GSEB Solutions Class 9 Social Science Chapter 12 Indian Democracy

Gujarat Board GSEB Textbook Solutions Class 9 Social Science Chapter 12  Indian Democracy Textbook Questions and Answers, Additional Important Questions, Notes Pdf.

Indian Democracy Class 9 GSEB Solutions Social Science Chapter 12

Gujarat Board Class 9 Social Science Indian Democracy Textbook Questions and Answers

1. Answer the following questions in short:

Question 1.
At what age one gets a right to vote?
Answer:
At the age of 18 years one gets the right to vote.

Question 2.
Which media are used to cultivate public opinion?
Answer:
Public opinion is formed, gathered and circulated through the following mediums:

• Print Media: Newspapers, periodicals and a journals are a few of the strongest form of print media.
• Electronic Media: Radio, TV, Computer and Laptops, Cinema, Mobile Phones, etc.

Go through these Social Science Chapter 12 Indian Democracy GSEB Class 9 Notes to score well in your exam.

Question 3.
Which national and regional political parties are active in India?
Answer:
Although there are seven national and 52 regional parties, are recognized by Election Commission as of March, 2019:
(a) National Parties:

1. The Indian National Congress (INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the two biggest and hence major national political parties of India.
2. Other important national parties are Bahujan Samaj Wadi Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Part of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), National Congress Party (NCP) and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).

(b) Regional Parties:
Shiv Sena, Samaj wadi Party (SP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Janta Dal-United (JDU), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), etc are regional parties.

2. Explain giving reasons:

Question 1.
A voter is a lifeline of a democracy.
Answer:

1. A voter is one of the most important parts of a democracy.
2. A voter who is neither bankrupt nor mentally unstable holds the voting right without any discrimination.
3. Voting is an important process in democracy and every voter gets complete right to vote.
4. To see that voters can keep the democracy alive through voting, the election commission takes utmost care that all the voters across the country, even army men who are on duty at odd locations are able to vote during elections.
5. The voter with his fine sense of understanding decides which candidate is best to rule. Based on this he votes for him.
6. Complete freedom to the person to vote for this desire candidate is the key ingredient of democracy and, hence it is said that a voter is the lifeline of a democracy.

Question 2.
Parliamentary democracy is unique and important.
Answer:

1. Parliamentary democracy works on the fine balance of three important organs of the country namely the Legislative, Executive and the Judiciary.
2. The three pillars balance each other and see to it that none works against the welfare of the people.
3. This form of democracy allows people to empower them to select their candidate to run the country.
4. The members of the opposition party monitor the activities of the ruling party. If they find that the ruling party is not working properly for the welfare of the people then they oppose and force the ruling party to either work for the welfare.
5. Such a working method of the parliamentary democracy makes it quite unique.

Question 3.
Information broadcasting media are highly effective in cultivating public opinion.
Answer:

1. To cultivate the human psyche and to create a strong public opinion the various information and broadcasting agencies are very useful.
2. In today’s world newspapers, periodicals and journals hold utmost importance in facilitating people to know more about incidences, events and situations.
3. Audiovisual media like the radio, television, cinema etc. are important in cultivating public opinion.
4. A public opinion can be created through the serials, dramas and movies which can help portray socio-economic as well as other problems like untouchability, dowry, exploitation and poverty in an entertaining manner.
5. In today’s world apart from television the arrival and spread of internet has helped people to enjoy news, serials, dramas and movies sitting comfortably in their homes.
6. All these media can create an adverse effect through the presentation of distorted, obscene and violent information.
7. Today in the fast-moving age of technology people can stay in constant touch with each other through the medium of internet or smartphone and exchange thoughts as well as ideas.
8. Television, radio, personalized radio i.e., FM plays a special role in cultivating public opinion in modem times.

Question 4.
Election is a barometer of democracy.
Answer:

1. Elections provide people an opportunity to judge the performance of their representatives.
2. They generate a new political attitude and waves in the minds of people,
3. People elect candidates who they think are fit for ruling.
4. Proper election of candidates can lead a country to an all-round progress.
5. During elections, people involve in party meetings, study various issues of the country and finally cast vote to the candidates who they feel are the best among all.
6. Since fair and transparent election allows people to select the right candidate. Hence, it is rightly said that elections are the barometer of democracy.

3. Write Short Notes on:

Question 1.
Types of political parties.
Answer:

1. India is a very large country with largest democracy in the world. Hence, there are several political parties in India.
2. Depending on the criteria set by the Election Commission, the parties can be
   classified as:
   • National Parties and
   • Regional Parties.

Question 2.
Voter and Government.
Answer:

1. A voter is one of the most important parts of a democracy.
2. India has Universal Adult Suffrage. According to this, a person of age 18 or above holds the right to vote.
3. Thus, the Constitution of democratic India guarantees an equal right to vote irrespectively of a person’s caste, creed, education, religion, economic status and other important parameters.
4. The system of Universal Adult Suffrage is based on the principle of ‘One Person One Vote’.
5. It is the duty of every citizen to vote without greed or fear.
6. A voter should be aware and careful about his right to vote.
7. Voting is an important process in democracy and every voter must exercise the right to vote.
8. Hence, the government through the Election Commission takes utmost care that all the voters across the country, even army men who are on duty at odd locations are able to vote during elections.
9. To stop any kind of injustice and for smooth and transparent voting system, the Election Commission works independently in an autonomous manner.

Question 3.
Election Commission and Political Parties:
Answer:

1. In India, the elections are conducted, administered, controlled and monitored by the Election Commission.
2. The Election Commission also decides the criteria for formation of a political party.
3. A political party that wishes to take part in the election needs to register itself with the Election Commission.
4. There were 1593 registered political parties as on 10th March, 2014. Later, 239 parties were added in the list in the next year.
5. On the basis of their performance i.e., the criteria they choose, the Election Commission declares them as national or regional parties.
6. The Election Commission allots symbols to the registered parties. It also allots unreserved symbols to unrecognized parties and individual candidates.
7. As soon as the Election Commission announces the election dates, it also implements a protocol to be followed.
8. All the political parties need to maintain this protocol. None of the party can conduct any activity or campaign that is considered the disregard the protocol.
9. After the election the Election Commission counts the votes and announces the political party who wins maximum votes as the winner.

4. Distinguish between.

Question 1.
National Party and Regional Party.
Answer:
National Party:

1. A party that secures at least 6% of total votes in the Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states and wins at least 2 seats is recognized as a national party.
2. These parties which will have influence in less than three states.
3. These parties raise issues of national importance.
4. Example: INC, BJP, BSP, CPI-M, CPI, NCP and AITC

Regional Party:

1. A party that secures at least 6% of total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state and wins at least 4 seats is recognized as a regional party/state party.
2. These parties will have influence in less than three states.
3. These parties raise issues of regional importance.
4. Example: Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, DMK, AIADMK, etc.

Question 2.
Parliamentary Democracy and Presidential Democracy.
Answer:
Parliamentary Democracy:

1. In India we have parliamentary democracy.
2. In a parliamentary democracy the President appoint the leader of the party who gets the maximum number of seats in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister.
3. The Prime Minister then forms the government with his Cabinet of Ministers.
4. In this kind of democracy, the government stays in power as long as it can obtain support of the majority of the members of the Parliament.

Presidential Democracy:

1. It is the second important type democracy.
2. In this type of democracy the President is directly elected by the people.
3. The President remains in power for a period mentioned in the Constitution of the country.
4. It exists in many countries including USA.

Question 3.
Print Media and Electronic Media.
Answer:
Print Media:

1. Newspapers, periodicals, journals are a few of the strongest form of print media that helps in gathering public opinion.
2. These media play in vital role helping people know about incidences, events and situations taking place at national level as well as international level.
3. By reading the printed information, people form their opinions either in favour or against the information printed.
4. Although it is important to note how people perceive this information. In other words, the same piece of information can create multiple viewpoints among people with some favouring and some against.
5. Irrespective of the opinion people form, it should be true, firm and unbiased.
6. Since, most people are unaware of the actual facts, the print media can alter public opinion by presenting biased or false information.
7. It is absolutely necessary to have ‘freedom of press’. Doing so, the media can boldly present both the achievements as well as failures of the government without pressure or fear. This will in turn let people create their true opinion i.e. public opinion.
8. India is a large and diverse nation in terms of literacy, language and culture, etc. For example, there are states and regions that are very backward and have very low level of literacy.
9. To canter such a diverse nation several regional newspapers are also printed. Regional newspapers play a crucial role in gathering public opinion of such regions.
10. At present, print media in cultivating public opinion in regions having less literacy.
11. To overcome this problem various organizations, industrial groups and political parties publish their own diaries or circulars in regional languages for even very small regions.
12. Apart from all these, the government also publishes various periodicals and issues providing important information to gather public opinion.

Electronic Media:

1. Audiovisual media like the radio, television, cinema, computer, laptop, smartphones, etc. are parts of important electronic media in cultivating public opinion.
2. Although electronic media works best for all types of people but it is more effective in the regions where literacy is less.
3. Radio and television are considered far more effective than newspapers and periodicals.
4. Radio and television broadcasts live incidents taking place at national as well as international level.
5. In recent times FM radio channels have boomed up. These channels also play an important role in cultivating public opinion.
6. Electronic surveys on TV, internet and radio also help to create public opinion.
7. Opinion polls are presented during the elections and people are asked to vote for their opinion. Opinion polls help to estimate how much do people favour or criticise an event or a political party, candidate, etc.
8. These media together can transmit the achievements and failures of the government to people at large, both at urban regions and also at the most extreme regions of the country.

5. Fill in the blanks:

Question 1.
The system of Universal Adult Suffrage is based on the principle of ………………
A. One person many vote
B. One person one vote
C. One person no vote
D. One person all vote
Answer:
B. One person one vote

Question 2.
The ……………… is less effective in cultivating public opinion.
A. Audiovisual media
B. Visual media
C. Audio media
D. Print media
Answer:
D. Print media

Question 3.
Full form of EVM is
A. Electronic Value Machine
B. Electronic Vat Machine
C. Electronic Voting Method
D. Electronic Voting Machine
Answer:
D. Electronic Voting Machine

Gujarat Board Class 9 Social Science Indian Democracy Additional Important Questions and Answers

I. Answer the following questions.

Question 1.
Explain the role of election in democracy.
Answer:

1. India is the largest democratic country in the world.
2. In a democracy a voter has the liberty to cast his vote to the candidate of his choice.
3. Although the right to vote remains the same in each democratic country, the governance of each country may vary.
4. Elections are the most important event on which the democracy exists.
5. India has a parliamentary system. So, our Parliament is considered as the national institution that represents the people.
6. The Parliament of India consists of the President, the Rajya Sabha, and the Lok Sabha.
7. The Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of the Parliament whereas Lok Sabha is the Lower House.
8. At state level we have Legislative Assembly and also Legislative Councils in a few states.
9. The position of the voter is quite strategic because it is who casts his vote to elect members of all the houses. In this regard he is at the centre of the democracy.
10. The votes elect the governing bodies by voting through the process called election.
11. Hence, elections are the lifeline of democracy.

Question 2.
Explain in detail the importance of election.
Answer:

1. Election is the foundation of democracy.
2. It is also the most important event on which the democracy exists.
3. We can see an environment similar to festival during elections.
4. Based on the past work records people can evaluate the performance of the candidates during the elections.
5. Any citizen who fulfills the pre-requisite to contest elections can do so,
6. It is not compulsory for a candidate to belong to any political party for contesting election.
7. In Indian democracy, the Parliament is the apex body whereas ‘the Gram Panchayat’ it is basis foundation block.
8. Over and above elections for state and national level, the elections are also held in the local governing bodies like the Gram Panchayat, Taluka Panchayat and District Panchayat.
9. At upper level, elections are held in Municipalities in towns and Municipal Corporations in cities.
10. Elections are extremely important for both, the political parties as well as the candidates.
11. Elections bring in new political set up and political waves. They are contested by political parties, independent candidates, as well as a coalition of political parties.
12. Election gives a picture of a country’s social and economic environment.
13. Election decides the future of the government.
14. The winning candidate and party obtain as well as maintain power by the support of the people i.e., through their votes.
15. Thus, election is the lifeline of our democracy.

Question 3.
What is public opinion? State the importance of public opinion. How is it gathered?
Answer:

1. India is a democratic country.
2. The candidate and his party that wins the election would like to regain and retain its power in future too.
3. For this, it is extremely important for the political parties to connect with the people. By connecting with people they can know the opinion of people for the parties and candidates. This is called public opinion.
4. Public opinion helps the candidates and parties to maintain and run the government, frame policies to know views on various questions related to many problems, etc.
5. It is highly essential for political parties, representatives and organizations.
6. Strong and organised public opinion is very important in a democracy.
7. It can open the curtain from the poor functioning of the government.
8. The voice of public can create such a condition where in the government cannot afford to misrule or neglected the country.
9. Public opinion also makes people aware about right or wrong at of the government. The alert, awaken and intelligent public then cannot be misled by the government.

Question 4.
Explain the process of election in India.
Answer:

1. Owing to its large population India is the largest democracy of the world with largest number of voters.
2. In India, the elections are conducted, administered, controlled and monitored by the Election Commission.
3. It is essential for any democracy that its Election Commission is independent, impartial and autonomous.
4. Moreover, it is mandatory that the Election Commission works with complete independence.
5. The Constitution of India has made special provision for deciding the terms and conditions of appointing the Election Commissioner, his criteria for service, removal and suspension.
6. It is the responsibility and authority of the Election Commission to hold elections for the Parliament, Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council, the President and the Vice-President.
7. In India we carry our election by casting votes through secret ballot system.

Question 5.
Write a short note on secret ballot.
Answer:

1. Secret ballot is a ballot in which people can cast their votes secretly without coming under influence of any benefit, greed or fear. Others do not know which party or candidate has the voter given the vote.
2. A voter has a right to maintain the secrecy of his vote. No one can ask the voter to whom did he give his vote. Hence, secret ballot is given utmost importance in a democracy.
3. Voting is the most important of the democratic government. Hence, the Election Commission takes utmost care that all the voters across the country, even army men who are on duty at odd locations are able to vote during elections.

Method of voting:
Voting is done through two methods. They are:

• Voting by a ballot paper in secret ballot: The method of secret ballot is getting obsolete now since it take lot of time to count ballot papers of voters.
• Voting through an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM): It is a much faster, accurate and less tiresome method of voting. Hence, it is now widely used. Moreover, since no ballot papers are used in EVM it is also an eco-friendly method.

Question 6.
NOTA Option in brief.
Answer:

1. Sometimes people do not wish to cast their votes.
2. The government has recently introduced in NOTA option for such voters.
3. ‘NOTA’ stands for ‘None of the Above’.
4. A voter who does not wish to vote for any of the candidates but still wants to exercise his voting right, can select NOTA option on the EVM machine.

Question 7.
What do you mean by ruling and opposition parties? How does opposition party works for the welfare of the nation even when it is not in power?
Answer:

1. The party that wins the election forms the government. Such a party is called ruling party.
2. The party which loses the election is known as the opposition party.
3. The opposition party keeps a close eye on the activities of the ruling party. If it feels that the ruling party is working against the welfare of the nation then it objects the works and policies of ruling party.

Question 8.
Ruling party and opposition party are the two wheels of chariot of democracy. Give reason.
OR
The success of democracy depends on a balanced relationship between the ruling and opposing parties. Give reason.
Answer:

1. The party that loses the election is called the opposition party. The party that wins is known as the ruling party and it governs the country. The opposition party keeps a close eye.
2. The ruling party tries to function in the best possible way because the opposing party always watch any wrong act of the ruling party. This results in better functioning of democracy.
3. Thus, both ruling and opposing parties become equally important for the betterment of the country.
4. A chariot can run well, when both its wheels are properly balanced.
5. In the same way, the chariot of democracy remains properly balanced due to the ruling and the opposition party.

Question 9.
All voters do not exercise their voting rights.
OR
Many voters do not cast their votes. Give Reason.
Answer:

1. The Universal Adult Franchise gives right to vote to every citizen of India above 18 years.
2. Due to many reasons, people do not cast their votes.
3. Reasons for this could be laziness for going to polling booths, carelessness or ignorance about the participating candidates, etc.
4. Some people even have the mindset that they just do not wish to vote.
5. Hence, all voters do not exercise their voting rights.

II. Complete the following statements by giving reasons:

Question 1.
The voters are lifeline of democracy because ………………
Answer:
The voter is very important in a democracy. The Constitution of India guarantees a right to vote to a person of 18 years of age or above even amidst illiteracy, poverty and similar issues. It is the duty of every citizen to vote without greed or fear. Every voter should cast his vote considering it as his right as well as his duty as a citizen.

Question 2.
Parliamentary democracy is unique and important because ……………..
Answer:
Parliamentary democracy is unique and important because the governance of the country is based on parliamentary democracy e.g., India. The leader of the majority party in Lok Sabha is appointed as the Prime Minister by the President of India. The Prime Minister forms the Government. This Government is totally answerable and accountable to the Lok Sabha. The government remains in power as long as it enjoys the confidence of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha.

Question 3.
A strong and well-organized public opinion is necessary for democracy because ………………………
Answer:
A strong and well-organized public opinion is necessary for democracy because in democracy, government gains its power through people, i.e., via public opinion. Strong, genuine and united public opinion a very important role in securing power and forming and maintaining government. Moreover, effective public opinion restricts the government from misusing or misruling the country. Hence, it is said that effective and unified public opinion is sheer necessity of democracy.

Question 4.
There is multi-party system in India because ………………
Answer:
There is multi-party system in India because political parties are very important in a democracy for efficient governance. In our country, we have various large and small parties at national and regional levels. Hence, we can say that in India, there is a multi-party democracy.

III. Fill in the blanks.

1. There is ……………. Adult Suffrage in India.
2. Universal Adult Suffrage is based on the principle of ………………
3. …………….. are foundation of democracy.
4. Strong and well-organised …………….. is very important in democracy.
5. Elections are ……………… of democracy.
6. The All-India parties are called ……………… parties.
Answer:
1. Universal
2. one person one vote
3. Elections
4. public opinion
5. barometer
6. national

IV. State whether the following statements are true or false: (1 mark each)

1. On the basis of population, India is the largest democracy in the world.
2. Non-Party (Independent) candidate cannot contest elections in India.
3. The newspapers are electronic media of moulding public opinion.
4. Television is an electronic media that moulding public opinion.
5. There is parliamentary democracy in the USA.
6. There is not a single regional political party in India.
7. Election is the lifeline of a nation’s democracy.
Answer:
1. True
2. True
3. False
4. True
5. False
6. True
7. True

V. Match the following.

Column ‘A’
1. Universal Adult Suffrage
2. Foundation of democracy
3. Foundational blocks of Democracy
4. Public opinion of Print Media
5. Public opinion of Electronic Media

Column ‘B’
A. Parliamentary Democracy
B. Television
C. Newspapers
D. Elections
E. The principle of ‘One person one vote’.
Answer:
1. (E)
2. (D)
3. (A)
4. (C)
5. (B)