Question

“Formation of the Indian Constitution was no less struggle than that of Africa”. Do you agree? Explain with five arguments.

Answer 1

Hint: We need to know that the constitution refers to the set of laws and rules that the citizen of a country needs to follow. The constitution of India was framed in $1949$ and had several features of the constitution of South Africa that were made during its constitutional amendments. Both countries had similarities and contrasts in their constitutional features.

Complete answer:
We have to remember that the Indian and the African Constitution experienced a long struggle against colonialism and imperialism. The Indian constitution had several fundamental rights for its people while on the other hand no such rights were stated in the African constitution.
Both countries allow a certain degree of freedom to their states to work. This was done to uplift the marginalized and the downward sections of the society. The African constitution was made keeping in mind the harmony between the blacks and the whites. While the constitution in India was made after the county got its independence and it also aimed towards Brotherhood between the diverse religions prevailing in the country. Both the constitutions stated Equality, Sovereignty, and Democracy. Right to vote, regular elections, and a multiparty system was ensured to elect a leader by fair means. Both the constitutions were framed under the supreme law of the Republic.
We must know that in the ${17^{th}}$ and ${18^{th}}$ centuries, trading companies from Europe captured India and South Africa forcibly. The whites treated the Indians and Africans as inferior and uncivilized people. The National leaders of that time, Gandhi in India and Mandela in Africa were advocates of truth and non-violence. The African National Congress (ANC) and the Indian National Congress (INC) worked continuously to resolve the issues at that time.

Note: We must remember that the religious communities in India stood together as Indians and coordinated in the struggle for independence but the African communities, the blacks, and the whites had several differences. Extremists in India became violent abolishing the nonviolence principles of Gandhi. The constitution in both countries was formed after a long struggle against the British rule in India and against the apartheid and segregation policy of the African government.