Political Science

This page contains the CBSE Class 11 Political Science syllabus for the academic session 2026-27, as prescribed by CBSE curriculum.

RATIONALE

A discipline of Social Science, Political Science deals with understanding the social structures and methods used to manage a government or State. It also encompasses the historical, philosophical, constitutional, and legal foundation of the political system. It further provides scope to identify the political values and ideas, governing institutions and their policy making process. The subject enhances the ability to address the functions and processes of government and politics in international, national, and state levels. It ensures that students acquire citizenship skills and engage as active citizens by appreciating human diversity. This subject is interdisciplinary by nature and draws upon other social disciplines or branches of knowledge and there by influenced by them in many ways. At Senior Secondary level, curriculum of Political Science is organised in a systematic manner to facilitate students to have an understanding of political ideas, ideologies, institutions, policies, processes, and behaviour, as well as groups, classes, government, law, peace and war which are the bedrock of human society and polity. The contents develop knowledge about current and past political events across the world and also enrich student’s writing, communication, data analysis skills. An earnest effort is directed towards laying the foundation for a serious engagement with the discipline and developing competencies that prepare students for higher education, learning, and acquiring knowledge.

Political Science as a field of study in senior secondary classes enable students to get an exposure to political activities and processes that they are exposed to in everyday life. The study of political science has emerged as a multifaceted discipline, involving a contemporary interdisciplinary approaches and empirical framework, emphasizing more on field work rather than theoretical perceptions. The connect between government and citizen ensures the emergence of an active and reflective citizens and vibrant democracy. CBSE has therefore incorporated project work in Political Science to enable students to extend their interest beyond textbooks and provide them with a platform to gather information, value the decisions made to shape the community and visualise future course of action to be taken to ensure healthy democracy.

To enable learners to:

A teacher should:

The Project work will be implemented for 20 Marks.

Class XI: Assessment will be done by internal examiner.

NOTE: The additional reference material is for classroom transaction and will not be assessed in the Board examination.

Sub-Topic: ‘Electoral Reforms in Indian Politics’

Electoral Reforms in the 21st Century include use of EVM [Electronic Voting Machine], VVPAT [Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail] and NOTA [None of the Above]. Restriction on exit polls, ceiling on election expenditure has been raised from 70 lakhs to 95 lakh rupees in bigger states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka. And 54 lakhs to 75 lakhs in Smaller States which include Goa, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and UTS for the Lok Sabha elections. For Assembly elections, expenditure limits have been enhanced from 28 lakh rupees to 40 lakhs in bigger states and from 20 lakhs to 28 lakhs in smaller states and the use electoral bonds in election funding are some of the major reforms initiated by the Election Commission of India that have sought to bring about revolutionary changes in the electoral process and the voter behaviour in contemporary India.

One of the important responsibilities of the Election Commission of India is to ensure that the Electoral roll (voter lists) is kept updated. To ensure the same, the electoral roll is updated and verified from time to time. The objective is to ensure that the voter list is accurate, inclusive, and free from errors. During this process, new eligible voters are added, names of deceased or shifted persons are removed, and any corrections in existing entries are made. This process ensures that only eligible voters are registered and able to participate in the democratic process of the country.

Sub-Topics: ‘Quasi Federalism’. ‘Competitive Federalism’

Quasi Federalism: In the context of special features and provisions of Indian federalism we use the phrase, ‘Quasi Federalism’, a concept given by K. C. Wheare. Quasi federalism represents a strong centre with comparatively less strong units. Wheare describes the Indian case in its formative phase as a ‘quasi federation – A unitary state with subsidiary federal features rather than a federal state with subsidiary unitary features’.

Cooperative Federalism: Cooperative federalism is the concept which reflects the relationship between the Union and the States where both come together and resolve the common problems with each other’s cooperation in amicable manner thus contributing towards the growth of a strong federation. It shows the horizontal relationship between the Union and the States where none is placed over and above on the other. To ensure this strong relationship between the two, the Indian constitution has evolved and incorporated certain instruments and agencies like the Inter-State Councils, Zonal Councils, the 7th Schedule, etc.

Competitive Federalism: Competitive federalism places all states vis a vis the Union on equal and competing footing where the best performing states can take the maximum benefits of the resources, services and taxes. It ensures a healthy competition among states leading towards better performance and delivery which constitute important part of governance. The post- liberalization era reflects the trend of competitive federalism where states are more autonomous, accountable, and efficient in their functioning.

As of 2024, there have been total 106 amendments of the Constitution of India. Source: https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india/.

Sub-Topics: ‘Liberty vs Freedom’

We hear a lot around us that people appear to use the word liberty and freedom as synonyms of each other. But there are some fundamental differences between these two concepts that must be understood. Liberty comes from the Latin word “libertatem” which means “condition of a freeman”. While freedom come from the English word “freedom” which means “state of free will”. Liberty is power to act and express oneself according to one’s will while freedom is the power to decide one’s action. Freedom is more concrete concept than liberty which is more associated with an individual’s connection with the state rather than with other individuals and circumstances. State guarantees freedom through the liberty it grants to its citizens.

The difference between these two concepts can briefly be outlined as follows:

The common feature between these two concepts is that both remain unconstrained, which means that their realization is free from any constrain. Further, both follow rightful or ethical conformity in terms of their realization.

Sub-Topics: ‘Different Dimensions of justice’

Till now we have tried to understand what the term justice means. After considering this, we need to know different dimensions of justice which may help us in establishing a just society. Legal, social, political and economic justice are the key dimensions of justice. Here, we will try to understand these dimensions in some details.

Legal Justice: It is a narrow concept of justice which is associated with the legal system and legal procedure existing in a society. The court of law interprets the law and applies it after hearing the partners involved in a dispute. Here, justice is what administered by the court of law and the interpretation of the judge is considered to be an embodiment of justice.

Political Justice: In any democratic society political justice means providing equal political rights. Political justice stands for a free and fair participation of people in the political sphere. Universal adult franchise is the expression of political jus tice. Equality of opportunity in getting elected and in holding public offices, freedom of expression and association are important pillars of political justice.

Social Justice: It means to end all types of social inequalities and to provide proper opportunity to every citizen in every sphere of life, to develop her/his personality to ensure equality of law, prohibition of discrimination, social security, provision of equal political rights, etc. The concept of social justice is based on the belief that all human beings are equal and no discrimination should be made on the ground of race, religion, caste, gender and place of birth.

Economic Justice: It means to provide equal opportunities to everyone to earn her/his livelihood. It also means to help such people who are not able to work and earn their livelihood. The basic need of every person such as food, cloth, shelter and education should be fulfilled. It stands for by assuring adequate means of livelihood to all, by making provisions for equal pay for equal work, fair distribution of resources, equal economic opportunity to all, etc.

While the concept of political justice is closely linked with the ideal of “liberty”, economic and legal justice with “equality” and social justice with “fraternity”, a just combination of all these four dimensions will help in achieving justice in life.

Human rights are those rights which all human beings are entitled by virtue of being human. It is based on the principle of respect for the individual. The fundamental assumption behind the concept of human rights is that every person is amoral and rational being who deserves to be treated with dignity. Human rights are both universal and fundamental; these are universal in the sense that they belong to all human beings irrespective of race, nationality, community, religion, gender, etc.; these are also fundamental because once given, these cannot be taken back.

Although the presence of human rights can be traced to the ancient Indian philosophy and culture, the concept formally originated at the international level in 1948 with the UN Declaration of Human Rights listing 30 rights for all people across the globe.

Multiculturalism in the general sense is the coexistence of people of different religions, cultural groups and communities in all countries of the globe. Originated in the 1970s with a counter- culturalism and human rights movement in opposition to the homogenization of other cultures in favor of the white culture of America and Europe, multiculturalism broadly comprises the principles of both ‘acceptance’ and ‘reverence’. It expects all countries of the globe to give equal acceptance and reverence to the cultural groups. In the India context, the concept of multiculturalism is identified with the notion of “Salad Bowl”, advocated by social scientist, Ashish Nandy. It shows that different cultural groups within a nation maintain their identity with their respective distinct forms.