Maharashtra Board Class 11 Political Science Solution Chapter 5 – Concept of Representation
Balbharati Maharashtra Board Class 11 Political Science Solution Chapter 5: Concept of Representation. Marathi or English Medium Students of Class 11 get here Concept of Representation full Exercise Solution.
Std |
Maharashtra Class 11 |
Subject |
Political Science |
Chapter |
5 |
Chapter name |
Concept of Representation |
Concept of Representation
1.) (A) Choose the correct alternative and complete the following statements.
1.) Ancient Greece had ……………..
(dictatorship, direct democracy, indirect democracy, monarchy)
Answer – Ancient Greece had direct democracy
2.) The oldest representative assembly in the world is ………….
(House of Commons, House of Lords, Senate, House of Representatives)
Answer – The oldest representative assembly in the world is House of Commons
(B) State the appropriate concept for the given statement.
The political system where people elect representatives to govern themselves.
Answer – Indirect democracy. People elect individuals from amongst themselves to govern themselves. They are called representatives. Political systems where this happens are known by the term ‘indirect democracies’. This is so because people do not conduct their own affairs but rather entrust this task to some others who are known as ‘representatives’.
(C) Find the odd word in the given set.
The Indian National Trade Union Congress, All India Kisan Sabha, National Students Union of India, Indian National Congress
Answer – Indian National Congress.
Q.2.) Complete the following concept map.
3.) Explain the co-relation between the following.
Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Answer – Political parties are a part of the Governmental system. They try to influence government policy from the inside. Non government organisations on the other hand want to achieve their goal through a non violent struggle. Political parties have a broad agenda. They seek to represent the people for political, social, economic, cultural, and other concerns. Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) are another mechanism for representation. This is usually a private, non-commercial group that wants to achieve its aims through a nonviolent struggle. They usually promote or defend a cause. They have people with specialised knowledge associated with them. All of the above are channels of representation. They seek to represent the people’s aspirations and concerns. In this chapter, we have seen how people seek to represent themselves through various channels. Representative government is an important aspect of a successful democracy.
4.) Express your opinion of the following.
Pressure groups are different from political parties.
Answer – Interest and Pressure groups are informal channels that seek to represent the people. A Pressure Group is an interest group that is organised to influence public and especially government policy. This group does not participate in elections to become a part of government or the opposition. It seeks to influence policy from outside by putting pressure on the government. Sometimes the word ‘Lobby groups’ is used to describe these interest groups. Trade Unions, Agricultural interest groups, student organisations are some examples of pressure groups. Pressure groups are different from political parties.
(i) The political parties are part of the governmental system. They seek to influence government policy from the inside. A pressure group tries to influence the government from the outside. They do not contest elections and become members of the legislature.
(ii) Political parties have a broad agenda. They seek to represent the people for political, social, economic, cultural, and other concerns. Pressure groups usually have a narrow focus. They focus on specific issues or fight for a specific cause. Pressure groups are also different from social movements. The pressure groups usually have a more formalised structure. Social movements usually do not have a formal structure or organisation. They take up a cause and pursue it. (Example: Chipko Movement) This is why sometimes interest groups are described as representing ‘organised interests’.
5.) Answer the following in detail with reference to the given points.
What is meant by representation ? Explain the various methods of the representation ?
(a) meaning
Answer – Today in democracies, people elect individuals from amongst themselves to govern themselves. They are called representatives. Political systems where this happens are known by the term ‘indirect democracies’. This is so because people do not conduct their own affairs but rather entrust this task to some others who are known as ‘representatives’. But there was a time when people governed themselves. Political systems where such an arrangement prevailed are described today as ‘direct democracies’. City states in ancient Greece, Athens, for instance, were direct democracies. There is evidence of similar arrangements prevailing in ancient India, but not many details are available as yet. It must be noted that such systems did not give the right to govern to all individuals. Women and the poor were generally excluded.
Direct democracy prevailed in political units which had a limited geographical area and a small population. This made it feasible for all those individuals who had the right to conduct the affairs of such units to do so. But in modern times, the area and the population of political units has increased. It is not possible for the people to govern themselves. This led to the birth of ‘indirect democracies’. They are also known as ‘representative democracies’ because people govern themselves through their representatives. Their form of government is referred to as ‘Responsible Government’ since the representatives are ultimately responsible and accountable to the people.
(b) electoral
Answer – The people have the right to decide who shall govern them. This method primarily is used to decide who shall become the representatives or the members of the representative assemblies. This is so because these assemblies are where the ultimate decision making powers are located. But there is no single electoral method, and indeed there is a variety of them.
(c) non-electoral
Answer – The individuals occupy various positions through appointment or selection. This second method is used in deciding which individuals shall be appointed as government officials or as members of other government bodies.
(d) non-official
Answer – This refers to the role that the civil society plays in trying to represent the people. This is done through interest and pressure groups.
6.) Suggest ways by which you can encourage people to vote in election.
Answer – A mention has been made of the right to vote. Today, adult franchise exists in all democracies. This means that all adult citizens of the country, irrespective of gender, race, economic and social status, have the right to vote in elections and thus have a say in deciding in who their representatives would be. However, the age at which an individual becomes entitled to vote varies from country to country. In India, a citizen can become a voter on becoming 18 years of age. As mentioned in the previous chapter, initially the women and the poor did not have the right to vote. But with the spread of the idea of democracy, it became difficult to justify the exclusion of a majority of the population from the right to vote. Soon all men received the right to vote. However, the struggle to secure the right to vote to women was even more difficult. By the mid-20th century, most democratic countries granted women the right to vote. It must be noted that India granted all its adult citizens, both male and female, the right to vote in 1950 itself when the Constitution was adopted.
Channels and Levels of Representation
Political parties are the most important channels for political representation. They serve as the primary channels of political representation. But what are political parties? They can be defined as organised groups formed by individuals holding similar views on a wide variety of issues. They seek to obtain political power in order to implement policies based on these views. In democracies, parties seek to obtain power through elections. Individuals who are members of various parties contest elections as candidates of their respective parties. Moreover, the views of a party taken together are described as that party’s ideology. During elections, the parties present before the voters a programme based on their ideology and promise them that this programme would be implemented if elected to power. The voters who approve of a given party’s programme because they feel that it will benefit them vote for that party’s candidates. Thus, the aspirations and wishes of the voters are represented in the decision-making process through the channel or the medium of a given political party. However, it must be noted that decision-making occurs at different levels. In a federal system like India, it occurs at both the national as well as at the state level. India also has granted constitutional status to the local self government institutions like the Gram Panchayats and the Municipal Councils and Corporations. They have been entrusted with certain powers and responsibilities which have been enumerated in the Constitution of India. This means that decision-making also takes place at the local level. Elections are held for representative assemblies at all these three levels, and political parties contest them. Thus, parties serve as channels of representation at all these three levels.
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