NCERT 9th Class (CBSE) Social Science: What is Democracy? Why Democracy?

Question: Write an essay on ‘Democracy and Poverty’ using the information given in this report but using examples from India.

Answer:
Democracy and poverty have been inextricably linked in India ever since her birth. Political independence of our country had been achieved through mass participation of the rural poor in the national movement. However, and unfortunately, since then this rural poor mass of the Indian population has seen its influence shrink in national politics. As decade by decade India has cultivated its resources and added to its national financial wealth, the rich have grown richer, and the poor have grown abysmally poorer. We have the distinction of being the largest democracy in the world, but we are also one of the world’s poorest countries, with gaping economic cleavages within our society.

The inequality of income is a concern that gets reflected directly in the operation of the democratic process of our republic. Research has firmly established the fact that though the majority of Indian voters come from the rural Indian hinterland, their influence on their elected representatives and on the whole, on the process of national policy making is shrinking with each passing year. On the other hand, the richer sections of our society, though they do not necessarily vote or have any discernible concern for their civic responsibilities, exercise leverage on the policy making in this country grossly disproportionate to their actual size in the population.

Moreover, the culture of corporate funding of political parties has fast spawned its offspring in the realms of the government establishment. It has made political parties and their leaders less dependent on their actual electorate and has allowed them to ignore the real concerns of the public like agrarian reforms, fine tuning of the Public Distribution System, agricultural subsidies and educational reforms.

To encapsulate, as we take pride in us being the largest democracy in the world, it is also necessary to recognize and act on the fact that the phenomenon of gross economic inequalities is putting a major limitation on its work-ability.

Question: What were the steps taken by Musharraf in Pakistan to empower himself?

Answer: In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999. He overthrew a democratically elected government and declared himself the ‘Chief Executive’ of the country. Later he changed his designation to President and in 2002 held a referendum in the country that granted him a five year extension. This referendum was based on fraud and malpractices. In 2002, he issued a ‘Legal Framework Order’ that amended the Constitution of Pakistan. According to this order, the President could dismiss the national or provincial assemblies.

Question: With reference to Zimbabwe, describe how the popular approval of rulers is necessary in a democracy but not sufficient.

Answer: In Zimbabwe, since Independence in 1980, elections have been held regularly and always won by ZANU-PF, the party that led the freedom struggle. Its leader, President Robert Mugabe, is popular but also uses unfair practices in elections. His government has changed the Constitution several times to increase the powers of the President and make him less accountable. Opposition party workers are harassed. Public protests and demonstrations against the government are declared illegal. There is a law that limits the right to criticize the President.

Question: On the basis of the various examples given in the chapter, state what should be the four features of a democracy.

Answer: Four features of a democracy are:

1. Representatives elected by the people take all the major decisions.
2. Elections offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the current rulers.
3. This choice and opportunity is available to all the people on an equal basis.
4. The exercise of this choice leads to a government limited by basic rules of the constitution and citizens’ rights.

Question: Enumerate the arguments given against democracy.

Answer: Some of the arguments against democracy are as follows:

1. Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.
2. Democracy is all about political competition and power play, with no scope for morality.
3. Since so many people are to be consulted in a democracy, it leads to delays.
4. Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people; so it leads to bad decisions.
5. Democracy leads to corruption as it is based on electoral competition.