Class IX - Constitutional Design
Questions in the
Exercise
Q.1. Here are some false statements. Identify the mistake in
each case and rewrite these correctly based on what you have read in this chapter.
(a) Leaders of the freedom movement had an open mind about
whether the country should be democratic or not after independence.
(b) Members of the Constituent Assembly of India held the same
views on all provisions of the Constitution.
(c) A country that has a constitution must be a democracy.
(d) Constitution cannot be amended because it is the supreme
law of a country.
Ans. (a) Leaders of the freedom movement were decided on
certain basic values and wanted India to be a democratic republic.
(b) No. There were sharp differences on many issues. They
were solved after long discussions and debates and a consensus was reached.
(c) Not necessarily. Every country has a Constitution but
all are not democracies — some are dictatorships, theocracies or monarchies.
(d) A Constitution is not inflexible. It has to change
according to the changes in society and reflect people’s aspirations.
Q.2. Which of these was the most salient underlying conflict
in the making of a democratic constitution in South Africa ?
(a) Between South
Africa and its neighbours.
(b) Between men and women
(c) Between the white minority and the black majority
(d) Between the coloured minority minority and the black
majority.
Ans. (c) between the white minority and black majority.
Q.3. Which of these is a provision that a democratic
Constitution does not have?
(a) Powers of the head of the state (b) Name of the head of
the state
(c) Powers of the legislature (d) Name of the country
Ans. Name of the head of the state.
Q.4. 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
Ans. (a) — (iv); (b)
— (iii); (c) — (i); (d) — (ii).
Q.5. Read again the extracts from Nehru’s speech ‘Tryst with
Destiny’ and answer the following:
(a) Why did Nehru use the expression “not wholly or in full
measure” in the first sentence?
(b) What pledge did he want the makers of the Indian
Constitution to take?
(c) “The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has
been to wipe every tear from
every eye.” Who was he referring to?
Ans. (a) He says this because India
was partitioned into India
and Pakistan .
(b) The pledge of service of the millions who suffer.
(c) Mahatma Gandhi.
Q.6. 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
Ans. (a) Sovereign — People have the supreme right to make
decisions.
(b) Republic — Head of the state is an elected person.
(c) Fraternity — People should live like brothers and
sisters.
(d) Secular — Government will not favour any religion.
Q.7. Here are different opinions about what made India a
democracy. How much importance
would you give to each of these factors? [Important]
Democracy in India is a gift of the British
rulers. We received training to work with representative legislative institutions under the British
rule.
Freedom struggle challenged the colonial exploitation and
denial of different freedoms to Indians. Free India could not be anything but
democratic.
We were lucky to have leaders who had democratic
convictions. The denial of democracy in several other newly independent countries shows the
important role to these leaders.
Ans. I would give the maximum importance to the second
opinion. Freedom struggle was the biggest factor in teaching us the values of freedom of thought,
expression and belief. It taught us that we had to be united, live as brothers and sisters to fight
the common enemy. It taught us the democratic value of equality, how social equality was as
important as political one. It taught people that inspite of differences, some basic values are
accepted by all.
Second important factor was the quality of leadership. Gandhiji,
Nehru, Bose, Azad, to name a few, were great democrats who believed in equality,
liberty and fraternity. They believed that the suffering of the people had to be
alleviated.
The British gave the Indians training to work with
legislative institutions, but they were certainly not believers of democracy. They did not allow
every one to vote, they had all the power in their hands, they created divisions among
Hindus and Muslims, did not treat
Indians as equal to them. In fact it was the freedom
struggle which taught Indians to value democracy.
Q.8. Read the following extract from a conduct book for
‘married women’, published in 1912.
‘God had 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 made 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?
Ans. They certainly go against our constitutional values.
The Constitution makes no gender differences. Equal rights are given to women. They can vote,
take up any job, have property rights and are paid (according to the constitution) equal
wages for equal work. The statement of 1912 makes women inferior to men and does not give them
equal status.
Q.9. Read the following statements about a Constitution.
Give reasons why each of these is
true or not true.
(a) The authority of the rules of the constitution is the
same as that of any other law.
(b) Constitution lays down how different organs of the
government will be formed.
(c) Rights of citizens and limits on the power of the
government are laid down in the Constitution.
(d) A Constitution is about institutions, not about values.
Ans. (a) Not true. Constitution is the supreme law. Its
authority cannot be challenged even by the government. It is not like an ordinary law.
(b) Yes, it is true. It defines the role of the legislature,
the executive and the judiciary and how they should be formed and by whom.
(c) Yes, true. The Fundamental Rights state clearly the
rights of the citizens. They also state the power of the executive, lay down the rules of how the
legislature and the judiciary can control the government.
(d) Not true. The Constitution contains all the values which
the institutions have to promote.
The Preamble to the Constitution is a shining example of
this and states clearly that justice, liberty, equality and fraternity have to be
promoted. Secularism has to be followed and socialism and democracy should be the basis of the
government.
Do we get the lesson plans of Bloom public school?
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