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Q:

Read the following statements about a constitution. Give reasons why each of these is true or not true.
  1. The authority of the rules of the constitution is the same as that of any other law.
  2. Constitution lays down how different organs of the government will be formed.
  3. Rights of citizens and limits on the power of the government are laid down in the constitution.
  4. A constitution is about institutions, not about values.

A:
  1. Not True; Constitution is the supreme law of a country that determines relationship among people living in a territory and the relationship between the people and government.
  2. True; Constitution is not merely a statement of values and philosophy. It embodies these values into institutional arrangements.
  3. True; Constitution lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are;
  4. Not True; Constitution is based on values. These values are embedded in the Preamble of Indian Constitution.
Q:

Read the following extract from a conduct book for ‘married women’, published in 1912. ‘God has made the female species delicate and fragile both physically and emotionally, pitiably incapable of self-defence. They are destined thus by God to remain in male protection – of father, husband and son – all their lives. Women should, therefore, not despair, but feel obliged that they can dedicate themselves to the service of men’. Do you think the values expressed in this para reflected the values underlying our constitution? Or does this go against the constitutional values?

A:

The view presented in the given extract is against our constitutional values. Our constitution regards all human beings as equal. On the contrary, the given extract terms women as delicate, fragile and pitiable. Moreover, it suggests that women were born to serve the men.

Q:

Here are different opinions about what made India a democracy. How much importance would you give to each of these factors?
  1. Democracy in India is a gift of the British rulers. We received training to work with representative legislative institutions under the British rule.
  2. Freedom Struggle challenged the colonial exploitation and denial of different freedoms to Indians. Free India could not be anything but democratic.
  3. We were lucky to have leaders who had democratic convictions. The denial of democracy in several other newly independent countries shows the important role of these leaders.

A:
  1. There is no doubt that interaction with legislative institutions under the British gave our leaders the idea of how a democracy works. Therefore, we must acknowledge that democracy is one of the many things we learnt from the British rulers.
  2. Freedom struggle was important in spreading the idea of nationalism in India and inculcating the practice of making decisions by consensus.
  3. We were fortunate that we did not have a leadership with an autocratic mindset. India’s freedom struggle is the only example of a freedom struggle based on non-violence. This could be possible because our nationalist leaders had the maturity to listen to others’ views.
Q:

Here are some of the guiding values of the Constitution and their meaning. Rewrite them by matching them correctly.
a. Sovereign i. Government will not favour any religion
b. Republic ii. People have the supreme right to make decisions
c. Fraternity iii. Head of the state is an elected person
d. Secular iv. People should live like brothers and sisters

A:

a – ii; b – iii; c – iv; d – i;

Q:

Read again the extracts from Nehru’s speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’ and answer the following:
  1. Why did Nehru use the expression “not wholly or in full measure” in the first sentence?
  2. What pledge did he want the makers of the Indian Constitution to take?
  3. “The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye”. Who was he referring to?

A:
  1. India had been under colonial rule and suppression for a long time. Therefore, building the nation was going to be a huge task. This task cannot be fulfilled overnight, but it can only be achieved gradually. This is the obvious reason why Nehru uses the expression “not wholly or in full measure”.
  2. Nehru wanted the makers of the Indian Constitution to take the pledge of service to India. According to him, service of India meant the service of the millions who suffer. He wanted to end poverty, ignorance, disease and inequality of opportunity.
  3. When Nehru said “ambition of the greatest man” he was referring to Mahatma Gandhi.
Q:

Match the following leaders with their roles in the making of the Constitution:
a. Motilal Nehru i. President of the Constituent Assembly
b. B.R. Ambedkar ii. Member of the Constituent Assembly
c. Rajendra Prasad iii. Chairman of the Drafting Committee
d. Sarojini Naidu iv. Prepared a Constitution for India in 1928

A:

a – iv; b – iii; c – i; d – ii;

Q:

Which of these is a provision that a democratic constitution does not have?
  1. Powers of the head of the state
  2. Name of the head of the state
  3. Powers of the legislature
  4. Name of the country

A:

b. Name of the head of the state

Q:

Which of these was the most salient underlying conflict in the making of a democratic constitution in South Africa?
  1. Between South Africa and its neighbours
  2. Between men and women
  3. Between the white majority and the black minority
  4. Between the coloured minority and the black majority

A:

d. Between the coloured minority and the black majority

Q:

Here are some false statements. Identify the mistake in each case and rewrite these correctly based on what you have read in this chapter.
  1. Leaders of the freedom movement had an open mind about whether the country should be democratic or not after independence.
  2. Members of the Constituent Assembly of India held the same views on all provisions of the Constitution.
  3. A country that has a constitution must be a democracy.
  4. Constitution cannot be amended because it is the supreme law of a country.

A:
  1. This statement is true. Despite many difficulties, Indian leaders did not have to create a consensus about what a democratic India should look like.
  2. Members of the Constituent Assembly of India held different views on various provisions of the Constitution.
  3. A country with a constitution may not necessarily be a democracy, but a democracy will definitely have a constitution.
  4. Constitution can be amended to make sure that it is in accordance with people’s aspirations and changes in society.

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