1. Why does a democratic country need a Constitution?
Answer
A democratic country need a Constitution because:
→ It lays out the important guidelines that govern decision making within the
various societies of the
country.
→ It lays down the ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that its
citizens aspire to live in.
→ It serves as asset of rules and principles as the basis by which the country
has to be governed.
→ It provides rules to safeguard the interests of minorities and prevent any
kind of domination by the
majority on minorities.
→ It lays down rules that guard against the misuse of power by any politician
leader.
→ It also provides rights to its citizens and protects their freedom.
2. Look at the wordings of the two documents given below. The first column is
from the 1990 Nepal
Constitution. The second column is from the more recent interim Constitution
of Nepal.
1990 Constitution of Nepal Part 7: Executive
2007 Interim Constitution Part 5: Executive
Article 35: Executive Power: The executive power of the Kingdom of Nepal
shall be vested in His Majesty and the Council of Ministers.
Article 37: Executive Power: the executive power of Nepal shall be vested in
the council of Ministers.
What is the difference in who exercises 'Executive Power' in the above two
Constitutions of Nepal?
Keeping this in mind, why do you think Nepal needs a new Constitution
today?
Answer
The difference in who exercises "Executive Power" in the given two Constitutions
of Nepal is that in the 1990 Constitution, this power was vested in the King and
his Council of Ministers, while in the 2007 Interim Constitution of Nepal,
"Executive Power" changed hands to being vested only in the Council of
Ministers, thereby making Nepal a democracy from being a monarchy.
Nepal needs a new Constitution today because it is no longer a monarchy. The
older Constitution vested power in the King, but when the country is now a
democracy, a new Constitution is needed to reflect the "democratic" ideals of
Nepal that the peoples' movement desired and fought for. In order to achieve
this, all its constitutive rules must be changed.
3. What would happen if there were no restrictions on the power of elected
representatives?
Answer
If there are no restrictions on the power of the elected representatives the
leaders might misuse the
powers given to them. The Constitution provides safeguards against this misuse
of power by our political leaders.
4. In each of the following situations, identify the minority. Write one
reason why you think it is
important to respect the views of the minority in each of these
situations.
(a) In a school with 30 teachers, 20 of them are male.
(b) In a city, 5 per cent of the population are Buddhists.
(c) In a factory mess for all employees, 80 per cent are vegetarians. (d) In
a class of 50 students, 40
belong to more well-off families.
Answer
(a) Female teachers are in minority. The female teachers must be allowed space
to voice their
opinion so that their efforts at teaching are not hindered by their minority
status.
(b) Budhhists are in minority. Every individual has the right to follow the
religion of his/her choice.
People of other faith must respect the religion other than their own.
(c) Non-vegetrians are in minority. Food choice is personal wish so he/she
should have the freedom
to eat what he/she wants.
(d) Under privileged are in minority. Citizens cannnot be discriminated by their
birth so their views
have to be respected.
5. The column on the left lists some of the key features of the Indian
Constitution. In the other column
write two sentences, in your own words, on why you think this feature is
important:
Key Feature Significance
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Fundamental Rights
Parliamentary Form of Government
Answer
Key features
1. Federalism: It ensures national unity and at the same time allows individual
progress. A federal
government allows the Centre to hold supreme power but its Constituent States
have some power as
well.
2. Separation of Powers: This serves two purposes: firstly, tyrannical use of
power is avoided since it
does not vest power in any single authority. Secondly, the 3 organs of power
also work as a check on each other, thereby maintaining a good balance.
3. Fundamental Rights: These are important because they conform to a humane
society. They also
protect citizens against arbitrary and absolute use of power by the State.
4. Parliamentary Form of Government: It upholds universal adult franchise. This
entails the fact that
the people of a country play a direct role in electing their representatives to
run the state as well as the
nation.