can weaken social trust. <\/p>\n In the context of Nepal, it is necessary to make civic and moral education practical from the school level to strengthen the democratic culture. High standards of conduct should be established in public office. Institutional transparency should be increased. The use of evidence and facts in public decisions should be expanded. A culture of responsible expression should be developed in digital media.<\/p>\n The institutional mechanism to prevent conflict of interest and abuse of power in the political and administrative leadership should be made effective. Most importantly, democracy should be developed not as a responsibility of the state, but as a common culture of the citizens. <\/p>\n Democracy is not only in Parliament, it happens at home. It happens in schools. It happens in offices. It happens on the streets. It happens on social media. It happens in the daily behavior of citizens. Democracy without spiritual awareness, moral values and human sensitivity can only be limited to institutional structures. The constitution is necessary. The law is indispensable. Elections are compulsory. But the element that makes all these alive is civic culture and public morality. Spirituality teaches self-discipline. Morality gives wisdom to distinguish right from wrong. Human values teach respect for others. Democracy provides an opportunity to give institutional expression to these values. Therefore, Nepal’s democratic future does not depend only on new laws, new institutions or new leadership. It also depends on the consciousness of the citizens, the character of the leadership and the moral credibility of the public institutions. <\/p>\n For a strong democracy, the rule of conscience with the rule of law, duty with rights, restraint with freedom, and humanity with development are necessary. Democracy is alive only when the institutions of the state are not only democratic, but the conduct of the citizens is also democratic. Democracy is not just a method of governance. It is an exercise of human dignity. It is a culture of coexistence. It is the quest for justice. And for its stability, the harmony of spiritual consciousness, moral discipline and human values is an indispensable requirement of today’s democratic society. <\/p>\n (Upreti is the under-secretary of the Government of Nepal) <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Citizen consciousness and democratic culture based on moral values Tomnath Upreti Under-Secretary, Government of Nepal Kathmandu. Although democracy is the main system of governance in the modern political system, its effectiveness is not ensured only by the constitution, elections, political parties and institutional structures. The real success of democracy depends on the consciousness of theContinue reading “Civic consciousness and democratic culture based on moral values”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":101263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-samachar-en"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/webpst_3cf16dd8.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101273,"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101272\/revisions\/101273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/media\/101263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthakhabar.com\/ak_api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}