CHAPTER - 03 WHAT IS GOVERNMENT?

 WHAT IS GOVERNMENT? VIDEO LINK


NOTES

Goverment is an administrative organ of a region or a country that makes political decisions to run a country .

Every country needs a government to make decisions and get things done.

Functions of Government .

(i) Maintaining law and order :If there is a dispute or someone has commited a crime, we found that person tried in the court of law.

(ii) Providing public facilities   like  electricity, water, hospital , etc. It also does some important things like running the railway services and postal services. 

(iii) Take action on  issues  like poverty , education, health and ensure that citizens have enough food to eat.

(iv)Protect the boundries from enemies.

(v) Undertake relief measures in case of disasters like  earthquakes, floods.

Level of Government:

(i) Government in our  country functions at three  levels- central, state and local.

(ii) Central governments ranks highest among three and is followed by state and local government thereafter.

(iii) Central government looks after nation, state government looks after the states and local government  looks after the villages , towns or cities .

Laws and the Government:

(i) Laws are made by the government and citizens are bound to follow them. Laws need to be enforced for proper functioning of the government. 

(ii) Government  has the power to implement laws.Likewise, the citizen can approach the court if a law is not being followed. 

(iii) Court has  the power to give justice to the aggrieved party. 

Types of Government:

(i) There are  mainly  two forms  of government: Democray and Monarchy 

(ii) In a democracy , people rule themselves through their representatives.  In a democratic government people have a right to choose their representatives.Once elected, these people form the government. In a democracy, the government has to explain each of its actions and has to defend its decisions. For example, India

(iii) In a monarchy , only  the king or queen have  the power to make decisions and govern the country . It  is absolute obedience to the authority and people donot have any right in decision making .Example Saudi Arabia .

Democratic governments:

In India there is a democracy. This achievement is the result of long and action packed struggle of the Indian people. There are many other places where people have also struggled to have democracies.

Universal Adult Franchise

Nowadays, democratic governments are better known as representative democracies. In this kind of democracy, people participate indirectly. They choose their representatives during elections and these representatives meet and make decisions for the entire population. All adults in the country are eligible to vote according to the Universal Adult Franchise(UAF).




Exercise

Question 1. What do you understand by the word 'government'? List five ways in which you think the government affects your daily life.
Answer : A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, often a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of a legislature, executive, and judiciary.
The government affects our daily life in the following ways:

  1. It protects our boundaries.
  2. It provides us with a school, health center, hospitals, dispensaries etc.
  3. It makes law for the benefits of the people and implements them.
  4. It solves our social issues and economic issues like discrimination, poverty, unemployment.
  5. It provides us with basic infrastructure facilities like water, electricity etc.

Question 2. Why do you think the government needs to make rules for everyone in the form of laws?
Answer: The law serves many purposes and functions in society.

  1. It prevents the misuse of their powers.
  2. It measures the security of the nations.
  3. To avoid disorder, confusion, and anarchy in a country.
  4. To protect liberties and rights.
  5. It helps in proper functioning and decision making of the government.

Question 3. Name two essential features of a democratic government.
Answer: The two essential features of a democratic government are:

  1. Democracies people do not participate directly but, instead, choose their representatives through an election process.
  2. The representatives meet and make decisions for the entire population.

Question 4. What was the suffrage movement? What did it accomplish?
Answer: The suffrage movement means the right to vote or franchise. It was the struggle for the right of women to vote and run for office and is part of the overall women's rights movement. This movement organised by the British women in the early 20th century to win political rights and for the participation in government. During the World War-1, the struggle for the right to vote got strengthened.
Accomplishments of Suffrage Movement : It accomplished its goal and included the women in the mainstream of voting and government. Women began to be seen as being equally capable of doing hard work and making a decision.

Question 5. Gandhi Ji 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.
Answer:In India, before Independence, only a small minority was allowed to vote. The poor, women, the property-less and the uneducated were not allowed to vote. We think that the people must be given the right to vote.
The given statement shows it a case of discrimination because of the following:

  1. All citizens are equal by law.
  2. According to the constitution, there is no difference between a man and woman, a poor and a rich, black and white people.
  3. The laws are not made for men only.
  4. All citizens must be granted right to vote.