NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science Civics Chapter 1 The Indian constitution

Class 8 Civics Chapter 1 The Indian constitution InText Questions and Answers

Page No. 6

Question 1.
Discuss with your teacher what you understand by the term ‘constitutive’. Provide one example of ‘constitutive rules’ from your everyday life.
Answer:
The term ‘constitutive’ means essential. In-country like India, where different communities of people share certain beliefs and may not necessarily agree on all issues. Thus, it becomes important to make certain rules and regulations which had to be essentially followed by each and every citizen of India. It is important for the smooth running of the country along with its diverse cultures, faiths, religions, etc.

Constitutive rules from everyday life Going to school daily: It is essential for every child to go to school daily. It not only helps to gain knowledge about various subjects but also inculcates various other good habits like obeying elders, respecting teachers, working in a group with cooperation, following discipline, etc.

Question 2.
Why did the people of Nepal want a new Constitution?
Answer:
People of Nepal want a new Constitution because the constitution which is prevailing in Nepal was made during the monarchial form of government. It does not reflect the ideals of the country they want Nepal to be, and that they have fought for. In other words, Nepal from a monarchy is converted into a democratic government. So, it needs to change all its constitutive rules in order to usher in a new society.

Page No. 7

Question 1.
In what way is the class monitor misusing his power?
Answer:
The class monitor is making wrong complaints of the innocent students to the teacher. Thus, the innocent students are either scolded by the teacher or get punished for not doing anything wrong. In this way, the class monitor is insuring his power.

Question 2.
In which of the following situations is a minister misusing his power
(a) Refuses to sanction a project of his ministry for sound technical reasons
(b) Threatens to send his security staff to rough up his neighbour
(c) Calls up the police station asking them not to register a complaint that is likely to.be filed against his relative
Answer:
(b) threatens to send his security staff to rough up his neighbour
(c) calls up the police station asking them not to register a complaint that is likely to be filed against his relative.

Question 3.
Who is in a minority in the above storyboard? In what way is this minority being dominated by the decision taken by the majority?
Answer:
Girls are in a minority in the above storyboard. Girls want to play basketball while boys are interested in cricket. The teacher settles the problem with a show of hands. As there are more boys in the class, more hands raise for cricket. Thus, it is decided to play cricket in the game period. In this way, a minority (girls) is dominated by the decision taken by the majority (boys).

Page No. 9

Question 1.
Why was Shabnam happy that she had not watched TV? What would you have done in a similar situation?
Answer:
Shabnam was happy that she had not watched TV because she got sufficient time to revise her last two chapters. In the test, many questions were asked from the last two chapters which she attempted correctly.
I would have taken the same step as Shabnam took.

Page No. 10

Question 1.
Let us recap the reasons why the Constitution plays an important role in democratic societies by recalling the constitutive rules that you have read about through these examples:
Answer:

Example	Constitutive Rules
The people of Nepal adopted a new Constitution after the success of the people’s movement for democracy.	It lays down ideals that define the kind of country that we want to live in.
Suresh, the class monitor wrongly picks on Anil, his classmate.	It lays down rules that guard against the misuse of power by our political leaders
The girls do not get to play basketball because the boys are a majority in class.	It contains rules that ensure that minorities are not excluded from anything that is routinely available to the majority.
Shabnam decides to revise her chapters instead of watching TV.	It means that we might at times feel particularly strong about an issue that might go against our larger interests.

Page No. 13

Question 1.
Discuss the difference between State ant? Government with your teacher.
Answer:

State	Government
State refers to a political situation that represents a sovereign people who occupy a definite territory. For example, the Indian State, the Nepal State	Government is responsible for administering and enforcing laws. The government can be changed by-elections. The Government (or the executive) is a part of the State.

Page No. 14

Question 1.
Which Fundamental Rights will the following situations violate :

If a 13-year old child is working in a factory manufacturing carpets.
If a politician in one state decides to not allow labourers from other states to work in his state.
If a group of people is not given permission to open a Telugu- medium school in Kerala.
If the government decides not to promote an officer of the armed forces because she is a woman.

Answer:

Right against Exploitation
Right to Freedom
Cultural and Educational Rights
Right to Equality

Page No. 15

Question 1.
The Constitution also mentions fundamental duties. Find out with the help of your teacher what these include and why it is important for citizens in a democracy to observe these.
Answer:
The ten fundamental duties are as follows :

To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.
To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom.
To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.
To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.
To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.
To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.
To develop the scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform.
To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.
To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that 1 the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement.

Class 8 Civics Chapter 1 The Indian constitution Exercise Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why does a democratic country need a Constitution?
Answer:
A democratic country needs a constitution because:

A constitution puts down certain principles that form the basis of the kind of country that we as citizens, desire to live in.
A Constitution tells us the fundamental nature of our society.
A Constitution helps serve as a set of rules and principles that all persons in a country can agree upon as the basis of the way in which they want the country to be governed.
The constitution also spells out the ideals the citizens believe that their country should uphold.

Question 2.
Look at the wordings of the two documents given below. The first column is from the 1990 Nepal Constitution. The second column is from the more recent Constitution of Nepal.

1990 constitution of Nepal part 7: Executive	2015 constitution of Nepal part 7: Federal Executive
Article 35: Executive power: The executive power of the kingdom of Nepal shall be vested in and the council of ministers.	Article 75: Executive power: the executive Power of Nepal shall, pursuant to this constitution and laws, be vested in the council of ministers.

What is the difference in who exercises ‘Executive Power’ in the above two Constitutions of Nepal?
Answer:
(1) In 1990, the executive power of Nepal was exercised exclusively by His Majesty (the King).
(2) In 2015, the executive functions of Nepal were exercised by the Prime Minister with the advice of the Council of Ministers.
Nepal needs a new Constitution today because, in 1990, Nepal was a monarchy, and its executive power vested in the hands of the king. But in 2015, a democratic form of government has been formed and now executive powers are exercised by the Prime Minister.

Question 3.
What would happen if there were no restrictions on the power of elected representatives?
Answer:
If there are no restrictions on the power of the elected representatives the leaders might misuse the powers given to them. The Indian Constitution provides safeguards against this misuse of power by our political leaders. The Constitution lays down rules that guard the citizens against the misuse of power.

Question 4.
In each of the following situations, identify the minority. Write one reason why you think it is important to respect the views of the minority in each of these situations.

In a school with 30 teachers, 20 of them are male.
In a city, 5 percent of the population are Buddhists.
In a factory mess for all employees, 80 percent are vegetarians.
In a class of 50 students, 40 belong to more well-off families.

Answer:

The minority are females. It is important to respect the views of minorities (females) because they are equally qualified to males and equally contributing to run the institution.
A minority are the Buddhists. It is important to respect their views because every religious group has the right to preserve and develop its own culture.
A minority are the non-vegetarians. It is important to respect their views because everyone has the right to have their own food habits or taste.
A minority is the students who belong to average or poor families. It is important to respect the views of minorities because being students of the same class, their ideas cannot be ignored. By ignoring their ideas there may develop an inferiority complex among the minorities which would influence their performance in the class.

Question 5.
The column on the left lists some of the key features of the Indian Constitution. In the other column write two sentences, in your own words, on why you think this feature is important:
Answer:

Key Feature	Significance
Federalism	India is a large country divided into states. It is not possible to run the whole country from the centre (national capital). To run our country efficiently, we have a government at the state level and Panchayati Raj at the village level
Separation of powers	To prevent the misuse of power by the legislature, executive, and the judiciary
Fundamental rights	These Rights protect citizens against the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by the State.
Parliamentary form of Government	people of India have a direct role in electing their representatives

Question 6.
Write down the names of the Indian States, which share borders with the following neighbouring nations
(a) Bangladesh
(b) Bhutan
(c) Nepal
Answer:
(a) States which share borders with Bangladesh are: