Democracy Governance in India Assignment

ASSIGNMENT A

1. Fundamental Rights and duties of Citizens are two sides of the same coin. Discuss briefly.

2. What are the Directive Principles of State Policy and what is their significance? 
3. Panchayati Raj has brought about democracy at the grass roots. Explain this statement.

4. Why are elections regarded as important in a democracy?

5. What are the federal features of the Indian constitution?

ASSIGNMENT B
1. What are the important Social Movements in contemporary India?

2. How have the constitutional safeguards helped weaker sections SC/ST in India?

3. How do institutions shape and influence policy making? Give examples.

4. Read the case study given below and answer the questions given at the end

Case Study

Conflict Resolution: Mahatma Gandhi

The story of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) offers a dramatic example of how a person of outstanding character representing oppressed peoples can move the conscience of the oppressors to reflect, reorient themselves, and take steps to reverse injustices. Through his movement of nonviolent resistance, Gandhi was able to win independence for India from British rule.
Gandhi received from his family a foundation of Indian wisdom, and he studied law in England. Working for 21 years in South Africa, he advocated for the rights of the Indians who were living there. Formative influences included his readings from the Sermon on the Mount, the Bhagavad Gita, and the writings of Russian author Leo Tolstoy and American author Henry David Thoreau. Gandhi built the notion of Satyagraha (the power of truth, translated as non-violence in Western languages) based on the ancient concept of ahimsa (the refusal to harm). Gandhi believed that there is a common truth to humanity, which is veiled or hidden when there is conflict, and that nonviolence is the way to restore this truth. According to him, the battlefield of nonviolence is in the human heart, and the goal is not to defeat human beings but to defeat the evil that corrupts their minds. Gandhi came to a realization that “Nonviolence is the law of our species, as violence is the law of the brute.” Gandhi taught people that we have to liberate ourselves before we can liberate others; thus, he stressed self-control and daily self-discipline. In India, Gandhi developed strategies to deal with four kinds of conflict: political, social, economic, and religious. He started combating social injustice and political oppression there through nonviolent means. He believed that India would be free from the British only through returning to its own moral roots and traditions. He formed a tactical alliance with the Indian Muslims and launched a program of non-cooperation that included economic boycotts and civil disobedience. He advocated for the rights of the Untouchables and urged the Indian people to develop their own economic foundation through such basic activities as spinning thread, weaving cloth, and refining salt. By gaining the support of the masses, going on long hunger strikes, and using his sheer force of character. Gandhi made the British acknowledge the immorality of their position as oppressors, and they withdrew voluntarily.
Gandhi regarded conflict as an opportunity for oppressed people to gain empowerment and identity. He carefully chose and trained leaders in the principles of nonviolent action. He was committed to discovering truth and keeping an open flow of information. Gandhi always sought to develop personal relationships with his opponents, because he considered them to be potential partners in a search for fair and truthful solutions. For Gandhi, the goal was to further the process of self-realization for both the British and the Indians. Gandhi was a saint among political leaders and a political leader among saints as he worked to resolve deep-seated political, social, economic, and religions conflicts. Gandhi taught that if people continue demanding equal compensation for offenses, as in “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” the whole world would become blind and toothless. Still, he was unable to prevent the bloody partition between India and Pakistan and was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic.

Questions:

1. “Nonviolence is the law of our species, as violence is the law of the brute”. Explain this statement.

2. Give another example of conflict resolution by non-violence from recent political scenario.


ASSIGNMENT C
1. Which country has a two-party system?
a) India
b) Sri Lanka
c) United Kingdom
d) Nepal

2. Which of the following is a National Political Party?
a) Janata Dal (Secular)
b) Telugu Desam Party
c) Trinamool Congress
d) BJP

3. Which one of the following is a Regional Party?
a) BJP
b) CPI-M
c) INC
d) JDU

4. Bahujan Samaj Party does not represent which section of the society?
a) Dalits
b) Adivasis
c) OBCs
d) Trade Unions

5. Which political party has been in power for the last 30 years continuously in West Bengal?
a) CPI
b) CPI-M
c) Indian National Congress
d) Trinamool Congress

6. What is meant by two-party system?
a) Two parties run the government
b) Two members run a party
c) Two parties contest elections
d) None of these.

7. Which system of government does India have?
a) One-party system
b) Two-party system
c) Multi-party system
d) None of these.

8. What is an alliance?
a) One party contest elections
b) Several parties join hands for contesting elections
c) Two-parties contest elections
d) None of these.

9. What are National Parties?
a) Parties which have units in various states.
b) Parties which have no units
c) Parties which have units in two states
d) Parties which have units in all states

10. On what ideologies does the Indian National Congress rest?
a) Communalism
b) Socialism
c) Federalism
d) Secularism

11. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) came to power in 1998 as the leader of--

a) UPA
b) LF
c) NDA
d) None of these.

12. Who is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)?

a) Jyotiba Phule
b) Kanshi Ram
c) BR Ambedkar
d) Sahu Maharaj

13. The main base of BSP is in--

a) Punjab
b) Delhi
c) Haryana
d) UP

14. Which party enjoys a strong hold in Tripura, West Bengal and Kerala?

a) CPI (M)
b) CPI
c) BSP
d) BJP

15. Which out of the following is a state party?

a) INC
b) AGP
c) BJP
d) CPI (M)

16. Which of the following countries has a single party system?

a) Pakistan
b) Nepal
c) People’s Republic of China
d)Bangladesh

17. When the Indian National Congress was formed?

a) 1885
b) 1977
c) 1980
d) 1989

18. When was CPI founded?

a) 1984
b) 1964
c) 1980
d) 1925

19. Which one of the following is a State Party?

a) Congress Party
b) BJP
c) Communist party of India - Marxist
d) TGP

20. What is the guiding philosophy of BJP?

a) Bahujan Samaj
b) Revolutionary Democracy
c) Modernity
d) Hindutva

21. What is defection? 

a) Loyalty towards a party
b) Changing party allegiance
c) Political reforms
d) None of these.

22. Which out of the following is a feature of Partisanship?

a) Inability to take a balance view
b) Similarity of views
c) Represents the individuals
d) None of these.

23. Who is Partisan?

a) Disloyal party member
b) Staunch party member
c) Estranged party member
d) None of these.

24. How many parties are registered with Election Commission of India?

a) About 500

b) About 650

c) About 700

d) About 750

25. What is meant by a one party system?

a) One single party runs the government

b) One single person runs the party

c) When the king rules the country

d) When one party is allowed to contest elections.

26. Which one of the following is not a political party?

a) INC

b) JDU

c) BAMCEF

d) AGP

27. Which one of the following is not a national political party?

a) BJP

b) CPIM

c) RJD

d) BJD

28. Which one of the following emerged as a political party from a movement?

a) DMK

b) AGP

c) Akali Dal

d) All of these.

29. India has adopted ______________ as its economic system to bring about a socialistic pattern of society.

 a) Socialism

 b) Mixed economy

 c) Capitalism

 d) Political economy

30. Local government is the basis of--

 a) Aristocracy

 b) Secularism

 c) Democracy

 d) Reservation

31. The final interpreter of the Indian Constitution is--

 a) Central Cabinet

 b) President

 c) High Court

 d) Supreme Court

32. One of the following laws favors women’s interests--

 a) Equal Remuneration Act

 b) Protection of Civil Rights Act

 c) Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act

 d) None of the above 

33. One of the following was once an associate State of the Union of India and later became a full-fledged State--

 a) Jharkhand

 b) Chhattisgarh

 c) Arunanchal Pradesh

 d) Sikkim

34. President of India can be impeached by--

 a) Specially constituted Tribunal

 b) Supreme Court

 c) Central Cabinet

 d) Parliament

35. Who among the following was the leader of Cabinet Mission?

 a) Stafford Cripps

 b) Linlithgow

 c) A.V. Alexander

 d) Sir Pethick Lawrence

36. In what respect is a democratic government better than its alternatives? 

a) Efficiency 

b) Responsiveness 

c) Transparency 

d) Legitimacy 

37. Which one of the following is a special feature that distinguishes a movement from an interest group? 

a) Its functioning continues even after the goal is achieved. 

b) Most of them are issue specific to achieve a single objective within a limited time frame. 

c) It includes a very wide variety of objectives to achieve with no time limit. 

d) It has no political aspirations. 

38. What does Universal Adult suffrage stand for? 

a) Right to vote 

b) Right to Education 

c) Right to Marriage 

d) Right to Religion 

39. Who is known as Father of the Indian Constitution?

a) Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar 

b) Mahatma Gandhi

c) Jawahar Lal Nehru

d) Dr. Zakir Hussain

40. On which date the Indian Constitution was passed by the Constituent assembly?

a) November 26, 1949

b) January 26, 1948

c) October 26, 1949

d) November 25, 1949