Objective Questions
Question : The ‘challenge’ which involves the strengthening of institutions and practices of democracy is called:
(a) foundational challenge
(b) challenge of expansion
(c) challenge of deepening of democracy
(d) none of these
Answer : C
Question : Democratic reforms are to be carried out mainly by
(a) Political activists
(b) Political parties
(c) Movements and politically conscious citizens
(d) All of the above
Answer : D
Question : Which of the following is a challenge to democracy?
(a) Corrupt leaders
(b) Communal-ism
(c) Illiterate citizens
(d) All of the above
Answer : D
Question : Which of the following statements reflects the right impact of “The Right to Information Act”?
(a) It supplements the existing laws that banned corruption.
(b) It enables the people to became law abiding good citizens.
(c) It empowers the people to find out what is happening in government.
(d) It acts as a water dog of democracy.
Answer : C
Question : What is a challenge to democracy?
(a) Vote bank
(b) Corruption
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of the above
Answer : C
Question : Write the full form of GDP.
(a) Gross Dam Policy
(b) Gross Production Departure
(c) Gross Domestic Production
(d) None of the above
Answer : C
Question : Which of the following countries disintegrated due to the ethnic tension?
(a) Sri Lanka
(b) Bolivia
(c) Yugoslavia
(d) Belgium
Answer : C
Question : Which one of the following is challenge of expansion for the established democracies?
(a) Ensuring greater power to local government
(b) Strengthening of institutions
(c) Bringing down non-democratic regime
(d) Establishing a sovereign and functional state
Answer : A
Question : Which one of the following is not true regarding howpolitics can be reformed?
(a) There is need to strengthen government practices.
(b) Only legal constitutional changes can reform politics.
(c) Citizens organisation and media should play an active role.
(d) The citizens should be empowered through rights like the Right to Information.
Answer : B
Question : Society is divided in the name of:
(a) religion
(b) caste
(c) language
(d) none of the above
Answer : B
Question : _____ a feeling when the people living in a particular region of country awaken to their separate existence.
(a) Regionalism
(b) Democracy
(c) Communalism
(d) Casteism
Answer : A
Fill In The Blank
Question : _____ disintegrated due to the ethnic tension between Serbs and Albanians.
Answer : Yugoslavia
Question : As per the text, _____ of the world is working under democratic government.
Answer : Three fourth
True/False
Question : The bureaucrats should not be made responsive to the needs of people.
Answer : False
Question : Deeping of democracy is strengthening of institution.
Answer : True
Assertion And Reason
DIRECTION : Mark the option which is most suitable :
(a) If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) If assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) If both assertion and reason are false.
Question : Assertion : Any legal change must carefully look at what results it will have on politics.
Reason : As sometimes the results may be counterproductive.
Answer : (a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
Question : Assertion : The rulers elected by the people must not take all the major decisions.
Reason : Democracy cannot be the brute rule of majority and a respect for minority voice is necessary for democracy.
Answer : (a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
Question : Assertion : The third challenge of deepening of democracy is usually not faced by every democracy in one form or another.
Reason : This involves strengthening of the country and practices of democracy.
Answer : (d) Both assertion and reason are false.
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question : What does the challenge of expansion faced by established democracies involve?
Answer : a. It involves applying basic principles of democratic governments across all regions, different social groups and various institutions.
b. Greater power to local governments.
Question : Which challenge to established democracies ensures more participation of women and minority groups in a democratic country?
Answer : The challenge of expansion.
Short Answer Type Questions :
Question : Elaborate the challenge of expansion of democracy. Give an example.
or
“Most of the established democracies are facing the challenge of expansion.” Support the statement with examples.
or
Explain the ‘Challenge of Expansion’ to democracy.
Answer : Most of the established democracies face the Challenge of Expansion:
a. Citizens have great expectations from the government.
b. Government tries its best for the upliftment of the society.
c. Ensuring greater power to the local government.
d. Extension of federal principles to all the units of the federation including women and minority groups.
Question : “The challenge of deepening of democracy is being faced by every democracy in one form or another.” Support the statement with arguments.
Answer : Deepening of democracy:
a. Deepening of democracy involves strengthening the institutions and the practices of democracy.
b. The ordinary people have different expectations from democracy in different societies.
c. It wants more of people’s participation and control.
d. They want to bring down the control of rich and powerful people in the making of the governmental decision.
Question : Suggest some broad guidelines that can be kept in mind while devising ways and means for political reforms in India.
Answer : Guidelines for political reform:
a. Any legal change must carefully look at what results it will have on politics. Sometimes the results may be counter-productive.
b. The main focus of political reforms should be on ways to strengthen democratic practice.
c. Any proposal for political reforms should think not only about what is a good solution but also about who will implement it and how?
Question : “A challenge is an opportunity for progress”. Support the statement with your arguments.
Answer : A challenge is an opportunity for progress because:
a. A challenge is not just a problem.
b. A challenge is a difficulty that carries within it an opportunity for progress.
c. Once we overcome a challenge, we go up to a higher level than before.
d. Challenges alone cannot overcome challenges to democracy like inequality, poverty, unemployment illiteracy, regionalism, casteism, communal ism, etc.
e. Legal constitutional changes and the cooperation of the citizen is the need of the hour.
Question : Explain three foundational challenges faced by democracies.
or
How do some countries face foundational challenge of democracy? Explain with example.
Answer : Foundational challenge:
a. Involves making the transition to democracy and then instituting democratic government.
b. This involves bringing down the existing nondemocratic regime, keeping military away from controlling government and establishing a sovereign and functional state.
c. For example: Democratic Government of Nepal.
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 : 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 : 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, (iu)
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. How is the challenge of deepening of democracy faced by every democracy?
Answer : • This involves string tuning of the institutions and practices of democracy.
• This should happen in such a way that people can realize their expectations of democracy.
• This requires an attempt to bring down the control and influence of the rich and powerful people in making governmental decisions.
Question. Enumerate there challenges which democracies in the world face today.
Answer : • Fundamental challenge — Those countries which do not have democratic form of govt. face the fundamental challenge of establishing democracy in the country.
• Challenge of Expansion.—Countries having democratic setup face the challenge of expansion.
• Deepening of Democracy – This challenge is faced by almost all the democracies. This involves strengthening of the institutions and practices of democracies.
Question. What are the basic rights of citizens for exercising voting Rights?
Answer : • Elections must offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the current rulers.
• The choice and opportunity should be available to all the people on an equal basis.
• The exercise of this choice must lead to a govt. limited by basic rules of the constitution and citizens right.
Question. What does Foundational challenge to democracy mean? Which two aspects are included in this challenge?
Answer : Those countries which do not have democratic form of govt. face the foundational challenge of establishing democracy in the country. This involves bringing down the existing non-democratic govt. to keep the military away from capturing power and establishing a sovereign democratic state.
Long Answer Type Questions :
Question. Define Political Reform and explain the broad guidelines while devising ways and means of political reforms?
Carefully devised changes in law can help to discourage wrong political practices and encourage good ones.
Answer : • Laws are important in political reform m. carefully devised changes in law can help to discourage wrong political practices and encourage good ones.
• Any legal change must carefully look at what results it will have on politics. Example -The RTI Act.
• Democratic reforms are to be brought about principally through political practice.
• Any proposal for political reforms should think not only about what is a good solution but also about who will implement it and how.
Question. India faces the ‘Challenge of expansion’- Justify the given statement
Answer : • Most of the established democracies face the Challenge of expansion.
• This involves applying the basic principle of democratic government across all the regions, different social groups and various institutions.
• Ensuring greater power to local governments, inclusion of women and minority groups etc. fall under this challenge.
• This means that less and less decisions should remain outside the arena of democratic control.
• Extension of federal principle to all the units of the federation.
• A bill with a reservation of at least one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women has been pending before the Parliament.
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 : 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.
