Question 1:
Why do you think our nationalist movement supported the idea that all adults have a right to vote?
Answer:
Indian National Congress was established in 1885 and Nationalist leaders demanded that there
should be elected member in the legislature with a right to discuss the budget and ask questions.
The Government of India Act 1909 introduced the indirect election to the Legislative Assembly.
National leaders were not satisfied with this Act because the right to vote was very restricted and
limited. Under the act of 1919 and 1935 voter’s numbers increased but adult franchise was not
introduced. Indian leaders demanded adult franchise and hence when they got a chance to frame
the Constitution for India, adult franchise was introduced.
Question 2:
What do you think the artist is trying to convey through the image of Parliament?
Answer:
Through the given photograph, the artist is trying to depict that Indians play a huge part in running the government. People are the pillars of our parliament, meaning they play a vital role in the functioning of the government. Being a democracy, citizens participate in the selection and smooth functioning of the government.
Question 3:
Use the terms ‘constituency’ and ‘represent’ to explain who an MLA is and how the person gets elected?
Answer:
The Palam constituency is represented by Dharam Dev Solanki as an MLA of the Delhi Vidhan Sabha.
The procedure to select an MLA is as follows:
(i) Tickets are allotted to the party candidates for contesting elections.
(ii) The members fill their nominations and file them with the returning officer.
(iii) They campaign with their policies and programmes.
(iv) The citizens vote on the day of the elections and the person getting the highest number of votes
is selected as an MLA of that particular constituency.
Question 4:
Discuss with your teacher the difference between a State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and the Parliament (Lok Sabha).
Answer:
Question 5:
From the list below, identify the work of a State government and that of a Central government.
(a) The decision of the Indian government to maintain peaceful relations with China.
(b) The decision of the Madhya Pradesh government to discontinue Board exams in Class VIII for
all schools under this Board.
(c) Introduction of a new train connection between Ajmer and Mysore.
(d) Introduction of a new 1,000 rupee note.
Answer:
(a) Central Government (b) State Government
(c) Central Government (d) Central Government
Question 6:
Fill in the blanks with the following words: Universal adult franchise; MLAs; Representatives;
Directly
Answer:
Democratic governments in our times are usually referred to as the representative democracies. In representative democracies, people do not participate directly but, instead, choose their representatives through an election process. These MLAs meet and make decisions for the entire population. These days, a government cannot call itself democratic unless it allows what is known as the universal adult franchise. This means that all adult citizens in the country are allowed to vote.
Question 7:
You have read that most elected members, whether in the Panchayat, or the Vidhan Sabha or the Parliament, are elected for a fixed period of five years. Why do we have a system where the representatives are elected for a fixed period and not for life?
Answer:
The choices of the people keep on changing. If elected for life, a minister, MLA, etc., may neglect his/her duty thinking that he/she has hold over the people. The people should get an opportunity to voice their concern and change the government if it is not happy with the work the elected representatives are doing.
Question 8:
What do you understand by ‘domestic violence’? List the two rights that the new law helped achieve for women who are survivors of violence.
Answer:
Domestic violence refers to the injury or harm or threat of injury or harm caused by an adult
male, usually the husband, against his wife. Injury may be caused by physically beating up the
woman or economically abusing her. The abuse of the woman can also include verbal, sexual
and economical abuse.
Two rights that the new law helped achieve for women are:
(i) The right of woman to live in a shared household.
(ii) Women can get monetary relief to meet their expenses, including medical costs.
Question 9:
Can you list one process that was used to make more people aware of the need for this law?
Answer:
Public hearings were held to make the people more aware of the new laws.