CONSTITUTIONAL

DESIGN
CONTENTS
❏ WHAT IS A CONSTITUTION? NELSON MANDELA
❏ DEMOCRATIC POLITICS IN
❏ WHY DO WE NEED A
SOUTH AFRICA
CONSTITUTION?
STRUGGLE AGAINST ❏ DO WE NEED A
APARTHEID CONSTITUTION?
❏ CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER
THE END OF THE POLICY WHICH THE INDIAN
OF APARTHEID CONSTITUTION WAS DRAWN
UP
TOWARDS A NEW ❏ THE PATH TO CONSTITUTION
CONSTITUTION
CONTENTS (CONT…….)
❏ THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
❏ INDIAN CONSTITUTION :A LIVING DOCUMENT
❏ GUIDING VALUES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
INTRODUCTION

This lesson deals with the word “CONSTITUTION” as a

[Link] example of South Africa with respect to
Apartheid is [Link] period in which Indian
constitution was made is disscused .The key features of
Indian constituion is disscussed.
WHAT IS A CONSTITUTION?
● The basic rules that the citizens and the government have to
follow are called as constitution.
● The constitution is the supreme law of the country.
● The constitution determines the rights of the citizens, the powers
of the government and how the government should function.
DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION IN SOUTH
AFRICA - STRUGGLE AGAINST APARTHEID
Apartheid refers to the policy of discrimination on
the basis of race and skin colour.
MAIN FEATURES OF APARTHEID
● THE APARTHEID SYSTEM WAS PARTICULARLY OPPRESSIVE FOR
BLACKS.
● THEY WERE FORBIDDEN FROM LIVING IN WHITE AREAS.
● THEY COULD WORK IN WHITE AREAS ONLY IF THEY HAD A
PERMIT.
● THERE WERE SEPARATE SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES,SEPARATE
SHOPPING CENTERS,SEPARATE COACHES IN TRAINS.
● MARRIAGE BETWEEN TWO PERSONS BELONGING TO DIFFERENT
RACES WAS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE.
MAIN FEATURES OF APARTHEID
● There were restrictions on movement from one place to
other.
● Non-whites had no votes.
● The policy of Apartheid denied human rights to non-
whites
SEGREGATION
● Trains,buses ,taxis,hotels,hospitals,schools and
colleges,libraries,cinema halls,theaters,beaches,swimming
pools ,public toilets were all separate for whites and [Link]
was called segregation.
● They could not even visit the churches where whites worshipped.
● Blacks could not form association or protest against the terrible
treatment.
THE END OF THE POLICY OF APARTHEID
● In 1910 African national congress was formed which aimed at
establishing a non-racial democratic South Africa.
● The movement was intensified in 1950s.
● In 1960,the African National Congress was banned and its leaders
jailed.
● Wit it began the process of ending the Apartheid.
● The ban on African National Congress was lifted and its leaders
released.
THE END OF THE POLICY OF APARTHEID
● Negotiations between African National Congress and South African
government started for framing a new constitution which would give all
South Africans the right to vote.
● In April 1994,elections were held in South Africa as per the new provisions.
● The African National Congress won with a thumping majority and formed a
non-racial democratic government.
● Finally, at the midnight of 26 April 1994,the new national flag of South Africa
was unfurled making the newly born democracy in the world.
TOWARDS A NEW CONSTITUTION

● The party that ruled through oppression and the party that led the freedom
struggle sat together to draw up a constitution.
● It gave to to its citizens the most extensive rights available in any country.
● THE CONSTITUTION MAKES IT CLEAR THAT IN THE SEARCH FOR A A
SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEMS ,NOBODY SHOULD BE EXCLUDED ,
NOBODY SHOULD BE TREATED AS A DEMON,EVERYBODY SHOULD
BECOME PART OF THE SOLUTION,WHATEVER THEY HAVE DONE OR
REPRESENTED IN THE PAST.
TOWARDS A NEW CONSTITUTION
A Remarkable Constitution was made where they forgot past
sufferings,sought cooperation of all races which made South Africa
based on equality,democratic values and social justice.
NELSON MANDELA -GANDHI OF SOUTH AFRICA
● Nelson Mandela was one of the most able ,efficient and far sighted leaders of
the African National Congress.
● It was under his leadership that the struggle against Apartheid reached its
climax.
● Due to participation in the movement against apartheid he was sentenced to
life imprisonment in 1964.
● He spent the next 28 years in prison.
NELSON MANDELA -GANDHI OF SOUTH AFRICA
● In the 90s due to activities of the African National Congress and the support it
got from other countries of the world, South African regime was completely
isolated from the world.
● In order to create a favorable atmosphere Nelson Mandela was released in
1990.
● In 1994 the first democratic elections were held and Nelson Mandela was
elected the President of South Africa.
WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION?
A Constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people
living together in a country. Constitution is the supreme law that 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 coordination that is necessary for different

kind of people to live together;
WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION?
● it lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the
rights of the citizens are;
● it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.
● it specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to
take which decisions;
REALITY
● All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democratic.
● But all countries that are democratic will have constitutions
● After the War of independence against Great Britain, the Americans
gave themselves a constitution.
● After the Revolution, the French people approved a democratic
constitution.
● Since then it has become a practice in all democracies to have a
written constitution.
DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION?
● Every country drafts its own constitution.
● A constitution of a nation is the set of written laws accepted by people
living together in a country.
● It generates trust and co-ordination.
● It specifies how a government should be constituted.
● It lays down limits on the powers of the government.
● It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good
society.
MAKING OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Circumstances under which the Indian

Constitution was drawn up

Circumstances under which the Indian Constitution was drawn up •

The making of the constitution for a huge and diverse country like
India was not an easy affair.
Circumstances under which the Indian
Constitution was drawn up
● The people of India were emerging from the status of subjects to that of
citizens.
● The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences.
Atleast ten lakh people were killed on both sides of the border in partition
related violence.
● The British had left it to the rulers of the princely states to decide whether they
wanted to merge with Indian or with Pakistan or remain independent. The
merger of these princely states was difficult and uncertain task.
● When the constitution was being written, the makers of the constitution had
anxieties about the present and the future of the country.
THE PATH TO CONSTITUTION
SOURCES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

BRITISH CONSTITUTION
WEIMAR CONSTITUTION
AMERICAN CONSTITUTION
SOVIET CONSTITUTION
CANADIAN CONSTITUTION
SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION
IRISH CONSTITUTION
GOVT OF INDIA ACT 1935
AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION
THE PATH TO CONSTITUTION
● Our national movement was not merely a struggle against a foreign rule. It
was also a struggle to rejuvenate our country and to transform our society and
politics.
● The familiarity with political institutions of colonial rule also helped develop an
agreement over the institutional design. The experience gained by Indians in
the working of the legislative institutions proved to be very useful for the
country in setting up its own institutions.
THE PATH TO CONSTITUTION
● The familiarity with political institutions of colonial rule also helped develop an
agreement over the institutional design. The experience gained by Indians in
the working of the legislative institutions proved to be very useful for the
country in setting up its own institutions.
● They also got inspiration from the Constitution drafted by Moti Lal Nehru and
eight other Congress leaders in 1928, and the outlines of the Indian
Constitution prepared by the Indian National Congress at its Karachi session
in 1931.
THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
● The Constitution of India was framed by a Constituent Assembly set up under
the Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946.
● The assembly consisted of 389 members representing provinces (292), states
(93), the chief commissioner provinces (3) and Baluchistan (1).
● The assembly held its first meeting on December 6, 1946. • It elected Dr.
Rajendra Prasad as its Chairman.
● The Constituent Assembly was also divided into the Constituent Assembly of
India & Pakistan
THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
● The assembly held its first meeting on December 6, 1946. • It elected Dr.
Rajendra Prasad as its Chairman.
● The Constituent Assembly was also divided into the Constituent Assembly of
India & Pakistan
● The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian Constitution had 299
members.
● The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 but it came
into effect on January 26, 1950. ( Republic Day) .
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
Some of you may have noticed a name
missing from the sketches of the makers
of the constitution: Mahatma Gandhi. He
was not member of the constituent
Assembly. Yet there were many
members who followed his vision. Years
ago, writing in his magazine Young India
in 1931, he had spelt out what he wanted
the Constitution to do:
Why should we accept the Constitution made by the Constituent
Assembly more than 69 years?
● Many countries of the world have had to rewrite their constitution a fresh
because the basic rules were not accepted to all major social groups or
political parties.
● In some other countries, the Constitution exists as a mere piece of paper.
● No one actually follows it.
● The experience of our constitution is different. • No large social group or
political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution itself.
● This is an unusual achievement for any constitution.
Why should we accept the Constitution made by the Constituent
Assembly more than 69 years?
● (ii) The Constituent Assembly represented the people of India. • It was
elected mainly by the members of the existing Provincial Legislatures.
● This ensured a fair geographical share of members from all the regions of the
country.
● The Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes,
classes, religions and occupations.
● The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual
manner. • First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon.
● Then a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar prepared a draft
constitution for discussion. Several rounds of through discussion took place
on the Draft Constitution, clause by clause.
Why should we accept the Constitution made by the Constituent
Assembly more than 69 years?
● More than two thousand amendments were considered.
● Every document presented and every word spoken in the Constituent
assembly has been recorded and preserved. These are called ‘Constituent
Assembly Debates’.
● When printed, these debates are 12 bulky volumes! These debates provide
the rationale behind every provision of the Constitution. These are used to
interpret the meaning of the Constitution.
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
● Dr. B. R. Ambedkar appointed chairman of the drafting committee.
● Constitution adopted on 26 November 1949, and enacted on 26
January, 1950, when India became a republic.
● The Constitution reflects the best minds of the country. Its
members represented mini-India.
THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION :A LIVING
DOCUMENT
● Those who drafted the Indian Constitution felt that it has to be in
accordance with people’s aspirations and changes in society.
● They did not see it as a sacred, static and unalterable law. •
● So, they made provisions to incorporate changes from time to
time.
● These changes are called constitutional amendments.
● Till date 104 amendments have been made in the constitution.
The amendment procedure provided in the constitution is as follows. There are
three categories of amendment:

● (i) In the first category, amendments can be done by simple majority of

members present and voting before sending it for the President’s assent
● (ii) In the second category, amendments require a special majority. such an
amendment can be passed by each house of Parliament by the two-thirds
majority of the members of the house present and voting and then sent to the
President for his assent.
● (iii) The third category, amendments is really difficult to pass. besides the
special majority mentioned in the second category, the same has to be
approved by at least 50 percent of the state legislatures.
The preamble of
the constitution
speaks about the
philosophy on
which entire
constitution has
been [Link] is the
soul of Indian
Constitution.