Q 1 – How was the Rowlett Act an arbitrary law?
Ans. – This Act allowed the British government to imprison people without trial.
Q 2 – Who introduced the rule of law in India – the British or the Indians?
Ans. – The Indians introduced the rule of law in their country.
Q 3 – Why do people not accept some laws passed by the Parliament?
Ans. – It is because they feel that the intention behind such laws is unfair and harmful.
Q 4 – How can you say that the Sedition Act of 1870 was arbitrary?
Ans. – The Sedition Act of 1870 was arbitrary because under this Act any person protesting or criticizing the British government could be arrested without trial.
Q 5 – What is controversial law?
Ans. – The law that favors one group and disregards the other is known as controversial law.
Q 6 – Which type of laws can be called repressive?
Ans. – Laws that brutally control persons and often prevent them from exercising their Fundamental Rights including the Right to speech and Assembly can be called repressive laws.
Q 7 – What do people do to criticize the unfair laws of the Parliament?
Ans. –They hold public meetings, write about it in newspapers, report to TV news channels, etc.
Q 8 – What was the Civil Rights Act that was introduced in the USA in 1964?
Ans. –This act prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or national origin in the USA.
Q 9 – How was the Rowlett Act protested by the Indian nationalists? What was its consequence?
Ans. The Rowlett Act came into effect on 10 March 1919. This Act allowed the British government to imprison people without due trial. Indian nationalists began to protest this arbitrary Act. In Punjab, the protest was more intensely carried out. On April 10, two leaders of the movement, Dr. Satyapal, and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested. To protest these arrests, a public meeting was held on 13 April at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. General Dyer entered the park with his troops and after closing the only exit ordered them to fire on the gathering. As a result, several hundreds of people were killed and many more were wounded.
Q 10 – ‘In ancient India, there was no rule of law’. Explain.
Ans. –In ancient India, there were several and often overlapping local laws. Different communities enjoyed different degrees of autonomy in administering these laws among their own people. In some cases, the punishment that the two persons received for the same crime varied judgment depending on their caste backgrounds. The lower castes in such circumstances were more harshly penalized than the upper castes.
Q 11 – What role do citizens play in the evolution of a new law?
Ans. –The Parliament plays an important role in making laws. There are many ways through which this takes place and it is often different groups in society that raise issue begins to take root, it is brought to the attention of the Parliament which in due course makes a law to crush it. Thus, the role of citizens is important in helping Parliament frame different concerns that people might have into laws. From establishing the need for a new law to its being passed, at every stage of the process, the voice of the citizen is an important element.
Q 12 –What does the rule of law mean?
Ans. –The rule of law means is that all laws apply equally to all citizens of the country and no one can be above the law. Neither a government official, a wealthy person nor even the President of the country is above the law. Any crime or violation of law has a specific punishment as well as a process through which the guilt of the person has to be established.
Q 13 – State two reasons why historians refute the claim that the British introduced the rule of law in India?
Ans. –
• First that colonial rule was arbitrary.
• Second that the Indian nationalists played a prominent role in the development of the legal sphere in British India.
Q 14 – How did the Indian legal profession develop by the end of the 19th century?
Ans. –By the end of the 19th century, the Indian legal profession developed enough to demand respect in colonial courts. They began to use the law to defend the legal rights of Indians. Indian judges also began to play a greater role in making decisions. In due course, the rule of law evolved during the colonial period.
Q 15 – Explain the various roles played by the government?
Ans. The government has to ensure that all the laws are implemented. This means that the law must be enforced. Enforcement becomes even more important when the law seeks to protect the weak from the strong.
Through making, enforcing, and upholding these laws, the government can control the activities of individuals or private companies to ensure social justice.
As the lawmaker and enforcer, the government is supposed to ensure that safety laws are implemented.
It is also the duty of the government to ensure that the Right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is not violated.
A major role of the government, therefore, is to control the activities of private companies by making, enforcing, and upholding laws so as to prevent unfair practices and ensure social justice.
This means that the governments have to make appropriate laws and also have to enforce the laws.
Laws that are weak and poorly unforced can cause serious harm as the Bhopal gas tragedy showed.
While the government has a leading role in this respect, people can exert pressure so that both private companies and the government act in the interests of society.
Q 16 –What do we mean when we speak of law enforcement? Who is responsible for enforcement? Explain with an example why is enforcement so important?
Ans. Law enforcement means to make sure a law or rule is obeyed. If there is a certain law, it is meant for being obeyed and followed.
As a lawmaker and enforcer, the government is supposed to ensure that safety laws are implemented. It is also the duty of the government to ensure that the Right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution is not violated. Enforcement is so important because as seen in the example of the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal:
- Government officials refused to recognize the plant as hazardous and allowed it to come up in a populated locality.
- When some municipal officials in Bhopal objected that the installation of a MIC production unit in 1978 was a safety violation, the position of the government was that the state needs the continued investment of the Bhopal plant, which provides jobs.
- It was unthinkable, according to them, to ask UC to shift to cleaner technology or safer procedures.
- Government inspectors continued to approve the procedures in the plant, even when repeated incidents of leaks from the plant made it obvious to everybody that things were seriously wrong.
- Instead of protecting the interests of the people, their safety was being disregarded both by the government and by private companies.
Q 17 –In a democracy like ours what can a citizen do to reject the repressive laws framed by the Parliament?
Ans. –In a democracy like ours, citizens can express unwillingness for the refection of the repressive laws.
Q 18 –Name the African American woman who played a key role in the starting of the Civil Right Movement.
Ans. –Rosa Parks was an African American woman who Started the Civil Rights Movement.
Q 19 –What does the term Evolution refer to in general?
Ans. –Evolution refers to the process of development from a simple to a complex form and is often used to discuss the development of a species of plants and animals.
Q 20 –State the two examples of-Arbitrariness performed by the British.
Ans. –The two examples are:
1. Sedition Act of 1870
2. The Rowlett Act
Q 21 –When did the Jallianwala Bagh incident take place?
Ans. –This incident took place on 13th April 1919.
Q 22 –Name the two leaders arrested for the protests against the Rowlett Act.
Ans. –The two leaders were Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew.
Q 23 –What does the Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005 say?
Ans. –According to this law, sons, daughter and their mothers can get an equal share of family property.
Q 24 –What did Rowlett allow the Britishers to perform as arbitrariness?
Ans. –Rowlett Act allowed the Britishers to imprison people without due trial.
Q 25 –In which year was the sedition Act was introduced?
Ans. – In 1870.
Q 26 –Who is known to be in charge of making law?
Ans. –Parliament in charge of making laws.
Q 27 –On what basis law cannot discriminate between persons?
Ans. –Law cannot discriminate between persons on the basis of their religion, caste, and gender.
Q 28 –What was the scenario of local laws in Ancient India?
Ans. –In Ancient India, there were innumerable and often overlapping local laws.
Q 29 –When does the system of law begin to further evolve?
Ans. –System of law began to further evolve during the colonial period.
Q 30 –Who is believed to be the introducer of the rule of law in India?
Ans. –It is believed that British colonials were the introducers of the Rule of law in India.
Q 31 –Who began to protest and criticize the arbitrary use of authority by the British?
Ans. –The Indian Nationalists began protesting and criticizing the arbitrary use of authority by the British.
Q 32 –According to which new lawsons, daughters, and their mothers get an equal share of the family property?
Ans. –Hindu Succession Act 2005.
Q 33 –When did the standing committee submit its recommendation for the implementation of the Domestic violence Act?
Ans. –In May 2002.
Q 34 –In which year did the Rowlett act come into effect?
Ans. –In 1919.
Q 35 –Define the term Repressive.
Ans. –It means to control severely in order to prevent free and natural development or expression.
Q 36 –What is meant by ‘criticize’?
Ans. –It means to find fault with or disapprove of a person or thing.
Q 37 –Define ‘Sedition’.
Ans. –This applies to anything that the government might consider as striating up resistance or rebellion against it. In such cases, the government does not need absolute evidence in order to arrest persons. Under the sedition Act of 1870, the British had a very broad interpretation of what constituted sedition, and what this meant was that they could arrest and detain any person they would under this act.
Q 38 –Describe the incident that led to the of Civil Rights Movements and the Civil Rights Act in 1964 in the U.S.A.
Ans. –Rosa Parks an African – American woman refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man on December 1, 1955. She was protesting against the law on segregation that divided up all public spaces, including the streets, between the whites and the African – Americans. Her refusal was a key event that marked the start of the Civil Rights Movement that led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or national origin in the U.S.A.
Q 39 –Why is it more important to refer to women who face violence as survivors rather than as victims?
Ans. –Often women who face violence or are abused are seen as victims. But women struggle in several different ways to survive these situations. Therefore, it is more accurate to refer to them as survivors rather than as victims.
Q 40 –Describe the process after which the Domestic Violence Act came into effect in 2006.
Ans. –In December 2002, the Standing Committee submitted its recommendations to the Rajya Sabah, and these were also tabled in the Loc Sabah. The Committee’s report accepted most of the demands of the women’s, groups. Finally, a new bill was reintroduced in Parliament in 2005. After being passed in both the house of the Parliament, it was sent to the president for his assent. The protection of women from Domestic violence came into effect in 2006.
Q 41 –How can we say that Parliament has an important role in making laws?
Ans. –The Parliament has an important role in making laws. There are many ways through which this takes place and it is often different groups in society that raise the need for a particular law. An important role of Parliament is to be sensitive to the problems faced by the people. The issues are brought to the attention of the Parliament and the issues to become law.
Q 42 –Starting from the Rowlett Act to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, brie§y explains the events, also by mentioning the dates.
Ans. –The British passed the Rowlett Act which allowed the British government to imprison people without due trial. Indian rationalists including Mahatma Gandhi were vehement in their opposition the Rowlett Act. Despite a large number of protests, the Rowlett Act came into effect on 10th March 1919. In Punjab, protests against this act continued quite actively and on April 10 two leaders of the women, Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested. To protest these arrests, a public meeting was held on 13th April at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. General Dyer entered the park with his troops to fire. Several hundreds of people died in this gun¦re and many more were wounded including womenand children.
Q 43 –Mention the different categories under which Law can be classified.
Ans. –Some of the categories under which law can be classified are…
Criminal law
Contract Law
Property Law
International law
Equity and Trust Laws
Q 44 – Write a short note on Lady Justice.
Ans. –Lady Justice or Justitia is the Roman Goddess of Justice. It is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system. Her blindfolded eyes symbolize equality under the law and impartiality towards all the people who are governed by it. The weighing scales represent the balancing of people’s interests under the law, and her sword denotes the law’s force of reason.
Q 45 –Mention some of the common laws that govern us.
Ans. –Some of the common laws that govern us are…
The age at which a person can vote Specific age for marriage Laws governing the selling and buying of property.
Q 46 –What is a constitution?
Ans. –A Constitution is a document outlining the basic laws or principles by which a country is governed.
Q 47 –State Article 14 of the Indian constitution
Ans. – Article 14 – Equality before law. – The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
Q 48 –How was the system of law during ancient times in India?
Ans. –In ancient India, there were countless and overlapping local laws. Different communities were given the liberty to enforce the laws according to their need. In some cases, the punishment that two persons received for the same crime varied depending on their caste. The lower castes were punished more harshly.
Q 49 –When was the Hindu Succession Amendment Act revised?
Ans. –The Hindu Succession Amendment Act was revised in 2005.
Q 50 –What was the Sedition Act?
Ans. –According to the Sedition Act of 1870 any person protesting or criticizing the British government could be arrested without due trial.
Q 51 –Write a brief note on the Rowlett Act.
Ans. –The Rowlett Committee was a Sedition Committee appointed in 1918 by the British Indian Government with Mr. Justice Rowlett, an English judge, as its president. The Rowlatt Act, also known as the Black Act, was instituted on the Rowlatt Committee’s recommendations. It had a significant impact on the political situation of India, placing her on a path of the political movement headed by Gandhi that ultimately dominated the Indian Independence movement for the next 20 years. The Act gave the Viceroy’s government powers to quell sedition by silencing the press, detaining the political activists without trial, and arresting without warrant any individuals suspected of sedition or treason. In protest, a nationwide cessation of work was called, marking the beginning of widespread, although not nationwide, popular discontent. The agitation unleashed by the Act culminated on 13 April 1919, in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, Punjab.
Q 52 –How is a new law introduced in Parliament?
Ans. –Parliament of India consists of the President and two Houses—the Council of States or the Rajya Sabah and the House of the People or the Loc Sabah. A Bill can be introduced in either House of Parliament. A Bill introduced by the Minister is known as Government Bill and a Bill introduced by a private member is known as Private Member’s Bill. the procedure for the passage of the Bills is similar in both cases. A Bill has to pass through three stages in each House of Parliament and receive Presidential assent before it becomes an Act of Parliament. In the event of a deadlock between the two Houses on a Bill, the issue is resolved at a joint sitting of the two Houses.