Why Do We Need A Parliament - Class 8 Civics - Extra Questions

Name the two Houses of the Indian Parliament.

The two houses of Indian Parliament are Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Lower House, the House of People or the Lok Sabha consists of 545 elected members. The council of states, known in Hindi as the Rajya Sabha, is the Upper Chamber of the Indian Parliament. It is composed of not more than 250 members.


The Two Houses of Parliament are _______ and __________.

Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha.


Why is the minister more powerful than the civil servant?

(i) The civil servant is usually more educated and has more knowledge of the subject. For example, the advisors working in the Finance Ministry know more about economics than the Finance Minister. Sometimes the ministers may know very little about the technical matters that came under their ministry. Despite all these, they are more powerful than the civil servant. 
(ii) In a democracy, the will of the people is supreme. The minister is elected by the people and thus empowered to exercise the will of the people on their behalf. He is finally answerable to the people for all the consequences of her decision. 
(iii) That is why the minister takes all the final decisions. He decides the overall framework and objectives in which decisions on policy should be made.


Why is parliamentary government chosen in India? give any three reason

Answer
India adopted the Parliamentary form of democracy in the year 1947 for the following reasons:
  1. The familiarity of the Indian polity with the working of the British system of government
  2. Representation of diverse interest groups.
  3. Fear of dead-lock between the executive and legislature.


Who is the Presiding Officer of the Lok Sabha?

The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are the Presiding Officers of the Lok Sabha.


India has Parliamentary Government. Explain.

A parliamentary system is a system of democratic governance of a state where the executive branch derives its democratic legitimacy from the legislative branch. India has a parliamentary form of government which is a feature borrowed from the British Constitution. The President is the head of the state and Prime Minister is the head of the government. The Parliament is bicameral in nature. It consists of President and two houses -  Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Council of Ministers are directly responsible to the Lok Sabha and stay in office as long as they enjoy its confidence.


How does the Parliament symbolize that the people of India make laws for themselves?

The Parliament of India comprises the President, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. The members of the Lok Sabha are elected directly by the people of India. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the representatives of the people in the State Legislatures and Lok Sabha. So the Parliament has representatives of people of India at every level. These representatives symbolize the people and their urgencies and their will. Hence, when these representative legislate in the Parliament, they do so on the behalf of the people of India. So, the Parliament symbolizes that the people of India make laws for themselves.


Class 8 Civics Extra Questions