NCERT book Class 6 Social Science - What is Government

 Page 1


You must have heard the word ‘government’ 
mentioned several times. In this chapter you  
will learn about what a government is and the 
important role it plays in our lives. What do 
governments do? How do they decide what to  
do? What is the difference between different  
types of governments such as monarchies and 
democracies? Read more and find out….
Chapter 3
What is
Government?
E
very country needs a government 
to make decisions and get things 
done. These can be decisions about 
where to build roads and schools, or 
how  to  reduce  the  price  of  onions 
when they get too expensive or ways 
to increase the supply of electricity. 
The government also takes action on 
many social issues, for example it has 
several programmes to help the poor. 
It does other important things such as 
running postal and railway services. 
Look at the newspaper headlines above 
and list the different kinds of activities 
that the government is reported to be 
doing in these newspaper headlines.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Isn’t this a wide range of activities? 
What do you think government is? 
Discuss in class.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   26 14-11-2022   04:58:45 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
Page 2


You must have heard the word ‘government’ 
mentioned several times. In this chapter you  
will learn about what a government is and the 
important role it plays in our lives. What do 
governments do? How do they decide what to  
do? What is the difference between different  
types of governments such as monarchies and 
democracies? Read more and find out….
Chapter 3
What is
Government?
E
very country needs a government 
to make decisions and get things 
done. These can be decisions about 
where to build roads and schools, or 
how  to  reduce  the  price  of  onions 
when they get too expensive or ways 
to increase the supply of electricity. 
The government also takes action on 
many social issues, for example it has 
several programmes to help the poor. 
It does other important things such as 
running postal and railway services. 
Look at the newspaper headlines above 
and list the different kinds of activities 
that the government is reported to be 
doing in these newspaper headlines.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Isn’t this a wide range of activities? 
What do you think government is? 
Discuss in class.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   26 14-11-2022   04:58:45 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
What is Government / 27 
Can you list three things that the 
government does which have not 
been mentioned.
1.
2.
3.
Some rules have to be made that 
apply to everyone. For example, there 
is a need to control resources and 
protect the territory of a country, so 
people can feel secure.  Governments 
do this on behalf of their people 
by exercising leadership, taking  
decisions and implementing these 
among all the people living in their 
territory.
Levels of Government
Now that you know that the 
government is responsible for so many 
The government also has the job 
of protecting the boundaries of the 
country and maintaining peaceful 
relations with other countries.  It is 
responsible for ensuring that all its 
citizens have enough to eat and have 
good health facilities. When there are 
natural disasters like the tsunami or 
an earthquake it is the government that 
mainly organises aid and assistance for 
the affected people. If there is a dispute 
or if someone has committed a crime 
you find people in a court. Courts are 
also part of the government.
Perhaps you are wondering how 
governments manage to do all this. 
And why it is necessary for them 
to do so. When human beings live 
and work together, there needs to be 
some amount of organisation so that 
decisions can be made.
Some examples of 
institutions that are 
part of the government: 
The Supreme Court, 
The Indian Railways 
and Bharat Petroleum.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   27 14-11-2022   04:58:46 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
Page 3


You must have heard the word ‘government’ 
mentioned several times. In this chapter you  
will learn about what a government is and the 
important role it plays in our lives. What do 
governments do? How do they decide what to  
do? What is the difference between different  
types of governments such as monarchies and 
democracies? Read more and find out….
Chapter 3
What is
Government?
E
very country needs a government 
to make decisions and get things 
done. These can be decisions about 
where to build roads and schools, or 
how  to  reduce  the  price  of  onions 
when they get too expensive or ways 
to increase the supply of electricity. 
The government also takes action on 
many social issues, for example it has 
several programmes to help the poor. 
It does other important things such as 
running postal and railway services. 
Look at the newspaper headlines above 
and list the different kinds of activities 
that the government is reported to be 
doing in these newspaper headlines.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Isn’t this a wide range of activities? 
What do you think government is? 
Discuss in class.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   26 14-11-2022   04:58:45 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
What is Government / 27 
Can you list three things that the 
government does which have not 
been mentioned.
1.
2.
3.
Some rules have to be made that 
apply to everyone. For example, there 
is a need to control resources and 
protect the territory of a country, so 
people can feel secure.  Governments 
do this on behalf of their people 
by exercising leadership, taking  
decisions and implementing these 
among all the people living in their 
territory.
Levels of Government
Now that you know that the 
government is responsible for so many 
The government also has the job 
of protecting the boundaries of the 
country and maintaining peaceful 
relations with other countries.  It is 
responsible for ensuring that all its 
citizens have enough to eat and have 
good health facilities. When there are 
natural disasters like the tsunami or 
an earthquake it is the government that 
mainly organises aid and assistance for 
the affected people. If there is a dispute 
or if someone has committed a crime 
you find people in a court. Courts are 
also part of the government.
Perhaps you are wondering how 
governments manage to do all this. 
And why it is necessary for them 
to do so. When human beings live 
and work together, there needs to be 
some amount of organisation so that 
decisions can be made.
Some examples of 
institutions that are 
part of the government: 
The Supreme Court, 
The Indian Railways 
and Bharat Petroleum.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   27 14-11-2022   04:58:46 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
28 / Social and Political Life
different things, can you think of 
how it manages to do all these? The 
government works at different levels: 
at the local level, at the level of the 
state and at the national level. The 
local level means in your village, town 
or locality, the state level would mean 
that which covers an entire state like 
Haryana or Assam and the national 
level relates to the entire country (see 
the maps). Later in this book, you will 
read about how local level government 
functions, and when you go into the 
next few classes you will learn about 
how governments function at the state 
and central levels.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   28 14-11-2022   04:58:47 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
Page 4


You must have heard the word ‘government’ 
mentioned several times. In this chapter you  
will learn about what a government is and the 
important role it plays in our lives. What do 
governments do? How do they decide what to  
do? What is the difference between different  
types of governments such as monarchies and 
democracies? Read more and find out….
Chapter 3
What is
Government?
E
very country needs a government 
to make decisions and get things 
done. These can be decisions about 
where to build roads and schools, or 
how  to  reduce  the  price  of  onions 
when they get too expensive or ways 
to increase the supply of electricity. 
The government also takes action on 
many social issues, for example it has 
several programmes to help the poor. 
It does other important things such as 
running postal and railway services. 
Look at the newspaper headlines above 
and list the different kinds of activities 
that the government is reported to be 
doing in these newspaper headlines.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Isn’t this a wide range of activities? 
What do you think government is? 
Discuss in class.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   26 14-11-2022   04:58:45 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
What is Government / 27 
Can you list three things that the 
government does which have not 
been mentioned.
1.
2.
3.
Some rules have to be made that 
apply to everyone. For example, there 
is a need to control resources and 
protect the territory of a country, so 
people can feel secure.  Governments 
do this on behalf of their people 
by exercising leadership, taking  
decisions and implementing these 
among all the people living in their 
territory.
Levels of Government
Now that you know that the 
government is responsible for so many 
The government also has the job 
of protecting the boundaries of the 
country and maintaining peaceful 
relations with other countries.  It is 
responsible for ensuring that all its 
citizens have enough to eat and have 
good health facilities. When there are 
natural disasters like the tsunami or 
an earthquake it is the government that 
mainly organises aid and assistance for 
the affected people. If there is a dispute 
or if someone has committed a crime 
you find people in a court. Courts are 
also part of the government.
Perhaps you are wondering how 
governments manage to do all this. 
And why it is necessary for them 
to do so. When human beings live 
and work together, there needs to be 
some amount of organisation so that 
decisions can be made.
Some examples of 
institutions that are 
part of the government: 
The Supreme Court, 
The Indian Railways 
and Bharat Petroleum.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   27 14-11-2022   04:58:46 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
28 / Social and Political Life
different things, can you think of 
how it manages to do all these? The 
government works at different levels: 
at the local level, at the level of the 
state and at the national level. The 
local level means in your village, town 
or locality, the state level would mean 
that which covers an entire state like 
Haryana or Assam and the national 
level relates to the entire country (see 
the maps). Later in this book, you will 
read about how local level government 
functions, and when you go into the 
next few classes you will learn about 
how governments function at the state 
and central levels.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   28 14-11-2022   04:58:47 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
What is Government / 29 
Source: www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/maps/atlas/00part1.pdf
Note: Telangana became the 29th State of India on the 2nd June, 2014 after the reorganisation of the State  of Andhra Pradesh.
         Since 31 October 2019, the state of Jammu & Kashmir was divided into two union territories — Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   29 14-11-2022   04:58:51 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
Page 5


You must have heard the word ‘government’ 
mentioned several times. In this chapter you  
will learn about what a government is and the 
important role it plays in our lives. What do 
governments do? How do they decide what to  
do? What is the difference between different  
types of governments such as monarchies and 
democracies? Read more and find out….
Chapter 3
What is
Government?
E
very country needs a government 
to make decisions and get things 
done. These can be decisions about 
where to build roads and schools, or 
how  to  reduce  the  price  of  onions 
when they get too expensive or ways 
to increase the supply of electricity. 
The government also takes action on 
many social issues, for example it has 
several programmes to help the poor. 
It does other important things such as 
running postal and railway services. 
Look at the newspaper headlines above 
and list the different kinds of activities 
that the government is reported to be 
doing in these newspaper headlines.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Isn’t this a wide range of activities? 
What do you think government is? 
Discuss in class.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   26 14-11-2022   04:58:45 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
What is Government / 27 
Can you list three things that the 
government does which have not 
been mentioned.
1.
2.
3.
Some rules have to be made that 
apply to everyone. For example, there 
is a need to control resources and 
protect the territory of a country, so 
people can feel secure.  Governments 
do this on behalf of their people 
by exercising leadership, taking  
decisions and implementing these 
among all the people living in their 
territory.
Levels of Government
Now that you know that the 
government is responsible for so many 
The government also has the job 
of protecting the boundaries of the 
country and maintaining peaceful 
relations with other countries.  It is 
responsible for ensuring that all its 
citizens have enough to eat and have 
good health facilities. When there are 
natural disasters like the tsunami or 
an earthquake it is the government that 
mainly organises aid and assistance for 
the affected people. If there is a dispute 
or if someone has committed a crime 
you find people in a court. Courts are 
also part of the government.
Perhaps you are wondering how 
governments manage to do all this. 
And why it is necessary for them 
to do so. When human beings live 
and work together, there needs to be 
some amount of organisation so that 
decisions can be made.
Some examples of 
institutions that are 
part of the government: 
The Supreme Court, 
The Indian Railways 
and Bharat Petroleum.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   27 14-11-2022   04:58:46 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
28 / Social and Political Life
different things, can you think of 
how it manages to do all these? The 
government works at different levels: 
at the local level, at the level of the 
state and at the national level. The 
local level means in your village, town 
or locality, the state level would mean 
that which covers an entire state like 
Haryana or Assam and the national 
level relates to the entire country (see 
the maps). Later in this book, you will 
read about how local level government 
functions, and when you go into the 
next few classes you will learn about 
how governments function at the state 
and central levels.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   28 14-11-2022   04:58:47 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
What is Government / 29 
Source: www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/maps/atlas/00part1.pdf
Note: Telangana became the 29th State of India on the 2nd June, 2014 after the reorganisation of the State  of Andhra Pradesh.
         Since 31 October 2019, the state of Jammu & Kashmir was divided into two union territories — Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   29 14-11-2022   04:58:51 PM
Rationalised 2023-24
30 / Social and Political Life
Laws and the Government
The government makes laws and 
everyone who lives in the country 
has to follow these. This is the only 
way governments can function. Just 
like the government has the power to  
make decisions, similarly it has the 
power to enforce its decisions. For 
example, there is a law that says that 
all persons driving a motor vehicle 
must have a licence. Any person  
caught driving a vehicle without a 
licence can either be jailed or fined a 
large sum of money. Without these 
laws the government’s power to make 
decisions is not of much use.
Discuss
Think of an example of another 
law. Why do you think it is 
important that people abide by 
this law?
In addition to any actions that 
governments can take, there are also 
steps that people can take if they 
feel that a particular law is not being 
followed. If a person feels, for example, 
that they were not hired for a job 
because of their religion or caste, he or 
she may approach the court and claim 
that the law is not being followed. The 
court can then give orders about what 
should be done.
Types of Government
Who gives the government this power to 
make decisions and enforce laws?
The answer to this question depends 
on the type of government there is in a 
country. In a democracy it is the people 
who give the government this power.  
They do this through elections in which 
they vote for particular persons and 
elect them. Once elected, these persons 
form the government.   In a democracy 
the government has to explain its 
actions and defend its decisions to  
the people.
Another form of government 
is monarchy. The monarch (king 
or queen) has the power to make 
decisions and run the government. 
The monarch may have a small group 
of people to discuss matters with, 
but the final decision-making power 
remains with the monarch. Unlike in 
a democracy, kings and queens do not 
have to explain their actions or defend 
the decisions they take. 
Unit_II Ch 3.indd   30 14-11-2022   04:58:51 PM
Rationalised 2023-24