Working of the Institutions Chapter Class 9 Political Science: Intext question-answers and cartoon explanations are given here to help the students of class 9 CBSE. All the explanations and answers are given in easy language. Students should give their feedback in the comment section and can send their queries using our social contacts and email.
Intext Questions and Cartoon Explanations
Page – 58
Q. Is every office memorandum a major political decision? If not, what made this one different?
Answer: No, every office memorandum is not a major political decision. Most of them are routine in nature. This office memorandum relating to reservation for the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) in government services.
It was different because it affected all the sections of society, the SEBC’s in a positive way and the other classes in a negative way.
This reservation issue was a major source of controversy for several years and led to many agitations and court cases.
Q. Which points, other than the ones mentioned above, do you recall about these institutions from the previous class? Discuss in class.
Ans. An example of a major decision is given here. There have been many others. A major decision taken by the Uttar Pradesh State Government in 2008 was not to allow the Reliance Group to open their retail shops selling vegetables and fruits in the states, as it would harm the interests of the small traders selling these items. This order was approved by the Council of Ministers and the order was promulgated by the Governor. Since it did not involve finances, it was not raised in the State Assembly. The courts were in no way involved, as it did not have any Constitutional implications.
Q. Can you think of a major decision made by your State Government? How were the Governor, the Council of Ministers the State Assembly and the courts involved in that decision?
Ans, In the Lok Sabha elections of 1989, the Janata Dal Party in its election manifesto promised that if voted to power it would implement the Mandal Commission Report. With this announcement Mandalisation of politics took place and voting was influenced by the Mandal Commission Report.
Page – 59
Q. Reservation debate was such an important issue during 1990-91 that advertiser used this theme to sell their products. Can you spot some references to political events and debates in these Amul Butter hoardings?
Answer: Reference to political events and debates are given below.
- ‘No reservation for this quota’ – refers to situation prior to reservation i.e. availability of seats to all.
- ‘Amul the riot taste” – refers to the riots which took place after the reservation quota was made into a law.
- “Reserved for this Outstanding Butter Classic” – refers to the after-reservation situation i.e. availability of seats not free for all but now some of them stad reserved for OBC.
- The Initial Yellow coloured letters ‘O, B, C‘ – refer to the reservation allocation to Other Backward Classes.
Page – 60
Q. Who did what in this case of reservations for backward classes?
Answer
| Supreme Court | Upheld reservations as valid |
| Cabinet | Took the decision to give 27 % job reservations |
| President | Made formal announcement about this decision |
| Government Officials | Implemented the decision by issuing an order |
Q. Which institutions are at work in the running of your school? Would it be better if one person alone took all the decisions regarding management of your school?
Answer The Principal’s office is the main decision-making institution in running of a school. The other different departments like sports department, music, library and teaching faculty act as the other important institutions of the school which perform different functions of the school.
No, it would not be good if one person takes all the decisions regarding the management of our school because it is not possible for one person to take proper decisions on all issues. All ideas do not come in a single mind. Personal fancies and weakness may hamper the suitable decisions. Implications and the resulting effects must be foreseen before taking any decision. It is better that few others are also involved including the stake holders before arriving at any decisions.
Page – 62
Q. What is the point of having so much debate and discussion in the Parliament when we know that the view of the ruling party is going to prevail?
Ans. Though, the view of the ruling party prevails in Parliament, even then we should have debates and discussions because this helps to bring out the positive and negative points of the issue under consideration. The positive aspects might be adopted by the ruling party, and similarly negative aspects could be omitted even if the entire bill is not changed.
Also, it is not certain that the ruling party is not open to ideas, and discussions might influence the ruling party to adopt new ideas.
Q. When the Parliament is in session, there is a special programme every day on Doordarshan about the proceedings in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Watch the proceedings or read about them in the newspapers and note the following
(a) Powers of the two Houses of Parliament.
(b) Role of the Speaker.
(c) Role of the Opposition.
Answer
(a) Powers of the Two Houses of Parliament:
Lok Sabha: It is regularly constituted after elections. The Members of this House are directly elected by the voters and so are the final voice in the passing of any laws. Lok Sabha is supreme in finance related matters and a government proves majority in this house.
The Rajya Sabha: The members are indirectly elected or nominated and they function mostly in an advisory capacity. But the consent of both Houses is required for passing any Bill, making a law, or making amendments to the Constitution. It is a permanent House i.e. it does not dissolve itself.
(b) Role of the Speaker (Lok Sabha)
- Regulate the proceedings of the House.
- Maintain discipline in the House.
- Supervise Parliamentary Committees.
- Perform administrative duties like receiving documents, receiving petitions, etc which are addressed to the House.
- Exercise powers under the anti-defection law.
- Exercise other powers as given in the Constitution.
(c) Role of the Opposition The major function of the opposition is to act as a check on the ruling party so that any faults of theirs are exposed and any mistakes made by the ruling party are corrected. They can even bring a no-confidence motion against the government if it is seen to be not functioning properly.
Page – 65
Q. The race to become minister is not new. Here is a cartoon depicting ministerial aspirants waiting to get a berth in Nehru’s Cabinet after the 1962 elections. Why do you think political leaders are so keen to become ministers?
Answer: Political leaders are keen to become ministers for the following reasons
- They want to fulfil the promises made to the electorate at the time of elections. In this way, at the time of the next election, they will be in a favourable position to win again.
- Becoming a minister gives them many additional powers which they would not have if they were only MPs.
- They can fulfil their ambitions and also help many of their family members, associates and friends by sanctioning various schemes which give benefit to them.
Page – 66
Q. Do you think similar cartoons could be drawn about other prime ministers who followed her?
Ans. Such similar cartoons could not be drawn for other prime ministers that came after Indira Gandhi. It is so because Indira Gandhi was a dominant personality in Indian politics with powerful control over her cabinet. She could easily overshadow others in the Cabinet. it happens mostly when a party is dependent mostly on the persona of a person. Indira Gandhi was such a personality.
Q. List the names of five Cabinet Ministers and their ministries each at the Union level and in your state.
Answer Names of five Cabinet Ministers and their ministries at the Union level are given below
| Name | Ministeries |
| Narendra Modi | Many ministries which are not allocated to other misters |
| Rajnath Singh | Defence |
| Amit Shah | Home affairs |
| Nirmala Sitaraman | Finance |
| Railways |
Names of five Cabinet Ministers and their ministries at the state level in Uttar Pradesh are given below:
| Name | Ministries |
| Adityanath | Those which have not been allotted to other ministers |
| Mohammad Azam Khan | Urban Development, Parliamentary Affairs, Minority Affairs, Urban Poverty Alleviation |
| Shivpal Yadav | Public Works and Irrigation |
| Ahmed Hasan | Health and Family Welfare and Women and Child Welfare |
| Dr Waqar Ahmed Shah | Health and Family Welfare and Women and Child Welfare Labour |
Q. Meet the Mayor or Municipal Chairperson of your town or the President of Zila Parishad of your district and ask him or her about how the city, town or district is administered.
Do it yourself
Page – 67
Q. Why does the book refer to the President as ‘she? Have we ever had a woman President in our country?
Answer: The book refers to the President as she to show that the highest office in India can also be occupied by a woman.
Yes, we have had a woman President in our country. Pratibha Patil has been the only woman President of our country.
Q. Did you protest when the book referred to the Prime Minister as he? Have we not had a woman Prime Minister? Why should we assume that all the important positions are held by men?
Answer: No, I did not protest, when the book referred to the Prime Minister as he because at present we have a male person as a Prime Minister.When we are referring to the post in general, we can use her/him simultaneously to show that the said post can be occupied by either males or females.
Yes, we should not assume that all important positions are held by men, women too occupy high positions but that is an exception and not the rule, generally speaking in most of the cases important positions are indeed occupied by men. There is a need to increase the participation of women in politics by providing them at least 1/3rd reservation in the State Assemblies and Parliament.
Page – 68
Q. What is better for a democracy: a Prime Minister who can do whatever he wishes or a Prime Minister who needs to consult other leaders and parties?
Answer: Both the extreme cases, one in which the Prime Minister can do whatever he wishes and the second case in which the Prime Minister has to consult other leaders and parties are not totally correct. If a Prime Minister is free to do as he wishes, there is a possibility that he might develop authoritarian or dictatorial tendencies.
On the other hand, if all the time he has to consult other leaders and parties it would hamper working of the Prime Minister and the government’s functioning. Therefore, he should have freedom of taking decisions but be should also seek the consultation of other leaders and parties on important issues.
Q. Eliamma, Annakutti and Marymol read the section on the President. Each of them had a question. Can you help them in answering these questions?
(a) Eliamma: What happens if the President and the Prime Minister disagree about some policy? Does the view of the Prime Minister always prevail?
(b) Annakutti: I find it funny that the President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. I doubt if the President can even lift a heavy gun. What is the point in making the President the Commander?
(c) Marymol: I would say, what is the point in having a President at all if all the real powers are with the Prime Minister?
Answers
(a) Answer to Eliamma: The Prime Minister’s view prevails. However, if the President does not agree to some Bill sent for approval, she is empowered to send it back for reconsideration to the Parliament, giving the reasons for doing so. Now, if the Parliament approves it once again, the President cannot stop the Bill. She will now have to approve it.
(b) Answer to Annakutti: The Supreme Commander is the one, who gives the orders to fight a war. A commander is not always required to use firearms; only she should have the wisdom (usually after consultation with the senior members of the government and armed forces) to issue the necessary orders.
(c) Answer to Marymol: – The President is a symbol of the power of the country. The President is required to take decisions on appointing the Prime Minister, who must have majority support. The President has many other functions like appointing Governors of States representing India as Head of State, etc.
Page – 69
Q. It is quite common in the USA for judges to be nominated on the basis of well-known political opinions and affiliations. This fictitious advertisement appeared in the USA in 2005 when President Bush was considering various candidates for nomination to the Supreme Court.
(a) What does cartoon say about the independence of the judiciary?
(b) Why do such cartoons not appear in our country?
(c) Does this demonstrate the independence of our judiciary?
Answers
(a) It shows that in the USA, the Judiciary is not considered to be independent, in the eyes of the people. It voices the feeling that justices of the Supreme Court there are appointed on their being supportive of the President. Their qualifications and experience are not so much important for their appointment to the US Supreme Court.
(b) Such cartoons do not appear in India because
- The appointment of justices to the Supreme Court is by a specified procedure which is transparent and does not favour anybody having sympathies with the government.
- Indian judiciary is considered to be among one of the most independent judiciaries in the world.
- Judges normally do not speak in favour of or against any politician either of the ruling party or the opposition.
(c) Yes, this definitely demonstrates that our judiciary is independent.
Page – 70
Q. Why are people allowed to go to courts against the government’s decisions?
Answer Sometimes, the actions of the government or a law passed by the government might hurt the public interest or might be against the spirit of the Constitution. In such cases, citizens have the right to go to court to get justice. Such cases are called Public Interest Litigations. (PILS)
• In case of violation of Fundamental Rights by the government, the citizen can go to the courts for justice.
• The Right to Constitutional Remedies provides that if the Fundamental Rights are violated, the citizen can go to court to seek a remedy.
Q. Give one reason each to argue that Indian judiciary is independent with respect to
(a)Appointment of judges.
(b)Removal of judges.
(c)Powers of the judiciary.
Answers
(a) Appointment of Judges The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and in Consultation with the Chief Justice of India. In actual practice, the senior judges of the Supreme Court select new judges for the Supreme Court as well as for the High Courts. Here seniority and merit are the main considerations with hardly any scope for manipulation by anybody.
(b) Removal of Judges The procedure of removal of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts is very difficult to actually carry out. They can be removed only on the basis of an impeachment motion passed by two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament separately. So removal of judges cannot be Done arbitrarily.
(c) Powers of the Judiciary The powers are clearly spelt out in the Constitution and they cannot be diluted by Parliament or by any Presidential order. So no politician can reduce or increase their powers. The Supreme Court has the power to declare illegal any law made by Parliament if it goes against the Constitution.
