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Outcomes of Democracy
Question
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What sustains democracy in India?

Answer

The following factors sustain democracy in India:
(i) Democracy is liked by almost all Indians. It is based on the principle of equality, freedom and brotherhood.

(ii) The framers of the Indian Constitution provided for a representative democracy in a liberal framework. Following are the main characteristics of liberal democracy:
(a) The government is formed by elected representatives of citizens and is accountable and responsible to them.
(b) More than one political parties compete for political power.
(c) There are periodic elections based on universal adult franchise.
(d) The competition for power is open and not secretive. It is through open elections but through secret ballot papers.
(e) Civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion and association, etc., are guaranteed.
(f) Pressure groups and other organised and unorganised groups are also allowed to operate in the system. They are also able to influence government decisions and policies.

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Some More Questions From Outcomes of Democracy Chapter

What are the conditions under which democracies accommodate social diversities?

Give arguments to support or oppose the following assertions:
(a) Industrialised countries can afford democracy but the poor need dictatorship to become rich.
(b) Democracy can't reduce inequality of incomes between different citizens.
(c) Government in poor countries should spend less on poverty reduction, food, clothing, health, education and spend more on industries and infrastructure.
(d) In democracy all citizens have one vote, which means that there is absence of any domination and conflict.

Identify the challenges to democracy in the following descriptions.
Also suggest policy / institutional mechanism to deepen democracy in the given situations:
(a) Following a High Court directive a temple in Orissa that had separate entry door for dalits and non-dalits allowed entry for all from the same door.
(b) A large number of farmers are committing suicide in different states of India.
(c) Following allegation of killing of three civilians in Gandwara in a fake encounter by Jammu and Kashmir police, an enquiry has been ordered.

In the context of democracies which of the following ideas is correct— Democracies have successfully eliminated:
(A) conflicts among people.
(B) economic inequalities among people.
(C) differences of opinion about how marginalised sections are to be treated.
(D) the idea of political inequality.

In the context of assessing democracy which among the following is odd one out. Democracies need to ensure

Studies on political and social inequalities in democracy show that

Read the passage below:
Nannu is a daily wage earner. He lives in Welcome Mazdoor Colony, a slum habitation in East Delhi. He lost his ration card and applied for a duplicate one in January, 2004. He made several rounds of the local Food and Civil Supplies Office for the next three months. But the clerks and officials would not even look at him, leave alone do his job or bother to tell him the status of his application.Ultimately, he filed an application under the Right to Information Act asking for the daily progress made on his application, names of the officials who were supposed to act on his application and what action would be taken against these officials for their inaction. Within a week of filing application under Right to Information Act, he was visited by an inspector from the Food Department, who informed him that the card had been made and he could collect it from the office. When Nannu went to collect his card next day, he was given a very warm treatment by the Food and Supply Officer (FSO), who is the head of a circle. The FSO offered him tea and requested him to withdraw his application under Right to Information, since his work had already been done.
What does Nannu’s example show? What impact did Nannu’s action have on officials? Ask your parents their experiences when they approach government officials to attend to their problems.
 

Which of the following do you consider as a better form of government?

Why is democracy preferred to other forms of government?

Democracy is a better form of government as compare to other types of government. Which of the following is not appropriate reason for the same?