NCERT Solutions for Class 9th Social Science Chapter 6 Popular Sovereignty — THINK ABOUT IT

Because it settles the one question every political system has to answer: where does the government's authority come from, and who can take it back? If power comes from the people, then those who hold office hold it on trust and for a fixed term, not as property.

Three consequences follow directly, and each is in the chapter:

• The government can be replaced without violence. “A government elected through free and fair elections formulates policies and implements laws.” Because the same electorate can also refuse to re-elect it, disagreement is settled at the ballot box. The chapter's own proof is the general election of 1977: after the Emergency, “general elections were held, allowing people to express their will through the ballot”, and the defeat of the ruling government showed the system working.
• No one is born to rule. Popular sovereignty means the State “derives its authority from the people”, so authority is not inherited, seized or claimed by rank. This is the same idea the chapter finds in early India, where “the king was not an independent ruler but rather worked in consultation with assemblies, ministers, and officers”.
• Every adult counts equally. The right to vote belongs to “every citizen, 18 years of age and above” — Universal Adult Franchise, exercised through a secret ballot so that the vote is the voter's own and cannot be checked or punished afterwards.

Voting is what converts popular sovereignty from a principle into a measurable fact. The chapter's four steps are worth separating.

1. It transfers authority openly and on a known date. “Citizens exercise their right to vote to elect governments and representatives.” Because elections are periodic, authority is granted for a limited period and must be asked for again.
2. It makes the claim to represent people checkable. A government that says it speaks for the people can be tested against the count. In a multi-party system, “the party — or a coalition of parties — that secures more than 50 per cent of the seats forms the government, while the largest opposing group becomes the opposition.”
3. Scale gives the claim weight. With over 96.8 crore registered voters (2024), a general election in India is “an unparalleled exercise in public participation”. Elections are conducted in 22 scheduled languages with election symbols so that citizens who cannot read can vote independently, and there are over one million polling stations, “In some cases, polling stations are created even for a single voter.”
4. Turnout is itself a message. Because it is a secret ballot, each vote is free; because participation is voluntary, high participation is evidence of consent, and staying away is evidence of the indifference the chapter warns against.