Class IX Political Science Ch- 1 (What is Democracy? Why Democracy)

                     Social Science

                 Class IX (Political Science)                             

    Ch-1(What is Democracy? Why Democracy)

               Very Short Answer Questions

Q1. How is Myanmar a non-democratic country?

 Ans- The army rulers of Myanmar are not elected by the people. Those who happen to be in control of the army become the rulers of the country. People have no say in this decision.

Q2. When did Parvez Musharraf come to power in Pakistan?

Ans- In Pakistan, General Parvez Musharaff led a military Coup in October 1999.

Q3. When did Musharaff become President of Pakistan?

 Ans- In 2002, Musharaff held a referendum in the country that granted him an extension of five years as a President.

Q4. What does 'referendum' mean?

Ans- Referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may be adoption of a new constitution, a law or a specific governmental policy.

Q5. What was 'Legal Framework Order'?

Ans- It was an order issued by President Musharaff in which the President can dismiss the national or provincial assemblies. The work of the civilian cabinet is supervised by a ‘National Security Council' which is dominated by military officers.

Q6. Who took the final decision in Pakistan even after elections?

Ans- The power to take final decision rested with army officials and with General Musharaff and none of them were elected by the people.

Q7. How People elect their representatives in China?

Ans- In China, elections are regularly held after every five years for electing the country's Parliament called National People's Congress.

Q8. How is President of China elected?

The National People's Congress consisting of about 3,000 members, has the power to appoint the President of the country.

Q9. What was PRI?

Ans- It was a political party of Mexico called as Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Q10. Why were every elections won by PRI in Mexico?

Ans- PRI managed to win elections in Mexico every six years because they used many unfair means to win elections. Like they spend a large sum of money in the campaign for its candidates and force people to vote for them.

Q11. What does the true democracy say?

Ans- A democracy must be based on a free and fair elections where those currently in power have a fair chance of losing.

Q12. In which country, women do not have the right to vote?

Ans- Saudi Arabia.

Q13. What is the electoral system in Fiji?

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

Q14. When did Zimbabwe attain independence?

Ans- Zimbabwe attained independence from white minority rule in 1980.

Q15. Which party is ruling over Zimbabwe since independence?

Ans- ZANU-PF is the party that is ruling over Zimbabwe since independence.

Q16. Who is the President of Zimbabwe?

Ans- Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Q17. Give any one demerit of democracy.

Ans- Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.

Q18. Give any one merit of democracy.

Ans- A democratic government is a better government because it is more accountable form of government and it enhances the dignity of citizens.

Q19. How democracy allows us to correct its own mistakes?

Ans- In democracy, there is space for public discussion on government's or ruler's mistakes and there is a room for correction. Either the rulers have to change their decisions, or the rulers can be changed.

Q20. How does democracy enhance the dignity of citizens?

Ans- Democracy is based on the principle of political equality, on recognising that the poorest and the least educated has the same status as the rich and the educated.

Q21. What is the basic sense behind a method of taking decision in democracy?

Ans- A democratic decision involves consultation with and consent of all those who are affected by that decision.

                  Short Answer Questions

Q1. Compare the democratic system in China with Mexico.

Ans- Democratic system of China:

(i)               In China, the elections do not offer people any choice.

(ii)            They have to choose the ruling party and the candidates approved by it.

                           

     Democratic system of Mexico:

(i)               In Mexico, the people seemed to have a choice but practically they did not have any choice.

(ii)            There was no way that the ruling party could be defeated, even if the people were against it.

Q2. Give examples of the countries which do not provide equal rights to vote.

Ans- There are many examples of countries which do not provide equal rights to vote.

Examples:

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

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

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

Q3. Give arguments against democracy.

Ans- The arguments against democracy are:

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

(ii)            Democracy is all about political competition and power play. There is no scope for morality.

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

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

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

Q4. Give arguments in favour of democracy.

Ans- The arguments in favour of democracy are:

(i)                A democratic government is a better government because it is a more accountable form of government.

(ii)            It improves the quality of decision-making.

(iii)          It provides methods to deal with differences and conflicts.

(iv)          It enhances the dignity of citizens.

(v)            It is better than other forms of government as it allows rulers to correct its own mistakes.

Q5. What according to you is the broader meaning of democracy?

Ans. Democracy is a form of government in which representatives of an area in a country sit together to take decisions. Elections are held to choose the representatives and native people or citizens are allowed to participate in the elections. Democracy is also a principle that can be applied to any sphere of life.

Q6. What is democracy? Give examples of non-democratic countries.

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

Examples of non-democratic countries:

(i)                The army rulers of Myanmar are not elected by the people. Those who happen to be in control of the army become the rulers of the country. People have no say in the decision making.

(ii)            Dictators like Pinochet are not elected by the people.

(iii)          The king of Nepal and Saudi Arabia rule, not because the people have chosen them to do so but because they happen to be born into the royal family.

Q7. Why is democracy considered the best form of government?

Ans- Democracy cannot give us everything but is clearly better than any other alternative. It offers better chances of a good decision, it is likely to respect people's wishes and allows different kinds of people to live together. Even when it fails to do some of these things. It allows a way of correcting its mistakes and offers more dignity to all citizens. That is why democracy is considered the best form of government.

Q8. How does democracy improve the quality of decision making?

Ans- A democratic decision involves consultation with and consent of all those who are affected by that decision. Those who are not powerful have the same say in taking the decisions as those who are powerful. This can apply to a government or a family or any other organisation. The chance of rash or irresponsible decision is also less in a democracy.

Q9. How democracy can enhance the dignity of the citizens?

Ans:-

(i)               Democracy is based on the principle of political equality on recognising that the poorest and the illiterate has the same status as rich and the educated.

(ii)            People are not subjects of a ruler, they are the rulers themselves.

(iii)          Even when they make mistakes, they are responsible for their conduct.

                          Long Answer Questions

Q1. State the main features of democracy.

Ans- The main features of democracy are:

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

(ii)            A democracy must be based on free and fair elections, 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

(iv)          A democratic government rules within limits set by the constitutional law and citizens' rights.

(v)            Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts. It enhances the dignity  of the citizens.

Q2. How can you say that Pakistan was not exercising democracy when General Musharraf was ruling?

Ans- In Pakistan, General Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999.

(i)               He overthrew a democratically elected government and declared himself the ‘Chief Executive’ of the country.

(ii)            Later, he changed his designation to that of a President and in 2002, held a referendum in the country that granted him a five-year extension.

The government in Pakistan, under General Musharraf, cannot be called a democracy because:

(i)                People may have elected their representatives to the national and provincial assemblies but those elected representatives are not really the rulers. They cannot take the final decisions.

(ii)            The power to take the final decision rests with the army officials and with General Musharraf and none of them are elected by the people. This happens in many dictatorships or monarchies. They formally have an elected parliament and government but the real power is with those who are not elected.

(iii)          Pakistani media, human right organisations and democracy activists said that referendum held by General Musharraf was based on malpractices and fraud.

Q3. Giving an example of Zimbabwe, show how laws were made by one single ruler.

Ans- Since Zimbabwe got independence in 1980, it is being ruled by ZANU-PF which led the freedom struggle.

(i)               Its leader, Robert Mugabe has been ruling the country since independence. But ZANU-PF won due to unfair practices in elections.

(ii)            His government has made changes in the constitution several times to increase the power of the President and make him less accountable.

(iii)          The opposition party workers were harassed and their meetings were disrupted.

(iv)          Public protests demonstrations are declared illegal.

(v)            Laws are made to limit the right to criticise the President.

This example of Zimbabwe shows that popular government can be undemocratic. Popular leaders can be autocratic. If we wish to assess a democracy, it is important to look at the elections and how they are fought.

Q4. How did Musharraf establish his rule in Pakistan?

Ans:-

(i)                Musharraf came to power after attempting a military coup. He overthrew a democratically elected government and declared himself the Chief Executive of the country.

(ii)            Later, he changed his designation to President and in 2002 held a referendum in the country that granted him a five-year extension.

(iii)          Pakistani media, human right organizations and democracy activists said that the referendum was based on malpractices and fraud.

(iv)          In August 2002, he issued a ‘Legal Framework Order’ that amended the constitution of Pakistan. According to this order, the President can dismiss the national or provincial assemblies.

(v)            The work of the civilian cabinet is supervised by a National Security Council which is dominated by military officers.

Q5. “Democracy is better than other forms of governments because it allows us to correct its own mistakes". Do you agree with it or not?

Ans:-

(i)               There is no guarantee that mistakes cannot be made in democracy. No form of government can guarantee that.

(ii)            The advantage in a democracy is that such mistakes cannot be hidden for long.

(iii)          There is a space for public discussion on these mistakes. And there is a room for correction.

(iv)          Either the rulers have to change their decision or the rulers can be changed.

(v)            I believe, this cannot happen in a non-democratic government; so I fully agree that democracy does allow us to correct its own mistakes.

Q6. Why do we need to define democracy accurately?

Ans-

(i)               The simple definition of democracy is not adequate. It reminds us that democracy is people's rule.

(ii)            But if we use this definition in an unthinking manner, we would end up calling almost every government that holds an election is a democratic. That would be misleading.

(iii)          Every government in the contemporary world wants to be called a democratic country, even if it is not so.

(iv)          That is why we need to carefully distinguish between a government that is actually a democratic and one that pretends to be one.

(v)            We can do so by defining it carefully that democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people and the final decision-making power must rest with those elected by the people. 

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