Q 1 – What is a Constitution?
Ans – A written document in which we find rules that are formulated through consensus is called a Constitution.
Q 2 – Is it necessary that all countries having a Constitution are democratic?
Ans – No, it is not necessary that all countries having constitutions are democratic.
Q 3 – During which time period did the Constituent Assembly draft a Constitution for independent India?
Ans – Between December 1946 and November 1949.
Q 4 – Define Right to Freedom of Religion.
Ans – Religions to Freedom of Religion is provided to all citizens. Every person has the right to practice, profess and propagate the religion of his choice.
Q 5 – Define the term Ideal.
Ans – A goal or a principle in its most excellent or perfect form.
Q 6 – When did the Interim Constitution come into effect in Nepal?
Ans –In Nepal, The Interim Constitution came into effect in 2007.
Q 7 – Name the 3 organs of state as per the separation of power done in the Indian constitution.
Ans – (i) The legislative
(ii) The Executive
(iii) The Judiciary
Q 8 – From what do the Fundamental Rights protects the citizens?
Ans – The Fundamental Rights protect the citizens against any arbitrary exercise of power by the state.
Q 9 – What does a good constitution never allows any whims?
Ans – A good constitution never allows any whims to change it basic structure.
Q 10 – Define Sovereign.
Ans – Sovereign means possessing supreme or ultimate power.
Q 11 – What does legislative refer to?
Ans – Legislative refers to the elected representatives.
Q 12 – Define Tyranny.
Ans – The cruel and unjust use of power or authority.
Q 13 – What do you understand by the term Federation?
Ans – Federation refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country
Q 14 – Which is known as the 3rd tier of the Government?
Ans – Panchayati Raj is the 3rd tier of the government.
Q 15 – What does a secular state never officially promotes?
Ans – A secular state is a state which never officially promotes any type of Religion as the state Religion.
Q 16 – When was the constituent assembly was founded?
Ans – Constituent assembly was founded in 1946.
Q 17 – In what sense Indian constitution define the power of each government?
Ans – The Indian constitution defines the power of each government at each level and at every tier.
Q 18 – In which Right does the Right to Equality is being guaranteed by the Indian constitution?
Ans – Right to equality is one of the Fundamental rights.
Q 19 – How does the Constitution define the nature of a country’s political system?
Ans – The Constitution defines the nature of a country’s political system. As in countries that have adopted a democratic form of government or polity, the Constitution plays a crucial role in laying out certain important guidelines that govern decision-making within societies. Nepal’s earliest Constitution stated that the country was to be ruled by the king and his Council of Minister. This shows how the Constitution defines the political nature of a country.
Q 20 – How can we say that the Constitution saves us from ourselves?
Ans – This can sound strange but this is true to say as this means that we might feel strongly about an issue that might go against larger interest and the Constitution helps us to guard against this. Constitution also helps to protect us against certain decisions that we might take that could adversely effect on the larger principle that the country relies on in. Therefore a good Constitution does not allow these whims to change its basic structure.
Q 21 –What is meant by the concept of separation of power.
Ans –According to the Constitution, there are 3 organs of the state. There are the legislature, the Executive and the judiciary. In order to prevent the misuse of power by any one branch of the state the Constitution says that each of these organs should exercise different powers. Through this, each organ acts as a check on the other organs of the state and this ensures the balance of power between all three.
Q 22 – What was the Indian National Movement?
Ans – The Indian National Movement emerged the 19th Century India and saw 1000’s of men and women coming together to fight the
British. The Indian National Movement has a series of activities whose ultimate aim was to end the British rule of India. Since its beginning, Indian National Congress was an organization which played an important role in Indian National Movement. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Pt. Jawahar Lai Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, etc. are some examples of the leaders who lead the movement from time to time.
Q 23 – Define Secularism and Separation of Power as the key feature of the Indian Constitution?
Ans – Secularism: A secular state is one which does not officially promote any one religion as the state religion. The Constitution plays a crucial role in laying out the ideals that we would like all citizens of the country to adhere to. Separation of Power: According to the Constitution, there are 3 organs of the state. These are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. The legislature refers to our elected representatives. The executive is a smaller group of people who are responsible for the implementation of the laws and running the government, the judiciary refers to the system of courts in this country.
In order to prevent the misuse of power by any one branch of the state, the Constitution says that each of these organs should exercise different powers. Each organ acts as a check on the other organs of the state through the separation of powers and this feature also ensures the balance of power between all three.
Q 24 – In politics, what is a constitution?
Ans – In Politics a Constitution can be described as a document outlining the basic laws or principles by which a country is to be governed.
Q 25 – Write a brief note on the making of the Indian Constitution.
Ans – The Indian Constitutional Assembly was convened in December 1946. The members of this Assembly were only Indians. This Assembly started drafting the Constitution for Independent India. Dr. Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Constitution drafting committee. The constitution declares India to be a sovereign, democratic republic and establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of the government and duties of citizens. The 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on January 24, 1950. Two days later, on January 26, 1950, the Constitution of India became the law of all the Indian lands.
Q 26 – In Nepal, when did the Interim Constitution come into effect?
Ans – In Nepal, the Interim Constitution came into effect on January 15, 2007.
Q 27 – Write a brief note on the struggle for freedom in Nepal.
Ans – In Nepal, there was a people’s struggle for freedom in 1990. Democracy was established and it lasted for 12 years until 2002. In October 2002, King Gyanendra began taking over the government with the assistance of the army. In 2005 King Gyanendra took over as the head of the government. In 2006 people’s movement for democracy began gaining immense force. 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 and Nepal gained political freedom.
Q 28 – What are the negative points of a democratic society?
Ans – In a democratic society Power can be misused. Sometimes the Majority can undermine the minority. The citizens need certain rules to save themselves from folly.
Q 29 – How can a leader misuse power in a democratic country?
Ans – A leader misusing his power may send his security guards to beat up his neighbors for a personal reason or ask the police not to take action against a relative who has committed a crime.
Q 30 – How does the Indian Constitution safeguard the minorities of the country?
Ans –The Indian constitution ensures that the dominant group does not use its power against other, less powerful people or groups.
The Constitution contains rules that ensure that minorities are not excluded from anything that is routinely available to the majority. It also prevents the domination of the majority over the minority.
Q 31 – Mention the key features of the Indian Constitution.
Ans – The key features of the Indian constitution are:-
Federalism
- Parliamentary
- Form of Government Separation of Powers
- Fundamental Rights
- Secularism
Q 32 – What are the factors the drafting committee had to take into consideration while drafting the constitution?
Ans – The committee had to keep in mind that India was a land of many communities, languages and many religions. India was a land of diverse cultures and the Princely states in India had to be considered. The partition of the country into India and Pakistan was about to happen and the drafting committee had to bear this in mind. Finally, the biggest consideration was the socio-economic condition of a majority of Indians which was in a bad state.
Q 33 – What were the highlights of the text prepared by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who was the Chairman of the constitution drafting committee?
Ans – Highlights of the Text prepared by Dr. Ambedkar are:-
- Constitutional guarantees and protections for individual citizens
- Freedom of religion
- Abolition of untouchability
- Outlawing of all forms of discrimination
- Economic and social rights for women
- Reservations of jobs in the civil services, schools and colleges for members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Q 34 – What is a universal adult franchise?
Ans – Universal adult franchise is every adult citizen having a right to vote irrespective of sex, caste, creed, education and financial status.
Q 35 – What do you mean by the legislature, the executive and the judiciary?
Ans – The legislature refers to our elected representatives. 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 this country.
Q 36 –What are the key components of fundamental rights?
Ans – The key components of Fundamental rights are:-
- Right to Equality
- Right to Freedom
- Right against Exploitation
- Right to Freedom of Religion
- Cultural and Educational Rights
- Right to Constitutional Remedies
Q 37 – What is secularism?
Ans – Secularism is the right of the citizens to practice any religion. A secular state is one in which the state does not officially promote any one religion as the state religion.
Q 38 – Which type of government was there in Nepal in 1990?
Ans – In 1990, Nepal had a monarchy. The final authority rested with the King.
Q 39 – What is federalism?
Ans – This refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country.
Q 40 – Which is the third tier of Indian government?
Ans –Panchayati Raj.
Q 41 – Mention the three organs of the Indian State.
Ans – (i) The legislature,
(ii) The executive,
(iii) The judiciary.
Q 42 – What is stated in the Right to Constitutional Remedies?
Ans – This Right allows a citizen to move the court if he believes that any of his Fundamental Rights have been violated by the State.
Q 43 – We need a constitution to save us from ourselves. What does this mean? Or How does the constitution save us from ourselves?
Ans – We need a constitution to save us from ourselves means that we might, at times, feel particularly strong about an issue that might go against our larger interests.
Q 44 – Why was it important to have a government at the state level?
Or
Why is a federal form of government required in India?
Ans – Federal form of government is important in India because a vast number of communities live in India. It is not possible to involve only one person sitting in the capital city of New Delhi and making decisions for everyone. Instead, another level of government is required in the states so that decisions could be made properly for that particular area.
Q 45 – Parliamentary form of government reflects which feature of our Constitution?
Or
Through the parliamentary form of government which Right has been provided to the citizens of India?
Ans – Parliamentary form of government reflects the following features of our Constitution:
(i) The people of India have a direct role in electing their representatives.
(ii) Every citizen of the country, irrespective of his or her social background, can also contest elections. These representatives are accountable to the people.
Q 46 – What does the legislature, executive and judiciary refer to?
Ans – (i) The legislature refers to that group of people who make laws for the country.
(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 the country
Q 47 – What was the main purpose to include Fundamental Rights in our Constitution?
Or
What are Fundamental Rights?
Ans – Fundamental Rights are often referred to as the ‘conscience’ of the Indian Constitution. These Rights protect citizens against the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by the state. The Constitution, thus, guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as well as against other individuals.
Q 48 – Write the two-fold objectives of Fundamental Rights as said by Dr. Ambedkar.
Ans – (i) Every citizen must be in a position to claim his/her Fundamental Rights.
(ii) These rights must be binding upon every authority that has got the power to make laws.
Q 49 –Why Directive Principles were designed or included in our Constitution?
Ans –Directive Principles were designed in our Constitution to ensure greater social and economic reform, and to serve as a guide to the independent Indian State to institute laws and policies that help reduce the poverty of the masses.
Q 50 – What is stated in the Right to Freedom?
Ans – 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.
Q 51 – What is stated in the Cultural and Educational Rights?
Ans – The Constitution states that all minorities, religious or linguistic community can set up their own educational institutions in order to preserve and develop their own culture.
Q 52 – What are the key features of the Indian Constitution? Explain any three.
Ans – (i) Federalism- This refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country.
(ii) Secularism- A secular state is one in which the state does not officially promote any one religion as the state religion.
(iii) Separation of Powers- To prevents the misuse of power by the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary.
Q 53 – Why there is a separation of powers between three organs of government?
Ans – To prevent the misuse of power by the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary. The Constitution says that each of these organs should exercise different powers.
Q 54 – How is the separation of powers done in Indian Constitution?
Ans – (i) The Legislature is a group of people who make laws for the country.
(ii) The Executive is a smaller group of people who are responsible for implementing laws and running the government.
(iii) The Judiciary is the system of courts in the country.
Q 55 – Write the various purposes of the Constitution?
Ans – (i) It lays out certain ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that we as citizens aspire to live in.
(ii) It defines the nature of a country’s political system.
(iii) It ensures that a dominant group does not use its power against other, less powerful people or groups.
(iv) It saves us from ourselves
Q 56 – How is a Constitution helpful to us?
Ans – A Constitution helps to 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. This includes not only the type of government but also an agreement on certain ideals that they all believe the country should uphold.
Q 57 – A good Constitution does not allow sudden whims to change its basic structure. Explain with the help of an example.
Ans – The Constitution helps to protect us against certain decisions that could have an adverse effect on the larger principles that the country believes in. For example, it is possible that a majority of people, who live in a democracy, might strongly feel that party politics has become so acrimonious that we need a strong dictator to set this right. Swept by this emotion, the people may not realise that in the long run, the dictatorial rule goes against all their interests. Thus, a good Constitution does not allow certain sudden whims to change its basic structure.
Q 58 – Who were the Moderates? What were their demands in the early phase?
Ans – From 1885 to 1905 group of leaders led congress were known as moderates or early nationalists The leaders put forward the following demands :-
(i) Reduced land revenue
(ii) Reduced Army expenditure
(iii) Reduced salt tax
(iv) Changing in administration, education
(v) Welfare of state.