What Is Democracy Why Democracy Class 9 Notes

In this chapter, students learn the meaning, importance, and features of democracy. It explains why democracy is considered the best form of government compared to other systems like monarchy or dictatorship. These notes help students understand how citizens participate in decision-making and why democratic values are essential for a just society.

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What is democracy Why democracy class 9 notes

What is democracy?

Democracy is a form of government where power lies with the people, which means the citizens have the right to choose their leader, express their opinions and participate in decision-making.

A simple definition

Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people. To truly understand democracy, we have to understand what rights are given to the people.

Democracy gives every man the right to be his own oppressor.
Democracy consists of choosing your dictators after they’ve told you what you think it is you want to hear.
Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.
Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.
All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy.

Features of democracy

Who are the rulers?

In the democracy, important leaders like the prime minister, chief minister, MPs and MLAs must be elected by the people. Some of the officials are not elected by people, but they are elected by elected leaders like judges or government officers.

What makes an election democratic?

A democratic election must be free from the following:

No cheating, threats or pressure
More than one party or candidate should be there.
Equal value of each vote
The election must happen on time.

Who are “the people” in democracy?

Every adult citizen has a right to give a vote and contest elections; this is called universal adult franchise. The voting cannot be denied based on religion, caste, gender or wealth.

What kind of government is democracy?

The elected leader does not give unlimited power. Every democratic government must follow the constitution, respect citizens’ rights, work within legal limits and be accountable to the people.

1. Major decisions by elected leaders

In India, major decision-making power must be with leaders elected by the people, but in Pakistan in 1999, General Musharraf took control through a military coup without election; later, he held a referendum to stay in power, but it was unfair and full of cheating. He also changed the constitution to give himself more power. Elections were held, but the real power stayed with Musharraf and the army.

The question is, why is this not democracy?

In Pakistan, an election happened, but the final decisions were made by non-elected people. Elected leaders had limited power. This is similar to dictatorships or monarchies where the elections may exist only on paper.

The first feature of democracy is that the final decision-making power must rest with those leaders who are elected by the people. If the real rules are not elected, then the true democracy will not be there.

2. Free and fair electoral competition

Election is important, and election should be free from cheating; fair means equal chance for all parties and must give people a real choice between different leaders and parties. Let’s see two examples:

In China, elections happen every 5 years for the National People’s Congress. The chance has been given to only candidates approved by the Communist Party. After every 5 years, the same party always forms the government; people are not allowed to choose freely. In China there is no real choice. What the leader decided people have to follow whether they want to or not.
In Mexico’s election before 2000, elections were held every 6 years. The PRI party always won, even when other parties contested. The PRI used unfair tricks like forcing government workers and teachers to support them, polling booths were moved suddenly, etc. In Mexico, people had a fake choice. The ruling party could not be defeated.

3. One person, one vote, one value

Each and every citizen of India has an equal say when it comes to voting. This is called universal adult franchise. Universal adult franchise means every adult has the right to vote, and each vote counts equally.

In Saudi Arabia before 2015, women were not allowed to vote. In Estonia, citizenship rules made it hard for Russian minorities to vote. In Fiji, the vote of Indigenous Fijians is more valued compared to that of Indian Fijians. It shows that some of the country deny equal voting rights.

4. Rule of law and respect for rights

Just winning an election is not enough to be called a democracy. A real democracy must:

Respect citizens’ rights.
Follow the Constitution.
Allow political opposition.
Be accountable to law and people.

In Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe became independent in 1980. Robert Mugabe and his party, ZANU-PF, ruled for many years; elections were held, but the same party always won; opposition leaders were harassed; protests were banned; judges were pressurised; and the media was controlled. Even though the election was held, the government did not respect basic democratic rules.

Why democracy?

Without democracy there are a lot of challenges, like the country will be unstable and the government will take a lot of time making decisions. Parties will fight each other for power; the morals and values will not be there. Decision-making becomes slow. Government can take bad decisions. Corruption will increase.

Democracy is not a magic solution, but it will helps to makehelp correct decisions for the people. It gives people the power to choose their leaders, it allows freedom of speech, freedom to protest and equal rights. It ensures that the leaders are accountable to the people. It allows correction if the leader fails.

Is democracy better than other forms of government?

Yes, democracy is better than other forms of government. Democracy is the only system that:

Respects people’s voices
Allows change through peaceful means
Protects freedom and equality

Broader meanings of Democracy

In modern countries, everyone cannot sit together to make decisions. So, people elect leaders to take decisions on their behalf. This is called representative democracy. Democracy has both a system and a principle. It is not perfect, but it gives people the power to shape their future.

Social Science Class 9 Notes

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