INDIAN CONSTITUTION

CONTENTS

5.The Preamble to Constitution of India.

7.Main Characteristics of Constitution of

India.
The First Book of Constitution of India is
Located at Parliament Library Building,
New Delhi, India.

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1.WHAT IS CONSTITUTION ANYWAY?
Some rules that are made by the legislatures (also known as Lok sabha/Rajya
Sabha in India), for there own country, are called “Law”.
We need Laws in Society so our society can regulate and work properly. They
are designed to protect us and our property and to ensure that everyone in
society behaves the way that the community expects them too.

Laws tell us what to expect as a consequence of our actions. Laws have been
the glue that has kept society together. Without laws there would be complete
anarchy.

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1.WHAT IS CONSTITUTION ANYWAY?
I) In General-
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All other laws have to
conform to the Constitution. The constitution contains laws concerning the
government and its relations with the people.
A constitution is concerned with 2 main aspects:-
a) The relation between the different levels of government and
b) Between the government and the citizens.

Constitution
...
Government
… The People

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1.WHAT IS CONSTITUTION ANYWAY?
Role of Constitution in relationship between Government and its people:-
CONSTITUTION

GOVERNMENT THE PEOPLE

LEGISLATIVE Makes Laws

JUDICIARY Interprets Laws

EXECUTIVE Enforces Laws

Fig.- Role of Constitution in relationship between Government and its people

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1.WHAT IS CONSTITUTION ANYWAY?
II) Technical Definitions-

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents

according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules
together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is. When these principles are
written down into a single collection or set of legal documents, those
documents may be said to comprise a written constitution.

or

The document containing laws and rules which determine and describe the
form of the government, the relationship between the citizens and the
government, is called a Constitution.

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1.WHAT IS CONSTITUTION ANYWAY?
III) An observation-

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the

people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” --Patrick
Henry

Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

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2.WHY DO WE NEED CONSTITUTION?
In General-
I. We need a constitution to govern a country properly.

II. The constitution defines the nature of political system of a country.

III. sometimes we feel strongly about an issue that might go against our larger
interests and the constitution helps us guard against this.

IV. All the 3 organs of government (executive, legislature and judiciary)

functions within the constitution. All the 3 organs of government, including
ordinary citizens, derive their power and authority (i.e. Fundamental Right)
from the constitution. If they act against it, it is unconstitutional and
unlawful.

So constitution is required to have authoritative allocation of power and

function, and also to restrict them within its limit.
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2.WHY DO WE NEED CONSTITUTION?

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2.WHY DO WE NEED CONSTITUTION?
To perform following Functions we need Constitution-

I. The first function of a constitution is to provide a set of basic rules that

allow for minimal coordination amongst members of a society.

II. The second function of a constitution is to specify who has the power to
make decisions in a society. It decides how the government will be
constituted.

III. The third function of a constitution is to set some limits on what a

government can impose on its citizens. These limits are fundamental in
the sense that government may ever trespass them.

IV. The fourth function of a constitution is to enable the government to fulfill

the separations of a society and create conditions for a just society.

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3.THE HISTORY OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
4) British Raj(1858AD-1947AD)- This period of the British Raj was the time
when the Constitution of India took shape. The main stages of its evolution
were:

I. The Act for the Better Government of India (1858)- This put India directly under the control
of the British government. It set up the office of the Secretary of State, member of the British
parliament, who would be in charge of Indian government. In India, the Governor-General,
working under the Secretary of State, led the administration.

Flag of British India (Known as star of India) Left Hunting of Indian Tigers, Right Famines and epidemics in the British Raj

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3.THE HISTORY OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
II. Indian Councils Act (1861)- A separate legislative council was set up to assist the Governor-
General in making laws. Indians could be appointed to the council, but only on the discretion of
the Governor-General.

III. Indian Councils Act (1892)- As a result of Indian demands, the sizes of the executive and
legislative councils were increased. More Indians were appointed to these Councils, and the
principle of election was introduced.

IV. Indian Councils Act (1909)- This act increased the sizes of the councils again, and also gave
the legislative council the power to discuss certain matters and to ask questions. More people
were elected to the councils.

V. Government of India Act (1919)- This introduced 'diarchy' (partial responsible government) at
the provincial level. Elected Indians were given charge of some areas of government (e.g.,
industry, education) at the provincial level.

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3.THE HISTORY OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
In the light of these ‘Objectives’ the Assembly completed its task by November
26, 1949. The constitution was enforced with effect from January 26, 1950.
From that day India became Republic of India.

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4.THE FRAMING OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of
India. Following India's independence from Great Britain, its members
served as the nation's first Parliament.
This body was formed in 1946 for the purpose of making independent India's
constitution. The assembly passed a resolution in 1947 January defining the
objectives of the constitution:-
1) To set up a Union of India comprising British India and the princely states.
2) To set up a federal form of government with separate state and central governments.
3) To set up a democracy in which all power is derived from the people:
I) where all people are guaranteed justice, equality and freedom;
II) where minorities, depressed classes and the tribal's rights are protected;
4) To protect the integrity of India and her sovereign rights over land, sea and air.
5) To help India attain its rightful place in the world - and work for peace and welfare of all
mankind.

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4.THE FRAMING OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was the first president (temporary) of the
Constituent Assembly when it met on December 9, 1946. Later, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad became the President of the Constituent Assembly and Dr. Bhimrao
Ambedkar became the Chairman of its drafting committee on December
11,1946 .

First president (temporary) Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha (Left) on December 9, 1946. Dr. Rajendra Prasad (Middle) the President
of the Constituent Assembly and Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar (Right) the Chairman of its drafting committee as on December
11,1946 .
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4.THE FRAMING OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
The Constituent Assembly consisted of 385 members, of which 292 were elected by the elected
members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies while 93 members were nominated by the
Princely States. To these were to be added a representative each from the four Chief
Commissioners Provinces of Delhi, Ajmer- Marwar, Coorg and British Baluchistan.

First day (December 9, 1946) of the Constituent Assembly. From right: B. G. Kher and Sardar Vallabhai Patel;
K. M. Munshi is seated behind Patel.

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4.THEMAIN SOURCES FOR INDIAN CONSTITUTION
4.THE FRAMING OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.

The 63rd Republic Day Celebrations on 26th January

2012 at New Delhi, India
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5.THE PREAMBLE TO CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
The first words of the Preamble - "We, the people" - signifies that power is
ultimately vested in the hands of the People of India. So far the Preamble
has been amended only once in 1976 by 42nd amendment (change) which
inserted the words Socialism, Secularism and Integrity. A brief description
of these concepts are as follows (in the order they come in Preamble)-

1. Sovereign- It means free to follow internal and external Policies.

2. Secular- It means no particular Religion is preferred.

3. Socialist- It means no concentration of Power and Money.

4. Democratic- It means rule by elected representative of the People of India.

5. Republic- It means no room for hereditary ruler or monarch.

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5.THE PREAMBLE TO CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
The preamble-page, along with other pages of the First and original Book of Constitution of India,
was designed (Art) and decorated (Frames) solely by renowned painter Beohar shakha.

Hindi (Left) and English (Middle) versions of Preamble as available in the First book of Constitution of India (Right).

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6.WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA?
Both features are listed below:-
Federal Features-
1. Supremacy of the Constitution,
2. Division of power between the Union (central Governments) and State, and
3. The existence of an independent judiciary in the Indian Constitution.

Unitary Features-
1. Single Citizenship
2. Single Constitution
3. Power of union to override on the state matters
4. During emergency the system became virtually unitary
5. Changes in the names and boundaries of the states by the Parliament
6. Integrated Judiciary System
7. Centre appoints the Governors
8. Dependence of states on the centre for economic assistance and grants.
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6.WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA?
Different elements of constitution are described as follows:-

1. Preamble (1) - The Preamble to the Constitution of India is a brief

introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose and principles of
the document.
2. Parts (25) – The individual Articles of the Constitution are grouped together
into the following Parts:
1. Part I – Union and its Territory
2. Part II – Citizenship.
3. Part III – Fundamental Rights.
4. Part IV – Directive Principles of State Policy.
5. Part IVA – Fundamental Duties.
6. Part V – The Union.
7. Part VI – The States.
8. Part VII – States in the B part of the First schedule (Repealed).
9. Part VIII – The Union Territories
10. Part IX – The Panchayats.
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6.WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA?
11. Part IXA – The Municipalities. (Part IXB – The Cooperative Societies -not effective yet)
12. Part X – The scheduled and Tribal Areas
13. Part XI – Relations between the Union and the States.
14. Part XII – Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
15. Part XIII – Trade and Commerce within the territory of India
16. Part XIV – Services Under the Union, the States.
17. Part XIVA – Tribunals.
18. Part XV – Elections
19. Part XVI – Special Provisions Relating to certain Classes.
20. Part XVII – Languages
21. Part XVIII – Emergency Provisions
22. Part XIX – Miscellaneous
23. Part XX – Amendment of the Constitution
24. Part XXI – Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
25. Part XXII – Short title, date of commencement, Authoritative text in Hindi and Repeals

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7.MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSTITUTION OF
INDIA.
The Constitution of India has some distinct and unique features as compared
to other constitutions to the world. As Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Chairman of
the Drafting Committee puts it, the framers had tried to accumulate and
accommodate the best features of other constitutions, keeping in view the
peculiar problems and needs of our country. Main Characteristics of
Constitution of India are:-
1. Largest written constitution.
2. Partly Rigid and Partly Flexible
3. A Democratic Republic
4. Parliamentary System of Government
5. A Federation
6. Fundamental Rights
7. Directive Principles of State Policy
8. Fundamental Duties
9. Secular State
10. An Independent Judiciary
11. Single Citizenship
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8.CONCLUSION
A Constitution symbolizes independence of a country. Framework and structure
for the governance of a free country are provided in the Constitution. The
Constituent Assembly prepared the draft of the Constitution by keeping the
‘Objectives Resolution’ as the backdrop which reflected the aspirations of the
people of India.

The framing of the Constitution was completed on November 26, 1949 when the
Constituent Assembly formally adopted the new Constitution. The Constitution
came into force with effect from January 26, 1950.

The Constitution begins with a Preamble which declares India to be a Sovereign,

Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. The Preamble also mentions the goals
of securing justice, liberty and equality for all its citizens and promotion of natio-
nal unity and integrity on the basis of fraternity among the people assuring dignity
of the individual.
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8.CONCLUSION
Picture shows the pages from
the Constitution of India, at
the PARLIAMENT MUSEUM,
Parliament Library Building,
New Delhi.

PARLIAMENT
MUSEUM : A high-
tech story-telling
Museum depicting the
continuum of the
democratic heritage in
India has been
dedicated to the
Nation by
Dr. A P J Abdul
Kalam, President of
India on 14th August
2006.

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