POL SCI MOST IMPORTANT QUES BY KARTIK AJMERA

CH-1 POWER SHARING

Q1) Differentiate between Belgium and Srilanka in terms of ethnic composition.

Ans:-
BELGIUM SRI LANKA

Belgium is a small country in Europe. SriLanka is an island nation, just a

It shares borders with France, the few kilometers off the southern
Netherlands, Germany, and coast of Tamil Nadu.
Luxembourg
It has a population of a little over one It has about 2 crore people.
crore
Of the country's total population, 59 The major social groups are the
percent live in the Flemish region Sinhala speakers (74 percent) and
and speak the Dutch language the Tamil-speakers (18 per cent)
Another 40 percent of people live in Among Tamils there are two
the Wallonia region and speak subgroups. Tamil natives of the
French. The remaining 1 percent of country are called 'Sri Lankan Tamils
the (13 per cent)
Belgians speak German.

In the capital city Brussels 50 percent The rest, whose forefathers came
of people speak French while 20 from India as plantation workers
percent are Dutch-speaking. during the colonial period, are called
"Indian

The minority French-speaking Tamils

community was relatively rich and Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in
powerful. the north and east of the country.
Brussels presented a unique problem Most of the Sinhala-speaking
the Dutch-speaking people people are Buddhist, while most of
constituted a majority in the country the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims
but a minority in the capital There are about 7 percent of
Christians, who are both Tamil and
Sinhala
Q2)Give reasons why power sharing is desirable? (3)

Ans:-
1. Prudential reasons:

 It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.

 It is a good way to ensure the stability of political order.
 Imposing the will of the majority community, over others may look like an
attractive option in the short run, but in the long run it undermines the unity of
the nation.
2. Moral reasons:

 Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.

 People have the right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.
 A legitimate government is one where citizens through participation, acquires a
stake in the system.

Q3) Describe the horizontal power sharing arrangements.

Ans:- Horizontal power sharing refers to the distribution of power among different
organs of government, such as:

1. Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary: Power is shared equally among these three
organs.

2. Independent Roles: Each organ works independently in its area of responsibility.

3. Checks and Balances: No single organ can misuse its power because the other
organs keep it in check.

Q4) Explain the four elements of power-sharing and accommodation in Belgium.

Ans:-

1. Between 1970 and 1993, the Belgians amended their constitution four times so
as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within
the same country.

2. Here are some of the elements of the Belgian model of accommodation:

 The Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking

ministers shall be equal in the central government.

 Many powers of the central government have been given to state

governments of the two regions of the country.

 Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have

equal representation.

 Apart from the Central and State Government, there is a third kind of
government called Community government which is elected by people
belonging to one language community no matter where they live. This
government has the power regarding cultural, educational and language-
related issues.
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CH - 2 FEDERALISM
Q1) What is federalism?Mention some of the features of federalism.
Ans :-

 Main Features of Federalism:

(i) There are two or more levels of government.

(ii) Each level of government has its own jurisdiction in matters of legislation
taxation and administration even though they govern the same citizens.

(iii) Power and functions of each tier of government is specified and guaranteed by
Constitution.
(iv) The Supreme Court has been given power to settle disputes between different
levels of governments.

(v)Fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be altered by any one level

of government.

(vi) Sources of revenue between different levels is specified by the Constitution.

(vii) There is mutual trust and agreement between the government at different
levels.

Q2) Describe the division of powers divided between State and Central
Governments in India.
Ans:-

1.Union List: It includes subjects of national importance, e.g. defence of the

country, foreign affairs, banking, communication and currency. The Central
Government alone can make decisions on these matters. The aim of including
these matters in Union List is to ensure uniformity in the policy of these areas
throughout the country.

2. State List: It includes subjects of state and local importance such as police,
trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The State Government alone can
make laws and decisions on these areas.

3. Concurrent List: It includes those subjects which are of common interest to both
the Central as well as State Governments. It includes matters like education,
forests, marriage and trade unions. Both the State and Central Government can
make decision on these matters.

Q3) Why has Federalism succeeded in India? Which were the policies adopted by
India that ensured this success? Explain.
Ans:-
● Linguistic States: After Independence, the boundaries of several old states were
changed in order to create new states. The creation of Linguistic States is the first
and a major test for democratic politics in our country.

● Language Policy: The second test for the Indian Federation is the language
policy. The Indian Constitution did not give the status of National Language to any
one of the language.

● Centre-State Relations: Restructuring the Centre State relations is one more way
in which Federalism has been strengthened in practice.

Q4) Describe the steps taken to strengthen local self-governments, by the

Constitutional Amendment, 1992.

Ans:-
● Holding regular elections under the local government bodies has been made
compulsory.
● Reservation of seats for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward
classes was introduced in the elected bodies.
● One third i.e., 33% of the seats are reserved for women in all elected bodies.
● An independent institution, called the State Election Commission, was
established in each state to conduct panchayat and municipal election.
● State government is required to share some powers and revenue with local
government bodies.

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CH-3 GENDER RELIGION AND CASTE

Q1) "In India, women still lag behind men despite some improvement since
Independence." Support the statement with examples.
Ans:- ● As India is still dominated by Patriarchal society, gender discrimination is
prevalent at present. Parents prefer to spend money for boy's education.
● Girls perform as well as boys in school, but the literacy rate among women in
only 54 percent compared with 76 percent among men.
● The proportion of women among the highly paid and valued jobs is still very
little.
● In almost all areas of work, women are paid less than the men, even when both
works exactly the same.
● Women still face harassment, exploitation and violence in our society.

Q2) Define communalism. Explain any three forms of communalism in the Indian
politics.

Ans● Belief that people belonging to the same religion should form a nation, and
in this process the power of state is used to establish domination of one religious
group over the other.
● The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs. These
routinely involve religious prejudices, the stereotype of religious communities and
belief in the superiority of one's religion over other religions.
● A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one's own
religious community. For those belonging to the majority community, this takes
the form of majoritarian dominance. For those belonging to the minority
community, it can take the form of a desire to form a separate political unit.
● Political mobilisation on religious lines is another frequent form of
communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders,
emotional appeal and plain fear in order to bring the followers of one religion
together in the political arena.
● Sometimes, communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots
and massacre.

Q3Mention any three features of 'secularism' described in the Indian

Constitution.
Ans:-
● There is no official religion for the Indian state. Unlike the status of Buddhism in
Sri Lanka, that of Islam in Pakistan and that of Christianity in England, our
Constitution does not give a special status to any religion.
● The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to prefers,
practice and propagate any religion or not to follow any.
● The Constitution allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion in order
to ensure equality within religious communities.

Q4) Describe any three different rainwater harvesting systems practised in India.
Ans:-
1. In hilly and mountainous regions, people build diversion channels like 'gul' or
'kul' in Western Himalaya for agriculture.
2. Roof-top rainwater harvesting integrated with tanks was commonly practised to
store drinking water particularly in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
3. In West Bengal, people develop inundation channels to irrigate their fields.
4. In semi-arid regions agricultural fields are converted into rain-fed storage
structures that allowed the water to stand and moist the soil known as Khadins
and Johads.

Q5) Describe any three factors that are responsible for breaking down the Caste
system in India?
Ans:-
● Political leaders and social reformers like Jyotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B. R. Ambedkar
and Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker advocated and worked to establish a society
without caste inequalities.
● With economic development, large scale urbanisation, growth of literacy and
education, occupational mobility and the weakening of the position of landlords
and Zamindars in the villages, the old rigid notions of Caste hierarchy are dying.
● The Constitution of India prohibited any caste-based discrimination and laid the
foundations of policies to reverse the injustices of the caste system.
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CH – 4 POLITICAL PARTIES
Q1) What is the meaning of a political party? Explain any five major functions of
the political parties.
Ans :-
A political party is an organized group of people or bodies who seek to capture
political power through an election in order to run the affairs of a country. It often
puts forward candidates for public office.
● Contest Elections: Political parties nominate candidates for contesting elections.
In some countries, like the USA, party members choose the candidates, while in
others, like India, top leaders select them.
● Formulate Policies and Programmes: Political parties propose different ideas and
plans for the country. A party reduces a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic
positions which it supports.
● Make Laws: Political parties influence the lawmaking process. Most legislators
belong to parties, and they often follow party leadership when voting on laws,
regardless of their personal beliefs.
● Form and Run Governments: Political parties form the government and make
major policy decisions. They recruit and train leaders who become ministers to
implement their vision for the country.
● Role of Opposition: Parties that lose elections serve as the opposition, offering
different views, criticizing the government for its mistakes, and mobilizing public
dissent.
● Others: Shape Public Opinion and Provide people access to government
machinery and welfare schemes

Q2) What are the major challenges which the political parties face in the present
era? Explain.
Ans:-
Political parties face several challenges that affect their effectiveness in a
democracy:
● Lack of Internal Democracy: Power is often concentrated in a few leaders, with
little opportunity for ordinary members to participate in decision-making, leading
to personal loyalty to leaders rather than party principles.
● Dynastic Succession: Many parties are dominated by family members or close
associates of the leaders, making it difficult for ordinary party workers to rise to
leadership positions, which undermines fairness and democracy.
● Influence of Money and Muscle Power: The need for funding during elections
can lead parties to rely on wealthy candidates or donors, which may compromise
their integrity and result in the nomination of candidates with questionable
backgrounds.
● Limited Choices for Voters: There is often a lack of significant ideological
differences among parties, reducing meaningful options for voters who want
different policies and leadership.

Q3) Describe the efforts to reform political parties in india.

Ans:-
● Anti-Defection Law: MPs and MLAs lose their seat if they change parties,
reducing party-switching.
● Supreme Court Rule: Candidates must disclose their property and criminal cases,
but there's no way to verify if it's true.
● Election Commission Rule: Parties must hold internal elections and file tax
returns, but it’s often done as a formality.
● Regulating Party Rules: A law is suggested to make parties keep records, follow
rules, and hold fair elections for top positions.
● Women’s Representation: Parties should give at least one-third of election
tickets to women and have more women in decision-making roles.
● State Funding: The government should give money or resources to parties based
on their election votes.

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CH -5 OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY
Q1) Why democracy is a better form of government than any other form?
Explain
Ans:-
Democracy is regarded as a better form of government compared to others due to
its good values and mechanisms that prioritize citizen welfare and participation.
● Promotes Equality: Democracy fosters equality among citizens by ensuring that
every individual has an equal say in political decisions, regardless of their
background or status.
● Enhances Individual Dignity: By valuing each person's voice and rights,
democracy upholds the dignity of individuals, empowering them to express their
opinions and participate actively in governance.
● Improves Decision-Making: Democratic systems encourage diverse perspectives
and open discussions, leading to more informed and effective decision-making
processes.
● Conflict Resolution: Democracy provides peaceful methods for resolving conflicts
through dialogue and negotiation, reducing the likelihood of violence and unrest.
● Opportunity for Correction: Democratic governments allow for the correction of
mistakes through elections and ensuring accountability in governance.

Q2) How does democracy produce an accountable, responsive and legitimate

government?
Ans:-
● Democracy produces an accountable government because it is answerable to
the people. If they do not work according to the wishes of the people, then the
people have the right to change their representatives at the time of next general
elections.
● Democracy produces a government, which is responsive to the needs and
expectations of the people. It can be said that before taking any decision the
government has to keep in mind the views expressed by the people.
● A democratic government is a legitimate government because it is elected by the
people and is formed under the norms provided by the constitution of the country.
It may be slow of less efficient but it is people’s own government.

Q3) “Democracies lead to peaceful and harmonious life among citizens.” Support
the statement with examples
Ans :-
● Accommodating Social Divisions: Democracies provide mechanisms to manage
and negotiate social divisions, such as ethnic or religious differences. For example:
Belgium successfully handled its ethnic diversity by accommodating various
groups.

● Reducing Violent Conflict: Democracies often develop procedures to manage

competition and resolve conflicts peacefully, reducing the risk of tensions
escalating into violence.

● Respect for Differences: Democratic systems encourage respect for differences,

fostering a culture of negotiation and compromise, which helps resolve conflicts in
a more peaceful manner.

● Avoiding Suppression: Unlike non-democratic regimes that often suppress

internal differences, democracies are more inclusive and open to addressing social
conflicts through dialogue rather than force.

● Majority-Minority Balance: Democracies ensure the majority works with

minorities, preventing dominance by one group and allowing everyone the chance
to be part of the majority at different times.
Q4) “Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in
promoting dignity and freedom of the individual.” Justify the statement.
Ans:-
● Discrimination and conflicts among different social groups is very common in
both democratic and non-democratic countries, however in democratic countries
such conflicts are recognised and resolved at least in principle.

● The case of the Dignity of women : After long struggles by women, democracy
throughout the world has recognised equal treatment and respect to women.

● Thus in democracy it becomes easier for women to wage a struggle against what
is now unacceptable legally and morally.

● Democracy in India strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged and

discriminated castes for equal status and opportunity, which is not possible in any
non-democratic country.

● Perhaps it is the recognition in the democracy that makes ordinary citizens value
their democratic rights.