8. What are the essential features of the parliamentary form of Government ?
9. Name a foreign country which has the parliamentary form of Government.
10. Why were the Directive Principles of State Policy Incorporated in the Constitution of India?
11.What do you mean by Universal Adult Franchise?
12. Why has the Indian Constitution provided for joint electorate ?
Structured Essay Type Questions
1. Why is the Indian Constitution so lengthy?
2. Explain the following features of the Constitution of India :
(a) Sovereign Democratic Republic
(b) A Secular State
(c)Fundamental Rights of the Citizens
d) A Single Citizenship
Answers
Answer:
1..In a parliamentary system, laws are made by majority vote of the legislature and signed by the head of state, who does not have an effective veto power. In most parliamentary democracies, the head of state can return a bill to the legislative body to signify disagreement with it.
2.Countries with parliamentary democracies may be constitutional monarchies, where a monarch is the head of state while the head of government is almost always a member of parliament (such as Denmark, Norway, Japan, Malaysia, Sweden and the United Kingdom), or parliamentary republics, where a mostly ceremonial president
3.The Directive Principles constitute a very comprehensive social, economic and political programme for a modern and welfare state. These principles emphasises that the State shall try to promote welfare of people by providing them basic facilities like shelter, food and clothing.
4.Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or any other restriction, subject only to relatively minor exceptions.
5.The Constitution of India is so lengthy because the Constitution makers strived to make a perfect Constitution. They borrowed many salient features from the Constitutions of other countries and modified them to suit the conditions and needs of the country, so far the constitution of India is lengthy.
6.India - A Sovereign Democratic Republic - definition
The Preamble to the Constitution embodies the source of the Constitution i.e., the people of India. ... The ideals of justice, liberty, equality, fraternity reflects the objectives of the Constitution.
The Preamble to the Constitution of India declares India a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic State.
The word sovereign implies that India is a free nation and independent to conduct its own affairs without any interference.
The term Socialist was added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976. India is a democratic socialistic state meaningly that it works for the welfare of all people and sustains both public and private sectors for the growth of Nation. The Directive Principle represents the socialistic nature of India.
Democratic in the sense that the Supreme power lies in the people of India. India has a Parliamentary democracy where the people elect their representatives to make laws and policies for the nation.
It is Republic as the Head of the state called President is elected indirectly by the people for a fixed term of five years.