Political Theory Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Diversity is best described as something that accepts differences among people.

Diversity means the variety in a society: people differ in language, religion, food, dress, occupation and customs. Recognising and respecting these differences, and seeing them as a source of richness, is the meaning taught in the NCERT Class VI chapter on understanding diversity.

Diversity does not in itself lead to discrimination; discrimination happens when people act on prejudice about those differences. It is not similarity, which is its opposite. And diversity is not inequality: being different is not the same as being unequal, and accepting inequality is not part of it.

Answer: A

Both statements are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

A stereotype fixes a single image on a whole group (for example, that girls are not good at science or that boys should not cry). Because it fits everyone into one pattern, it stops us from seeing the particular abilities of each individual. That is exactly why stereotypes prevent people from doing things they are good at: their unique skills are not recognised or encouraged.

R therefore gives the reason for A, so option B is wrong, and options C and D are wrong because both statements are true.

Answer: B

An alert and vigilant public is necessary for a strong democracy.

In a democracy power comes from the people. Citizens who are informed, who question the government, use their right to information, take part in elections and protest against injustice keep governments accountable. The NCERT civics text makes this point about the role of the public.

In a monarchy, oligarchy or autocracy, power rests with one ruler or a small group and does not depend on public vigilance, so those options do not fit.

Answer: C

Principled distance means (a) and (d).

In Indian secularism the state keeps a distance from religion, but not an absolute wall. It can intervene in religious matters on the basis of the ideals laid down in the Constitution (a), and it regulates religious affairs when needed (d), for example by banning untouchability or allowing temple entry for all castes, or by providing support to religious minorities.

Statement (b), that religion can interfere in the state's matters, is against secularism, and (c), strict non-transgression, describes the American model of a 'wall of separation', which is what Indian principled distance differs from.

Answer: A

The one that was not a feature is All the free men and women above 30 years of age were recognised as full citizens.

In Athenian democracy, citizenship was limited to free adult men born of Athenian parents; women, slaves and foreign residents were not citizens, and the age for full participation was well below thirty. So both the inclusion of women and the age of 30 make this statement wrong.

The other three were real features: citizens were expected to serve in the army and navy, all citizens could attend the assembly that decided public matters, and many positions were filled by lottery rather than election.

Answer: D

A diverse society would have differences and similarities in language, culture and religion.

Diversity means variety: people differ in language, religion, culture and ways of life, while also sharing much in common. The NCERT textbook distinguishes diversity from inequality, which is about unequal access to resources and opportunities.

Option 1 confuses diversity with inequality, option 2 brings in power, which is again about inequality, and option 3 describes uniformity, the opposite of diversity.

Answer: A

The main demand of the suffragettes was the right to vote for women.

The suffragette movement in Britain, and the wider suffrage movement in the USA and elsewhere, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, campaigned for women's suffrage, the right of women to vote. The word suffrage itself means the right to vote.

Their demand was not for bureaucratic roles, nor limited to propertied women, nor about the working class as such; it was the vote for women.

Answer: D

'Indian State' here means the Indian political system.

The NCERT textbook explains that 'State' with a capital S refers to the political institution that represents a sovereign people, not to the states of India such as Punjab or Kerala. The checks and balances meant here are those among the legislature, executive and judiciary of the whole political system.

The Central Government and the bureaucracy are only parts of that system, and 'any State Government' confuses the State with the states of the federation.

Answer: D

Both A and B are false.

Apartheid, the system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s, denied black South Africans the right to vote in national elections, so A is false.

It also gave unequal, not equitable, facilities: separate hospitals, schools, transport and residential areas were provided for different races, and those for non-whites were far inferior. So B is false as well.

Answer: D

The correct matching is (a)-(iii), (b)-(i), (c)-(iv), (d)-(ii).

• Discrimination is acting on prejudice to treat someone unfairly: not hiring a woman because she is starting a family (iii).
• Inequality is an unequal outcome or treatment between groups: paying people differently for the same work (i).
• Stereotype is fixing one image on a whole group: 'girls are good at cooking' (iv).
• Prejudice is judging others negatively in advance: 'villagers are superstitious' (ii).

Option A swaps the stereotype and prejudice examples. Options B and C begin with discrimination matched to a stereotype, which is a belief, not an action.