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NCERT Solutions Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 10 The ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions answered by the freedom struggle — In-text Questions

Book page 216 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
How do we make sure that every adult citizen has a right to vote?
Answer

By writing universal adult franchise into the Constitution itself, and then building an electoral system around it.

  • The Constitution lays down an electoral system “to ensure that every eligible citizen of the country is enabled to vote”. The right does not depend on the goodwill of whoever is in power.
  • The only condition is adulthood and citizenship — not caste, gender, religion, wealth, property or education.
  • Elections are conducted by an independent authority, so that the party in office cannot run the election in its own favour.
  • Because the head of state is elected and governments are formed by elected representatives, the vote is the tool by which people “elect their rulers and hold them accountable”.
Why it happens: a right that is only promised can be withdrawn; a right written into the Constitution can be defended in court. That is the difference the framers were aiming at.
Q2.
How do we ensure that the powers of the executive, legislature and judiciary are kept separate?
Answer

By the principle of separation of powers, backed by checks and balances — both written into the Constitution.

OrganIts own workCheck on the others
LegislatureMakes the lawsDebates and questions the executive; passes or refuses its proposals
ExecutiveImplements the laws; headed by the prime ministerAnswerable to the legislature and bound by the courts' rulings
JudiciaryDecides whether a law has been broken and what punishment is necessaryEnsures every law made is in accordance with the Constitution

The Constitution “clearly defines the roles, functions, responsibilities, and accountability measures for each organ of government”, so that no organ can quietly take over another's work.

Did you know? The idea of an independent judiciary — a court that can strike down a law made by the government of the day — was one of the features the framers studied in the American Constitution before adopting it for India.
Q3.
How do we guarantee that every individual's fundamental rights are respected?
Answer

By making Fundamental Rights enforceable. The chapter draws the contrast sharply: Directive Principles are goals, but “Fundamental Rights, on the other hand, are promises that must be kept. If someone treats you unfairly because of who you are, you can actually go to court and the judge can help you.”

So the guarantee has three parts:

  • the rights are written into the Constitution — Right to Equality (Article 14, equality before law), Right to Freedom (Article 21, protection of life and personal liberty), Right against Exploitation, Right to Education (Article 21-A);
  • an independent judiciary, with the Supreme Court at its head, can be approached when a right is denied;
  • the judiciary can test any law against the Constitution, so a law that violates a Fundamental Right cannot stand.
Why it happens: a right is only as strong as the remedy behind it. By giving every person the ability to go to court, the Constitution turns a fine sentence into something a schoolchild, a farmer or a worker can actually use.
Q4.
What should be the process if we want to amend the Constitution?
Answer

A deliberately careful and public process — easy enough that the Constitution can grow, hard enough that it cannot be changed casually.

A change (an amendment) is proposed
→ it is rigorously debated in Parliament before it is accepted
→ some amendments require a debate in the legislative assemblies of the States as well
→ many times, opinions are sought from the general public
→ some changes are even initiated by popular movements
→ only then does the amendment become part of the Constitution

Two amendments named in the chapter show the process at work: Part IV-A Fundamental Duties (1976) and the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which brought the Panchayati Raj system into the Constitution.

Tip: the government also invites citizens to comment on proposed laws and rules — the chapter shows a real example on page 224, a public consultation on draft amendments to a set of rules, with a start date and an end date for sending in comments.
Q5.
What should be the relationship between the Central and State governments? And so on.
Answer

A relationship of divided but coordinated responsibility, written down so that neither level has to guess what it may do.

  • India has a three-tier system of government — central, state and local (the Panchayati Raj system).
  • Some functions and responsibilities are reserved for the central government, and others are assigned to the state government.
  • The Constitution “addresses these points comprehensively”, defining roles, functions, responsibilities and accountability for each.
  • Both levels are bound by the same Constitution, and the judiciary can decide disputes between them.
Why it happens: India is very large and very diverse. Subjects such as defence and foreign affairs make sense only at the national level; schools, local roads, water supply and sanitation are best handled close to the people. Writing the division down keeps the two from working against each other — and adds a third tier so that a village or town can decide its own local matters.
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