Test: Constitutional Design- 1 - Class 9 MCQ

Nelson Mandela, the leader in the African National Congress, an organization dedicated to protesting against the South African government’s policy of apartheid, had been arrested in 1956 on treason charges but was acquitted.
On June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela received a life sentence for committing sabotage against South Africa’s apartheid government, avoiding a possible death sentence.

The Preamble of the Indian Constitution primarily focuses on upholding principles like justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity, emphasizing the reduction of social inequalities, the welfare of all citizens, and the prohibition of discrimination based on caste, religion, or gender.

Mandela was arrested in 1962 for his involvement in the resistance against the oppressive apartheid regime in South Africa. Nelson Mandela remained in jail for a total of 28 years. He was imprisoned from 1962 to 1990.

The people of South Africa were divided by their race and the different races were forced to live separately from each other. There were laws in place to ensure that segregation was abided by.

Mahatma Gandhi was not a member of the Constituent Assembly of India. Members were chosen by indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, according to the scheme recommended by the Cabinet Mission.
The arrangement was:
(i) 292 members were elected through the Provincial Legislative Assemblies
(ii) 93 members represented the Indian Princely States
(iii) 4 members represented the Chief Commissioners' Provinces.

• Option A: Liberty - Citizens cannot be discriminated on the grounds of caste, religion, and gender: LIBERTY generally refers to freedom from unreasonable restrictions and the right to act freely, rather than specifically addressing non-discrimination. The statement more accurately aligns with the concept of JUSTICE.

• Option B: Justice - All are equal before the law: JUSTICE involves fairness and ensuring that individuals are treated equitably. However, the statement that "all are equal before the law" aligns more directly with EQUALITY, not JUSTICE.

• Option C: Fraternity - No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior: FRATERNITY refers to a sense of brotherhood and mutual respect among citizens, which aligns with the idea that no one should treat another as inferior.

• Option D: Equality - The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary position: This describes a REPUBLIC, not EQUALITY. EQUALITY refers to treating everyone equally before the law and ending traditional social inequalities.

As per the dictionary meaning the word sovereign means “one possesses supreme political power”; and another meaning of the word is “having independent authority and the right to govern itself”.

The Preamble of India proclaims India as a state to be sovereign, it testifies to the fact that India is no longer a dependency or colony or possession of the British Crown. As a sovereign independent state, India is free both internally and externally to take her own decisions and implement these for her people and territories.

• Option A: Nelson Mandela - Non-Violent Resistance. While Nelson Mandela did advocate for non-violent resistance initially, he later supported armed struggle through the formation of the armed wing of the ANC, Umkhonto we Sizwe, to fight against apartheid. So, this pair is not entirely accurate.
• Option B: African National Congress - Struggle against Apartheid. The African National Congress (ANC) was the primary organization that led the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, involving various forms of protest, activism, and resistance.
• Option C: Constitution of India - Adopted 1952. This is incorrect. The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950.
• Option D: Apartheid - Equal Voting Rights. This is incorrect. Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa that denied equal voting rights to non-whites. It was the opposite of equal voting rights.
  
  Therefore, the correctly matched pair is: Option B: African National Congress - Struggle against Apartheid

• The Constitution of India does not reflect the views of its members alone. It expresses a broad consensus of its time.
• Many countries of the world have had to rewrite their constitution afresh because the basic values were not accepted by all major social groups or political parties. In some other countries, the constitution exists as a mere piece of paper. No one actually follows it. The experience of our constitution is different.
• Over the last half a century, several groups have questioned some provisions of the constitution. But no large social group or political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the constitution itself.