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by the governments. That is, the woman, the poor and uneducated persons were not

allowed to vote.
In India, the voting age is 18 years. That is, all citizens of India who have attained the age
of 18 years or above, can vote whether they are men or women, rich or poor, educated or
uneducated.

4. DEcision-making mEchanisms
People participate in the decision-making process in a

democracy. But, they do not participate directly. Instead,
they choose their representatives through an election process.
These representatives take decisions on behalf of the entire
population. While making decisions, they certainly keep
in mind the voices and interests of the people. The regular
elections restrict the power of the government and increases
Legislative Assembly people’s participation in the decision-making mechanisms.

This is because, if the people are not satisfied with the working of the government, they
may not vote for it at the time of re-election and make it lose.

5. ElEctions
Regular elections are the essential feature of a democracy. The Election Commission of India is
the highest constitutional authority to conduct elections in India. Elections are held at periodic

intervals. In India, elections are held after every 5 years. For elections, the state is divided into
small divisions known as electoral constituencies. People elect one leader or representative
from each constituency. The official list that contains the names of all the qualified voters
or people in a district who are entitled to vote, is known as the electoral roll or the voter’s
list. In this way, through voting in elections, people elect leaders to represent them. These
representatives form the government. They take decisions on behalf of the entire population.
If the government wants to continue to be in power, then its members have to be re-elected
by the people. Again at the time of re-election, people can feel their power in a democracy.
If the people are not satisfied with the working of the government, they may not vote for it

and make it lose. Thus, regular elections restrict the power of the government and increases
people’s participation in a democracy.

6. accommoDation oF DiFFErEncEs
Differences or conflicts may arise when the people of different
regions, religions, languages, castes, cultures, genders and
economic backgrounds do not value each other. They arise when

a group of people feel that they are superior while some other
groups feel that they are being discriminated against. In such a
situation, people of one group think that it is all right to use force
to settle their differences. So, differences often create conflicts
that lead to violence and loss of lives and property. Police-managin Conficts

Social Studies-7-7
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98 Social Studies