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Chapter 3. What is Government

NCERT Exercise

Que: What do you understand by the word ‘government’? List five ways in which you think the government effects your daily life.

Ans:

 The word government refers to a governing body that makes decisions and gets things done for the welfare of its citizens.The government provides legal supports to its citizens against any discrimination and injustice.

(i) It maintains peace and so keeps society in order.

(ii) It controls crime.

(iii) It assists people to lead proper life.

(iv) In the event of natural calamities, the government provides all emergency assistance to the affected people.

Que: Why do you think the government needs to make rules for everyone in the form of laws?

Ans:

The government needs laws to maintain peace and order in society. Law establishes justice. It is mend to achieve constitutional ideas Le. equality and right against discrimination. Law makes it compulsory for the people to obey it.

Que: Name two essential features of a democratic government.

Ans:

Two essential features of a democratic government are :

(i) Democracy is a rule by the people. It is people who rule themselves by participating in the making of these rules.

(ii) In a democracy people have the power to elect their leaders. These leaders or representatives meet and make decisions for the entire population.

Que: What was the suffrage movement? What did it accomplish?

Ans:

The movement for voting rights to women came to be known as the suffrage movement. All over Europe and USA, women and the poor have had to fight for participation in the government. Women’s struggle to vote got strengthened during the first world war. During the War, many men were away fighting and because of this women were called upon to do work that was earlier considered men’s work. Thus, women got opportunity to show their capability. People as a whole got disillusioned. They began demanding the right to vote for all women. The result was positive. American women got the right to vote in 1920 while women in the UK got the right to vote on the same terms as men some years later, in 1928.

Que: Gandhiji strongly believed that every adult in India should be given the right to vote. However, a few people don’t share his views. They feel that illiterate people, who are mainly poor, should not be given the right to vote. What do you think? Do you think this would be a form of discrimination? Give five points to support your view and share these with the class.

Ans:

 All citizens are equal. The constitution aims at providing all equality to all its citizens.

• We have no right to discriminate any one on the basis of poverty.
• An illiterate is also a citizen of India. He should not be debarred from voting right on the basis of his illiteracy.
• Our constitution provides equal voting rights to all its citizens.
• As ideal citizens we all have to abide by the constitutional provisions. We must honour human dignity and legal provisions.

Chapter 3. What is Government

Additional Questions

Additional - Question:

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Que: Name some institutions that are part of the government.

Ans: The supremen court, the Indian Railways, Bharat Petroleum.

Que: List any two functions of the government.

Ans: 

(i) The government protects the boundaries of the country.

(ii) It maintains peaceful relations with other countries.

Que: What happens when someone commits a crime?

Ans: He/She finds himself/herself in court in such a situation.

Que: Why is there a need to control resources and protect the territory of a country? 

Ans: It is important so that people can feel secure.

Que: At which three levels does the government work?

Ans: The government works at the local level, at the state level and st the national level.

Que: Under which circumstances a person may approach the court?

Ans: If a person feels that a particular law is not being followed he/she may approach the court.

Que: What does the court do in such a situation?

Ans: The court gives to the government about what should be done.

Que: What do you mean by monarchy?

Ans: Monarchy is a form of gorvenment in which the monarch (King or Queen) has the power th make decisions and run the government.

Que: What do you mean by representative democracies?

Ans: In representative democracies, people do not participate directly but, instead, choose their representatives through an election process. These representatives meet and make decisions for the entrie population.

Que: What was the unfair practive in Gandhi's eyes?

Ans: In pre - independent Indai, only a small minority was allowed to vote. It is they who determined the fate of the majority. This very practive was seen as an unfair practice by Gandhiji.

Que: What did Gandhiji demand?

Ans: Gandhiji demanded that all adults whether rich or poor, educated or literate have the right to vote.

Que: How does the government manage so many different things?

Ans: The government has a variety of work to do. To discharge each and every responsibility smoothly, It work at three different levels, at the local level, The local level means in your village, town or locality. The state - level would the entire state and the national level relates to the entire country.

Que: How is democracy different from the monarchy?

Ans: Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. In this type of goverenment, people are supreme because it is they who give the government power. The government has to explain its actions and defend its decisions to the people.

In a monarchy, it is the King or Queen who has the power to make decisions and run the government. The monarch may have a small group of prople ti discuss matters with, byt the final decision - making power remains with the monarch. Unlike in a democracy, kings and queens do not have the explain their actions or defend the decisions they make.

Que: Can you say the earliest forms of government democratic?

Ans: We can not say the earliest forms of government democratic because these governments didi not allow woman and the poor to participate in elections. In their earliest forms governments allowed only men who owned property and were educated, to vote. This meant that woman, the poor, the property - less,a nd the uneducated were not allowed to vote. The country was governed by the rules and regulations that these few men made.

Que: What does the government do for the welfare of its citizens? 

Ans: The government does a variety of works for the welfare of its citizens:

• It mkes decisios and gets things done.
• It builds roads and schools.
• It takes decisions about how to reduce the price of essential goods when they get too expensive or ways to increase the supply of electricity.
• It supervise postal and railways services.
• At the time of natural calamities, it organizes aid and assistance for the affected people.
• It makes laws for the safety of its citizens. For example, there is a law that says that all persons driving a two - wheeler must wear a helmet.