NCERT Solutions for Class 9 SST Civics Chapter 6 Democratic Rights (Updated for 2021 – 22)

Democratic Rights Class 9 Extra Questions Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
An international human rights organisation who collected information on the condition of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay (US) was _______ .
Answer:
Amnesty International

Question 2.
A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of_______ of arrest.
Answer:
24 hours

Question 3.
Claims of a person over other fellow beings, over the society and over the government are called their_______ .
Answer:
Rights

Question 4.
In a democratic country like India, some rights are given a special status. They are called_______ .
Answer:
Fundamental Rights

Question 5.
According to our constitution, the laws apply in the same manner to all, regardless of a person’s status. This is called_______ .
Answer:
Rule of law

Question 6.
Begar is a practice where the worker is forced to render service to the master without any charge or at a nominal remuneration. If it continues for life-long, this practice is called_______ .
Answer:
Bonded labour

Question 7.
Which three evils have been declared illegal by the constitution?
Answer:
Traffic in human beings, bonded labour and child labour.

Question 8.
An order issued by a court asking a person to appear before it, is_______ .
Answer:
Summon

Question 9.
It refers to the demand for legal or moral entitlements a person makes on fellow citizens?
Answer:
Claim

Question 10.
What was the reason given by America for imprisoning people at Guantanamo Bay?
Answer:
America considered them as enemies of the US and linked them to the attack on New York on 11th September, 2001.

Question 11.
In which year was the National Human Rights Commission set up?
Answer:
1993.

Question 12.
What is the full form of NHRC?
Answer:
National Human Rights Commission.

Question 13.
What does FIL stand for?
Answer:
Public Interest Litigation.

Question 14.
Who appoints the National Human Rights Commission?
Answer:
The President of India appoints the National Human Rights Commission.

Question 15.
What is secular state?
Answer:
A secular state is one that does not establish any one religion as official religion.

Question 16.
Name the person who wrote a series of news reports in The Hindu describing untouchability and caste discrimination.
Answer:
R Sainath

Question 17.
Name the book written by Salman Rushdie which was banned by the government of India.
Answer:
Satanic Verses.

Question 18.
How was the Massacre of Albanians finally stopped?
Answer:
Several countries intervened to stop the Massacre.

Question 19.
The government is responsible for providing free and compulsory education to all the children up to the age of :
Answer:
14 years

Question 20.
What does the word ‘begar’ mean?
Answer:
It is a practice where the worker is forced to render service to the ‘master’ free of charge or at a nominal remuneration.

Question 21.
What did Dr. Ambedkar refer to the ‘Right to Constitutional Remedies’ as?
Answer:
Dr. Ambedkar called the Right to Constitutional Remedies, ‘the heart and soul’ of our Constitution.

Question 22.
What is meant by the term ‘writ’?
Answer:
A formal document containing an order of the court to the government issued only by High Court or the Supreme Court.

Question 23.
Cultural and Educational Rights are safeguarded mainly for :
Answer:
Minorities

Question 24.
What do you understand by rights?
Answer:
Rights are reasonable claims of persons recognised by society and sanctioned by law.

Question 25.
What is meant by ‘Rule of Law’?
Answer:
Its means equality before the law and that no person is above the law.

Question 26.
Why are rights necessary for the very sustenance of a democracy?
Answer:
In a democracy, every citizen must have the right to vote and the right to be elected to government. For democratic elections to take place, it is necessary that citizens should have the right to express their opinion, form political parties and take part in political activities.

Question 27.
What are Fundamental Rights?
Answer:
Some rights which are fundamental to our life are given a special status. They are called Fundamental Rights. ”

Question 28.
What is meant by ‘traffic in human beings’?
Answer:
It means selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.

Question 29.
What are Human Rights?
Answer:
Human Rights are universal moral claims that may or may not have been recognised by law. Every human being has the right to live and enjoy his life and should not be tortured by any means.

Question 30.
In what way does the child labour prohibit by the Indian Constitution?
Answer:
The constitution prohibits child labour. No one can employ a child below the age of fourteen to work in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous work, such as railways and ports.

Democratic Rights Class 9 Extra Questions Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
How were the prisoners treated in Guantanamo Bay?
Answer:
The treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay was very humiliating.

• There was no trial before any magistrate in the US. They were tortured in the ways that violated the laws.
• This place was not located in the US. It was an area near Cuba controlled by American Navy, so nobody knew the location of the prison.
• Families of prisoners, media or even the UN representatives were not allowed to meet the prisoners.

Question 2.
What was the basic reason for the ethnic massacre in Kosovo?
Answer:
Kosovo was a province of Yugoslavia before its split. In this province, the population was overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian. But, in the entire country, Serbs were in majority. A narrow-minded Serb nationalist Milosevic had won the election. His government was very hostile to the Kosovo Albanians. He wanted the Serbs to dominate the country. Many Serb leaders thought that Ethnic minorities like Albanians should either leave the country or accept the dominance of the Serbs. This massacre was being carried out by the army of their own country, working under the direction of a leader who came to power through democratic elections. This was one of the worst instances of killings based on ethnic prejudices in recent times. Finally, several other countries intervened to stop this massacre. Milosevic lost power and was tried by an International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity.

Question 3.
Describe the citizen’s Rights in Saudi Arabia.
Answer:

• The country is ruled by a hereditary king and the people have no role in electing or changing their rulers.
• The king selects the legislature as well as the executive. He appoints the judges and can change any of their decisions.
• Citizens cannot form polfflcal parties or any political organisations. Media cannot report anything that the monarch does not like.
• There is no freedom of religion. Every citizen is required to be Muslim. Non-Muslim residents can follow their religion in private, but not in public.
• Women are subjected to many public restrictions. The testimony of one man is considered equal to that of two women. (Any three)

Question 4.
According to our Constitution, what are the three evils?
Or
What is “Right against Exploitation”?
Answer:
Every citizen has a right not to be exploited. There are clear provisions in the ‘ constitution that prevent exploitation of the weaker sections of the society. The constitution mentions three specific evils and declares these illegal.

• First, The Constitution prohibits ‘traffic in human beings’. Traffic here means selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.
• Second, Our Constitution also prohibits forced labour or begar in any form. ‘Begar’ is a practice where the worker is forced to render service to the ‘master’ free of charge or at a nominal remuneration. When this practice takes place on a life-long basis, it is called the practice of bonded labour.
• Third, The Constitution also prohibits child labour. No one can employ a child below the age of fourteen to work in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous work, such as railways and ports. Using this as a basis, many laws have been made to prohibit children from working in industries such as beedi-making, firecrackers and matches, printing and dyeing.

Question 5.
Why does the Constitution specify the cultural and educational rights of the minorities?
Answer:
The constitution specify the cultural and educational rights of the minorities because :

• Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture have a right to conserve it.
• Admission to any educational institution maintained by government or receiving government aid cannot be denied to any citizen on the ground of religion or language.
• All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Here, minority does not mean only religious minority at the national level. In some places, people speaking a particular language are in majority; people speaking a different language are in a minority.

For example, Telugu speaking people form a majority in Andhra Pradesh. But, they are a minority in the neighbouring state of Karnataka. Sikhs constitute a majority in Punjab. But, they are a minority in Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.

Question 6.
Are the reservations provided to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs against the Right to Equality?
Answer:
These reservations are not against the Right to Equality. In a broader sense, equality does not mean giving the same treatment to everyone, no matter what they need. Equality means giving everyone an equal opportunity to achieve whatever one is capable of. Sometimes, it is necessary to give job reservations to socially and economically backward sections of the society to ensure equal opportunity. The Constitution says that the reservations of this kind are not a violation of the Right to Equality.

Question 7.
Explain the ‘Right to Equality’ enjoyed by the citizens of India.
Answer:
All citizens irrespective of caste, colour, region, religion, ethnicity, sex or place of birth are equal before the law. Every citizen shall have the access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels, and cinema halls. There shall be no restriction with regard to the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads, playgrounds and places of public resorts maintained by the government or dedicated to the use of public. All citizens shall have equal opportunity in matters of employment.

Question 8.
According to Dr. Ambedkar—‘The Right to Constitutional Remedies is called the heart and soul of our Constitution’. Explain.
Answer:
This ‘Right’ makes other ‘Rights’ effective. If sometimes our rights are violated by fellow citizens, private bodies or by the government, we can seek remedy through courts. If it is a Fundamental Right, we can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state. That is why Dr. Ambedkar called it “the heart and soul” of our Constitution.

Question 9.
Explain the ‘Right to Freedom of Religion’.
Answer:
India is a secular state. A secular state is one that does not establish any one religion as official religion. Indian secularism practices an attitude of a principal and equal distance from all religions. The state must be neutral and impartial in dealing with all religions. Every person has a right to profess, practice and propagate any religion that he or she believes in.

There shall be no religious instruction in the government educational institutions. In educational institutions managed by private bodies, no person shall be compelled to take part in any religious instruction or to attend any religious worship.

Question 10.
Explain the meaning of ‘Freedom of Speech and Expression’.
Answer:
A person’s ideas and personality develop only when he can freely communicate with others. Even if a hundred people think in one way, one should have the freedom to think differently and express their views accordingly.
Freedom of Speech and Expression means :

• You are free to criticise the government or the activities of the association in your conversations with parents, friends and relatives.
• You may publicise your views through a pamphlet, magazine or newspaper. You can do it through paintings, poetry or songs.
• You cannot use this freedom to instigate violence against others. You cannot use it to incite people to rebel against government.

Question 11.
Why do we need rights in a democracy?
Answer:
We need rights in a democracy because of the following reasons :

• Rights protect minorities tern the oppression of majority. They ensure that the majority cannot do whatever it likes. Rights are guarantees which can be used when things go wrong.
• Things may go wrong when some citizens may wish to take away the rights of others. This usually happens when those in majority want to dominate those in minority.
• The government should protect the citizens’ rights in such a situation. But, sometimes elected governments may not protect or may even attack the rights of their own citizens. That is why some rights need to be placed higher than the government, so that the government cannot violate them. In most democracies, the basic rights of the citizens are written down in the Constitution.

Question 12.
How are the Fundamental Rights guaranteed?
Answer:
The Fundamental Rights are guaranteed by the following ways :
(a) The Fundamental Rights are guaranteed against the actions of the Legislature, the Executive, and any other authorities instituted by the government. There can be no law or action that violates the Fundamental Rights.
(b) If any act of the Legislature or the Executive takes away or limits any of the Fundamental Rights, it will be invalid. We can challenge such laws of the central and state governments, the policies and actions of the government or the governmental organisations like the nationalized banks or electricity boards.
(c) Courts also enforce the Fundamental Rights against private individuals and private bodies. The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights. They can also award compensation to the victims and punishment to the violators.

Question 13.
State the new rights granted by the Constitution of South Africa to its people.
Answer:
The Constitution of South Africa guarantees its citizens several kinds of new rights :

• Right to privacy, so that citizens or their home cannot be searched, their phones cannot be tapped, their communication cannot be opened.
• Flight to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being;
• Right to have access to adequate housing.
• Right to have access to health care services, sufficient food and water; no one may be refused emergency medical treatment.

Question 14.
Which extreme form of social discrimination is forbidden by the Indian Constitution?
Answer:
The Constitution mentions one extreme form of social discrimination, the practice of untouchability, and clearly directs the government to put an end to it. The practice of untouchability has been forbidden in any form. Untouchability here does not only mean refusal to touch people belonging to certain castes.

It refers to any belief or social practice which looks down upon people on account of their birth with certain caste labels. Such practice denies them interaction with others or access to public places as equal citizens. So, the Constitution made untouchability a punishable offence.

Question 15.
How can you say that India is a secular state?
Answer:
A secular state is one that does not establish any one religion as official religion. Most people in India, like anywhere else in the world, follow different religions. Indian secularism practices an attitude of a principled and equal distance from all religions. The state must be neutral and impartial in dealing with all religions. Every person has a right to profess, practice and propagate the religion he or she believes in. Every religious group or sect is free to manage its religious affairs. India is a secular state.

A secular state is one that does not confer any privilege or favour on any particular religion. Nor does it punish or discriminate against people on the basis of religion they follow.

Question 16.
What are the Fundamental Rights? How many Fundamental Rights are given in our Constitution?
Answer:
In India, like most other democracies in the world, the rights are mentioned in the Constitution. Some rights which are fundamental to our life are given a special status. They are called Fundamental Rights. Our Constitution provides us six Fundamental Rights.
These are :

• Right to Equality
• Flight to Freedom
• Right against Exploitation
• Right to Freedom of Religion
• Cultural and Educational Rights
• Right to Constitutional Remedies

They are an important basic feature of India’s Constitution.

Question 17.
Which types of issues are raised through Public Interest Litigation (PIL)?
Answer:
Any person can go to the court against the violation of the Fundamental flight, if it is of social or public interest. It is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Under the PIL, any citizen or group of citizens can approach the Supreme Court or a High Court for the protection of public interest against a particular law or action of the government. One can write to the judges even on a postcard. The court will take up the matter if the judges find it in public interest.

Democratic Rights Class 9 Extra Questions Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What are rights? How are they related to the society?
Answer:
(i) Rights are claims of a person over other fellow beings, over the society and over the government. The claims should be reasonable. They should be such, that can be made available to others in an equal measure. Thus, a right comes with an obligation to respect other rights.
(ii)

• Every society makes certain rules to regulate our conduct. They tell us what is right and what is wrong. What is recognised by the society as rightful becomes the basis of rights. That is why the notion of rights changes from time to time and society to society.
• When law recognises some claims, they become enforceable. We can then demand their application.
• So, if we want to call any claim a right, it has to have these three qualities. Rights are reasonable claims of persons recognised by society and sanctioned by law.

Question 2.
Why is the ‘Right to Freedom’ called a cluster of several rights?
Answer:
Under the Indian Constitution, all citizens exercise several freedoms which are covered in the right to freedom. So, every citizen has the right to all the following freedoms :

• Freedom of speech and expression
• Freedom to assemble in a peaceful manner
• Freedom to form associations and unions
• Freedom to move freely throughout the country
• Freedom to reside in any part of the country, and
• Freedom to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

Question 3.
Explain the expanding scope of rights.
Answer:

• From time to time, the courts gave judgments to expand the scope of rights. Certain rights like right to freedom of press, right to information, and right to education are derived from the Fundamental Rights.
• Now, school education has become a right for Indian citizens. The governments are responsible for providing free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14 years.
• Parliament has enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens. This Act was made under the Fundamental Right to freedom of thought and expression. We have a right to seek information from government offices.
• Recently, the Supreme Court has expanded the meaning of the right to life to include the right to food. Also, rights are not limited only to Fundamental Rights as enumerated in the Constitution.
• Constitution provides many more rights, which may not be Fundamental Rights.
  For example, the right to property is not a Fundamental Right, but it is a constitutional right. Right to vote in elections is an important constitutional right. Sometimes, the expansion takes place in what is called human rights.
•  These are universal moral claims that may or may not have been recognized by law. In that sense, these claims are not rights. With the expansion of democracy all over the world, there a greater pressure on governments to accept these claims.

Question 4.
What is the role of National Human Rights Commission in securing the human rights? How does it Work?
Answer:
The National Human Rights Commission is an independent commission set up by law in 1993. The Commission is appointed by the President and includes retired judges, officers and eminent citizens.

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) focuses on helping the victims in securing their human rights. These include all the rights granted to the citizens by the Constitution.
• For NHRC, human rights also include the rights mentioned in the UN-sponsored international treaties that India has signed.
• The NHRC cannot by itself punish the guilty. It is the responsibility of the courts. The NHRC makes an independent and credible inquiry into any case of violation of human rights.
• The Commission presents its findings and recommendations to the government or intervenes in the court on behalf of the victims.
• Like any court, it can summon witnesses, question any government official, demand any official paper, visit any prison for inspection or send its own team for on-the-spot inquiry.

Question 5.
List the rights subjected to International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Answer:
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognises many rights that are not directly a part of the Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution. This has not yet become an international treaty. But, human right activists all over the world see this as a standard of human rights.
These include :

• Right to work: opportunity to everyone to earn livelihood by working.
• Right to safe and healthy working conditions, fair wages that can provide decent standard of living for the workers and their families.
• Right to adequate standard of living including adequate food, clothing and housing.
• Right to social security and insurance.
• Right to health: medical care during illness, special care for women during childbirth and prevention of epidemics.
• Right to education: free and compulsory primary education, equal access to higher education.

Question 6.
If the government or Police arrest anybody on the basis of the prevailing laws, what rules do they have to follow?
Answer:
(i) The Constitution says that no person can be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. It means that no person can be killed unless the court has ordered a death sentence.
(ii) A government or police officer can arrest or detain any citizen unless he has proper legal justification. Even when they do, they have to follow some procedures :

• A person who is arreted and detained in custody will have to be informed of the reasons for such arrest and detention.
• A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of arrest.
• Such a person has the right to consult a lawyer or engage a lawyer for his defence.

Question 7.
How can the judiciary protect the Fundamental Rights of citizens?
Answer:
The judiciary protect the Fundamental Rights of citizens on the following ways :

• It is possible that sometimes our rights may be violated by fellow citizens, private bodies or by the government. When any of our rights are violated we can seek remedy through courts. If it is a Fundamental Right, we can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state.
• Fundamental Rights are guaranteed against the actions of the Legislatures, the Executive, and any other authorities instituted by the government. There can be no law or action that violates the Fundamental Rights.
• If any act of the Legislature or the Executive takes away or limits any of the Fundamental Rights, it will be invalid. We can challenge such laws of the central and state governments,
• Courts also enforce the Fundamental Flights against private individuals and bodies. The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
• They can also award compensation to the victims and punishment to the violators.

Question 8.
What is Amnesty International? State the condition of prisoners according to the report of Amnesty International in Guantanamo Bay.
Answer:
It is an international organisation of volunteers who campaign for human rights. This organisation brings out independent reports on the violation of human rights all over the world and collected information on the condition of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.

• The prisoners were being tortured in ways that violated the US laws.
• They were being denied the treatment that even prisoners of war must get as per international treaties.
• Many prisoners had tried protesting against these conditions by going on a hunger strike.
• Prisoners were not released even after they were officially declared not guilty.

Question 9.
What do you mean by ‘Untouchability’? What did Sainath find while travelling to the various parts of the country?
Answer:
It refers to any belief or social practice which looks down upon people on account of their birth with certain caste labels. Such practice denies them interaction with others or access to public places as equal citizens. So, the Constitution made untouchability a punishable offence.

In 1999, R Sainath wrote a series of news reports in The Hindu describing untouchability and caste discrimination that was still being practiced against Dalits or persons belonging to Scheduled Castes. He travelled to various parts of the country and found that in many places :

• Tea stalls kept two kinds of cups, one for Dalits and one for others.
• Barbers refused to serve Dalit clients.
• Dalit students were made to sit separately in the classroom or drink water from separate pitcher.
• Dalit grooms were not allowed to ride a horse in the wedding procession.
• Dalits were not allowed to use common handpump or if they did, the handpump was washed to purify it.