New Horizon Public School, Airoli

Grade VIII: Social Science: Chapter 1: The Constitution of India

Name : ______________________ Roll No: ______ Date: ________

Keywords
1. Regulation 2. Dowry 3. Prohibition 4. Minority
5. Legislation 6. Dominance 7. Untouchability 8. Representative
9. Welfare 10. Discrimination 11. Abolished 12. Judiciary
13. Federalism 14. Separation 15. Secularism

I) Answer the following in one or two sentence:

1. Define constitution.
Ans. The constitution of a country is a set of rules according to which it is governed.

2. Why do we celebrate Republic Day?

Ans. We celebrate Republic Day to mark the day when the Indian Constitution came
into effect.

3. Who was elected as the first president of the Constituent Assembly?

Ans. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first president of the Constituent Assembly.

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q. What do you understand by social justice?
Ans. Social justice means no discrimination on the basis of birth, caste, race, sex or
religion.

II) Answer the following in short:

1. List four features of our Constitution that have been borrowed from other countries.
Ans. The Four features of the Indian Constitution that are borrowed from other countries
are:
i. Parliamentary form of government adopted from the British Constitution.
ii. Federalism was adopted from Canada.
iii. Fundamental Rights adopted from the Constitution of United States of America.
iv. The Directive Principles of State Policy adopted from the Irish Constitution.

2. Why was the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 passed? What amendments were made to it?
Ans. i. The Dowry Prohibition Act was passed in 1961 to prohibit the demanding, giving
and taking of dowry. Dowry as described by the Dowry Prohibition Act is the demand for property
by the groom's relatives from the bride's parents.
ii. An amendment was made to the Act of 1961 in 1981, which made payment or acceptance of
dowry a punishable offence.
iii. The Act was further amended in 1986. People who are convicted under this law can face up to
five years of imprisonment.

3. Why is the Preamble so important to the Constitution?

Ans. i.The Preamble is the brief introductory note at the beginning of our Constitution.
ii. It lists the source of authority, the system of government, the objectives to be attained by the
political system and the date of adoption and enactment of the Indian Constitution.
iii. Though the Preamble is not enforceable by law, it provides a key to the understanding and
interpretation of the Constitution. It has, therefore, been described as the soul of the Constitution.
4. How has the Untouchability Act helped in reducing inequality in the society?
Ans. i. The practice of untouchability is a social evil which discriminates people and
violates their fundamental right to equality.
ii. This practice was abolished by the Article 17 of the Constitution and made it a punishable
offence by law.
iii. This helped in reducing the inequality in the society by stopping discrimination against people.
iv. Denying people admission to public spaces and subjecting any person to disability with regard
to access to any shop, hotel or with regard to use of sources of water, road etc. were checked and
equal status was granted to the people.

III) Answer the following in brief:

1. Trace the formation of the Indian Constitution.
Ans. i. Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders had drafted a Constitution of
India as far back as 1928.
ii. In the 1931 Karachi Session, the Congress discussed the Indian Constitution and the leaders
accepted values such as universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equality and protection of
the rights of minorities.
iii. The British set up a Constituent Assembly to make the Constitution of India as they-80. decided
to leave India.
iv. The Constituent Assembly was dominated by the leaders of freedom movement. The first
meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place on 9 December 1946.
v. The articles of the Constitution were much deliberated clause by clause and the original draft of
the Constitution was modified considerably.
vi.The Constituent Assembly finally approved the draft of the Indian Constitution on 29 November
1949 and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.
2. Discuss the importance of fraternity as an objective of the Constitution.
Ans. i. India being a land of diversity, a spirit of d brotherhood among its people is
necessary.
ii. The principle of common citizenship is directed towards strengthening this sense of unity and
integrity of the nation.
iii. Fraternity is also implemented by giving equal rights to all. Fraternity, is not possible unless
the dignity of each individual is preserved and respected.
iv. Maintaining this dignity n requires granting of certain justifiable rights to each individual.
v. The Constitution of India aims to provide such rights to individuals.
Some examples of such principles include these points:
a. The directive principles of the state have been used to benefit all citizens equally providing
adequate means of livelihood.
b. The state is bound to provide humane conditions of work and ensure all its citizens attain a
decent standard of living.
c. The practice of untouchability was abolished in India to preserve individual dignity.

3. Discuss how federalism is practiced in India.

Ans. i. Federalism means existence of two or more tiers of government. India adopted
this concept from Canada.
ii. Under this system, India has two levels of government-central and state government. A third
tier exists in the form of Panchayati Raj.
iii. The union and state governments are both created by the Constitution. Their structure, functions
powers are all defined.
iv. As a result, the union government cannot take away the powers of the state governments without
their consent.
v. The Indian Constitution divides the powers of the union and the state government on the basis
of three lists.

IV) Answer the following (To be written in the notepad)

1. What do you understand by the concept of Rule of Law?
2. Write a brief note on separation of powers.