Page 76 - Sst Class - IX

2. Constitutional Design
2. Constitutional Design

Memory Points
Memory Points
• The Constitution is the supreme law of the country. It determines the rights of citizens, the powers
of the government, and how the government should function.

• The Constitution determines the relationship among people living in a territory (called citizens) and also
the relationship between the people and government.

A constitution does many things:
• It generates a degree of trust and co-ordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live
together in a society.

• It illustrates how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take specific decisions.

• It lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what are the rights of the citizens.
• It expresses the aspirations of the people for creating a good society.
• All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democratic. But all countries that are
democratic will have constitutions.

• When the Constitution was enforced, the fathers
of the Constitution were sceptical about the
future of the country because of the very difficult
circumstances prevailing; the people of India and
Pakistan were undergoing a traumatic experience
due to partition of the country.

• 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.
• In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress
leaders drafted a Constitution for India.

• In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the
Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent
India’s Constitution should be formulated.
• The Indian Constitution adopted many institutional
details and procedures from colonial laws like the
Government of India Act 1935.

• Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of
the French Revolution, the practice of Parliamentary
Democracy in Britain, and the Bill of Rights in
the U.S.A.

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