NCERT Solutions Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled Types of Governments

F R E E S T U D Y M AT E R I A L F O R E V E R Y S T U D E N T

CLASS 7 · SOCIAL SCIENCE

NCERT Solutions

Chapter 9: From the Rulers to
the Ruled: Types of Governments

NCERT Textbook — Exploring Society: India And Beyond (Part I)

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

185 – 208 14 37 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 44 pages

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLASS 7 · SOCIAL SCIENCE · EXPLORING SOCIETY: INDIA AND BEYOND (PART I)

NCERT Solutions — Chapter 9: From the Rulers to the
Ruled: Types of Governments
Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of
Governments, the first chapter of Theme D Governance and Democracy in Exploring Society: India and Beyond
(Grade 7, Part 1). Every question of the chapter is answered — The Big Questions, all seven LET'S EXPLORE
boxes, both THINK ABOUT IT boxes, the in-text tasks on pages 205 and 207, Before we move on … and all
eight Questions and activities — with Table 9.1, Table 9.2, the picture of government at work (Fig. 9.2) and
the 1889 cartoon (Fig. 9.13) read carefully off the printed page.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part I) (Class 185 – 208
7)

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

14 37

MEDIUM

English

The Big Questions — Page 185
Chapter opening — Theme D, Governance and Democracy

THE BIG QUESTIONS

Q1 What are the different types of government?

The chapter sorts governments into two families — democratic governments and other forms.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

FAMILY TYPE WHO RULES, IN ONE LINE EXAMPLE IN THE
CHAPTER

Democracy Direct democracy All citizens take part in every decision Some practices in
‘rule of the themselves Switzerland
people'
Representative People elect representatives who India, and most
democracy govern on their behalf democracies today

— Parliamentary The executive is part of the legislature India, Australia
democracy and needs its confidence

— Presidential A president elected by the people USA, South Korea
democracy works independently of the legislature

Other forms Absolute The monarch makes, enforces and Saudi Arabia
monarchy judges the laws

Constitutional A king or queen with only nominal United Kingdom
monarchy power; parliament and the prime
minister actually rule

Theocracy The country is ruled by the rules of Iran, Afghanistan,
religion and by religious leaders Vatican City

Dictatorship One person or a small group holds Germany under Hitler;
absolute power, limited by no Uganda under Idi Amin
constitution or law

Oligarchy A small, powerful group — usually Aristocratic families in
wealthy families — makes all the ancient Greece
important decisions

One more word is worth adding, because the chapter defines it separately: a republic is a
government whose head of state is elected and is not a hereditary monarch. A republic is not a
fifth ‘type' standing beside these — it describes how the head of state is chosen. India is both a
democracy and a republic.

Tip: the labels can overlap. Britain is a monarchy and a parliamentary democracy.
Iran combines theocratic and democratic elements. When you name a country's
government, say which feature you are describing.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 Where do governments get their power from?

From whatever the country accepts as the source of authority — and that is the most basic
difference between the types of government. The chapter's first ‘key difference' asks it directly:
who gets to decide that ‘this is the government'?

FORM OF SOURCE OF ITS POWER AND HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS FORMED
GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY

Democracy The people of the country Through elections, held at regular fixed
intervals

Monarchy Birth and inheritance; in some Hereditary — usually the eldest son of the
places kings claimed divine power ruling monarch succeeds
from God

Theocracy Religious beliefs and the head of a Religious leaders select the highest
religious institution authority; in Iran an elected president and
parliament also exist

Dictatorship Control seized and held by one Hitler, appointed Chancellor in 1933,
person or a small group, with no passed laws that gave him full power and
constitutional limit removed the opposition

Oligarchy Wealth and influence of a few The small group holds the real decisions,
families or people whatever the formal arrangement looks
like

Why it matters: the source of power decides who the government must listen to. If
power comes from the people, the government has to answer to the people — that
is accountability, and elections are the tool for enforcing it. If power comes from
birth, or from force, or from wealth, the people have no such tool.

Did you know? A country is called sovereign when the source of its power is
independent of any outside influence. That is why ‘sovereign' is the first word
describing India in the Preamble of our Constitution.

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How does a country’s government interact with the people?
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In a democracy the people reach the government through:

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2. Equality before the law and equal access to facilities like education and health.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

4. Accountability with a peaceful remedy. If a government fails, people replace it by voting,
not by revolt.
5. Protection. Fundamental rights, guarded by an independent judiciary, defend a citizen even
against the government.

That is why more than half the countries of the world have adopted democracy.

Check it yourself: the chapter is careful not to pretend democracy is perfect. It lists
real problems — corruption, wealth disparity, excessive control by a few over
democratic institutions, erosion of the judiciary's independence and manipulation of
information channels. Democracy matters and needs vigilant citizens; both halves of
that sentence are in the book.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 186

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What is Government? What are its Functions? — Fig. 9.2

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Do you remember this picture from your Grade 6 textbook?

A high-speed train running Road-laying machines building
on a railway line a new road

A doctor examining a patient in
Soldiers on guard with rifles
a hospital ward, her family beside
at a dry border post
the bed

A traffic policeman signalling Rescue workers in orange overalls
cars at a traffic light and helmets at a collapsed building

A long, pale-pink public building
A teacher and children at their
with a row of pillars, behind
desks in a classroom
trees and a lawn

A crowded government office —
A postman in khaki beside
people standing at the counters,
a red letter box
clerks at their desks

Fig. 9.2

Fig. 9.2, page 186 — the block of ten small pictures, in the two columns and five rows in
which the book prints them. Each picture is described in words here; see the textbook
for the artwork.

Yes — Fig. 9.2 is the picture of government at work from the Grade 6 book. It is a grid of ten
small scenes, and each scene stands for one role of government. Look at them one by one and
the whole list on page 186 falls into place.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

WHAT THE PANEL SHOWS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IT STANDS FOR

A modern train on the tracks Transport — an essential public service

A road roller laying a highway Building infrastructure

A health worker attending to a family Delivering healthcare

Soldiers patrolling a border National defence

A traffic policeman at a signal Maintaining law and order

Rescue workers in helmets at a damaged site Disaster relief — security and safety of the people

A classroom full of children Providing education

The Supreme Court building Justice — the judicial function

People at counters in an office or bank Managing the economy and public administration

A postman with his bicycle and a letter box Communication and postal services

Why the book repeats the picture: Grade 6 asked what a government is. Grade 7
asks what kinds of government exist. Starting from the same familiar picture makes
the point that every one of these tasks has to be done in any country — what differs
is who decides how they are done, and to whom that person answers.

Q2 The government also has many other roles. Try to list them.

Page 186 lists seven roles. Here are further ones you can see around you every day — with the
ministry or body that usually does the work.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

OTHER ROLE OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DAILY LIFE
GOVERNMENT

Running elections The Election Commission conducts polls, issues voter ID cards and
counts votes

Collecting taxes and preparing the Income tax, GST; the Union Budget presented in Parliament every
Budget year

Issuing currency and regulating banks The Reserve Bank of India prints notes and sets interest rates

Disaster management NDRF teams during floods, cyclones and earthquakes

Protecting the environment Forest departments, national parks, pollution control boards

Public distribution and welfare Ration shops, mid-day meals, pensions, MGNREGA work

Science, technology and space ISRO's satellites; agricultural and medical research institutes

Culture and heritage Archaeological Survey of India, museums, libraries, protection of
monuments

Registration and records Birth and death certificates, land records, passports, Aadhaar

Sports and public health campaigns Stadiums and coaching; vaccination drives, Swachh Bharat

Diplomacy and helping citizens Embassies, visas, evacuating Indians from conflict zones
abroad

Try this: walk from your home to your school and count how many things you pass
that exist because of a government decision — the road, the streetlight, the bus, the
drain, the school itself. Make your own list of ten and name the role each one
belongs to.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 187

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The school example — class representatives compared with MPs and MLAs
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THINK ABOUT IT

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The one deeper difference: a student committee advises and assists inside a
school that the Head Teacher runs. A legislature is itself one of the three organs of
the state — it makes the law, and even the government must obey what it passes.
That is why a Parliamentary committee can summon officials and examine
government spending, while a school committee cannot.

Tip: the resemblance is still useful. Both answer the same question — how can many
people be heard without everyone speaking at once? The answer in both cases is
representation.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 188
The three options before the students

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Which of the three methods do you think is most effective? Why?

The third method — students of each grade elect one representative, and the representatives
form the committee. Test the three against what a committee actually has to do.

METHOD CAN IT DECIDE QUICKLY? IS EVERY GRADE VERDICT
HEARD?

1. Everyone in the No — with hundreds of members, Yes, in principle Fair but
school is on the reaching a decision and managing unworkable
committee implementation is very hard

2. The Head Teacher Yes — the committee is small No — most students have Workable but
chooses the members no role and no way to not fair
make sure their voices
are heard

3. Each grade elects Yes — the committee stays small Yes — every grade has Fair and
a representative someone who will workable
advocate for its needs

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: a committee needs two things that pull against each other — it
must be small enough to act and wide enough to represent. Method 1 gives
representation without workability, method 2 gives workability without
representation. Method 3 gets both, because a small number of people carry the
voices of a large number. That is exactly the trade-off that makes large countries
choose representative democracy over direct democracy.

Did you know? The same logic scales up. India has about 96 crore voters; they elect
543 members to the Lok Sabha. Every one of those members is doing what your
class representative does — carrying many voices into a room small enough to take
decisions.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 196

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Table 9.1, Different forms of democratic government

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Fill the blank columns under Country A and Country B in table 9.1 given on the
previous page by taking two different countries of your choice.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT

INSTITUTION EXECUTIVE LEGISLATURE JUDICIARY

India prime minister Lower House (Lok Sabha) independent from
and the council is more powerful than executive and
of ministers Upper House (Rajya legislature
Sabha) (separation of
power)

USA president equal power between independent from
Upper House (Senate) executive and
and Lower House (House legislature
of Representatives) (separation of
power)

South Korea president single house (National independent from
Assembly) executive and
legislature
(separation of
power)

Australia prime minister equal power between independent from
and the council Upper House (Senate) executive and
of ministers and Lower House (House legislature
of Representatives) (separation of
power)

A

B

Table 9.1, page 195 — “Different forms of democratic government”, reproduced as
printed, with rows A and B left blank for you to fill.

Pick two countries whose systems are not already in the table, so that the comparison teaches
you something new. Here Country A is the United Kingdom and Country B is France. Fill in the

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

same three columns — executive, legislature, judiciary.

COUNTRY EXECUTIVE LEGISLATURE JUDICIARY

A — United prime minister and the Lower House (House of independent from
Kingdom cabinet (the King is head of Commons) is more powerful executive and
state, with nominal power than Upper House (House of legislature (separation
only) Lords) of power)

B — France president, elected directly Lower House (National independent from
by the people, along with a Assembly) is more powerful executive and
prime minister than Upper House (Senate) legislature (separation
of power)

How to check any country you choose — ask these three questions in order:

1. Who heads the executive, and who elects that person? If the people elect the head
directly, it leans presidential; if the legislature's majority decides, it is parliamentary.
2. How many houses does the legislature have, and which is stronger? One house, two
equal houses, or a stronger lower house.
3. Is the judiciary separate from the other two? In every democracy in Table 9.1 the answer
is yes.

Tip: the first column of Table 9.1 is headed ‘Institution', but the entries under it —
India, USA, South Korea, Australia — are countries. The Hindi edition heads the same
column देश (country), which is what the column really holds. Read it as ‘Country'.

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Analyse the table and discuss amongst yourselves the similarities and differences
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in all the examples.

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India prime minister Lower House (Lok Sabha) independent from
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Table 9.1, page 195 — “Different forms of democratic government”, reproduced as
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Read Table 9.1 down the columns, not across the rows — that is where the pattern shows.
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All six are democracies: the people are the source of authority and choose the legislature by
universal adult franchise.

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All six have the same three organs — executive, legislature, judiciary.
In all six the judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Separation of
power is the one column with no variation at all.

Differences — where the rows part company

POINT OF WHAT VARIES COUNTRIES
DIFFERENCE

Head of the executive Prime minister with a council of India, Australia, United Kingdom
ministers

President USA, South Korea, France

Number of houses Two houses India, USA, Australia, UK,
France

Single house (National Assembly) South Korea

Balance between the houses Lower House stronger India, UK, France

Upper House stronger USA (Senate)

Both equally powerful Australia

What the analysis proves: ‘democracy' is not one fixed machine. The way a
democracy is built depends on a country's own history, culture and aspirations —
which is exactly the point page 190 makes. But the core, that the people choose and
the judiciary stays independent, does not change.

For your discussion: notice that India and the USA are both large federal democracies, yet
India's executive sits inside the legislature and America's stands outside it. Ask each other which
arrangement makes a government easier to remove — and you will have discovered the real
difference between parliamentary and presidential systems.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 196

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Core principles of democracy, and a Student Committee activity

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 After studying the above examples, list the core principles of a democratic
government. Based on your understanding, do the activity given below:

Six principles, all of them stated on pages 191–192, plus the two that Table 9.1 adds.

CORE WHAT IT MEANS SEEN IN INDIA AS
PRINCIPLE

Equality Every person has the right to be treated equally, has Right to Equality; the
equal access to facilities like education and health, same law for every citizen
and is equal before the law

Freedom Citizens have the right to make their own choices and Freedom of speech and
express their opinions expression

Representative Every person has the right to choose and elect their Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha,
participation representatives; the elected become part of the State Assemblies,
legislature panchayats

Universal adult Every citizen above a certain age has the right to vote Vote at 18, from the very
franchise start of the republic in
1950

Fundamental Rights such as equality, freedom of speech and Part III of the
rights expression, and the right against exploitation are Constitution
provided and protected

Independent Ensures fundamental rights are protected and that Supreme Court and High
judiciary laws are obeyed by citizens and by every part of the Courts
government

Accountability The government is answerable to the people who Elections at regular fixed
elected it intervals — every five
years

Separation of Legislature, executive and judiciary work The last column of Table
powers independently and do not interfere in each other's 9.1
functions

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Check it yourself: the chapter calls these ideals — ‘not all democracies are able to
put them in practice'. Switzerland is an old democracy, yet women got the vote there
only in 1971; effective universal adult suffrage came to the UK in 1928 and to the
USA by 1965. India had it from 1950, the moment the republic began.

Q2 You have to form a Student Committee in your school. Make a plan and execute it in
a democratic manner, ensuring that: Functions of the committee are well defined;
The election process of the committee members is democratic

This is an activity, so what matters is the plan. A good plan must contain three things: clearly
written functions, a fair election process, and a way of holding the committee accountable
afterwards. Here is one you can adapt.
Part 1 — Define the functions (write them down before anyone campaigns)

WING OF THE WHAT IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHICH GOVERNMENT
COMMITTEE FUNCTION IT MIRRORS

Rules and Planning Drafts school rules for assembly, No Bag Days, Legislative
sports and cleanliness; puts them to a vote of
the committee

Implementation Runs the day's arrangements — duty rosters, Executive
equipment, mid-day meal hygiene

Grievance and Fair Hears complaints, checks that the rules are Judicial
Play being followed equally by everyone

Also fix, in advance: the size (one representative per grade), the term (one academic term or
year), how often it meets, and what it may not decide (anything about marks, fees or staff).
Part 2 — Run a democratic election

1. Announce the date, the posts and the rules on the notice board at least a week ahead.
2. Nominations — any student of the grade may stand; a second student proposes the name.
3. Manifesto and campaign — each candidate gets equal speaking time in the assembly. No
gifts, no personal attacks.
4. Voting — one student, one secret vote, on a slip dropped into a sealed box. Universal
franchise within the grade: every student votes, including the candidates.
5. Counting — in front of two student observers and one teacher. The highest number of votes
wins; a tie is settled by a re-poll.
6. Declaration and oath — results on the notice board; the elected members promise to work
for the whole grade, not for their friends.

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Part 3 — Keep it accountable — a short report to the assembly every month, a suggestion box
anyone can use, and a fresh election at the end of the term.

Sample answer: ‘Our school has grades 6 to 10, so we planned a committee of five
— one elected representative from each grade. We first wrote the committee's
functions on a chart and pasted it in the corridor. Nominations opened on Monday;
four students stood from our grade. Each spoke for two minutes in the assembly on
Wednesday. On Friday we voted by secret ballot into a sealed carton, and Ms. Rekha
counted the slips with two student observers watching. Aarav won with 21 of 38
votes and was declared our representative. The committee now meets every Monday
in the interval, and reports to the assembly on the first working day of each month.'

Why the secret ballot matters: the Uttaramerur inscriptions of the 10th century
(page 197) already describe sealed ballot boxes for the village sabhā, along with the
qualifications of members and the grounds for dismissing them. A fair process is not
a modern invention — it is a very old idea about how to keep a choice free.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 199
Monarchy — the limits of a king's power

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 What might happen if the king considered himself to have divine powers? How
would he rule over the people?

He would rule as though he were answerable to no one — and that is the danger the question
is pointing at.
What is likely to happen

His word becomes the law. He makes the laws, enforces them and decides the
punishments himself — the chapter says this is exactly what happened in some parts of the
world where kings claimed to have received divine power from God.
Questioning him becomes an offence against religion, not merely against the state.
Ministers, scholars and ordinary people stop giving honest advice.
No correction is possible. If a god-king cannot be wrong, a mistaken decision cannot be
reversed, and there is no court that can check him.
Rule can slide into subjugation — the chapter's own word for kings who used power to
force people to obey.

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Succession disputes turn violent, because the throne carries sacred authority as well as
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Why India's tradition pulled the other way: in many parts of India the power of
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people is a raja's highest priority, that he must apply the law without bias, must not
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get attached to power because it breeds ego and corruption, must seek guidance
from wise advisors, and must remember that his authority is temporary and
bound by dharma. A king who thinks himself divine breaks every one of those five
co m
m.
limits at once.

o m l a se
.c a gwanted a temple built, but
m
se hut stood in the way. Instead of demolishing it, the king blamed his own builders for
The counter-example in the chapter: King Chandrāpīḍa of Kashmir

l a
agnot asking permission, went to the cobbler himself, requested it respectfully and paid
a cobbler's

m
compensation. The story ends, ‘For those who desire happiness, there should be no false pride'.
a s
.co
That is a king behaving as a servant of dharma — the exact opposite of a king who believes he is
m agl
a god.
l a se
a g
Tip: notice how the same idea survives into modern government. ‘No one is above

co m
.
the law' and ‘equality before the law' are the constitutional versions of rājadharma —

e m
as
limits that apply to the ruler too.
m l
m .co a g
l a se
g
a LET'S EXPLORE — Page 204
se m
com g l a
.
Story of Shane (page 203) — Dictatorship

m a
ase
agl
LET'S EXPLORE

Does Shane’s country look like a democracy?
m
Q1

. co
em
m l as
.co g

em a
s
No. Test the story against the fundamental principles of democracy listed on pages 191–192,
a
l and it fails every one of them.
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m .
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e m . co agl
g l as
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

PRINCIPLE OF WHAT THE STORY SHOWS PRESENT?
DEMOCRACY

Freedom to make one's own The government decides how his hair is cut and No
choices what clothes he wears

Freedom of expression and He cannot access the global internet and is No
access to information unaware of the world outside

Rights protected against the He must serve in the military for as long as the No
state government decides

Government accountable to the The government watches his every action; he No — the watching
people must report on others runs one way

Representative participation, The story mentions none — no vote, no No
elections representative, no way to change anything

His own answer to the tourist gives it away: ‘We all want to explore new styles, but the government
decides the way we should keep our hair.' The people have preferences; the government has the
power. In a democracy that sentence would not make sense.

Which form is it, then? A country where power is not limited by a constitution or
law, where the people cannot choose or remove those who rule, and where daily life
is controlled in detail, matches the chapter's definition of a dictatorship.

Q2 How do you think Shane’s everyday life would be?

Take only what the story tells us and follow it through an ordinary day.

His time is not his own. He is in compulsory military service and will stay in it until the
government decides otherwise — so he cannot plan studies, work or travel.
Even small choices are made for him — his haircut, his clothes. Things that seem trivial
become daily reminders of who is in charge.
His world is small. With no access to the global internet, he cannot compare his life with
anyone else's, read a different opinion or learn what is happening elsewhere.
He is watched. The government follows his every action, so he would weigh each word
before speaking, even at home.
He must watch others. Being expected to report anyone who breaks a rule turns
neighbours and friends into a risk. Trust becomes expensive.
There is no way to complain. No election, no free press, no independent court to go to.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

So the texture of the day is predictable but tense: food, work and shelter may be arranged, but
there is no room to be different and no safe person to be honest with.

Tip: when you answer, stay with the evidence in the story rather than adding things
you have heard elsewhere. The story is used in the book as an illustration of how a
dictatorship feels from inside, and that is what the question asks you to imagine.

Q3 Would you like to live in such a country? Explain why.

This asks for your own opinion, so give a clear position and then the reasons. Almost every
student will say no — but the marks lie in why.
Reasons you can build the answer on

Freedom. I would want to choose how I look, what I read, what I believe and what work I do.
Voice. If a rule is unfair, I would want a way to say so — a vote, a newspaper, a court —
instead of only obeying.
Trust. A country where I must report on my friends is a country where I can have no real
friends.
Correction. Every government makes mistakes. A system that cannot be told it is wrong
cannot fix itself.

Sample answer: ‘No, I would not like to live in Shane's country. Rules there reach
into things that should be mine to decide — my hair, my clothes, how long I serve in
the army. Worse, I would have no way of changing any of it, because there is no
election, no free information and no court I could turn to. I would also have to report
on people around me, so I could never speak freely even with a friend. I would
rather live where I can disagree openly and, if I think the government is failing, help
vote it out at the next election. I know a democracy has its own problems —
corruption and unfairness among them — but in a democracy those problems can at
least be named, argued about and corrected.'

Keep it balanced: the chapter itself is even-handed — it praises democracy but also
lists its hurdles. A strong answer says what you value and why, without claiming that
one country's people are better or worse than another's.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 205

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Fig. 9.13 (page 204), a cartoon from 1889 depicting an oligarchic situation

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Look carefully at the picture in Fig. 9.13 on the previous page. It depicts an elected
body in the USA in the late 19th century. The people shown in the cartoon are all
elected members. What do you observe? What do you see at the top left-hand
corner of the cartoon? Who do you think is making decisions in this elected body?

What Fig. 9.13 shows — a black-and-white cartoon from the magazine Puck,
1889 (the word PUCK is printed at the top centre):
The scene is the chamber of the United States Senate. In the front half,
rows of curved wooden desks run across the floor; at them sit the
elected senators — ordinary-sized men in dark suits, some writing, some
slumped over their papers, some talking to a neighbour. Nobody is
looking up.
Standing behind them, on a raised gallery that runs the width of the
chamber, is a row of huge, fat figures. Each one has a giant money-bag
for a body and a small head with a top hat or bowler; some carry canes,
one has a dollar sign ($) drawn on his belly. They lean over the rail and
look down on the seated men.
Each money-bag body is lettered with a name. From the left: SALT TRUST,
ENVELOPE TRUST, PAPER BAG TRUST, COAL, TIN TRUST, SUGAR TRUST,
IRON TRUST, STANDARD OIL TRUST, COPPER TRUST, STEEL BEAM TRUST,
NAIL TRUST and, at the far right edge, another steel trust.
In the top left-hand corner a small doorway is set in the wall. The
lettering above it reads “PEOPLES’ ENTRANCE”, and a board hung across
the doorway reads “CLOSED”.
In the top right-hand corner a tall open doorway is lettered “ENTRANCE
FOR MONOPOLISTS”; a large figure in a black coat and top hat, with a
cane, has just come through it.
A long banner is strung across the back wall between the two doorways.
It reads: “THIS IS A SENATE OF THE MONOPOLISTS, BY THE MONOPOLISTS
AND FOR THE MONOPOLISTS!”

Fig. 9.13, page 204 — “A cartoon from 1889 depicting an oligarchic situation.” A printed
cartoon, described here; see the textbook for the picture itself.

Read the cartoon slowly — the artist has hidden the whole argument in details.
What you observe

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The chamber is drawn as a legislature: rows of small desks with elected members seated at
them, and a gallery running around the hall.
Towering above those desks stand huge figures in top hats and formal coats, whose
bodies are drawn as enormous money bags. Each bag is labelled with an industry — Coal
Trust, Sugar Trust, Tin Trust, Iron Trust, Standard Oil Trust, Copper Trust, Steel Beam Trust,
Nail Trust, Paper Bag Trust, Salt Trust.
The elected members look tiny, bent over their desks, some whispering, none of them
addressing the giants. The size difference is the message.
Across the back wall hangs a banner: ‘THIS IS A SENATE OF THE MONOPOLISTS, BY THE
MONOPOLISTS AND FOR THE MONOPOLISTS' — a mocking rewriting of Abraham Lincoln's
phrase quoted on page 189.
On the right-hand side, a wide doorway is marked ‘ENTRANCE FOR MONOPOLISTS',
standing open.

At the top left-hand corner
A small gallery door labelled ‘PEOPLE'S ENTRANCE' — and a board hanging across it reading
‘CLOSED'. The door meant for ordinary citizens is shut, while the door meant for the
monopolists is wide open.
Who is making the decisions?
Not the elected members. The decisions are being made by the owners of the big business
trusts — a small group of very wealthy men who are not elected by anyone. The elected
representatives are physically present but visibly powerless. That is the definition of an
oligarchy: a small, powerful group, usually wealthy families or influential people, making all the
important decisions.

Why the cartoon still matters: the outward form here is perfectly democratic —
there is a chamber, there are elections, there are members. Yet the substance is
oligarchic. The cartoon warns that you cannot judge a government only by its form;
you must ask who actually decides. That is precisely the point the chapter makes
when it says some democracies ‘show signs of oligarchy'.

Did you know? This is Joseph Keppler's famous drawing The Bosses of the Senate,
published in the American magazine Puck in 1889 — the word ‘PUCK' is printed at
the top of the picture. Cartoons like it helped build public support for laws against
monopolies.

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co m
m.
Can a democracy turn into an oligarchy? What can people do to keep democracy
e
Q2

m l as
.co
strong?

a g
se m
g l a
a

Yes, it can — not by an announcement, but by slow hollowing out. The chapter says political

m
commentators have observed that even some democracies show signs of oligarchy when a small
. co ag
m
group of politicians and wealthy businesspeople hold too much influence in governance.

as e
How the slide happens
a g l

m
WARNING SIGN WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

. c o
Money decides who can be
m a s em
Only the very wealthy can afford to campaign, so the choice on the ballot

. co agl
heard narrows

m
se lose independence
l a
ag
Institutions Erosion of the judiciary's independence, so the powerful are not checked

Manipulation of information channels, so voters decide on a false picture
s
Information is managed

m a
Corruption becomes normal
em
.co
Decisions are traded rather than debated agl
a s
l and silence leave the field to the few
Lowg
Citizens stop taking part
a turnout

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What people can do

Vote — every time. A high turnout is the cheapest defence there is; eitm
.
m a s makes it costly to

. co ordinary voters. a gl
em
ignore

g l as decision was taken and where public money went.
Ask questions and use the law. The Right to Information Act lets any citizen ask how a
a
Protect independent institutions — courts, the Election Commission, auditors, a free press.
se m
com g l a
. a
They exist to check power, whoever holds it.
m
ase
Check before believing. Verify news, compare sources, and do not forward what you have
not confirmed.
a gl
Take part locally — gram sabhā, resident welfare associations, school committees.
Democracy is a habit learned close to home.
co m
m .
e
Learn how the system works. Citizens who know their rights are far harder to sideline.
m l as
.co a g
a s em Why vigilance is the answer: in a democracy power is only lent to the government,

agl and the loan is renewed at each election. An oligarchy grows when citizens stop
.c
m
asking for the loan back. Keeping democracy strong is therefore not a one-day job

m a s e
co agl
on polling day — it is what people do in between.

m .
as e
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In-text Questions — Page 205
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Why Democracy Matters — Table 9.2, Characteristics of different forms of government

Q1 Consider the characteristics below in different forms of government and fill in the
blank boxes with Yes or No:

The book fills the first row for you (Yes, No, No, No). The rest follow the same pattern, because
all five characteristics flow from the same source — whether the people are the source of
authority.

CHARACTERISTICS DEMOCRACY DICTATORSHIP ABSOLUTE OLIGARCHY
MONARCHY

Universal Adult Franchise Yes No No No

Equality amongst citizens Yes No No No

Freedom of speech Yes No No No

Separation of powers Yes No No No

Wellbeing and Prosperity Yes No No No
of all citizens

The reason behind each ‘No'

FORM WHY THE COLUMN READS ‘NO'

Dictatorship One person or a small group has absolute power with no limits imposed by a
constitution or law. If there is no law above the ruler, there can be no equal vote, no
protected speech and no independent court.

Absolute The monarch makes the laws, enforces them and judges those who break them — so
monarchy all three functions sit in one pair of hands and separation of powers is impossible. The
throne passes by birth, so there is nothing to vote on.

Oligarchy A small, powerful group makes all the important decisions. Even where elections exist
on paper, the real choice belongs to a few — as the 1889 cartoon shows, with the
people's entrance marked ‘CLOSED'.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Read the last row carefully. ‘No' does not mean that no king or ruler ever worked
for his people. The chapter gives the opposite example — King Chandrāpīḍa paying
a cobbler for his hut, and the ideal of rājadharma. The ‘No' means the system does
not guarantee it: in an absolute monarchy the people's wellbeing depends on the
character of one person, while in a democracy it is a duty the government can be
held to and voted out for failing.

Tip: a democracy scores ‘Yes' on all five as an ideal. Whether a particular democracy
achieves them fully is a different question — which is exactly what the last part of
the chapter goes on to discuss.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 206
Role play — ‘You have learnt the basic characteristics of various forms of governments. Do a small role
play of the various forms in your classroom'

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Enact democracy

Scene to enact: the class must decide how to spend ₹2,000 given for the annual day.
Roles — 5 voters per group, 3 candidates, 1 Election Officer, 1 Speaker, 3 ‘ministers', 1 judge.

1. The Election Officer announces the poll and the rules.
2. Each candidate speaks for one minute: ‘If elected, I will spend it on …'
3. Every student votes once, secretly, on a slip.
4. Slips are counted in the open. The winners form the ‘council of ministers' and the class
becomes the ‘legislature'.
5. The proposal is debated, amended and put to a vote. The majority decides.
6. Someone objects that the rule was broken; the judge hears both sides and rules — even
against the ministers.

The line that ends the scene: ‘We disagreed, we voted, and we accepted the result — and even
the winners had to follow the rules.'

What the audience must notice: discussion before decision, a secret and equal
vote, a losing side that is not punished, and a judge who is not on anyone's team.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 Enact monarchy

Scene to enact: the same ₹2,000 — but now the class is a kingdom.
Roles — a raja or rani, a council of ministers, a learned advisor, and subjects.

1. The crown passes to the ruler because of birth: ‘My mother ruled before me.'
2. Subjects petition the ruler; they may request, not vote.
3. The ministers advise; the advisor reminds the ruler of rājadharma — that the welfare of the
people is the highest priority and that authority is temporary and bound by dharma.
4. The ruler decides. Play it twice: once as a ruler who listens (like Chandrāpīḍa going to the
cobbler) and once as an absolute monarch who refuses to hear anyone.

The line that ends the scene: ‘The decision was fair today — but only because the ruler chose
to be fair.'

Why play it twice: it shows the real difference. In a monarchy a good outcome
depends on the ruler's character; in a democracy it depends on a process the people
control.

Q3 Enact dictatorship

Scene to enact: the same ₹2,000, decided by one leader and two aides.
Roles — a leader, two aides, and the rest of the class as citizens. Keep the tone thoughtful, not
comic; the point is to feel the absence of choice, not to mock anyone.

1. The leader announces the decision without consulting anyone: ‘The money will be spent on
X. The matter is closed.'
2. A citizen raises a hand to object; the aide says objections are not allowed.
3. Rules appear that have nothing to do with the money — everyone must sit in the same
posture, no one may whisper.
4. A citizen is asked to report who whispered.
5. Someone asks when the next choice will be made. There is no answer.

The line that ends the scene: ‘Nothing was voted on, nothing could be appealed, and no one
knew when it would change.'

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Tip: do not name any real living leader or country in the role play. The purpose is to
understand the system — one person or a small group with power that no
constitution or law limits.

Q4 What do you find to be the most suitable form of government?

After the three scenes, most classes will choose democracy — and the reasons will come from
what they just felt, which is the whole purpose of the activity.

IN THE ROLE PLAY DEMOCRACY MONARCHY DICTATORSHIP

Who decided The majority, after The ruler, after advice One person,
debate alone

Could you disagree safely? Yes You could request No

Could a wrong decision be Yes — at the next vote Only if the ruler No
changed? agreed

How did the losing side feel? Disappointed, but heard Dependent Silenced

Sample answer: ‘Our class found democracy the most suitable form. It was slower
than the other two — the debate took twice as long as the dictator's announcement
— but it was the only one where a person who lost the vote was still treated as an
equal, and the only one where a mistake could be corrected without asking
permission from the person who made it. We also noticed that the good monarch
and the bad monarch used exactly the same powers, which is what convinced us
that a fair result should not depend on one person's character.'

Be fair while you argue: the chapter does not claim democracy is flawless. It says
most countries consider it better, and then immediately lists democracy's own
hurdles. A good answer says why you prefer it and what it demands from citizens.

In-text Questions — Page 207

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Why Democracy Matters — the challenges to democracy
co m
e m.
m l as
Q1
.co
What can we do as individuals, and as a society, to remain vigilant and minimize
m a g
l a se
these issues and hurdles?

a g

co m
. ag
Take the chapter's own list of hurdles and put an action against each one — that is the shape of
e m
as
a strong answer.

a g l
HURDLE NAMED IN AS AN INDIVIDUAL AS A SOCIETY

com
THE CHAPTER
.
m a s em and anti-
.co gl bodies; publishing accounts
Corruption Refuse to pay or take a bribe; keep Independent auditors

m
receipts; use the RTI Act to ask
a
corruption

l a se where money went of local works

g
a Wealth disparity Support and use public schools and Fair taxes, welfare schemes, good

a s
com
hospitals; volunteer for teaching or public education and healthcare for

. agl
health drives everyone

e m
g l as election, including
a and municipal ones
Excessive control by a few Vote in every Transparent funding rules; strong
over democratic panchayat Election Commission; limits on how

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institutions long anyone holds a post

. co
Erosion of the judiciary's Learn what the courts do; respect
se m
Clear appointment procedures;

m l a
.co agdelayed
independence court orders enough judges and courts so justice is

s em
not

a
gl Manipulation of
a Check a story in two reliable sources A free press, media literacy in schools,
information channels before believing or forwarding it fact-checking that anyone can access
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
Five habits that cover all of them

agl
1. Vote, and vote informed. Read what candidates promise, and check later what they did.
2. Ask. Any citizen may ask a public office how a decision was taken. Questions are the
cheapest form of vigilance.
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3. Verify. Do not forward what you have not confirmed. A rumour spread

. c om does as much harm as a lie told by one bad one. agla
people

a s em4. Take part locally. Gram sabhā, ward meetings, school committees, clean-up drives —
agl democracy is practised nearby before it is practised nationally.
c
5. Speak up for others' rights, not only your own. Equality survives only when people defend
m .
m a s e
co agl
it for those unlike themselves.

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Why ‘vigilant' is the right word: the government is accountable to the people —
but accountability does not work by itself. It works when somebody is watching,
asking and voting. As Class 7 students you already have three of these tools: you can
read carefully, you can ask questions, and you can refuse to spread what you cannot
verify.

Before we move on ... — Page 207
The chapter in five points

BEFORE WE MOVE ON …

Q1 Government plays an important role in running a country. Different types of
governments across the world have different answers to the following questions:
Who decides “This is the government”? What are the parts of the government and
what do they do? Who or what is the government working for? What values and
ideals should the government follow?

These four questions are the chapter's measuring tape. Lay any government against them and
you have described it.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

QUESTION DEMOCRACY MONARCHY THEOCRACY DICTATORSHIP OLIGARCHY

Who decides The people Birth; Religious The person or A few wealthy
‘this is the sometimes a belief and the group that holds or influential
government'? claim of divine head of a the power families
power religious
institution

How is it Elections at Hereditary Selected by Seizure of Influence,
formed? fixed intervals succession religious power; whatever the
leaders (Iran opposition formal
also elects a removed process
president and
parliament)

Parts, and Legislature, All three may A supreme All three Formal
what they do executive, sit with the religious effectively under organs exist;
judiciary — monarch authority one person or real decisions
separate and (absolute), or above all group taken outside
independent with three organs them
parliament
and PM
(constitutional)

Working for Equality and Ideally the A society The ruler's own The interests
whom? prosperity for welfare of all based on the goals of the small
all citizens (rājadharma); norms of the group
in practice it official
depends on religion
the ruler

The fourth question — what values and ideals should a government follow? — is the one the
chapter answers for itself: equality, freedom, participation, rights, and the wellbeing of all
people.

Q2 The most popular form of government in the world today is democracy. Democratic
governments across the world have variations, including direct democracy and
representative democracy.

More than half the countries of the world have adopted democracy — but ‘democracy' names a
family, not a single design.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

DIRECT DEMOCRACY REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Who decides All citizens, personally, on every rule and Representatives elected by the citizens
function

Who governs The citizens themselves The elected government, which stays
day to day accountable to the people

Practical limit Very hard to carry out, especially in large Works at any size; needs regular, fixed-
countries — the school story shows why interval elections to stay honest

Example Some practices in Switzerland India, and most democracies today

Why the variations exist: a government evolves with a country's own history,
culture and aspirations. What stays constant across all of them is the core —
equality, freedom and universal adult franchise.

Q3 There are two types of representative democracy — presidential and parliamentary
democracy. India is a parliamentary democracy.

The difference is one thing only: where the executive sits in relation to the legislature.

PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRACY

Head of the Prime minister with a council of ministers President
executive

Elected by The people elect the legislature; selected The people elect the president
members of the legislature become ministers directly

Is the executive part Yes — in India the PM and ministers are also No — the executive works
of the legislature? members of Parliament independently of the legislature

Survival in office Only as long as it has the confidence of the The president does not need the
legislature (in India, of the Lok Sabha) legislature's confidence to keep the
post

Countries India, Australia, United Kingdom USA, South Korea

India is a parliamentary democracy: we vote for our MP, the party or coalition with a majority
in the Lok Sabha forms the government, and the council of ministers stays in office only while it
holds that majority's confidence.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Did you know? States within India — Rajasthan, Kerala and the rest — have their
own governments, but they are not completely independent; they are still part of the
larger Union Government of India.

Q4 Other types of government include monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship and
oligarchy.

Four other forms, each answering the ‘who decides' question differently.

FORM DEFINING FEATURE SUB-TYPES / EXAMPLES IN THE CHAPTER

Monarchy Ruled by a monarch who Absolute — Saudi Arabia (the king appoints an advisory
exercises sovereign power; council but is not bound by it). Constitutional — the
usually hereditary, typically the United Kingdom, where the king has nominal power and
eldest son succeeding the elected parliament makes the laws

Theocracy The country is ruled by the rules Iran — a Supreme Leader chosen for life by a group of
of religion and by religious Islamic clerics holds ultimate authority over all three
leaders organs, while an elected president and parliament handle
everyday governance. Also Afghanistan and Vatican City

Dictatorship One person or a small group Adolf Hitler in Germany from 1933 — responsible for the
holds absolute power, with no Holocaust and a cause of World War II (1939–1945); Idi
limits from a constitution or law Amin in Uganda, under whom many Indian-origin
families were forced to flee

Oligarchy A small, powerful group — Aristocratic families in parts of ancient Greece; the 1889
usually wealthy families or cartoon (Fig. 9.13) as a warning about modern
influential people — makes all democracies
the important decisions

Tip: the chapter numbers this section 1. Monarchy, 2. Monarchies today, 2.
Theocracy, 3. Dictatorship, 4. Oligarchy — the number 2 appears twice. The Hindi
edition prints ‘वतमान राजतंत्र ' (Monarchies today) without a number, which is the
intended reading: there are four other forms, not five.

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co m
m.
Democracy matters, but there are serious challenges to democracy that citizens
e
Q5

m l as
.co
need to remain vigilant about.

a g
se m
g l a
a

Both halves of the sentence are meant to be held together.

om ag
Why democracy matters
. c
a s em wish — what to speak, what to wear, what beliefs
People can live their everyday lives as they

a gl — until and unless it harms someone else's rights.
to follow, how to express themselves
People choose the government; the government must protect their rights and provide for
their basic needs.
co m
If it does not perform, people can change their representatives through elections — a
em.
m l as
.co g
constant check on what the government does.
m a
l a se
The challenges the chapter names

a g Corruption
Wealth disparity
m a s
Excessive control by a few over democratic institutions
m.co agl
Erosion of the judiciary's independence
l a se
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Questions and activities — Pages 207–208

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The chapter covers nine named forms, arranged in two families.
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A. Democratic governments
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1. Direct democracy a

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2. Representative democracy

Parliamentary democracy
Presidential democracy

B. Other forms of government

3. Monarchy

Absolute monarchy
Constitutional monarchy

4. Theocracy
5. Dictatorship
6. Oligarchy

The chapter also defines a republic — a government whose head of state is elected and is not a
hereditary monarch — while describing the early republics of the Vajji mahājanapada, the Chola
village sabhā, Rome and Greece.

Tip: if a question asks only for ‘types of government', six names are enough — direct
democracy, representative democracy, monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship, oligarchy.
Add the sub-types when the question says ‘various'.

Q2 Which type of Government does India have? And why is that called that type?

India has a parliamentary democracy — more fully, a democratic, representative,
parliamentary form of government, and India is also a republic.

LABEL WHY INDIA IS CALLED THIS

Democracy The people are the source of authority. Every adult citizen votes under universal adult
franchise, which India has had since the republic began in 1950.

Representative The people do not govern directly; they elect representatives who govern, and the
government remains accountable to the people. General elections are held every five
years.

Parliamentary The members of the executive are also part of the legislature — the prime minister
and the council of ministers are members of Parliament. The council of ministers
continues in office only as long as it has the confidence of the Lok Sabha. People elect
the legislature, not the executive; selected members of the legislature become
ministers.

Republic Our head of state, the President, is elected and is not a hereditary monarch.

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Table 9.1 sums India up in one row: executive — prime minister and the council of ministers;
legislature — Lower House (Lok Sabha) more powerful than Upper House (Rajya Sabha);
judiciary — independent from executive and legislature (separation of power).

The clinching test: ask ‘can the legislature remove the executive?' In India, yes — if
the Lok Sabha withdraws its confidence, the council of ministers must go. In a
presidential democracy like the USA it cannot, because the president is elected
separately by the people. That single test is what makes India parliamentary rather
than presidential.

Q3 You read that an independent judiciary is present in all types of democracies. State
any three reasons why you think it is important for the judiciary to be independent.

Three reasons, each drawn straight from the chapter.

1. To protect the fundamental rights of every citizen. Rights such as equality, freedom of
speech and expression, and the right against exploitation are worth little unless somebody
can enforce them. The chapter says plainly that an independent judiciary ensures that every
citizen's fundamental rights are protected. A court that could be pressured would protect
only the powerful.
2. To make sure the law binds the government too. The judiciary ensures that laws are
followed by the citizens and also by all the parts of the government. If judges depended
on the ministers whose actions they must judge, no minister could ever be held to the law —
and ‘equality before the law' would be a slogan, not a fact.
3. To keep the separation of powers real. Legislature, executive and judiciary are meant to
work independently and not interfere in each other's functions. The judiciary is the referee of
that arrangement; if the referee belongs to one team, the whole design collapses and power
drifts towards one body — which is what happens in a dictatorship.

A fourth reason, if you want one: to give ordinary people a place to go. A poor citizen who
cannot win an election or buy influence can still file a case. That is why the chapter lists ‘erosion
of the judiciary's independence' among the serious hurdles to democracy.

Tip: when you write this answer, follow each reason with one line of consequence —
‘if the judiciary were not independent, then …'. It turns a list into an argument.

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Q4 Do you think democratic government is better than other forms of government?
Why?

Yes — and the chapter's own reasoning gives you the argument. Most countries consider
democracy a better form of government, and more than half the countries of the world have
adopted it. Here is why, in four points.

1. Everyone has a share in the decision. Universal adult franchise gives one vote to each
adult, so the government is chosen by all, not by birth, wealth or force.
2. Rights and freedom are guaranteed, not granted as a favour. People can choose what to
speak, what to wear, what beliefs to follow and how to express themselves — with the
reasonable limit that it must not harm someone else's rights — and fundamental rights are
protected by an independent judiciary.
3. Power can be changed peacefully. If the government does not perform its functions
properly, the people change their representatives through elections. In a monarchy you
must wait for the ruler's death; in a dictatorship there may be no way at all.
4. Mistakes can be corrected. Debate, a free press, courts and elections are all ways of
catching an error. Systems without them have no repair mechanism.

The honest qualification: democracy is better by design, not automatically better in
practice. The chapter lists real problems — corruption, wealth disparity, excessive
control by a few, erosion of judicial independence, manipulation of information. And
it notes that in an absolute monarchy a good king could still work for people's
welfare, as rājadharma required. The strongest form of this answer is: democracy is
the only system that makes good government the people's responsibility rather than
the ruler's kindness — which is also why it demands vigilant citizens.

Q5 These are some practices in a few different countries. Can you match the practice
with the type of government?

Match each practice to the form of government it describes.

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S. PRACTICE IN THE TYPE OF WHY
NO COUNTRY GOVERNMENT

I. All citizens are treated equally Democracy Equality before the law is a
before law fundamental principle of
democracy

II. The government refers to the Theocracy The country is ruled by the rules of
religious leader for each and every religion and by religious leaders
decision it takes.

III. After the queen's death, her son Monarchy Monarchies are usually hereditary
became the new king. — typically the eldest son of the
ruling monarch succeeds

IV. The ruler is not bound to follow any Dictatorship One person with absolute power
Constitution. He makes all the and no limits imposed by a
decisions as per his choice. constitution or law

Answer in short: I → Democracy, II → Theocracy, III → Monarchy, IV → Dictatorship.

Tip: the options are printed alongside in a different order (Dictatorship, Monarchy,
Democracy, Theocracy) so that you cannot match them line by line. Read the practice
first, name the form yourself, and only then look for it in the right-hand column.

Q6 Below is a list of countries. Find out the types of government these countries have:

This is a ‘find out' question, so check a current, reliable source — an atlas, the country's official
website, or the Ministry of External Affairs country pages. Here is what you will find, with the
reason in each case.

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S. COUNTRY TYPE OF WHY IT IS CALLED THAT

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1 Bhutan Democratic constitutional A hereditary King (Druk Gyalpo) is head of state

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The chapter names five hurdles and adds ‘several more'. Take each one, say what damage it
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HURDLE WHAT IT DAMAGES HOW IT CAN BE OVERCOME

Corruption Equality — decisions get sold Transparency laws such as the Right to
instead of being taken on merit Information; independent auditors; e-
governance that removes middlemen;
punishing the corrupt regardless of rank

Wealth disparity Equal access to education, Free and good-quality public schools and
health and justice; the poor hospitals; welfare and employment schemes;
cannot use rights they cannot fair taxation; legal aid
afford

Excessive control by a Representation — a democracy Transparent political funding; strong Election
few over democratic begins to look like an oligarchy Commission; limits on concentration of media
institutions and business power; high voter turnout

Erosion of the Protection of fundamental rights Clear, open procedures for appointing judges;
judiciary's and the separation of powers sufficient courts and judges; respect for court
independence orders by the government itself

Manipulation of Freedom of choice — voters A free and plural press; media literacy taught
information channels cannot choose well on a false in schools; fact-checking; laws against
picture deliberate falsehood that do not become
censorship

Voter apathy and low The whole system, because Voter awareness drives; easy registration and
participation power drifts to whoever bothers polling; civic education; taking part in local
to show up bodies

The single idea behind all the remedies: every one of them either gives
information to citizens or keeps an institution independent. Those are the two
things that let a democracy correct itself. The chapter's closing question — what can
we do as individuals and as a society to remain vigilant? — is asking you to notice
exactly that.

Q8 Democracy is different from monarchy and dictatorship. Explain.

Set the three side by side on the four questions the chapter uses to tell governments apart.

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POINT OF DEMOCRACY MONARCHY DICTATORSHIP
COMPARISON

Source of The people of the Birth and inheritance; Power seized and held
authority country sometimes a claim of divine by one person or a small
power group

How the Elections at regular, Hereditary succession — Seizure of power; laws
government is fixed intervals under usually the eldest son of passed to remove the
formed universal adult the ruling monarch opposition, as Hitler did
franchise in 1933

Limits on the ruler A written constitution, In an absolute monarchy, None — no constitution
the legislature, and an none in law (though or law limits the dictator
independent judiciary rājadharma set a moral
limit in India); in a
constitutional monarchy, a
parliament and a
constitution

The three Legislature, executive All three may be held by the All three effectively
functions and judiciary are monarch — he makes the controlled by the ruler
separate and laws, enforces them and
independent decides punishments

Rights of citizens Fundamental rights, Subjects may petition; what Sharply restricted — as
equality before the law, they get depends on the in Shane's story, even
freedom of speech — ruler hair and clothing are
protected by the courts decided for the citizen

Changing the Peacefully, by voting at Only on the ruler's death or Usually not possible
government the next election abdication from within

Accountability The government is The ruler answers to The ruler answers to no
answerable to the custom, dharma and one
people conscience

In one sentence: in a democracy power is lent by the people and taken back at elections; in a
monarchy it is inherited; in a dictatorship it is seized and held.

Careful: ‘monarchy' is not automatically the opposite of democracy. The United
Kingdom is a monarchy and a parliamentary democracy at the same time, because
its king has only nominal power. The contrast in this question is really with absolute
monarchy.

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Chapter at a glance
Government does three things, and every type of government does them somehow.
Making the rules is the legislative function, carrying them out and administering the
country is the executive function, and making sure the rules are followed is the judicial
function. What changes from country to country is who performs them and who gave them
the authority.
Four questions tell one government apart from another. Who gets to decide that ‘this is
the government'? How is the government formed? What are its different parts and what do
they do? What is the government working for? Answer those four and you have described a
form of government.
Democracy is ‘rule of the people'. Its fundamental principles are equality, freedom,
representative participation, universal adult franchise, fundamental rights and an
independent judiciary. These are ideals — the chapter is clear that not every democracy
achieves them, which is exactly why citizens must keep them in view.
Democracies come in different shapes. In a direct democracy citizens decide everything
themselves (hard beyond a small scale). In a representative democracy people elect
representatives — parliamentary, where the executive sits inside the legislature and needs
its confidence (India, Australia), or presidential, where a directly elected president works
independently of it (USA, South Korea).
Other forms: monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship, oligarchy. A monarchy may be
absolute (Saudi Arabia) or constitutional (the United Kingdom, which is really a
parliamentary democracy). A theocracy is run by religious rules and religious leaders; a
dictatorship puts unlimited power in one person or a small group; an oligarchy leaves the
real decisions with a few wealthy or influential families.
India's own past holds early experiments in collective rule. The Lichchhavi clan of the
Vajji mahājanapada chose leaders by merit, not birth; the 10th-century Uttaramerur
inscriptions of the Cholas record sealed ballot boxes, qualifications for candidates and
instant removal for corruption. Rome and Greece had republics too, though voting there
was limited to a privileged few.

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Quick revision

TERM WHAT IT MEANS WHERE IT WORTH REMEMBERING
APPEARS IN
THE CHAPTER

Representative A person who is chosen to act or make Margin note, The school story turns on this
decisions on behalf of another person page 188 word — one student speaks
or group of people for a whole grade

Legislative The making of rules that serve as the Page 189 Done by the legislature —
function framework for running the country Parliament in India, Congress
in the USA

Executive Implementing the rules and Page 189 In India the prime minister
function administering the country according to and the council of ministers
them

Judicial function Ensuring that the rules are followed, Page 189 Done by an independent
and judging when they are not judiciary in every democracy

Universal adult The right to vote given to every citizen Page 191 India had it from 1950;
franchise above a certain age Switzerland gave it to women
only in 1971

Accountability The government being answerable to Margin note, The reason elections are held
the people who have elected them page 193 at regular, fixed intervals

Separation of Legislature, executive and judiciary Page 196 The last column of Table 9.1 —
power working independently, without true of all four countries listed
interfering in each other's functions

Republic A form of government in which the Page 197 The Vajji mahājanapada and
head of state is elected and is not a the Chola village sabhā are
hereditary monarch Indian examples

Rājadharma Ruling according to dharma and Pages 198–199 Bhīṣhma teaches it to
ensuring the welfare of all people — Yudhiṣṭhira in the Shānti
the limit within which a raja was Parva
expected to decide

Sovereign That the source of power of a country Margin note, Monarchs are said to exercise
is independent from external influence page 200 sovereign power

Absolute A monarchy in which the monarch Pages 200–201 Saudi Arabia; the king
monarchy makes the laws, enforces them and appoints an advisory council
judges those who break them but is not bound by it

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TERM WHAT IT MEANS WHERE IT WORTH REMEMBERING

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APPEARS IN

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THE CHAPTER
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Constitutional A monarchy in which the king or Page 201 The United Kingdom — a
monarchy queen has only nominal power and the monarchy in form, a
real power lies with an elected parliamentary democracy in

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elected president and
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Dictatorship A government in which one person or Pages 202–203 Adolf Hitler in Germany, Idi

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