Lesson Plan for Second Class of Aawaaz.

Time: 2 hours.


Activity 2: Politics (1 hour 10 mins)
Why : Along with last classes activity, it is important students get an understanding on how to apply
their previously learnt knowledge of the political system.
How :
1. ( 10-15 mins)
(The following are teacher/volunteer actions, which are carried along with students responses)
V: So remember we learnt about election in the last class?
So today we will see how they actually are in real life!
So, lets start off with a small recap?

CFUs of whatever you taught them in the previous class.

Now, volunteers are supposed to along with their respective fellows decide two to three examples
around the world or in India to explain to the students.

There are just two important things to be kept in mind while doing this.
a. It should be in sync with the idea of politics.
b. Second, it should be framed in a way that it engages the kids and is linked back to the
activity that they did.
The following is an example that you may chose to use if you wish.

Rahul Gandhi and the case about standing behind an EVM machine.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/Rahul-was-in-EVM-enclosure-during-voting-hours-in-
Amethi/articleshow/34796103.cms

V: So you remember how we learnt about manipulation and coercion last time. So today we are
going to tell you about a similar story that happened with Rahul Gandhi?
Does everyone know how Rahul Gandhi is?
(Explain context)
Linking it back: Its like when Bhaiya and didi did the activity with you last time. Remember I went
and tried telling your friends who they should vote for?

The same way imagine if Rahul Gandhi did that?
Then explain context and how it is linked to the larger picture.

Repeat this with two three examples, the purpose is to give them general awareness too.
You can use any form of expression, charts, and photos clips. ( Do however tell your fellow once
before about what you plan)

Activity 3 (50 mins)
Public Speaking Skills and Vocab.

Start with CFUs of Body language and their importance.
Spend 15 mins recapping whatever they learnt in the previous class.

What: Intonations and the importance of intonations.

Why: Keeping the listeners attention is one of the major skills required to become a good public
speaker. And one of the crucial ways of making your speech more appealing is by adding intonations
at the right places.
Explain the four main pillars- Full stop, comma, exclamation mark and question mark.
You can use any of the following ways to explain it to them.
1. Take a passage and read without intonations.
2. Follow this up by adding o
Vocabulary: Volunteers Chose 10 words that they want students to remember.

Use those in sentences.
Ask students to make sentences of their own. And illustrate them with drawings.
Ask fellow to put up those words somewhere in class, so that students can re cap them at any point.


Recap the class! ( 15 mins)
Volunteers and Fellows can recap asking them questions to make sure that students remember what
happened in class.
AMETHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was present on polling day in Amethi for the
first time in 10 years and he seems to have violated the law by entering the voting
compartment, the closeted area where the EVM machine is kept, during polling hours in
at least three booths. These are Ashtabhuja Vidyalaya in Sahamau, Prathamik Vidyalaya
Koora and Madhyamik Vidyalaya Phoola, all of them in the Tiloi assembly segment,
between 9.15am and 10.24am.

TOI photographer V Sunil captured him peering over the EVM machines at two places
during polling hours and emerging from the EVM enclosure at another. A senior Election
Commission official told TOI in Delhi that during polling, only three people can access
the voting compartment: the voter, presiding officer and polling officer.

In case a candidate gains access to the polling station, the presiding officer will be held
responsible, said the official. The candidate can be acted against only if he enters the
polling compartment while a voter is in the process of voting, and the offence here is
violation of secrecy of voting, as provided in the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Rahul Gandhi was seen entering the polling area by others too. The Aam Aadmi Party
complained on Wednesday about the violation of election rules by Rahul Gandhi. The
party tweeted several pictures of Rahul in polling booths. A picture showing him looking
at an EVM was accompanied with a tweet that asked, "Is the candidate allowed to go to
the polling machine?"



(These TOI photographs show (left) Rahul Gandhi inspecting an EVM machine at
Amethi's Madhyamik Vidyalaya Phoola in Tiloi assembly segment at 10.24am and
(right) emerging after inspecting an EVM machine at Ashtabhuja Vidyalaya in
Sahamau at 9.20am, both within polling hours)

Rahul reached a polling booth in Bhoaiya Kesariya Gram Sabha in Bhadarpur Block of
Amethi at 8.15am with his aide Kaushal Vidyarthi and talked to a voter. At 9.20am he
was seen emerging from the enclosed area after inspecting an EVM machine at
Ashtabhuja Vidyalaya in Sahamau. At 10.24am he inspected an EVM machine at polling
booth number 137-Amethi at the Madhyamik Vidyalaya Phoola in Tiloi assembly
segment.

The EC official in Delhi said that a candidate can enter the polling booth during polling
hours and interact with the voters, but cannot canvass for votes during such an
interaction. Prior to polling, a mock-poll is held at the polling station. A candidate or his
agent can enter the voting compartment at this stage to check if the EVM is functioning
properly.

Clearly, Rahul Gandhi was not present during the mock-poll hours - between 5am and
7am - as he reached the Furstaganj air strip at 7.30am. While the presiding officer would
have to explain Rahul's presence at the EVM enclosure during polling hours, the penalty
against the candidate for violating the law is not clear.


Suffrage[edit]
The question of who may vote is a central issue in elections. The electorate does not generally
include the entire population; for example, many countries prohibit those
judgedmentally incompetent from voting, and all jurisdictions require a minimum age for voting.
Suffrage is typically only for citizens of the country, though further limits may be imposed.
However, in the European Union, one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the
municipality and is an EU citizen; the nationality of the country of residence is not required.

Campaigners working on posters inMilan, Italy, 2004
In some countries, voting is required by law; if an eligible voter does not cast a vote, he or she
may be subject to punitive measures such as a fine.
Nomination[edit]
A representative democracy requires a procedure to govern nomination for political office. In
many cases, nomination for office is mediated through preselection processes in organized
political parties.
[8]

Non-partisan systems tend to differ from partisan systems as concerns nominations. In a direct
democracy, one type of non-partisan democracy, any eligible person can be nominated. In some
non-partisan representative systems no nominations (or campaigning,electioneering, etc.) take
place at all, with voters free to choose any person at the time of votingwith some possible
exceptions such as through a minimum age requirementin the jurisdiction. In such cases, it is
not required (or even possible) that the members of the electorate be familiar with all of the
eligible persons, though such systems may involve indirect elections at larger geographic levels
to ensure that some first-hand familiarity among potential electees can exist at these levels (i.e.,
among the elected delegates).
As far as partisan systems, in some countries, only members of a particular political party can be
nominated. Or, an eligible person can be nominated through a petition; thus allowing him or her
to be listed.
Electoral systems[edit]
Electoral systems are the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems that convert
the vote into a political decision. The first step is to tally the votes, for which variousvote counting
systems and ballot types are used. Voting systems then determine the result on the basis of the
tally. Most systems can be categorized as either proportional ormajoritarian. Among the former
are party-list proportional representation and additional member system. Among the latter
are First Past the Post (FPP) (relative majority) andabsolute majority. Many countries have
growing electoral reform movements, which advocate systems such as approval voting, single
transferable vote, instant runoff voting or aCondorcet method; these methods are also gaining
popularity for lesser elections in some countries where more important elections still use more
traditional counting methods.
While openness and accountability are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system,
the act of casting a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an important exception.
The secret ballot is a relatively modern development, but it is now considered crucial in most free
and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of intimidation.
Scheduling[edit]
The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must
return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. For that
reason most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals. In
the United States, elections are held between every three and six years in most states, with
exceptions such as the U.S. House of Representatives, which stands for election every two
years. There is a variety of schedules, for example presidents: the President of Ireland is elected
every seven years, the President of Russia and the President of Finland every six years,
the President of France every five years,President of the United States every four years.
Pre-determined or fixed election dates have the advantage of fairness and predictability.
However, they tend to greatly lengthen campaigns, and make dissolving the
legislature(parliamentary system) more problematic if the date should happen to fall at time when
dissolution is inconvenient (e.g. when war breaks out). Other states (e.g., the United Kingdom)
only set maximum time in office, and the executive decides exactly when within that limit it will
actually go to the polls. In practice, this means the government remains in power for close to its
full term, and choose an election date it calculates to be in its best interests (unless something
special happens, such as a motion of no-confidence). This calculation depends on a number of
variables, such as its performance in opinion polls and the size of its majority.
Elections are usually held on one day. There are also advance polls and absentee voting, which
have a more flexible schedule. In Europe, a substantial proportion of votes are cast in advance
voting.
Election campaigns[edit]
Main article: Political campaign
When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by
competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters for a
campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently utilize campaign
advertising. It is common for political scientists to attempt to predict elections via Political
Forecasting methods.
The most expensive election campaign included US$7 billion spent on the United States
presidential election, 2012 and is followed by the US$5 billion spent on the Indian general
election, 2014.
[9]

Difficulties with elections[edit]
Main article: Electoral fraud
In many countries with weak rule of law, the most common reason why elections do not meet
international standards of being "free and fair" is interference from the incumbent
government. Dictators may use the powers of the executive (police, martial law, censorship,
physical implementation of the election mechanism, etc.) to remain in power despite popular
opinion in favor of removal. Members of a particular faction in a legislature may use the power of
the majority or supermajority (passing criminal laws, defining the electoral mechanisms including
eligibility and district boundaries) to prevent the balance of power in the body from shifting to a
rival faction due to an election.
Non-governmental entities can also interfere with elections, through physical force, verbal
intimidation, or fraud, which can result in improper casting or counting of votes. Monitoring for
and minimizing electoral fraud is also an ongoing task in countries with strong traditions of free
and fair elections. Problems that prevent an election from being "free and fair" take various
forms:
Lack of open political debate or an informed electorate
The electorate may be poorly informed about issues or candidates due to lack of freedom
of the press, lack of objectivity in the press due to state or corporate control, and/or lack
of access to news and political media. Freedom of speech may be curtailed by the state,
favoring certain viewpoints or state propaganda.
Unfair rules
This can include Gerrymandering, exclusion of opposition candidates from eligibility for
office, and manipulating thresholds for electoral success are some of the ways the
structure of an election can be changed to favor a specific faction or candidate.
Interference with campaigns
Those in power may arrest or assassinate candidates, suppress or even criminalize
campaigning, close campaign headquarters, harass or beat campaign workers, or
intimidate voters with violence.
Tampering with the election mechanism
This can include confusing or misleading voters about how to vote, violation of the secret
ballot, ballot stuffing, tampering with voting machines, destruction of legitimately cast
ballots, voter suppression, voter registration fraud, failure to validate voter residency,
fraudulent tabulation of results, and use of physical force or verbal intimation at polling
places.
Equally this list is only some of the ways in which it can occur, other examples
may include persuading candidates into not standing against them. Some
examples include: blackmailing, bribery, intimidation or physical violence.

Shreyank Nahar
OA.G.03
Hulme Hall, Oxford Place,
Manchester,
M14 5RR
United Kingdom