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Indian PolityMediumAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2021, GK

Who among the following said that Democracy means a system of 'Government by Consent'?

  1. A.John Locke
  2. B.J.S. Mill
  3. C.Jeremy Bentham
  4. D.J.J. Rousseau

Correct answer

A. John Locke

Explanation

The correct answer is A, John Locke. Locke argued that a government is legitimate only when it rests on the consent of the governed, the idea of government by consent.

John Locke, the English philosopher, set out this view in his Two Treatises of Government of 1689. He held that people are born with natural rights to life, liberty and property, and that they agree to form a government only to protect these rights. Power is a trust given by the people, so a ruler who breaks that trust may be removed. Locke is therefore called the father of liberalism, and his ideas shaped the American Declaration of Independence and modern constitutional democracy.

B is wrong because J.S. Mill is known for On Liberty and for championing representative government and freedom of speech. C is wrong because Jeremy Bentham founded utilitarianism, the principle of the greatest happiness of the greatest number. D is wrong because Rousseau built his theory on the general will and popular sovereignty in The Social Contract.

Exam tip: Locke: consent and natural rights; Rousseau: general will; Bentham: greatest happiness; Mill: liberty.

Practice Questions

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Q3.Indian PolityAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2022, GKHard

Which one of the following statements is correct ?

  1. A.Under Article 21A of the Constitution of India, the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of eleven years.
  2. B.Every religious denomination has got absolute power under Article 26 of the Constitution of India to manage its own affairs in matters of religion.
  3. C.Only religious and linguistic minorities find mention in Article 30 of the Constitution of India in reference to the right to establish educational institutions of their choice.
  4. D.Parliament cannot empower, even by law, any court other than the Supreme Court of India the power to issue writs within local limits of its jurisdiction.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Only religious and linguistic minorities find mention in Article 30 of the Constitution of India in reference to the right to establish educational institutions of their choice.

Article 30 gives all minorities, whether based on religion or language, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice, and names no other kind of minority.