CBSE : Grade 10 2023-24 Board: CBSE

Class - X
FEDERALISM
Submitted By : Baishnab Padhee

WHAT IS FEDERALISM?

Federalism is a system of government- in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent
units of the country.

Key Features of Federalism -

 There are 2 or more levels (tiers) of government.

 Different tiers of government govern the same citizens but each but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific
matters of legislation, taxation and administration-authority of each tier of government is constitutionally
guaranteed.

 The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government.

 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.

 Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy

 The federal system thus has dual objectives to safeguard and promote unity of the country, while at the same
time accommodate regional diversity.

Kinds of Federations -

 ‘Coming together’ Federations: The independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit.

 ‘Holding together’ Federations: A large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and
the national government.

WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY?

 Constitution originally provided for a two-tier system of government 

1. Central Government → the Union of India

2. The State governments

 Later, the third tier of federalism was added in the form of Panchayats and Municipalities.

 The Constitution divides powers between the Union Government and the State Governments within three lists:

 Union List subjects of national importance.

 State List  subjects of State and local importance.

 Concurrent List  subjects of common interest to both the Union Government as well as the State
Governments, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession.

 Residuary subjects which are not mentioned in any of the three lists or any other matter that arise with
passage of time Union Parliament has power to legislate on matters related to residuary list.
Features of Indian Federation -

 All states of India do not have equal powers.

 The Parliament cannot on its own change power sharing. These changes need the approval of both the Houses of
Parliament with at least two-thirds majority.

 The judiciary oversee the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures.

HOW IS FEDERALISM PRACTISED?

Linguistic states -

1947 the boundaries of several old States of India were changed in order to create new States:

 On the basis of language

 On the basis of culture

Language policy -
 Our Constitution has not made any language the national language of India.
 Hindi  was identified as the official language.
 Besides Hindi there are 21 other languages recognised as scheduled languages by the Constitution.
 States too have their own official languages.
 English along with Hindi used for official purposes.

Centre-State relations -

 The sharing of powers between Centre and States  has also strengthened federalism in India.

 After 1990 many regional political parties rise in many States of the country which started an era of ‘coalition
governments’ at the Centre which make it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state governments in
non-democratic manner.

DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA

 When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local governmentit is called
decentralisation.

 Before 1992, the local bodies were directly under the state governments.

 Regular elections were not held.

 The local bodies did not have any resources or powers of their own.

 After 1992, the Constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effective. The
steps taken are-

 Mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.

 Seats are reserved 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.

 The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.
Rural Local Government -
 Popularly known as Panchayati raj

 Gram Panchayat It is the decision-making body for the entire village.

 Panchayat Samiti A few gram Panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a Panchayat
samiti or Block or Mandal.

 Zilla Parishad All the Panchayat samitis or Mandals in a district together form the Zilla parishad.

Urban Local Government -

 In larger urban areas Municipal Corporations

 In smaller urban areas Municipal Council

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 CBSE : Grade 10 2023-24 Board: CBSE
Class - X
POWER-SHARING
Submitted By : Baishnab Padhee

BELGIUM -

 A small country in Europe  smaller in area than the state of Haryana.

 Borders with France, Netherlands, Germany & Luxembourg
 Population of little over one crore  about half the population of Haryana
 Complex Ethnic Composition 
 59 % in the Flemish region speaks Dutch;
 40 % in the Wallonia region speak French &
 Remaining 1 % speaks German.
 Capital city Brussels 80 per cent French & 20 per cent Dutch speaking
 Minority French-speaking community  relatively rich and powerful led to tensions b/w Dutch and French during
the 1950s and 1960
 Dutch-speaking people majority in the country, but a minority in the capital More acute tension between the
two communities

Accommodation in Belgium -

 Between 1970 and 1993 they amended constitution 4 times so that everyone could live together within the same
country.

Some Elements of The Belgian Model 

 Number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government.
 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
 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.
 Community government is elected by people belonging to one language communityDutch, French & German-
speakingit had power regarding cultural, educational & language related issues
 They avoided civil strife between two communities and possible division on linguistic lines.
 When EU was formed, Brussels was chosen as headquarters
 Leaders realized that unity is possible only by respecting feelings and interests of others

SRI LANKA -
 An island nation, just a few kilometres off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.
 Population about two crore, same as in Haryana
 The Major Social Groups 
 74 percent  the Sinhala-speakers
 18 percent  Tamil-speakers (Hindus or Muslims)
 7 percent  Christians
 2 Subgroups of Tamils 
 Tamil natives of the country called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 per cent).
 The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during colonial period, are called ‘Indian
Tamils’.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka -

 Independence in 1948
 Sinhala community  secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority the democratically elected
government adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy
 1956 - Sinhalese as official language
 Preferential policies favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs
 Protected Buddhism
 Increased feeling of alienation amongst Srilankan Tamils felt that constitution denied equal political rights;
discrimination in jobs and ignored interests
 Srilankan Tamils wanted Tamil as an official language for regional autonomy, equality of opportunity in securing
education and jobs
 In 1980s demand for separate Tamil Eelam (State)---led to Civil war  Killing communities and forcing people as
refugees  it caused setback to economic, health and social life  The civil war ended in 2009.

Why power sharing is desirable?

 First  Prudential reasons  stress that power sharing will bring out better outcomes
 It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups
 Good way to ensure the stability of political order

 Second  Moral reasons emphasise the very act of power sharing as valuable
 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 a stake in the system

Forms of Power Sharing -

 Horizontal distribution of power 

Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary ensure
that none of the organs can exercise unlimited power. Each organ checks the others. This results in a balance of
power  Checks & Balances

 Federal Government  Vertical distribution of power

 Power can be shared among governments at different levels – a general government for the entire country and
governments at the provincial or regional level.
 In India--- Central or Union Government & State Governments
 Community government  Power sharing among social groups
 Power may also be shared among different social groups such as the religious and linguistic groups.
 ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a good example of this arrangement.
 Power Sharing Among Different - Political Parties - Pressure groups - Movement Groups 
 Represent different ideologies and social groups
 Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups and movements
control or influence those in power.
 Two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections If their alliance is elected  they form a coalition
government.
 Pressure groups 
 Organisations that attempt to influence government policies.
 Do not aim to directly control or share political power.
 These organisations are formed when people with common occupation, interest, aspirations or opinions come
together in order to achieve a common objective.
Example: BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Community Employees Federation) is a Pressure group
 Movement Groups  Groups that aim to achieve a specific goal in a short period of time or a wide goal over a
long period of time.

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 Class 10th

POLITICAL SCIENCE
CHAPTER-3
GENDER, RELIGION AND CASTE
GENDER AND POLITICS
Gender Division
• A form of hierarchical social division seen everywhere, but is rarely recognised in the study of politics. The gender
division tends to be understood as natural and unchangeable.
• This belief is not based on biology but on social and expectations and stereotypes.

Public/private division
• Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is housework and bringing up
children.
• 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.
• Although women constitute half of the humanity, their role in public life, especially politics, is minimal in most
societies.
• Earlier, only men were allowed to participate in public affairs, vote and contest for public offices. Gradually the
gender issue was raised in politics.
• Women in different parts of the world organised and agitated for equal right
• There were agitations demanded enhancing the political and legal status of women and improving their
educational and career opportunities.
• More radical women’s movements aimed at equality in personal and family life as well ⎯→ These movements
are called feminist movements.
• Political expression of gender division and political mobilisation ⎯→ helped to improve women’s role in public
life.
• In some parts of the world, for example in Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden, Norway and Finland ⎯→ the
participation of women in public life is very high.
• In our country, women still lag much behind men despite some improvement since Independence. Ours is still a
male-dominated → patriarchal society.
• The literacy rate among women is only 54 per cent compared with 76 per cent among men.
• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides that equal wages should be paid to equal work.
• In many parts of India, parents prefer to have sons and find ways 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. ratio has fallen below 850 or even 800 in some States.
• There are reports of various kinds of harassment, exploitation and violence against women. Urban areas have
become particularly unsafe for women.

WOMEN’S POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

Women’s Oppression in various ways
→ Literacy Rate: The literacy rate among women is only 65.46% compared with 82.14% among men.

→ Jobs: There is very low percentage of women in the high paid and high value jobs as just a few girls are
encouraged to take up higher education.

→ Wages: Despite the Equal Wages Act, women in all areas are paid lesser than men, be it sports, cinema,
agriculture or construction works.

→ Sex Ratio: Most parents prefer boy children to girl children. Female infanticide and feticide are common in our
country. This has resulted in unfavourable sex ratio.

→ Social Evil: Society in general and urban centres in particular, is not safe for women. Dowry harassment,
physical abuse, sexual harassment are routine tales.
[1]
Women’s political representation
• Political representation of women in India is very low.
• For example, the percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha has touched 14.36 per cent of its total
strength for the first time in 2019.
• Their share in the state assemblies is less than 5 per cent.
• India is behind the averages for several developing countries of Africa and Latin America.
• One way to solve this problem ⎯→ 1/3rd 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

RELIGION, COMMUNALISM AND POLITICS

Religious Differences in Politics
• Gandhiji said ⎯→ Religion can never be separated from politics. Religion was not any particular religion like
Hinduism or Islam but moral values. He believed that politics must be guided by ethics drawn from religion.
• Human rights groups in our country have argued that most of the victims of communal riots in our country are
people from religious minorities. They have demanded that the government take special steps to protect religious
minorities.
• Women’s movement has argued that family laws of all religions discriminate against women. So they have
demanded that government should change these laws to make them more equitable

Communalism
• Extreme and partisan attachment to one’s own religion is called Communalism.
• Communal politics is based on the idea that religion is the principal basis of social community.
• Communalism involves thinking ⎯→ The followers of a particular religion must belong to one community.

Communalism can take various forms in politics:

• The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs ⎯→These involve religious prejudices,
stereotypes of religious communities and belief in the superiority of one’s religion over other religions.
• A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one’s own religious community.
• 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.
• 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

[2]
Secular state
The makers of our Constitution chose the model of a secular state. This choice was reflected in several constitutional
provisions:
o 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.
o The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to profess, practice and propagate any
religion, or not to follow any.
o The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.
o 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.

CASTE AND POLITICS

Caste Inequalities
• Caste division is special to India. All societies have some kind of social inequality and some form of division of
labour.
• In most societies, occupations are passed on from one generation to another.
• 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 and did not eat with members from other caste groups.
• Caste system was based on exclusion of and discrimination against the ‘outcaste’ groups.
• Due to efforts of political leaders and social reformers like Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar
Ramaswami Naicker and partly due to other socio-economic changes ⎯→ castes and caste system in modern India
have undergone great changes.
• With economic development, large scale urbanisation, growth of literacy and education, occupational mobility and
the weakening of the position of landlords in the villages, the old notions of caste hierarchy are breaking down.

Caste in politics
• Casteism is rooted in the belief that caste is the sole basis of social community.
• Caste can take various forms in politics:
o 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.
o Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to caste sentiment to muster support.
o 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.
The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about caste and nothing else.
That is far from true. Just consider these:
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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

[3]
Politics in caste
It is not politics that gets caste-ridden; it is the caste that gets politicised. This takes several forms:
o Each caste group tries to become bigger by incorporating within it neighbouring castes or sub-castes which were
earlier excluded from it.
o Various caste groups are required to enter into a coalition with other castes or communities and thus enter into a
dialogue and negotiation.
o New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political arena like ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ caste groups.

Positives
Thus, caste plays different kinds of roles in politics. In some situations, expression of caste differences in politics
gives many disadvantaged communities the space to demand their share of power. In this sense, caste politics has
helped people from Dalits and OBC castes to gain better access to decision making.

Negatives
At the same time, exclusive attention to caste can produce negative results as well. As in the case of religion, politics
based on caste identity alone is not very healthy in a democracy. It can divert attention from other pressing issues
like poverty, development and corruption. In some cases, caste division leads to tensions, conflict and even violence

[4]
 Class 10th

POLITICAL SCIENCE
CHAPTER-04
POLITICAL PARTIES
WHY DO WE NEED POLITICAL PARTIES?
• Political parties are easily one of the most visible institutions in a democracy. For most ordinary citizens → democracy
is equal to political parties.

Meaning of Political Parties

• A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.
• They agree on some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good.
• They agree on some policies and programs for the society with a view to promoting the collective good.
• PARTISANSHIP:- Parties reflect fundamental political divisions in a society. Parties are a part of the society and thus
involve partisanship. Thus, a party is known by which part it stands for, which policies it supports and whose interests
it upholds.
• A political party has three components: The leaders, The active members and The followers

Functions
• Parties contest elections. In India, top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections.
• Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.
• Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country who debate and get the bills passed through the legislature
to make the laws.
• Parties form and run governments. Parties recruit leaders, train them and then make them ministers to run the
government in the way they want.
• Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power, by voicing different views
and criticising government for its failures or wrong policies.
• Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues.
• Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments

Necessity
• They help in representing different views on various issues to the government.
• They bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed.
• They work as a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them.
• Political parties fulfil the needs that every representative government has.

HOW MANY PARTIES SHOULD WE HAVE?

• In a democracy, any group of citizens is free to form the political party.
• More than 750 parties are registered with the Election Commission of India.
• In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one-party system. e.g.
– China
• We cannot consider one party system as a good option because this is not a democratic option.
• In some countries:- Power usually changes between the two main parties. Such a party system is called a two-
party system. e.g.: The USA and the UK.
• When more than two parties are allowed to come in power on their strength or in an alliance with other parties, it is
called The Multi-Party System. Ex- India.
• When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it
is called an alliance or a front. e.g-, in India, 3 major alliances in 2004 parliamentary elections– the National Democratic
Alliance, the United Progressive Alliance and the Left Front.
• No system is ideal for all countries and all situations. Therefore, a Party System has to be chosen as per own needs and
circumstances.

[1]
NATIONAL PARTIES
• A party that secures at least 6 per cent of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly Elections in four States
and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha, is recognised as a ‘National party’.
• According to this classification, there were seven recognised national parties in the country in 2019

1. All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)

o Launched on 1 January 1998 under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. Received recognition as a national party in
2016.
o The party’s symbol is flowers and grass. Committed to secularism and federalism.
o Has been in power in West Bengal since 2011 and has a presence in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura.
o 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.

2. 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.
• Stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the Dalits and oppressed people.
• Main Base in Uttar Pradesh’s state and substantial presence in neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Uttarakhand, Delhi and Punjab.

3. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

• Founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, formed by Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951.
• Follow the footsteps of Deendayal Upadhyaya and his ideas of integral humanism and Antyodaya.
• Cultural nationalism (or ‘Hindutva’) is an important element in its conception of Indian nationhood and politics.
• 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 National Democratic Alliance (NDA) including several regional parties.
• Came as the largest Party with 303 members in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
• Currently acting as the ruling Party, i.e., NDA government at the Centre.

4. Communist Party of India (CPI)

• Formed in 1925. Believes in Marxism-Leninism, secularism and democracy.
• They are opposing the forces of secessionism and communalism.
• Accepts parliamentary democracy as a means of promoting the interests of the working class, farmers and the poor.
• 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.

5. 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.
• Enjoys strong support in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, especially Among the poor, factory workers, farmers,
Agricultural labourers and the intelligentsia.
• The party 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

[2]
6. 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.
• Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the party sought to build a modern secular democratic republic in India.
• The 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.
• A centrist Party (neither rightist nor leftist) the party’s main idea is to promote secularism and welfare of weaker sections
and minorities.
• 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.

7. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

• Formed in 1999 following a split in the Congress party.
• Supports democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice and federalism.
• 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
• The Election Commission has classified some of the major parties of the country as “State parties”.
• Over the last three decades, the Number and strength of these parties has Expanded.
• Since 1996, nearly every one Of the State parties has got an Opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level
coalition government.

Challenges to Political Parties

• Lack of internal democracy within parties:- Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational
meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly.
• Dynastic succession:- most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning, in
many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family.
• Growing role of money and muscle power in parties, especially during elections. Since parties are focused only on
winning elections, they tend to use short-cuts to win elections. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win
elections.
• People do not find parties to be a meaningful choice for their votes. Sometimes people cannot even elect very different
leaders either, because the same set of leaders keep shifting from one party to another.

CHALLENGES TO POLITICAL PARTIES

1. The first challenge is lack of internal democracy within parties. All over the world there is a tendency in political parties
towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. Parties do not keep membership registers, do not
hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly
2. The second challenge of dynastic succession is related to the first one. Since most political parties do not practice open
and transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a
party. Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair advantage to favour people close to them or even
their family members.
3. The third challenge is about the growing role of money and muscle power in parties, especially during elections.
4. The fourth challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. In order to offer
meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different. In recent years, there has been a decline in the ideological
differences among parties in most parts of the world. For example, the difference between the Labour Party and the
Conservative Party in Britain is very little. They agree on more fundamental aspects but differ only in details on how
policies are to be framed and implemented.

[3]
HOW CAN PARTIES BE REFORMED?
• In a democracy final decision is made by political leaders who represent their Political Parties. People can replace them
only using elections with another set of political leaders.
• The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. This was done because many
elected representatives were indulging in Defection
• Defection: Changing Party allegiance from The party on which a Person got elected (to a Legislative body) to a
Different party
• The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals. It is mandatory for every candidate
who contests elections to file an Affidavit giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him.
• The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections
and file their income tax returns.

Other suggestions to reform political parties

• A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties, Open Elections to higher Posts in Political
Parties.
• It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third, to women
candidates.
• There should be state funding of elections. The government should give parties money to support their election expenses
like paper, petrol, vehicles, telephone, etc.

There are also two other ways to reform such political parties:
• People can put pressure on political parties by way of filing petitions, publicity and agitations.
• Political parties can improve if the quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation. It is difficult to
reform politics if ordinary citizens do not take part in it

[4]
 Class 10th

POLITICAL SCIENCE
CHAPTER-5
OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY
HOW DO WE ACCESS DEMOCRACY’S OUTCOMES?
Democracy− is considered a better form of government when compared with dictatorship or any other alternate form of
government because:
o Promotes equality amongst citizens.
o Enhances the dignity of the individual.
o Improves the quality of decision making.
o Provides a method to resolve conflicts.
o Allows room to correct mistakes.

Dilemma of Democracy-
• Democracy → is seen to be good in principle but felt to be not so good in its practice. This dilemma invites us to
think about the outcomes of democracy.
• Our interest in & fascination for democracy often pushes us into taking a Position that democracy can address all
socio-economic and political problems. If some of our expectations are not met, we start blaming the idea of
democracy.
• The first step towards thinking carefully about the outcomes of democracy is to recognize that democracy is 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

• People should have the right to choose their rulers as well as control them.
• People should be involved in decision making wherever possible.
• Therefore, the most basic outcome of democracy should be that ⎯→ it produces a government that is accountable
to the citizens, and responsive to the needs and expectations of the citizens
• Democracy is based on the idea of deliberation and negotiation.
• A democratic government will take more time to follow procedures before arriving at a decision. But because it has
followed procedures, its decisions may be both more acceptable to the people and more effective.
• Democracy ensures that decision-making will be based on norms and procedures. The right and the means to
examine the process of decision-making known as transparency.
• Democracy must be a government that is attentive to the needs and demands of the people and is largely free of
corruption. However, it does not fair very well on these two fronts.
• A democratic government is the people’s own government. People wish to be ruled by representatives elected by
them.

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ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
• Economic development depends on several factors- → the country’s population size, global situation, cooperation
from other countries, economic priorities adopted by the country, etc.
• If we compare all democracies and all dictatorships between 1950 and 2000, dictatorships have slightly higher rate
of economic growth.
• But, the difference in the rates of economic development between less developed countries with dictatorships and
democracies is negligible.
• Democracy is not a guarantee of economic development. But we can expect democracy not to lag behind
dictatorship on this front.
• There can be a very high degree of economic inequalities within democracies but it is better to prefer democracy
as it has several other positive outcomes.

REDUCTION OF INEQUALITY AND POVERTY

• Democratic governments shouldn’t focus on growing economically but on reducing economic disparities that exist
between rich and poor.
• Democracies are based on Political equality. Every citizen has an equal right to elect their representatives.
• It is seen that ultra-rich people enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and income. And on the other side,
Poor have struggles even to meet their necessities of life, such as food, clothing, shelter, etc.
• In actual life, democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities. Democracies like
India and Bangladesh are examples of glaring inequality.

ACCOMMODATION OF SOCIAL DIVERSITY

• It’s fairly expected that Democracy would lead to a harmonious social life.
• No society can fully and permanently resolve conflicts among different groups. However, we can learn to respect
these differences.
• Democracy is best suited to produce this outcome. Ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts is a
plus point of democratic regimes.
• For Example, Belgium’s Democratic government has successfully negotiated differences amongst ethnic
populations.
• But the example of Sri Lanka Reminds us that a democracy must fulfil few conditions in order to achieve this
Outcome
• The majority and minority, both should work together. Opinions of both must be respected for the smooth
functioning of the government.
• It is also necessary that rule by the majority does not become rule by majority community in terms of religion or
race or linguistic groups.
• If someone is barred from being in majority on the basis of birth, then the democratic rule ceases to be
accommodative for that person or group.

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DIGNITY AND FREEDOM OF THE CITIZENS
• Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom of the
individual.
• The passion for respect and freedom are the basis of democracy. This has been achieved in various degrees in
various democracies.
• Most societies across the world were historically male dominated societies.
• Long struggles by women have created some sensitivity today that respect to and equal treatment of women are
necessary ingredients of a democratic society.
• Democracy in India has strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated castes for equal status and
equal opportunity.
• Expectations from democracy also function as the criteria for judging and democratic country.
• As people get some benefits of democracy, they ask for more and want to make democracy even better
• Most individuals today believe that their vote makes a difference to the way the government is run and to their own
self-interest.

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