NCERT Answers for Class 8 Understanding Secularism - Chapter 4 CBSE Civics - Social and Political Life III

CBSE Class 8 Understanding Secularism

(The Indian Constitution and Secularism)

NCERT Civics - Social and Political Life III

NCERT Answers - NCERT Solutions - CBSE Guide

Question.1: Write in your own words what do you understand by the term ‘rule of law’. In your response include a fictitious or real example of a violation of the rule of law.

Answer: The term ‘Rule of Law’ indicates that all law apply equally to all citizens and no one is above law on the basis of caste, religion, language, economic or social background, region, colour of skin etc under the Constitution of India.

Example: The DCP got the media person Shivani Bhatnagar murdered due to the reason that she was about to open some secrets about the personal life of Mr. A.K. Sharma, the DCP. In this case the DCP clearly violated the rule of law.

Question.2: State two reasons why historians refute the claim that the British introduced the rule of law in India.

Answer: It is often believed that it was the British who introduced the rule of law in India. But historians have disputed this claim on several grounds. Two such reasons why the historians refute the claim that the British introduced the rule of law in India are -

1.     The enforcement of Sedition Act of 1870 by the British. Under this law any person who protested or criticized the British Government could be arrested without any trial. This is evidence that the colonial law was arbitrary.

2.     Protests and criticism by Indian Nationalists against the arbitrary use of authority by the British. They fought for greater equality and for the development of a legal sphere in British India.

Question.4: Write in your own words what you understand by the following sentence - “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 law as including the ideas of justice”.  

Answer: The colonial law was arbitrary. One example of arbitrariness of British law is the Sedition Act of 1870. According to this act any person protesting or criticizing the British Government could be arrested without any trial. The Indian Nationalists protested and criticized this arbitrary use of authority by the British.

The implications of the sentence in question are that, the Indian Nationalists fought for greater equality for Indian before the law. They also advocated bringing changes in the British law in India which were derogatory and were used against Indians forcibly.