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This article is part of the series:
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| Preamble
PARTS
SCHEDULES
APPENDICES
AMENDMENTS
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The Constitution of India (Hindi: भारतीय़ संविधान, see other names) is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining the fundamental political principles, and establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of the government and spells out the fundamental rights, directive principles and duties of citizens. Passed by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, it came into effect on January 26, 1950. It declares India to be a sovereign, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty; the words "socialist" and "secular" were added to the definition in 1976 by constitutional amendment.Added through the 42nd Amendment in 1976 India celebrates the adoption of the constitution on January 26 each year as Republic Day.Das Hari "Political System of India", Anmol Publications, 2002;Pg 120, ISBN 8174886907 It is the longestPylee M.V. "India\'s Constitution", S. Chand & Co., 1997, Pg 3 ISBN 812190403X written constitution of any independent nation in the world, containing 395 articles , 12 schedules and 83 amendments, for a total of 117,369 words in the English language version. Besides the English version, there is an official Hindi translation. Being the supreme law of the country, every law enacted by the government must conform to the constitution.
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In 1946, at the initiative of British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, a cabinet mission to India was formulated to discuss and finalize plans for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership and providing India with independence under Dominion status in the Commonwealth of NationsMansergh Nicholas "The Transfer of Power 1942-7. Vol. VII: The Cabinet Mission 23 March-29 June 1946", Penderel MoonParliamentary Archives.
The Mission discussed the framework of the constitution and laid down in some detail the procedure to be followed by the constitution drafting body. Elections for the 296 seats assigned to the British Indian provinces were completed by August 1946. With the independence of India on August 15, 1947, the Constituent Assembly became a fully sovereign body and began work on 9 December 1947.
The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by the elected members of the provincial assemblies. Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee were some important figures in the Assembly. There were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. Frank Anthony represented the Anglo-Indian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P. Modi and R. K. Sidhwa. The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, B. R. Ambedkar, B. N. Rau and K. M. Munshi Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur were important women members. The first president of the Constituent Assembly was Sachidanand Sinha later, Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly. The members of the Constituent Assembly met for the first time in the year 1946 on December 9.
In the August 14 1947 meeting of the Assembly, a proposal for forming various committees was presented. Such committees include Committee on Fundamental Rights, the Union Powers Committee and Union Constitution Committee. On August 29, 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed, with Dr. Ambedkar as the Chairman along with six other members. A Draft Constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on November 4, 1947.
The Assembly met, in sessions open to public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution.Das Hari "Political System of India", Anmol Publications, 2002;Pg 116, ISBN 8174886907 After many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on the January 24, 1950. Two days later, the Constitution of India became the law of all the Indian lands.
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Other Constitutions
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Every law does not explicitly promote morality, but some laws demonstrate a commitment to moral values. For example, laws against discrimination are connected to the moral value of equality. Therefore, there is a connection between laws and moral values.The Modern Law Review, Vol. 24, No. 4. (Jul., 1961), pp. 551-552. A philosophical approach to the constitution is needed not only to find out the moral content expressed in it and to evaluate its claims; but to use it to arbitrate between varying interpretations of the many core values in Indian polity.
The Constitution of India was drawn base upon several principles of liberal democracyIndian Constitution at Work "Criticism", NCERT, Pg. 220. —
The Constitution of India draws extensively from Western legal traditions in its enunciation of the principles of liberal democracy. It is distinguished from many Western constitutions, however, in its elaboration of principles reflecting aspirations to end the inequities of traditional social relations and enhance the social welfare of the population. According to constitutional scholar Granville Austin, probably no other nation\'s constitution "has provided so much impetus toward changing and rebuilding society for the common good."Austin, Granville "The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation", Oxford University Press,1999 ISBN 0195649591
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar as chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, was one of Constitution\'s chief architects.
The basic form of the Union Government envisaged in the Constitution was introduced by Dr. Ambedkar as follows,
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India, thus adopted a Parliamentary form of government, with the President as the nominal head of the Executive and the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers wielding actual power.
The Constitution, in its current form, consists of a preamble, twenty-two parts, twelve schedules, ninety-four amendments, and five appendices.
The Preamble states:
The original Preamble to the Constitution of India.
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The preamble is not a part of the Constitution of India as it is not enforceable in a court of law. However, the Supreme Court has, in the case of Kesavananda Bharati vs. The State of Kerala, recognized that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and may be used to interpret ambiguous areas of the Constitution where differing interpretations present themselves. However, the Preamble is useful as an interpretive tool only if there is an ambiguity in the article itself and should not be treated as a rights bestowing part of the Constitution.
An interesting side note concerns the words "SOCIALIST" and SECULAR in the preamble. The original drafting used the words "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC". The two additional words "SOCIALIST" and SECULAR were introduced by the controversial 42nd amendment. The amendment was pushed through by Indira Gandhi in 1976, when she had dictatorial powers. A committee under the chairmanship of Sardar Swaran Singh recommended that this amendment be enacted after being constituted to study the question of amending the constitution in the light of past experience.
The wording of the Preamble highlights some of the fundamental values and guiding principles on which the Constitution of India is based. The Preamble serves as a guiding light for the Constitution and judges interpret the Constitution in its light. In a majority of decisions, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that neither it nor any of its content is legally enforcible.
The first words of the Preamble - "We, the people" - signifies that power is ultimately vested in the hands of the people of India. It also tells that the constitution is made by & made for the people of India and not given to them by any outside powers.The Preamble lays down the most important national goals which every citizen and the government must try to achieve, such as socialism, secularism and national integration. Lastly, it lays down the date for the adoption of the Constitution - 26 November 1949.
The word sovereign means supreme or independent. India is internally and externally sovereign - externally free from the control of any foreign power and internally, it has a free government which is directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern the people.
The word socialist was added to the Preamble by the 42nd amendment act of 1976, during The Emergency (India). It implies social and economic equality. Social equality in this context means the absence of discrimination on the grounds only of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion, or language. Under social equality, everyone has equal status and opportunities. Economic equality in this context means that the government will endeavor to make the distribution of wealth more equal and provide a decent standard of living for all. This is in effect emphasizing a commitment towards the formation of a welfare state.
India has adopted a mixed economy and the government has framed many laws to achieve the aim.
The word secular was inserted into the Preamble by the 42nd amendment act of 1976, during The Emergency (India). It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance. India, therefore does not have an official state religion. Every person has the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion they choose. The government must not favour or discriminate against any religion. It must treat all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of law. No religious instruction is imparted in government or government-aided schools. Nevertheless, general information about all established world religions is imparted as part of the course in Sociology, without giving any importance to any one religion or the others. The content presents the basic/fundamental information with regards to the fundamental beliefs, social values and main practices and fesitivals of each established world religions. The Supreme Court in S.R Bommai v. Union of India held that secularism was an integral part of the basic structure of the constitution.
India is a democracy. The people of India elect their governments at all levels (Union, State and local) by a system of universal adult franchise; popularly known as \'One man one vote\'. Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above and not otherwise debarred by law, is entitled to vote. Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex, religion or education.
As opposed to a monarchy, in which the head of state is appointed on hereditary basis for a lifetime or until he abdicates from the throne, a democratic republic is an entity in which the head of state is elected, directly or indirectly, for a fixed tenure. The President of India is elected by an electoral college for a term of five years. The Post of the President Of India is not hereditary. Every citizen of India is eligible to become the President of the country.
Preamble plays pivotal role when there is ambiguity in provisions of any Article or interpretation becomes confusing, spirit of preamble becomes guiding factor. Preamble is stem, root and source of constitution.
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Schedules can be added to the constitution by amendment. The twelve schedules in force cover the designations of the
Methods of Amendment
Basic structure of constitution can not be amended by any means. The principles of Basic Structure and liberal interpretation of Fundamental Rights are well discussed in famous cases like - Keshvanand Bharti, Maneka Gandhi, Minerava Mills, Bonded Labour, Bhopal Gas tragedy case etc. The method of amendment was borrowed from South African constitution. The constitution laid down three lists - namely; Union, State and Concurrent. The union law is powerful compared to State, but if The president has given assent to the State law, than it prevails over Union Law.
![Constitutional amendments per decade<ref name = "NCERT Class 11 Pol. Sci. text">NCERT, Class 11 Political science textbook, NCERT; Pg 206 [1]</ref>.](Image:India_constitutional_amendments_per_decade.JPG)
On paper, an amendment to the Constitution is an extremely difficult affair, and normally needs at least two-thirds of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to pass it. However, the Constitution is one of the most frequently amended governing documents in the world; amendments average about two a year. The document outlines governmental powers in considerable detail, meaning that amendments are required to deal with matters addressed by ordinary statute in most other democracies.
In 1974, the Supreme Court of India in the landmark case of Kesavananda Bharati vs. The State of Kerala enunciated the Basic Structure Doctrine, which expanded the scope of judicial review to include the power to review Constitutional Amendments passed by the Legislature. Using this doctrine, the Supreme Court has struck down the 39th Amendment and parts of the 42nd Amendment as being violative of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. Some noted authors of Constitutional law, such as HM Seervai, have argued that this is an usurpation of amending power by the judiciary, which was never intended by the framers of the Constitution. However, it can be argued that this doctrine is necessary to protect basic human rights from being legislated away. Amendment 44 has repelled many of 42nd amendments during Morarj Desai\'s Janata Party raj in 1977.
There have been a total of 94 amendments to the constitution of India, as of 2006. It has now crossed the 100 mark. One of the major amendment (74) was to reserve one third of PRI seat for women. It was a landmark amendment for affirmative actions to empower women. After 1994, more than a million women can enter politics to share power with men.
The strongest critics of the Constitution claim that it is unwieldy, unrepresentative and that it is alien to Indian conditions.Indian Constitution at Work "Criticism", NCERT, Pg. 235.
The criticism that it is unwieldy is based on the assumption that the entire constitution of a country must be found in one compact document. But this is not true even of countries such as the US which do have a compact constitution. The fact is that a country’s constitution is to be identified with a compact document and with other written documents with constitutional status. Thus, it is possible to find important constitutional statements and practices outside one compact document. In the case of India, many such details, practices and statements are included in one single document and this has made that document somewhat large in size. Many countries for instance, do not have provisions for election commission or the civil service commission in the document known as constitution. But in India, many such matters are attended to by the Constitutional document itself.
The second criticism of the Constitution is that it is unrepresentative. At that time, adult franchise was not yet granted and most members came from the advanced sections of the society.
Here the distinguishing components of representation are "voice" and "opinion". The voice component of representation is important. People must be recognised in their own language or voice, not in the language of the masters. Indian Constitution from this dimension, it is indeed unrepresentative because members of the Constituent Assembly were chosen by a restricted franchise, not by universal suffrage. However, it does not lack representativeness. The claim that almost every shade of opinion was represented in the Constituent Assembly may be a trifle exaggerated but may have something to it. In debates that took place in the Constituent Assembly, a vast range of issues and opinions were mentioned, members raised matters not only based on their individual social concerns but based on the perceived interests and concerns of various social sections as well.
The final criticism alleges that the Indian Constitution is entirely an alien document, borrowed article by article from western constitutions and sits uneasily with the cultural ethos of the Indian people. This criticism is often voiced by many. Even in the Constituent Assembly itself, there were some voices that echo this concern.
It is true that the Indian Constitution is modern and partly western. But in this chapter you have also it was never a blind borrowing. It was innovative borrowing. Besides, this does not make it entirely alien.
Many Indians have not only adopted modern ways of thinking, but have made these their own. For them westernisation became a form of protest against the filth in their own tradition. Rammohan Roy started this trend and it is continued to this day by Dalits. As early as 1841, it was noticed that the Dalit people of northern India were not afraid to use the newly introduced legal system and bring suits against their landlords. So, this new instrument of modern law was effectively adopted by the people to address questions of dignity and justice.
When western modernity began to interact with local cultural systems, something like a hybrid culture began to emerge, possibly by creative adaptation, for which a parallel can be found neither in western modernity nor in indigenous tradition. This cluster of newly developed phenomenon forged out of western modern and indigenous traditional cultural systems have the character of a different, alternative modernity. In non-western societies, different modernities emerged as non-western societies tried to break loose not only from their own past practices but also from the shackles of a particular version of western modernity imposed on them. Thus, when the founding fathers were drafting the Constitution, efforts were made to amalgamate western and traditional Indian values.
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