Exercise questions for Chapter 9-Understanding Democracy-Class 9 for Subject Social Science
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A. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1. The word 'Democracy' is derived from the Greek word:
- Answer: (b) Demokratia
- Answer: (c) Abraham Lincoln
- Answer: (c) Elected representatives
- Answer: (c) Prime Minister
- Answer: (c) Growing economic inequality
- Answer: (d) Representative
- Answer: (c) It protects the interests of both majority and minority.
8. Consider the given statement and choose the correct option.
Statement I: Direct democracy is difficult to practise in large countries.
Statement II: In a representative democracy, the final decision-making power rests with elected
representatives.
- Answer: (c) Both statements are correct.
|
Column -I |
Column-II |
|
A. Democracy |
1. Citizens participate directly in
decision-making |
|
B. Rule of Law |
2. People elect their rulers |
|
C. Representative Democracy |
3. Rule by the people |
|
D. Direct Democracy |
4. Equality before the law |
- Answer: (a) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
10. Identify the incorrect statement about democracy.
- Answer: (a) It eliminates all economic inequality immediately.
- Answer: (c) Direct democracy
- Answer: (b) Presidential democracy
B. Fill in the Blanks:
1. In a ________ democracy, citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
- Answer: representative
- Answer: elections
- Answer: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
- Answer: legislature
C. Very Short Answer Type Questions:
1. What does the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam convey?
- The entire world is one single family.
- It gives the public a peaceful, recurring chance to discard and replace political rulers who have a bad record.
- It ensures that every adult citizen holds the right to vote, and every single vote carries equal value.
- It causes citizens to lose interest and stop voting, which fails to hold corrupt or inefficient leaders accountable.
- Monarchy relies on hereditary birthright, while dictatorship features absolute power held by an unaccountable military or political leader.
D. Short Answer Type Questions:
1. Define democracy. Mention any two essential features of a democratic government.
- Answer: Democracy is a system of government where rulers are elected by people.
- Its first core feature is holding free, fair, regular elections managed by an independent body.
- Its second feature is universal adult suffrage, where every adult citizen gets one vote of completely equal value.
- Answer:
- Answer: any two
- Answer:
- Leaders know they can lose their jobs if they do not work well.
- It stops leaders from becoming too powerful or acting like dictators.
- Governments must listen to the people and fix their problems to win the next vote.
- Answer:
- Protects Freedom: It gives everyone the legal right to speak their own language and practice their own religion freely.
- Fair Representation: It reserves seats in the government (legislature) for weaker and marginalized groups so their voices are heard.
- Peaceful Conflict Resolution: It solves disagreements through peaceful public discussions and debates instead of violence.
- Focuses on Compromise: It helps different groups compromise and find common ground that satisfies everyone.
- Majority-Minority Balance: It ensures that the majority rule does not ignore the needs and rights of minority communities.
2. Distinguish between a parliamentary system and a presidential system.
1. President is the Head of the state and Real Head of the state.
2. Separation of power: Executive is independent of legislature.
3. Executive is not responsible to legislatire.
4. Executive cannot be easily removed.
5. Example: USA, Brazil, Sri Lanka(semi).
Parliamentary Democracy:
1. Head of the state is nominal(President), Real head of the govt. is Prime Minister.
2. Interdependent: Executive(PM & Cabinet) is part of Legislature.
3. Executive responsible to legislature.
4. Must resign is loss of confidence.
5. Example: UK, India, Japan.
3. State any two merits of democracy over other forms of government.
People elect their leaders – Citizens choose who will govern them.
Equal rights for all – Every adult has the right to vote and express their opinion.
Government is accountable – Rulers must explain their actions to the public.
Peaceful solution to conflicts – Democracy encourages discussions, not violence.
Mistakes can be corrected – If leaders fail, people can vote them out in the next election.
E. Long Answer Type Questions:
1. "Democracy is considered better than other forms of government." Justify the statement.
- Answer:
It allows people to choose and change their leaders.
It gives equal rights to all citizens.
It respects people’s opinions and freedom.
It corrects mistakes through discussion and criticism.
It helps different groups to live together peacefully.
2. Trace the roots of democracy in ancient India. Explain the role of Sabha and Samiti in Vedic era.
- Answer:
- Democratic ideals are deeply embedded in India's historical legacy, stretching back to early Vedic societies and ancient texts.
- Ancient independent republics, known as Mahajanapadas like the Vajji confederacy, successfully practiced collective governance through elected non-hereditary rulers.
- During the Vedic period, popular assemblies called Sabha and Samiti allowed people to participate directly in decision-making processes.
- These foundational public bodies closely advised the ruling monarch and placed vital legal checks on his executive authority.
- As a result, ancient Indian kings did not possess absolute power, establishing decentralized administration as our early governance framework.
3. Discuss the challenges faced by modern democracies.
- Answer: Major Challenges Faced by Modern Democracies
- Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor: The massive divide in wealth splits society and creates unfair advantages.
- Money Power in Politics: Wealthy individuals and powerful groups use their money to control government decisions and buy favors.
- Expensive Elections: Election campaigns cost so much money that ordinary, capable citizens cannot afford to run or win.
- Corruption and Bad Management: Political corruption and lazy government systems make regular citizens lose trust in democracy.
- Unfair Voting Pressures: Voters are sometimes threatened or forced to vote for a specific candidate, which destroys the freedom of choice.
4. Explain the types of democracy.
- Answer: The two primary operational models used globally are direct democracy and representative, or participatory, democracy.
- In a direct democracy, all citizens gather together to debate, vote, and directly decide on every single law and policy.
- This system was used in ancient Athens and exists today in small countries like Switzerland through referendums and popular initiatives.
- In a representative democracy, citizens instead vote in periodic elections to choose representatives who govern and legislate on their behalf.
- This model is absolutely necessary for highly populated modern nations, like India, where billions cannot gather in one room.
F. Assertion-Reason Questions:
1. Assertion (A): Sabha and Samiti were important institutions in early Indian governance.
Reason (R): They enabled participation of people in decision-making processes.
- Answer: (a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Reason (R): Institutions like Sabha and village councils existed in early India.
- Answer: (d) (A) is wrong but (R) is correct
Reason (R): It is difficult for all citizens to directly participate in decision-making in large populations.
- Answer: (a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
G. Case-Based Questions:
1. Explain any two features of democracy.
- Answer:
- (i) Rulers must be chosen through free, fair, and regular elections where current leaders have a genuine chance of losing.
- (ii) It must guarantee universal adult suffrage where every adult citizen gets one vote of equal value.
- Answer: India declared itself a democratic state by enforcing its constitution on January 26, 1950.
- Answer: India follows a parliamentary representative democracy. A defining feature is that the executive head (the Prime Minister) and the Council of Ministers are part of and directly accountable to the legislature (Lok Sabha).
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