DEMOCRATIC POLITY
1.Democratic polity and the institutions that are meant to serve it need to be continuously nurtured. In India, where democratic tradition is young and its institutions were set-up only after Independence, these institutions were expected to be handled with respect and tender care. The nation has seen a decline in the functioning of these institutions, particularly in Parliament. It has been suffering from progressive corrosion and debility.
2.In the 1950’s and 1960’s, when Parliament was young, a day spent in the gallery was an enriching experience. Now, a citizen sees members misbehaving and starts asking questions that should worry our honourable MP’s: Is this the kind of Parliament the country fought for? Is this what the founding fathers of the Constitution really wanted?
3.Parliament is housed in a magnificent building and people still look at its portals with respect and almost awe. But our MPs do not know that people are looking at what happens inside its high-domed chambers with increasing cynicism.
4.Intolerance of another’s views, daily walkouts, uproars, hitting below the belt, exchange of invective at times spiced with abuse has become a common sight and has replaced serious deliberation.
5.More serious, however, is the sheer dereliction of duty in a vital area that gives Parliament its essential power to keep the executive in check—the power to sanction money and the right to know whether it has been spent rightly.
6.What the nation has been watching with dismay is the casual manner in which Parliament chooses to pass the Budget these days without any scrutiny.
7.The tax collected is sacred and meant to be spent with a prudent housewife’s caution. How will Parliament ask the executive next year how it has spent this year’s allocation when it never bothered to bring the government’s demands and policies under scrutiny before voting?
8.The presence of tainted ministers, which has thrown the present Parliament into crisis, is certainly not in the interest of the country and cannot be pushed under the carpet. They are there because most political parties have a tendency to reward criminals with party tickets in return for the help given by them at the ground level. Many of these criminals and the corrupt have been given ministerial berths.
9.The compulsions of the coalition era have made national parties dependent on smaller parties which are under the greater influence of the tainted men. These small parties, in turn, exercise a sort of political blackmail on the government of the day dependent on them for survival.
10.How do the tainted men gain entry into political parties and get elected to Parliament and the State legislature? Parliament, the judiciary and the Election Commission failed to keep the malevolent elements out of the election system, Parliament and the State legislatures. The State finds itself powerless to stop men, who have either amassed enough money or muscle through manipulation and scandalous misuse of power, from occupying positions of authority. Also, joining, or propping up the government, and using their positions for a sort of blackmail has given the criminals some sort of an immunity from ouster.
11.The Supreme Court wants Parliament to pass a law that would prevent the criminals and the corrupt from contesting elections. The Election Commission proposed that anyone against whom charges had been framed by a court should be banned from fighting elections. –
Word-Meanings
Para 1. 1. polity (noun): the system of civil government 2.Nurtured (verb): nourished 3. Set up (idiom): to establish 4. Tender (adjective): delicate
Para 2. 1. Progressive (adjective): moving forward, gradual 2. Corrosion (noun): rusting 3. Debility (noun): loss of energy
Para 4. 1. Magnificent (adjective): grand 2. Portals (noun): gateways 3. Awe (noun): respect mixed with fear 4. Chambers (noun): rooms 5. Cynicism (noun): distrust
Para 5. 1. Uproars (noun): tumult, noise 2. Walkouts (noun): depart suddenly or angrily 3. Hitting below the belt (idiom): behaving unfairly 4. Invective (noun): coarse language 5. Spiced (verb): made pungent 6. Deliberation (noun): discussion
Para 6. 1. Sheer (adjective): utter 2. Dereliction (noun): abandon 3. Vital (adjective): important 4. Sanction (verb): allow
Para 7. 1. Dismay (noun): wonder 2. Scrutiny (noun): a critical examination
Para 8. 1. Sacred (adjective): venerable 2. Prudent (adjective): discreet 3. Allocation (noun): distribution, allotment
Para 9. 1. Crisis (noun): problem 2. Pushed under the carpet (idiom): ignored or overlooked 3. Berths (noun): seats
Para 10. 1. Blackmail (noun): extort by threats 2. Survival (noun): the existence
Para 11. 1. Entire (adjective): whole 2. Malevolent (adjective): malicious 3. Amassed (verb): collected 4. Manipulation (noun): cunningness 5. Scandalous (adjective): defamatory, base 6. Propping (verb): supporting 7. Immunity (noun): exemption
Questions:
1.Choose the correct option:
(a) In which area has Parliament neglected its duty?
(i) The use of veto power (ii) Trade sanction
(iii) The use of money (iv) To sanction legal policies
(b) What should be spent like a prudent housewife’s caution?
(i) Funds allotted to MPs (ii) Budget’s allocation
(iii) Tax collected by the government (iv) Funds allotted to the Prime Minister
(c) What cannot be pushed under the carpet in Parliament?
(i) Tax Collection Bill (ii) Daily walkouts by MPs
(iii) Interests of people (iv) The presence of tainted ministers
(d) What does the Supreme Court want Parliament to do?
(i) To pass a law to prevent criminals from contesting elections.
(ii) To guard the honour of the national flag.
(iii) To stop giving funds to MPs.
(iv) To collect taxes from MPs.
(e) In a coalition era, the national parties are dependent on to form a government.
(i) regional parties (ii) smaller parties
(iii) minorities (iv) independent candidates
(f) Which is the correct meaning of the word ‘manipulation’?
(i) decipher (ii) multiply
(iii) cunningness (iv) thinking
2.Answer the questions briefly:
(a) What do democratic institutions need?
(b) What are our democratic institutions suffering from?
(c) What has become a common sight in Parliament?
(d) What has given criminals some sort of immunity?
(e) What did the Election Commission propose against history-sheeters?
(f)Find the word from Para.1 which means the same as ‘gradual’.
Answers:
1.(a) iii (b) iii (c) iv (d) i (e) ii (f) iii
2.(a) Democratic institutions need continuous nurturing.
(b) Our democratic institutions are suffering from the loss of energy and gradual rusting.
(c) Unruly behaviour, foul language and the loss of decorum are common sights in Parliament.
(d) Joining and supporting a government and using their positions to blackmail for their advantage has given criminals a sort of immunity.
(e) The Election Commission proposed that history sheeters should not be allowed to fight elections.
(f) progressive
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