SECTION-B

INDIAN DEMOCRACY

9. INDIAN CONSTITUTION

THE PREAMBLE AND SALIENT FEATURES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

10.FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

(MEANING, IMPORTANCE AND DESCRIPTION)

11.DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY :

(MEANING, CLASSIFICATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND ISSUE OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY)

12.LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT :

(PANCHAYATI RAJ / RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT & URBAN LOCAL BODIES)

13.DEMOCRACY IN INDIA : PERSPECTIVE OF CHALLENGES FACED : (CASTE, COMMUNALISM,

REGIONALISM, & POLITICAL VIOLENCE, AND STRENGTHENING INDIAN DEMOCRACY)

CHAPTER 9

INDIAN CONSTITUTION
THE PREAMBLE AND SALIENT FEATURES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
I. PREAMBLE OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of India begins with a Preamble which specifies the nature of the Indian State and
the objectives it is committed to secure. K.M. Munshi describes the Preamble as the political
horoscope of the constitution which lists the basic features of the Constitution, its basic philosophy
and the nature of Indian state. In the words of Pt. Thakur Dass Bhargawa,

“The Preamble is the most precious part of the constitution, it is the soul of the constitution, it is the
key to the constitution. It is the key to open the mind of the makers of the constitution. It is a jewel
set in the constitution. It is a superb prose poem, nay, it is perfection in itself. It is a proper yardstick
with which one can measure the worth of the constitution.”

Preamble is the key to the letter and spirit of the constitution.

The Preamble begins with the words “We the people” and ends by recording that it is a “self- made
adopted and enacted constitution of India.”

Let us read the Preamble :

We the People of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist,
Secular, Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens;

Justice, social, economic, political;

Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship ;

Equality of status and opportunity ; and to promote among them all;

Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation ;

In our Constituent Assembly, this twenty sixth day of November 1949, do hereby Adopt Enact and
Give to Ourselves this Constitution.

The words ‘Socialist’ ‘Secular’ and ‘Integrity ’ were initially not there in the Preamble were added
to it by the 42nd Amendment (1976) to the Constitution.

IA. PREAMBLE: SALIENT FEATURES & MEANING OF IMPORTANT WORDS

The Preamble lays down the nature of Indian state and states the objectives which are achieved for
all the citizens. It also upholds the sovereignty of the people of India and records the date on which
the Constitution was finally adopted by the Constituent Assembly. In fact, each word of Preamble
conveys a set of ideas.

The Preamble is an interval part of the basic structure of the constitution of India.
1.The Source of all Authority—Popular Sovereignty (Sovereignty of the People)

The Preamble categorically accepts the principle of Popular Sovereignty. It begins by the words ‘We
the people of India’. These testify to the fact that the people are the ultimate source of authority.
The Government derives its power from the people. The constitution has its roots and derives its
sovereignty from the people. In this respect, the Preamble of the Constitution of India is similar to
the Preamble of the US Constitution and the Preamble of the Charter of the United Nation

In the Constituent Assembly, two members objected to the use of the term “We the people”. H.V.
Kamath wanted that the Preamble should begin with the words “In the name of God” and view was
also supported by some other members. However, when after a debate it was put to vote the
amendment got defeated with 41 votes in favour and 68 against. Another member, Mollana Hazrat
Mohani objected to the use of these words on the ground that since the Constituent Assembly was
elected by a small electorate and that too on the basis of communal electorates, it was not fully
representative and hence not competent to use these words. However, this view was also rejected
by the Constituent Assembly. As such, the Preamble adopted by it, begins by the words, ‘We the
People of India’ and these signify the fact of sovereignty of the people of India.

2.Nature of Indian State

The Preamble refers to the five cardinal features of India as a state. It declares India to be
Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic.

(1)India is a Sovereign State. The Preamble proclaims that India is a sovereign state. Such
proclamation was essential to denote the end of British rule over India. It testifies to the fact that
India is no longer a dependency or colony or possession of British Crown. It also affirms the end of
dominion status that India technically got after the end of British Rule on 15th August, 1947. With
adoption of the constitution by the Constituent Assembly, this status ended and India emerged as
fully sovereign independent state. It proclaimed the result of the freedom struggle and affirmed
India was free internally and externally to take her own decisions and implement these for her
people and territories.
Some critics, however, point out that the membership of ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ limits the
sovereign status of India in so far as this membership accepts the British King / Queen as the head of
the Commonwealth. However, this view is not correct. The Commonwealth is no longer the British
Commonwealth. It is now, after 1949, an association of sovereign equal friends who because of their
historical links have preferred to join hands in the Commonwealth for the promotion of their
national interests through cooperative efforts. India's membership of the Commonwealth is a
voluntary act and a courtesy arrangement. British King / Queen as head of the Commonwealth has
no place in the Indian Constitution. India owes no allegiance to him / her. “British King is a symbolic
head of the Free Association of Commonwealth.” (Nehru) Prof. Ramaswamy has rightly observed:

“Indian membership of Commonwealth is a courtesy arrangement devoid of any constitutional

significance.”

Thus, Preamble proclaims the sovereign independent status of India. The word sovereign denotes
both internal and external sovereignty of India. It means that the government is independent in
internal and external matters and is no more under the control of a foreign power.

(2)India is a Socialist State. In 1976, the Preamble was amended to include the term ‘Socialism’. It is
now regarded as a prime feature of the State in India. It reflects the fact that India is committed to
secure Justice, social, economic and political, to all its people by ending all forms of exploitation and
by securing equitable distribution of income, resources and wealth. This has to be secured by
peaceful, constitutional and democratic means.

The term ‘India is a Socialist state’ really means India is a democratic socialist state. It signifies the
commitment to socio-economic justice which is to be secured by the state through the democratic
process and organised planning. India stands for democratic liberalisation both in spheres of politics
and economy for securing the goals of socialism.

Even after adopting liberalisation, privatisation and competitive economic system, the Indian state
remains committed to secure socialistic goals, Socio-economic equality and an egalitarian society.
Securing of socialist objectives of development through democratic and liberal means continues to
be a basic objective of India.

(3)India is a Secular State. By the 42nd Amendment, the term ‘Secular’ was incorporated in the
Preamble. Its inclusion simply made the secular nature of the Indian Constitution more explicit. As a
state India gives special status to no religion. There is no such thing as a state religion of India. This
makes it different from theocratic polities like the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and other Islamic
countries. Positively, India adopts secularism by guaranteeing equal freedom to all religions. It
stands for the right of freedom of all citizens. Explaining the meaning of secularism as adopted by
India, Alexandrowics writes,

“India as a secular state guarantees constitutionally, freedom of religion to all persons and does not
assign a special position to any particular religion.” “There is no state or official religion of India.”

Secularism is a cardinal part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.

(4) India is a Democratic State. The Preamble declares India to be a Democratic State. The
Constitution of India provides for a democratic system. The authority of the government rests upon
the sovereignty of the people. The people enjoy equal political rights : Universal Adult Franchise,
Right to contest elections, Right to hold public offices, Right to form associations and the Rig criticise
and oppose the policies of the government. Freedom of expression and speech, freedom of press
and freedom to assemble peaceably, have been guaranteed to all citizens. Right of information
forms a part of the freedom of speech and expression. It is on the basis of these rights, that the
people participate in the process of politics. They elect their government. For all its acts, the
government responsible before the people. The people can change their government through
elections, government enjoys limited powers. It always acts under the Constitution which represents
supreme will of the people. The representative and responsible character of the government
symbolises the self rule of the people. They are sovereign and they enjoy fundamental rights
freedoms which are granted and guaranteed by their constitution. The Supreme Court of India acts
the guardian protector of both the constitution as well as of the fundamental rights enshrined in the
constitution. Elections are held regularly and these are free, fair and impartial. With a view to secure
better protection of human rights, the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 was passed by the
Union Parliament and a National Human Rights Commission was established for this purpose.

For organising the Government of India as well as the Government of each state of India, the
Constitution lays down the system of Parliamentary Democracy. It stands based on the British model
of Parliamentary Government. Under it there is a close relationship between the legislature
(Parliament) and the executive (Council of Ministers) and for all its acts the latter is responsible to
the former. The legislature can remove the executive by passing a vote of no confidence.

Thus, India is a democratic state with a Parliamentary form of government.

India has been and continues to be a Democratic Republic.

(5)India is a Republic. The Preamble declares India to be a Republic. Negatively, this means that
India is not ruled by a monarch or a nominated head of state. Positively, it means that India has an
elected head of state who wields power for a fixed term. Defining a Republic, Madison observed,

“It is a government which derives its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people,
and is administrated by persons holding their office during the pleasure of the people, limited period
or during good behaviour.”

India meets this standard and hence is a Republic.

The Republican status of India is in no way in conflict with the Indian membership of
Commonwealth. The question raised by a former Australian P.M. Sir Robert Menzies, “How a state
can be a Republic and still be a member of the Commonwealth which accepts the British King /
Queen as its head ?”, has little substance. India is a sovereign republic. Membership of the
Commonwealth a voluntary act. It is a courtesy arrangement whereby India has decided to maintain
her traditional friendship and links with other members of the Commonwealth who were in the past
colonies of British empire but who were now sovereign independent states. The Commonwealth is a
friendly association like the United Nations and the headship of British King / Queen has only a
symbolic significance. The British King has no place in the Indian Constitution. President of India is
the sovereign head of the state who is indirectly elected by the people for a fixed term of 5 years.
Hence India is a Republic.

3.Basic Four Objectives of the State: Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
The Preamble lists four cardinal objectives which are to be “secured for all its citizens”.

(1)Justice. Indian Constitution seeks to secure justice, social, economic and political, for all the
citizens. One of the key ideals of the National liberation movement was to secure a new social order
based on socio- economic-politico justice. End of foreign rule was to serve as the means to secure
justice through self-rule.
In its social dimension justice means the absence of socially privileged classes in the society and no
discrimination against any citizen on grounds of caste, creed, colour, religion, sex or place of birth.
India accepts the securing of social justice as a goal. It stands for eliminating social exploitation in the
name of caste or creed. For this purpose, the Constitution grants the Right to Equality to all the
citizens, makes untouchability a crime, and grants special protection to the weaker sections of
society for securing their equality with others.

Economic Justice means no discrimination between man and man on the basis of income, wealth
and economic values. It involves the concept of equitable distribution of wealth, i.e., economic
equality, end of monopolistic control over means of production and distribution, decentralisation of
economic resources, and securing of adequate opportunities to all for earning their livelihoods and a
welfare state.

In its political dimension, justice means equal, free and fair opportunities to the people for
participation in the political process. It stands for the grant of equal political rights to all the people
without any discrimination on the basis of caste, colour, creed, religion, sex or place of birth. The
Constitution of India provides a liberal democratic political system in which all the people have the
right to elect their representatives and the right to hold public offices.

Thus Justice—social, economic and political, is a key objective of the Indian State.

(2)Liberty. The Preamble declares liberty to be the second cardinal objective to be secured by the
Indian State. It lists liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship as the objective to be
secured to all the people. The grant of Fundamental Rights (Part III) including the right to freedom is
designed to secure this objective. Liberty is the vital necessity for the fullest development of mind of
the individual. It is the condition of worth living. Liberty of faith and worship is designed to
strengthen the spirit of secularism. Liberty, as such, is another cardinal objective of the constitution.
Right to religious freedom is a fundamental right. The Constitution grants and guarantees the liberty
of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.

(3)Equality. Realising fully the importance of equality and the inter-relationship between liberty and
equality, the Preamble makes equality the third major objective of the Constitution. It has been
described in terms of its two variables, (i) Equality of status i.e. natural equality of all persons as
equal and free citizens of India enjoying equality before law. (ii) Equality of opportunity i.e. adequate
opportunities for all to develop. For securing the equality of status what is needed is equality
beforelaw and end of discrimination or restrictions based on grounds of religion, race, sex, colour,
creed, caste, residence etc. The Indian Constitution grants and guarantees the fundamental Right of
Equality to all.

(4)Fraternity. The Preamble clearly states that another major objective is to promote among all the
people, Fraternity a feeling of spiritual and psychological unity. It is designed to secure dignity of the
individual and unity and integrity of the nation. Human dignity was held to be a supreme value in our
National Liberation Movement. Freedom struggle was governed by the objective of ending second
rate treatment given to the people of India by the British rulers. For this, unity of the Nation was
considered essential for fighting the inhuman British rule. The founding fathers of the constitution,
therefore, specified in the Preamble that free India should promote Fraternity assuring human
dignity as well as unity and integrity of the nation.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) declares:

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The Indian Constitution, in its
Preamble accepts this as a major objective of state in India.

Thus Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are the Four Cardinal Objectives of the Indian
Constitution.

4.Date of Adoption and Enactment of the Constitution.

In its final paragraph the Preamble specifies the important historical fact that the Constitution was
adopted on 26 November, 1949. It was on this day that the Constitution received the signatures of
the President of the Constituent Assembly and it was declared passed. Each year 26 November is
celebrated as the day on which the Constitution of India was adopted and enacted by the
Constituent Assembly acting as the representative of the sovereign people of India.

5.Self-made Constitution

The Constitution of India is an adopted, enacted and self-made constitution. It was adopted and
enacted by the Constituent Assembly as the elected representative body acting on behalf of the
people of India.

Evaluation of Preamble:

Some critics argue that the Indian Constitution is not an adopted and self-made constitution because
it was never put to a referendum. This logic of the critics is, however, rejected by most of the
constitutional experts on the ground that the Constituent Assembly was fully representative of
Indian public opinion and adoption and enactment of the constitution by it meant its adoption by
the people. Adoption in a referendum is not an essential condition of constitution making. Even the
American constitution was not submitted to a popular referendum. As such the Constitution of India
fully qualifies to be accepted as a self-made, adopted and enacted constitution of the people of
India.

Summing up the features of the Preamble, a former Chief Justice of India, P.B. Gajendragadkar has
observed:

“It would, I think, be fairly accurate to say that the basic philosophy of the Constitution of India is to
be found, in essence, in the Preamble itself. India is one country, and there is only one citizenship in
India. India is committed to the ideal of the welfare state and must establish socio-economic justice.
India is committed to democracy and respects individual liberty and India wants to give to all its
citizens equality of status and opportunity, thereby attempting to create a mighty brotherhood of
Indian citizens which would assist the Sovereign Democratic Republic (Plus Socialist and Secular) of
India in reaching its proclaimed objectives. That, in substance, is the message of the Preamble.”

The Preamble states the philosophical foundations of the Constitution of India and enumerates its
objectives.

“Preamble resembles the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, but is really
more than a declaration. It is the soul of our constitution and lays down the pattern of our political
society which it states is Sovereign Democratic, Republic. It contains a solemn resolve which nothing
but a revolution can alter.”—CJ. Hidayatullah

The Preamble is, in fact, a key to the interpretation of the Constitution. It is a part of the Basic
Structure of the Constitution in so far as it states the philosophy, the features and the objectives of
the Constitution. It is through its Preamble that the Constitution of India commits itself to a social
revolution. The Preamble states the values which the constitution is committed to secure.

The Preamble is a part of the Constitution

The Supreme Court while giving its opinion on the Presidential reference on the transfer of the
Berubari Union and exchange of Enclaves, accepted that “Preamble is a key to open the mind of the
makers nevertheless the Preamble is not a part of the Constitution.” However later on, it reversed its
judgment in Kesvananda Bharati Case and held that Preamble is a part of the Constitution. Though it
is not enforceable yet it forms a part of the Constitution.

The fact is that the Preamble forms one basic part of the Basic structure of the Constitution. The
Parliament also accepted it to be a part of the constitution when it passed the 42nd Amendment
which involved the amendment of the Preamble and it was done in accordance with the provisions
of Article 368. As such, the Preamble is now regarded as a part, a sacred and a basic part of the
Indian Constitution. It defines the basic structure of the Constitution of India and is itself a part of
the basic structure.

II. THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA : SALIENT FEATURES

In several respects, the Constitution of India is a unique constitution —its voluminous size, the
mixture of federalism and unitarianism and flexibility and rigidity. The attempt of the constitution
makers was to give to the nation a workable constitution capable of securing the unity and stability
of the nation and initiating the process of nation building and socio-economic reconstruction.
Speaking in the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Ambedkar observed:

“I feel it (Constitution) is workable, it is flexible and it is strong to hold the country together both in
peace time and in war time. Indeed, if I may say so, if things go wrong under the Constitution, the
reason will not be that we had a bad constitution, what we will have to say is that man was vile.”

IIA. THE MAJOR FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

(1) Written and Detailed Constitution. The Constitution is a wholly written document. It incorporates
constitutional law of India. It was drafted, debated and enacted by the Constitution Assembly of
India. It took the Assembly 2 years, 11 months and 17 days to write and enact the Constitution.

Indian Constitution is a written and detailed constitution. It consists of 395 Articles divided into 22
Parts with 12 Schedules and 102 constitutional amendments. The 102nd Amendment, which gave a
constitutional status to National Commission for Scheduled Castes and National Commission for
Scheduled Tribes became incorporated in the constitution in August 2018. Jennings describes it as
“the largest written constitution in the world.” This is needed much bigger than the US Constitution
with its 7 Articles and 27 Amendments, the Japanese Constitution with its 103 Articles, the French
Constitution with its 89 Articles and the Swiss Constitution with its 196 Articles.

Why the constitutions so lengthy? The Constitution framers did not want to leave things to chance
because they were conscious of the socio-economic-politico problems being faced by the country in
the post independence period. The incorporation of several unique features—The Directive
Principles of State Policy, Emergency Provisions, Language Provisions, Provision regarding protection
of interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, Provisions
regarding special constitutional bodies like the Election Commission, the UPSC and State Public
Service Commission etc., naturally made the constitution quite lengthy. Further, the decision to have
a common constitution for the Union and the States made the constitution bulky. Added to it, the
decision to write in detail such provisions like the Fundamental Rights, Centre-State Relations, \ the
Schedules of the Constitution and some others, gave additional weight to the constitution. The
constitutional amendments have not lagged behind in increasing its size. All this has resulted in
making the constitution a large book of more than 400 pages.

(2) Self-made and Enacted Constitution. Indian Constitution has been a constitution made by the
people of India through their duly elected and representative body—the Constituent Assembly. It
was organised in December 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan. Its first session was held on 9th
December, 1946. It passed the Objectives Resolution on 22 January, 1947. Thereafter, it initiated the
process of constitution-making in the right earnest and was in a position to finally pass and adopt
the constitution on 26th November, 1949. It is thus a self-made and duly enacted constitution.

(3)Preamble of the Constitution. The Preamble to the Constitution of India is a well drafted
document which states the philosophy of the constitution. It declares India to be a Sovereign,
Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic and a Welfare state committed to secure justice, liberty and
equality for the people for promoting fraternity, dignity of the individual, and unity and integrity of
the nation. The Preamble is the key to the Constitution. It states in nutshell the nature of Indian
state and the objectives it is committed to secure for the people. Initially, the Preamble was not
regarded as a part of the constitution but since the Supreme Court judgement in the Kesvananda
Bharati case, it stands accepted as a part of the constitution. It was amended by the 42nd
Amendment (1976) when the words ‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’ and ‘Integrity’ were added to it.

(4) India is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. The Preamble declares India to be a
Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. All these five terms signify five major features of
the Indian polity.

(i)India is a sovereign state. Such a proclamation was essential to denote the end of British rule over
India. It testifies to the fact that India is no longer the dependency or colony or possession of British
Crown. It also affirms the end of the dominion status that India technically got after the end of
British rule on 15th August, 1947. With the adoption of the constitution by the Constituent
Assembly, this status ended and India emerged a fully sovereign independent state. The Preamble
proclaims the result of the freedom struggle and affirms that India is free internally and externally to
take her own decisions and implement these in the whole of India.

(ii)Although, right from the beginning, the Indian Constitution epitomised the spirit of Socialism
which stood writ large on its pages, it was only in 1976 that the Preamble was amended to include
the term ‘Socialism’. It is now regarded as a prime feature of the State in India. It reflects the fact
that India is committed to secure justice—social, economic and political, to all its people by ending
all forms of exploitation and by securing equitable distribution of income, resources and wealth. This
has, however, to be secured not by the Marxist / Revolutionary means but by peaceful,
constitutional and democratic, means. The term, India is a socialist State, really means that India is a
Democratic Socialist State. It signifies the commitment to socio-economic justice which is to be
secured by the state through the democratic process and organised planning. Now the goal of
socialism means socioeconomic development of the country and is being secured by making the
Indian economic system liberalised and competitive.

(iii)By the 42nd Amendment, the term ‘Secular’ was incorporated in the Preamble. Its inclusion
simply made the secular nature of Indian Constitution more explicit. As a state, India gives special
status to no religion. There is no such thing as a state religion of India. This makes it different from
theocratic polities like the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and other Islamic countries. Positively, India
adopts Secularism by guaranteeing equal freedom to all religions. Under Articles 25 to 28, the
Constitution grants the Right to Religious Freedom to all the citizens. It provides for equal rights to
all the citizens without any discrimination, rule of law and special protection to minorities. The State
does not interfere with the religious freedom of the citizens and prohibits the levying of taxes for
religious purposes.

(iv)India has been and continues to be a Democratic State. The Constitution of India provides for a
democratic system. The authority of the government rests upon the sovereignty of the people. The
people enjoy equal political rights, universal adult franchise, right to contest elections, right to hold
public offices, right to form associations and right to criticise and oppose the policies of the
government. It is on the basis of these rights that the people participate in the process of politics.
They elect their government. Elections are held after regular intervals or as and when these are
considered essential (Mid term Polls and Bye- elections). These are free, fair and impartial, and are
based on universal adult franchise, secret ballot, single member constituencies, and simple majority
vote victory system. For all its acts, the government is responsible before the people. The people can
change their government through elections. No government can remain in power which does not
enjoy the confidence of the majority of the representatives of the people (Members of Lok Sabha).

The government enjoys a limited tenure and defined and limited powers. It always acts under the
Constitution which represents the supreme will of the people. The representative, responsible and
accountable character of the government symbolises the self-rule of the people. They are sovereign
and they enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms which stand granted and guaranteed by their
Constitution.

(v)India is a Republic. India is a Republic. Negatively, this means that India is not ruled by ■<
monarch or a nominated head of state. Positively, it means that India has an elected head of state
who wields power for a fixed term.

The Republican status of India is in no way in conflict with the Indian membership of the
Commonwealth. The question raised by a former Australian PM Sir Robert Menzies : “How a state
can be a Republic and still be a member of the Commonwealth which accepts the British King /
Queen as its head ?”, has little substance. India is a Sovereign Republic. Membership of the
Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary act. It is a courtesy arrangement whereby India has decided
to maintain her traditional friendship and links with other members of the Commonwealth who
happened to be ex colonies of British Empire but which were now sovereign independent states. The
Commonwealth is a friendly association like the UNO and headship of British King / Queen has only a
symbolic significance. The British King has no place in the Indian Constitution. President of India is
the sovereign head of the state who is indirectly elected by the people for a fixed term of 5 years.
Hen India is a Republic.

(5)India is a Union of States. Article I of the Constitution declares, “India that is Bharat shall be a
Union of States. It does not describe India either as a federation or a unitary state, expression
indicates two important facts, “first that Indian union is not the result of voluntary agreement
among sovereign states as was the case in USA, and that the constituent units of India have no right
to secede from the union.” India as such is a union of states.

At the time of Independence there were 29 states in the Indian Union. These stood divided into Part
A, Part B, Part C and Part D States. After the 1956 Reorganisation of States these were reorganised
into 16 States and 3 Union Territories. Gradually, through several changes and through the
admission of Sikkim (1975) into the Union, the number of States and Union Territories has changing.
India has now 29 States and seven Union Territories. In 2014 the state of Telangna was carved out
Andhra Pradesh. It became the 29th state of India. Now some leaders and parties want creation of
some more states out of Uttar Pradesh and the creation of the states of Vidharba, Gorkhaland and
some more.

(6)Federal Structure and a Unitarian Spirit. While describing India as a Union of States, the
constitution provides for a federal structure with a unitary spirit. Scholars describe India as a ‘Quasi
Federation’ (K.C. Wheare) or a federation with a unitary bias or even as a Unitarian federation. Like a
federation, the Constitution of India provides for (i) a division of powers between the centre and
states, (ii) a written and rigid constitution, (iii) supremacy of the Constitution, (iv) independent
judiciary with the power to decide on Central-State disputes over division of powers, and (v)
bicameralism. However, by providing a very strong centre, common constitution, single citizenship,
emergency provisions, common Election Commission, common All India Services etc. constitution
clearly reflects the unitary spirit. The mixture of federalism-unitarianism has been done keeping in
view both the pluralistic nature of Indian society and presence of regional diversities, and the need
for securing unity and integrity of the nation. The former feature has compelled a decision in favour
of Federalism while the latter has necessitated unitarianism. Hence, the Constitution of India is
neither federal nor unitary but a mixture of the two.

(7)Mixture of Rigidity and Flexibility. The Constitution of India is rigid in parts. Some of its provisions
can be amended in a difficult way while others can be amended very easily. In some cases, the Union
Parliament can amend some parts of the Constitution by passing a law. For example, the formation
of new states, increase or decrease in the territories of the states, rules regarding citizenship,
provisions regarding the creation or abolition of (Vidhana Parishad) Legislative Council in a state and
some others, can be amended by this simple method. Even Rajya Sabha alone can make changes in
two features of the Constitution by passing a resolution supported by a two-third majority. Under
Act 249 it can declare a state subject as a subject of national importance and thereby place it for one
year within the law-making jurisdiction of the Union Parliament. Likewise, under Article 312 it can
establish or abolish any All India Service by this mechanism. These features reflect the flexibility of
the constitution.

Two Special Methods of Amendment under Article 368.

(i)Most of the provisions of the constitution can be amended by the Union Parliament by passing the
Amendment Bill by a majority of total membership and the 2/3rd majority of members present and
voting in each of its two houses.

(ii) For the amendment of several specified provisions, a very rigid method has been provided. Under
it, first the Union Parliament passes the Amendment Bill by a majority of total membership and
2/3rd majority of members present and voting in each house individually and then it goes to the
State Legislatures for ratification. The Amendment gets passed only when it is approved by not less
than one half of the several States of the Union. (A) Only some features of the constitution can be
amended by this rigid method. Eg.(i) the manner of election of the President; (ii) The extent of the
executive power of the Union ; (iii) The extent of the executive power of a State ; (iv) Provisions
dealing with the Union Judiciary ; (v) Provisions dealing with High Courts in the State ; (vi) The
distribution of legislative powers; (vii) The representation of states in the Parliament ; (viii) The
procedure of amendment of the constitution ; and (ix) the Seventh schedule of the constitution.

102 Amendments have been so far made in the Constitution.

(8)Fundamental Rights. Under its Part III, Articles 12-35, the Constitution of India grants and
guarantees Fundamental Rights to its citizens. Initially 7 Fundamental Rights were granted but by the
deletion of the Right to Property [Art. 19 (1) (6) and Art. 31] from the category of the Fundamental
Rights (44th Amendment Act 1979) their number has come down to six.

(i)Right to Equality (Arts. 14—18). It provides for Equality before Law, End of Discrimination,
Equality of Opportunity, Abolition of Untouchability and Abolition of Titles.

(ii)Right to Freedom (Arts. 19—22). It incorporates six fundamental freedoms under Art. 19—
freedom of speech and expression, freedom to form associations, freedom to assemble peace fully
without arms, freedom to move freely in India, freedom of residence in any part, and freedom of
adopting any profession or trade or occupation. Art. 20 deals with personal freedom and protection
in respect of conviction for certain offences. Article 21 lays down that the freedom of life and cannot
be deprived except in accordance with procedure established by law. By 86th Amendment, Article
21A was added which provided for Right to Education for children of the age group 6-14. Art. 22
guarantees protection against arbitrary arrest and detention. In January 2004, the Supreme Court
ruled that under Art 19 [1(a)] the citizens of India have the fundamental right to hoist national flag.

Further the Supreme Court of India gave a Judgement in 2018 where in it held that the Privacy of the
citizens is a Fundamental Right under Art 21.

By 97th Amendment (2012) the citizens have been granted the Fundamental Right to organise and
manage their cooperative securities, associations and organizations.

(iii)Right against Exploitation (Arts. 23—24). The Fundamental Right prohibits human beings, forced
labour (begaar) and employment of children in hazardous jobs.

(iv)Right to Freedom of Religion (Arts. 25—28). The grant of this right involves the freedom of
conscience, religion and worship. It gives to all religious sects freedom to establish and their religious
institutions. Under Art. 27, it holds that no person can be compelled to pay any tax for the
propagation of any religion. The state cannot levy a tax for any religion and it cannot discriminate on
grounds of religion, while giving grants. Article 28 prohibits the imparting of religious instructions in
schools and colleges.

(v)Cultural and Educational Rights (Arts. 29—30). Under this category the Constitutions guarantees
the rights of the minorities to maintain and develop their languages and cultures, confers upon them
the right to establish, maintain and administer their educational institutions.

The Right to Property stands deleted from the list of Fundamental Rights. It is now a legal right under
Article 300A (42nd Amendment 1976).

(vi)Right to Constitutional Remedies (Art. 32). This fundamental right is the soul of the Bill of Rights.
It provides for the enforcement and protection of Fundamental Rights by the courts. It empowers
the Supreme Court to issue orders, directions and writs (Habeas Corpus, M Prohibition, Quo
Warranto and Certiorari) for the enforcement of these rights.

These are the Fundamental Rights of the Indian Citizen.

While granting and guaranteeing Fundamental Rights, the constitution also describes limitations
upon these. These limitations have been imposed in the interest of public order, and decency,
security of state and sovereignty, and territorial integrity of India. Further these can be amended in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 368.
(9)The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), State Human Rights Com and Protection of
Human Rights of the people. With a view to protect the democratic and human rights of the people
of India, the Protection of Human Rights Act. 1993 was passed by Union Parliament. Under it the
National Human Rights Commission, headed by a retired Justice of India was established. It is now
acting as an independent commission with a status of court for preventing the violations of human
rights of the people, and in cases of proved violations of human rights, for ordering compensation
for the victims. Most of the Indian states have established their own Human Rights Commissions for
this purpose. The system of public interest litigation has also been acting as an important instrument
for securing the rights and interests of the public in general.

(10)Fundamental Duties of the Citizen. The Constitution under its Part IVA-Article 51 A
(Incorporated by 42nd Amendment 1976) enumerates the following Fundamental Duties of the
Citizen :

1.Respect the Constitution, the national flag and the national anthem.

2.Cherish the noble ideals of the freedom struggle.

3.Uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

4.Defend the country and render national service when called.

5.Promote the common brotherhood of all the people of India and renounce any practice
derogatory to the dignity of women.

6.Preserve the rich heritage of the nation's composite culture.

7.Protect the natural environment and have compassion for living creatures.

8.Develop scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry and reform.

9.Safeguard public property and abjure violence.

10.Strive for excellence in all individual and collective activity.

11.By the 86th Amendment, the fundamental duty of the parents to provide education to their
children has been added to this list.

It has been made a fundamental duty of the parents to send their children to schools for getting
educated.

The Fundamental Duties are, however, not enforceable by the Courts. Like Directive Principles these
also form a part of constitutional morality.

(11)Directive Principles of State Policy. Part IV (Articles 36—51), of the Constitution dealing with the
‘Directive Principles of State Policy’ provides one of the most striking features of Indian Constitution.
In writing this part the constitution makers were influenced most by the Constitution of the Irish
Republic and the ideologies of Gandhism and Fabian Socialism.

The Directive Principles are instructions to the State for securing socio-economic developmental
objectives through its policies. These are both for the Union as well as the States. The Directive
Principles, direct the Indian State to secure for the people, adequate means of livelihood, fairer
distribution of wealth, equal pay for equal work, protection of children, women, labour and youth,
old age pension, social security, local self-government, protection of the interests of the weaker
sections of society etc., and work for the promotion of cottage industries, rural development,
international peace, friendship and co-operation with other states of the world.

“Direct Principles constitute a very comprehensive political, social and economic programme for a
modem democratic State.”—J.N. Joshi

(12)Bi-Cameral Union Parliament. The Constitution provides for a Bicameral Legislature at the Union
level and designates it as the Union Parliament. Its two houses are the Lok Sabha and the Rajya
Sabha.

(i)The Lok Sabha is the lower, popular, directly elected House of the Parliament. It represents the
people of India. Its present strength is 545—543 elected by the people of India and 2 nominated
members from Anglo-Indian community. The people of each state elect representatives in
proportion to their number. U.P. has 80 seats in the Lok Sabha, Punjab 13, Andhra 25, Telangna 17,
West Bengal 42, Maharashtra 48, Bihar 40, Odisha 21 and similarly all others states. Elections to the
Lok Sabha are held on the principles of (1) direct election (2) secret ballot (3) one voter one vote (4)
simple majority vote victory system (5) universal adult franchise (qualifying voting age for men and
women being 18 (Previously it was 21 years). All persons of 25 years of age or above are eligible to
contest elections to the Lok Sabha (It is now proposed to lower this age to 21 years). The President
nominates two members of Anglo-Indian Community to the Lok Sabha. The tenure of the Lok Sabha
is 5 years. But acting under the advice of Prime Minister, the President can dissolve it earlier also. Till
today the people of India have elected 16 Lok Sabhas. The 16th Lok Sabha was elected in April-May
2014. The 17th Lok Sabha now stands elected.

(ii)The Rajya Sabha is the upper and indirectly elected House which represents the states. Its present
membership is 245. Out of these 233 members are elected by all the State Legislative Assemblies
through a system of proportional representation and 12 are nominated by the President from
amongst eminent persons from the fields of Arts, Science and Literature. Rajya Sabha is a quasi
permanent house. It is never dissolved as a whole. Its l/3rd members retire after every two years.
Each member has a term of six years.

The Union Parliament is not a sovereign legislature. It is constituted under the Constitution and it
exercises only those powers which the constitution vests in it.

Of the two Houses Lok Sabha is the more powerful than the Rajya Sabha. It alone has financial
powers and it alone can remove the union cabinet from office. The Council of Ministers is
collectively responsible before the Lok Sabha

Each state has its own legislature but it can be either Unicameral or Bicameral in its organization.
Now seven states (Andhra Pradesh, Telangna, Bihar, J & K, Karnataka, Maharashtra and UP) have bi-
cameral state legislatures while all others have unicameral legislatures. Each bicameral state
legislature consists of Legislative Council as the upper house and Legislative Assembly as the lower
house. Each unicameral state legislature has only one house i.e. Legislative Assembly. Two Union
territories - Delhi and Pudducherry have their own unicameral legislatures. In each state all the
legislative powers are really in the hands of the State Legislative Assembly.

(13)Parliamentary Form of Government. The Constitution of India provides for parliamentary

system of government at the centre as well as in every state. It is modelled on the British pattern of
parliamentary form of government. The President of India is the constitutional head of state with
nominal powers. The Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister constitutes the real
executive. Ministers are essentially the members of the Union Parliament. Council of Ministers is
collectively responsible, for all its acts before the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha can remove the Ministry
by passing a vote of no-confidence and the Ministry (PM) has the power to get the Lok Sabha
dissolved by the President. Likewise, in every state also a parliamentary government, on similar lines
is at work.

(14)Universal Adult-Suffrage. Another feature of the constitution is the introduction of universal

adult suffrage. “The introduction of adult suffrage,” writes Prof. Srinivasan, “without any
qualifications of any kind is one of the boldest steps taken by the Constituent Assembly and is an act
of faith.” Under the Government of India Act 1935, only 14 per cent of the total population secured
franchise and women constituted just a negligible proportion of the total franchise. Under the new
constitution both men and women enjoy equal right to vote. Now the qualifying voting age stands
lowered from 21 to 18 years. All men and women above the age of 18 years are eligible to vote in
elections. However, it is compulsory that their names must figure in the electoral lists, only then can
the voters cast their votes in elections.

(15)Single Citizenship. Another characteristic of the constitution is the integration of the Indian
states with the rest of India.

“Our new constitution is not an alliance between democracies and dynasties, but a real union of the
Indian people built on the basic concept of the sovereignty of the people, as equal citizens of India.
All citizens enjoy a common uniform citizenship which entitles them all to equal rights and freedoms,
and equal protection of the state.”

(16)Single Integrated Judiciary. Though the constitution provides for a federal structure, it
establishes a single integrated judicial system common for the Union and the States. Unlike the U.S.
Constitution, which provides for Federal Judiciary and leaves the establishment of State Judiciary to
the Constitution of each state, the constitution of India provides for a single judicial system with the
Supreme Court at the apex, High Courts at the state level and other subordinate courts under the
High Courts. The Supreme Court is the highest Court of the land. It controls and runs the judicial
administration in India.

(17)Independence of the Judiciary. The Indian Constitution makes judiciary truly independent. It is
clear from the following facts (a) Judges are appointed by the President, (b) Only persons with high
legal qualifications and experience are appointed as judges, (c) Judges of the Supreme Court cannot
be removed from office except through an extremely difficult process, (d) The salaries of the judges
and the staff are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India and are not subject to the vote of the
legislature, (e) The Supreme Court is authorised to have its own establishment to maintain
independence, (f) All appointments of the officers, and servants of the Supreme Court are made by
the Chief Justice or by any other judge or officer whom he may direct for the purpose. Government
now proposes to appoint a Judicial commission for further streamlining the process of recruitment
of Judges.

(18)Judicial Review power of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The Constitution is the supreme
law of the land. The Supreme Court acts as the guardian protector and interpreter of the
constitution. It is also the guardian of the Fundamental Rights of the people. For this purpose, it
exercises the power of judicial review. By it, the Supreme Court determines the constitutional
validity of all acts of the legislatures and the executive. It can strike down the laws of the Parliament
or the acts of the executive if these are challenged before it, and are found by it to be
unconstitutional. For the past five decades the Supreme Court has been using this power and it has
given several historical decisions in various constitutional cases—Golak Nath Case, Kesavnanda
Bharati Case, Minerva Mills Case and several others. The High Courts also exercise this power.

(19)Judicial Activism. Currently, Indian judiciary has been becoming more and more active towards
the performance of its social obligations. Through public interest litigation system as well as through
a more active and judicious exercise of its powers, the Indian judiciary is now very actively getting
involved in securing the public interest vis-a-vis the government. Under the Public Interest Litigation
(PIL) system the judges can act suo moto to secure general interest. In May 1995, it called upon the
state to work for securing a uniform civil code for the whole of India and for all the Indians as stands
directed under Article 44 of the Constitution. Indian judiciary has been becoming more and more
active for safeguarding the rights and freedoms of the people and the demands of public interest.
Judicial Activism is a new feature of the Indian Judicial system.

(20)Emergency Provisions (Part XVIII Articles 352 to 362). Like the Constitution of the Weimer
Republic (Germany), the Constitution of India also contains provisions for dealing with emergencies.
Part XVIII of the constitution describes the Emergency provisions of the constitution. It vests in the
President of India the power to deal with these. That is why these provisions are usually referred to
as the Emergency Powers of the President.

The Constitution stipulates three types of emergencies :

(1)National Emergency (Article 352) Emergency resulting from war or external aggression or threat
of external aggressions against India or from armed rebellion within India or in any of its part;

(2)Constitutional Emergency in a State or some states (Article 356) Emergency resulting from the
failure of constitutional machinery in any state ; and

(3)Financial Emergency (Article 360) Emergency resulting from a threat to financial stability of India.

The President of India has been empowered to take appropriate steps for dealing with these
emergencies.

During an emergency, the powers of the President, actually of the PM and the Cabinet, increase in a
big way. In case of national emergency, the system becomes virtually unitary and the President can
suspend the fundamental freedoms contained in Art. 19 and their enforcement under Articles 32
and 226 of the Constitution. However, there are certain set rules for using this power as well as
there are several limitations upon the exercise of the emergency powers. The President can declare
an emergency only on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. In case of a
National Emergency, the President can act only on the written advice of the Union Cabinet
(Incorporated by 44th Amendment). Every emergency proclamation has to be got approved from
the Parliament within a fixed period. Since 1952, the President has exercised the Emergency powers
(National Emergency and Constitutional Emergency) on several occasions.

The aim of the emergency provisions is to protect the people and the state and hence on that
account these cannot be opposed. However, these contain the possibility of misuse of powers on the
part of the Union executive for political purposes. In particular, the provisions of Art 356 can be
misused by the Centre. The declaration of emergency due to ‘internal causes’ in 1975 involved an
authoritarian exercise of power by Mrs. Indira Gandhi and for this act the people punished her and
her Congress party by squarely defeating it in March 1977 elections.

Likewise, the use of Constitutional Emergency (under Act. 356) provisions by the Union Government
has also been, in several cases, authoritarian and unjustified. As such the emergency provisions can
be, despite constitutional safeguards, misused. Nevertheless, the inclusion of these provisions
cannot be described as an unworthy and undemocratic act of the Constituent Assembly. These were
incorporated in the interest of national security, peace and stability. What is needed is not their
elimination but their judicious and sparing use by the Union Government.

(21)Special Provisions Relating to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. With a view to protect
the interests of people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Constitution in its
Part XVI specifies certain special provisions. Art 330 provides for reservation of seats for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha in proportion (as near as possible) to their population.
Further, the President can nominate in Lok Sabha not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian
Community in case he is of the opinion that this community is not adequately represented in the
House (Art. 331).

Similar provisions for reservation of the seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and Anglo-
Indian Community in the State legislatures have also been incorporated under Articles 331 and 332
respectively. These reservations have been now extended upto the year 2020. The reservation
benefits have also been extended to Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The Supreme Court has,
however ruled that in no case more than 50 per cent jobs should be reserved for all categories of the
people entitled to the benefits under the reservation policy.

Not only in respect of legislative seats, in respect of jobs in Government service and admission in
various universities and professional institutions, jobs and seats are reserved for the people of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Several commissions like National Commission for SCs
National Commission for STs, National Minorities Commission, National Commission on OBCs and
National Commission for Women have been monitoring the conditions of the weaker sections of
society. Now the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) can also look into the complaints
involving the violation of the rights of the people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes. Some reservation benefits have been also given to people belonging to Other Backward
Classes.

Now the system of reservations has been extended for 10 more years i.e. till the year 2020.

(22)Provisions Regarding Language. The Constitution lays down special provisions for defining the
Language of the Union, Regional Languages, and Language of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
Art. 343 states that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagri script. But along
with this, it also provides for the continuance of English Language. A state legislature can adopt the
language of the province as its official language. English continues to be the language of the
Supreme Court and the High Courts. Under Article 351, the Constitution gives a directive to the
Union to develop Hindi and popularise its use. In its Eighth Schedule, the Constitution now
recognises 22 major Indian Languages—Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,
Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telgu, Urdu,
Bodo, Santhali, Mathili and Dogri (Last 4 languages were included in 8th schedule by the 92nd
Amendment Act 2003).

(23)A Constitution Drawn from Several Sources. In formulating the Constitution of India, the
founding fathers used several sources. The values and ideals of the National Movement guided their
path. The National Movement influenced them to adopt secularism. Some provisions of Government
of India Act 1935 were used by them and several features of foreign constitutions influenced and
were adopted by them. In adopting Parliamentary system and Bicameralism, the British Constitution
influenced them. The US Constitution influenced them in favour of Republicanism, Independence of
Judiciary, Judicial Review and Bill of Rights. The progress of the (former) USSR after the 1917 Socialist
Revolution influenced them to adopt socialism as a goal. Likewise, while writing several provisions of
the constitution they were also influenced by the constitutions of Canada, Australia, Weimar
Republic (Germany) and Ireland.

IIA. Indian Constitution : A Constitution Drawn from several Source

Made in the mid-20th century, the Constitution of India is a unique constitution not only for the
constitution of world's largest democracy but also for embodying the best features of a number of
constitutions of the world. It owes its qualities to the founding fathers who sat in the Constitutional
Assembly for nearly three years to formulate it. In its preparation, they depended upon several
sources. They kept before them ideals and values of the National Movement as well as depended
upon several foreign Constitutions, their own perceptions and values and the views of experts, used
several sources to weave the constitutional provisions into a solid and stable democratic
constitutional system for India.

The Constitution of India became fully operational on 26 January, 1950 and from that golden day till
today, it has been evolving through several constitutional amendments, Acts of Parliament,
Decisions of the Supreme Court and several Conventions. Its interpretations by constitutional
experts have also helped it to grow. All these are then the sources of the Indian Constitution.

We can study the sources of the Indian Constitution under the following heads :

1.Values of National Liberation Movement. The National Liberation Movement against British
Colonial rule was governed by certain ideals and values. Its main aim was Freedom but along with it
several objectives were adopted for guiding the struggle for freedom. These were National Unity,
Unity in Diversity, Democracy, Secularism, Liberty, Equality, Justice, Rule of Law and Faith in Peaceful
and Constitutional Means. These ideals guided the path of the constitution-makers.

The Nehru Report (1928) was an all party effort and it suggested a framework for the constitution
which the people of India wanted. It had suggested the following features : Federalism, Strong
Centre, Joint Electorate, Secularism, Political and Social Equality, Fundamental Rights, Special
protections for Minorities, Universal Adult Franchise, and independent and impartial Judiciary.
Report served as the blue-print for the making of the Indian Constitution.

2.Foreign Constitutions. The framers of the Indian Constitutions were greatly influenced by several
constitutions which were at work in other democratic states of the world. In fact, they tried to
incorporate the best features of such constitutions into the Indian Constitution. However, they did
not borrow the features blindly. They used these only when they found these suitable for Indian
conditions. Mr. B.N. Rau, the constitutional advisor visited several countries to review the working of
various institutions in actual practice. On the basis of his advice, and by their own mature judgement
the constitution-makers incorporated several salient features of foreign constitutions in constitution
of India.

The British Constitution influenced them in adopting Parliamentary Democracy and bicameralism,
the American Constitution in providing for Fundamental Rights, Independence of judiciary and
Judicial Review, the Irish Constitution in introducing the Directive Principles of State policy, the
Canadian and Australian Constitutions for laying down the division of powers between Union and
the States, and the Weimer Republic (Germany) for incorporating the emergency provisions. As such
some foreign constitutions also served as a source of the Indian Constitution. Many critics charge
that this made the Indian Constitution a bag of borrowings. But it is not an objective assessment. In
adopting these features, the founding fathers always kept the Indian needs md conditions in view.
They tailored these features to make these fit for the Indian environment, they did not copy these
blindly.

3.The Government of India Act, 1935. When the Constituent Assembly began its work, Government
of India was operating under the provisions of the Act of 1935. Naturally, this Act influenced the
constitution-makers both positively and negatively. Negatively, they decided to eliminate the half-
hearted democratic system that this Act had introduced. They decided to abolish the communal
electorates in favour of a joint electorate. Positively, they were influenced by this Act in laying down
the division of powers between the Union and States, in the inclusion of subjects in the three lists
and in keeping the centre strong. The decision to introduce Bicameralism in bigger provinces and
unicameralism in small provinces as well as the provision for dealing with Constitutional Emergency
in States (Art. 356) was made under the influence of Government of India Act, 1935. Several scholars
even hold the view that the constitution of India is a glorified edition of the Govt of India Act. 1935.
It is, however, an unobjective view. The Constitution of India in its letter and spirit is totally different
from the Act. While the purpose of the Act was to circumscribe the limited democratic structure that
it created, the Constitution of India has been an able exercise in providing a full fledged and
operational democratic system to the country. Hence the views of such critics merit rejection.

4.The Constituent Assembly and its Record. The Constitution of India is the child of the Constituent
Assembly. The perceptions and ideological orientations of the constitution-makers, the reports of
the committees and of the debates held in the Constituent Assembly provided the basic threads for
its formation.

(i)The perceptions and ideological orientations of the members of the Constituent Assembly,
provided the basis for laying down the philosophy and basic structure of the constitution. The
adoption of Democratic Socialism, provisions for Centralised Planning, the Directive Principles of
State Policy, Secularism, Unitarian Federalism, Welfare State etc., all bear the imprint of the values
and ideas cherished by the Framers of the Constitution.

(ii) The Objectives Resolution adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22nd January, 1947
constituted the sign-post for the Constituent Assembly. This resolution categorically stated the
objectives before the Constituent Assembly as well as the features that, it was to provide for in the
constitution. It specified the objective of making India a Sovereign Independent Republic based on
the principle of Popular Sovereignty and committed to secure social, economic and political justice
for all, making India a secular polity, securing the interests of the minorities and working for
International Peace and Security. The Constitution of India fully upholds the philosophy and ideals of
the Objectives Resolution.

(iii)Reports of the Constitutional Committee. The Constituent Assembly appointed a number of

committees which prepared reports on the matters allocated to them. Their reports formed the
basis of debates held in the Constituent Assembly. In particular the reports of the substantive matter
committees like the Advisory Committee on Minorities and Fundamental Rights, Committee on
Financial Rights between Union and States and others, constituted a rich source of the constitution.

(iv)Debates of the Constituent Assembly—CAD. Before incorporating a provisions in constitution,

the Constituent Assembly debated on its all aspects. Every member freely expressed opinion in these
debates. It was after these debates that the decision over every provision was reached either
through consensus or unanimity or by a vote. In all, the Constituent Assembly held eevenl Plenary
Sessions and held debates for 114 days. As many as 7635 amendments were moved by members,
out of which 2473 were actually discussed and debated upon. The Constituent Assembly Debates
(CAD) records as such contain a mine house of information which is always used by Supreme Court
in interpreting the various provisions of the constitution.

(v)The Draft Constitution. The Drafting Committee, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Ambedkar did a
commendable job in preparing the Draft Constitution. On 21st February, 1948, the Constituent
Assembly began a debate over the first draft prepared by the Drafting Committee. On 4th November
1948 the final draft was submitted to the Constituent Assembly. After long discussions and debates
the Assembly finally enacted and adopted the Constitution on 26th November, 1949. The Draft
Constitution as such constitutes the source for the Constitution of India.

5.Constitutional Amendments. The Indian Constitution, under its Art. 368 lays down the Power and
the Procedure of Amendment. During its operation, since 1950, the Constitution of India has
undergone 102 Amendments to this date. These have amended several provisions of the
constitution.

The Right to Property is no longer a fundamental right under Article 31. Instead it is now a right
under Article 300A. Under article 51 A, a list of Fundamental Duties of the citizens is incorporated.
The voting age stands reduced from 21 to 18 years (61st Amendment) and the provision for
reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies is extended
upto the year 2010. The number of Schedules of the Constitution has gone up to twelve. Union now
has 28 states and 7 Union Territories. The number of languages in the 8th Schedule has gone up to
22 with the addition of Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment
Act.

All these changes and several more have been accomplished through amendments. Till today 102
Amendments have been incorporated in the Constitution. These have helped the constitution
change, adjust and develop and serve the needs of the changing environment. Some of
Amendments involving such changes as revamping and strengthening of the Panchayati Raj and of
local government institutions have been designed as measures for strengthening the foundations of
Indian democracy—the grass roots of Indian Democracy.

6.Parliamentary Statutes. From time to time Union Parliament has passed several acts, various
subjects. Since 1950, it has exercised its law-making powers to provide for desired changes, for
example, in respect of rules regarding citizenship, number of Judges of the Supreme Court,
Reorganisation of States, Peoples Representation Act. In 2002 the Parliament passed an act
amending the Peoples Representation Act. Its aim was to prevent criminals from contesting
elections. In 2003 the Citizenship Act was amended.

7.Judicial Decisions. The Supreme Court of India has the power to interpret the constitution. It is
also the Court of Final Appeals and a Court of Records. It has jurisdiction over constitutional cases. In
several such cases, the Supreme Court has given historical decisions which have given a new
meaning and thrust to several aspects / features of the constitution.

In the case of Gopalan vs the State of Madras, it gave an important judgement over the issue of
limitations on the right to personal freedom of the citizens. In the case of Bengal Immunity vs State
of West Bengal, it decided that it can change its judgements or suspend or stop the operation of a
particular judgment. In the case of State of Madras vs Champakam Dorairajan, the historic decision
‘that Fundamental Rights were superior to Directive Principles of State Policy’ was given. In the Atma
Ram case, the Supreme Court defined the rights enjoyed by the persons detained under Preventive
Detention. In the Golaknath Case (1967), the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament had no power to
amend Fundamental Rights, but over-ruled this judgement in the Kesvananda Bharati Case (1973)
and held that Parliament has the power to amend any part of the Constitution, including Part III
(Fundamental Rights) but without changing the Basic Structure of the Constitution. In a judgement
delivered in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that the Right to Information is included in the right to
freedom of speech and expression along with right to freedom of press. In October 2002, the
Supreme Court of India ruled that finalisation of poll schedule comes under the exclusive jurisdiction
of the Election Commission and such a power is not subject to any law made by the Parliament or
State legislatures. In February 2003, the Supreme Court gave the verdict that the services of a
government employee cannot be terminated if he or she becomes disabled during service. In April
2004 the supreme court held that the principle of Equal pay for Equal work was not necessary. On 23
January 2004 the Supreme Court declared that the citizens have a fundamental Right to Hoist the
National Flag under Art 19(1)(a)] of the Constitution. Judicial Decisions have contributed a lot
towards the evolution of the Constitution of India.

In 2007 the Supreme court ruled that jailed MPs could exercise their right to vote in the Presidential
Election.

8.Conventions. Every constitution, whether it is written (like the Indian and American Constitutions)
or unwritten (like the British Constitution), rigid or flexible, federal or unitary, Parliamentary or
Presidential, always work with the help of several conventions which grow naturally in the process of
its working and evolution. During the operation of the Indian Constitution there have also appeared
some conventions which have settled the operationalisation and content of several constitutional
provisions.

Some such conventions have been:

(a)The Governor of a State has to be from outside, i.e., from another state, but exceptions are
tolerated.

(b)Before appointing a person as Governor, the Centre takes the Chief Minister of that State into
confidence. (It is now a rule)

(c)Another convention which seems to be developing is that the change of party in power in the
centre leads to a change of Governors.

(d)The constitution and working of the cabinet rests upon conventions as the constitution makes no
mention of it and simply provides for the Council of Ministers.

(e)The President appoints the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister.

(f)The Prime Minister however can be from either House of Parliament.

(g)The neutrality of the Indian Speaker in the Lok Sabha is again a convention.

(h)Before the 42nd Amendment, the rule that President was bound by the advice of the Prime
Minister and the Council of Ministers rested upon convention.

(i)The convention of electing the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha through a
consensus or unanimity is also developing. It was practised twice in 1977 and again in 1989. In
October 1999, May 2004 and May 2009 this convention was again followed at the time of election of
the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 13th 14th and 15th Lok Sabhas. Such conventions have
helped the due operationalisation of constitutional provisions. The makers of the constitution were
definitely influenced by the Act of 1975 ( PL CHECK THIS.) and foreign constitution, but they were
always guided by the views, aspirations, needs and democracy of the people of India.

9. Views of Constitutional Jurists and Experts. The commentaries on the constitution by eminent
constitutional jurists and experts are always regarded as a source. These do not have any legal
status. Nevertheless, the legislature in law-making and the Supreme Court in constitutional
interpretations frequently take the help of the views and opinions expressed by the jurists on
various constitutional provisions. These influence the work of both these organs and hence are
regarded as the sources of the Constitution. Since the Indian Constitution stands influenced by
foreign constitutions also, works of eminent foreign jurists on various constitutions as well as the
works of Indian jurists are accepted as sources. The following major works stand included in this
category : Commentary on the Constitution of India by D.D. Basu, The Constitutional Development in
India by Alexandrowics, From Marshal to Mukerjee by W.O. Douglas, The Republic of India by
Gledhill, The Indian Constitution by V.N. Shukla, The Indian Constitution in the Making by B.N. Rau,
Parliamentary Institutions and Procedures by M.N. Kaul, Practice and Procedure of Parliament by
M.N. Kaul and S.L. Shakdhar. Indian Constitutional Documents by K.M. Munshi, Framing of Indian
Constitution by B. Shiva Rao. The works of Seeravai, Seetalvad and Palkhiwala too can be included in
this category.

A study of the Sources of Indian Constitution reveals that it has been drawn not from one but several
sources. The attempt of the constitution-makers was to include the best suited principles in the
constitution with a view to ensure its ability to guide the path of Independent India's march towards
development. Their purpose was, as M.P. Sharma puts it, not to produce an original or unique
constitution, what they wanted was a good and workable one.

Some people wrongly describe it as glorified edition of the Government of India Act 1935 while some
others opine that it is a borrowed or imported constitution in so far as it follows western
constitutionalism. Both these views are, however, unacceptable. The makers of the constitution
were definitely influenced by the Act of 1935 and some foreign constitutions. However, they were
really guided by the views, aspirations and needs of the people of India. They always kept before
them the ideals of Indian National Movement.

The Constitution of India is a self-made constitution of the people of India and it provides for a
system of self-rule.

The Constituent Assembly acted as the representative assembly of all the people of India and
therefore the Constitution of India is based on the SOVEREIGN FREE WILL OF WE, THE PEOPLE OF
INDIA. It is indeed our highly valued, respected and sacred possession.

With all these features the Indian Constitution is a constitution, best suited to the Indian
environment. Even its large size (Elephantine) has helped India to organise and run her government
and administration in an effective way both in times of peace and war or emergencies. It has been
continuously developing for meeting new situations, challenges, crises and national needs.

The basic features of the Constitution of India are : The Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Directive
Principles, Secularism, Federalism, Republicanism, Independence of Judiciary, Rule of Law and
Parliamentary Democracy.

IIB. REASONS FOR THE BIG SIZE OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

With 395 Articles, 12 Schedules and 102 Amendments (till date), the Constitution of India is the one
of the largest constitutions in the world. Its big and bulky. Size can be judged from the fact that U.S.
Constitution has only 7 Articles, the Japanese Constitution 103 Articles and the French Constitution
92 Articles. It is indeed, as H.V. Kamath referred to it in the Constituent Assembly, an ‘elephantine
constitution’.

The following factors have made the Indian Constitution bulky in appearance but pragmatic in
approach and efficient in actual working.

1.Indian Constitution is a constitution both of the Indian Union as well as of the States. It provides
for the organisation and powers of both the Union Government and the State Governments and
explains in detail the relations between the Union and the States.

2.A Federal Constitution is bound to be lengthier than a unitary constitution. The attempt to
combine the federal structure with unitary spirit also has also made it lengthy.

3.The constitution contains a detailed Bill of Rights and a detailed part on the Directive Principles of
State Policy. The addition of Article 51A involving the incorporation of the ten Fundamental Duties
has further increased its length.

4.The Constitution devotes separate parts for detailing provisions regarding several specific topics.
For example, Part X deals with the Scheduled and Tribal Areas, Part XIV with Services under the
Union and the States ; Part XV with Tribunals , Part XVI with Special Provisions relating to certain
classes—Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Anglo-Indian Community ; Part XVII with Official
Language; Part XVIII with Emergency Provisions and Part XXI with Temporary, Transitional and
Special Provisions. The inclusion of these Parts has considerably increased the length of the
constitution.

5.The constitution discusses in detail the organisation and functions of several constitutional
commissions—the Election Commission, the Finance Commission, the UPSC, the State Public Service
Commissions, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Minorities Commission etc.

6.Since the Government of India Act 1935 was already in force when the constitution was being
framed, and when India became independent, several of its provisions had to incorporated in the
Constitution of India.

7.The Constitution of India has become lengthy due to a large number of amendments made in it
during 1950-2002 period. During 1990-91 the two Janata Dal Governments got passed as many as 4
Amendments to the Constitution and between 1991-95 the Congress government (1991-96) despite
initially being a minority government could get passed another four amendments. Till today 102
Amendments have been made in it. Constitutional amendments, some of which have been very
lengthy, have contributed a lot to make the elephantine Constitution a bulkier elephantine
Constitution.

All these factors have made the Indian Constitution a lengthy and detailed constitution. But it is not
a lawyers’ paradise because despite details, the constitutional provisions, except for some articles,
stand stated in clear and unambiguous words. It has been successfully in operation since 26 January
1950. It has been guiding the march of India towards high level development and self-reliance.

Questions for Revision

A. Short-Answer Question

1.State the Preamble of the Constitution of India.

2.What are the features of the Indian state as described in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution ?

3.What are the objectives of the Indian Constitution as laid own in its Preamble ?

4.When was the constitution adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India ?

5.Is the Preamble a part of the Constitution of India?

6.What is importance of the Preamble of the Constitution of India?

7.Preamble of the Constitution of India.

8.India as a Secular State.

9.India as a Republic.

10.Indian Parliamentary Model.

11.Part-Ill of the Constitution.

12.Part-IV of the Constitution.

13.Method of Amendment of the Constitution.

14.Unitarian-Federalism in India.

15.Reservation Provisions of Indian Constitution.

16.Provisions of the Constitution regarding Language.

17.India as a Union of States.

18.Judicial Review Power of Supreme Court.

19.Emergency Provisions of the Constitution.

20.Basic Structure of the Constitution.

21.India as Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic.

22.Name the five sources of the Indian Constitution.

23.Which foreign constitutions acted as sources for Indian Constitution?

24.How Indian Constitution is the largest constitution in the world ?

25.What is meant by the saying that India is a Republic ?

26.How India is a Democracy?

27.How india is a Secular State?

28.India is a federation of how many states ?

29.How the Indian Constitution can be amended ?

B Long-Answer Questions

1.Discuss the features of the Preamble of the Constitution of India.

2.Discuss the philosophical foundations of the Constitution of India as laid down in the Preamble.
3.Discuss the four objectives of the state as described in the Preamble of the constitution.

4.Discuss five basic features of the Constitution of India as listed in the preamble.

5.Discuss the Basic features of the Constitution of India.

6.What are the salient features of the Constitution of India?

7.“Democracy, Socialism, Secularism, Parliamentary Government, Rule of Law, Independence of

Judiciary, Mixture of Federalism and Unitarianism, Mixture of Flexibility and Rigidity and
Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles are the ten major features of the Indian Constitution.”
Explain.

8.“Constitution of India is a truly liberal democratic constitution.” Discuss with reference to its
features.

Examination Corner

1.Discuss the importance of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.(2016)

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