[Explain] Write a 10 Points on Demerits of Democracy (in short)

Democracy is better than any other form of government. It gives equal rights and freedom to every individual. But also, he has some demerits. Let’s take a look at some of them. 

Here are the demerits of democracy:

 1. Unstable Government Many political parties are allowed to criticize the government and its policies. Sometimes this leads to the fall of the ruling party and re-election in the country. This gives instability to the government.

 2. A slow and inefficient government. The most common demerit of democracy is that its functioning is slow. The decision-making process involves lengthy debates and deliberations in Parliament. It takes a long time before decisions are made.

 3. Incompetence Democracy gives every individual the right to express his concern. Therefore, everything the world focuses on personal interests and not on collective interests. This sometimes leads to incompetent and erroneous selections of government candidates.

 4. Role of Money in a Democracy Money plays an important role in elections. It takes a lot of money to organize demonstrations, public meetings and speeches. These candidates are chosen in the elections, who can raise a lot of money for the party.

[Explain] Give the Scientific Names of Tiger, Peacock, Ant, Neem, Lotus and Potato. 

Hint: Naming of plants and animal species scientifically is considered as binomial nomenclature. The name that is been assigned in this manner is known as the scientific name. 

Complete answer:

Scientific names consist of genus and species. Genus name starts with a capital letter and is written in italics whereas species name always starts with a small letter and is written in italics. 

Scientific name for 

TIGER: Panthera tigris.

PEACOCK: Pavo cristatus.

ANT: Formicidae.

NEEM: Azadirachta indica.

LOTUS: Nelumbo nucifera.

POTATO: Solanum tuberosum.

Note: While giving the binomial nomenclature name one should be familiar with certain rules:

– Scientific names are derived from the Latin language.

– Scientific name should be in Italics when typed.

– It should be underlined when handwritten.

– The genus name starts with the capital letter and it is continued with the species name in small letters.

[Explain] List any 4 Methods can be used of Conserving Fossil Fuels

Since fuels have become a part of modern lifestyle, it is becoming used up to a great extent of getting run out. There are ways in which we can conserve the nature and most importantly the fossil fuels.

(i) Conversion into efficient forms like CNG.

(ii) Protection of resources from fires.

(iii) Avoid wastage of oil.

(iv) Make more use of renewable source of energy like using solar energy, wind mills to generate electricity.

[Explain] What are the merits and demerits of democracy?

Hint: The word ‘democracy’ has a Greek origin. ‘Demo’ means ‘people’, whilst ‘cracy’ means ‘power’. Democracy is a type of government system where the people of the country have the power to make decisions about their country and the government doesn’t simply impose its decision on the people. 

Complete answer:

The most modern interpretation of democracy was given by American President, Mr. Abraham Lincoln, who said ‘democracy is the government of the people, for the people, by the people’. In today’s contemporary world, democracy has been accepted as the best form of government, although its successful working depends on certain pre-requisites. The word ‘democracy’ means ‘rule by the people. ‘A democracy is a system where people can change their rulers in a peaceful manner and the government is given the right to rule because the people say it may.

MERITS OF DEMOCRACY:

1. The participation of the individual members in the government facilitates enlisting their sympathy and cooperation to the success of the government.

2. It is an effective form to educate the public about political, economic and social affairs.

3. It is helpful to promote patriotism among the people and prevents the occurrence of violent revolutions.

4. It helps to make progress and development and enables changes to take place in a peaceful manner.

5. It ensures the people freedom of speech, conscience, assembly and action.

6. It guarantees liberty and equality, which are necessary for human development.

7. In a democracy, the rights and interests of every section of the people in a democratic state are adequately safeguarded. It can command the resources of all because it stands for the benefit of all.

8. It broadens the vision of all, neutralizing the inherent selfish tendencies of the human mind.

9. It offers a huge personal privilege to every citizen of the land and stands against any suppression of thought, speech or association.

10. The greatest virtue of democracy is that it stands for the unfettered development of the human spirit and free expression of the human mind.

DEMERITS OF DEMOCRACY:

1. It sometimes leads to establish the majority view over the minority view. 

2. Party leaders and political office holders in government control the citizens and the members of the party.

3. It does not encourage individuals to give their opinions. 

4. It is a very expensive form of government because elections have to be conducted periodically to the various office.

5. It is difficult to prevent corruption and malpractices.

6. It is also known as government by amateurs and lead to the domination of the masses.

7. The decision-making process is slow in democracy as it involves long debates and deliberations in Parliament.

8. Self-discipline, a good conscience, and intellect are pre-requisites for every citizen to have a successful democratic society.

9. Self-interest is the most common and a majority of the people is unwilling to subordinate it to the general will of the community.

10. Democracy has been characterized by these critics as mobocracy, it produces quantity rather than quality. This rule of the majority has at times proved to be the most incompetent and worthless. 

The world has been experimenting with so many systems of government, but no other system could satisfy the basic needs of the people. So, democracy has been accepted as the best form of government where a man can really enjoy equality of opportunity, liberty, and freedom.

Note: Democracy is a form of government where:

– Rulers elected by the people take all major decisions

– In this government elections offer a fair opportunity for people to elect their representatives and also to change their current representatives.

-The opportunity to choose their representatives is accessible for everyone on equal terms.

[Explain] What are potential and actual resources?

Hint: Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Every country has its own resources on which the entire population relies. These resources are either natural or manmade.

Complete answer:

Actual Resources: Actual resources are the resources where quantity is known which are being used in the present. Actual resources are the ones surveyed, determined by their quantity and consistency. Coal, water, and petrol are actual resources. At the current time, they are being used. These resources have been surveyed, their quality and quantity are determined and are currently in use. The help of advanced technologies is used to dig out these resources. 

Some examples of these resources are natural oil reserves of the Middle East, the hydroelectric power of Niagara Falls, iron ore deposits of Madhya Pradesh, petroleum and natural gas in West Asia and India’s Mumbai High, dark soils in Deccan plateau and rich coal deposits in Germany. 

Potential Resources: The resources that are present in a specific region and can be used in the future are classified as potential resources. The exact quantity and consistency of the resource are uncertain. Advanced technology is needed to make the best use of these resources. 

Here we do not know the exact quantity and quality of the resource. We need advanced technology to use these resources in future. As technology grows it is possible to use it in the future. They are not actually being used.

Some examples are the existence of Mineral Oil is depicted in major parts of India where sedimentary rocks are found but the date it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains as a potential resource. In the same way, Uranium found in the terrains of Ladakh also comes under this category. Almost 200 years back, high-speed winds were recognised as a potential resource, today it is used as an actual resource in wind farms for generating wind energy using windmills in the Netherlands, Nagercoil in Tamilnadu and Gujarat states of India.

Note: The distribution of natural resources depends upon many physical factors like land, climate and altitude. The distribution of resources is unequal because these factors differ from place to place on this earth.

[Explain] What is a secular state ?

When a country signifies to be officially neutral in matters of religion, i.e. when it does not support religion nor irreligion, then the concept of a secular state comes into the picture. Which we called secularism. Definition of secularism says “Secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from the religious institution and religious dignitaries, the realisation of such is labelled as secularity.” 

The right to be free from the religious teachings, rule, lessons, is one of the manifestations of secularism. Civic decisions and activities, not the political ones, is also one more indicator of secularism. It should not get influenced by religious beliefs or practices.” In a secular state, all citizens are treated equally regardless of religion. It claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen from a particular religion/nonreligion over other. There is nothing called state religion or like that, although the absence of a state religion does not necessarily mean that a state is fully secular. Yet, a truly secular state should steadfastly maintain national governance without influence from religious factions; i.e. separation of religious bodies and state. We do have a practice of various religions in India. India is actually a perfect example of secularism. A secular state is one that does not confer any privilege or favour on any particular religion. In a secular state, no one gets punishment or there is no discrimination against people on the basis of religion he or she follow. Administration cannot force any person to pay taxes for the promotion or maintenance of religion. There should be absolutely no religious instructions in educational institutions and schools.