Democracy is of two types: direct and indirect. In direct democracy, the people exercise their supreme power directly as is the case in Switzerland.  

• There are four devices of direct democracy, namely, Referendum, Initiative, Recall and Plebiscite.  
• In indirect democracy, on the other hand, the representatives elected by the people exercise the supreme power and thus carry on the government and make the laws.  

• This type of democracy, also known as representative democracy, is of two kinds: parliamentary and presidential. 
• The Indian Constitution provides for representative parliamentary democracy under which the executive is responsible to the legislature for all its policies and actions.  
• Universal adult franchise, periodic elections, rule of law, independence of judiciary, and absence of discrimination on certain grounds are the manifestations of the democratic character of the Indian polity. 

Source: Laxmikanth