Class 9 Political Science Chapter 2 Constitutional Design – NCERT Exercise Solutions

The chapter “Constitutional Design” in Class 9 Political Science helps students understand how a constitution is written, why it is needed, and how it shapes the functioning of a country. India’s Constitution is one of the longest and most detailed in the world, and this chapter explains the journey of its making—right from the struggles of the past to the formation of the Constituent Assembly. In this post, we provide clear, accurate, and exam-focused NCERT Exercise Solutions for Chapter 2 to help students grasp key concepts easily and strengthen their understanding for better exam preparation.

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Ch:-2 - CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN
 
Exercises Solution: -

Ques 1: - Here are some false statements. Identify the mistake in each case and rewrite these correctly based on what you have read in this chapter.

(a) Leaders of the freedom movement had an open mind about whether the country should be democratic or not after independence.

Ans:- (a) Leaders of the freedom movement were clear in their mind to have a democratic government in their country after independence.

(b) Members of the Constituent Assembly of India held the same views on all provisions of the Constitution.

Ans:- (b) Members of the constituent assembly of India held the same views on the basic principles of the Constitution.

(c)A country that has a constitution must be a democracy.

Ans:- (C) It is not necessary that a country having a constitution must be a democracy. The constitution of a country can even make provisions for dictatorship or monarchy.

Examples: the Soviet Union and Pakistan.

\A country that is a democratic country must have a Constitution.

(d) Constitution cannot be amended because it is the supreme law of a country.

Ans:- (d) A Constitution can be amended to keep up with the changes in aspirations of the society. It can also be changed keeping in mind the social, political, and economic conditions of the country.

Ques 2: - Which of these was the most salient underlying conflict in the making of a democratic constitution in South Africa?

(a) Between South Africa and its neighbours.
(b) Between men and women.
(c) Between the white majority and the black minority.
(d) Between the coloured minority and the black majority.

Ans:- (d) A conflict between the coloured minority and the black majority was the most underlying conflict in the making of the South-African constitution.

Ques 3: - Which of these is a provision that a democratic constitution does not have?

(a) Powers of the head of the state
(b)Name of the head of the state
(c)Powers of the legislature
(d)Name of the country

Ans:- (b) Name of the head of the state

Ques 4: - Match the following leaders with their roles in the making of the Constitution: -

Motilal Nehru	(i) President of the Constituent Assembly
B.R. Ambedkar	(ii) Member of the Constituent Assembly
Rajendra Prasad	(iii) Chairman of the Drafting Committee
Sarojini Naidu	(iv) Prepared a Constitution for India in 1928

 

Ans: -

Motilal Nehru	(iv) Prepared a Constitution for India in 1928
B.R. Ambedkar	(iii) Chairman of the Drafting Committee
Rajendra Prasad	(i) President of the Constituent Assembly
Sarojini Naidu	(ii) Member of the Constituent Assembly

Ques 5: - Read again the extracts from Nehru’s speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’ and answer the following:

(a) Why did Nehru use the expression “not wholly or in full measure” in the first sentence?

Ans:- (a) The expression ‘not wholly or in full measure’ in the first sentence was used by Nehru because he thought that the task they had undertaken was incomplete and it wasn’t possible to fulfill the pledges all at once but would be gradually fulfilled.

(b) What pledge did he want the makers of the Indian Constitution to take?

Ans:- (b) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru wanted that the makers of the Constitution take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and its people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

(c) “The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye”. Who was he referring to?

Ans:- (c) Nehru was referring to Mahatma Gandhi (father of nation).

Ques 6: - Here are some of the guiding values of the Constitution and its meaning. Rewrite them by matching them correctly.

(a) Sovereign	(i) The government will not favour any religion
(b) Republic	(ii) People have the supreme right to make decisions
(c) Fraternity	(iii) Head of the state is an elected person
(d) Secular	(iv) People should live like brothers and sisters

Ans:-

(a) Sovereign	(ii) People have the supreme right to make decisions
(b) Republic	(iii) Head of the state is an elected person
(c) Fraternity	(iv) People should live like brothers and sisters
(d) Secular	(i) The government will not favour any religion

Ques 7: - Here are different opinions about what made India a democracy. How much importance would you give to each of these factors ?


(a) Democracy in India is a gift of the British rulers. We received training to work with representative legislative institutions under the British rule.

Ans:- (a) Though I would acknowledge many good things were learned from the British rulers and democracy being one of them, I wouldn’t say that democracy was a gift given by them. Indians had to struggle a lot and make many sacrifices to attain freedom from British rule. These circumstances helped people to gain experience and training in the working of the legislative institutions.

(b) Freedom Struggle challenged the colonial exploitation and denial of different freedoms to Indians. Free India could not be anything but democratic.

 

Ans:- (b) This statement is true because freedom struggle was against the colonial exploitation. Indians were given limited and restricted rights. Thus, it was clear before independence that India will be a democratic country after independence.

(c) We were lucky to have leaders who had democratic convictions. The denial of democracy in several other newly independent countries shows the important role of these leaders.

Ans:- (c) It is true that we were lucky to have leaders who had deep democratic values and committed to democratic institutions . It is because of these ideals that India’s freedom struggle can be considered as the only example of a bloodless freedom struggle in contemporary history. Therefore, absence of such ideals has made many countries undemocratic.

Ques 8: - Read the following extract from a conduct book for ‘married women’, published in 1912. ‘God has made the female species delicate and fragile both physically and emotionally, pitiably incapable of self-defence . They are destined thus by God to remain in male protection –of father, husband and son – all their lives. Women should, therefore, not despair, but feel obliged that they can dedicate themselves to the service of men’. Do you think the values expressed in this para reflected the values underlying our constitution? Or does this go against the constitutional values?

 

Ans:- The given paragraph does not reflect the underlying value in our Constitution. It goes against the constitutional values because in the paragraph women are shown as inferior, unequal as weak and fragile who should serve men.
However, the Constitution has provided equal rights to women. They enjoy the right to vote, can take up any job, and are paid equal wages for the same work.

Ques 9: - Read the following statements about a constitution. Give reasons why each of these is true or not true.

(a) The authority of the rules of the constitution is the same as that of any other law.

Ans:- (a) Not true. An ordinary law is passed by the Parliament and can be changed by it on its own will. On the other hand, the rules of the Constitution have greater authority and the Parliament has to abide by them. For amending these rules, a special procedure has to be adopted.

(b) Constitution lays down how different organs of the government will be formed.

Ans:- (b) True. The Constitution has laid down the framework for government formation. It has put in place the structure, power, and functions of the three organs of the government, i.e. executive, legislative, and the judiciary.

(c) Rights of citizens and limits on the power of the government are laid down in the constitution.

Ans: - (c) True. The rights of the citizens are laid down in the Constitution as fundamental rights, which are enforceable by law. The powers and functions of the government are divided into the executive, legislative, and judiciary. It is done to keep each organ under check by the other organs to ensure the power functioning of the government.

(d) A constitution is about institutions, not about values.

Ans: - (d) Not True. The Constitution is the supreme law of the country. It lays down the composition powers and functions of the various institutions of government. The Constitution is guided by values which are found in the form of preamble. Principles and values such as equality, liberty, fraternity, brotherhood, secularism, and justice are included in the Preamble of the Constitution.

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In this chapter, students learn how India’s Constitution was carefully drafted through discussion, debate and consensus. The chapter highlights the importance of democratic values, equality, justice and rights in shaping our Constitution. By solving the NCERT questions, students understand how the Constituent Assembly worked, why the Preamble is important, and how our Constitution protects citizens. Overall, this chapter helps students appreciate the vision and effort that went into building the world’s largest democracy.