Class 11 Political Science Chapter 10 The Philosophy of the Constitution Important Questions with Answers

प्र. State one thing about the political philosophy approach.

उत्तर: Understanding the possible meanings of terms used in the Constitution, such as ‘rights’ and ‘citizenship’.

प्र. What is Japan’s Constitution colloquially called?

उत्तर: The Peace Constitution.

प्र. What is the best example of the Indian Constitution’s commitment to social justice?

उत्तर: Reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

प्र. What is the western concept of secularism called?

उत्तर: Mutual exclusion.

प्र. What is the separation of religion and state in India called?

उत्तर: Principled distance.

प्र. Which state is Article 371A linked to?

उत्तर: Nagaland.

प्र. What did Nehru call the Constituent Assembly’s demand?

उत्तर: A collective demand for full self-determination.

प्र. Where is the Constitution’s philosophy best summed up?

उत्तर: In the Preamble to the Constitution.

प्र. Briefly state the three things included in the political philosophy approach.

उत्तर: 1. Interpreting the Constitution’s concepts (such as ‘rights’, ‘citizenship’).
2. Building a coherent vision that matches the Constitution’s basic concepts.
3. Reading the Constitution together with the Constituent Assembly Debates.

प्र. Explain the difference between ‘voice’ and ‘opinion’ in representation.

उत्तर: ‘Voice’ means that people are recognised through their own language and voice. ‘Opinion’ means that the views and concerns of various sections of society are included in the debates. The Constituent Assembly was unrepresentative in terms of ‘voice’, but not in terms of ‘opinion’.

प्र. State the two streams of Indian liberalism, according to Panikkar.

उत्तर: The first stream began with Rammohan Roy, who emphasised individual and women’s rights. The second stream included Swami Vivekananda, K.C. Sen and Justice Ranade, who awakened a passion for social justice within Hinduism.

प्र. State two reasons India’s model of secularism differs from the western model.

उत्तर: 1. Rights of religious groups: equality among communities matters just as much as equality among individuals.
2. The state’s right to intervene: active state intervention was necessary to end practices like untouchability.

प्र. What is asymmetric federalism? Explain with an example.

उत्तर: Asymmetric federalism means differences in the legal status of different units of the federation, such as the special status given to Nagaland under Article 371A, whereas American federalism is completely symmetric.

प्र. Why were separate electorates rejected?

उत्तर: Separate electorates were not rejected because they would create religious distinctions, but because they would endanger a healthy national life; the Constitution wanted a spirit of true fraternity rather than an imposed unity.

प्र. State the Constitution’s two procedural achievements.

उत्तर: 1. Faith in political deliberation, that is, treating disagreement as a positive value.
2. The spirit of compromise and accommodation, that is, deciding important issues by consensus rather than by majority.

प्र. State three limitations of the Constitution.

उत्तर: 1. The notion of national unity is very centralised.
2. Gender-justice issues, especially those within the family, were not properly addressed.
3. Some basic socio-economic rights were placed in the Directive Principles rather than the Fundamental Rights.

प्र. How does the example of Japan’s Constitution show that the circumstances of a constitution’s making shape its makers’ thinking?

उत्तर: 1. Japan’s 1947 Constitution was made after the Second World War, when Japan had suffered massive devastation from the war.
2. Its Preamble speaks of a desire for peace and remaining conscious of high ideals in human relationships.
3. In Article 9, Japan declared it was permanently renouncing war and the maintenance of armed forces.
4. This is why it is called the ‘Peace Constitution’. This shows how the experience of war directly shaped the spirit of the Constitution.

प्र. Explain the Indian Constitution’s commitment to individual liberty using the examples of Rammohan Roy and the Rowlatt Act.

उत्तर: 1. As early as the start of the 19th century, Rammohan Roy opposed British restrictions on freedom of the press.
2. The Rowlatt Act tried to take away freedom from arbitrary arrest, which the national movement strongly opposed.
3. Up to 40 years before the Constitution was adopted, every INC document treated individual liberty as a non-negotiable value.
4. This is why rights like freedom of expression and freedom from arbitrary arrest became an integral part of the Indian Constitution.

प्र. How does Indian liberalism differ from classical western liberalism?

उत्तर: 1. Classical western liberalism always gives priority to the individual over social justice and communitarian values.
2. Indian liberalism has always been linked to social justice, as SC-ST reservation shows.
3. The Indian Constitution also grants community-based rights, such as the right of religious communities to run educational institutions.
4. Indian liberalism thus carries individual liberty and social justice-community rights together.

प्र. Explain the concept of ‘principled distance’ with an example.

उत्तर: 1. In the western notion, secularism means mutual exclusion, that is, the state and religion stay completely away from each other’s internal affairs.
2. This was not possible in India, because religiously sanctioned practices like untouchability took away individual dignity, and ending them required state intervention.
3. So in India the state maintains ‘principled distance’ from religion: it can intervene when needed (such as to end untouchability) or stay away (such as in the internal affairs of religious institutions).
4. This is decided on the basis of which step promotes liberty, equality and social justice.

प्र. Explain the ‘unrepresentative’ criticism through the difference between ‘voice’ and ‘opinion’.

उत्तर: 1. The Constituent Assembly was formed when there was no universal franchise, and most members came from the more privileged sections of society.
2. Seen through the aspect of ‘voice’, the Constituent Assembly was unrepresentative, because its members were elected on a restricted franchise, not universal franchise.
3. Seen through the aspect of ‘opinion’, the Constituent Assembly was not unrepresentative at all, because the concerns and interests of various sections of society were raised in its debates.
4. Statues of Ambedkar even today show the Dalits’ sense that the Constitution reflects their own aspirations.

प्र. Explain the ‘alien document’ criticism and its answer.

उत्तर: 1. The criticism is that the Indian Constitution copies western constitutions article by article and does not match Indian culture.
2. It is true that the Constitution is modern and partly western, but this was not blind copying.
3. Many Indians adopted modern ideas as a form of protest against the ills of their own tradition, such as the Dalits’ use of the new legal system from 1841.
4. The meeting of western modernity and local culture created a ‘hybrid culture’. This was a process of selection and adaptation, not copying.

प्र. Explain the Constitution’s three limitations in detail.

उत्तर: 1. The notion of national unity is very centralised, that is, the states did not get as much autonomy as some wanted.
2. Some important gender-justice issues, especially inequalities within the family, were not properly addressed.
3. It is not clear why, in a poor developing country, socio-economic rights were placed in the Directive Principles rather than made Fundamental Rights.
4. Even so, according to the book, these limitations are not serious enough to seriously threaten the Constitution’s philosophy.

प्र. Explain the Constitution’s five substantive achievements (core features) in detail.

उत्तर: 1. Liberal individualism (individual freedom): the result of nearly a century of intellectual-political activity beginning with Rammohan Roy; freedom of expression and freedom from arbitrary arrest are its examples.
2. Social justice: Indian liberalism has always been linked to social justice, SC-ST reservation is its best example.
3. Group rights (the right to the expression of cultural particularity): community-based rights, such as the right of religious communities to run their own educational institutions.
4. Universal franchise: the right to vote for everyone without distinction, anticipated by the Constitution of India Bill (1895) and the Motilal Nehru Report (1928).
5. Federalism: respect for regional needs through asymmetric provisions such as Article 371 and Article 371A.
The chapter names the first three together and then adds the other two, calling all five the substantive achievements.

प्र. Explain the Constitution’s concept of secularism and India’s two distinct reasons for differing from the western model, in detail.

उत्तर: 1. Western secularism means mutual exclusion, that is, religion and state stay completely away from each other’s internal affairs, so that individual liberty is protected.
2. In India this model differs for two reasons: first, the rights of religious groups, because an individual’s self-respect depends on the standing of their community, so all religious communities were given rights such as running educational institutions.
3. Second, the state’s right to intervene, because practices like untouchability were so deep-rooted that they could not be ended without active state intervention.
4. So in India, the separation of religion and state means ‘principled distance’, in which the state can intervene when needed or stay away.
5. This is decided on the basis of which step promotes liberty, equality and social justice.
6. Indian secularism is thus more complex than the western model but more suited to Indian conditions.

प्र. Explain the criticisms of the Constitution (unwieldy, unrepresentative, alien) in detail, along with their answers.

उत्तर: 1. Unwieldy: this assumes the Constitution should fit into one tight document, but India packed many details such as the Election Commission and the Public Service Commission into the same document, making it look large. This is not entirely true even for countries like the USA.
2. Unrepresentative: seen through ‘voice’, the Constituent Assembly was unrepresentative (elected on restricted franchise), but not through ‘opinion’, since the concerns of all sections were raised in its debates.
3. Alien: the charge that the Constitution copies western constitutions, but this was not blind copying, it was a process of selection and adaptation; many Indians adopted modern ideas as a protest against the ills of their own tradition.
4. The answers to all three criticisms show that, though partly valid, the criticisms are incomplete without a deeper understanding of the Constitution.
5. The Constitution’s size is a result of India’s specific needs, not a planning mistake.
6. Likewise, the Constitution’s so-called ‘westernness’ is also a considered choice, not thoughtless copying.

प्र. Explain in detail why the Preamble is considered the best summary of the Constitution’s philosophy.

उत्तर: 1. The Preamble brings together, in one place, all the Constitution’s main objectives (justice, liberty, equality, fraternity).
2. It also makes a modest claim: this Constitution was not framed and adopted by a group of great men, but by ‘We, the people of India’.
3. This shows that the people themselves are the masters of their own destiny, and democracy is the means by which people shape their present and future.
4. Despite more than fifty years of disagreements (court-government clashes, Centre-state differences, party conflicts), every leader and citizen still believes in this shared vision.
5. This shared vision is the most valuable outcome of putting the Constitution into practice.
6. So making the Constitution in 1950 was as great an achievement as keeping its spirit alive today.