NCERT Exercise
1. Here are some false statements. Identify the mistake in each
case and rewrite these correctly based on what you have read in this chapter.
(a) Leaders of the freedom movement had an open mind about whether the country
should be democratic or not after independence.
(b) Members of the Constituent Assembly of India held the same views on all
provisions of the Constitution.
(c) A country that has a constitution must be a democracy.
(d) Constitution cannot be amended because it is the supreme law of a country.
Answer:
(a) Leaders of the freedom movement had an open mind about the country being
democratic after independence.
(b) Members
of the Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner
to resolve differences among them.
(c) It is not
necessary that a country having a constitution must be a democracy. The
constitution of a country can even make provisions for dictatorship or
monarchy. Examples: the Soviet Union and Pakistan.
(d) A
Constitution can be amended to keep up with the changes in aspirations of the
society. It can also be changed keeping in mind the social, political, and
economic conditions of the country.
2. Which of these was
the most salient underlying conflict in the making of a democratic constitution
in South Africa?
(a) Between South Africa and its neighbours
(b) Between men and women
(c) Between the white majority and the black minority
(d) Between the coloured minority and the black majority
Answer:
(c) Between the white majority and the black minority
3. Which of these is a
provision that a democratic constitution does not have?
(a) Powers of the head of the State
(b) Name of the head of the state
(c) Powers of the legislature
(d) Name of the country
Answer:
(b) Name of the head of the state
4. Match the following
leaders with their roles in the making of the Constitution:
|
(a)
Motilal Nehru |
(i)
President of the Constituent Assembly |
Answer:
|
(a)
Motilal Nehru |
(iv)
Prepared a Constitution for India in 1928 |
|
(b) B.R.
Ambedkar |
(iii)
Chairman of the Drafting Committee |
|
(c)
Rajendra Prasad |
(i)
President of the Constituent Assembly |
|
(d)
Sarojini Naidu |
(ii)
Member of the Constituent Assembly |
5. Read again the
extracts from Nehru’s speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’ and answer the following:
(a) Why did Nehru use the expression “not wholly or in full measure” in the
first sentence?
(b) What pledge did he want the makers of the Indian Constitution to take?
(c) “The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every
tear from every eye”. Who was he referring to?
Answer:
(a) The expression ‘not wholly or in full measure’ in the first sentence was
used by Nehru because he thought that the task they had undertaken was
incomplete and it wasn’t possible to fulfill the pledges all at once but would
be gradually fulfilled.
(b) The
pledge that he wanted the makers of the Indian Constitution to take was to
dedicate their lives to the service of India, Indians, and humanity at large.
(c) He was
referring to Mahatma Gandhi.
6. Here are some of the
guiding values of the Constitution and their meaning. Rewrite them by matching
them correctly.
|
(a)
Sovereign |
(i)
Government will not favour any religion. |
Answer:
|
(a)
Sovereign |
(ii)
People have the supreme right to make decisions. |
7. How did your school
celebrate the Constitution Day on November 26th? Prepare a brief report.
Answer: Our school
celebrates the Constitution Day 26th November with students in
Morning Assembly. Teachers give the opportunity to the students to deliver a
speech on constitution. Some students express their thoughts about the features
of Indian Constitution. In last our Political science teacher delivers the
final speech on Indian Constitution. He started with the history of the draft
committee, then he told the features of Indian Constitution and in last he told
us the latest amendments and importance of the Indian Constitution.
8. Here are different
opinions about what made India a democracy. How much importance would you give
to each of these factors?
(a) Democracy in India is a gift of the British rulers. We received training to
work with representative legislative institutions under British rule.
(b) Freedom Struggle challenged the colonial exploitation and denial of
different freedoms to Indians. Free India could not be anything but democratic.
(c) We were lucky to have leaders who had democratic convictions. The denial of
democracy in several other newly independent countries shows the important role
of these leaders.
Answer:
(a) Though I would acknowledge many good things were learned from the British
rulers and democracy being one of them,I wouldn’t say that democracy was a gift
given by them. Indians had to struggle a lot and make many sacrifices to attain
freedom from British rule. These circumstances helped people to gain experience
and training in the working of the legislative institutions.
(b) Yes, Free India
could not be anything but democratic because the people had already suffered a
lot under British rule. This made them realise that for people to have a say in
ruling the country, it was necessary to make India a democratic country.
(c) It is indeed true
that we were lucky to have leaders who had deep democratic values. It is
because of these ideals that India’s freedom struggle can be considered as the
only example of a bloodless freedom struggle in contemporary history.
Therefore, absence of such ideals has made many countries undemocratic.
9. Read the following
extract from a conduct book for ‘married women’, published in 1912. ‘God has
made the female species delicate and fragile both physically and emotionally,
pitiably incapable of self-defence. They are destined thus by God to remain in
male protection – of the father, husband, and son – all their lives. Women
should, therefore, not despair, but feel obliged that they can dedicate themselves
to the service of men’. Do you think the values expressed in this para
reflected the values underlying our constitution? Or does this go against the
constitutional values?
Answer:
The given paragraph does not reflect the underlying value in our Constitution.
It refers to the patriarchal views and endorses the thought of inequality in
genders.
It goes
against the constitutional values because in the paragraph women are shown as
inferior, unequal as weak and fragile who should serve men. However, the Constitution
has provided equal rights to women. They enjoy the right to vote, can take up
any job, and are paid equal wages for the same work.
10. Read the following
statements about a constitution. Give reasons why each of these is true or not
true.
(a) The authority of the rules of the constitution is the same as that of any
other law.
(b) Constitution lays down how different organs of the government will be
formed.
(c) Rights of citizens and limits on the power of the government are laid down
in the constitution.
(d) A constitution is about institutions, not about values.
Answer:
(a) Not true. An ordinary law is passed by the Parliament and can be
changed by it on its own will. On the other hand, the rules of the Constitution
have greater authority and the Parliament has to abide by them. For amending
these rules, a special procedure has to be adopted.
(b) True. The Constitution has
laid down the framework for government formation. It has put in place the
structure, power, and functions of the three organs of the government, i.e.
executive, legislative, and the judiciary.
(c) True. The rights of the
citizens are laid down in the Constitution as fundamental rights, which are
enforceable by law. The powers and functions of the government are divided into
the executive, legislative, and judiciary. It is done to keep each organ under
check by the other organs to ensure the power functioning of the government.
(d) Not True. The Constitution is the supreme law of the country. It lays down the composition powers and functions of the various institutions of government. The Constitution is guided by values which are found in the form of Preamble. Principles and values such as equality, liberty, fraternity, brotherhood, secularism, and justice are included in the Preamble of the Constitution.