CBSE Syllabus for Class 11 Political Science

Course Structure for Class XI Political Science (2017-18)

Unit Topic Marks
Part A: Indian Constitution at Work  
1. Philosophy of the Constitution 12
2. Rights of the Indian Constitution
3. Election and Representation 10
4. Executive
5. Legislature 10
6. Judiciary
7. Federalism 10
8. Local Governments
9. Constitution as a Living Document 8
 Total 50
Part B: Political Theory 
10. Political Theory : An Introduction 10
11. Freedom
12. Equality 10
13. Social Justice
14. Rights 10
15. Citizenship
16. Nationalism 10
17. Secularism
18. Peace 10
19. Development
 Total 50

Part A: Indian Constitution at Work

1. Philosophy of the Constitution

Constitution: Why and How, The making of the Constitution, the Constituent Assembly, Procedural achievements and Philosophy of the Constitution.

2. Rights in the Indian Constitution

The importance of Rights, Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution, Directive Principles of State Policy, Relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles.

3. Election and Representation

Elections and Democracy, Election System in India, Reservation of Constituencies, Free and Fair Elections, Electoral Reforms.

4. Legislature

Why do we need a Parliament? Two Houses of Parliament. Functions and Power of the Parliament, Legislative functions, control over Executive. Parliamentary committees. Self-regulation.

5. Executive

What is an Executive? Different Types of Executive. Parliamentary Executive in India, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Permanent Executive: Bureaucracy.

6. Judiciary

Why do we need an Independent Judiciary? Structure of the Judiciary, Judicial Activism, Judiciary and Rights, Judiciary and Parliament.

7. Federalism

What is Federalism? Federalism in the Indian Constitution, Federalism with a strong Central Government, conflicts in India’s federal system, Special Provisions.

8. Local Governments

Why do we need Local Governments? Growth of Local Government in India, 73rd and 74th Amendments, implementation of 73rd and 74th Amendments.

9. Constitution as a Living Document

Are Constitutions static? The procedure to amend the Constitution. Why have there been so many amendments? Basic Structure and Evolution of the Constitution. Constitution as a Living Document.

Part B: Political Theory

10. Political Theory: An Introduction

What is Politics? What do we study in Political Theory? Putting Political Theory to practice. Why should we study Politial Theory?

11. Freedom

The Ideal of Freedom. What is Freedom? Why do we need constraints? Harm principle. Negative and Positive Liberty.

12. Equality

Significance of Equality. What is Equality? Various dimensions of Equality. How can we promote Equality?

13. Social Justice

What is Justice? Just Distribution. Justice as fairness. Pursuing Social Justice.

14. Rights

What are Rights? Where do Rights come from? Legal Rights and the State. Kinds of Rights. Rights and Responsibilities.

15. Citizenship

What is citizenship? Citizen and Nation, Universal Citizenship, Global Citizenship.

16. Nationalism

Nations and Nationalism, National Self-determination, Nationalism and Pluralism.

17. Secularism

What is Secularism? What is Secular State? The Western and the Indian approaches to Secularism. Criticisms and Rationale of Indian Secularism.

18. Peace

What is Peace? Can violence ever promote peace? Peace and the State. Different Approaches to the pursuit of peace. Contemporary challenges to peace.

19. Development

What is development? Criticism of the dominant. Development Model. Alternative conceptions of development.

Prescribed Books:

  1. Indian Constitution at work, Class XI, Published by NCERT
  2. Political Theory, Class XI, Published by NCERT

NCERT Solutions