Class 11 Political Science NCERT QUESTION ANSWER OF Chapter 3 - Equality Prepared by Suman Kumar Jha

Chapter 3 - Equality

Question 1:

Some people argue that inequality is natural while others maintain that it is equality which is natural and the inequalities which we notice around us are created by society. Which view do you support?

Give reasons.

Answer:

Any answer supported with argument or explanation would solve the purpose. It is strongly recommended that you prepare the solution on your own. However, a sample solution has been provided for your reference:

Equality is natural and the inequalities which we notice around us are created by society.

People are naturally equal because of the common humanity.

Inequality exists because of unequal opportunities and exploitation of one group from other groups in the society.

  Natural inequalities are those that emerge between people as a result of their different capabilities and talents.

  Social circumstances, situations and conditions help the individual to grow and develop her/his talents and capabilities.

  Different status and roles are essential for smooth running of the society but these status and roles are decided by the society that shows inequality.

Society categorises the people on the basis of race, gender, caste, class etc that create inequality.

Thus, society labels certain race, gender, caste, class to be treated inferior or superior by creating stereotypes.

Question 2:

There is a view that absolute economic equality is neither possible nor desirable. It is argued that the most a society can do is to try and reduce the gaps between the richest and poorest members of society. Do you agree?

Answer:

Any answer supported with argument or explanation would solve the purpose. It is strongly recommended that you prepare the solution on your own. However, a sample solution has been provided for your reference:

  It is correct that absolute economic equality is not possible even though it is desirable. The most a society can do is to try and reduce the gaps between the richest and poorest members of society to bring economic equality.

  Society has different status, roles and ranks for its members so that it can function smoothly.

  People achieve different ranks according to their capabilities and the rewards are equivalent to the work and responsibilities that are attached to their rank.

  Therefore, absolute economic equality cannot be possible as inequality in income will remain in the society.

  The gap between the richest and poorest members of the society can be reduced by providing equality in opportunity to everyone, regardless of their background.

Question 3:

Match the following concepts with appropriate instances:

(a) Affirmative action (i) Every adult citizen has a right to vote

(b) Equality of opportunity (ii) Banks offer higher rate of interest to senior citizen (c) Equal Rights (iii) Every child should get free education

Answer:

(a) Affirmative action (ii) Banks offer higher rate of interest to senior citizen

(b) Equality of opportunity (iii) Every child should get free education(c) Equal Rights. (i) Every adult citizen has a right to vote

Question 4:

A government report on farmers’ problems says that small and marginal farmers cannot get good prices from the market. It recommends that the government should intervene to ensure a better price but only for small and marginal farmers. Is this recommendation consistent with the principle of equality?

Answer:

The recommendation of the government is consistent with the principle of equality as the intervention is necessary to secure the interests of small and marginal farmers.

Small and marginal farmers do not have access to adequate resources to sustain themselves during the off-season. Therefore, they need better compensation for their produce.

Question 5:

Which of the following violate the principles of equality and why?

(a) Every child in class will read the text of the play by turn.

(b) The Government of Canada encouraged white Europeans to migrate to Canada from the end ofthe Second World War till 1960.

(c) There is a separate railway reservation counter for the senior citizens.

(d) Access to some forest areas is reserved for certain tribal communities.

Answer:

(a) It is not a violation of principles of equality as reading by turn is necessary to maintain disciplineand coherence in class.

(b) It is a violation of principles of equality as white Europeans were given preference and privilegeover coloured people on the basis of their colour differences.

(c) It is not a violation of principles of equality because this right is given to the senior citizens on thebasis of their special needs and requirements.

(d) It is not a violation of principles of equality because it protects the livelihood rights and culture ofthe tribal people.

Question 6:

Here are some arguments in favour of the right to vote for women.

Which of these are consistent with the idea of equality? Give reasons.

(a) Women are our mothers. We shall not disrespect our mothers by denying them the right to vote.

(b) Decisions of the government affect women as well as men, therefore they also should have a sayin choosing the rulers.

(c) Not granting women the right to vote will cause disharmony in the family.

(d) Women constitute half of humanity. You cannot subjugate them for long by denying them the rightto vote.

Answer:

(a) It is not consistent with the idea of equality as this is not based on the principles of equality but thisargument emanates from our emotions.

(b) It is consistent with the idea of equality as this argument is based on the impact of decision makingprocess on women and hence, their right to choose the decision makers.

(c) It is not consistent with the idea of equality as it is concerned more with the disintegration of familyrather than giving women equal opportunity to choose their representatives.

(d) It is consistent with the idea of equality as this argument is based on rational thinking. Women areconsidered as equal to men in the composition of society and are therefore given equal importance and opportunity to cast their vote.

Class 12 Political Science Chapter 3 US Hegemony in World Politics PREPARED BY SUMAN KUMAR JHA

Class 12 Political Science

Chapter 3 US Hegemony in World Politics

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED

1. Which among the following statements
about hegemony is incorrect?
(a) The word implies the leadership or predominance of one State.
(b) It was used to denote the predominance of Athens in ancient Greece.
(c) The country having hegemonic position will possess unchallenged military power.
(d) Hegemonic position is fixed. Once a hegemon, always a hegemon.
Answer: (d) Hegemonic position is fixed. Once a hegemon, always a hegemon.2. Which among the following statements is wrong about the contemporary world order?
(a) There is an absence of world government, which could regulate the State’s behaviour.
(b) The US is the predominant player in world affairs.
(c) States are using force against one another.
(d) States, which violate international law, are severely punished by the UN.
Answer: (c) States are using force against one another.

3. Which among the following statements is wrong with regard to Operation Iraqi Freedom?
(a) More than forty countries joined in the US led coalition of the willing to invade Iraq.
(b) The reason given for invading Iraq was to prevent it from developing weapons of mass destruction.
(c) The action was taken with the prior approval of the UN.
(d) The US-led coalition did not face major resistance from Iraqi forces.
Answer: (c) The action was taken with the prior approval of the UN.

4. Give an example each of the three types of hegemony that are dealt within the chapter. Do not cite examples that are in the chapter.
Answer: 1. Hegemony as Hard Power:
Tabasum was an artist living in Nigeria and was planning to join Art and Craft Academy to give proficiency to her artistic aptitude. But she lost her leg in 2003 missile attack by the US. After she overcame it, she made efforts to achieve and fulfill her dreams if the foreign armies leave her country.
2. Hegemony as Structural Power: Tabish is very good in his studies in the countryside of Middle East Asia and is planning to study subjects from Arts stream to accommodate himself in different aspects as per requirements. But parents want him to be a master in computers to become Software Engineer due to flair for job opportunities in the same.
3. Hegemony as Soft Power: Mayank is a young and energetic man of Melbourne, immigrants from Russia. His father gets upset when he puts on black shirt with white jeans while he goes to church. He justifies that black colour signifies protest for freedom and white signifies freedom in a peaceful manner.

5. Mention three ways in which US dominance since the Cold War is different from its position as a superpower during the Cold War.
Answer: 1. During Cold War, the US found it difficult to win over the Soviet Union as hard power due to retaliating capacity of the Soviet Union and to protest world from large scale destruction. But in the areas of structural and soft power, the US dominated.
2. During Cold War years, the Soviet Union provided an alternate model of socialist economy to maximise welfare of states. Still the world economy throughout the Cold War years adapted capitalist economy under the US.
3. In the area of soft power, the US became triumphant. As the example of blue jeans shows that the US could engineer a generational gap even in Soviet Society on culture basis.

6. Match the following:

Answer:(i)-(c); (ti)-(a); (iii)—(d); (iv)-(b)

7. what are the constraints on American hegemony today? Which one of these do you expect to get more important in the future?
Answer. “We can identify three constraints on American Power” which were actually not in operation in the years following 9/11. Hence the US could establish its hegemony. Recently all these constraints are slowly beginning to operate in the following ways:

1. The US bears institutional architecture in the American State itself. It refers division of powers between the three branches of government where American military’s executive branch can place significant brakes upon the unrestrained and immoderate exercise.
2. The second constraint on American hegemony emerges from open nature of American society. American society and suffering from a deep skepticism towards purposes and methods of government in America despite an imposition of particular perspectives on domestic opinion in the US. This is a huge constraint on US military action overseas.
3. The third constraint on US hegemony is the possession of NATO to moderate the exercise of the US hegemony today. The US has an enormous interest in keeping the alliance of democracies to follow the market economies alive and it may be possible to its allies in NATO to moderate the exercise of the US hegemony through their own liberal policies to fulfill their own ends.

8. Read the three extracts in the chapter from Lok Sabha debate on the Indo-US deal. Develop any one of these into a full speech defending a certain position on Indo-US relations.
Answer: The following speech has been developed based on the excerpts from Lok Sabha debate as presented by Major General (Retired) B.C. Khanduri of BJP:

Sir, I would respectfully draw the attention of august house towards the US hegemony in today’s scenario. But we should not ignore the fact that India might be next waiting in the wings to perform as a superpower to maintain its own identity. Moreover, hegemony can not stand forever due to its weaknesses. Therefore, we are supposed to have a good and harmonious relations with that of the US for mutual promotion of trade and technology. But India should not compromise from the same on the cost of its own security and identity.
Hence, India should work in a diplomatic manner while it thinks to go hand-in¬hand the US in such a manner that India could extract best benefits from the US hegemony and find out mutual options for itself.
Thanks.

9. “If big and resourceful states cannot resist the US hegemony, it is unrealistic to expect much smaller and weaker non-state actors to offer any resistance”. Examine this proposition and give your opinion.
Answer. This proposition focuses only on, the powers of the state and believes that only big and resourceful states can challenge the US hegemony which it approaches right in a practical manner, but if we think deeply these are thoughts and pens of writers, expressions of artists, media and intellectuals who have no boundaries including hegemony itself to be criticised and resisted in the form of non-government organisations (NGOs), social movements and public opinion. Hence, non-state actors may challenge the US hegemony also in their own way and it can work out also.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]
l.What is meant by ‘Hegemon/?
Answer: The term ‘Hegemony’ stands for an international system which is dominated by a sole superpower or hyper-power. The collapse of the Soviet Union left the world with only one single power, the United States of America.

2. What was first Gulf War?
Answer: A massive coalition force of 660,000 troops from 34 countries faught against
Iraq and defeated it in what came to be known as the First Gulf War.

3. What was ‘Operation Iraqi’ Freedom?
Answer: On 19 March 2003, the US launched its invasion of Iraqi under the codename ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’. More than 40 other countries joined in the US coalition of the willing after the UN refused to give its mandate to the invasion.

4. What is meant by hegemony?
Answer: Hegemony is an international system to dominate world by only one superpower.

5. First Gulf War was fought against in which troops from countries fought.
Answer: Iraq, 34 countries.

6. What does the term ‘hegemony’ imply?
Answer: The word ‘hegemony’ implies the dominance of one state means world power in the form of military dominance, economic power, political clout and cultural superiority.

7. What is meant by 9/11 in the context of USA?
Answer:  9/11 denotes a series of attacks on the US by hijackers from Arab countries on 11 Sep 2001. It was the most disastrous attack on the US.

8. What is the New World Order?
Answer: The sudden collapse of Soviet Union led to the New World Order in the form of the US hegemony.

9. What is World Politics?
Answer: World Politics refers to distribution of power among the countries of the world. These countries are engaged to gain and retain power by their capabilities.

10. Mention the period of beginning of US hegemony.
Answer: 1991.

11. Name the elected president of the USA in the year 1992 and 1996.
Answer: William Jefferson Bill Clinton.

12. What was the focus of foreign policy of Bill Clinton?
Answer: The Clinton government tended to focus on ‘Soft issues’ like democracy promotion, climate change and world trade rather than on the hard politics of military power.

13. What was Guantanamo Bay?
Answer: A naval base in Cuba set up by the US where prisoners forbidden of the protection of international law or law of their own country or that of the US.

14. Mention any two constraints operated in the US hegemony.
Answer: Two constraints operated in the US hegemony are institutional architecture of American state (division of power) and open nature of American Society.

15. What are Global Public Goods?
Answer: Goods that can be consumed by people without reducing the amount of available goods for others are known as the global public goods.
Examples: Fresh air, roads, sea-lanes of communications (SLoCs).

16. What is SLoCs?
Answer: SLoCs stands for Sea Lanes of Communications. It is the naval power of hegemon that underwrites the law of the sea and ensures freedom of navigation in international water.

17. What is the full form of WMD?
Answer: WMD stands for Weapons of Mass Destruction.

18. What is meant by hegemony as hard power?
Answer. Hegemony as hard power implies dominance of superpower on ground of military power.

19. What is meant by hegemony as structural power?
Answer: Hegemony as structural power implies dominance of superpower on grounds of economic structure. The superpower must possess both the ability and the desire to establish norms for order and must sustain the global structure.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]
1. When and why did the New World Order begin?
Answer: The New World Order began in 1991 after the collapse of Soviet Union. The world was left only with single superpower the US and came to be known as the US Hegemony to show the superiority of its military power. The US hegemony also shaped the world economy and emerged in the form of military domination, economic order, political clout and cultural superiority.

2. Why did US launch a war against Iraq?
Answer: On 19 March 2003, the US launched a war against Iraq under the codename of ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ to be joined by forty other countries under the leadership of the US on the ground to prevent Iraq from developing weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) without no evidence against Iraq. Hence, the ostensible purposes were different as controlling Iraqi Oilfields and installing a regime friendly to the US.

3. How was Kuwait liberated from Iraq in 1990?
Answer: In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait rapidly occupying and subsequently annexing it. All diplomatic attempts were a failure in convincing Iraq to quit its aggression. The United Nations took a dramatic decision to mandate the liberation of Kuwait by force. A massive coalition force of 66,000 troops from 34 countries fought against Iraq and defeated it, known as the First Gulf War also.

4. What was ‘Operation Infinite Reach’ ordered by President Clinton?
Answer: Operation Infinite Reach was a series of cruise missile strikes on Al-Qaeda terrorist targets in Sudan and Afghanistan. For this, the US did not bother of any international law. This operation was ordered by President Clinton in response to bombing of the US embassies in Narobi, Kenya, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in 1998.

5. What was Operation Enduring Freedom?
Answer: Operation Enduring Freedom was the US response against 9/11 attack to arrest all those who were suspected to be behind the attack, mainly Al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The US arrested the persons all over the world often without the knowledge of government of the person being arrested, transported them and detained in secret prisons.

6. How can hegemony be overcome?
Answer: To overcome hegemony there are different strategies developed by analysts. As the bandwagon strategy reveals to extract benefits by operating within hegemonic system. ‘To hide’ strategy implies staying as far from the dominant power as possible. And it may be possible that various challenges to occur from non-state actors in the form of their writings, expressions to mould the minds of people.

7. “The US did not start behaving like a hegemonic power right from 1991, it became clear much later that world was living in fact in a period of hegemony”. Examine the statement.
Answer: The US hegemony was the beginning of New World Order and process for its establishment had been started in August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait and occupied it to make a part of Iraq. Despite UN’s diplomatic attempts to liberate Kuwait from Iraq, it was not liberated. Hence UN mandated liberation of Kuwait by force, a dramatic decision. A massive coalition force of 660,000 troops from 34 countries fought against Iraq and defeated it under UN’s ‘Operation Desert Storm’. But it was led by the US because 75 per cent of the coalition forces were from the US only. This war is popularly known as the First Gulf War establishing the US hegemony.

8. With reference to Iraq invasion, mention the American weaknesses.
Answer: Imperial powers have used military forces to accomplish only four tasks to conquer, deter, punish and police in a historical perspective. As the Iraq invasion shows American capacity to conquer is formidable and capability to deter and to punish is self evident. American weakness has been revealed in performing fourth task i.e. the policing in an occupied territory.

9. What was 9/11 event? How did the US respond to it?
Answer: 9/11 event implies a series of attacks on the US by hijackers from Arab countries on 11 September 2001. It was the most disastrous attack on the US. The hijackers attacked on important US building as World Trade Centre in New York, Pentagon building and Capital building of US Congress in Pennsylvania.
The US responded to it by launching ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ to arrest all those who were suspected to be behind this attack. The US forces made arrest all over the world without the knowledge of the government of the persons being arrested, transported and detained them in secret prisons mainly against Al-Qaeda and Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

10. “The US hegemony does not dominate the world only as hard and structural power but as a soft power also.” Justify the statement.
Answer: The US hegemony does not dominate the world only as militarily and economically but it has the capacity to create ‘manufacturing consent’ from the rest of the world in the cultural dimensions also. The cultural dimension implies class ascendancy in the social, political and ideological spheres where the ideas of ‘good life’ are flourished. Its most appealing example is of‘blue jeans’ from the US, which had the capacity to engineer even as generational divide.

Short Answer Type Questions [4 Marks]
1. How far is it correctly say that the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre was the attack on the US hegemony? Explain.
Answer: The US had established its hegemony through the launch of two operations namely ‘Operation Desert Storm’ where 75 per cent of the coalition forces were from the US and ‘Operation Infinite Reach’, a series of Cruise missile strikes on Al-Qaeda. These operations made the US more confident of the establishment of the US hegemony that no one could dare to challenge the US. But, suddenly hijackers from Arab countries attacked on the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001 alongwith the other important buildings also as Pentagon building (the US defence department) and the capital building of US the Congress. It was the most severe attack on the US soil since the founding of the country in 1776.
Thus, it can be concluded that the 9/11 attack was the attack on US hegemony which challenged the US in its own way.

2. Describe any two constraints of American hegemony.
Answer: The US domination in military, economic, cultural aspects over other nations to show her supremacy is known as US hegemony.
Its constraints are as follows-
1. The institutional architecture of American State itself i.e. they follow the system of division of powers between three organs of government.
2. The open nature of American Society and Political Culture i.e. the American mass media may promote a particular issue on domestic public opinion but never opposed the purposes and methods of government in American Political Culture.

3. What military actions were taken by Clinton government despite their lack of interest were different from military power?
Answer: The US President William Jefferson Bill Clinton believed in the policy of soft issues like democracy promotion, climate change and the world trade in place of military dominance. But the US revealed its military dominance even during the Clinton era wherever it was required by the US in the following manner:
1. In 1999, the US responded.to Yugoslavian action against the predominant Albanian population in the province of Kosovo. The NATO air force countries under the US leadership bombarded targets around Yugoslavia for two months forcing the downfall of the government of Slobodan Milosevic and the stationary of NATO force in Kosovo.
2. In 1998, the US launched an ‘Operation Infinite Reach’ a series of cruise missile strikes on Al-Qaeda terrorist targets in Sudan and Afghanistan in response to the bombings of US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, Dar-es- Salaam and Tanzania.

4, Explain the hegemony of the United States of America as a structural power.
Answer: Hegemony as a structural power implies economic perspective of world economy. It can be summed up in the following ways:
1. An open world economy requires a dominant power to support its creation and existence.
2. The hegemon must possess both the ability and the desire to establish certain norms for order and must sustain global structure i.e. Bretton Woods system set up by the US after Second World Wan
3. The US reflects this hegemony by providing the global public goods, those can be consumed by one person without reducing the amount of goods available for someone else.
4. A classical example of structural power of the US is the academic degree Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) to sharpen business skills in a University.

5. “Economic preponderance of the US is inseparable from its structural power”. Discuss.
Answer: Economic preponderance of the US is inseparable from its structural power, it can be justified in the following manner:
1. The hegemon shapes the basic global economy in a particular manner aS
the US provided the Bretton Woods system after Second World War.
2. We can regard the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as the products of American hegemony.

6. In reference of structural power mention the global public goods by which the US established its hegemony?
Answer:  The global public goods can be consumed by one person without reducing the amount of the goods available for someone else:
1. Sea lanes of communications (SLoCs) is the naval power of the hegemon to underwrite the law of the sea and to ensure freedom of navigational international waters. These sea routes are commonly used by merchant ships.
2. Internet is the direct outcome of a US military research project that began in 1950. Even today, internet relies on a global network of satellites.

7. How does India maintain its relations with the US during post Cold War?
Answer: After the collapse of Soviet Union India decided to liberalise its economy and integrate it with global economy. India’s impressive economic growth rate made India an attractive economic partner for the US due to its technological dimensions and the role of Indian- American diaspora. These two factors are interrelated in the following ways:
1. The US absorbs about 65 per cent of India’s total exports in the software sector.
2. 35 per cent of the technical staff of Boeing is estimated to be of Indian origin.
3. 300,000 Indians work in Silicon Valley.
4. 15 per cent of all high-tech start ups are by Indian-Americans.

8. Explain the strategies which, may be performed by India to maintain Indo-US relations.
Answer: In today’s scenario India is supposed to decide what type of relations to have with the US. Moreover, the three strategies have been debated by Indian analysts:
1. Indian analysts observed military nature of US hegemony and suggested that India should maintain its aloofness from Washington and focus upon increasing its own comprehensive national power.
2. The analysts secondly suggest that India should take advantage of the US hegemony and the mutual convergences to establish the best possible options for itself in future perspective.
3. The third strategy is suggested that India should lead in establishing a coalition from the developing countries to become powerful and work out in weaning the hegemon away from its dominating ways. Moreover, it cannot be concluded that India may opt for one strategy to maintain Indo-US relations, but it needs a mix of strategies to maintain its own identity.

Passage Based Questions [5 Marks]
1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions:
During the Cold War years, India found itself on the opposite side of the divide from the US. India’s closest friendship during those years was with the Soviet Union. After the collapse of Soviet Union, India suddenly found itself friendless in an increasingly hostile international environment. However, these were also the years when India decided to liberalise its economy and integrate it with the global economy. This policy and India’s impressive economic growth rate made the country an attractive economic partner for a number of countries including the US.

Questions
1. Name the country which was India’s closest friend during Cold War years.
2. What was India’s policy during post Cold War years?
3. What made India an attractive economic partner for the countries like the US?
Answer:
1. Soviet Union.
2. India decided to liberalise its economy and integrate it with global economy.
3. India’s policy of liberalisation and its impressive economic growth rate.
2. Read the following passage (NCERT Textbook, page 47) carefully and answer the questions:
Some people argue that it is strategically more prudent to take advantage of the opportunities that hegemony creates. For instance, raising economic growth rates requires increased trade, technology transfers and investment, which are best acquired by working with rather than against the hegemon. Thus, it is suggested that instead of engaging in activities opposed to hegemonic power, it may be advisable to extract benefits by operating within the hegemonic system. This is called the bandwagon strategy.

Questions
1. What is prudent during a period of hegemony?
2. What benefits can be acquired within the hegemonic system?
3. What is the bandwagon strategy?
Answer:
1. To take advantage of opportunities that a hegemon creates.
2. Increased trade, technology transfers and investment.
3. To extract benefits by operating within hegemonic system in place of being engaged in the opposed activities.

Long Answer Type Questions [6 Marks]
1. Examine any three factors responsible for the US hegemony in the world politics.
Answer: Three factors responsible for the US hegemony in the world politics are
(i) The US power lies in the overwhelming superiority of its military power. American military dominance today is both absolute and relative. In absolute terms, the US today has military capabilities that can reach any point on the planet accurately, lethally and in real time, thereby crippling the adversary while its own forces are sheltered to the maximum extent possible from the dangers of war.
(ii) No other power today can remotely match them. The US today spends
more on its military capability than the next 12 powers combined. Further more, a large chunk of the Pentagon’s budget goes into military research and development, or, in other words, technology. Thus, the military dominance of the US is not just based on higher military spending, but on a qualitative gap, a technological chasm that no other power can at present conceivably span.
(iii) The US invasion of Iraq shows that the American capacity to conquer is formidable. Similarly the US capability to deter and to punish is self-evident. More than forty countries joined in the US-led ‘coalition of the willing’ after the UN refused to give its mandate to theinvasion. Thus, no country can deny the US superiority in the world politics.

2. Explain the three types of US hegemony and give examples for each.
Answer: GO Hegemony as Hard Power:
(a) This hegemony signifies military status of America to be both absolute and relative. In absolute terms, it has military capabilities to reach any point on the Planet accurately and no other power today can remotely match them.
(b) The US military dominance is based on both the higher military expenditure and on a qualitative gap i.e. technological know-how.
(ii) Hegemony as Structural Power:
(a) It signifies ‘Economic Prospects’ of hegemon power to possess both the ability and the desire to establish certain norms for order and sustain global structure even including goods to be consumed by one person without reducing the amount of goods available for someone else.
(b) A classical example is academic
degree MBA (Masters in Business Administration) to presume business as a profession to be dependent upon skills that can be taught in a University which is uniquely American.
(iii) Hegemony as Soft Power:
(a) US Hegemony has its cultural dimensions also which implies class ascendancy in social, political and particularly ideological spheres to shape the behaviour of competing and lesser powers.Here, the consent goes hand in and more effective than coercion.
(b) For example, most of the dreams of individuals and societies across the globe, are dreams churned out by practices prevailing in twentieth—century America. All these are about the capacity to manufacture consent.

3. What are different natures of hegemony? Explain.
Answer: Hegemony is an international system to dominate world by only one superpower. The natures of hegemony can be found out as follows:
(i) Hegemony as Hard Power:
(a) It is based on the military capability between the states.
(b) The US military dominance is based on their higher expenditures on military as well as the technological know-how.
(c) The US bears military dominance in both the terms i.e. absolute and relative. In absolute terms the US military capabilities can reach any point on the planet and no other power can be a match to them.
(ii) Hegemony as Structural Power:
(a) It is based on economic factors of the world dominated by the hegemonic power.
(b) Hegemony must sustain global structure to establish certain norms for order and the US has set up Bretton Woods System.
(c) The US hegemony has provided the global public goods to be consumed by one person without reducing the amount available for someone else as SLoCs and the Internet, MBA degree.
(iii) Hegemony as Soft Power:
(a) To dominate world even in reference of cultural dimensions i.e. class ascendancy in social, political and ideological spheres.
(b) The US hegemony has the capacity to create ‘manufacturing consent’ by the class to be dominated by the hegemon.
(c) The ‘blue jeans’ from the US is capable to engineer even a generational divide.

4. How can the US hegemony be checked?
Or
How long will hegemony last? How do we get beyond hegemony?
Answer: (i) The US hegemony has been symbolised as the global village and other countries as its neighbours.
(ii) If the headman of global village becomes intolerable, neighbours do not have any choice of leaving it, but develop a resistant.
(iii) Though there are some rules and norms called laws of war that restrict but do not prohibit war.
(iv) No single power can challenge the US militarily.
Still, to overcome the US hegemony, the following strategies have been found out: (a) Bandwagon strategy emphasises not to oppose hegemonic power, instead take advantage of opportunities that hegemon creates i.e. increased trade and technology transfer and investments to extract benefits by operating within hegemonic system. (.b) To hide strategy implies to stay as far removed from the dominant power as possible as China, Russia and the European Union. This strategy is applicable to small states but states may not be able to hide for substantial length of time.
(c) Non-state actors as writers, artists and intellectuals have no boundaries to work with. They can reach beyond the limits of the states to mould the minds of people through their expressions.

5. What is meant by Operation Iraqi Freedom? Mention its main and hidden objectives. Give any two consequences of this operation.
Answer: Operation Iraqi Freedom was the code name given by the US to launch invasion on 19 March 2003. More than 40 countries joined in the US led coalition of the willing after the UN refused to give its mandate to the invasion.
Main Objective: To prevent Iraq from developing Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMD). Since no evidence of WMD has been unearthed in Iraq. Hidden Objective: It was motivated by controlling Iraqi Oilfields and installing a regime friendly to the US. Consequences of this Operation
1. Although the government of Saddam Hussein fell swiftly but US has not been able to pacify Iraq.
2. A fully fledged insurgency against US occupation was ignited in. Iraq.
3. Conservatively estimated that 50,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since the US-led invasion.
4. It is widely recognised that the US invasion of Iraq was, in some crucial respects, both a military and political failure.

Picture/Map Based Questions [5 Marks]
1. Study the cartoon given above and answer the following questions:

(i) Which country is represented by this mighty soldier?
(ii) Why have the names of so many countries been written on the uniform of the soldier?
(iii) What message does this cartoon convey to the international community?
Answer: (i) The United States of America is represented by this mighty soldier.
(ii) On 19 March 2003, the US launched its invasion of Iraq under the codename “Operation Iraqui Freedom”. More than forty other countries joined in the US-led invasion. The names of these countries have been written on this soldier’s uniform.
(iii) This cartoon shows that America is all powerful and can go to any extent to serve its interests. It attacked Iraq even after the UN refused to give its mandate to the invasion.

2. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:
THE NEW U.S. FOREIGN POLICY?

Questions
1. Who has been represented by cartoon wearing cap?
2. What does this cartoon try to speak?
3. Which event can be correlated with this cartoon?
4. ‘You posed a potential threat’. What does this refer?
Answer:
1. The USA.
2. The US hegemony.
3. The US response to 9/11 attack against Al-Qaeda and Taliban.
4. 9/11 attack was an attack on the US hegemony and in response they launched operation Enduring Freedom to teach a lesson to the countries if it is dared to repeat.

3. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:

Questions
1. How long do you think the US will stay on the superpower stage?
2. Except China, who can be shown as waiting in the wings?
3. What is being represented in the cartoon?
4. Why China has been represented as waiting in the wings?
Answer:
1. The US will stay on the superpower stage till the rest of the world is resistant with the US and the mega states like China, Russia, India and EU follow the strategy ‘to hide’.
2. Either Russia or India or EU.
3. The well established US hegemony or unipolar world and other countries may be next in the wings.
4. China is a mega-state who can stand at par US hegemony if it accommodates its full potential for the same.

B. On a political outline map of the world locate and label the following and symbolise them as indicated:

Questions
1. The country Iraq invaded in Aug. 1990.
2. The country in the presidentship of Saddam Hussein.
3. The country referred to as a hegemonic power.
4. Operation Infinite Reach was launched against these countries.
Answer:
1. Kuwait (A).
2. Iraq (B).
3. The USA (C).

4. Afghanistan and Sud

 

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 Election and Representation

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3   Election and Representation
Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 NCERT Textbook Questions Solved
Question 1.
Which of the following resembles most a direct democracy?
(a) Discussions in a family meeting.
(b) Election of the class monitor.
(c) Choice of a candidate by a political party.
(d) Decisions taken by the Gram Sabha.
(e) Opinion polls conducted by the media
Answer:
(d) Decisions taken by the Gram Sabha.
Question 2.
Which of the following tasks are not performed by the Election Commission?
(a) Preparing the Electoral Rolls.
(b) Nominating the candidates.
(c) Setting up polling booths.
(id) Implementing the model code of conduct.
(e) Supervising the Panchayat elections.
Answer:
(e) Supervising the Panchayat elections.
Question 3.
Which of the following is common to the method of election of the members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha?
(a) Every citizen above the age of 18 is an eligible voter.
(b) Voter can give preference order for different candidates.
(c) Every vote has equal value.
(d) The winner must get more than half the votes.
Answer:
(a) Every citizen above the age of 18 is an eligible voter.
Question 4.
In the First Past the Post System, that candidate is declared winner who:
(a) Secures the largest number of postal ballots.
(b) Belongs to the party that has highest number of votes in the country.
(c) Has more votes than any other candidate in the constituency.
(d) Attains first position by securing more than 50% votes.
Answer:
(c) Has more votes than any other candidate in the constituency.
Question 5.
What is the difference between the system of reservation of constituencies and the system of separate electorate? Why did the Constitution makers reject the latter?
Answer:
There is much difference between the system of reservation of constituencies and system of separate electorate:
Separate electorate system:
·         It has been a curse to India.
·         The British started this system to divide votes between the Sikhs, the Muslims, and some other minorities.
·         These groups elected their own representatives by separate vote.
·         In separate electorate system, the candidates are elected by those voters, who belong to that particular community.
System of reservation of constituencies:
·         All voters are eligible to vote.
·         Candidate must belong to a particular community for which seat is reserved.
·         The constitution provides the reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. The constitution-makers rejected the latter because they were aware that the system of separate electorate destroyed the spirit of national integration.
Question 6.
Which of the following statements are incorrect? Identify and correct them by substituting, adding or rearranging only one word or phrase.
(a) FPTP system is followed for all the elections in India.
(b) Election Commission does not supervise PanChayat and Municipal elections.
(c) President of India cannot remove an Election Commissioner.
(d) Appointment of more than one Election Commissioner in the Election Commission is mandatory.
Answer:
(a) This is incorrect, the correct statement is FPTP system is followed for all elections in India except election of the President, the Vice President and for the elections to the Rajya Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad.
(b) This is correct statement
(c) This is incorrect because the President can remove an Election Commissioner.
(d) This is also incorrect. The correct statement is the appointment of more than one Election Commissioner is not mandatory.
Question 7.
Indian electoral system aims at ensuring representation of socially disadvantaged sections. However, we are yet to have even 10 per cent women members in our legislatures. What measures would you suggest to improve the situation?
Answer: The Indian
Constitution provides the reservation for SC’s and ST’s in our legislative’s. But it lacks the similar reservation for disadvantaged groups. As there should be some more reservation for women through the constitutional amendment, which should not only be a proposal, but also be passed.
Question 8.
Here are some wishes expressed in a conference to discuss a constitution for a new country. Write against each of these whether FPTP or Proportional Representation system is more suited to meet each of these wishes.
(a) People should clearly know who is their representative so that they can hold him or her personally accountable.
(b) We have small linguistic minorities who are spread all over the country; we should ensure fair representation to them.
(c) There should be no discrepancy between votes and seats for different parties.
(d) People should be able to elect a good candidate even if they do not like his or her political party.
Answer:
(a) FPTP
(b) Proportional Representation
(c) Proportional Representation
(d) FPTP
Question 9.
A former Chief Election Commissioner joined a political party and contested elections. There are various views on this issue. One view is that a former Election Commissioner is an independent citizen and has a right to join any political party and to contest election. According to the other view, leaving this possibility open can affect the impartiality of the Election Commission. So, former Election Commissioners must not be allowed to contest any elections. Which position do you agree with and why?
Answer:
Election Commission of India is a constitutional independent body set for conducting elections of the Union Parliament, the state Legislative Assembly, President and Vice President under the Article 324(i) of India Constitution. The Election Commission is an impartial agency to conduct free and fair elections in country. Hence, Election Commissioner must not be allowed to contest any election because it can affect the impartiality of the Commission.
Question 10.
“Indian democracy is now ready to shift from a crude First Past the Post system to a system of Proportional Representation”. Do you agree with this statement? Give your reasons for or against this statement.
Answer:
Yes, I agree with the statement along with the following reasons:
·         India enjoys a multi-party system including regional parties, hence to provide the shape to all the political parties, the proportional system is far better.
·         Decentralization of power strengthens the sense of responsibility along with national unity and integrity.
·         Representation democracy makes the democracy more effective and trustworthy.
·         It ensures the political parties to get seats along with proportionate votes.
·         The election system has allowed the voters to change governments peacefully both at the state and the national level.
·         Voters have consistently keen interest to the election process. Hence, the number of candidates and parties are continuously on rise.
Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 NCERT Extra Questions Solved
Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 NCERT Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
What is Democracy?
Answer:
Democracy is a type of government of the people, for the people and by the people.
Question 2.
What is meant by a direct democracy?
Answer:
In direct democracy, the citizens directly participate in day-to-day decision making and in the running of the government. Example – Greece.
Question 3.
What do you mean by Universal Adult Franchise?
Answer:
All adult citizens of a country above maturity age are entitled to enjoy the right to vote without any discrimination, known as Universal Adult Franchise.
Question 4.
What does FPTP and PR stand for?
Answer:
FPTP: First Past the Post System.
PR: Proportional Representation.
Question 5.
Mention the amendment made in constitution of India in 1989.
Answer:
It reduced the eligibility age of Universal Adult Franchise from 21 to 18.
Question 6.
What do you mean by Election System?
Answer:
Election system is a medium to elect the representatives especially in indirect democracy to form the government. The representatives are elected by the people to act in accordance with the wishes of the people.
Question 7.
What is electoral behavior?
Answer:
Through elections people participate in election process to determine who will hold power. Hence, elections are visible expression of public interest which is determined by individual’s own reasons and perceptions as well as his being a part of a group. Electoral behavior depends on both short term and long term influences.
Question 8.
What is Direct Method of Election?
Answer:
In Direct Method of Election:
·         A voter participates in election directly.
·         A voter casts his vote to a candidate of one’s own choice.
·         Secret method of ballot is used.
·         Elected representatives hold the rein of government of the country.
Question 9.
What is an Indirect Method of Election?
Answer:
In Indirect Method of Election:
·         Voters do not elect the representatives directly.
·         Voters elect intermediary electors who are collectively known as Electoral College.
·         Electoral college elects the representatives to the legislative assemblies.
Question 10.
What do you understand by Simple Majority Representation System?
Answer:
The Simple Majority Representation System declares the candidate elected who secures votes more than others. In this system to secure absolute majority is not necessary. In this system in the case of multi-cornered contests, candidate even with less than 50% votes is elected.
Question 11.
What is Political Minority?
Answer:
Political Minority refers to the opposition party. After elections, the party who gets majority forms the government and other parties who do not get majority become opposition parties and known as political minority who enjoys the right to convert themselves into political majority democratic methods.
Question 12.
Mention the shortcomings of the Simple Majority System of Elections.
Answer:
Simple Majority System of Elections declares the candidate to be winner even in the case of not getting an absolute majority or if even more than 50% voters do not like the candidate.
Question 13.
Define Secret Ballot system.
Answer:
Secret Ballot system refers to the secret ballot-when everyone chooses one’s own candidate in secret as well as does not disclose one’s choice also, so that others could not pressurize the one.
Question 14.
What are Mid-term Elections?
Answer:
Mid-Term Elections refer to elections held before the expiry of the term of Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly due to some reasons or the other or if Lok Sabha or state Legislative Assemblies are dissolved by the President or Governor before expiry of the terms of Lok Sabha or Legislative Assemblies.
Question 15.
What do you mean by Bye-election?
Answer:
Bye-election refers to the elections held on creating some sudden reasons which make the seat vacant, i.e. resignation or the sudden death of the member, etc.
Question 16.
“Universal Adult Franchise is important in a democracy”. Justify the statement.
Answer:
Universal Adult Franchise is important in a democracy for the following reasons:
·         Right to vote is enjoyed by every adult without any discrimination on any ground.
·         Only lunatics, bankrupts, minors or criminals are deprived of right to vote.
·         The age of adulthood differs from country to country, i.e. 18 years in India, 21 years in the USA and 23 years in Norway and so on.
·         Everyone is treated equally.
·         This provides political education to the citizens and develop self-respect.
Question 17.
What is political participation?
Answer:
·         To elect the representatives or to be elected as a representative.
·         To be a member of executive.
·         To be selected for government post.
·         A steady increase in percentage of voters turnout despite some functions.
Question 18.
What is Election Manifesto? Explain.
Answer:
Election Manifesto is a document to let the voters know about programmes, policies and aims of political party to be declared on the eve of elections:
·         It clarifies the internal and external policies of the government.
·         People became aware of performance of the political party on winning.
·         People can pressurize even the winning party or the government to work on behalf of manifesto.
Question 18.
What do you mean by the list system?
Answer:
·         Large multi-member constituencies are formed.
·         Many members/representatives are elected from each constituency.
·         Each political party submits a list of as many candidates as are to be elected from political constituency.
·         The voters vote for the list, which are indivisible to be elected.
·         Each candidate has to secure minimum votes fixed by the quota to be obtained by dividing the total number of votes polled to the party by the quota.
·         The same number of candidates enumerated in the party list from top are declared successful.
Question 19.
How does India ensure the secret ballot?
Answer:
Secret ballot is ensured in India:
·         The voter is given a secret ballot paper by the presiding officer of the polling booth.
·         The voter goes behind the curtain to vote to the candidate of one’s own choice.
·         Now-a-days, EVM’s (Electronic Voting Machines) are being used in place of ballot paper.
·         The voter presses the button against the candidate of his/her choice with the symbols assigned to them.
·         This maintains the complete secrecy because no one else comes to know to whom the voter has voted.
·         Even the candidate does not come to know who has voted him or not.
Question 20.
How does the Election Commission recognize the regional party?
Answer:
The Election Commission lays down the following criterion to recognize the regional parties:
·         The Election Commission declares and decides that which political party stands at national level or which should stand at regional level.
·         The Election Commission has been empowered to see the popularity of the regional party in a particular region.
·         The Election Commission checks the organization and membership of the party.
·         The Election Commission looks after either the regional party works under the code of conduct or not as assigned by the Election Commission.
Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 NCERT Passage-Based Questions
Passage 1.
Read the passage (NCERT Textbook, page 72) given below carefully and answer the questions that follows:
No system of election can ever be perfect. And in actual election process, there are bound to be many flaws and limitations. Any democratic society has to keep searching for mechanisms to make elections free and fair to the maximum. With the acceptance of adult suffrage, freedom to contest elections, and the establishment of an independent Election Commission, India has tried to make its election process free and fair. However, the experience of the last fifty five years has given rise to many suggestions for reforming our election system. The Election Commission, political parties, various independent groups, and many scholars have come up with proposals for electoral reform. Some of these suggestions are about changing the constitutional provisions.
Questions:
1. What is being referred to in the passage?
2. What mechanisms have been adopted by India to make free and fair election?
3. On what, more emphasis has been given regarding electoral reforms?
Answers:
1. Passage refers to the electoral reforms required by country.
2. Acceptance of adult suffrage
Freedom to contest election
Establishment of an independent election commission.
3. To change the constitutional provisions, i.e. FPTP should be changed to PR system, some more reservations should also be ensured and the candidates from criminal background should be barred from contesting elections, etc.
Passage 2.
Read the passage (NCERT Textbook, page 70) given below carefully and answer the questions that follows:
The Election Commission has very limited staff of its own. It conducts the elections with the help of the administrative machinery. However, once the election process has begun, the commission has control over the administration as far as election related work is concerned. During the election process, the administrative officers of the State and central governments are assigned election related duty and in this respect, the Election Commission has full control over them. The EC can transfer the officers, or stop their transfers; it can take action against them for failing to act in a non-partisan manner.
Questions:
1. How does the Election Commission conduct the elections?
2. During election process, who are assigned election related duty?
3. What are the powers of Election Commission?
Answers:
1. The Election Commission conducts the election with the help of administrative machinery.
2. The administrative officers of the state and central governments are assigned election related duty and Election Commission has full control over them.
3. The Election Commission has full control over them.
The EC can transfer the officers or stop their transfers.
It can take action against them for failing to act in a non-partisan manner.
Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 NCERT Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
Explain the role of Election Commission of India.
Answer:
The role of Election Commission can be summarized as follows:
·         The Election Commission controls over the election machinery to conduct free and fair elections as supervises and makes changes if needed in the electoral rules of the elections.
·         The Election Commission prepares the voters’ list who enjoy the right to vote as well as considers objections also to be raised by voters in reference of voters’ list.
·         Election Commission provides the election symbols to the political parties as well as to independent candidates. As Congress (I) has been assigned the symbol of hand and lotus has been provided to BJP. The independent candidates are provided symbols on temporary basis.
·         The Election Commission declares and recognizes the political parties as national or regional.
Question 2.
How does the Election Commission of India ensure its independence?
Answer:
The Election Commission ensures its independence by the following provisions
·         Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners and Regional Election Commissioners are appointed for a fixed term.
·         The Chief Election Commissioner cannot be removed from his office before the expiry of his term except on the grounds of incapacity and misbehavior only if a resolution to this effect is passed by both the houses of parliament by a two-third majority.
·         Other Election Commissioners and Regional Election Commissioners can be removed from the Office only on the recommendations of the Chief Election Commissioner.
·         Salaries and other allowances of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are to be paid out of consolidated fund of India.
·         Tenure and other service conditions of Chief Election Commissioner and others, are fixed by the president, but they cannot be changed to their disadvantage during their term of office.
Question 3.
What is the composition of Election Commission of India?
Answer:
·         The Election Commission consists of Chief Election Commissioner and the number of other Election Commissioners may also be fixed by the president from time to time.
·         Thus, the Election Commission may be single member or multi member body. Till 1989, the Election Commission was a single member body.
·         In 1993, two more Election Commissioners were also appointed and become multi¬member body since then.
·         The Chief Election Commissioner presides over the Election Commission, but the other Election Commissioners also enjoy the same power to work mainly on consensus as a collective body only.
·         The constitution of India has ensured independence of Election Commission and declared it can important body to conduct free and fair elections.
Question 4.
Sometimes criticism has taken place against Universal Adult Suffrage. Explain them.
Answer:
Universal Adult Suffrage refers to the right to vote given to all adult citizens without any distinction of caste, class, colour, creed, language, religion, etc. It has faced some criticisms also:
·         Right to vote is a special privilege to confer on those who utilize it for the welfare of the state. Hence, it should be conferred only to the educated persons and illiterate persons should be debarred from it because they cannot understand who is the best candidate for the state.
·         The Universal Adult Suffrage establishes the government of fools because fools and ignorant form the majority in the society which can create some dangerous consequences in the state.
·         All the people should not be given the right to vote equally and to contest elections as well because God has not created everybody equal.
·         The right to vote should be extended to those persons only who are competent or capable of using it because it is a responsibility not the right and a responsibility cannot be extended to the incompetent persons.
·         The Universal Adult Suffrage leads to corruption because contesting and voting, both are usually made on the bases of money and muscle power by dominating the poor the downtrodden people.
Question 5.
Suggest some major suggestions for electoral reforms.
Answer:
The various committees have worked on electoral reforms, i.e. the Goswami Committee and Tarkunde Committee, but these have not brought substantial changes in electoral system and law. It seems that political parties are indifferent to electoral reforms because in some cases, political parties have neutralized the steps taken by the Election Commission to bring in some desired changes. It is now widely recognized to preserve and strengthen the democratic setup a comprehensive agenda of reforms is necessary in system, structure and processes:
·         Criminalization should be checked in politics.
·         Political parties’ functions should be regulated.
·         Voters’ participation and awareness should be ensured.
·         Make the election machinery effective and credible.
·         The use of money and muscle power should be stopped.
·         A proportionate share to every class, section and society should also be provided in the parliament.
Question 6.
What is the electoral process in India?
Answer:
The electoral process is performed into different stages under the provisions of Representation of People Act, 1950 and 1951:
·         First of all, constituencies are formed in a territorial area from where a candidate contest election.
·         The nomination papers are filled with the returning officer.
·         The scrutiny is made to check whether the information filled in nomination form, are correct.
·         After the scrutiny is over, the candidate is given a date for withdrawal.
·         Then Election campaign takes place by various techniques by holding rallies, meetings, processions, distributing handbills and door-to-door canvassing, etc.
·         The election campaign stops 48 hours earlier before polling is held on the due date. Presiding officers and polling officers supervise the whole polling process. The voters vote through the secret ballot.
·         After the voting is over, the counting made on a fixed date and time. The candidate getting highest number of votes, is declared elected.
Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 NCERT Picture-Based Questions 1. Read the cartoon (NCERT Textbook, page 52) given below and answer the questions that follow:
Questions;
1. They say elections are carnival of democracy. But this cartoon depicts chaos instead. Is this true of elections always?
2. Is it good for democracy?
Answers:
1. No, this is not true of elections always. Generally, maximum elections are conducted peacefully in a democratic way.
2. It is not good for democracy to conduct elections in chaotic lawlessness. This is harmful to destroy democracy only because most of the people will not go to the polling booth themselves
2. Read the cartoon (NCERT Textbook, page 61) given below and answer the questions that follow:
Questions:
1. These members of the ruling party are trying to listen to the ‘tiny’ opposition! Was this the effect of our electoral system?
2. What does the cartoon represent?
Answers:
1. Yes, in the beginning, there was only one political party that dominated in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. The opposition was not so popular to play any role, they were only the nominated representatives in both the houses of parliament.
2. The cartoon represents the role played by opposition party and the ruling party is making efforts to hear its voice.
3. Read the cartoon on NCERT Textbook, page 67 and answer the questions that follow:
Questions:
1. Why is the Universal Adult Franchise compared to an elephant?
2. Is it unmanageable?
3. Or is it like the story in which everyone describes the elephant only by its parts?
Answers:
1. An elephant is of a giant size and in such a manner, all adult of a country (above 18 years) prepare a very big electoral vote.
2. Yes, it is quiet difficult to manage such a big group, but it is not unmanageable as since 1952, our election commission has been managing it successfully till date.
3. Yes, in India, such a huge group of adult voters in different areas, belonging to different castes are described by every political party in different groups or sections or interests. Except elections of Lok Sabha, different elections are conducted by Election Commission in different phases also.
4. Read the cartoon on NCERT Textbook, page 71) given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. The Netaji is afraid of EC. Why do leaders fear the Election Commission?
2. Is this good for democracy?
Answers
1. The leaders fear the Election commission because they want to win the election by hook or crook but the election commission keeps check on them not to try money or muscle power to win by issuing a code of conduct on them.
2. Yes, this is good for democracy to ensure free and fair elections as Election Commission enjoys several rights, powers and functions being an autonomous body of country.
5. Read the cartoon (NCERT Textbook, page 73) given below and answer the questions that follow:
Questions:
1. What does the cartoon represent?
2. Should a person accused of a serious crime be barred from contesting an election?
Answers:
1. The cartoon shows the image of a criminal turned politician facing the public.
2. A person accused of a serious crime should be barred from contesting elections because:
·         He or she can threaten the voters and candidates, contesting elections.
·         He or she can use money or muscle power.
·         The group that believes in bullet and not in ballot.