The central feature of the Indian Constitution is:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Adult Franchise
Option (1) Men with property can vote — Incorrect. In countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, only men of property were first granted the vote. That was the first of several slow stages in other democracies, not a feature of the Indian Constitution.
Option (2) Educated men can only vote — Incorrect. In those countries men with education were allowed in next. The Indian Constitution set no such condition.
Option (3) Adult Franchise — Correct. On one central feature of the Constitution there was substantial agreement: the granting of the vote to every adult Indian. This was an unprecedented act of faith, for in other democracies the vote had been granted slowly, and in stages.
Option (4) Working-class or peasant can only vote — Incorrect. Men of working-class or peasant background got the vote in other democracies only after a long and bitter struggle. The Indian Constitution gave the vote to every adult, not to one class alone.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.2 The fear of domination … The Constitution of India thus emerged through a process of intense debate and discussion. Many of its provisions were arrived at through a process of give-and-take, by forging a middle ground between two opposed positions. However, on one central feature of the Constitution there was substantial agreement. This was on the granting of the vote to every adult Indian. This was an unprecedented act of faith, for in other democracies the vote had been granted slowly, and in stages. In countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, only men of property were first granted the vote; then, men with education were also allowed into the charmed circle. After a long and bitter struggle, men of working-class or peasant background were also given the right to vote. An even longer struggle was required to grant this right to women.…” |