Constitutional Design

This civics chapter explains why a democracy needs a constitution and how India's Constitution was designed. It begins with South Africa, where the system of apartheid divided people by race and denied black people basic rights. After a long struggle led by the African National Congress and Nelson Mandela, who spent 28 years in prison, apartheid ended, the first democratic elections were held in April 1994, and a new constitution was adopted in 1996. The example shows how a constitution can build trust between groups that were once oppressors and oppressed. You will learn how India's Constitution was made by the Constituent Assembly, which first met in December 1946 and had 299 members after partition, with Dr B.R. Ambedkar as Chairman of the Drafting Committee. It was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950. You will study the guiding values in the Preamble, which declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic securing justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, and how the Constitution can be amended.

Detailed Worksheet: Constitutional Design Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. What is a constitution? Give two functions it performs. (2 marks) 2. What was apartheid? (2 marks) 3. What was the Constituent Assembly? When did it first meet? (2 marks) 4. What is the Preamble? Why is it called the soul of the Constitution? (2 marks) 5. What is a constitutional amendment? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned from 1962 to 1990. For how many years was he in prison? The new South African constitution was adopted in 1996. How many years after his release was this? (3 marks) 7. The Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946 and the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950. About how many years and months is this? The Assembly met for 114 days spread over this period. What fraction of the total days is this, approximately? (3 marks) 8. Arrange in chronological order with years: Karachi resolution of the Congress, Motilal Nehru drafts a constitution, Constituent Assembly first meets, Constitution adopted, Constitution comes into force, first democratic elections in South Africa. (3 marks) 9. Match each word of the Preamble with its meaning: sovereign, socialist, secular, republic, fraternity, justice. Meanings: (i) the head of state is elected and not hereditary (ii) a feeling of brotherhood among all citizens (iii) people have supreme right to decide on internal and external matters (iv) wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally (v) citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion and there is no official religion (vi) citizens cannot be discriminated against on the grounds of caste, religion and gender. (3 marks) 10. A school model constituent assembly has 60 members. A resolution needs a two-thirds majority to pass. How many votes are needed? If 38 vote in favour, does it pass? (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a timeline from 1928 to 1950 marking the major steps in the making of the Indian Constitution. (4 marks) 12. Draw a chart of the key words of the Preamble with their meanings. (3 marks) 13. Draw a flowchart showing the end of apartheid in South Africa and the making of its new constitution. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. Explain the difficult circumstances in which the Indian Constitution was made, and the factors that helped the makers reach agreement. (5 marks) 15. What lessons can India and other countries learn from the way South Africa made its constitution? (5 marks) 16. Explain why the Indian Constitution is considered a living document. Why do people accept a constitution made by others long ago? (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Support answers with examples and dates from the chapter.