Question 1: Use the terms ‘constituency’ and ‘represent’ to explain who an MLA is and how the person gets elected.
Answer: An MLA is a person elected by the people of a constituency to represent them in the state Legislative Assembly. The state is divided into constituencies, and people vote for their representative. The candidate with the most votes becomes the MLA and helps make laws for the state.
Question 2: Discuss with your teacher the difference between a State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and the Parliament (Lok Sabha).
Answer: The Vidhan Sabha makes laws for a state, while the Lok Sabha makes laws for the country. MLAs are elected by people from state constituencies, while MPs are elected from all over the country. The Lok Sabha handles national issues, while the Vidhan Sabha focuses on state matters.
Question 3: From the list below, identify the work of a State government and that of a Central government. (a) The decision of the Indian government to maintain peaceful relations with China. (b) The decision of the Madhya Pradesh government to discontinue Board exams in Class VIII for all schools under this Board. (c) Introduction of a new train connection between Ajmer and Mysore. (d) Introduction of a new 1,000 rupee note.
Answer:
- (a) Central government
- (b) State government
- (c) Central government
- (d) Central government
Question 4: Fill in the blanks with the following words: universal adult franchise; MLAs; representatives; directly.
Democratic governments today are called representative democracies. In these, people do not participate directly but choose their representatives through elections. These representatives make decisions for the people. A government is not democratic without universal adult franchise, which means all adults can vote.
Question 5: Why do we have a system where the representatives are elected for a fixed period and not for life?
Answer: Representatives are elected for five years so that people can regularly choose who represents them. If representatives don’t perform well, they can be replaced in the next election, ensuring accountability. A lifetime term wouldn’t allow for change if needed.
Question 6: Describe three ways people participate in expressing approval or disapproval of the government besides elections.
Answer:
- Protesting: People gather to peacefully protest unfair laws or decisions.
- Petitioning: People sign petitions to show support or opposition.
- Writing: People write articles or social media posts to express their opinions and raise awareness.