What is Democracy Why Democracy Test - 11

Democracy in modern usage is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament. Democracy is sometimes referred to as rule of the majority. It does not discriminate people between caste, creed, sex, religion etc.

An important characteristic of democracy is that it grants top civil liberties to the citizens. They enjoy freedoms of speech, expression, and information. Citizens have a right to form or join an association. It includes the right to form a political party.

Democracy is defined as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Democracy is considered the finest form of government in which every individual participates consciously and in which the people remain the sovereign power determining their destiny. Democracy, in modern usage, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament.

• Rights are necessary for the very sustenance of a democracy. In a democracy , citizens have the rights to express their opinions, right to vote, form political parties and take part in political activities. Rights safeguard minorities from the tyranny of majorities. They ensure that majority cannot do whatever it likes.
• At last, it is expected from the government to protect citizens' rights. But sometimes elected government may also attack the rights of their own citizens. Therefore, some rights need to be placed higher than the government.

Democracy- The term democracy is made of two Greek words 'Demos' means 'people' and 'Kratia' means ' to rule'. Thus the term democracy means the rule of the people. This is a kind of government which is for the people, of the people and by the people.

Option D Democracies are more prosperous than others is not a good argument in favour of democracy as there are many countries such as Sri Lanka, India which opted for democracy but not prosperous where other countries such as China or Saudi Arabia which have communist and monarchy rule respectively are more prosperous. The prosperity of any country depends on the correct policies of government. It also depends on the availability of natural resources not with the form of government. Democracy cannot guarantee prosperity.

 A democratic government cannot do whatever it likes, simply because it has won an election. It has to respect some basic rules. In particular, it has to respect some guarantees to the minorities. Every major decision has to go through a series of consultations. A democratic government rules within limits set by constitutional law and citizens’ rights.

It means every citizen who is 18 and above has the right to vote irrespective of the caste, colour, gender, race, religion, etc.

A democratic government does not try to secure the physical equality of the citizen. A democratic government is responsible to safeguard the political, economic and social rights of the citizen of the country. The government is responsible to check whether the citizens are treated equally and not discriminated on the basis of caste, race, sex, and gender.

The fate of the country not just depends on its ruler but mainly on citizens. For the success of Indian Democracy, it is very important that Indians must be well educated. Development of education is important for a successful democracy because with education we gain knowledge and skills to make an informed decision. The democracy can't be celebrated in absence of civilized solutions for the growth and development issues. That can be achieved only through education.

Social divisions reflects the division of society on the basis of caste, religion, region, language etc and get expressed in politics in various forms. In fact political expressions of these social divisions is very normal as it.
1- It has allowed marginal and disadvantaged groups to ventilate their grievances with the support of political parties and compels government to be responsive to their needs.
2- It ensures adequate representation to such diverse groups and due accommodation of their interests. In turn it helps political parties to mobilize support and expand its base.
3- Political expression of social divisions has often helped these marginalised groups who have been discriminated to fight against injustice prevailing in the society to voice their dissent in a peaceful constitutional manner.