Grade 11 Humanities: Political science

In this unit, 'Constitution and rights', you learn to explain the constitution and rights. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Constitution and rights' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: explain the constitution and rights. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Explain what a constitution is: the supreme law that sets up the institutions of government, divides power between them and limits it. India's was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, which is why that day is celebrated as Republic Day. Ordinary laws must agree with it.
2. Step 2, Read the Preamble, which opens with the words We, the people of India. It names the goals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, and describes the country as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. Sovereign means no outside power rules India. Republic means the head of state is not a hereditary monarch.
3. Step 3, Name the six Fundamental Rights: equality (Articles 14 to 18), freedom (19 to 22), against exploitation (23 and 24), freedom of religion (25 to 28), cultural and educational rights (29 and 30), and constitutional remedies (Article 32). Article 21 protects life and personal liberty. Equality before law means a rich and a poor person face the same rule.
4. Step 4, Explain that rights come with reasonable limits. Freedom of speech does not cover defamation or calls to violence, and loud music at 11 pm can be restricted for public order. The test is that your right ends where it harms another person's right. Directive Principles guide the state, but unlike Fundamental Rights, a court cannot enforce them directly.
5. Step 5, Show how rights are enforced. A person whose right is violated may go to a High Court (Article 226) or the Supreme Court (Article 32) and ask for a writ. Habeas corpus, meaning 'produce the person', tests whether a detention is lawful. The Constitution also lists Fundamental Duties (11 at present; check the current figure), such as respecting the national flag and protecting the environment.
6. Step 6, Your turn: a shopkeeper refuses to let a customer enter only because of the customer's caste. Explain which right is affected and where the customer can seek help. Answer: the right to equality (no discrimination in access to shops, Article 15); the customer can complain to the police or approach a court, including through Article 32 or 226.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Explain the constitution and rights: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Elections and representation', you learn to explain election systems and representation. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Elections and representation' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: explain election systems and representation. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Explain the two main election systems. In first-past-the-post, the country is divided into constituencies and the candidate with the most votes wins the seat. In proportional representation, parties win seats in line with their share of votes. India uses first-past-the-post for the Lok Sabha, which has 543 elected seats, so a majority needs 272.
2. Step 2, Work a first-past-the-post count. One constituency has five candidates with 31,000, 28,000, 22,000, 12,000 and 7,000 votes. The total is 100,000. The first candidate wins with only 31 percent, called a plurality, even though 69 percent of voters chose someone else. No second round is held.
3. Step 3, Compare seats with votes. In a state with 10 seats, Party P gets 40 percent of votes but wins 7 seats because its rivals' votes are split, Party Q gets 30 percent and wins 2, Party R gets 30 percent and wins 1. Under proportional representation the split would be 4, 3 and 3 seats.
4. Step 4, Explain representation. Constituencies are drawn by population, and some are reserved: 84 seats for Scheduled Castes and 47 for Scheduled Tribes, 131 of 543 in all, about 24 percent (check the current figure, as seat numbers can change after a new delimitation). Reservation guarantees these groups a voice. Every citizen aged 18 or over, a limit set in 1988, may vote by secret ballot if registered.
5. Step 5, Calculate turnout. If a constituency has 1,500,000 registered voters and 990,000 vote, turnout is 990,000 / 1,500,000 = 0.66, or 66 percent. An independent election commission runs the polls, and a model code of conduct limits what parties and governments may do once an election is announced.
6. Step 6, Your turn: four candidates get 40,000, 35,000, 15,000 and 10,000 votes under first-past-the-post. Who wins, with what share, and by what margin? Answer: the first candidate wins with 40,000 of 100,000 votes, a 40 percent plurality, 5,000 votes ahead of the runner-up.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Explain election systems and representation: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Federalism and local government', you learn to compare federal and local power. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Federalism and local government' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: compare federal and local power. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Compare federal and local power starting with federalism: a system where power is divided between a central government and states, each with its own sphere guaranteed by the Constitution. India calls itself a Union of States. Three lists divide subjects: Union (defence, currency, foreign affairs), State (police, public health, agriculture) and Concurrent (education, forests, marriage).
2. Step 2, Apply the lists. Printing currency is a Union matter, so one authority decides for the whole country. Local policing is a State matter. School education is Concurrent, so both Union and State may make laws, but if the laws conflict the Union law normally prevails. Match each public service to the level that can legally act.
3. Step 3, Follow the money. Taxes are shared: in a recent award by the finance commission, which reports about every five years, states receive about 41 percent of the divisible central taxes (check the current figure, as each award sets its own share). So of every 100 rupees in that pool, 41 go to states and 59 stay with the Union. States also raise their own taxes.
4. Step 4, Turn to local government. The 73rd and 74th Amendments of 1992 gave constitutional status to panchayats in villages and municipalities in towns. Rural areas have three tiers: village, block and district. Elections are held every five years and at least one third of seats are reserved for women.
5. Step 5, Compare the levels. A national highway is a Union responsibility, a state highway belongs to the State, and a village lane, street light or hand pump is handled by the panchayat. The Union and States get power from the Constitution; local bodies work under it and under State law, so their funds depend heavily on grants.
6. Step 6, Your turn: say which level decides (a) issuing a passport, (b) repairing a village drinking-water tap, (c) posting a state police officer. Answer: (a) Union, because foreign affairs is a Union subject; (b) the gram panchayat; (c) the State government, because police is on the State List.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Compare federal and local power: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Political concepts', you learn to define liberty, equality and justice. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Political concepts' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: define liberty, equality and justice. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Define liberty as the absence of unreasonable restraint plus the freedom to develop one's talents. Negative liberty means freedom from interference: you may speak or choose a faith. Positive liberty means having the conditions to use that freedom: free speech helps little if you were never taught to read.
2. Step 2, Apply the harm principle: liberty can be limited when it harms others. You may play music in your room at 6 pm, but not at 2 am in a block of flats, because neighbours need sleep. A good limit is reasonable, written in law, applies to everyone and is open to challenge.
3. Step 3, Define equality. Political equality gives one person one vote. Social equality ends discrimination by caste, gender or religion. Economic equality reduces extreme gaps in income. Distinguish equality of opportunity (a fair start for all) from equality of outcome (identical results). In a 100 m race, a fair start line is not the same as everyone finishing together.
4. Step 4, Define justice as giving each person what is due. Take 12 notebooks and 4 children. Equal sharing gives 3 each. But if three children lost their books in a flood, sharing by need might give them 4 each and the fourth, who has plenty, 0. Distributive justice asks which rule of sharing is fair and why.
5. Step 5, Add procedural justice: fair rules for deciding. Two students are blamed for a broken window. A fair teacher hears both, checks facts, treats them by the same rule and gives reasons. Skipping the hearing would be unjust even if the guess turned out right. Link all three ideas: liberty, equality and justice support each other but can also conflict.
6. Step 6, Your turn: define liberty, equality and justice in one sentence each and give a school example for each. Model answer: liberty is freedom to choose a club if it harms no one; equality is the same chance to try out for the team; justice is a fair hearing before any punishment.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Define liberty, equality and justice: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

On the slide: L1 Basic · What government does

Notes: Name what a government does and give one rule that affects daily life. Notes: use the school as a model; learners list who makes the rules, who enforces them and who can ask for a change.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Rights, duties and voting

Notes: Explain a right, a duty and why people vote. Notes: learners hold a class vote on one real choice and note who did not vote and why; discuss whether a result is fair if only half take part.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Constitutions and electoral systems

Notes: Describe separation of powers and compare plurality and proportional voting. Notes: three parties win 40, 35 and 25 per cent; proportional voting in 100 seats gives 40, 35 and 25, whereas a seat can be won with 40 per cent under plurality.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Comparing political systems

Notes: Compare parliamentary and presidential systems and measure disproportionality. Notes: votes of 45, 35 and 20 per cent with seats of 55, 30 and 15 give gaps of 10, 5 and 5; half the sum is 10 points; learners say which system helps small parties.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Power, ideology and coalitions

Notes: Analyse sovereignty, ideology and a coalition problem in a 100-seat house. Notes: parties hold 48, 30 and 22 seats and need 51; every pair has a majority, so the 30 and 22 seat parties could together exclude the largest.

This course: Grade 11 Humanities Political science is at this level. Its units include Constitution and rights; Elections and representation; Federalism and local government; Political concepts.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Institutions and party systems

Notes: Evaluate how institutions shape the number of parties and policy stability. Notes: vote shares 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 give an effective number of parties of about 2.63; learners compare it with a two-party case and discuss veto players.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Causal inference in comparative politics

Notes: Design a comparative study and defend an estimate of a policy effect. Notes: treated turnout moves from 50 to 58 and control from 52 to 55, so the difference in differences is 5 points; test the parallel-trends assumption and list threats.