NCERT Solutions Class 9 Social Science Political Science Chapter 2 Constitutional Design

NCERT Solutions for Chapter 2 Constitutional Design help students understand how the Indian Constitution was made and why it is important for the country. This NCERT Solutions Class 9 Social Science chapter explains the process of drafting the Constitution, the role of the Constituent Assembly, and the values like equality, freedom, and justice that are included in it. Students also learn how the Constitution protects the rights of citizens and guides the working of the government.

The solutions are based on the official NCERT textbooks, written in a simple manner, accessible to Class 9 students. These solutions are going to aid students preparing for exams and revising since they will help students relate the historical background of the Constitution to its application in everyday life.

1.0Download NCERT Solutions Class 9 Social Science Chapter 2 Constitutional Design : Free PDF

Download NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science Political Science Chapter 2 Constitutional Design free PDF, developed to help you understand concepts and revise them effectively.

2.0Important Concepts Class 9 Social Science Chapter 2 Constitutional Design : Brief Explanation

This chapter explains how the Indian Constitution was designed to create a democratic and inclusive political system. It highlights the principles and structures that ensure justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity in India.

• Why a Constitution?
  A constitution is a set of rules and principles that guide how a country is governed. It ensures fairness and protects citizens' rights.
• Constitution-Making in India:
  India adopted its constitution in 1950 after extensive debates, focusing on building a democratic nation respecting diversity.
• Key Features of the Indian Constitution:
• • Sovereignty: India is an independent country with supreme authority.
  • Democracy: Power rests with the people who elect their representatives.
  • Republic: The head of the country is elected, not hereditary.
  • Fundamental Rights: Protect individual freedoms and equality.
  • Directive Principles: Guidelines to make policies for social welfare.
• Constitution as a Living Document:
  The constitution can be amended to address changing needs, ensuring it remains relevant over time.
• Separation of Powers:
  The constitution divides powers among the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary to prevent misuse of power.
• Federal Structure:
  India has a system where power is shared between the central and state governments.

3.0NCERT Class 9 Social Science Chapter 2: Detailed Solutions

1. 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. Ans. Leaders of the freedom movement were decided on certain basic values and wanted India to be a democratic republic. (b) Members of the Constituent Assembly of India held the same views on all provisions of the Constitution. Ans. No, there were sharp differences on many issues. They were solved after long discussions and debates and a consensus was reached. (c) A country that has a constitution must be a democracy. Ans. Not necessarily. Every country has a constitution but all are not democracies. (d) Constitution cannot be amended because it is the supreme law of a country. Ans. A Constitution is not inflexible. It has to change according to the changes in society and reflect people's aspirations.
2. 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 minority and the black majority (d) Between the coloured minority and the black majority. Ans. (c) between the white minority and black majority.
3. 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
   Ans. (b) Name of the head of the state.
4. Match the following leaders with their roles in the making of the Constitution

Ans. (A)-(iv); (B)-(iii); (C)-(i); (D)-(ii)

5. 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?
   Ans. He says this because India was partitioned into India and Pakistan. (b) What pledge did he want the makers of the Indian Constitution to take? Ans. The pledge of service of the millions who suffer. (c). "The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. " Who was he referring to? Ans. Mahatma Gandhi.
6. Here are some of the guiding values of the Constitution and their meaning. Rewrite them by matching them correctly.

Ans. (A) Sovereign - People have the supreme right to make decisions (B) Republic - Head of the state is an elected person. (C) Fraternity - People should live like brothers and sisters. (D)Secular - Government will not favour any religion.

7. 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 the 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 to these leaders. Ans. I would give the maximum importance to the second opinion. Freedom struggle was the biggest factor in teaching us the values of freedom of thought, expression and belief. It taught us that we had to be united, live as brothers and sisters to fight the common enemy. It taught us the democratic value of equality, how social equality was as important as political one. It taught people that inspite of differences, some basic values are accepted by all. Second important factor was the quality of leadership. Gandhiji, Nehru, Bose, Azad, to name a few, were great democrats who believed in equality, liberty and fraternity. They believed that the suffering of the people had to be alleviated.
   The British gave the Indians training to work with legislative institutions, but they were certainly not believers of democracy. They did not allow everyone to vote, they had all the power in their hands, they created divisions among Hindus and Muslims, did not treat Indians as equal to them. In fact it was the freedom struggle which taught Indians to value democracy.
8. Read the following extract from a conduct book for 'married women', published in 1912. 'God had made the female species delicate and fragile both physically and emotionally, pitiably incapable of selfdefence. They are destined thus by God to remain in made 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 values expressed in this para reflected the values underlying our Constitution? Or does this go against the constitutional values? Ans. They certainly go against our constitutional values. The Constitution makes no gender differences. Equal rights are given to women. They can vote, take up any job, have property rights and are paid (according to the constitution) equal wages for equal work. The statement of 1912 makes women inferior to men and does not give them equal status.
9. 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.
   Ans. Not true. Constitution is the supreme law. Its authority cannot be challenged even by the government. It is not like an ordinary law. (b) Constitution lays down how different organs of the government will be formed. Ans. Yes, it is true. It defines the role of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary and how they should be formed and by whom. (c) Rights of citizens and limits on the power of the government are laid down in the Constitution.
   Ans. Yes, true. The Fundamental Rights state clearly the rights of the citizens. They also state the power of the executive, lay down the rules of how the legislature and the judiciary can control the government. (d) A Constitution is about institutions, not about values. Ans. Not true. The Constitution contains all the values which the institutions have to promote. The Preamble to the Constitution is a shining example of this and states clearly that justice, liberty, equality and fraternity have to be promoted. Secularism has to be followed and socialism and democracy should be the basis of the government.

EXERCISE-01

Multiple choice questions

1. Which of the following terms in not included in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution? (1) Liberty (2) Equality (3) Secular (4) Religion

2. Which of the following sentences is correct? (1) All countries that have constitutions are necessarily democratic (2) All countries that are democratic necessarily have constitutions (3) Both (1) and (2) (4) None of the above

3. When did Motilal Nehru draft a Constitution for India? (1) 1927 (2) 1926 (3) 1929 (4) 1928

4. Where was the 1931 session of Indian National Congress held? (1) Nagpur (2) Karachi (3) Calcutta (4) Delhi

5. Which of these features were accepted by all the Indian leaders, much before they sat down to make the Constitution? SSD034 (1) Universal adult franchise (2) Right to freedom (3) Protection of the rights of minorities (4) All of these

6. According to which Act were the elections held to provincial legislatures in India? (1) Government of India Act. 1935 (2) Government of India Act. 1919 (3) Government of India Act. 1909 (4) None of the above

7. Which of these inspired our leaders while framing the Constitution? (1) Ideals of the French Revolution (2) Parliamentary democracy in Britain (3) Bill of Rights in US (4) All of these

8. Which Revolution in the world inspired the Indians to set up a socialist economy? (1) French Revolution (2) Turkish Revolution (3) Russian Revolution (4) American War of Independence

9. Name the body which framed the Constitution of India? (1) General Assembly (2) Constituent Assembly (3) Constitutional Assembly (4) People's Assembly

10. When did the Assembly adopt the Constitution for India? (1) $26{}^{\text{th }}$ November 1949 (2) $26{}^{\text{th }}$ December 1949 (3) $26^{\text{th }}$ January 1950 (4) $26{}^{\text{th }}$ January 1949

True or false

1. The constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people living together in a country. 2. In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other congress leaders drafted a constitution for India. 3. Young India was the Magazine of B.R Ambedkar. 4. Preamble is the soul of India Constitution. 5. Clause is a distinct section of a document.

Fill in the blanks

1. Constitution specifies how the will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions. 2. The British had left it to the rulers of the _________ to decide whether they wanted to merge with India or with Pakistan or remain independent. 3. The first meeting of Constituent Assembly was held in _________. 4. We celebrate January 26 as ________ every year. 5. Constitution of India is a very large and ________ document. 1.

Match the columns

ANSWER KEY

Multiple choice questions

True or false

• True
• True
• False
• True
• True

Fill in the blanks

• government
• princely states
• December 1946
• Republic Day
• detailed

Match the column

• (A) $\to$ (v) ; (B) $\to$ (iv) ; (C) $\to$ (iii) ; (D) $\to$ (ii) ; (E) $\to$ (i)

EXERCISE-02

Short Answer Type Questions

1. What is the importance of a constitution in a 'democratic country?
2. What is meant by the term 'Preamble'?
3. On which ideals do the Preamble to the Indian constitution lay emphasis?
4. India is a "Sovereign, Socialist, Secular." Justify.
5. What do you mean by Constitutional amendments?

Long Answer Type Questions

6. What is constitution? What is its importance?
7. With reference to the Indian constitution answer the following questions. SSD057 (1) When was it passed? (2) When was it enforced? (3) Why was this date chosen?
8. How was the Indian constitution framed?
9. Why should we accept the constitution made by Constituent Assembly? SSD059
10. Define the following: (1) Draft (2) Clause (3) Constitution (4) Amendment (5) Treason

4.0Key Features and Benefits of Class 9 Social Science Chapter 2 Constitutional Design

• Understanding Constitution Basics: This chapter introduces students to what a constitution is and why every country needs one.
• Important Features of a Constitution: Students learn about key parts of a constitution like fundamental rights, duties, and how laws are made.
• Focus on Democracy and Equality: The constitution ensures democracy, justice, and equality for all citizens, concepts clearly explained for better understanding.
• Helps Understand Governance: This chapter lays the foundation for how India’s government functions and why constitutional laws matter.
• Useful for Exam Preparation: Important terms and events are explained simply, making revision easy and helping students write confident answers.