Constitutional Design

Q1. What was apartheid? State its features.

(a) Apartheid was the name of a system of racial discrimination unique to South Africa.
(b) (i) The white rulers treated all nonwhites as inferiors. The non-whites did not have voting
rights.
(ii) They were forbidden from living in white areas.
(iii) Trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals, schools and colleges, libraries, cinema halls,
theatres, beaches, swimming pools, public toilets, were all separate for the whites and blacks.
This was called segregation.
(iv) They could not even visit the churches where the whites worshipped.
(v) Blacks could not form associations or protest against the terrible treatment.
Q2. How did the system of Apartheid come to an end in South Africa?
(a) Since 1950, the blacks, coloured and Indians fought against the apartheid system. They
launched protest marches and strikes.
(b) The African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organisation that led the struggle
against the policies of segregation. This included many workers’ unions and the Communist
Party. Many sensitive whites also joined the ANC to oppose apartheid and played a leading
role in this struggle.
(c) Several countries denounced apartheid as unjust and racist. But the white racist
government continued to rule by detaining, torturing and killing thousands of black and
coloured people.
(d) As protests and struggles against apartheid had increased, the government realised that
they could no longer keep the blacks under their rule through repression. The white regime
changed its policies. Discriminatory laws were repealed. Ban on political parties and
restrictions on the media were lifted.
(e) After 28 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela walked out of the jail as a free man.
Finally, at the midnight of 26 April 1994, the new national flag of the Republic of South
Africa was unfurled marking the newly born democracy in the world.
Q3. Describe the promises and changes made by the newly formed multiracial
government in South Africa. (OR) The South African constitution inspires democracy
all over the world.
(a) After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, black leaders appealed to fellow
blacks to forgive the whites for the atrocities they had committed while in power.
(b) They wanted to s build a new South Africa based on equality of all races and men and
women, on democratic values, social justice and human rights. They sat together to draw up a
common constitution.
(c) After two years of discussion and debate they came out with one of the finest constitutions
the world has ever had. This constitution gave to its citizens the most extensive rights
available in any country.
(d) They agreed that everybody should become part of the solution.
(e) The South African constitution inspires democrats all over the world. A state denounced
by the entire world till recently as the most undemocratic one is now seen as a model of
democracy. What made this change possible was the determination of the people of South
Africa to work together, to transform bitter experiences into the binding glue of a rainbow
nation.
Q4. What compromises were made by the blacks and whites in South Africa?
(a) The whites agreed to the principle of majority rule and that of one person one vote.
(b) They also agreed to accept some basic rights for the poor and the workers.
(c) The blacks agreed that majority rule would not be absolute. They agreed that the majority
would not take away the property of the white minority.
Q5. (a) What is a constitution?
(b) Why was a constitution required?
(a) (i) The constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people
living together in a country.
(ii) 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.
(b) (i) First, it generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind
of people to live together;
(ii) Second, it specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take
which decisions;
(iii) Third, it lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of
the citizens are.
(iv) Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.
Q6. India’s Constitution was also drawn up under very difficult circumstances.
(a) The making of the constitution for a huge and diverse country like India was not an easy
affair.
(b) The people of India were emerging from the status of subjects to that of citizens.
(c) The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences. This was a
traumatic experience for the people of India and Pakistan.
(d) 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. The merger of these princely states
was a difficult and uncertain task.
Q7. Mention the events influenced the members of the constituent assembly to draft the
Indian Constitution.
(a) In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India.
(b) In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on
how independent India’s constitution should look like.
(c) Both these documents were committed to the inclusion of universal adult franchise, right
to freedom and equality and to protecting the rights of minorities in the constitution of
independent India.
Q8. What do you mean by constituent assembly?
(a) The drafting of the document called the constitution was done by an assembly of elected
representatives called the Constituent Assembly.
(b) Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946. Its first meeting was held
in December 1946.
(c) 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 299
members. The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 but it came into
effect on 26 January 1950. To mark this day we celebrate January 26 as Republic Day every
year
Q9. Why should we accept the Constitution made by this Assembly more than fifty
years ago?
(a) The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It expresses a broad
consensus of its time. No large social group or political party has ever questioned the
legitimacy of the Constitution itself.
(b) The second reason for accepting the Constitution is that the Constituent Assembly
represented the people of India. It was elected mainly by the members of the existing
Provincial Legislatures that we mentioned above. This ensured a fair geographical share of
members from all the regions of the country.
(c) In social terms too, the Assembly represented members from different language groups,
castes, classes, religions and occupations.
(d) Finally, the manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity to the
Constitution. The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual
manner.
Q10. What are constitutional assembly debates?
(a) Every document presented and every word spoken in the Constituent Assembly has been
recorded and preserved. These are called ‘Constituent Assembly Debates’.
(b) When printed, these debates are 12 bulky volumes! These debates provide the rationale
behind every provision of the Constitution.
(c) These are used to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.
Q11. Explain the following terms.
(a) WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA:- The constitution has been drawn up and enacted by the
people through their representatives, and not handed down to them by a king or any outside
powers.
(b) SOVEREIGN:- People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as
external matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.
(c) 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.
(d) SECULAR:- Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. But there is no
official religion. Government treats all religious beliefs and practices with equal respect.
(e) 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.
(f) REPUBLIC :- The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary position.
(g) 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.
(h) 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.
(i) EQUALITY All are equal before the law. The traditional social inequalities have to be
ended. The government should ensure equal opportunity for all.
(j) FRATERNITY:- All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one
should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.
Q12. What are constitutional amendments?
(a) Constitution is a very long and detailed document. Therefore it needs to be amended quite
regularly to keep it updated.
(b) Those who crafted the Indian Constitution felt that it has to be in accordance with
people’s aspirations and changes in society.
(c) They did not see it as a sacred, static and unalterable law. So, they made provisions to
incorporate changes from time to time. These changes are called constitutional amendments.
Q13. What do you understand by the Preamble mention its importance.
(a) An introductory statement in a constitution which states the reasons and guiding values of
the constitution.
(b) (i) The Preamble of the Constitution reads like a poem on democracy. It contains the
philosophy on which the entire Constitution has been built.
(ii) It provides a standard to examine and evaluate any law and action of government, to find
out whether it is good or bad.
(iii) It is the soul of the Indian Constitution.