Media as the Fourth Pillar of Democracy

As the largest democracy, India is considered a role model for a large number of developing countries. We have state and central governments elected by the people. We have a government run by our own elected representatives, known as Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the state and Members of Parliament (MPs) at the center. The democratic government has three pillars:

a) A Legislature: State Assemblies and Parliament, responsible for framing laws and deciding the way we run our affairs.

b) An Executive: The Governor, the Chief Minister, and the Ministers who run the state and the President, Prime Minister, and the Council of Ministers who run the country.

c) A Judiciary: The Supreme Court, High Courts, and other courts decide whether laws and constitutional provisions are followed by the elected governments.

The fourth pillar of Democracy:

Media work to provide information about what is happening in our surroundings. Media keep an eye on everything happening in the nation and it is the fastest way to know about current happening and other relevant information. Media is considered the fourth pillar of democracy. It plays an important role as play by the legislature, executive, and judiciary in the functioning of a democratic country. As these three pillars run the government of the country for the welfare and development of all the people, the media also work for the same.

 In a democracy, the people should know what the three institutions, namely the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary are doing for the welfare of the people. These institutions in turn need to know how the people are reacting to what they are doing. This can be only possible through the media because media is the easiest way to disseminate information quickly and easily across the country.

The government can't spread the information about the decision they made or new policies they made, to individual people of the country. And it is also not possible for the citizens of the country to keep an eye on every decision-making of government. So, the media is the only way to connect both. The main role of the media is to act as a bridge between the people and the government.

Media can spread the information about government through TV news, newspaper, website, or social media platform, which help people to get in touch with what is happening in the administration. In the same way, the government can know about the needs, demands, thoughts, and problems of people. This helps them to work for the betterment of the nation. Media also work to expose corruption and raise social issues. Thus, the media play a great role in the functioning of the country.