Q.1 What was ‘Constituent Assembly’?
Ans. The drafting of the document called the ‘Constitution’ was done by an
assembly of elected representatives called the Constituent Assembly.
Q2. Why was a drafting committee formulated? Who was its
Chairman?
Ans. The Drafting Committee was formed to prepare a draft of the
constitution for discussion. Its Chairman was Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Q.3 (i) What is Preamble?
(ii) What does ‘Sovereign’ mean?
Ans. I) The Preamble is like preface of a book, it is the soul of the Indian
Constitution. It gives in brief all the laws and action of the government.
(ii) It means people have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well
as external matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.
Q.4: (i) What is the meaning of the term ‘Secular’?
(ii) What does the term ‘Equality’ means in the Indian Constitution?
Ans. I) Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. But there is no
official religion. Government treats all religions, beliefs and practices with
equal respect.
(ii) All are equal before the law. The traditional social inequalities have to be
ended. The government should ensure equal opportunities for all.
Q.5 (i) What does the term ‘Fraternity’ signify in the Preamble?
(ii) What are ‘Constitutional Amendments’?
Ans. I) All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No
one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.
Ii) Provisions are made to incorporate changes from time to time in our
constitution. These changes are called ‘Constitutional Amendments’.
Q6. What do you understand by the term ‘apartheid’?
Ans. Apartheid refers to the official policy of racial separation and ill-
treatment of blacks followed by the white government of South Africa
between 1948 and 1989. This practice of racial discrimination remained for
the longest period in South Africa.
Q7. How was the Constituent Assembly formed?Ans. The drafting of the
Constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives called the
Constituent Assembly.
I) Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946.
ll) Its first meeting was held in December 1946.
III) The Constituent Assembly was also divided into the Constituent Assembly
of India and Pakistan after the partition.
IV) The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian Constitution constituted
as many as 299 members.
It adopted the Constitution on 26 November, 1949, but it came into effect on
26 January, 1950.
Q.8 What was the ‘Drafting Committee’?
Ans. The ‘Drafting Committee’ prepared a draft of the Constitution for
discussion.
(i) It was chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
(ii) Several rounds of thorough discussion took place on the Draft of the
Constitution, clause by clause.
(iii) The members worked for 114 days spread over three years.
Later on, it was thrown open to the public to get their opinion.
Q.9 Who was Dr. B.R. Ambedkar? How did he play a key role in the
making of Indian Constitution?
Ans.
(i) Dr. Ambedkar was the chairman of the Drafting Committee.
(ii) He was a social revolutionary, thinker and agitator against caste
divisions and caste-based inequalities.
(iii) Dr. Ambedkar played a key role in the making of the Constitution
but had a different understanding of how inequalities could be
removed.
(iv) He often bitterly criticised Mahatma Gandhi and his vision.
Q. 10: Why Preamble is called the preface of the Indian
constitution?
Ans.
(i) The Preamble of the constitution 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 the government to find out whether it is good or bad.
(iii) It is the soul of Indian constitution. It reads like a poem on
democracy.
Q.11 What is a constitution? Why do we need a constitution for a
country?
OR
What are the main functions of a constitution?
Ans. The constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted
by all the people living together in a country. It is the supreme law that
determines the relationship among people living in a territory and also the
relationship between the people and the government.
Need of the constitution:
(i) It generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for
different kinds of people to live together.
(ii) It specifies how the government will be constituted and various
powers to take various decisions will be allotted to whom.
(iii) It lays down limits on the powers of the government and tell us
what the rights of the citizens are.
(iv) It also expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a
good society.
(v) Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship
among people living in a territory and also the relationship between
the people and the government.