CLASS 9 CIVICS CHAPTER 3 - CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN


CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN
WHAT IS CONSTITUTION?
•       Constitution is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people living together in a country.
•       It is the supreme law that determines the relationship among people living in a territory  and also the relationship between the people and government.
•       It generates a degree of trust and coordination among the people.
•       It specifies powers of the government and how it should function.
•       It limits the powers of the government and ensures certain rights to the people.
•       It expresses the aspirations of the people to create a good society.
WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION?
•       The only way to build and maintain trust among diverse groups of people having differences of opinion and interests is to write down some rules that everyone should obey.
•       It is necessary to limit the powers of the elected government lest(in case) it may misuse the powers.
•       These rules safeguard the rights of the people.
STRUGGLE AGAINST APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA
•       Apartheid was a system of racial discrimination on the basis of skin colour which existed in South Africa . A large number of white Europeans settled in S.A during the 17th and 18th century and became the local rulers. The white rulers treated the ‘blacks’(ie, the native people of S.A) the ‘coloured’ (people of mixed races) and the Indians as inferiors.
•       This system was particularly oppressive for the blacks. They were segregated (separated) everywhere, in the trains, buses, parks, toilets, even in the churches.
•        Since 1950, the non-whites fought against the apartheid system. They formed African National Congress (ANC) for this purpose. Even the sensitive whites joined the ANC to oppose apartheid.
But the white racist government continued to rule by torturing and killing thousands of black and colored people.
TOWARDS A NEW CONSTITUTION
•       As protest against apartheid increased, the racist government realised that they could no longer keep the blacks under their rule through repression. (domination/suppression)
•       They changed their policies. Discriminatory laws were repealed(cancelled). Ban on political parties and restrictions on the media were lifted. Nelson Mandela, the leader of the blacks, was released from the jail after 28 years of imprisonment.
•       Finally, at the midnight of 26 April 1994, the Republic of South Africa (a multi-racial government) was born.
•       The blacks forgave the whites for the atrocities(violence) they had done while in power. Both the blacks and the whites decided to build a new S.A based on equality of all races on democratic values, social justice and human rights. They sat together to draw up a common constitution. After two years of discussion  they came out with one of the finest constitutions.  It gave to its citizens the most extensive rights available in any country. It inspired democrats all over the world. The most undemocratic country is now seen as a model of democracy.
MAKING OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION – CHALLENGES
•       Like S.A. India’s Constitution was drawn up under very difficult circumstances.
•       The making of the constitution for a huge and diverse country like India was not easy.
•       The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences. (PAK & IND)
•       Unification of the princely states.
The makers of the Constitution had anxieties about the present and future of the country.
MAKING OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION – ADVANTAGES
•       Unlike South Africa, Indian Constitution makers had consensus during the freedom struggle itself about what a democratic India should look like.
•       In 1928, Motilal Nehru and other leaders drafted a constitution for India. The Karachi session of the Congress deliberated on how independent India should look like. (1931)
•       Many educated Indians were familiarized with the political and legislative institutions during the colonial (the British) rule.  (Provincial elections  in 1937)
•       Years of thinking and deliberation on the framework of the constitution had another benefit.
•       Many of the leaders were inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, the Socialist Revolution in Russia   etc. But they didn’t simply imitate these principles.
THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY (1946)
•       Drafting of the Constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives(299 members)
•       It represented the people of India. The assembly was dominated by the I.N.C. But it had many non –congress members belonging to different language groups, castes, classes, religions and occupations.  The Constitution doesn’t reflect the views of its members alone, it expresses the aspirations of all people. 
•       The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26th November 1949.
•       Then, a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. Ambedkar prepared a draft constitution for discussion. It was discussed clause by clause through several rounds of discussions.
•        But it came into effect on January 26, 1950.
•       Over the last 65 years,  no large social group or political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution.
PHILOSOPHY OF THE CONSTITUTION
•       Values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle  and were in turn nurtured by it, formed the foundation for India’s democracy.
•       These values embedded in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
•       The Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values. This is called the Preamble to the constitution. (From American model, countries in the contemporary world have chosen to begin their constitution with a preamble.
PREAMBLE OF INDIA
•       Preamble : It is like preface of a book, it is the soul of the Indian Constitution. It gives in brief all the laws and action of the government.
•       Sovereign : It means people have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters.
•       Socialist : Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by society.
•       `Secular : Citizens have complete freedom to follows any religion.
•       Democratic : It is a form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their rulers and hold them accountable.
•       Republic : In a republic, the head of the state is an elected person and not on  a hereditary position.
•       Justice : Citizens cannot be discriminated on the grounds of caste, religion and gender.
•       Liberty : There is no unreasonable restrictions on the citizens in what they think, how they wish to express their thoughts and the way whey wish to follow up their thoughts and action.
•       Equality : All are equal before the law. The traditional inequalities have to be ended.
•       Fraternity : Al l of us should behave if we were members of the same family. No one should treat a follow citizen as inferior.
•       Constitutional Amendments : Provisions are made to incorporate changes from time to time.
GUIDING VALUES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
•       Inclusion of Universal Adult Franchise by giving all the citizens of India right to vote and contest elections.
•       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.
•       It also proposed for protecting the rights of minorities in the constitution of independent India.
Constitutional features inspired Indian Constitution makers
•       Ideal of French Revolution
•       Parliamentary democracy of Britain
•       Bills of Rights in US
•       Socialist Revolution in Russia
PREAMBLE OF SOUTH AFRICA
 

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