Get Me Notes

Democratic Politics	CH-1:Democracy in the Contemporary World
India & Contemporary…	CH-2:What is Democracy? Why Democracy?
Contemporary India	CH-3:Constitutional Design
Economics	CH-4:Electoral Politics
	CH-5:Working of Institutions
	CH-6:Democratic Rights

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.

(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 winning elections for the last twenty years.

(c) Country C: Ruling party has lost in the last three elections

(d) Country D: There is no independent election commission

(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.

(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 a law reducing the powers of the judiciary

(c) Country R: The country’s leaders cannot sign any treaty with another country without taking permission from its neighbouring country.

(d) Country S: All the major economic decisions about the country are taken by officials of the central bank which the ministers cannot change.

(a) undemocratic

(b) democratic

(c) undemocratic

(d) undemocratic

Question 3:

Which of these is not a good argument in favour 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

The argument ‘d’, which states that “Democracies are more prosperous than others”, is not a good argument in favour of democracy. This is because some democracies like India are still developing economically, while monarchies like the states of UAE are economically strong.

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 conform to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organisation.

(b) The Election Commission ordered re-polling 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 organisations to demand one-third seats for women.

(a) Democratic element − some laws have to be passed by the parliament

Undemocratic element − conform to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organisation

(b) Democratic element − the Election Commission ordered re-polling

Undemocratic element − large scale rigging was reported

(c) Democratic element − this led to women’s organisations to demand one third seats for women

Undemocratic element − women’s representation in the parliament has never reached 10 per cent

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 practise any religion.

Option ‘d’ is not a valid reason for arguing that there is a lesser possibility of famine in a democratic country. This is because practising a religion has nothing to do with preventing famine.

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) Organising public meetings against government’s policies.

(d) Paying money to government officials to get water.

Option ‘d’, which advocates paying the government officials money, is an undemocratic method.

Question 7:

Write a response to the following arguments against democracy.

(a) Army is the most disciplined and corruption-free organisation 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.

A democracy is the government elected by the people, from among the people themselves. The Army is integral in protecting the country, but it is not elected by the people; hence, it cannot form a democratic government. The second statement is not true as all people are intelligent to some extent. The third statement is dangerous because bringing religion into politics can cause serious conflict.

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.

The first two statements are undemocratic as the girl is denied any opportunity to voice her opinion about her own marriage and the student is denied the right to clear his doubts by asking questions. The third statement is democratic as it calls for a rule of law which 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 given 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 percent people of the 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 in the country. All the newspapers have to get permission from the government to publish any news about government’s policies and protests.

The country is not a democracy. The people have the right to vote but they do not have the right to free speech and demonstrations. The country is also under economic sanctions, which means that the people cannot take their own economic decisions. The government’s censorship of the media prevents the public from voicing its opinion.

Democratic Politics	CH-1:Democracy in the Contemporary World
India & Contemporary…	CH-2:What is Democracy? Why Democracy?
Contemporary India	CH-3:Constitutional Design
Economics	CH-4:Electoral Politics
	CH-5:Working of Institutions
	CH-6:Democratic Rights

 

 

Question 1:

Which of the following does not lead to the spread of democracy?

(a) Struggle by the people

(b) Invasion by foreign countries

(c) End of colonialism

(d) People’s desire for freedom

(c) End of colonialism

 

Question 2:

Which of the following statements is true about today’s world?

(a) Monarchy as a form of government has vanished.

(b) The relationship between different countries has become more democratic than ever before.

(c) In more and more countries rulers are being elected by the people.

(d) There are no more military dictators in the world.

(c) In more and more countries rulers are being elected by the people.

 

Question 3:

Use one of the following statements to complete the sentence:

Democracy in the international organisations requires that …

(a) The rich countries should have a greater say.

(b) Countries should have a say according to their military power.

(c) Countries should be treated with respect in proportion to their population.

(d) All countries in the world should be treated equally.

(d) All countries in the world should be treated equally.

 

Country	Path to Democracy
(a) Chile	(i) Freedom from British colonial rule
(b) Nepal	(ii) End of military dictatorship
(c) Poland	(iii) End of one party rule
(d) Ghana	(iv) King agreed to give up his powers

Country	Path to Democracy
(a) Chile	(ii) End of military dictatorship
(b) Nepal	(iv) King agreed to give up his powers
(c) Poland	(iii) End of one party rule
(d) Ghana	(i) Freedom from British colonial rule

       

Question 5:

What are the difficulties people face in a non-democratic country? Give answers drawing from the examples given in this chapter.

In non-democratic countries people cannot freely choose their leader, they cannot form political parties without the consent of those who are in power. In some extreme cases people who protest against the authorities are tortured and killed. The military coup of 1973 in Chile and the Communist government in Poland, which ruled till 1990, are examples of oppressive undemocratic rule. While the military rule in Chile tortured and killed people who opposed its rule, the Communist regime in Poland imprisoned those who spoke against the government. In both the cases, people were not free to choose their leaders.

 

Question 6:

Which freedoms are usually taken away when a democracy is overthrown by the military?

When a democracy is overthrown by the military, the freedom of the people to choose their own leader is taken away. In addition to this, they are not allowed the freedom of expressing displeasure at any of the government policies which they don’t like.

 

Question 7:

Which of the following positions can contribute to democracy at the global level? Give reasons for your answer in each case.

(a) My country gives more money to international institutions. Therefore, I want to be treated with more respect and exercise more power.

(b) My country may be small or poor. But my voice must be heard with equal respect, because these decisions will affect my country.

(c) Wealthy nations will have a greater say in international affairs. They cannot let their interests suffer just because they are outnumbered by poor nations.

(d) Big countries like India must have a greater say in international organisations.

The positions voiced by alternatives ‘b’ and ‘c’ can contribute to democracy at the global level. While ‘b’ provides weaker nations an opportunity to be recognised in the decision making process, ‘c’ (if exercised properly) would protect the wealthy nations from being reduced to a minority.

 

Question 8:

Here are three opinions heard in a television debate on the struggle for democracy in Nepal. Which of these do you agree with and why?

Guest 1: India is a democracy. Therefore, the Indian government must support the people of Nepal who are struggling against monarchy and for democracy.

Guest 2: That is a dangerous argument. We would be in the same position as the US was in Iraq. Remember, no outside force can promote democracy.

Guest 3: But why should we bother about the internal affairs of another country? We should be worried about our business interests there, not about democracy.

The opinion of Guest 3 can be easily agreed with. This is because it is a diplomatic approach towards a sensitive international situation, while at the same time it upholds the fact that only the people of a nation can establish democracy in their own country.

 

Question 9:

In an imaginary country called Happyland, the people overthrew the foreign ruler and brought back the old royal family. They said: “After all their ancestors were our kings before foreigners started ruling us. It is good that we have one strong ruler, who can help us become rich and powerful”. When someone talked about democracy the wise men said it is a foreign idea. Their struggle was to throw the foreigners and their ideas out of the country. When someone demanded freedom for the media, the elders thought that too much criticism of the ruler would not help them improve their living standards. “After all, the king is so kind and interested in the welfare of all the subjects. Why create problems for him. Don’t we all want to be happy?”

After reading the above passage, Chaman, Champa and Chandru made the following observations.

Chaman: Happyland is a democratic country because people were able to throw out the foreign rulers and bring back the king.

Champa: Happyland is not a democratic country because people cannot criticise the ruler. The king may be nice and may provide economic prosperity, but a king cannot give a democratic rule.

Chandru: What people need is happiness. So they are willing to allow their new ruler to take decisions for them. If people are happy it must be a democracy.

What is your opinion about each of these statements? What do you think about the form of government in this country?

Chaman’s statement is incorrect because the overthrowing of a foreign power just amounts to gaining sovereignty.

Champa’s statement is correct. A democracy is a rule of the people. The people should have the right to question their ruler.

Chandru’s statement is incorrect. Happiness of the people is only one factor of a democracy. The people might be happy with the king, but he is not an elected representative.