Government
Topic: State, Government and Governance: Organs, Levels and the Citizen · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 10 "Grassroots Democracy – Part 1: Governance"; Class 7, Ch 9 "From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments"; Class 7, Ch 6 "The State, the Government, and You"
Meaning
Government means the people and institutions that act for the state. They make laws, carry them out, enforce them and settle disputes. Leaders, ministers and officials are all part of it. Government is one of the four elements of the state. Governments change through elections, but the state goes on. Class 7 compares this to a school: the school stays while teachers come and go.
Example
After a Lok Sabha election, a new party may form the government at the Centre. India, the state, stays the same. Only the group running it changes.
Don't confuse with
- State: the state is the lasting political unit, with population, territory, government and sovereignty. Government is only the agency that acts for it. People mix up the two words because the government is the part of the state they actually meet.
- Governance: government is who holds office. Governance is how power is used, and it also involves markets, civil society and communities.