CIVICS

Chapter – 1: The Indian Constitution

[ Students are required to write these notes in Social Notebook]

Important points
 Why Does a Country Need a Constitution?
(i) A Constitution lays out certain ideals that form the basis of the kind of country
that we as citizens aspire to live in.
(ii) A Constitution tells about the fundamental nature of our society.
(iii) 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.
(iv) This includes the type of government and also an agreement on certain ideals
that they all believe the country should uphold.
(v) When Nepal was a monarchy, it reflected the final authority of the king. After
transition of Nepal into a democracy, it started the process of writing a new
constitution for the country.
(vi) In a democracy, leaders exercise their power responsibly on the behalf of the
people.
(vii) In democratic societies, the constitution lays down rules that guard against the
misuse of authority by our political leaders.
(viii) A Constitution plays an important function in a democracy to ensure that a

dominant groups does not use its power against any person, group,
organization, etc.
(ix) Constitution prevents tyranny or domination by the majority of a minority.
 (x) The Constitution helps to protect us against certain decisions that we might
take and which may have an adverse effect on the larger principles that the
country believes in.
 The Indian Constitution Key Feature:
(i) The Indian National Movement had been active in the struggle for Independence
from British rule for several decades.
(ii) Federalism: Refers to the existence of more than one level of government in
the country.
(iii) Parliamentary Form of Government: The Constitution of Indian guarantees
universal adult suffrage for all citizens. This means people have a direct role in
electing their representatives.
(iv) Separation of Powers: There are three organs of the states: (a) the Legislature
(b) the Executive and (c) the Judiciary.

The legislature refers to our elected representative; the executive is a smaller group of
people who are responsible for implementing laws and running the
government. The judiciary refers to the system of courts in the country.
 Fundamental Rights:
(i) The Fundamental Rights are referred to as the ‘conscience’ of Indian
Constitution. Fundamental Rights protect citizens against the arbitrary and
absolute exercise of power by the state.
(ii) The Constitution guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as
well as against other individuals.
(iii) There are six Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution, which are: (i)
Right to Equality; (ii) Right to Freedom; (iii) Right against Exploitation; (iv) Right
to Freedom of Religion; (v) Cultural and Education as Rights; (vi) Right to
Freedom of Religion; (v) Culture and Education as Rights; (iv) Right to
 Constitution Remedies.
(iv) In addition to Fundamental Rights, the Constitution has a section called
Directive Principles of State Policy. It ensures greater social and economic
reforms and to serve as a guide to independent Indian state to institute laws
and policies that help reduce the poverty of the masses.
(v) A secular state is one in which the state does not officially promote any one
religion as the state religion.
(vi) The Constitution plays a crucial role in laying out the ideals that we would
like all citizens of the country to adhere to, including the representatives that
we elect to rule us.

Glossary
1. The Constitution : Usually a written document which contains the rules of
governing a sovereign state.
2. Consensus : agreement of all the people on an issue.
3. Democracy : a form of government in which people at large hold the ultimate
power of governance. The representatives of people constitute the government
and undertake the Constitutional responsibilities in order to achieve the ideals of
Constitution.
4. Federalism : The existence of more than one levels of government in the country.
5. Representative: The person who is elected by people through a general election
to represent a constituency in the government.
[Students are required to write this glossary in their Note book]

Prepared by: Falguni Thaker Gurukul, Gandhinagar

 CIVICS

Chapter – 1 The Indian Constitution

Exercise
Q1. Why does a democratic country need a Constitution?
Answer
A democratic country need a Constitution because:
→ It lays out the important guidelines that govern decision making within the
various societies of the country.
→ It lays down the ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that its citizens aspire to live
in.
→ It serves as asset of rules and principles as the basis by which the country
has to be governed.
→ It provides rules to safeguard the interests of minorities and prevent any
kind of domination by the majority on minorities.
→ It lays down rules that guard against the misuse of power by any politician
leader.
→ It also provides rights to its citizens and protects their freedom.
Q2. What is the difference in who exercises 'Executive Power' in the above two
Constitutions of Nepal? Keeping this in mind, why do you think Nepal needs a
new Constitution today?
Answer

The difference in who exercises "Executive Power" in the given two Constitutions of Nepal is that
in the 1990 Constitution, this power was vested in the King and his Council of Ministers, while in
the 2007 Interim Constitution of Nepal, "Executive Power" changed hands to being vested only in
the Council of Ministers, thereby making Nepal a democracy from being a monarchy.
Nepal needs a new Constitution today because it is no longer a monarchy. The
older Constitution vested power in the King, but when the country is now a
democracy, a new Constitution is needed to reflect the "democratic" ideals of
Nepal that the peoples' movement desired and fought for. In order to achieve
this, all its constitutive rules must be changed.
Gurukul, Gandhinagar
Q3. What would happen if there were no restrictions on the power of elected
representatives?
Answer
If there are no restrictions on the power of the elected representatives the leaders might
misuse the powers given to them.The Constitution provides safeguards against this
misuse of power by our political leaders.

Q4. 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) Inaschoolwith30teachers,20ofthemaremale.
(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.
Answer
(a) Female teachers are in minority. The female teachers must be allowed space to
voice their opinion so that their efforts at teaching are not hindered by their
minority status.
(b) Buddhists are in minority. Every individual has the right to follow the religion of
his/her choice. People of other faith must respect the religion other than their own.
(c) Non-vegetarians are in minority. Food choice is personal wish so he/she should have
the freedom to eat what he/she wants.
(d) Under privileged are in minority. Citizen’s cannot be discriminated by their birth
so their views have to be respected.

Gurukul, Gandhinagar
 Q5. List some of the key features of Indian Constitution.

OR

Define the Key features of Indian Constitution.

Answer

Key features
1. Federalism: It ensures national unity and at the same time allows individual progress. A
federal government allowstheCentretoholdsupremepowerbutits Constituent States
have some power as well.

2. Separation of Powers: This serves two purposes: firstly, tyrannicaluseofpowerisavoided

sinceitdoesnotvest powerinanysingleauthority.Secondly,the3organsof poweralso
workas a check on each other, thereby maintaining a good balance.
3. Fundamental Rights: These are important because they conformtoahumanesociety.They
alsoprotectcitizens againstarbitraryandabsoluteuseofpowerbytheState.
4. Parliamentary Form of Government: It upholds universal adultfranchise.Thisentailsthefact
thatthepeopleofa country play a direct role in electing their representatives to run the state
aswellas the nation.

Short answer type questions

Q1. What is a Constitution?
Ans. A Constitution is a written document containing certain set of rules which serve
several purposes. It tells us what the fundamental nature of our society is. A country is
usually made up of different communities of people who share certain beliefs but they may
not necessarily agree on all issues. 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.

Gurukul, Gandhinagar
Q2. Define Preamble of the Indian Constitution?
Ans. Indian Constitution begins with a preface or a short introduction called Preamble. It
provides a key to the understanding and interpretation of authority, the system of
government, the objectives to be achieved by the political system and the ways of adoption
and enactment of our constitution. It highlights the goals and aspirations of the Indians.
Therefore, it has been described as the soul of the Indian Constitution.

Self – Assessment question

Q1. Short Note on Constitution
Q2. Very short type questions:
a. What do you mean by Federalism?
b. Name all the Fundamental Rights mentioned in the Indian Constitution.
c. What is Right to Equality?
d. Who was the father of Indian Constitution?
e. Who was the President of the Constituent Assembly?

Prepared by Falguni Thaker Gurukul, Gandhinagar