THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION CLASS 8 [ANSWERS]

The Indian Constitution

Q1. What do you understand by monarchy?

Ans. Monarchy is a form of government in which final authority rested with the King.

 

Q2. In Nepal, when did the Interim Constitution come into effect?

Ans. In Nepal, the Interim Constitution came into effect from January 15, 2007.

 

Q3. Who is known as the Father of the Indian Constitution?

Ans. Baba Saheb Dr Ambedkar is known as the Father of the Indian Constitution.

 

Q4. What is a "State"?

Ans. The State refers to a political institution that represents a sovereign people who occupy a definite territory.

 

Q5. What does Federalism mean?

Ans. Federalism refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country.

 

Q6. What do you understand by a secular state?

Ans. A secular state is one in which the state does not officially promote any one religion as the state religion.

 

Q7. What is democracy?

Ans. Democracy is a form of government in which we choose our leaders so that they can exercise power responsibly on our behalf.

 

Q8. What is universal adult franchise?

Ans. Universal Adult Franchise means that the right to vote should be given to all adult citizens without the discrimination of caste, class, colour, religion or gender.

Q9. How does the Indian Constitution safe guard the minorities of the country?
Or
How does the Indian Constitution protect minority rights?

Ans. The Constitution usually contains rules that ensure that minorities are not excluded from anything that is routinely available to the majority.

 

Q10. Which fundamental right has provisions prohibiting exploitation of weaker sections of the society?
Or
State any three provisions made in the Constitution to prevent exploitation.
Or
Explain Right against Exploitation.

Ans. Right against Exploitation: The Constitution prohibits human trafficking, forced labour, and employment of children under 14 years of age.

 

Q11. What is Right to Constitutional Remedies?

Ans. Right to Constitutional Remedies - This allows citizens to move the court if they believe that any of their Fundamental Rights have been violated by the State.

 

Q12. Explain Right to Freedom of Religion.

Ans. Right to Freedom of Religion - Religious freedom is provided to all citizens. Every person has the right to practise, profess and propagate the religion of their choice.

Q13. Write a short note on Cultural and Educational Rights.

Ans. Cultural and Educational Rights - The Constitution states that all minorities, religious or linguistic, can set up their own educational institutions in order to preserve and develop their own culture.

 

Q14. What did Dr Ambedkar state about scheduled caste?

Ans. He stated that although the laws might exist, Scheduled Castes still had reason to fear because the administration of these laws was in the hands of ‘caste Hindu officers’. He, therefore, urged Scheduled Castes to join the government as well as the civil services.

 

Q15. What do you mean by Directive Principles of State Policy?

Ans. Directive Principles of State Policy was designed by the members of the Constituent Assembly to ensure greater social and economic reforms and to serve as a guide to the independent Indian State to institute laws and policies that help reduce the poverty of the masses.

 

Q16. Define the term constitution.

Ans. In large societies in which different communities of people live together, the rules are formulated through consensus, and in modern countries this consensus is usually available in written form. A written document in which we find such rules is called a Constitution.

Q17. Explain Right to Freedom.
Or
What is the significance of the Right to Freedom?
Or
What is the fundamental Right to Freedom?

Ans. Right to Freedom

This includes the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to form associations, the right to move freely and reside in any part of the country, and the right to practise any profession, occupation or business.

 

Q18. What would happen if there were no restrictions on the power of elected representatives?

Ans. If there were no restrictions on the power of elected representatives the leaders might misuse the powers given to them. Misuse of authority can result in gross injustice. Thus, in democratic societies, the Constitution often lays down rules that guard against this misuse of authority by our political leaders.

 

Q19. What is Constitutional Monarchy?

Ans. A system of government in which a country is ruled by a king and queen whose power is limited by a constitution.

Example: Until quite recently, Nepal was a monarchy. The previous Constitution of Nepal, which had been adopted in 1990, reflected the fact that the final authority rested with the King.

 

Q20. Mention the key features of the Indian Constitution.

Ans. The key features of the Indian constitution are:-

i.        Federalism

ii.        Parliamentary Form of Government

iii.        Separation of Powers

iv.        Fundamental Rights

v.        Secularism

 

Q21. State the six Fundamentals Rights in the Indian Constitution.

Ans. The Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution include:

i.        Right to Equality

ii.        Right to Freedom

iii.        Right against Exploitation

iv.        Right to Freedom of Religion

v.        Cultural and Educational Rights

vi.        Right to Constitutional Remedies

 

Q22. What do you mean by tyranny of majority?

Ans. Tyranny of the majority refers to unhealthy situations where a majority continuously enforces decisions that exclude minorities and go against their interests. Every society is prone to this tyranny of the majority. The Constitution usually contains rules that ensure that minorities are not excluded from anything that is routinely available to the majority. Constitution is precisely to prevent this tyranny or domination by the majority of a minority.

 

Q23. Discuss the difference between State and Government.

Ans. ‘Government’ is responsible for administering and enforcing laws. The government can change with elections. The State on the other hand refers to a political institution that represents a sovereign people who occupy a definite territory. Example - the Indian State, the Nepali State etc. The Indian State has a democratic form of government. The government (or the executive) is one part of the State. The State refers to more than just the government and cannot be used interchangeably with it.

 

Q24. What are the functions of the three main organs of the government?
Or
What are the three organs of government?
Or
Explain the functions of organs of government.

Ans. According to the Constitution, there are three organs of government. These are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

i.        The legislature refers to our elected representatives.

ii.        The executive is a smaller group of people who are responsible for implementing laws and running the government.

iii.        The judiciary refers to the system of courts in this country.

Q25. What are the factors the drafting committee had to take into consideration while drafting the constitution?

Ans. The country was made up of several different communities who spoke different languages, belonged to different religions, and had distinct cultures. Also, when the Constitution was being written, India was going through considerable turmoil. The partition of the country into India and Pakistan was imminent, some of the Princely States remained undecided about their future, and the socio-economic condition of the vast mass of people appeared dismal. All of these issues played on the minds of the members of the Constituent Assembly as they drafted the Constitution.

 

Q26. Why does a democratic country need a Constitution?

Ans. A democratic country needs a Constitution because it serves several purposes.

i.        First, it lays out certain ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that we as citizens aspire to live in.

ii.        The second important purpose of a Constitution is to define the nature of a country’s political system.

iii.        The third significant reason why we need a Constitution is to save us from ourselves. What is meant by this is that we might at times feel strongly about an issue that might go against our larger interests and the Constitution helps us guard against this.

 

Q27. Explain Right to Equality.
Or
What is the significance of the Right to Equality?
Or
What is the fundamental Right to Equality?
Or
What are the main features of ‘Right to equality’?

Ans. Right to Equality

i.        All persons are equal before the law. This means that all persons shall be equally protected by the laws of the country.

ii.        It also states that no citizen can be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, caste or sex.

iii.        Every person has access to all public places including playgrounds, hotels, shops etc.

iv.        The State cannot discriminate against anyone in matters of employment.

 

Q28. Which Fundamental Rights will the following situations violate?
i.        If a 13-year old child is working in a factory manufacturing carpets.
ii.        If a politician in one state decides to not allow labourers from other states to work in his state.
iii.        If a group of people are not given permission to open a Telugu-medium school in Kerala.
iv.        If the government decides not to promote an officer of the armed forces for being a woman.

Ans.

i.        Right against Exploitation

ii.        Right to Freedom

iii.        Cultural and Educational Rights

iv.        Right to Equality

 

Q29. How was the Indian Constitution made?
Or
How constitution of India is formed?

Ans. The long experience of authoritarian rule under the colonial state convinced Indians that free India should be a democracy in which everyone should be treated equally and be allowed to participate in government. What remained to be done then was to work out the ways in which a democratic government would be set up in India and the rules that would determine its functioning. This was done not by one person but by a group of around 300 people who became members of the Constituent Assembly in 1946 and who met periodically for the next three years to write India’s Constitution. Between December 1946 and November 1949, the Constituent Assembly drafted a constitution for independent India.

Q30. What is the importance of constitution?

Ans. Importance of constitution

i.        A Constitution helps serve as a set of rules and principles that all persons in a country can agree upon as the basis of the way in which they want the country to be governed.

ii.        The Constitution often lays down rules that guard against this misuse of authority by our political leaders.

iii.        Constitution ensures that a dominant group does not use its power against other, less powerful people or groups.

iv.        The Constitution helps to protect us against certain decisions that we might take that could have an adverse effect on the larger principles that the country believes in.

 

Q31. Write a brief note on the struggle for freedom in Nepal.

Ans. The country of Nepal has witnessed several people’s struggles for democracy. There was a people’s struggle in 1990 that established democracy that lasted for 12 years until 2002. In October 2002, King Gyanendra, citing the Maoist uprising in the countryside as his reason, began taking over different aspects of the government with the army’s assistance. The King then finally took over as the head of government in February 2005. In November 2005, the Maoists joined other political parties to sign a 12-point agreement. This agreement signalled to the larger public an imminent return to democracy and peace. In 2006, this people’s movement for democracy began gaining immense force. It repeatedly refused the small concessions that the King made and finally in April 2006 the King restored the Third Parliament and asked the political parties to form a government. In 2007, Nepal adopted an interim Constitution.

 

Q32. In each of the following situations, identify the minority. Write one reason why you think it is
important to respect the views of the minority in each of these situations.
(a) In a school with 30 teachers, 20 of them are male.
(b) In a city, 5 per cent of the population are Buddhists.
(c) In a factory mess for all employees, 80 per cent are vegetarians.
(d) In a class of 50 students, 40 belong to more well-off families.

Ans.

a. Female teachers are in the minority - It is important to respect the views of the minority so that they do not feel left out or underpowered by majority.

b. Buddhists are in the minority - It is important to respect the views of the minority because every individual has the right to follow the religion of his choice.

c. Non – vegetarians are in the minority – It is important to respect the views of the minority because the food a person eats is his personal wish and so he should have the freedom to eat what he wants.

d. The under privileged are in minority – It is important to respect the views of the minority because citizens cannot be discriminated on the bases rich or poor.

 

Q33. Look at the wordings of the two documents given below. The first column is from the 1990 Nepal Constitution. The second column is from the more recent Interim Constitution of Nepal.

1990 Constitution of Nepal Part 7: Executive	2007 Interim Constitution Part 5: Executive
Article 35: Executive Power: The executive power of the Kingdom of Nepal shall be vested in His Majesty and the Council of Ministers.	Article 37: Executive Power: The executive power of Nepal shall be vested in the Council of Ministers.

Ans.

1990 Constitution of Nepal	2007 Interim Constitution
1. In 1990, Nepal was a monarchy	1. In 2007, Nepal adopted an interim Constitution.
2. The previous Constitution of Nepal, which had been adopted in 1990, reflected the fact that the final authority rested with the King.	2. According to the Interim constitution drafted in 2007, the executive powers of Nepal are in the hands of the council of ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

 

Nepal needs a new Constitution today because

i.        Nepal, by moving from a monarchy to a democratic government, needs to change all its constitutive rules in order to usher in a new society.

ii.        The previous Constitution does not reflect the ideals of the country that they want Nepal to be, and that they have fought for.

Q34. Listed below are the key features of the Indian Constitution. Write two sentences, in your own words, on why you think this feature is important:
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Fundamental Rights
Parliamentary Form of Government

Ans. Federalism

i.        This refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country. In India, we have governments at the state level and at the centre. Panchayati Raj is the third tier of government.

ii.        Under federalism, the states are not merely agents of the federal government but draw their authority from the Constitution as well.

iii.        All persons in India are governed by laws and policies made by each of these levels of government.

Separation of Powers

i.        According to the Constitution, there are three organs of government. These are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

ii.        In order to prevent the misuse of power by any one branch of government, the Constitution says that each of these organs should exercise different powers.

iii.        Through this, each organ acts as a check on the other organs of government and this ensures the balance of power between all three.

Fundamental Rights

i.        Fundamental Rights guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as well as against other individuals.

ii.        It also guarantees the rights of minorities against the majority.

Parliamentary Form of Government

i.        The Constitution of India guarantees universal adult suffrage for all citizens. This would help encourage a democratic mindset and break the clutches of traditional caste, class and gender hierarchies. This means that the people of India have a direct role in electing their representatives.

ii.        Also, every citizen of the country, irrespective of his/her social background, can also contest in elections. These representatives are accountable to the people.