Chapter 1 What is Democracy?. Why democracy?
Class 9thSocial Science- Chapter 1 What is Democracy?. Why democracy?
Exercise
Question 1.Here is some information about four countries. Based on this information, why would you classify each of these unties. Write “democratic”, “undemocratic' or “not sure against each of these
(a) Country A: People who do not accept the country’s official religion do not have a right to vote.
(b) Country B: The same party has been being elections for the last twenty years.
(c) Country C: Ruling party has lost in the first three elections.
(d) Country D: There is no independent election Commission.
Answer:
(a) The country is undemocratic as under no circumstances one’s religious beliefs are allowed to overshadow the right to vote in a democracy.
(b) The second statement seems undemocratic as no single party can itself hold and win elections. There are a number of parties who play the role of an opponent in a democratic country.
(c) The given condition is democratic as in a democratic country regular elections are held and winning or losing of a party depends on the choice of people.
(d) Undemocratic; as in a democratic country, there is an independent election commission to govern the matters like casting of votes and organizing elections in our country.
Question 2.
Here is some information about four countries. Based on this information, how would you classify each of these countries. Write democratic”, “undemocratic' or “not sure against each of these.
(a) Country P: The parliament cannot pass a law about the army without the consent of the chief of Army.
(b) Country Q. The parliament cannot pass CLU reducing the powers of the judiciary.
(c) Country R. The country's leaders cannot "any treaty with another country without ring permission from its neighboring country,
(d) Country S: All the major economic visions about the country are taken by officials of the central bank which the ministers cannot change.
Answer:
(a) This statement is undemocratic; in a democratic country, the parliament has the right to pass any law about the army without concerning to the army chief.
(b) This statement is democratic; in a democratic country, the parliament cannot pass CLU reducing the powers of the judiciary.
(c) This statement will not be considered as a democratic; In a democratic country, the leader of the country can sign any treaty with any other country and it does not require the permission from its neighboring countries
(d) This situation is not very clear, so it would be difficult to brand this country as democratic or undemocratic.
Question 3.
Which of these is not a good Argument in favor of democracy? Why?
A. People feel free and equal in a democracy.
B. Democracies resolve conflict in a better way than others.
C. Democratic government is more accountable to the people.
D. Democracies are more prosperous than others
Answer:
From above given four statements first three totally talks in the favor of democracy but “Democracies are more prosperous than others”, this argument is not in favor of democracy. As in any democratic country there are both rich and poor kinds of people and all of them play equal role in formation of any government. The representatives that are chosen by the people make decisions according to the welfare of the public and due to the fear of losing election they work hard. The prosperity of the country is dependent on various other factors like availability of natural resources, financial history, demographic and manpower constraints, so prosperity is not an argument that can be made in the favor of a democratic country in general.
Hence, option (D) is correct
Question 4.
Each of these statements contains a democratic and an undemocratic element. Write out the two separately for each statement.
(a) A minister said that some laws have to be passed by the parliament in order to confirm to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organization.
(b) The Election Commission ordered repelling in a constituency where large scale rigging was reported.
(c) Women's representation in the parliament has never reached 10 per cent. This led women's organizations to demand one-third seats for women.
Answer:
By separating each element we get:
Question 5.
Which of these is not a valid reason for arguing that there is a lesser possibility of famine in a democratic country?
A. Opposition parties can draw attention to hunger and starvation.
B. Free press can report suffering from famine in different parts of the country.
C. Government fears its defeat in the next elections,
D. People are free to believe in and practice any religion.
Answer:
Among all the above statements, last statement is not valid reason for arguing that there is a lesser possibility of famine in a democratic country as practicing any religion has no relation with preventing famine.
Hence, option (D) is correct
Question 6.
There are 40 villages in a district where the government has made no provision for drinking water. These villagers met and considered many methods of forcing the government to respond to their need. Which of these is not a democratic method?
A. Filing a case in the courts claiming that water is part of right to life.
B. Boycotting the next elections to give a message to all parties.
C. Organizing public meetings against government's policies.
D. Paying money to government officials to get water.
Answer:
Among above given four statements, the statement which seems undemocratic is option (d) as it advocates with paying the government officials money which is undemocratic.
Hence, option (D) is correct
Question 7.
Write a response to the following arguments against democracy:
(a) Army is the most disciplined and Corruption-free organization in the country, therefore army should rule the country.
(b) Rule of the majority means the rule of ignorant people. What we need is the rule of the wise, even if they are in small numbers.
(c) If we want religious leaders to guide us in spiritual matters, why not invite them to guide us in politics as well. The country should be ruled by religious leaders.
Answer:
(a) It is absolutely right that army is integral part of our country as it protects our country from all threats but army should not rule the country as it is not elected by the people also army doesn’t present the will of the people of the country.
(b) The second statement is not correct as in democracy those should rule who represents the majority. Rule of majority does not mean the rule of ignorant people. Such generalizations are not apt in most of the cases.
(c) Religion is always a serious topic in a democratic country as votes of many parties are clearly based and distributed on the basis of religion. The country should not be ruled by religious leaders in democracy because religion is matter of personal belief and faith and bringing religion into politics can cause serious conflict between citizens of different faiths.
Question 8.
Are the following statements in keeping with democracy as a value? Why?
(a) Father to daughter: I don't want to hear your opinion about your marriage. In our family children marry where the parents tell them to.
(b) Teacher to student: Don't disturb my concentration by asking me questions in the classroom.
(c) Employee to the officer. Our working hours must be reduced according to the law.
Answer:
(a) In a democratic country everyone has the right to choose according their choice. This statement of father is undemocratic as every adult has the right to choose their better half and parents should not try to impose their choice on their children.
(b) This statement is against the democratic value of a country as like every citizen has the right to question the leaders, every student too has the right to ask questions to the teacher and it is clearly undemocratic if this right is denied.
(c) This statement is democratic as working hours are decided according to the law of country, which is made by the people representatives in parliament and it is beneficial for the employees.
Question 9.
Consider the following facts about a country and decide if you would call it a democracy. Give reasons to support your decision.
(a) All the citizens of the country have right to vote. Elections are held regularly.
(b) The country took loan from international agencies. One of the conditions for giving was that the government would reduce expenses on education and health.
(c) People speak more than seven languages but education is available only in one language the language spoken by 52 percent people of a country.
(d) Several organizations have given for peaceful demonstrations and national strikes in the country to oppose these policies. Government has arrested these leaders.
(e) The government owns the radio and television in the country. All the newspapers need to get permission from the government to publish any news about government’s policies and protests
Answer:
(a) This is totally in the favor of democracy as in a democratic government everyone has the right to vote. Also, elections are to be held at a regular interval of time.
(b) Reduction of Education and health expenditure is against the welfare of the people. Moreover, the decision about the expenditure schematics needs to be made by the democratically elected government instead of any foreign organisations.
(c) In a democratic country, all the indigenous languages are given equal value and the state policy is neither in favor of nor against any language in particular. Education is to be provided in the mediums such that maximum number of citizens are benefited from it.
(d) In a democratic country, if the citizens are unhappy from the government policies then they have the right to make peaceful demonstrations and protests. The arrest of the leaders seems undemocratic at first but a judgement can’t be passed about in without knowing the scenario in which the arrests were made.
(e) In a democratic country like India one of the most important features of democracy is freedom that is given to media. If all the newspapers and television are being owned by government then the freedom of press and media is being violated, which is clearly an undemocratic practice.
Question 10.
In 2004 a report published in USA pointed to the increasing inequalities in that country. Inequalities in income reflected in the participation of people democracy. It also shaped their abilities influence the decisions taken by government. The report highlighted that:
● If an average Black family earns $100 then the income of average White family is $162. A White family has twelve times more wealth than the average Black family.
● In a President's election, nearly nine out of individuals in families with income over $75,000 have voted. These people are the top 20% the population in terms of their income. On the other hand, only 5 people out of 10 from families with income less than $ 5,000 have voted. They are the bottom 20% of the population terms of their income.
● About 95% contribution to the political Ties comes from the rich. This gives them opportunity to express their opinions and concerns, which is not available to most citizens.
● As poor sections participate less in politics, government does not listen to their concerns coming out of poverty, getting job, education, health care and housing from them. Politicians hear most regularly about the concerns of business and the rich.
Write an essay on "Democracy and Poverty" using the information given in this report but using examples from India.
Answer:
Democracy and Poverty are equally related with each other and the facts mentioned in the report of 2004 in USA clearly indicate that rich people still are more influencing than the poor. In the present date, rich people are the decision makers. All the policies that are being launched are set by their representatives. The poor people or people belonging to the poverty line cannot make any changes in this. If we look at our country the expenses of a general election cannot be afford by a common people and thus most of the political power is wielded by those with money. Poor people of our country work day and night just to complete the needs of his family and earn a livelihood These people fight with hunger not with the policies of the government.