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Monday, November 4, 2019

NCERT OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY


Department of Social Science
POLITICAL SCIENCE(X)
CHAPTERS 06
OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY
NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS
Q.1. How does democracy produce an accountable, responsive and legitimate government?
Ans. (i) Democracy produces an accountable government. The most basic outcome of
Democracy should be that it produces a government that is accountable to the citizens and
Responsive to the needs and expectations of the citizens. A citizen should to able to
Participate in decision-making that affects all. Democracy is based on the idea of
Deliberation and negotiation.
(ii) Democracy produces responsive government. The democratic government should be
Attentive to the needs and demands of the people and be largely free of corruption.
Democracies often frustrate the needs of the people and often ignore the demands of a
Majority of its population. At the same time, there is nothing to show that non-democracies
Are less corrupt or more sensitive to the people.
(iii)Democracy produces legitimate government. A democratic government is people’s own
Government. People wish to be ruled by representatives elected by them. They also believe
That democracy is suitable for their country. Democracy’s ability to generate its own
Support is itself an outcome that cannot be ignored.

Q.2. What are the conditions under which democracies accommodate social diversities?
Ans. Democratic governments try to keep peace and harmony among its citizens. This they do by
Maintaining discipline and accommodating various social divisions. For example, this has been
done in Belgium and our own country. Democratic governments resolve differences, respect
Differences, and try to find mechanisms which can negotiate difference like non-democratic countries.

Q.3. Identify the challenges to democracy in the following descriptions. Also suggest policy/3
Institutional mechanism to deepen democracy in the given situation
(a) Following a High Court directive, a temple in Orissa that had separate entry doors for
Dalit’s and for all non-Dalit’s allowed entry from the same door.
Ans. (a) The challenge was practising untouchability or casteism, that was banned by our
Constitution. The High Court restored the Right to Equality.
Casteism should be eradicated from India with the help of education and by promoting
National festivals.
(b) A large number of farmers are committing suicide in different states of India.
Ans. (b) Here the challenge is poverty. The government has to provide economic equality by
Promoting agriculture and diversity in agriculture, so that it raises the economic standard
of the farmers.
(c) Following allegation of killing three civilians in Gandwara in a fake encounter by Jammu
And Kashmir police, an enquiry has been ordered.
Ans. (c) Here the challenge is the security of citizens; a fundamental right is violated.
These incidents can be avoided by practising transparency in the police department and
Their actions. The government should promote human rights.

Q.4. “Democracy is a better form of government.” Support the statement with three
Arguments.
Ans. People prefer democracy because:
(i) People are their own masters. In a democracy, every individual has a right to vote and
Choose his representatives in the government. The government is of the people and the
Laws are made by the people (or the representatives chosen) in the government. Laws are
Made to protect the liberty and freedom of the people.
(ii) In a democracy, no particular religion, region, race or language is given special preference.
All individuals are given equal rights and freedom, and there is no discrimination.
(iii) The government is not by force. The opposition parties are allowed to criticize the
Government.
(iv) Since every individual is given equal rights, there is less danger of conflicts in society.
There are less conflicts based on caste, religion or region and less social tensions in society. In politics, dignity of the individual is cared for.

Q.5. How does democracy lead to peaceful and harmonious life among citizens? Explain.
Ans. (i) Democracies accommodate various social divisions. For example, Belgium has peacefully
Solved her ethnic problems and solved the differences.
(ii) All democracies usually develop a procedure to conduct competition, i.e. conduct
Elections, power-sharing, etc. This reduces the possibility of tensions, due to social
Divisions, turning violent or explosive.
(iii) Democracy teaches people to respect the differences and resolve conflicts among different
Groups peacefully. In non-democratic countries, rulers either turn a blind eye to or suppress
Internal differences. For example, Sri Lanka. The plus point in democratic regime is the
Ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts.
(iv) A democracy is not just a rule by majority opinion. The majority always needs to work
With the minority so that the government represents the general view.
(v) A democratic government ensures that the rule by the majority does not become autocratic
in terms of religion, race or linguistic group etc. It tries that in case of every election,
Different persons and groups can form a majority. It tries to see that every citizen has a
Chance to be in majority at some point of time and is not barred on the basis of birth.
All these things ensured by a democratic regime lead to a peaceful and harmonious life.

Q.6. Give arguments to support or oppose the following assertions:
(i) Industrialised countries can afford democracy but the poor need dictatorship to become rich.
(ii) Democracy can’t reduce inequality of incomes between different citizens.
(iii) Government in poor countries should spend less on poverty alleviation, health, education
       And spend more on industries and infrastructure.
(iv) In democracy, all citizens have one vote, which means there is absence of any domination
       And conflict.
Ans. (i) In a finding, comparison between democracies and dictatorship from 1950’s to the year
2000 showed that economic growth was slightly more in dictatorship. For example,
Industrialized countries like the USA showed a high degree of inequalities between the
Rich and poor, the blacks and white people, etc. However, this growth rate was negligible.
Economic growth rate depends more on other factors than on the kinds of government.
Such factors include:
(a) Population (b) Global situation
(c) Cooperation between countries (d) Economic priorities and policies of a country.

(ii) Expectations from a democracy are always high. One expects economic disparities to be
Less in a democracy, as it believes in an equitable distribution of wealth. But in reality
Democracy has a growing income inequalities.
There is a wide gap between the rich and the poor. If we look at South Africa, the top 20%
People have more than 60% share of income, the bottom 20% people have less than 3%
Share of the income. In Bangladesh, more than half the population lives below the poverty
Line. This proves that even though democracy aims at equality of status and income for
Everyone, in actual life it has not been very successful in reducing economic inequalities.

(iii) Development of a nation depends on industrialization but it is not the only means of
Development. One needs a population which has a high rate of literacy, wide knowledge
And skills. A population with low literacy rate, poor health is a burden for any country. It
is wrong to say that government should spend more on industries. A balance must be
Maintained between investment on food, clothing, health and education, and industries.
The former are a part of human development, without which industrialization will not
Achieve much.

(iv) The principle of one vote does not mean that there is absence of any domination and
Conflict in a democracy. Conflicts can happen if demands of one group are against the
Demands of other social groups. Democracy only avoids conflicts by accommodating and
Negotiating, and avoids any possibility of conflict by giving everyone equal rights and
Freedom in the society. One advantage is that since every citizen has one vote, political
Parties cannot ignore any social group. They have to promote policies that include all
Social groups to win their support during elections.

Q.7. What are the differences between democratic and non-democratic governments in the
Decision making process
Ans. The decision making process of the non-democratic rulers is very quick. They are also efficient
in decision making and even in the implementation of the decisions. This all happens because
Non-democratic rulers do not have to bother about deliberation in assemblies or about the
Public opinion.
On the other hand, democratic form of government is based on deliberation and negotiation.
This causes the process slow. They followed procedures, their decisions may be more
Acceptable to the people and are more effective.

Q.8.What are the Demerits of Democracy?
Ans. Democracy is better than any other forms of Government.it gives equal rights and freedom to every individual. But it has some Demerits.
1. Unstable Government- Lot of Political Parties are allowed to criticise the government and its Policies. Sometimes it leads to downfall of the ruling party and re-elections in the country.
2. Slow and inefficient government- Most common demerit is that it is slow in its functioning. Decision making process involves long debates and deliberations in the Parliament.
3. In Competence- Democracy gives every individual the right to voice his concern. As a result everybody focuses on his personal interests and not the Collective Interests.
4. Role of Money in Democracy- Money plays a Important role at the time of Elections. Lot of money needed to organize public meetings, Demonstrations and speeches.

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