AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions Chapter 1 The Constitution of India

Students must practice these AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions 1st Lesson The Constitution of India to boost their exam preparation.

AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions 1st Lesson The Constitution of India

Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
What is Constitution? Explain the historical background of the Indian Constitution.
Answer:
Introduction: The Constitution prescribes a set of basic rules that ensures co-ordination amongst the members and groups of a society. The Constitution specifies the basic allocation of powers in a society. It is the basic law of the State.

Meaning: The Constitution is defined as “A Supreme document that regulates the relationship between the governed (people) and the government.” The Constitution may be a written instrument enacted at a given time by a sovereign power as in case of India, or a combination of customs, traditions, judicial decisions and legislative acts as in case of the United Kingdom. The Constitution of India is said to be written, while the Constitution of U.K is considered to be unwritten.

The Historical background of the Indian Constitution : The historical background of the Indian Constitution may be explained as follows:
i) The Constitution can trace its origin to history of India under British rule. The East India Company incorporated in England in 1600 confined to commercial activities till the middle of the 18th century.

ii) The mismanagement of company’s commercial activities prompted the British Parliament to pass series of acts like Regulating Act 1773, Pitt’s India Act 1784,1793, 1813, 1833 and 1853 Charter Acts. The net result was the emergence of highly centralised British Administration in India.

iii) The first war of Independence or ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ of 1857 resulted in the termination of East India Company’s rule and the crown took over the reins of Indian administration.

iv) The out break of First World War necessiated the crown to seek the assistance of India, which results in the Government of India Act of 1919. This Act provides for the division of authority between the centre and the provincial governments and introduced the ‘DYARCHY’ system in the provinces.

v) The provisions of 1919 Act were implemented in letter by not in spirit.

vi) The emergence of a new spirit, zeal and unity of the Indians under the leadership of Indian National Congress demanded the complete transfer of power to India.

vii) The Three Round Table Conferences held in London in 1930,1931 and 1932 and their recommendations led to the passage of the Government of India Act, 1935.

viii) The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for the introduction of federal polity and the establishment of provincial autonomy in the British Indian provinces.

ix) Indian National Congress under Gandhiji’s leadership adopted the famous ‘Quit India’ resolution for the immediate ending of British rule in India.

x) The Second World War ended in favour of Allied powers. The Labour Party came to power in Britain’s Parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Atlee sent three members of his cabinet to have a dialogue with the important leaders of India to decide the political future of the country.

xi) The Mountbatten Plan (1947) provided for the partition of the country. The Indian
Independence Act of 1947 provided for setting up of a dominion of India and a dominion of Pakistan. ,

xii) A Constituent Assembly was set up to draft the Constitution for India. The draft Constitution had 315 Articles and 13 Schedules. But the final form of the Indian Constitution has 395 Articles and 8 Schedules and it came into force from 26th of January 1950.

AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions Chapter 1 The Constitution of India

Question 2.
Explain the salient features of Indian Constitution. [Mar. ’19,’18,’17,’16; May ’17,’16]
Answer:
Introduction: The Indian Constitution is unique in its content and spirit. The Constitution of India had several salient features that distinguishes it from the Constitutions of other countries such as the Constitutions of USA and UK.

The salient features of Indian Constitution: The salient features of Indian Constitution may be explained as follows:
1) A lengthy written Constitution: In 1950, the Indian Constitution had 395 Articles and 8 Schedules, at present it contains 12 Schedules and runs nearly into 300 pages.

2) A combination of rigidity and flexibility: The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution were pragmatic enough to provide for rigidity and flexibility as the situation demands.

Article 368 explains the details of the amendment procedure, according to which some provisions like admission of new states (eg. Telangana) need two – thirds majority in the Parliament. Some other provisions like election of the President and executive powers of the Union and States can be amended by two-thirds majority and with the Concurrence of half of the States in the Indian union. Other provisions of the Constitution can be amended by a special majority vote in Parliament.

3) Quasi – federal polity: The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution preferred a strong central government with relatively weak state governments. K.C. Wheare, a well known author on federalism preferred to call this arrangement as Quasi federal’.

4) Republic Government: Unlike the colonial master, the U.K. India preferred a republican government. Here public offices are open to all eligible citizens and there is no place for hereditary principle.

5) Parliamentary Government: Indians were familiar with the Parliamentary Government that was started during the British rule. The strong reason for preferring the Parliamentary form of government is the diversification of the society in India. Parliamentary government facilitates dispersal of authority among several ministers rather than the concentration of authority in a single person like what is practiced in the Presidential form of government.

6) Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties: Part III of the Constitution, Articles 12 to 35, provides for a set of basic human rights to all. They are justiceable and ensure basic freedoms. Fundamental Rights put limitations in the Government and prevent misuse of authority. The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution incorporated the Fundamental Duties in Article 51A under Part-IVA. Though they are not justiceable, yet they put an obligation on the citizens to render certain duties in return for the protection they have been enjoying through Fundamental Rights.

7) Single citizenship: Though the Indian Constitution is federal and envisages a dual polity, it provides for only a single citizenship to all those persons who are born in India or who resided in India for a specific period, i.e., citizen of India.

8) Universal Adult Franchise: The Indian Constitution adopted universal adult franchise on the basis of elections to the central and state legislative assemblies. Every citizen who have completed 18 years of age will enjoy right to vote without any discrimination of caste, race, religion, gender, literacy, wealth and so on.

9) Secular State: Our Constitution stands for a Secular State. It does not uphold any particular religion as the official religion of the Indian State. Meanwhile, the Constitution has abolished the old system of communal representation i.e., reservation of seats in the legislatures on the basis of religion. However, it provides for the temporary reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to ensure adequate representation to them.

10) Independent Judiciary: Federal Polity requires an independent judiciary to interpret the Constitution and to prevent the encroachment on the part of legislature and executive. Over a period of time, the Supreme Court of India emerged as the most powerful judiciary in the world.

11) Directive Principles of State Policy: Our Constitution hinted out certain Directive Principles as the policy of the State in Part IV from Articles from 36 to 51. Our Constitution makers borrowed these principles from Irish Constitution. These principles reflect the welfare state concept. They are the directions to be followed by the various governments.

12) Bi-cameralism: The Constitution of India introduced bicameralism at the national level. Accordingly, the Indian Parliament consists of two Houses namely, Lok Sabha (Lower House) and Rajya Sabha (Upper House). While the Lok Sabha represents the people, the Rajya Sabha represents the interests of the states.

13) Panchayati Raj and Nagar Palikas Acts: Originally the Indian Constitution, like any other federal Constitutions provided for a dual polity and contained provisions with regard to the organization and powers of the centre and states. Later the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts gave constitutional recognition to the Panchayats and the Nagar Palikas (i.e., urban and rural local governments) have added which has not found in any other Constitutions in the world.

AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions Chapter 1 The Constitution of India

Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
Write briefly the elements of the Constitution.
Answer:
The elements of the Constitution may be explained as follows.

  • The Constitution prescribes a set of basic rules that ensure co-ordination amongst the members and groups of a society.
  • It specifies the structure of the Government. Modern governments are made up of three organs, namely legislature, executive and judiciary. While the legislature frames the laws, the executive executes laws and the judiciary interprets laws.
  • The Constitution establishes the relationship between the ruled and the rulers. Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties spell out in detail the mutual obligations of the citizens and the state.
  • Every society has certain aspirations and goals. The State came into existence to fulfil the bare needs of the people and continues to exist for the good life of all. It is the Constitution which obligates the state (through the government) to look after the well being of its members.
  • The Constitution, as the supreme document, serves as a shock absorber in limiting the fluctuations of present and future generations.

Question 2.
Write about the making of Indian Constitution.
Answer:
A Constituent Assembly was set up to draw the Constitution for India. The election to Constituent Assembly is to be indirect and they were to be elected by the elected legislative assemblies of the provinces. 292 seats were allotted to British India Provinces and 93 to Native States. Thus the total strength of Constituent Assembly is to be 385.

The Constituent Assembly took two years, eleven months and seventeen days to finalise the Constitution. The moving spirit of the Constituent Assembly, were : Jawaharlal Nehru, DR. Rajendra Prasad, the Chairperson of Constituent Assembly and Sardar Vallabhai Patel. These three members contributed significantly in the formulation of basic principles of the Constitution. But it was the Drafting Committee headed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar that provided the flesh to it.

The Constitution was passed and adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949. The Constitution was inaugurated on 26th January 1950. The final form of the Constitution has 395 articles and 8 schedules.

Question 3.
Write a note on the sources of Indian Constitution. [Mar. ’19,’18,’17,’16; May ’17,’16]
Answer:
The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution while drafting it, generously borrowed ideas from the contemporary politics. The major external source was the British Constitution. The Indian subcontinent was subjected to the influence of the United Kingdom for nearly three centuries. The people of India were more or less used to British practices. The Parliamentary form of government, the ideal of rule of law, the law making procedure, cabinet government and single citizenship can be traced to the United Kingdom. The Republican form of government, Fundamental Rights and independent judiciary can be traced to the United States of America. The Directive Principles of State Policy, contained in part IV of the Constitution, are borrowed from the Constitution of Irish Free State. The concepts of liberty, equality, and fraternity as are found in the Preamble of the Constitution were inspired by French Constitution. The quasi-federal form of government and the idea of residual powers were taken from the Canadian Constitution and the emergency powers are to be traced to the Weimar Constitution of Germany. Most importantly, the Indian Constitution owes a great deal to the Government of India Act of 1935.

Question 4.
Explain any three salient features of Indian Constitution.
Answer:
The three salient features of Indian Constitution may be explained as follows:
1. A lengthy written Constitution: In 1950, the Indian Constitution had 395 Articles and 8 Schedules. At present it contains 12 Schedules and runs nearly into 300 pages.

2. A combination of rigidity and flexibility: The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution were fragmatic enough to provide for rigidity and flexibility as the situation demands. Article 368 explains the details of the amendment procedure. According to which some provisions like admission of new states (eg. Telangana) need two-thirds majority in the Parliament. Some other provisions like election of the President and executive powers of the union and states can be amended by two-thirds majority and with the Concurrence of half-of the states in the Indian union. Other provisions of the Constitution can be amended by a special majority vote in Parliament.

3. Quasi – federal polity: The founding fathers of the India Constitution preferred a strong central government with relatively weak state governments. K.C. Wheare, a well known author on federalism preferred to call this arrangement as ‘Quasi federal’.

AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions Chapter 1 The Constitution of India

Question 5.
“The Preamble is the soul of the Constitution”. Explain.
Answer:
Justice Hidayatullah has aptly observed that “the Preamble is the soul of the Indian Constitution.’ The Preamble, as it stands today, reflect the Fundamental constitutional values. They are expected to guide all Indians from generation to generation. It spells out the nature of the State that the people of India wanted to create a Sovereign, Socialistic, Secular, Democratic and Republican State. Through such a state we wanted to provide to all citizens – Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and the Unity and Integrity of the nation. The Ideal State, we wanted to give to ourselves is to be ‘Sovereign’ which means its authority within the country is undisputed and externally it is free from outside control.

Equality means absence of discrimination. It has legal, social, political and economic aspects. In the preamble it refers to equality of status and opportunity’. Accordingly, all citizens are equal before law and enjoy equal protection of the laws of the land. There can be no discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth in matters of access of public places and public employment. ‘Fraternity’ assures the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. ‘Fraternity’ means a common feeling of brotherhood. In a diversified society, like India, the feeling of oneness is most important to preserve the unity and integrity of the nation.

Very Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
Written Constitution
Answer:
The Indian Constitution is a lengthy written Constitution. At present it contains 12 Schedules and 395 Articles. It runs nearly into 300 pages. The Indian Constitution is unique in its content and spirit.

Question 2.
Rigid Constitution
Answer:
Constitutions are living documents. They should be dynamic enough to undergo changes whenever necessary and at the same time rigid enough to prevent from tinkering by the shifting ruling majority. The Indian Constitution is a combination of rigidity and flexibility.

Question 3.
Parliamentary form of Government.
Answer:
Indians were familiar with the Parliamentary Government that was started during the colonial era. In a diversified society like India, it is better to go for Parliamentary form of government which facilitates dispersal of authority among several ministers rather than the concentration of authority in a single person like what is practiced in the Presidential form of government.

Question 4.
Fundamental Rights and Duties.
Answer:
Part III of the Constitution, Articles from 12 to 35 of the Indian Constitution provides for a set of basic Fundamental Rights to the Indian citizens such as Right to Equality, Right to Liberty, Right against exploitation, Right to freedom of Religion, Educational and Cultural Right and Right to Constitutional Remedies. The 42nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution incorporated the Fundamental Duties in Article 51-A under Part IV A.

Question 5.
Secular State.
Answer:
Our Constitution stands for a Secular State. It does not uphold any particular religion as the official religion of the Indian State. Meanwhile, the Constitution has abolished the old system of communal representation. All the Indian citizens have been provided with the Right to freedom of religion.

Question 6.
Universal Adult Franchise.
Answer:
The Indian Constitution adopted Universal Adult Franchise on the basis of elections to the central and state legislatures. Every citizen, who have completed 18 years of age will enjoy the Right to Vote without any discrimination of caste, race, religion, gender, literacy, wealth, etc.

AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions Chapter 1 The Constitution of India

Question 7.
Bicameralism.
Answer:
The Constitution of India introduced Bicameralism at the national level. Accordingly, The Indian Parliament consists of two Houses namely i) Lok Sabha (Lower House) ii) Rajya Sabha (Upper House). While the Lok Sabha represents the people, the Rajya Sabha represents the interests of the states.

Question 8.
Directive Principles of State Policy.
Answer:
Our Constitution hinted out certain Directive Principles as the policy of the State in Part IV from Articles 36 to 51. These principles were borrowed from the Irish Constitution. These principles reflect the welfare state concept. They are the directions to be followed by the various governments. Equal pay for equal work, provision of employment opportunities, fair distribution of wealth, old age pension, etc. are some examples of these principles.

Question 9.
Independence of Judiciary.
Answer:
Federal polity requires an independent Judiciary to interpret the constitution and to prevent the encroachment on the part of legislature and executive. It is due to the independent position that the Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts decide the propriety and constitutional validity of the acts and policies of the legislative and executive authorities in the country.

Question 10.
Preamble. [Mar. ’19,’18,’17,’16; May ’17,’16]
Answer:
Preamble is described as the identity card of the Indian Constitution. It reflects the philosophy embedded in Indian Constitution. It reveals the aims, aspirations and objectives of the people of India. Justice Hidayatullah has aptly observed that it is ‘The Soul of the Constitution’.

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