Constitutional Design Class 9 Notes: CBSE 9th Social Science Chapter 2, Download PDF Here

Constitutional Design Class 9 Notes: CBSE Class 9 Social Science revision notes for Chapter 2 Constitutional Design are available here. These notes are entirely according to the latest CBSE syllabus of Class 9 Social Science. Check these chapter notes for a quick revision of the chapter. 

CBSE Class 9 Social Science Constitutional Design Notes

What is the Constitution?

There are certain basic rules that the citizens and the government have to follow. All such rules together are called constitution. As the supreme law of the country, the constitution determines the rights of citizens, the powers of the government and how the government should function. 

Why Do We Need the Constitution? 

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

(i) It generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live together;

(ii) It specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions;

(iii) It lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are; and

(iv) It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.

Making of the Indian Constitution 

• The making of the constitution for a huge and diverse country like India was not an easy affair.  At that time 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. This was a traumatic experience for the people of India and Pakistan.
• There was another problem. 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. The merger of these princely states was a difficult and uncertain task. 

The Path to Constitution

• 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 look like. Both these documents were committed to: 
• Inclusion of universal adult franchise,
• Right to freedom and equality
• Protecting the rights of minorities in the constitution of independent India.
• Thus some basic values were accepted by all leaders much before the Constituent Assembly met to deliberate on the Constitution. The familiarity with political institutions of colonial rule also helped develop an agreement over the institutional design. 
• The Indian constitution adopted many institutional details and procedures from colonial laws like the Government of India Act, 1935.

The Constituent Assembly 

• 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. Its first meeting was held in December 1946. Soon after, the country was divided into India and Pakistan. 
• The Constituent Assembly was also divided into the Constituent Assembly of India and that of Pakistan. 
• The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian constitution had 299 members. The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26^th November 1949 but it came into effect on 26^th January 1950. To mark this day we celebrate January 26 as Republic Day every year.

Philosophy of the Constitution

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. 

Preamble 

• The Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values. This is called the Preamble to the constitution. Taking inspiration from the American model, most countries in the contemporary world have chosen to begin their constitutions with a preamble.
• The Preamble contains the philosophy on which the entire Constitution has been built. It provides a standard to examine and evaluate any law and action of the government, to find out whether it is good or bad. It is the soul of the Indian Constitution.
• 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.
• SOVEREIGN: People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.
• SOCIALIST : Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by society. Government should regulate the ownership of land and industry to reduce socio-economic inequalities.
• 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.
• 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.
• REPUBLIC: The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary position.
• JUSTICE: Citizens cannot be discriminated on the grounds of caste, religion and gender. Social inequalities have to be reduced. Government should work for the welfare of all, especially of the disadvantaged groups.
• 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.
• EQUALITY: All are equal before the law. The traditional social inequalities have to be ended. The government should ensure equal opportunity for all.
• FRATERNITY: All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.

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