Syllabus note
Note: This chapter is not part of the CBSE Class 12 Sociology syllabus for 2026-27 (CBSE has deleted it). Students of other boards should check their board’s latest syllabus.
20 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWho moved the Directive Principle on Village Panchayats as an amendment in the Constituent Assembly?
(A) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar(B) Mahatma Gandhi(C) K. Santhanam(D) Jawaharlal Nehru - 1 markWhich constitutional amendment gave Panchayati Raj Institutions their constitutional status?
(A) 42nd Amendment, 1976(B) 73rd Amendment, 1992(C) 44th Amendment, 1978(D) 61st Amendment, 1989 - 1 markWhat does the term ‘Panchayati Raj’ literally translate to?
(A) Governance by five individuals(B) Rule of the village elders(C) Committee of ministers(D) Council of the wise - 1 markWhat is the Gram Sabha, according to the book?
(A) The entire body of citizens of a village or grama(B) A committee of five elected panchas(C) The state-level planning authority(D) A court that hears village disputes - 1 markWhat percentage of Panchayat seats did the 73rd Amendment reserve for women?
(A) 33 per cent(B) 25 per cent(C) 50 per cent(D) 17 per cent - 1 markHow many women did the 1993-94 elections, soon after the 73rd Amendment, bring into the political process?
(A) 80,000(B) 800,000(C) 8,000(D) 8,000,000 - 1 markWhich body did the 73rd Amendment constitute to prepare development plans for a district as a whole?
(A) Zilla Panchayat Council(B) State Development Board(C) District Planning Committee(D) National Planning Commission - 1 markWhich sociologist commented critically on the Bhuria Committee Report regarding tribal institutions?
(A) M.N. Srinivas(B) Satish Saberwal(C) Tiplut Nongbri(D) A.K. Ramanujan
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The Constitution has the capacity to help people because it is based on the basic norms of social justice.
Reason (R): Courts have used the Constitution’s Fundamental Rights, such as Article 21, to extend the meaning of social justice over time.
(A) A is true, but R is false(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(C) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The 73rd and 74th Amendments reserved one-third of all local-body seats for women.
Reason (R): This was significant because, for the first time, it brought women into elected bodies with real decision-making power.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I (Amendment/Provision) with List II (What it did), as given in the chapter.
List I: (i) 73rd Amendment (ii) 73rd + 74th Amendments together (iii) District Planning Committee (iv) Nyaya Panchayat
List II: (1) Hears petty civil/criminal cases, can fine but not sentence (2) Gave PRIs constitutional status, five-year elections (3) One-third seats reserved for women in local bodies (4) Prepares plans for the district as a whole
(A) i-2, ii-3, iii-4, iv-1(B) i-1, ii-4, iii-2, iv-3(C) i-3, ii-1, iii-4, iv-2(D) i-4, ii-2, iii-1, iv-3
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markStatement I: The essence of law is fairness.
Statement II: The essence of justice is force, backed by the power of the state.
(A) Both statements are false(B) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(C) Both statements are true(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true - 1 markStatement I: All groups in society have equal access and equal ability to pressurise the government.
Statement II: Some sociologists argue that dominant social groups such as class, caste or gender already hold disproportionate power.
(A) Both statements are false(B) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(C) Both statements are true(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange these levels of the three-tier Panchayati Raj pyramid from the base upward.
1. Intermediate/block tier
2. Gram Sabha (village tier)
3. District tier (District Planning Committee)
(A) 2-1-3(B) 1-2-3(C) 3-1-2(D) 2-3-1
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markAmong the Khasis of Meghalaya, each clan’s own traditional council is called the ‘______’.
(A) Gram Sabha(B) Zilla Parishad(C) Durbar Kur(D) Panchayat Samiti - 1 markEvery year in February, the ______ presents the Budget to Parliament, and pre-Budget meetings with industrialists, trade unions, farmers and women’s groups are widely reported.
(A) Prime Minister(B) President(C) Speaker of the Lok Sabha(D) Finance Minister
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of these are groups for whom the 73rd Amendment reserved seats. Which one is NOT mentioned as having reserved seats in the chapter?
(A) Scheduled Castes(B) Scheduled Tribes(C) Women(D) Religious minorities
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Kalavati, a Dalit by caste, was apprehensive about standing for elections. She is now a Panchayat member and realises that her confidence and self-esteem have grown ever since she became a member of the panchayat. Most importantly, ‘she has a name’. Before she became a member of the panchayat she was only called ‘Ramu’s mother’ or ‘Hiralal’s wife’. If she lost the election for the post of the Pradhan, she felt her friends would ‘lose face’. This was recorded by Mahila Samakhya, an NGO working towards rural women’s empowerment.
- 1 markBased on the passage, what is described as the most important change in Kalavati’s own life after becoming a panchayat member?
(A) She gained her own name and identity, instead of being known only through her husband or son(B) She received a large government salary(C) She was exempted from all household work(D) She was promoted to a state-level government post
Passage
The story of two villages, Sukhipur and Dhukipur, is unravelled through a cloth ‘phad’, a traditional folk medium of storytelling. Village Dhukipur (sad village) has a corrupt Pradhan, Bimla, who spent the money received from the panchayat for building a school on constructing a house for herself and her family instead; the rest of the villagers remain sad and poor. Sukhipur (happy village) has a content populace, as Pradhan Najma invested rural reconstruction money in developing good infrastructure: a functioning primary health centre with a pucca building, and a good road so buses can reach the village. The campaign’s central message was that it is not enough merely to vote, stand for election, or win; it is important to know why one is voting for a particular person, and what that person actually stands for.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what was the central message the phad storytelling campaign wanted to convey to villagers?
(A) Only educated women should be allowed to vote(B) Panchayat elections should be abolished(C) Every village should have the same Pradhan for life(D) It is not enough to vote, stand, or win; you must know why you are voting for someone and what they stand for
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider these statements.
(i) Panchayats have the power to levy, collect and appropriate certain taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
(ii) Panchayats monitor government schemes such as IRDP and ICDS.
(A) Only (i) is true(B) Only (ii) is true(C) Both are true(D) Both are false
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (C) The book names K. Santhanam as the one who moved this amendment in the Constituent Assembly.
- (B) The 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992 gave PRIs constitutional status and made five-yearly elections compulsory.
- (A) The book gives the literal translation as ‘governance by five individuals’.
- (A) The Gram Sabha is the whole body of citizens of a village, and it elects the local government.
- (A) The 73rd Amendment provided 33 percent reserved seats for women, alongside SC/ST reservation.
- (B) The book states that 800,000 women were brought into political processes in that single election.
- (C) The 73rd Amendment constituted the District Planning Committee for this purpose.
- (C) The book quotes sociologist Tiplut Nongbri’s remarks on the Bhuria Committee Report.
Assertion-Reason
- (B) Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A. A already carries the book’s own reason: the Constitution can help people because it is based on the basic norms of social justice. R describes how courts have since extended rights such as Article 21, which shows that capacity at work but is not the reason the book gives for it.
- (B) Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A. R gives the significance (the result) of the reservation, that it brought women into elected bodies with decision-making power for the first time; it does not give the reason why the amendments reserved the seats.
Match the Following
- (A) 73rd Amendment = PRI status/elections (2); 73rd+74th together = one-third women’s reservation (3); District Planning Committee = district plans (4); Nyaya Panchayat = fines not sentences (1): i-2, ii-3, iii-4, iv-1.
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) Both are false: the book reverses these. Law’s essence is force; justice’s essence is fairness.
- (D) Statement I is false, the book says it is ‘obvious’ that access is unequal; Statement II correctly reflects the book’s critique.
Chronological Ordering
- (A) The pyramid’s base is the Gram Sabha (village tier), then the intermediate/block tier, then the district tier at the top: 2-1-3.
Fill in the Blanks
- (C) The Khasi clan council is named ‘Durbar Kur’ in the book, presided over by the clan headman.
- (D) The book’s own Box 3.6 states the Finance Minister presents the Budget every February.
Odd One Out
- (D) The book names SC, ST and women’s reservation under the 73rd Amendment; religious minorities are not mentioned as a reserved category here.
Passage-Based Questions
- (A) The passage’s own emphasis is that ‘she has a name’ now, instead of being called only ‘Ramu’s mother’ or ‘Hiralal’s wife’ – an identity gain, not a material or career benefit.
- (D) The passage’s final message is explicit: knowing why you vote for a person, and what that person stands for, matters more than simply voting, standing, or winning.
True / False
- (C) Both statements are true and directly stated in the book among the Panchayats’ delegated powers and monitored schemes.
More for this chapter