Class 10 Political Science Chapter 5
Outcomes of Democracy
Important Questions

Ans: Transparency in a democracy refers to the openness and accessibility of government actions, decisions, and processes to the public. It involves making information about government activities readily available to citizens, thereby allowing them to scrutinise and assess what their elected representatives and government officials are doing.

Ans: Democracy’s literal meaning is the people’s rule. In democracies, every citizen’s vote has the same value irrespective of gender, caste, religion, or race. This ensures political equality among its citizens.

Ans: Democracy ensures the protection of individual rights through a system of checks and balances. In a democratic society, there are independent institutions, such as a judiciary and a free press, which monitor and safeguard individual rights. Laws and constitutions in democracies typically enshrine fundamental rights and freedoms, and citizens have the right to challenge any violation of these rights in courts. Additionally, elected representatives are accountable to the people, which incentivizes them to uphold and protect the rights of citizens. This combination of legal frameworks, independent institutions, and political accountability helps ensure the protection of individual rights in a democracy.

Ans: Democratic government is a legitimate government. It may be slow, less efficient, not always very responsive or clean. But a democratic government is peoples’ own government. That is why there is overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world. People’s wish to be ruled by representatives elected by them. As a democratic government is peoples’ own government, they believe that democracy is suitable for their country as it is a legitimate government. Democracy’s ability to generate its own support is itself an outcome that cannot be ignored.

Ans: The government can be accountable by framing and developing various laws and policies in which citizens can hold the government responsible if any of those policies and laws are not implemented or are held against the welfare of the citizens. The government can be responsible when people start taking action when the government becomes insensitive about their aspirations. People can hold protests, carry out campaigns and organise rallies and force the government to respond to them. A democratic government is a legitimate government, as it is elected by citizens and enjoys the confidence and trust of the citizens.