CBSE Class 10 Social Science Civics Popular Struggles and Movements Assignment

Question. Write in brief about the Nepal’s second movement for democracy in Nepal
Answer:
1. The Nepal movement took place in April 2006 which was aimed at restoring democracy.
2. The Nepalese king Birendra had accepted massacre of the royal family in 2001.
3. The new king Gyanendra refused to accept the democratic rule.
4. In February 2005 the king dismissed the P.M. and devolved the popularity elected parliament.
5. In against of the dismissed of P.M. all the major parties in the parliament formed SPA and called for a fear days strike in Katmandu.
6. This strike turned into an indefinite strike after the involvement of Maoist with 3 to 5 lakh people.
7. On 24th April 2006, the king was forced to concede the demand of people. The SPA chore Girija Prasad Koirala as the new P.M. of the interim govt.

Question. Is the influence of pressure groups and movements healthy in a democracy?
Answer: Yes, putting pressure on the rulers is not an unhealthy activity in a democracy as long as every one gets this opportunity because –
1. A democracy must look after the interest of all not just one section.
2. These groups help the people of a particular section to voice their interest a demands.
3. Two pressure groups of different ideology helps in maintaining a balance between the demands of various groups in the society.
4. Pressure groups and movements have deepened democracy in the world. Thus some people may criticized the role of these groups as these groups promote the interest of their sections and not accountable to the people in general.

Question. Discuss the brief the popular struggle of Bolivia
Answer:
1. Bolivia is a poor country in Latin America the world bank pressurized the government to give up its control of municipal water supply.
2. The govt. sold these tights for the city of Cochabamba to a MNC.
3. The MNC immediately increased the price of water by four times.
4. Many people received water bills of Rs- 1000 where as their average monthly income was Rs. 5000/ month.
5. In January 2000 a new alliance of labour, human rights and community leaders organized a successful our days general strike in the city and the govt. agreed to negotiate. Yet nothing happened.
6. The agitation started again in February but the police restored to brutal repression.
7. Another strike followed in April and the govt. imposed martial law.
8. But the power of the people forced the officials of the MNC and the govt. to concede to all the demands of the protesters.
9. Finally the contract with the MNC was cancelled and water supply was restored to the municipality at old rates.

Question. What are the characteristics of pressure groups.
Answer:
1. Universal Character
2. Organized body.
3. Having influence on the public policies.
4. Lack of responsibility.
5. Non partism
6. Extra constitutional organization.

Question. What are sectional interest groups? How do they watch their interests?
Answer: Sectional interest groups refer to the interest groups that seek to promote the interest of a particular section or a group of society. Trade unions, business associations and professional bodies (lawyers, doctors, teachers etc.) are some examples of sectional interest groups—
Part- II
1. They aim to help groups other than their own members for example a group fighting against bonded labour fights not for itself but for those who are suffering under such bondage.
2. Some times these organization represents the common or general interest of the society.
3. They also exert pressure on the government to meet their demands.

Question. Explain how the activities of pressure groups are useful in the functioning of a domestic govt.?
Answer:
1. Pressure groups performs a useful role in countering the under influence of rich and powerful people on the govt.
2. Pressure groups remind the govt. of the needs and concerns of ordinary citizens.
3. Different pressure groups put pressure on the govt. for making policies in their favor and against.
This lets the govt. know about what different sections of population want.

Question. What are the features of a good democracy?
Answer : Features of a good democracy are: a. Rulers are elected by the people to take all decisions. b. Elections give an opportunity and choice to the people. c. Democracy ensures that rights are given to the citizen.

Question. Highlight any three challenges that democracy faces in Contemporary India.
Answer : Challenges that democracy faces in contemporary India are as follows: a. Challenge of corruption by government ministers and bureaucracy. b. Challenge of caste politics and division of votes on the basis of caste instead of policies. c. Challenge of communal politics leading to voting on the basis of religion. d. Challenge of regionalism leading to disunity of society and country.

Question. Explain the challenges faced by countries which do not have a democratic form of government.
Answer : a. These countries face the foundational challenge of making the transition to democracy and then instituting democratic government. b. They also face the challenge of bringing down the existing non-democratic regime and keeping the military away from controlling the government. c. Such countries have to make great efforts to establish a sovereign and functional state.

Question. Suggest any three political reforms to strengthen democracy.
Answer : Some of the reforms to strengthen the working of political parties are as follows: Anti-defection law, under which a member would be disqualified, if he/she goes against the directions of the party. Reduction in the influence of money. Cash votes have been banned by the election commission and anybody involved in the process is likely to be punished. It is important for a candidate to file an affidavit giving details of his property and eliminate cases pending against him/her. The election commission has made it necessary for political parties to hold their organizational elections and file their income tax returns. A law is strictly advisable to make or regulate the internal affairs of political parties. It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third, to women candidates.

Question. What is a democratic reform. Mention a few broad guidelines for devising political reforms in India.
Answer : All suggestions or proposals about overcoming various challenges to democracy are called democratic reform or political reform. Broad guidelines for devising political reforms in India are: a. Legal Ways of reforming politics. b. The Right to Information Act. c. Reforms through political practice, d. Implementation reforms.

Question. How is Myanmar facing the foundational challenge of making a transition to democracy? Explain.
Answer : There is absence of democracy in Myanmar as the legitimately elected leader Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for more than 15 years. She has been released recently: a. The army is in power in Myanmar and a democratically elected government is not allowed to function. b. The country faces the challenge of making a transition to democracy and then instituting a democratic government. c. The people of Myanmar need to bring down the military regime and keep it away while they sets up a sovereign and democratic government.

Question. When was the ’Right to Information Act’ implemented? How does it act as the watch-dog of democracy? Explain.
Answer :  ‘The Right to Information Act’ was implemented in 2005. a. It empowers the people to find out what is happening in government. b. It acts as the watchdogs of democracy. c. It helps to control corruption and supplements the existing laws that banned corruption and imposed strict penalties. d. It gives political actors incentives to do good.

Question. Explain any five major challenges being faced by the Indian democracy.
Answer : Major challenges are: a. Foundational challenge. b. Challenge of expansion. c. Challenge of deepening of democracy. “The main challenge to democracy in India is the challenge of expansion”. Decentralization of powers and applying the basic principle of democratic government across all the regions, have been developed; but still more is to be done. Inclusion of women and minority groups is still a challenge. All the decisions should be in the arena of democratic control. To get this thing to be done and possess is a big challenge. Some other challenges to democracy include: a. Constitutional design b. Federalism and its functions c. Elections d. Democratic rights.

Question. What are the guidelines to be kept in mind while adopting political reforms?
Answer : The guidelines to be kept in mind while adopting political reforms also include: a. Involving political parties, political activists and people in bringing about reforms rather than imposing reforms through laws. b. Legal measures should be positive, more like incentives. c. Improving the quality of political practices by increasing people’s participation. d. Laws being considered may meet with resistance in the legislatures and by political parties. So, the best way to bring about the change is through democratic movements and media.

Question. Explain various type of challenges being faced by the modem democracies of the world?
or Why do most of the established democracies face the challenge expansion? Give any three reasons.
or “Different countries face different kinds of challenges.” Support the statement with suitable examples.
Answer : It is true that different countries face different kinds of challenges: a. Non-democratic countries face foundational challenges. This involves bringing down the existing non-democratic regime, keeping military away from controlling government and establishing a sovereign and functional state. Example: In Myanmar, military rule should be challenged. Suu Kyi should be freed and should be elected as the representative of the popular government, b. Every democracy faces the challenge of deepening of democracy. This involves applying the basic principle of democratic government across all the regions, different social groups and various institutions. Example: In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to take part in public activities, and no freedom of religion is there for the minorities. c. Every democracy face the challenge of expansion. This involves strengthening of the institutions and practices of democracy. It requires an attempt to bring down that control and influence of the rich and powerful people in making governmental decision. Example: In USA, Black or African'American people have won equal rights, but are still poor, less educated and marginalised.

Question. How can the countries facing the foundational challenge of making a transition to democracy set-up a democratic government? Suggest any three measures. or What is a ‘challenge’? Explain the three major challenges before the countries of the work regarding democracy. or “The challenge of deepening of democracy is faced by every democracy in one form or another”. Support the statement with three suitable arguments. How can democracy be reformed and deepened? Suggest any three guidelines.
Answer : A ‘challenge’ is a difficulty which carries within it an opportunity for progress. Three major challenge are: Foundational challenge is about making the transition to democracy and then instituting a democratic government. This involves bringing down the existing non-democratic regime, keeping military away from controlling the government and establishing a sovereign and functional state. Example: Myanmar, Chile, Nepal Challenge of Expansion is faced by most of the established democracies. This involves applying the basic principle of democratic government across all the regions, different social groups and various institutions.” Most countries including India and other democracies like the US face this challenge. Deepening of democracy: This involves strengthening of the institutions and practices of democracy, especially those that help people’s participation and control. This attempts to bring down the control and influence of the rich and powerful people in making governmental decision,

Question. “Legal reforms may sometimes be counterproductive”. Support the statement with suitable arguments.
Answer : a. Any legal change must carefully look at the results it will have on politics. Sometimes, the results can be counter¬productive. For example, many states have banned people who have more than two children from contesting panchayat elections. b. This has resulted in the denial of democratic opportunity to many poor men and women, which was not intended. Generally, laws that seek to ban something are not very successful in politics. c. The best laws are those which empower people to carry out democratic reforms. For example, Right to Information Act.