The NCERT Class 8 Social Science Book Social and Political Life is the civics volume of the Class 8 Social Science set — the book that explains how the Indian Constitution, Parliament, courts and laws actually work.
This NCERT book has 8 chapters across 113 printed pages, and every chapter PDF in the table below is NCERT’s own official file on ncert.nic.in. Open the chapter you need, or read on for what each chapter actually teaches.
The download table comes first, so you can open the book right away. Beyond the PDF, this page maps the volume from the book itself: which chapter teaches which topic, where the 60 exercise questions sit, and which chapters pair up for revision.
Class 8 Social Science Book Social and Political Life: Official NCERT PDF
| Ch. | Chapter | Pages | Official PDF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Indian Constitution | 16 | |
| 2 | Understanding Secularism | 10 | |
| 3 | Parliament and the Making of Laws | 18 | |
| 4 | Judiciary | 14 | |
| 5 | Understanding Marginalisation | 14 | |
| 6 | Confronting Marginalisation | 10 | |
| 7 | Public Facilities | 16 | |
| 8 | Law and Social Justice | 15 |
The files above are NCERT’s own chapter PDFs, hosted on the official NCERT site, ncert.nic.in. The table has four columns: the chapter number, the chapter title, the printed page range inside the book, and the official link that opens that chapter.
The Book, Measured
These are the headline numbers of this volume, taken from the book’s own pages.
- 8 chapters, every one with a verified official chapter PDF on ncert.nic.in, linked above.
- 113 printed pages in total across the eight chapters.
- 60 exercise questions in all, closing the eight chapters.
- 0 numbered section headings — the chapters run under thematic titles such as “Adivasis and Marginalisation”, not numbered sections.
- 0 printed activity sections — the end-of-chapter exercise is the book’s main task format.
The chapters are organised under thematic titles rather than numbered subheadings, so the named-section count for every chapter is zero. That is how this volume is designed, not a gap in the lists on this page.
This page covers this one civics volume. The full Class 8 Social Science set also includes History and Geography NCERT books, each with its own page.
| Class 8 Social Science volume | NCERT book | Covered on this page? |
|---|---|---|
| Civics | Social and Political Life | Yes — full chapter list and PDFs above |
| History | Our Pasts-III | No — separate volume on the Class 8 hub |
| Geography | Resources and Development | No — separate volume on the Class 8 hub |
What Each of the 8 Chapters Teaches
The directory below records what the book itself shows on any count-through: pages per chapter, exercise questions per chapter, and the section and activity counts.
| Ch. | Chapter | Sections | Activities | Figures | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Indian Constitution | — | — | — | 6 |
| 2 | Understanding Secularism | — | — | — | 7 |
| 3 | Parliament and the Making of Laws | — | — | — | 4 |
| 4 | Judiciary | — | — | — | 9 |
| 5 | Understanding Marginalisation | — | — | — | 8 |
| 6 | Confronting Marginalisation | — | — | — | 6 |
| 7 | Public Facilities | — | — | — | 9 |
| 8 | Law and Social Justice | — | — | — | 11 |
Three column notes are worth reading before the chapter list. A section means one of NCERT’s numbered headings; this book prints none, using thematic titles instead.
An activity is a hands-on task printed for students; none appear in this volume. A question is an end-of-chapter exercise, and the eight chapters together carry 60 of them.
The figure column is absent for a reason: the book’s illustrations carry no figure numbers or captions, so no figure index is compiled for this volume.
Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution (pp. 2-17)
Chapter 1 asks what a constitution is, walks through the key features of the Indian Constitution, and introduces the Fundamental Rights that protect citizens.
It runs 16 pages and ends with 6 exercise questions (9 parts in all). Because Chapters 4 and 6 keep referring back to Fundamental Rights, this is the natural starting point of the book.
Chapter 2: Understanding Secularism (pp. 18-27)
Chapter 2 explains secularism as the Indian state’s principled distance from religion: it protects freedom of religion while still acting against religious injustice.
It opens from a story set in a Government High School to make the idea concrete, runs 10 pages, and carries 7 exercise questions.
Chapter 3: Parliament and the Making of Laws (pp. 28-45)
Chapter 3 links citizens to government through Parliament: how representatives are elected, what national parties do, how laws are made, and why some laws stay controversial.
At 18 pages it is the longest chapter in the book, yet it carries only 4 exercise questions — note the mismatch between length and load when you plan revision time.
Chapter 4: Judiciary (pp. 46-59)
Chapter 4 examines the judiciary — how courts are organised and why the independence of judges matters for protecting rights.
It runs 14 pages with 9 exercise questions (11 parts) — the second-heaviest question load in the book, tied with Chapter 7.
Chapter 5: Understanding Marginalisation (pp. 60-73)
Chapter 5 defines marginalisation through two case groups, Adivasis and religious minorities, and shows how stereotyping pushes groups to the edges of development.
It runs 14 pages with 8 exercise questions. Three printed data tables — access to basic amenities, literacy rate by religion, and public employment of Muslims — carry the chapter’s evidence, and the questions are built from them.
Chapter 6: Confronting Marginalisation (pp. 74-83)
Chapter 6 is the response half of the pair: how groups invoke Fundamental Rights, what laws protect the marginalised, how social justice is promoted, and why manual scavenging is treated as a wrong the law must end.
It runs 10 pages with 6 exercise questions, and it reads best straight after Chapter 5 — revise the two together.
Chapter 7: Public Facilities (pp. 84-99)
Chapter 7 builds the idea of public facilities from the case of water supply in Chennai — who gets water, what the government’s role is, and why sanitation facilities need extending.
It runs 16 pages with 9 exercise questions, with the Chennai water case as the hook that carries the chapter.
Chapter 8: Law and Social Justice
Chapter 8 opens with the Bhopal gas tragedy to ask how law protects citizens: through enforced safety laws over private profit, and through the Constitution working as a living ideal for social justice.
It is 15 pages long and, with 11 exercise questions, carries the heaviest question load in the book.
Chapter Study Pages
The chapter study pages below go chapter-by-chapter through the same material, with each chapter’s exercises worked through against its text.
| Ch. | Chapter page |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Indian Constitution (coming soon) |
| 2 | Understanding Secularism (coming soon) |
| 3 | Parliament and the Making of Laws (coming soon) |
| 4 | Judiciary (coming soon) |
| 5 | Understanding Marginalisation (coming soon) |
| 6 | Confronting Marginalisation (coming soon) |
| 7 | Public Facilities (coming soon) |
| 8 | Law and Social Justice (coming soon) |
How to Use This Book for Revision
- Start with Chapter 1. The Fundamental Rights it introduces come back in Chapter 4 (Judiciary) and Chapter 6 (Confronting Marginalisation).
- Read Chapters 5 and 6 as one unit. Chapter 6 answers the question Chapter 5 raises: once groups are marginalised, what does the law actually do?
- Treat Chapters 7 and 8 as case-study chapters. Chennai’s water and the Bhopal gas tragedy carry the argument, so learn each case together with the rule it teaches.
- Budget revision time by question load. Chapter 8 has 11 exercise questions, Chapters 4 and 7 have 9 each, and Chapter 3 only 4.
One common mistake: skipping the case-study boxes and data tables inside the chapters. The exercise questions are built directly from them, so a chapter half-read is a chapter half-revised.
| Common mistake | Correct rule | How to check your answer |
|---|---|---|
| Revising Chapter 5 without Chapter 6 | Treat marginalisation as one two-chapter argument | For every point in Chapter 5, state the Chapter 6 response aloud |
| Skipping the data tables in Chapter 5 | Read the three tables as evidence before attempting the questions | Quote one figure from each table and name its table |
| Learning Chapter 8 as abstract law | Anchor each rule in the Bhopal gas tragedy case | Summarise the case in one sentence, then name the law it supports |
Textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official CBSE syllabus for this volume’s chapters before you finalise your revision list.
Related Resources
This listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session using the NCERT textbook information available to us. NCERT remains the authority for confirming the latest edition.
Keep to the official files and this site’s own pages for Class 8 Social Science.
- Class 8 NCERT books hub — every Class 8 textbook this directory covers.
- NCERT books by class — the same chapter breakdowns for other classes.
- Our Pasts-III, the Class 8 History volume — the second book of the Social Science set.
- Resources and Development, the Class 8 Geography volume — the third book of the set.
If you only need the opening chapter, the official NCERT PDF of Chapter 1, The Indian Constitution, opens that single chapter directly without downloading the whole book — one of the eight chapter files linked in the table above.
Sources and Data Verification
- This page describes the NCERT Social and Political Life textbook for Class 8 — the civics volume of the Social Science set — using the official NCERT editions linked above.
- It covers this one book, not the full Class 8 Social Science scheme. The book’s illustrations carry no figure numbers or captions, so no figure index is quoted here.
- The listing is maintained for the current academic session using the NCERT information available to us.
- NCERT settles textbooks, editions and PDFs; CBSE settles the curriculum, syllabus and examinations.
Reference: NCERT Class 8 Social and Political Life textbook, official edition on ncert.nic.in. Section titles and page references are from the official PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many chapters are in the NCERT Class 8 Social Science Book Social and Political Life?
Eight. The book runs 8 chapters across 113 printed pages, and all eight chapter PDFs are linked in the table above.
Is the PDF linked on this page the official NCERT edition?
Yes. Every file in the download table is NCERT’s own chapter PDF, hosted on the official NCERT site (ncert.nic.in). No third-party copies are linked here.
Which chapter explains Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution?
Chapter 1, The Indian Constitution (pp. 2-17). It sets out the key features of the Constitution and the Fundamental Rights that Chapters 4 and 6 build on later.
Which chapter covers the Bhopal gas tragedy?
Chapter 8, Law and Social Justice. The chapter opens with the tragedy and uses it to explain why safety laws and social justice matter.
Where do I find the exercise questions for each chapter?
The exercises are printed at the end of each chapter in the official PDF. The chapter study pages above work through each chapter’s material, exercises included.