Q.1 Can you think of what and how the government knows about you and your family (for example ration cards and voter identity cards)?

The government knows about me and our family through the following ways:

1. Every ten years, the government conducts census. In this census, there is records of each adult member of the family along with his /her sex, age and education.

2. There is a provision of registering birth, marriage and death of the family members with the government institutions.

Q.2  What are the sources of information for you about the government?

The sources of information for us about the government  are as follows L:

1. Right to information. Each and every citizen has the right to know about the polices and plan of the government and also its working, structure etc.

2. Political leaders either local or national are the main sources information to the common people. They make them aware of the polices and decisions taken by the government.

Textbook Page No. 93

Q.3 Cartoon on this page and next three pages tell us about the disparities between the rich and poor. Should the gains of economic growth be evenly distributed? How can the poor get a voice for a better share in a nation? What can the poor countries do to receive a greater share in the world’s wealth?

(i) Of course, the gains of economic growth should be equally distributed among   the citizens so as to make an economically even society. Also this would be as per one of the basis causes of democracy i.e., economic justice.

(ii) It is possible only when this group is given proper representation and chances to participate in decision making.

•  They should get united to fight for the cause. Only then, they will be able to get their share. At the same time, they will have to take initiatives to strengthen their internal democracy and exploit their own available natural resources.  

Intext Question

Textbook Page No. 94

Q.4 What would be your verdict on democracy if you had to base it purely on economic performance of democratic regimes in terms of growth and equal distribution?

(i) If we base our verdict on economic performance of democratic regimes, we see that dictatorial regimes have performed much better in last 50 years. The  democratic regimes witnessed 3.95 per cent growth rate on an average while  the dictatorial regimes 4.42 per cent.

To our surprise the poor countries under democracy have obtained a better  growth rate (4.28 per cent) than all democratic regimes (3.95 per cent).  Overall, there is not much difference between the two forms of government  so far as economic growth rate is concerned.

The same is true with regard to distribution of national income. For most countries top 20 per cent of their population fetch more than 50 per cent of national income while bottom 20 per cent people have less than 10 per cent share in national income. This shows deep unequal distribution of national income.

(ii) But, democracy has many other positive things that lack in dictatorship or other regimes, so I will go with democracy.

Intext Question

Textbook Page No. 95

Q.5 Democracy is a rule of the majority. The poors are in majority. So democracy must be a rule of the poor. How can this not be the case?

(i)   Democracy is a rule of the majority means that rule by majority views.

(ii)  Rule by majority does not mean rule by majority in terms of religion, race, linguistic groups, poors or rich.

(iii) It means that in case of every decision or in case of every election, different  persons and groups may and can form majority.

•  So, to say that democracy must be a rule of the poor will give rise to a further division of society on a different line and lead to conflict.

• Democracy remains democracy only as long as every citizen has a chance of being in majority at some point of time. 

Intext Question

Textbook Page No. 96

Q.6 All you are saying is that democracy ensures that people do not break each other’s head. This is not harmony. Should we be happy about it?

(i) When a democracy tries to accommodate social diversity, it does not mean it ensures that people do not break each other’s head.

(ii) A democracy acts on certain prudential reasons. No society can fully and permanently resolve conflict among different groups.

•  In fact, democracy teaches us to respect these differences and evolve mechanisms to negotiate them.

We should be happy that we can live together with dignity and freedom, with all our differences only when there is a democratic set up.

Let Us revise

Textbook Page No . 97

Q.7 The two image depict two different kinds of effects democratic politics can have on social divisions. Take one example for each image and write a paragraph each on the outcome of democratic politics in both situations.

(i) Democratic politics when make race, religion , caste or any other existing social division, as its base , it further divides the society and give an impetus  to the conflict. This is not healthy for democracy itself.

(ii) Contrary to it, when the existing divisions are minimized through democratic   means on the basis of moral and prudential reasons, it leads to the solid ration of the country. It also contributes in the development of each and every class of the society. It makes an environment where people can grow and prosper together.

Let Us Revise

Textbook Page No. 98

Q.8  The above cartoon and graph illustrates a point made in this section (Dignity and freedom of the citizens). Underline the sentences from this section which connect to the cartoon or graph.

(i) The cartoon relates to inequality that women face today all over the world. This reflects an insecurity to women’s dignity.

(ii) The graph shows that even after many complaints against it, democracy has been the most acclaimed form of government in the South Asian nations.

Exercises

Q.1 How does democracy produce an accountable, responsive and legitimate government?

(i) Democracy produces an accountable government because it :

•  Provides regular, free and fair elections.

•  Carries open public debate on major public issues and legislations.

•  Gives citizens the right to information about the government and its functioning .

(ii) Democracy produces a responsive government because the government is formed by the elected representatives of the people. These representatives discuss the problems of the society and make policies and programmes  accordingly. To address the problems, these policies and programmes are  implemented.

(iii) Democracy produces a legitimate government because it is the government of   the citizens. It is the citizens who through their representatives form and run the government for themselves.

Q.2   What are the conditions under which democracies accommodate social diversities?

Following two conditions are necessary for a democracy to accommodate social diversities :

•  People will have to understand that democracy is not simply the rule by majority opinion. Majority always needs to work with minority so that governments function to represent the general view.

•  Majority simply means that in case of every decision or election, different persons and groups may and can form a majority. If someone is barred from being in majority on the basis of birth, then the democratic rule ceases to be accommodative for the person or group.

Q.3 Give arguments to support or oppose following assertions :

•  Industrialised countries can afford democracy but the poor need dictatorship to become rich.

•  Democracy can’t reduce inequality of income between different citizens.

•  Government in poor countries should spend less on poverty reduction, health, education, clothing, and spend more on industries and infrastructure.

•  In democracy all citizen have one vote, which means that there is absence of any domination and conflict.

However experiences show that poor countries achieved better economic growth under dictatorship, this cannot be supported at the cost of other positive aspects like freedom, dignity etc. that only democracy can provide.

People have over- expectations from democracy. For every ailment, people look towards democracy. Inequality of income may be due to various social ailments and economic conditions. So, it should not be left to democracy alone to reduce inequality of income between different citizens.

This argument is not acceptable for the reasons that even if people could not meet their basic needs then what should they expect from democracy. Contrarily, if more  money is spent on health and education, people can fetch better future, because human resource is the greatest capital today.

No. In principle, they have been made equal on political footing by giving equal value to each vote but in practice there are many other factors that make one group dominant over the other. We cannot say that there is no conflict or domination in a democracy. There is a conflict of interest and domination of one group over the other, but democracy provides the means to negotiate and resolve them.

Q.4 Identify the challenges to democracy in following descriptions. Also suggest policy/institutional mechanism to deepen democracy in the given situation :

Following a High court directive a temple in Orissa that had separate entry door for Dalits and non- Dalits allowed entry for all from the same door.

A large number farmers are committing suicide in different states of India.

Following allegation of killing of three civilians in Gandwara in a fake encounter by Jammu and Kashmir police, an inquiry has been ordered.

Here people were discriminated on the basis of their birth in a particular caste or social group. This denies the democratic principle that all are equal irrespective of their birth, religion, etc.

This reflects the failure of democracy in terms of its policies and programmes. In a democracy, the government has to safeguard the interests of every social group.

This reflects that democracy has failed to secure the dignity and freedom of the people.

Following policy/institutional mechanism can deepen democracy :

•  People should be promoted to respect differences between the social groups.

•  People should be promoted to resolve dispute through negotiations.

•  Strengthening of the local government b providing them with more powers and resources.

•  People should be promoted to pay taxes so that their poor counterparts can be provided with a dignified life.

•  Government should make polices regarding the discriminated and disadvantaged sections of the society.

•  Institutions should be made to evaluate the implementation of various policies and programmes.

•  A body should be made to evaluate the change in the state of life of disadvantaged people at a regular interval of time and report to the government. On this issue public debate should be carried from time to time.

Q.5 In the context of democracies, which of the following ideas is correct – democracies have successfully eliminated:

(a) Conflicts among people

(b) economic inequalities among people

(c) differences of opinion about how marginalized sections are to be treated

(d)  the idea of political inequality.

(c) differences of opinion about how marginalized sections are to be treated

Q.6 In the context of assessing democracy which among the following is odd one out. Democracies need to ensure.

(a) free and fair elections

(b) dignity to of the individual

(c) majority rule

(d) equal treatment before law

(c) majority rule

Q.7  Studies on political and social inequalities in democracy show that

(a) democracy and development to together.

(b) inequalities exist in democracies.

(c) inequalities do not exist under dictatorship.

(d) Dictatorship is better than democracy.

(b) inequalities exist in democracies.

Q.8  Read the passage below:

Nannu is a daily wage earner. He lives in welcome mazdoor colony, a slum habitation in East Delhi. He lost his ration card and applied for a duplicate one in January 2004. He made several rounds of the local Food & Civil supplies office for the next three months. But the clerks and officials would not even look at him, leave alone do his job or bother to tell him the status of his application. Ultimately, he filed an application under the Right to information act asking for the daily progress made on his application, names of the officials, who were supposed to act on his application and what action would be taken against these officials for their inaction. Within a week of filing application under the Right to information act,he was visited by an inspector from the food department, who informed him that the card had been made and he could collect it from the office. When Nannu went to collect his card next day, he was given a very warm treatment by the food & Supply officer (FSO), who is the head of a circle. The FSO offered him tea and requested him to withdraw his application under Right to information, since his work hand already been done.

What does nannu’s example show? What impact did nannu’s action have on officials? Ask your parents their experiences when they approached government officlas to attend to their problems?

When Nannu sought resort to the Right to Information act, a report regarding the officials who had to work on it was to be provided to him. Also this entitled him to know about the actions taken against those officials who did not od their part of job. So, the officials got afraid of the actions to be taken against them and finished their job. Now they are buttering Nannu, so that he takes his application back and they can save their neck.

[Hint : To answer rest part of the question, students should ask their parents to narrate their experience when they visit government offices for some sort of problem solving.]

Additional Questions

Q.1  Why is democracy considered better than dictatorship or any other form of government ?

This is so because:

•  It promotes equality among citizens.

•  It enhances the dignity of the individual ;

•  It improves the quality of decision making ;

•  It provides a method to resolve conflicts ; and

•  It allows a room to correct mistakes.

Q.2 Name any four common elements of democratic politics all over the world. How do these democracies differ from each other?

(i)  Common democratic elements among countries.

•  They have formal constitutions.

•  They hold elections.

•  They have political parties.

•  They guarantee rights of citizens

(ii)  Distinguishing elements :

•  They differ in social situations.

•  They differ in economic achievements.

•  They differ in their culture.

Q.3  Sometimes we expect everything or anything from democracy and if these expectations are not met, we blame democracy. What should be the prudential thinking about the outcomes of democracy?            

(i) We should recognize that democracy is just a form of government. It can only   create conditions for achieving something.

(ii) We have to take advantage of these conditions and achieve our goals.

•  Democracy is just not related to many other things that we value.

•  Democracy is not a magical remedy for all our social ailments.