1. The original Constitution of India was not typeset or printed but written in beautiful calligraphy by Prem Behari Narain Raizada. The document is now preserved in a special helium-filled case in the library of the Parliament. Many pages of the Constitution are embellished with highly stylised decorative borders, headers, backdrops and artwork. Artists from which small town in West Bengal are responsible for the intricate artwork?
2. The Preamble to the Constitution of India is a brief introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose and principles of the document, and it indicates the source from which the document derives its authority, meaning the people. The ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity in our Preamble are taken from the tripartite national motto of which country?
3. The constitution of this country is considered to be the oldest in the world (been in use for 230 years) and is quite short at just 4,400 words. Interestingly the word ‘democracy’ does not feature in it even once. Ironically, the most popular definition of democracy was given by one of its presidents. Which country is this?
4. The Constitution of Andorra was signed by its two co-princes, the President of a neighbouring country, and the Bishop of Urgell (a region in another neighbouring country). The new constitution stipulates that these two officials are Andorra’s heads of state. This has been the arrangement for centuries. The President of the neighbouring country now holds the position that the King used to hold earlier. Which country’s president is that and the bishop is from which other country?
5. This country is a democracy and constitutional monarchy. It is also the only country with specific constitutional obligations on its people to protect the environment. The Constitution states that every citizen is a trustee of the kingdom’s natural resources and environment for the benefit of the present and future generations and declares it the fundamental duty of every citizen to contribute to protection, conservation, and prevention of all forms of ecological degradation, including noise, visual and physical pollution. The government also promises that a minimum of 60% of the total land shall be maintained as forest always. This led to this becoming the first carbon negative country in the world. Which country?
6. Direct or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the citizens decide policy initiatives directly. This differs from the majority of modern democracies, which are representative democracies in which people vote for representatives who then enact policy initiatives. First seen in ancient Athens, which is the first and only country so far to have this system?
7. The constitution of the Philippines formally guarantees the separation of church and State, but the Catholic establishment there wields considerable influence in politics. The Church has long opposed what it calls the ‘D.E.A.T.H.’ bills—laws proposing to allow ______, euthanasia, abortion, total population control, and homosexual marriage—calling them “anti-family and anti-life.” The only other country in the world where the first activity is constitutionally illegal is the Vatican City. What is this illegal activity?
8. This country rewrote its Constitution in 2007-08 and it was ratified by referendum by the people to recognise Rights of Nature in its Constitution. Thereby becoming the first country in the world to codify the Rights of Nature. It acknowledges that nature in all its life forms has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles. And the people have the legal authority to enforce these rights on behalf of ecosystems. An ecologically rich country, this rule helped many of its biospheres, including the Galápagos Islands. Which country is this?
9. This country does not actually have a specific document which can be called a constitution. The ‘constitution’ of this country is a sum of laws and principles that make up the body politic. A characteristic of the unwritten constitution is the special significance of political customs known as ‘conventions’, which oil the wheels of the relationship between the ancient institutions of state. The very existence of the head of government (Prime Minister), is purely conventional. So is the rule upon which he or she is appointed, being whoever commands the confidence of the lower house of the Parliament. Which country is this?
10. Monaco, the planet’s second-smallest nation by area (after Vatican City), has the world’s shortest constitution (3,814 words). With 448 articles, 12 schedules, 5 appendices, and 101 amendments, and comprising more than 1,00,000 words, which country has the longest constitution?
Answers
1. Shantiniketan
2. France
3. United States of America
4. France’s President. And the Bishop of Urgell is from Spain.
5. Bhutan
6. Switzerland
7. Divorce
8. Ecuador
9. United Kingdom
10. India
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’.
