• To develop knowledge and eagerness regarding democracy.

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• To help them to know about features of a democratic form of a government.

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• To make them understand about democratic and non-democratic governments.

• To make them visualize about the democracy.

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• To make them able to respond text based questions.

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• To make them able to understand the features of Democracy.

• Use of Internet

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• Use of Smart Board

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• Use of Paper Cutting

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• Use of PowerPoint Presentation

• Thinking Skill : To let them free to connect their text to their life.

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• Social Skill : Art of expressing and exchanging ideas.

• A disciplined way of interaction and group activity.

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• Importance of being enlightened through academics.

• Brain storming session on students personal experiences.

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• Display of newspaper cutting in various issues.

• Students expected to guess the name of the lesson correctly through warm-up.

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• Teacher to reconfirm their guess with name ‘What is Democracy? Why Democracy?’ informing them of taking up the units in parts.

• The whole lesson is divided into six parts.

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• The first part along with introductory session.

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• The first part to be read aloud by selected students one by one with proper modulation and other students to read silently.

What is Democracy

1. Democracy is a form of government. It is of the people, for the people and by the people.

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• There are two types of governments-�i. Democratic governments �ii. Non-democratic government

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Why define Democracy

1. The word democracy comes from a Greek word ‘Demokratian’. In Greek ‘demos’ means people and ‘kratian’ means rule.

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• So, democracy is rule by people.

A Simple Definition

Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.

Features of Democracy

1. Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.

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Major decisions by elected leaders

1. In Pakistan, General Parwez Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999.

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• He overthrew a democratically elected government and declared himself the ‘Chief Executive’ of the country.

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• Later he changed his designation to President and in 2002 held a referendum in the country that granted him a 5 year extension.

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4. In August 2002 he issued a ‘Legal Framework Order’ that amended the constitution of Pakistan.

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• And the final power rests with military officers and General Parwez Musharraf himself.

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• In a democracy the final decision making power must rest with those elected by the people.

Free & fair electoral competition

1. In China, elections are regularly held after every 5 years for electing the country’s parliament called National People’s Congress.

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• It has the power to appoint the President of the country. It has nearly 3,000 members elected from all over China.

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• Before contesting elections, a candidate needs the approval of the Chinese Communist Party.

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4. The government is always formed by the Communist Party.

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• Since its independence in 1930, Mexico holds elections after very 6 years to elect its President.

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• The country has never been under a military or dictator’s rule. But until 2000 every election was won by a party called PRI(Institutional Revolutionary Party).

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• Opposition parties did contest elections but never managed to win. The PRI was known to use many dirty tricks to win elections.

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• A democracy must be based on a free and fair election where those currently in power have a fair chance of losing.

One Person, One Vote, One Value

1. Universal Adult Franchise has now come to be accepted almost all over the world. Yet there are many instances of denial of equal right to vote.

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• In Saudi Arabia, women do not have the right to vote.

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• Estonia has made its citizenship rules in such a way that people belonging to Russian minority find it difficult to get the right to vote.

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• In a democracy, each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one value.

Rule of law & respect for rights

1. Zimbabwe attained independence from white minority rule in 1980. Since then the country has been ruled by ZANU-PF, the party that led the freedom struggle.

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• Its leader Robert Mugabe, has ben ruling the country since independence. Elections have been held regularly and always won by ZANU-PF.

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• A democratic government has to respect some basic rules. In particular it has to respect some guarantees to the minorities.

4. Every major decisions has to go through a series of consultations.

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• A democratic government rules within limit set by constitutional law and citizens rights.

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Summary definition

1. Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.

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• Democracy is a form of government in which-�- Rulers are elected by the people who takes all the major decisions.�- Elections offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the current rulers.�- This choice and opportunity is available to all the people on an equal basis, and �- The exercise of this choice leads to a government limited by basic rules of the constitution and citizen’s rights.

Arguments against Democracy

1. Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.

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• Democracy is all about political competition and power play. There is no scope or morality.

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• So many people have to be consulted in a democracy that it leads to delays.

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• Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people. It leads to bad decisions.

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5. Democracy leads to corruption for it is based on electoral competition.

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• Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them, they should not decide anything.

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Arguments for Democracy

1. A democratic government is a better government because it is a more accountable form of government.

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• Democracy improves the quality of decision making.

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• Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts.

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• Democracy enhances the dignity of citizens.

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5. Democracy is better than other forms of government because it allows us to correct its own mistakes.

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• That is why democracy is considered the best form of government.

1. The most common form that democracy takes in our times is that of representative democracy.

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• Modern democracy involve such a large number of people that it is physically impossible for them to sit together and take a collective decision.

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• Even if they could, the citizens does not have the time, the desire or the skills to take part in all the decisions.

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• Democracy is also a principle that can be applied to any sphere of life.

5. The most common form of democracy in today’s world is rule through people’s elected representatives.

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• Democracy depends on active political participation by all the citizens.

• Recapitulation

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• An intense interactive session among the students about the whole lesson to be conducted by the teacher.

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• Summary/Points to be noted down in the note book.

• In-class assignment.

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• Home assignment.

Task for least achievers.

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1. Make few questions of your own from the textbook.

�Task for gifted children.

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1. Write short note on features of democracy.

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