Constitution of India: Background
Constitution of India: Background
Constitution of India: Background
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India (Hindi: ; see also names in the other official languages) is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. It is the longest[1] written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 395 [2] articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 115 amendments. Besides the English version, there is an official Hindi translation. The Constitution was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950.[3] The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930. With its adoption, the Union of India officially became the modern and contemporary Republic of India and it replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. The Constitution declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity among them. The words "socialist" and "secular" were added to the definition in 1976 by constitutional amendment.[4] India celebrates the adoption of the constitution on 26 January each year as Republic Day.[5]
Background
The majority of the Indian subcontinent was under British colonial rule from 1858 to 1947. This period saw the gradual rise of the Indian independence movement to gain independence from foreign rule. The movement culminated in the formation of the Dominion of India on 15 August 1947, along with the Dominion of Pakistan. The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. It contained the founding principles of the law of the land which would govern India after its independence from British rule. On the day the constitution came into effect, India ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown.
Constitution of India
Constituent Assembly
The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by the elected members of the provincial assemblies.[8] Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Kanaiyalal Munshi, Purushottam Mavalankar, Sandipkumar Patel, Dr Ambedkar, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Nalini Ranjan Ghosh, and Balwantrai Mehta 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. The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Ari Bahadur Gururng represented the Gorkha Community. Prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, B. R. Ambedkar, Benegal Narsing Rau and K. M. Munshi, Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Original Preamble to Constitution of India 1949 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Vijayalakshmi Pandit were important decorated beautified solely by Beohar women members. The first president of the Constituent Assembly was Rammanohar Sinha Dr Sachidanand Sinha. Later, Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly.[8] The members of the Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946.[8]
Constitution of India
Drafting
On the 14 August 1947 meeting of the Assembly, a proposal for forming various committees was presented. Such committees included a Committee on Fundamental Rights, the Union Powers Committee and Union Constitution Committee. On 29 August 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 4 November 1947. The architects of Indias constitution, though drawing on many external sources, were most heavily influenced by the British model of parliamentary democracy. In addition, a number of principles were adopted from the Constitution of the United States of America, including the separation of powers among the major branches of government, the establishment of a supreme court, and the adoption, albeit in modified form, of a federal structure (a constitutional division of power between the Union (central) government and state governments) The Assembly met in sessions open to the public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution.[5] After many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 January 1950. The original Constitution of India is hand-written with beautiful calligraphy, each page beautified and decorated by artists from Santiniketan including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and others. Two days later, on 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India became the law of all the States and territories of India. The Constitution has undergone many amendments since its enactment.[9]
Structure
The Constitution, in its current form (March 2011), consists of a preamble, 22 parts containing 450 [2]articles, 12 schedules, 2 appendices[10] and 96 amendments to date.[9] Although it is federal in nature it also has a strong unitary bias.
Parts
The individual Articles of the Constitution are grouped together into the following Parts:
Preamble Part I [11] Union and its Territory Citizenship. Part XII Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits Part XIII Trade and Commerce within the territory of India Part XIV Services Under the Union, the States. Part XIVA - Tribunals. Part XV Elections Part XVI Special Provisions Relating to certain Classes. Part XVII Languages Part XVIII Emergency Provisions Part XIX Miscellaneous
Part II
[12]
Part III Fundamental Rights. Part IV [13] Directive Principles of State Policy.
Part IVA - Fundamental Duties. Part V [14] The Union. The States.
Part VI
[15]
[16] Part VII States in the B part of the First schedule(Repealed). Part VIII Part IX [17] The Union Territories
Part XX Amendment of the Constitution Part XXI Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions Part XXII Short title, date of commencement, Authoritative text in Hindi and Repeals
[18]
The Panchayats.
Part IXA - The Municipalities. Part X The scheduled and Tribal Areas Part XI Relations between the Union and the States.
Constitution of India
Schedules
Schedules are lists in the Constitution that categorize and tabulate bureaucratic activity and policy of the Government. First Schedule (Articles 1 and 4)- This lists the states and territories of India, lists any changes to their borders and the laws used to make that change. Second Schedule (Articles 59, 65, 75, 97, 125, 148, 158, 164, 186 and 221)- This lists the salaries of officials holding public office, judges, and Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. Third Schedule (Articles 75, 99, 124, 148, 164, 188 and 219)Forms of Oaths This lists the oaths of offices for elected officials and judges. Fourth Schedule (Articles 4 and 80) This details the allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Parliament) per State or Union Territory. Fifth Schedule (Article 244) This provides for the administration and control of Scheduled Areas[19] and Scheduled Tribes[20] (areas and tribes needing special protection due to disadvantageous conditions). Sixth Schedule (Articles 244 and 275) Provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. Seventh Schedule (Article 246)The union (central government), state, and concurrent lists of responsibilities. Eighth Schedule (Articles 344 and 351)The official languages. Ninth Schedule (Article 31-B) Articles mentioned here are immune from judicial review. Tenth Schedule (Articles 102 and 191)"Anti-defection" provisions for Members of Parliament and Members of the State Legislatures. Eleventh Schedule (Article 243-G)Panchayat Raj (rural local government). Twelfth Schedule (Article 243-W)Municipalities (urban local government).
System of government
The basic form of the Union Government envisaged in the Constitution is as follows,
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was the chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee.
A democratic executive must satisfy three conditions: 1. It must be a stable executive, and 2. It must be a responsible executive. Unfortunately, it has not been possible so far to devise a system which can ensure both conditions in equal degree. ..... The daily assessment of responsibility, which is not available in the American system is, it is felt, far more effective than the periodic assessment and far more necessary in a country like India. The Draft Constitution in recommending the parliamentary system of Executive has preferred more [21] responsibility to stability.
Constitution of India
Federal Structure
The Constitution provides for distribution of powers between the Union and the States. It enumerates the powers of the Parliament and State Legislatures in three lists, namely Union list, State list and Concurrent list. Subjects like national defence, foreign policy, issuance of currency are reserved to the Union list. Public order, local governments, certain taxes are examples of subjects of the State List, on which the Parliament has no power to enact laws in those regards, barring exceptional conditions. Education, transportation, criminal law are a few subjects of the Concurrent list, where both the State Legislature as well as the Parliament have powers to enact laws. The residuary powers are vested with the Union. The upper house of the Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, which consists of representatives of States, is also an example of the federal nature of the government.
Parliamentary Democracy
The President of India is elected by the Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies, and not directly by the people. The President is the head of state, and all the business of the Executive and Laws enacted by the Parliament are in his/her name. However, these powers are only nominal, and the President must act only according to the advice of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers exercise their offices only as long as they enjoy a majority support in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, which consists of members directly elected by the people. The ministers are answerable to both the houses of the Parliament. Also, the Ministers must themselves be elected members of either house of the Parliament. Thus, the Parliament exercises control over the Executive. A similar structure is present in States, where the directly elected Legislative Assembly enjoys control over the Chief Minister and the State Council of Ministers.
Independent Judiciary
The Judiciary of India is free of control from either the executive or the Parliament. The judiciary acts as an interpreter of the constitution, and as an intermediary in case of disputes between two States, or between a State and the Union. An act passed by the Parliament or a Legislative Assembly is subject to judicial review, and can be declared unconstitutional by the judiciary if it feels that the act violates the provisions of the Constitution.
Constitution of India
Notes
[1] Pylee, M.V. (1997). India's Constitution. S. Chand & Co.. pp.3. ISBN812190403X. [2] Although the last article of the Constitution is Article 395, the total number, as of March 2011 is 448. New articles added through amendments have been inserted in the relevant location in the original constitution. In order not to disturb the original numbering, the new articles are inserted with alphanumberic enumerations. For example, Article 21A pertaining to Right to Education was inserted by the 86th Amendment Act. [3] "Introduction to Constitution of India" (http:/ / indiacode. nic. in/ coiweb/ introd. htm). Ministry of Law and Justice of India. 29 July 2008. . Retrieved 2008-10-14. [4] "Forty-Second Amendment to the Constitution" (http:/ / indiacode. nic. in/ coiweb/ amend/ amend42. htm). Ministry of Law and Justice of India. 28 August 1976. . Retrieved 2008-10-14. [5] Das, Hari (2002). Political System of India. Anmol Publications. pp.120. ISBN8174886907. [6] Mansergh, Nicholas; Moon, Penderel (1977). The Transfer of Power 1942-7 .. Vol VII. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London. ISBN9780115800825. [7] "Parliamentary Archives: HL/PO/1/595/11" (http:/ / www. parliament. uk/ parliamentary_publications_and_archives/ parliamentary_archives/ indian_independence. cfm). Parliament and India, 18581947. British Parliamentary Archives. . Retrieved 2008-10-15. [8] "The Constituent Assembly Debates (Proceedings):(9th December,1946 to 24 January 1950)" (http:/ / parliamentofindia. nic. in/ ls/ debates/ debates. htm). The Parliament of India Archive. . Retrieved 2008-02-22. [9] "THE CONSTITUTION (AMENDMENT) ACTS" (http:/ / indiacode. nic. in/ coiweb/ coifiles/ amendment. htm). India Code Information System. Ministry of Law, Government of India. . Retrieved 14 July 2010. [10] "CONSTITUTION OF INDIA" (http:/ / lawmin. nic. in/ coi/ contents. htm). Ministry of Law and Justice, Govt. of India. . [11] Part I [12] Part II [13] Part IV [14] Part V [15] Part VI [16] Part VII [17] Part VIII [18] Part IX [19] Scheduled Areas are autonomous areas within a state, administered federally, usually populated by a predominant Scheduled Tribe. [20] Scheduled Tribes are groups of indigenous people, identified in the Constitution, struggling socio-economically [21] Ahir, D.C. (1990). The legacy of Dr Ambedkar (10th ed.). South Asia Books. pp.7576. ISBN978-8170186038. [22] http:/ / ncrwc. nic. in/ [23] Jain, M.P. (2010). Indian Constitutional Law. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. pp.921. ISBN978-81-8038-621-3.
Constitution of India
References Bibliography
Baruah, Aparajita (2007). Preamble of the Constitution of India : An Insight & Comparison. Eastern Book Co. ISBN9788176299960. Basu, Durga Das (1965). Commentary on the constitution of India : (being a comparative treatise on the universal principles of justice and constitutional government with special reference to the organic instrument of India). 12. S. C. Sarkar & Sons (Private) Ltd. Basu, Durga Das (1984). Introduction to the Constitution of India (10th ed.). South Asia Books. ISBN0836410971. Basu, Durga Das (1981). Shorter Constitution of India. Prentice-Hall of India. ISBN9780876922002. Das, Hari Hara (2002). Political System of India. Anmol Publications. ISBN8174886907. Dash, Shreeram Chandra (1968). The Constitution of India; a Comparative Study. Chaitanya Pub. House. Ghosh, Pratap Kumar (1966). The Constitution of India: How it Has Been Framed. World Press. Jayapalan, N. (1998). Constitutional History of India. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. ISBN8171567614. Khanna, Hans Raj (1981). Making of India's Constitution. Eastern Book Co. ISBN9788170121084. Basu, Durga Das (1984). Introduction to the Constitution of India (10th ed.). South Asia Books. ISBN0836410971. Pylee, M.V. (1997). India's Constitution. S. Chand & Co.. ISBN812190403X. Pylee, M.V. (2004). Constitutional Government in India. S. Chand & Co.. ISBN8121922038. Sen, Sarbani (2007). The Constitution of India: Popular Sovereignty and Democratic Transformations. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780195686494. Sharma, Dinesh; Singh, Jaya; Maganathan, R.; et al. (2002). Indian Constitution at Work. Political Science, Class XI. NCERT. "The Constituent Assembly Debates (Proceedings):(9th December,1946 to 24 January 1950)" (http:// parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/debates.htm). The Parliament of India Archive. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
External links
Original Unamended version of the Constitution of India (http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2672) Ministry of Law and Justice of India The Constitution of India Page (http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/ welcome.html) Constitution of India as of 29 July 2008 (http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf) Constitutional predilections (http://www.india-seminar.com/1999/484/484 chiriyankandath.htm) Commonwealth Legal Information Institute Online Copy (http://www.commonlii.org/in/legis/const/2004/ index.html)
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