CIVICS CHAPTER – 2 = CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

Introduction
Constitution + Design

Connect with the previous chapter

A democratic government rules within limits set by constitutional

law and citizens rights.
Constitution
DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA
Background
Nelson Mandela Imprisoned in 1964 for tearson.
Because of his daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.
He spent the next 28 years in South Africa’s most dreaded prison, Robben Island.
Struggle against apartheid
Apartheid A system of racial discrimination promoted by the white government,
the system of apartheid divided the people and labelled them on the
basis of their skin colour.
 The white rulers treated all nonwhites as Inferiors. The non-whites did not have voting rights.
• The apartheid system was particularly oppressive for the blacks.

How?

• They were forbidden from living in white areas.

• They could work in white areas only if they had a permit.
• Trains, buses, taxis, hospitals, schools and colleges, libraries, cinema halls, theatres, beaches, swimming pools, public toilets,
were all separate for the whites and blacks.
Segregation
• They could not even visit the churches where the whites worshipped.
• Blacks could not form associations or protest against the terrible treatment.
Role of ANC (African National Congress) in ending apartheid
• Since 1950, the blacks, coloured and Indians fought against the apartheid system.
• They launched protest marches and strikes.
• The African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organization that led the struggle against the policies of segregation.
As protests and struggles against apartheid had increased, the government realized that they could not longer keep the blacks
under their rule through repression.

Impact

• The white regime changed its policies.

• Discriminatory laws were repealed.
• Ban on parties and restrictions on the media were lifted.
• After 28 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela walked out of the jail as free man.
• The apartheid government came to an end, paving way for the formation of a multi-racial government.
Connect with the theme of the chapter Constitution and its role
 “I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in
which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an
ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Constitution of South Africa

• Black leaders appealed to fellow blacks to forgive the whites for the atrocities they had committed while in power.
• The party that ruled through oppression and brutal killings and the party that led the freedom struggle sat together to draw
up a common constitution.
• Together, they decided that in the search for a solution to the problems, nobody should be excluded, no one should be
treated as a demon.
• They agreed that everybody should become part of the solution, whatever they might have done or represented in the past.
WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION
Lessons from the South Africa constitution?
Try to understand the concept with example of a football game.
What is the significance of rules?
 * The constitution of a country is a set of written rule that are accepted by all people living
Constitution together in a country.
* Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship among people living in a
territory(called citizens) and also the relationship between the people and government.
 A constitution does many things:
• First, it generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live together.
• Second, it specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions.
• Third, it lays down limits on the power of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are.
• Fourth, it express the aspiration of the people about creating a good society.
All countries that have constitution are not necessarily democratic. But all countries that are democratic will have
constitutions.
MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
The situation under which Indian Constitution was made
It was not easy for the constitution makers, India’s Constitution was also
drawn up under very difficult circumstances.
Explain
• The people of India were emerging from the status of subjects to that of citizens.
• The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences.
• Atleast ten lakh people were killed on both sides of the border in partition related violence.
• The British had left it to the rulers of the princely states to decide whether they wanted to merge with India or with Pakistan
or remain independent.
When the constitution was being written, the future of the country did not look as secures as it does today.
THE PATH TO CONSTITUTION
Making of constitution in South Africa VS Making of constitution in India
Unlike South Africa
There was one big advantage for the makers of the Indian Constitution.
We already had consensus about what a democratic India should look like.

Explain
Consensus developed during freedom struggle
• Our national movement was not merely a struggle against a foreign rule.
• It was also a struggle to rejuvenate our country and to transform our society and politics.
• In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India.
• In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s constitution
should look like.
• Both these documents were committed to the inclusion of universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equlity and to
protecting the rights of minorities in the constitution of independent India.
 Consensus developed due to the familiarity with political institutions of colonial rule.
• The experience gained by Indians in the working of the legislative institutions proved to be very useful for the country in
setting up its own institutions and working in them.
• The Indian constitution adopted many institutional details and procedures from colonial laws like the Government on India
Act, 1935.
Lessons learned from other countries
• Our leaders gained confidence to learn from other countries, but on our own terms.
• Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of French Revolution.
• The practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain.
• The Bill of Rights in the US.
• The Socialist revolution in Russia had inspired many Indians to think of shaping a system based on social and economic
equality.
They were not simply imitating what others had done. At each step they were questioning
whether these things suited our country
THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
The Constituent Assembly The drafting of the document called the constitution was done by an assembly of elected
representatives called the Constituent Assembly.
How?
• Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946.
• Its first meeting was held in December 1946.
• Soon after, the country was divided in India and Pakistan.
• The Constituent Assembly was also divided into the Constituent Assembly of India and that of Pakistan.
• The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian Constitution had 299members.
• The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 but it came into effect on 26 January 1950.
Republic Day
Question Why should we accept the Constitution made by this Assembly more than six decades ago?
I. The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It express a broad consensus of its time.
• Over the last half a century, several groups have questioned some provisions of the Constitution. But no large social group or
political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution itself.
II. The Constituent Assembly represented the people of India.
No Universal Adult Franchise * So the Constituent Assembly could not have been chosen directly by all the people of
India.
* It was elected mainly by the members of the existing Provincial Legislatures that we
mentioned above.
Advantages
 The Constituent Assembly
• Ensured a fair geographical share of members from all the regions of the country.
• Dominated by Congress?
 The Congress itself included a variety of political groups and opinions.
 The Assembly had many members who did not agree with the Congress.
• In social terms too, the Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes, classes, religions and
occupations.
III. The manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity to the Constitution.
• First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon.
• Then a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar prepared a draft constitution for discussion.
• Several rounds of through discussion took place on the Draft Constitution.
• More than two thousand amendments were considered.
• The members deliberated for 114 days spread over three years.
Rationale is recorded in constituent assembly debates.
LEADERS OF CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
• (1875-1950), born – Gujarat.
• Minister of Home, Information and Broadcasting in the Interim Government.
• Lawyers and leader of Bardoli peasant satyagraha.
• Played a decisive role in the integration of the Indian princely states.
• Later – Deputy Prime Minister.

Abul Kalam Azad

• (1888-1958), born – Saudi Arabia.
• Educationist, author and theologian.
• Scholars of Arabic.
• Congress leader, active in the national movement.
• Opposed Muslim separatist politics.
• Later – Education Minister in the first union cabinet.
T.T.Krishnamachari
• (1899-1974), born – Tamil Nadu.
• Member, Drafting Committee, Entrepreneur and Congress leader.
• Later – Finance Minister in the Union Cabinet.
 Rajendra Prasad
• (1884-1963), born – Bihar.
• President of the Constituent Assembly.
• Lawyer, known for his role in the Champaran satyagraha.
• Three times the president of Congress.
• Later – The first President of India.
Jaipal Singh
• (1903-1970), born – Jharkhand.
• A sportsman and educationist.
• Captain of the first national Hockey team.
• Founder President of Adivasi Mahasabha.
• Later – Founder of Jharkhand Party.
H.C.Mookherjee
• (1887-1956), born – Bengal.
• Vice-Chairman of the Constituent Assembly.
• Reputed author and educationist.
• Congress leader, Member of All India Christian Council and Bengal Legislative Assembly.
• Later – Governor of West Bengal.
 G. Durgabai Deshmukh
• (1909-1981), born – Andhra Pradesh.
• Advocate and public activist for women’s emancipation.
• Founder of Andhra Mahila Sabha.
• Songress leader.
• Later – Founder Chairperson of Central Social Welfare Board.
Baldev Singh
• (1901-1961), born: Haryana.
• A successful entrepreneur and leader of the Panthic Akali Party
in the Punjab Assembly.
• A nominee of the Congress in the Constituent Assembly.
• Later – Defence Minister in the Union Cabinet.
Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi
• (1887-1971), born – Gujarat.
• Advocate, historian and linguist.
• Congress leader and Gandhian.
• Later: Minister in the Union Cabinet.
• Founder of the Swatantra Party.
 Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
• (1891-1956), born – Madhya Pradesh.
• Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
• Social revolutionary thinker and agitator against
caste divisions and caste based inequalities.
• Later – Law minister in the first cabinet of
post-Independence India.
• Founder of Republican Party of India.
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
• (1901-1953), born – West Bengal.
• Minister for Industry and Supply in the Interim Government.
• Educationist and lawyer.
• Active in Hindu Mahasabha.
• Later – Founder President of Bharatiya Jan Sangh.
Jawaharlal Nehru
• (1889-1964), born – Uttar Pradesh.
• Prime Minister of the interim government.
• Lawyer and Congress leader.
• Advocate of socialism, democracy and anti-imperialism.
• Later – First Prime Minister if India.
Sarojini Naidu
• (1879-1949), born – Andhra Pradesh.
• Poet, writer and politician activist.
• Among the foremost women leaders in the Congress.
• Later – Governor of Uttar Pradesh.
Somnath Lahiri
• (1901-1984), born – West Bengal.
• Writer and editor.
• Leader of the Communist Party of India.
• Later – Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
GUIDING VALUES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Constitution Provision + Philosophy

Let us being by understanding the overall philosophy of what our Constitution is all about.
we can do this in two ways.
i. We can understand it by reading the views of some of our major leaders on our Constitution.
ii. What the Constitution says about its own philosophy
The dream and the promise
Mahatma Gandhi
• He was not a member of the Constituent Assembly. Yet there were many members
who followed his vision.
• Years ago, writing in his magazine Young India in 1931, he had spelt out what he
wanted the Constitution to do.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
• Dreamed of an India without inequalities, he had a different understanding of how
inequalities could be removed.
• He often bitterly criticized Mahatma Gandhi and his vision.
• In his concluding speech to the Constituent Assembly he stated his anxiety very clearly.
PHILOSOPHY OF THE CONSTITUTION
Guiding values of the constitution
I. What the constitution says about its own philosophy.
Preamble
• The Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values. This is called the Preamble to the constitution.
• Taking inspiration from American model, most countries in the contemporary world have chosen to began their constitutions
with a preamble.
Preamble of the Constitution
• The Preamble of the Constitution reads like a poem on democracy.
• It contains the philosophy on which the entire Constitution has been built.
• It provides a standard to examine and evaluate an law and action of government, to find out whether it is good or bad.
• It is the soul of the Indian Constitution.
We, the people of India
The constitution has been drawn up and enacted but the people through their
representatives, and not handed down to them by a kung or any outside powers.
Sovereign
People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external
matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.
Socialist
Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by society. Government should
regulate the ownership of land and industry to reduce socio-economic inequalities.
Secular
Citizens have complete freedom to follow and religion. But there is no official religion.
government treat all religious belief and practices with equal respect.
Democratic
A form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their rulers and
hold them accountable. The government is run according to some basic rules.
Republic
The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary position.
Justice
Citizens cannot be discriminated on the grounds of caste, religion and gender. Social
inequalities have to be reduced. Government should work for the welfare of all,
especially of the disadvantaged groups.
 Liberty
There are no unreasonable restrictions on the citizens in what they think, how they
wish to express their thoughts and the way they wish to follow up their thoughts in action.
Equality
All are equal before the law. The traditional social inequalities have to be ended. The
government should ensure equal opportunity for all.
Fraternity
All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one should treat
a fellow citizens as inferior.
INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN
Constitution Statement of value and philosophy.

It embodies these values into institutional arrangements.

Explain How?
Constitution The constitution makers did not see it as a sacred, static and unaltered law.
• Therefore it need to be amended quite regularly to keep it updated.
• So, they made provisions to incorporate changes from time to time. These changes are called constitutional amendments.
 The institutional arrangement in the constitution
• The Constitution describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal language.
• Yet the basic institutional design is not very difficult to understand.
• Like any Constitution, the Indian Constitution lays down a procedure for choosing persons to govern the country.
• It defines who will have how much power to take which decisions.
• It puts limits to what the government can do by providing some rights to the citizen that cannot be violated.

CHAPTER COMPLETE