Features of Indian Constitution | Download PDF
Supreme law of our country is Indian Constitution. It contains the baseline defining the fundamental principles, procedures, structure, duties and power of government authorities and provides the directive principles, fundamental rights and fundamental duties of every citizen of India.
It is known as the longest written constitution in the world. B.R Ambedkar was the chairman and leader of Drafting Committee who was considered as the chief architect of Constitution of India.
It denotes the constitutional supremacy and does not show any supremacy of parliament. It was made by constituent assembly and not by parliament.
Thus it was promoted throughout the country and people adopted it happily. So according to the declaration mentioned in preamble. Parliament does not hold the authority to override the constitution.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who was the Drafting committee chairman, presented the final draft to Rajendra Prasad (first president of India) on 25th November 1949.
On 26th November 1949, constituent assembly adopted it and on 26th January 1950 it came into effect. After the adoption, Government of India Act of 1935 was replaced by the Union of India which became the contemporary and modern Republic of India and it became the fundamental governing document for the working of government of state or nation.
The framers of Indian Constitution remove the earlier acts of British Parliament under the guidance of Article 395 of Indian constitution. Hence 26th January was the day when constitution came into force and every year this day is known as Republic Day.
According to the constitution it declares India as a socialist, sovereign, democratic republic, secular which assures a citizen equality, justice and liberty and promoting the fraternity among all of them.
History
The majority region of India from 1857 to 1947 was under the British rule. On 26th January 1950 when the Indian Constitution of came into action, it revised the previous Indian Independence Act.
India removed the domination of British Crown and converts itself into democratic sovereign republic. As the date 26 January was chosen to memorize the 1930 Purna Swaraj declaration.
Previous Legislation
Constitution of India was drawn from different sources. It was built keeping in mind regarding the conditions and needs of citizens of India. Framers of constitution borrowed different features from previous legislation, these were:
- Government Act 1858
- Act of Indian Councils 1861
- Act of Indian Councils 1892
- Act of Indian Councils 1909
- Act of Indian Government 1919
- Act of Indian Government 1935
- Act of Indian Independence 1947
Act of Indian Independence 1947 was the legislation which created the India and Pakistan as two independent nations.
Constitution of India parts
The framework or constitution was meant for the political principles, powers and procedures of government bodies. It contains 448 articles and 22 parts and 12 schedules. India had faced multiple problems after independence.
Providing shelter to all refugees who were migrating from Pakistan and merging of princely states. Maintaining and respecting the law and order were the major challenges. Sardar Patel helped the government in merging the princely states and stepped the Union of India.
Meaning
A constitution is defined as the multiple rules and regulation which helps in guiding and controlling the government authority of a country. Under the recommendations of committee working under Motilal Nehru and the decisions made by the meetings of INC at Karachi helped to prepare the Constituent Assembly.
Features of Indian Constitution
India is an independent land which is made up of 7 territories and 25 states. Although a member of Commonwealth Nations, India does not recognize British as a ruler. First citizen of country is President and practical head of government body is Prime Minister.
Constitution of India gives the authority to every Indian as right to vote after the age of 18 years, for the members of assembly and parliament. India has both state government and national government.
These are the rights of every citizen of India.
- Right to Equality
- Right to Freedom
- Right against Exploitation
- Right for the religion freedom
- Cultural and Education freedom
- Right to Property
- Right of Constitutional Remedies
These are the certain duties which are adopted in the 42nd amendment of Indian Constitution
- To abide the constitution
- To respect the ideals who inspired us towards the national struggle to defend the country and for freedom
- To promote brotherhood
We all should oblige and abide the rules of our constitution. In Fact, on every NCERT book, the first page is dedicated to our constitution of India. In the memory of Dr Bheem Rao Ambedkar, India enjoys a national holiday.
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