Q.Choose the correct statement: a constitution needs to be amended from time to time because [4 options, all marked with checkmark in source as printed — not indicating correctness]: circumstances change; document becomes outdated; every generation should have its own constitution; it must reflect philosophy of existing government.
Of the four options, "circumstances change and require suitable changes in the constitution" best captures why constitutions need amendment — the other three either overstate the case or contradict how the Indian Constitution has actually worked.
The chapter's opening discussion makes clear that India's Constitution-makers were farsighted and built a genuinely robust document, yet "no constitution can provide for all eventualities. No document can be such that it needs no change" — because a constitution written at one point in time inevitably reflects the problems of that time, while still having to serve as a framework for a future its makers cannot fully predict. That is exactly what "circumstances change and require suitable changes" describes.
The other three options do not hold up as well against the chapter's own argument:
- "A document written at one point of time becomes outdated after some time" overstates the case — the chapter's whole point is that India's Constitution has NOT become outdated; it has remained the durable framework of government for over 69 years precisely because it can be amended as needed, not because the original document stopped being useful.
- "Every generation should have a constitution of its own liking" is the opposite of how India has actually worked — the chapter contrasts India favourably with France, which rewrote its constitution repeatedly (five republics), against India's single, continuously amended Constitution.
- "It must reflect the philosophy of the existing government" would defeat the very purpose of placing the Constitution above ordinary law; Dr Ambedkar's own reasoning (quoted later in the chapter) is that an amendment needs support well beyond the ruling party alone, precisely so that the Constitution reflects broad public opinion, not just the government of the day.
"Circumstances change and require suitable changes in the constitution" is the correct statement — a constitution must be amendable because no document can foresee every future situation, not because it becomes outdated, or because each generation deserves its own constitution, or because it must mirror the sitting government's philosophy.
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