A teacher asks her class to act as citizens of the kind Govind Ballabh Pant described in the Constituent Assembly. Which conduct fits his idea of a loyal citizen?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Caring less for oneself and more for others, with loyalty centred on the State
Option (1) Caring less for oneself and more for others, with loyalty centred on the State — Correct. Pant asked citizens to practise self-discipline, to care less for themselves and more for others, and to centre all loyalties round the State.
Option (2) Keeping loyalty to one's community equal to loyalty towards the State — Incorrect. Equal loyalty to community and State is a divided loyalty. Pant said there cannot be any divided loyalty in a democracy.
Option (3) Demanding economic protection for the poor before accepting civil liberties — Incorrect. Protection for the poor so that rights could be enjoyed was N.G. Ranga's demand. Pant's citizen was marked by self-discipline.
Option (4) Taking an active part in politics to get a decisive voice for one's community — Incorrect. An active part to gain a decisive voice was what Muslim members wanted for Muslims by 1949. Pant warned against thinking in terms of communities.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.1 The problem with separate electorates … “that in order to become loyal citizens people had to stop focusing only on the community and the self: For the success of democracy one must train himself in the art of self-discipline. In democracies one should care less for himself and more for others. There cannot be any divided loyalty. All loyalties must exclusively be centred round the State. …” |