NIOS Class 10 Social Science Chapter 15 Solution – Constitutional Values And Political System In India

NIOS Class 10 Social Science Chapter 15 Solution – Constitutional Values And Political System In India

NIOS Class 10 Social Science Solution Chapter 15 Constitutional Values And Political System In India. NIOS Class 10 Social Science Chapter 15 Question Answers Download PDF. NIOS Class 10 Science Notes.

NIOS Class 10 Social Science Chapter 15 Solution

Board

NIOS
Class

10th (Secondary)

Subject

Social Science

Topic

Question Answer, Solution, Notes

 

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.1

1. What is the meaning of Constitution?

2. Fill in the blanks:

(i) The Indian Constitution is the ……………….. constitution.

(ii) The Indian Constitution was prepared by ………………………………

(iii) The Constitution of India is a living document, because it needs to be
…………
(iv) The 26 January is celebrated every year as …………… because the Constitution came in to effect on ………….

 

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.2

1. What do you mean by the term value?

2. State two important constitutional values embodied in the Preamble of Indian
Constitution? Why do you consider these two values as very important?

3. Match the values/objectives given below in column ‘A’ with the statements in
column ‘B’.

 

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.3

1. What are the main features of the Indian Constitution?

2. What are the constitutional values reflected in the Directive Principles of State
Policy?

3. Why Indian judiciary is called an integrated judiciary?

4. What is the meaning of single citizenship?

 

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.4

1. What are the main features of a federal system?

2. State two important reasons why is it said that “India is federal in form, but unitary in spirit”?

3. The States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were created during
2000 and 2001. Find out from which States they were separated? State also
the reasons why were they created?

 

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.5

1. In a parliamentary system, what kind of relation is between the executive and
the legislature?

2. Why is the President of India only the nominal executive?

3. What is the meaning of collective responsibility?

4. How do both the Houses of Parliament have control over the Council of Ministers?

 

TERMINAL EXCERCISES

1. Answer the following questions in brief:
(i) Define Preamble
(ii) What is a Constitution?
(iii) Who framed the Constitution of India?
(iv) What is meant by ‘Universal Adult Franchise’?

2. Answer the following questions:

(i) Describe the importance of the Constitution.

(ii) What are the major constitutional values embodied in the Preamble? How are these being practised in our daily lives?

(iii) What are the salient features of the Constitution of India?

(iv) Explain any three federal features of the Indian Constitution.

(v) How can you say that the Constitution of India is rigid as well as flexible?

(vi) Why is India called a federal state in form but unitary in spirit?

(vii) Examine the nature of the parliamentary form of government in India.

(viii) Have you ever been part of the Republic Day celebration in your own area/region as a participant or a spectator? If so, mention the highlights of that function.

(ix) Given below is the recorded conversation between a Saudi Arabian Citizen and an Indian. The points made by the Saudi Arabian are given below, whereas the replies by the Indian could not be recorded and hence are left blank. On the basis of what you have read in this lesson and your general knowledge, complete the conversation with relevant replies (‘SA’ stands for the Saudi Arabian and I stands for the Indian).

(a) SA Our country is ruled by a hereditary King. We cannot change
him. So, we have a monarchial form of government.

I ………………………………………..

(b) SA We, in Saudi Arabia do not have any such system as yours,
because we have no political parties. There are no elections
and the people do not have any say in the formation of the
government. So much so that even media cannot report any
thing that the King does not like.

I …………………………………

(c) SA In our country, there is only one religion. Hence, there is no
freedom of religion. Every citizen is required to be Muslim.

I …………………………………

(d) SA Yes, Non-Muslims are allowed to follow their own religion
but only privately and not in public.

I …………………………………

(e) SA In my country, there is discrimination on the basis of sex.
Women are not considered equal to men. They are subjected
to many public restrictions. So much so that testimony of one
man is considered equal to that of two women.

I ……………………………….

 

Answers:

Chapter 15:

IN text questions 15.1

1) Constitution means a set of fundamental principles, basic rules and established precedents. It identifies, defines and regulates various aspects of the State and the structure, powers and functions of the major institutions under the three organs of the Government, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. It also provides for rights and freedoms of citizens and spells out the relationship between individual citizen and the State and government.

2) (i) longest

(ii) The Constituent Assembly

(iii) Amended as and when required to keep it updated

(iv) Republic Day, 26 January 1950

 

IN text questions 15.2

1) Value is defined as which is very essential or ‘worth having and observing’ for the existence of human society as an entity.

2)Two important constitutional values embodied in the Preamble of Indian Constitution are given below:-

a) Sovereignty: It declares India “a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic”. Being sovereign means having complete political freedom and being the supreme authority. It implies that India is internally all powerful and externally free. It is free to determine for itself without any external interference (either by any country or individual) and nobody is there within to challenge its authority. This feature of sovereignty gives us the dignity of existence as a nation in the international community.

b) Secularism: Secularism implies that our country is not guided by any one religion or any religious considerations. However, the Indian state is not against religions. It allows all its citizens to profess, preach and practise any religion they follow.

3) A B

(i) (g)

(ii) (a)

(iii) (e)

(iv) (b)

(v) (c)

(vi) (h)

(vii) (i)

(viii) (f)

(ix) (d)

 

IN text questions 15.3

1) The main features of the Indian Constitution are –

(i) Written Constitution; (ii) Unique blend of rigidity and flexibility; (iii) Fundamental Rights and Duties; (iv) Directive Principles of State Policy (v) Integrated Judicial System (vi) Single Citizenship (vii) Universal Adult Franchise (viii) Federal System and Parliamentary Form of Government.

2)The constitutional values reflected in the Directive Principles of State Policy are Social and economic equality, elimination of social discrimination, international peace.

3)Indian judiciary is called an integrated judiciary because the Supreme Court is at the national level, High Courts at the state level and Subordinate Courts at the district and lower level, there is a single hierarchy of Courts. At the top of the hierarchy is the Supreme Court.

4)Single citizenship means that every Indian is a citizen of India, irrespective of the place of his/her residence.

 

IN text questions 15.4

1)The main features of a federal system are (i) Two-tier government at the Centre and at the state level; (ii) Division of Powers between the Centre and the States; (iii) Written Constitution; (iv) Supremacy of Judiciary

2)Two important reasons why is it said that “India is federal in form, but unitary in spirit” are given below

(i) The Central government has sole power on the territory of India. The very existence of a State including its territorial integrity is in the hands of the Parliament;

(ii) The division of powers between the Centre and the States is in favour of the Union government. The Union List contains all the key subjects; 3)3) Do it yourself.

 

IN text questions 15.5

1)In a parliamentary system, the relation is between the executive and the legislatureis a close relationship between the executive, i.e. the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head and the legislature, i.e. the Parliament. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Parliament. If the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion against the Council of Ministers, it has to resign.

2)The President of India only the nominal executive because all the executive powers are vested by the Constitution in the President of India. But in practice these are not exercised by him/her. These are actually used by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head is the real executive. The President cannot act without the advice of the Council of Ministers. The President is elected by an Electoral College that consists of the Members of Parliament. If the Parliament passes an impeachment against the President, he/she leaves the office.

3)Collective responsibility means that the responsibility of every Minister is the responsibility of the entire Council of Ministers. Even one ministry is criticized, the entire Council of Ministers is considered responsible for that.

4)Houses of Parliament have control over the Council of Ministers by they do it by asking questions and supplementary questions on the policies, programmes and functioning of the government. They can move adjournment motion and calling attention notices. No bill tabled by the Council of Ministers can become a law unless it is approved by the Parliament. The annual budget also is to be passed by the Parliament.

 

Terminal Exercises:

1) i) A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document’s purpose and underlying philosophy.

ii) A constitution is a set of rules, mostly written, which defines and manages the functioning of an organization, institution, or company. When used in the context of a State or a Nation, the Constitution means a set of fundamental rules or principles and standard precedents.

iii) The Constitution is written by the Constituent Assembly of India. The Constituent Assembly was comprised of members who were highly involved in the Indian freedom struggle. These members were called the founding fathers of the Constitution.
The Constitution took 166 days in total to be documented in writing. It was spread over a span of 2 years 11 months and 18 days.

iv) Universal Adult Franchise means that every citizen above the age of adulthood that is 18 has the right to vote and take part in the ballot system of elections.

2) i) A Constitution is an important part of democracy as it standardizes the rights, duties, and laws of the country. All citizens are to be governed by the same laws and equality should thus be maintained. It makes sure that every decision taken should be on the fundamental principle of equality.

ii) The Preamble to any Constitution is a brief introductory statement that conveys the guiding principles of the document. The Preamble to the Indian Constitution also does so. The values expressed in the Preamble are expressed as objectives of the Constitution. These are: sovereignty, socialism, secularism, democracy, republican character of Indian State, justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, human dignity and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

iii) The salient features of the Constitution of India are-

a) Written Constitution: It contains a Preamble, 395 Articles in 22 Parts, 12 Schedules and 5 Appendices. It is a document of fundamental laws that define the nature of the political system and the structure and functioning of organs of the government.

b) A Unique Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility: It is not easy to bring about changes in them frequently. The Constitution lays down special procedure for constitutional amendments. In the unwritten constitution like the British Constitution, amendments are made through ordinary law-making procedure.

c) Fundamental Rights and Duties: Fundamental Rights protect citizens against the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by the State. The Constitution guarantees the rights to individuals against the State as well as against other individuals.

d) Directive Principles of State Policy: In addition to Fundamental Rights, the Constitution also has a section called Directive Principles of State Policy. It is a unique feature of the Constitution. It is aimed at ensuring greater social and economic reforms and serving as a guide to the State to institute laws and policies that help reduce the poverty of the masses and eliminate social discrimination.

e) Integrated Judicial System: Unlike the judicial systems of federal countries like the United States of America, the Indian Constitution has established an integrated judicial system. Although the Supreme Court is at the national level, High Courts at the state level and Subordinate Courts at the district and lower level, there is a single hierarchy of Courts.

f) Single Citizenship: Indian Constitution has provision for single citizenship. It means that every Indian is a citizen of India, irrespective of the place of his/her residence or birth in the country. This is unlike the United States of America where there is the system of double citizenship.

g) Universal Adult Franchise: The values of equality and justice are reflected in yet another salient feature of the Constitution. Every Indian after attaining certain age (at present 18 years) has a right to vote. No discrimination can be made on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, and place of birth or residence. This right is known as universal adult franchise.

h) Federal System and Parliamentary Form of Government: Another salient feature of the Indian Constitution is that it provides for a federal system of state and parliamentary form of government.

iv) Three federal features of the Indian Constitution are-

a) Two-tier government: The federal system includes two kinds of governments who command at the same time; the central government and the state government.

b) Division of powers: The powers in a federal system of government are placed in two hands i.e. both the central well as the state government to ensure justice.

c) Written Constitution: Both sets of governments can pass judgment according to the written Constitution of India. Though both are independent in their spheres, their source of power comes only through the Constitution.

v) The Indian Constitution is said to be neither as flexible as the British Constitution nor as rigid as the US Constitution. Even after being a written Constitution, it has the option of the amendment and thus is not very rigid. But the amendment has to be done systematically and so it is said to be not very flexible either. It represents the value of change.

vi) India called a federal state in form but unitary in spirit because India being a federal government functions on two levels, ie. Central level as well as state level. Though both the governments have the liberty to independently pass judgment the central government is stronger and can withhold all the power at the time of an emergency. It has been given the power to overrule the decision of the state government if the situation demands.

vii) The nature of the parliamentary form of government in India:

The Indian system is a system influenced by the one in England. The Constitution makers took guidance from the British government that ruled in India before the Independence while setting down the system in India.The Indian system includes all the features of a parliamentary government: (i) close relationship between the legislature and the executive, (ii) responsibility of the executive to the legislature, (iii) the executive having a Head of the State as the nominal executive, and a Council of Ministers led by the Prime Minister as the real executive.

viii) Do it yourself.

ix) Do it yourself.

 

Updated: April 14, 2022 — 10:15 am

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *