Constitutional Design Class 9 Civics NCERT Solutions & Notes

(a) Leaders of the freedom movement had an open mind about whether the country should be democratic or not after independence.
Correction: Leaders of the freedom movement had a consensus long before independence that India would definitely be a democratic nation.

(b) Members of the Constituent Assembly of India held the same views on all provisions of the Constitution.
Correction: Members had differing views, but they worked through intense debates and discussions to reach a consensus on almost all provisions.

(c) A country that has a constitution must be a democracy.
Correction: Not necessarily. A country that is a democracy must have a constitution, but a dictatorial country can also have a constitution to legitimize its rule.

(d) Constitution cannot be amended because it is the supreme law of a country.
Correction: A Constitution can be amended to keep it updated with changing times, society's needs, and new aspirations of the people.

Ans:
1. Motilal Nehru ➔ Prepared a Constitution for India in 1928.
2. B.R. Ambedkar ➔ Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
3. Rajendra Prasad ➔ President of the Constituent Assembly.
4. Sarojini Naidu ➔ Member of the Constituent Assembly.

Ans: These are the core values mentioned in the Preamble:
1. Sovereign: People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.
2. Socialist: Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by society. The government should regulate land and industry to reduce inequalities.
3. Secular: Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. There is no official state religion. The government treats all religious beliefs equally.
4. Democratic: A form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their rulers, and hold them accountable.
5. Republic: The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary monarch (like a King or Queen).

Ans: Apartheid was a system of racial discrimination unique to South Africa imposed by the white Europeans. It divided people and labeled them on the basis of their skin color. The native black Africans, who made up about three-fourths of the population, were treated as inferiors and deprived of voting rights.

Ans: 1. Segregation: Blacks were forbidden from living in white areas without a permit.
2. Public facilities like trains, buses, schools, hospitals, and beaches were separate for whites and blacks.
3. Blacks could not form associations or protest against the terrible treatment.

Ans: Nelson Mandela was the primary leader of the African National Congress (ANC) who fought against the Apartheid system. He was tried for treason by the white South African government and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964. He spent 28 years in Robben Island prison before becoming the first President of a democratic South Africa.

Ans: As protests and struggles against apartheid increased, the white regime realized they could no longer keep the blacks under rule through repression. Facing international pressure and domestic unrest, they changed their policies, lifted bans on political parties, released Mandela, and agreed to sit down to draft a new, inclusive constitution.

Ans: A Constitution is necessary because it generates a degree of trust and coordination among different kinds of people. It specifies how the government will be constituted and who will have the power to take which decisions. It lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are.

Ans: Making a constitution for a huge and diverse country like India was not easy. The country was born through a traumatic partition based on religious differences. Additionally, the British had left it to the princely states to decide whether they wanted to merge with India or Pakistan. The future of the country looked very insecure at that time.

Ans: In 1931, at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress, leaders dwelled on how independent India’s constitution should look. They committed to certain basic values like universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equality, and protecting the rights of minorities.

Ans: The Constituent Assembly is an assembly of elected representatives that drafts the constitution. In India, elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946. Its members were elected mainly by the members of the existing Provincial Legislatures, ensuring geographical representation from all parts of the country.

Ans: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was a brilliant lawyer and a champion of Dalit rights. He served as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly. He played a pivotal role in preparing the draft Constitution and fiercely defended its provisions during the Assembly debates.

Ans: We accept it because the Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone; it expresses a broad consensus of its time. Also, the Assembly represented the people of India fairly well. No large social group or political party has ever deeply questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution itself, which is an unusual achievement.

Ans: The Preamble is an introductory statement in the Constitution. 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, and represents the "soul" of the Indian Constitution.

Ans: Fraternity means a sense of brotherhood. The Preamble declares that all of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior. It is crucial for maintaining the unity and integrity of the nation.

Ans: This phrase signifies that the constitution has been drawn up and enacted by the people through their representatives. It wasn't handed down to them by a king or any outside power. It establishes the principle of popular sovereignty.

Ans: A constitution is not just a statement of values; it is about embedding these values into institutional arrangements. It lays down procedures for choosing people to govern the country, defines who will have how much power, and puts limits on what the government can do by providing fundamental rights to citizens.

Ans: An amendment is a change made to the supreme law of the country. Amendments are necessary because a constitution is not a sacred, static, or unalterable law. The makers felt it must be in accordance with people’s aspirations and changes in society, so they included provisions to update it from time to time.