NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Political Science Chapter 1 What is Democracy? Why Democracy?

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Chapter 1 What is Democracy? Why Democracy? Class 9 Political Science NCERT Solutions

1. Here is some information about the 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: The 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

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.
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 officials of the central bank which the ministers cannot change.

Solution

a. Undemocratic
b. Democratic
c. Undemocratic
d. Undemocratic

3. Which of these is not a good argument in favour of democracy? Why?
a. People feel free and equal in a 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. For example, democracy exist in India. But a majority of the people are very poor, whereas non-democratic countries like China are more prosperous.

4. Each of these statements contains a democratic and 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 parliament has barely reached 10 per cent. This led women’s organisations to demand one-third seats for women.

Solution

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 per cent.

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 practise any religion.

Solution

(d) People are free to believe in and practise any religion has no relation with the lesser possibility
of famine in a country.

6. There are 40 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 the right to life.
b. Boycotting the next elections to give a message to all parties.
c. Organising public meetings against the government’s policies.
d. Paying money to government officials to get water.

Solution

d. Paying money to government officials to get water is not a democratic method.

7. Write a response to the following arguments against democracy:
a. The army is the most disciplined and corruption-free organisation in the country. Therefore the 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

a. Although the Army plays a vital role in protecting the country, it is not elected by the people; therefore, it cannot form a democratic government.
b. Rule of the majority does not always mean the rule of ignorant people. It may be but not all the time. Moreover, rule of majority is considered democratic as it represents the views of all people of the society.
c. Religion takes us towards spirituality through teaching us good and bad things. Combining religion and politics leads to communalism or communal politics, which is extremely dangerous.

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. The statement is undemocratic because the girl is not allowed to give her opinion relating to her own marriage.
b. This statement is against the democratic values. It is the duty of the teacher to clear the doubts of the students.
c. This statement is based on democratic value. Working hours should be according to the law. In a democratic country, rule of law is a basic principle of democracy.

9. 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 the right to vote. Elections are held regularly.
b. The country took loans 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 per cent people of that country.
d. Several organisations have given a call for peaceful demonstrations and nationwide 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 the government’s policies and protests.

Solution

(a) Democratic: Where citizens have the right to vote and elections are held regularly, it is democracy. But elections should be free and fair. In India, democracy exists because elections are held in a free and fair manner.
(b) Undemocratic: As a democratic government, it is its basic duty to provide education and health for all its citizens, no matter which country or agency dictates otherwise.
(c) It is not democratic: In a democracy, education should be given in a language spoken by the students.
(d) It is not democratic: People have a right to protest against the policies of the government. Peaceful demonstrations and nation-wide strikes are democratic method of protest.
(e) It is undemocratic: For democracy, it is essential that radio and television station should be made autonomous.

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 wealth than the average Black family.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Solution

The principle of political equality in democracy recognizes that the poorest and the least educated have the same rights as the wealthy and educated. In India, most people are poor. The well-to-do sections of society have exploited people of lower classes and tribal areas for centuries. In spite of increasing wealth and property, affluent people keep getting poorer and poorer.

Poverty is the root cause of a variety of evils. Even the poorest citizens are not able to get a square meal a day, which hinders them from developing physically and mentally. Poor people have little time to think about the problems country is facing because they are worried about earning their living. A poor person does not even think about the election. He cannot use his right to vote independently. He cannot vote against his employer. In elections, the rich give blankets, cycles, sewing machines, and other items to poor people in order to obtain their votes. Sometimes the poor person sells his vote. Politicians also receive money from capitalists, which explains why the rich control government.