Page 175 - SST Class 08
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ROLE OF CONSTITUTION laws. The executive executes the laws. The
judiciary interprets the laws. If it finds a law
A law is made by the government. In a democratic contrary to the provisions or spirit of the
country like India, there are many political parties
Constitution, it declares it null and void. Thus, the
which have their distinct ideologies. In many judiciary is the guardian of the Constitution.
cases, the ideology of a political party is not in
consonance with the ideology of other parties; for Just Think!
example, the Communist Party of India has a
distinct ideology in which it seeks to distribute the
What would have happened in India if we had not
wealth equally. On the other hand, the Congress
adopted a Constitution after independence?
believes in socialism, and the Bharatiya Janata
Party believes in market economy.
LAWS AND DISSENT
Info Bits
Info Bits The people of our country belong to a large
number of religions, communities, castes,
The Constitution of India is the lengthiest cultures, languages etc. When a law is made, it
Constitution in the world. may or may not fulfil the aspirations of all the
people. Though a law may be made according to
The government of the country keeps changing at
the provisions of the Constitution, yet there can be
elections. Now, if the new government is formed
by a new party, then it can seek to change all the some people who will feel dissatisfied with it. On
laws which were formulated by the previous the other hand, the government can make a law
government. It would certainly mean a lot of which may not be according to the provisions of
confusion among the people. So, there is a need the Constitution. In both these cases, the people
to have such basic laws which have to be become dissatisfied. So, they can express their
followed by all political parties irrespective of dissent.
their ideologies. These basic laws are in the form Dissent can be expressed in a constructive or
of the Constitution of a country.
destructive manner. That is, dissent can be
F ind Outind Out positive or negative. Let us understand the
difference between constructive and destructive
Find out the Purpose of the Constitution.
dissent by an example.
Definition of Constitution
Supposing the principal of a school makes a rule
The Constitution is the system of laws and basic that it is compulsory for all students to take
principles that a country is governed by. coaching in football. Now, all students may or
may not like football. Secondly, some students
Info Bits may like other sports but not football. So, here is a
Info Bits
case where dissent can be expressed. The
Constitution may be defined as the fundamental pertinent question is how this dissent is expressed.
smooth living document according to which a It can be expressed in a constructive or a
country is governed.
destructive manner.
The constitution of a country determines the If the students file a petition to the principal, this is
scope within which a government can make other constructive dissent. If the students go to the
laws and govern the country. Since a Constitution football field but do not play, this is constructive
is generally brief, it is necessary to follow its spirit. dissent. However, if the students choose to stone
The Constitution gives specific guidelines to the the school building or block the road or put
three organs of the government—legislature, vehicles on fire, these are the manners of
executive and judiciary. The legislature makes the destructive dissent.
Need for Laws and Role of the Constitution
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