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Human beings have been living in communities for a long time. When a large number of people live together, there can be disagreements and disorder, and rules become necessary to maintain order and harmony in the society. There are probably some simple rules at home that you are expected to follow. The school where you study has rules too - some for students, others for teachers. In higher classes, students appearing for examinations must follow certain rules. Drivers on the road are expected to obey traffic rules. People employed in all kinds of jobs also need to follow the rules set by their employer, while the employers must also follow rules which they have committed to their employees.
What would happen if no one followed those rules? A simple answer is that society would not be able to function.
a. Who makes the rules and why?
b. How are they made?
These are some of the questions we will explore in this chapter. The process of taking decisions, organising the society's life with different sets of rules, and ensuring that they are followed, is called governance) The group of individuals or the system that makes the rules and ensures that they are followed is called a government. Some of the more important rules are called laws. This does not mean that rules and laws are set once and for all. Just as you might discuss a particular rule at home with your parents, or as a student body might ask the school or university management change rule, citizens also have a say in the laws and rules governing the society.
Three Organs of Government-
All over the world, digital technologies have been transforming the way society's function. In India, till about 30 years ago, people who wanted to transfer money to a distant relative would have to queue up at the Post Office to send a money order after filling up a form; or if they had to send a payment to some business, they would queue up at their bank to obtain a demand draft, which would then have to be sent by post. You have probably never heard these terms ('money order' or
'demand draft), because today we have digital means of sending across money instantly!
However, this has also created a new class of criminals who, without even leaving their desks, find digital ways of stealing people's money. This has led many governments to pass new laws in order to fight such criminal activities (called 'cybercrime'). Some of those criminals, who believe in robbing innocent people of their hard-earned money instead of using their skills to contribute to the society, have been arrested and convicted in court. They are usually fined as well as jailed for some years. Human beings have been living in communities for a long time. When a large number of people live together, there can be disagreements and disorder, and rules become necessary to maintain order and harmony in the society. There are probably some simple rules at home that you are expected to follow. The school where you study has rules too - some for students, others for teachers. In higher classes, students appearing for examinations must follow certain rules. Drivers on the road are expected to obey traffic rules. People employed in all kinds of jobs also need to follow the rules set by their employer, while the employers must also follow rules which they have committed to their employees.
What would happen if no one followed those rules? A simple answer is that society would not be able to function.
a. Who makes the rules and why?
b. How are they made?
These are some of the questions we will explore in this chapter. The process of taking decisions, organising the society's life with different sets of rules, and ensuring that they are followed, is called governance) The group of individuals or the system that makes the rules and ensures that they are followed is called a government. Some of the more important rules are called laws. This does not mean that rules and laws are set once and for all. Just as you might discuss a particular rule at home with your parents, or as a student body might ask the school or university management change rule, citizens also have a say in the laws and rules governing the society.
Three Organs of Government-
All over the world, digital technologies have been transforming the way society's function. In India, till about 30 years ago, people who wanted to transfer money to a distant relative would have to queue up at the Post Office to send a money order after filling up a form; or if they had to send a payment to some business, they would queue up at their bank to obtain a demand draft, which would then have to be sent by post. You have probably never heard these terms ('money order' or
'demand draft), because today we have digital means of sending across money instantly!
However, this has also created a new class of criminals who, without even leaving their desks, find digital ways of stealing people's money. This has led many governments to pass new laws in order to fight such criminal activities (called 'cybercrime'). Some of those criminals, who believe in robbing innocent people of their hard-earned money instead of using their skills to contribute to the society, have been arrested and convicted in court. They are usually fined as well as jailed for some years.
Based on the files provided, here is the extracted text:
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Through this example, we can see how the three branches or ‘organs’ of a government work together:
The **legislature** is the organ that makes new laws (or ‘legislates’). Sometimes it also updates or removes existing laws. This is done by an assembly of representatives of the people. We will soon see how the Indian system works.
The **executive** is the organ that implements (or ‘executes’) the laws. This includes the head of state (who may be a president, a prime minister or a chief minister), the ministers and any agency responsible for enforcing ‘law and order’. (In our example above, that agency is the cyber police.)
The **judiciary** is the system of courts which decides whether someone has broken the law and, if so, what course of action should be taken, including punishment if necessary. Sometimes it also examines whether a decision taken by the executive is right, or whether a law passed by the legislature is well conceived and fair to all.
In a good system of governance, these three organs must be kept separate, although they interact with each other and work together. This separation is called the Governance ‘Separation of powers’. It is intended to provide a system of checks and balances. This meant each organ of the government can check what the other is doing and restore balance if one organ acts beyond its expected role.
**Three organs’ levels -**
Any government operates at two levels at the least — local and national. In many countries, including India, it functions at three levels or tiers — local, state or regional, and national. Each level deals with different matters. To use a comparison, if a bulb in your home is not lighting up, you will first check the bulb, switch, fuse, etc. If that does not work, you may call an electrician.
### From "image_2.png"
and if it is found that the problem is not within your home, you may need to go to the Electricity Board and file a complaint. These are also three levels of dealing with a problem.
In India, we have local governments, State governments, and Central or Union government. Imagine that following heavy rain for a few days, there is a flood in a part of a district. If it is not too severe, the local authorities may be able to deal with it. If it involves several towns and many villages, the State Government will step in and send rescue teams to help affected people. But if it's a massive flood affecting vast areas, the Central Government may also come to help by sending relief supplies, the army, etc. These are the three levels again.
**Democracy -**
You may have noticed that we earlier mentioned - ‘Representatives of the people’. This is one of the foundation stones of the system of governance adopted by most countries of the world — **democracy**. (The word ‘democracy’ comes from two Greek words — *dēmos* meaning ‘people’, and *kratos* meaning ‘rule’ or ‘power’; so ‘democracy’ literally means the ‘rule of the people’). But can all people actually rule? It is clearly not possible. Imagine there is a problem that your class wants to bring to the attention of your school’s principal — maybe there is something wrong with the classroom, or with the school’s infrastructure, or perhaps you would like to propose a certain date for a field trip. Will the entire class go to the principal? It would clearly not be practical. In many schools, classes have a ‘class monitor’ or ‘class representative’, whom the whole class elected; even if there is none, one representative can be selected for this specific purpose. It will be enough to send the representative to the principal. It is the same principle at the State or national levels- through elections, people vote for **representatives**, who will be the elected members of their respective assemblies. They are generally called ‘Members of Legislative Assembly’ (or MLAs) at the State level, and ‘Member of Parliament’ (or MPs) at the national level. All these members discuss laws, problems and solutions in the assemblies, and, through dialogue and debate, try to
### From "image_3.png"
convince each other whenever there are different opinions. Like any modern democracy, therefore, India is a **representative democracy**. It is also the world’s largest democracy, with some 970 million in 2024. In principle, all Indian citizens above the age of 18 have the right to participate in these elections.
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