Question

“Democracy stands much superior in promoting dignity and freedom of the citizens”. Justify the statement

Answer 1

Democracy promotes the freedom of citizens because it puts the power into the hands of the people. Democracy lets public opinion make decisions and elect leaders. Democracy promotes dignity because authoritarianism is not moral or respectful. It is dignified to let the people being governed make the decisions for themselves. As John Locke said, "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". The government or ruling power must get their power from the consent of the people being governed, and democracy is the only way to get the consent of the governed.

Answer 2

Examples to illustrate that dignity and freedom of citizens are best guaranteed in a democracy:

(i) Dignity of women. Democracy recognizes the dignity of women as a necessary ingredient of society. The one way to ensure that women related problems get adequate attention is to have more women as elected representatives. To achieve this, it is legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies. Panchayati Raj in India has reserved one-third seats in local government bodies for women. In March 2010, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha ensuring 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State legislative bodies.

(ii) Democracy has strengthened the claims of disadvantaged and discriminated castes. When governments are formed, political parties usually take care that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in it. Some political parties are known to favor some castes. Democracy provides for equal status and opportunities for all castes.

(iii) Democracy transforms people from the status of a subject into that of a citizen. A democracy is concerned with ensuring that people will have the right to choose their rulers and people will have control over the rulers. Whenever possible and necessary, citizens should be able to participate in decision-making that affects them all.

Step-by-step explanation: