Class 8 L1 The Constitution Civics

Class 8 L1 The Constitution Civics

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1. Constitution is a set of written rules

according to which a country is

governed.

2. Importance/ Significance of Constitution-

Gives nature of state- whether state is democratic,

dictatorial, secular etc

Gives functions of Government

Protects the Rights and Liberties of people

Checks the misuse of power by different organs of

government.

Establishes Rule of Law

3. Indian Constitution

It was formed on 26th November 1949 and was

enforced on 26th January 1950.

It took almost 3 years to be formed.

It was framed by the Constituent Assembly.

Pt. Nehru’s Objective Resolution gave the

first guidelines to the Constitution makers.

4. Constituent Assembly

It was a Sovereign body organised in 1946 to frame the Constitution & to work as the highest

Law making body.

Its members were elected indirectly by the members of Provincial Legislature Assembly.

Its head was Dr Rajendra Prasad.

Initially it had 389 members but after partition it was left with 308 members.

It was a Galaxy of best Indians as it had Constitutional experts (B.R.Ambedkar etc), Political

leaders (Nehru, Patel etc), people from minority groups (Frank Anthony) and woman leaders

(Sarojini Naidu, Vijay Laxmi Pandit).

It appointed The Drafting Committee.

5. Drafting Committee-

It was appointed on 29th August, 1947, by the Constituent Assembly.

Its Chairman was Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

It coordinated the reports of other Committees and presented the 1st report of Draft

Constitution on 21st Feb. 1948 for discussion in the Constituent Assembly.

The draft Constitution was finally passed on 26th Nov. 1949.

6. PREAMBLE to the Constitution-Preamble is

the introduction to the Constitution,

it describes the hopes and ideals of our nation.

It is the foundation of our Constitution.


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Basic Features of Indian Constitution-10 features

a. Lengthiest Constitution-

Has 395 Articles & 12 Schedules

Divided into 22 parts

Has been amended more than 100 times.

b. Universal Adult Franchise means all

adults above 18 years have a right to vote.

c. Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic

Sovereign means independent of any foreign control.

Socialist means establishing social and economic equality.

Secular means there is no state religion in India. It was introduced in Preamble in 1976.

Democratic means government is elected by the people.

Republic means head of the State (President) is elected by members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha & State Legislative

Assemblies.

d. Rigid as well as Flexible

Flexible as some articles can be amended by a simple

majority in Parliament

Rigid as some article can be amended by two-third

majority in both houses.

e. Federalism means government functions at 2

levels-central & state.

There is a local self- government at in villages

and cities.

f. Fundamental Rights are granted to citizens &

these are protected by law. They include Right to

equality, Right to Freedom, Right against exploitation,

Right to freedom of religion, Cultural & Educational

Right & Right to Constitutional Remedies.

g. Fundamental duties are the code of conduct for

the citizens. They are ten in number. For example

Abide by constitution, respect flag etc

Uphold Sovereignty, unity & integrity of country.

Protect & preserve the rich heritage of our

country etc.

h. Directive Principles Of state Policy are the

guidelines to government that it is supposed to

keep in mind while framing the policies.

i. Bicameral Legislature-There are 2 houses of

Parliament at the centre-Lok Sabha (545 members) &

Rajya Sabha (250 members).

j. Parliamentary Form of Government is there at Centre &

State.

President & Governors are the nominal Heads of the

executive.

Real power is vested with Prime Minister at Centre & Chief

Minister at State


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Questions & Answers

A. Answer the following questions briefly:

Q1. When did the Congress adopt the resolution of Purna Swaraj?

Ans. 26th January, 1930

Q2. What is Constitution?

Ans. The Constitution is a set of written rules according to which a country is

governed.

Q3. Who was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee?

Ans. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Q4. Who was the President of the Constituent Assembly?

Ans. Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Q5. What is Universal Adult Franchise?

Ans. Universal Adult Franchise means that every citizen of India who is 18 years of

age or above has a right to vote irrespective of caste, creed, color, sex, religion

or belief.

Q6. Mention any two Fundamental Rights.

Ans. (i) Right to Equality (ii) Right to Freedom

Q7. Mention any two Fundamental Duties.

Ans. (i) To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideal and institutions, National

Flag and the National Anthem

(ii) To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for

freedom.

Q8. What is the total strength of the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya

Sabha?

Ans. Lok Sabha -- 545 members

Rajya Sabha – 250 members

B. Answer the following questions in detail:

Q1. What is the significance of the Constitution?

Ans. Significance of the Constitution:

(i) The Constitution clarifies whether the nature of the state is democratic,

dictatorial, secular, welfare, exploitative etc.

(ii) The Constitution mentions about the nature, organization and functions of the

government of the state.


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(iii) The Constitution includes the rights and liberties of the people.

(iv)The Constitution makes the different organs of the government responsible

and checks the misuse of power by them.

(v) The Constitution establishes the rule of law and every official is bound to

make use of his powers according to law.

Q2. “Constituent Assembly was a galaxy of best Indians”. Justify by giving

examples.

Ans. The Constituent Assembly consisted of the best brains of India who were

a) From different communities like HP Modi belonged to Parsee

Community, Frank Anthony from Anglo Indian Community.

b) Minorities -30 members belonged to Scheduled Caste & Scheduled

Tribes

c) From Political parties like Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai

Patel etc

d) Constitutional experts like Dr B.R.Ambedkar, K.M. Munshi etc

e) Women like Sarojini Naidu, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit etc

Q3. Explain five major features of the Constitution of India.

Ans. (i) A written, enacted and a lengthy Constitution: The Constitution of India is

a written document. It was adopted, enacted and given to us by our

Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949. It is the lengthiest Constitution

in the world having 395 Articles and 12 Schedules in it and it is divided into 22

parts.

(ii) The Constitution declares India to be a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular,

Democratic and Republic.

a) Sovereign means India is independent of any foreign control.

b) Socialist means there is social and economic equality in India.

c) Secular means India has no official religion. Every person has the right to

practice and follow his/her own religion.

d) Democratic means the government is elected by the people directly after

every five years.

e) Republic means the Head of the State in India i.e. President is elected for

five years by the members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State

Legislative Assemblies.

(iii) Universal Adult Franchise: Universal Adult Franchise means that every

citizen of India who is 18 years of age or above has a right to vote

irrespective of caste, creed, color, sex, religion or belief.


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(iv) Both rigid and flexible Constitution: Article 368 of the Constitution

provides for the procedure of amendment in our Constitution. Some Articles

can be amended by a simple majority vote in the Parliament but some other

Articles can be amended by 2/3 majority in both Houses of the Parliament.

(v) Fundamental Rights: Our Constitution guarantees six Fundamental Rights

to the citizens of India. These include:

a) Right to Equality

b) Right to Freedom

c) Right against Exploitation

d) Right to Freedom of Religion

e) Cultural and Educational Rights

f) Right to Constitutional Remedies

All these rights are enforceable in the courts of law and are protected by

the Judiciary.

Q4. ‘India is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic and Republic’.

Explain.

Ans. The Constitution declares India to be a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular,

Democratic and Republic. It means

a) Sovereign means India is independent of any foreign control.

b) Socialist means there is social and economic equality in India.

c) Secular means India has no official religion. Every person has the right to

practice and follow his/her own religion.

d) Democratic means the government is elected by the people directly after

every five years.

e) Republic means the Head of the State in India i.e. President is elected for

five years by the members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State Legislative

Assemblies.

Q5. Mention any four features of a parliamentary government.

Ans. (i) The Constitution provides for the parliamentary form of Government at the

Centre and in the States.

(ii) The President and the State Governors are nominal heads of the

executive.

(iii) The real power is vested on the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime

Minister at the Centre and the Chief Ministers in the States. They belong

to the majority party in the Parliament and State Legislature.


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(iv)The Council of Ministers is jointly responsible to the Parliament and the

State Legislature which can remove the Prime Minister/ Chief Minister by

passing a vote of no confidence.

Home Assignment:

(i) Do Q – C, D and E (given at pg 10-c and 11-c) in your rough/ practice notebook.

(ii) Do Q 1 and 2 of Questions based on skill (given at pg 11-c) in your rough/

practice notebook.

MINI QUIZ

A. Fill in the blanks:

1. ___________ is a set of written rules according to which a country is governed.

2. Indian Constitution was enforced on _____________.

3. On ______________ the Congress declared Purna Swaraj as the goal of India’s freedom struggle.

4. The _____________ was organized to frame the Constitution of India.

5. _____________ was elected as the President of the Constituent Assembly.

6. There were _________members in the Constituent Assembly before partition.

7. The Constituent Assembly had been created as a result of the ____________ Plan and under the

direction of the British Parliament.

8. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was appointed as the chairman of the _____________.

9. The time taken in framing our Constitution was ____years, ____months and ____days.

10. The ________ is an introduction to the Constitution.

11____________ means the process by which changes to the Constitution can be made.

12. The _____________________ are the guidelines to the government while making laws and

policies.

13. A _________ State means the one that protects all religions equally and does not uphold any

religion as the State religion.

14. Right to ___________ means that all the persons shall be treated equally by the laws of the

country.

15. Right to ___________ guarantees every person to practice, profess and propagate the religion of

their choice.


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PHOTOS OF THE CHAPTER


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Class 8 L1 The Constitution Civics

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