Ans. (a) Though I would acknowledge many good things were learnt from the British rulers and democracy being one of them, I wouldn’t say that democracy was a gift given by them. Indians had to struggle a lot and make many sacrifices to attain freedom from the British rule. These circumstances helped people to gain the experience and training in working of the legislative institutions.
(b) Yes, Free India could not be anything but democratic because the people had already suffered a lot under the British rule. This made them realize that for people to have a say in ruling the country, it was necessary to make India a democratic country.
(c) It is indeed true that we were lucky to have leaders who had deep democratic values. It is because of these ideals that India’s freedom struggle can be considered as the only example of a bloodless freedom struggle in the contemporary history. Therefore, absence of such ideals has made many countries undemocratic.
Ans.
(a) Not True - The constitution is the supreme law of the country and determines the rights of citizens, the powers of the government and how the government should function.
(b) True - The Constitution has laid down the framework for the government formation. It has put in place the structure, power and functions of the three organs of the government, i.e. executive, legislative and judiciary.
(c) True – True. The rights of the citizens are laid down in the Constitution as fundamental rights, which are enforceable by law. The powers and functions of the government are divided into the executive, legislative and judiciary. It is done to keep each organ under check by the other organs to ensure power functioning of the government.
(d) Not True. The Constitution is guided by values which are found in the form of Preamble. Principles and values such as equality, liberty, fraternity, brotherhood, secularism and justice are included in the Preamble of the Constitution.
Ans. Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963)
Born: Bihar
President of the Constituent Assembly
Lawyer, known for his role in the Champaran satyagraha
Three times the president of Congress.
The first President of India.
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (1901-1953)
Born: West Bengal
Minister for Industry and Supply in the Interim Government
Educationist and lawyer
Active in Hindu Mahasabha
Founder President of Bharatiya Jansangh
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)
Born: Uttar Pradesh
Prime Minister of the interim government
Lawyer and Congress leader
Advocate of socialism, democracy and anti-imperialism
First Prime Minister of India
Baldev Singh ( 1901-1961)
Born: Haryana
A successful entrepreneur and leader of the Panthic Akali Party in the Punjab Assembly
A nominee of the Congress in the Constituent Assembly
Defence Minister in the Union Cabinet
Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949)
Born: Andhra Pradesh
Poet, writer and political activist
Among the foremost women leaders in the Congress
Governor of Uttar Pradesh