CH-2: Constitutional Design
Extra Questions and Answers
1. What is a constitution? Why do we need a constitution?
Ans: -The constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people living together in a
country. Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship among people living in a country and
also the relationship between the people and government.
We need a constitution because: -
(i). It generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live together;
(ii). It specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions;
(iii). It lays down limits on the powers of the government
(iv). It tells us what are the rights of the citizens.
(v). It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.
2. What were the difficulties faced during the making of Indian Constitution?
Ans: - (i) The making of the Constitution for a huge and diverse country like India was not an easy affair.
(ii) At that time, the people of India were emerging from the status of subject to that of citizens.
(iii) The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences.
(iv) The British had left it to the rulers the princely states to decide whether they wanted to merge with India or
with Pakistan or remain independent.
(v)Partition of the country was a traumatic experience for the people as well as the lawmakers and they had to
continue their deliberations.
3.” The working of the Constituent Assembly has given sanctity to the Constitution.” Explain.
Ans:-(i) The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner.
(ii). First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon.
(iii). Then a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar prepared a Draft Constitution of discussion.
(iv) Several rounds of thorough discussion took place on the Draft Constitution, clause by clause.
(v) More than two thousand amendments were considered the members deliberated for 114 days spread over
three years.
(Vi) Every document presented and every word spoken in the Constituent Assembly has been recorded and
preserved. These are called the Constituent Assembly Debates
(vii) Though the Constituent Assembly was not directly elected by the people, its sessions were open to the
press and the people.
[Link] was Indian Constitution enforced on 26 January, 1950?
Ans: -In Lahore session of 1929, the Indian National Congress decided to celebrate 20 January, 1930 as
Independent Day. After 1930, 26 January every year was celebrated as Independence Day.
But we actually got Independence on 15 August. Our leaders never wanted to forget the importance of 26
January. So, they decided to enforce the constitution on 26 January, 1950, although it was adopted
by Constituent Assembly on 26 November1949.
5. Name some of the members of the Constituent Assembly?
Ans: - (i)Dr Rajendra Prasad (President).
(ii) Jaipal Singh (A sportsman and educationist later founder of Jharkhand Party)
(iii) Baldev Singh (An entrepreneur and a leader of the Panthic Akali Party
(iv) B.R Ambedkar (Chairman Drafting Committee)
(v) Jawaharlal Nehru (Prime Minister of the Interim Government)
(vi) Sarojini Naidu (Poet, writer and political activist)
(vii) Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Minister for industry and supply in the interim Government
Educationist and lawyer).
6. What documents were taken by the Constituent Assembly to form the Indian Constitution?
Ans. The documents taken to form the Indian Constitution were:
(i) The Indian Constitution was drafted by Motilal Nehru and eight other leaders in 1928.
(ii) The resolution at the Karachi Session of the INC on how independent India's Constitution should look like in
1931.
(i) Both these documents were committed to the inclusion of universal adult franchise, right to freedom and
equality and protecting the right of minorities in the constitution of independent India.
7. 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.
(ii) 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.
8. What are "Constituent Assembly Debates?
Ans: -Every document presented and every word spoken in the Constituent Assembly has been recorded and
preserved. These are called 'Constituent Assembly Debates.
These debates provide the rationale behind every provision of the Constitution.
These are used to interpret the meaning of the Constitution. When printed, these debates constitute 12 bulky
volumes.
9. In which two ways can the philosophy of the Indian Constitution be understood?
Ans. The two ways in which the philosophy of the Indian Constitution can be understood are:
(i) It can be understood by reading the views some of the major leaders on the Indian of Constitution.
(ii) We can understand by reading what the Constitution says about its own philosophy.
[Link] of the countries of the world keep changing their constitution as needed but the same Indian
Constitution is accepted even today as it was at the time of preparation." Is it an unusual achievement for
any constitution? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Ans:-(i) The constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It expresses a broad consensus of its
time.
(ii) Many countries of the world have had to rewrite their constitution afresh because the basic rules were not
accepted to all major social groups or political parties.
(iii) The Constituent Assembly represented the people of India. There was no universal adult franchise at that
time. So, the Constituent Assembly could not have been chosen directly by all the people of India.
(iv) In social terms, the Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes, classes,
religions and occupations. It was elected by the members of the existing provincial legislatures, ensuring a fair
geographical share of members from all the regions of the country
(v) The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner. First, some basic
principles were declared and agreed upon. Then a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar prepared
a draft constitution for discussion. These documents were thoroughly studied with several debates and then
presented.
(vi) In our country no large social group or political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the constitution
itself. This is an unusual achievement for any constitution.
11. Which were the factors that helped the Indian leaders to develop the constitution?
Ans: -The countries which inspired the Indian Constitution were:
(i) France: Many Indian leaders were inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution their resolution on liberty,
equality and fraternity.
(ii) Britain: Indian leaders were inspired by the practice of Parliamentary democracy in Britain.
(iii) US: Their Bill of Rights was a great inspiration.
(iv) Russia: The socialist revolution and the socialist economy of Russia also inspired the leaders of India.
(v). The Indian Constitutional adopted many institutional details and procedures from colonial laws like the
Government of India Act,1935.
12. Explain ideals of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
Ans: - (i). 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.
(ii) Sovereign: People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters.
No external power can dictate the government of India.
(iii) Socialists: Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by the society. Government should
regulate the ownership of land and industry to reduce socio-economic inequalities
(iv). Secular: Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. But there is no official religion.
Government treats all religious beliefs and practices with equal respect.
(v). Democratic: A form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their rulers and hold
them accountable.
(v) Republic: The head of the state is an elected person and it is not a hereditary position.
(vi). Justice: Citizens cannot be discriminated on the grounds of caste, religion and gender. Social inequalities
have to be reduced. Government should work for the welfare of all, especially for the disadvantaged groups.
(vii). Liberty: There are no unreasonable restrictions on the citizens about what they think, how they wish to
express their thoughts and the way they wish to follow up their thoughts in actions.
(vii). Equality: All are equal before the law. The traditional social inequalities have to be ended. The
government should ensure equal opportunity for all.
(vii)Fraternity: All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one should treat a fellow
citizen as inferior
13. What are the salient features of Indian Constitution?
Ans. Indian Constitution was a very long and detailed documents, so needs to be amended quite regularly to
keep it updated.
2 Indian Constitution was to be made in accordance with people's aspirations and changes in society. So, a
provision to incorporate changes from time to time is made. These changes are called constitutional
amendments.
3 The constitution describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal language, yet the basic institutional
design is not very difficult to understand.
4. The Indian Constitution lays down a procedure for choosing persons to govern the country, defines the
powers of the government and provides some rights to the citizens that cannot be violated.
14."Indian Constitution is both rigid and flexible", Explain.
Ans: Indian Constitution is both rigid and flexible, because the procedure of amendment is neither easy nor
difficult. The Constitution has provided a federal structure for India. The jurisdiction of the Centre and states
have been defined and demarcated. Both the Centre and the States have been authorized to exercise powers
independently.
There are provisions which can change the federal structure into a unitary one. Amendments can be made only
with the consent of both the Centre and the states. A special majority of the Union Parliament i.e., a majority
of not less than two-third votes is required to amend the Constitution. Thus, Indian Constitution enjoys the
advantages of a combination of flexibility and rigidity.
15. What is the significance of the Preamble’ to the Indian Constitution?
Ans Indian Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values. This is called the Preamble
to the Constitution. It guides all the articles of the Indian Constitution.
(i) The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is like a poem on democracy.
(ii) It contains the philosophy on which the entire Constitution has been built.
(iii) It is regarded as the soul of the Indian Constitution.
(iv) It provides a standard to examine and evaluate any law and action of government to find out whether it is
good or bad.
16. Explain the Importance of Institutional design of the Constitution of India.
Ans: -1. A constitutional embodies, the values into institutional arrangements
2. It is very long and detailed, needs to be upgraded and amended
3. Made provisions to incorporate changes from time to time
4. Describe institutional arrangements in legal language
5. Lay down a procedure to choose the government.
[Link] limits to what the government can do by providing some rights to the citizen that cannot be violated.
17. “The importance of a constitution is more in a democratic country”, why? Explain.
Ans. Importance in democratic country can be explained as follows:
1. It defines and limits the power of the government.
2. It defines the right of the citizen.
3. It defines the power of the organs of the govt. which minimizes conflict between them.
4. It expresses aspirations of people about creating good society.
18. Why are changes needed in the constitution? Explain any three reasons.
Ans. Changes are required because:
1 It has to be in accordance with people's aspiration and changes in society
2 It needs to absorb the emerging issue like IT, space programmer etc.
3. It needs to be adjusted cultural and social changes in society
4. It is very long and detailed document. Therefore, it needs to be amended quite regularly
to keep it updated.
19. What is secular state? How is it different from non-secular state?
Ans. A secular state is one in which citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion, but there is no
official religion. Government treats all religions with equal respects.
A secular state is different from non-secular states because non-secular states have:
• Official religion tor e g. Pakistan is an Islamic Country.
• People are not allowed to follow other religions than state religion
• Equal respect is not given to the religions.
20. How did Motilal Nehru Report (1928) and resolution at Karachi (1931) of Indian National Congress
Shape the Indian Constitution?
Ans. Nehru Report and Karachi Session shaped the Indian Constitution with the following features:
1. Universal Adult Franchise.
2. Right to Freedom and Equality.
3. Protecting rights of minorities.