Constitutional Design

 

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science (Civics) Chapter 2 Constitutional Design

 

Constitutional Design – Given in this post is NCERT Solutions Class 9 Social Science (Civics) Chapter 2 Constitutional Design Important Question Answers. The important questions we have compiled will help the students to brush up on their knowledge about the subject. Students can practice Class 9 Political Science important questions to understand the subject better and improve their performance in the board exam. The NCERT Solutions Class 9 Social Science provided here will also give students an idea about how to write the answers.

 

 

Class 9 Civics Chapter 2 Constitutional Design MCQs, Question Answers (Short and Long type Questions)

 

Chapter 2 Constitutional Design MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions 1 Mark each)

 

Choose the most appropriate option

 

  1. Nelson Mandela was –
  1. A political leader 
  2. A tyrant 
  3. An anti-apartheid activist
  4.  An environmentalist 

Answer – C. An anti-apartheid activist

 

  1.  When was Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment?
  1. 1947
  2. 1964
  3. 1975
  4. 2015

Answer – B. 1964

 

  1. Nelson Mandela opposed the _________ regime.
  1. Apartheid 
  2. Dictator 
  3. Monarchy 
  4. Casteism  

Answer – A. Apartheid 

 

  1. What was the name of South Africa’s most dreaded prison?
  1. Robbin island 
  2. Robben island 
  3. Robbed island 
  4. All of these

Answer – B. Robben Island

 

  1. Who imposed the Apartheid system on South Africa?
  1. Americans 
  2. White Europeans 
  3. Caucasians 
  4. White Americans 

Answer – B. White Europeans 

 

  1. Apartheid divided the people and labelled them on the basis of their ________
  1. Skin colour 
  2. Native place 
  3. Local culture 
  4. Traditions

Answer – A. Skin colour 

 

  1. Who were called as “coloured” people?
  1. People with red hair 
  2. People with dark skin 
  3. Caucasians 
  4. People of mix races 

Answer – D. People of mix races

 

  1. What fraction of south African population was black?
  1. three-fourth
  2. half 
  3. one-fourth 
  4. all 

answer – A. three fourth 

 

  1. Since ______ the blacks, coloured and Indians fought against the apartheid system.
  1. 1940
  2. 1950
  3. 1964
  4. 1948

Answer – B. 1950

 

  1. What was the name of the umbrella organisation that led the struggle against the policies of segregation?
  1. African People’s Association
  2. African National Blacks’ Army
  3. African Congress 
  4. African National Congress

Answer – D. African National Congress

 

  1. The African National Congress (ANC) comprised of-
  1. Workers’ unions
  2. Victims of racial discrimination
  3. The Communist Party 
  4. All of the above 

Answer – D. All of the above

 

  1. Black and coloured people were ________ in thousands by the racist government of South Africa.
  1. Detained
  2. Tortured
  3. Killed 
  4. All of the above 

Answer – D. All of the above 

 

  1. For how many years was Nelson Mandela jailed
  1. 25
  2. 28
  3. 29
  4. 27

Answer – B. 28

 

  1. When was the new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was unfurled marking the newly born democracy in the world?
  1. 26 April 1994
  2. 26 August 1994
  3. 26 March 1994
  4. 26 April 1950

Answer – A. 26 April 1994

 

  1. Who was the first president of South Africa?
  1. Barack Obama 
  2. Sir Martin Luther king Jr.
  3. Nelson Mandela 
  4. George Washington

Answer – C. Nelson Mandela

 

  1. The new South Africa was based on values of –
  1. Equality 
  2. Social justice 
  3. Human rights 
  4. All of the above 

Answer – D. All of the above 

 

  1. Which one of the following is not a function of the constitution od a country?
  1. It generates a degree of trust and coordination
  2. It specifies how the government will be constituted
  3. It hinders the citizens’ rights 
  4. It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.

Answer – C. It hinders the citizens’ rights

 

  1. ‘All countries that have constitutions are necessarily democratic.’

State true or false.

  1. True 
  2. False 
  3. Not sure 
  4. No comments 

Answer – B. False 

 

  1. ‘All countries that are democratic will have constitutions’

State true or false.

  1. True 
  2. False 
  3. Unsure 
  4. No comments 

Answer – A. True 

 

  1. Who was the lawyer and leader of Bardoli peasant satyagraha?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
  4. Abul Kalam Azad

Answer – C. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel

 

  1. Who, among the following, was a lawyer, known for his role in the Champaran satyagraha?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
  4. Abul Kalam Azad

Answer – A. Rajendra Prasad

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the captain of the first national Hockey team?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
  4. Abul Kalam Azad

Answer – B. Jaipal Singh

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the Education Minister in the first union cabinet?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
  4. Abul Kalam Azad

Answer – D. Abul Kalam Azad

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the first President of India?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
  4. Abul Kalam Azad

Answer – A. Rajendra Prasad

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the Founder Chairperson of Central Social Welfare Board?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. G. Durgabai Deshmukh
  4. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel

Answer – C. G. Durgabai Deshmukh

 

  1. Who, among the following, played a decisive role in the integration of the Indian princely states?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. G. Durgabai Deshmukh
  4. Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel

Answer – D. Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the Vice-Chairman of the Constituent Assembly?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. H. C. Mookherjee
  3. Jaipal Singh
  4. G. Durgabai Deshmukh

Answer – B. H. C. Mookherjee

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the President of the Constituent Assembly?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. H. C. Mookherjee
  3. Jaipal Singh
  4. G. Durgabai Deshmukh

Answer – A. Rajendra Prasad

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the Founder President of Adivasi Maha Sabha?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
  4. Abul Kalam Azad

Answer – B. Jaipal Singh 

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the founder of Jharkhand Party?
  1. Rajendra Prasad
  2. Jaipal Singh
  3. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
  4. Abul Kalam Azad

Answer – B. Jaipal Singh

 

  1. Which session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s constitution should look like?
  1. Lahore session 
  2. Kolkata session
  3. Puna session 
  4. Karachi session 

Answer – D. Karachi session 

 

  1. When was the Karachi session of the INC held?
  1. 1930
  2. 1931
  3. 1928
  4. 1919

Answer – B. 1931

 

  1. When did Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India?
  1. 1928
  2. 1930
  3. 1931
  4. 1919

Answer – A. 1928

 

  1. Indian leaders were inspired by –
  1. The practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain
  2. The socialist revolution in Russia
  3. The Bill of Rights in the US
  4. All of the above 

Answer – D. All of the above 

 

  1. The drafting of the document called the constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives called –
  1. The drafting committee 
  2. The Constituent Assembly.
  3. The Congress 
  4. The National Assembly

Answer – B. The Constituent Assembly.

 

  1. Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in ________
  1. 1919
  2. 1928
  3. 1946
  4. 1949

Answer – C. 1946

 

  1. The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held in________
  1. December 1946
  2. July 1946
  3. December 1949
  4. July 1949

Answer – A. December 1946

 

  1. How many members where there in the Indian Constituent Assembly?
  1. 138
  2. 199
  3. 238
  4. 299

Answer – D. 299

 

  1. The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on________
  1. 26 January 1949
  2. 26 November 1949
  3. 26 December 1949
  4. 16 August 1949

Answer – B. 26 November 1949

 

  1. The Constitution came into effect on:
  1. 26 November 1949
  2. 26 January 1949
  3. 26 January 1950
  4. 26 January 1951

Answer – C. 26 January 1950

 

  1. The Constitution reflects the:
  1. views of its members 
  2. broad consensus of its time
  3. both of the above 
  4. none of these

Answer – C. Both of the above 

 

  1. Young India was a magazine by:
  1. Subhash Chandra Bose
  2. Mahatma Gandhi
  3. Jawaharlal Nehru
  4. Rammohun Roy

Answer – B. Mahatma Gandhi

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the Founder of the Swatantra Party?
  1. Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi
  2. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
  3. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
  4. Somnath Lahiri

Answer – A. Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the Founder of Republican Party of India?
  1. Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi
  2. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
  3. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
  4. Somnath Lahiri

Answer – B. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the Founder President of Bharatiya Jan Sangh?
  1. Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi
  2. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
  3. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
  4. Somnath Lahiri

Answer – C. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

 

  1. Who, among the following, was Leader of the Communist Party of India?
  1. Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi
  2. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
  3. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
  4. Somnath Lahiri

Answer – D. Somnath Lahiri

 

  1. Who, among the following, was the law minister in the first cabinet of post-independence India?
  1. Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi
  2. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
  3. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
  4. Somnath Lahiri

Answer- B. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

 

  1. Which of these was the most salient underlying conflict in the making of a democratic constitution in South Africa?
  1. Between South Africa and its neighbours
  2. Between men and women
  3. Between the white majority and the black minority
  4. Between the coloured minority and the black majority

Answer – C. Between the white majority and the black minority

 

  1. Which of these is a provision that a democratic constitution does not have?
  1. Powers of the head of the state
  2. Name of the head of the state
  3. Powers of the legislature
  4. Name of the country

Answer – B. Name of the head of the state

 

  1. Who was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee?
  1. Motilal Nehru 
  2. B. R. Ambedkar 
  3. Rajendra Prasad 
  4. Sarojini Naidu

Answer – B. B. R. Ambedkar 

 

Very Short Answer Type (1 Mark each)

 

  1. What was Apartheid?

Apartheid was the official policy of racial separation and ill treatment of blacks followed by the government of South Africa between 1948 and 1989.

 

  1. What is a Constituent Assembly?

A Constituent Assembly is an assembly of people’s representatives that writes a constitution for a country.

 

  1. How did the trading companies of Europe occupy South Africa?

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the trading companies from Europe occupied South Africa with arms and force, in the way they occupied India.

 

  1. What is segregation? 

The separation of all public places and amenities for the separate use by the whites and blacks is known as segregation.

 

  1. How was segregation practiced?

Trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals, schools and colleges, libraries, cinema halls, theatres, beaches, swimming pools, public toilets, were all separate for the whites and blacks.

They could not even visit the churches or form associations.

 

  1. What is a constitution?

The constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people living together in a country.

 

  1. What two historical events led to it becoming a practice for all democracies to have a written constitution?

The two events are 

  1. After the War of Independence against Great Britain, the Americans gave themselves a constitution. 
  2. After the Revolution, the French people approved a democratic constitution.

 

  1. What happened to the Constituent Assembly after India’s partition?

The Constituent Assembly was also divided into the Constituent Assembly of India and that of Pakistan.

 

  1. What is a constitutional amendment? 

A constitutional amendment is a change in the constitution made by the supreme legislative body in a country.

 

  1. What is treason?

Ans. Treason is the offence of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance.

 

  • Rewrite the following guiding values of the constitution.
  1. Sovereign 

People have the supreme right to make decisions.

  1. Republic 

Head of the state is an elected person.

  1. Fraternity 

People should live like brothers and sisters.

  1. Secular 

Government will not favour any religion.

 

  1. What is the Preamble in a Constitution?

A preamble is an introductory statement in a constitution which states the reasons and guiding values of the constitution.

 

Short Answer Type Questions (3 Marks each)

  1. Write a short note on the Constituent assembly and the making of the constitution?

Ans. The drafting of the document called the constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives called the Constituent Assembly.

Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946. It was elected mainly by the members of the existing Provincial Legislatures. Its first meeting was held in December 1946.

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 26 January 1950. To mark this day, we celebrate January 26 as Republic Day every year.

 

  1. What are the main ideals in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution?

Ans. The main ideals of the Indian Constitution’s preamble are-

  1. Justice – Citizens cannot be discriminated on the grounds of caste, religion and gender. Social inequalities have to be reduced.
  2. Liberty – There are no unreasonable restrictions on the citizens in what they think, how they wish to express their thoughts and the way they wish to follow up their thoughts in action.
  3. Equality – All are equal before the law. The government should ensure equal opportunity for all.
  4. Fraternity – All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.

 

  1. What are the functions of a constitution?

Ans. A constitution does many things:

First, it generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live together

Second, it specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions

Third, it lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are

Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society

 

  1. What is the philosophy behind the Indian Constitution?

Ans. Values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle and were in turn nurtured by it, formed the foundation for India’s democracy.

These values are embedded in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. They guide all the articles of the Indian Constitution

The constitution holds the ideals of justice, equality, fraternity, liberty, democracy, secularism etc.

 

  1. How was the constituent assembly formed?

Ans. Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946. 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 was dominated by the Indian National Congress, the party that led India’s freedom struggle.

The Assembly had many members who did not agree with the Congress. 

In social terms too, the Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes, classes, religions and occupations

 

  1. Why should we accept the Constitution made by the Assembly more than six decades ago?

Ans. The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It expresses a broad consensus of its time.

No large social group or political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution itself. This is an unusual achievement for any constitution.

The second reason for accepting the Constitution is that the Constituent Assembly represented the people of India

More than two thousand amendments were considered. The members deliberated for 114 days spread over three years.

 

  1. Write a short note highlighting the struggles of Nelson Mandela.

Ans. Nelson Mandela was tried for treason by the white South African government.

He and seven other leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.

He spent the next 28 years in South Africa’s most dreaded prison, Robben Island.

After 28 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela walked out of the jail as a free man. 

Finally, at the midnight of 26 April 1994, the new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was unfurled marking the newly born democracy in the world

 

Source Based Questions

  1. Observe the following image-

 

Constituent assembly

 

  1. When was the Constitution adopted by the Constituent assembly?

Answer – 26 November 1949

  1. When did the Constitution come into effect?

Answer – 26 January 1950

  1. How many members were there in the Constituent Assembly?

Answer – 299

  1. Who was the president of the drafting committee of the Constitution?

Answer – Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

 

Long Answer Type (5 marks each)

 

  1. Explain Apartheid? How did the people of South Africa struggle against it?

The term “apartheid” refers to a system of social discrimination that was practiced South Africa. It was part of the government of South Africa’s stated strategy to treat black people poorly. The South African citizens fought against apartheid in the following ways:

Since 1950, Blacks and Indians have been resisting apartheid. They received no attention from the racist government.

They held marches and strikes.

The African National Congress was in charge of the conflict.

Numerous sensitive white people joined the fight against the African National Congress as well.

In addition to this, the communist parties and numerous labour unions joined the action.

 

  1. Explain with five facts the transition from Apartheid to democracy and multi-racial government take place in South Africa.

The politicians of South Africa came out with one of the world’s best constitutions after two years of deliberation and debate.

The new Constitution granted its citizens the most extensive range of rights possible in any nation.

They all agreed that nobody should be left out when looking for solutions to the issues.

The nation’s leaders agreed that everyone should contribute to the solution, regardless of what they may have done or stood for in the past.

A multiracial administration was established after the apartheid regime was overthrown.

 

  1. Why do we need a constitution and what is its importance? Explain?

A country’s Constitution is a set of laws that are accepted by the citizens who live there. The relation between the people who live in a territory (referred to as citizens) as well as the relation between the people and the government is governed by the Constitution, which is the highest legislation.

Importance: It outlines who will have the authority to make what decisions and how the government will be organised.

Trust and Coordination: It creates a kind of trust and coordination required for many types of people to live side by side.

 

  1. Why should we accept the Constitution made by the Assembly more than sixty years ago?

The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It expresses a broad consensus of its time. Many countries of the world have had to rewrite their Constitution afresh because the basic rules were not accepted to all major social groups or political parties.

Over the last half a century, several groups have questioned some provisions of the Constitution. But no large social group or political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution itself. This is an unusual achievement for any constitution. The second reason for accepting the Constitution is that the Constituent Assembly represented the people of India. There was no universal adult franchise at that time. So, the Constituent Assembly could not have been chosen directly by all the people of India.

The way in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity to the Constitution. 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 thorough discussion took place on the Draft Constitution, clause by clause. 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’. These debates provide the rationale behind every provision of the Constitution. These are used to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.

 

  1. Explain any five terms used in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
  2.  WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA: The constitution has been drawn up and enacted by the people through their representatives, and not handed down to them by a king or any outside powers.
  3. SOVEREIGN: People have the supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.
  4. SECULAR: Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. But there is no official religion. Government treats all religious beliefs and practices with equal respect.
  5. DEMOCRATIC: A form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their rulers and hold them accountable. The government is run according to some basic rules.
  6. REPUBLIC: The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary position.

 
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