POLITICAL SCIENCE- WS
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN
Ques 1) What is the significance of the Preamble to the Constitution?
Ans- The Preamble outlines the guiding values of the Constitution such as justice, liberty, equality, and
fraternity. It reflects the vision and objectives of the Constitution makers.
Ques2) Why was the Constituent Assembly created?
Ans- The Constituent Assembly was created to frame the Constitution of free India, ensuring democratic
values, rights, and a structure of government for an independent nation.
Ques3) Describe the main features of the Indian Constitution.
Ans- The Indian Constitution is the longest written constitution in the world. It establishes India as a
sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. It provides Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and
a federal structure with a parliamentary form of government.
Ques4) Why is the Indian Constitution considered a living document?
Ans- The Constitution is called a living document because it can be amended to suit changing social,
political, and economic conditions. Over 100 amendments have been made to reflect the evolving needs of
the country.
Ques5) 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. (iii) 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.
Ques6) Indian leaders were inspired by which countries to frame the Indian Constitution?
Ans: The countries which inspired the Indian Constitution were:
(i) France: Many Indian leaders were inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution and 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.
Ques7) 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 consisted as many as 299 members.
(v) It adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, but it came into effect on 26 January 1950.
Ques 8) Give reasons for accepting the Constitution made by the Constituent Assembly more than 50 years
ago.
Ans: Some reasons for accepting the same Constitution till today are:-
(i) The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It expresses a broad consensus of its
time.
(ii) 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
but it was elected mainly by the members of Provincial Legislatures, which ensured a fair share of all
the regions of the country.
(iii) The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner.
Ques 9) Which basic values were accepted by all leaders before the Constituent Assembly met to form the
constitution?
Ans: (i) Inclusion of Universal Adult Franchise by giving all the citizens of India the right to vote and
contest elections.
(ii) Right to freedom and equality to be granted. Since India remained under British control for a long time
and being a country of diversities, it needed equality.
(iii) It also proposed for protecting the rights of minorities in the constitution of independent India.
Ques10) Who was Dr. B.R. Ambedkar? How did he play a key role in the making of Indian constitution?
Ans: Dr. Ambedkar was the chairman of the Drafting Committee. He was a social revolutionary, thinker
and agitator against caste divisions and caste-based inequalities. Dr. Ambedkar played a key role in the
making of the constitution but had a different understanding of how inequalities could be removed. He
often bitterly criticised Mahatma Gandhi and his vision.
Ques 11) How values of freedom struggle were embedded in the Preamble of the Indian constitution?
Ans: Values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle and were in turn nurtured by it, formed the
foundation for India’s democracy. These values are embedded in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
They guide all the articles of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution begins with a short statement of its
basic values. This is called the Preamble of the Indian
Ques12) What does the Indian Preamble on the constitution contain?
Ans: The Preamble of the Constitution reads like a poem on democracy. It contains the philosophy on
which the entire Constitution has been built. It provides a standard to examine and evaluate any law and
action of the government, to find out whether it is good or bad. It is the soul of the Indian Constitution.
Ques13) What is meant by ‘sovereign, socialist and secular’ as the key words of our Constitution?
Ans: The Constitution of India declares India as a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic.
(i) Sovereign The sovereign nature of India signifies that people of India have supreme right to make
decisions on internal as well as external matters.
(ii) Socialist The socialist nature of India suggests that wealth is generated socially and should be shared
equally by society.
(iii) Secular The word ‘secular’ signifies that the state has no official religion of its own. Every citizen has
complete freedom to follow any religion.
Ques14) What is a Constitution? Why do we need a Constitution? Give any four reasons.
Ans: The Constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people living together in
a country. 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. 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 the power to take which decisions.
(iii) It lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are.
(iv) It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.
(v) The Indian Constitution safeguards the interests of minorities, OBC, the poor and the weaker section of
our society.
(vi) It gives a universal adult franchise to all and establishes equality for all.
Ques16) “The manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity to the constitution of
India. “Justify the statement with three arguments.
Ans: The manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity to the Constitution. This
statement can be justified by following points
(i) It worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner.
(ii) First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon and a draft of Constitution was prepared.
(iii) Several rounds of thorough discussion took place, clause by clause.
(iv) More than two thousands amendments were considered.
(v) Every document presented and every word spoken in the Constituent Assembly was recorded and
preserved. These ‘Constituent Assembly Debates, were printed in 12 volumes.
Ques17) How has the Indian Constitution embodied the basic values into institutional arrangements?
Explain.
Ans: Indian Constitution is embodying the basic values into institutional arrangements by following ways
(i) The Constitution of India is a detailed document. It needs to be amended quite regularly to keep it
updated. It has to be changed in accordance with people’s aspirations and changes in society. These
changes are called Constitutional Amendments.
(ii) The Constitution lays down a procedure for choosing persons to govern the country.
(iii) It defines who will have how much power to take which decisions.
(iv) It limits the powers of the government by providing some rights to the citizen that cannot be violated.
Ques18) - Explain the major factors that contributed to the making of Indian Constitution.
Ans: The making of a Constitution for a huge and diverse country like India was not an easy task. The
various factors that contributed in the making of our Constitution were-
(i) Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of French Revolution
(ii) They were also influenced by the practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain and the Bill of
Rights in the US.
(iii) Socialist Revolution in Russia inspired them to think of a system based on social and economic
equality.
(iv) At each step they questioned whether the things suited our country or not.
Ques19) - What do you understand by Preamble? What is the significance of ‘We the people of India’ and
‘Secular’ in the Preamble?
Ans: The Preamble states the objectives which the Constitution seeks to establish and promote. It is a short
statement of basic values with which a Constitution begins. It deals with the ideals, principles and aims of
the Constitution. Preamble is the soul of our Constitution. It contains the philosophy on which the entire
Constitution has been built. The words ‘We, the people of India’ lay stress on the point that political
sovereignty in India rests with the people. The word ‘secular’ means that every citizen has complete right
to follow any religion. There is no official religion. Government treats all religious beliefs and practices
with equal respect.
Ques20) Why did the Constitution framers make provisions for amendments in the Indian Constitution?
Ans: The Constitution of India has enough scope for amendment if required for the welfare of its citizens.
The makers of the Indian Constitution felt that it needed to be amended regularly to keep it updated.
Amendments must be made in accordance with people’s aspirations and needs. To maintain law and order,
the dignity and rights of the citizens, the Constitution made some provisions for amendment from time to
time. At the same time, the process of amendment is not very easy. All amendments can be initiated only in
the Union Parliament, not in any state legislature. A special majority of two-thirds vote in favour is
required to amend the Constitution.
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