NCERT Solutions Chapter 2, Democratic Politics-I | CBSE Class 9 Social Science Civics | Why Democracy

CBSE Class 9 Social Science (Civics), Chapter 2 Democratic Politics-I

WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? WHY DEMOCRACY?

NCERT Solutions (NCERT Answers) of Chapter exercise questions

Question.1: Here is some information about four countries. Based on this information, how would you classify each of these countries? Write ‘democratic’, ‘undemocratic’ or ‘not sure’ against each of these.

      (a) Country A: People who do not accept the country’s official religion do not have a right   to vote.

      (b) Country B: The same party has been winning elections for the last twenty years.

      (c) Country C: Ruling party has lost in the last three elections.

      (d) Country D: There is no independent election commission.

Solution: (a) Undemocratic (b) Not sure (c) Democratic (d) Undemocratic

Question.2: Here is some information about four countries. Based on this information, how would you classify each of these countries? Write ‘democratic’, ‘undemocratic’ or ‘not sure’ against each of these.

1. Country P: The parliament can not pass a law about the army without the consent of the Chief of army.
2. Country Q: The parliament can not pass a law reducing the powers of the judiciary.
3. Country R: The country’s leaders can not sign any treaty with another country without taking permission from its neighbouring country. 
4. Country S: All the major economic decisions about the country are taken by the officials of the central bank which the ministers can not change.

Solution: (1) Undemocratic (2) Undemocratic (3) Undemocratic (4) Undemocratic.

Question.3: Which of these is not a good argument in favour of democracy? Why?

     (a)          People feel free and equal in democracy.

     (b)          Democracies resolve conflict in a better way than others.

     (c)          Democratic government is more accountable to the people.

     (d)          Democracies are more prosperous than others.

Solution: (d) Democracies are more prosperous than others is not a good argument in favour of democracy because sometimes a good monarch can also make his country more prosperous than some of the democracies, where different political parties are more involved in fight with each other and may bring their country to the brink of catastrophe. 

Question.4: Each of these statements contains a democratic and an undemocratic element. Write out the two separately for each statement.

(a) A minister said that some laws have to be passed by the parliament in order to conform to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organization.

(b) The Election Commission ordered re-polling in a constituency where large scale rigging was reported.

(c) Women’s representation in the parliament has never reached to 10 per cent. This led women organization to demand one-third seats for women.

Solution: (a) Democratic element: ‘A minister said that some laws have to be passed by the parliament’. Undemocratic element: ‘in order to conform to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organization'.

(b) Democratic element: ‘The Election Commission ordered re-polling in a constituency’. Undemocratic element: ‘where large scale rigging was reported’.

(c) Democratic element: ‘This led women organization to demand one-third seats for women’. Undemocratic element: ‘Women’s representation in the parliament has never reached to 10 per cent’.

Question.5: Which of these is not a valid reason for arguing that there is a lesser possibility of famine in a democratic country?

      (a)        Opposition parties can draw attention to hunger and starvation.

      (b)        Free press can report suffering from famine in different parts of the country.

      (c)        Government fears its defeat in the next elections.

      (d)        People are free to believe in and practice any religion.

Solution: (d) People are free to believe in and practice any religion is not a valid reason for arguing that there is a lesser possibility of famine in a democratic country.

Question.6: There are forty villages in a district where the government has made no provision for drinking water. These villagers met and considered many methods of forcing the government to respond to their need. Which of these is not a democratic method?

       (a)          Filing a case in the courts claiming that water is part of right to life.

       (b)          Boycotting the next elections to give a message to all parties.

       (c)          Organizing public meetings against government’s policies.

       (d)          Paying money to government officials to get water.

Solution: (a) Democratic (b) Democratic (c) Democratic (d) Not a democratic.

CBSE Class 9 Social Science (Civics), Chapter 2 Democratic Politics-I

WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? WHY DEMOCRACY?

NCERT Solutions (NCERT Answers) of Chapter exercise questions

Question.7: Write a response to the following arguments against democracy:

(a) Army is the most disciplined and corruption-free organization in the country. Therefore army should rule the country.

(b) Rule of the majority means the rule of ignorant people. What we need is the rule of the wise, even if they are in small numbers.

(c) If we want religious leaders to guide us in spiritual matters, why not invite them to guide us in politics as well. The country should be ruled by religious leaders.

Solution: We hear these and so many other arguments against democracy. Some of them true to some extent but they are not all the truth.

(a) Those who say that army is the most disciplined and corruption-free organization in the country and therefore army should rule the country are not fully justified in saying so. Under such a rule all the fundamental rights of the citizens would have no meaning as no body can guaranty that the army will not become a ruthful dictator’s rule while the life of the people would not become hell. For example, we have seen how the people of Chile suffered under the rule of General Augusto Pinochet.   

(b) Those who say that the rule of the majority means the rule of ignorant people and what we need is the rule of the wise, even if they are in small numbers, are also not fully justified in saying so. Such a thing would be against the principle of the Universal Adult Franchise which gives the right to vote to every person above the age of 18 yrs in our country without the distinction of religion, caste, sex, socio-economic background etc. If all people are not given equal right to become a partner in the formation of government then they will hesitate in obeying the laws of the country as a result of which no government would be able to run properly. If all sections of the people have fought equally for the freedom of their country, they should get the equal reward. Ignoring some sections of the society will be wrong. Moreover, wise men need not be necessarily good administrators.

(c) Those who say that the country should be ruled by religious leaders are again not fully justified in saying so. Because in a multi-religious country the religious leaders can bring doom to the country due to their mutual conflicts of ideologies. No government run by religious leaders has proved successful so far in the history of the world. They should run their own religious institutions and need not meddle in the political affairs of the country.     

Question.8: Are the following statements in keeping with democracy as a value? Why?

(a) Father to daughter: I don’t want to hear your opinion about your marriage. In our family children marry where the parents tell them to.

(b) Teacher to student: Don’t disturb my concentration by asking me questions in the classroom.

(c) Employee to the officer: Our working hours must be reduced according to the law.

Solution: (a) This statement is not keeping with democracy because daughter should not be forced by others to marry against her will. It is she who has to spend her whole life with her husband so, she should be given full freedom in the choice of her husband.

(b) It will not be undemocratic if any student asks any question to his teacher. The best the teacher can do is to tell the students to clarify their queries after the lecture is over, but he must satisfy the queries of his students.

(c) Within the norms of law employees can always ask or request their officer for something hence, this statement is in keeping with democratic values. 

Question.9: Consider the following facts about a country and decide if you would call it democracy. Give reasons to support your decision.

1. All the citizens of the country have right to vote. Elections are held regularly.
2. The country took loan from international agencies. One of the conditions for giving loan was that the government would reduce its expenses on education and health.
3. People speak more than seven languages but education is available only in one language, the language spoken by 52 per cent people of that country.
4. Several organizations have given a call for peaceful demonstrations and nation wide strikes in the country to oppose these policies. Government has arrested these leaders.
5. The government owns the radio and television in the country. All the newspapers have to get permission from the government to publish any news about government’s policies and protests.  

Solution: (1) Such a country is democratic because all the citizens of this country have the right to vote and elections are held in times.

(2) Democracy enhances the dignity of the citizens. A democratic government works for the welfare of its citizens. Reducing expenses on education and health will not bring welfare to the people. Therefore, such a country is not a democracy because no democratic country will agree to reduce its expenses on education and health.      

(3) The national language can be one because such a thing will bring about national integrity in a big way but other languages should also be encouraged in their respective areas. I think the country is not undemocratic.  

Question.10: In 2004 a report published in USA pointed to the increasing inequalities in that country. Inequalities in income reflected in the participation of people in democracy. It also shaped their abilities to influence the decisions taken by the government. The report highlighted that: 

• If an average Black family earns $100 then the income of average White family is $162. A White family has twelve times more than the average Black family.
• In a President’s election nearly 9 out of 10 individuals in families with income over $75000 have voted. These people are the top 20 per cent of the population in terms of their income. On the other hand only 5 people out of 10 from families with income less than $15000 have voted. They are the bottom 20 per cent of the population in terms of their income. 
• About 95 per cent contribution to the political parties comes from the rich. This gives them opportunity to express their opinions and concerns, which is not available to most citizens. 
• As poor sections participate less in politics, the government does not listen to their concerns - coming out of poverty, getting job, education, healthcare and housing for them. Politicians hear most regularly about the concerns of business persons and the rich.

For additional CBSE sample questions answers click link below –

Class IX, Social (Political Science) Chapter-2 ‘What is democracy? Why democracy?’ - CBSE Guide 

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

Solution: There is no doubt that poverty has a direct and deep impact on democracy. A Black family earns much lesser than a White family so inequality in their income was clearly visible in their voting pattern. In the President’s election, nearly 9 out of 10 individuals with income over $75000 and above had voted but nearly 5 people out of 10 from families less than $15000 had voted. Not only this, but also the difference in their income also shaped their abilities to influence the decisions taken by the government. Because 95% contribution to the political parties came from rich so, they were in a better position to influence the political parties and through them the government as compared to most of the citizens with lower incomes. As poor participate less in politics, the government does not pay much attention towards them and to their main concerns like education, healthcare, employment, housing problems and poverty etc. The government formed by the different politicians, are more concerned to the business or rich class of the society.

Like USA, in India too, political parties are used to pay more attention to the rich who contribute big money to their funds.