Constitutional Design Class 9 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions and Answers covers various types i.e. Very short, Short and Long questions, related to the topic so as to help the students with their preparation by helping them do an in-depth study of the topic.
- This chapter essentially deals with the need of a constitution and what is a constitution.
- The chapter tries to analyze the design of a constitution, what are its features, who designed it? What are its key features, philosophy behind it etc.?
- The chapter also gives us an insight about other nation’s constitutions like South Africa and what were their reasons for adopting the constitution they have etc.
Class 9 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions are Answered in detail by our team of experts which includes teachers and professionals. These solutions have been compiled in an easy to understand manner, keeping in mind, the perspective of strong, and weak students. We are providing NCERT Solutions for Class 9 all subjects which can be accessed by clicking here.
Class 9 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions and Answers – Very Short Type Questions: [1-2 marks]
1. ______ was imprisoned for 28 years in South Africa’s most dreaded prison which was known as _______ .
Ans) Nelson Mandela, Robben Island
2. Define the term Apartheid.
Ans) Apartheid can be defined as a system of prejudice, discrimination and segregation on the basis of race. The white race of the nation mistreated the blacks because of their skin color.
3. The blacks, Indians and coloured fought the apartheid system in 1950 with the help of _______ and ________ .
Ans) Protest march, strikes
4. What do you mean by the term colored?
Ans) In South Africa, before independence, people of mixed races were known as colored.
5. Which organization led the struggle against the policies of segregation?
Ans) African National Congress
6. ________ is the title of autobiography of Nelson Mandela.
Ans) The Long Walk to Freedom
7. Name the education minister and finance minister of the first union cabinet of India.
Ans) Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, T. Krishnamachari
8. As many as ______ number of princely states were integrated by our first deputy prime minister _______ .
Ans) 562, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
9. In 1928 the first leaders to draft our constitution were ________ and a group of ______ leaders.
Ans) Motilal Nehru, Eight other Congress
10. The first meeting of constituent assembly was held in _______.
Ans) December 1946
11. Who was the chairman of the Drafting Committee of India?
Ans) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
12. Name the magazine for which great leader Mahatma Gandhi used to write during the 1930’s.
Ans) Young India
13. A change in the constitution made by the supreme legislative body is known as ________ .
Ans) Constitutional Amendment
14. The ideals of the ______, the practice of parliamentary democracy of ________, the Bill of rights of the ______ and the socialist revolution of _______ were taken as inspiration while drafting the Indian Constitution.
Ans) French Revolution, Britain, U.S.A., Russia
Class 9 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions and Answers – Short Type Questions: [2-4 marks]
1. How did the blacks in Africa achieve freedom? Name the most important leader who led the struggle and also describe the role of the whites in the freedom struggle.
Ans) The black people of South Africa were suppressed for ages in their own country by the minority of supreme whites but as demonstrations, struggles, rallies against the whites kept increasing , the government apprehended that it could no longer continue to use its oppressive measures over the blacks. Also, owing to the strong protests by leaders like Nelson Mandela who throughout their lifetime fought against this racial discrimination and protests by some sensitive whites who actively participated in the rallies and freedom struggle movements and also joined the African National Congress, the authoritative whites were forced to repeal the discriminatory and segregation laws against the blacks and also to lift the ban on freedom of press and media. They were forced to release Nelson Mandela from jail after 28 years and finally at mid night of 26th April 1994 Africa got its long awaited freedom from the oppressive rule.
2. Describe the situation post-independence from Apartheid in South Africa.
Ans) After Africa gained its independence on 26th April 1994, an appeal was made to the black people by their leaders to forgive the whites for their brutalities. These leaders wanted to build a new nation based on equality and justice to all races, sexes and classes. They wanted equal and just laws as well as political and social justice for women, children, whites and blacks. The constitution of the country was hence made by both the parties, who ruled oppressively and who led the freedom struggle together, taking into consideration the needs of both the sides. Owing to this and after a long period of hard work, meetings, suggestions and editing, South Africa came up with one of the finest constitutions in the world, providing all-encompassing rights to its citizens.
3. When was the Constitution of India adopted? How many days were required to frame the Constitution? How many members did it have and what do we do to remember this day?
Ans) The constitution of our country was adopted in the year 1949 on 26th of November.However, it came to force only on January 1950. It took the leaders two years, eleven months and seventeen days or one hundred and fourteen days to complete the drafting procedure. A total of 299 members were a part of the Constituent Assembly. In order to remember this day, we celebrate 26th January as Republic day every year.
4. The Drafting Committee played a very important role in the formation of State a few contributions it made.
Ans) The Drafting Committee played a very crucial role in the formation of our Constitution. The committee prepared a draft and discussions were done on it. Chairman of the committee, Dr. BR Ambedkar also played a very crucial role. After a number of discussions, debates and negotiations by the best leaders of our country, the committee after a period of 3 years came up with our constitution. They tried to borrow all the positive and unique features of different constitutions and innovated them according to the needs of our citizens. They opted for a mixed economy and kept the constitution rigid yet flexible for future requirements. They wisely drafted the constitution with provisions of amendments and rigid fundamental rights so that no party in power can manipulate and misuse their authority to rule like a dictator. They incorporated the concept of universal adult franchise from the very beginning unlike most countries to promote equality and justice for all.
5. The Constitution of India is considered to be both rigid and flexible. Explain as to why this statement is valid.
Ans) The Constitution of India is one of the finest in the world which has been drafted very carefully after a lot of discussions, debates and negotiations by our leaders. On one hand, our constitution is considered to be rigid while on the other it is considered flexible. This statement is justified as on one hand we have the fundamental rights which cannot be altered and any party in power has to provide its citizens with the six fundamental rights mentioned in our constitution. On the other hand, however we also have provisions for making amendments which makes our constitution flexible as with the changing times laws needs to be added or removed according to the needs.
6. Name any four factors which contributed significantly to the making of our constitution.
Ans) The Indian National Movement that took place, the significant roles played by our great leaders, the long journey of the British rule and the developments carried out during the British Raj and several world events that were taking place like French Revolution, Industrialization etc. contributed significantly to the making of our constitution.
7. What were the challenges faced while drafting the constitution of India?
Ans) Drafting the constitution of India was not an easy task. The country post-independence was going through a lot of crisis, especially because of the partition and the future of the country seemed to be in the dark. A number of classes and groups arrived on social, cultural and economic basis, people demanded for separate states on the basis of the cultural differences owing to the huge diversity of the country. The problem of a number of independent princely states not willing to be a part of the nation also threatened the unity of the country. As a result, our leaders wanted to make sure that these differences do not hamper our unity and tried to draft a unique and one of the finest constitutions of the world.
8. Why does a nation need a constitution?
Ans) Constitution can be defined as the supreme law of the land. It works as a connection between people and the ruling party by providing people with the basic rights and restricting the powers of the ruling party by maintaining a system of checks and balances. The constitution also provides provisions for the backward and underprivileged sections.
Class 9 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions and Answers – Long Type Questions: [4-6 marks]
1. The apartheid system affected the blacks ruthlessly. State 4 points as to how this process of discrimination was carried out.
Ans) Apartheid was a method of racial discernment where the blacks were discriminated against by the whites in almost every domain of life.
- The blacks were treated as substandard and often were subjected to harsh working conditions, unequal pay for work and other discriminatory practices.
- The blacks were not allowed to travel in the same buses or study in the same educational institutions.
- The blacks were also not allowed to enter the hospitals which treated whites and they had to live far away from the developed towns where mainly the whites lived.
- The blacks were forbidden to form groups and protest against any of the harsh treatments provided and were also treated as slaves and subjected to innumerable cruel acts.
2. The Constitution of India is termed as a mixed bag of borrowings. Point out 4 different features which India has borrowed from different countries.
Ans) Indian Constitution has been proved as one of the world’s finest constitution with a number of unique features as well as a mixed bag of borrowings. The leaders of the Constituent Assembly carefully chose a number of features from other constitutions so as to upgrade the constitution to its best form.
- India borrowed the system of parliamentary type of government and its parliamentary features from Britain. Rule of law, single citizenship and bicameralism, all the concepts that are adopted from this nation’s constitution.
- Directive principles of state policy, and method of election of presidents are features that India adopted from the constitution of Ireland.
- S.A has been one of the most important contributors and India adopted the concept of fundamental rights, judicial review, and independence of the judiciary from this country.
- Concept of concurrent list was borrowed from Australia while concept of fundamental duties was borrowed from Russia.
3. What is a preamble? State four main features of the Preamble to our Constitution.
Ans) A preamble can be defined as an introductory statement of a document that explains its purpose and essential viewpoints. Our Preamble states India as a democratic, sovereign, socialist, republic nation and speaks for status of equality, justice and opportunity for all.
The preamble states India as democratic as in our nation, people rule themselves by electing their representatives and have the right to withdraw the power of the ruling party in case of dissatisfaction.
Our country is stated as secular as there is no particular state religion and people have the freedom to practice, preach and profess their own religion of choice.
India is a republic nation as the head of the state i.e. President is elected for a period of 5 years and elections takes place after every 5 years.
India is also a socialist nation as it is free from any foreign rule and aims to achieve social, economic and political equality for all its citizens.
4. What were the challenges faced by different races of South Africa after independence? How did they all come to a common point of agreement?
Ans) After a long struggle, Africa finally gained Independence from Apartheid on 26th April 1994 but this independence brought with itself a different set of challenges. After independence, people of both the races decided to live together as one nation and not discriminate against each other but after years of tension, it was difficult for them to trust each other.While whites were insecure because they were minority in number, it was difficult for the blacks to forget their past and move on.
Substantial social, economic and political rights were demanded by both. The whites, though agreed to the policy of one person one vote and special rights for the poor and underprivileged, they also had the fear of losing their rights and privileges. On the other hand, the blacks agreed that the majority rule will not be absolute and that the properties of the whites won’t be taken away. As a result, both the races finally agreed that basic rules cannot be violated since the constitution was made by both the parties together and equality and justice will be maintained by all.
If you have any feedbacks on Constitutional Design Class 9 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions and Answers please write us on comment box.