Civics

The Indian Constitution

Question:

What are the factors the drafting committee had to take into consideration while drafting the constitution?

Answer:

The committee had to keep in mind that India was a land of many communities, languages and many religions. India was a land of diverse cultures and the Princely states in India had to be considered. The partition of the country into India and Pakistan was about to happen and the drafting committee had to bear this in mind. Finally the biggest consideration was the socio-economic condition of a majority of Indians which was in a bad state.
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The Indian Constitution

Q 1.

What is religion?

Q 2.

Secularism is separating religion from the power of the state. Discuss why it is vital to separate the power of the state from religious practices.

Q 3.

Name the major religions practiced all over the world.

Q 4.

In politics, what is a constitution?

Q 5.

Will the government intervene if some religious group says that their religion allows them to practise infanticide? Give reasons for your answer.

Q 6.

Look lip the annual calendar of holidays of your school. How many of them pertain to different religions? What does this indicate?

Q 7.

What do you mean by the legislature, the executive and the judiciary?

Q 8.

What is secularism?

Q 9.

What is secularism?

Q 10.

Complete the following table Objective Why is it important? Example of a violation of this objective

Q 11.

How does the Indian Constitution safe guard the minorities of the country?

Q 12.

What is the difference in who exercises Executive Power in the 1990 and Interim Constitutions of Nepal? Keeping this in mind, why do you think Nepal needs a new Constitution today?

Q 13.

Mention the key features of the Indian Constitution.

Q 14.

In Nepal, when did the Interim Constitution come into effect?

Q 15.

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:
Key Feature
1.Federalism
2.Separation of Powers
3.Fundamental Rights
4.Parliamentary Form of Government

Q 16.

What is universal adult franchise?

Q 17.

Find out some examples of different views within the same religion.

Q 18.

State Article: 17 in the Right to Equality, in the Indian constitution.

Q 19.

What are the key components of fundamental rights?

Q 20.

Mention a few points in the US constitution related to secularism.

Q 21.

In each of the following situations, identify the minority. Write one reason why you think it is important to respect the views of the minority in each of these situations.
(a)In a school with 30 teachers, 20 of them are male.
(b)In a city, 5 per cent of the population are Buddhists.
(c)In a factory mess for all employees, 80 per cent are vegetarians.
(d)In a class of 50 students, 40 belong to more well-off families.

Q 22.

What were the highlights of the text prepared by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who was the Chairman of the constitution drafting committee?

Q 23.

List the different types of religious practice that you find in your neighbourhood. This could be different forms of prayer, worship of different gods, sacred sites, different kinds of religious music and singing etc. Does this indicate freedom of religious practice?

Q 24.

State the 4th point of the Fundamental Rights of the Indian constitution.

Q 25.

The Indian State both keeps away from religion as well as intervenes it) religion. This idea can be quite confusing. Discuss this once again in class using examples from the chapter as well as those that you might have come up with.

Q 26.

What do you understand from the statement "freedom to interpret religious teachings differently in context with the practice of untouchability?

Q 27.

What are the objectives of the Indian constitution that advocates secularism?

Q 28.

Write a brief note on the making of the Indian Constitution.

Q 29.

What are the negative points of a democratic society?

Q 30.

Why does a democratic country need a Constitution?

Q 31.

What are the strategies followed by the Indian government to establish secularism?

Q 32.

What are the factors the drafting committee had to take into consideration while drafting the constitution?

Q 33.

This poster alongside highlights the need for Peace’. It says, "Peace is a never-ending process....It cannot ignore our differences or overlook our common interests.” Write in your own words what you think the above sentences are trying to convey? How does it relate to the need for religious tolerance?

Q 34.

Write a brief note on the struggle for freedom in Nepal.

Q 35.

What would happen if there were no restrictions on the power of elected representatives?

Q 36.

How can a leader misuse power in a democratic country?