Long Questions: What is Government? | NCERT Summary: UPSC PDF Download

Q1: Explain suffrage movement and how did it occur?
Ans: The suffrage movement was a campaign to give women the right to vote. Women and the impoverished had to battle for representation in government all over Europe and the United States. During WWI, women's fight for the right to vote grew stronger. Many men were gone fighting during the war, thus women were called upon to do labour that had previously been deemed men's employment. As a result, women were given the opportunity to demonstrate their ability. As a result, people began to seek the right to vote. The outcome was favourable. Women in the United States gained the right to vote in 1920, whereas women in the United Kingdom gained the right to vote on the same terms as males a few years later, in 1928.

Q2: How do you take the Gandhiji’s idea of giving every community the right to vote? Was it a good demonstration?
Ans: Yes, preventing people from voting would be discrimination based on their educational level. All citizens are on an equal footing. The constitution tries to ensure that all citizens are treated equally. We have no right to discriminate against anyone because of their financial situation. A person who is illiterate is also a citizen of our country. Because of his illiteracy, he cannot be barred from voting. Human rights and legal provisions must be respected. Intelligence is not solely based on schooling, but also on different variables of nature and nurture, therefore even an illiterate person can be knowledgeable.

Q3: Question Box:
Nowhere in the world have governments willingly shared power. All over Europe and USA, women and the poor have had to fight for participation in government. Women’s struggle to vote got strengthened during the First World War. This movement is called the women’s suffrage movement as the term suffrage usually means right to vote.
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. Many women began organising and managing different kinds of work. When people saw this they began to wonder why they had created so many unfair stereotypes about women and what they were capable of doing. So women began to be seen as being equally capable of making decisions.
The suffragettes demanded the right to vote for all women and to get their demands heard they chained themselves to railings in public places. Many suffragettes were imprisoned and went on hunger strikes, and they had to be fed by force. American women got the right to vote in 1920 while women in the UK got to vote on the same terms as men some years later, in 1928.
Study the above advertisement and answer the questions that follow:

1. Where and who had to fight for participation in government1?
2. When had women’s struggle got strengthened?
3. Why was this struggle called women’s suffrage movement?
4. Why were women called to work in men’s field during the war?
5. Why were women seen as being equally capable of making decisions?
6. Who were suffragettes?
7. When did American women got right to vote?
8. When did UK women get voting right equal to men?

Ans:

1. In Europe and USA, women and the poor.
2. During First World War.
3. Women’s struggle was called women’s suffrage movement because as the term suffrage means right to vote and the women were demanding/struggling for right to vote.
4. Because men had gone to war fronts to fight.
5. Because at workplaces women did wonders and worked better than their men counterparts.
6. Suffragettes were those who believed and advocated for women’s voting rights.
7. In 1920.
8. In 1928.

Q4: What is a “Government”? Explain its working.
Ans: The term government refers to a governmental body that makes decisions.Makes decisions and engages in a variety of actions in the interest of the welfare of the general public.

• The government protects its citizens from prejudice and injustice through legal means.
• It keeps society in order by maintaining peace.
• It is in charge of crime prevention.
• It aids people in living a healthy lifestyle.
• In the event of natural disasters, the government gives immediate help to those who are affected.

Q5: Why does a government make rules for its citizens?
Ans: The government must enact laws that apply to everyone because:

• It aids in the prevention of power abuse.
• It contributes to the government's efficiency.
• It enables people to live a regular, quiet life.
• It ensures the nation's and people's security.

As a result, the rule of law establishes justice. Its goal is to realise constitutional concepts of equality and the right to be free from discrimination. People are required to observe the law by law.

Q6: Name any two important features of Democracy.
Ans: The following are two important characteristics of a democratic government:

• Democracy is a form of government in which the people rule. By contributing in the creation of these norms, the people rule themselves. People have the right to vote in elections to choose their leaders. These delegates or leaders gather and make choices that affect the entire population.
• The Universal Adult Franchise Act declares that any citizen over the age of 18 has the right to vote without regard to caste, colour, creed, or religion.