Salient Features of the Constitution — I
ICSE Class 9 · History & Civics · Chapter 2
What this chapter covers
- Single Citizenship: what it means
- Single Citizenship: why India chose it and what it gives
- Universal Adult Franchise: meaning and conditions
- Universal Adult Franchise: significance and criticism
- Fundamental Rights: meaning and nature
- The Right to Equality
- The Right to Freedom
- The Right against Exploitation
- The Right to Freedom of Religion
- Cultural and Educational Rights
- The Right to Constitutional Remedies
- Common errors and how to avoid them
Key points
- A salient feature is a main characteristic of the Constitution; this chapter covers Single Citizenship, Universal Adult Franchise and Fundamental Rights.
- India has single citizenship: every Indian is a citizen of India only, though India is a federation; the USA has dual citizenship.
- Single citizenship promotes national unity, equal rights in every State, freedom to move and settle anywhere, and one loyalty to the nation.
- An Indian citizen who voluntarily takes another country's citizenship ceases to be an Indian citizen; an Overseas Citizen of India cannot vote.
- Universal Adult Franchise gives every adult citizen the right to vote, without discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, wealth or education.
- The voting age is 18 years, lowered from 21 by the Sixty-first Amendment of 1988; a voter's name must be on the electoral roll.
- Adult franchise gives political equality, makes the government responsible, protects weaker sections and builds political awareness and unity.
- Fundamental Rights are basic rights in Part III of the Constitution; they are justiciable, limit the State, are subject to reasonable restrictions and can be suspended in an emergency, except the protection of life and personal liberty and protection in respect of conviction.
- There are six groups of Fundamental Rights; the Right to Property was removed in 1978 and is now a legal right.
- The Right to Equality covers equality before law, no discrimination, equal opportunity in public jobs, abolition of untouchability and abolition of titles.
- The Right to Freedom covers six freedoms, protection against unfair punishment and arrest, protection of life and personal liberty, and free education for children of 6 to 14.
- The Right against Exploitation forbids human trafficking, forced labour and the employment of children below 14 in hazardous work.
- The Right to Freedom of Religion reflects India's secularism; Cultural and Educational Rights protect minorities' languages, cultures and schools.
- The Right to Constitutional Remedies lets a person go directly to the Supreme Court to enforce Fundamental Rights; Dr Ambedkar called it the heart and soul of the Constitution.
Questions answered
What is meant by a salient feature of the Constitution? Name the three features studied in this chapter.
A salient feature is a main or outstanding characteristic that helps to identify something. The three features are Single Citizenship, Universal Adult Franchise and Fundamental Rights.
Define single citizenship.
Single citizenship is a system in which every person is a citizen of the country as a whole and there is no separate citizenship of any State or unit.
How does Indian citizenship differ from citizenship in the United States of America?
India has single citizenship, so an Indian is a citizen of India only. The United States has dual citizenship, so an American is a citizen of the United States and also of the State in which he or she lives.
State two reasons why the framers of the Constitution chose single citizenship.
First, it promotes national unity in a very diverse country by giving everyone the same membership of the nation. Second, it ensures equal rights for all citizens throughout India and prevents a State from favouring those born within it.
What is meant by Universal Adult Franchise?
Universal Adult Franchise is the system under which every adult citizen has the right to vote, without discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex, wealth, education or place of birth.
What is the minimum voting age in India? By which amendment was it fixed?
The minimum voting age is 18 years. It was lowered from 21 years by the Sixty-first Amendment of 1988.
Name two grounds on which an adult citizen can be disqualified from voting.
An adult citizen can be disqualified if a competent court has declared him or her to be of unsound mind, or if he or she has been disqualified for crime or for corrupt or illegal practices at an election.
Give two arguments in favour of Universal Adult Franchise.
First, it gives political equality, as every vote has equal value. Second, it makes the government responsible to all the people, who can change it peacefully at the next election.
Past board exam questions
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
Name the Fundamental Right that prohibits ‘forced labour’.
Show answer
The Right against Exploitation (Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labour/begar).
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
State the meaning of the term ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’.
Show answer
Directive Principles of State Policy are the guidelines/instructions given in Part IV of the Constitution to the Central and State Governments, to be kept in mind while framing laws and policies so as to establish a welfare state; they are not enforceable by courts.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
Mention any one Fundamental Duty as given in the Indian Constitution.
Show answer
To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem. (Any one, e.g. to protect and improve the natural environment; to safeguard public property.)
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 3 marks
With reference to the salient features of the Indian Constitution answer the following questions: State any three freedoms given under the ‘Right to Freedom’.
Show answer
Article 19 gives every citizen (any three):
1. Freedom of speech and expression.
2. Freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms.
3. Freedom to form associations or unions.
4. Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India.
5. Freedom to reside and settle in any part of India.
6. Freedom to practise any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business.