Class 9th Civics Chapter 2:- What is Democracy? Why Democracy?
What is Democracy?
• A simple Definition: Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.
Definition of Democracy :-
Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people. One chief factor common to all democracies is that the government is chosen by the people. It also helps students to demarcate between democratic and non-democratic governments.
From the non-democratic government, take the example of Myanmar, where rulers were not elected by the people. Those who were in charge of the army of the country took over as rulers and people had no say in this decision. Dictators like Pinochet (Chile) are not elected by the people. This also applies to monarchies.
Features of Democracy
• The rulers are elected by the people.
• Free and competitive elections are held.
• Each adult irrespective of religion, education, caste, colour, wealth have one vote, one value.
• The elected rulers take decisions within limits set by constitutional law and citizens’ rights.
• Rule of Law
• The rights of the citizens must be protected through Constitution.
• There must be an independent judiciary.
Major Decisions by Elected leaders
• In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999 and overthrew democratically elected government and became President of the country.
→ In 2002, he held a referendum in the country which was based on malpractices and fraud granted him a five-year extension.
→ After passing law, ‘Legal Framework Order’ which gave the president power to dismiss the national and provincial assemblies, elections were held to the national and provincial assemblies.
• In this case, Pakistan has had elections, elected representatives have some powers. But the final
power rests with military officers and General Musharraf himself. So,this should not be called a
democracy.
• In a democracy, the final decision-making power must rest with those elected by the people.
Free and fair electoral competition
• In China, elections are regularly held after every five years for electing the country’s parliament called National People’s Congress.
→ Before contesting elections, a candidate needs the approval of the Chinese Communist Party.
→ The government is always formed by the Communist Party.
• Mexico holds elections after every six years to elect its President.
→ But until 2000 every election was won by a party called PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). → Opposition parties did contest elections, but never managed to win as PRI was known to use many dirty tricks to win elections.
• Both the cases should not be called a democracy.
• A democracy must be based on a free and fair election where those currently in power have a fair chance of losing.
One person, one vote, One value
• There are many instances of denial of equal right to vote.
→In Saudi Arabia women do not have the right to vote.
→ Estonia has made its citizenship rules in such a way that people belonging to Russian minority find it difficult to get the right to vote.
→ In Fiji, the electoral system is such that the vote of an indigenous Fiji has more value than that of an Indian-Fijian.
• In a democracy, each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one value.
Rule of Law and respect for rights
• Since independence, Zimbabwe ruled by ZANU-PF.
→ Its leader, Robert Mugabe has been ruling the country. He is popular but also uses unfair practices in elections.
→ Elections have been held regularly and always won by ZANU-PF.
→ Opposition party workers are harassed and their meeting disrupted.
→ Public protests and demonstrations against the government are declared illegal.
→ Television and radio are controlled by the government and give only the ruling party’s version.
→ Independent newspapers are there but the government harasses those journalists who go against it.
→ The government has ignored some court judgments that went against it and has pressurised judges.
• In this case, government is not democratic as there is no there is no citzen' basic rights, no political opposition, no judiciary.
• A democratic government rule within limits set by constitutional law and citizens’ rights.
Why Democracy?
Arguments against democracy
• Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.
• Democracy is all about political competition and power play. There is no scope for morality.
• So many people have to be consulted in a democracy that it leads to delays.
• Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people. It leads to bad decisions.
• Democracy leads to corruption for it is based on electoral competition.
• Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them; they should not decide anything.
Arguments for democracy
• A democratic government is a better government because it is a more accountable form of government.
• Democracy improves the quality of decision-making.
• Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts.
• Democracy enhances the dignity of citizens.
• Democracy allows us to correct its own mistakes.
{Detailed Arguments in Favour of Democracy
A democratic government is a better government because it is a more accountable form of government: Take the example of India and China famines in 1958-1961. While China was hit badly, India did not fare as badly, despite its economic condition. Reason for this could be that India responded to the food scarcity in a way that the Chinese government did not. Here, we see that democracy is better than any other form of government in responding to the needs of the people.
Democracy improves the quality of decision-making: Democracy is based on consultation and discussion. A democratic decision always involves many people, discussions and meetings and they are able to point out possible mistakes in any decision. This may take time. However, the advantage of taking time over important decisions is that it reduces the chances of rash or irresponsible decisions.
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 more in a country like ours with amazing social diversity. People belong to different regions, speak different languages, practise different religions and have different castes. The preferences of one group can clash with those of other groups. How do we resolve such a conflict? Democracy provides the only peaceful solution to this problem. In a democracy, no one is a permanent winner or loser. Different groups can live with one another peacefully.
Democracy enhances the dignity of citizens: Democracy is based on the principle of political equality. It recognises that the poorest and the least educated have the same status as the rich and the educated.
Democracy is better than other forms of government because it allows us to correct our own mistakes: Even if no government can guarantee that no mistakes will be made, in a democracy one can be sure that it will not be hidden for too long. It makes space for public discussion on these mistakes. There is also room for correction. Rulers have to change their decisions or they could themselves be changed.
Thus, we can correctly infer that while democracy may not be the solution to all problems, it is still clearly better than any other alternatives.}
Broader Meanings of Democracy
• The most common form that democracy takes in our times is that of a representative democracy where majority is allowed to take decisions on behalf of all the people.
→ The majority of people rule through their elected representatives.
• A democratic decision involves consultation with and consent of all those who are affected by that
decision.
• Democracy is a principle that can be applied to any sphere of life.
→ Democracy can apply to a government or a family or any other organisation.
Democracy as a principle can go beyond the government and can be applied to any sphere of life. People use the word democracy not to describe any existing government but to set up an ideal standard that all democracies must aim to become. However, if the ideals of democracy are considered then no country in the world is correctly democratic. Still, having an understanding of democracy as an ideal will explain why to value democracy. It enables people to judge an existing democracy and identify their weaknesses. It also helps to distinguish between a minimal democracy and a good democracy. The most common form of democracy in today’s world is being ruled through people’s elected representatives. However, for a small community, there can be other ways of making democratic decisions. All people can sit together and make decisions directly. This is how the Gram Sabha should work in a village.
No comments:
Post a Comment