Grassroots Democracy — Part 2: Local Government in Rural Areas — Quiz

Q1. How does the Gram Sabha differ from the Gram Panchayat?

• A. Both are exactly the same body
• B. The Sabha is all adult voters; the Panchayat is their elected members
• C. The Sabha works at district level, the Panchayat at village level
• D. The Panchayat elects the Sabha

Q2. Dnyaneshwar Kamble, elected Sarpanch of Tarangfal village (2017), is remembered for which reason?

• A. The first child Sarpanch in India
• B. A Patwari who became Chief Minister
• C. A transgender person elected Sarpanch with motto 'lok seva, gram seva'
• D. A Sarpanch who banned all elections

Q3. Vandana Bahadur Maida of Khankhandvi (Madhya Pradesh) is best described as someone who

• A. Refused to attend any Sabha meeting
• B. Was the Panchayat Secretary
• C. Became the first female Sarpanch by defying patriarchal norms
• D. Built the Iron Pillar

Q4. Under Sarpanch Popatrao Pawar, the village of Hiware Bazar became green and prosperous mainly through

• A. Building a large airport
• B. Rainwater harvesting, watershed conservation and tree planting
• C. Closing the village school
• D. Stopping all farming

Q5. What is one key coordinating role of the Panchayat Samiti?

• A. Printing voter ID cards for the nation
• B. Deciding India's foreign policy
• C. Commanding the State police
• D. Collecting development plans from Gram Panchayats and presenting them upward

Q6. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, mentioned in the chapter, mainly promotes

• A. Setting up universities abroad
• B. Building airports in cities
• C. Free electricity for factories
• D. Construction of all-weather roads in rural areas

Q7. Why are special rules made at all three Panchayati Raj levels?

• A. To exclude poor people from voting
• B. To give all power to one officer
• C. So disadvantaged sections can make their needs and problems heard
• D. To stop women from contesting elections

Q8. The 'Children's Parliament', an offshoot of Bunker Roy's Barefoot College, empowered Rajasthan's rural children by

• A. Giving them paid government jobs
• B. Engaging ages 8-14 in night schools and parliament-like elections
• C. Sending them to the State Assembly
• D. Making them Patwaris

Q9. Why was Sangkhu Radhu Khandu Gram Panchayat (west Sikkim) declared 'child-friendly'?

• A. It built compound walls and kitchens for hygienic midday meals in schools
• B. It banned all schools
• C. It stopped girls from studying
• D. It removed the Gram Sabha

Q10. Besides directly elected members, who else may belong to the Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad?

• A. Foreign ambassadors
• B. Sarpanchs of area villages and local MLAs
• C. Judges of the Supreme Court
• D. Army generals

Q11. The Arthaśhāstra, describing how a state should be structured, was written about 2,300 years ago by

• A. Bunker Roy
• B. Anna Hazare
• C. M.K. Gandhi
• D. Kauṭilya (also known as Chāṇakya)

Q12. How does the Panchayat make governance 'closer to the people'?

• A. By sending all issues to the national capital
• B. By removing all elections
• C. By letting villagers participate directly in local decisions
• D. By handing power to one Sarpanch for life

Q13. The chapter's 'Think About It' asks how the Patwari's generations-old maps can be useful. The best reason is that they

• A. Can be sold for profit abroad
• B. Replace the need for a Gram Sabha
• C. Can tell us about the past and present of the land
• D. Are used to print currency

Q14. Democracy in the Panchayati Raj system works through

• A. Only appointed officials
• B. Only the Central government
• C. Both direct participation of people and their elected representatives
• D. Only the armed forces

Q15. A villager wants land records checked and a meeting recorded. Whom should they approach for each task?

• A. Patwari for land records, Panchayat Secretary for meeting records
• B. Patwari for both
• C. Secretary for both
• D. Sarpanch for both