NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Political Science Chapter 16 - Citizenship

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70. Citizenship as full and equal membership of a political community involves both rights and obligations. Which rights could citizens expect to enjoy in most democratic state today? What kind of obligation will they have to their state and fellow citizens?

Ans. All the democratic nations grants some basic rights to their citizens that can vary in nature slightly. Some of the basic rights given to them are:

One of the most important political right granted to them is the right to vote which allows the citizens to participate in the political processes.

(a) The right to freedom of speech and belief is another important feature of a democratic nation and is granted to its citizens.

Right to education or right to minimum wages are also granted to the citizens of many nations.

The equality of rights and status is one of the essential features of the concept of citizenship.

The ideal of citizenship does not only involve the relationship between the state and the citizens. It also involves the relationship among the different citizens of the nation.

(b) The citizens has certain obligations towards their state as well as the other fellow citizens.

The social behaviour of the citizens is important for the development of the society. The citizens has moral obligation to take part in the activities of the community and fulfil them in an efficient manner.

71. All citizens may be granted equal rights but all may not be able to equally exercise them. Explain.

Ans. Equal rights does not guarantee equality of economic resources and success of the people. Some of the groups are marginalised in the society as they had to severally face in social, political and economic issues. We can see it in the case of tribal people and scheduled castes.

The forest dwellers and the tribals are facing marginalisation due to several reasons:

(a) These groups are highly dependent on the forests and other natural resources for their livelihood and other interests.

(b) The increasing population have led to the rise in the encroachment of the forest resources and the lands of the tribals.

(c) There has been pressure on the forest resources and other areas rich in minerals for the commercial interests of the government as well as the private players.

72. Write a short note on any two struggles for full enjoyment of citizen rights which have taken place in India in recent years. Which rights were being claimed in each case?

Ans. There was no formal laws initially to govern and regulate the functioning of the street vendors in the country who forms a major part of the livelihood of the people living in the cities or even in villages. Due to absence of formal laws the street vendors had to face several problems in their functioning. This led to the beginning of the protests by them through their union and ultimately laws were draft by the central government to regulate their functioning.

The Supreme Court gave a decision on a Public Interest Litigation filed by a social activist Olga Tellis on the rights of the slum dwellers.

(a) In the petition there was demand of right to live in the slums in the places near to the livelihood of the workers in case of no alternative place to live.

(b) The Supreme Court under the Article 21 of the Constitution accepted that people have the right to livelihood. If the slum dwellers are to be evicted from their places then first they have to be provided with alternative accommodation. They cannot be arbitrarily deprived to their place of living.

73. What are some of the problems faced by refugees? In what ways could the concept of global citizenship benefit them?

Ans. Refugees are the people who are denied citizenship rights and other rights in their own nations and they seek shelter and rights in other nations.

(a) These groups are discriminated in several areas varying from social, political, economic and cultural domain. They are forced to live in harsh conditions.

(b) States are not ready to grant them citizenship due to which their basic rights are even violated which hamper their lives significantly. One example can be seen of the Palestinian refugees.

In the recent times the economic, social and cultural interaction between the nations have increased possibly due to the globalisation. This has also led to the mergence of new concepts like global citizenship. This idea imposes a moral obligation on the people of all nations to help the people who are suffering badly due to different political, economic and environmental crisis. The nations should help such communities in the best possible manner.

74. Migration of people to different regions within the country is often resisted by the local inhabitants. What are some of the contributions that the migrants could make to the local economy?

Ans. There are several reasons due to which the local people resist the outsiders. Some of those reasons are:

(a) The primary reasons are for the competition in jobs. Sometimes the outsiders get the job easily as compared to the local people as they are ready to work on lower wages. This creates a conflict between the two sides.

(b) There are competition to access resources and facilities and help given by the state governments. These resistance also becomes the ground for politics by the leaders and achieve a political fervour.

(c) The migrants can led to the expansion of the workforce in the society that can led to the rise in the commercial activities in the city which benefits the local economy. Migrant bring new skill and techniques that can be adapted by locals of the region

75. “Democratic citizenship is a project rather than an accomplished fact even in countries like India which grant equal citizenship”. Discuss some of the issues regarding citizenship being raised in India today.

Ans. The rights that are granted to the people under the citizenship are to be implemented in a sound manner which requires continuous efforts and is a ever-changing phenomena.

There are several groups that have different grievances concerning their citizenship rights. On one hand the tribal communities demands the protection of forests on the other the dalits demands adequate employment and education opportunities. This way every group has its own set of grievances.