NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science (Civics) Chapter 1 What is Democracy? Why Democracy?

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 9th

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Book - Democratic Politics-I Ncert Solutions | Chapter-1 Civics

Class : 9th
Subject : Democratic-Politics
Chapter : 1
Chapter Name : What Is Democracy? Why Democracy?

Q1 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 of cial 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.

Answer.(a) undemocratic
(b) not sure
(c) democratic
(d) undemocratic

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Q2 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 P: The parliament cannot pass a law about the army without the consent of the
Chief of Army.
(b) Country Q: The parliament cannot pass a law reducing the powers of the judiciary.
(c) Country R: The country’s leaders cannot sign any treaty with another country without
taking permission from its neighbouring country.
(d) Country S: All the major economic decisions about the country are taken by of cials of the
central bank which the ministers cannot change.

Answer. (a) undemocratic
(b) democratic
(c) undemocratic
(d) undemocratic

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Q3 Which of these is not a good argument in favour of democracy? Why?
(a) People feel free and equal in a democracy.

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(b) Democracies resolve con ict in a better way than others.
(c) Democratic government is more accountable to the people.
(d) Democracies are more prosperous than others.

Answer. (d) Democracies are more prosperous than others. This is not a good agreement as the
prosperity of a country cannot be determined through its form of government but through ts
economic condition. For example, a democratic country like India is still a developing country,
while a country following monarchy rule is economically strong.

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Q4 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
Organisation (WTO).
(b) The Election Commission ordered re-polling in a constituency where large-scale rigging
was reported.
(c) Women’s representation in the parliament has barely reached 10 per cent. This led
women’s organisations to demand one-third seats for women.

Answer. (a) Democratic element - some laws have to be passed by the parliament
Undemocratic element - conform to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organisation
(b) Democratic element - the Election Commission ordered re-polling Undemocratic element -
large scale rigging was reported
(c) Democratic element - this led to women's organisations to demand one third seats for
women Undemocratic element - women's representation in the parliament has never reached
10 percent

Q5 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 practise any religion.

Answer. (d) is not a valid reason for arguing that there is a lesser possibility of famine in a
democratic country. This is because practising a religion has nothing to do with preventing
famine.

Q6 There are 40 villages in a district where the government has made no provision for

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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) Organising public meetings against government’s policies.
(d) Paying money to government of cials to get water.

Answer. (d) which advocates paying the government of cials money, is an undemocratic
method.

Q7 Write a response to the following arguments against democracy:
(a) Army is the most disciplined and corruption-free organisation 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.

Answer. (a) Though army the most disciplined and corruption-free organisation in the
country, however, it cannot be justi ed that they should rule the country. Primarily, because
they do not form a democratic government i.e are not elected by the people. Secondarily,
people will not be allowed to voice their opinion or expression as all their fundamentals rights
would be curtailed. Also, there would be no assurance that the army cannot turn into a ruthful
dictator at any point of their rule, making the life of the people dif cult. For example: people
of Chile suffered under the rule of General Augusto Pinochet.

(b) Such a thing would be against the principle of the Universal Adult Franchise, wherein every
person above the age of 1 8 yrs in our country irrespective of religion, caste, sex, socio-
economic background etc. has the right to vote Everyone has the right to participate equally in
the formation of the government. Therefore ignoring some sections of the society would be
unfair Moreover, wise men need not be necessarily good administrators.

(c) Those who say that the country should be ruled by religious leaders are making a very risky
statement. Because in a multi-religious country bringing religion into politics can cause
serious con ict among the people Moreover, religious leaders can bring trouble to the country
due to their mutual con icts of ideologies. Besides, many even do not have any experience in
administration. Thus, it is very necessary for them to run their own religious institutions and
need not meddle in the political affairs of the country.

Q8 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

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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 of cer: Our working hours must be reduced according to the law.

Answer. (a) The statement made is an undemocratic statement as the girl is being denied as
opportunity to voice her opinion and choose her partner. As per our Constitution, every
citizen who is 18 or above has the right to marry according to his/her choice.
(b) The statement made is undemocratic as the student is being denied the right to ask
questions/clear his doubts. The best the teacher can do is to ask the student to ask his query at
the end of the lecture; however, stopping him from doing so is incorrect.
(c) The statement made is a democratic statement because here the employees are asking for
their fundamental right Within the norms of the company, the employees are always entitled
to ask or request their of ce for something.

Q9 Consider the following facts about a country and decide if you would call it a democracy.
Give reasons to support your decision.
(a) All the citizens of the country have right to vote. Elections are held regularly.
(b) 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.
(c) People speak more than seven languages but education is available only in one language,
the language spoken by 52 percent people of that country.
(d) Several organisations have given a call for peaceful demonstrations and nation wide strikes
in the country to oppose these policies. Government has arrested these leaders.
(e) 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.

Answer. (a) Two important features of democracy are regular elections and universal adult
franchise.
(b) A democratic government works for the welfare of the country and enhances dignity of the
citizens. Therefore, it cannot perform any functions which go against the welfare of the
country and its people. Moreover, it does not allow an international agency to interfere in the
internal matters of a country.
(c) The national language can be a single language because such a concept will bring about
national integrity but other languages also should be encouraged to cultivate in their
respective regions.
(d) Democracy provides people the right to strike or the right to free speech and
demonstrations.
(e) A very important part of democracy is the freedom of the press. Therefore, the total control
of media shows that there is no freedom of speech and expression and right to speak against
the government. Thus, though the country is democratic in some manners, it is also
undemocratic in some ways.

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Q10 In 2004 a report published in USA pointed to the increasing inequalities in that country.
Inequalities in income re ected in the participation of people in democracy. It also shaped
their abilities to in uence the decisions taken by the government. The report highlighted that:

(a) If an average Black family earns $ 100 then the income of average White family is $ 162. A
White family has twelve times more wealth than the average Black family.

(b) In a President’s election ‘nearly 9 out of 10 individuals in families with income over $
75,000 have voted. These people are the top 20% of the population in terms of their income.
On the other hand only 5 people out of 10 from families with income less than $ 15,000 have
voted. They are the bottom 20% of the population in terms of their income.

(c) About 95% 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.

(d) As poor sections participate less in politics, the government does not listen to their
concerns – coming out of poverty, getting job, education, health care and housing for them.
Politicians hear most regularly about the concerns of business persons and the rich. Write an
essay on ‘Democracy and Poverty’ using the information given in this report but using
examples from India.

Answer. Democracy and poverty have been inextricably linked in India ever since her birth.
Political independence of our country had been achieved through mass participation of the
rural poor in the national movement. However, and unfortunately, since then this rural poor
mass of the Indian population has seen its in uence shrink in national politics. As decade by
decade India has cultivated its resources and added to its national nancial wealth, the rich
have grown richer, and the poor have grown abysmally poorer. We have the distinction of
being the largest democracy in the world, but we are also one of the world's poorest countries,
with gaping economic cleavages within our society.

The inequality of income is a concern that gets re ected directly in the operation of the
democratic process of our republic. Research has rmly established the fact that though the
majority of Indian voters come from the rural Indian hinterland, their in uence on their
elected representatives and on the whole, on the process of national policy making is
shrinking with each passing year. On the other hand, the richer sections of our society, though
they do not necessarily vote or have any discernible concern for their civic responsibilities,
exercise leverage on the policymaking in this country grossly disproportionate to their actual
size in the population.

Moreover, the culture of corporate funding of political parties has fast spawned its offspring in
the realms of the government establishment. It has made political parties and their leaders
less dependent on their actual electorate and has allowed them to ignore the real concerns of

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the public like agrarian reforms, ne tuning of the Public Distribution System, agricultural
subsidies and educational reforms.
To encapsulate, as we take pride in us being the largest democracy in the world, it is also
necessary to recognise and act on the fact that the phenomenon of gross economic
inequalities is putting a major limitation on its workability.

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