CBSE Class 9 Social Science Political Science Revision Notes

Political Science Class 9 Notes 

Class 9 Political Science Notes CBSE 

Political Science Class 9 Notes will give you a  brief introduction to all five chapters of Democratic Politics. In this Political Science Class 9 Notes, students will get to know the major details of the chapter that are important for their final examination. Political Science Class 9 notes will be a student’s last-minute revision guide providing all the necessary information in a nutshell, to revise the entire syllabus quickly and easily.

Notes for CBSE Class 9 Political Science

These notes will cover topics related to Democratic Politics in its Political Science Class 9 notes. The notes focus on various topics like Electoral Politics, Constitutional Design,  Democratic Rights, etc. Civics is a fascinating and scoring subject that will help students secure good marks in the exam.  Democratic Politics notes are prepared by experienced subject experts who cover all the chapters explicitly.

Class 9 Civics Chapter 1 Notes: What is Democracy? Why Democracy? 

This chapter will cover the basics of democracy and why it is of utmost importance for independent nations to be a part of a democratic society. Democracy is a form of government where the people elect their leaders through an election process, once elected they form the government. The primary difference between democratic and non-democratic governments is the power to elect their representatives lies in the hands of the common man. To establish true democracy in any nation, there are a few questions that need to be answered, such as under what circumstances is an election to be considered democratic, the features included in the elector’s population and whether they have the right to have some expectations, the necessity for a democratic government to respect the rights of the citizens, and which type of people are going to be elected.

Some major example of non-democratic countries like Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf led the military and revolted against a democratic government in October 1999, further declaring himself as the ‘Chief Executive’ of the country. Moreover, in the year 2002, he further transformed his designation from ‘Chief Executive’ to President. Moreover, a “Legal framework order” was passed, which quoted the President’s power to dismiss the national and provincial assemblies. In other countries such as the USSR, communist Poland and the US in contemporary Iraq, power lies in the hands of external leaders, whereas in a democracy, the power lies in the hands of the leader elected by the people.

Moreover, the chapter explains the importance of one person, one vote, and one value. Political equality is the primary and most important feature of Democracy and it influences all aspects of functioning. Women did not have the right to select a leader of their choice in Saudi Arabia until 2015. In addition to it, in Estonia, the citizen rule made it impossible for Russian minorities to gain the right to vote. However, some arguments contradict the idea of democracy, such as decisions in a democratic nation can be delayed due to the necessity of consultations and approvals. As democracy is based on electoral competition, it increases corruption, and people who are voting may be unaware of their well-being. It’s all about political competition and power play. There is no scope for morality.

Class 9 Civics Chapter 2 Notes- The Constitutional Design: 

This chapter highlights the importance of the constitution with the example of South Africa and how the anti-apartheid protests led to the development of the constitution. The only way to build and maintain confidence in the people of the country would be to write down some rules of the game which would be similar for everyone. No government can ignore or override these supreme laws called the constitution. Moreover, a constitution develops the level of trust and communication between different types of people, and it defines the rules and procedures of how the government will be formed and who will have the power to make decisions.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, racial discrimination in South Africa was formed by white Europeans. The apartheid system divided people by their skin colour. White rulers treated all white people as superior to others. Non-whites had no voting rights and were restricted from living in areas where white people lived. The protest against apartheid began in 1950 with Black people and Indians. Nelson Mandela was the force behind the anti-apartheid protest, and the National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organisation. Moreover, in the year 1964, Nelson Mandela and eight other leaders were accused of sedition by the white South African government and sentenced to life in prison.

Finally, on April 26 1994, the apartheid system came to an end, and Nelson Mandela was released after 28 years of living in prison. Discriminatory laws were repealed, and the ban on political parties and media restrictions was lifted.

Indian Constitution is Designed by the Following Steps: 

• Dream and promise: There were many members who supported the views of Mahatma Gandhi. India’s dream of eradicating inequality was further shared by Dr B.R.Ambedkar, who played a key role in drafting the Constitution of India, but his idea and vision for eliminating inequality in India were different from those of  Mahatma Gandhi..
• We the people: The constitution of India was drafted on the basis of the phrase, “We the people”, which simply means that the common man drafted it via representatives.
• Governor: People have the right to make decisions on the internal and external affairs of the nation. Moreover, no foreign power can suppress the government.
• Socialist: Wealth is created in society and should be shared equally by society. Government must regulate land and industry ownership to decrease social and economic disparities.
• Democratic: A form of government where people have equal political rights and elect their own rulers. The government is governed by certain rules written in the constitution.
• Republic: The elected person is the head of the state.
• Justice: Citizens cannot be discriminated against on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation. Social inequality must be reduced.
• Freedom: There are no restrictions on the people; they have the right to express their thoughts and pursue their ideas.
• Equality: The government must ensure that all people have equal opportunities as all are equal before the law.

Civics Class 9 Chapter 3 Notes: Electoral Politics:

This chapter highlights the importance of elections and why they are important for a democratic nation. An election is a mechanism adopted by many countries through which people choose their representatives. More than 100 countries conduct elections across the world. Hence, the process of selection of representatives at regular intervals is known as an election. Moreover, elections are necessary so that no leader is elected for an indefinite period of time, and citizens of the country can choose the leader who will take decisions on their behalf.

Furthermore, it introduces how our country is divided into different constituencies to conduct elections. For instance, Lok Sabha has 543 constituencies and the leader elected from each constituency is referred to as the Member of Parliament (MP). Additionally, every state of our country is divided into Assembly constituencies, and the leader elected here will be known as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). Our constitution has given specific reservations to certain groups of society, such as in Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 seats for Scheduled Tribes.

In addition to this, any citizen who wants to be a candidate for the elections needs to have a minimum age of 25 years, and for voting, the minimum age required is 18 years. Moreover, any individual with a criminal background cannot contest the elections. Also, election campaigns are held so that citizens can get to know the candidates, and candidates can advertise themselves. Mostly the election campaign lasts for 2 weeks.

Civics Class 9 Chapter 4- Working of Institutions: 

This chapter will highlight the supreme authority and who takes all the major decisions in the country. It defines the role of a Parliament, the power given to the two houses of the Indian Parliament, and their functioning while passing any law. On August 13, 1990, our country’s government issued a law referred to as the Office Memorandum. The order states that any person other than the SC (Scheduled castes) and ST (Scheduled Tribe), a third category known as Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC), will be offered 27% of job reservation benefits. Hence, only people from the backward classes can benefit from this quota.

Within the government, three authorities have the power to issue this memorandum; the President, who is the head of the state and contains the majority of formal authority, and the Prime Minister, who is the head of the Government and is responsible for taking most of the decisions during cabinet meetings. Parliament contains two Houses, known as the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The country’s Prime Minister must have the support and backing of a majority of Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MPs) to issue a memorandum.

According to the different levels of any government, functionaries like civil servants and political executives take quotidian decisions but do not contain supreme power on behalf of the common people. Moreover, these functionaries who take day-to-day decisions are referred to as the executives. Civil servants who are permanently appointed by the Government and political executives, who in their turn are appointed for a particular period of time, execute the policies of the Government.

India has an integrated system of the judiciary, wherein the Supreme Court manages all the lower courts and can withdraw the decisions taken by the lower courts. Independence of the judiciary system simply means that the legislature or any Political executive does not control it. Therefore, the judges of the Supreme Court do not take decisions according to the direction of the Government or according to the whims and fancies of the ruling party.

The President of the country appoints the Supreme Court judges on the Prime Minister’s advice by consulting with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Moreover, once a person is selected to become a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, it is impossible for the government to remove them from the position. Any judge can only be removed by passing an impeachment motion by the two-thirds members or MPs of the two Houses of Parliament.

Civics Class 9 Chapter 5 – Democratic Rights: 

In this chapter, you will learn the fundamental human rights that must be given to the people of any country with some examples. For example, in  Guantanamo Bay, the American government secretly selected about 600 people from around the world and then imprisoned them in Guantanamo Bay. They were denied fundamental rights and were not even allowed to appoint a lawyer from their own country. The Government stated that they were enemies or rivals of the US and linked them to the terror attack which took place in New York on the 11th of  September 2001. Another example is Yugoslavia, a small province before it was split. The population comprises ethnic Albanian, but Serbs considered themselves the majority in the country. A cruel and narrow-minded nationalist of Serb, Milosevic had won the election in the country, and after the elections, his Government became very hostile towards the Albanians. The nationalist leader wanted the Serbs to command the country.

There are various fundamental rights in the country, such as the right to constitutional remedies, which means the citizens can move to the judiciary and local court in case they are denied the fundamental rights. Another right is the right to equality which states that the government cannot discriminate against people on the basis of caste, race, religion, etc. Moreover, under this right, every citizen must be given equal opportunities to take government jobs. Other rights include the right to freedom, which means freedom of expression, speech, the form of associations, and the practice of any profession. Right against exploitation prevents the trafficking of humans, child labour and any type of exploitation against any community. The right to freedom of religion and cultural and educational rights allow individuals to practise any religion of their choice, and people can be admitted to any university or college of their choice.

Did You know? 

• Indian Constitution is the lengthiest Constitution in the world consisting 21 schedules and 441 articles.
• The federal system and unitary features are the base of the Indian Constitution.
• India is a welfare state as per the Directive Principles of State Policies.