BAL BHARATI PUBLIC SCHOOL

PITAMPURA, DELHI 110034

Class-IX (2013-2014) TERM I (NOTES) UNIT TEST I

DEMOCRACY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Ques) How was democracy restored in Chile? Ans) Democracy was restored in Chile as follows: =>Salvador Allende was the president of Chile. => On 11 September ,1973,military coup took place in which his government was overthrown by the military,led by General Augusto Pinochet => After this,Pinochet became the president of Chile and ruled it for the next 17 years. =>Thus,military dictatorship was established in Chile. =>His ,-Pinochets government torured and killed severalof those whowanted democrac to be restored.. =>His military dictatorship came to an end after he decided to hold a referendum in 1988. =>He felt confident that in his referendum,the people would say yes to his continuing power. =>But the people of a Chile had not forgotten their democratic traditions.Their vote was a decisive no to Pinochet. =>This led to Pinochet losing first his political and then his military powers. =>Political freedom was restored. =>Since then Chile has held 4 presidential elections in which different political parties have participated. =>Slowly,the armys role in the countrys government has been eliminated. =>Elected governments that came to power ordered inquiries into Pinochets rule.These inquiries into Pinochets rule.These inquiries showed that his government was not only very brutal but also very corrupt. Ques) How was democracy restored in Poland? Ans) Democracy was restored in Poland as follows:=>In 1980,Poland was ruled by the Polish United Workers Party. =>No other political party was allowed to function in Poland. =>Govt. in Poland was supported and controlled by the govt,.of soviet union.(USSR). =>On 14th August 1980,workers of Lenin Shipyard in the city of Gdansk went on a strike. =>The strike began with a demand to take back a crane operator back who was injustly dismissed from service. =>A former electrician of the shipyard,Lech Walesa joined the strikers.He was dismissed from service in 1976 for demanding higher pay.He soon emerged as the leader of the striking workers

=>The workers now wanted the right to form independent trade unions and release of political prisoners and an end to censorship on press. =>The movement became so popular that the govt.had to give in.The workers led by Walesa signed a 21-point agreement with the govt. that ended their strike. =>The govt.agreed to recognize the workers right to form independent trade unions and their right to strike =>After the Gdansk agreement was signed,a new trade union called solidarity was formed. =>The govt.,led by General Jaruzelski grew anxious and imposed martial law in Dec 1981. =>Thousands of solidarity members were put in prison.freedom to organize,protest and express opinions was once again taken away. =>Another wave of strikers,organized by solidarity,began in 1988.This time the Polish govt.was weaker,support from soviet union uncertain and the economy was in decline. =>Another round of negotiations with Walesa resulted in an agreement in April1989 for free elections.Solidarity contested all the 100 seats of the Senate and won 99 of them. =>In October 1990,Poland had its first presidential elections in which more than one party could contest.Walesa was elected President of Poland. Ques) How was restored in Ghana? Ans) Democracy was restored in Ghana as follows :=>Ghana used to be a British colony named Gold Coast it became independent in 1957. It was among the first countries in Africa to gain independence. => kwame Nkrumah, son of a goldsmith and him self a teacher was active in independence struggle. After independence, he became first prime minister and then the president of Ghana. =>But he got himself elected president for life. =>Soon after in 1966, he was overthrown by the military. => Ghana couldnt remain a democracy for long. Ques) what are the difficulties people face in a non-democratic country? Ans) The difficulties faced by the people in a non-democratic country are:=>In a non-democratic country, the government could do as they wished and no one could question them. => The people dont have political freedom to elect their representatives. =>Those people who spoke against the leader or the party or the government, were put in prison. => The people dont have the right to form independent trade unions. => They dont have real freedom to express ones opinions. Ques) Which freedoms are usually taken away when a democracy is overthrown by \ military? Ans) The freedoms taken away are:=>Right to protest against any decision taken by the military =>Right to vote and freedom of electing representatives. =>The freedom of forming independent trade unions.

=>The freedom of speech and expression Ques)Explain with the help of an example of Iraq if interference in a country by some other country leads to the establishment of democracy in a country? Ans) =>Iraq is a country in western Asia.It became independent from British rule in 1932. =>3 decades later there were a series of coup by military officers. =>Since,1968 it was ruled by Arab socialist Bath Party. =>Saddam Hussain,a leading Bath party leader,played a key role in the 1968 coup,that brought the part to the power. =>This govt.abolished traditional Islamic law and gave women the right to vote and several freedoms not granted in other west asian countries.After becoming the president of Iraq in 1979,Saddam ran a dictatorial govt.and suppressed any dissent or opposition to his rule. =>US alleged that Iraq possessed secret nuclear weapons. =>But when a UN team went to Iraq to search for such weapons,it didnt find any.Still US invaded Iraq,occupied it and removed Saddam Hussain from power in 2003. =>US installed a interim govt.on its preference. Ques) How democratic is the UN security council and the World Bank? Ans) =>The 15 member security council of the UN takes crucial decisions.The council has 5 permanent members-US,RUSSIA,UK,FRANCE and CHINA.10 others members are elected by the General Assembly for two year terms.The real power is with 5 permanent members.They contribute most of the money needed for the maintenance of the UN.Each of them has veto power.This system has led more and more people and countries to protest and demand that the UN becomes more democratic. =>More than half of the voting power in World Bank is in the minds of only some countries.Remaining countries have only a little say in how it take decisions.President of the World Bank has always been a citizen of the US,conventionally nominated by Treasury secretary of US govt. Ques)What was the situation in Myanmar when Aung San Suu Kyi became the Prime Minister? Ans) =>Myanmar gained freedom from colonial rule in 1948 and become a democracy.But the democratic rule ended in 1962 with a military coup. =>In 1990 elections were held for the first time after almost 30 years.The National league for democracy,led by Aung San Suu Kyi won the election. =>Military leaders of Myanmar refused to step down and didnt recognize the election results.They put Suu Kyi under house arrest. =>Despite being under house arrest,Suu Kyi continued to campaign for democracy. =>Her struggle has won international recognition.She has also been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ques)Which East European countries were ruled by communist parties in the 1980s? Ans) The countries are :1.Russia 2.Bulgaria 3.Romania 4.Ukraine Ques)Make a list of political activities that you could not have done in Poland in 1980s but you can do in our country? Ans) =>Freely choose the leaders of the govt. =>From independent trade unions. =>Organise,protest and express opinions freely. Ques)How democratic is the International Monetary Fund (IMF)? Ans) =>IMF is the one of the biggest moneylender for any country in the world. =>Its 185 member states dont have an equal voting rights. =>The vote of each country is weighed by how much money it has contributed to the IMF. =>More than 54%of the voting power in the IMF is in the hands of only 10 countries. =>The remaining 175 countries have very little say in how these international organizations take decisions.