NCERT 9th Class (CBSE) Social Science: Democracy in the Contemporary World

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

Answer: Citizens of non-democratic countries face a lot of difficulties. These are listed below:

1. They are not allowed to choose their leader or raise a voice against changing their leader.
2. They aren’t entitled to form political parties without the consent of the one in power. They do not have the rights to form independent trade unions or are allowed to strike.
3. They do not enjoy the right to freedom of speech and expression because there is a possibility that people can be arrested for any trivial matter.
4. For example, the military coup of 1973 in Chile and the Communist government in Poland, which ruled till 1990, are examples of oppressive undemocratic rule.

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

Answer: When a democracy is overthrown by the military, freedom is curbed and following incidents are usually witnessed:

1. The military does whatever it wishes to do and no one has the authority to question them.
2. The military government tortures, harasses, imprisons and also kills people who had gone against them during their takeover. Moreover, citizens are not allowed to show displeasure against any of their policies.
3. People are barred from expressing their opinions freely, from forming any trade unions or even having the right to vote.

Question: Which of the following positions can contribute to democracy at the global level? Give reasons for your answer in each case.
1. My country gives more money to international institutions. Therefore, I want to be treated with more respect and exercise more power.
2. My country may be small or poor, but my voice must be heard with equal respect because these decisions will affect my country.
3. Wealthy nations will have a greater say in international affairs. They cannot let their interests suffer just because they are outnumbered by poor nations.
4. Big countries like India must have a greater say in international organisations.

Answer:

1. No, it does not contribute towards democracy at a global level because every democracy’s basic principle is equality. Every country or its people should enjoy equal status and rights irrespective of it being poor or rich. Also, the amount of money the country contributes towards international institutions is not the yardstick that determines the power a country can have globally.
2. Yes, it does contribute towards democracy because it promotes a fundamental right-the right to freedom of speech and expression. When every person of the country utilises his/her right to express and be heard, he/she automatically supports democracy.
3. No, it does not lead the democracy at the global level because at a universal level, all the countries whether rich or poor are equal. There should be no distinctions between the countries and all should be treated at par. Also, wealthy nations are not entitled to special treatments.
4. No, it does not support democracy because geographical areas or the size of the country cannot be the criteria to determine the superiority of that country.

Question: Here are three opinions expressed 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.

Answer:

1. The opinion of Guest 1 can be easily agreed with.
2. Being a democracy, India has to support the democratic aspirations of the Nepali people. The Government of India is within its rights to declare support for those who are struggling for establishment of democratic government.
3. However, there has to be recognition of the fact that no country can supplant democracy in another country. The push has to come from the people of that particular nation.

Question: In an imaginary country called Happy-land, 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?

Answer:

Chaman: Even though people bought an end to the foreign rule in Happyland, it cannot be called a democratic country because the king ruled as a monarch. This form of government is known as monarchy. It is only when people will enjoy the right to choose their leader, will it be called a democratic country.

Champa: A king cannot guarantee democracy because it will be a one-man rule. A government can be called a democracy only when there is a rule of the people. In other words, people should have the right to elect the nominal head of the state and their representatives.

Chandru: Happiness of the people cannot be the factor to form a democracy. The masses might be happy with the king, but he cannot establish a democracy because he is not an elected representative. For example: In olden days, people lived happily under various monarchs, but it cannot be called a democratic government, as they were chosen by the people.

Question: What happened to Iraq, after getting independence from British?

Answer: Iraq is a country in Western Asia. It became independent from British rule in 1932. Three decades later there was a series of coups by military officers. Since 1968, it was ruled by Arab Socialist Ba’th Party. Saddam Hussein, a leading Ba’th Party leader, played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to power. This government abolished traditional Islamic law and gave women the right to vote and several other freedoms that were not granted in other Western Asian countries. After becoming the President of Iraq in 1979, Saddam ran a dictatorial government and suppressed any opposition to his rule. He was known to have got a number of political opponents killed and persons of ethnic minority massacred.