L- 1 Working of the Constitution

Q1. Fill in the blanks:

(1) Right to Information has made the government more
transparent.
(2) The Indian government has been working in
accordance with principle of the Constitution.
(3) Local Self-governing Institutions got recognition
because of 73rd and 74th Amendment to the
Constitution.
(4) Parliament can make amendments to Indian
Constitution.

Q2. State whether the following statements are true or

false. Give reasons for your answer.

(1) Indian democracy is considered the largest democracy in

the world.
Ans : The above statement is True.
• Indian Constitution cancelled all the conditions

which were put for voting before independence

thereby increasing the number of voters.
• The Constitution adopted adult suffrage which has

facilitated all adult men and women to cast their

vote.
• The age limit to vote was reduced to 18 years from

21 years which gave opportunity of political

participation to the young generation. No other
democratic country in the world has voters in such
large numbers.
Hence, Indian democracy is the largest democracy in the
world.

(2) Secrecy in the working of Government has increased due

to the Right to Information.
Ans: The above statement is False.
• To strengthen democracy and increase mutual trust

between the government and the people, it is very

important that the people should know about ‘the
functioning of the government.
• Transparency and accountability are the hallmarks

of good governance.
• With Right to Information given to the citizens,

Government became more transparent. Thus, the

Right to Information has reduced element of secrecy
in administration.

(3) The nature of the Constitution is seen as a living

document.
Ans: The above statement is True.
• Parliament has the powers to make changes in the

Constitution according to the changing

circumstances and conditions.
• However, it should be done without tampering or

changing the basic structure of the Constitution.

• As it has kept itself abreast with the changes, S the

Constitution became a live and dynamic document

instead of a rigid one

(4) Indian democracy is evidently unsuccessful.

Ans: The above statement is False.
• India has the largest number of voters as compared

to any other democratic nation in the world.

 • Free and fair elections which are held regularly is the
key for successful democracy.
• Recurring elections have helped in understanding
the political process. As the voting age was reduced
from 21 to 18 years, the political participation has
increased.
• Increasing participation of the people in the political
process and political contest shows that Indian
democracy is successful.

Q3. Explain the following concepts.

(1) Right based approach
Ans:
• India adopted democracy after independence. Each

government which came to power took efforts to

make the democratisation process more profound.
• In the initial stages, these governments considered

citizens as ‘beneficiaries’.
• After the year 2000, the approach towards citizens

changed. Democratic reforms were considered as

‘rights’ of citizens.
• Hence, the Right to Information, Education and

Food Security was granted not as beneficiaries but

as rights of the citizens. This approach is known as
Rights Based Approach.

(2) Right to information

Ans:
• In order to bring transparency in the administration

and make it accountable, Indian citizens are given

Right to Information.
 • Right to Information helped in promoting harmony
between government and people and empowered the
citizens.
• It brought transparency in administration, made the
government realise that they are answerable to
people.
• It has helped to reduce the element of secrecy which
surrounded the functioning of the government. It
made the government open and transparent.

(3) Women representation in the Lok Sabha.

Ans:
• The Constitution of India empowers women by

granting them equal status with men and equal

political rights.
• 22 women were elected in the Lok Sabha elections

held in 1951-52. Their number increased to 66 in

2014 elections.
• Reservation has been increased to 50% in local self-

governing institutions in Maharashtra and in many

other states.
• If the number of women representative increased in

Lok Sabha, it will help in reducing incidents of

violence against women and increase their
involvement in the decision-making process.

(4) Decentralisation:
Ans:
• Division of power within, a country is known as

Decentralisation.
• Under dictatorship and military rule, the power is

centred around one person or a group of individuals.

 • But in democracy the power is divided among
Centre, State and Local Self-governing institutions.
Decentralisation is the core of democracy.
• Decentralisation can stop the misuse of power and
facilitate common people to participate in
democracy.

Q4. Answer in brief.

(1) What are the effects of reducing the voting age from 21
years to 18 years?
Ans:
• Earlier the Indian Constitution had fixed the voting

age of 21 years.
• The voting age was lowered to 18 years.

• The young voters secured the right to vote and the

increased number of voters was unparalleled. ‘

• They got the right to decide how their representative

should be. ,
• Moreover, it provided to the unrepresented youth an

opportunity to become part of political process

being literate and politically conscious.
• It increased the scope of democracy by including

the youth of the country thus making it the largest

democracy in the world.

(2) What is meant by establishment of social justice?

Ans: Establishing social justice means:
• To eliminate the practices and beliefs which are

responsible for injustice towards a person or a

community and which hampers collective progress
of society should be eliminated.
 • Government policies should be all inclusive which
means it should aim at accommodating different
sections of society.
• There should not be any discrimination based on
caste, creed, religion, gender, language, property,
region or place of birth.
• All should get equal opportunities for development.

(3) Which decision of the Court has resulted in protection of

honour and dignity of women?
Ans:
• The apex court has given several judgments which

have helped in protection of honour and prestige of

women.
• Court gave judgement on Right to alimony as well

as Right to equal remuneration.

• Women have an equal share in the property of

husband and father. This gave them financial

security. Dowry prohibition Act was a measure for
women empowerment.
• The Act against sexual harassment. Domestic

Violence Prohibition Act are also very important in

the direction of women empowerment.
• All these acts emphasised the need to protect

women and protect their self-esteem and dignity

rejecting the traditional forms of domination and
authoritarianism.

(4) The Judiciary in India has played an important role in

strengthening democracy. Explain.
Ans:
 • The Judiciary has always taken into consideration
the fundamental objectives of the Constitution and
also the intention of its framers.
• While interpreting the Constitution, it has taken care
that its basic structure is not altered as Constitution
is foundation of our democracy.
• The important role played by judiciary is in
strengthening and helping democracy to achieve the
objectives of social justice and equality.

Q5. Complete the Concept Map :

(1)
(2)