Class 9 Civics Chapter 1 Question Answers - Democratic Politics - I

Q1: How did the white Europeans occupy South Africa and begin to rule by imposing apartheid on the country?
Ans:

• Apartheid was the name of a system of racial discrimination unique to South Africa. The white Europeans imposed this system on South Africa.
• During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the trading companies from Europe occupied it with arms and force. They settled in South Africa in a large number and became the local rulers.
• The system of apartheid divided the people of South Africa and labelled them on the basis of their skin colour—blacks, coloured and migrant Indians. The white rulers treated them as inferiors and deprived them of voting rights.

Q2: How was the apartheid system particularly oppressive for the black population?
Ans:
There was no denying the fact that the apartheid system was particularly oppressive for the blacks:

• The entire black population of South Africa was forbidden from living in white areas. They could work in white areas only if they had a permit.
• There were separate trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals, schools and colleges, libraries, cinema halls, theatres, beaches, swimming pools and public toilets for the whites and blacks. The blacks could not use anything meant for the whites.
• The blacks were not allowed to visit the churches where the whites worshipped. They could not form associations or protest against the terrible treatment.

Q3: How did the people of South Africa fight against the oppressive system of apartheid?
Ans: 

• All the non-whites (the blacks, coloured and migrant Indians) made collective efforts and fought unitedly against the apartheid system which had made their lives so miserable. Their fight began in 1950 and continued till they uprooted this system.
• They launched protest marches and strikes. The African National Congress or ANC was the umbrella organisation that led the struggle against the policies of segregation. This included many workers’ unions and the Communist Party.
• The non-whites also got support from many sensitive whites in their fight against apartheid. Several countries denounced this system as unjust and racist. But the white government remained stick to its policy of segregation.

Q3: What made the blacks and whites apprehensive at the time of Constitution making in South Africa?
Ans: The following factors made both ethnic groups apprehensive at the time of Constitution making in South Africa:

• The oppressor (whites) and the oppressed (blacks) in the new democracy were planning to live together as equals. It was not going to be easy for them to trust each other. They had their fears.
• Both groups wanted to safeguard their interests. The black majority was keen to ensure that the democratic principle of majority rule was not compromised. They wanted substantial social and economic rights.
• The white majority was keen to protect its privileges and property.

Q5: What was the attitude of the black leaders towards the whites after the emergence of the new democratic South Africa?
Ans:

• After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, blacks leaders refrained themselves from taking revenge on the whites for all their oppression and ill-treatment. Instead they maintained a very soft and liberal attitude towards the whites.
• They appealed to fellow blacks to forgive the whites for the atrocities they had committed while in power. They said let us build a new South Africa based on equality of all races and men and women, on democratic values, social justice and human rights. The party that ruled through oppression and brutal killings and the party that led the freedom struggle came together to draw up a common Constitution.

Q6: Why is a written Constitution needed in every country?
Ans:

• Every country has diverse groups of people. Their relationships may be bad for various reasons. People may have differences of opinion and interests. Whether democratic or not, most countries in the world need to have some basic rules called a Constitution to run the society and country peacefully and cordially.
• These rules must be considered supreme. They apply not just to government but to all the people living in a territory. This set of basic rules determines the relationship among people of a territory and also the relationship between the people and government.

Q7:  Mention the role of the Constituent Assembly in the making of the Indian Constitution.
Ans:

• Constituent Assembly was an assembly of people’s representatives that wrote the Constitution for India. First of all the assembly drafted the document called the Constitution.
• The elections to the Constituent Assembly were hold 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 and the one that wrote the Indian Constitution had 299 members.
• The Assembly took 2 years 11 months and 18 days, during which the members deliberated for 114 days. The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 but brought into effect on 26 January 1950, the day on which we celebrate the Republic Day every year.

Q8: What is the significance of the Preamble to the Indian Constitution?
Ans:
The Constitution of India begins with a Preamble which reads like a poem on democracy.

• The Preamble contains the philosophy on which the entire Constitution has been built. It is the soul of the Indian Constitution.
• It provides a standard to examine and evaluate any law and action of government, to find out whether it is good or bad.
• It has some key words like sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, justice, liberty, equality and fraternity which form the foundation for India’s democracy.

Q9: What compromises were made between the blacks and whites at the time of Constitution making in South Africa?
Ans:

• After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, the two parties, the one that ruled through oppression and the other that led freedom struggle, sat together to draw up a common Constitution. After long negotiations both parties agreed to a compromise.
•  The whites agreed to the principle of majority rule and that of one person are vote. They also agreed to accept some basic rights for the poor and the workers.
• The blacks agreed that the majority rule would not be absolute. They agreed that the majority would not take away the property of the white minority.

Q10: How can you say that the Constituent Assembly was the representative body of the people of India?
Ans:

• It is a fact the Constituent Assembly represented the people of India. Some of the important leaders who became its members were Rajendra Prasad, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu. Frank Antony, K.M Munshi, etc., representing different section of the Indian society.
• As there was no universal adult franchise at that time, so the Constituent Assembly 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.
• In social terms too, the Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes, classes, religions and occupations.

Q11:How did the white minority and the black majority agree to draw up a common Constitution for South Africa?
Ans:

• After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, the two parties, the one that ruled through oppression and the other that led freedom struggle, sat together to draw up a common Constitution. After long negotiations both parties agreed to a compromise.
• The whites agreed to the principle of majority rule and that of one person are vote. They also agreed to accept some basic rights for the poor and the workers.
• The blacks agreed that the majority rule would not be absolute. They agreed that the majority would not take away the property of the white minority.

South Africa got independence from the apartheid government in 1994. Afterwards the process of Constitution making began. It took two years when South Africa got one of the finest constitutions of the world. In 1996, President Nelson Mandela promulgated it. Here are the major characteristics of this Constitution:

• The Constitution of South Africa is the highest law of the land. It is widely regarded as the most progressive Constitution in the world, with a Bill of Rights second to none.
• The new Constitution was written in consultation with the public as well as elected public representatives.
• The Constitution gives to its citizens the most extensive rights available in any country. It is based on equality of all races and men and women, on democratic values, social justice and human rights.
• Freedom of expression and association, political and property rights, housing, health care, education, access to information and access to courts have also been incorporated in the Constitution of South Africa.
• Speaking on the South African Constitution, Mandela said that the Constitution speaks of both the past and the future. On the one hand, it is a solemn pact in which all the citizens of South Africa declare to one another that they shall never permit a repetition of their racist, brutal and repressive past.

Thus, the South African Constitution inspires democrats all over the world. A state denounced by the entire world till recently as the most undemocratic one is now seen as a model of democracy.

Q12: Mention some of the major characteristics of the Indian Constitution.
Ans:
The Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950. Some of its major characteristics are

given below:

• It is a very long and detailed document. Therefore, there are provisions to incorporate changed from time to time to keep it updated.
• It describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal language. It lays down a procedure for choosing persons to govern the country.
• It defines who will have how much power to take which decisions. And it puts limits to what the government can do by providing some rights to the citizens that cannot be violated.
• The Constitution of India begins with a short statement of its basic values such as secularism, fraternity, equality, justice, etc. This is called the Preamble to the Constitution.
• It does not reflect the views of its members alone. It express a broad consensus of its time. Perhaps therefore no large social group or political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution itself.

Q13: How can you say that the Indian Constitution is both rigid and flexible?
Ans:

• One of the most important features of the Constitution of India is that it both rigid and flexible. It is rigid because the provisions related to the basic structure of the Constitution e.g. the division of powers between the legislature, the executive and judiciary cannot be changed by the Parliament alone.
• If any change is needed to make, it has to be first passed by both the Houses of the Parliament with at least two-third majority. Then it has to be satisfied by the legislatures of at least half of the total states.
• At the same time our Constitution is flexible also. It can be changed according to the need of the time. The Constitution makers did not see it as a sacred , static and unalterable law. So, they make provisions to incorporate changes from time to time to keep it updated. These changes are called constitutional amendments.

Q14: Which values are embedded in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution? Explain.
Ans: The Constitution of India begins with a short statement of its basic values. This is called the preamble to the Constitution. These values guide all the articles of the Indian Constitution. The Preamble is the soul of our Constitution. It contains some key words such as sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, justice, etc.

• Sovereign: India is a sovereign country. 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 socioeconomic 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.

Q15: What is Constitution of a country? Why do we need it? Or, what is the importance of a Constitution in a country?
Ans: The Constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people living together in a country. Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship among people living in a territory and also the relationship between the people and government. We need a Constitution for various reasons:

• It generates a decrese of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live together.
• It specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions.
• It lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are.
• It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.