Class 8 civics chapter 1 answer key

Page No: 16

Excercises

1. Why does a democratic country need a Constitution?

Answer

A democratic country need a Constitution because:

→ It lays out the important guidelines that govern decision

making within the various societies of the country.

→ It lays down the ideals that form the basis of the kind of

country that its citizens aspire to live in.

→ It serves as asset of rules and principles as the basis by

which the country has to be governed.

→ It provides rules to safeguard the interests of minorities

and prevent any kind of domination by the majority on

minorities.

→ It lays down rules that guard against the misuse of

power by any politician leader.

→ It also provides rights to its citizens and protects their

freedom.

2. Look at the wordings of the two documents given below.

The first column is from the 1990 Nepal Constitution. The

second column is from the more recent interim Constitution

of Nepal.

1990 Constitution of Nepal

Part 7: Executive

2007 Interim

Constitution

Part 5: Executive

Article 35: Executive Power:

The executive power of the

Article 37: Executive

Power: the executive

Kingdom of Nepal shall be

vested in His Majesty and the

Council of Ministers.

power of Nepal shall be

vested in the council of

Ministers.

What is the difference in who exercises 'Executive Power' in

the above two Constitutions of Nepal? Keeping this in mind,

why do you think Nepal needs a new Constitution today?

Answer

The difference in who exercises "Executive Power" in the

given two Constitutions of Nepal is that in the 1990

Constitution, this power was vested in the King and his

Council of Ministers, while in the 2007 Interim Constitution

of Nepal, "Executive Power" changed hands to being

vested only in the Council of Ministers, thereby making

Nepal a democracy from being a monarchy.

Nepal needs a new Constitution today because it is no

longer a monarchy. The older Constitution vested power in

the King, but when the country is now a democracy, a new

Constitution is needed to reflect the "democratic" ideals of

Nepal that the peoples' movement desired and fought for.

In order to achieve this, all its constitutive rules must be

changed.3. What would happen if there were no restrictions on the

power of elected representatives?

Answer

If there are no restrictions on the power of the elected

representatives the leaders might misuse the powers given

to them. The Constitution provides safeguards against this

misuse of power by our political leaders.

4. In each of the following situations, identify the minority.

Write one reason why you think it is important to respect

the views of the minority in each of these situations.

(a) In a school with 30 teachers, 20 of them are male.

(b) In a city, 5 per cent of the population are Buddhists.

(c) In a factory mess for all employees, 80 per cent are

vegetarians.

(d) In a class of 50 students, 40 belong to more well-off

families.

Answer

(a) Female teachers are in minority. The female teachers

must be allowed space to voice their opinion so that their

efforts at teaching are not hindered by their minority

status.

(b) Budhhists are in minority. Every individual has the right

to follow the religion of his/her choice. People of other faith

must respect the religion other than their own.

(c) Non-vegetrians are in minority. Food choice is personal

wish so he/she should have the freedom to eat what he/she

wants.

(d) Under privileged are in minority. Citizens cannnot be

discriminated by their birth so their views have to be

respected.

5. The column on the left lists some of the key features of

the Indian Constitution. In the other column write two

sentences, in your own words, on why you think this feature

is important:Key Feature Significance

Federalism

Separation of Powers

Fundamental Rights

Parliamentary Form of Government

Answer

Key features

1. Federalism: It ensures national unity and at the same

time allows individual progress. A federal government

allows the Centre to hold supreme power but its

Constituent States have some power as well.

2. Separation of Powers: This serves two purposes: firstly,

tyrannical use of power is avoided since it does not vest

power in any single authority. Secondly, the 3 organs of

power also work as a check on each other, thereby

maintaining a good balance.

3. Fundamental Rights: These are important because they

conform to a humane society. They also protect citizens

against arbitrary and absolute use of power by the State.

4. Parliamentary Form of Government: It upholds universal

adult franchise. This entails the fact that the people of a

country play a direct role in electing their representatives

to run the state as well as the nation.