Ch 01 | Part 01 | Introduction | Constitution : Why & How | 11th | NCERT | Political Science |Polity

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WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION?
What is a constitution? What are its functions? What role does it perform for a society? How does a constitution relate to our daily existence? Answering these questions is not as difficult as you might think. Constitution allows coordination and assurance Imagine yourself to be a member of a reasonably large group. Further imagine that this group has the following characteristics. The members of this group are diverse in various ways. They have different religious allegiances: some are Hindus, some are Muslims, some Christians and some perhaps profess no religion at all. They are also varied in many different respects: they pursue different professions, have different abilities, have different hobbies, different tastes in everything from films to books. Some are rich and some are poor. Some are old, some young. Imagine further that members of this group are likely to have disputes over various aspects of life: How much property should one be allowed to own? Should it be compulsory that every child be sent to school or should the parents be allowed to decide? How much should this group spend on its safety and security? Or should it build more parks instead? Should the group be allowed to discriminate against some of its members? Every question will elicit a variety of answers from different people. But, for all their diversity, this group has to live together. They are dependent upon each other in various ways. They require the cooperation of each other. What will enable the group to One may say that perhaps members of this group can live together if they can agree on some basic rules. Why will the group need certain basic rules? Think of what would happen in the absence of some basic rules. Every individual would be insecure simply because they would not know what members of this group could do to each other, who could claim rights over what. Any group will need some basic rules that are publicly promulgated and known to all members of that group to achieve a minimal degree of coordination. But these rules must not only be known, they must also be enforceable. If citizens have no assurance that others will follow these rules, they will themselves have no reason to follow these rules. Saying that the rules are legally enforceable gives an assurance to everybody that others will follow these, for if they do not do so, they will be punished. The first function of a constitution is to provide a set of basic rules that allow for minimal coordination amongst members of a society.

Specification of decision making powers A constitution is a body of fundamental principles according to which a state is constituted or governed. But what should these fundamental rules be? And what makes them fundamental? Well, the first question you will have to decide is who gets to decide what the laws governing the society should be? You may want rule X, but others may want rule Y. How do we decide whose rules or preferences should govern us? ? The constitution has to provide an answer to this question. It specifies the basic allocation of power in a society. It decides who gets to decide what the laws will be. In principle, this question, who gets to decide, can be answered in many ways: in a monarchical constitution, a monarch decides; in some constitutions like the old Soviet Union, one single party was given the power to decide. But in democratic constitutions, broadly speaking, the people get to decide. But this matter is not so simple. Because even if you answer that the people should decide, it will not answer the question: how should the people decide? For something to be law, should everyone agree to it? Should the people directly vote on each matter as the ancient Greeks did? Or should the people express their preferences by electing representatives? But if the people act through their representatives, how should these representatives be elected? How many should there be? In the Indian Constitution for example, it is specified that in most instances, Parliament gets to decide laws and policies, and that Parliament itself be organised in a particular manner. Before identifying what the law in any given society is, you have to identify who has the authority to enact it. If Parliament has the authority to enact laws, there must be a law that bestows this authority on Parliament in the first place. This is the function of the constitution. It is an authority that constitutes governm