Wednesday, 26 February 2014
अन्वयार्थ तालिबानी त्रांगडे
http://www.loksatta.com/desh-videsh-news/us-plans-possible-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-385667/अन्वयार्थ तालिबानी त्रांगडे
Monday, 24 February 2014
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Question Bank
FC-I FYBA/BSc Semester-II (March-14)
Q 1 Discuss the
origin of Human Rights and discuss their importance.
Q 2 State the
nature of Fundamental Rights in India and their importance/Write a note on UDHR.
Q 3 Explain the
concept Ecosystem and its role/significance for the natural environment.
Q 4 What do you
mean by Sustainable Development? Discuss its main features/importance.
Q 5 Discuss the causes of stress and conflict in
society/individual.
Q 6 Explain
the process of Socialisation in individual development.
Q 7 Explain
the role of values and ethics in individual development.
Q 8 Write Short Notes on the following:
1)
Globalisation 6) Globalisation
and Farmers’ Suicides
2) Impact of Economic Globalisation 7) Stress in
Individual Life
3)
Liberalisation of Indian Economy
8) Stress Management
4) Privatisation 9) Peace and
Harmony in Society
5) Globalisation
and Agriculture Crisis
प्रश्न संच
पायाभूत
अभ्यासक्रम-१ सेमेस्टर-II प्रथमवर्ष कला/विज्ञान मार्च २०१४
प्र १ मानव अधिकार ह्या मूळ संकल्पनेच्या उदयाची चर्चा करा
व महत्व सांगा.
प्र २ भारतातील मुलभूत अधिकार संकल्पनेचे स्वरूप व त्यांचे
महत्व पटवून सांगा/UDHR वर टीप liha.
प्र ३ परीसंस्थेची संकल्पना व नैसर्गिक पर्यावरणासाठी तिचे
महत्व/भूमिका स्पष्ट करा
प्र ४ शाश्वत विकास म्हणजे काय? त्याची तलाक वैशिष्ठ्ये स्पष्ट
करा.
प्र ५ समाजातील तणाव व संघर्षाच्या प्रमुख कारणांची चर्चा
करा.
प्र ६ व्याक्तीविकासातील सामाजीकारणाची प्रक्रिया स्पष्ट
करा.
प्र ७ व्यक्ती विकास प्रक्रियेत तत्व आणि नीती यांची भूमिका
स्पष्ट करा.
प्र ८ टिप लिहा:
१) जागतिकीकरण ५) बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपन्या
२) आर्थिक
जागतिकीकरणाचा परिणाम ६) व्यक्तीच्या जीवनातील
संघर्ष/तणाव
३) भारतीय
अर्थ्व्यावास्तेचे उदारीकरण ७) तणाव व्यवस्थापन
४) खाजगीकरण ८) शेतकरी
आत्महत्या/कृषी क्षेत्रातील संकट
९) समाजातील
शांतता व सौहार्द्य
Sunday, 9 February 2014
Semester-II Module III Forms of Government
I DEMOCRACY AND ITS TYPES
INTRODUCTION
The term Democracy is taken from the Greek
words, Demos meaning people, and Kratos (cracy) meaning rule. In simple words
it is a form of government based on ultimate authority of people. However
sometimes the term also signifies a way of life based on certain values like
equality, justice, fairness etc. The roots of present form of democracy are
found in Ancient Greek city states that practiced direct democracy/ classical
form of democracy. Later in the modern period some features of democracy were
practiced in Great Britain
and was called representative democracy and became popular throughout Europe
and America India
The important features of democracy are as follows:
- Political Equality- In practice it means political participation. In other words participation of all adult citizens in political activities.
- Participation- In modern day democracy it means equal voting rights for all without discrimination. However other forms of participation like referendums, plebiscites etc are used to ensure participation.
- A System of regular elections to important public offices and positions.
- Competitive, free and fair elections between different political groups or parties.
- Government is accountable to the representatives of people and hence ultimately to the people.
- A system of Rule of Law, citizens rights, independent judiciary and respect for public opinion etc
Models of Democracy
While the above characteristics are common
to a democracy, different forms of give weightage to different features. Hence
it can be classified into the following forms:
I
Classical Democracy:
1. Practiced in the City-State of Ancient
Greece mainly Athens
fifth centuries B.C.
2. Also known as Direct Democracy as it was
based purely on ideal of direct participation
of
people in governmental affairs. All major decisions of the city-state were
taken in
public meetings or ‘Assembly’, a body of all citizens.
3. Another unique feature of Ancient
democracy was that every citizen could take the
decisions for the entire city-state atleast once in his lifetime.
4. Its importance lies in the fact that
citizens not only participated but also took
responsibility of public office and their decisions.
5. But a major drawback of Greek Democracy
was it excluded a huge mass of
people
like slaves, foreigners and women from benefits of citizenship.
However Classical democracy is respected
even today for its ideal of direct rule and continuous participation people in
decision-making through discussions and debates. It has inspired that present
day theory and practice of democracy.
Liberal Democracy
1 Democratic ideas were revived in
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, although in a
very
different form.
2 Early liberal thinkers like John Locke
advocated democracy to protect individual
Locke argued that individual had natural rights and government should be
based on
consent to protect individual liberty.
3 Later thinkers like Jeremy Bentham and
James Mill argued in favour of voting rights
for all adults without any discrimination.
4 Thus citizens rights, political equality,
representative government and regular elections
became important features of liberal form of democracy.
5
It gives
widest possible scope to individual liberty and ensures governmental
accountability through representative body i.e. legislature.
On the economic side liberal democracy was
able to support capitalism and free enterprise since the 18th
century and hence was criticized for favouring majority and neglecting social
and economic rights of the poor. Hence thinkers like Rousseau and others
advocated ‘participatory democracy’/
Participatory Democracy
1
18th
century French Thinker and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a strong
critic of Liberal Democracy. For him
democracy was ultimately a means through
which humans could achieve freedom or
autonomy.
2
Citizens
are free only when they participate directly
and continuously in political
decision-making.
3
If
government is based on will of citizens then only it could ensure their well-
being. Such a
system required not only political equality but economic equality as well.
4
Another
thinker John Stuart Mill emphasized the
importance of democracy to
educate people in decision making and
self rule. That power should be
decentralized and all should have equal
voting rights.
However it can be
seen that participatory democracy only suggests a few changes in representative
democracy. Hence instead of providing an alternative to liberal democracy it
suggests only few improvements to it.
Semester-II Module III Forms of Government
II Non-democratic Forms of
Government
Most of human history and particularly 20th
century has seen non-democratic authoritarian governments. These governments
are based on Authoritarianism, which can be understood as a belief in, or
practice of, government ‘from above’(as opposed to ‘rule from below’) , in
which authority is exercised regardless of popular consent. Authoritarian
governments emphasise the claims of authority over those of individual liberty.
In practice authoritarian governments are associated with traditional monarchy,
dictatorships and military rule. These are based on personal loyalty to rulers
and use of force against opposition and denial of political liberty.
1
The Traditional Authoritarian Rule:
existed in Ancient Rome, Imperial China and others in variety of forms.
The rulers authority was based on tradition or religion. Rule by one rather
than by law, a central feature of such governments. The leader was like a ‘sun
around which other planets revolve’. However, it provided a stable political rule
as the King’s power was limited by his dependence on local leaders to maintain
control. It suffered form family quarrels, factions and conspiracies. In other
words it involved too much of politics and less of government.
2 20th
Century Authoritarian rule:
Modern rulers exploited the benefits of Industrial Revolution, Vast
Communication Networks and political resources of a large state to gather
people for large scale war. E.g Hilter in Germany and Mussolini in Italy. They
aimed at total control over people’s lives and the society in order to
transform them. Emphasised total submission of people to the dictator and his
ambitions.
3
Military Goverments:
A 20th phenomenon, it was a
government based in the army and using
the army as its main source of power. Spread in 1960’s and 80’s in developing
countries of South America, Africa and parts of Asia. It spread due to cold war
politics between United States of America and Russian Republic.
4
Authoritarian Rule Today: Made of variety of rules
like the Afghan Talibaan, Chinese Communist, Pakistani Generals, Saudi Princes,
Saddam Hussien in Iraq and similar others in the Gulf region and others.
Equality
The following notes
should help you to understand:
1
What is Equality? Its importance as a basic political value.
2
Demands for Equality in 19th and 20th Century Europe.
3
Relationship between Liberty and Equality: Complimentary-Conflicting
4
State Intervention or Discrimination to reduce inequality and the
problem of freedom.
# 1 Introduction
Equality is an age old Ideal. Equality is not something
that actually exists around us. Hence the demand for Equality is made not on a factual
basis but on logical grounds. In Pre-modern era, equality was rejected on the
grounds that no two individuals have the same physical and mental capabilities.
However modern understanding of the concept demands equality of opportunities to
be given to individuals and not equality of treatment.
Problem of
equality-inequality figured since the times of Aristotle who defined it as
‘treating equals equally and unequals unequally’. It meant recognition, and
continuance of existing inequalities. Thus the Masters and their slaves were
unequal individuals and this was an unchangeable fact. In other words the slave
was born to be a slave and master was born to rule over him.
However with the progress of science and
expansion of knowledge it is a now recognized that all individuals are equally
capable. Only with the right type of environment and opportunities can an
individual attain full development to be useful to the society.
Today scientific
knowledge has proved that black skinned people have similar capacities as white
men. It is also proven that they are not born to be slaves as was the belief
earlier. It is well known today that women are equally capable of doing the
same things as men and even at times better than men.
In other words natural inequality can be
altered only in a limited extent, but inequalities
created by society can be and should be
removed through human efforts. Thus, the modern
idea of equality seeks reduction of socially
produced inequalities. The supporters of equality demand it not on the basis of
factual equality among humans but as a desired goal of society. They support
such a demand by logically arguing that all men are equal in some ways.
Sometimes
it is argued that equality does not have any sound basis as it goes against the
natural principle of liberty. It is also criticized on the basis that it would
rob the wealth of the privileged. However one should remember that freedom
cannot be for only a few people. Hence liberty should be limited by equality.
In simple words the enjoyment of freedom by one/few should not be at the cost
of freedom of others. Equality is aimed to prevent exploitation of the
powerless at the hands of those in power. Thus equality and liberty as rights
have the same purpose -to ensure social benefits for all.
Traditionally inequalities of wealth and
status were taken as an unalterable fact. And justified on the basis of
religion or birth e.g. slavery or caste system. Thus if one was born as a slave
or poor or untouchable there was nothing one could do except suffer the entire
life. However modern thinkers scientifically questioned the basis of socially
created inequalities and proved that them as unreasonable and removable.
18th century French thinker J. J.
Rousseau made an important distinction between natural and conventional
inequality- as between natural age, skills , talents etc and wealth, prestige
and power.- the former largely result of nature and chance and later a result
of unequal social order or man-made.
Modern science and technology have
proved helpful in reducing natural inequality e.g. hearing aids, artificial
limbs, plastic surgery, etc. However the availability of such benefits is based
on the social status of an individual. Hence a large number of humans are
denied the benefits of modern civilisation only due to social inequalities.
Thus we can infer from the above arguments
that equality demands social change/revolution in the society. However the ideal
of equality does not demand that entire national income or educational
opportunities should be distributed equally among all. It rather means that all
men differ in their physical and mental capacities, skills and talents and so
should be given equal opportunities of to have basic needs, education, and
training for development.
But if it does not mean treating all in the
same way than what does it mean? Equality means accepting discrimination on
reasonable or logical basis:
1 Special provision in case of need would include e.g.
progressive taxation, cheap
transport, schools; hospitals etc to be made available to those are
unable to pay for it.
2 Special rewards for excellence are also recognised under
principle of equality. Special talents and skills should be rewarded provided
only when the basic needs of all are taken care of and such excellence is
useful for the society.
However the question of discrimination
to ensure equality has given rise to several debates. In the west it has been argued
that favouring blacks and women in education and jobs leads to denial of equality of opportunity
for others or 'reverse discrimination'. While some see this as a necessary step
to remedy injustices done to blacks and women in the past and refer to it as
'affirmative action'. In India, the policy of reservations for the backward
classes has been problematic due to the difficulty in identifying the neediest
sections. Nonetheless, the backward sections should be provided sufficient
opportunities of education and professional development to ensure withdrawal of
favoured treatment.
# 2 Dimensions of Equality
1) Legal Equality:
Since
ancient period idea of legal equality has not been accepted e.g. Manusmriti
prescribed different kinds of punishments for the same crime to people from
different caste. Similarly Women till
1918 lacked voting rights in England.
The first
demand for equality was made in the legal sphere claiming equal legal status
irrespective of differences of birth, physical and mental differences. In
simple words, legal equality today means citizens are subject to the same law
and receive equal protection of law. However legal equality stands violated if
the cost of legal justice prevents the poor from approaching courts. Hence it
should be accompanied with changes in the socio-economic structure.
2) Political Equality:
It signifies equality of political
rights of citizens. Their right to representation in decision-making bodies
based on idea of 'one man one vote'. Citizens should enjoy the right to
participate in government bodies without any discrimination of birth, caste,
race, colour etc. Thus no class of
people will have monopoly to rule and rulers will not enjoy special privileges.
It signifies that when all individuals are given equal political rights it will
ensure the common good.
The idea of political
equality led to establishment of democracy in the western world. However it did
not fulfil the hopes and aspirations of masses due to existing socio-economic
inequalities. Therefore achievement of political equality was followed by the
demand for socio-economic equality.
3) Socio-economic Equality:
The social and economic aspects of equality very closely relate to each
other. Social and economic equality demand change in the structure of society
and not just ‘absence of restraints’. It is only when the principle of equality
is extended to the economic sphere that the benefits of legal-political
equality will extend to the poor and the needy sections of society.
The idea of legal-political
equality was put forward to benefit the middle class and replace feudalism by
capitalism. And socio-economic equality was meant to support working classes
and promote socialism over capitalism.
It is important to note here that
socio-economic equality does not demand perfect equality in treatment of
individuals in society. Instead it insists on a gradual extension of social
benefits like education, jobs etc to weaker and underprivileged sections of
society.
In simple words it demands the
right to equal satisfaction of basic needs of all e.g. government provision of
cheap transport, hospitals, pensions etc.
# 3 Liberty and Equality
The relation between equality and liberty is such
that as per their contexts they may mutually opposing or adjustable.
1)
Liberty and Equality as Complimentary Principles
Liberty demands ‘equal’ liberty for all. If freedom
of the strong or the rich destroys freedom of the weak or poor, it leads to
destruction of freedom as a universal principle. Here the principles of liberty complement the
principle of equality. It means restraints on freedom so that everyone enjoys
same amount of freedom.
With the development of civilization, several new
ways of exploitation also evolved. Property is one such source of exploiting
others. By accumulating unlimited property one can exploit many. Hence vast
inequalities of wealth and property lead to destruction of freedom. The
principle of equality demands a radical change in the socio-economic structure
of society so that no one is in a position to enslave others or exploit others.
2) Idea
of Equality as Impediment to Liberty
Some thinkers have envisaged certain situations when
equality obstructs liberty. French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville in his
‘Democracy in America’ observed that the democratic principle of majority
opinion led to the curtailment of individual opinions and loss of freedom.
Similarly Lord Acton (1834-1902), a British historian that equality had led to
the increased authority of state and hence endangered individual liberty.
However both the above thinkers were not against equality but only warned that
demand for equality in the area of freedom of opinion should not lead result in
suppression of freedom.
Isaiah Berlin argued in the 20th century
that state could only protect negative equality. Positive liberty lied in the
will and capacity of the individual to put his freedom to best use. However
Berlin failed to understand that socio-economic conditions determined the
extent to which an individual could use his capacities and will to enjoy
freedom.
F.A.Hayek argued that the inequalities of income and
wealth and income are natural result of differences in skills and abilities of
individuals. Any attempts to remove theses inequalities are an attack on
individual liberty. Thus in his view questions of social justice should not
come in the way of liberty and progress.
# 4 Conclusion
Both liberty and equality are necessary for a
society based on justice. Liberty and equality complement each other in legal
and political sphere. However, they conflict in the socio-economic sphere.
Further even legal and political equality become ineffective in conditions of
socio-economic equality! Liberty and equality can be reconciled by following
the principle of difference of treatment and different rewards to individuals
according to their service to the general society. However this position if
stretched too far may lead to violation of liberty.
Note: The student can add his/her own
opinion/conclusion.
Summary
·
Earlier idea of equality tended
to preserve status quo while modern understanding demands social change for
reducing inequalities.
·
Its demand is made as it is a
desired goal of society.
·
Equal liberty for all is
essential to prevent exploitation of the many by the few.
·
Ultimately liberty along with
equality ensures justice for all.
·
Modern Scientific advancement
enables reduction of social inequalities.
·
Instead of inequality of
treatment the ideal of equality calls for provision of equal opportunities of
development for individuals who are different in their capabilities and achieve
social change.
·
However discrimination in favour
of the needy and poor also leads to problems of fairness and natural justice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)