Question

Which one of the following is not a feature of democracy?
A. Only leaders of the army rule the country.
B. Only leaders elected by the people rule the country.
C. People have freedom to express.
D. People have the freedom to organize and protect.

Answer 1

Hint: Democracy is a government in which the people have the power to select their governing leader or legislators. The term democracy first seemed in the city-state of Athens in the course of classical antiquity in its political and philosophical thought. The word democracy comes from the two words, ‘demos’ that means’ people’ (common) and ‘kratos’ that means ‘strength’ or ‘rule’ this was led by Cleisthenes who was the Athenian lawgiver.

Complete answer:
> Only leaders of the army rule the country is not a feature of democracy, even the army is disciplined and corruption free but it is not allowed to rule the country as its chief duty is to defend the country.
> The basic meaning of democracy is the ‘rule by the people’. In democracy the people either exercise the political power directly or elect their representatives by the process of voting. So democracy is of two types, direct democracy and representative democracy. In direct democracy the citizens can participate personally in the decision-making in order to rely on representatives in this unique form of democracy important administrative and governmental tasks are carried by citizens. This direct form of democracy gives certain powers to the voters. In case of representative democracy the people elect the representatives through the elections. The term democratic republic is used if the head of the state is democratically elected. The democracy gives opportunity to all without any discrimination.

The features of a democracy are:
1. The citizens have the right to participate in elections either as voters or as candidates.
2. The citizens have the freedom of speech without fear of punishment.
3. The citizens have the freedom of association, they can form independent political organizations.
4. The elections are managed in an equitable and free atmosphere.
5. The representatives elected by people have the power to make final decisions and regulate the government.
6. The basic rights and the freedom of the people are secured.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: India is the perfect example of democracy, it is a democratic country giving equal rights to all citizens. ‘’The father of democracy‘’ is known as Cleisthenes who invented democracy in ancient Greece that paved the way for the modern representative democracies over the whole world.