NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science Civics Chapter 1 The Indian Constitution contain solutions to the exercises given in the Civics book Social and Political Life. These answers have been explained in a manner that you will easily understand all the concepts and get your doubts cleared without even seeking anyone’s assistance. You can read and download all the questions and answers in PDF format.
Class 8 Civics The Indian Constitution Ncert Textbook Questions and Answers
Question 1: Why does a democratic country need a Constitution?
Answer: A democratic country needs a Constitution because:
(i) It serves as an asset of rules and principles as the basis by which the country has to be governed.
(ii) It defines the nature of a country’s political system.
(iii) It lays out the important guidelines that govern decision making within various societies of the country.
(iv) It lays down the ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that its citizens aspire to live in.
(v) It provides rules to safeguard the interests of less powerful people or groups by any dominant group. It protects minorities against wrongful decisions of majorities.
(vi) It lays down rules that guard against the misuse of power by any political leader.
(vii) It also protects citizens against any decisions that may not be in their interests in future.
Question 2: Look at the wordings of the two documents given below. The first column is from the 1990 Nepal Constitution. The second column is from the more recent interim Constitution of Nepal.
| 1990 Constitution of Nepal Part 7: Executive 2015 | 2015 Constitution of Nepal Part 7: Federal Executive 2015 |
| Article 35: Executive Power: The executive power of the Kingdom of Nepal shall be vested in His Majesty and council of Ministers | Article 75: Executive Power: The executive power of Nepal shall, pursuant to this Constitution and other laws, be vested in the Council of Ministers. |
What is the difference in who exercises ‘Executive Power’ in the above two Constitutions of Nepal?
Answer: The difference in who exercises “Executive Power” in the given two Constitutions of Nepal is that in the 1990 Constitution, this power was vested in the King, while in 2015, “Executive Power” changed hands to being vested only in the Council of Ministers, thereby making Nepal a democracy from being a monarchy.
Question 3: What would happen if there were no restrictions on the power of elected representatives?
Answer: If there are no restrictions on the power of the elected representatives then the leaders might misuse their powers and authority. This would have resulted in gross injustice against the people of the country. Hence, the Indian constitution has provided measures to safeguard the country against such misuse of power by our political leaders.
Question 4: In each of the following situations, identify the minority. Write one reason why you think it is important to respect the views of the minority in each of these situations.
(a) In a school with 30 teachers, 20 of them are male.
(b) In a city, 5 per cent of the population are Buddhists.
(c) In a factory mess for all employees, 80 per cent are vegetarians.
(d) In a class of 50 students, 40 belong to more well-off families.
Answer: (a) Female teachers are in minority. The female teachers must be allowed space to voice their opinion so that their efforts at teaching are not hindered by their minority status.
(b) Buddhists are in minority. Every individual has the right to follow the religion of his/her choice. People of other faith must respect the religion other than their own.
(c) Here, 20 percent non-vegetarians fall under the minority category. It is important that the food prepared in the factory mess must be prepared to fulfill the diet requirements of both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
(d) In this case, the minority are the 10 students who do not belong to well-off families. It is important to keep their viewpoints in mind, because they may not be able to contribute to the various expenses required by the school and they should not feel humiliated for the same.
Question 5: The column on the left lists some of the key features of the Indian Constitution. In the other column write two sentences, in your own words, on why you think this feature is important:
| Key Feature | Significance |
| Federalism Separation of Powers Fundamental Rights Parliamentary Form of Government. |
Answer:
| Key Feature | Significance |
| Federalism | It ensures national unity and at the same time allows individual progress. A federal government allows the Centre to hold supreme power but its constituent states have some power as well so that the states can make decisions for their territories. |
| Separation of Powers | It is important as it ensures that the tyrannical use of power is avoided since the whole power is not vested in any single authority. Secondly, the three organs of governance: legislature, executive and judiciary also work as a check on each other, thereby maintaining a good balance. |
| Fundamental Rights | The Fundamental Rights are a set of rights that the Constitution offers to every citizen of the country. These rights include the Right to Freedom, Right to Equality, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and the Right to Constitutional remedies. These rights give every citizen of the country the right to be considered as an equal, to not get discriminated based on caste, culture or religion, to get equal educational opportunities and to be equal in front of the law. |
| Parliamentary Form of Government | A democratic government is one where the citizens of the country have the right to elect their representatives. When the Constitution was being made, it was made sure that every citizen of the country irrespective of caste, colour, creed and religion will have the right to elect their leaders under universal adult suffrage, i.e. where the right to vote will be given to all. |