Indian Constitution, Federal System, Parliamentary Government, Economic Geography, and Environmental Problems
Q 1. Discuss how the ideals of the Indian constitution have been manifested in its preamble.
Ans:
The Preamble declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic. The objectives stated by the Preamble are to secure justice, liberty, and equality for all citizens and promote fraternity to maintain the unity and integrity of the nation.
The Preamble also says that India will be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, and republic nation. Each of these words reflects the ideals of the Constitution.
Really, to grasp the inner spirit of the constitution, one should go through the Preamble of the constitution. Because each and every word mentioned in the Preamble bears ideals, philosophy, and objectives of the constitutions.
Every word in the Preamble, which begins with the words, “We the people of India’, bears certain meaning and ideal. It is important to mention that the makers of the Indian constitution paid due attention to manifest every aspect of rich ancient Indian culture and civilization as the guiding principles in the pages of the Indian constitution.
The words ‘we the people of India’ in the preamble of the constitution, its makers made it crystal clear in definite terms that the actual authority of the constitution is the Indian people themselves, it belongs solely to them, and they are the main force behind the making of the Indian constitution.
Q 2. Write in detail about what is meant by sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, and republic.
Ans:
The Constitution of India declares India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic.
(i) Sovereign:
India is a Sovereign state. Sovereignty is the supreme and absolute power of the state. In other words, externally, India is not subordinate to any foreign power, nor is India directed by any other force internally.
(ii) Socialist:
The socialist nature of India suggests that wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by society.
(iii) Secular:
The word ‘secular’ signifies that the state has no official religion of its own. Every citizen has complete freedom to follow any religion.
(iv) Democratic:
India is a democratic state. The administration of the country shall be governed by the elected representatives of the people. The people shall administer the country for themselves, and the administration shall be responsible to the people.
(v) Republic:
India is a republic. The Head of the state (the President) shall be elected by the people. The post of the Head of the state shall not be hierarchical nor a person selected by someone.
Q 4. Discuss the characteristics of the Indian federal system.
Ans:
The characteristics of the Indian federal system are:
- The constituent states of the Union of India do not have the provision of a separate constitution for them. There is only one constitution for the whole Indian federation, and that is the Constitution of India.
- There is only one constitution for the whole Indian federation and no separate constitution for each constituent state of India.
- The appointment procedure of the Governors in the constituent provinces does not corroborate the federal character of India. The Governor performs his/her role as the representative of the central (union) government in the state.
- Two types of government: There are two types of government in the federal type of government. One is the central government, and the other type is the provincial governments. Both types of governments possess their own respective constitutions.
- In the federal type of government, there exists a free and independent Judiciary which performs the duty of the supreme authority and the guardian of the federal constitution.
- Single citizenship has been granted in India to ensure the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
Q 5. Discuss the important characteristics of the parliamentary form of government in India.
Ans:
A democratic government known as a parliamentary one is one in which the political party winning the most seats in the federal election’s legislative or Parliament becomes the ruling party.
The characteristics of the parliamentary form of government in India are:
- The Parliament of India is composed of the President, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha.
- All political parties contest elections, which are held at regular intervals
- A fixed number of members of the Parliament are directly elected by the people.
- The party having a majority in Lok Sabha or a coalition government comes into power.
- The leader of the majority party becomes the Prime Minister, and he selects candidates to form the Council of Ministers.
Q1. What is economic geography? What is its main subject matter? Mention the important branches of economic geography.
Ans:
The branch of Geography in which the study of human activities relating to the production, consumption, and exchange of resources is done with respect to space and time is called Economic Geography.
The subject matter of Economic Geography is the story of the human relationship between man’s productive activities and environmental conditions. The economic activities of man are not the same everywhere. Actually, due to the prevalence of variation in the elements of natural and man-made environments, human’s way of life and its economic activities also do not remain the same everywhere. In view of such differences, if one place is agriculturally developed, another place may be developed in trade and commerce or even rich in industrial or fish production activities. That is why all the places on the earth having dependent on one another continue to maintain a kind of interrelationship. In fact, resources and all the phenomena relating to various activities of man are discussed in Economic Geography.
The important branches of Economic Geography are- (a) Agricultural Geography, (b) Industrial Geography, (c) Resources Geography, (d) Transport Geography, (e) Marketing Geography, (f) Tourism Geography, etc.
Q 2. Write in brief about the scope of economic geography.
Ans:
According to Dudley Stamp, Economic Geography “involves consideration of the geographical and other factors which influence man’s productivity, but only in limited depths, so far as they are connected with production and trade.” Professor E. W. Zimmermann pointed out that Economic Geography deals with the economic life of man in relation to the environment.
R. S. Thoman, in his book ‘The Geography of Economic Activity’, has remarked, “Economic Geography may be defined as an inquiry into the production, exchange, and consumption of goods by people in different areas of the world. Particular emphasis is placed on the location of economic activity upon asking just why economic functions are situated where they are in this world.
The scope of Economic Geography is mainly based on the following questions:
- Where is the economic activity located?
- What are the characteristics of Economic Geography?
- To what other phenomena is the economic activity related?
- Why is the economic activity located where it is?
- Would it not be better located elsewhere?
Q 9. Explain the meaning of the environmental problem.
Ans:
The environmental problem refers to a state in which the order and law of the ecosystem are collapsed as the ecological function it originally had is destroyed due to the influence of human activities. These environmental problems arise from conflicts between nature and humans. So far, efforts have been made to identify the causes of these environmental problems and come up with solutions, but most of them have been technology-oriented. However, this technological approach cannot be an exception from the thermodynamic law that “no energy conversion process can expect 100% efficiency,” and the amount of dissipated energy below 100% efficiency is causing several environmental problems.
Q 10. Write the geographical division of environmental problems.
Ans:
The geographical division of the environmental problems are:
(i) Global problem:
The environmental issues that affect the entire world are termed global problems.
(ii) Regional problem:
The regional problem exists in a large region or more nations.
(iii) Local problem:
An environmental problem which affects only a particular place or a small area so far as their genesis and spread are concerned is called a local environmental problem.
Q 16. What is a desert? Give the definition of desertification.
Ans:
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid.
Desertification is the degradation process by which fertile land changes itself into a desert by losing its flora and fauna; this can be caused by drought, deforestation, climate change, human activities, or improper agriculture. Desertification is a process of degradation of the land. It occurs because of man-made activities and climate change. Desertification takes place when a particular type of biome converts into a desert biome.
Q 20. What are the probable consequences of global warming?
Ans:
The probable consequences of global warming are:
- Melting of snow in the polar wears
- Rise of sea level
- Change in the growth and distribution of plants and animals
- Fall of crop output
- Desertification, etc.
Q 21. Write how to control global warming.
Ans:
Following measures should be taken to control global warming:
(i) Adjust your thermostat:
Moving your thermostat down just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
(ii) Plant a tree:
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
(iii) Change a light:
Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
(iv) Drive less:
Walk, bike, carpool, or take mass transit more often. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive!
(v) Recycle more:
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.
(vi) Check your tires:
Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Q 18. Is it possible to control desertification?
Ans:
Some important steps to control desertification:
- Integrating land and water management to protect soils from erosion, salinization, and other forms of degradation irrigation of land and water management should be done frequently.
- The use of land should be integrated for grazing and farming where conditions are favorable, allowing for a more efficient cycling of nutrients in agricultural systems.
- Applying a combination of traditional practices with locally acceptable and locally adapted land-use technologies.
- Managing dryland resources effectively and giving local communities the capacity to prevent desertification. Livelihoods should not be dependent on traditional land uses; there should be some alternative methods such as dryland aquaculture, greenhouse agriculture, and tourism-related activities.