You are here
- To understand why we need a constitution and what to do with it , we can take the example of South Africa to understand.
- In this new democracy , the oppressor and the oppressed were planning to live together as equals .
- It would not be easy for them to trust each other , they had their fears , and both sides wanted to safeguard their interests .
- The Black majority wanted to secure the democratic principle of the majority rule was not compromised .
- They wanted substantial social and economic rights .
- On the other hand, the white minority wanted to protect its privileges and property .
- Through negotiations , both parties agree to a compromise .
- The whites agreed to the principle of the majority rule and that of one person one vote . They also agreed to some basic rights for the poor and workers .
- The black agreed that the majority rule will not be absolute and the majority would not take away the properties of the white minority .
- This compromise was not easy.
- The only way to build and maintain trust was to write down some rules of the game that everyone would abide by.
- These rules lay down how rulers are to be chosen in the future.
- It also determines what the elected governments are allowed and not allowed to do.
- These rules will also determine the rights of the citizens.
- These rules will work only if the winners cannot change them very easily and that’s what South Africans did.
- They agreed on some basic rules .
- In addition, they agreed that no government would be able to ignore these rules.
- This set of basic rules is called a constitution .
- Every country in this world has diverse groups of people .
- People all over the world have differences of opinion and interests .
- Most countries in this world have these basic rules .
- The constitution of a country is a set of rules that are accepted by all people living together in that country .
- The constitution as the supreme law determines the relationship between the people living in that territory (called citizens ) and the relationship between the government and the people .
- The constitution accomplishes the following:
- it fosters trust and coordination among various types of people who live together .
- It specifies how the government will be constituted , and who will have the power to take which decisions .
- It lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are .
- It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society
- All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democracies but all democratic countries have constitutions .
- The Americans adopted a constitution after the war of independence against Great Britain .
- The French People approved a democratic constitution after the revolution .
- Since then, it has become common practice in all democracies to have a written constitution .
