CHAPTER 1

Story of Belgium
Belgium is a small country in Europe with a population of over 1 crore, about half the population of Haryana. Of
the country’s total population, 59% speaks Dutch language, 40% of people speak French and the remaining 1%
speak German. Look at the map below to know the language variation of Belgium. The minority French-speaking
community was rich and powerful, so they got the benefit of economic development and education. This created
tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities during the 1950s and 1960s.

Accommodation in Belgium
In Belgium, the government handled the community difference very well. Between 1970 and 1993, Belgian
leaders amended their constitution four times and came up with a new model to run the government.
Here are some of the elements of the Belgian model.

1. The Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the
Central Government. Some special laws require the support of the majority of members from each
linguistic group. Thus, no single community can make decisions unilaterally.
2. The state governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.
3. Brussels has a separate government in which both communities have equal representation.
4. Apart from the Central and the State Government, there is a third kind of government. This ‘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.

The Belgium model was very complicated but it helped to avoid civic strife between the two major communities.
Story of Sri Lanka
Now, let’s take the situation of another country, Sri Lanka. It is an island nation having a population of 2 crores,
about the same as in Haryana. Sri Lanka has a diverse population. The major social groups are the Sinhala-
speakers (74%) and the Tamil-speakers (18%). Among Tamils, there are two subgroups, “Sri Lankan Tamils” and
“Indian Tamils”. You can see the map below to know the population distribution of different communities of Sri
Lanka.

In Sri Lanka, the Sinhala community enjoyed the bigger majority and imposed its will on the entire country.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. The Sinhala community was in the majority so they had
formed the government. They also followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university
positions and government jobs. These measures taken by the government gradually increased the feeling of
alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils. Sri Lankan Tamils felt that constitution and government policies denied
them equal political rights, discriminated against them in getting jobs and other opportunities and ignored their
interests. Due to this, the relationship between the Sinhala and Tamil communities become poor. 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. But their demand was repeatedly denied by the
government. The distrust between the two communities turned into widespread conflict and turned into a CIVIL
WAR. As a result, thousands of people of both the communities have been killed. Many families were forced to
leave the country as refugees and many more lost their livelihoods. The civil war ended in 2009 and caused a
terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the country.
What have you learned from the Stories of Belgium and Sri Lanka?

 Both countries are democracies but they dealt differently with the concept of power sharing.
 In Belgium, the leaders have realised that the unity of the country is possible only by respecting the
feelings and interests of different communities and regions. This resulted in mutually acceptable
arrangements for sharing power.
 Sri Lanka shows that, if a majority community wants to force its dominance over others and refuses to
share power, it can undermine the unity of the country.
Why is power sharing desirable?
You will find the answer to this question in the points below.

1. Power sharing is good because it helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
2. The second reason is that, 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.

Let us call the first set of reasons Prudential and the second moral. The prudential reasons stress that power
sharing will bring out better outcomes, whereas the moral reasons emphasise the act of power sharing as
valuable.

Form of Power Sharing

Most of you must think that Sharing power = dividing power = weakening the country. A similar thing was
believed in the past. It was assumed that all the power of a government must reside in one person or group of
persons located at one place. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to make quick decisions and to enforce them.
But these notions have changed with the emergence of democracy. In a democracy, people rule themselves
through institutions of self-government. Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies. Therefore, in a
democratic country, political power should be distributed among citizens.
In modern democracies, power sharing can take many forms, as mentioned below:

1. Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and
judiciary. This is called horizontal distribution of power because it allows different organs of government
placed at the same level to exercise different powers. Such separation ensures that none of the organs
can exercise unlimited power. Each organ checks the others. This arrangement is called a system of
checks and balances.
2. Power can be shared among governments at different levels – a general government for the entire
country and governments at the provincial or regional level which is called federal government.
3. 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. This method is used to give
minority communities a fair share in power.
4. Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups and
movements control or influence those in power. When two or more parties form an alliance to contest
elections and if they get elected, they form a coalition government and thus share power.
CHAPTER 2

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.
A federation has two levels of government. Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of
the other.

1. One is the government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common
national interest.
2. Governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day-to-day administering of
their state.

Difference between Unitary System and Federal System

Unitary System Federal System

There is only one level of government or the There are two or more
levels (or tiers) of
Sub-units are subordinate to the Central
government.
Government.

The Central Government can pass on orders to the The Central Government
provincial or local government. cannot order the state
government to do
something.

The central government is supreme, and the State Government has

administrative divisions exercise only powers that powers of its own for which
the central government has delegated to them. it is not answerable to the
Their powers may be broadened and narrowed by central government.
the central government

Key Features of Federalism

Some of the key features of federalism system are:

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 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. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government.
5. Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government.
6. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
7. The federal system has dual objectives: i) To safeguard and promote the unity of the country ii)
Accommodate regional diversity.

Different ways for forming Federations

Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism: mutual trust between the government of
different levels and agreement to live together. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have
been formed.

1. The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit. This kind
of “coming together” federations is formed in the USA, Switzerland and Australia.
2. The second route is that a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and
the national government. This kind of ‘holding together’ federations is followed in India, Spain and
Belgium countries.

What Makes India a Federal Country?

All the features of the federal system apply to the provisions of the Indian Constitution. The Indian Constitution is
a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments. The 3
lists are mentioned below:
1) Union List: It includes subjects of national importance such as the defence of the country, foreign affairs,
banking, communications and currency. The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the subjects
mentioned in this list.
2) State List: It 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 this list.
3) Concurrent List: It includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government as well as the State
Governments. The list includes 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 be considered.

How is Federalism Practised?

The real success of federalism in India is attributed to its nature of democratic politics. Have a look at some of the
major ways in which federalism is practised in India.

Linguistic States
The creation of linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in India. From 1947 to 2017,
many old States have vanished and many new States have been created. Areas, boundaries and names of the
States have been changed. Some States have been formed of the people who speak the same language. These
states are known as Linguistic States.
Language Policy
A second test for Indian federation is the language policy. Hindi was identified as the official language. Besides
Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution. States too have their
own official languages and government work takes place in the official language of the concerned State.

Centre-State relations
Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice.
If no single party gets a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the major national parties can alliance with many parties
including several regional parties to form a government at the Centre. This led to a new culture of power sharing
and respect for the autonomy of State Governments.

Decentralization in India
When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to the local government, it is called
decentralization. The basic idea behind decentralization is that there are a large number of problems and issues
which are best settled at the local level. Local people can also directly participate in the decision making.
A major step towards decentralization was taken in 1992. The Constitution was amended to make the third-tier
of democracy more powerful and effective. Here are the key features of 3-tier democracy:

1. It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.

2. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for the Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
3. At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
4. State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
5. The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.
The nature of sharing varies from State to State.

Panchayati Raj System

Rural local government is popularly known as Panchayati Raj. 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 a village or ward. Gram Panchayat is the
decision-making body for the entire village.
The Panchayat works under the overall supervision of the Gram Sabha. All the voters in the village are its
members. 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.
When Gram Panchayat are grouped together, they form a Panchayat Samiti or Block or Mandal. The member of
Panchayat Samiti representative 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. Members of the
Lok Sabha, MLAs of the district, some other officials of other district-level bodies are the members of Zilla
Parishad.
Municipalities
As Gram Panchayat is for Rural areas, similarly we have Municipalities for urban areas. Big cities are constituted
into Municipal Corporations. Both Municipalities and Municipal Corporations are controlled by elected bodies
consisting of people’s representatives. The Municipal Chairperson is the political head of the Municipality. In a
Municipal Corporation such an officer is called the Mayor.
This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world.
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.

CHAPTER 4
Gender and Politics
The gender division tends to be understood as natural and unchangeable. It is not based on biology but on social
expectations and stereotypes.
Public/Private Division
The result of this division of labour is that though women constitute half of 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. It demanded to enhance the
political and legal status of women and improve their educational and career opportunities. The movements
which were raised by women to get equality in personal and family life are called Feminist movements.
The political expression of gender division and political mobilization helped to improve women’s role in public
life. As India is a male-dominated, PATRIARCHAL society, women face disadvantage, discrimination and
oppression in various ways:

1. The literacy rate among women is only 54 per cent compared with 76 per cent among men.
 2. On an average, an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day and yet much of
her work is not paid. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides that equal wages should be paid to
equal work.
3. In India, sex-selective abortion led to a decline in child sex ratio (number of girl children per thousand
boys).
4. Urban areas have become particularly unsafe for women.

Women’s Political Representation

Issues related to women are not given adequate attention. This has led many feminists and women’s movements
to the conclusion that unless women control power, their problems will not get adequate attention. In India, the
percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha 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.
One way to solve women’s problem is to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies. In Panchayats
and Municipalities, one-third of seats in local government bodies are reserved for women. Now there are more
than 10 lakh elected women representatives in rural and urban local bodies. Gender division is an example that
some form of social division needs to be expressed in politics. This also shows that disadvantaged groups do
benefit when social divisions become a political issue.

Religion, Communalism and Politics

Religion
The division based on religious differences are often expressed in the field of politics. In India, there are followers
of different religions. People should be able to express in politics their needs, interests and demands as a
member of a religious community.
Communalism
The use of religion in politics is called communal politics:

1. When beliefs of one religion are presented as superior to those of other religions
2. When the demands of one religious group are formed in opposition to another
3. When state power is used to establish the domination of one religious group over the rest.

Communalism can take various forms in politics as mentioned below:

1. The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs involves 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.
3. Political mobilization on religious lines 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.
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.

Secular State
India is a secular state. Some of the features of India Secular states are:

1. There is no official religion for the Indian state.

 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. 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 and politics both have some positive and some negative aspects. Let’s look at them:

Caste Inequalities
In most societies, occupations are passed on from one generation to another. Caste system is an extreme form of
this. In this system, members of the same caste, the 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.
With economic development, large scale urbanization, 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. The Constitution of India prohibited any caste-based discrimination and laid the foundations of policies to
reverse the injustices of the caste system.

Caste in Politics
Caste can take various forms in politics:

1. When parties choose their candidate or 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 win the elections.
3. To gain support political parties raise caste-based issues during elections to get political support, as ‘one
man one vote’ system or adult franchise has made the voter very powerful.
4. Political Parties have made people belonging to lower castes conscious about their rights to vote and
their powers.

During elections caste matters, but it is not everything. There are many other factors that impact the elections.
People’s assessment of the performance of the government and the popularity rating of the leaders are
considered during elections. Just have a look at the below points:

1. Candidates and parties need 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.
3. 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 keep changing whenever fresh elections take place.

Politics in caste
Politics also influence the caste system and caste identities by bringing them into the political arena. Here are a
few points that support this;

1. Each caste group tries to become bigger by incorporating within it neighboring castes or sub-castes.
 2. Various caste groups are formed with other castes or communities and then they enter into a dialogue
and negotiation.
3. New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political arena like ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ caste groups.

Thus, caste plays different kinds of roles in politics. In some cases, caste division leads to tensions, conflict and
even violence.

CHAPTER 6

Why Do We Need 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. Parties
reflect fundamental political divisions in a society. 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
 The followers
Functions of Political Parties
Political parties fill political offices and exercise political power. Parties do so by performing a series of functions
mentioned below:

1. Parties contest elections.

2. Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.
3. Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
4. Parties form and run governments.
5. Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power, by voicing
different views and criticizing the government for its failures or wrong policies.
6. Parties shape public opinion.
7. Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by
governments.

The Necessity of Political Parties

We need political parties because they perform all the functions which are mentioned above. Apart from this,
political parties 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 a political party. More than 750 parties are registered with
the Election Commission of India. But not all these parties are serious contenders in the elections. So the
question, then is: how many major or effective parties are good for democracy?
In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one-party
systems. This system is not considered as a good option for democracy.
In some countries, power usually changes between the two main parties. Such a party system is called a two-
party system. Eg: The United States of America and the United Kingdom.
If several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power
either on their own strength or in alliance with others, it is called a multiparty system. Eg: 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.

National Parties
Every party in the country has to register with the Election Commission. It offers some special facilities for large
and established 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 recognized party.

1. A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a State and
wins at least 2 seats is recognized as a State Party.
2. A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in 4 States
and wins at least 4 seats in the Lok Sabha is recognized as a National Party.

Major National Parties in India

There were 7 recognized national parties in the country in 2018. Here are the details of these parties:
1) All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)

 Launched on 1 January 1998 under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee.

 Recognized 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 and has a presence in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and
Tripura.
 In the General Elections held in 2014, it got 3.84% votes and won 34 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.
 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 UP several times by taking the support of different parties at different times.
3) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
  Founded in 1980, 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 Upadhyaya’s 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.
 Emerged as the largest party with 282 members in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
4) 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.
 Significant presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
 It secured less than 1 per cent votes and 1 seat in the 2014 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.
 The party was in power in West Bengal without a break for 34 years.
 In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it won about 3% of votes and 9 seats.
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 center till 1977 and then from 1980 to 1989. After 1989, its support declined, but
it continues to be present throughout the country.
 The party’s main idea is to promote secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities.
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.
State Parties
The Election Commission has classified some of the major parties of the country as “State parties”. These are also
referred to as regional parties. Some of these parties are:

 Biju Janata Dal

 Sikkim Democratic Front
 Mizo National Front
 Telangana Rashtra Samithi
The Map below shows the Regional Parties in India (as on 13th April 2018):
Challenges to Political Parties
Popular dissatisfaction and criticism have focused on 4 problem areas in the working of political parties. These
are:

1. Lack of internal democracy within parties. Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold
organizational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly.
2. Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning, so there are
very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party. In many parties, the top positions are
always controlled by members of one family.
3. The third challenge is about the 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.
4. 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.

How can Parties be reformed?

Have a look at some of the recent efforts and suggestions to reform political parties and its leaders in India. Some
efforts are listed below:

1. The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties.
2. The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals. 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.
3. The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their
organizational elections and file their income tax returns

Besides these, many suggestions are made to reform political parties. These suggestions have not yet been
accepted by political parties.

1. A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.

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. The government should give parties money to support their
election expenses.

There are two other ways in which political parties can be reformed.

1. People can put pressure on political parties. This can be done through petitions, publicity and agitations.
2. Political parties can improve if people who want change can join political parties. It is difficult to reform
politics if ordinary citizens do not take part in it and simply criticize it from the outside.
CHAPTER 7

How do We Assess Democracy’s Outcomes?

Democracy is a better form of government than dictatorship in the following respects:

 Promotes equality among citizens.

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

Democracy Produces Accountable, Responsive and Legitimate Government

People have the right to choose their rulers and they have control over their rulers. Citizens can participate in
decision making. Thus, democracy produces a government that is accountable to the citizens, and responsive to
the needs and expectations of the citizens.
Democracy ensures that decision making is based on norms and procedures. So, a citizen who wants to know if a
decision was taken through the correct procedures can find out this information. Citizens can take part in
decision making whenever they want.
A democratic government is the people’s own government. People wish to be ruled by representatives elected by
them.

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. There is a significant difference in the
rates of economic growth between countries under dictatorship and democracy. So, democracy is preferred as it
has several positive outcomes.

Economic Outcomes of Democracy

The following points show the relationship of democracy with economic growth and economic inequalities.

1. Dictatorial regime has had a slightly better record of economic growth. But when we compare their
record only in poor countries, there is virtually no difference.
2. There can be a very high degree of inequalities within democracies.
3. There is often inequality of opportunities available to the poorer sections of the society.

Reduction of Inequality and Poverty

All individuals have equal weight in electing representatives. In the process of bringing individuals into the
political arena on an equal footing, we find growing economic inequalities.

 A small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and incomes. Their share in
the total income of the country has been increasing.
  Those at the bottom strata of the society have very little to depend upon. Their incomes have been
declining.
In actual life, democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.

Accommodation of Social Diversity

No society can fully and permanently resolve conflicts among different groups. However, we can learn to respect
these differences and we can evolve mechanisms to negotiate the differences. Democracy is best suited to
produce this outcome. Ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts is a plus point of democratic
regimes. But democracy must fulfil 2 conditions in order to achieve this outcome:

1. The majority always needs to work with the minority so that governments function to represent the
general view.
2. Rule by majority means that in case of every decision or in case of every election, different persons and
groups may and can form a majority.

Dignity and Freedom of the Citizens

Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting the dignity and freedom of the
individual. The passion for respect and freedom are the basis of democracy. Let’s take the case of the dignity of
women. The long struggles by women have created some sensitivity that respect and equal treatment of women
are necessary ingredients of a democratic society. The same is true of caste inequalities. Democracy in India has
strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated castes for equal status and equal opportunity.
Most individuals today believe that their vote makes a difference to the way the government is run and to their
own self-interest. Democratic examination never gets over. As it passes one test, it produces another test. As
people get some benefits of democracy, they ask for more and want to make democracy even better. The fact
that people are complaining is itself a testimony to the success of democracy.