Hinglish

The Government and You

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 18: The State, the Government, and You · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 18.5

Learn

The government plays three roles: protector (law, order and defence), provider (free schooling, roads, railways, welfare) and regulator (food safety, fair business, social justice). Yet problems such as poor services and corruption remain. Citizens can act: file a grievance on portals like the Public Grievances Portal; use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to ask how public money was spent, bringing transparency and accountability; raise issues in the media; join a civil society organisation (NGO); write to representatives; and vote. In Bagepalli near Bengaluru, an RTI on a botched road project helped residents get it fixed. In Kerala, a campaign by NGOs, scientists and villagers saved the Silent Valley forest from a dam; it became a National Park in 1985.

The judiciary is the guardian of the Constitution. It is independent of the government and politicians. It interprets laws, protects citizens' rights (we can go to court if fundamental rights are violated) and uses judicial review to check whether laws and actions follow the Constitution. It upholds the rule of law: everyone, even the government, must obey the law.

Explore: which role is the government playing?

  1. Sort each action.

Remember

  • The government is protector, provider and regulator; citizens can use grievance portals, RTI, media, NGOs, letters and votes.
  • An independent judiciary interprets laws, protects rights and upholds the rule of law.

Quick check

Using the RTI Act, a citizen can …

  1. ask how much public money was spent on a local road
  2. arrest an official
  3. pass a new law
  4. skip paying taxes
Answer

ask how much public money was spent on a local road. Officials must answer, which brings transparency and accountability.

Think about it

A park near your school is full of garbage. How could you get the government to act?

One answer

File a complaint on the municipal grievance portal, write to the local councillor, post photos tagging the officials, organise a clean-up with an NGO, and follow up until it is fixed.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.