What is Democracy? Why is Democracy?

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.
Answer:
(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.
Answer:
(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.
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 its economic condition. For example, a democratic country like India is
still a developing country, while a country following monarchy rule is economically strong.

Page No: 38

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 the parliament has barely reached 10 percent. This led
women’s organisations to demand one-third seats for women.
Answer:
(a) Democratic: Passing of the laws by the Parliament.
Undemocratic: Conforming to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organisation.
(b) Democratic: The order to re-poll by the Election Commission.
Undemocratic: large scale rigging was reported
(c) Democratic: Demand by Women’s Organisation to reserve one-third seats for women.
Undemocratic: Women’s representation in parliament is less than 10 percent.

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.
Answer:
(d) “People are free to believe in and practise any religion” is not a valid reason because there are
lesser chances for famine to take place in a democratic country. This is because practicing of
religion is not at all related to famine.

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 needs. 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.
Answer:
(d) Paying money to government officials to get water is an undemocratic method.

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

(a) 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.
Answer:
(a) Though the army the most disciplined and corruption-free organisation in the country, however,
it cannot be justified 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 difficult. For example, the 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 18 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 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
conflict among the people. Moreover, religious leaders can bring trouble to the country due to their
mutual conflicts 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.

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.
Answer:
(a) The statement made is an undemocratic statement as the girl is being denied as an 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 rights. Within the norms of the company, the employees are always entitled to
ask or request their office for something.

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 a loan from international agencies. One of the conditions for the given
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 the country.
(d) Several organisations have given a call for peaceful demonstrations and nationwide
strikes in the country to oppose these policies. The 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.
Answer:
(a) Two important features of democracy are regular elections and universal adult franchise.

(b) Undemocratic: because it is undemocratic action to reduce expenses at the cost of the people.

(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 the right to speak against the
government.
Thus, though the country is democratic in some manners, it is also undemocratic in some ways.
10. 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. The political
independence of our country had been achieved through the 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 influence shrink in national politics.

A decade by decade, India has cultivated its resources and added to its national financial 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 reflected directly in the operation of the democratic
process of our republic. Research has firmly established the fact that though the majority of Indian
voters come from the rural Indian hinterland, their influence on their elected representatives and
on the whole, on the process of national policymaking 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 the
public like agrarian reforms, fine-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.

India Size and Location

Question-1

1. Name the group of islands lying in the Arabian sea?

2. Name the countries which are larger than India?
3. Which island group of India lies to its south-east?
4. Which island countries are our southern neighbors?

Solution:

1. Lakshadweep islands.
2. Russia, Canada, USA, China, Brazil, and Australia.
3. Andaman and Nicobar islands.
4. Srilanka and Maldives

Question-2 The sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Gujarat in the
west but the watches show the same time. How does this happen?
Solution: From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, there is a time lag of two hours, but the watches
show the same time because the time along the Standard Meridian of India (82° 30’E) passing
through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh is taken as the standard time for the whole country. Because
the same standard time for the whole country has been adopted, the watches show the same time
in Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and in all parts of the country.

Question-3 The central location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean is considered of great
significance. Why?
Solution: The trans-Indian Ocean routes which connect the countries of Europe in the West and
the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India.

The Story of Village Palampur

Question-1 Modern farming methods require more inputs, which are manufactured in industry. Do
you agree?
Solution: No doubt, modern farming requires more inputs than traditional farming. These are:

 chemical fertilizers
 pesticides
 pump sets
 farm machinery
 electricity
 diesel
 HYV seeds
 water supply

Most of these inputs like fertilizers, tools, and implements are manufactured in industry. HYV
seeds are developed in agriculture research laboratories. Machine industry provides various kinds
of implements, irrigation pumps, and farming machinery to improve productivity and minimize
farming efforts. Chemical and soil engineering-based industries provide fertilizers and pesticides to
boost agriculture. Water supply is done by canals and tanks. Electricity is supplied by
powerhouses.

Question-2 How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?

Solution: The spread of electricity helped the farmers in Palampur in the following ways:

1. Most of the houses have electricity connections.

2. It is used to run tubewells in the fields.
3. It is used in various types of small businesses.

Question-3 Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?

Solution: Irrigation facilities are available only to about 40% of the cultivated land area in the
country. The rest of the land, i.e., 60% of the cultivated area, is still dependent on rainfall for
irrigation. It means that the benefit of multiple cropping cannot be achieved by 60% of the farmers
in the country. They produce less and so their income is also low. Thus, they live in poverty.

Therefore, if these farmers are to be brought out of poverty, farm productivity has to increase. This
is only possible when they use modern farming methods and dependable irrigation facilities.
Hence, it is important to increase the area under irrigation.

Question-4 Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?
Solution: A waged labourer might be employed on a daily basis, or for one particular farm activity
like harvesting, or for the whole year. Most small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the
capital. They borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders who supply
various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans is very high. They are put to great
distress to repay the loan. Hence they pay very low wages to the farm labourers.

Question-5 What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use
examples to Explain.
Solution: To grow more than one crop on a piece of land during the year is known as multiple
cropping. It is the most common way of increasing production on a given piece of land. All farmers
in Palampur grow at least two main crops; many are growing potato as the third crop in the past
fifteen to twenty years.

Question-6 How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different
from the small farmers?
Solution: In contrast to the small farmers, the medium and large farmers have their own savings
from farming. They are thus able to arrange for the capital needed.

Question-7 On what terms did Savita get a loan from Tajpal Singh? Would Savita’s condition be
different if she could get a loan from the bank at a low rate of interest?
Solution: Savita was a small farmer. She planed to cultivate wheat on her 1-hectare land. Besides
seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, she needed cash to buy water and repair her farm instruments.
She estimated that his working capital itself would cost a minimum of Rs 3,000. She didn’t have
the money, so she decided to borrow from Tejpal Singh, a large farmer. Tejpal Singh agreed to
give Savita the loan at an interest rate of 24 percent for four months, which was a very high-
interest rate.

Savita also had to promise to work on his field as a farm labourer during the harvest season at Rs
35 per day. Savita knew that this wage is quite low and she will have to work very hard to
complete harvesting on her own field, and then work as a farm labourer for Tejpal Singh. Savita
agreed to those tough conditions, as she knew, that getting a loan is difficult for a small farmer.
Yes, Savita’s condition would have been different if she could get a loan from the bank at a low
rate of interest.

Question-8 What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in
villages?
Solution: The villagers must be made aware of the non-farm production activities and their
benefits. They must also be taught the methods of doing such activities. The villagers who have
the impression that they can earn only by farming, must be given proper guidance and help to do
such activities

The French Revolution

Question 1. Describe the circumstances leading to the outbreak of revolutionary protest in
France?
Answer: The following circumstances led to the outbreak of revolutionary protest in France:

1. Louis XVI was an autocratic ruler who could not compromise with his luxurious life. He also
lacked farsightedness.
2. When he ascended the throne the royal treasury was empty. Long years of war had drained
the financial resources of France. Added to this was the cost of maintaining an extravagant
court at the immense palace of Versailles.
3. Under Louis XVI France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence
from Britain the war added more than a billion livres to a dept credit, now began to charge
 10% interest on loans. So the French government was obliged to spend an increasing
percentage of its budget on interest payments alone.
4. The state finally increased taxes to meet its regular expenses su?h as the cost of
maintaining an army, running government offices and universities.
5. The French society was divided into three estates but only members of the first two estates
i.e,, the clergy and the nobles were exempted to pay taxes. They belonged to privileged
class. Thus the burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the
third estate only.
6. The middle class that emerged in the 18th century France was educated and enlightened.
They refuted the theory of divine rights of the kings and absolute monarchy. They believed
that a person’s social position must depend on his merit. They had access to the various
ideas of equality and freedom proposed by philosophers like John Locke, Jean Jacques
Rousseau, Montesquieu etc. Their ideas got popularised among the common mass as a
result of intensive discussions and debates in saloons and coffee houses and through books
and newspapers.
7. The French administration was extremely corrupt. It did not give weightage to the French
Common man.
The state finally increased taxes to meet its regular expenses such as the cost of
maintaining an army, running government offices and universities.

Question 2. Which groups of French society benefited from the revolution? Which groups
were forced to relinquish power? Which sections of society would have been disappointed
with the outcome of the revolution?
Answer:

1. The wealthy class of the third estate which came to be known as the new middle class of
France benefited the most from the revolution. This group comprised of big businessmen,
petty officers, lawyers, teachers, doctors and traders. Previously, these people had to pay
state taxes and they did not enjoy equal status. But after the revolution they began to be
treated equally with the upper sections of the society.
2. With the abolition of feudal system of obligation and taxes, the clergy and the nobility came
on the same level with the middle class. They were forced to give up their privileges. Their
executive powers were also taken away from them.
3. The poorer sections of the society, i.e. small peasants, landless labourers, servants, daily
wage earners would have been disappointed with the outcome of the revolution. Women
also would have been highly discontented.

Question 3. Describe the legacy of the French Revolution for the peoples of the world
during the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries.
Answer: The French Revolution proved to be the most important event in the history of the world.

1. The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French
Revolution. These ideas became an umpiring force for the political movements in the world
in the 19th and 20th centuries.
2. The ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity spread from France to the rest of Europe, where
feudal system was finally abolished.
3. Colonised people reworked on the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to
Create a sovereign nation-state.
4. The idea of Nationalism that emerged after the French Revolution started becoming mass
movements all over the world. Now people began to question the absolute power.
5. The impact of the French Revolution would be seen in India too. Tipu Sultan and Raja
Rammohan Roy got deeply influenced by the ideas of the revolution. In the end, we can say
that after the French Revolution people all over the world became aware of their rights.
Question 4. Draw up a list of democratic rights we enjoy today whose origins could be
traced to the French Revolution.
Answer: Some of the democratic rights which we enjoy today can be traced to the French
Revolution are as follows:

1. Right to equality including equality before the law, the prohibition of discrimination, and
equality of opportunity in matters of employment.
2. Right to freedom of speech and expression including the right to practice any profession or
occupation.
3. Right against exploitation.
4. Right to life.
5. Right to vote.

Question 5. Would you agree with the view that the message of universal rights was beset
with contradictions? Explain.
Answer:

1. The message of universal rights was definitely beset with contradictions. Many ideals of the
“Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” were not at all clear. They had dubious meanings.
2. The French Revolution could not bring economic equality and it is the fact that unless there
is economic equality, real equality cannot be received at any sphere. The Declaration of
Rights of Man and Citizen laid stress on equality but large section of the society was denied
to it. The right to vote and elect their representatives did not solve the poor man’s problem.
3. Women were still regarded as passive citizens. They did not have any political rights such as
right to vote and hold political offices like men. Hence, their struggle for equal political rights
continued.
4. France continued to hold and expand colonies. Thus, its image as a liberator could not last
for a long time.
5. Slavery existed in France until the first half of the 19th century.

Question 6. How would you explain the rise of Napoleon?

Answer:

1. The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon had achieved glorious victories in wars. This made France realize that only a
military dictator like Napoleon would restore a stable government.
2. In 1804, he crowned himself the emperor of France. He set out to conquer neighboring
European countries, dispossessing dynasties and creating kingdoms where he placed
members of his family. Napoleon viewed himself as a moderniser of Europe.
3. He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of
weight and measures provided by the decimal system. But his rise to power did not last for a
long time. He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.