Civics Notes

Class - X
Notes
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Civics
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Class 10th - Civics - Power Sharing - Full Chapter Explanation
Belgium and Sri Lanka
Ethnic composition of Belgium
● 59 per cent lives in the Flemish region

and speaks Dutch language.
● Another 40 per cent people live in the

Wallonia region and speak French.
● Remaining one per cent of the Belgians

speak German.
● In the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent

people speak French while 20 per cent
are Dutchspeaking.
Reasons for Tension
● The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful.
● This was resented by the Dutch-speaking community who got the benefit of economic
development and education much later.
● The tension between the two communities was more acute in Brussels.
● Brussels presented a special problem: the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in

the country, but a minority in the capital.
Ethnic composition of Sri Lanka
● Sri Lanka has a diverse population.
● The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per

cent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 per cent).
Among Tamils there are two subgroups.
● Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’

(13 per cent).
● The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation

workers during colonial period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’.
Religious Composition
● Most of the Sinhala speaking people are Buddhists, while most of the Tamils
are Hindus or Muslims.
● There are about 7 per cent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.
Analyse the situation
Possibility of majority dominance and conflicts.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka
● Sri Lanka got independence in 1948.
Majority Sinhalas
Sought to secure dominance over

government by virtue of their majority.
Majoritarianism
A belief that the majority community should be able to

rule a country in whichever way it wants, by
disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority.
Steps taken to establish Sinhala supremacy are -
● In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus
disregarding Tamil.
● The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for
university positions and government jobs.
● A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
Impact
Impact of Steps taken to establish Sinhala supremacy
All these government measures increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
● They felt that the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were not sensitive to their language and culture.
● They felt that the constitution and government policies denied them equal political rights.
● Discriminated against them in getting jobs and other opportunities and ignored their interests.
As a result, the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time.
Reaction of Sri Lankan Tamils
● The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for

the recognition of Tamil as an official language, for
regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in
securing education and jobs.
Civil War
● By 1980s several political organisations were formed
demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in
northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.
The civil war has caused a
● The distrust between the two communities turned into
terrible setback to the social,
widespread conflict.
cultural and economic life of
the country.
Accommodation in Belgium
Belgium Differences Diversity Conflicts
● The Belgian leaders took a different path.

● They recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities.
Explain
Some of the elements of the Belgian model of Accommodation are:
➔ Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution four times so as to work
out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same
country.
1. Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers
shall be equal in the central government.
Thus, no single community can make decisions unilaterally.
2. Many powers of the central government have been given to state governments of
the two regions of the country. The state governments are not subordinate to the
Central Government.
Some of the elements of the Belgian model of Accommodation are:
● Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation.
The French Speaking people accepted equal representation in Brussels because the
Dutch-speaking community has accepted equal representation in the Central Government.
● Apart from the Central and the State Government, there is a third kind of government.
‘Community government’ is elected by people belonging to one language community - Dutch,

French and German-speaking - no matter where they live. This government has the power
regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues.
Belgian model is very complicated.
● But these arrangements have worked well so far.
● They helped to avoid civic strife between the two

major communities and a possible division of the
country on linguistic lines.
● When many countries of Europe came together to

form the European Union, Brussels was chosen as
its headquarters.
Conclusion European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium

Why Power Sharing is Desirable?
Prudential Moral
Power sharing is good because it helps Power sharing is the very spirit
to reduce the possibility of conflict of democracy.
between social groups.
Explain
Prudential reasons for power sharing
● Social conflict often leads to violence and political instability, power sharing is a good
way to ensure the stability of political order.
● Imposing the will of majority community over others may look like an attractive option
in the short run, but in the long run it undermines the unity of the nation.
● Tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive for the minority; it often brings ruin to the
majority as well.
It is prudential to share power because it helps to reduce the possibility of

conflict between social groups.
Moral reasons for power sharing
● Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.
● A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise,
and who have to live with its effects.
● People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.
● A legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire

a stake in the system.
While prudential reasons stress that power sharing will bring out better outcomes,
moral reasons emphasise the very act of power sharing as valuable.
Forms of Power Sharing
Power sharing and idea associated with it.
All power of a government must Emergence of democracy

reside in one person or group.
● People are the source of all political

power.
Why?
● Everyone has a voice in the shaping
of public policies.
∴ Political Power Should be distributed
In modern democracies, power sharing arrangements can take many forms.
1. Power is shared among different organs of government.
Horizontal distribution of power.
● Such a separation ensures that none of the organs can

exercise unlimited power.
● Each organ checks the others.
● This results in a balance of power among various
institutions.
System of checks and balances

2. Power can be shared among government at different levels.
Central
Vertical form of power sharing

State
Federal government
Local
● In a federal government power is shared between a general government for the entire
country and governments at the provincial or regional level.
Federal division of power

3. Power may also be shared among different social groups.
Social Group Groups based on the basis of religion and language.
● ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a good example of this arrangement.
● In some countries there are constitutional and legal arrangements whereby socially
weaker sections and women are represented in the legislatures and administration.
Reserved Constituencies
Advantages of sharing power among different social groups
● This type of arrangement is meant to give space in the

government and administration to diverse social groups who
otherwise would feel alienated from the government.
● This method is used to give minority communities a fair share in

power.
4. Power can be shared by political parties, pressure groups and movements.
Democracy Political parties Competition
● Such competition ensures that power does not remain in one hand.
● Power is shared among different political parties that represent different ideologies
and social groups.
Example -
➔ Coalition government.
➔ In a democracy, we find interest groups such as those of traders, businessmen,
industrialists, farmers and industrial workers.
Class 10th - Civics - Federalism - Full Chapter Explanation
Connect with the previous chapter
Vertical division of power among different levels of government is one

of the major forms of power sharing in modern democracies.
Federalism
We will try to connect the topic - ‘Federalism’ in Indian context.

What is Federalism?
Belgium and Sri Lanka
Recall and Analyse

● Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal
form of government.
● Sri Lanka continues to be, for all practical
purposes, a unitary system where the
national government has all the powers.
Federalism Unitary System

Federalism Unitary System
● Federalism is a system of government in which ● Federations are contrasted with

the power is divided between a central authority unitary governments.
and various constituent units of the country. ● Under the unitary system, either
● Usually, a federation has two levels of there is only one level of
government. government or the sub-units are
● One is the government for the entire country that subordinate to the central
is usually responsible for a few subjects of government.
common national interest. ● The central government can pass
● The others are governments at the level of on orders to the provincial or the
provinces or states that look after much of the local government.
day-to-day administering of their state.
● Both these levels of governments enjoy their
power independent of the other.
Key feature of Federalism
1. There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government.

2. Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own Jurisdiction
in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
3. The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the
constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally
guaranteed.
4. The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level
of government.
5. Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of
government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels
of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
6. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial
autonomy.
7. The federal system thus has dual objectives -

i. To safeguard and promote unity of the country.
ii. Accommodate regional diversity.
● Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism.
➢ Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power-sharing.
➢ They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.
Ideal Federal System
Mutual trust and agreement to live together.

The exact balance of power between the central and the state
government varies from one federation to another.
There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.
Coming together federations Holding together federations
● Involves independent States coming ● A large country decides to divide its

together on their own to form a bigger power between the constituent States
unit, so that by pooling sovereignty and and the national government.
retaining identity they can increase their ● India, Spain and Belgium are examples.
security. ● the central government tends to be more
● USA, Switzerland and Australia. powerful vis-à-vis the States.
● All the constituent States usually have ● Very often different constituent units of
equal power and are strong vis-à-vis the the federation have unequal powers.
federal government. Some units are granted special powers.
What makes India a Federal Country?
Try to understand the topic
The Constitution declared India as a Union of States. Although it

did not use the word federation, the Indian Union is based on the
principles of federalism.
Features of federalism Do these features apply to the provisions of Indian constitution?

What makes a India a Federal Country?
1. The Constitution originally provided for a two-tier system of government, the Union
Government or what we call the Central Government, representing the Union of India
and the State governments.
Later, a third tier of federalism was added in the form of Panchayats and Municipalities.
2. Each tier of government has its own jurisdiction, specified in constitution.
The Constitution clearly provided a threefold distribution of legislative powers between

the Union Government and the State Governments.
Union list State list Concurrent list

Union list
● Includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs,
banking, communications and currency.
● They are included in this list because we need a uniform policy on these matters
throughout the country.
● The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the
Union List.
State list
● Contains subjects of State and local importance such as police, trade, commerce,
agriculture and irrigation.
● The State Governments alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the
state list.
Concurrent list
● Includes subjects of common interest to both the Union government as well as the State
government, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession.
● Both the Union as well as the State Governments can make laws on the subjects mentioned
in this list.
● If their laws conflict with each other, the law made by the Union Government will prevail.
Question
3. Residuary Subjects All those subjects which do not fall in any of the list and
came up after the constitution was made.
Example : Computer Software

:Only central government can make laws on them.
3. Holding together federation Do not give equal power to its constituent units.
● All States in the Indian Union do not have identical powers.

● Some States enjoy a special status.
● Earlier Jammu and kashmir had

its own constitution. Explain
● Article 371 gives many special
powers to some of the states.
E.g - States In North East
Concept of Union territory
● Units of the Indian Union which enjoy very little power.
● These are areas which are too small to become an independent State but
which could not be merged with any of the existing States.
● These territories do not have the powers of a State.
● The Central Government has special powers in running these areas.
Example: Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Delhi.

4. The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one

level of government.
● Basic to the structure of the Constitution.

Power Sharing ● It is not easy to make changes to this power sharing
arrangement.
● The Parliament cannot on its own change this arrangement.

● Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with
at least two-thirds majority.
● Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States.
5. The judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional

provisions and procedures.
In case of any dispute about the division of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court
make a decision.
6. The Union and State governments have the power to raise resources by levying taxes in
order to carry on the government and the responsibilities assigned to each of them.
How is Federalism Practised?
Federalism V/S Success of federalism
● Constitutional provisions are necessary for the success of

federalism but these are not sufficient.
● The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to
the nature of democratic politics in our country.
Explain
1. Linguistic States People who spoke the same language lived in

the same State.
The creation of linguistic states was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country.
Creation of linguistic states
● Some States were created not on the basis of

language but to recognise differences based on
culture, ethnicity or geography.
● These include States like Nagaland, Uttarakhand

and Jharkhand.
● Some national leaders feared
Creation of linguistic state would lead to the disintegration of the country.
∴ The Central Government resisted linguistic States for some time.
Outcome
● But the experience has shown that the formation of linguistic

states has actually made the country, more united.
● It has also made administration easier.

2. Language Policy
Connect with federalism

● Our Constitution did not give the status of
national language to any one language.
Is Hindi our national language?
● Hindi was identified as the official language.

● Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the
Constitution.
● A candidate in an examination conducted for the Central Government positions may opt to take
the examination in any of these languages.
● States too have their own official languages.
Hindi V/S English
● The leaders of our country adopted a very cautious attitude in spreading the use of Hindi.
According to the Constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965.
● Many non Hindi speaking States demanded that the use of English continue.
● In Tamil Nadu, this movement took a violent form.
● The Central Government responded by agreeing to continue the use of English along with
Hindi for official purposes.
Accommodative promotion of Hindi
● Promotion of Hindi continues to be the official policy of the Government of India.
Right OR Wrong
Promotion does not mean that the Central Government can impose
Hindi on States where people speak a different language.
The flexibility shown by Indian political leaders helped our country avoid
the kind of situation that Sri Lanka finds itself in.
3. Centre State Policy Constitutional arrangements for

sharing power work in reality
Influences the practice of federalism in the country. depends to a large extent on how
the ruling parties and leaders
follow these arrangements.
Centre - State relations and federalism
Before 1990s After 1990s

Centre - State relations and federalism
Before 1990s After 1990s
● The same party ruled both at the Centre ● This period saw the rise of regional political
and in most of the States. parties in many States of the country.
● This meant that the State governments ● This was also the beginning of the era of
did not exercise their rights as Coalition Government at the Centre.
autonomous federal units. ● Since no single party got a clear majority in
● The Central Government would often the Lok Sabha, the major national parties
misuse the Constitution to dismiss the had to enter into an alliance with many
State governments that were controlled parties including several regional parties to
by rival parties. form a government at the Centre.
● This undermined the spirit of federalism. ● This led to a new culture of power sharing
and respect for the autonomy of State
Governments.
Decentralisation in India
Federal System Two or more than two tiers of governments.
Federal power sharing in India needs another tier of government,

below that of the State governments.
Decentralisation
When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government.
The rationale behind decentralisation
● There are a large number of problems and issues which

are best settled at the local level.
● People have better knowledge of problems in their

localities.
● They also have better ideas on where to spend money and

how to manage things more efficiently.
● At the local level it is possible for the people to directly

participate in decision making.
● This helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.

● There were several attempts to decentralise power.
Not very much successful Why?
● Panchayat and municipalities were set up in all the states but these
were directly under the control of state governments.
● Elections to these local governments were not held regularly.
● Local governments did not have any powers or resources of their own.
● Thus, there was very little decentralisation in effective terms.

➔ A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992.
Constitutional Amendment (73rd and 74th) Why?
● Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
● Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for the
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
● At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
● An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each
State to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
● The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local
government bodies. The nature of sharing varies from State to State.
Local self government
Rural local government Urban local government

OR OR
Panchayati Raj Municipalities
Rural local government

Gram Panchayat
● Each village, or a group of villages in some States, has a gram panchayat.

● This is a council consisting of several ward members, often called panch, and a president or
sarpanch.
● They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village.
● It is the decision-making body for the entire village.
● The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the gram sabha.
Gram sabha is a body consisting of all adult voters in a gram panchayat.
It has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of the
gram panchayat and to review the performance of the gram panchayat.
Structure of rural local government
Gram Panchayat Zila

Panchayat Samiti/Block/Mandal Parishad
● A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is

usually called a panchayat samiti or block or mandal.
● The members of this representative body are elected by all the
panchayat members in that area.
● All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad.
● Most members of the zilla parishad are elected.
● Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level
bodies are also its members.
● Zilla parishad chairperson is the political head of the zilla parishad.
Urban local government
Local government bodies for urban areas.
● Municipalities are set up in towns.
● Big cities are constituted into Municipal Corporations.
● Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled

by elected bodies consisting of people’s representatives.
● Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality.
● In a municipal corporation such an officer is called the Mayor.

Local self government
Achievement
● There are now about 36 lakh elected representatives in the panchayats and municipalities
etc., all over the country.
● Constitutional status for local government has helped to deepen democracy in our country.
● It has also increased women’s representation and voice in our democracy.
Challenges
Challenges
● While elections are held regularly and enthusiastically, gram sabhas are not held regularly.
● Most state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local governments.
● Nor have they given adequate resources.
● We are thus still a long way from realising the ideal of self-government.
Class 10th - Civics
Gender, Religion and Caste

Full Chapter Explanation
Class 10th - Civics - Gender, Religion and Caste - Full Chapter Explanation
Democracy Diversity Differences
Social differences that can take the

form of social divisions and inequalities.
Gender Religion Caste
Photo
nahi mili
Gender and Politics
Gender division ● The gender division tends to be understood

as natural and unchangeable.
● However, it is not based on biology but on

social expectations and stereotypes.
Sex V/S Gender

Public/Private division
Sexual Division of Labour
● Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the

main responsibility of women is housework and
bringing up children.
● A system in which all work inside the home is

either done by the women of the family, or
organised by them through the domestic helpers.
Societal belief and reality

Sexual division of labour
● Women do all work inside the home such as cooking, cleaning, washing
clothes, tailoring, looking after children, etc., and men do all the work
outside the home.
● When these jobs are paid for, men are ready to take up these works.
● Women do some sort of paid work but along with that it is presumed
that it is their responsibility to do domestic labour but their work is not
valued and does not get recognition.
Impact
Sexual division of labour Reduction of women’s role in public life, especially politics.
● Earlier, only men were allowed to participate in

public affairs, vote and contest for public offices. Demanding equality
● Gradually the gender issue was raised in politics.
● There were agitations in different countries for the extension of

voting rights to women.
Feminist movements ● These agitations demanded enhancing the political and legal status
of women and improving their educational and opportunities.
● More radical women's movements aimed at equality in personal

and family life as well.
Advantage of Political expression of gender division and political mobilisation.
● Helped to improve women's role in public life.
● We now find women working as scientists, doctors, engineers,

lawyers, managers and college and university teachers which
were earlier not considered suitable for women.
● In Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Norway and

Finland, the participation of women in public life is very high.
Situation in our country?

Patriarchal Society Women face disadvantage, discrimination

and oppression in various ways:
1. The literacy rate among women is only 54 percent compared with 76 per
cent among men. And the dropout rate among girls in high because
parents prefer to spend their resources for their ‘boys' education rather
than spending equally on their sons and daughters.
2. The proportion of women among the highly paid and valued jobs is still
very small. On an average an Indian woman works one hour more than
an average man every day. Yet much of her work is not paid and
therefore often not valued.
3. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides that equal wages

should be paid to equal work. women are paid less than men,
even when both do exactly the same work.
4. In many parts of India parents prefer to have sons and find ways
Impact
to have the girl child aborted before she is born.
Such sex-selective abortion led to a decline in child sex

ratio (number of girl children per thousand boys) in
the country to merely 919. As the map shows, this
ratio has fallen below 850 or even 800 in some places.
5. There are reports of various kinds of harassment, exploitation

and violence against women.
● Urban areas have become particularly unsafe for women.

● They are not safe even within their own home from
beating, harassment and other forms of domestic violence.
Women’s political representation
Problems Solution
More women as elected representatives Explain
Challenges
● The proportion of women in legislature has been very low.

● The percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha has touched 12
percent of its total strength for the first time in 2014.
● Their share in the state assemblies is less than 5 per cent.
● Women's participation is among the bottom group of nations in the world
when compared for participation of the women in national parliament.
● Cabinets are largely all-male even when a woman becomes the Chief
Minister or the Prime Minister.
Solution to the problem of women’s political representation
1. One way to solve this problem is to make it legally binding to have a fair
proportion of women in the elected bodies
➢ One-third of seats in local government bodies - in panchayats and
municipalities - are now reserved for women.
➢ Now there are more than 10 lakh elected women representatives in
rural and urban local bodies.
Question
● Women's organisations and activists have been demanding a similar reservation of at least
one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women.
● A bill with this proposal has been pending before the Parliament for more than a decade.
● There is no consensus over this among all the political parties. The bill has not been passed.
Gender division Shows that some form of social division needs to be

expressed in politics.
Why
This shows that disadvantaged groups do benefit when

social divisions become a political issue.
Do you think that women could have made the gains we noted above if
their unequal treatment was not raised in the political domain?
Religion, Communalism and Politics

Social division based on religion
This division is not as universal as gender, but religious

diversity is fairly widespread in the world today.
India Northern ireland
Unlike gender differences, the religious differences are often expressed in the field of politics.
Connection between religion and politics
1. Gandhiji used to say that religion can never be separated from politics.
● By religion he does not mean any particular religion like Hinduism or Islam but moral
values that inform all religions.
● He believed that politics must be guided by ethics drawn from religion.
2. Human rights groups in our country have argued that most of the victims of communal
riots in our country are people from religious minorities.
Explain
They have demanded that the government take special steps to protect religious minorities.
3. Women's movement has argued that FAMILY LAWS of

all religions discriminate against women.
How
ஃ They have demanded that government should

change these laws to make them more equitable.
Religion in Politics or Politics over Religion: Good or bad ?
● Ideas, ideals and values drawn from different religions

can and perhaps should play a role in politics.
● Those who hold political power should sometimes be
able to regulate the practice of religion so as to prevent
discrimination and oppression.
● These political acts are not wrong as long as they treat
every religion equally.
Communalism Idea of communalism
Religion As a basis of nation
People belonging to a same religion should form a nation and in the process the power
of state is used to establish domination of one religious group over the rest.
Question
Broad understanding of communalism
Communalism
● Religion is expressed in politics in

exclusive and partisan terms, when one
religion and its followers are pitted
against another.
State power is used to
● Beliefs of one religion are presented as + achieve this
superior to those of other religions.
● The demands of one religious group are
formed in opposition to another.
Communal politics
Communalism Communal politics
● The followers of a particular religion must

belong to one community.
● Their fundamental interests are the same.
Different religion
● It also follows that people who follow
different religions cannot belong to the
same social community.
Situation and understanding for different religion.
● If the followers of different religion have some commonalities

these are superficial and immaterial.
● Their interests are bound to be different and involve a conflict.
● In its extreme form communalism leads to the belief that people
belonging to different religions cannot live as equal citizens
within one nation.
● Either, one of them has to dominate the rest or they have to
form different nations.
Communalism This belief is fundamentally flawed.
● People of one religion do not have the same interests and

aspirations in every context.
● There are many voices inside every community. All these
voices have a right to be heard.
Any attempt to bring all followers of one religion together in

context other than religion is bound to suppress many voices
within that community.
Communalism can take various forms in politics?

1. The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs. How
These routinely involve religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious

communities and belief in the superiority of one's religion over other religions.
2. A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one's

own religious community.
Major Community Minority Community
Communalism takes the form of Communalism can takes the form

majoritarian dominance. of desire to form a separate
political unit.
Communalism can take various forms in politics?

3. Political mobilisation on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism.
● This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional

appeal and plain fear in order to bring the followers of one religion
together in the political arena.
● In electoral politics this often involves special appeal to the interests or
emotions of voters of one religion in preference to others.
4. Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence,

riots and massacre.
● India and Pakistan suffered some of the worst communal riots at the time of the Partition.
● The post-Independence period has also seen Large scale communal violence.
Secular state
Communalism Major challenge Solution Secularism
Secularism is reflected in several constitutional provisions of our constitution
Secularism refers to the separation of religion from the state. It means

that the state should not discriminate among its citizens on the basis
of religion. It should neither encourage nor discourage the followers
of any religion.
Constitutional provisions in the Indian secularism which makes India a secular state:
1. There is no official religion for the Indian state
● Unlike the status of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, that of Islam in Pakistan and
that of Christianity in England, our Constitution does not give a special
status to any religion.
2. The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to

profess, practice and propagate any religion, or not to follow any.
3. The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

4. At the same time, the Constitution allows the state to intervene in the
matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities.
For example, it bans untouchability
Explain
Secularism V/S Communalism
● Is not just an ideology of some ● Communalism should not be seen

parties or persons. as a threat to some people in India.
● This idea constitutes one of the ● It threatens the very idea of India.
foundations of our country.
ஃ Communalism needs to be combated

How communalism can be combated?
● A secular Constitution like ours is necessary but not

sufficient to combat communalism.
● Communal prejudices and propaganda need to be
countered in everyday life and religion based mobilisation
needs to be countered in the arena of politics.
Caste and Politics
Expression of social division in politics
Gender Positive Religion Negative
Caste Both Positive and Negative

Caste Inequalities
Unlike gender and religion, caste division is special to India. Explain
Societies Have social inequality and some form of division of labour
In most societies, Occupations are passed on from one

generation to another.
Caste system is an extreme form of this. Hereditary occupational division

Caste system as the extreme form of social division
● In Indian society, hereditary occupational division was

sanctioned by rituals.
● Members of the same caste group were supposed to form
a social community that practiced the same or similar
occupation.
● Married within the caste group.
● Did not eat with members from other caste groups.
Caste system Based on exclusion of and discrimination against the 'outcaste' groups
They were subjected to the inhuman practice of untouchability Upliftment
That is why political leaders and social reformers like Jyotiba Phule,
Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker advocated and
worked to establish a society in which caste inequalities are absent.
Factors responsible for the breaking down of caste system
● Social reformers
● Socio- economic changes
● Constitutional changes
Explain
How the castes and caste system in modern india have

undergone great changes due to socio-economic development?
● Economic development
● Large scale URBANISATION
● Growth of literacy and education
● OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY
● The weakening of the position of landlords in the villages
● The old notions of CASTE HIERARCHY are breaking down.
Constitution of India prohibited any caste-based discrimination and laid

the foundations of policies to reverse the injustices of the caste system.
Caste system in contemporary india?
Not yet disappeared
● Some of the older aspects of caste have persisted.

● Even now most people marry within their own caste or tribe.
● Untouchability has not ended completely, despite
constitutional prohibition,
Caste continues to be closely linked to economic status

Caste in Politics
Casteism Rooted in the belief that caste is the sole basis of social community.
● People belonging to the same caste belong to a natural social

community and have the same interests which they do not
share with anyone from another caste.
● Such a belief is not borne out by our experience.
● Caste is one aspect of our experience but it is not the only
relevant or the most important aspect.
Caste can take various forms in politics
1. When parties choose candidates in elections, they keep in mind the caste
composition of the electorate and nominate candidates from different
castes so as to muster necessary support to win elections.
● When governments are formed, political parties usually take care
that representatives of different castes and, tribes find a place in it.
2. Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to caste

sentiment to muster support.
● Some political parties are known to favour some castes and are
seen as their representatives.
3. Universal Adult Franchise and the principle of one-person-one-vote

compelled political leaders to gear up to the task of mobilising and
securing political support.
● It also brought new consciousness among the people of castes that

were hitherto treated as inferior and low.
Explain
Observation The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that
elections are all about caste and nothing else.
Not always
1. No parliamentary constituency in the country has a clear majority of one

single caste
● So, every candidate and party needs to win the confidence of more
than one caste and community to win elections.
2. No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community.
● When people say that a caste is a 'vote bank' of one party, it usually
means that a large proportion of the voters from that caste vote for
that party.
3. Many political parties may put up candidates from the same caste.
● Some voters have more than one candidate from their caste while many
voters have no candidate from their caste.
4. The ruling party and the sitting MP or MLA frequently lose elections in our
country.
● That could not have happened if all castes and communities were frozen
in their political preferences.
Caste in politics Conclusion
● While caste matters in electoral politics, so do many other factors.

● The voters have strong attachment to political parties which is often
stronger than their attachment to their caste or community.
● People within the same caste or community have different interests
depending on their economic condition.
● Rich and poor or men and women from the same caste often vote very
differently.
● People's assessment of the performance of the government and the
popularity rating of the leaders matter and are often decisive in elections.
Politics in Caste
How politics influences the

What caste does to politics V/S caste system and caste
identities by bringing them
into the political arena
Explain
It is not politics that gets caste ridden, it is the caste that gets politicised.
Caste gets politicised in several ways
● Each caste group tries to become bigger by incorporating within it

neighbouring castes or sub-castes which were earlier excluded from it.
● Various caste groups are required to enter into a coalition with other
castes or communities and thus enter into a dialogue and negotiation.
● New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political arena like
backward' and 'forward' caste groups.
Good or Bad
Caste plays different kinds of roles in politics.

Positive Negative
● Expression of caste differences in politics ● As in the case of religion, politics

gives many disadvantaged communities based on caste identity alone is not
the space to demand their share of power. very healthy in a democracy.
● In this sense-caste politics has helped ● It can divert attention from other
people from Dalits and OBC castes to gain pressing issues like poverty,
better access to decision making. development and corruption.
● Several political and non-political ● In some cases caste division leads
organisations have been demanding and to tensions, conflict and even
agitating for an end to discrimination violence.
against particular castes, for more dignity
and more access to land, resources and
opportunities.
Class 10th - Civics - Political Parties
Introduction -
Why do we need political parties?
Political Parties Most visible institution in a democracy.
At the same time this visibility does not mean popularity. Most
people tend to be very critical of political parties.
Question
● Do we need political parties at all?

● Why did political parties become so omnipresent in democracies
all over the world?
Introduction -
What we are going to study in this chapter?
● Meaning and functions of political parties

● Necessity of political parties
● How many parties should we have?
● National parties
➢ All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M),
Indian National Congress (INC) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
● State Parties
● Challenges to political parties
● How can parties be reformed?
Meaning and Functions -

“A political party is a group of people who come together
to contest elections and hold power in the government.”
Parties Persuade people By winning popular support through elections.
∴ parties reflect fundamental political divisions in a society.
Parties are about a part of the society and thus involve PARTISANSHIP.

A political party has three components:
● The leaders
● The active members
● The followers

Political parties Fill political offices Exercise political power
How?
➔ Parties do so by performing a series of functions:
1. Parties contest elections.
● Candidate contest elections on behalf of party.

● Parties select their candidates in different ways.

2. Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.
Democracy Different views on development, policies and opinions.
● A party reduces a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic positions which it supports.
➔ A government is expected to base its policies on the line taken by the RULING PARTY.

3. Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
Legislature Members Political parties
∴ They go by the direction of the party leadership, irrespective of their personal opinions.
4. Parties form and run governments.
How?
Parties recruit leaders, train them and then make them ministers to run the government
in the way they want.

5. Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power.
How?
● By voicing different views and criticising government for its failures or wrong policies.
● Opposition parties also mobilise opposition to the government.

6. Parties shape public opinion.
● They raise and highlight issues.

● Parties have lakhs of members and activists spread all over the country.
● Many of the pressure groups are the extensions of political parties among
different sections of society.
● Parties sometimes also launch movements for the resolution of problems
faced by people.
● Often opinions in the society crystallise on the lines parties take.

7. Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented
by governments.
For an ordinary citizen it is easy to approach a local

How?
party leader than a government officer.
Conclusion
● Parties have to be responsive to people’s needs and demands.

● Otherwise people can reject those parties in the next elections.
Necessity -
Because parties perform all those functions discussed before.
Question
Why modern democracies cannot exist without political parties?
Imagine a situation without political parties
● Every candidate in the elections will be independent.

● So no one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes.
● The government may be formed, but its utility will remain ever uncertain.
● Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency.
● But no one will be responsible for how the country will be run.
Necessity -
➔ The non-party based elections to the panchayat.
● Although, the parties do not contest formally, it is generally noticed that the village gets
split into more than one faction.
● Each of which puts up a ‘panel’ of its candidates.
This is exactly what the party does.

Necessity -
The rise of political parties is directly linked to the
Explain
emergence of representative democracies.
As society became large and complex There is need of an agency which can
perform certain function.
● Gather different views on various issues and to

present these to the government.
Political parties fulfill these ● Bring various representatives together so that a
needs that every representative
responsible government could be formed.
government has.
● A mechanism to support or restrain the government,
make policies, justify or oppose them.
∴ We can say that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

How many Parties should we have?

Situation in the country
Types of party system -
One party system Two party system
● Only one party is allowed to ● Power usually changes between two main
control and run the government. parties.
● In China, only the Communist Party ● Several other parties may exist, contest
is allowed to rule. elections and win a few seats in the national
legislatures.
● This is not a democratic option.
● The United States of America and the United
Kingdom are examples of two-party system.
Why?
How many Parties should we have?
Question Which of these is better?
Perhaps the best answer to this very common question is that this is not a very good question.
Explain
● Party system evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of society, its social and
regional divisions, its history of politics and its system of elections.
● Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances.
● For example, if India has evolved a multiparty system, it is because the social and
geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily absorbed by two or even three
parties.
∴ No system is ideal for all countries and all situations.
National Parties -
Countrywide parties, have their units in various states.
National Parties But by and large, all these units follow the same
policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the
national level.
➔ Every party in the country has to register with the Election Commission.
While the Commission treats all parties equally, it offers some special facilities to large and
established parties.
Explain
● These parties are given a unique symbol.

Recognised political
● Parties that get this privilege and some other special facilities
party
are ‘recognised’ by the Election Commission for this purpose.
National Parties -
➔ The Election Commission has laid down detailed criteria of the proportion of votes and
seats that a party must get in order to be a recognised party.
● A party that secures at least six per cent

of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections
or Assembly elections in four States.
● Wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha
is recognised as a national party.
National Parties -
➔ According to this classification, there were seven recognised national
parties in the country in 2019.
All India Trinamool Bahujan Samaj Party Bharatiya Janata Party Communist Party of
Congress (AITC) (BSP) (BJP) India (CPI)
Communist Party of Indian National Nationalist Congress

India - Marxist (CPIM) Congress (INC) Party (NCP)
National Parties -
All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)
● Launched on 1 January 1998 under the leadership of Mamata

Banerjee.
● Recognised as a national party in 2016.
● The party’s symbol is flowers and grass.
● Committed to secularism and federalism. Has been in power in
West Bengal since 2011.
● Also has a presence in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura.
● In the General Elections held in 2019, it got 4.07 per cent votes
and won 22 seats, making it the fourth largest party in the Lok
Sabha.
National Parties -
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
● Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.

● Seeks to represent and secure power for the bahujan
samaj which includes the dalits, adivasis, OBCs and
religious minorities.
● Draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of
Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami
Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar.
National Parties -
● Stands for the cause of securing the interests and
welfare of the dalits and oppressed people. It has
its main base in the state of Uttar Pradesh and
substantial presence in neighbouring states like
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Delhi
and Punjab.
● Formed government in Uttar Pradesh several times
by taking the support of different parties at
different times.
● In the Lok Sabha elections held in 2019, it polled
about 3.63 per cent votes and secured 10 seats in
the Lok Sabha.
National Parties -
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
● Founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile

Bharatiya Jana Sangh, formed by Syama Prasad
Mukherjee in 1951.
● Wants to build a strong and modern India by
drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and
values; and Deendayal Upadhyay's ideas of integral
humanism and Antyodaya.
● Cultural nationalism (or ‘Hindutva’) is an important
element in its conception of Indian nationhood and
politics.
National Parties -
Objectives
● Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India, a uniform
civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion, and ban on religious
conversions.
● Its support base increased substantially in the 1990s.
● Earlier limited to north and west and to urban areas, the party expanded its support in the
south, east, the north-east and to rural areas.
● Came to power in 1998 as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) including
several regional parties.
● Emerged as the largest party with 303 members in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
● Currently leads the ruling NDA government at the Centre.
National Parties -
National Parties -
Communist Party of India (CPI)
● Formed in 1925.
● Believes in Marxism-Leninism, secularism and
democracy.
● Opposed to the forces of secessionism and
communalism.
● Accepts parliamentary democracy as a means
of promoting the interests of the working class,
farmers and the poor.
National Parties -
● Became weak after the split in the party in 1964 that led to the formation of the CPI(M).
● Significant presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu.
● Its support base had gradually declined over the years.
● It secured less than 1 per cent votes and 2 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
● Advocates the coming together of all left parties to build a strong left front.
National Parties -
Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M)
● Founded in 1964.
● Believes in Marxism-Leninism.
● Supports socialism, secularism and democracy
and opposes imperialism and communalism.
● Accepts democratic elections as a useful and
helpful means for securing the objective of
socio-economic justice in India.
National Parties -
● Enjoys strong support in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura,
especially among the poor, factory workers, farmers ,
agricultural labourers and the intelligentsia.
● Critical of the new economic policies that allow free flow
of foreign capital and goods into the country.
● Was in power in West Bengal without a break for 34
years.
● In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it won about 1.75 per
cent of votes and 3 seats.
Jyoti Basu
National Parties -
Indian National Congress (INC)
● Popularly known as the Congress Party.

● One of the oldest parties of the world. Founded in 1885
and has experienced many splits.
● Played a dominant role in Indian politics at the national
and state level for several decades after India’s
Independence.
● Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the party
sought to build a modern secular democratic republic in
India.
National Parties -
● Ruling party at the centre till 1977 and then from 1980 to 1989.
● After 1989, its support declined, but it continues to be present throughout the country,
cutting across social divisions.
● A centrist party (neither rightist nor leftist) in its ideological orientation, the party espouses
secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities.
● The INC supports new economic reforms but with a human face . Leader of the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2004 to 2019.
● In the 2019 Lok Sabha election it won 19.5% votes and 52 seats.
National Parties -
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
● Formed in 1999 following a split in the Congress party.

● Espouses democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social
justice and federalism.
● Wants that high offices in government be confined to
natural born citizens of the country.
● A major party in Maharashtra and has a significant
presence in Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam.
● A coalition partner in the state of Maharashtra in alliance
with the Congress.
● Since 2004, a member of the United Progressive Alliance.
● In 2019 Lok Sabha election it won 1.4% votes and 5 seats.
State Parties -
Parties other than the national parties are classified as
State parties
state parties. Also known as ‘Regional parties’.
● These parties need not be regional in their ideology or outlook, and play very important
role in national politics.
● The national parties are compelled to form alliances with State parties.
● Made the Parliament of India politically more and more diverse.
● Contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy in our country.
State Parties -
➔ The proportion of votes and seats, a party
must get to be reorganised as state party.
● A party that secures at least six per cent

of the total votes in an election to the
Legislative Assembly of a State.
● Wins at least two seats is recognised as a
State party.
Challenges to Political Parties -
Political Parties Most visible face of democracy
∴ It is natural that people blame parties for whatever is wrong with the working of democracy.
➔ Popular dissatisfaction and criticism has focussed on four problem areas in the working of
political parties.
1. Lack of internal democracy

2. Challenge of dynastic succession
3. Growing role of money and muscle power
4. Parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters

1. Lack of internal democracy
Tendency in political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few

leaders at the top.
Impact
● Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what

happens inside the party.
● The leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.
● Those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party.
More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal

loyalty to the leader becomes more important.

2. Challenge of dynastic succession
Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning.
● Less chances for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party.

● The top positions are always controlled by members of one family.
Impact
● This is unfair to other members of that party.

● This is also bad for democracy.
People who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.

3. Growing role of money and muscle power
Election Focus is on winning Shortcuts are used to win
Explain
● Political parties tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise
lots of money.
● Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have
influence on the policies and decisions of the party.
● Parties support criminals who can win elections.

4. Parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters
● In order to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different.
Explain
● There has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of the world.
Example -
➔ The difference between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party in Britain is very little.
➔ In our country too, the differences among all the major parties on the economic policies have
reduced.
● Sometimes people cannot even elect very different leaders either, because the same set of
leaders keep shifting from one party to another.
How can Parties be Reformed?

Challenges Reform is required to overcome such challenges.
Reform vs Willingness to reform
Some of the recent efforts and suggestions in our country to reform political parties and its leaders.
1. The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties.
To prevent defection Anti defection law
Now the law says that if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the legislature.
+ This new law has helped bring defection down.

Anti defection law
- This has made any dissent even more difficult.

2. Now, it is mandatory for every candidate who contests
elections to file an AFFIDAVIT giving details of his
property and criminal cases pending against him.
Explain
● The new system has made a lot of information available

to the public.
● But there is no system of check if the information given
by the candidates is true.

3. The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary
for political parties to hold their organisational elections and
file their income tax returns.
Advantage
● The parties have started doing so but sometimes it is mere

formality.
● It is not clear if this step has led to greater internal democracy
in political parties.

➔ Besides these, many suggestions are often made to reform political parties:
1. A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.
● It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its members.
● To follow its own constitution.
● To have an independent authority.
● To act as a judge in case of party disputes, to hold open elections to the highest posts.
2. It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets,
about one-third, to women candidates.
Similarly, there should be a quota for women in the decision making bodies of the party.
3. There should be state funding of elections.


Suggestions Not yet been accepted by political parties Should be accepted
But we must be very careful about legal solutions to political problems. Explain
● Over-regulation of political parties can be counterproductive.

● This would force all parties to find ways to cheat the law.
● Besides, political parties will not agree to pass a law that they do not like.

➔ There are two other ways in which political parties can be reformed.
Public pressure Public participation
People can put pressure on political parties, ● Political parties can improve if those
through petitions, publicity and agitations. who want this join political parties.
● It is difficult to reform politics if ordinary
citizens do not take part in it and simply
Impact
criticise it from the outside.
● The problem of bad politics can be
If political parties feel that they would lose solved by more and better politics.
public support by not taking up reforms, they
would become more serious about reforms.
Class 10th - Civics - Outcomes of Democracy
How do we Assess Democracy’s Outcomes?

Democracy Better form of government when compared with other alternatives.
Why?
● Promotes equality amongst citizens.

● Enhance the dignity of the individual.
● Improves the quality of decision making.
● Provides a method to resolve conflicts.
● Allows room to correct mistakes.

Expectations V/S Reality
Are these expectations realised under democracies?
Most of them support democracy against But not so many of them would
other alternatives, such as rule by a monarch be satisfied with the democracy
or military or religious leaders. in practice.
Democracy is seen to be good in principle, but felt to

be not so good in its practice.

Is it accepted only because of moral reasons or are there any
Democracies
prudential reasons also.
Democracies Many democracies How?
Democracies are very much different from each other in term of their social
situations, their economic achievements and their cultures.
But is there something that we can expect from every

Question
democracy, just because it is democracy?

We = Democracy = Our expectations
● Democracy can address all socio-economic and political problem.

● If some of our expectations are not met, we start blaming the idea Wrong
of democracy.
● We start doubting is we are living in a democracy.
Democracy Just a form of government
It can only create conditions for achieving something.
The citizens have to take advantage of those conditions and achieve those goals.
Accountable, Responsive and Legitimate Government -

Democracy and our expectations
● People will have the right to choose their ruler.

● Citizens should be able to participate in decision making.
The most basic outcome of democracy should be that it produces a government

that is accountable to the citizens and response to the needs and expectations of
the citizens and this makes up a legitimate government.

Is the democratic government efficient and effective.
Decision making
Democratic V/S Non-democratic

∴ It is right to expect
● Democracy is based on the idea of deliberation and democracy to produce a
negotiation. government that follows
● The democratic government will take more time to follow procedures and is
procedures before arriving at a decision.
accountable to the people.
● But because it has followed procedures, its decisions may
be both more effective.
● Transparency

If you wanted to measure democracies on the basis of this expected outcome, you would look for
the following practices and institutions:
● Regular free and fair elections.

● Open public debate on major policies and legislations.
● Citizens’ right to information about the government and its functioning.
Expectations V/S Reality
● Most democracies fall short of elections that provide a fair chance to

everyone and in subjecting every decision to public debate.
● Democratic government do not have a very good record when it
comes to sharing information to citizens.
All one can say in favour of democratic regimes is that they are much better than any
non-democratic regime in this report.

Democracy Produces responsive form of government.
It maybe a reasonable to expect from democracy a government that is attentive to the

needs and demands of the people and is largely free of corruption.
Democratic V/S Non-democratic


➔ Democratic government is certainly better than its alternatives in one aspect:
Explain Legitimate Government
● It maybe slow, less effective, not always very responsive or clean. But a democratic
government is people’s own government.
● People wish to be ruled by representatives elected by them.
● Democracy’s ability to generate its own support is itself an outcome that cannot be
ignored.
Economic Growth and Development -

Democracy = Good government, then it would produce development also.
Evidence shows that in practice many democracies did not fulfil this expectation. Explain
Democracies V/S Dictatorship
● Between 1950 and 2000, dictatorship have slightly higher rate of economic growth.
● But this alone cannot be reason to reject democracy.
● Economic development depends on several factors: country’s population size, global
situation, cooperation from other countries, economic priorities adopted by the
countries, etc.
Economic Growth and Development -

Democracy : Development is not guaranteed, but it can compete with dictatorship over
economic growth.
When we find such significant difference in the rates of economic growth

between countries under dictatorship and democracy, it is better to prefer
democracy as it has several other positive outcomes.
Reduction of Inequality and Poverty -

Democracy Outcome we expect from it.
Perhaps more than development, it is reasonable to

expect democracies to reduce economic disparities.
Question
● Will wealth be distributed in such a way that all citizens of the country will have a
share and lead a better life?
● Is economic growth in democracies accompanied by increased inequalities among the
people?
● Do democracies lead to a just distribution of goods and opportunities?

➔ Democracies are based on political equality.
But at the same time we find growing economic inequalities.
Explain
● Economic disparity between rich and poor.

● A small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of
wealth and incomes.
● Share of rich in the total income of the country has been increasing.
● Those at the bottom of the society have very little to depend upon.
● Sometimes poor find it difficult to meet their basic needs of life, such
as food, clothing, house, education and health.

➔ Democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.
Democracy Constitute a large proportion of our voters.
● No party will like to lose their votes.

● Yet democratically elected governments do not appear to be as keen to
address the question of poverty.
● The situation is much worse in some other countries.
Accommodation of Social Diversity -

Democracy Our expectation from it towards a harmonious social life.
● Connect with previous topic.

● It should accommodate social diversity.
● This reduces the possibility of these tensions becoming explosive or violent.

Society Have different groups Conflicts
● No society can fully and permanently resolve conflicts among different groups.
● But we can certainly learn to respect these differences and we can also evolve mechanisms
to negotiate the differences.
Democracy is best suited to produce this outcome. Non-democratic regime
∴ Ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts is thus

a definite plus point of democratic regimes.

Question Why the situation was not same in Sri Lanka?
➔ Democracy must fulfil two conditions in order to achieve this outcome:

1. Democracy Not simply rule by majority opinion.
The majority always needs to work with the minority so that governments function to
represent the general view.
2. Rule by majority does not become rule by majority community in terms of religion or race
or linguistic group, etc.
Different persons and groups may and can form a majority, democracy remains democracy
only as long as every citizen has a chance of being in majority at some point of time.
Dignity and Freedom of the Citizens -

Democracy Our expectation from it in regards to the dignity of an individual.
Democracy stands much superior to any other form of

Outcome
government in promoting dignity and freedom of the individual.
➔ But it is difficult to achieve this in a society which have been built for long on the basis of
subordination and domination.
Example - Dignity of women in a male dominated societies.

- Caste based division.

How dignity of women in a male dominated society can be ensured?
But once the principle is recognised, it becomes easier for

Not-Guaranteed women to wage a struggle against what is now unacceptable
legally and morally.
➔ Example of caste inequalities in India.
Democracy in India has strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated
castes for equal status and equal opportunity.
It is the recognition that makes ordinary citizens value their democratic rights.

➔ Most distinctive thing about democracy is that its examination never gets over.
Explain
● As people get some benefits of democracy, they ask for more and want to make democracy
even better.
● People will always come up with more expectations and many complaints in a democracy.
● The fact that people are complaining is itself a testimony to the success of democracy.
It shows that people have developed awareness and the ability to expect and to look
critically at power holders and the high and the mighty.
Use code - DIGRAJ
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Class - X

● Fill the form given below before taking admission at

Belgium and Sri Lanka

Ethnic composition of Belgium

● 59 per cent lives in the Flemish region

● Another 40 per cent people live in the

● Remaining one per cent of the Belgians

● In the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent

Reasons for Tension

● The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful.

● Brussels presented a special problem: the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in

Ethnic composition of Sri Lanka

● Sri Lanka has a diverse population.

● The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per

Among Tamils there are two subgroups.

● Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’

● The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation

Analyse the situation

Possibility of majority dominance and conflicts.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

● Sri Lanka got independence in 1948.

Sought to secure dominance over

A belief that the majority community should be able to

Steps taken to establish Sinhala supremacy are -

Impact of Steps taken to establish Sinhala supremacy

Reaction of Sri Lankan Tamils

● The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for

Belgium Differences Diversity Conflicts

● The Belgian leaders took a different path.

Some of the elements of the Belgian model of Accommodation are:

Thus, no single community can make decisions unilaterally.

Some of the elements of the Belgian model of Accommodation are:

‘Community government’ is elected by people belonging to one language community - Dutch,

Belgian model is very complicated.

● But these arrangements have worked well so far.

● They helped to avoid civic strife between the two

● When many countries of Europe came together to

Conclusion European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium

Why Power Sharing is Desirable?

Prudential reasons for power sharing

It is prudential to share power because it helps to reduce the possibility of

Moral reasons for power sharing

● Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.

● People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.

● A legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire

Forms of Power Sharing

Power sharing and idea associated with it.

All power of a government must Emergence of democracy

● People are the source of all political

In modern democracies, power sharing arrangements can take many forms.

1. Power is shared among different organs of government.

Horizontal distribution of power.

● Such a separation ensures that none of the organs can

System of checks and balances

2. Power can be shared among government at different levels.

Vertical form of power sharing

Federal division of power

3. Power may also be shared among different social groups.