CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

• A system of racial discrimination

promoted by the white
government( system of
apartheid) divided the people
and labelled them on the basis
of their skin colour.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

The apartheid system was particularly oppressive for the blacks

* They were forbidden from living in white area.

• They could work in white areas only if they had a permit.

• Trains ,buses ,taxis ,hotels,hospitals,schools,colleges, libraries,cinema

halls,public toilets were all separate for the white and blacks.

• They could not visit churches where the white worshipped.

• The whites treated all non whites as inferiors.the non whites did not
have voting rights.

•
Democratic Constitution in South Africa

• Nelson Mandela imprisoned in 1964 for treason because of his

daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.
• He spent the next 28 yrs in South Africa’s most dreaded prison.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

Role of ANC(African National Congress)in
ending Apartheid
• Since 1950 ,the blacks ,coloured and Indians fought against the
apartheid system.
• They launched protest marches and strikes.
• The ANC was the umbrella organisation that led the struggle against
the policies of segregation.
As protest and struggles against apartheid had increased the
government realised that they could no longer keep the black under
their rule through repression

impact
South Africa got independence from the discriminatory system

• The white regime changed its policies.

• Discriminatory laws were removed.
• Ban on political parties and restrictions on media was lifted.
• After 28 yrs. Nelson Mandela walked out of the jail as a free man.
• The Apartheid govt came to an end, paving way for the formation of a
multi racial govt.
After 2 yrs of debate and
discussions new constitution
was formed
Constitution of South Africa
• Black leaders appealed to fellow blacks to forgive the whites for the
atrocities they had committed while in power
• The party that ruled through oppression and brutal killings and the
party that led the freedom struggle sat together to draw up a
common constitution .
• Together they decided that in the search for a solution to the
problems , nobody should be excluded , no one should be treated as a
demon
• They agreed that everybody should become part of the solution ,
whatever they might have done in the past .
 Agreed to a compromise
But what was the guarantee that this trust will not be broken in
future
So they wrote down basic rules that everyone should follow
• Constitution: is a set of written rules that are accepted by the people
living together in a country.
Functions of constitution
• It generates a degree of trust and coordination that is
necessary for different kinds of people to live together.
• It specifies how the govt will be formed,who will have the
power to take which decision.
• It lays down limits on the powers of government and tells
us what s the right of citizens are.
• It expresses the aspiration of the people about creating a
good society.
Anericans french
Making of Indian constitution
India s constitution was made under
difficult circumstance
.
* The people of India were
emerging
from the status of subjects to
that of citizens.
• the country was born
through a
partition on the basis of
religious
differences.
at least 10 lakh people were killed on both
sides of border in partition related violence
•.
•
• The British had left it to the rulers
of princely state to decide weather
they wanted to merge with India or
Pakistan or remain independent.

When the constitution was being written ,the future of

the country did not look as secure as it does today
The path to
constitution
• Making of constitution in South Africa
VS
Making of constitution in India

Unlike South Africa there was one big

advantage for the makers of Indian
Constitution.
• Consensus developed during
freedom struggle
• Our national movement was
• not merely a struggle against
a foreign rule.
• It was also a struggle
to rejuvenate our country and
to transform our society and politics.
• In 1928, Motilal Nehru and
8 other Congress leaders drafted
a constitution for India.
Lesson learned from other countries

• Our leaders gained confidence to learn from other countries, but on

our own term.
• Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of French Revolution.
• The practice of parliamentary democracy in Britian.
• The Bill of Rights in the US.
• The Socialist revolution in Russia had inspired many Indians to think
of shaping a system based on social and economic equality.
They were not simply imitating what others had done. At each
stage they were questioning whether these things suited our
country or not.
The constituent Assembly
• The drafting of the constitution was done by an assembly of elected representative
called the constituent assembly.
How?
• election in the Constituent Assembly
were held in jully 1946.
• Soon after, the country was divided
into India and Pakistan.
• The Constituent Assembly was also
divided into Constituent assembly
of India and Pakistan.
• The Constituent assembly that wrote
the Indian Constitution had 299 members.
• The assembly adopted the constitution
on 26 th November 1949 but it came to
effect on January 1950
Republic day
 Why should we accept the
constitution made by this
assembly more than 7 decades
ago?

Reason 1
Indian constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone.it
expresses a broad consensus of its time.
Many countries of the world have had to rewrite their constitution
afresh because of the basic rules were not accepted to all major social
groups or political parties.
In some countries ,the constitution exists as a mere piece of paper.
• Reason 2
• The constituent assembly represented the people of India.
• In social term too ,the assembly represented members from different
language group ,castes ,classes,religions and occupations.
The manner in which the constituent assembly worked gives
sanctity to the constitution.
• More than 2000 amendments were considered.
• The members deliberated for 114 days spread over 3 years.

Every document
presented and every
word spoken in the
constituent assembly
has been recorded and
preserved
Philosophy of the constitution
• It contains the philosophy on
which the entire Constitution
has been built.
• It is the soul of Indian
constitution.
• It is the introductory statement
in a Constitution which states the
guiding values of the Constitution.