CONSTITUTIONAL

DESIGN
 OVERVIEW
• We noted in the previous chapter that in a democracy
the rulers are not free to do what they like.

• There are certain basic rules that the citizens and the
government have to follow.

• All such rules together are called a constitution.

• As the supreme law of the country, the constitution

determines the rights of citizens, the powers of the
government and how the government should function.
 Questions to be
Answered
• Why do we need a constitution?

• How are the constitutions drawn up?

• Who designs them and in what way?

• What are the values that shape the

constitutions in democratic states?

• Once a constitution is accepted, can we

make changes later if required ?
DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION
IN SOUTH AFRICA
- Nelson
Mandela
• This was Nelson Mandela, being tried for treason by the white
South African government.

• He and seven other leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment

in 1964 for daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.

• He spent the next 28 years in South Africa’s prison.

Struggle against
Apartheid
Apartheid was the name of a system of racial
discrimination unique to South Africa.

The white Europeans imposed this system on South

Africa.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the trading

companies from Europe occupied it with arms and
force, in the way they occupied India.

But unlike India, a large number of ‘whites’ had

settled in South Africa and became the local rulers.

Apartheid divided the people and labelled them on

the basis of their skin colour.
The native people of South Africa are black in color.
They made up about three-fourth of the population and were
called ‘blacks’.
Besides these two groups, there were people of mixed races
who were called ‘colored’ and people who migrated from India.
The white rulers treated all nonwhites as inferiors.

The non-whites did not have voting rights.

Condition of Native Black People

• They were forbidden from living in

white areas.
• They could work in white areas only if
they had a permit.
• Trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals,
schools and colleges, libraries,
swimming pools, public toilets, were
all separate for the whites and blacks.
• This was called segregation.
• They could not even visit the churches
where the whites worshipped.
• Blacks could not form associations or
protest against the terrible treatment
Since 1950, the blacks, coloured and Indians fought against the
apartheid system.

They launched protest marches and strikes.

The African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organisation

that led the struggle against the policies of segregation.

This included many workers’ unions and the Communist Party.

Many sensitive whites also joined the ANC to oppose apartheid and
played a leading role in this struggle.

Several countries denounced apartheid as unjust

and racist.

But the white racist government continued to rule

by detaining, torturing, and killing thousands
of black and colored people.
Towards a new Constitution
As protests and struggles against apartheid had increased, the
government realized that they could no longer keep the blacks under
their rule through repression.

The white regime changed its policies. Discriminatory laws were repealed.

Ban on political parties and restrictions on the media were lifted. After 28
years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela walked out of the jail as a free
man.

Finally, at midnight of 26 April 1994, the new national flag

of the Republic of South Africa was unfurled marking the
newly born democracy in the world.
The apartheid government came to an end, paving
way for the formation of a multi-racial government.
After the emergence of the new
democratic South Africa
• Black leaders appealed to fellow blacks
to forgive the whites for the atrocities
they had committed while in power.

• They said let us build a new South Africa

based on equality of all races and men
and women, on democratic values, social
justice and human rights.
The party that ruled through oppression
and brutal killings and the party that led
the freedom struggle sat together to
draw up a common constitution.
After two years of discussion and debate,
they came out with one of the finest
constitutions the world has ever had.
This constitution gave its citizens the
most extensive rights available in any
country.
After two years of discussion and debate,
they came out with one of the finest
constitutions the world has ever had.

This constitution gave its citizens the

most extensive rights available in any
country

They agreed that everybody should

become part of the solution, whatever
they might have done or represented in
the past.

The preamble to the South African

Constitution sums up this spirit-
The South African constitution inspires
democrats all over the world.

What made this change possible was the

determination of the people of South Africa to
work together, to transform bitter experiences
into the binding glue of a rainbow nation
WHY DO WE NEED
A CONSTITUTION?
The South African example is a good way to understand why we need a
constitution and what constitutions do.

The oppressor and the oppressed in this new democracy were planning to live
together as equals.

It was not going to be easy for them to trust each other. They had their fears
and wanted to safeguard their interests.

The black majority was keen to ensure that the democratic principle of
majority rule was not compromised. They wanted substantial social and
economic rights.

The white minority was keen to protect its privileges and property.

After long negotiations, both parties agreed to a compromise

• The whites agreed to the principle of
majority rule and that of one person
one vote.

• They also agreed to accept some basic

rights for the poor and the workers.

• The blacks agreed that majority rule

would not be absolute.

• They agreed that the majority would

not take away the property of the white
minority.
Even if they managed to trust each other,
what was the guarantee that this trust will
not be broken in future?

The only way to build and maintain trust in

such a situation is to write down some rules
of the game that everyone would abide by.
• These rules lay down how the rulers are to be chosen in future.

• These rules also determine what the elected governments are

empowered to do and what they cannot do.

• Finally, these rules decide the rights of the citizen.

• These rules will work only if the winner cannot change them very
easily.

• This is what the South Africans did.

This set of basic rules is called a Constitution.

Thus, the constitution of a country is a set
of written rules that are accepted by all
people living together in a country.

The constitution is the supreme law that

determines the relationship among people living
in a territory (called citizens) and also the
relationship between the people and government.
Significance of a constitution :

• First, it generates a degree of trust and coordination that

is necessary for different kind of people to live together.

• Second, it specifies how the government will be

constituted, who will have power to take which decisions.

• Third, it lays down limits on the powers of the

government and tells us what the rights of the citizens
are.

• Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about

creating a good society.
All countries that have constitutions are
not necessarily democratic.

But all countries that are democratic will

have constitutions.

After the War of Independence against

Great Britain, the Americans gave
themselves a constitution.

After the Revolution, the French people

approved a democratic constitution.

Since then it has become a practice in all

democracies to have a written constitution.
 MAKING OF THE
INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Problems faced while making Indian
constitution
• Like South Africa, India’s Constitution was also drawn up under
very difficult circumstances.

• The making of the constitution for a huge and diverse country like
India was not an easy affair

The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences

The British had left it to the rulers of the princely states to decide whether
they wanted to merge with India or with Pakistan or remain independent.

The merger of these princely states was a difficult and uncertain task.

This made the makers of the constitution anxious about

the present and the future of the country.
The Path to
Constitution
• Despite all these difficulties, there was one big advantage for the makers
of the Indian Constitution.
• Unlike South Africa, there was a consensus about what a democratic
India should look like. Much of this consensus had evolved during the
freedom struggle.
• Our national movement was not merely a struggle against a foreign
rule. It was also a struggle to rejuvenate our country and transform our
society and politics.
• There were sharp differences of opinion within the freedom struggle
about the path India should take after Independence.
• Such differences exist even today. Yet some basic ideas had come to be
accepted by almost everyone.
• As far back as in 1928, Motilal Nehru
and eight other Congress leaders
drafted a constitution for India.

• In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi

session of the Indian National
Congress dwelt on how
independent India’s constitution
should look like.

• Thus some basic values were accepted by all leaders much before the
Constituent Assembly met to deliberate on the Constitution.

• Both these documents were committed to the inclusion of a universal adult

franchise, the right to freedom and equality and to protecting the rights of
minorities in the constitution of independent India.
Experience from Colonial Rule
• The familiarity with the political institutions of the
colonial rule also helped develop an agreement
over the institutional design.

• The British rule had given voting rights only to a

few.

• On that basis, the British had introduced very

weak legislatures.

• Elections were held, but these were not fully

democratic.

• But the experience gained by Indians in the

working of the legislative institutions proved to be
very useful for the country in setting up its own
institutions
 That is why the Indian constitution
adopted many institutional details
and procedures from colonial laws
like the Government of India Act, 1935.
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.
•the practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain
•the bill of rights in the US

However, they didn’t simply imitate these principles. At each step, they
were questioning whether these things suited our country.
the constituent assembly
The drafting of the document called the constitution was
done by an assembly of elected representatives called
the Constituent Assembly.

Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July

1946. Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as its Chairman.

Its first meeting was held in December 1946.

Soon after, the country was divided into India and

Pakistan.

The Constituent Assembly was also divided into the

Constituent Assembly of India and that of Pakistan
The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian constitution had 299 members.
The following points were kept in mind:

1. Universal adult franchise

2. Right to freedom
3. Equality and protecting the rights of minorities.

The Assembly adopted the

Constitution on 26 November 1949 but
it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

To mark this day we celebrate

January 26 as Republic Day every
year.
Why should we accept the Constitution made by this
Assembly more than fifty years ago?

• Over the last half a century, several groups have questioned some
provisions of the Constitution.

• But no large social group or political party has ever questioned the
legitimacy of the Constitution itself.

• This is an unusual achievement for any constitution.

• The second reason for accepting the Constitution is that the Constituent
Assembly represented the people of India, even though it was not elected.

• The Assembly was dominated by the Indian National Congress, the party
that led India’s freedom struggle.

• But the Congress itself included a variety of political groups and opinions.

• The Assembly had many members who did not agree with Congress.

• In social terms too, the Assembly represented members from different

language groups, castes, classes, religions and occupations
• Finally, the manner in which the
Constituent Assembly worked gives
sanctity to the Constitution

• Constituent Assembly worked in a

systematic, open and consensual
manner.

• First, some basic principles were

decided and agreed upon.

• Then a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr B.R. Ambedkar

prepared a draft constitution for discussion.

• Several rounds of thorough discussion took place on the

Draft Constitution, clause by clause.

• More than two thousand amendments were considered

 The members deliberated for 114
days spread over three years.

Every document presented and

every word spoken in the
Constituent Assembly has been
recorded and preserved.

These are called ‘Constituent Assembly Debates’.

When printed, these debates are 12 bulky volumes!

These are used to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.

 guiding values of the Indian Constitution

We can understand the constitution of India in two ways

:

1. By reading the 2. By understanding

views of some of what the
the major leaders constitution says
on the constitution. about its own
philosophy.
The Dream and the Promise

Mahatma Gandhi was not a member of the

Constituent Assembly.
Yet there were many members who followed his vision.
In his magazine Young India in 1931, spelt out what he
wanted the Constitution to do
• B.R.Ambedkar criticized Mahatma Gandhi and his vision
• Jawaharlal Nehru gave a speech at midnight on august 15 1947.
• He stated when the world sleep, India will awake to life and freedom. Freedom and power
bring responsibilities, Service of India means service to the millions who suffer, and the
ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every
eye.
Finally let us turn to Jawaharlal
Nehru giving his famous
speech to the Constituent
Assembly at the stroke of
midnight on August 15, 1947:
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 are embedded in the

Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

• They guide all the 50 articles of the Indian

Constitution.
What is Preamble ?
• The Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values.

• This is called the Preamble to the constitution.

• Taking inspiration from the American model, most countries in the

contemporary world have chosen to begin their constitutions with a
preamble.

• The Preamble of the Constitution reads like a poem on democracy.

• It contains the philosophy on which the entire Constitution has been built.

• It provides a standard to examine and evaluate any law and action of

government, to find out whether it is good or bad.

• It is the soul of the Indian Constitution.

 Sovereign Socialist
We, the people of
India

Equality Justice

Soul of Indian
Liberty
Constituion Fraternity

Republic
Secular Democratic
Institutional design
• A constitution is not merely a statement of values and
philosophy.
• As we noted above, a constitution is mainly about
embodying these values into institutional arrangements.
• Much of the document called the Constitution of India is
about these arrangements.
• It is a very long and detailed document
• Like any Constitution, the Indian Constitution lays down a
procedure for choosing persons to govern the country.
• It defines who will have how much power to take which
decisions.
• And it puts limits to what the government can do by
providing some rights to the citizen that cannot be
violated.
 Constitutional
amendments
• The constitution needs to be amended quite regularly to keep it
updated.

• Those who crafted the Indian Constitution felt that it has to be in

accordance with people’s aspirations and changes in society.

• They did not see it as a sacred, static and unalterable law.

• So, they made provisions to incorporate changes from time to time.

• These changes are called constitutional amendments.

Sawaal Jawaab
Kaun Banega Hazarpati
Crorepati ka budget kaun dega
be?
1). What does a Republic mean?

(A) King has the power to decide

(B) The (C)

headFixed capital
of the state is hereditary

(C) Fixed capital

(C) Dictatorship

(D) The (C)

headFixed capital
of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary positions.
1). What does a Republic mean?

(A) King has the power to decide

(B) The (C)

headFixed capital
of the state is hereditary

(C) Fixed capital

(C) Dictatorship

(D) The (C)

headFixed capital
of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary positions.

Correct Answer :- (D) The head of the state is an elected person and not a
hereditary positions.
2). System of ‘Apartheid’ was prevalent in which country?

(A) Ghana

(C) Fixed capital

(B) India

(C) Gold(C) Fixed capital

Coast

(C)Africa
(D) South Fixed capital
2). System of ‘Apartheid’ was prevalent in which country?

(A) Ghana

(C) Fixed capital

(B) India

(C) Gold(C) Fixed capital

Coast

(C)Africa
(D) South Fixed capital

Correct Answer :- (D) South Africa

3). What is the full form of A.N.C.?

(A) Asian National Congress

(C) Fixed
(B) African capital
National Congress

(C) Fixed
(C) African capital
National Contest

(C) Fixed
(D) American capitalCongress
National
3). What is the full form of A.N.C.?

(A) Asian National Congress

(C) Fixed
(B) African capital
National Congress

(C) Fixed
(C) African capital
National Contest

(C) Fixed
(D) American capitalCongress
National

Correct Answer :- (B) African National Congress

3). What is the full form of A.N.C.?

(A) Asian National Congress

(C) Fixed
(B) African capital
National Congress

(C) Fixed
(C) African capital
National Contest

(C) Fixed
(D) American capitalCongress
National

Correct Answer :- (B) African National Congress

4.) Explain the term apartheid. What were its implications?
 4.) Explain the term apartheid. What were its implications?

Answer:
Apartheid was the system of racial discrimination unique to South Africa. Implications:
(i) White Europeans imposed this system on South Africa.
(ii) White rulers treated non-whites as inferiors.
(iii) Non-whites did not have the right to vote. They were forbidden to live in white
areas. They were allowed to work there only with a permit.
(iv) Trains, buses, hospitals, schools, cinemas, public places and public toilets were all
separate for the whites and blacks.
5.) Explain with five facts of the transition of apartheid to democracy
and multi-racial government that took place in South Africa.
 5.) Explain with five facts of the transition of apartheid to democracy
and multi-racial government that took place in South Africa.

Answer:
(i) After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, the black leaders
appealed to the fellow blacks to forgive the whites for the atrocities they had
committed while in power.
(ii) They built a new South Africa based on equality of all races and men and women,
on democratic values, social justice and human rights.
(iii) The party that ruled through oppression and brutal killings and the party that led
the freedom struggle, sat together to draw up a common constitution.
(iv) After two years of discussion and debate, they came out with one of the finest
constitutions, the world has ever had.
(v) This constitution gave to its citizens the most extensive rights available in any
country.
6.) What do you mean by ‘Constitution’?
 6.) What do you mean by ‘Constitution’?

Answer:
The constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people
living together in a country. Constitution is the supreme law that determines the
relationship among people living in a territory (called citizens) and also the
relationship between the people and government.
1). President of constituent Assembly was ……………. .

(A) B.R. Ambedkar

(C) Fixed capital

(B) B.N. Rao

(C) Fixed capital

(C) K.M. Munshi

(C) Fixed
(D) Rajendra capital
Prasad
1). President of constituent Assembly was ……………. .

(A) B.R. Ambedkar

(C) Fixed capital

(B) B.N. Rao

(C) Fixed capital

(C) K.M. Munshi

(C) Fixed
(D) Rajendra capital
Prasad

Correct Answer :- (D) Rajendra Prasad

2). Who was the Chairman of Drafting Committee?

(A) B.R. Ambedkar

(C) Fixed
(B) Rajendra capital
Prasad

(C) Fixed capital

(C) K.M. Munshi

(C) Fixed capital

(D) B.N. Rao
2). Who was the Chairman of Drafting Committee?

(A) B.R. Ambedkar

(C) Fixed
(B) Rajendra capital
Prasad

(C) Fixed capital

(C) K.M. Munshi

(C) Fixed capital

(D) B.N. Rao

Correct Answer :- (A) B.R. Ambedkar

3). When was the first amendment to the Indian Constituent made?

(A) In 1950

(C) Fixed capital

(B) In 1951

(C) Fixed capital

(C) In 1952

(C) Fixed capital

(D) In 1953
3). When was the first amendment to the Indian Constituent made?

(A) In 1950

(C) Fixed capital

(B) In 1951

(C) Fixed capital

(C) In 1952

(C) Fixed capital

(D) In 1953

Correct Answer :- (B) In 1951

4). What is meant by ‘Constituent Assembly Debates’?
4). What is meant by ‘Constituent Assembly Debates’?

Answer:
The members deliberated for 114 days spread over three years. Every
document presented and every word spoken in the Constituent Assembly has
been recorded and preserved. These are called ‘Constituent Assembly
Debates’.
5). Why is the Preamble called the soul of the Indian Constitution?
5). Why is the Preamble called the soul of the Indian Constitution?

Answer:
Because it contains the philosophy on which the entire constitution has been
built. It provides a standard to examine and evaluate any law and action of
government, to find out whether it is good or bad. It is the soul of the Indian
Constitution.
6). Explain terms such as “sovereign’, ‘democratic’, and republic
 6). Explain terms such as “sovereign’, ‘democratic’, and republic

Answer:
The Constitution proclaimed India to be a sovereign democratic republic. This three words -
sovereign, democratic and republic are significant. Sovereignty means supreme power. It
means the right of people to take decisions on internal matters as well as policies
determining our relations with other countries. As the authority of the government rests upon
the support of the people, people are sovereign. Democracy means people enjoy equal
political rights.
They include right to form associations, right to criticise and oppose policies of government,
right to contest elections and hold public offices. People have a right to elect a government
through periodical, free and fair elections. Government is responsible to people and exercises
powers only as defined in the Constitution.
No government can continue in power without the support of majority of people’s
representatives in the legislature. People can change the government in elections. Republic
means that the head of the State (President) is an elected person. He/ she wields power for a
fixed term. India is a Union of States
7.) How did the Constituent Assembly work to prepare the Constitution for
India?
 7.) How did the Constituent Assembly work to prepare the Constitution for
India?

Answer:
The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner. First, some
basic principles were decided and agreed upon. Then, a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar prepared a draft constitution for discussion. Several rounds of thorough
discussion took place, clause by clause. More than 2000 amendments were considered. The
members deliberated for 114 days spread over 3 years. Every document presented and every
word spoken in the Constituent Assembly was recorded and preserved. These are called
‘Constituent Assembly Debates’.
 Thanks for Watching

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Aag laga do!