What is a constitution?
The constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people living together in a country. Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship among people living in a territory (called citizens) and also the relationship between the people and government.
Constitution making is not unique to any one country. Every country has diverse groups of people. All over the world people have differences of opinion and interests.
Thus, whether democratic or not, most countries in the world need to have these basic rules. This applies not just to governments. Any association needs to have its constitution. It could be a club in your area, a cooperative society or a political party, they all need a constitution.
What is the purpose or need of a constitution?
A constitution does many things:
First, it generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live
together;
Second, it specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions;
Third, it lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are; and
Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.
All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democratic. But all countries that are democratic will have constitutions.
After the War of Independence against Great Britain, the Americans gave themselves a constitution. After the Revolution, the French people approved a democratic constitution. Since then it has become a practice in all democracies to have a written constitution.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
QUES . Which one of the following statements best reflects the chief purpose of the ‘Constitution’ of a country? UPSC 2023
(a) It determines the objective for the making of necessary laws.
(b) It enables the creation of political offices and a government.
(c) It defines and limits the powers of government.
(d) It secures social justice, social equality and social security
Ans (c) Explanation: WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION? ● The first function of a constitution is to provide a set of basic rules that allow for minimal coordination amongst members of a society. ● The second function of a constitution is to specify who has the power to make decisions in a society. It decides how the government will be constituted. ● The third function of a constitution, is to set some limits on what a government can impose on its citizens. These limits are fundamental in the sense that the government may never trespass them. The most common way of limiting the power of government is to specify certain fundamental rights that all of us possess as citizens and which no government can ever be allowed to violate. ● The fourth function of a constitution is to enable the government to fulfill the aspirations of a society and create conditions for a just society. ● Finally, a constitution expresses the fundamental identity of a people. This means the people as a collective entity are agreeing to a basic set of norms about how one should be governed, and who should be governed etc. Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.
