The Constitution of India

The constitution is a set of rules and regulations that guides the administration of the country, in simpler words, it is a framework of the political system, their duties, rights, limitations, etc. The constitution is a set of rules which needs to be followed by every citizen of the country. The Constitution can be either written or unwritten. But the Indian constitution is the written and the most bulkiest constitution.

The Constitution of India was accepted on 26th January 1950, this is why we celebrate republic day on this date every year. The biggest task which India faced after Independence is to draft the constitution for free India. Being the most bulkiest constitution, the constituent assembly took almost 3 years to draft the constitution of India. Although BR Ambedkar was the chairman of the drafting committee, the constitution is a mutual effort of more than 200 people involved in the constituent assembly.

You all must be aware of what the constitution means but only a few among you know-how the constitution of India was formed and what are the features of the constitution. Below we are explaining every bit about the constitution and providing you notes of the constitution of India from which you can draft an essay easily.

How was the Constitution of India formed?

The renowned personalities and leaders frame the Indian Constitution after a long period of debates and discussions. The President of the constituent assembly was Dr. Rajendra Prasad and it took around 2 years 11 months and 18 days to draft the constitution. The reason behind this is that constitution-makers wanted to include every detail in the constitution so that there will be no scope for conflicts in the future.

Secondly, India is a diverse country hit by widespread discrimination in terms of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth. Thirdly Indians have been ruled by Britishers for a long time and have been apprehensive of any form of government. Thus it was important to have their trust and that was possible only with something which was written.

The Constitution of India includes fundamental rights, the directive principle of state policy, writs, fundamental duties, etc. This vast constitution is made after incorporating various features of the constitution of other countries such as American, Canadian, British, Irish, and Swiss. We are also providing an introduction to the constitution of India pdf. This will help you to understand the Constitution in a better way.

Features of the Constitution of India

The longest Constitution in the World

The Indian Constitution is the lengthiest in the world. When the constitution was drafted it had only 395 articles and 8 schedules but presently there are 448 articles and 12 schedules. There have been multiple amendments to the constitution from time to time. The recent amendment which takes place was the 104th amendment which extends the reservation of seats for SC and ST in Lok Sabha.

Rigid as well as Flexible

The best and the unique feature of the Indian constitution is not as rigid as the American constitution nor it is too flexible like the British Constitution. Constitution makers knew that choosing any one of the approaches will cause problems in the future as the rigid constitution does not have scope for changes and flexible one can change the basic structure of the constitution. Thus they choose the middle path so that parliament can make few changes if necessary.

The Preamble

The Preamble was not originally part of the Constitution thus it was added later. The Preamble says that India is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. The objectives mentioned in the Preamble was to secure justice, liberty, equality for all citizens and to promote fraternity.

Federal System

India is a federal country this is why powers of the government are divided between the center and state government. The Constitution divides power among 3 different organs- executive, legislature, and the judiciary. Both the governments can work independently without any interference from the other. It supports many unitary features such as strong powers for the center, emergency provisions for the center, etc.

Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties

Fundamental Rights are the heart and soul of the Indian Constitution. There are 6 fundamental rights in the Constitution that are the right to equality, the right to freedom, the right against exploitation, the right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, and the right to constitutional remedies. The Constitution also provides a list of 11 duties few of which are- respect to the national flag and anthem, protect the sovereignty and integrity of India.

Republic

India is a Republic which means that a dictator or monarch cannot rule the country, only an elected government can rule the country and is accountable to the people. Thus citizens nominate and elect its head after every 5 years.

Conclusion

The Constitution serves as a set of guidelines for every citizen. Thus the introduction to the Constitution of India could be defined by- a set of rules that provides direction to run the administration of the country. The Constitution of India does not favor only one thus everyone is equal in the eyes of the constitution may it be the President of the country or the common citizen. The constitution ensures that there remains a Democracy in a state no matter whichever government is in the rule.

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