Class VIII – Political Science
Summary
Chapter – 1
The Indian Constitution
This year’s Unit 1 in the Social and Political Life textbook focuses on the Indian Constitution.
Chapter 1:
- Introduces principles of a liberal constitution using classroom storyboards.
- Places the Constitution in a historical context to show the impact of India’s anti-colonial struggle.
- Uses new terms to explain key features, providing a basic understanding for future studies.
Chapter 2:
- Discusses secularism, defined as the separation of Religion and State.
- Explains the importance of this separation to prevent inter-religious and intra-religious domination.
- Highlights the unique nature of Indian secularism, which includes both maintaining separation and intervening in religion for reforms.
- Introduces the concept of ‘principled distance,’ where state interference in religion is based on constitutional ideals.
Understanding these points clearly is crucial for teaching, and while encouraging discussion, ensure it doesn’t reinforce religious stereotypes.
The Indian Constitution
In this chapter, we’ll start by talking about football, a game many of you are likely familiar with or have played. Football involves using the players’ feet, and according to its rules, it’s a foul if the ball touches a player’s arm (except for the goalkeeper). If players start using their hands to hold and pass the ball, they are no longer playing football. Similarly, games like hockey and cricket have specific rules that define them. These fundamental rules are known as the constitutive rules of the game.
Just like games have rules, societies also have constitutive rules that shape and distinguish them. In large societies with diverse communities, these rules are created through consensus and are often documented in written form in modern countries. This written document is known as a Constitution.
We’ve studied the Indian Constitution in previous Social and Political Life textbooks in Classes VI and VII. You might have wondered why we need a Constitution, how it was written, or who wrote it. In this chapter, we’ll explore these questions and examine the key features of the Indian Constitution. These features are essential for the functioning of democracy in India and will be discussed in various chapters throughout this book.
Why Does a Country Need a Constitution?
Today, most countries around the world have a Constitution. While it’s common for democratic countries to have a Constitution, not all countries with a Constitution are necessarily democratic. A Constitution serves several important purposes. Firstly, it outlines the ideals that form the foundation of the kind of country its citizens aspire to live in. In other words, a Constitution defines the fundamental nature of a society.
Countries are typically composed of diverse communities with shared beliefs, though they may not agree on everything. A Constitution acts as a set of rules and principles that everyone in the country can agree on as the basis for governance. This includes determining the type of government and agreeing on certain ideals that the country should uphold.
Let’s understand this concept with two contrasting situations from Nepal’s recent history, a country north of India. Until recently, Nepal was a monarchy. The Constitution adopted in 1990 reflected that ultimate authority rested with the King. However, a people’s movement in Nepal fought for decades to establish democracy. In 2006, they succeeded in ending the King’s powers. To establish Nepal as a democracy, they needed a new Constitution because the old one didn’t represent the ideals they had fought for.
Similar to changing the rules of football, which alters the game entirely, Nepal needed to change its constitutive rules to transition from a monarchy to a democracy. Hence, the people of Nepal adopted a new Constitution in 2015, marking their struggle for democracy.
Another important purpose of a Constitution is to define a country’s political system. Nepal’s earlier Constitution specified that the King and his council of ministers would rule the country. In democratic countries, the Constitution lays out guidelines for decision-making processes. In a democracy, we elect leaders to exercise power responsibly on our behalf. However, there is a risk that these leaders might misuse their authority. The Constitution provides safeguards against such misuse to prevent gross injustice, as illustrated in the classroom situation below.
In democratic societies, the Constitution often sets rules to prevent the misuse of authority by political leaders. In the Indian Constitution, many of these protective laws are found in the section on Fundamental Rights. For example, the Constitution guarantees the Right to Equality, ensuring no citizen is discriminated against based on religion, race, caste, gender, or place of birth.
Another key role of a Constitution in a democracy is to protect less powerful groups from being dominated by more powerful ones. The storyboard below illustrates a classroom scenario where a dominant group could misuse its power. Such situations can occur in democratic societies, where the majority might continuously make decisions that exclude minorities and harm their interests. This “tyranny of the majority” is something every society is vulnerable to. Therefore, the Constitution includes rules to ensure that minorities are not excluded from benefits that are available to the majority.
A Constitution also aims to prevent domination within communities, where some members might dominate others. This could be inter-community domination (one community over another) or intra-community domination (within the same community).
The third important reason for having a Constitution is to protect us from our own potentially harmful decisions. Sometimes, we might strongly support something that isn’t in our best interest. The Constitution helps guard against such impulses. The storyboard below provides an example to help understand this better.
Similarly, the Constitution protects us from making decisions that could harm the broader principles our country stands for. For instance, people in a democracy might feel so frustrated with party politics that they believe a strong dictator is needed to fix things. However, they might not realize that dictatorship ultimately harms their interests. A well-designed Constitution prevents such whims from altering its fundamental structure. It safeguards the provisions that guarantee citizens’ rights and freedoms, making them difficult to overturn.
From this discussion, it is clear that the Constitution is crucial in democratic societies. Now, let’s explore how these ideas and rules are embodied in some key features of the Indian Constitution.
The Indian Constitution: Key Features
By the early 20th century, the Indian national movement was actively fighting for independence from British rule. During this time, nationalists envisioned a democratic India where everyone is treated equally and can participate in government. After achieving independence, the challenge was to establish a democratic system and create governing rules.
This task was undertaken by the Constituent Assembly, formed in 1946 with around 300 members who met over three years to draft the Constitution. They faced a diverse country with multiple languages, religions, and cultures, and were also dealing with the impending partition, undecided Princely States, and dire socio-economic conditions.
Despite these challenges, the Assembly created a visionary document that respects diversity and promotes national unity. The Constitution aims to eradicate poverty through socio-economic reforms and emphasizes the importance of people’s participation in government.
The key features of the Indian Constitution reflect these concerns, balancing diversity, unity, socio-economic reform, and representation to build a strong, democratic society.
Key Features of the Indian Constitution
1. Federalism:
This concept involves having multiple levels of government within a country. In India, there are governments at the central level, state level, and the local level (Panchayati Raj), which you learned about in Class VI. In Class VII, you studied the state government, and this year you’ll learn more about the central government.
India’s diverse communities necessitated a system where decisions weren’t solely made by people in the capital, New Delhi. It was crucial to have state governments to make decisions specific to their regions. While states have autonomy on certain issues, they must adhere to central government laws on national concerns. The Constitution outlines the subjects each level of government can legislate on and specifies their funding sources. In a federal system, states are not just agents of the central government; they derive their authority from the Constitution. Thus, everyone in India is governed by laws and policies from all levels of government.
2. Parliamentary Form of Government:
India’s different levels of government are made up of representatives elected by the people. In Class VII, you learned about Kanta, who was in line to vote during an election. The Indian Constitution guarantees universal adult suffrage, meaning all adults can vote. The members of the Constituent Assembly believed that the freedom struggle had prepared people for this universal right to vote, fostering a democratic mindset and helping to dismantle traditional caste, class, and gender hierarchies.
This system gives the people of India a direct role in choosing their representatives. Any citizen, regardless of social background, can run for elections. These elected representatives are accountable to the people. Unit 2 of this book will further explain why representation is essential for a functioning democracy.
When the Constituent Assembly adopted the principle of universal adult franchise, Shri A.K. Ayyar, a member, remarked that this was done, “with an abundant faith in the common man and the ultimate success of democratic rule, and in the full belief that the introduction of democratic government on the basis of adult suffrage will bring enlightenment and promote the well-being, the standard of life, the comfort, and the decent living of the common man”. Austin, G. 1966. The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Source: NCERT
Source: NCERT
3. Separation of Powers:
The Constitution divides the government into three branches: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
- Legislature: Composed of elected representatives who make laws.
- Executive: A smaller group tasked with implementing laws and running the government.
- Judiciary: The system of courts, which you’ll learn more about in Unit 3.
To prevent any one branch from misusing its power, the Constitution ensures that each branch has distinct powers. This system allows each branch to act as a check on the others, maintaining a balance of power among them.
In this chapter, the term “State” does not refer to state governments. Instead, “State” is used to differentiate from “government.”
Source: NCERT
Government: Responsible for administering and enforcing laws. It can change with elections.
State: A political institution representing a sovereign people within a definite territory, like the Indian State or Nepali State. The State encompasses more than just the government.
The Indian State, for example, has a democratic form of government. The government (or the executive) is just one part of the State. Therefore, “State” refers to a broader concept than “government” and the two terms are not interchangeable.
4. Fundamental Rights:
The section on Fundamental Rights is often called the “conscience” of the Indian Constitution. During colonial rule, nationalists were wary of State power and wanted to ensure that a set of written rights would protect against its misuse in independent India. These Fundamental Rights protect citizens from the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by the State, guaranteeing individual rights against both the State and other individuals.
Additionally, minority communities wanted the Constitution to include protections for their groups. Consequently, the Constitution also guarantees the rights of minorities against majority domination. Dr. Ambedkar highlighted two main objectives of these Fundamental Rights: first, that every citizen should be able to claim these rights, and second, that these rights should be binding on every authority with the power to make laws.
Apart from Fundamental Rights, the Constitution includes a section called Directive Principles of State Policy. This section was created by the members of the Constituent Assembly to promote social and economic reforms and to guide the independent Indian State in creating laws and policies aimed at reducing poverty.
The Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution include:
Source: NCERT
1. Right to Equality: All persons are equal before the law. This means that all persons shall be equally protected by the laws of the country. It also states that no citizen can be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, caste or sex. Every person has access to all public places including playgrounds, hotels, shops etc. The State cannot discriminate against anyone in matters of employment. But there are exceptions to this that you will read about later in this book. The practice of untouchability has also been abolished.
2. Right to Freedom: This includes the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to form associations, the right to move freely and reside in any part of the country, and the right to practise any profession, occupation or business.
3. Right against Exploitation: The Constitution prohibits human trafficking, forced labour, and employment of children under 14 years of age.
4. Right to Freedom of Religion: Religious freedom is provided to all citizens. Every person has the right to practise, profess and propagate the religion of their choice.
5. Cultural and Educational Rights: The Constitution states that all minorities, religious or linguistic, can set up their own educational institutions in order to preserve and develop their own culture.
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies: This allows citizens to move the court if they believe that any of their Fundamental Rights have been violated by the State.
The Constitution reflects the country’s history and sets ideals for all citizens and elected representatives. Just like changing the rules of a game changes how it’s played, amendments to the Constitution reflect new political concerns and can change the country’s fundamental nature, as seen with Nepal’s transition to democracy.
Understanding these features might seem complex now, but further study in this book and in higher classes will provide deeper insights into the Indian Constitution.