Constitutional Design 

Q24. When was the constitution of South Africa completed? 

Ans. After two years of discussion and debate they came out with one of the finest constitutions the world has ever had.

Q25. Mention one major feature of the South African constitution.

Ans. This constitution gave to its citizens the most extensive rights available in any country.

Q26. What does republic mean? 

Ans. Republic is a form of government in which the head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary position.

Q27. What was African National Congress?

Ans. The African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organisation that led the struggle against the policies of segregation.

Q28. What was the condition of basic rules made by the South African? 

Ans. They agreed that basic rules will be supreme, that no government will be able to ignore these.

Q29. Who firstly drafted the constitution for India in 1928? 

Ans. In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India.

Q30. How many members were there in the Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian constitution? 

Ans. The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian constitution had 299 members.

Q31. When was constitutional work completed? When did the Constitution of India come into force?

Ans. The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 but it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

Q32. What is constitutional amendment? 

Ans. Constitutional amendment is a change in the constitution made by the supreme legislative body in a country.

Q33. Why was Nelson Mandela imprisoned for life?
Or
Why was Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment?

Ans. Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.

Q34. Who were called ‘blacks’ in South Africa?

Ans. The native people of South Africa are black in colour. They made up about three-fourth of the population and were called ‘blacks’.

Q35. What resolution was made in 1931 Karachi session? 

Ans. In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s constitution should look like.

Q36. What was Constituent Assembly? 

Ans. The drafting of the document called the constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives called the Constituent Assembly.

Q37. What does constitution include?
Or
What does a constitution consists of?

Ans. The constitution includes the rights of citizens, the powers of the government and how the government should function.

Q38. On what basis people of South Africa wanted to build a new nation?

Ans. They wanted to build a new nation based on equality of all races and men and women, on democratic values, social justice and human rights.

Q39. What does apartheid mean?
Or
What do you understand by apartheid?

Ans. Apartheid was the official policy of racial separation and ill treatment of blacks followed by the government of South Africa between 1948 and 1989.

Q40. What was the situation of princely states when the British left India? 

Ans. 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.

Q41. Where did most of the countries of the world take inspiration to start their constitution with the preamble? 

Ans. Taking inspiration from American model, most countries in the contemporary world have chosen to begin their constitutions with a preamble.

Q42. What does sovereign mean? 

Ans. It means people have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.

Q43. Why was the drafting committee formed? 

Ans. The Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India.