THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

 

CLASS-VIII:SPL-III

 

01.           THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

 

·       In 1934, the Indian National Congress made the demand for a Constituent Assembly. During the Second World War, this assertion for an independent Constituent Assembly formed only of Indians gained momentum and this was convened in December 1946.

·       Between December 1946 and November 1949, the Constituent Assembly drafted a constitution for independent India. Free to shape their destiny at last, after 150 years of British rule, the members of the Constituent Assembly approached this task with the great idealism that the freedom struggle had helped produce.

·       Today most countries in the world have a Constitution. While all democratic countries are likely to have a Constitution, it is not necessary that all countries that have a Constitution are democratic.

 

Purposes of Constitution:

·       It lays out certain ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that we as citizens aspire to live in.

·       A Constitution tells us what the fundamental nature of our society is.

·       To define the nature of a country’s political system.

In a democracy, we choose our leaders so that they can exercise power responsibly on our behalf. However, there is always the possibility that these leaders might misuse their authority and the Constitution usually provides safeguards against this.

In democratic societies, the Constitution often lays down rules that guard against this misuse of authority by our political leaders.

Indian Constitution guarantees the right to equality to all persons and says that no citizen can be discriminated against on grounds of religion, race, caste, gender, and place of birth.

 

FUNCTIONS OF A CONSTITUTION:

Another important function that a Constitution plays in a democracy is to ensure that a dominant group does not use its power against other, less powerful people or groups.

The Constitution usually contains rules that ensure that minorities are not excluded from anything that is routinely available to the majority.

 

Why we need a Constitution?

The Constitution helps to protect us against certain decisions that we might take that could have an adverse effect on the larger principles that the country believes in.

 

CASE STUDY: NEPAL

·       Till recent Nepal was a monarchy

·       Previous constitution of Nepal adopted in 1990- reflected that the final authority rested with the king

·       People’s movement in Nepal fought for several decades to establish democracy

·       In 2006: succeeded and power of king was ended

·       Write new constitution to establish Nepal as a democratic country

 

The Indian Constitution: Key Features

·       By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Indian national movement had been active in the struggle for independence from British rule for several decades.

·       The long experience of authoritarian rule under the colonial state convinced Indians that free India should be a democracy in which everyone should be treated equally and be allowed to participate in government.

·       This was done not by one person but by a group of around 300 people who became members of the Constituent Assembly in 1946 and who met periodically for the next three years to write India’s Constitution.

·       These members of the Constituent Assembly had a huge task before them. The country was made up of several different communities who spoke different languages, belonged to different religions, and had distinct cultures.

·       The partition of the country into India and Pakistan was imminent, some of the Princely States remained undecided about their future, and the socio-economic condition of the vast mass of people appeared dismal.

·       They rose to the occasion and gave this country a visionary document that reflects a respect for maintaining diversity while preserving national unity. The final document also reflects their concern for eradicating poverty through socio-economic reforms as well as emphasizing the crucial role the people can play in choosing their representatives.

 

KEY FEATURES

1.   Federalism: This refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country. In India, we have governments at the state level and at the centre.

Under federalism, the states are not merely agents of the federal government but draw their authority from the Constitution as well.

 

2.   Parliamentary Form of Government: Constitution of India guarantees universal adult suffrage for all citizens. This means that the people of India have a direct role in electing their representatives. Also, every citizen of the country, irrespective of his/her social background, can also contest in elections. These representatives are accountable to the people.

 

3.   Separation of Powers:  According to the Constitution, there are three organs of government. These are the legislature, theexecutive and the judiciary. The legislature refers to our elected representatives. The executive is a smaller group of people who are responsible for implementing laws and running the government. The judiciary, refers to the system of courts in the country.

 

4.   Fundamental Rights: The section on Fundamental Rights has often been referred to as the ‘conscience’ of the Indian Constitution. Colonial rule had created a certain suspicion of the State in the minds of the nationalists and they wanted to ensure that a set of written rights would guard against the misuse of State power in independent India. Fundamental Rights, therefore, protect citizens against the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by the State. The Constitution, thus, guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as well as against other individuals.

The Constitution, therefore, also guarantees the rights of minorities against the majority.

In addition to Fundamental Rights, the Constitution also has a section called Directive Principles of State Policy. This section was designed by the members of the Constituent Assembly to ensure greater social and economic reforms, and to serve as a guide to the independent Indian State to institute laws and policies that help reduce the poverty of the masses.

 

5.   Secularism: A secular state is one in which the state does not officially promote any one religion as the state religion.

 

THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

1. Right to Equality: All persons are equal before the law. This means that all persons shall be equally protected by the laws of the country. It also states that no citizen can be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, caste or sex. Every person has access to all public places including playgrounds, hotels, shops etc. The State cannot discriminate against anyone in matters of employment.The practice of untouchability has also been abolished.

 

2. Right to Freedom: This includes the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to form associations, the right to move freely and reside in any part of the country, and the right to practice any profession, occupation or business.

 

3. Right against Exploitation: The Constitution prohibits human trafficking, forced labour, and employment of children under 14 years of age.

 

4. Right to Freedom of Religion: Religious freedom is provided to all citizens. Every person has the right to practice, profess and propagate the religion of their choice.

 

5. Cultural and Educational Rights: The Constitution states that all minorities, religious or linguistic, can set up their own educational institutions in order to preserve and develop their own culture.

 

6. Right to Constitutional Remedies: This allows citizens to move the court if they believe that any of their Fundamental Rights have been violated by the State.

 

The Constitution plays a crucial role in laying out the ideals that we would like all citizens of the country to adhere to, including the representatives that we elect to rule us.

 

Fundamental Rights of Indian Citizens are provided by the Constitution of India, that was adopted on the 26th of November, in the year 1949, but was put in use on the 26th of January, 1950. The Fundamental Rights of Indian Citizens guaranty that the residents of the land can lead a peaceful life, as long as they inhabit the country. The individual Fundamental Rights of Indian Citizens are most of the time similar in all the democratic countries. 

Article 12 to 35 of the Indian Constitution covers the Fundamental Rights of the citizen of the country. All these Fundamental Rights indicate that all the citizens are equally treated by the nation irrespective of caste, sex and creed. The basic Fundamental Rights enumerated in Part III of the Indian Constitution are categorized under 7 sections apart from the general segment.The sections are as follows: 

General Rights:

·   Article 12: The Definition of Fundamental Rights is given in this Article

·   Article 13: The Article comprises Laws of inconsistent with or in derogation of the Fundamental Rights

Right to Equality:

·   Article 14: The provisions regarding Equality before Law are included in this Article

·   Article 15: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth is specified in this Article

·   Article 16: This Article consists of Rights of Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment

·   Article 17: Abolition of untouchability is mentioned in this particular Article

·   Article 18: This Article provides details about Abolition of titles

Right to Freedom:

·   Article 19: Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc. are clearly specified in the Article

·   Article 20: This Article states the Protection in respect of conviction for offenses

·   Article 21: Protection of life and personal liberty is mentioned in the Article

·   Article 22: This Article deals with Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases

Right against Exploitation:

·   Article 23:The details of Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labor are presented in this Article

·   Article 24:The Article contains Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.

Right to Freedom of Religion: 

·   Article 25:Particulars of freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion are clearly enumerated in this Article

·   Article 26:The Article specifies the freedom to manage religious affairs

·   Article 27:Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion is stated in the Article

·   Article 28:This Article includes freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain education institutions

Cultural and Educational rights: 

·   Article 29:Protection of interests of minorities is specified in detailed form in this Article

·   Article 30:Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions is scripted in this very Article

·   Article 31:The Article dealing with Compulsory acquisition of property has been repealed through the Constitution Act, 1978 under 44th Amendment

Saving of Certain Laws: 

·   Article 31A:This Article contains savings of laws providing for acquisition of estates, etc.

·   Article 31B:Validation of certain Acts and Regulations are mentioned in the Article

·   Article 31C:This Article deals with saving of laws giving effect to certain directive principles

·   Article 31D:This Article deals with saving of laws giving effect to certain directive principles

Right to Constitutional Remedies: 

·   Article 32:Remedies for enforcement of rights conferred by this part have been included in the Article

·   Article 33:This particular Article addresses the Power of Parliament to modify the rights conferred by this Part in their application to forces, etc.

·   Article 34:Restriction on rights conferred by this Part while martial law is in force in any area is mentioned in the Article

·   Article 35:This Article indicates the Legislation to give effect to the provisions of this Part

 

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