Kerala Plus Two Sociology Chapter Wise Questions and Answers Chapter 3 The Story of Indian Democracy
The Story of Indian Democracy Questions and Answers
Question 1.
When did the ‘Nagarapalika’ Arrangement come into existence?
a) 1 June 1993
b) 1 July 1993
c) 15 August 1993
d) 2 October 1993
Answer:
1 June 1993
Question 2.
Who was connected to the Panchayati Raj in Tribal Regions?
a) Ambedkar
b) K. Shantaram
c) Tiplut Nongbri
d) Mahatma Gandhi
Answer:
Tiplut Nongbri
Question 3.
The ultimate interpreter of the Indian Constitution?
Answer:
The Supreme Court
Question 4.
It was the ……… amendment of the Constitution that brought Panchayati Raj.
Answer:
Answer:
73rd
Question 5.
In 1931 the India National Congress held its Annual Meeting in …….. and it declared the draft plan of the Constitution of free India.
Answer:
Karachi
Question 6.
The cornerstone of Indian democratic system.
Answer:
The Indian Constitution
Question 7.
The suggestion to amend the Constitution about Grama Panchayat mentioned the Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution was made by………..
Answer:
K. Shantaram
Question 8.
Gandhiji suggested that self-sufficient villages or ……… were models that could continue even after
Answer:
Gramaswarajyam
Question 9.
The Karachi Meeting of the Indian National Congress took place in?
Answer:
1931
Question 10.
In the opinion of the social scientist ……… the Panchayats of the Hill Tribes do not conform to the democratic principles in structure and activities.
Answer:
Tiplut Nongbri
Question 11.
According to the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution ……….. seats in the Panchayats are served for women.
Answer:
33.3%
Question 12.
……… has the right to hear some small civil and criminal cases.
Answer:
Nyaya Panchayat
Question 13.
The slogans of the …….. Revolution were Liberty, Equality & Fraternity.
Answer:
French
Question 14.
Article ………. refers to the right to life and freedom.
Answer:
Twenty-one (21)
Question 15.
Problems like troubling women for dowry are solved in ………
Answer:
Nyaya Panchayat
Question 16.
In the ………….. problems like troubling women in the name of dowry etc. are solved.
Answer:
Nyaya Panchayats
Question 17.
Match the following
| A | B |
| Gandhiji | Swaraj |
| Karachi Meeting | Harijan |
| 73rd Amendment | Nagarpalika Arrangement |
| 74th Amendment | Panchayati Raj |
Answer:
| A | B |
| Gandhiji | Harijan |
| Karachi Meeting | Swaraj |
| 73rd Amendment | Panchayati Raj |
| 74th Amendment | Nagarpalika Arrangement |
Question 18.
Codify some discussions in the Constitution-Making Committee.
Answer:
K.T. Shah: The nation should give jobs to all able and qualified citizens.
B. Das: The main responsibility of the government is to remove the hunger of people and ensure that social justice and security is given to all.
Ambedkar: As done in some other countries, Constitution is not a gimmick to install a certain political party in power. The people will decide who should be in power. Those who get into power will have no freedom to act as they want. They will have to follow the Directive Principles. If they breach them they will have to answer to the voters in the coming elections.
Nehru: Laws can’t stop reforms. Social forces are so strong. If laws and the Parliament can’t absorb changes they won’t be able to control the circumstances. The Tribals and their interests should be protected. They should be protected from greedy neighbors. Their progress should be the aim of the nation.
K. Santaram: Grama Panchayats should be formed. They should be given power and strength to become effective partners in local self-government.
T.A. Ramalingam Chettiar: In the villages, rural industries should be organized on a cooperative basis.
Thakurdas Bhargava: The Nation should organize. agriculture and animal husbandry in modem scientific ways.
Question 19.
Discuss the Amendments to the Indian Constitution which made Panchayati Raj possible.
Answer:
The literal meaning of Panchayati Raj is ‘rule by five persons’. Its aim is to bring democracy at the village level and ensure the participation of ordinary citizens. This basic democratic concept is not something imported from abroad. In India, from time immemorial panchayats had existed. In the administration of villages, jati-panchayats had a big role. But they were not fully democratic.
In Jati Panchayats, strong groups had representation. Lower castes had little representation there. The strong sections who ruled the Panchayats had conservative views. Their decisions were often against law and legal procedures.
There were gross inequalities based on jati, varna, and gender. This prevented proper democratic participation by all. When the Constitution was prepared, there was no mention of any Panchayat there. Many people raised their, voice against it. They showed their sorrow, despair, and anger. But leaders like Ambedkar argued’ that the panchayats would be monopolized by the strong castes and they would exploit the lower castes and the poor.
He felt that the repressed groups will be further exploited through grama panchayats. But Gandhi had a different view. The concept of local self-government was much dear to him. He saw each village as a self-sufficient unit. He thought that each village would be able to manage its own affairs without depending on anybody else. He felt that ‘grama- swarajya’ was something that could continue after independence.
But we had to wait until 1992 to establish democracy at the village level (decentralized rule). In 1992, with the 73rd Amendment, this was made possible.
The 73rdAmendment gave panchayat raj institutions constitutional status. Elections to the panchayats were made compulsory every five years. The control of local resources was to be in the hands of Panchayat Samitis.
The 73rd and 74th Amendments brought a revolutionary change, in the local self-government institutions one- third seats (33.3%) were reserved for women. In this 1?% were reserved for SC’s and ST’s. These I Amendments have great historical importance. With I this women got representation and partnership. They got the right to take decisions. Thus the 73rd and 74th Amendments were strong steps in the direction of women empowerment. 1/3 seats were reserved for women in regional Samiti, grama panchayats, municipalities, corporations, and district Samiti. in the 1993-94 elections for (he local self-governments more than 8 lakh women became partners in the national developmental processes
Question 20.
Explain the powers and responsibilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Answer:
The Constitution demands that panchayats should be given all powers and strength to work as self-government institutions. The State governments have been asked to give a hew life to the panchayats. Here are the powers and responsibilities of Panchayats.
a. Encourage programs for economic development.
b. Encourage programmes to ensure social justice.
c. Taxes, tolls, and fees can be imposed, collected and used.
d. Help the State governments to carry out its responsibilities.
Panchayats also have to carry out social welfare schemes. These include maintaining crematoriums, keeping birth and death records, establish child and maternal welfare centers, maintain pounds to keep wandering cattle, encourage family planning, encourage agricultural activities, etc. Panchayats also have to make roads, public buildings, wells, schools, etc. They should encourage village industries and small irrigation projects, it is the members of Panchayat that supervise government schemes like joint village development schemes and joint child- development schemes.
The main income for the Grama Panchayat is from property tax, professional tax, vehicle tax, land tax, and rent. They also get financial help from district Panchayats. Income and expenditure statements are to be displayed by the Grama Panchayats on the notice boards in front of the office. By this, people at the grass-root level can understand what is happening in their panchayats. They have a right to seek information about the welfare schemes undertaken by the Panchayats and also ask for reasons for taking certain decisions.
In some states, there are Nyaya Panchayats. They have the right to handle small civil and criminal cases They have no right to give punishments. These Nyaya panchayats have been successful in settling quarrels among individuals. They have been successful in preventing dowry-related violence against women.
Question 21.
Explain about the working of the Panchayati Raj among Hill Tribes.
Answer:
Some Tribal areas of the country had certain democratic traditions. In Meghalaya, for example, Tribal groups like Khasis, Jaintias, Garos have their own traditional political institutions. These have been in existence for centuries. They were well-developed institutions. They worked at different levels like village, kulam and State. For example, Khasis had their own Council for each Kulam. It was known as ‘Durbar koor’. The head of the Kulam chaired this Council
a. The 73rd Amendment does not cover the major portion of Hill Tribe areas.
b. Our policymakers were not keen on interfering with the institutions of the Tribals.
That is why they were kept outside the purview of the 73rd Amendment, tiplut Nongbri, a sociologist, points out that the structure and activities of the Tribal Institutions may not be democratic. She argued that although they have concepts of equality there are many inequalities in their community. The Tribal institutions were intolerant to women. Social changes have brought changes in these institutions also. Now it has become difficult to know what is traditional and what is not.
Question 22.
Critically examine the influence of pressure groups in democratic politics.
Answer:
The definition of democracy by Abraham Lincoln is world-famous. “It is a government of the people, for the people and by the people.” However, the differences among different groups of people are not addressed here. As we all know all the people are not of one group. There are many groups with different interests. Each group tries to protect its interests. Each group will try to get the attention of the government to its needs.
a. All interest groups are of similar. Therefore it is difficult to compare them.
b. An illiterate farmer or laborer can’t present his problems in a convincing way.
But an educated industrialist or businessman has the capacity to present things in an appropriate manner. People do not present problems individually but collectively as a group. Interest groups form organizations to get their interests protected and to bring the government’s attention to the things they like. For example, industrialists have organizations like FICCI and ASSOCHAM. Farmers have organizations like ‘Shetkari Sanghatana’. Workers have their unions. There are also many Tribal Organizations and other environmental, social and religious organizations.
Question 23.
in a democratic government, political parties play a big role. What are political parties?
Answer:
They are organizations that want to form a government through elections using legitimate means. They are formed with the intention of getting political power and using that to do things that are of special interest to them. Political parties have some ideas about how society should be. They represent the interests of different groups. Different groups also try to influence political parties. When some groups feel that their interests are not served, they form new parties. Or they work as pressure groups and try to influence the government. Some political organizations try to get power but they do not get it. Such organizations can be seen only as certain institutions.
Max Weber says that Caste is concerned with economic matters, communal organizations worry about social matters and political parties think about getting power (authority). Each party has certain aims. It will try all it can to achieve these aims.
Not every organization has the power to influence the government. It is the strong sections of the society that exert pressure on the rulers. These sections form organizations based on caste, race, and gender. They influence government. Social organizations and interest groups play a big role in democracy.
Question 24.
Discuss Constitutional laws and social justice.
Answer:
There is an important difference between law and justice. The essence of law is force. Law has means to enforce it. The power of the nation is also behind it. But the essence of justice is righteousness. Law works through chaff of authority: All laws and authorities come from the Constitution.
Constitution is the basic document that forms the laws of a nation. The basic law of India is the Indian Constitution. All other laws are made and enforced by the authorities specified by the Constitution.
The Constitution has made a chain (Hierarchy) of courts. It is these courts that interpret laws when there is a controversy. The highest court in India is the Supreme Court. It is the Supreme Court that gives the ultimate interpretation of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court has tried in many ways to expand the fundamental rights given in the Constitution. The right to life and the right to freedom are given by the 21st article. They were expanded to include right to livelihood, health, housing, education, and dignity. In. the different judgments given by the Supreme Court the meaning of ‘life’ has been expanded to include many things. Life is not just physical existence. Such interpretations are beneficial to the exploited and persecuted people. It also helped to free people working as slaves and rehabilitating them. It also prevented activities harmful to the environment, maintenance of primary health and imparting primary education.
Keeping the Directive Principles within the purview of Fundamental Rights, the Supreme Court declared Right to Equality as a fundamental right. This was a relief to many plantations and agricultural workers. The constitution is not just a pointer telling the people what should be, or should not be, done for social justice. It has the strength to expand the meaning and importance of social justice. Cultural organizations have helped the Courts and authorities to interpret fundamental rights and directive principles to suit the contemporary understanding of things.
Law courts are places where controversial issues come for solutions. Constitution remains as a means of renewing political power and it directs authorities towards social welfare. The Indian Constitution has the strength to help people. It is based on the fundamental principles of social justice. The directive principle regarding grama panchayat was presented in the Look Sabah by K. Santaram. After the 73rd Amendment of 1992, it became a constitutional law.