Class XII – Framing the Constitution – Important Questions

Ans. i) He stated that the tribes were displaced from their land, deprived of their forests and pastures and were forced to settle in a new place.

ii) The society did not treat them equally due to their primitiveness and backwardness.

Ans. i) Jawaharlal Nehru on 13^th December, 1946, introduced the objectives resolution in the constituent assembly. The resolution defined the ideals of the constitution of independent India.

ii) It provided the framework within which the work of constitution making was to proceed. The outlines of the objectives resolution were:

iii) Proclaimed India to be an independent Sovereign Republic guaranteed. Its citizen’s justice equality and freedom.

iv) Assured adequate safeguards for minorities backward and tribal areas and depressed and other backward classes.

Ans. Balkrishna Sharma said following things in favour for greater power to the centre –

1.  He said strong center could plan for well-being of the country and it can mobilise the available economic resources of the country.
2. Strong center can establish proper administration and defend the country against foreign invasion.

Ans. i) India achieved its independence on 15^th August, 1947 and was also divided into two parts India and Pakistan. Before the partition, the Constituent Assembly did not communicate itself in commendation of a strong Central Government, but after the declaration of partition on 3^rd June, 1947, Constituent Assembly considered itself free from all restrictions inflicted by cabinet mission and political pressures.

1. Constituent Assembly decided to opt for a federation along with strong centre. There were arguments in favour of strong provinces which evoked powerful reactions from the leaders who preferred strong centre.
2. Dr. BR Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru propounded a strong central government for India. They mentioned to the riots and violences that were fearing the nation apart and stated that only a strong centre can stop the communal disharmony.
3. Balakrishna Sharma focused on length of the nation and stated that only a centre, which was powerful could plan for the well-being of the country. Strong centre would help in mobilizing available economic resources and proper administration was possible only through strong centre only.
4. In spite of arguments of the centre has likely to break or inefficiency of the centre, the rights of the states were most impressively defended by K Santhanam from Madras. Also the decision of the Constituent Assembly to have a strong centre was occasioned by the situations in which it was taken.
5. Most of the members felt that strong centre was the need of the hour. It was necessary to ensure peace, prosperity and political stability. And hence Gopalaswami Ayyangar requested to make centre as strong as possible.

Ans. N G Ranga, a socialist, watned to interpret the term minorities in economic terms. According to him –

• The real minorities were the poor and the down trodden.
• He welcomed the legal rights granted to every individual by the citizens but pointed to its limits.
• He believed that for a poor there was no meaning of the fundamental right to live, to have full employment or that they could have their meetings, their conferences, their associations and various other civil liberties.
• There was a need to create conditions where these rights could be effectively enjoyed for this they needed protection.
• He admitted that the common masses were not able to come up to the Constituent Assembly, thus it was their duty to speak for them.

Ans. The following arguments were made in favour of protection of depressed classes in the Constituent Assembly.

1. It was realized that the depressed classes especially tribals and untouchables needed special attention and safeguards to raise their status in society and provide them equality. But some members of the depressed class emphasized that the problem of the “Untouchables” could not be resolved through protection and safeguards alone.
2. These members believed that the disabilities of the depressed class were caused by the social norms and the moral values of caste divided society. The depressed class had been left in isolation with this belief that they are not born to be fit in the civil society.
3. Their suffering was due to their systematic marginalization. They had no access to education and also had no share in the administration. Thus, in the constituent assembly many recognized that social discrimination could not solve only through constitutional legislation there had to be a change in the attitudes within society.

Ans. The public opinion had a considerable effect on the discussions of the Constituent Assembly that were:

• There was public debate on all the resolutions.
• The newspapers reported the arguments presented by different members on any issue.
• Criticisms and counter criticism in the press shaped the nature of the consensus that was ultimately reached on specific issues.
• Suggestions from the public was also welcomed which created a sense of collective participation.
• Many linguistic minorities demanded protection of their mother tongue. Religious minorities asked for special safeguards.
• The groups low caste or dalits demanded an end to ill-treatments by upper caste people and reservation of separate seats on the basis of their population in legislatures.
• Important issues of cultural rights and social justice raised in the public discussions were debated in the Assembly.
• In the same way, groups of religious minorities came forward and asked for special safeguards.

Ans. i) A communist member, Somnath Lahiri, saw the dark hand of British imperialism hanging over the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly.

1. He urged the members especially Indians, to completely free themselves from the influences of imperial rule. During the winter of 1946-47, when the Assembly was constituted, the British were still in India.
2. An interim administration headed by Jawaharlal Nehru was in place, but it could only operate under the directions of the Viceroy and the British Government in London. Lahiri exhorted his colleagues to realise that the Constituent Assembly was British made and was working the British plans as the British should like it to be worked out.

Ans. i) India is a vast country having different regions where different languages are spoken. So it was quite natural that the Constituent Assembly discussed the intricate issue of language for the newly-independent country.

ii) The discussion about the language problem generated intense arguments. Hindustani: A choice of Congress and Gandhi. Before the independence of the country, the Congress had made up its mind to adopt Hindustani as the national language of the country.

iii) Mahatma Gandhi had also approved this decision. He was convinced that everyone should speak in a language which is understood by most of the common people. Hindustani was not a new language. It was a blend of Hindi and Urdu and was a popular language as it was spoken by most of the people of the country.

iv) It was a composite language because it was enriched by the interaction of diverse cultures. So it was well-understood by most of the people living in different regions of the country.

v) It was in fact a multi-cultural language. Mahatma Gandhi considered Hindustani as an ideal language of communication between diverse communities. It could be a symbol of unity between the Hindus and the Muslims.

vi) It could also unite the people of the north with the people living in the south. Hindi was the language of the Hindus and Urdu was the language of the Muslims.

vii) But Hindustani, being a blend of these two languages, had a composite character. That is why, Mahatma Gandhi preferred it to be the national language of India.

Arguments in Support of Hindi –

• The case of Hindi was mostly pleaded by R.V. Dhulekar, a Congressman from the United Provinces. He wanted that Hindi should be used as the language of constitution-making.
• When he was told that all the members of the Constituent Assembly did not know Hindi, he felt infuriated and stated that those who did not know Hindustani were not worthy to be the members of the Constituent Assembly.
• He told such members to quit the Assembly. There was a commotion in the Assembly over his remarks. However, the peace and order were restored due to the intervention of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Report of the Language Committee –

• The language Committee of the Constituent Assembly suggested a compromise formula in its report. In order to resolve the deadlock over the issue of language, it advocated of the country.
• It also suggested that transition from English to Hindi would be gradual. It stated that during the first fifteen years since the enforcement of the new constitution, English would continue to be used for all official purposes.
• In provinces, the governments will be free to choose one of the regional languages for their official work within the province. In other words, the language committee referred to Hindi as the official language and not the national language of India. However, Dhulekar wanted Hindi to be declared as the national language and not as an official language of the country.

Apprehensions of Members from the South –

• The members in the Constituent Assembly who hailed from the southern states considered Hindi as a threat to their provincial languages.
• Many suspicions were expressed by Mrs G. Durgabai of Madras and Sh. Shankar Rao Dev from Bombay T.A. ramalingam Chettiar from Madras suggested that the issue of language should be handled with tact and caution.
• Hindi should not be aggressively thrust upon southern people. In other words, the members from South India wanted that Hindu should not be forcefully imposed on them.