Q1.
Observe Fig 6.9 and explore the various other digital and non-digital ways through which you can participate in a democracy.
Answer
Fig. 6.9 gives five ways. They are: Understand the Constitution; Follow fundamental duties; Take leadership in school and community; Participate in nation-building activities (NCC, NSS, Bharat Scouts & Guides); and Be media literate.
Other ways, sorted the way the question asks:
| Digital | Non-digital |
|---|---|
| Filing or reading a Right to Information application online, and following the reply | Attending your Gram Sabha or ward meeting and listening to how decisions are taken |
| Using official public grievance portals to report a civic problem — a broken street light, an unrepaired hand pump | Voting in your school Students' Council election, and standing as a candidate |
| Reading draft rules and policies put out for public consultation and sending a comment — the chapter's “public consultations” | Writing to your elected representative — councillor, MLA or MP — about a local issue |
| Verifying news before sharing it: checking the source, the date and one independent report | Joining community-driven initiatives — cleanliness drives, tree planting, literacy or blood donation camps through NSS or Scouts & Guides |
| Registering to vote online when you turn 18, and checking your name on the electoral roll | Volunteering with a civil society group, cooperative or self-help group and taking part in its meetings |
| Watching or reading proceedings of Parliament and your State Assembly, including Question Hour | Taking part in school debates, mock parliaments and a mock Gram Sabha; reading a newspaper daily |
Why both columns matter: the chapter's definition of participatory democracy is “greater involvement of citizens not only through elections but also through active engagement in shaping policies and governance”, through “local councils, public consultations, and community-driven initiatives”. Digital tools make information and complaint faster and cheaper — one RTI application costs almost nothing to file. Non-digital participation is where you meet the people affected by a decision, and where a person without a smartphone or a data connection is still included. A democracy that ran only on the first column would quietly leave out the citizens the chapter's Article 46 is most concerned with.
Tip: note that Fig. 6.9's five ways are mostly about preparation — understanding the Constitution, being media literate, following duties — while the ways listed above are mostly about action. The chapter's argument is that the second is only as good as the first: an uninformed complaint or an unverified forward is participation that makes democracy weaker, not stronger.