Chapter 2 – Constitutional Design (Civics)

Constitutional Design

Democratic Constitution in South Africa

Apartheid

Apartheid is a system of racial discrimination unique to South Africa imposed by white Europeans.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the trading companies from Europe occupied it
with arms and force and became the local rulers. 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 and were forbidden from living in white areas. The blacks,
coloured and Indians fought against the apartheid system from 1950. The African National Congress
(ANC) was the umbrella organisation that led the struggle against the policies of segregation. Nelson
Mandela was one of the leaders amongst the eight who were tried for treason by the white South
African government. They were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for daring to oppose the
apartheid regime in the country.

Giving Rise to a New Constitution

As the protests and struggles against apartheid increased, the blacks could no longer be kept under
the rule of the government through repression. The white regime changed its policies.
Discriminatory laws were repealed. Ban on political parties and restrictions on the media were lifted.
Nelson Mandela was released after 28 years in the Robben Island Prison. The apartheid government
came to an end on midnight of 26 April 1994, paving the way for the formation of a multi-racial
government.

Following the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, 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. This constitution gave its citizens the most extensive rights available in any
country. Together, they decided that in the search for a solution to the problems, nobody should be
excluded.

Why the Need for a Constitution?

Take the example of South Africa to see why we need the Constitution and what the constitutions do.
The oppressor and oppressed were planning to live together as equals in the new democracy. Each
section wanted to safeguard its interests and wanted substantial social and economic rights. Through
negotiations, both parties came to a compromise. The whites agreed to the principle of majority rule
and that of one person, one vote. They also agreed to accept some basic rights for the poor and the
workers. The blacks agreed that majority rule would not be absolute and that the majority would not
take away the property of the white minority. How was this compromise to be implemented? The
only way to build and maintain trust in such a situation was to write down some rules of the game
that everyone would abide by. These supreme rules that no government would be able to ignore are
called a constitution.

Every country has diverse groups of people. All over the world, people have differences of opinion
and interests. The 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 the
government. Find what constitutions do below:

 First, it generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kinds of
people to live together.

 Second, it specifies how the government will be constituted and who will have the power to
take which decisions.

 Third, it lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the
citizens are.

 Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.

All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democratic. But all countries that are
democratic will have constitutions.

Making of the Indian Constitution

India’s Constitution was drawn up under very difficult circumstances. The country was born through
a partition on the basis of religious differences, and it was a traumatic experience for the people of
India and Pakistan. 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. When the Constitution was written, the future of the
country did not look as secure as it does today.

The Path to the Constitution

One of the major advantages for the makers of the Indian Constitution was that consensus about
what a democratic India should look like had already evolved during the freedom struggle. In 1928,
Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India, and In 1931, the
resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s
Constitution should look. Both these documents included features such as Universal Adult Franchise,
the Right to Freedom and Equality, and to protect the rights of minorities in the constitution of
independent India. These basic values were accepted by all leaders much before the Constituent
Assembly met to deliberate on the Constitution. That is why the Indian constitution adopted many
institutional details and procedures from colonial laws like the Government of India Act 1935. Many
of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, the practice of parliamentary
democracy in Britain and the Bill of Rights in the US.

For more information on Types Of Human Rights, watch the below video
The Constituent Assembly

The drafting of the constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives called the
Constituent Assembly. Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946, and its first
meeting was held in December 1946. Soon after, the country was divided into India and Pakistan and
the Constituent Assembly was also divided into the Constituent Assembly of India and 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.

Why should we accept the Constitution made by this Assembly more than six decades ago?

 The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It expresses a broad
consensus of its time.

 The second reason for accepting the Constitution is that the Constituent Assembly
represented the people of India.

 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.

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 thorough discussion
took place on the Draft Constitution, clause by clause. More than two thousand amendments were
considered. Every document was presented, and every word spoken in the Constituent Assembly has
been recorded and preserved. These are called ‘Constituent Assembly Debates.’

To find out “What Are The Socialist Directive Principles?”, watch the below video
Guiding Values of the Indian Constitution

First, understand the overall philosophy of what our Constitution is all about. Read the views of some
of our major leaders on our Constitution and read what the Constitution says about its own
philosophy. This is what the preamble to the Constitution does.

The Dream and the Promise

There were many members who followed the vision of Mahatma Gandhi. This dream of an India that
has eliminated inequality was shared by Dr Ambedkar, who played a key role in the making of the
Constitution, but his vision of removing inequalities from India was different from Gandhiji’s.

Philosophy of the Constitution

Values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle and were, in turn, nurtured by it formed the
foundation for India’s democracy. Given below are the values embedded in the Preamble of the
Indian Constitution.
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.

Sovereign: People have the 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. The government
should regulate the ownership of land and industry to reduce socioeconomic inequalities.

Secular: Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. But there is no official religion. The
government treats all religious beliefs 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 against on the grounds of caste, religion and gender. Social
inequalities have to be reduced. The government should work for the welfare of all, especially 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 citizen as inferior.

Institutional Design

A Constitution is not merely a statement of values and philosophy. It is mainly about embodying
these values into institutional arrangements. It is a very long and detailed document. Therefore, it
needs to be amended quite regularly to keep it updated. Provisions are made to incorporate
changes, known as constitutional amendments, from time to time. Like any Constitution, the Indian
Constitution also lays down a procedure for choosing persons to govern the country. It defines who
will have how much power to make which decisions. And it puts limits to what the government can
do by providing some rights to the citizen that cannot be violated.

For Information On Apartheid, Watch The Below Videos:

Q1

What does ‘apartheid’ really mean?

Apartheid was the name that the party gave to its racial segregation policies.

Q2

What are the types of human rights in India?

There are six fundamental rights in India. They are Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against
Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights, and Right to
Constitutional Remedies.

Q3

What is the meaning of a ‘republic’ country?

A republic is a form of government where the citizens have the supreme power, and they exercise
that power by voting and electing representatives to make decisions and govern.