We live in a society, where there is a need to maintain smooth functioning and accept diversities and a need to promote social and economic development in the people. Hence, there needs to be someone, who can do the task of performing these roles. Hence, These tasks fall upon the government.

What is a Government?

A government is a body or agency which is needed to make decisions for the country. Every country needs a government to make decisions and get things done. These can be decisions about where to build roads and schools, or how to reduce the price of onions when they get too expensive, or ways to increase the supply of electricity.

The government also takes action on many social issues, for example, it has several programs to help the poor. It does other important things such as running postal and railway services. The government also has the job of protecting the boundaries of the country and maintaining peaceful relations with other countries.

It is responsible for ensuring that all its citizens have enough to eat and have good health facilities. When there are natural disasters like tsunami or an earthquake it is the government that mainly organizes aid and assistance for the affected people. If there is a dispute or if someone has committed a crime you find people in a court. Courts are also part of the government. Perhaps you are wondering how governments manage to do all this. And why it is necessary for them to do
so.

When human beings live and work together, there needs to be some amount of organization so that decisions can be made. Some rules have to be made that apply to everyone. For example, there is a need to control resources and protect the territory of a country, so people can feel secure.

Governments do this on behalf of their people by exercising leadership, taking decisions and implementing these among all the people living in their territory.

Levels of Government

Now that you know that the government is responsible for so many different things, can you think of how it manages to do all this? The government works at different levels: at the local level, at the level of the state, and at the national level. The local level means in your village, town, or locality, the state level would mean that which covers an entire state like Haryana or Assam and the national level relates to the entire country.

Laws and the Government

The government makes laws and everyone who lives in the country has to follow these. This is the only way governments can function. Just like the government has the power to make decisions, similarly, it has the power to enforce its decisions. For example, there is a law that says that all persons driving a motor vehicle must have a license.

Any person caught driving a vehicle without a license can either be jailed or fined a large sum of money. Without these laws, the government's power to make decisions is not of much use. In addition to any actions that governments can take, there are also steps that people can take if they feel that a particular law is not being followed.

If a person feels, for example, that they were not hired for a job because of their religion or caste, he or she may approach the court and claim that the law is not being followed. The court can then give orders about what should be done.

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