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WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? WHY DEMOCRACY?

Ques 1) What is democracy? Mention the features of democracy.


Ans:- Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.
Democracy is a form of government in which:i. Rulers elected by people take all major decisions.
ii. Elections offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the current rulers.
iii. This choice and opportunity is available to all the people on an equal basis.
iv. The exercise of this choice leads to a government limited by basic rules of the
constitution and citizens rights.
Ques 2) Democracy is the ideal form of government. Give arguments against
the statement.
Ans:- 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 leads to delays.
iv. Elected leaders dont know the best interest of people. It leads to bad decision.
v. Democracy leads to corruption for it is based on electoral competition.
vi. Ordinary people dont what is good for them they should not decide anything.
Ques 3) What are the merits of democracy?
Ans:- i. A democratic government is a better government because it is a more
accountable form of government.
ii. Democracy improves the quality of decision making.
iii. Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts.
iv. Democracy enhances the dignity of citizen.
v. Democracy is better than other forms of government because it allows to correct its
own mistakes.
Ques 4) What is representative democracy?
Ans:- In the countries we call democracy, all the people dont rule. A majority is allowed
to take decisions on behave of people. Even the majority doesnt rule directly. The
majority of people rule through their elected
representatives. This is called representative democracy.
Ques 5) how do we distinguish democracy from other forms of government like
monarchy and dictatorship?
Ans:- Other forms of government like monarchy, dictatorship or one party rule do not
require all citizens to part in politics. In fact most non democratic government would like
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citizens not to take part in politics. But democracy depends on active political
participation by all the citizens. That is why a study of democracy must focus on
democratic politics.
Ques 6) Why should Pakistan government under General Musharraf not be
called a democracy?
Ans:- i. In Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf tied a military coup in October 1999. He
overthrew a democratically elected government and declared as Chief Executive of
country.
ii. He changed his designation to President later and in 2002 held a referendum that
granted him a 5 year extension.
iii. Pakistan media, human rights organizations and democracy activists said that the
referendum was based on malpractices and fraud.
iv. In August 2002 he issued a Legal Framework order amending the constitution of
Pakistan. Now the president could dismiss the national / provincial assemblies.
v. The work of civilian cabinet is supervised by a National Security Council dominated by
military. After the law was passed, elections were held to the assemblies.
vi. Thus there were elections elected representatives had some power but the final
power was with the military and General Musharraf himself.
CONCLUSION- People may have elected representatives to national and provincial
assemblies but those elected representatives are not really the rulers. The final power is
with Army officials and General Musharraf whoare not elected by people. Therefore,
Pakistan couldnt be called a democracy.
Ques 7) With the help of Zimbabwe, show that popular approval of rulers is
necessary in a democracy, but it is not sufficient.
Ans:-i. Zimbabwe attained independence white minority ru.0le in 1980. Since then the
country has been ruled by ZANU-PF, the party that led the freedom struggle, by its
leader Robert Mugave.
ii. Elections have been held regulatory and always won by ZANU-PF.
iii. President Mugave is popular but also uses unfair practices in elections. Over the years
this government has changed the constitution several times to increase his powers and
less accountable.
iv. Opposition party workers are harassed and their meeting disrupted. Public protests
and demonstration against the government are illegal. There is a law that limits the right
to criticize the president.

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v. Television and radio are controlled by the government and give only the ruling partys
vision. There are independent newspapers but government harasses journalists who go
against it.
vi. The government has ignored some court judgments that went against it and has
pressurized judges.
CONLUSION- Therefore, popular approval of rulers is necessary in a democracy but is
not sufficient.
Ques 8) Explain with the help of Fiji, Estonia and Saudi Arabia that one person,
one vote and one value is the basic feature of democracy.
Ans:- i. In Saudi Arabia women dont have right to vote.
ii. Estonia has made its citizenship rules in such a way that the people belonging to
Russian minority find it difficult to get right to vote.
iii. In Fiji, the electoral system is such that the vote of an indigenous Fiji has more value
than that of Indian Fijian.
CONCLUSION- Democracy is base on a fundamental principle of political equality.
Therefore, in a democracy each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must
have one value.
Ques 9) Explain with help of example of any country of the world free and fair
elections are a part and is must for democracy.
Ans:- Let us take the example of China:i. In China elections are regularly held after every 5 years for electing the countrys
parliament called Quanguo Renmin Daibrao Dahui.
ii. The National Peoples Congress has the power to appoint the president of country.
iii. Some of the members are elected by Army. Before contesting elections, candidates
need approval of Chinese Communist Party.
iv. Only those who are members of this party or of smaller allied parties were allowed to
contest elections 2002-2003.
v. The government is always formed by the Communist Party.
CONCLUSION-Therefore, China cant be considered a democracy as a democracy must
be based on free and fair elections those currently in power has a fair chance of losing.

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DEMOCRACYIN THE CONTEMPORARY


WORLD
Ques) How was democracy restored in Chile?
Ans:- Democracy was restored in Chile as follows:
=>Salvador Allende was the president of Chile.
=> On 11 September ,1973,military coup took place in which his government was
overthrown by the
military,led by General Augusto Pinochet
=> After this,Pinochet became the president of Chile and ruled it for the next 17 years.
=>Thus,military dictatorship was established in Chile.
=>His ,-Pinochets government torured and killed severalof those whowanted
democracto be restored..
=>His military dictatorship came to an end after he decided to hold a referendum in
1988.
=>He felt confident that in his referendum,the people would say yes to his continuing
power.
=>But the people of a Chile had not forgotten their democratic traditions.Their vote was
a decisive no to Pinochet.
=>This led to Pinochet losing first his political and then his military powers.
=>Political freedom was restored.
=>Since then Chile has held 4 presidential elections in which different political parties
have participated.
=>Slowly,the armys role in the countrys government has been eliminated.
=>Elected governments that came to power ordered inquiries into Pinochets rule.These
inquiries into Pinochets rule.These inquiries showed that his government was not only
very brutal but also very corrupt.
Ques) How was democracy restored in Poland?
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Ans:- Democracy was restored in Poland as follows:=>In 1980,Poland was ruled bythe Polish United Workers Party.
=>No other political partywas allowed to function in Poland.
=>Govt. in Poland was supported and controlled by the govt,.of soviet union.(USSR).
=>On 14th August 1980,workers of Lenin Shipyard in the city of Gdansk went on a
strike.
=>The strike began with a demand to take back a crane operator back who was injustly
dismissed from service.
=>A former electrician ofthe shipyard,Lech Walesa joined the strikers.He was dismissed
from service in 1976 for demanding higher pay.He soon emerged as the leader of the
striking workers=>The workers now wanted the right to form independent trade unions
and release ofpolitical prisoners and an end to censorship on press.
=>The movement became so popular that the govt.had to give in.The workers led by
Walesa signed a 21-point agreement with the govt. that ended their strike.
=>The govt.agreed to recognize the workers right to form independent trade unions
and their right to strike
=>After the Gdansk agreement was signed,a new trade union called solidarity was
formed.
=>The govt.,led by GeneralJaruzelski grew anxious and imposed martial law in Dec
1981.
=>Thousands of solidarity members were put in prison.freedom to organize,protest and
express opinions was once again taken away.
=>Another wave ofstrikers,organized bysolidarity,began in 1988.This time the Polish
govt.was weaker,support from soviet union uncertain and the economy was in decline.
=>Another round of negotiations with Walesa resulted in an agreement in April1989 for
free elections.Solidarity contested all the 100 seats of the Senate and won 99 ofthem.
=>In October 1990,Poland had its first presidential elections in which more than one
party could contest.Walesa was elected President of Poland.
Ques) How was restored in Ghana?
Ans:- Democracy was restored in Ghana as follows :=>Ghana used to be a British colony named Gold Coast it became independent in 1957.
It was among the first countries in Africa to gain independence.
=> kwame Nkrumah, son of a goldsmith and him self a teacher was active in
independence struggle. After independence, he became first prime minister and then the
president of Ghana.
=>But he got himself elected president for life.
=>Soon after in 1966, he was overthrown by the military.
=> Ghana couldnt remain a democracy for long.

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Ques) what are the difficulties people face in a non-democratic country?


Ans:- The difficulties faced bythe people in a non-democratic country are:=>In a non-democratic country, the government could do as they wished and no one
could question them.
=> The people dont have political freedom to elect their representatives.
=>Those people who spoke against the leader or the party or the government, were put
in prison.
=> The people dont have the right to form independent trade unions.
=> They dont have real freedom to express ones opinions.
Ques) Which freedoms are usually taken away when a democracy is
overthrown by military?
Ans:- The freedoms taken away are:=>Right to protest against any decision taken bythe military
=>Right to vote and freedom of electing representatives.
=>The freedom of forming independent trade unions.
=>The freedom of speech and expression.
Ques)Explain with the help of an example of Iraq if interference in a country
bysome other country leads to the establishment of democracy in a country?
Ans:=>Iraq is a country in western Asia.It became independent from British rule in 1932.
=>3 decades later there were a series of coup bymilitary officers.
=>Since,1968 it was ruled byArab socialist Bath Party.
=>Saddam Hussain,a leading Bath party leader,played a key role in the 1968 coup,that
brought the part to the power.
=>This govt.abolished traditional Islamic law and gave women the right to vote and
several freedoms not granted in other west asian countries.After becoming the president
of Iraq in 1979,Saddam ran a dictatorial govt.and suppressed any dissent or opposition
to his rule.
=>US alleged that Iraq possessed secret nuclear weapons.
=>But when a UN team went to Iraq to search for such weapons,it didnt find any. Still
US invaded Iraq,occupied it and removed Saddam Hussain from power in 2003.
=>US installed a interim govt.on its preference.
Ques) How democratic is the UN security council and the World Bank?
Ans:=>The 15 member security council of the UN takes crucial decisions.The council has 5
permanent members-US,RUSSIA,UK,FRANCE and CHINA.10 others members are elected
bythe General Assembly for two year terms.The real power is with 5 permanent
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members.They contribute most ofthe money needed for the maintenance of the UN.Each
of them has veto power.This system has led more and more people and
countries to protest and demand that the UN becomes more democratic.
=>More than half of the voting power in World Bank is in the minds of only some
countries.Remaining countries have only a little say in how it take decisions.President of
the World Bank has always been a citizen of the US,conventionally nominated by
Treasury secretary of US govt.

Ques)What was the situation in Myanmar when Aung San Suu Kyi became the
Prime Minister?
Ans:=>Myanmar gained freedom from colonial rule in 1948 and become a democracy.But the
democratic rule ended in 1962 with a military coup.
=>In 1990 elections were held for the first time after almost 30 years.The National
league for democracy,led by Aung San Suu Kyi won the election.
=>Military leaders of Myanmar refused to step down and didnt recognize the election
results.They put Suu Kyi under house arrest.
=>Despite being under house arrest,Suu Kyi continued to campaign for democracy.
=>Her struggle has won international recognition.She has also been awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize.

Ques)Which East European countries were ruled by communist parties in the


1980s?
Ans:- The countries are :1.Russia
2.Bulgaria
3.Romania
4.Ukraine
Ques)Make a list of political activities that you could not have done in Poland
in 1980s but you can do in our country?
Ans:=>Freely choose the leaders of the govt.
=>From independent trade unions.
=>Organise,protest and express opinions freely.

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Ques)How democratic is the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?


Ans:=>IMF is the one ofthe biggest moneylender for any country in the world.
=>Its 185 member states dont have an equal voting rights.
=>The vote of each country is weighed by how much money it has contributed to the
IMF.
=>More than 54%of the voting power in the IMF is in the hands of only 10 countries.
=>The remaining 175 countries have very little say in how these international
organizations take decisions.

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