Constitutional Design

 Key points

 Treason: The act of betraying one’s

country especially by trying to
overthrow the government or
sovereign to which it has allegiance.

 Apartheid: The official policy of

racial separation and ill treatment of
blacks followed by the government of
South Africa between 1948 and 1989.

 Regime: Government or a system of

rule.

 DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION IN
SOUTH AFRICA

 Apartheid was a system of racial

discrimination unique to South Africa
practiced in from 1948 to 1989.
  The white minority government-
imposed laws that separated people
by race and treated non-white
communities as inferior.

 The term “apartheid” literally means

“apartness” or “separation”.

 How did apartheid system came ?

 During the 17th and 18th centuries, the

trading companies from Europe occupied
SA with arms and force.

 After which a large number of ‘whites’ had

settled in South Africa and became the
local rulers starting to see non whites as
inferior.

 The main

 The system of apartheid divided the

people and labelled them on the basis of
their skin colour.

 All the non-whites were treated as

inferiors and didn’t have voting rights.

 The non whites were forbidden from living

in white areas.
  Trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals,
schools and colleges, libraries, cinema
halls, theatres, beaches, swimming pools,
public toilets where all separate for the
whites and blacks.
 This was called segregation

 They could not even visit the churches

where the whites worshipped.
 Blacks could not form associations or
protest against the terrible treatment.

 The struggle

 Since the 1950, the blacks, colours and

Indians fought against the apartheid
system. How?
 By launching protest marches and
strikes

 The African National Congress (ANC) was

the main organisation that led the
struggle against the policies of
segregation and apartheid.

 This struggle by ANC included many

workers’ union, communist party and
many sensitive whites.
 The whites even played a leading role
in the struggle.

o The result
  Several countries even announced
apartheid as unjust or racist.

 The white government continued to rule

by detaining, torturing and killing
thousands of black and coloured people.

 Towards a new constitution

o As protest and struggles increased the

government realised it could not keep the non-
whites under rule by repression :

 Changed it policies by abolishing

discriminatory laws.

 Lifted ban on political parties and media.

 Nelson Mandela walked out of jail after 28

years on Feb 11, 1990.

 And finally on 26 April 1994 the new

national flag of Republic of South Africa
was unfurled making it a democracy.

 What happened after South Africa

became a democracy?
 The black leaders appealed to fellow
blacks to forgive the whites for the
atrocities they had committed while in
power.

 The leaders wanted to a new South Africa

based on equality of all races and men
and women, on democratic values, social
justice and human rights.

 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.

 After two years of discussion and debate

they came out with one of the finest
constitutions the world has ever had.

 The oppressor and oppressed planned to

live together as equals.

 After long negotiations both parties

agreed 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.

 They agreed that the majority would

not take away the property of the
white minority.

o Considered one of the finest constitutions in

the world. The features of South African
constitution are:

 It provides extensive rights to all citizens.

 It ensures that no one is excluded from

solving the country’s problems.

 It rejects treating anyone as a demon

based on their past.

 It promotes reconciliation and cooperation

among all races.

 It is admired globally as a model of

democracy.

 It symbolizes a united and diverse

“rainbow nation.”

 South Africa was denounced by the world till 1994

as being the most undemocratic was now seen as
a model of democracy. WHY and HOW?
 o The determination of the people of South
Africa to work together, to transform bitter
experiences into the binding glue of a rainbow
nation led to this

 Why do we need a
constitution ?

o To build trust among people: A

constitution helps people from different
communities live together peacefully by
providing agreed rules that protect everyone’s
interests.

o To ensure democracy and majority rule: It

lays down how elections are conducted and
ensures that the government represents the
will of the people while protecting minorities.

o To safeguard the rights and freedoms of

citizens: It guarantees equality, freedom of
expression, and protection from
discrimination, making every person’s voice
heard and valued.

o To limit the power of the government: By

defining what the government can and cannot
do, a constitution prevents misuse of authority
and ensures accountability.
 o To promote justice and equality: It ensures
that all individuals are treated fairly under the
law and helps reduce social and economic
inequalities.

o To express the aspirations and values of

society: A constitution reflects the nation’s
ideals, commitment to justice, liberty,
equality, and fraternity, guiding citizens
toward a better future.

o To maintain stability and peaceful

governance: Clear rules prevent conflicts
and confusion, helping society function
smoothly and avoid violence or unrest.

 Making of the Indian

constitution
o India’s constitution was drawn up under very
difficult circumstances.
 The country had just been partitioned on
the basis of religion causing huge
conflicts.
 The people were merging from being
subjects to citizen.
 There was violence spread over the
country due to the partition and the
difference in religion caused by British.
 India was a diverse country and making a
constitution considering all of their
interests was tough.
  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 and another
headache for the leaders.

 The path to constitution

o Advantage for the makers of Indian

constitution:

 They did not have to come to a

general agreement about what
democratic India should look like.
 As it had already evolved during
freedom struggle.
 How and when?
o As far back as in 1928,
Motilal Nehru and eight
other Congress leaders
drafted a constitution for
India.
o In 1931, the resolution at the
Karachi session of the Indian
National Congress dwelt on
how independent India’s
constitution should look like.
 The idea of both the documents
was committed to inclusion of
o UAF
 o right to freedom and
equality
o protecting the rights of
minorities.

 The familiarity with political

institutions of colonial rule also
helped develop an agreement over
the institutional design.

 The experience gained by Indians

working in these legislative
institutions proved to be very
useful for the country in setting
up its own institutions.

 The Indian constitution adopted

many institutional details and
procedures from colonial laws
like the Government of India Act,
1935 related to legislative.

 Years of thinking and deliberation

during the freedom struggle on the
framework of the constitution had
another benefit.
 Our leaders gained confidence to
learn from other countries but on
our terms.
 We didn’t imitate what others
had done but we questioned at
each step whether these things
suited our country.
 State the features adopted from the
constitution of other countries?
o The practice of parliamentary democracy
in Britain.
o The Bill of Rights in the US.

o What are freedom struggle really was?

 Our freedom struggle was not just a
struggle against a foreign power.
 It was a struggle to rejuvenate our
country and to transform our society
and politics.

 The constituent Assembly

o The drafting of the document called the

constitution was done by an assembly of
elected representatives called constituent
assembly.
o Elections to the Constituent Assembly—
o First meeting—
o No. of members—
o Adoption of constitution—
o Constitution coming into effect—

 Reasons for accepting constitution:

o The constitution a broad consensus of its
time not just the views of its members
alone.
o The constituent assembly represented
people of India elected mainly by the
 members of existing provincial
legislatures.
o The Assembly represented members from
different language groups, castes, classes,
religions and occupations.
o The manner in which constituent
assembly worked gives sanctity to the
constitution.
 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.