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NCERT · Class 8 · Social Science

Chapter 4: Understanding Laws

Practice each question, then open the answer or worked solution.

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Questions

4 questions
Q1Written answer

Write in your own words what you understand by the term the ‘rule of law’. In your response, include a fictitious or real example of a violation of the rule of law.

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Worked solution

Answer: The rule of law is a provision of the Indian Constitution that states that all people in independent India are equal before the law. Every law is equal for every citizen in the country. Neither the President nor any other high official is above the law. The punishment for any crime committed will be the same for every person, irrespective of their post or power. For example, if a clerk is punished for corruption, the same punishment needs to be given to a higher official or Minister for committing the same crime of corruption.

Q2Written answer

State two reasons why historians refute the claim that the British introduced the rule of law in India.

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Answer: Two reasons why historians refute to claim that the British introduced the rule of law in India are

  1. The colonial law was arbitrary.
  2. The Indian Nationalists played a prominent role in the development of the legal sphere in British India.
Q3Written answer

Re-read the storyboard on how a new law on domestic violence got passed. Describe in your own words the different ways in which women’s groups worked to make this happen.

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Answer: The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 was passed with the aim of protecting women against any kind of violence, be it physical or verbal. Various women’s groups worked to make this happen by reporting multiple cases of domestic violence. A group of lawyers, law students and activists worked together to draft the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection Bill). Other than this, various women’s organisations, including the National Commission for Women, made submissions to the Parliamentary Standing Committee. All these actions taken by women together made the Government pass the bill against domestic violence.

Q4Written answer

Write in your own words what you understand by the following sentence on pages 44-45: They also began fighting for greater equality and wanted to change the idea of law from a set of rules that they were forced to obey to the law, including ideas of justice.

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Answer: India before independence was forced to follow the rules set by the British Government. The set of rules was arbitrary and not authorised by the Indian Nationalists. Hence, the freedom struggle against the Britishers also aimed at making a set of rules that were fair and just for all, and were not just imposed on the Indians to follow. The Indian Nationalists began to fight for their rights and wanted a set of rules that were equal for all.