Chapter 1 (CIVICS) : Democracy

Chapter 1(CIVICS)
DEMOCRACY
CLASS 7
Before beginning the lesson, let me ask all
WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY THE TERM
‘ GOVERNMENT’ ?
GOVERNMENT means
a group of people who officially control and make decisions for a

community/state/ country.
or
a particular system used for controlling a state/country etc.
They are responsible to make a good public policy and regulate the
relationships among the members of a society, different groups etc.
There are different kinds or forms of government all around
the world. They are :
MILITARY
DEMOCRACY RULE
ABSOLUTE
MONARCHY
MONARCHY
Government
DICTATORSHIP
CONSTITUTIONAL
COMMUNIST MONARCHY
RULE
Lets learn about them ( open page 197-198)
• MONARCHY - A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the
monarch, is head of state for life. In this lesson, we learn about two kinds
of monarchy
ABSOLUTE MONARCHY – is a system where the ruler or the
monarch(king/queen) is not restricted by a constitution or any kind of
laws. Eg: Saudi Arabia, Qatar
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY- is a system where the powers of the
monarch are defined and limited by law. Here, people elect the prime
minister and other representatives. Eg : United Kingdom, Jordan etc
• DICTATORSHIP- here citizens are ruled by force and the government is
not answerable to anyone. Eg’s: Earlier it was Adolf Hitler in Germany and
Benito Mussolini in Italy. Today we have North Korea, Venezuela etc.
• MILITARY RULE- here political power is with the military. A
military leader( like a dictator) seizes power from the ruling
party through a military coup d'état or a military coup( a
sudden and an unpredicted overthrow of a government by
non-democratic means) and does not allow elections or the
opposition to take place. Eg: Today the most recent example is
Sudan .
COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT- the government is ruled by a
single party. This communist party follows communist ideas
and want to create a classless society. In this the production and
the distribution of goods will be equal for everyone.
Eg: China
The next form of government is DEMOCRACY.
SO WHAT DOES THIS TERM MEAN

DEMOCRACY IS DERIVED FROM THE GREEK WORDS
DEMOS= the people

KRATOS= to rule or the government
In an easy way it means rule of the people or

It is a ruled by the representatives who we chose by voting.
“ Democracy is for the people, of
the people and by the people.”
Do you know who gave this popular definition of
DEMOCRACY????
It was given by ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Abraham Lincoln was an American statesman and a lawyer who
served as the 16th president of the United States (1861–1865).
(refer to page 196- Gear up)
fff
Lincoln defined democracy as a 'government of the people, by the people, for the people.‘ which means
• The government belongs to the people.

• The government is formed by the people.
• The government works for the people.
His definition is till now the most widely accepted and popular definition of democracy.
TRACING ROOTS OF DEMOCRACY
Democracy has evolved through different ages and has undergone various
transformations.
1. Around 6th century BCE, India witnessed an early form of Democracy in
the form of small states called MAHAJANAPADAS. They were ruled by
representatives of eight clans and representatives governed through
assemblies like gana (jana) and sangha. Vajji had a republican form of
government.
2. In Greece (Athens), all adult male population of the city formed a body
called the assembly and participated in decision –making. Women,
children etc were excluded.
.
1 Vajji (a republic ), Vaishali in Bihar was its capital
2. Ancient Greece
( On a lighter note)
Following this three events shaped the history of Modern
democracy :
1. In Britain, the nobles introduced a document called the MAGNA CARTA or the
great charter in 1215, to limit the power of the kings.
2. The British colonies in North America declared their independence from Great
Britain in 1776. They adopted a democratic constitution in 1787 and the new
USA government adopted the Bill of Rights which granted civil rights to the
citizens.
3. Soon after the American Revolution, took place the French Revolution in 1789,
which transferred power to the common people from the kings and the nobles
and upheld the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.
(Along with “We the People’( borrowed from the American Constitution) the other slogan that defined individual liberty
and democratic values was “Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) the motto of the French
Republic. These words also appear in the preamble to the Constitution of India. {Time to think, pg 198})
FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
Main points to know here: (Pg: 197)
1. Most countries have been colonies of European powers such as Britain, France, Italy, Holland and Germany
2. After the Second World War(1945), most countries gained independence and we also see the emergence of the
U.N.O( united nations organisations)
3. India got independence in 1947. We chose to be a democracy and continue to be the largest democracy in the
world.
4. In 1991, Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 republics and most of them turned into democracies
5. India’s neighbour’s have had a mixed record.
6. Bangladesh and Myanmar have made a transition from army rule to democracy.
( Read about Aun- San –Suu- Kyi and Burma (Myanmar) on pg-197,Good To Know ) Also go to the link given below
for more information about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQqFIY-_8E4
7. Present Scenario (pg198)
Earlier there was direct democracy in which people participated in the management of public affairs and decision –
making directly. This was possible because the population and area of governance was small) Today, few places have
direct democracy, e.g.: Switzerland.
Most countries have indirect democracies because of their large size and population . In this people elect
representatives and these representatives in turn make decisions for the entire nation.
Now that you have understood what Democracy means and how it
evolved, lets answer a few questions related to this :
From your textbook- New Milestones -7 , turn to page 202 and attempt the
following questions
Part C. Answer the questions in about 50-70 words do questions 1,2 and 3
Part D. Answer the questions in about 80-100 words do questions 1, 2 and 4
These questions will be marked only in the textbooks.

The answers to these will be given in the next class that is on Thursday 2nd
April, 2020.

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Chapter 1(CIVICS)

WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY THE TERM

a group of people who officially control and make decisions for a

a particular system used for controlling a state/country etc.

SO WHAT DOES THIS TERM MEAN

DEMOS= the people

In an easy way it means rule of the people or

• The government belongs to the people.

Part D. Answer the questions in about 80-100 words do questions 1, 2 and 4

These questions will be marked only in the textbooks.

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