Case Study- Democratic Constitutional in South Africa
* Prior to 1994, the South African government followed a system of apartheid.
* Apartheid discriminated against people on the basis of their skin colour.
* This system was oppressive towards all non- whites.
* Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress, fought against the white South African government.
* He was imprisoned in 1964 and spent 28 years in prison.
* On the 26th of April, 1994, the new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was hoisted, making it one of the latest democracies in the World.
* The apartheid government came to an end, giving way to the formation of a multiparty and multi- racial government.
* A constitution was drafted based on universal value that promoted democracy, social justice and human rights.
Why do we need a Constitutional
* The blacks and the whites reached a compromise where they took care of the demands and requirements of both parties and everyone involved.
* These rules would not be changed by the subsequent governments or people. This set of basic rules is called is called a constitutions.
* A constitution is a supreme law accepted by all people of a country.
* Besides being the supreme law, a constitution also determines the relationship between the people and the government.
A constitution fulfills the following functions:
* Generates trust between people and government
* Lays down rules for distribution of power
* Makes the citizens aware of their rights
* Expresses the people’s aspirations in building a good society
The Making of Indian Constitution and the Constituent Assembly
* The constitution of India was first drafted by Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress workers in 1928.
* The Indian law makers had learnt from the experiences acquired during the colonial rule and utilized all of this while writing the Constitution of India.
* Many of the institutional details of our constitution, such as the Government of India Act 1935, were borrowed from colonial laws.
* The system of social and economic equality in the Indian Constitution was inspired by the socialist revolution in Russia.
* The drafting of the Indian constitution was done by a group of two hundred and ninety nine members known as the Constituent Assembly.
* The debates during the formation of the Indian Constitution were recorded in the ‘Constitutional Assembly Debates’.
* The Indian constitution was adopted on 26th November, 1949 and came into effects on 26th January, 1950.
Guiding Values and Philosophy of Indian Constitution – The Preamble
* The constitution of India is a living document that undergoes amendments.
* The Preamble to the Indian Constitution lays emphasis on the ideals of sovereignty, Socialism, secularism and Democratic Republic.
* It delimits the scope of various organs of the government.
* The rights granted to people are given prime importance.
* The Indian Constitutional has three categories of amending procedure.
