NCERT Solutions Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 the State the Government and You

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 18: The State, the
Government, and You

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

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

Part II, 143 – 168 16 38 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 52 pages

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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

NCERT Solutions — Chapter 18: The State, the
Government, and You
Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You — the
second chapter of Theme D, Governance and Democracy, in Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Grade 7, Part
2). Every question the chapter asks is answered here: the three Big Questions, both LET’S REMEMBER boxes,
all four LET’S EXPLORE boxes, the THINK ABOUT IT box on page 162, the eight points of Before we move on
…, the five end-of-chapter Questions and activities, and every question asked inside the running text — the
conversation with Roshini didi on page 145, the police box on page 147, and the questions on pages 146, 148,
150 and 156. The five DON’T MISS OUT boxes carry no question, so their content is folded into the answers
and the revision table below. This is a chapter about how India’s government is built and how a citizen can
reach it; the answers stay with what the chapter itself says, describe the institutions rather than judge any
party or leader, and mark clearly where an answer is a matter of your own reasoning.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part I) (Class Part II, 143 – 168
7)

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

16 38

MEDIUM

English

The Big Questions — Page 143
Chapter opening — Theme D, Governance and Democracy

THE BIG QUESTIONS

Q1 What is the difference between a state and a government?

The state is the whole thing; the government is one part of it. A state, says the chapter, “is a
political organisation that has the authority to govern a defined territory and its population”,
and it has four parts. The government is the third of those four.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

THE STATE

Government Sovereignty
People Land
a system to full power to
the citizens a fixed area
run the country decide, with no
who live here or territory
outside control
changes with elections

Take away the government and the state still has people, land and sovereignty —
it simply forms a new government. Take away any of the other three,
and there is no state left at all.

The four parts of a state (Fig. 6.3, page 144). The government is the red box — one part, and the only
one that changes hands.

The differences, side by side.

STATE GOVERNMENT

What it is The whole political organisation — “A group of people or a system that runs the
people, land, government and country… leaders, ministers, and officials”
sovereignty together

How long Permanent. “The state remains the Temporary. “It can change after elections”
it lasts same”

What it It exists, and it holds sovereignty It acts — makes laws, enforces laws, resolves
does disputes

Who We rarely deal with “the whole state” “We usually interact with the government” — the
meets it school, the hospital, the police station, the ration
shop

Why it happens: the chapter’s own picture is the clearest one. “Think of the state as
a school, and the government as the principal and teachers. Teachers may come and
go, but the school remains.” When a new principal joins, the school does not become
a different school — its building, its students and its right to run itself are
unchanged. In exactly the same way, when a new government is voted in, India is
still India, with the same territory, the same citizens and the same sovereignty.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Then why do people mix the words up? Because “the government acts on behalf of
the state, and is the face of the state that we see in action every day.” We say “the
state did this” or “the government decided that” as if they were the same, since the
government “runs the daily work of the state”.

Q2 What is the difference between a democracy and a republic? What makes India a
democratic republic?

They answer two different questions. Democracy answers who chooses the government? A
republic answers how does a person become head of state? A country can be one, both, or neither.

DEMOCRACY REPUBLIC

The core “Rule by the people” — demos = people, “The head of state (the highest office) is elected
idea kratos = rule and not hereditary”

The test Do the people choose the government Is the head of state elected (directly or indirectly),
“through free and fair elections”? rather than a king or queen who inherits power?

Extra — “There are limitations set on the power of rulers
condition through a constitution or laws”

The four boxes this makes. The chapter’s own examples fill three of them.

Head of state is …
elected (republic) hereditary (monarch)

Democratic republic Democracy, not republic
people choose

India, U.S.A. UK, Canada, Sweden
elections + elected head of state elections, but a monarch on top
people do not

Republic in name only Absolute monarchy
a head of state who is not a king, power inherited, and the people
but no free and fair elections do not choose the government

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Democracy and republic are two separate tests, so four combinations are possible. The chapter
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names the countries in the top two boxes.

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What makes India a democratic republic — both halves.
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gDemocratic: “People in both India and the UK elect their representatives, and the
government is accountable to parliament.” We choose our legislature, and through it our
government.
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Republic: “The makers of our Constitutionm decided that India’s head of state, the president,
a people, but by a group of elected representatives.”
would be elected — not directly bylthe
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Nobody inherits the office of President of India.
And the limits: in a republic “there are limitations set on the power of rulers through a
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constitution or laws.” India’s Constitution “guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens”,

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and “the elected leaders cannot pass laws that go against people’s basic rights — like
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freedom
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two centuries by a system whose head of state was a monarch across the sea. “When
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India got Independence, she did not blindly adopt the British parliamentary system.” agl
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Keeping the elections but replacing the inherited crown with an elected president is
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precisely the difference between a democracy and a democratic republic — and that
is why the Preamble says both.
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s e m How do citizens engage with the government in day-to-day life? How can one make
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ag government work for the people?

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Day to day, we meet the government mainly as the executive — “in our daily lives, we

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primarily interact with the various departments that form part of the executive.” Not the
Parliament, not the Supreme Court: the school, the bus, the hospital, the ration shop, the
electricity office, the police station.
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Where the government touches an ordinary day. The chapter names the government’s triple

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role — “protector (law and defence), provider (public welfare and infrastructure), and regulator
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

ROLE WHAT YOU ACTUALLY MEET

Protector The police who “maintain law and order”; the armed forces; the courts that settle disputes

Provider “Education free for children by building schools and hiring teachers”; roads, bridges, railways,
airports; welfare schemes; anganwadi and health workers

Regulator “Initiatives to ensure food safety”, rules for businesses, and measures for social justice

The people we deal with are mostly the permanent executive. As the chapter says, “our
interactions are usually with the bureaucrats serving at the grassroots — government school
teachers, anganwadi workers, health workers, water and sanitation workers, or bus
conductors.”
How to make the government work for the people — the chapter’s six ways.

1. Grievance redressal. Many departments have grievance redressal offices, and there are
vigilance commissions “to investigate matters of corruption”. The Public Grievances Portal
(https://pgportal.gov.in/) takes complaints online and “the concerned government
department will respond within a specified time period”. Several states have their own
portals.
2. Ask for information under the RTI Act. “Officials are bound to provide information under
this Act, and the information brings transparency and accountability.” You may ask how
much was spent on a road, who the beneficiaries of a scholarship were, or where a metro
project has reached.
3. Use the media. Write in print or electronic media; many officials are active on social media,
and you can “share your concerns and tag the corresponding officials” — the chapter shows
@RailwaySeva as an example.
4. Join a civil society organisation. “India has thousands of citizen groups, collectively termed
as civil society”, working on education, health, environment, livelihood and women’s
empowerment. “One can join any of those (or create one!)”.
5. Write to political representatives — your councillor or panchayat member, MLA, MP or a
minister — “seeking action on a particular issue”.
6. Vote. “Once you are old enough to vote, make sure to participate and vote in local, state, and
national elections.”

Two real examples from the chapter. In Bagepalli near Bengaluru, badly built
double roads and streetlights were causing accidents; a citizen filed an RTI for the
finances allocated, and “armed with this information, a group of citizens confronted
the concerned officials, who later ensured that the roadwork was completed to the
satisfaction of all concerned.” In Silent Valley, NGOs, scientists, writers and villagers
mobilised against a dam planned in 1970; the project was cancelled in 1983 and the
valley became a National Park in 1985.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why any of this works: because of two words the chapter puts in the margin —
transparency (“open access to information to citizens regarding government
policies and actions, expenditure of public funds”) and accountability (“those in
power… are obligated to answer for them to the public”). A citizen who can see what
was decided, and can ask an official to explain it, changes how the decision gets
made next time. That is the whole point of the RTI, the grievance portal and the vote.

LET’S REMEMBER — Page 144
Looking back at Grade 6 and at ‘From the Rulers to the Ruled’ in Part 1

LET’S REMEMBER

Q1 Do you recall that we discussed the need for a system of governance, commonly
referred to as a government? There are three main functions that governments
perform — making laws (legislature), carrying out laws and making policies
(executive), and ensuring laws are followed (judiciary).

Yes — and the reason a government is needed is set out on page 151 of this very chapter.
According to Kauṭilya, the author of the Arthashastra, “if there is no government, society will
become chaotic with the big fish, i.e., the more powerful, eating the smaller fish.” That picture
has a name: matsya nyāya, the ‘law of the fish’ (Fig. 6.9). Without a common set of rules and
someone to enforce them, the strong simply take what they want from the weak.
The three functions, and why each one is needed.

ORGAN FUNCTION WHY IT MUST EXIST

Legislature Making laws People living together need one agreed set of rules. Otherwise every
dispute is settled by whoever is stronger

Executive Carrying out laws and A law written on paper changes nothing by itself. Somebody must
making policies build the school, run the hospital, collect the tax and stop the crime

Judiciary Ensuring laws are Rules are broken and rules are argued about. Someone must decide
followed what a law means and who is right — including when the government
itself is at fault

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why they are kept separate: if the same people made the laws, carried them out
and judged the disputes, there would be nobody left to say “you have gone too far”.
This chapter states the principle plainly on page 151: “The Constitution ensures that
no part of the government becomes too powerful.” The chapter also notes that this
is not the same everywhere — “in some countries, the legislature, executive and
judiciary are separate, while in others they may overlap.”

Also from Grade 6: the three levels of government in India — union, state and local.
Levels and organs are two different ideas, and this chapter takes up both: organs on
pages 152–161, levels under ‘Tiers of Government’ on pages 161–164.

Q2 We learned about democratic, monarchic, theocratic, dictatorial, and oligarchic
forms of government, and how they function differently. Can you recount some of
the differences?

The simplest way to tell them apart is to ask one question of each: who holds power, and
how did they get it?

FORM WHO HOLDS POWER HOW THEY GOT CAN THE PEOPLE REMOVE
IT THEM?

Democracy Representatives chosen by Free and fair Yes — at the next election
the people elections

Monarchy A king or queen By inheritance, No. In a constitutional monarchy
within one family such as the UK, the monarch is head
of state but the elected government
rules

Theocracy Religious leaders, or rulers Through religious No — the authority claimed is not
who govern in the name of authority given by voters
a religion

Dictatorship One person Usually by force, No — opposition is suppressed
and kept by force

Oligarchy A small group — “power Wealth, birth, No — the group chooses its own
stays within one family or military or party members
group” position

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The line the chapter itself draws: “We saw how democracies give people the power to choose
their leaders, and how this differs from governments where power stays within one family or
group. In a democracy like India, the government is expected to work for everyone’s wellbeing
and protect our rights and freedoms.”

Why the difference matters in practice: in a democracy a ruler who governs badly
can be voted out without violence. That single fact changes how a government
behaves while it is in office — it must keep explaining itself, because it must ask
again. Where power is inherited, seized or held by a closed group, there is no such
regular test.

Careful — one form can sit inside another. The UK is a democracy and a
monarchy: the people elect the government, and a monarch is head of state. That is
exactly why the chapter separates ‘democracy’ from ‘republic’ on page 149.

In-text Questions — Page 145
Fig. 6.4 — the conversation with Roshini didi, who studies Political Science

Q1 Since you are studying Political Science in college, can you tell me why it is
important to have a permanent population for a place to become a state? Can a
state not be a place where people can just go, visit, and come back?

Because a state needs people who belong to it, not people who are passing through.
Roshini didi gives two reasons.

Without people there is no state at all. “First, without people, meaning a population, there
can be no state.” Territory alone is only land; sovereignty alone is only a claim. Somebody has
to be governed.
Visitors do not make a society. “If people just go visit and then move on then they are like
tourists, with no identification with the place nor anything that is common and shared —
they don’t live together.”

What a permanent population adds. “When people identify with a place or a territory, and
usually live there, then they form a permanent population. Such a group of people… then
develops its own culture and society, which also identifies with that geographically defined
territory.”

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Why this matters for governing: laws only work on people who will still be there

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tomorrow. A tax has to be collected year after year; a school is built for children who
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will grow .up a g stays to own it. A
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place together.
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Try this: think of a railway platform and a village. Both have people on them right
now. The village has a permanent population — the same families, a common
language, festivals, shared fields and quarrels. The platform has only passengers.
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Only one of the two could ever be part of a state.
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“It is a place, a geographical area, that has clear boundaries.” That is the answer given in
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the chapter, and the important word in it is clear.

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How the boundaries are decided. The chapter is careful here: “The boundaries are not

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necessarily geographical features but sort of lines that are agreed upon by the neighbouring

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states that separate these states.” So a boundary need not be a river, a mountain range or a
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BOUNDARY
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A natural feature A river, a mountain range, a sea coast — easy to see on the ground

An agreed line
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A line settled between neighbouring states and drawn on the map, whether or not
anything on the ground marks it

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Why a state must have a defined territory: because law has to stop somewhere.
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.cEvery law says, in effect, “inside this area, this rule applies”.
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road. The boundary is what turns “power” into “authority over a definite place”.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q3 What does sovereignty mean, and why is it essential for a state?

Sovereignty “means that the state has complete control over its own matters and is able
to make and implement laws in accordance with its own needs.” The second half of the
definition is just as important: “No other state or external body can interfere in the internal
affairs of that state.”
So sovereignty has two faces.

FACING INWARDS FACING OUTWARDS

The state is the highest authority inside its own territory — it makes the No outside state or body may interfere in
laws, and everyone inside must follow them those internal affairs

Why it is essential. The chapter’s own words: “This is why sovereignty is an essential feature of
a state.” The reasoning behind that sentence is straightforward — if some other country could
overrule India’s laws, then India would not be governing itself, and the government we elect
would not be the real authority. A place without sovereignty may have people, land and even an
administration, but the final decisions are taken elsewhere. That is what colonial rule was, and it
is why the Preamble opens by calling India a sovereign republic.

Note the link to the earlier answer: the younger sibling in the dialogue works it
out step by step — population, then territory, and then, “that also then explains why
the government is a part of the state, but it is not the state. Because people live
together, they need laws to be made and implemented for the state to function,
which is what the government does.” Sovereignty is the power to make those laws;
the government is the machinery that exercises it.

In-text Question — Page 146
“What is a Government?” — after the school-and-teachers comparison

Q1 Why are these two words used interchangeably?

Because the government is the part of the state we can actually see. The chapter answers
its own question: “In real life, we often say ‘the state did this’ or ‘the government decided that’ as
if they mean the same thing. This is because the government acts on behalf of the state, and is
the face of the state that we see in action every day.”
The two reasons the chapter lists:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

“the government runs the daily work of the state;”
“we usually interact with the government, not the whole state.”

Why the confusion is understandable — and where it goes wrong: when a bridge
is built or a scheme is launched, it is the state’s authority being used, but it is the
government’s ministers and officers doing it. So the two look like one thing. The
mistake shows up the moment a government loses an election. If state and
government were the same, the country would end when the government ended. It
does not: “It can change after elections, but the state remains the same.” The
passports, the laws, the borders and the citizenship all continue.

Tip for the exam: remember one sentence and you can answer any version of this
question — the government is a part of the state, and it acts on behalf of the state. Part,
and agent. Not the same thing, not entirely separate either.

In-text Questions — Page 147
The box ‘People, police, and the government’, and Fig. 6.6

Q1 Are they a part of the government?

Yes. The police are part of the executive, and specifically part of the state government. The
chapter says it directly: “The police in India are responsible for maintaining law and order within
each state. They are part of the state government and work directly with local communities in
towns, cities, and villages.”
Which organ, and which level.

Organ: the executive. Their job is to enforce laws, not to make them (that is the legislature)
and not to decide guilt (that is the judiciary). Fig. 6.6 shows the police inside the circle of
government, receiving direction from the executive.
Level: the state government. That is why the chapter later lists “police” among the subjects
state governments take care of (page 163).

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why the police are called “agents of the state”: the chapter says they “are agents
of the state who can legally use force”. Ordinary people may not use force on each
other; the state may, through the police, and only for a purpose — “to ensure that
people live in a safe and secure environment, free from crime and violence.” This is
what page 151 calls the state’s claim to “the legitimate use of power, for example,
through control by the police and taxation”.

Q2 What do they do?

Four kinds of work, according to the chapter and Fig. 6.6.

WHAT THEY DO IN THE CHAPTER’S WORDS

Enforce the law and “Maintaining law and order within each state”; Fig. 6.6: “Enforce the law, maintain
keep the peace peace, protect citizens”

Investigate crime and Fig. 6.6: “investigate and present cases to the judiciary”. They “work closely with courts,
take cases to court prisons, and other parts of the criminal justice system”

Protect citizens Ensure “that people live in a safe and secure environment, free from crime and violence”

Work for social “Beyond crime control, the police contribute to social change by promoting safety,
change justice, and a better quality of life. For example, awareness programs on road safety,
drug abuse, and women’s safety are part of their work”

And one thing they must not do. “However, they must respect and protect the rights
guaranteed under the Constitution.” The power to use force comes with that limit attached.

Notice the division of labour in Fig. 6.6: the police investigate and present a case;
they do not decide it. The arrow in the diagram runs from Police to Judiciary, and it is
the court that judges. That separation is what keeps the person who catches you
from also being the person who punishes you.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q3 Do citizens have any control over them?

Not directly — no citizen gives orders to a police officer — but yes, through the same
machinery that controls the rest of the government. Fig. 6.6 is drawn to show exactly this:
the whole circle of legislature, executive, police and judiciary sits inside a ring labelled PEOPLE
at the top and PEOPLE at the bottom.
The four routes shown or named in the chapter.

1. Through elections. The outer ring says people “elect leaders to represent them”. Those
elected representatives form the state government, and the police are part of that
government — so the ministers answerable to the legislature are answerable for the police.
2. Through the law itself. The legislature makes the laws the police must enforce, and the
police can act only within them.
3. Through the courts. The side panel of Fig. 6.6 reads: “The Constitution, laws and courts
protect people’s rights and ensure justice.” If a citizen’s rights are violated, the chapter’s own
rule applies — “If fundamental rights are violated, we can go to court to address the
violations” (page 160).
4. Through the rights themselves. “They must respect and protect the rights guaranteed
under the Constitution.” The police may use force, but the Constitution sets the boundary,
and page 150 explains why: without such limits, “elected members and government officers
might use their power unchecked, which would threaten citizens’ rights.”

The everyday tools from later in the chapter also apply — a complaint to a grievance
redressal office, an RTI request about how a department works, or raising an issue through the
media or a civil society organisation (pages 157–160).

Why control is indirect rather than direct: a police force that took orders from
whoever complained loudest would be useless — and dangerous. So the design puts
the control one step away: the people control the government, the government
directs the police, and the courts check both. Slower, but it means the force is
answerable to law rather than to pressure.

LET’S EXPLORE — Page 148

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Government departments around you
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LET’S EXPLORE

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a s em lists of different government departments you are familiar with, or whose
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Make
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names you may have seen on boards around your home or on your way to school.
What functions do you think they perform?

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g route to school with a notebook, or think back over it,
How to do this activity. Walk yourausual
and copy down the exact words on every official board, van, pole and uniform you pass — a

. c om
police station, a post office, a school, a health centre, an electricity pole, a water tanker, a bus, a
m which level of
road milestone. Then, for each one, write in one line what you think it does,eand
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co it belongs to. Compare lists in class; between thirty students
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government
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moreethan
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agWhat
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you can actually see it providing; and a guess at the level — union, state, or local.
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Sample answer:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

WHAT THE BOARD WHAT IT DOES USUAL LEVEL
SAYS

Police Station Maintains law and order, registers State
complaints, investigates crime and
presents cases to court

Government Higher Primary Runs free schooling; the teachers are State (with union schemes such
School / Zilla Parishad government employees as Samagra Shiksha and PM
School Poshan)

Primary Health Centre / Vaccinations, check-ups, maternal and State
Anganwadi child care, nutrition for small children

Post Office (India Post) Letters, parcels, money orders, small Union
savings accounts

Public Works Department Builds and repairs roads, bridges and State
(PWD) government buildings

Municipal Corporation / Water supply, drainage, garbage, Local
Nagar Palika / Gram streetlamps, parks, local roads
Panchayat

State Electricity Board Supplies power, repairs lines, sends the State
bill

State Road Transport Public bus service between towns and State
Corporation bus villages

Fire and Emergency Services Puts out fires, rescue work in accidents State
and disasters

Fair Price / Ration Shop Distributes subsidised foodgrain to card- State, under a union law
holders

Railway Station Runs the trains and the tracks Union

Forest Department Protects forests and wildlife, plants trees, State (with union laws)
manages sanctuaries

Income Tax Office Collects direct taxes for the union Union
government

Regional Transport Office Registers vehicles, issues driving licences State
(RTO)

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What the list proves: almost every board you wrote down belongs to the executive.
As the chapter says, “these departments form part of the executive function of the
government. They implement the policies and laws made by the legislature. The
judiciary, in turn, ensures that these laws are followed… However, in our daily lives,
we primarily interact with the various departments that form part of the executive.”
You will rarely pass a board that says ‘Legislature’ — but you pass the executive
twenty times before you reach school.

Check it yourself: pick any one department from your list and ask, “which law or
scheme is it carrying out?” A ration shop carries out the food security law; a school
carries out the Right to Education Act; an RTO carries out the motor vehicles law.
That is what ‘implementing the law’ looks like on the ground.

In-text Question — Page 148
‘Democracy and Republic’ — reading the Preamble

Q1 Notice how the Constitution makers used the words ‘democratic’ and ‘republic’
together. Why did they, when ‘democracy’ and ‘republic’ are often used
interchangeably?

Because the two words promise two different things, and the Constitution makers wanted
both. ‘Democratic’ promises that the people will choose the government. ‘Republic’ promises
that the highest office in the country will never be inherited. A country can keep the first
promise while breaking the second — the chapter’s own example is the UK.
The comparison the chapter draws.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

INDIA THE UK

Who elects the The people The people — “People in both India
representatives? and the UK elect their
representatives”

Is the government Yes Yes — “the government is
answerable to accountable to parliament”
parliament?

Who is head of state? An elected president — “elected… not “The British… have had a monarch
directly by the people, but by a group of (a king or a queen) as the head of
elected representatives” state for centuries”

So the country is … A democracy and a republic A democracy but not a republic

The historical reason. “British rule in India persisted for nearly two centuries. When India got
Independence, she did not blindly adopt the British parliamentary system. Among the many
discussions and debates that took place during the making of our Constitution, one was on the
type of parliamentary democracy that India should have.” India kept what worked — elected
representatives and a government answerable to parliament — and changed what it did not
want, which was a hereditary head of state.

Why one word could not do the work of two: ‘democratic’ says nothing about how
the head of state is chosen, and ‘republic’ says nothing about whether ordinary
people vote. Write only ‘democratic’ and a future monarch is not ruled out; write only
‘republic’ and free elections are not guaranteed. Written together, the two words
close both gaps — and the chapter adds a third protection that comes with a
republic: “there are limitations set on the power of rulers through a constitution or
laws.”

Did you know? The chapter’s DON’T MISS OUT box on page 151 shows the same
choice being made elsewhere. In 1782 an officer suggested that General George
Washington become king of America. “Washington firmly refused, saying that such a
plan would harm the country, and that he believed only in a government by the
people under a constitution.” He was chosen as the first President of the United
States seven years later, in 1789.

In-text Question — Page 150

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

“Why is the protection of rights important?” — the Resident Welfare Association story

Q1 As per its rulebook, a Resident Welfare Association (RWA) had banned deliveries
after 9 pm in its apartment complex. This rule was based on a majority vote; it
ignored the view of a minority of residents, who argued that such a ban would
affect the sick and the elderly. Was this a fair rule?

No — it was properly passed, but it was not fair. Those are two different tests, and this story
exists to show that a rule can pass the first and fail the second.

TEST DID THE WHY
RULE PASS?

Was it properly Yes It was in the RWA’s rulebook and “was based on a majority vote”
made?

Was it fair? No “It ignored the view of a minority of residents, who argued that
such a ban would affect the sick and the elderly”

What went wrong, and how it was put right. The majority wanted quiet at night — not an
unreasonable wish. But the cost of that quiet was not shared equally. For most residents a late
delivery is a convenience; for a sick or elderly resident it can be medicine. “One night, an elderly
resident collapsed because of low blood sugar, as the medicine she needed could not be
delivered to her flat in time. The RWA modified its rule to exclude food and medicines from the
ban, protecting the voice of the minority.”
Notice what the fix was. The RWA did not abandon the rule; it carved out an exception for the
things that can be a matter of life and health. A fair rule is usually not the opposite of the unfair
one — it is the same rule with the harm taken out of it.

Why this small story is in a chapter about the state: because an RWA is a
miniature government, and the mistake it made has a name. The word box on page
151 calls it the dominance of the majority — “a situation where the interests of the
majority alone are pursued, to the detriment of the rights of minorities.” The
chapter’s conclusion is that a republic must be built so that this cannot happen:
“That’s a republic in action — where the rule of law is more powerful than the wishes
of the majority. This is how republics like India, France, and the USA defend against
the ‘dominance of the majority’. It stops the powerful majority from unfairly hurting
the rights of smaller groups.”

Page 18 of 52

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co m
m.
The same principle at national scale. Just before this story the chapter gives a real

m l a se
case: certain lands “belong to tribal communities… protected by law for their use”,
o g of the local
.c “cannot buy or lease the land without the permission
a
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and companies

l a se and due legal process.” Mining was not allowed in the sacred hills of the
g
community
aDongria Kondh tribe in Odisha, because “the community strongly opposed the
destruction of their revered land. In this case, the rights of the tribals to their sacred
co m
.
hills were protected by law.” A smaller group, a larger interest — and the law
e m ag
standing where the vote alone would not have.
g l as
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Tip: if a question asks you to judge a rule, use the two tests separately. Who made it,
co m
and how? Then: on whom does it fall hardest, and were they heard? Most unfair rules
em.
m l as
.co g
are perfectly legal and simply never asked the second question.
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In-text Questions — Page 156
m a s
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‘The Government and You’ — after the government’s triple role of protector, provider and regulator
agl
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Q1
a g
However, you might wonder why, then, our country and her people also still face so

m
many problems. Why do we still hear of cases of bribery and corruption in public

. co
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office?

o m l a se
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se m

g l a
a
Because having the machinery is not the same as the machinery working perfectly
everywhere, every day, for 1.4 billion people. The chapter sets the problem up honestly: the

se m
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Constitution, “thousands of laws, many layers of elected representatives, a vast bureaucracy,

.c o a g l
m
and a judiciary… all of which help us greatly in our daily lives” — and yet “we still encounter

l a se — people in difficult socio-economic conditions, lack of
many issues that need to be addressed
access to good education andghealthcare, infrastructure that is of poor quality, inadequate
a
access to government schemes, and so on.”

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.
Reasons that follow from what the chapter itself says.

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The scale is enormous. India has “over 1.4 billion people, thousands of towns and villages,
.cand many languages and cultures”. A scheme that works aingone district can fail in the next,
m simply because it depends on the particular people running it there.
l a se
ag Power tempts. Page 150 states the reason such power must be limited: “elected members
.c
and government officers might use their power unchecked, which would threaten citizens’
s e m
om a
. c agl
rights.” Wherever an official can decide who gets a licence, a house or a place in a scheme,

a s emunless they are watched.
some will misuse that decision

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Distance hides things. A decision taken far from the people it affects is harder to question.
That is exactly the argument the chapter makes for decentralisation on page 163: “When
leaders are closer to the people, it is easier to question them, ask for answers, and make
sure they do their job.”
Information gaps. If you do not know how much money was sanctioned for your road, you
cannot tell whether it was spent on your road. That is why the chapter’s answer to corruption
is the RTI Act — “the information brings transparency and accountability.”

What the system does about it. The chapter does not leave the problem hanging; it lists the
machinery built for exactly this — grievance redressal offices in departments, vigilance
commissions “to investigate matters of corruption”, the Public Grievances Portal with a fixed
time limit for a reply, the RTI Act, an independent judiciary, a free media, and civil society
organisations.

Why this is not an argument against democracy: notice that we hear about these
cases. In a system with free media, an independent judiciary, a right to information
and elections, wrongdoing gets reported, investigated and argued about in public.
That is a working check, not a failure of one — and it is the reason the chapter
follows this paragraph immediately with “Here are a few things you can do!”

Q2 How do you make or help the government do what it is meant to do? How do you
ensure that your grievances with the government are addressed?

The chapter answers with a list of six things a citizen can actually do. They are arranged,
roughly, from the smallest and most immediate to the largest.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

# WHAT YOU DO HOW IT WORKS

1 Grievance “Many government departments have grievance redressal offices where you can
redressal file your grievance.” Online, the Public Grievances Portal
(https://pgportal.gov.in/) takes complaints and “the concerned government
department will respond within a specified time period”. “Several states also have
such portals.” For corruption there are vigilance commissions

2 Ask for “India has a powerful Act called the Right to Information Act (RTI), through
information — the which we can ask for information about government actions of public interest” —
RTI Act money spent on a road, the list of beneficiaries of a scholarship, the status of a
metro line. “Officials are bound to provide information under this Act”

3 Use the media Write “in print or electronic media about a particular issue on which the
government can take action”. Many officials are on social media; you can “share
your concerns and tag the corresponding officials” — e.g. @RailwaySeva for the
railways

4 Join a civil society “India has thousands of citizen groups, collectively termed as civil society”,
organisation working on education, health, environment, livelihood and women’s
empowerment. “One can join any of those (or create one!) to push the government
to address an issue you care deeply about”

5 Write to political “You can write a letter to your local representatives, ministers, or
representatives parliamentarians, seeking action on a particular issue”

6 Vote in elections “Once you are old enough to vote, make sure to participate and vote in local, state,
and national elections, and thereby help to ensure that the leaders who care most
about the issues you care about, and have the best plans for them, are elected to
office”

Two of these have proved themselves in the chapter’s own examples.

RTI at Bagepalli (page 158). Double roads and streetlights were built “in a very
unprofessional manner, making traffic movement difficult and causing numerous accidents.
A local citizen filed an RTI to get information about finances allocated for the work. Armed
with this information, a group of citizens confronted the concerned officials, who later
ensured that the roadwork was completed to the satisfaction of all concerned.”
Civil society at Silent Valley (page 159). A hydroelectric project planned in 1970 “would have
submerged vast tracts of untouched evergreen forests”. NGOs mobilised public opinion,
joined by “hundreds of scientists, environmentalists, writers, public figures, teachers, and
local villagers”. The Central Government cancelled the project in 1983, and in 1985 Silent
Valley was declared a National Park.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why the order matters: start at the level closest to the problem. A broken
streetlamp goes to the municipality or panchayat, not to a member of parliament. If
that fails, escalate — grievance portal, then RTI to find out what was actually
decided, then the media or a citizens’ group, then your representative. Each step
widens the number of people who know, and it is being known that produces an
answer.

Practical tip for a real complaint: write down what happened, where, and on what
date; name the department; say what you want done; and keep the complaint
number the portal gives you. A grievance with a date, a place and a number is far
harder to lose than one without.

LET’S EXPLORE — Page 160
Newspaper editorials and government policy

LET’S EXPLORE

Q1 Collect editorials from a few newspapers. Read them in small groups. Identify the
topics on which they have opinions. How many are about government policies?

How to do this activity. Bring in three or four different newspapers of the same day —
including, if you can, one in your own language and one in English. The editorial page is usually
the one with no photographs and no advertisements, carrying two or three unsigned opinion
pieces. In groups of four or five, read the editorials, write the topic of each in a few words, and
then tick the ones that are about something the government has done, plans to do, or has failed
to do. Count the ticks. Finally, compare two newspapers on the same topic and see whether they
take the same view.
What a good answer needs: the actual date and names of the papers; a topic in your own
words for every editorial (not a copied headline); a clear yes/no on whether it concerns
government policy; the count and the fraction; and one sentence on what surprised you. Do not
label a newspaper as being for or against any party — the point of the exercise is to notice what
is being discussed and how opinions are argued, not to take sides.
Sample answer:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

NEWSPAPER TOPIC OF THE EDITORIAL ABOUT GOVERNMENT
POLICY?

Paper A, editorial A new scheme to give scholarships to school Yes — a union government scheme
1 students

Paper A, editorial Air quality in the city this winter Yes — state and municipal action
2

Paper B, editorial Rules for approving new medicines Yes — a regulator’s decision
1

Paper B, editorial An Indian team’s performance in a tournament No
2

Paper C, editorial Repair of a state highway after the monsoon Yes — a state public works matter
1

Paper C, editorial A book festival in the city No
2

Result of the sample survey: 4 out of 6 editorials, that is two-thirds, were about government
policy. In most collections the share comes out somewhere between half and three-quarters,
because government decisions touch almost everything — prices, schools, roads, health, safety,
the environment.

Why the chapter asks you to do this: ‘Before we move on…’ says it in one line —
“The media plays an important role in democracy — it keeps the citizens informed
and provides a platform for discussion and debate.” An editorial is that platform in
its clearest form: an argument about a public decision, printed where anyone can
read it and disagree. That is also why the chapter lists “use the media” as one of the
six things a citizen can do. When you find that most editorials are about government
policy, you have found the reason both statements are true.

Check it yourself: pick one editorial and ask which level of government it is
addressing — union, state or local — and which organ, the legislature, the executive
or the judiciary. You will usually find it is the executive, for the same reason page 148
gives: that is the part of government we deal with most.

LET’S REMEMBER — Page 161

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‘Tiers of Government’ — the image of the three tiers from Grade 6, Chapter 10
co m
em.
m as
LET’S REMEMBER

.co a g l
a s em
gl
Do you remember this image from Grade 6, Chapter 10? It represents the three tiers
a
Q1
of Government in India. Why do we have these levels of Government in India?

co m
m . ag
l a se
ag runs in three steps: “India is a vast and diverse country
Because one government sitting in Delhi cannot possibly know or handle what 1.4 billion
people need. The chapter’s reasoning
with over 1.4 billion people, thousands of towns and villages, and many languages and cultures.

. c om
As a federal country, India has 28 states and 8 union territories, and a single central (union)

m a s
government cannot meet the needs of all her people. Therefore, governance emin such a large
.
country mustco be decentralised at multiple levels.” a gl
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CENTRAL (UNION) GOVERNMENT
.
fewest matters,

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at the national levelm— defence, foreign affairs, currency largest area
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STATE GOVERNMENT

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at the state level — police, land, health, agriculture, education
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a s em LOCAL GOVERNMENT

agl at the town or village level — water, drainage, streetlamps, parks

se m
closest to you — most day-to-day matters
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The three tiers (Fig. 6.17, page 161). The lower you go, the smaller the area and the closer the
adecision
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is to the people it affects.

Who does what (page 163):
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LEVEL LOOKS AFTER
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“Matters related to the whole country (like defence, foreign affairs, currency, and concurrent

a (Union) subjects like education and marriage)”
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State “The needs of people in each state (like police, land, health, agriculture, and education in the

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state)”

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Local
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“Villages, towns, and cities… local problems (like land, agriculture, water, drainage, streetlamps,
parks, etc.)”

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Why the third tier had to be created: “Originally, the Constitution provided for only
two levels of government, the Union Government… and the state governments…
Local governments, such as panchayats and municipalities, were not separate
constitutional levels at that time. They were listed under the State List, which means
that state governments could decide how they worked.” In the early 1990s the
Constitution was amended “to create the panchayati raj system and the system of
municipalities for towns and cities”, making local government the third tier — “to
strengthen democracy at the grassroots and enable people to participate directly in
decision-making.”

Did you know? The idea was there from the beginning. One of the Directive
Principles of State Policy said: “The state shall take steps to organise village
panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to
enable them to function as units of self-government.” The 1990s amendments
turned that direction into a constitutional tier.

Q2 Can’t we have just one level to do fulfil all the functions?

In principle you could — and it would work badly. The chapter’s answer is the one sentence,
“a single central (union) government cannot meet the needs of all her people.” Here is what a
single level would actually mean.

THE TASK WITH ONE CENTRAL LEVEL WITH THREE LEVELS
ONLY

A broken A file travels to the capital, joins The municipal body or panchayat fixes it. “The
streetlamp in your millions of others, and comes back local municipal body can do it faster”
lane — if it comes back

Deciding what a Decided by officials who have never “Local leaders know the area, its needs, and the
village needs most seen the village traditions of the people better than distant
officials”

Questioning the Almost impossible — they are far “When leaders are closer to the people, it is
person responsible away and answerable to a whole easier to question them, ask for answers, and
country make sure they do their job”

Defending the Correctly handled at the centre Still at the centre — “if the country’s defence is
country at stake, that is the responsibility of the central
government”

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

So the rule is not “everything locally”, it is “everything at the right level”. As the chapter
puts it: “Generally, decisions regarding local matters are taken at the level closest to the people.
Tasks that can be performed locally should be left in the hands of the local people and their
representatives… But if the country’s defence is at stake, that is the responsibility of the central
government.”

Why one level fails on both ends: a single government would be swamped by small
things it cannot judge, and would have no time left for big things only it can do.
Splitting the work by level solves both problems at once — and it also keeps power
from piling up in one place, which is why ‘Before we move on…’ says the Constitution
“ensures that the three levels of government work together for the people without
excessive centralisation.”

Gandhi’s version of the same idea: “My idea of village swarāj is that it is a complete
republic, independent of its neighbours for its own vital wants, and yet
interdependent for many others in which dependence is a necessity.” Independent
for what a village can manage; dependent for what it cannot. That is decentralisation
in one sentence.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 162
Which level of government would you go to?

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 If a streetlamp in your neighbourhood is broken, who would you contact to fix it?

The local government — your ward councillor or the municipal corporation / nagar palika
office if you live in a town or city, and the gram panchayat (through your ward member or the
sarpanch) if you live in a village. Streetlamps are named in the chapter’s own list of local
government work: “Local governments: Work in villages, towns, and cities to solve local
problems (like land, agriculture, water, drainage, streetlamps, parks, etc.).”
How you would actually do it:

1. Note the exact place — street name, nearest landmark, the pole number if it is painted on.
2. Tell the ward member or councillor, or file a complaint at the municipal office. Most cities
now also take complaints by phone or on a website or app.
3. Keep the complaint number, and follow up if nothing happens.
4. If there is still no answer, raise it in the gram sabha or ward meeting, or use the state
grievance portal.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why the local body and not anyone higher: it owns the lamp, it has the electrician
and the ladder, and it is the level that can act today. Sending a broken streetlamp to
the state or union government would only mean the instruction travels all the way
back down to this same office — slower, and with nothing gained. “The local
municipal body can do it faster.”

Q2 If a village road needs to be repaired, would the local people reach out to the
Central Government?

No. They would go to their gram panchayat first, and to the state government — usually the
Public Works Department or the rural roads programme — if the road is a bigger one beyond
the panchayat’s means.
Which road goes where:

THE ROAD WHOM TO APPROACH

A lane inside the village Gram panchayat — raise it in the gram sabha so it enters the
panchayat’s plan and budget

The road linking the village to the main The state government’s rural roads / public works department, through
road or the block town the panchayat, the block office or the MLA

A national highway passing by That is a union subject — but even here the complaint normally travels
through local and state offices

What the chapter wants you to notice. The right answer to both questions in this box is “the
level closest to the problem”, because that is the level that knows the place, can act quickly, and
can be held to account. “Generally, decisions regarding local matters are taken at the level
closest to the people.”

Why going straight to the top usually fails: the central government is responsible
for matters that affect the whole country — defence, foreign affairs, currency. It has
neither the information about your village road nor the machinery on the spot to
repair it. A letter to Delhi about a village lane ends up being forwarded down to the
very office you could have reached in a morning.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Where the central government does come in: funds for rural roads often come
from union schemes even when the work is done by the state and the village. The
three tiers are not sealed off from one another — they work together, which is
exactly what Fig. 6.19 shows for schools.

LET’S EXPLORE — Page 162
Why local decisions should be taken locally

LET’S EXPLORE

Q1 What might be the reasons that decisions regarding local concerns should be taken
locally to the extent possible?

Five reasons, and the chapter gives all five in Fig. 6.18 under the heading “Why is
decentralisation important?”

REASON WHAT THE CHAPTER SAYS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN A
VILLAGE OR WARD

Better knowledge “Local leaders know the area, its needs, and the A panchayat member knows
traditions of the people better than distant which hand-pump dries up in
officials” May. No file in the capital
contains that

More democratic “People get a chance to be more involved in You can attend a gram sabha or
decisions that affect their daily lives” ward meeting. You cannot attend
a meeting of the union cabinet

Local discussions “Local issues (like water supply, roads, or schools) The people arguing about the
can be discussed and solved by people who face drain are the people the drain
them every day” floods

More “When leaders are closer to the people, it is Your councillor lives in the same
accountability easier to question them, ask for answers, and ward and meets you at the
make sure they do their job” market

Stronger local “With power and responsibility, panchayats and A body that can actually decide
governments municipalities can become lively places where things attracts people who want
people participate actively and leaders work to decide them well
responsibly”

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And one practical reason from the running text: speed. “Tasks that can be performed locally
co m
should be left in the hands of the local people and their representatives. The local municipal
e m.
m l as
.co g
body can do it faster.”

em a
a s
gl “to the extent possible” is in the question: because not everything can be
adecided
Why
locally. A village cannot run the currency, sign a treaty or defend a border —

co m
“if the country’s defence is at stake, that is the responsibility of the central

e m .
government.” Decentralisation is a rule about matching the decision to the right ag
g l as
level, not a rule that the smallest body should decide everything.
a

. c om
Remember the definition: “‘Decentralisation’ means that power and decision-
making are spread out and not concentrated in just one place or onem
s e small group.

. com should be solved locally, and bigger issues can
Local problems
a lasolved by higher-
gbe
a s emgovernments such as the state or the central government.”
level

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LET’S EXPLORE — Page 165
m .co agl
l a se
A class discussion on 75 years of the republic
a g
LET’S EXPLORE

. com
m of ordinary
List five major achievements of our country in improving theelives
s
Q1
m a
gl made this possible
o in your village, town or city. Which level of government
cpeople
. a
a s em and how?
agl
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o m g l a
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How to do this activity. This one is about your own place, so the material has to come from
a
e in your village, town or city for at least thirty years — a
there. Ask three people who haveslived
a
l
grandparent, a shopkeeper, agteacher — what exists today that did not exist when they were
a
your age. Write down five, and for each ask two follow-up questions: which government office

co m
made it happen, and how do you know. Then check the level: local (panchayat or municipality),

m .
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state, or union. Bring the list to class and pool everybody’s answers on the board.
m l
.co a g
What a good answer needs: five specific, local, checkable things — not “India has progressed”;

a s emthe name of the office or scheme behind each; the level of government; and one line on how it
agl changed daily life. If more than one level was involved, say so — that is usually the truthful
.c
m
answer.

m a s e
co agl
Sample answer (for a small town; replace with your own):

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ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL, AND HOW WHAT CHANGED IN DAILY
LIFE

A government higher State government built and staffed it, Girls no longer have to travel
secondary school in the town under a union law (the Right to 12 km for Classes 9–12, so far
Education Act) and schemes such as more of them finish school
Samagra Shiksha

Tap water in the house Local body laid and maintains the pipes; Hours a day that used to be
state and union funds paid for the spent carrying water are free
scheme for school and work

An all-weather road to the State public works department, with Vegetables reach the market
highway union rural-roads funding unspoilt; an ambulance can
come in the monsoon

A primary health centre with State health department; ASHA and Children are vaccinated in the
vaccination and maternity anganwadi workers at the grassroots village itself; fewer risky home
care deliveries

Electricity, and mobile and State electricity board for power; union Studying after dark; bill
internet coverage policy and telecom regulation for the payments, tickets and forms
network filled online instead of a day’s
travel

The chapter’s own summary of the same period: “We have come a long way by increasing
literacy of our people, improving roads, trains, and airports, and strengthening communication
systems such as the telephone and the internet.”

Notice the pattern: almost nothing on the list was done by one level alone. Money
often comes from the union, the work is usually done by the state, and the delivery
happens through a local body and grassroots workers. That is exactly what Fig. 6.19
shows for school education — three organs and three levels, “different, yet
interconnected, roles”.

Q2 List five problems that ordinary people face frequently. At which level of
government should these be addressed and how?

How to do this activity. Make the list from things you can actually see or have heard about at
home this year — not from the news about far-away places. For each problem, ask which level
owns that subject (use the list on page 163), and then name the specific step a citizen could
take. Keep it about the problem and the office; do not turn the list into praise or blame of any
party or leader, which is not what the exercise asks for.

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What a good answer needs: five real, frequent, ordinary problems; the correct level for each;
and a concrete first step — whom to approach and with what.
Sample answer:

PROBLEM LEVEL HOW IT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED

Garbage not cleared; Local Complaint to the ward councillor or municipal
blocked drains flooding the office / panchayat; raise it in the ward or gram
lane in the rains sabha meeting so it enters the plan and budget

Irregular water supply Local, with state support Written complaint with dates to the water works
for the source and office; if there is no reply, use the state grievance
pipeline portal

Teacher vacancies in the State (education is a School Management Committee and parents
government school; poor concurrent subject, so raise it with the Block Education Officer; an RTI
building repair union schemes help) can be filed on sanctioned versus filled posts

Doctor or medicines not State Complaint to the district health officer; grievance
available at the primary portal; the matter can also be raised through the
health centre local body

A road built badly, or a bus State (a national RTI on the funds sanctioned and the contract, as
route that keeps being highway would be union) the citizens of Bagepalli did; then approach the
cancelled officials together, and write to the MLA if needed

The chapter is honest that such problems remain: “We still encounter many issues that need
to be addressed — people in difficult socio-economic conditions, lack of access to good
education and healthcare, infrastructure that is of poor quality, inadequate access to
government schemes, and so on… But we still have a long way to go in addressing India’s
challenges.”

Why matching problem to level is the whole skill: a complaint sent to the wrong
office is not refused, it is forwarded — and forwarding takes weeks. Get the level
right and you save the time; get it wrong and you may conclude nothing works when
in fact nobody responsible has yet heard you. Then use the tools from page 157
onwards in order: complaint, then RTI to find out what was decided, then media or a
citizens’ group, then your representative, and finally the vote.

Before we move on … — Pages 165–166

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The chapter in eight points

BEFORE WE MOVE ON …

Q1 The state and the government are different, but sometimes the terms are used
interchangeably. The state is a larger concept that includes the citizens of a
country, the territory of the country. It is sovereign, i.e., it has the independence to
make its laws without any outside control. It has a government that makes and
implements laws to run the country.

Unpack the point into the four parts of a state, because that is what it is listing.

PART OF THE THE POINT’S WORDS WHAT IT MEANS
STATE

People “includes the citizens of a country” A permanent population — people who
identify with the place and live there, not
visitors

Land “the territory of the country” A geographically defined territory — “a
place… that has clear boundaries”, agreed
with the neighbouring states

Sovereignty “It is sovereign, i.e., it has the Highest authority inside; no interference from
independence to make its laws outside
without any outside control”

Government “It has a government that makes and Note the verb: the state has a government. It is
implements laws to run the country” a possession, not a synonym

Why the two words get swapped. “The government acts on behalf of the state, and is the face
of the state that we see in action every day” — because it “runs the daily work of the state” and
because “we usually interact with the government, not the whole state.”

The test that settles it every time: ask what an election changes. It changes the
government; it does not change the state. “It can change after elections, but the
state remains the same.” School and teachers, again — “teachers may come and go,
but the school remains.”

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Q2 A republic is a form of government where the head of state is elected (directly or
indirectly) by the people, rather than being a king or queen who inherits power. In a
republic, the powers of the head of state are limited through a constitution or laws.

The point has two halves, and both are needed.

How the head of state is chosen — elected, not born to it. “Directly or indirectly” matters
for India: “India’s head of state, the president, would be elected — not directly by the people,
but by a group of elected representatives.” The vote is one step removed, but it is still a vote,
and nobody inherits the office.
How much power the office carries — limited by law. “In a republic, there are limitations
set on the power of rulers through a constitution or laws.” A republic is not simply a country
without a king; it is a country where even the highest office is under the Constitution.

The examples to remember. Both a democracy and a republic: India, the U.S.A. Democracies
but not republics: the UK, Canada, Sweden — “they each have a monarch.”

Why the second half is the important one for a Class 7 answer: replacing a king
with an elected president achieves nothing if that president can then do whatever he
likes. The limits are what protect you: “The elected leaders cannot pass laws that go
against people’s basic rights — like freedom of speech, religion, or equality before
the law.” That is why the chapter can say “the rule of law is more powerful than the
wishes of the majority.”

Did you know? George Washington refused the suggestion that he become king of
America in 1782, “saying that such a plan would harm the country, and that he
believed only in a government by the people under a constitution” — seven years
before he became the first President of the United States in 1789.

Q3 The three pillars or organs of the government are the legislature, the executive,
and the judiciary.

One organ per job, and each one checks the others.

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co m
m.
ORGAN ITS JOB WHO IT IS IN INDIA

m laws for the country… It l a se
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Legislature “Makes Parliament for the country; each state has its own

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The four things the judiciary does (page 160): protects and defends the laws; interprets the
.
em rights are violated, we can go to court”; and
laws “when the wording is complex or when

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rights and liberty of citizens — “if fundamental
“safeguards the Constitution through
others break the law.”

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Why three and not one: because each organ is a check on the others. The
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chapter also notes that this separation is not universal — “in some countries, the
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Q4 In India, there are also three levels of government — union (central), state, and
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judging). Levels divide it by reach (whole country, one state, one town or village).

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LEVEL REACH SUBJECTS (PAGE 163)

Union The whole country Defence, foreign affairs, currency, and concurrent subjects such as
(central) education and marriage

State One state Police, land, health, agriculture, and education in the state

Local One town, city or Land, agriculture, water, drainage, streetlamps, parks
village

The third tier is younger than the other two. “Originally, the Constitution provided for only
two levels of government.” Panchayats and municipalities “were listed under the State List,
which means that state governments could decide how they worked.” In the early 1990s the
Constitution was amended to create the panchayati raj system and municipalities, “to
strengthen democracy at the grassroots and enable people to participate directly in decision-
making.”

Both divisions at once: Fig. 6.19 shows school education handled by all three
organs across two levels — Parliament and state legislatures make the laws and
approve budgets, ministers and officers such as District and Block Education Officers
implement them, and courts along with the NCPCR and SCPCR protect children’s
rights.

Q5 The Constitution of India forms the fundamental and basic framework for the
structure of our government. It ensures that there are ‘checks and balances’ among
the three organs of the government. It also ensures that the three levels of
government work together for the people without excessive centralisation.

The Constitution does three jobs in this one sentence.

1. It builds the structure. It says what organs and levels exist, who holds which office, and
what each may do. Everything in this chapter — legislature, executive, judiciary, union, state,
local — is set up by it.
2. It sets checks and balances between the organs. “The Constitution ensures that no part of
the government becomes too powerful.” Each organ can stop another from overstepping.
3. It keeps the levels working together, “without excessive centralisation”. Subjects are
distributed, so the centre cannot simply absorb everything, and the levels have to cooperate.

What ‘checks and balances’ looks like in practice, using this chapter’s own material.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

THE CHECK HOW IT WORKS

On the “The elected leaders cannot pass laws that go against people’s basic rights — like freedom of
legislature speech, religion, or equality before the law.” The judiciary “safeguards the Constitution through
judicial review”

On the It may implement only the laws the legislature has made; “the government can use force to
executive maintain law and order but the Constitution limits its powers”; and the courts act “as a referee
when the government or others break the law”

On everyone “The judiciary protects the rule of law, that is, the idea that everyone must follow the law, even
in office the government”

On the “Constitutional provisions and the law ensure that rule by a representative majority does not
majority violate the fundamental rights of any citizen”

Why checks are needed at all: the chapter says it in Fig. 6.8 — “otherwise, elected
members and government officers might use their power unchecked, which would
threaten citizens’ rights.” Power without a check does not stay the same size; it
grows. Checks and balances are simply the arrangement that makes every part of
the government answerable to some other part, and all of them answerable to the
Constitution.

Q6 The media plays an important role in democracy — it keeps the citizens informed
and provides a platform for discussion and debate.

Two roles, and the chapter names both.

Informing. A citizen cannot judge a government she knows nothing about. News about how
public money was spent, how a scheme is working or what a court has decided is what
makes an opinion possible. This is the same idea as transparency — “open access to
information to citizens regarding government policies and actions, expenditure of public
funds, etc.”
Providing a platform. The editorial page, the letters column, the television debate and now
social media are all places where a public argument can happen. That is why the chapter
asks you to collect editorials and see how many are about government policy.

And the media is a route for the citizen, not only a source of news. It is the third of the six
things you can do: “Write in print or electronic media about a particular issue on which the
government can take action. Many government officials are active on social media. You can also

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use social media platforms like YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook or Instagram to share
your concerns and tag the corresponding officials” — the chapter shows the railways’ official
handle, @RailwaySeva, as an example.

Why this makes government work better: officials behave differently when a
decision can be seen and asked about in public. In the Silent Valley case, non-
government organisations “mobilised public opinion against the construction of the
dam”, and that opinion — carried by writers, scientists and public figures — is what
eventually changed the decision. Publicity turned a private plan into a public
question.

Use it carefully: because anyone can post, not everything that circulates is accurate.
Check who is saying it, whether an official source confirms it, and whether more
than one newspaper reports it, before passing it on. Being informed is the role of
the media in a democracy; being misinformed does the opposite work.

Q7 Civil society organisations (NGOs) play a critical role in raising issues, and also
working with government to solve them.

Note the two verbs in the point: raising and working with. Civil society is not only a critic of
government; much of its work is done alongside government.

WHAT THEY DO EXAMPLE FROM THE CHAPTER

Raise an issue nobody is Silent Valley: NGOs “mobilised public opinion against the construction of the dam”,
looking at and were “soon joined by hundreds of scientists, environmentalists, writers, public
figures, teachers, and local villagers”

Bring people together to “India has thousands of citizen groups, collectively termed as civil society, which work
press for action on issues like education, health, environment, livelihood, women empowerment, etc.”

Work with the After the Central Government cancelled the project in 1983, Silent Valley “was
government to solve the declared a National Park” in 1985 — a government decision that grew out of a
problem citizens’ campaign

And you can join. “One can join any of those (or create one!) to push the government to
address an issue you care deeply about.”

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Why civil society matters between elections: a vote comes once in five years and
covers everything at once. An issue that needs attention this month — a forest, a
school, a river, the safety of women workers — cannot wait for the next election and
cannot be separated out from it. An organised group of citizens can raise exactly
that one issue, keep raising it, and bring in the experts and evidence a government
department may not have. That is why the chapter calls their role “critical”.

Q8 The permanent executive consisting of civil servants or bureaucrats implement
laws and policies devised by the government.

The permanent executive is the half of the executive that does not change when the
government changes. Its officers are “not elected but are selected through examinations like
those conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)”, and “unlike politicians, these
officers are not removed or replaced after every election. They work in the background to keep
the government running smoothly, no matter which party is in power.”

POLITICAL EXECUTIVE PERMANENT EXECUTIVE

Who Prime minister, chief ministers, ministers; Bureaucrats or civil servants — IFS,
president and governors (“mostly formal or IAS, IPS, IRS, IFoS and the officers
symbolic roles”) below them

How Elected by the people Selected through examinations such as
chosen the UPSC’s

How long “A fixed time — usually five years — unless they They stay; they are not replaced after an
they stay are re-elected or dismissed” election

What they “Making big decisions, introducing new laws, “Offer expert advice, implement
do setting goals for the country, and representing policies, and manage public services”
India in other countries”

The three key functions of the bureaucracy (page 153):

Implementing laws, policies and schemes — ensuring that what the political executive
passes “are appropriately implemented across the country”.
Creating a link between citizens and the government — “through various departments
and field offices, bureaucrats interact with the public, deliver services such as public schools,
roads, and hospitals, and address grievances.”
Record-keeping and governance — “they keep records of government work, decisions, and
procedures.”

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It is a hierarchy. Fig. 6.11 prints the organisation chart of a single department of one state —
co m
the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services — and it runs from the minister at the top
e m.
com
down through dozens of officers. (The chapter says you need not memorise the chart; you need
g l as
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to see the shape.)
a
agl

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MINISTER (Health & Family Welfare)

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political executive — elected
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SECRETARY to Government
permanent executive — senior civil servant

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Commissioner · Directors · Mission Director

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Deputy Directors (DD) · district and block officers
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…and below them the staff we actually meet: doctors, nurses, health workers

The shape of Fig. 6.11 (page 154): one elected minister on top, and a permanent hierarchy below.
“Such structures exist at the level of the district and block, too.”
co m
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Where you meet them. “Our interactions are usually with the bureaucrats serving at thel
a s em — government school teachers, anganwadi workers, health workers, water and
grassroots

agl sanitation workers, or bus conductors.” And the bureaucracy “manages large-scale programs
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like the census, national elections, disaster relief, and the rollout of welfare schemes… or the

a se
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COVID-19 vaccination drive.”
. a g
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Why a permanent executive
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a between two governments and a census cannot be
but a hospital cannot close

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abandoned halfway. Somebody must hold the experience, the records and the
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routine steady across the change. That is also why these officers are selected by

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examination rather than elected — the job asks for expertise and continuity, not for
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Remember C.B. Muthamma. She became the first woman to clear the public
services examination in 1948 and to join the Indian Foreign Service in 1949, at a time
when women “were made to sign an undertaking that they would resign if they got
married”. When she was unjustly denied promotion she went to the Supreme Court,
and a bench led by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer “struck down gender-biased provisions as
violating the Constitution”. A civil servant using the judiciary to correct the executive
— the checks and balances of this chapter, in one life.

Questions and activities — Pages 166–167
End-of-chapter exercise

Q1 “Every democracy is a republic.” Is this statement true or false? Explain.

False. Every republic is not a democracy, and — which is what this statement claims — every
democracy is certainly not a republic.
The counter-example is in the chapter itself: “not all democracies are republics; for example,
the UK, Canada, and Sweden are democracies but not republics — they each have a monarch.”
Why the two are not the same test.

DEMOCRACY ASKS REPUBLIC ASKS

The Do the people choose the government Is the head of state elected rather than hereditary
question through free and fair elections? — and is the ruler’s power limited by a
constitution or laws?

The UK Yes — people elect their representatives No — “the British… have had a monarch (a king
and the government is accountable to or a queen) as the head of state for centuries”
parliament

India Yes Yes — the president is “elected… by a group of
elected representatives”

So the correct statement would be: a country can be a democracy without being a republic
(the UK, Canada, Sweden), and it can be both (India, the U.S.A.). India is described as a
democratic republic precisely because the two words add different things.

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Why the confusion is so common: in ordinary speech both words simply mean “a
country where people vote”. But they were built to answer different questions — one
about who forms the government, the other about who sits in the highest office and
under what limits. The Constitution makers used both words together exactly
because one alone would have left a gap.

Q2 Give two reasons why decentralisation is important in India.

Two reasons, taken from Fig. 6.18 and the text around it.

1. Local leaders know local needs better. “Local leaders know the area, its needs, and the
traditions of the people better than distant officials.” India has “over 1.4 billion people,
thousands of towns and villages, and many languages and cultures”, so “a single central
(union) government cannot meet the needs of all her people.” A decision about which hamlet
needs a hand-pump is a decision only somebody in that block can take well — and “the local
municipal body can do it faster”.
2. It makes leaders accountable and citizens active. “When leaders are closer to the people,
it is easier to question them, ask for answers, and make sure they do their job.” And “people
get a chance to be more involved in decisions that affect their daily lives” — a gram sabha or
ward meeting is something an ordinary citizen can actually attend.

The other reasons in Fig. 6.18, if you want a third or fourth: local discussions — “local issues
(like water supply, roads, or schools) can be discussed and solved by people who face them
every day”; and stronger local governments — “with power and responsibility, panchayats and
municipalities can become lively places where people participate actively and leaders work
responsibly.”

Why this had to be written into the Constitution: local bodies were originally only
in the State List, so their powers depended on what each state chose to give them.
The amendments of the early 1990s created the panchayati raj system and
municipalities as the third tier, “to strengthen democracy at the grassroots and
enable people to participate directly in decision-making.” Decentralisation stopped
being a favour and became a right.

But not everything: “if the country’s defence is at stake, that is the responsibility of
the central government.” Decentralisation means deciding each thing at the level
that fits it.

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Q3 Imagine you are part of your school’s student council. The council works like a mini-
parliament — it has members elected by students, debates issues and makes
decisions. In this context, do you think it would be better if only the council
president makes all the decisions or if power is to be shared among all members? •
Should the student council have the power to make rules about the food you eat, or
the language you speak? • What can go wrong if the student council is the most
powerful body in your school and no one questions its decisions?

(a) Power should be shared among all the members, not held by the president alone.
A council of one is not a council. Sharing power gives you three things a single decision-maker
cannot:

More knowledge. Members come from different classes and sections and know different
problems. A president cannot know what the Class 6 students or the hostel students actually
need.
More voices heard. This is the same argument the chapter makes for decentralisation —
“people get a chance to be more involved in decisions that affect their daily lives.”
A check on mistakes. A decision that has to be explained to twenty members and argued
through is a decision that has been tested. One person deciding alone has nobody to catch
the error.

A sensible arrangement: the president chairs the meeting and speaks for the council, but
decisions are taken by discussion and, where needed, a vote; minutes are written down; and the
council reports back to the students who elected it. That is a mini-parliament — and it mirrors
India, where the prime minister leads but the legislature decides.
(b) Should the council make rules about the food you eat, or the language you speak? No
— those lie outside what such a body should decide.

FIT FOR THE COUNCIL NOT FOR THE COUNCIL

Shared arrangements — the sports schedule, the library Personal matters — what a student eats, which
timetable, a cleanliness drive, how the annual day is language she speaks with her friends, what she
organised, where the notice board goes believes or wears at home

Why the line falls there. Food and language are not shared arrangements; they belong to a
person, a family and a community. A rule about them would be a majority deciding how a
minority must live — precisely the “dominance of the majority” the chapter warns against, “a
situation where the interests of the majority alone are pursued, to the detriment of the rights of
minorities.” India is a country of many languages and many food habits, and the Constitution
protects that: “the elected leaders cannot pass laws that go against people’s basic rights — like
freedom of speech, religion, or equality before the law.” A student council, being elected, has
exactly the same duty on a smaller scale.

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The exception, and where it stops: a school may reasonably have rules about food safety or
hygiene in the canteen, or ask that a common language be used in a formal assembly so
everyone follows. That is different from telling a student what she may eat from her own tiffin,
or which language she may speak to her friend.
(c) What can go wrong if the council is the most powerful body and nobody questions it?

The minority gets ignored. Whoever the elected members do not come from — a smaller
section, a hostel, a language group — stops being heard, and rules start being made about
them rather than with them.
Mistakes never get corrected. If no one may question a decision, a wrong decision simply
stays. Recall the RWA in the chapter: the delivery ban was reversed only because the harm
was pointed out.
Power gets used for the wrong things. The chapter’s warning applies exactly: without
limits, “elected members and government officers might use their power unchecked, which
would threaten citizens’ rights.” Positions can turn into favours for friends.
Students stop taking part. If nothing you say makes a difference, you stop saying anything
— and then the council no longer represents anyone, even though it was elected.

What the school needs instead — the same three protections a country has.
First, rules above the council, like a constitution: a short charter saying what the
council may and may not decide. Second, somebody who can review a decision — a
teacher-in-charge, a students’ grievance box, or an appeal to the principal — playing
the part the judiciary plays. Third, regular elections, so the council must ask the
students again. “The Constitution ensures that no part of the government becomes
too powerful” — a school council is worth building the same way.

Q4 Think about these real-life situations in relation to India’s democracy: • Should the
Parliament be the most powerful institution in the country? Why or why not? •
Should the Parliament have the power to make any law it wants, even if it affects
your rights? • What could go wrong if lawmaking has no limits? Can it lead to unfair
or unjust laws? • Who is more powerful in India, the Parliament or the Supreme
Court? Give your reasons.

(a) Should Parliament be the most powerful institution in the country?
Parliament holds a special place, but “most powerful with no limits” is not how India is
designed. Parliament deserves great weight because it is the body directly elected by the
people: it makes the laws for the whole country, approves the budget, and the government is
accountable to it. In that sense it speaks for the people more directly than any other institution.

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But the chapter states the design principle plainly: “The Constitution ensures that no part of the
co m
se
government becomes too powerful.” Parliament itself was created by the Constitution and
m.
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Constitution.cis above Parliament.
works within it. So the honest answer is: Parliament is supreme in lawmaking, but the

m a
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ag
(b) Should
rights?

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No. The chapter answers this directly: “The elected leaders cannot pass laws that go against

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people’s basic rights — like freedom of speech, religion, or equality before the law.” And:

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“Constitutional provisions and the law ensure that rule by a representative majority does not
violate the fundamental rights of any citizen.” a
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This is what makes India a republic as well as a democracy — “in a republic, there are
co
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limitations set on the power of rulers through a constitution or laws.” Winning an election gives

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you the authority to govern; it does not give you the authority to take away someone’s rights.
c go wrong if lawmaking had no limits? Can it leadatogunfair or unjust laws?
(c) What .could
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Yes, The chapter has already shown how, in miniature.

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WHAT GOES WRONG THE CHAPTER’S EVIDENCE

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The majority’s convenience The RWA banned deliveries after 9 pm by majority vote; an elderly resident
overrides a minority’s needs
a g
collapsed because her medicine could not reach her. The rule was legal and still
unjust

. c om
mto their sacred hills were
Small communities lose what is Without legal protection, the sacred hills of the Dongria Kondh in Odisha could
theirs
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have been mined. “In this case, the rights of the tribals

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protected by law”

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“Otherwise, elected members and government officers might use their power
unchecked, which would threaten citizens’ rights”

se m
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Unfair rules survive because C.B. Muthamma’s promotion case: the gender-biased provisions were removed

m
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nothing can strike them down only because a court could hold them to be “violating the Constitution”

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That is why the chapter says a republic is where “the rule of law is more powerful than the

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wishes of the majority… It stops the powerful majority from unfairly hurting the rights of smaller
groups.”
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(d) Who is more powerful in India, the Parliament or the Supreme Court?

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

THE CASE FOR PARLIAMENT THE CASE FOR THE SUPREME COURT

It is elected, so it speaks for the people. It makes It is independent — “not controlled by the government or
the laws the courts then apply, approves the politicians”. Through judicial review it can hold that a law
money the government spends, and the violates the Constitution, and it protects fundamental rights: “if
government is accountable to it fundamental rights are violated, we can go to court to address
the violations”

How to say it in one sentence: Parliament is supreme in making law; the Supreme Court is
supreme in interpreting the Constitution and protecting rights; and each of them draws its
authority from the Constitution, which is above both. This is what ‘Before we move on…’ means
by “checks and balances among the three organs of the government”, and what the chapter
means by “the judiciary protects the rule of law, that is, the idea that everyone must follow the
law, even the government.”

A fair note: where exactly the balance between the two lies is a genuinely debated
question, and it is settled case by case rather than once and for all. Your textbook
says as much when it promises: “We will delve into the structure and process of
lawmaking in the chapter ‘The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive’ in
Grade 8”, and “we will delve deeper into the judiciary in India in Grade 8.” At this
stage, what you should be able to explain is why neither can be allowed to be
unquestionably supreme — because “the Constitution ensures that no part of the
government becomes too powerful.”

Q5 Ask your parents / guardians how they engaged with the government over the past
year. Make a list and classify the items based on the level of government they had
to work with. What challenges did they face?

How to do this activity. Sit down with a parent or guardian with a notebook and ask them to
think back over the last twelve months. Prompt them with concrete things rather than the
general question — did you pay any tax or bill to a government office? Renew or apply for any
document? Take anyone to a government hospital? Deal with a school? Complain about water,
electricity, garbage or a road? Vote? For each item note four things: what it was, which office,
which level, and what was difficult. Then group the items by level and count them.
What a good answer needs: real items from your own household, not invented ones; the
correct level for each (use the list on page 163 — union: defence, foreign affairs, currency, and
concurrent subjects; state: police, land, health, agriculture, education; local: water, drainage,
streetlamps, parks); an honest note of the difficulty; and a closing sentence on which level was
easiest to deal with and why. Report what happened; do not turn it into an opinion about any
party or leader.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample answer:

WHAT THEY DID OFFICE LEVEL CHALLENGE FACED

Paid the property tax Municipal Local The online receipt did not
corporation / gram open; had to go in person
panchayat

Complained about a blocked Ward office Local Cleared only after a second
drain visit and a complaint
number

Got my sister admitted to Government school, State Documents had to be
Class 9 and collected a Block Education attested; two trips to the
transfer certificate Office block office

Renewed a driving licence Regional Transport State Long queue; the
Office appointment slot was three
weeks away

Took grandmother for Primary Health State One medicine was out of
treatment and medicines Centre / district stock and had to be bought
hospital outside

Filed the income tax return Income Tax Union The form was confusing;
Department (online) needed help to fill it

Applied for a passport Passport Seva Kendra Union Police verification took
several weeks

Voted in the panchayat / Election machinery Local (conducted Name had to be checked on
municipal election under state law) the roll beforehand

Counting the sample list: 3 items at the local level, 3 at the state level, 2 at the union level.
Most families find the same pattern — the great majority of their dealings are with the state and
local levels, because that is where schools, health, transport, water and civic services sit.
Common challenges, and what the chapter offers for each:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CHALLENGE WHAT CAN BE DONE

No reply, or a very slow one File on the Public Grievances Portal — “the concerned government
department will respond within a specified time period”. Several states
have their own portals

Nobody will say why a decision was File an RTI — “officials are bound to provide information under this Act”,
taken, or where the money went and it “brings transparency and accountability”

Being asked for money that is not an Grievance redressal offices, and the vigilance commissions that “investigate
official fee matters of corruption”

A problem many families share Raise it through the media, through a civil society organisation, or by
writing to your representative

Not knowing which office to go to Start at the level closest to the problem, and go up only if that level cannot
act

What the exercise teaches: that “the government” is not one distant thing but a set
of specific offices at three levels, and that an ordinary family meets several of them
every year — almost always through the executive, and usually through the
permanent executive at the grassroots. It also shows why the six things on pages
157–160 exist. Every one of them was invented because citizens ran into exactly the
difficulties on your list.

Chapter at a glance
A state is not the same thing as a government. A state “is a political organisation that has
the authority to govern a defined territory and its population”, and it has four parts —
people, land, government and sovereignty. The government is only one of those four. As
the chapter puts it: “Think of the state as a school, and the government as the principal and
teachers. Teachers may come and go, but the school remains.”
Sovereignty is what makes a state a state. It “means that the state has complete control
over its own matters and is able to make and implement laws in accordance with its own
needs. No other state or external body can interfere in the internal affairs of that state.” A
permanent population matters too — tourists “have no identification with the place”, but
people who live together “develop their own culture and society”.
Democracy and republic are two different ideas. Democracy is “rule by the people”
(demos = people, kratos = rule) — people choose the government through free and fair
elections. In a republic “the head of state (the highest office) is elected and not hereditary”,

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

and the ruler’s powers are limited by a constitution. India and the U.S.A. are both; the UK,
Canada and Sweden are democracies but not republics, because each has a monarch.
Three organs, and the Constitution above them. The legislature makes laws, the
executive implements them and makes policy, the judiciary makes sure they are followed
and protects our rights. The executive has two halves — the political executive (elected:
prime minister, chief ministers, ministers) and the permanent executive (selected through
examinations such as the UPSC: the IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, IFoS and every officer below them).
The Constitution “ensures that no part of the government becomes too powerful”.
Rights are protected even against a majority. The chapter’s RWA story — a rule passed by
majority vote that nearly cost an elderly resident her life — is its example of the dominance
of the majority, “a situation where the interests of the majority alone are pursued, to the
detriment of the rights of minorities”. In a republic “the rule of law is more powerful than
the wishes of the majority”, which is why mining was stopped in the Dongria Kondh’s sacred
hills in Odisha.
Three tiers, because India is too big for one. India has “over 1.4 billion people”, 28 states
and 8 union territories, so governance “must be decentralised at multiple levels”. The
Constitution first provided only two levels; in the early 1990s it was amended to create the
panchayati raj system and municipalities as the third tier. Decentralisation is about
deciding local things locally — “the local municipal body can do it faster”.
And you are not a spectator. The chapter lists six things a citizen can actually do: file a
grievance (the Public Grievances Portal, pgportal.gov.in), use the Right to Information Act
(as the citizens of Bagepalli did), use the media, join a civil society organisation (as in the
Silent Valley campaign), write to your representatives, and, once old enough, vote. Two
words hold this together — transparency and accountability.

Page 48 of 52

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
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and its population” India ‘state’ can mean the Indian State
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page 146 elections, but the state remains the
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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

Legislature The organ that makes laws “Legislature: The “It ensures that governance happens
Lawmaking Body”, through well-defined laws rather than
page 152, and Fig. personal wishes or arbitrary
6.10 decisions.” States have their own
legislatures, which “make laws only
for the state”

Executive The organ that implements Page 152 It has two halves — the political
laws and takes policy executive and the permanent
decisions executive. The Constitution “does not
explicitly define” these terms; the
distinction comes from India’s
parliamentary system and its
conventions

Political executive Leaders elected by the Page 153 They stay “for a fixed time — usually
people — prime minister, five years”. “Their power depends on
chief ministers and their the trust and support of the people”
ministers, plus the
president and governors
(“mostly formal or
symbolic roles”)

Permanent Officers who are “not Page 153 They “are not removed or replaced
executive elected but are selected after every election”. Best-known
through examinations like services: IFS, IAS, IPS, IRS, IFoS. Fig.
those conducted by the 6.11 shows the hierarchy of just one
Union Public Service department of one state
Commission (UPSC)” —
bureaucrats or civil
servants

Judiciary The organ that “makes sure “Judiciary: It is independent — “not controlled
everyone follows the law”, Guardian of the by the government or politicians”. Its
settles disputes and protects Constitution”, four listed jobs: protect the laws,
rights page 160 interpret the laws, protect rights and
liberty, and safeguard the
Constitution through judicial review

Policy “A set of ideas or actions Word box, page Making policy is the executive’s job;
that an institution or 152 making law is the legislature’s
government decides on”

Dominance of “A situation where the Word box, page The RWA delivery-ban story is the
the majority interests of the majority 151 chapter’s example. Republics like
alone are pursued, to the India, France and the USA “defend

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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

detriment of the rights of against” it — “the rule of law is more
minorities” powerful than the wishes of the
majority”

Transparency “Open access to Word box, page The RTI Act is the tool. “Officials are
information to citizens 158 bound to provide information under
regarding government this Act”
policies and actions,
expenditure of public
funds, etc.”

Accountability “Those in power are Word box, page This is also the argument for
responsible for their actions 158 decentralisation: “When leaders are
and decisions, and are closer to the people, it is easier to
obligated to answer for question them”
them to the public and
other stakeholders”

Decentralisation “Power and decision- Page 162 “Local problems should be solved
making are spread out and locally, and bigger issues can be
not concentrated in just one solved by higher-level governments.”
place or one small group” Fig. 6.18 gives five reasons why it
matters

Three tiers of Union (central) at the “Tiers of Local government became the ‘third
government national level, state at the Government”, tier’ only after the Constitution was
state level, local at the town pages 161–163, amended in the early 1990s to create
or village level Fig. 6.17 panchayati raj and municipalities

Matsya nyāya ‘Law of the fish’ — “in the Kauṭilya box and According to Kauṭilya, author of the
absence of law and order, Fig. 6.9, page 151 Arthashastra, the king “has to follow
the big fish swallow the Raja Dharma and have a good
smaller ones” governance system”, or “society will
become chaotic”

C.B. Muthamma Chonira Belliappa Fig. 6.12 and box, Denied promotion unjustly, she went
Muthamma (1924–2009), pages 155–156 to the Supreme Court; a bench led by
the first woman to clear the Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer struck down
public services examination the gender-biased provisions as
(1948) and to join the violating the Constitution. She
Indian Foreign Service became India’s first woman
(1949) ambassador in several countries

grām swarāj Gandhi’s idea of largely DON’T MISS OUT, “My idea of village swarāj is that it is a
self-sufficient village page 163 complete republic, independent of its
governments neighbours for its own vital wants,

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 18 The State, the Government, and You AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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

and yet interdependent for many
others in which dependence is a
necessity”

Silent Valley A Kerala rainforest saved DON’T MISS OUT, Planned in 1970; NGOs, scientists,
from a hydroelectric dam page 159 writers, teachers and villagers
by a citizens’ campaign mobilised; the Central Government
cancelled the project in 1983; declared
a National Park in 1985

Page 52 of 52