Here are some false statements. Identify the mistake in each case and rewrite these correctly based on what you have read in this chapter.

(a) Leaders of the freedom movement had an open mind about whether the country should be democratic or not after independence.

(b) Members of the constituent assembly of India held the same views on all provisions of the constitution.

(c) A country that has a constitution must be a democracy.

(d) The Constitution cannot be amended because it is the supreme law of a country.

Which of these was the most salient underlying conflict in the making of a democratic constitution in South Africa?

(a) Between South Africa and its neighbours

(b) Between men and women

(c) Between the white majority and the black minority

(d) Between the white minority and the black majority

Which of these is a provision that a democratic constitution does not have?

(a) Powers of the head of the state

(b) Name of the head of the state

(c) Powers of the legislature

(d) Name of the country

Match the following leaders with their roles in the making of the constitution:

Motilal Nehru	President of the Constituent Assembly
B.R. Ambedkar	Member of the Constituent Assembly
Rajendra Prasad	Chairman of the Drafting Committee
Sarojini Naidu	Prepared a Constitution for India in 1928

Read again the extracts from Nehru’s speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’ and answer the following:

(a) Why did Nehru use the expression “not wholly or in full measure” in the first sentence?

(b) What pledge did he want the makers of the Indian constitution to take?

(c) “The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye”. Who was he referring to?

Here are some of the guiding values of the Constitution and its meaning. Rewrite them by matching them correctly.

Sovereign	The government will not favour any religion
Republic	People have the supreme right to  make decisions
Fraternity	Head of the state is an elected person
Secular	People should live like brothers and sisters

How did your school celebrate Constitution Day on November 26^th? Prepare a brief report.

Here are different opinions about what made India a democracy. How much importance would you give to each of these factors?

(a) Democracy in India is a gift of the British rulers. We received training to work with representative legislative institutions under British rule.

(b) Freedom struggle challenged the colonial exploitation and denial of different freedoms to Indians. Free India could not be anything but democratic.

(c) We were lucky to have leaders who had democratic convictions. The denial of democracy in several other newly independent countries shows the important role of these leaders.

Read the following extract from a conduct book for ‘married women’, published in 1912. ‘God has made the female species delicate and fragile both physically and emotionally, pitiably incapable of self-defence. They are destined thus by God to remain in male protection- of father, husband and son- all their lives. Women should, therefore, not despair, but feel obliged that they can dedicate themselves to the service of men’. Do you think the value expressed in this para reflected the values underlying our constitution? Or does this go against the constitutional values?

Read the following statements about a constitution. Give reasons why each of these is true or not true.

(a) The authority of the rules of the constitution is the same as that of any other law.

(b) The Constitution lays down how different organs of the government will be formed.

(c) Rights of citizens and limits on the power of the government are laid down in the constitution.

(d) A constitution is about institutions, not about values.