Constitutional Government
Short Questions
1. What is a constitution?
Answer: A constitution is a document that outlines how a country is governed.
2. Name the three branches of government mentioned in a constitution.
Answer: Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary.
3. What is the role of the Judiciary in a constitution?
Answer: It protects the rights of citizens and ensures government actions are constitutional.
4. What are Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution?
Answer: Rights guaranteed to citizens, like freedom and equality, with certain limitations.
5. What is Constitutionalism?
Answer: The idea that government powers should be limited by the constitution.
6. What is the Basic Structure Doctrine in India?
Answer: It states that the core features of the Indian Constitution cannot be altered.
7. What is a Parliamentary system?
Answer: A system where the executive is led by a Prime Minister accountable to the legislature.
8. Who is the Head of State in India’s Parliamentary system?
Answer: The President.
9. What is a Presidential system?
Answer: A system where the President is both Head of State and Government, directly elected.
10. What is Federalism?
Answer: A system dividing power between national and regional governments.
Long Questions
1. Explain the purpose of a constitution in governing a country.
Answer: A constitution provides a framework for governance, defining the structure, powers, and duties of government branches while ensuring citizens’ rights and limiting government authority.
2. How does a constitution balance the powers of government branches?
Answer: It assigns specific roles to the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary, giving each branch checks on others, like the Judiciary’s power to review laws or the Legislature’s impeachment authority.
3. What are the key components of a constitution?
Answer: A constitution includes a set of rules for governance, a list of citizens’ rights and duties, and objectives and values guiding the nation’s principles and goals.
4. Describe the concept of Constitutional Morality as per Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Answer: Constitutional Morality involves cultivating respect for the constitution’s values and spirit, ensuring those in power adhere to its principles beyond mere legal compliance.
5. How does the Indian Constitution protect citizens’ rights?
Answer: It guarantees Fundamental Rights like freedom and equality, with the Judiciary empowered to protect these rights through mechanisms like writs and judicial review.
6. Differentiate between written and unwritten constitutions with examples.
Answer: Written constitutions, like India’s, are single documents with defined rules, while unwritten ones, like the UK’s, rely on conventions and scattered laws for governance.
7. What is the significance of the Keshavananda Bharati case in India?
Answer: The case established the Basic Structure Doctrine, ruling that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution’s core features, thus safeguarding its fundamental principles.
8. Compare the roles of the President in Parliamentary and Presidential systems.
Answer: In a Parliamentary system, the President is a nominal head with ceremonial roles, while in a Presidential system, the President is the real executive, directly running the government.
9. How does Federalism function in India?
Answer: India’s quasi-federal system divides powers between the Union and State governments via the Seventh Schedule, with a unitary bias favoring the central government’s authority.
10. Explain the concept of ‘Coming Together’ and ‘Holding Together’ federations.
Answer: ‘Coming Together’ federations, like the USA, form when states unite for common goals, while ‘Holding Together’ federations, like India, distribute power to maintain national unity.
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