The Indian Constitution

Q33. Look at the wordings of the two documents given below. The first column is from the 1990 Nepal Constitution. The second column is from the more recent Interim Constitution of Nepal.

Ans.

Nepal needs a new Constitution today because

                         i.        Nepal, by moving from a monarchy to a democratic government, needs to change all its constitutive rules in order to usher in a new society.

                        ii.        The previous Constitution does not reflect the ideals of the country that they want Nepal to be, and that they have fought for.

Q34. Listed below are the key features of the Indian Constitution. Write two sentences, in your own words, on why you think this feature is important:
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Fundamental Rights
Parliamentary Form of Government

Ans. Federalism

                         i.        This refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country. In India, we have governments at the state level and at the centre. Panchayati Raj is the third tier of government.

                        ii.        Under federalism, the states are not merely agents of the federal government but draw their authority from the Constitution as well.

                       iii.        All persons in India are governed by laws and policies made by each of these levels of government.

Separation of Powers

                         i.        According to the Constitution, there are three organs of government. These are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

                        ii.        In order to prevent the misuse of power by any one branch of government, the Constitution says that each of these organs should exercise different powers.

                       iii.        Through this, each organ acts as a check on the other organs of government and this ensures the balance of power between all three.

Fundamental Rights

                         i.        Fundamental Rights guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as well as against other individuals.

                        ii.        It also guarantees the rights of minorities against the majority.

Parliamentary Form of Government

                         i.        The Constitution of India guarantees universal adult suffrage for all citizens. This would help encourage a democratic mindset and break the clutches of traditional caste, class and gender hierarchies. This means that the people of India have a direct role in electing their representatives.

                        ii.        Also, every citizen of the country, irrespective of his/her social background, can also contest in elections. These representatives are accountable to the people.