Read the passage and answer the following question.
The Right to Vote
Universal adult franchise, or the right of every adult to vote, is one of the foremost rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. It means that we cannot be governed by anyone other than the people we have ourselves elected to represent us. This right is a radical departure from the days of colonial rule when ordinary people were forced to submit to the authority of colonial officers who represented the interests of the British Crown. However, even in Britain, not everyone was allowed to vote. Voting rights were limited to property-owning men. Chartism was a social movement for parliamentary representation in England. In 1839, more than 1.25 million people signed the People's Charter asking for universal male suffrage, voting by ballot, and the right to stand for elections without owning property. In 1842, the movement managed to collect 3.25 million signatures, a huge number for a tiny country. Yet, it was only after World War I, in 1918 that all men over 21, married women, women owning houses, and women university graduates over the age of 30, got the right to vote. When the suffragettes (women activists) took up the cause of all adult women's right to vote, they were bitterly opposed and their movement violently crushed.
Which of the following is not related to Chartism?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Right to work
Option (1) Right to Vote — Related to Chartism (Incorrect). In Britain, voting rights were then limited to property-owning men. The People’s Charter of 1839 asked for universal male suffrage, the right of every man to vote, and for voting by ballot.
Option (2) Right to be elected — Related to Chartism (Incorrect). The Charter also asked for the right to stand for elections without owning property. Standing for election is the right to be elected.
Option (3) Right to have representation — Related to Chartism (Incorrect). Chartism was a social movement for parliamentary representation in England. Ordinary people wanted a voice in Parliament through members they had elected themselves.
Option (4) Right to work — Not related to Chartism (Correct). The right to work is a claim to employment and a livelihood. Every demand of the Chartists was about voting and elections — who may vote, how the vote is cast and who may stand for Parliament — and none was about jobs.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Right to Vote … Universal adult franchise, or the right of every adult to vote, is one of the foremost rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. It means that we cannot be governed by anyone other than the people we have ourselves elected to represent us. This right is a radical departure from the days of colonial rule when ordinary people were forced to submit to the authority of colonial officers who represented the interests of the British Crown. However, even in Britain, not everyone was allowed to vote. Voting rights were limited to property-owning men. Chartism was a social movement for parliamentary representation in England. In 1839, more than 1.25 million people signed the People’s Charter asking for universal male suffrage, voting by ballot, and the right to stand for elections without owning property. In 1842, the movement managed to collect 3.25 million signatures, a huge number for a tiny country. Yet, it was only after World War I, in 1918 that all men over 21, married women, women owning houses, and women university graduates over the age of 30, got the right to vote. When the suffragettes (women activists) took up the cause of all adult women’s right to vote, they were bitterly opposed and their movement violently crushed.” |