PART - 2 DETAILED NCERT

EXPLANATION

WHAT IS
DEMOCRACY? WHY
DEMOCRACY?
 WHY DEMOCRACY?

(ARGUMENTS AGAINST
DEMOCRACY)
1
Instability: Leaders keep changing in a
democracy.

2
No scope for morality: Democracy is all about
political competition & power play.
3
Delay in decision making: So many people
have to be consulted in a democracy.

4
Bad decisions: Elected leaders do not know
the best interest of the people.
5
Corruption: Democracy is based on electoral
competition.

6
Ordinary people don’t know what is good for
them; they should not decide anything.
 CONCLUSION

● Democracy is not a magical solution for all the

problems.

● It has not ended poverty in our country and in other

parts of the world.

● It only ensures that people take their own decisions,

● and does not guarantee that their decisions will be
good.

● People can make mistakes & involving people in

decision making leads to delay.

● Democracy leads to frequent changes in leadership,

which can set back big decisions and affect the
government’s efficiency.
WHY DEMOCRACY?

(ARGUMENTS FOR
DEMOCRACY)
The arguments against democracy show
that democracy of the kind we see may
not be the ideal form of government. But
that is not a question we face in real life.

The real question we face is different: is

democracy better than other forms of
government that are there for us to choose
from?
 CHINA
1958-1961- worst recorded famine in world history.

Nearly three crore people died in this famine.

Economists think- Due to the type of government in China it

did not dealt with the issue of food scarcity.

INDIA
India’s economic condition was not much better than China.

India did not have famine.

Economists think- The existence of democracy in India made

the Indian government respond to food scarcity.
Economists think the condition of India & China was a result
of different government policies in the two countries.

The existence of democracy in India made the

Indian government respond to food scarcity in a
way that the Chinese government did not.

They point out that no large-scale

famine has ever taken place in an
independent and democratic country.

If China too had multiparty elections, an

opposition party and a press free to criticise
the government, then so many people may not
have died in the famine.
This cartoon is from Brazil, a country that has long experience
of dictatorship. It is entitled “The Hidden Side of Dictatorship”.

The hidden side depicted by the cartoon is the brutal side to the
dictator.
The comparison between the two countries shows us:
Why democracy is considered the best form of
government.

2. A non- democratic
government may & can
1. Democracy is better than respond to the people’s
any other form of needs, but it all depends
government in responding on the wishes of the
to the needs of the people. people who rule.

3. If the rulers don’t want 4. A democracy requires

to, they don’t have to act that the rulers have to
according to the wishes of attend to the needs of the
the people. people.
Argument 1- in favour of Democracy

A democratic government is a better

government because it is a more
accountable form of government.
 Someone who is
accountable is completely
responsible for what they
do and must be able to
give a satisfactory reason
for it.
Another reason why democracy should lead to better
decisions than any non-democratic government.

Democracy is based on consultation and discussion.

A democratic decision always involves many persons,

discussions and meetings.

When a number of people put their heads together, they are

able to point out possible mistakes in any decision. This takes
time.

But there is a big advantage in taking time over important

decisions. This reduces the chances of rash or irresponsible
decisions.
Argument 2- in favour of Democracy

Democracy improves the quality

of decision-making.
Argument 3- in favour of Democracy

Democracy provides a method to deal

with differences and conflicts.
● In any society people are bound to have differences
of opinions and interests.

● These differences are particularly sharp in a

country like ours which has an amazing social
diversity.

● People belong to different regions, speak different

languages, practise different religions and have
different castes.

● They look at the world very differently and have

different preferences.

● The preferences of one group can clash with those

of other groups.
 How do we
resolve such a
conflict?
 The conflict can be solved
by brutal power. Whichever
group is more powerful will
dictate its terms and others
will have to accept that.

But that would lead to

resentment and
unhappiness. Different
groups may not be able to
live together for long in
such a way.
 Democracy provides the only peaceful solution to
this problem.

In democracy, no one is a permanent

winner. No one is a permanent loser.

Different groups can live with one another

peacefully. In a diverse country like India,
democracy keeps our country together.
 ● These three arguments were about the effects of
democracy on the quality of government and
social life.

● But the strongest argument for democracy is not

● about what democracy does to the government.

● It is about what democracy does to the citizens.

● Even if democracy does not bring about better

decisions and accountable government, it is still
better than other forms of government.
Argument 4- in favour of Democracy

Democracy enhances the dignity of

citizens.
 2. Poorest & the least
1. Democracy is based educated has the same
on the principle of status as the rich and the
political equality. educated.

4. Even when they make

3. People are not subjects mistakes, they are
of a ruler, they are the responsible for their
rulers themselves.
conduct.
Argument 5- in favour of Democracy

Democracy allows to corrects its own

mistakes.
In democracy there is no guarantee that mistakes cannot be
made in democracy. No form of govt can guarantee that.

Advantage of democracy- that such mistake cannot be

hidden for long.

There is a space for public discussion on these mistakes &

correction.

Either the rulers have to change their

decisions, or the rulers can be changed.

This cannot happen in non-democratic

government.
 CONCLUSION

● Democracy is not the solution to all problems.

● But it is clearly better than any other alternative that

we know.

● It offers better chances of a good decision.

●● It respect people’s own wishes & allows different

kinds of people to live together.

● Even when it fails to do some of these things, it

allows to correct the mistakes & offers more dignity
to all citizens.

● Hence, democracy is considered the best form of

government.
BROADER MEANINGS OF
DEMOCRACY
In this chapter we have considered the meaning of
democracy in a limited and descriptive sense.

We have understood democracy as a form of

government.

This way of defining democracy helps us to identify

a clear set of minimal features that a democracy
must have.
 Types of democracy

Representative
Democracy Direct
(Most common Democracy
form)
A Direct Democracy is In Representative
one in which every citizen Democracy, the majority
votes on all important of people rule through
decisions. their elected
representatives.
 2. A majority is allowed
1. In the countries we call to take decisions on
democracy, all the people behalf of all the people.
do not rule.

4. The majority of people

3. Even the majority does rule through their elected
not rule directly, representatives..
Necessity for elected representatives in
Democracy

Modern democracies
involve such a large Even if they could, the
number of people that it citizen does not have the
is physically impossible time, the desire or the
for them to sit together skills to take part in all
and take a collective the decisions.
decision.
 This gives us a clear but minimal understanding of democracy

This clarity helps us to distinguish democracies from

non-democracies.

But it does not allow us to distinguish between a democracy

and a good democracy.

It does not allow us to see the operation of democracy beyond

government.

For this we need to turn to broader meanings of

democracy.
Sometimes we use democracy for organisations other than
the government. For example:

➔ “We are a very democratic family. Whenever a decision

has to be taken, we all sit down and arrive at a
consensus. My opinion matters as much as my father’s.”

➔ “I don’t like teachers who do not allow students to speak

and ask questions in the class. I would like to have
teachers with democratic temperament.”

➔ “One leader and his family members decide everything in

this party. How can they talk of democracy?”
 These ways of using the word democracy go back to its
basic sense of a method of taking decisions.

A democratic decision involves consultation with and

consent of all those who are affected by that decision.

Those who are not powerful have the same say in taking the
decision as those who are powerful.

This can apply to a government or a family or any other

organisation.

Thus democracy is also a principle that can be applied to

any sphere of life.
Sometimes we use the word democracy not to describe
any existing government but to set up an ideal standard
that all democracies must aim to become:

➔ “True democracy will come to this country only when no

one goes hungry to bed.”

➔ “In a democracy every citizen must be able to play equal

role in decision making. For this you don’t need just an
equal right to vote. Every citizen needs to have equal
information, basic education, equal resources and a lot of
commitment.”
 Reasons why we value Democracy?

It enables us to judge an existing democracy and identify its

weaknesses.

It helps us to distinguish between a minimal democracy and

a good democracy.

Democracy can apply to many spheres of life and that

democracy can take many forms.
 There can be various ways of
taking decisions in a
democratic manner, as long as
the basic principle of
consultation on an equal basis
is accepted.

But if the community is small,

there can be other ways of
taking democratic decisions.
All the people can sit together
and take decisions directly.
This is how Gram Sabha should
work in a village.
SUMMARY

● This also means that no country is a perfect

democracy.

● The features of democracy that we discussed in

this chapter provide only the minimum
conditions of a democracy.

● That does not make it an ideal democracy.

● Every democracy has to try to realise the ideals

of a democratic decision-making. This cannot be
achieved once and for all.

● This requires a constant effort to save and

strengthen democratic forms of decision-making.
What we do as citizens can make a difference to
making our country more or less democratic.
SUMMARY
● The fate of the country depends not just on
what the rulers do, but mainly on what we, as
citizens, do.

● This is what distinguishes democracy from

other governments. Other forms of
government like monarchy, dictatorship or
one-party rule do not require all citizens to
take part in politics.

● In fact most non-democratic governments

would like citizens not to take part in politics.

● Democracy depends on active political

participation by all the citizens.
 The images on the wall are of the former
Prime Ministers of India. They were:

Pt. Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira

Gandhi, Gulzari Lal Nandu, Morarji Desai,
Chaudhary Charan Singh, Rajiv Gandhi, VP
Singh, Chandra Shekhar, Narsimha Rao,
Devegowda & A.B. Vajpayee.

The cartoon also represents the feelings of

the common man. It shows that very little
has changed since independence.

The common man is sleeping as the

promises of the politicians are
meaningless to him.
The image represent 50 glorious
years of Independence.
In the context of an ideal democracy. “True
democracy will come to this country only when no
one goes ________”.

(a) Unemployed

(b) Hungry to bed

(c) Landless

(d) None of the above