From the Rulers to the Ruled Types of Governments Class 7 Notes Social Science Chapter 9

Students read RBSE Class 7 SST Notes Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled Types of Governments Class 7 Notes before attending weekly tests.

Class 7 From the Rulers to the Ruled Types of Governments Notes

Class 7 SST Chapter 9 From the Rulers to the Ruled Types of Governments Notes

Class 7 SST Chapter 9 Notes – From the Rulers to the Ruled Types of Governments Notes Class 7

→ Functions of Government — The government plays an important role in our lives and in any country. Its main functions are—

1. maintaining law and order;
2. ensuring peace, stability, and security for the people;
3. managing relationships with other countries;
4. taking care of national defence;
5. delivering essential goods and services (education, healthcare, infrastructure);
6. managing the economy;
7. working for the welfare.

→ What is Democracy?
‘Democracy’ is understood as rule of the people. In this the source of power and authority are the people of the country.

→ Governments — There are various types of governments throughout the world. Who decides “This is the government”? What are the parts of the government and what do they do? Who or what is the government working for? What values and ideals should the government follow? Governments give different answers to these questions.
For example—

• Democratic governments are formed by representatives elected by the people.
• The government has three branches— (a) the legislature, (b) the executive, and (c) the judiciary. The legislature makes laws; this is called the legislative function of the government. The executive implements these laws; this is called the executive function. The judiciary- interprets the laws and settles disputes; this is called the judicial function of the government.

→ What Makes Governments Different?
The main factors that differentiate governments are as follows—

1. Who gets to decide that ‘this is the government’?
2. How is the government formed?
3. What are the different parts of the government and what do they do?
4. What is the government working for? What goals is it trying to achieve?
   Differences are found in different forms of government on the basis of the above four main aspects.

→ Fundamental principles of democracy—
There are some fundamental principles of democracy that are essentially found in every democracy. These fundamental principles are—

1. Equality,
2. Freedom,
3. Representative participation,
4. Universal adult franchise,
5. Fundamental rights,
6. Independent judiciary.

→ Different forms of democratic governments—
Various forms of democratic governments exist around the world. Broadly, they are divided into two forms-

1. Direct democracy and
2. Representative democracy.

Most of the democracies today are representative democracies. Generally, there are two forms of representative democracy—
(a) Parliamentary’ democracy and
(b) Presidential democracy.

→ Various organs of a democratic government—

1. Executive — The executive is responsible for implementing the law. But the process of its election is different in different countries.
2. Legislature — The legislature is responsible for making laws. It is known by different names in different countries. In the USA, it is called Congress; In India, it is called Parliament; it has two houses, the (a) Upper House and the (b) Lower House.
3. Judiciary — Its responsibility is to interpret laws and administers justice. It is independent of the executive and legislative branches.

→ Separation of Power — The three organs of the government work independently and do not interfere in each other’s functions.

→ A Peek into History : Early republics—

1. A republic is a form of government in which the head of state is elected and is not a hereditary monarch.
2. Examples of early republics have been found in ancient Indian Mahajanapadas, such as the Vajji Mahajanapada, and in the Uttaramerur inscription of the Chola period.
3. There were republics in other parts of the world too. In the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, Rome and Greece had republics.

→ Other Forms of Government — Other types of government systems include monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship, and oligarchy.
For example—
(i) Monarchy — A monarchy is the type of government that is ruled by a monarch who exercise their sovereign power. Monarchies are usually hereditary. Today we have two types of monarchy—
(a) Absolute monarchy, and (b) Constitutional monarchy. For example—

• (a) Absolute monarchy — In this system, the king has complete control over all three organs of government. Saudi Arabia is an example of an absolute monarchy.
• (b) Constitutional monarchy-In this the king or queen has only nominal power and the real power of the executive is exercised by the Prime Minister. The legislative power is exercised by the Parliament. Britain is an example of an constitutional monarchy.

(ii) Theocracy — A theocracy is a form of government where the country is ruled by the rules of religion and religious leaders. Iran is a main example of this. Currently, Afghanistan and Vatican City are also examples of this.

(iii) Dictatorship — A dictatorship is a form of government in which one person, or a small group possesses absolute power. Adolf Hitler, the Chancellor of Germany, and Idi Amin, the military dictator of Uganda, are examples of this.

(iv) Oligarchy — It is a type of government where a small, powerful group makes all the important decisions. This type of government existed in ancient Greece.

→ Why Democracy Matters — Democracy is important, but it also faces serious challenges, which require citizens to be vigilant and alert.
(1) Democracy is important because

• (a) it gives people the freedom to live their daily lives in their own way, as long as it harms someone else’s rights,
• (b) In this system, people elect their government, and the elected government is accountable to the people for its actions.
  If the government fails to fulfill its responsibilities, the people can replace their representatives through elections.

(2) Democracies have their problems; such as corruption, wealth disparity, excessive control by a few over democratic institutions, erosion of the judiciary’s independence, manipulation of information channels, etc. We can minimize these issues and hurdles only by being vigilant as individuals and as a society.