28 Questions of the Role of the Constitution | DAV

Notes on the Role of the Constitution

Q.1: What does ‘Rule of law’ mean?
Answer:
Rule of law means that every citizen of the country is equal in the eyes of law.

Q.2: What is the Constitution?

The Role of the Constitution

Answer:
A constitution is a body of fundamental rules according to which the government of a country functions. It contains the powers and functions of various organs of the government and their mutual relationships.

Q.3: Why do we need Constitution?
Answer:
We need a constitution because it provides a set of rules, principles and laws acceptable to almost all, as the basis of life and governance of the country.

Q.4: What is the belief on which the procedures to amend laws is based on?
Answer:
The procedures to amend laws as laid down in the constitution are based on the belief that laws are always evolving and subject to change.

Q.5: Why is the constitution called a living document?
Answer:
Since the constitution keeps on evolving according to the changing condition, circumstances, needs of the society and international obligations, it is not merely a document but a living document that can be altered and modified.

Q.6: What does the constitution of a country reflect?
Answer:
The constitution of a country reflects its distinctive features, cultures and ethos.

Q.7: Name some eminent personalities who were members of Constituent Assembly.
Answer:
Some eminent personalities who were members of the Constituent Assembly were:
a) Jawahar Lal Nehru
b) Vallabhbhai Patel
c) Dr Rajendra Prasad
d) Maulana Azad
e) K. M. Munshi
f) J. B. Kriplani
g) C. Rajagopalachari,
h) Pattabhi Sitarammyya
i) Dr B. R. Ambedkar
j) Dr S. Radhakrishnan
k) M. Gopala Swamy Ayyangar

Q.8: What was Privy Purse?
Answer:
The king of the princely states who merged with India after independence were paid a fixed annual amount of money as a stipend, it was called Privy Purse.

Q.9: What is Preamble?
Answer:
The preamble is the introduction to the constitution.

Q.10: What is called the soul of the Indian Constitution?
Answer:
Preamble is called the soul of the Indian Constitution.

Q.11: What is the chief characteristic of the Constitution of India?
Answer:
The chief characteristic of the Constitution of India is its uniqueness.

Q.12: How many parts, Articles and Schedules are in the Indian Constitution?
Answer:
There are 22 parts, 395 Articles and 12 Schedules in the Indian Constitution.

Q.13: How many methods of amendment are there? Name them.
Answer:
There are three methods of amendment:
a) By simple majority.
b) By special majority.
c) Special majority and Ratification.

Q.14: What makes India a Sovereign State?
Answer:
India is a sovereign state because the country is free from all external controls.

Q.15: What makes India a Socialist State?
Answer:
India is a socialist state because socialism is one of the national goals to be achieved.

Q.16: What makes India a Secular State?
Answer:
India is a secular state. All religions enjoy equal freedom. No discrimination is made on grounds of religion.

Q.17: What makes India a Democratic State?
Answer:
India is a democratic state. Our government is elected by the people and administration of the country is carried on by the representatives of the people. The government is run according to some basic rules.

Q.18: What makes India a republic?
Answer:
India is a republic because the Head of the state i.e. our president (Rashtrapati) is from amongst the people.

Q.19: What does Universal Adult Suffrage mean?
Answer:
Universal Adult Suffrage means that every citizen of India who is 18 years and above is entitled to vote in the elections without any discrimination.

Q.20: What are Fundamental Rights?
Answer:
Fundamental rights are considered as an essential element in every democratic country.

Q.21: When was the Right to vote granted in India?
Answer:
The Right to Vote was granted in 1950 to every citizen of India above the age of 21 years. But 61st Amendment in 1988 lowered the age to 18 years.

Q.22: When was the Right to Education included in the constitution of India for the first time?
Answer:
The Right to Education has been included in the constitution in 2002 for the first time as a fundamental right. According to this, the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all the children in the age group of 6-14 years.

Q.23: Name the five types of writs and define them.
Answer:
The five types of writs are:
a) Hebeas Corpus: It means an unlawfully detained person may be produced before the court to find out whether the detention was legal or not. It is the most valuable writ for the protection of personal liberty.
b) Mandamus: This writ is issued when a public servant has failed to perform a duty. In such a case, the court orders the concerned official to perform the duty not performed earlier.
c) Prohibition: It means to prohibit or forbid. This writ is normally issued by a superior court to the lower court asking it not to proceed with a case which does not fall under its jurisdiction.
d) Certiorari: It means to be more fully informed of. If a superior court wants some additional information or records from a lower court to enable itself to deal with the case more efficiently, the writ may be issued.
e) Quo warranto: It is a writ which is issued to restrain a person from acting in a public office to which he/she is not entitled.

Q.24: When were Fundamental Duties added to the constitution of India?
Answer:
Fundamental Duties were added to the constitution of India in 1976 through 42nd amendment.

Q.25: The best features of which constitutions were included to the constitution of India?
Answer:
The best features of the constitutions of England, USA, Canada, Ireland, etc. were included to the constitution of India.

Q.26: Which features in the Indian Constitution have been borrowed from the British constitution?
Answer:
The following features have been borrowed from the British constitution:
a) Constitutional Head of the state like the Queen of UK.
b) The idea of preamble.
c) The parliamentary form of government.
d) Bicameral Legislature.
e) Making Lok Sabha ( the lower House) more powerful than the upper House.
f) Collective responsibility of the council of ministers.
g) Lok Sabha speaker.
h) The privileges of the members of parliament.

Q.27: Which features in the Indian Constitution have been borrowed from the American Constitution?
Answer:
The following features have been borrowed from the American Constitution:
a) Written Constitution
b) The federal system
c) The Fundamental Rights
d) Head of the state is called President
e) Provision for a Supreme Court
f) Our provinces are known as states.
g) Rajya Sabha in India represents the states like US Senate.

Q.28: Which feature in the Indian constitution has been borrowed from the constitution of Canada?
Answer:
India is known as union of states.