chapter 2 what is democracy? why democracy? class … · · 2013-04-24what democracy is like....

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The stories and the analysis in the previous chapter gave us a sense ofwhat democracy is like. There we described some governments asdemocratic and some as non-democratic. We saw how governments insome of those countries changed from one form to the other. Let us nowdraw general lessons from those stories and ask the more basic question:What is democracy? What are its features? This chapter builds on a simpledefinition of democracy. Step by step, we work out the meaning of theterms involved in this definition. The aim here is to understand clearly thebare minimum features of a democratic form of government. After goingthrough this chapter we should be able to distinguish a democratic formof government from a non-democratic government. Towards the end ofthis chapter, we step beyond this minimal objective and introduce a broaderidea of democracy.

In the previous chapter, we have seen that democracy is the mostprevalent form of government in the world today and it is expanding tomore countries. But why is it so? What makes it better than other forms ofgovernment? That is the second big question that we take up in this chapter.

CHAPTER 2

What isDemocracy?WhyDemocracy?

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2.12.12.12.12.1 WWWWWHAHAHAHAHATTTTT ISISISISIS D D D D DEMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCRACACACACACYYYYY?????distinguishes these governmentsfrom Pinochet’s rule in Chile,communist rule in Poland or the laterperiod of Nkrumah’s rule in Ghana?What do these governments have incommon with the military rule inMyanmar? Why do we say that thesegovernments are not democratic?

On the basis of this analysis, writedown some common features of:

Democratic governmentsNon-democratic governments

WWWWWhhhhhy defy defy defy defy define democrine democrine democrine democrine democra ca ca ca ca cy ?y ?y ?y ?y ?Before we proceed further, let usfirst take note of an objection byMerry. She does not like this wayof defining democracy and wantsto ask some basic questions.

WWWWWHAHAHAHAHATTTTT ISISISISIS D D D D DEMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCRACACACACACYYYYY? W? W? W? W? WHYHYHYHYHY D D D D DEMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCRACACACACACYYYYY?????

News items like this appear very often in newspapers.Do they all use the word democracy in the same sense?

In Chapter One we read many storiesfrom different parts of the world.Through these stories we discussedvarious governments andorganisations. We called some ofthese democracies. Others weredescribed as non-democracies. Canyou recall, for each of these countries,something about the governmentsthat were described as democracies?

Chile, before and after Pinochet’srulePoland, after the fall of communistruleGhana, in the early period ofNkrumah’s governmentWhat do you think is common to

them? Why do we club them all underthe label of democracy? What is it that


Her teacher Matilda Lyngdohresponds to her questions, as otherclassmates join the discussion:Merry: Ma’am, I don’t like this idea. First we

spend one whole chapter discussing democ-racies in different parts of the world and thenwe want to find out the meaning of democ-racy. I mean logically shouldn’t we have ap-proached it the other way round? Shouldn’t themeaning have come first and then the example?

Lyngdoh Madam: I can see your point. But thatis not how we reason in everyday life. We usewords like pen, rain or love. Do we wait to havea definition of these words before we usethem? Come to think of it, do we have cleardefinition of these words? It is only by using aword that we understand its meaning.

Merry: But then why do we need definitions at all?Lyngdoh Madam: We need a definition only when

we come across a difficulty in the use of a word.We need a definition of rain only when we wishto distinguish it from, say, drizzle or cloudburst.The same is true for democracy. We need a cleardefinition only because people use it for differ-ent purposes, because very different kinds ofgovernments call themselves democracy.

Ribiang: But why do we need to work on a defi-nition? The other day you quoted Abraham Lin-coln to us: “Democracy is a rule of the people,for the people and by the people”. We inMeghalaya always ruled ourselves. That is ac-cepted by everyone. Why do we need tochange that?

Lyngdoh Madam: I am not saying we need tochange it. I too find this definition very beauti-ful. But we don’t know if this is the best way ofdefining unless we think about it ourselves. Wemust not accept something just because it isfamous, just because everyone accepts it.

Yolanda: Ma’am, can I suggest something? Wedon’t need to look for any definition. I read some-where that the word democracy comes from aGreek word ‘Demokratia’. In Greek ‘demos’means people and ‘kratia’ means rule. So de-mocracy is rule by the people. This is the cor-rect meaning. Where is the need to debate?

Lyngdoh Madam: That is also a very helpful wayof thinking about this matter. I would just saythat this does not always work. A word does

not remain tied to its origin. Just think of com-puters. Originally they were used for computing,that is to say calculating, very difficult mathemati-cal sums. These were very powerful calculators.But nowadays very few people use computersfor computing sums. They use it for writing, fordesigning, for listening to music and for watch-ing films. Words remain the same but their mean-ing can change with time. In that case it is notvery useful to look at the origins of a word.

Merry: Ma’am, so basically what you are sayingis that there is no shortcut to our thinking aboutthe matter ourselves. We have to think aboutits meaning and evolve a definition.

Lyngdoh Madam: You got me right. Let us get onwith it now.

A C T I V I T Y

Let us take Lyngdoh Madam seriously and try towrite down the exact definition of some of thesimple words that we use all the time: pen, rainand love. For example, is there a way of defininga pen that distinguishes it clearly from a pencil, abrush, a highlighter or a marker?

What have you learnt from this attempt?What does it teach us about understanding themeaning of democracy?

A simple defA simple defA simple defA simple defA simple definitioninitioninitioninitioninitionLet us get back to our discussionon similarities and differencesamong governments that are calleddemocracies. In the last chapter weidentified one simple factor commonto all democracies: the governmentis chosen by the people. We couldthus start with a simple definition:democracy is a form ofgovernment in which the rulersare elected by the people.

This is a useful starting point. Thisdefinition allows us to separatedemocracy from forms of governmentthat are clearly not democratic. Thearmy rulers of Myanmar are notelected by the people. Those whohappen to be in control of the army

I have heard adifferent version.Democracy is offoffoffoffoffthe people, farfarfarfarfar(from) the peopleand (where they)buybuybuybuybuy the people.Why don’t weaccept that?

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become the rulers of the country.People have no say in this decision.Dictators like Pinochet are not electedby the people. This also applies tomonarchies. The king of Nepal andSaudi Arabia rule not because thepeople have chosen them to do so butbecause they happen to be born intothe royal family.

This simple definition is notadequate. It reminds us thatdemocracy is people’s rule. But if weuse this definition in an unthinkingmanner, we would end up calling

almost every government that holdsan election a democracy. That wouldbe very misleading. As we noted inChapter Four, every government incontemporary world wants to becalled a democracy, even if it is notso. That is why we need to carefullydistinguish between a governmentthat is a democracy and one thatpretends to be one. We can do so byunderstanding each word in thisdefinition carefully and spelling outthe features of a democraticgovernment.

Ribiang went back home and collected some more famous quotations on democracy. This time shedid not mention the names of the people who said or wrote these. She wants you to read these andcomment on how good or useful these thoughts are:

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 wantto hear.Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makesdemocracy necessaryDemocracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy.


This cartoon wasdrawn when electionswere held in Iraq withthe presence of USand other foreign

powers. What do youthink this cartoon is

saying? Why is‘democracy’ written

the way it is?

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2.2 F2.2 F2.2 F2.2 F2.2 FEAEAEAEAEATURESTURESTURESTURESTURES OOOOOFFFFF DDDDDEMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCRACACACACACYYYYY

want in a democracy? Or must ademocratic government functionwith some limits? Is it necessaryfor a democracy to respect somerights of the citizens?Let us consider each of these

questions with the help of someexamples.

MMMMMajor deajor deajor deajor deajor decisions bcisions bcisions bcisions bcisions by eley eley eley eley elecccccttttteeeeedddddleadersleadersleadersleadersleadersIn Pakistan, General PervezMusharraf led a miliary coup inOctober 1999. He overthrew ademocratically elected governmentand declared himself the ‘ChiefExecutive’ of the country. Later hechanged his designation to Presidentand in 2002 held a referendum inthe country that granted him a five-year extension. Pakistani media,human right organisations anddemocracy activists said that thereferendum was based on

We have started with a simpledefinition that democracy is a formof government in which the rulersare elected by the people. Thisraises many questions:

Who are the rulers in thisdefinition? Which officials must beelected for any government to becalled a democracy? Whichdecisions may be taken by non-elected officials in a democracy?What kind of election constitutesa democratic election? Whatconditions must be fulfilled for anelection to be considereddemocratic?Who are the people who can electthe rulers or get elected as rulers?Should this include every citizen onan equal basis? Can a democracydeny some citizens this right?Finally, what kind of a form ofgovernment is democracy? Canelected rulers do whatever they

Syria is a small westAsian country. The

ruling Baath Party andsome of its smallallies are the only

parties allowed in thatcountry. Do you think

this cartoon couldapply to China or

Mexico? What doesthe crown of leaves

on democracysignify?


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malpractices and fraud. In August2002 he issued a ‘Legal FrameworkOrder’ that amended theconstitution of Pakistan. Accordingto this Order, the President candismiss the national or provincialassemblies. The work of the civiliancabinet is supervised by a NationalSecurity Council which is dominatedby military officers. After passingthis law, elections were held to thenational and state assemblies. SoPakistan has had elections, electedrepresentatives have some powers.But the final power rests withmilitary officers and GeneralMusharraf himself.

Clearly, there are many reasonswhy Pakistan under GeneralMusharraf should not be called ademocracy. But let us focus on oneof these. Can we say that the rulersare elected by the people inPakistan? Not quite. People mayhave elected their representatives tothe national and provincialassemblies but those electedrepresentatives are not really the

rulers. They cannot take the finaldecisions. The power to take finaldecision rests with army officials andwith General Musharraf, and noneof them are elected by the people.This happens in many dictatorshipsand monarchies. They formally havean elected parliament andgovernment but the real power iswith those who are not elected. Inthe last chapter we read about therole of USSR in communist Polandand that of US in contemporary Iraq.Here the real power was with someexternal powers and not with locallyelected representatives. This cannotbe called people’s rule.

This gives us the first feature. In ademocracy the final decisionmaking power must rest withthose elected by the people.

FFFFFrrrrree and fair eleee and fair eleee and fair eleee and fair eleee and fair elecccccttttto ro ro ro ro ra la la la la lcccccompetitionompetitionompetitionompetitionompetitionIn China, elections are regularly heldafter every five years for electing thecountry’s parliament, calledQuanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui(National People’s Congress). TheNational People’s Congress has thepower to appoint the President of thecountry. It has nearly 3,000members elected from all overChina. Some members are electedby the army. Before contestingelections, a candidate needs theapproval of the Chinese CommunistParty. Only those who are membersof the Chinese Communist Party oreight smaller parties allied to it wereallowed to contest elections held in2002-03. The government is alwaysformed by the Communist Party.

Since its independence in 1930,Mexico holds elections after every sixyears to elect its President. Thecountry has never been under amilitary or dictator’s rule. But until2000 every election was won by a

This cartoon wasdrawn in the contextof Latin America. Doyou think it applies tothe Pakistani situation

as well? Think ofother countries where

this could apply?Does this happensometimes in ourcountry as well?


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All this is so remotefor me. Is

democracy allabout rulers and

governments? Canwe talk about a

democraticclassroom? Or a

democratic family?


party called PRI (InstitutionalRevolutionary Party). Oppositionparties did contest elections, butnever managed to win. The PRI wasknown to use many dirty tricks to winelections. All those who wereemployed in government offices hadto attend its party meetings. Teachersof government schools used to forceparents to vote for the PRI. Medialargely ignored the activities ofopposition political parties except tocriticise them. Sometimes the pollingbooths were shifted from one placeto another in the last minute, whichmade it difficult for people to cast theirvotes. The PRI spent a large sum ofmoney in the campaign for itscandidates.

Should we consider the electionsdescribed above as examples ofpeople electing their rulers? Readingthese examples we get a sense thatwe cannot. There are many problemshere. In China the elections do notoffer the people any serious choice.They have to choose the ruling partyand the candidates approved by it.Can we call this a choice? In theMexican example, people seemed toreally have a choice but in practicethey had no choice. There was noway the ruling party could bedefeated, even if people were againstit. These are not fair elections.

We can thus add a second featureto our understanding of democracy.Holding elections of any kind is notsufficient. The elections must offera real choice between politicalalternatives. And it should bepossible for people to use this choiceto remove the existing rulers, if theywish so. So, a democracy must bebased on a free and fair electionwhere those currently in powerhave a fair chance of losing. Weshall find out more about ademocratic election in Chapter Four.

One person,One person,One person,One person,One person, one v one v one v one v one vo to to to to teeeee,,,,,one vone vone vone vone valuealuealuealuealueIn the last chapter we read about howthe struggle for democracy was linkedto the demand for universal adultfranchise. This principle has now cometo be accepted almost all over theworld. Yet there are many instancesof denial of equal right to vote:

In Saudi Arabia women do nothave the right to voteEstonia has made its citizenshiprules in such a way that peoplebelonging to Russian minority findit difficult to get the right to voteIn Fiji, the electoral system is suchthat the vote of an indigenous Fijihas more value than that of anIndian-Fijian.Democracy is based on a

fundamental principle of politicalequality. That gives us the thirdfeature of democracy: in ademocracy, each adult citizen musthave one vote and each vote musthave one value. We shall read moreabout it in Chapter Four.

This cartoon wastitled ‘Building

Democracy’ and wasfirst published in a

Latin Americanpublication. What domoneybags signify

here? Could thiscartoon be applied to

India?


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This cartoon is aboutthe Iraqi election held

after SaddamHussain’s regime was

overthrown. He isshown behind thebars. What is thecartoonist saying

here? Compare themessage of this

cartoon with the firstcartoon in this

chapter.

RRRRRule of laule of laule of laule of laule of law and rw and rw and rw and rw and respeespeespeespeespeccccctttttfffffor ror ror ror ror righighighighight st st st st sZimbabwe attained independencefrom White minority rule in 1980.Since then the country has beenruled by ZANU-PF, the party that ledthe freedom struggle. Its leader,Robert Mugabe, has been ruling thecountry since independence.Elections have been held regularlyand always won by ZANU-PF.President Mugabe is popular but alsouses unfair practices in elections.Over the years his government haschanged the constitution severaltimes to increase the powers of thePresident and make him lessaccountable. Opposition partyworkers are harassed and theirmeeting disrupted. Public protestsand demonstrations against thegovernment are declared illegal.There is a law that limits the rightto criticise the President. Televisionand radio are controlled by thegovernment and give only the rulingparty’s version. There are

independent newspapers but thegovernment harasses thosejournalists who go against it. Thegovernment has ignored some courtjudgments that went against it andhas pressurised judges.

The example of Zimbabwe showsthat popular approval of the rulers isnecessary in a democracy, but it isnot sufficient. Popular governmentscan be undemocratic. Popular leaderscan be autocratic. If we wish to assessa democracy, it is important to lookat the elections. But it is equallyimportant to look before and after theelections. There should be sufficientroom for normal political activity,including political opposition, in theperiod before elections. This requiresthat the state should respect somebasic rights of the citizen. They shouldbe free to think, to have opinions, toexpress these in public, to formassociations, to protest and take otherpolitical actions. Everyone should beequal in the eyes of law. These rightsmust be protected by an independent

Why talk aboutZimbabwe? I read

similar reports frommany parts of ourown country. Whydon’t we discuss

that?

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judiciary whose orders are obeyed byeveryone. We shall read more aboutthese rights in Chapter Six.

Similarly, there are some conditionsthat apply to the way a governmentis run after the elections. Ademocratic government cannot dowhatever it likes, simply because ithas won an election. It has to respectsome basic rules. In particular it hasto respect some guarantees to theminorities. Every major decision hasto go through a series ofconsultations. Every office bearer hascertain rights and responsibilitiesassigned by the constitution and thelaw. Each of these is accountable notonly to the people but also to otherindependent officials. We shall readmore about this in Chapter Five.

Both these aspects give us thefourth and final feature of democracy:a democratic government ruleswithin limits set by constitutionallaw and citizens’ rights.

SSSSSummarummarummarummarummary defy defy defy defy definitioninitioninitioninitioninitionLet us sum up the discussion so far.We started with a simple definitionthat democracy is a form ofgovernment in which the rulers areelected by the people. We found thatthis definition was not adequateunless we explained some of the keywords used in it. Through a series ofexamples we worked out four featuresof democracy as a form ofgovernment. Accordingly, democracyis a form of government in which:

Rulers elected by the people takeall the major decisions;Elections offer a choice and fairopportunity to the people tochange the current rulers;This choice and opportunity isavailable to all the people on anequal basis; andThe exercise of this choice leadsto a government limited by basicrules of the constitution andcitizens’ rights.

Chinese governmentblocked free flow ofinformation on theinternet by placing

restrictions on popularwebsites like ‘Google’

and ‘Yahoo’. Theimage of tanks and an

unarmed studentreminds the reader ofanother major event in

recent Chinesehistory. Find out about

that event.


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Read these five examples of working or denial of democracy. Match each of these with therelevant feature of democracy discussed above.

Example Feature

King of Bhutan has declared that in future he will beguided by the advice given to him by elected representatives

Many Tamil workers who migrated from India werenot given a right to vote in Sri Lanka

The king of Nepal imposed a ban on political gatherings,demonstrations and rallies

The Indian Supreme Court held that the dissolution ofBihar assembly was unconstitutional

Political parties in Bangladesh have agreed that a neutralgovernment should rule the country at the time of elections

2.3 W2.3 W2.3 W2.3 W2.3 WHYHYHYHYHY DDDDDEMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCRACACACACACYYYYY?????An argument broke out in MadamLyngdoh’s class. She had finishedteaching the previous section onwhat is democracy and asked thestudents if they thought democracywas the best form of government.Everyone had something to say.

DDDDDebaebaebaebaebating merting merting merting merting merits ofits ofits ofits ofits ofdemocrdemocrdemocrdemocrdemocra ca ca ca ca cyyyyyYolanda: We live in a democratic country. We read

in the last chapter that all over the world peoplewant democracy. Countries that were not demo-cratic earlier are becoming democratic now. Allgreat people have said nice things about democ-racy. Isn’t it obvious that democracy is the best?Do we need to debate this?

Tangkini: But Lyngdoh Madam had said weshould not accept something just because it isfamous, just because everyone else acceptsit. Isn’t it possible that everyone is following awrong path?

Jeni: Yes, it actually is a wrong path. What hasdemocracy brought to our country? More thanhalf a century of democracy and there is somuch poverty in the country.

Ribiang: But what has democracy got to do withit? Do we have poverty because we are demo-cratic or do we have poverty despite being ademocracy?

Jeni: Whatever, how does it make a difference?The point is that this can’t be the best form ofgovernment. Democracy is all about chaos, in-stability, corruption and hypocrisy. Politiciansfight among themselves. Who cares for thecountry?

Poimon: So, what should we have instead? Goback to the British rule? Invite some kings torule this country?

Rose: I don’t know. I think what this country needsis a strong leader, someone who does not haveto bother about elections and parliament. Oneleader should have all the powers. He shouldbe able to do whatever is needed in country’sinterest. That alone can remove corruption andpoverty from this country.

Someone shouted: That is called dictatorship!Hoi: What if that person starts using all these

powers for himself and his family? What if heis corrupt himself?

Rose: I am speaking only of the honest, sincereand strong leader.

Hoi: But that is not fair. You are comparing a realdemocracy with an ideal dictatorship. Weshould compare an ideal with an ideal, the realwith the real. Go and check the record of dicta-tors in real life. They are most corrupt, selfishand brutal. It is just that we don’t get to knowabout this. And what is worse, you can’t evenget rid of them.

I want to be inLyngdoh Madam’sclass! That sounds

like a democraticclassroom.Doesn’t it?

Rule of law

Respect for Rights

One person one voteone value

Free and fairelectoral competition

Major decisions byelected leaders


Madam Lyngdoh was listening tothis discussion with interest. Nowshe stepped in: “I was delighted tosee you all arguing so passionately.I don’t know who is right and who iswrong. That is for you to settle. ButI did feel that you all wanted to speakyour mind. You may have felt verybad if someone tried to stop you orif someone punished you for sayingwhat you felt. Would you be able todo that in a country that is notdemocratic? Is that a good argumentfor democracy?”

AAAAArgumenrgumenrgumenrgumenrguments againstts againstts againstts againstts againstdemocrdemocrdemocrdemocrdemocra ca ca ca ca cyyyyyThis conversation has most of thearguments that we routinely hearagainst democracy. Let us go oversome of these arguments:

Leaders keep changing in ademocracy. This leads to instability.Democracy is all about politicalcompetition and power play. Thereis no scope for morality.So many people have to beconsulted in a democracy that itleads to delays.Elected leaders do not know thebest interest of the people. It leadsto bad decisions.Democracy leads to corruption forit is based on electoral competition.Ordinary people don’t know whatis good for them; they should notdecide anything.Are there some other arguments

against democracy that you canthink of? Which of these argumentsapplies mainly to democracy? Whichof these can apply to misuse of anyform of government? Which of thesedo you agree with?

Clearly, democracy is not amagical solution for all theproblems. It has not ended povertyin our country and in other parts ofthe world. Democracy as a form of

government only ensures thatpeople take their own decisions. Thisdoes not guarantee that theirdecisions will be good. People canmake mistakes. Involving the peoplein these decisions does lead todelays in decision making. It is alsotrue that democracy leads tofrequent changes in leadership.Sometimes this can set back bigdecisions and effect thegovernment’s efficiency.

These arguments show thatdemocracy of the kind we see maynot be the ideal form of government.But that is not a question we face inreal life. The real question we faceis different: is democracy better thanother forms of governments that arethere for us to choose from?

AAAAArgumenrgumenrgumenrgumenrguments fts fts fts fts for democror democror democror democror democra ca ca ca ca cyyyyyChina’s famine of 1958-1961 wasthe worst recorded famine in worldhistory. Nearly three crore peopledied in this famine. During thosedays, India’s economic conditionwas not much better than China. YetIndia did not have a famine of thekind China had. Economists think

This cartoon is fromBrazil, a country thathas long experienceof dictatorship. It isentitled “The HiddenSide of Dictatorship”.Which hidden sidesdoes this cartoon

depict? Is itnecessary for every

dictatorship to have ahidden side? Find this

out about thedictators discussed inthe first chapter and,

if possible, aboutAbacha in Nigeria andMarcos in Philippines.


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that this was a result of differentgovernment policies in the twocountries. The existence ofdemocracy in India made the Indiangovernment respond to food scarcityin a way that the Chinesegovernment did not. They point outthat no large scale famine has evertaken place in an independent anddemocratic country. If China too hadmulti party elections, an oppositionparty and a press free to criticise thegovernment, then so many peoplemay not have died in the famine.

This example brings out one of thereason why democracy is consideredthe best form of government.Democracy is better than any otherform of government in responding tothe needs of the people. A non-democratic government may and canrespond to the peoples needs, but itall depends on the wishes of thepeople who rule. If the rulers don’twant to, they don’t have to actaccording to the wishes of the people.A democracy requires that the rulershave to attend to the needs of thepeople. A democratic governmentis a better government because itis a more accountable form ofgovernment.

There is another reason whydemocracy should lead to betterdecisions than any non-democraticgovernment. Democracy is based onconsultation and discussion. Ademocratic decision always involvesmany persons, discussions andmeetings. When a number of peopleput their head together, they areable to point out possible mistakesin any decision. This takes time. Butthere is a big advantage in takingtime over important decisions. Thisreduces the chances of rash orirresponsible decisions. Thusdemocracy improves the qualityof decision making.

This is related to the thirdargument. Democracy provides amethod to deal with differencesand conflicts. In any society peopleare bound to have differences ofopinions and interests. Thesedifferences are particularly sharp ina country like ours which has anamazing social diversity. Peoplebelong to different regions, speakdifferent languages, practisedifferent religions and have differentcastes. They look at the world verydifferently and have differentpreferences. The preference of onegroup can clash with those of othergroups. How do we resolve such aconflict? The conflict can be solvedby brutal power. Whichever groupis more powerful will dictate itsterms and others will have to acceptthat. But that would lead toresentment and unhappiness.Different groups may not be able tolive together for long in such a way.Democracy provides the onlypeaceful solution to this problem. Indemocracy, no one is a permanentwinner. No one is a permanent loser.Different groups can live with oneanother peacefully. In a diversecountry like India, democracy keepsour country together.

These three arguments were aboutthe effects of democracy on thequality of government and social life.But the strongest argument fordemocracy is a not about whatdemocracy does to the government.It is about what democracy does tothe citizens. Even if democracy doesnot bring about better decisions andaccountable government, it is stillbetter than other forms ofgovernment. Democracy enhancesthe dignity of citizens. As wediscussed above, democracy isbased on the principle of politicalequality, on recognising that the

What would havehappened if India

was not ademocracy?

Could we havestayed together as

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CHECKYOURPROGRESS

poorest and the least educated hasthe same status as the rich and theeducated. People are not subjects ofa ruler, they are the rulersthemselves. Even when they makemistakes, they are responsible fortheir conduct.

Finally, democracy is better thanother forms of government becauseit allows us to correct its ownmistakes. As we saw above, there isno guarantee that mistakes cannotbe made in democracy. No form ofgovernment can guarantee that. Theadvantage in a democracy is thatsuch mistakes cannot be hidden forlong. There is a space for publicdiscussion on these mistakes. Andthere is a room for correction. Either

the rulers have to change theirdecisions, or the rulers can bechanged. This cannot happen in anon-democratic government.

Let us sum it up. Democracycannot get us everything and is notthe solution to all problems. But itis clearly better than any otheralternative that we know. It offersbetter chances of a good decision, itis likely to respect people’s ownwishes and allows different kinds ofpeople to live together. Even whenit fails to do some of these things, itallows a way of correcting itsmistakes and offers more dignity toall citizens. That is why democracyis considered the best form ofgovernment.

This cartoon waspublished in Canada

just before itsparliamentary

elections of 2005.Everyone, including

the cartoonist,expected the Liberalparty to win onceagain. When theresults came, the

Liberal Party lost theelections. Is this

cartoon an argumentagainst democracy or

for democracy?

Rajesh and Muzaffar read an article. It showed that no democracy has ever gone to war with anotherdemocracy. Wars take place only when one of the two governments is non-democratic. The articlesaid that this was a great merit of democracy. After reading the essay, Rajesh and Muzaffar haddifferent reactions. Rajesh said that this was not a good argument for democracy. It was just a matterof chance. It is possible that in future democracies may have wars. Muzaffar said that it could not bea matter of chance. Democracies take decisions in such a way that it reduces the chances of war.Which of the two positions do you agree with and why?


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2.4 B2.4 B2.4 B2.4 B2.4 BRRRRROOOOOADADADADADERERERERER MEANINGSMEANINGSMEANINGSMEANINGSMEANINGS OOOOOFFFFF DDDDDEMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCRACACACACACYYYYY

In this chapter we have consideredthe meaning of democracy in alimited and descriptive sense. Wehave understood democracy as aform of government. This way ofdefining democracy helps us toidentify a clear set of minimalfeatures that a democracy musthave. The most common form thatdemocracy takes in our times is thatof a representative democracy. Youhave already read about this in theprevious classes. In the countries wecall democracy, all the people do notrule. A majority is allowed to takedecisions on behalf of all the people.Even the majority does not ruledirectly. The majority of people rule

through their elected representatives.This become necessary because:

Modern democracies involve sucha large number of people that it isphysically impossible for them tosit together and take a collectivedecision.Even if they could, the citizen doesnot have the time, the desire or theskills to take part in all thedecisions.This gives us a clear but minimal

understanding of democracy. Thisclarity helps us to distinguishdemocracies from non-democracies.But it does not allow us todistinguish between a democracyand a good democracy. It does not



This famous cartoonby R K Laxman

comments on thecelebrations of the

fifty years ofindependence. Howmany images on the

wall do you recognize?Do many common

people feel the way thecommon man in this

cartoon does?

©R

.K. L

axm

an, T

he T

imes

of I

ndia


allow us to see the operation ofdemocracy beyond government. Forthis we need to turn to broadermeanings of democracy.

Sometimes we use democracy fororganisations other than thegovernment. Just read thesestatements:

“We are a very democratic family.Whenever a decision has to be taken,we all sit down and arrive at aconsensus. My opinion matters as muchas my father’s.”“I don’t like teachers who do not allowstudents to speak and ask questions inthe class. I would like to have teacherswith democratic temperament.”“One leader and his family membersdecide everything in this party. How canthey talk of democracy?”These ways of using the word

democracy go back to its basic senseof a method of taking decisions. Ademocratic decision involvesconsultation with and consent of allthose who are affected by thatdecision. Those who are notpowerful have the same say in takingthe decision as those who arepowerful. This can apply to agovernment or a family or any otherorganisation. Thus democracy isalso a principle that can be appliedto any sphere of life.

Sometimes we use the worddemocracy not to describe anyexisting government but to set upan ideal standard that alldemocracies must aim to become:

“True democracy will come to thiscountry only when no one goes hungryto bed.”“In a democracy every citizen must beable to play equal role in decisionmaking. For this you don’t need just anequal right to vote. Every citizen needsto have equal information, basiceducation, equal resources and a lot ofcommitment.”

If we take these ideals seriously,then no country in the world is ademocracy. Yet an understanding ofdemocracy as an ideal reminds usof why we value democracy. Itenables us to judge an existingdemocracy and identify itsweaknesses. It helps us todistinguish between a minimaldemocracy and a good democracy.

In this book we do not deal muchwith this expanded notion ofdemocracy. Our focus here is withsome core institutional features ofdemocracy as a form of government.Next year you will read more abouta democratic society and ways ofevaluating our democracy. At thisstage we just need to note thatdemocracy can apply to manyspheres of life and that democracycan take many forms. There can bevarious ways of taking decisions ina democratic manner, as long as thebasic principle of consultation on anequal basis is accepted. The mostcommon form of democracy intoday’s world is rule throughpeople’s elected representatives. Weshall read more about that inChapter Four. But if the communityis small, there can be other ways oftaking democratic decisions. All thepeople can sit together and takedecisions directly. This is how GramSabha should work in a village. Canyou think of some other democraticways of decision making?

A C T I V I T Y

Find out the total number of eligible voters in yourassembly constituency and your parliamentaryconstituency. Find out how may people can fitinto the largest stadium in your area. Is it pos-sible for all the voters in your parliamentary orassembly constituency to sit together and have ameaningful discussion?

In my village theGram Sabha nevermeets. Is thatdemocratic?

37WWWWWHAHAHAHAHATTTTT ISISISISIS D D D D DEMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCRACACACACACYYYYY? W? W? W? W? WHYHYHYHYHY D D D D DEMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCREMOCRACACACACACYYYYY?????

1 Here is some information about four countries. Based on thisinformation, how would you classify each of these countries. Write‘democratic’, ‘undemocratic’ or ‘not sure’ against each of these.a Country A: People who do not accept the country’s official religion

do not have a right to voteb Country B: The same party has been winning elections for the last

twenty yearsc Country C: Ruling party has lost in the last three electionsd Country D: There is no independent election commission

2 Here is some information about four countries. Based on thisinformation, how would you classify each of these countries. Write‘democratic’, ‘undemocratic’ or ‘not sure’ against each of these.a Country P: The parliament cannot pass a law about the army

without the consent of the Chief of Armyb Country Q: The parliament cannot pass a law reducing the powers

of the judiciaryc Country R: The country’s leaders cannot sign any treaty with

another country without taking permission from its neighbouringcountry.

d Country S: All the major economic decisions about the countryare taken by officials of the central bank which the ministers cannotchange.

3 Which of these is not a good argument in favour of democracy? Why?a People feel free and equal in a democracyb Democracies resolve conflict in a better way than othersc Democratic government is more accountable to the peopled Democracies are more prosperous than others

This also means that no countryis a perfect democracy. The featuresof democracy that we discussed inthis chapter provide only theminimum conditions of ademocracy. That does not make itan ideal democracy. Everydemocracy has to try to realise theideals of a democratic decisionmaking. This cannot be achievedonce and for all. This requires aconstant effort to save andstrengthen democratic forms ofdecision making. What we do ascitizens can make a difference tomaking our country more or lessdemocratic. This is the strength and

the weakness of democracy: the fateof the country depends not just onwhat the rulers do, but mainly onwhat we, as citizens, do.

This is what distinguisheddemocracy from other governments.Other forms of government likemonarchy, dictatorship or one-partyrule do not require all citizens to takepart in politics. In fact most non-democratic governments would likecitizens not to take part in politics.But democracy depends on activepolitical participation by all thecitizens. That is why a study ofdemocracy must focus ondemocratic politics.

exercises


4 Each of these statements contains a democratic and an undemocraticelement. Write out the two separately for each statement.a A minister said that some laws have to be passed by the parliament

in order to conform to the regulations decided by the World TradeOrganisation

b The Election Commission ordered re-polling in a constituencywhere large scale rigging was reported

c Women’s representation in the parliament has never reached 10per cent. This led women’ organisations to demand one-third seatsfor women.

5 Which of these is not a valid reason for arguing that there is a lesserpossibility of famine in a democratic country?a Opposition parties can draw attention to hunger and starvation.b Free press can report suffering from famine in different parts of

the country.c Government fears its defeat in the next elections.d People are free to believe in and practice any religion

6 There are 40 villages in a district where the government has madeno provision for drinking water. These villagers met and consideredmany methods of forcing the government to respond to their need.Which of these is not a democratic method?a Filing a case in the courts claiming that water is part of right to lifeb Boycotting the next elections to give a message to all partiesc Organising public meetings against government’s policiesd Paying money to government officials to get water

7 Write a response to the following arguments against democracy:a Army is the most disciplined and corruption-free organisation in

the country. Therefore army should rule the country.b Rule of the majority means the rule of ignorant people. What we

need is the rule of the wise, even if they are in small numbers.c If we want religious leaders to guide us in spiritual matters, why

not invite them to guide us in politics as well. The country shouldbe ruled by religious leaders.

8 Are the following statements in keeping with democracy as a value?Why?a Father to daughter: I don’t want to hear your opinion about your

marriage. In our family children marry where the parents tell themto.

b Teacher to student: Don’t disturb my concentration by asking mequestions in the classroom.

c Employee to the officer: Our working hours must be reducedaccording to the law.

9 Consider the following facts about a country and decide if you wouldcall it a democracy. Give reasons to support your decision. exerc

ises

39

exercises a All the citizens of the country have right to vote. Elections are heldregularly.

b The country took loan from international agencies. One of theconditions for giving loan was that the government would reduceits expenses on education and health.

c People speak more than seven languages but education is availableonly in one language, the language spoken by 52 percent peopleof that country.

d Several organisations have given a call for peaceful demonstrationsand nation wide strikes in the country to oppose these policies.Government has arrested these leaders.

e The government owns the radio and television in the country. Allthe newspapers have to get permission from the government topublish any news about government’s policies and protests.

10 In 2004 a report published in USA pointed to the increasinginequalities in that country. Inequalities in income reflected in theparticipation of people in democracy. It also shaped their abilities toinfluence the decisions taken by the government. The reporthighlighted that:

If an average Black family earns $ 100 then the income of averageWhite family is $ 162. A White family has twelve times more wealththan the average Black family.In a President’s election ‘nearly nine out of 10 individuals in familieswith income over $ 75,000 have voted. These people are the top20 % of the population in terms of their income. On the otherhand only 5 people out of 10 from families with income less than$ 15,000 have voted. They are the bottom 20% of the populationin terms of their income.About 95 % contribution to the political parties comes from therich. This gives them opportunity to express their opinion andconcern, which is not available to most citizens.As poor sections participate less in politics, the government doesnot listen to their concerns – coming out of poverty, getting job,education, health care and housing form them. Politicians hearmost regularly about the concerns of business and the most rich.

Write an essay on ‘Democracy and Poverty’ using the informationgiven in this report but using examples from India.

Most newspapers have an editorial page. On that page the newspaperpublishes it own opinions about current affairs. The papers also publishesthe views of other writers and intellectuals and letters written by thereaders. Follow any one newspaper for one month and collect editorials,articles and letters on that page that have anything to do with democracy.Classify these into the following categories:

Constitutional and legal aspects of democracyCitizens’ rightsElectoral and party politicsCriticism of democracy


chapter 2 what is democracy? why democracy? class … · · 2013-04-24what democracy is like....

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