Question 1:
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.
- Country A : People who do not accept the country’s official religion, do not have a right to vote.
- Country B : The same party has been winning elections for the last twenty years.
- Country C : Ruling party has lost in the last three elections.
- Country D : There is no independent election commission.
Answer:
(a) Undemocratic
(b) Not sure
(c) Democratic
(d) Undemocratic
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.
- Country P : The Parliament cannot pass a law about the army without the consent of the Chief of Army.
- Country Q : The Parliament cannot pass a law reducing the powers of the judiciary.
- Country R : The country’s leaders cannot sign any treaty with another country without taking permission from its neighbouring country.
- Country S : All the major economic decisions about the country are taken by officials of the central bank which the ministers cannot change.
Answer:
(a) Undemocratic
(b) Democratic
(c) Undemocratic
(d) Undemocratic
Question 3:
Which of these is not a good argument in favour of democracy? Why?
- People feel free and equal in a democracy.
- Democracies resolve conflict in a better way than others.
- Democratic government is more accountable to the people.
- Democracies are more prosperous than others.
Answer:
‘Democracies are more prosperous than others’ is not a good argument in favour of a
democracy.
For example, democracy exist in India. But a majority of the people are very poor, whereas
nondemocratic countries like China and Mexico are more prosperous.
Question 4:
Each of these statements contains a democratic and an undemocratic element. Write out the two separately for each statement.
- A minister said that some laws have to be passed by the Parliament in order to conform to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organisation.
- The Election Commission ordered re-polling in a constituency where large scale rigging was reported.
- Women’s representation in the Parliament has never reached 10 per cent. This led women’s organisations to demand one-third seats for women.
Answer:
Question 5:
Which of these is not a valid reason for arguing that there is a lesser possibility of famine in a democratic country?
- Opposition parties can draw attention to hunger and starvation.
- Free Press can report suffering from famine in different parts of the country.
- Government fears its defeat in the next elections.
- People are free to believe in and practice any religion.
Answer:
(d) People are free to believe in and practice any religion.
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?
- Filling a case in the courts claiming that water is part of right to life.
- Boycotting the next elections to give a message to all parties.
- Organising public meetings against government’s policies.
- Paying money to government officials to get water.
Answer:
(d) Paying money to government officials to get water.
Question 7:
Write a response to the following argument against democracy.
Army is the most disciplined and corruption-free organisation in the country. Therefore army
should rule the country.
Answer:
Rule of army is against the principles of democracy. In a democracy, elected representatives of the people should govern the nation. Army rule stands for dictatorship.
Question 8:
Write a response to the following argument against democracy.
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.
Answer:
Rule of the wise appears to be better but not democratic. Let wise people contest election and become the ruler of the country. Rule of the majority is the basic principle of democracy.
Question 9:
Write a response to the following argument against democracy.
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:
Country should not by ruled by religious leaders. A democratic state should be a secular
state.
Religion and politics should be independent of each other. Only elected representatives
should be the administrators of the country.
Question 10:
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) It is not in accordance with democratic principles. Democratic values demand that father
should
not impose his will on the children. The daughter should be consulted.
(b) This statement is against the democratic values. It is the duty of the teacher to clear
the doubts
of the students.
(c) This statement is based on democratic value. Working hours should be according to the
law. In
a democratic country, rule of law is a basic principle of democracy.
Question 11:
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 loan
was
that the government would reduce its 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 per cent people of that country.
(d) Several organisations have given a call for peaceful demonstrations and nation wide
strikes in
the country to oppose these policies. Government has arrested these leaders.
(e) The government owns the radio and television stations in the country. All the newspapers
have to get permission from the government to publish any news about government’s policies
and protests.
Answer:
(a) Democratic: Where citizens have the right to vote and elections are held regularly, it is
democracy.
But elections should be free and fair. In India, democracy exists because elections are held
in a free
and fair manner.
(b) Undemocratic: In a democracy, no other country or agency can dictate the government to
reduce its expenses on any activity which are necessary for the welfare of the people. It is
the
basic duty of the democratic government to provide education and health to all the
citizens.
(c) It is not democratic: In a democracy, education should be given in a language spoken by
the
students.
(d) It is not democratic: People have a right to protest against the policies of the
government.
Peaceful demonstrations and nation-wide strikes are democratic method of protest.
(e) It is undemocratic: For democracy, it is essential that radio and television station
should be made
autonomous.
Question 12:
In 2004 a report published in U.S.A. pointed to the increasing inequalities in that country. Inequalities in income reflected in the participation of people in democracy. It also shaped their abilities to influence the decisions taken by the government. The report highlighted that : (i) 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. (ii) In a President’s election nearly nine out of 10 individuals in families with income over $ 75,000 have voted. These people are the top 20 % of the population in terms of their income. On the other hand only 5 people out of 10 from families with income less than $ 15,000 have voted. They are the bottom 20% of the population in terms of their income. (iii) About 95% contribution to the political parties comes from the rich. This gives them opportunity to express their opinion and concern, which is not available to most citizens. (iv) As poor sections participate less in politics, the 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 most rich. (v) Write an essay on ‘Decmocracy and Poverty’ using the information given in this report but using examples from India.
Answer:
No doubt in Indian democracy, the ultimate power is vested with the masses. But majority of
the
people in India are poor. People of depressed classes and tribal areas have been exploited
for
centuries by the well-to-do sections of the society. Affluent people keep on acquiring more
and
more wealth and property, while the poor continue to get poorer. Poverty is the root cause
of
various evils. Poor citizens cannot develop physically and mentally as they can’t even get a
square
meal a day. A poor person remains worried about earning his livelihood and has no time to
think
over the problems facing the country. The poor person does not even think about the
elections.
He can not use his right to vote independently. He can’t cast his vote against his employer.
During
elections, the rich distribute blankets, cycles, sewing machines and other things among the
poor for
obtaining their votes. The poor person may even sell his vote at times. The political
parties too, take
money from the capitalists which is why the rich control the government.
Every political party takes steps to take advantage of people’s poverty. The poor are
bluffed with
the slogans such as there would be no poverty or everybody would be given a home, clothes
and food, etc. Cheated by these cheap slogans, the poor people give their votes. For
example,
Congress (I) won 1971 elections by raising the slogan “Garibi Hatao”. The people have lost
faith in
the government owing to poverty. Poverty has also made the people disinterested in taking
part
in the government decision-making process. Thus, the poor are losing faith in democracy.
Poverty
is responsible to a great extent for violent movements. Therefore, the economic condition of
the
people should be improved to brighten the future of democracy in India.
Question 13:
Is democracy all about rulers and governments? Can we talk about a democratic classroom?
Or a democratic family?
Answer:
No, democracy is not only about the rulers and government. It is also about the people who elected their representative for a fixed tenure and even have the choice to replace / change them in the next elections. So, definitely we can talk about a democratic classroom or a democratic family.
Question 14:
What would have happened if India was not a democracy? Could we have stayed together as a single nation?
Answer:
If India was not a democratic country, still it would have been under the colonial rule. Anarchy would have prevailed all over, where people have no rights. We could have stayed together as a single nation if India had a stable government other than democracy. It may be monarchy or dictatorship or any other form of government.