The NCERT books for Class 11 Political Science are two separate textbooks — Indian Constitution at Work and Political Theory — and both are linked below. Together they run to 18 chapters across 370 printed pages, and every chapter has an official NCERT PDF on ncert.nic.in.
Both books number their chapters from 1, so a chapter number alone never tells you which book to open. If your homework says ‘Chapter 3’, it could be Elections and Democracy or Equality. This page routes you by book name, chapter title and topic, so you reach the right PDF on the first try.
NCERT Books Class 11 Political Science: Which Book Do You Need?
Each row below is one official textbook — how many chapters it holds, how many printed pages it runs, and the way into its own page.
| Book | Chapters | Printed pages | Book page |
|---|---|---|---|
| India Constitution At Work | 10 | 242 | India Constitution At Work (coming soon) |
| Political Theory | 8 | 128 | Political Theory (coming soon) |
How to tell which Class 11 Political Science book a chapter is in
Match the book name to the chapter number — never trust the number alone. Indian Constitution at Work holds Chapters 1-10; Political Theory holds Chapters 1-8, and both start at 1. Your homework sheet usually names the book; when it does not, the shape of the chapter title settles it.
- Questions about institutions — ‘What is Federalism?’ (NCERT, pp. 150-175) and ‘Why Do We Need an Independent Judiciary?’ (NCERT, pp. 124-149) are in Indian Constitution at Work.
- Single-concept titles — ‘Equality’ (NCERT, pp. 31-52) and ‘Secularism’ (NCERT, pp. 111-128) are in Political Theory.
The teacher’s wording is the third test: ‘the Constitution book’, ‘Indian Constitution’ or ‘the first book’ means Indian Constitution at Work; ‘Political Theory’ means the second. If both tests fail, match by subject matter in the next section.
One caution: textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official CBSE syllabus before treating a chapter as examinable.
What Indian Constitution at Work and Political Theory each teach
Indian Constitution at Work is the descriptive, institutional half of the course. It follows how the Constitution was framed and how it runs the country — from the Constituent Assembly and Fundamental Rights through elections, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, federalism, local government and constitutional amendment. If your set chapter names an institution, this is the book.
Political Theory is the conceptual half — the ideas behind politics: what politics is, freedom, equality, social justice, rights, citizenship, nationalism and secularism. It is the finer-grained of the two books, with 8 chapters split into 36 named sections. If your set chapter is a single concept, this is the book.
Related NCERT book pages
If you need a different subject in the same class, the Class 11 NCERT books hub lists the subjects on this page for Class 11. For any other class, start from the NCERT books index, the entry point for every class on this site. The two Political Science book pages appear in the table above with their current status.
Sources and data verification
- Where the figures come from: the NCERT Class 11 Political Science textbook editions on this page — Indian Constitution at Work and Political Theory, from the official PDFs on the NCERT website.
- What this page covers, and what it does not: chapter counts, page spans, named sections and activity counts per chapter. It does not cover a figure index (these textbooks print their diagrams without captions), a table index, or a verified exercise-question total — the extraction for ‘What is Federalism?’ is flagged for review, so no exercise totals are ranked here.
- Academic session: this listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session.
- Which authority settles what: NCERT settles textbooks, editions and PDFs; CBSE settles curriculum, syllabus and examinations. Confirm a textbook edition against the NCERT PDF, not a CBSE circular.
Every chapter PDF for these two books is an official ncert.nic.in link — Political Theory chapters keps101 to keps108, Indian Constitution at Work chapters keps201 to keps210 — so the file you download is NCERT’s own edition, with no third-party host.
Frequently asked questions
How many NCERT books are there for Class 11 Political Science?
Two: Indian Constitution at Work (10 chapters) and Political Theory (8 chapters) — 18 chapters across 370 printed pages. Both are listed in the table above.
Which book is my chapter in if it is called ‘What is Federalism?’
Indian Constitution at Work, on pages 150-175. Chapter titles phrased as questions about institutions belong to the Constitution book; single-concept titles belong to Political Theory.
Are the NCERT Class 11 Political Science book PDFs official and free?
Yes. The official PDFs are on ncert.nic.in — Political Theory chapters keps101 to keps108 and Indian Constitution at Work chapters keps201 to keps210 — and NCERT hosts them free of charge.
Why do both books have a Chapter 1?
Because they are two separate textbooks, each numbering its chapters from 1. Always match the book name with the chapter number — ‘Chapter 3’ alone is ambiguous.
Is every chapter in the Class 11 Political Science textbooks examinable?
Not necessarily. Textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official CBSE syllabus for what is examinable.
Reference: NCERT Class 11 Political Science textbooks, official editions on ncert.nic.in.