Class IX – What is Democracy? Why Democracy?

Ans. Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.

Ans. (i) In Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999 and over-threw a democratically elected government and declared himself the ‘Chief Executive’ of the country.

(ii) He wanted to acquire power.

Ans. King of Saudi Arabia.

Ans. The elections held in China are not fair and free due to the reason that before contesting elections, a candidate needs the approval of the Chinese Communist Party.

Ans. All the elections were won by a party called PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) which was known to use many dirty tricks to win elections.

Ans. Saudi Arabia

Ans. In Fiji, the electoral system is such that the vote of an indigenous Fiji has more value than that of an Indian-Fijian.

Ans. In a democracy, each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one value.

Ans. In particular it has to respect some guarantees to the minorities.

Ans. A democratic government is more accountable form of government.

Ans. In a democracy the final decision-making power rests with those elected by the people.

Ans. In the light of above definition of democracy the features of democracy are explained as mentioned below:

(i) In a democracy the final decision-making power rests with those elected by the people.

(ii) Democracy must be based on a free and fair election where those currently in power have a fair chance of losing.

(iii) In a democracy, each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one value.

Ans. (i) In the communist Poland, the real power was with the USSR and with US in contemporary Iraq.

(ii) In these cases the real power was with some external powers and not with locally elected representatives so these cannot be called people’s rule.

Ans. There are no free and fair elections in China as mentioned below:

(i) The National People’s Congress has the power to appoint the President of the country. It has nearly 3000 members.

(ii) Before contesting elections, a candidate needs the approval of the Chinese Communist Party. Only those who are members of the Chinese Communist Party or allied smaller parties were allowed to contest elections.

(iii) The government is always formed by the Communist Party. Thus, there are no free and fair elections in China.

Ans. (a) In a democracy, the right to vote is granted on the basis of Universal Adult Franchise.

(b) Although the principle of Universal Adult Franchise has been accepted in almost all the countries but there are instances of denial of equal right to vote as mentioned below:

(i) In Saudi Arabia, women do not have the right to vote.

(ii) Estonia has made its rules of citizenship in such a way that people belonging to Russian minority find it difficult to get the right to vote.

(iii) In Fiji, the electoral system is such that the vote of an indigenous Fiji has more value than that of an Indian-Fijian.

Ans. the steps taken by President Robert Mugabe were as mentioned below:

(i) He made several changes in the constitution to increase his powers and make him less accountable.

(ii) Meetings of the opposition were disrupted.

(iii) Demonstrations and protests were declared illegal

(iv) Right to criticize the President was made illegal.

(v) Government controlled television and radio

(vi) Government harassed journalists who were against it.

(vii) The government put pressure on judges and ignored some court.

Ans. (a) Universal Adult Franchise means that right to vote is granted to all the citizens on the basis of age without any discrimination by caste, race, sex, religion or financial status. For example, in India, the right to vote to all citizens above the age of 18.

(b) This ensures political equality in a country because as in India the Constitution grants universal adult suffrage, according to which, every adult citizen is entitled to cast his/her vote in all elections unless that citizen is convicted of certain criminal offences or deemed unsound of mind. Thus, it means that there is political equality in the country.

Ans. Arguments against democracy:

(i) Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.

(ii) There is no scope for morality due to political competition and power-play

(iii) So many people have to be consulted in a democracy that it leads to delay in making decisions.

(iv) Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people. It leads to bad decisions.

(v) Democracy leads to corruption for it is based on electoral competition.

(vi) Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them. They may take a wrong decision.

Ans. (i) Democracy is based on consultation and discussion. Hence, democracy leads to better decisions than any non-democratic government.

(ii) Democracy provides peaceful solution to differences and conflicts. In democracy, no one is a permanent winner, no one is a permanent loser. Different groups can live with one another peacefully.

(iii) In a democracy, the mistakes cannot be hidden for long. There is a space for public discussion on the mistakes. Either the rulers have to change their decisions or the rulers can be changed.

(iv) Democracy is based on the principle of political equality, on recognizing that the poorest and the least educated has the same status as the rich and the educated. People are not subjects of a ruler, they are the rulers themselves.

Ans. (a) In a representative democracy, elected representatives rule on behalf of the people. The majority of the representatives take decisions.

(b) The representative democracy has become necessary due to the factors mentioned below:

(i) Large population: Modern countries are not like ancient Greek city states. They have so large a population that it is physically impossible for all the people to sit together and take a collective dicision.

(ii) Shortage of time: Modern life has become so complex that the citizens do not have the time, the desire or the skills to take part in all the decisions.

Ans. Generally, we refer to democracy as a form of government. However, sometimes we use it in a broader sense as given below:

(i) Use for organisations other than the government e.g., no one goes hungry to bed or to get equal information, basic education and equal resources.

These are broader meanings or aspects of democracy which perhaps cannot be achieved or very difficult to be achieved. In view of this no country is a perfect democracy but because of these meanings, democracy is better than other governments.

Ans. Mistakes may be made in a democracy. No form of government can guarantee that. But in a democracy there is an advantage that such mistakes cannot be hidden for long. There is a space for public discussion of these mistakes so there is room for correction too. Either the rulers have to change their decisions, or the rulers can be changed. This cannot happen in a non-democratic government. Thus, we can say that on this count the democracy is better than other governments.

Ans. In a democratic form of government people change their rulers by elections

Ans. Representative government is a form of indirect democracy

Ans. China does not have a democratic form of government as people have to choose their representatives from only one party.

Ans. China faced famine, as the government in China was not accountable.

Ans. The social differences are easily resolved in a democratic form of government.

Ans. Free democratic political set up implies that state respects the rights of the citizens.