Constitutional government means

Answer: D. CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT means A GOVERNMENT LIMITED BY THE TERMS OF THE CONSTITUTION. A 'CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT' is a government in which the EXERCISE OF GOVERNMENTAL POWER IS BOUND BY THE RULES AND LIMITATIONS LAID DOWN IN THE CONSTITUTION. This concept stands at the heart of CONSTITUTIONALISM — the doctrine that government, even one acting through elected representatives, should be SUBJECT TO LEGAL LIMITS for the protection of individual rights and the rule of law. Key features of a constitutional government: - POWER IS DERIVED FROM AND CONFINED BY THE CONSTITUTION. - RULE OF LAW prevails — every act of government must have legal authority. - FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS limit what the government can do to individuals. - SEPARATION OF POWERS prevents concentration. - JUDICIAL REVIEW enforces limits on government action. - AMENDMENT PROCEDURES are formalised (and in some systems, certain features are unamendable — India's BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE). - ACCOUNTABILITY of executive to legislature; periodic elections. A government may be NUMERICALLY DEMOCRATIC (elected by majority) but if it ignores constitutional limits — say, by passing laws that violate fundamental rights — it is NOT a constitutional government. So constitutionalism is the qualitative limit on democracy. India is a CONSTITUTIONAL government — the Constitution is supreme; Parliament, executive, and judiciary all derive their authority from it; their power is limited by Part III (Fundamental Rights), Part IV (Directive Principles), and the Basic Structure Doctrine. Why other options are WRONG: (A) 'Representative government with federal structure' — federalism is one of many features; not the definition of constitutional government. A unitary constitutional government is also a constitutional government (e.g., UK). (B) 'Nominal-power head' — this describes a CEREMONIAL HEAD as in parliamentary systems (UK monarch, Indian President) — but this is about the head's role, not the LIMITS on government. (C) 'Real-power head' — describes a presidential system (US, France) — again, not what makes a government constitutional. Source: NCERT Class 11 Political Theory / Indian Constitution at Work / Carl Friedrich, 'Constitutional Government and Democracy'.