Q1. [4] medium exam-ready
Read the following scenario and answer the questions that follow:
Rahim lives in a small town. He recently approached the local government office for a permit for his small business. Despite visiting multiple times over two months, officials ignored him and gave him no update. Frustrated, Rahim filed an application under the Right to Information Act, asking for the status of his application and the names of the responsible officials. Within ten days, he received his permit, and the officer personally called him to apologise.
(i) Which outcome of democracy does Rahim's successful use of the Right to Information Act demonstrate? (1 mark)
(ii) Before filing the RTI application, which quality of government — accountability or transparency — was missing in the conduct of the officials? Explain. (1 mark)
(iii) How does Rahim's experience illustrate that democracy, while imperfect, provides citizens with tools to challenge power and seek justice? (2 marks)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:21 · grounding rag
Model Answer
(i) Rahim's successful use of the RTI Act demonstrates that democracy produces an accountable and responsive government — officials are answerable to citizens for their actions (or inactions).
(ii) Accountability was missing. The officials ignored Rahim repeatedly without any explanation or update. They were not answerable for their inaction. Accountability means officials must explain and justify their conduct to citizens; here, that was absent until the RTI compelled them.
(iii) Rahim's experience shows that democracy, though imperfect (officials were unresponsive for two months), provides citizens with institutional tools — like the Right to Information Act — to challenge unresponsive power. Once Rahim used this tool, officials acted immediately and even apologised. This shows democracy allows room to correct mistakes and empowers ordinary citizens to seek justice against those in authority.
Source: Chapter 5 — Outcomes of Democracy
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Explanation
- (i) The key term examiners want is "accountable" (and/or "responsive") government — both are valid; pick at least one.
- (ii) Distinguish: accountability = officials answerable for actions; transparency = information being open/visible. Since officials gave no update and were not answerable, it is accountability that was missing.
- (iii) Link two ideas: (a) democracy is imperfect in practice, AND (b) it provides mechanisms/tools (RTI here) to fix those imperfections. The textbook phrase "allows room to correct mistakes" is key. The Nannu example from the textbook exercises is almost identical — use that parallel to frame your answer.