Class 8 Civics Chapter 1 Question Answers - SST: Social and Political Life - III

Q1: Mention the key features of the Indian Constitution.
Ans: The key features of the Indian constitution are:

• Federalism
• Parliamentary Form of Government
• Separation of Powers
• Fundamental Rights
• Secularism

Q2: What do you mean by tyranny of majority?
Ans: Tyranny of the majority refers to unhealthy situations where a majority continuously enforces decisions that exclude minorities and go against their interests. Every society is prone to this tyranny of the majority. The Constitution usually contains rules that ensure that minorities are not excluded from anything that is routinely available to the majority. Constitution is precisely to prevent this tyranny or domination by the majority of a minority.

Q3: What are the functions of the three main organs of the government?
Ans: According to the Constitution, there are three organs of government. These are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

• The legislature refers to our elected representatives.
• The executive is a smaller group of people who are responsible for implementing laws and running the government.
• The judiciary refers to the system of courts in this country.

Q4: Why does a democratic country need a Constitution?
Ans: A democratic country needs a Constitution because it serves several purposes.

• First, it lays out certain ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that we as citizens aspire to live in.
• The second important purpose of a Constitution is to define the nature of a country’s political system.
• The third significant reason why we need a Constitution is to save us from ourselves. What is meant by this is that we might at times feel strongly about an issue that might go against our larger interests and the Constitution helps us guard against this.

Q5: How was the Indian Constitution made?
Ans: The long experience of authoritarian rule under the colonial state convinced Indians that free India should be a democracy in which everyone should be treated equally and be allowed to participate in government. What remained to be done then was to work out the ways in which a democratic government would be set up in India and the rules that would determine its functioning. This was done not by one person but by a group of around 300 people who became members of the Constituent Assembly in 1946 and who met periodically for the next three years to write India’s Constitution. Between December 1946 and November 1949, the Constituent Assembly drafted a constitution for independent India.

Q6: Write a brief note on the struggle for freedom in Nepal.
Ans: The country of Nepal has witnessed several people’s struggles for democracy. There was a people’s struggle in 1990 that established democracy that lasted for 12 years until 2002. In October 2002, King Gyanendra, citing the Maoist uprising in the countryside as his reason, began taking over different aspects of the government with the army’s assistance. The King then finally took over as the head of government in February 2005. In November 2005, the Maoists joined other political parties to sign a 12-point agreement. This agreement signalled to the larger public an imminent return to democracy and peace. In 2006, this people’s movement for democracy began gaining immense force. It repeatedly refused the small concessions that the King made and finally in April 2006 the King restored the Third Parliament and asked the political parties to form a government. In 2007, Nepal adopted an interim Constitution.

Q7: Listed below are the key features of the Indian Constitution. Write two sentences, in your own words, on why you think this feature is important:

• Federalism
• Separation of Powers
• Fundamental Rights
• Parliamentary Form of Government

Ans: Federalism

• This refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country. In India, we have governments at the state level and at the centre. Panchayati Raj is the third tier of government.
• Under federalism, the states are not merely agents of the federal government but draw their authority from the Constitution as well.
• All persons in India are governed by laws and policies made by each of these levels of government.

Separation of Powers

• According to the Constitution, there are three organs of government. These are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
• In order to prevent the misuse of power by any one branch of government, the Constitution says that each of these organs should exercise different powers.
• Through this, each organ acts as a check on the other organs of government and this ensures the balance of power between all three.

Fundamental Rights

• Fundamental Rights guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as well as against other individuals.
• It also guarantees the rights of minorities against the majority.

Parliamentary Form of Government

• The Constitution of India guarantees universal adult suffrage for all citizens. This would help encourage a democratic mindset and break the clutches of traditional caste, class and gender hierarchies. This means that the people of India have a direct role in electing their representatives.
• Also, every citizen of the country, irrespective of his/her social background, can also contest in elections. These representatives are accountable to the people.

Q8: State the six Fundamentals Rights in the Indian Constitution.
Ans: The Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution include:

• Right to Equality
• Right to Freedom
• Right against Exploitation
• Right to Freedom of Religion
• Cultural and Educational Rights
• Right to Constitutional Remedies

Q9: Explain Right to Equality.
Ans: Right to Equality means

• All persons are equal before the law. This means that all persons shall be equally protected by the laws of the country.
• It also states that no citizen can be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, caste or sex.
• Every person has access to all public places including playgrounds, hotels, shops etc.
• The State cannot discriminate against anyone in matters of employment.

Q10: What is the importance of constitution?
Ans: Importance of constitution are:

• A Constitution helps serve as a set of rules and principles that all persons in a country can agree upon as the basis of the way in which they want the country to be governed.
• The Constitution often lays down rules that guard against this misuse of authority by our political leaders.
• Constitution ensures that a dominant group does not use its power against other, less powerful people or groups.
• The Constitution helps to protect us against certain decisions that we might take that could have an adverse effect on the larger principles that the country believes in.