7th Class Social Science Diversity Notes - Democracy

 

Democracy

 

Democracy is a kind of governance in which all citizens have a say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passing of laws in a country. This can be done by the people directly or through representation where people choose their leaders. Leaders of a democracy are answerable to the people. In Class 6, we have already read about this and looked into the key elements of democracy. In this chapter, you will learn about why democracy was chosen at the end by most nations of the world and how it evolved. We will also discuss the elements of democracy in detail and understand our involvement with the law and the Constitution.

 

Given that democracy privileges some values -equality, dignity, tolerance and justice-today, it is the most popular form of government. India is also a democracy. How it evolved into its present form and where it was born is an interesting story. The term 'democracy' was coined as early as the 5th or the 4th century BCE to denote the political system that existed in some Greek city-states, notably Athens. It comes from the Greek word, demokratia which means 'rule by the people'. But the early form of democracy was far from being based on equality. The European Renaissance1, and the American and French Revolutions brought us closer to the modem concept of democracy that is based on equality. Democracy in the contemporary world implies equality in the eyes of the law bringing in universal suffrage, freedom of speech and the rule of law.

 

EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRACY?THE HISTORICAL PROSPECT

 

Thousands of years ago, when man wore no clothes and hunted for food, there were simple ways of resolving disputes. Gradually, man became civilised and the need to have a ruler arose. In Greece and most other nations, powerful kings who ruled the area were the richest. There are many tales of such kings and their bravery in Indian literature as well. This system of government where a king or monarch rules is known as monarchy, or 'rule by one'. In monarchy, the king alone controls all the land and natural resources of the region, and is responsible for all decisions pertaining to his people. When the king dies, the power gets handed down to his eldest son, thereby keeping the power in the family. When you read Indian History, you will know that India had monarchy throughout its Ancient and Middle Ages.

 

During AD 476 - AD 800 in Western European history, many city-states in Greece were governed by small groups of nobles who shared equal power. The system in which a few people govern over a larger group of people is known as oligarchy, or 'rule by a few'. In Greece, a council made up of aristocrats carried out the policies. This form of government also existed in France and Poland where only the nobility could vote. However, this also did not last long as problems arose in many states. People grew unhappy and decided to overthrow the leaders. New leaders who ruled single-handedly emerged. They were called dictators or tyrants. One who assumes ultimate power by force is known as a tyrant or a dictator. Their government is known as a tyranny. Many tyrants who let the people have a say were liked. Other tyrants were harsh and greedy, imposing severe laws and punishments. Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini experienced dictatorship.

 

Around 500 BCE in Athens, a tyrant was thrown out and the first democracy was born. The adult male population of the city formed an Assembly called the Agora and participated in the decision- making process directly.

Icons of Dictatorship-Mussolini Hitler

 

Monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship are called totalitarian regimes where government exercises absolute power and people have no say. Democracy is the rule of people?just the reverse.

 

It was a form of Direct Democracy. Under the statesmanship of the democratic leader, Pericles; Athens reached its height of glory. However, the citizens making the decisions comprised only a small fraction of the total population. Women, slaves, resident and aliens that included people from other Greek cities, had no rights to participate.

 

Approximately 25% of the people who lived in Athens were slaves. Slaves were bought and sold by traders. They could not vote, choose jobs, or even have families without the permission of their owners.

 

In India, around 6th century BCE, many territorial states called Janapadas and Mahajanapadas emerged in different parts of the country. Some of these Janapadas were republic states

 

Q. Do you think Athens had democracy in the ' true sense?

 

And were known as Gana Sanghas, where the territory was governed by an assembly of people. The Vaishali Kingdom, now in Bihar, was the first republic in India and also in the world. However, these republican states died as powerful kings overtook them. In 750 CE, King Gopala, the founder of the Pala Dynasty of Bengal came to power. He was elected by the people through democratic election.

 

The power of democracy increased in stages over the succeeding centuries. In 510 BCE, in Rome, a group of nobles ousted the king. They formed an assembly of leading citizens called the Senate and elected Consuls to run the government for one year. They also wrote a constitution for the government.

 

In Britain, in the early 13th century. King John faced a rebellion. His Barons rose against him and forced him to sign a document known as the Magna Carta. In the document, his powers were curbed by law, and the privileges and freedom of the Barons were established and protected. The Magna Carta was applied to all citizens and became the constitutional law for England.

 

The Renaissance during 1450-1600 in England saw a rebirth of knowledge. People became enlightened, and nationalism developed. After the English Bill of Rights was enacted in the 17th century, the Parliament gained more power in the UK. However, only adult white male property owners could vote; enslaved Africans, blacks and women were not allowed to cast votes in British and other European colonies across the world. Equality still did not exist in the true sense.

 

An important milestone in the history of democracy was established on July 4, 1776, when America claimed independence from Britain. The Constitution of the United States came to force in 1789 by providing for an elected government. In 1791, the state of Virginia ratified the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. This was known as the Bill of Rights. It granted rights including freedom of religion and speech, a free press, free assembly and free association.

 

King John of England Signs the Magna Carta in AD 1215

 

The French Revolution in 1789 instated liberty, fraternity and equality as the basic principles of a democracy.

 

Thereafter, several revolutions broke out in Europe as the people demanded a democratic government from their rulers. New Zealand became the first nation to achieve universal suffrage, hi the 20th century, many more countries gained freedom from the rule of Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy, and decided to opt for a democratic form of government. India, which was a British colony gained freedom in 1947 and emerged as the world's largest democracy.

 

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal sculpture on the Liberty Island in New York Harbour. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is a robed female figure which represents Libertas, the Roman Goddess of freedom. She bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue has become an icon of freedom of the United States.

 

DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD

 

Most countries in the contemporary world are democracies. There are different types of democracies today. But, democracy is mainly of two types: (i) Direct Democracy and (ii) Indirect or Representative Democracy.

 

Direct Democracy is a form of government in which people collectively make decisions for themselves. This system prevailed in ancient India, Greece and Rome. The adult citizens assembled and decided public matters.

Switzerland is the country which maintains Direct Democracy even today.

 

In Indirect or Representative Democracy, citizens elect representatives to make laws on their behalf. They choose their representatives from the competing political parties in regular, free and fair elections. A winning candidate has to win more votes than other candidates to become a Member of Parliament (MP). Canada, the USA/ Britain, and India have this kind of democracy. Again, in Representative Democracy, the focus may be on a strong president forming a Presidential Democracy, or on a strong parliament forming a Parliamentary Democracy. USA and France have Presidential Democracy, while UK, India and Spain have Parliamentary Democracy.

 

Debate

Do you think Direct Democracy is a feasible political alternative to the current system in India? Have a debate in the class highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of direct democracy.

 

Q. Write a few other features of Representative Democracy.

 

Today, most democratic countries are referred to as Republics where the head of the state is the President or the Prime Minister chosen through elections. Some well-established democratic countries like the United Kingdom and Spain, are however. Constitutional Monarchies, i.e., a king or queen is the head of state, while the

 

Constitution guarantees all basic rights. A few more contemporary constitutional monarchies include Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Kuwait, Belgium, Bhutan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Canada, Denmark, Jamaica, Japan, Luxembourg, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, Thailand, Tuvalu, among others. Democracy is still not present in quite a few nations of the world. China and North Korea are communist states. Communism is a system that aims for a society without any division of class.

 

Citizens cannot own private property. However, there is free access to articles of consumption which are owned by the state. Modern form of communism is based on the ideology presented by sociologist Karl Marx in the 1840s. This ideology came to be known as Marxism.

 

A Military Dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political power resides with the military. Most military dictatorships are formed after a coup d'etat4 has overthrown the previous government. Pakistan, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East are areas where military dictatorships are still reigning.

 

KEY FEATURES OF DEMOCRACY

 

Democracy has six key elements.

 

                                  i.    Rule of law ii. Universal adult franchise

                                 ii.    Active participation of people

                                iii.    Protection of human rights

                                iv.    Equality and justice

                                 v.    Separation of power

Rule of Law

Everyone is equal and free in a democracy but that does not mean one can do as one pleases or fight with the neighbours or drive a car rashly! Democratic countries have their own set of laws to maintain law and order. The Constitution of India is the basic document which enumerates all the laws. The articles and schedules in the Constitution establish the structure, procedures, powers and duties of the government and spell out the fundamental rights, directive principles and duties of citizens. However, the essence of the Constitution is captured in its Preamble.

 

The Indian Republic is governed by the rule of law. The courts, armed forces, police forces, etc. are the means through which the rule of law is exercised.

Discuss

Ponder over the words written in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution and discuss what they mean in class.

 

Universal Adult Franchise

The citizens of a democratic country have the right to cast their votes at regular intervals to elect their representatives for governance. The voting right of people is called franchise or suffrage.

 

TOWARDS DEMOCRACY

Aung San Suu Kyi

 

Myanmar, earlier known as Burma, had democratic governance after its independence from the British in 1948. After a coup in 1962 the country came under military dictatorship. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of National League for Democracy, worked to bring about democracy in Myanmar. In the 1990 general election, Aung San Suu Kyi's democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% seats in the Parliament. However, she was put under house arrest before the elections. She remained under house arrest for almost 15 years until her release in 2010.

 

Debate

What changes would you want in your country if you were turning 18 years?

Preamble to our constitution

 

The word 'franchise' is derived from the French word franc which means 'free'. Thus, franchise means that a person is free to choose his or her representatives. Universal Adult Franchise gives all adult citizens the right to vote irrespective of caste, class, colour, religion or sex. Thus, the notion of Universal Adult Franchise is based on equality, a basic principle of democracy.

 

India took a giant step forward by adopting the principle of Universal Adult Franchise when the

Constitution was implemented on January 26, 1950, thereby giving all adult Indians the right to vote. Earlier, the age of voting was 21 years. After the 61st Amendment Act of 1989, this age was lowered to 18 years.

 

Active People's Participation

We know that democracy means 'rule by the people'. In a democratic country, all adults irrespective of religion, sex, caste and creed are

 

Q. Sheena posts her opinion about the government on Facebook. Endorse whether her action is correct or not?

 

Allowed to vote. This, is called Universal Adult Franchise. People are generally the best judge of their own interests. In India, people secure their interests by taking part in elections. Each person can cast one vote for the representative of a political party or an independent candidate that he considers to be the best. These elected representatives from the Members of Parliament (MPs) and rule the country on the people's behalf. These representatives whom we call ministers and MPs, keep changing. We accept their leadership and vote for them again if they enjoy our trust and do good work. While these representatives are in office, we are free to check their abuse of power and criticise them through media, hartals, and social networking sites such as Facebook. However, if we are not satisfied with our representatives we do not choose them again at the time of elections, and display public disapproval through different channels so that the politicians are forced to quit office.

 

Protection of Human Rights

What is a right? A right is a just claim. The Fundamental Rights contained in the Constitution of India guarantee basic human rights to all Indians. There are six fundamental rights recognised by the Constitution including right to equality, right to freedom of speech and expression, right against exploitation, cultural and educational rights and the right to constitutional remedies.

 

Equality and Justice

Right to Equality prohibits discrimination based on any grounds. This has helped to overcome many social evils like untouchability and caste system. To bring about further equality in society, the Constitution makes special provisions for the advancement of socially or educationally backward classes. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by providing reservation of posts for them.

 

SYRIA CRISIS

 

The conflict in Syria began as a uprising for democracy. But in the past four years, it has a quarter million Syrians killed with millions displaced. In 2011, anti-government graffiti made the government responded with heavy-handed force. President Bashar al-Assad, inherited Syria's harsh dictatorship from his father, Hafez al-Assad, began a series of crackdowns, with security forces open firing on demonstrators. Tensions spilled over borders into Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Jordan in 2012. What started as an attempt by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to stop Syria's largest uprising has become a civil war in the last four years because people yearn secular democracy and not dictatorship.

 

Separation of Power

India follows a parliamentary system of government. The government comprises three branches: the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary.

 

The Parliament is the Legislative or the law- making branch. The Parliament consists of the President and two houses: the Lower House or the Lok Sabha, and the Upper House or the Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha, the house of the people is directly elected by the people. These elected members are called member of the parliament.

 

The Executive branch deals with the actual execution of law. This body is headed by the President, who is the Head of State. The Prime Minister and his cabinet of ministers execute all proceedings in the name of the President. The Civil Services of India is a permanent bureaucracy of Government. Civil Services branches include

Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), the Indian Forest Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS).

 

The Judiciary branch takes care of the law made by Legislature. It has the Supreme Court at its apex and High Courts at the state level, and numerous civil and criminal courts at the district level. The courts of justice are independent of the other two branches.

 

All the three branches also have "checks and balances" over each other to maintain the balance of power.

The Media is called the fourth branch as it keeps a watch on the functioning of the government.

 

Q. Nina, a media reporter wants to add some spice to her media report. As her colleague, what will you tell her?]\

 

Q. what do you think this symbol of justice signifies?

 

DEMOCRACY; A POPULAR CHOICE

 

Democracy is often the most preferred form of government. Why is this so? Firstly, this is because people are at the helm of affairs in a democracy. They elect their own representatives who govern the country. Secondly, in times of social, cultural or political conflicts, the decisions are taken with popular consent of all people. This is called a "Referendum". Thirdly, equality is the hallmark of a democracy. A democratic government ensures equal respect and importance for all languages, religions and customs. So we learn to be more tolerant and broadminded towards the differences that exist amongst us.

 

Challenges to Democracy

India's democratic system has been working successfully for the past half century. But this democratization has also been facing several challenges. Some of these challenges are:

(i) Tendencies to separate out;                  (ii) Unemploy-ment;

(iii) Extremism/Terrorism;                         (iv) Illiteracy;

(v) Corruption and                                  (vi) Population explosion.

 

Social evils such as beggary, dowry and poverty are being overcome by providing equal opportunities to both the sexes and employment opportunities for the backward classes and the poor. Persons with disabilities are given equal rights and special privileges through the "Disabilities Act". The children of poor sections of the society are provided "Mid-Day Meals" through government schemes so that the affluent and underprivileged children get treated as equals.

 

To summarise, the former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill (1874 -1965) once said, "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."