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NCERT Solutions Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 9 –208End-of-chapter exercise — Questions and activities

Book page 207 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Write names of the various types of government that you have learnt in the chapter.
Answer

The chapter covers nine named forms, arranged in two families.

A. Democratic governments

  1. Direct democracy
  2. Representative democracy
    • Parliamentary democracy
    • Presidential democracy

B. Other forms of government

  1. Monarchy
    • Absolute monarchy
    • Constitutional monarchy
  2. Theocracy
  3. Dictatorship
  4. Oligarchy

The chapter also defines a republic — a government whose head of state is elected and is not a hereditary monarch — while describing the early republics of the Vajji mahājanapada, the Chola village sabhā, Rome and Greece.

Tip: if a question asks only for ‘types of government', six names are enough — direct democracy, representative democracy, monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship, oligarchy. Add the sub-types when the question says ‘various'.
Q2.
Which type of Government does India have? And why is that called that type?
Answer

India has a parliamentary democracy — more fully, a democratic, representative, parliamentary form of government, and India is also a republic.

LabelWhy India is called this
DemocracyThe people are the source of authority. Every adult citizen votes under universal adult franchise, which India has had since the republic began in 1950.
RepresentativeThe people do not govern directly; they elect representatives who govern, and the government remains accountable to the people. General elections are held every five years.
ParliamentaryThe members of the executive are also part of the legislature — the prime minister and the council of ministers are members of Parliament. The council of ministers continues in office only as long as it has the confidence of the Lok Sabha. People elect the legislature, not the executive; selected members of the legislature become ministers.
RepublicOur head of state, the President, is elected and is not a hereditary monarch.

Table 9.1 sums India up in one row: executive — prime minister and the council of ministers; legislature — Lower House (Lok Sabha) more powerful than Upper House (Rajya Sabha); judiciary — independent from executive and legislature (separation of power).

The clinching test: ask ‘can the legislature remove the executive?' In India, yes — if the Lok Sabha withdraws its confidence, the council of ministers must go. In a presidential democracy like the USA it cannot, because the president is elected separately by the people. That single test is what makes India parliamentary rather than presidential.
Q3.
You read that an independent judiciary is present in all types of democracies. State any three reasons why you think it is important for the judiciary to be independent.
Answer

Three reasons, each drawn straight from the chapter.

  1. To protect the fundamental rights of every citizen. Rights such as equality, freedom of speech and expression, and the right against exploitation are worth little unless somebody can enforce them. The chapter says plainly that an independent judiciary ensures that every citizen's fundamental rights are protected. A court that could be pressured would protect only the powerful.
  2. To make sure the law binds the government too. The judiciary ensures that laws are followed by the citizens and also by all the parts of the government. If judges depended on the ministers whose actions they must judge, no minister could ever be held to the law — and ‘equality before the law' would be a slogan, not a fact.
  3. To keep the separation of powers real. Legislature, executive and judiciary are meant to work independently and not interfere in each other's functions. The judiciary is the referee of that arrangement; if the referee belongs to one team, the whole design collapses and power drifts towards one body — which is what happens in a dictatorship.

A fourth reason, if you want one: to give ordinary people a place to go. A poor citizen who cannot win an election or buy influence can still file a case. That is why the chapter lists ‘erosion of the judiciary's independence' among the serious hurdles to democracy.

Tip: when you write this answer, follow each reason with one line of consequence — ‘if the judiciary were not independent, then …'. It turns a list into an argument.
Q4.
Do you think democratic government is better than other forms of government? Why?
Answer

Yes — and the chapter's own reasoning gives you the argument. Most countries consider democracy a better form of government, and more than half the countries of the world have adopted it. Here is why, in four points.

  1. Everyone has a share in the decision. Universal adult franchise gives one vote to each adult, so the government is chosen by all, not by birth, wealth or force.
  2. Rights and freedom are guaranteed, not granted as a favour. People can choose what to speak, what to wear, what beliefs to follow and how to express themselves — with the reasonable limit that it must not harm someone else's rights — and fundamental rights are protected by an independent judiciary.
  3. Power can be changed peacefully. If the government does not perform its functions properly, the people change their representatives through elections. In a monarchy you must wait for the ruler's death; in a dictatorship there may be no way at all.
  4. Mistakes can be corrected. Debate, a free press, courts and elections are all ways of catching an error. Systems without them have no repair mechanism.
The honest qualification: democracy is better by design, not automatically better in practice. The chapter lists real problems — corruption, wealth disparity, excessive control by a few, erosion of judicial independence, manipulation of information. And it notes that in an absolute monarchy a good king could still work for people's welfare, as rājadharma required. The strongest form of this answer is: democracy is the only system that makes good government the people's responsibility rather than the ruler's kindness — which is also why it demands vigilant citizens.
Q5.
These are some practices in a few different countries. Can you match the practice with the type of government?
Answer

Match each practice to the form of government it describes.

S. NoPractice in the countryType of GovernmentWhy
I.All citizens are treated equally before lawDemocracyEquality before the law is a fundamental principle of democracy
II.The government refers to the religious leader for each and every decision it takes.TheocracyThe country is ruled by the rules of religion and by religious leaders
III.After the queen's death, her son became the new king.MonarchyMonarchies are usually hereditary — typically the eldest son of the ruling monarch succeeds
IV.The ruler is not bound to follow any Constitution. He makes all the decisions as per his choice.DictatorshipOne person with absolute power and no limits imposed by a constitution or law

Answer in short: I → Democracy, II → Theocracy, III → Monarchy, IV → Dictatorship.

Tip: the options are printed alongside in a different order (Dictatorship, Monarchy, Democracy, Theocracy) so that you cannot match them line by line. Read the practice first, name the form yourself, and only then look for it in the right-hand column.
Q6.
Below is a list of countries. Find out the types of government these countries have:
Answer

This is a ‘find out' question, so check a current, reliable source — an atlas, the country's official website, or the Ministry of External Affairs country pages. Here is what you will find, with the reason in each case.

S. NoCountryType of GovernmentWhy it is called that
1BhutanDemocratic constitutional monarchy (parliamentary)A hereditary King (Druk Gyalpo) is head of state under the Constitution of 2008, while an elected Parliament makes laws and a prime minister heads the government
2NepalFederal democratic republic (parliamentary democracy)The monarchy ended in 2008; the head of state is now an elected President and the prime minister leads the government. The chapter's own table gives 2008 as the year democracy was established in Nepal
3BangladeshParliamentary democracy (republic)An elected Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad), a prime minister as head of government and a President as head of state
4South AfricaParliamentary republic (democracy)Citizens elect the National Assembly, which then elects the President — who is both head of state and head of government
5BrazilPresidential democracy (federal republic)The President is elected directly by the people and works independently of the National Congress, which has two houses
What the list is teaching you: four of the five are democracies, yet no two are built the same way. Bhutan keeps a king; Nepal replaced one; South Africa's president comes from the legislature; Brazil's comes straight from the voters. That is exactly the chapter's point — democracy has variations, shaped by each country's own history.
Check it yourself: forms of government do change. Nepal's own entry would have read ‘monarchy' before 2008. Always note the year of the source you use.
Q7.
What are possible hurdles in a democracy in achieving its values and ideals? How can they be overcome?
Answer

The chapter names five hurdles and adds ‘several more'. Take each one, say what damage it does, and give the remedy.

HurdleWhat it damagesHow it can be overcome
CorruptionEquality — decisions get sold instead of being taken on meritTransparency laws such as the Right to Information; independent auditors; e-governance that removes middlemen; punishing the corrupt regardless of rank
Wealth disparityEqual access to education, health and justice; the poor cannot use rights they cannot affordFree and good-quality public schools and hospitals; welfare and employment schemes; fair taxation; legal aid
Excessive control by a few over democratic institutionsRepresentation — a democracy begins to look like an oligarchyTransparent political funding; strong Election Commission; limits on concentration of media and business power; high voter turnout
Erosion of the judiciary's independenceProtection of fundamental rights and the separation of powersClear, open procedures for appointing judges; sufficient courts and judges; respect for court orders by the government itself
Manipulation of information channelsFreedom of choice — voters cannot choose well on a false pictureA free and plural press; media literacy taught in schools; fact-checking; laws against deliberate falsehood that do not become censorship
Voter apathy and low participationThe whole system, because power drifts to whoever bothers to show upVoter awareness drives; easy registration and polling; civic education; taking part in local bodies
The single idea behind all the remedies: every one of them either gives information to citizens or keeps an institution independent. Those are the two things that let a democracy correct itself. The chapter's closing question — what can we do as individuals and as a society to remain vigilant? — is asking you to notice exactly that.
Q8.
Democracy is different from monarchy and dictatorship. Explain.
Answer

Set the three side by side on the four questions the chapter uses to tell governments apart.

Point of comparisonDemocracyMonarchyDictatorship
Source of authorityThe people of the countryBirth and inheritance; sometimes a claim of divine powerPower seized and held by one person or a small group
How the government is formedElections at regular, fixed intervals under universal adult franchiseHereditary succession — usually the eldest son of the ruling monarchSeizure of power; laws passed to remove the opposition, as Hitler did in 1933
Limits on the rulerA written constitution, the legislature, and an independent judiciaryIn an absolute monarchy, none in law (though rājadharma set a moral limit in India); in a constitutional monarchy, a parliament and a constitutionNone — no constitution or law limits the dictator
The three functionsLegislature, executive and judiciary are separate and independentAll three may be held by the monarch — he makes the laws, enforces them and decides punishmentsAll three effectively controlled by the ruler
Rights of citizensFundamental rights, equality before the law, freedom of speech — protected by the courtsSubjects may petition; what they get depends on the rulerSharply restricted — as in Shane's story, even hair and clothing are decided for the citizen
Changing the governmentPeacefully, by voting at the next electionOnly on the ruler's death or abdicationUsually not possible from within
AccountabilityThe government is answerable to the peopleThe ruler answers to custom, dharma and conscienceThe ruler answers to no one

In one sentence: in a democracy power is lent by the people and taken back at elections; in a monarchy it is inherited; in a dictatorship it is seized and held.

Careful: ‘monarchy' is not automatically the opposite of democracy. The United Kingdom is a monarchy and a parliamentary democracy at the same time, because its king has only nominal power. The contrast in this question is really with absolute monarchy.
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