Greetings to all today we are going to upload the What is Democracy Why Democracy Class 9 Notes pdf to assist all students as well as tutors. What is a democracy? What are its features? Chapter 1 from CBSE Class 9 Political Science textbook, Democratic Politics-I builds on an easy explanation of democracy. The text aims to assist students to understand absolutely the bare minimum characteristics of a democratic form of government. After going via this chapter, you would be able to find the contrast between a democratic form of government and a non-democratic government. Democracy is the most dominant form of government in the world today and it is expanding to more countries.
But why is it so? What makes it more suitable than other forms of government? Students can just skim through these CBSE Notes Class 9 Political Science Chapter 1-What is Democracy? Why Democracy? and comprehend these concepts thoroughly. Find the clickable downloadable link to access these CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes of Political Science Chapter 1, below in this report.
Detailed Table of Chapter 1 Notes – What is Democracy Why Democracy Class 9 Notes PDF
| 1. | Board | CBSE |
| 2. | Textbook | NCERT |
| 3. | Class | Class 9 |
| 4. | Subject | Notes |
| 5. | Chapter | Civics Chapter 1 |
| 6. | Chapter Name | What is Democracy Why Democracy |
| 7. | Category | CBSE Revision Notes |
What is Democracy Why Democracy Class 9 Notes PDF- Short Notes
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 simple definition of democracy gives rise to various questions, which are given below:
- Who are the rulers in this definition?
- What kind of election constitutes a democratic election?
- Who are the people who can elect the rulers or get elected as rulers?
- Finally, what form of government is a democracy?
Major decisions by elected leaders
Some countries like Pakistan do not follow this rule. In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999. He overthrew the democratically elected government and went on to become the President of the country. In 2002, he also held a referendum in the country that granted him a five-year extension. Meanwhile, after the passing of this ‘Legal Framework Order’ elections were held to the national and provincial assemblies and elected representatives were granted some powers.
Free and Fair Electoral Competition
In China, elections are held after every five years for electing the country’s parliament, called Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (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. Alternatively, since its independence in 1930, Mexico holds elections after every six years to elect its President.
One person, one vote, one value one value
Democracy is based on a fundamental principle of political equality. However, there are many instances of denial of the equal right to vote. Until 2015, in Saudi Arabia, women did not have the right to vote. Estonia has made its citizenship rules in such a way that people belonging to the Russian minority found 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. Not a democratic government.
Rule of law and respect for rights
Zimbabwe attained independence from White minority rule in 1980 and from then the country has been ruled by the party that led the freedom struggle, ZANU-PF.
Hence, we can deduce that democracy is a form of government in which:
- Rulers elected by the people take all the major decisions
- Elections offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the current rulers
- This choice and opportunity is available to all people on an equal basis
- The exercise of this choice leads to a government limited by basic rules of the constitution and citizens’ rights
Why Democracy?
Cons of Democracy
- Leaders keep changing in a democracy leading to instability
- Democracy is all about political competition and power play, leaving no scope for morality
- Many people have to be consulted in a democracy which leads to delays
- Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people, resulting in bad decisions
- Democracy leads to corruption since it is based on electoral competition
- Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them; they should not decide anything
From these arguments, we can see that democracy of the kind we see, may not be the ideal form of government. However, we will see if democracy is better than other forms of government that are there for us to choose from.
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