India is called a 'sovereign socialist secular democratic republic'. I get democratic, but what does 'republic' add that 'democracy' doesn't already cover?
Democracy means the people rule, choosing their representatives through elections. A republic adds one more idea: that the head of the state is elected, not a hereditary king or queen. So India being a 'democratic republic' means two things together. First, the government is chosen by the people (democratic). Second, our head of state, the President, is elected for a fixed term and the position is not passed down by birth (republic). Compare this with the United Kingdom, which is a democracy but not a republic, because it still has a hereditary monarch as head of state. In short, every republic that holds free elections is democratic, but a democracy is only a republic if its highest office is open to citizens and not reserved for a royal family.
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