NCERT Class 10 Civics Chapter 7 Notes Outcomes of Democracy

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Outcomes of Democracy Class 10 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 7

CBSE Class 10 Civics Chapter 7 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Democracy is a better form of government when compared with dictatorship or any other alternative. But many of us would not be satisfied with democracy in practice.

2. Still we prefer democracy because of several reasons. Democracy can address all socio-economic and political problems. It produces a government that is accountable to the citizens, and responsive to the needs and expectations of the citizens.

3. Some people think that democracy produces less effective government. They opine that non- democratic governments are efficient in decision making and implementation.

4. Democracy is based on the idea of deliberation and negotiation. So, some delay is bound to take place. Because it follows procedures so its decisions may be both more acceptable to the people and more effective.

5. Democracy ensures that decision-making will be based on norms and procedures. So, a citizen who wants to know if a decision was taken through the correct procedures can find this out. It means there is transparency in democracy.

6. Democracies often frustrate the needs of the people and often ignore the demands of a majority of its population. Still they are better than non-democracies. The reason is that democratic government is legitimate government. It is people’s own government.

7. So far economic growth and development are concerned, democracies haven’t fulfilled these expectations so far. If we consider all democracies and all dictatorships for the fifty years between 1950 and 2000, dictatorships have slightly higher rate of economic growth. The inability of democracy to achieve higher economic development worries us.

8. But we cannot say that democracy is a guarantee of economic development because economic development depends on several factors e. country’s population size, global situation, etc. Hence, it is better to prefer democracy as it has several other positive outcomes.

9. Democracies are based on political equality. All individuals have equal weight in electing representatives. But they do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities. A small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and incomes whereas a large section of the population suffers due to extreme poverty.

10. Democracies accommodate various social divisions. They have the ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts. Non-democratic regimes often suppress internal social differences.

11. Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom of the individual. Respect to and equal treatment of women are necessary ingredients of a democratic society. That does not mean that women are actually always treated with respect. But once the principle is recognised, it becomes easier for women to wage a struggle against what is now unacceptable legally.

12. Democracy in India has strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated castes for equal status and equal opportunity.

13. The most distinctive feature about democracy is that its examination never gets over. As democracy passes one test, it produces another test. This process never ends.

14. Democracy transforms people from the status of a subject into that of a citizen. It is undoubtedly better than dictatorship and monarchy.

Outcomes of Democracy Class 10 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Prudential: Based on prudence, or on careful calculation of gains and losses.

Outcomes: A result or effect of an action, situation, etc.

Accountable: Required or expected to justify actions or decisions, responsible.

Responsive: Reacting quickly and positively.

Legitimate: Conforming to the law or to rules.

Deliberation: Long and careful consideration or discussion.

Negotiation: Discussion aimed at reaching an agreement.

Dictatorship: Government by a dictator (a ruler with unrestricted authority).

NCERT Class 10 Civics Chapter 6 Notes Political Parties

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Political Parties Class 10 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 6

CBSE Class 10 Civics Chapter 6 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Political parties play an important role in the rise of democracies, in the formation of constitutional designs, in electoral politics and in the making and working of governments.

2. 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.

3. A political party has three components – the leaders, the active members, and the followers. Political parties perform several functions – they contest elections, they put forward different policies and programmes, they form and run governments, they shape public opinion, etc.

4. Modern democracies cannot exist without political parties. In a democracy, any group of citizens is free to form a political party. In India, more than 750 parties are registered with the Election Commission. But not all parties are serious contenders in the elections.

5. We can find one-party system in some countries. But this is not a democratic option. Any democratic system must allow at least two parties to compete in elections and provide a fair chance for the competing parties to come to power.

6. There are some countries where power usually changes between two main parties. Such a party system is called two-party system. But there is also a multi-party system in many countries. In this system, the government is formed by various parties coming together in a coalition. India is the best example of a multi-party system.

7. Party system is not something any country can choose. It 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. However, no system is ideal for all countries and all situations.

8. National parties are country-wide parties. These parties have their units in various states. They are expected to secure at least six per cent of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states and win at least four seats in the Lok Sabha.

9. There were six national parties in the country in 2006 – Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI) and National Congress Party (NCP).

10. State parties, also known as regional parties, are expected to secure at least six per cent of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state and win at least two seats. Some of the state parties are – Rashtriya Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (U), Telugu Desam, Manipur People’s Party etc.

11. People blame political parties if there is any wrong with the working of democracy. They express strong dissatisfaction with their failure to perform their functions well.

12. Political parties face several challenges. Some of them are lack of internal democracy within parties, challenge of dynastic succession, challenge of growing role of money and muscle power in parties, etc.

13. In order to overcome these challenges, political parties need to be reformed. Some of the recent efforts in our country to reform political parties and its leaders are-anti-defection law has been passed, the Supreme Court has passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals, the Election Commission has passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns, etc.

14. Some suggestions have also been given to reform parties – a law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties, there should be state funding of elections, it should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third to women candidates, etc.

15. There are two other ways in which political parties can be reformed. One, people can put pressure on political parties. Two, political parties can improve if those who want this join political parties.

16. Public participation is essential if we want to improve the quality of democracy.

Political Parties Class 10 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Partisan: A person who is strongly committed to a party, group or faction.

Ruling party: Political party that runs the government.

Opposition party: Political party that is opposed to the government.

Political party: A group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

Defection: Changing party allegiance from the party on which a person got elected (to a legislative body) to a different party.

Affidavit: A signed document submitted to an officer, where a person makes a sworn statement regarding his/her personal information.

Leftist: They argue that not every individual is the same and so government policy should be aimed to create substantial rather than just formal equality.

Rightist: They believe that governments are big and unwieldy and so should not interfere with people’s lives at all. They believe in formal equality.

NCERT Class 10 Civics Chapter 5 Notes Popular Struggles and Movements

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Popular Struggles and Movements Class 10 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 5

CBSE Class 10 Civics Chapter 5 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Power-sharing is important in a democracy and different tiers of government and various social groups share power. Those who exercise power are constrained by the influence and pressure exerted on them.

2. Democracy involves conflict of interests and viewpoints. These differences are often expressed in organized ways. Those who are in power are required to balance these conflicting demands and pressures.

3. Struggles around conflicting demands and pressures shape democracy. Various pressure groups and movements influence politics using indirect ways.

4. The popular struggles in Nepal and Bolivia are two examples in this regard which were made successful with the help of organizations like Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and FEDECOR respectively.

5. The movement in Nepal was to establish democracy while the struggle in Bolivia involved claims on an elected, democratic government. Both these struggles were successful but their impact was at different levels.

6. There are many indirect ways in which people can get governments to listen to their demands or their points of view. They could do so by forming an organization and undertaking activities to promote their interests or their viewpoints. These are called interest groups or pressure groups.

7. Pressure groups influence government policies. They do not aim to directly control or share political power.

8. Movements too attempt to influence politics rather than directly take part in electoral competition; for example, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Movement for Right to Information, etc.

9. Interest groups seek to promote the interests of a particular section or group of society; for example, Trade Unions, Business Associations, etc. Their chief concern is the betterment and well-being of their members, not society in general.

10. Narmade Bachao Andolan is a good example of a single-issue movement. It can be contrasted with movements like environmental movement and women’s movement that are long term and involve more than one issue.

11. Pressure groups and movements exert influence on politics in a variety of ways-by carrying out information campaigns, organizing meetings, filing petitions, etc. They also organise protest activity like strikes or disrupting government programmes.

Note: Please note as per the CBSE curriculum 2017-18, chapter-5 has to be done as project work only and will not be evaluated in theory.

Popular Struggles and Movements Class 10 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Maoists: Those communists who believe in the ideology of Mao, the leader of the Chinese Revolution. They seek to overthrow the government through an armed revolution so as to establish the rule of the peasants and workers.

Ultimatum: A final demand, with a threat of hostile action if this is rejected.

Mobilisation: Act of marshalling and organising and making ready for use or action.

Pressure group: A group of people having common interests which exert pressure on the government for fulfilment of their interests.

Movement: A loose organisation which depends on spontaneous mass participation.

NCERT Class 10 Civics Chapter 4 Notes Gender Religion and Caste

NCERT Class 10 Civics Chapter 4 NotesOn this page, you will find NCERT Class 10 Civics Chapter 4 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 10 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 4 SST Gender Religion and Caste will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

Gender Religion and Caste Class 10 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 4

CBSE Class 10 Civics Chapter 4 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Three kinds of social differences that can take the form of social divisions and inequalities are – gender, religion and caste.

2. Gender division is a form of hierarchical social division seen everywhere, but is rarely recognized in the study of politics. Gender division is not based on biology but on social expectations and stereotypes.

3. Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is housework and bringing up children. This is reflected in the sexual division of labour in most families- women work inside the home and men do all the work outside the house.

4. Although women constitute half of the humanity, their role in public life is very small in most societies. However, political expression of gender division and political mobilization on this question have improved women’s role in public role. We have now women scientists, doctors, etc.

5. In countries like Sweden, Norway and Finland, the participation of women in public life is very high. But it is not so in our country which is still a male-dominated society.

6. In India, only a smaller proportion of girl students go for higher studies. The proportion of women among the highly paid and valued jobs is also very small. In many parts of India parents still prefer sons and find ways to abort girl child before she is born.

7. Gender division needs to be expressed in politics for the benefit of the women. The unequal treatment that they are getting should be raised in the political domain.

8. Social division based on religious differences is not as universal as gender, but we can see religious diversity almost everywhere. Many countries including India have in their population, followers of different religions. Hence, religious differences are often expressed in the field of politics.

9. Communal politics takes place when beliefs of one religion are presented as superior to those of other religions and when state power is used to establish domination of one religious group over the rest.

10. A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one’s own religious community. Political mobilization on religious lines is another 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.

11. Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre. Communalism, therefore, continues to be one of the major challenges to democracy in our country. The makers of our Constitution were aware of this challenge. That is why they chose the model of a secular state.

12. There is no official religion for the Indian state. The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion. Everyone is free to follow the religion of his/her choice.

13. Caste system in India was based on exclusion of and discrimination against the outcast groups. They were subjected to the inhuman practice of untouchability.

14. Political leaders and social reformers like Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, Ambedkar, etc. made serious efforts to establish a society in which caste inequalities are absent.

15. Although caste inequalities still exist in Indian societies, they are not seen in acute form today. With economic development, large scale urbanization, growth of literacy and education, the old notions of caste hierarchy are breaking down.

16 Casteism is rooted in the belief that caste is the sole basis of social community. Caste can take various form in politics:

  • Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to caste sentiment to muster supports.
  • No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community.

17. If caste influences electoral politics, politics too influences caste system and caste identities by bringing them into the political domain.

18. Each caste group tries to become bigger by incorporating within it neighboring castes or sub-castes which were earlier excluded from it.

19. New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political arena like ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ caste groups.

20. Caste plays different kinds of role in politics. In some situations, expression of caste differences in politics gives many disadvantaged communities the space to demand their share of power. Now Dalits and OBCs have gained better access to decision-making.

Gender Religion and Caste Class 10 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Feminist: A woman or a man who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men.

Patriarchy: This is a concept used to refer to a system that values men more and gives them power over women.

Casteism: Adherence to a caste system or prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of caste.

Secular: Not connected with religious or spiritual matters.

Gender: One’s sex (male or female).

Sex-ratio: Number of girl children per thousand boys.

Communal: (here) (of conflict) between different communities, especially those having different religious or ethnic groups.

Communalism: Allegiance to one’s own ethnic group rather than to the wider society.

Urbanization: Shift of population from rural areas to urban areas.

NCERT Class 10 Civics Chapter 3 Notes Democracy and Diversity

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Democracy and Diversity Class 10 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 3

CBSE Class 10 Civics Chapter 3 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Language and region are not the only features that give a distinct identity to people. Sometimes, people also identify themselves on the basis of their physical appearance, class, religion, gender, caste, tribe, etc.

2. In 1968 Olympics held at Mexico City, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, both African-Americans, won the gold and bronze medals respectively in 200 metres race. In the medal ceremony they received their medals wearing black socks and no shoes to represent black poverty. They did so because they wanted to draw international attention to racial discrimination in the United States.

3. The International Olympic Association held Carlos and Smith guilty of violating the Olympic spirit by making a political statement. Their medals were taken back. But their action gained international attention for the Civil Rights Movement in the US.

4. The athletes in the above example responded to social divisions and social inequalities which exist in almost all societies. Social diversity can take different forms in different societies.

5. Some social differences are based on accident of birth and some are based on our choices. But every social difference does not lead to social division. Social differences divide similar people from one another but they also unite very different people.

6. People belonging to different social groups share differences and similarities cutting across the boundaries of their groups. We all have more than one identity and can belong to more than one social group.

7. Social division takes place when some social difference overlaps with other differences. The difference between the Blacks and Whites becomes a social division in the US because Blacks are poor and discriminated against. In our country Dalits face discrimination and injustice. Situation of this kind produces social divisions.

8. If social differences cross cut one another, it is difficult to pit one group of people against the other. It means that groups that share a common interest on one issue are likely to be in different sides on a different issue.

9. Overlapping social differences create possibilities of deep social divisions and tensions. Cross-cutting social differences are easier to accommodate. Social divisions of one kind or another exist in most countries. It does not matter whether the country is small or big.

10. The combination of politics and social divisions is very dangerous. The competition among various political parties tends to divide any society. If they start competing in terms of some existing social divisions, it can make social divisions into political divisions and lead to conflict and tension in the country. So politics and social divisions must not be allowed to mix.

11. But every expression of social divisions in politics does not lead to disasters. Social divisions of one kind or another exist in most countries of the world. Wherever they exist, these divisions are reflected in politics.

18. Social divisions affect voting in most countries. People from one community tend to prefer some party more than others. But this does not lead to disintegration of the country.

19. Three factors that determine the outcomes of politics of social divisions are- how people perceive their identities, how political leaders raise the demands of any community and how the government reacts to demands of different groups.

20. The assertion of social diversities in a country need not be seen as a source of danger. In a democracy, political expression of social divisions can be healthy. This allows various disadvantaged and marginal social groups to express their grievances and get the government to attend to these.

21. But these people need to fight against the injustices. Such a fight often takes the democratic path, voicing their demands in a peaceful and constitutional manner and seeking a fair position through elections. Sometimes the struggle against inequalities takes the path of violence. However, democracy is the best way to fight for recognition.

Democracy and Diversity Class 10 CBSE Notes Important Terms

African-American: Descendants of Africans who were brought into America as slaves between the 17th century and early 19th century.

Homogeneous society: A society that has similar kinds of people, especially where there are no significant ethnic differences.

Migrant: Anybody who shifts from one region or country to another region within a country or to another country, usually for work or other economic opportunities.

Outcome: The result of an event.

Racism: A belief in the superiority of a particular race.