Hi Everyone!! This article will share Democracy and Equality Questions & Answers.
In one of my previous posts, I have shared Objective Type Questions & Answers of Democracy and Equality so, make sure to check that post as well.
Democracy and Equality Questions & Answers
Question 1: What is democracy?
Answer: The word democracy originates from the combination of two Greek words – demos meaning people and kratos meaning power. It is referred to as the government ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’.
Question 2: What are the key elements of democracy?
Answer: Key elements of democracy are equality for all citizens, irrespective of caste, religion, economic, educational status and sex.
Question 3: What is political inequality?
Answer: Political inequality refers to the fact that all individuals are equal in the eyes of the government. Any adult above the age of 18, is allowed to cast a vote irrespective of gender, caste, creed, occupation or religion.
Question 4: What do you understand by the Rule of law?
Answer: Rule of law is another striking feature of democracy. The rule of law states the supremacy of law, which means that all persons are subject to law. The Indian constitution recognizes every person equal before the law, which means that law is supreme.
Question 5: What do you understand by the term Right to Equality?
Answer: Right to Equality encompasses the general principles of equality before the law. This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
Democracy and Equality Questions & Answers
Question 6: What is the main feature of a democracy?
Answer: The main feature of a democracy is the equal power it gives to its citizens to elect, to control and to remove their government from power, if they are unhappy with it.
Question 7: What are the salient features of democratic government?
Answer:
- One of the most important features of democratic government is the power vested in the people to vote and elect their representatives, directly or indirectly.
- People choose their representatives through elections that are held periodically.
- A democratic government has more than one political party.
- The political parties compete with each other and at the same time, keep the ruling party in check.
- If the ruling party does not fulfill the wishes of the people then the opposition parties can call for re-election.
Question 8: How is right to equality granted to the citizens by the Indian constitution?
Answer: Right to equality encompasses the general principles of equality before the law and non-discrimination, which collectively further the philosophy of social equality before the law as well as equal protection of the law to all persons within the territory of India.
Question 9: How do the three organs of democratic government contribute?
Answer: The three organs of the government are:
- The Legislature: It is the law-making organ which consists of representatives elected by the people.
- The Executive: This organ implements the laws.
- The Judiciary: This protects the law and delivers justice.
Question 10: What is Universal Adult Franchise? Why is it important in a democratic country like India?
Answer: In India, all citizens aged 18 years or above can vote, irrespective of their caste, religion, economic or educational status and sex. This is called the Universal Adult Franchise.
In a representative democracy like India, all citizens have equal rights and opportunities to actively participate in the activities of the government at all levels without any discrimination.
Question 11: What does human dignity mean?
Answer: The word ‘dignity’ means self-respect. When we talk of human dignity, we refer to the respect of an individual in relation to his gender, caste and religion. When a human being is treated unequally or in an improper fashion, his dignity is dishonoured.
Question 12: Write about the types of inequalities prevalent in our country.
Answer: Although India is the biggest democracy in the world, we cannot say that it is free of all inequalities. Cast system, economic inequality and gender inequality are still prevalent despite valiant efforts by the Government.
Democracy and Equality Questions & Answers
Question 13: Briefly describes Dr. B.R. Ambedekar’s contribution in the abolition of untouchability.
Answer: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar contributed largely to uplifting the subordinate castes in the Indian society. Dr.Ambedkar’s efforts helped to eradicate social evils like untouchability and caste restrictions.
Question 14: Describe the social condition of the African- Americans in the USA before the Civil Rights Movement. Narrate the incident that marked the beginning of this.
Answer: In the United States of America, people were divided on the basis of skin colour – the whites (Americans) and Blacks (African-American). African-Americans were treated unequally and denied equality before law. They had no civil and political rights. A drastic change occurred only with an incident involving Rosa Parks – an African-American woman. Being tired after a long day at work, she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a White man, on 1st December, 1955. This triggered a yearlong bus boycott and led to a huge agitation against the unequal ways in which African-Americans were treated. This came to be known as the Civil Rights Movement.
Question 15: What are the different steps taken by the government to eradicate inequality?
Answer:
- The Indian Constitution states that all individuals, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, sex and religion are equal in the eyes of the law.
- No individual can be discriminated against on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex or socio-economic conditions.
- Every individual should follow the principles laid down by the Constitution.
- All individuals have the right to enter public places such as shopping malls, theatres, hospitals, parks, etc.
- The government has made untouchability and offence and anyone practicing it would be punished.
- The government has also started some special schemes and programmes for the upliftment of disadvantaged communities and individuals. Midday Meal Programme is one such example.
Question 16: Write a short note on the different forms of government.
OR
Explain the different forms of government. How democracy can be the best form of government.
Answer: There are different types of government in different parts of the world. Broadly they can be classified into four types:
- Monarchy
- Dictatorship
- Communist Government
- Democracy
Monarchy – In absolute monarchy form of government, a monarch that is a king or a queen has absolute power to rule the citizens of the country.
Dictatorship – The country is ruled by a single ruler. The leader is not elected and attains and maintains power forcibly.
Communist Government – In a communist government, the country is ruled by a single party known as the communist party. No other political party is allowed to exist.
Democracy – In a democracy, the government is elected by the people. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, Democracy is the government of people, by the people and for the people.
Democracy can be the best form of government as:
- People actively participate in the government.
- People freely express their views and criticize the government.
- People are treated equally in all respects.
Democracy and Equality Questions & Answers
Question 17: How is an authoritarian government different from a monarchial form of government?
Answer: An authoritarian government is the one wherein the power lies in the hands of one person or a group of people who have not been elected by the common people of that country. The individual or groups of people who rule the country enjoy unlimited power. The citizens of such a government are not given any freedom and they are expected to obey every order of the government, however unjust it may be.
Monarchy – Monarchy is a form of government in which power lies in the hands of a king or a queen. Monarchy is of two types – absolute and constitutional. Absolute Monarchies have parliaments and laws which can be dissolved by the monarch as he enjoys unlimited power. A Constitutional Monarchy consists of a parliamentary form of government where the king or the queen operates within a written or unwritten set of laws.
Question 18: How does Mid Day Meal programme help the students of the disadvantaged sections of the society?
Answer: The Midday Meal Programme provides cooked lunch to all children in government elementary schools. This programme has increased the number of children who attend school. Women, who work, do not have to leave work to provide lunch for the children. There were some children who would not come back to school after going home for lunch. The attendance of these children has also improved. It also helps children to concentrate on studies better which they would not be able to do, if they were hungry.
Question 19: What is the close link between democracy and equality?
Answer:
- There is no democracy without equality.
- A democratic government will be stable only if all its citizens are treated equally.
- When we speak of equality in a democratic set up, it means that no one is discriminated on the basis of gender, caste, religion, tribes, economic and educational backgrounds.
Question 20: With reference to the democratic set up of India, explain the following terms:
(a) Social equality
Answer: Social equality means that people are not discriminated on the basis of their caste, creed or religion.
(b) Political equality
Answer: Political equality refers to the fact that all individuals are equal in the eyes of the government. Any adult above the age of 18, is allowed to cast a vote irrespective of gender, caste, creed, occupation or religion. This is known as Universal Adult Franchise. Whether it is a teacher, a plumber, a banker or a businessman, all enjoy political equality in a democracy.
(c) Economic equality
Answer: Economic equality does not mean that all the people in the country should have equal money and we distribute the money of the rich to the poor. Economic equality means that the government does not put any restriction on anybody on the basis of their economic conditions. All individuals are allowed to enjoy the resources of the country irrespective of their economic condition, be it roads, railways, air transport, hospitals, cinema halls, etc.
Democracy and Equality Questions & Answers
Question 21: What are the challenges to the democratic government in India?
Answer: The challenges to the democratic government in India are:
- The challenge for democracy is not only to resolve the current issues of inequality but to also come up with innovative ways of tackling newer problems that crop up each day.
- Poverty and lack of resources remain a key factor for the highly unequal lives of countless people in India.
- However, discrimination on the basis of sex, religion and caste is yet another important factor due to which people are not treated equally.
- Apart from poor people, there are women, Adivasis and the Dalits who are denied equal treatment.
- Often treatment meted out to these people is a combined outcome of poverty and lack of dignity and respect.
Question 22: Discuss the various ways where children/people are treated unequally/face discrimination?
Answer: While government programmes are important to establish equality, there are several instances where children are forced into such situations in which their dignity is not valued. There is a big difference between the types of schools that the rich and poor attend. Even today, there are many schools in which Dalit children are treated unequally and face discrimination. One of the reasons for this is the attitude of the people. Although people know that discrimination is against the law, yet they discriminate and treat others unequally on the basis of their caste, class, religion, gender and disability.
Question 23: How does the displacement of people take place? Elucidate the problems faced by the displaced people?
Answer: When the government undertakes any project of building dams or declares forest areas for a sanctuary, thousands of people are forced to move from their locality, environment and occupational activities. This movement is referred to as displacement of people. Such displaced people have to face a lot of problems in their lives. They are forced to reside in areas that are unknown to them. Their work suffers and also disrupt the schooling of their children.
Question 24: How did the earnings of the fish workers increase?
Answer: The earnings of the fish workers increased substantially because TMS set up the cooperative. A cooperative not only bought the catch from the fish workers at a fair price but also arranged transport and sale of the catch at a good price. This increased their income three times more than what they used to earn earlier.
So, these were Democracy and Equality Questions & Answers.