The Constitution of India

The task of framing the Constitution of India was given to the Constituent Assembly, formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The inaugural meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on December 9, 1946. Dr Sachidananda Sinha was dected provisional Chairman of the Constituent Assembly. On December 11, 1946, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the permanent chairman of the Constituent Assembly.

The Constitution of India was enacted, signed and adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949.

On January 26, 1950, the Constitution of India came into force on which date India also became a Republic. Our constitution makes detailed provisions for the following:

·         Citizenship,

·         Fundamental Rights,

·         Directive Principles of State Policy,

·         Structure of the Government,

·         Parliament and State Legislatures,

·         Supreme Court and High Courts,

·         Relationship between the Union and the States,

·         Services,

·         Official Language and various other matters of basic importance

Salient Features of Constitution

1.     It is the longest written constitution in the world.

2.     Consisting of 22 Chapters, over 395 Articles and 12 Schedules.

3.      It proclaims India a Sovereign Democratic Republic.

4.     Fundamental Rights are guaranteed to all citizens of India.

5.     Directive Principles of State Policy are incorporated.

6.     It established the parliamentary system of government, i.e., the President of the Union is the constitutional head, the Council of Ministers or the Union Cabinet is the real executive and is responsible to the Lok Sabha.

7.     It is federal in form (in normal times) but unitary in spirit (in emergencies).

8.     It is neither too rigid (as some provisions can be amended by a simple majority) nor flexible (as some provisions require special majority for amendment).

9.     It declares India a secular state.

10.    It guarantees single citizenship to all citizens.

11.    It introduced adult franchise, i.e., every adult above 18 years has the right to vote and the system of joint electorates.

12.    It established an independent judiciary; the Supreme Court acts as a guardian of the Constitution in place of the Privy Council.

 The Preamble

The draft of the Preamble was prepared by Jawaharlal Nehru and is based on the American model. The 42nd Amendment added the words ``Secular and Socialist'' and now the preamble reads as follows.

``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 and political;
Liberty; of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
Equality; of status and of 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, November 26, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution.

Articles of the Constitution

Part Article Deals with Part I Articles 1-4 Territory of India,, admission,, establishment or formation of new states Part II Articles 5-11 Citizenship Part III Articles 12-35 Fundamental Rights Part IV Articles 36-51 Directive Principles of State Policy Part IV A Article 51-A Duties of a citizen of India. It was added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976 Part V Articles 52-151 Government at the Union level Part VI Articles 152-237 Government at the State level Part VII Article 238 Deals with states in Part B of the First Schedule. It was repealed by 7th Amendment in 1956 Part VIII Articles 239-241 Administration of Union Territories Part IX Article 242-243 Territories in Part D of the First Schedule and other territories. It was repealed by 7th Amendment in 1956 Part X Articles 244-244 A Scheduled and tribal areas Part XI Articles 245-263 Relations between the Union and States Part XII Articles 264-300 Finance,, property,, contracts and suits Part XIII Articles 301-307 Trade,, commerce and travel within the territory of India Part XIV Articles 308-323 Services under the Union and States Part XIV-A Articles 323A-323B Added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976 and deals with administrative tribunals to hear disputes and other complaints Part XV Articles 324-329 Election and Election Commission Part XVI Articles 330-342 Special provision to certain classes ST/SC and Anglo Indians Part XVII Articles 343-351 Official languages Part XVIII Articles 352-360 Emergency provisions Part XIX Articles 361-367 Miscellaneous provision regarding exemption of the President and governors from criminal proceedings Part XX Article 368 Amendment of Constitution Part XXI Articles 369-392 Temporary,, transitional and special provisions Part XXII Articles 393-395 Short title, commencement and repeal of the Constitution

Schedules FIRST SCHEDULE : I. The State, II. The Union Territories. SECOND SCHEDULE : PART A.  Provisions to the President and the Governors of States PART B.  (Repeated) PART C.  Provisions as to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of the People and the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council of a State. PART D.  Provisions as to the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts. PART E.  Provisions as to the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. THIRD SCHEDULE :  Forms of Oaths or Affirmations. FOURTH SCHEDULE :  Allocation of Seats in the Council of States. FIFTH SCHEDULE : Provisions as to the administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes. PART A.   General PART B.   Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes PART C.  Scheduled Areas PART D.   Amendment of the Schedule SIXTH SCHEDULE :  Provisions as to the administration of Tribal Areas in   the States of Assam,  Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. SEVENTH SCHEDULE : LIST I.   Union List LIST II.   State List LIST III.   Concurrent List EIGHTH SCHEDULE :  Languages NINTH SCHEDULE :  Article 31B TENTH SCHEDULE :  Provisions as to disqualification on the ground of defection ELEVENTH SCHEDULE :  Article 243G TWELFTH SCHEDULE :  Article 243W

Er. Rajani Kant Indra