CONSTITUTION

• There are certain basic rules that the citizens and the government
have to follow.
• All such rule together is called constitution.
• As the supreme law of the country. The constitution determines the
rights of the citizens, the powers of the government and how the
government should function.
 DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION IN
SOUTH AFRICA
• This was Nelson Mandela, being tried for treason by the white South
African government. He wrote an autobiography “Long walk to
Freedom”
• 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 is the system that believes in separation of people based on
their color, ethnicity, caste, etc. It was a strict policy in South Africa to
segregate and economically and politically oppress the non-white
population of the country.
• Apartheid divided the people and labelled them on the basis of race
(skin colour).
• During the 17th and 18th centuries, the trading companies from Europe
occupied it with arms and force, in the way occupied India.
• But unlike India, a large number of ‘whites’ and settled in south Africa
and became the local rulers.
Condition of Native Back People
• They were forbidden 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 separated 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 opposed apartheid.
• But the white racist government continued to rule by detaining ,
torturing , and killing thousands of black and colored people.
• As protests and struggles against apartheid had increased , the
government realised 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repealed.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.
Towards a new constitution
• 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 2 years of discussion and debate they came out with one of the
finest constitutions the world has ever had.
• This constitution gave to 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 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.
 The black majority was
keen to ensure that the
democratic principle of The white minority
majority rule was not was keen to protect
compromised. its privileges and
property.
They wanted substantial
social and economic rights.

After long negotiations both parties agreed

to a compromise.
• The whites agreed to the principle of majority rule and that one
person one vote.
• Black agreed that the majority would not take away the property of
the white minority.
• These rules lay down how the rulers are to be chosen in future.
• Finally these rules decide the right of the citizen.
• These rules will work only if the winner cannot change them very
easily.
WHY DO WE NEED A
CONSTITUTION?
• A constitution is necessary because:
• It generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for
different kind of people to live together.
• It specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have
power to take which decisions.
• It lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what
the rights of the citizens are.
• It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good
society
• Constitution is the supreme law that determines the territory (called
citizens) and also the relationship between the people and government. A
constitution does many things:
• 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 limit on the powers of the government and tells us what
the rights of the citizens.
• Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good
society.
MAKING OF THE INDIAN
CONSTITUTION
(i) The making of the Constitution for a huge and diverse country
like India was not an easy affair.
(ii) The country was born through a partition on the basis of
religious differences. Which was a traumatic experience for the
people of India and Pakistan.

(iii) The merger of the princely states was a difficult and uncertain
task.
The path to Constitution

(i) In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a
Constitution for India.
(ii) In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National
Congress discussed on how independent India’s Constitution should
look like.
(iii) Both these documents were committed to the inclusion of universal
adult franchise, right to freedom and equality and to protecting the
rights of minorities in the Constitution of independent India. Thus, some
basic values were accepted by all leaders.
• (iv) The Indian Constitution adopted many institutional details and
procedures from the colonial laws like the Government of India Act 1935.
•
(v) Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of the French
Revolution, the practice of Parliamentary democracy in Britain and the Bill
of Right in the US.
•
(vi) The Socialist Revolution in Russia had inspired many Indians to think
of shaping a system based on social and economic equality.
•
(vii) All these factors contributed to the making of our Constitution.
The Constituent Assembly

• (i) The drafting of the Constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives
called the Constituent Assembly.
•
(ii) Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946. Its first meeting was
held in December 1946.
•
(iii) The Constituent Assembly was divided into the Constituent Assembly of India and
that of Pakistan after the partition.
•
(iv) The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian Constitution had 299 members.
•
(v) The Assembly adopted the constitution on 26th November 1949.
•
(vi) The Constitution came into effect on 26th January, 1950.To mark this day, we
celebrate January 26 as Republic Day every year.
We Accept the Constitution

 We accepted the Constitution made by the Constituent Assembly more than 50 years
ago. The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone, it expresses a
broad consensus of its time.
 The second reason for accepting the Constitution is that the Constituent Assembly
represented the people of India. There was no universal adult franchise and it could not
be chosen directly by all the people of India.
 The Constituent Assembly was elected by the members of the existing Provincial
Legislatures. This ensured a fair geographical share of members from all the regions of
the country.

Finally, the manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity to the
Constitution. The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic open and consensual
manner.
First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon. A
Drafting Committee chaired by Dr BR Ambedkar prepared a draft
Constitution for discussion. Discussion took place on the Draft
Constitution 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 has been recorded and preserved. These
are called ‘Constituent Assembly Debates’ printed in 12 bulky
volumes. These debates provide the rationale behind every
provision of the Constitution. These are used to interpret the
meaning of the Constitution.
GUIDING VALUES OF THE INDIAN
CONSTITUTION
(i) Mahatma Gandhi was not a member of the Constituent Assembly, there were
many members who followed his vision.

(ii) Writing in his magazine Young India in 1931, Gandhiji had spelt out what he
wanted the Constitution to do. He visualised for a country, where all
communities should live in perfect harmony. India will be free from the curse of
untouchability, intoxicating drinks and drugs. Men and women will enjoy the
same rights.

(iii) BR Ambedkar played a key role in the making of the Constitution but he
differed with Gandhiji on how inequalities should be removed. He often bitterly
criticised Mahatma Gandhi and his vision.
The Dream and the Promise

• There were many members who followed the vision of

Mahatma Gandhi. This dream of an India that has
eliminated inequality was shared by Dr Ambedkar, who
played a key role in the making of the Constitution, but
his vision of removing inequalities from India was
different from Gandhiji’s.
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. Given below
are the values embedded
in the Preamble of the
Indian Constitution.
• We, the People of India: The Constitution has been drawn up and enacted by the

people through their representatives and not handed down to them by a king or any

outside powers.

• Sovereign: People have the supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as

external matters. No external power can dictate the Government of India.

• Socialist: Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by society. The

government should regulate the ownership of land and industry to reduce socioeconomic

inequalities.

• Secular: Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. But there is no official

religion. The government treats all religious beliefs and practices with equal respect.

• Democratic: A form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their

rulers and hold them accountable. The government is run according to some basic rules.
• Republic: The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary position.

• Justice: Citizens cannot be discriminated against on the grounds of caste, religion and
gender. Social inequalities have to be reduced. The government should work for the
welfare of all, especially the disadvantaged groups.

• Liberty: There are no unreasonable restrictions on the citizens in what they think, how
they wish to express their thoughts and the way they wish to follow up their thoughts in
action.

• Equality: All are equal before the law. The traditional social inequalities have to be
ended. The government should ensure equal opportunity for all.

• Fraternity: All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one
should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.
Institutional design
 The Constitution is not merely a statement of values and philosophy. A Constitution is
about embodying these values into institutional arrangements.
 It is very long and detailed document, therefore it needs to be amended quite regularly
to keep it updated.
 Those who crafted the Indian Constitution fell that it has to be in accordance with
people’s aspirations and changes in society.
 Changes are made in the Constitution from time to time and these changes are called
Constitutional Amendments.
 The Constitution describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal language. The
Constitution lays down the procedure for choosing persons to govern the country.
 It defines who will have how much power to take which decisions. It puts limits on what
the government can do by providing some rights to the citizens that cannot be
violated.