Important Questions & Answers: The Constitution and Social Change - 2 | Sociology Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Q.42. State the main features of the Panchayati Raj system.

• Panchayati Raj system has a three-tier structure.
• Gram Sabha plays the most important role in it.
• Members of its institutions are elected directly by the people.
• Some seats of its institutions are reserved for scheduled castes, tribes, and women.
• The financial powers and functions of Panchayati Raj institutions are distributed.

Q.43. What is the importance of Decentralisation in India?

Decentralization refers to the distribution or division of powers from top to bottom. Decentralization is of great importance in India because India is a democratic country. One of the important conditions of democracy is the people’s participation in politics and it is only possible when there will be elections at every level. Representatives will be elected by the people through these elections. If elected, they will need powers. They will get the powers from the top which is possible if there is the decentralization of powers instead of centralization. Our country is facing many types of problems and these could be solved if power is given to concerned people of local areas.

Q.44. Give four demerits of a decentralized system.

• This system lacks uniformity in administration. Higher officials give directions of work to lower officials who change it according to time and needs which is why differences arise in their work.
• Another demerit of this system is that it increases expenditure. The government will have to bear all the expenses of officials, their pay, workplace, offices, etc., which sums up to a hefty amount.
• It is a danger for national interests. Officials start to solve and think about local problems and hardly care about the national interests.
• This system lacks control of the center. Officials work in their own way and many a time, they go beyond the policies of the central government.

Q.45. What provisions have been made for children in the Constitution?

Children are also given special attention to different articles of the Constitution. Article 15 states that the state shall specially arrange for the security of the interests of children. It can provide them special facilities. Article 39 states that children should not do those works, due to economic problems, which could have an adverse impact on their age and health. That is why Government should make such a policy with which children could be protected from exploitation and moral and physical degradation. Article 45 states that the state shall arrange for free and compulsory education for children up to the age of 14 years.

Q.46. What were the objectives of the First Five Year Plan?

When the first five-year plan was started in 1951, India was facing economic problems due to the division of the country and the Second World War. That is why the following objectives were made in it:

• The agricultural system of the country should be strengthened.
• Agriculture of the country should be developed so that country should become self-dependent in food production.
• To make more and more programs of social welfare.
• To increase industrial development.
• To concentrate on employment giving sectors.
• To work for the rehabilitation of people.

45% of the total amount of the budget of this plan (1,960 crores) was spent on agriculture. The growth rate of this plan was projected at 2.2% but it reached the level of 3.7%.

Q.47. Explain the three-tier system of Panchayati Raj.
Or
How Local Self Government works at the village level?

73rd Amendment of the Constitution has provided the three-tier system for Panchayati Raj. At the village level, the basic unit of democracy is Gram Sabha which is the sabha of all the adults of the village. This Gram Sabha elects the Panchayat and Sarpanch of a village. Panchayat looks after the needs of the village. The Second level is the Block Samiti at the block level and all the panchayats of the block are its members. It looks after the work done by the Panchayats in the block. It has one chairman as well as many elected and ex-officio members. The third level of Panchayati Raj is Zila Parishad at the district level. All the Block Samitis of one district are its members. M.P., M.L.A., Commissioner, etc., are its ex-officio members. It also has some elected members. Zila Parishad looks after the work done by Panchayats and Block Samiti in the district.

Q.48. What is the importance of Local Self government?

In a democratic country like India, where a number of linguistic, ethnic, and religious groups live together, the local self-government is very important due to the following reasons:

• The matters of local interest like water supply, cleaning, and lighting of streets, maintenance of drainage system, etc., are better understood by the local residents. Hence, there is a need for local self-government.
• The knowledge gained in running the administration of local affairs proves to be a training ground for self-government.
• Local functions are performed better by the local bodies at a low cost.

Q.49. What is Nyaya Panchayat?
Or
What are Nyaya Panchayats? What authority do they possess? 

The nature of two persons is not the same. That is why problems may arise between them. In this way, problems between villages may arise from time to time. Nyaya Panchayat stops and solves these problems. One Nyaya Panchayat is generally formed for 5-10 Gram Sabhas. Its members are elected and Sarpanch makes a committee consisting of 5 members. They have the right to ask questions to the Panchayat.

Q.50. What is Zila Parishad?

The highest level of Panchayati Raj is Zila Parishad which takes care of the functions of the Panchayats which exist in its district. It is an executive institution. Chairman of Panchayat Samiti, elected members, members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and Legislative Assemblies are the members of Zila Parishad. All these take care of the developmental functions done in the villages of the district. Zila Parishad does many functions like improvement of agriculture, improvement of land, irrigation, rural electrification, the arrangement of seeds and fertilizers, education, industries, etc.

Q.51. What is a Sarpanch?

The Head of the Gram Panchayat is known as Sarpanch or Chairperson. He is known by different names in different states like President, Sarpanch, Mukhiya, Pradhan, Sabhapati, etc. Sarpanch is directly elected in most of the states. It means that the voters of the village, who elect the members of the Panchayat, elect the Sarpanch of the village as well. Sarpanch presides over the meetings of Panchayat. He uses the money given by the government for the welfare of the village and tries for the all-round development of the village.

Q.52. In a democratic form of government, political parties are key actors. Explain. 

• There is no denying the fact that in a democratic form of government, political parties are key actors and they play the most important role in democracy.
• Political parties could.be defined as the organizations oriented towards getting legitimate control of the government through the electoral process.
• We cannot imagine democracy in the absence of political parties. It means that political parties are the backbone of democracy.
• In a democratic system, political parties bring the interests of different groups in front so that their interests could be protected.

Q.53. How is inequality a hurdle in the working of a democratic institution?

Inequality is a hurdle in the working of a democratic institution because :

• Democratization is difficult to achieve in a society that is plural/diverse.
• Certain members belonging to a particular group are included.
• Decisions in developmental activities are made by a few leaving the rest.
• Democratic measures do not work out in practice because inequality is a result of the structural features of the society.

Q.54. What is meant by Political Party? Explain with definitions.

Political parties have come to stay in every form of government. Their role is very significant in democracies, as compared with every other form of government. The scholars have attempted definitions of a political party in their own way but each good political party is required to have certain features or characteristics. Similarly, each political party is expected to perform some basic functions without which it cannot maintain its existence. Efforts have also been made to classify political parties but without much success. There are different types of party systems and each type has its own advantages as well as disadvantages.
Political parties have become an essential feature of every form of government. Being a link between the government and the people, these have assumed great significance. There are ideologically strong political parties that observe strong discipline. Although entry into such parties is difficult, those who once join it do not wish to leave it. On the other hand, ideologically weak political parties also exist whose members are not well disciplined.
Members can leave the party at any time. Whereas in some cases it is easy to enter a political party and rise as well, the reverse is the case in other systems. In some countries, there is a single-party system. In it, only one party dominates, and no other political party is allowed to be formed, whereas in other societies, there is the multi-party system and in still others, there is a mushroom of political parties.
The strength and Weakness of a political party, however, depends on the active participation and strength of its members. Its legitimacy depends on the way by which it has come to power. In a democracy, its popularity and mass base is reflected by the number of votes polled at the time of elections.

Definitions
Each political party consists of persons who have a common program on political issues to which they have agreed and are prepared to implement that on a common line of action. Each political party tries to seek political power either single-handedly or in cooperation with any other political party or parties.

• According to Burke, “It is a body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavors the national interests upon some political principles in which they all are agreed.”
• According to Gilchrist, “It is an organized group of citizens who profess to share the same political views and who by acting as a political unit try to control the government.”
• According to Finer, “A political party is an organized body with voluntary membership its concerted energy being employed in the pursuit of political power.”
• According to G. C. Field, “A political party is nothing else but a voluntary association of people for the purpose of attaining political power.”
• According to Prof. Gettel,” A political party consists of a group of citizens more or less organized who act as a political unit and who by the use of their voting power aim to control the government and carry out their general policies.”

In this way on the basis of these definitions, we can say that a political party is an organized group that is tied with certain rules. Its membership is optional and can be attained or left at any time. It is the association of the people whose only aim is to obtain political power because of which they collectively make some efforts. Views of its members are common because they all belong to one party.

Q.55. Name the types of laws given by Maclver.

• National Law
• International Law
• Constitutional Law
• Ordinary Law
• Public Law
• Private Law
• General Law
• Administration Law.

Q.56. Give any four features of a Decentralised system.

• The administrative system becomes popular in this system because this system gives equal chances to everyone to gain power. People’s participation is possible with the spread of democracy.
• Decisions are taken very quickly in a decentralized system. In the absence of this system, the decision-making process will take a lot of time. On the other hand, decentralization hardly requires higher officials to make decisions as the powers are distributed to the lower levels as well.
• There is flexibility in administration through this process. Officials have complete freedom in their jurisdiction. They work for the people and take decisions on the spot.
• There is hardly any pressure of work on the officials. If this process is absent then higher officials will be burdened and lower officials would remain without any work. So this process divides all the functions at different levels.

Q.57. What provisions are kept for women in the Constitution?

Women constitute half of the total population of our country. Their status remained lower for ages and were considered as slaves of the house. That is why special provisions are kept in the Constitution for their welfare. Article 15 states that the state shall take care of the interests and security of women and shall provide special facilities to them. Article 39 states that males and females shall be given equal pay for equal work. Article 42 states that the state shall arrange for maternity help of women. Article 51 states that it is the duty of every Indian to give up those traditions which are against the dignity of women. By the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, one-third of the total seats are kept reserved for women in municipalities and Panchayati Raj institutions.

Q.58. What provisions have been made for scheduled tribes in the Constitution?

• Article 275 of the Constitution states that the state shall provide special grants for tribal welfare.
• Article 325 has given the universal adult franchise to all the citizens of the country including the tribal people.
• According to Article 330 and 332, 41 seats of the Lok Sabha and 527 seats of the state legislative assemblies are reserved for tribal people.
• According to Article 335, 7.5% of the total seats in government jobs are reserved for tribal people.

Q.59. Give some features of the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution.
Or
Give salient features of the Amended Act of 1992.

In 1992, the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution was passed and some provisions were made in it for local governments. Some features or provisions of this amendment are given below:

• Now there will be a three-tier system in the Panchayati Raj system and these are Panchayat for village level, Block Samiti at the block level, and Zila Parishad at the district level.
• Now it has become mandatory to hold regular elections in all the local governments after every five years.
• One-third of the total seats in local governments will be kept reserved for women.
• Seats for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes will be kept reserved in local governments according to the ratio of their population in that area.
• An independent constitutional body, i.e., State Election Commission will conduct fair elections in all the local bodies.

Q.60. What is Gram Sabha? What are its functions?

Gram Sabha is a Sabha of the adults of the village and it elects the Sarpanch and Gram Panchayat by exercising its right of universal adult franchise. Gram Sabha does a number of functions like:

• Gram Sabha elects Sarpanch, Panchayat, and its members.
• Sarpanch produces the budget of Panchayat in Gram Sabha. It discusses that budget.
• It decides on the developmental work done in the village.
• It can ask questions to the members of Panchayat about any issue of village importance. ‘

Q.61. Write the functions of Panchayat.

Or
What powers and responsibilities have been delegated to the Panchayats?
Or
What are the social welfare responsibilities of the Panchayats?
Or
State the social welfare responsibilities of panchayats. 

• An important function of Gram Panchayat is to uplift the social and economic life of the people.
• Village panchayat tries to open schools in the village and motivates the people to send their children to schools.
• Gram Panchayat also arranges for the means of recreation like films, festivals and opening up of library in the village.
• Panchayat educates the people about new techniques of agriculture and it arranges for new seeds and developed fertilizers.
• For the industrial development of the village, it also tries to establish any small- scale or college industry in the village.

Q.62. What is Panchayat Samiti or Block Samiti?

Panchayats, coming in one block, are the members of Panchayat Samiti and Sarpanchs of these Panchayats are its members. Members of Panchayat Samiti are also elected. Panchayat Samiti takes care of the functions of the Panchayats which are coming in its area. It checks the developmental functions of the village and directs the Panchayat for the welfare of the village. It is the second level of Panchayati Raj.

Q.63. Write about the problems faced by the Panchayati Raj.

• People of villages are backward and believe in superstitions. They never accept change very quickly which is the biggest obstacle in the way of the Panchayati Raj institutions.
• Villages lack good leaders. The elected leaders are generally dishonest. They only take care of their own development and hardly care about the development of the village.
• Rural people are related to different religions, castes, etc. Members of Panchayat never take care of the whole village but they only think about the development of their own caste and religion which can be biased.
• Good literate people shift to the cities to live due to which villages are lacking good literate leaders.
• Government officials, Panchs, and Sarpanchs indulge in corrupt practices and hardly take care of the development of the villages.

Q.64. What are the sources of income of Gram Panchayat?

• Taxes: The first source of income of Panchayat is tax. It can collect only those taxes which are sanctioned by the government like property tax, animal tax, occupational tax, token tax, road tax, octroi tax, etc.
• Fees and Fine tax: The second source of income of Panchayat is the fine and fees imposed by it. For example, fees for the use of Panchayat’s rest house, tax of lighting of streets and markets, water tax, etc. These are imposed only by those Panchayats which give these facilities.
• Government Grants: The main source of income of Panchayats is the grants given by the government. The government gives different types of grants to apply the plans related to development made by them. Generally, some part of the land tax collected by the government is given to Panchayats like 15% in Punjab, 12.5% in U.P., etc. Panchayats of Bihar, Maharashtra, and Gujarat even collect land revenue on behalf of the government.
• Mixed Sources: There are many other sources of income of Panchayats like income by selling waste of the village, income from panchayat land (hamlet), income from fairs, income from the property of the village, etc. Panchayats have a special source of income from a fishery in Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.

Q.65. Could the RTI be a means of forcing the state to respond to the people of India? Elaborate.

Yes, RTI is a means of forcing the state to respond to the people of India in the following ways:

• RTI enacted by the Parliament in India in 2005 gives the right to any citizen to seek information from a public authority.
• Public authority should disseminate information as it leads to transparency.
• One can get information about spending of government funds.
• Citizens have a right to inspect documents, works, and records on public issues.