Class 9 Civics HOTS Questions - Democracy in the Contemporary World (Old Syllabus)

101) What should be the policy of the Government of India towards the Military rulers of Myanmar? 
Ans: India is a well established democratic country, where citizens enjoy all the fundamental rights and lead a happy and free life. But in Myanmar, democracy has been destroyed and a large number of people have been        killed. 6 to 10 lakhs have been uprooted from their  homes. So, the Government of India must use its power to influence the autocratic government of Myanmar to give more rights to the people of Myanmar. India always supported the struggle of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar. Moreover India should also maintain cordial relations with its neighbouring country.  

102) Write a short essay on the life of Aung San Suu Kyi.   
Ans: Aung San Suu Kyi was born on 19th June, 1945 in Rangoon to General Aungsan, undisputed hero of Myanmar. She was educated in the City of Rangoon until she was fifteen years old. She studied politics at Delhi University. She went to Oxford where she studied philosophy, politics and economics. In 1972, she married British Academic Michael Aris. She has two sons. She kept on fighting for democracy and freedom for her homeland. She spent a long time in house arrest. She released from house arrest on November, 2010. On April, 2012, she stood for Parliament for first time and won the election. She took oath on 2nd May, 2012 and now she has an official voice in the legislative branch. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She is known simply as 'The Lady' or 'Mother Suu' by millions of her countrymen.  

103) Should there be a World Government? If yes, who should elect it? And what powers should it have?
Ans: 
(i) Yes, there should be a World Government.  
(ii) It should consist of representatives from each country appointed by the government of the concerned countries because direct election would be too complicated and difficult.   (iii) It should have the power to settle disputes between different countries and solve issues relating environment, peace, poverty, natural resources, human rights, equality etc and other things that affects the international community.  

104) This cartoon was published in Mexico in 2005 and was titles 'International Games'?  
(i) Which game is the cartoonist talking about here? 
(ii) What does the ball symbolise? 
(iii) Who are the players?
Ans:
(i) The cartoonist is talking about the game of football here.  
(ii) The ball symbolises the globe which indicates the game of world politics.  
(iii) The players are army and the terrorist. They are playing in front of the United Nations headquarters.  

105) Should the permanent members of the UN be given the power to veto?
Ans: No, the permanent members of the UN should not be given the power to veto. The five permanent member has this veto power but it is generally word for their own interest. It is not used for the interest of the international community. Generally, the fifteen member Security Council of the UN takes crucial decisions. But the council cannot take a decision if any permanent member says no to that decision. Thus many countries protest against the veto power and urge that the UN will be more democratic.  

106) When did democratic rule end in Myanmar?

Ans: The democratic rule ended in 1962 with a military coup. They ruled for about 30 years.

107)  Wolfouritz was a senior official in the Department of Defense in the US (commonly called the Pentagon). He was an aggressive supporter of the invasion of Iraq.  The cartoon continents on his appointment as the president of the World Bank. What does the cartoon tells us about the relationship between the World Bank and the US? 
Ans: The US attacked Iraq to meet its own end. The US and its allied occupied Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein to make contol over the petroleum products of Iraq. In this cartoon, similarly US official wanted to control the affairs of the World Bank at the cost of the other countries for his own country's interest.

108) When did Myanmar gain independence from colonial rule?

Ans:  It gained independence from colonial rule in 1948 and became a democracy.

109) The cartoon 'Cactus of Democracy' was published in 2004. What does the cactus look like here? Who is gifting it, and to Whom ? What is the message? 
Ans:  (i) The cactus here looks like the statue of liberty.   (ii) An American soldier representing the US is gifting the statue of liberty to the people of Iraq.   (iii) The message is that liberty or democracy which is given by outside (foreign) powers, e.g., US is full of thorns or difficulties. This is not in the interest of the people of Iraq and it will be harmful to them because the US has its own interests in removing the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.  

110) Collect information on the debate related to Iraq within f the US and the UK. What were the reasons originally offered for the Iraq invasion by the President of the US and the Prime Minister of UK? What were the reasons offered after the war?  
Ans: 1.The President of the US and the Prime Minister of UK offered following reasons for the invasion of Iraq (i) Proliferation of nuclear weapons by Iraq.    (ii) Iraq was giving shelter to the Islamic terrorists.   2. (i) After the war, they justified the Iraqi invasion by saying that they wanted to establish democracy in Iraq. But the consequences of the invasion can be felt by the Iraqi people.   (ii) The reasons which the European countries labelled against Iraq did not come out true instead it shattered the whole country beyond repair.  

111) The example of Iraq raises some basic questions that we need to think about 
1. Is this the right way to promote democracy? Should a democratic country wage a war and invade other countries for establishing democracy there? 
2. Does external help work in every case? Or does it work only when the people of a nation are actively engaged in a struggle to make their societies democratic? 
3. Even if external intervention leads to the establishment of democracy in a country, would it last long? Would it enjoy the support of its citizens? 
4. Finally, is the use of external force to gift democracy to the people in keeping with the spirit of democracy?
Ans: 1.(i) No, this is not the right way to promote democracy.   (ii) A democratic country does not have the right to wage a war against other countries for establishing democracy there. 2.(i) No, external help does not work in every case for establishing democracy in a country   (ii) External help works mostly when the people of a nation are actively engaged in a struggle to make their societies democratic. 3.(i) Generally, democracy does not last long if it is established by external intervention.   (ii) In this case, the majority of citizens does not support it. 4. The use of external force to gift democracy to the people is not justified in the spirit of democracy.

112) 'Helping Democracy' was a comment on the presence of US forces during the elections in Iraq. Do you think the cartoon can apply to many other situations? Identify some examples from this chapter which this cartoon can help understand.   
Ans: Yes, the cartoon can apply to other situations also e.g.,   (i) General Musharraf used the power of the army to remove democracy and establish the military rule.   (ii) In Myanmar, the military overthrew the democracy and established military dictatorship. Elections were held but the military government refused to recognise the victory of Aung San Suu Ki and put her under house arrest.   (iii) General Pinochet used the army to overthrow democracy in Chile and established a dictatorship.   This cartoon can be applied to many other situations in different countries like Pakistan, Myanmar, Chile, where the army was used not to establish k democracy but to overthrow it.  

113) Who was Salvador Allende?
Ans:  (i) He was the President of Chile, a country in South America.
(ii) He was the founder leader of the Socialist Party of Chile and led the popular Unity Coalition to victory in the Presidential election in 1970.

114) How was Allende's government toppled in Chile?
Ans: On llth September 1973, there was a military coup in Chile in which General Augusto Pinochet took over the charge and ruled over Chile for the next 17 years and a military dictatorship was established in Chile.

115) Who was Alberto Bachelet?
Ans: He was the General of the Chilean Air force, who refused to join coup and was therefore tortured and killed.

116) Who was Michelle Bachelet?
Ans: Michelle Bachelet was elected President of Chile in January 2006. A medical doctor and a moderate socialist, she became the first woman to be a Defence Minister in Latin America and later won the Presidential Elections.

117) Which party was ruling in Poland in 1980?
Ans: The Polish United Workers, Party was ruling over Poland. It was a Communist Party.

118) Which workers went on strike in Poland? Who was their leader?
Ans: The workers of Lenin Shipyard went on a strike on 14th August 1980. Their leader was Lech Walesa.

119) How did this strike of trade unions end?
Ans: The workers led by Walesa signed a "21-Point agreement" with the government that ended their strike.

120) What was 'Solidarity'?
Ans:  It was a new trade union, it was the first time an independent trade union was formed in any of the communist States.

121) When did Solidarity strike again?

Ans: Another wave of strikes again organised by Solidarity began in 1988.

122) What was the result of 1990 Elections of Poland?

Ans:In October 1990, Poland had its first Presidential elections in which more than one party could contest. Walesa was elected President of Poland.

123) Define the form 'Democracy'.

Ans:  'Democracy' is a form of Government that allows people to choose their rulers.

124) Who ruled over Ghana?

Ans: Ghana used to be a British Colony named Gold Coast.

125) When did it become independent?

Ans:  It became independent in 1957. It was among the first countries in Africa to gain independence.

126) Who was Kwame Nkrumah?

Ans:  Kwame Nkrumah, son of a goldsmith and himself a teacher, was active in the independence struggle of his country.

127) Who was the first Prime Minister and then the President of Ghana?

Ans: Kwame Nkrumah. 

128) When was Soviet Union disintegrated and into how many republics?

Ans: Soviet Union broke down in 1991 and was divided into 15 Republics.