Introduction to

Constitution
- Dr. Sonali Patil
 Course Objectives:

• The Constitution, being supreme law of the land, must be known to every
citizen of India.

• The Course has been designed for everyone to make acquaint themselves with
their fundamental rights and of others.

• Powers and freedoms come with responsibility, State 's responsibility to

implement Directive Principles and citizens must perform their duties towards
others, society and nation.
 Constitutional History of India
Before 1947, India was divided into two main entities – The British India which
consisted of 11 provinces and the Princely states ruled by Indian princes under
subsidiary alliance policy. The two entities merged together to form the Indian
Union, but many of the legacy systems in British India is followed even now. The
historical underpinnings and evolution of the India Constitution can be traced to
many regulations and acts passed before Indian Independence.

Indian System of Administration

Indian democracy is a Parliamentary form of democracy where the executive is
responsible to the Parliament. The Parliament has two houses – Loksabha and
Rajyasabha. Also, the type of governance is Federal, ie there is separate executive
and legislature at Center and States. We also have self-governance at local
government levels. All these systems owe their legacy to the British
administration. Let us see the historical background of the Indian Constitution
and its development through the years.
 Historical Evolution of the Indian Constitution
There are various layers in the background of the Indian Constitution:
•Regulating Act 1773
•Pitt’s India Act 1784
•Charter Act of 1813
•Charter Act of 1833
•Charter Act of 1853
•Government of India Act 1858
•Indian Councils Act 1861
•India Councils Act 1892
•Morley-Minto Reforms 1909
•Montague-Chelmsford Reforms 1919
•Government of India Act 1935
•Indian Independence Act 1947
These acts were in some way instrumental for the development of the Indian Constitution .
• November 26 is celebrated as the Constitution Day or the Samvidhan Day of India.

• It is celebrated to mark Ambedkar's birth anniversary remembering his

contribution in the formation of the Constitution of India.

• Aim of celebrating the day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked this day as the Constitution Day of India on
November 19, 2015, while laying the foundation stone of the Ambedkar memorial in
Mumbai. It was marked as a part of a year-long celebration of 125th birth anniversary of Dr
B R Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Constituent Assembly. The aim
of declaring November 26 as the Constitution Day of India is to spread awareness on the
importance of the Indian Constitution and to spread awareness about its architect, Dr B R
Ambedkar.
 Facts about Dr B R Ambedkar
• Born on April 14, 1891 in Madhya Pradesh, Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is
also known as Babasaheb Ambedkar.

• He was a renowned social reformer, politician and jurist. Ambedkar is called the
Father of Indian Constitution.

• He was born in a family of Mahar caste of Hindu household, which is viewed as

a caste of untouchables.

• Due to caste discrimination, Ambedkar had to face a lot of discrimination in the

society from time-to-time.

• Ambedkar was the founder member of the Independent Labour Party. Later, the
name was changed to Scheduled Castes Federation by Babasaheb and later
evolved as the Republican Party of India.
• His party fought the 1937 Bombay election to the Central Legislative
Assembly for 13 reserved and four general seats, he won 11 and 3 seats
respectively.

• Babasaheb was appointed as the Union Law Minister and Chairman of the
Constitution Drafting Committee.

• The Constitution Drafting Committee was given the responsibility of writing

the constitution on India.
AMBEDKAR'S CONTRIBUTION ON BUILDING THE CONSTITUTION
OF INDIA
• Ambedkar was appointed as the chairman of the constitution drafting committee
on August 29, 1947
• He believed that the gap between different classes was important to equalize,
otherwise it will be very difficult to maintain the unity of the country 
• He emphasized on religious, gender and caste equality
• Ambedkar introduced the reservation system to create a social balance amongst
the classes
 Contribution to Constitution Making:

The Indian Constitution and its drafting process are often seen as
synonymous with Ambedkar. He was often seen as the father of the
Indian Constitution, and is probably the most well known of all
Constituent Assembly members.
 
Ambedkar became a key figure in India’s constitution-making
process due to the offices he held and his interventions and speeches
in the Assembly. He was the Chairman of the Assembly’s most
crucial committee – the Drafting Committee – and was also a
member of other important Committee.  As chairman of the Drafting
Committee, he had to defend the Draft Constitution which it
prepared, and therefore intervened in nearly every debate.
 Facts on the Constitution of India:
• The constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, while it came
into force on January 26, 1950
• The Constitution of India was not typeset or printed but was
handwritten and calligraphed in both English and Hindi
• The original copies of the Constitution of India are kept in special
helium-filled cases in the Library of the Parliament of India
• Indian Constitution is known as a bag of borrowings
• The concepts of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity were taken from the
French Constitution
• The concept of five-year plans was taken from the USSR
• The Directive Principles were taken from Ireland
• The laws on which the Supreme Court functions were taken from Japan
• It is the longest written constitution of an independent country in the
world
 Later Contributions:
• He was the first Law Minister of independent India in 1947.
• Ambedkar’s ideas as presented in the Hilton Young Commission served as an inspiration
behind the creation of the Reserve Bank of India.
• In 1956, Ambedkar with 3,65,000 supporters converted to Buddhism, after having
devoted several years to studying the religion. Ambedkar’s reinvention of Buddhism in
the language of social justice is popularly referred to as Dalit Buddhist movement, or
Navayana, or Neo-Buddhism.
• As a Scheduled Caste Federation party candidate, Ambedkar contested in India’s first
general elections from Bombay North Central constituency. The elections, dubbed as
‘the biggest experiment in democracy in human history’ by Sukumar Sen (then Election
Commissioner) saw Ambedkar finish fourth in the race – the unknown candidate from
the Congress party took home the seat. Despite his loss in the Lok Sabha elections in
1952, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
• In the later years of his life, his health worsened, and he passed away on 6 December
1956 in his sleep at his home in Delhi. His birthdate is celebrated as ‘Ambedkar Jayanti’
in the form of a public holiday. He was posthumously given the Bharat Ratna in 1991.
 
 Preamble – Sources and Objects
• What is the Preamble?
A preamble of a bill is an introductory part of the document which
explains the purpose, rules, regulations, and philosophy of the document. A
preamble gives a brief introduction of documents by highlighting the
principles and fundamental values of the document. It shows the source of the
authority of the document. 
The preamble of the Constitution of India is an introduction of the Constitution
which includes the sets of rules and regulations to guide the people of the
country. 
The preamble can be considered as the beginning of the Constitution which
highlights the base of the Constitution.
 Who wrote the Preamble of India and Date of its Adoption

The Preamble of the Indian Constitution is primarily based on the ‘Objective Resolution’
written by Jawaharlal Nehru. He introduced his objective resolution on December 13,
1946, later it was accepted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 January 1947. 

Components of Preamble of the Indian Constitution

The components of the preamble are:
• The preamble shows that the people of India are the source of authority. It means power
lies with the citizens to elect their representatives and they also have the right to criticize
their representatives. 
• It comprises the date of its adoption which is November 26th, 1949. 
• It states the objectives of the Constitution of India, which are justice, liberty, equality, and
fraternity to maintain the integrity and unity of the nation as well as the citizens.
• It also justifies the nature of the Indian State, which is Sovereign, Socialist, Republic,
Secular, and Democratic. 
 The keywords in the Preamble are explained below:

Socialist Democratic
Socialism means the achievement of socialist
The Constitution has established a form of
ends through democratic means. India has
government that gets its authority from the will
adopted 'Democratic Socialism'. Democratic
of the people expressed in an election. That
Socialism holds faith in a mixed economy where
means the supreme power lies with the
both private and public sectors co-exist side by
people. In the Preamble, the term democracy
side. It aims to end poverty, ignorance, disease
is used for political, economic and social
and inequality of opportunity.
democracy. 

Sovereign Secular

The Preamble proclaims that India is a

The term secular in the
Sovereign State. 'Sovereign' means that
Constitution of India means
India has its own independent authority
that all the religions in India get
and it is not a dominion or dependent
equal respect, protection and
state of any other external power. 
support from the state.
 The keywords in the Preamble are explained below:

Republic Justice Liberty

In a Republic, the head of The term Justice in the Liberty implies the

the state is elected by the Preamble embraces three absence of restraints or
people directly or indirectly. distinct forms: Social, domination on the
In India, the President is the economic and political, activities of an individual
head of the state. The secured through various such as freedom from
President of India is elected provisions of the Fundamental slavery, serfdom,
indirectly by the people; that and Directive Principles. Social imprisonment, despotism,
means, through their justice in the Preamble means etc. The Preamble
representatives in the that the Constitution wants to provides for the liberty of
Parliament and the State create a more equitable society thought, expression, belief,
Assemblies. based on equal social status.  faith, and worship.
 The keywords in the Preamble are explained below:

Equality Fraternity

Equality means the absence of

privileges or discrimination
Fraternity means the feeling of
against any section of the society. brotherhood. The Preamble seeks to
The Preamble provides for promote fraternity among the people
equality of status and opportunity assuring the dignity of the individual
to all the people of the country. The and the unity and integrity of the
Constitution strives to provide nation.
social, economic and political
equality in the country.
 Sovereign and Republic
• Sovereign and republic are two soul words, no amendments can be done to this
basic structure of our country.
• Sovereign- India has power to protect its territory, no other nation has to right to
interfere in matter of country, India can cede any party of land to its Union as a
result of wars.
• Mainly it can be said in a line
No one has any right to interfere, India heads it own country India.
Republic- like in Britain the queen or king is the head of the country, a hierarchical
system is follower in deciding head of state.
But since India is a republic Indian people have rights to choose their head of
country in form of president and prime minister.
 Socialist and secular
• India is a Socialist State, the word “Socialism” was added in 1976 in
the preamble. The world socialist represents that India is responsible
for its citizen to provide them Social, Economic and Political justice.
No Exploitation on basis of anything(caste, religion, color, etc) and
equal distribution of income, wealth and resources to its citizens. 
• India is a “Secular” State. this word is included in the Preamble by
42nd amendment. It was added just to show the secular nature of the
constitution. It states that all religions should enjoy equality of Status
and Respect. This word also guarantees equal freedom to all religions
in INDIA.
 Democratic
India is a “Democratic” State. The right to vote is one of the feature. It
ensures equal political Right to every citizen. The People can change
their government through elections. The government enjoys limited
powers. The Government should follow the Constitution. 
 Fundamental Rights

Initially, the constitution of India had 7 Fundamental Rights that are

borrowed from the Constitution of the USA. But later on, Right to property
was abolished and now there are just 6 Fundamental Rights in force. In this
article, we have explained meaning of all the Fundamental Rights in detail.
 (Article 16): Equality of opportunity in public
1. Right to Equality (Art. 14-18)
employment 
Article 14 represents the idea of equality, which
Article 16 states that no citizen shall on
states that the state shall not deny to any
grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex,
person equality before the law or the equal
descent, place of birth, residence, or any of
protection of the laws within the territory of
them, be ineligible for or discriminated
India. The equality before the law is guaranteed
against in respect of any employment or
to all without regard to race, Colour, or
office under the state.
nationality. 

Article 17 abolishes
(Article 15): Non-discrimination on grounds of Untouchability and
religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth  forbids its practice in any
Article 15 states that the state shall not form. Untouchability
discriminate against any citizen on grounds only refers to a social practice
of religion, caste, sex, place of birth, or any of that looks down upon
them and would not be subject to any disability, certain oppressed
liability, restriction, or condition. Nothing in this classes solely on account
article shall prevent the state from making any of their birth and makes
special provisions for women and children. any discrimination
against them on this
ground.
(Article 18): Abolition of Titles
Article 18 abolishes all titles and prohibits the state to confer titles on
anybody whether a citizen or a non-citizen. However, military and
academic distinctions are exempted from the prohibition.

(Article 19): Right to Freedom 

The Right to Freedom guarantees to the citizens of India six Fundamental Freedoms:
1) Freedom of Speech and Expression, 2) Freedom of Assembly, 3) Freedom to form
associations, 4) Freedom of Movement, 5) Freedom to reside and to settle, and 6)
Freedom of profession, occupation, trade, or business.
(Articles 23-24): Right against Exploitation 
Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings, women, children, beggars or other forced
labour militate against human dignity. 
Article 24 prohibits employing children below the age of 14 years in any hazardous
profession. This right followed the human rights concepts and United Nations norms.

(Articles 25-28): Right to Freedom of Religion 

Articles 25 and 26 embody the principles of religious tolerance and serve to emphasize
the secular nature of Indian democracy, i.e. equal respect to all religions. Article
25 offers freedom of Conscience and Free Profession, Practice and
Propagation of Religion whereas Article 26 helps to manage religious affairs,
which is subject to public order, morality and health, every religious
denomination or any section.
Article 27 provides freedom not to pay taxes for religious expenses on the promotion or
maintenance of any particular religion. Article 28 prohibits religious instructions in
educational institutions wholly maintained by the state.
(Articles 29-30): Rights to minorities (cultural and educational
rights)
Article 29 provides protection of the interests of minorities. A
minority community can effectively conserve its language, script,
or culture by and through an educational institution. Article 30
states the rights of minorities whether based on religion or
language to establish and administer educational institutions.
The 44th Amendment has abolished the Right to Property as a
Fundamental Right guaranteed by Art. 19 (f) and Art. 31 of the
Constitution. It is now only a Legal Right under article 300-A,
gives protection against executive action but not against
legislative action
(Articles 32-35): Right to Constitutional Remedies 
Rights, in order to be meaningful, must be enforceable and backed by remedies in
case of violation. This article guarantees the right to move the Supreme Court by
appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights and deals with the
Supreme Court’s power to issue order or writs for the enforcement of Fundamental
Rights.
Article 33 empowers Parliament to modify the application of Fundamental Rights to
the armed forces or forces charged with the maintenance of public order. On the other
hand, Article 35 lays down that the power to make laws to give effect to certain
specified Fundamental Rights shall vest only with the Parliament and not with State
Legislatures
Therefore, Fundamental Rights play a significant role because they are most essential
for the attainment of the full intellectual, moral, and spiritual status of an individual.
Therefore, the objective behind the inclusion of Fundamental Rights in the
Constitution was to establish a government of Law to preserve individual liberty,
building an equitable society, and establish a welfare state.
Live in
The Constitution of India contains 448
articles in 25 parts, 12 schedules, 5
appendices and 98 amendments.
•The Constituent Assembly had 284 members, out of which 15 were women
•The draft was submitted in November 1949. After the submission, it took
three more years to complete it
•All the 284 members of the Constituent Assembly signed the documents on
January 24, 1950
•The constitution came into effect on January 26
•The National Emblem of India too was adopted on the same day
•The Indian Constitution is known as one of the world's best constitutions,
especially because it has only seen 94 amendments.