Social Science Lessons Revision Notes

Major Landforms of the Earth

Mountains

 A mountain is any natural elevation of the earth's surface.

 There are permanently frozen rivers of ice. They are called glaciers.
 Mountains may be arranged in a line known as the range.
 The Himalayas, the Alps, and the Andes are mountain ranges.
 There are three types of mountains—Fold Mountains, Block Mountains,
and Volcanic Mountains.
 The Himalayan Mountains and the Alps are young fold mountains.
 The Aravalli range in India is one of the oldest fold mountain systems.
 Block Mountains are created when large areas are broken and displaced
vertically.
 Volcanic mountains are formed due to volcanic activity, e.g. Mt.
Kilimanjaro in Africa.

Plateaus

 A plateau is an elevated flat land.

 The Deccan plateau in India is one of the oldest plateaus.
 The Tibet plateau is the highest in the world.
 The African plateau is famous for gold and diamond mining.
 The lava plateaus are rich in black soil that are fertile and good for
cultivation.

Plains

 Plains are large stretches of flat land.

 Most of the plains are formed by rivers and their tributaries.
 In India, the Indo-Gangetic plains are the most densely populated region
of the country.

Landforms and the People

 Humans have been living in different kinds of landforms in different

ways.
 Sometimes, natural calamities such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
storms, and floods cause widespread destruction.

The surface of the earth is not the same everywhere.

Mountains, plateaus, and plains are different landforms of the earth.

A mountain is a natural elevation of the earth's surface. There are three types of
mountains—Fold mountains, Block mountains, and Volcanic mountains.

A plateau is an elevated flat land. It is a flat-topped table land standing above the
surrounding area. A plateau may have one or more sides with steep slopes.

The Deccan plateau is one of the oldest plateaus.

The Tibet plateau is the highest in the world.

Plains are large stretches of flat land. Some plains are extremely level while others
may be slightly rolling and undulating.

Plains are generally thickly populated regions of the world.

Human habitation is found on different kinds of landforms. But population varies on

these landforms. Mountains are generally not thickly populated. But plains are the
regions where the thick population is found.

The land is precious. We must not use it in a wasteful manner. Construction work of
any type should not be carried on fertile land. Also, we should not throw garbage on
land. We must take care of the land or any other natural gift. If we do this we will be
conscious citizens.

Erosion: The wearing away of the earth’s surface is known as erosion.

Mountain: A mountain is a natural elevation of the earth's surface.

Glacier: Some mountains have permanently frozen rivers of ice. They are called
glaciers.

Range: When mountains are in an arranged line, it is called a range.

Horsts and graben: The uplifted blocks are known as horsts and the lowered blocks
are known as graben.

Storehouse: A building where things are stored or kept.

Terraces: One of the series of flat areas of ground that are cut into the side of hill-
like steps to grow crops there.
Flora: The plants of a particular area. Fauna: The animals living in an area

Kingdoms, Kings and the Early Republic

Janapadas: The powerful kings who performed big sacrifices and later ruled larger
territories termed Janapadas. The term “Janapada” literally means ‘foothold of a
tribe’. A Janapada could be a republic like Vajji or a monarchy like Magadha.

Varnas: Later, Vedic texts like Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda mentioned

certain rules about society. There were different groups in the society such as
priests and warriors, farmers, herders, traders, craftspersons, and laborers.

Varna Hierarchy: The priests divided people into four groups called varnas. Each
varna had different sets of functions.

Selection of the Rulers: In ancient India, some of the rajas were probably chosen by
the Jana, the
people. Some changes regarding the election of the Raja took place around 3,000
years ago. Some men performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice and came to be
recognized as rajas.

Gana: This was the method of rule in the early centuries where members of society
met in assemblies and decided about administration through discussions and
debates.

Mahajanapadas: A Mahajanapada was usually ruled from its capital city. There was
intense rivalry among the Mahajanapadas, resulting in frequent wars. Huge walls
made of mud, stone, wood, or bricks were used to fortify these capital cities.

Taxes: Money was required by new rajas for building forts and armies. They started
collecting regular taxes from the people. The tax could be paid either in cash or in
kind.

Changes in Agriculture: Agriculture prospered in most of the Mahajanapadas as

they were located in fertile areas. Two major changes came in agriculture. One was
the increasing use of the iron plow. Secondly, people began transplanting paddy
which led to increased production.
Around 3000 years ago, there were some new ways of choosing ‘rajas’. Some men
became ‘rajas’ by performing big sacrifices. One of such rituals was ‘ASHVAMEDHA’
(horse sacrifice). The ‘raja’ was an important figure.

Kingdoms were usually called the ‘Janapadas’, which were ruled by the ‘rajas’.
People lived in huts and kept animals. They grew a variety of crops.

Some ‘janapadas’ later became more important than others, and they were called
‘Mahajanapadas’. The capital cities were fortified. The new ‘rajas’ began maintaining
armies. Payments were made using punch-marked coins.

he ‘rajas’ needed resources to build forts and to maintain armies. Officials were
supposed to collect taxes from people. Taxes were in the form of crops, labor,
animals and their produce, etc.

There were changes in agriculture too. The use of Iron Ploughshares increased, thus
enhancing grain production. People started transplanting paddy. This also increased
production.

Magadha became the most important ‘mahajanapada’ in about 200 years. Transport,
water supplies, fertility, forests, elephants, mines, etc. made Magadha important.

The two powerful rulers of Magadha, Bimbisara and Ajatasattu used all possible
means to conquer other ‘janapadas’. Rajagriha was the capital of Magadha. Later it
was Pataliputra (now Patna).

Vajji was another kingdom with its capital at Vaishali (Bihar). It had a different form
of government called ‘gana’/‘sangha’, which had not one, but many rulers. These
rulers performed rituals together and met in assemblies. Buddhist books depict life
in the ‘sanghas’.

‘Rajas’ of powerful kingdoms tried to conquer the ‘sanghas’.

Ashvamedha’: (horse sacrifice) This was a ritual in which a horse was let loose to
wander freely and it was guarded by the ‘rajas’ men. If the horse entered other
kingdoms, there would be a duel between the two kings.

‘Bhaga’: Taxes on crops (1/6 of the produce) was called ‘bhaga’.

‘Gana’/‘Sangha’: A form of government followed in the kingdom of Vajji.

‘Janapadas’: Kingdoms were referred to as ‘janapadas’. (‘jana’ – land, ‘pada’ – foot).

‘Mahajanapada’: The most important of the ‘janapadas’.

‘Varnas’: Each of the four categories of society, based on occupation and decided by

birth, was referred to as ‘Varnas’.

About 3000 years ago (around 1000 B.C.) – new kinds of ‘rajas’. About 2500 years
ago (around 500 B.C.) – formation of ‘mahajanapadas’. About 2300 years ago
(around 300 B.C.) – the invasion of Alexander the Great

About 2300 years ago (around 300 B.C.) – the invasion of Alexander the Great.

The Earth in the Solar System

Solar System
The sun, nine planets, satellites, asteroids and meteoroids form the solar system.

The Sun

 The sun is in the center of the solar system.

 It is made up of extremely hot gases.
 The sun is about 150 million km away from the earth.

Planets

 There are nine planets in our solar system.

 The nine planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus,
Neptune and Pluto.
 Planets move around the sun in a fixed orbit.
 Mercury is the nearest planet.
 Pluto is the farthest planet.
 A new planet 2003 UB313 has been discovered. It is bigger than Pluto
and is farthest from the sun.

Earth

 It is the third nearest planet to the sun and fifth largest planet of our
solar system.
 The earth is a unique planet because it supports life.
  It is also called the blue planet.
 Its shape is Geoid.

The Moon

 It is the only satellite of the earth.

 Its diameter is one-quarter of the earth. ‘
 It is about 3.84,400 km away from us.
 It moves around the earth in about 27 days.
 Only one side of the moon is visible to us on the earth.
 No life exists on moon as it has neither water nor air.

Asteroids

 They are numerous tiny bodies which move around the sun between the
orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
 The largest asteroid is the Ceres.

Meteoroids

 The small pieces of rocks which move around the sun are called
meteoroids.
 Our solar system is a part of the Milky Way galaxy.
 Milky Way galaxy was named Akash Ganga.
 There are millions of galaxies that make the Universe.

The Stars and the MOON are celestial bodies which are visible only at night in the
sky. During daytime, the power of the sun’s light renders them invisible.

The moon appears differently on different nights—like the Full Moon only once a
month, on the poornima night whereas on the fifteenth night after that, there is no
moon in the sky (amavasya).

Some celestial bodies are big and hot since they are made of gases. They are called
Stars. The sun is also a star. We do not feel the heat and light of the stars other than
the sun since they are very far away from us.

Groups of stars that are visible in definite patterns are called Constellations. Ursa
Major (the Big Bear), The Small Bear (Saptarishi), etc are some well-known
constellations.
The Pole Star is known to retain the same position every night in the sky. It is also
called the North Star since it helps in knowing the North direction.

Solar System
The sun, nine planets, satellites, asteroids and meteoroids form the solar system.

The Sun

 The sun is in the center of the solar system.

 It is made up of extremely hot gases.
 The sun is about 150 million km away from the earth.

Planets

 There are nine planets in our solar system.

 The nine planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus,
Neptune and Pluto.
 Planets move around the sun in a fixed orbit.
 Mercury is the nearest planet.
 Pluto is the farthest planet.
 A new planet 2003 UB313 has been discovered. It is bigger than Pluto
and is farthest from the sun.

Earth

 It is the third nearest planet to the sun and fifth largest planet of our
solar system.
 The earth is a unique planet because it supports life.
 It is also called the blue planet.
 Its shape is Geoid.

The Moon

 It is the only satellite of the earth.

 Its diameter is one-quarter of the earth. ‘
 It is about 3.84,400 km away from us.
 It moves around the earth in about 27 days.
 Only one side of the moon is visible to us on the earth.
 No life exists on moon as it has neither water nor air.

Asteroids
  They are numerous tiny bodies which move around the sun between the
orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
 The largest asteroid is the Ceres.

Meteoroids

 The small pieces of rocks which move around the sun are called
meteoroids.
 Our solar system is a part of the Milky Way galaxy.
 Milky Way galaxy was named Akash Ganga.
 There are millions of galaxies that make the Universe.

The Stars and the MOON are celestial bodies which are visible only at night in the
sky. During daytime, the power of the sun’s light renders them invisible.

The moon appears differently on different nights—like the Full Moon only once a
month, on the poornima night whereas on the fifteenth night after that, there is no
moon in the sky (amavasya).

Some celestial bodies are big and hot since they are made of gases. They are called
Stars. The sun is also a star. We do not feel the heat and light of the stars other than
the sun since they are very far away from us.

Groups of stars that are visible in definite patterns are called Constellations. Ursa
Major (the Big Bear), The Small Bear (Saptarishi), etc are some well-known
constellations.

The Pole Star is known to retain the same position every night in the sky. It is also
called the North Star since it helps in knowing the North direction.

The shape of the earth is called a Geoid. This means it is not perfectly spherical,
since it is flattened at the poles. The earth is probably the only planet that can
support life. This is because its temperature, resources like water and oxygen, etc
are present in the proportions appropriate for life. The earth, with its 2/3 rd of
surface covered with water, appears blue from space and is called Blue Planet.

The Moon’s diameter is 1/4 th of that of the earth. It is 3,84,400 km away from earth.
It completes a revolution around the earth in about 27 days. Incidentally, it also takes
around the same time for a rotation about its own axis. It does not support life.
There are several other tiny bodies in space (the Asteroids) that move around the
sun. There is a “belt” of such objects, called the Asteroid Belt, between Mars and
Jupiter.

There exist small pieces of rocks (Meteroids) which also move around the sun.
The Milky Way is the galaxy (a huge system of billions of stars) we live in. The Milky
Way is further a part of a bigger collection of galaxies, called the Universe, (refer
Flow¬Learning)

Celestial Body: An object in the universe (but not on the earth) is said to be a
celestial body. Examples are sun, earth, moon, stars, etc.

Star: A celestial body that is characterized by being very hot and big, and made of
gases is a star. A star typically has its own heat and light.

Full Moon Night: A night when the moon is visible from the earth as a full sphere is
called the Full Moon night, and it occurs once a month.

New Moon Night: The fifteenth night after the Full Moon night, when the moon is not
visible at all in the sky, is called the New Moon night.

Constellation: A group of several stars which can usually be recognized by a definite

pattern is called a constellation. An example is Ursa Major.

Planets: A celestial body which revolves around a particular star in an orbit, and gets
all its light from that star, is called a planet. Earth is a planet.

Satellites: A celestial body which revolves around a planet in a particular orbit is

called a satellite. The moon is a satellite of the Earth.

Orbit: The particular and definite elliptical path in which a planet (or satellite) always
remains, is called the orbit of that planet (or satellite).

Sun: The Sun is a star that acts as the “head” of the solar system and around which
all planets revolve: Note that the sun is not at the center of the orbit, instead it is like
in the figure above.

Inner Planets: The Inner Planets are the planets that orbit around the sun between
the sun and the asteroid belt, that is, are close to the sun. These are: Mercury, Venus,
Earth and Mars.
Outer Planets: The Outer Planets are the planets that orbit the sun beyond the
asteroid belt, that is, are very far away from the sun. These are: Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune.

Geoid: The shape of the earth is called a geoid. A geoid is spherical except for the
flattening at two places diametrically opposite to each other.

Poles: The two places diametrically opposite to each other and which lie on the axis
about which a spherical body rotates are called poles.

Asteroids: A large number of tiny celestial bodies which move around the sun, and
are mainly present in a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, are called
Asteroids.

Meteoroid: Small pieces of rocks which move around the sun are called meteoroids.

Galaxy: A galaxy is a collection of innumerable stars. Most stars have their own
families like the solar system. The Milky Way is the galaxy in which we live.

Universe: The Universe is the largest unit in which we live. It is a collection of

galaxies. There is only one Universe and everything that exists in this Universe itself.

Globe Latitudes and Longitudes

Globe is a true model of the Earth.

A needle is fixed through the globe in a tilted manner, which is called its axis.

The imaginary line running on the globe divides it into equal parts. This line is known
as the Equator.

All parallel circles from the Equator up to the poles are called parallels of latitude.
Latitude is measured in degrees.

As we move away from the Equator, the size of the parallels of latitude decreases.

The four important parallels of latitude are :

  Tropic of Cancer (2312°N)
 Tropic of Capricorn (23122°S)
 Arctic of Circle (6612°N)
 Antarctic Circle (6612°S)

Heat Zones of the Earth

 Torrid zone receives the maximum heat.

 The temperate zone has a moderate temperature.
 The frigid zone has a cold climate as the sun rays are always slanting.

Longitudes

 The line of reference running from the North Pole to the South Pole is
called Meridians of Longitude.
 The distance between them is measured in ‘degrees of longitude’.
 All meridians are of equal length.
 The meridian which passes through Greenwich, where the British Royal
Observatory is located, is called the Prime Meridian.
 The value of Prime Meridian is 0° longitude and from it, we count 180°
Eastward as well as 180° Westward.
 Prime Meridian divides the earth into two equal halves, the Eastern
Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.
 180° East and 180° West meridians are on the same line.
 We can locate any point on the globe if we know its latitude and
longitude.

Longitude and Time

 As the earth rotates from West to East, those places East of Greenwich
will be ahead of Greenwich time and those to the West will be behind it.
 The earth rotates 360° in about 24 hours.
 At any place, a watch can be adjusted to read at 12 o’clock when the
Sun is at the highest point in the sky.

Standard Time

 The local time various places are different, so it is necessary to adopt

the local time of some central meridian of a country as the Standard
Time.
 8212°E is treated as the Standard Meridian of India. The local time at this
meridian is known as the Indian Standard Time (IST).
  India located East of Greenwich at 82° 30’E, is 5 hours and 30 minutes
ahead of GMT.
 Some countries have a great longitudinal extent and so they have
adopted more than one standard time.

The Globe is a true model of the earth, in a small form. A needle, called the Axis is
fixed through the globe in a tilted manner.

The axis of the globe passes through two extreme points: known as the Poles (the
North Pole and the South Pole). This axis is shown in the form of a needle on the
globe. The real earth has no such axis.

The circle passing through the centre of the earth, and perpendicular to the axis, is
called the Equator. It divides the earth into two Hemispheres, the Northern and the
Southern. We can imagine a number of more circles parallel to the equator, having
their centres on the axis and having different radii. These circles are called Parallels
of Latitudes.

The parallels are identified with the help of degrees. The equator represents the zero
degrees latitude. The latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere are designated as
degrees north (°N), e.g. 10°N, 20°N, and so on till 90°N (which is the North Pole).
Similarly the latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere are designated as degrees south
(°S), and 90°S is the South Pole.

The circle passing through Greenwich in Britain, and perpendicular to the equator,
and parallel to the axis, is called the Prime Meridian. It divides the earth into two
Hemispheres, the Eastern and the Western. Together, the Equator and the Prime
Meridian divide the earth into four equal parts. We can imagine a number of more
circles parallel to the Prime Meridian, having their centre at the centre of the earth,
and having equal radii. These circles are called Degrees of Longitudes.

The longitudes are identified with the help of degrees. The Prime Meridian
represents
the zero degrees longitude. The longitudes in the Eastern Hemisphere are
designated as degrees east (°E), e.g. 10°E, 20°E, and so on till 180°. Similar is the
case with the Western Hemisphere.

Degrees are further divided into minutes and minutes into seconds. Note that the
symbol
for a minute is an apostrophe (‘) and that for a second is a double apostrophe (“). 60′
(60 minutes) make up a degree and 60″ (60 seconds) make up a minute. So 30’
means half a degree and 40” means two-thirds of a minute.
Two points on earth can lie on the same latitude but still be far away from each
other. Also, two distant points may lie on the same longitude. But only one point life
on a particular pair of latitude and longitude. So latitudes and longitudes are helpful
in locating a point on earth.

The Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle are studied as special latitudes in the
Northern Hemisphere. They are at 23 1/2° N and 6612° N respectively.
The Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle are studied as special latitudes in
the Southern Hemisphere. They are at 23 12° S and 66 12° S respectively.
The area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn receive
maximum heat from the Sun and this region is called the Torrid Zone.

The area between the Artie Circle and the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern
Hemisphere, and that between the Antarctic Circle and the Tropic of Capricorn in the
Southern, have moderate temperatures. These regions are the Temperate Zones.

The area north to the Arctic Circle and that south to the Antarctic Circle is close to
the Poles and receive the sunlight of very low intensity. So it is very cold here. These
regions are called the Frigid Zones.

The Frigid Zones, the Temperate Zones, and the Torrid Zone are called the Heat
Zones.

The sun does not shine equally on all longitudes at a time. When it is 12 noon at a
time, it means that the sun is not at all visible at the place on the other side of the
earth. ‘So it must be midnight there. In fact, we can say that the time difference is 24
hours at 360 degrees longitudes apart. So every longitude brings a difference of 4
minutes. This gives us the concept of Time Zones. Two consecutive time zones
differ by an hour. The time at a particular place is said to be the local time.

It may happen that a certain country extends over a long range of longitudes, thus
giving a large amount of time difference. E.g. Russia extends over eleven time zones.
India actually extends over a range of a 2-hour time difference. But this is not too
much, so for convenience and for uniformity, we have a standard meridian set at
Allahabad (82° 30’), which gives the time for all over India. This time is called the
Indian Standard Time (IST).

Globe: The globe is a model of the earth, as it is, but in a very small and convenient
form. It shows all continents, countries, and oceans, labeled.

Axis: The imaginary line about which the earth rotates once in 24 hours is called its
axis.
Poles: The two extreme points of the axis are called the Poles. One of them is the
North Pole and the other is the South Pole.

Equator: The circle passing through the center of the earth, and perpendicular to the
axis, is called the equator.

Prime Meridian: The circle passing through Greenwich in Britain, and perpendicular

to the equator, and parallel to the axis, is called the Prime Meridian.

Latitude: One of the imaginary circles parallel to the Equator is called latitude. The
latitudes have their centers on one common line and they have different radii.

Longitude: One of the imaginary circles parallel to the Prime Meridian is called

longitude. The longitudes have their centers at the center of the earth and have the
same radius as the Earth.

Hemisphere: One of the two equal halves of the earth’s spherical shape is called a
hemisphere. If the earth is halved along the equator, we get the Northern and the
Southern Hemispheres. If we halve it perpendicular to the equator, we get the
Eastern and the Western Hemispheres.

Heat Zones: Heat zones are the different zones of the earth, where the sun’s rays fall
differently, thus causing different climate patterns. These zones are called the Torrid
Zone, the two Temperate Zones, and the two Frigid Zones.

Greenwich: Greenwich is a place in the United Kingdom, near London, whose time is

used as a standard all over the world. The Prime Meridian passes through this place,
and so it is the place which divides the earth into the Eastern and the Western
Hemispheres.

Standard Time:  Standard time of a country or region is the time regarded as a

standard for that place, despite the fact that there exists time difference
geographically across that region. It is used only for convenience.

What is Government
Government: Government is “the organisation, that is the governing authority of a
political unit”, “the ruling power in political society” and the apparatus through which
a governing body functions and exercises authority”.
Levels of Government: India is a representative democracy where people are eligible
‘to vote, elect representatives and participate in the decisions making the process.
The government works at different levels: national, state and local level.

National Level: It refers to the area of the government which is concerned with
national issues such as taxation, defence, international relations and trade.

State Level: Each of the State Governments has its own police force, education
system and road laws.

Local Level: The local governments are known as Panchayats in rural areas and
Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats in urban areas.

Laws and the Government: A rule of conduct established and enforced by the
authority, legislation or custom of a given community, state or nation is called law. It
is both the responsibility of the government and citizens to uphold the integrity of
laws.

Types of Government: Governments can be classified into several types. Some of

the most common types of governments are a democracy, monarchy, etc.

Democracy: It is a form of government run by elected representatives who hold the

decision making power. The word ‘democracy’ originates from the Greek words
‘demos’ and ‘krotos’, meaning “rule of the people.” It can be classified into direct and
indirect democracy.

Monarchy: A monarchy refers to the rule by a king or queen. Sometimes, a king is

called an “emperor”. It is a government with a hereditary head of the state. It can be
classified into two types, i.e., absolute and constitutional monarchy.

Representative Democracy: The type of democracy in which the citizens delegate

authority to their elected representatives.

Women’s Suffrage: A Movement started in the early 20th century vigorously for
many years, demanding equality with men and the right to vote.

Franchise: A privilege or right officially granted to a person or a group by a

government, especially the constitutional or statutory right to vote.

Each country needs a government to make important decisions and function well.
The decisions may be economic, educational or social.
The government also takes care of international boundaries and relations with other
countries. It is responsible for the transport facilities and health facilities for citizens.

The government works at different levels—like, local level, state level, national level.

The government makes laws and every citizen is supposed to follow them. Laws
need to be enforced for proper function of the government.

Citizens can also take the help of law if they are dissatisfied with something.

There are some types of government, like the democratic, monarch, etc. In a
democracy (like India), the people elect the government themselves by voting in the
election. In a monarchy, the king/queen has the power to make decisions and no one
from the citizens can* object to them.

The basic idea of democracy is that people rule themselves by taking part in the law-
making.

Nowadays, democratic governments are better known as ‘representative

democracies’. People do not participate directly. They choose their representatives
during elections and these representatives come together for the decision-making
process. All adults in the country are eligible to vote according to the universal adult
franchise.

There are instances in history when governments did not allow women, the poor
people and the uneducated to vote. But when India got independence, the universal
adult franchise was enforced.

Government: The system or machinery present in each country in order to make

decisions for the proper running of the country is called government.

Laws: The rules laid down by the government for the proper functioning of the
country are called laws.

Democracy: A system of government in which the people (citizens) of the country

choose their leaders to rule is called democracy. The elected government is
answerable to its people for its decisions.

Monarchy: A system of government which is run by a king/queen on a hereditary

basis and where people do not get their say in decision-making is called a monarchy.
The king/queen is said to be the monarch.
Elections: The process in which citizens of a democratic country cast their votes for
the leaders of their choice is called the election. The elected leaders form a
government later.

Representative Democracy: A form of democracy in which people do not elect the

government directly but only choose their representative, who collectively form a
government is called representative democracy. Most democracies are
representative in nature.

Universal Adult Franchise: The rule that allows all adults in the country, irrespective
of caste, creed, gender, literacy, occupation, etc., to vote and take part in the
elections, is the universal adult franchise.