Class 9 NCERT Solutions Civics Chapter 1 - What is Democracy? Why Democracy?

1. Undemocratic
2. Democratic
3. Democratic
4. Undemocratic

1. Undemocratic
2. Democratic
3. Undemocratic
4. Undemocratic

d) Democracies are more prosperous than others.

This is not a good agreement as the prosperity of a country cannot be determined through its form of government but through its economic condition. For example, a democratic country like India is still a developing country, while a country following monarchy rule is economically strong. 

a. Democratic: Passing of the laws by the Parliament.
    Undemocratic: Conforming to the regulations decided by the World Trade Organisation.

b. Democratic: The order to re-poll by the Election Commission.
    Undemocratic: large scale rigging was reported

c. Democratic: Demand by Women's Organisation to reserve one-third seats for women.
    Undemocratic: Women's representation in the parliament is less than 10 per cent.

d) "People are free to believe in and practise any religion" is not a valid reason because there are lesser changes for famine to take place in a democratic country. This is because practicing of a religion is not at all related to famine.

d) Paying money to government officials to get water is an undemocratic method.

1. Though army the most disciplined and corruption-free organisation in the country, however, it cannot be justified that they should rule the country. Primarily, because they do not form a democratic government i.e. are not elected by the people. Secondarily, people will not be allowed to voice their opinion or expression as all their fundamentals rights would be curtailed. Also, there would be no assurance that the army cannot turn into a ruthful dictator at any point of their rule, making the life of the people difficult. For example: people of Chile suffered under the rule of General Augusto Pinochet.
2. Such a thing would be against the principle of the Universal Adult Franchise, wherein every person above the age of 18 yrs in our country irrespective of religion, caste, sex, socio-economic background etc. has the right to vote. Everyone has the right to participate equally in the formation of the government. Therefore ignoring some sections of the society would be unfair. Moreover, wise men need not be necessarily good administrators.
3. Those who say that the country should be ruled by religious leaders are making a very risky statement. Because in a multi-religious country bringing religion into politics can cause serious conflict among the people. Moreover, religious leaders can bring trouble to the country due to their mutual conflicts of ideologies. Besides, many even do not have any experience in administration. Thus, it is very necessary for them to run their own religious institutions and need not meddle in the political affairs of the country.

1. The statement made is an undemocratic statement as the girl is being denied as opportunity to voice her opinion and choose her partner. As per our Constitution, every citizen who is 18 or above has the right to marry according to his/her choice.
2. The statement made is undemocratic as the student is being denied the right to ask questions/clear his doubts. The best the teacher can do is to ask the student to ask his query at the end of the lecture; however, stopping him from doing so is incorrect.
3. The statement made is a democratic statement because here the employees are asking for their fundamental right. Within the norms of the company, the employees are always entitled to ask or request their office for something.

1. Two important features of democracy are regular elections and universal adult franchise.
2. A democratic government works for the welfare of the country and enhances dignity of the citizens. Therefore, it cannot perform any functions which go against the welfare of the country and its people. Moreover, it does not allow an international agency to interfere in the internal matters of a country.
3. The national language can be a single language because such a concept will bring about national integrity but other languages also should be encouraged to cultivate in their respective regions.
4. Democracy provides people the right to strike or the right to free speech and demonstrations.
5. A very important part of democracy is the freedom of the press. Therefore, the total control of media shows that there is no freedom of speech and expression and right to speak against the government.

Thus, though the country is democratic in some manners, it is also undemocratic in some ways.

Democracy and poverty have been inextricably linked in India ever since her birth. Political independence of our country had been achieved through mass participation of the rural poor in the national movement. However, and unfortunately, since then this rural poor mass of the Indian population has seen its influence shrink in national politics. As decade by decade India has cultivated its resources and added to its national financial wealth, the rich have grown richer, and the poor have grown abysmally poorer. We have the distinction of being the largest democracy in the world, but we are also one of the world's poorest countries, with gaping economic cleavages within our society.

The inequality of income is a concern that gets reflected directly in the operation of the democratic process of our republic. Research has firmly established the fact that though the majority of Indian voters come from the rural Indian hinterland, their influence on their elected representatives and on the whole, on the process of national policy making is shrinking with each passing year. On the other hand, the richer sections of our society, though they do not necessarily vote or have any discernible concern for their civic responsibilities, exercise leverage on the policymaking in this country grossly disproportionate to their actual size in the population.

Moreover, the culture of corporate funding of political parties has fast spawned its offspring in the realms of the government establishment. It has made political parties and their leaders less dependent on their actual electorate and has allowed them to ignore the real concerns of the public like agrarian reforms, fine tuning of the Public Distribution System, agricultural subsidies and educational reforms.

To encapsulate, as we take pride in us being the largest democracy in the world, it is also necessary to recognise and act on the fact that the phenomenon of gross economic inequalities is putting a major limitation on its workability.