Social Science — CBSE Class 10 board question

Democracy establishes accountable, responsible and legitimate governance in the following ways:

Accountable: Democracy ensures decision-making is based on norms and procedures. Citizens have the right to examine how decisions are made (transparency). Regular free and fair elections, open public debates, and the Right to Information hold the government accountable.

Responsive: Democratic government is attentive to the needs and demands of citizens. Citizens can participate in decision-making and choose their own representatives.

Legitimate: Democratic government is people's own government — elected by the people. This generates overwhelming public support for democracy, making it a legitimate form of governance even if it is slower or less efficient than non-democratic alternatives.

Source: Chapter 5 — Accountable, responsive and legitimate government

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• The examiner expects three separate points — one each for accountable, responsive, and legitimate — since the question lists all three.
• Key terms to use: transparency, deliberation, free and fair elections, Right to Information, people's own government.
• Do not confuse "responsive" with "responsible" — the textbook uses "responsive to needs and expectations."
• The textbook explicitly states democratic government is "legitimate" even if slow, because it is chosen by the people — this point is often missed by students.