CivicsChapter 1

Indian Constitution-A Revelation

What is a Constitution?Why do we need a Constitution?

• A Constitution is the most significant document that contain the fundamental law of a nation.

• The constitution provides a framework to form the ideal government for effective and better governance of a nation.

• The Constitution serves several purposes. • The Constitution lays down ideals of the people of the country which tells us the basic

nature of the society. • A country comprises of people of different castes and communities who have their own

set of beliefs and traditions. The rules and regulations in a Constitution are such that are agreed upon by all individuals.

• The Constitution also reflects ideals that the citizens of thecountry believe they should hold.

• Let us take the example of Nepal. Nepal was earlier amonarchy with the King as its Constitutional head until 1990.

• People started a movement for the establishment of a democracy which was finally granted to them in 2006.

• The people of Nepal wrote a new Constitution as the previous one did not uphold the vision of their country.

Examples……

• We all have been bullied by somebody or the other, sometime, whether it is an elder or younger sibling, parents, friends, seniors, etc.

• When people have power, they sometimes tend to misuse it. The Constitution lays down rules that prevent people from misusing the power given to them.

• You may have heard of a large mob mistreating some people they disapprove of; or a group of boys teasing a girl.

• Sometimes, majority groups enforce their decisions on the minority group. Taking care of situations like these and punishing the guilty is also provided for in the Constitution.

• The Constitution makes provisions so that a dominant group does not ill treat a smaller group or a less privileged group.

Case Study – Dowry

Dowry can be defined as an amount of money, goods or property that a bride’s family gives to the groom at the time of marriage.

• The practice of giving and accepting dowry existed in India for centuries. However, this was a voluntary act which became an obligation over a long period of time.

• As a result, there have been several cases of deaths and domestic violence due to dowry.

• After independence, the Government of India has passed the Dowry Prohibition Act in 1961 to prohibit the demanding, giving and taking of dowry.

• The practice of dowry is not only banned by law but such acts are also punishable offences.

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What is Rule of Law?

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The Rule of Law simply means that no one is above law and a person can be penalized for a breach of

law and not for anything else.• It demands that people holding power and occupying positions in different organs of the state should be guided by law.

• They should not be permitted to act in an unlawful or arbitrary manner.

• Hence the constitution makers chose to guarantee certain rights to its citizens and expected them to discharge certain responsibilities.

• In this constitutional structure, it is the Parliament or the legislature that makes laws, the executive that enforces laws and the judiciary that interprets laws.

The Legitimacy of Law

• In India, it is the Constitution that is supreme. If the law is inconsistent with regard to its conformity with the constitution then the High Courts and Supreme Court of India have the power to declare a law unconstitutional.

• This process is called as judicial review. For a law to be valid, it must conform to the constitutional requirements.

• It is the responsibility of the judiciary to come to a decision whether the law is constitutional or not.

The rule of law protects individual rights and preserves the common good.

Making of the Indian Constitution

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• The Indian freedom fighters were aware of the importance of drafting a Constitution that gave equal freedom and rights to all the citizens of India; something that was denied to them under the colonial rule.

• The Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946, to draft the Indian Constitution.

• It had over 300 members. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, chairman of the drafting committee, is also referred to as the Father of the Indian Constitution.• Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabbhai Patel, Maulana Azad, Sarojini Naidu, Vijaylaxmi Pandit were some of the eminent members of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Indian Constitution.

• The Constitution drafted maintained diversity of the different people while preserving the national unity. The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950.

Key Features of the Indian Constitution

• FederalismFederalism refers to the division of power between a central authority and its sub units.

• The Indian Constitution states that India will have governments at the centre and the state level.

• Since India is a vast country with a diverse culture, a single government at the centre cannot do justice to its role.

• Local people are required to understand the requirements and problems of each area, and then suggest measures to tackle it.

• The Constitution allows autonomy of the state governments in most matters, but reserves matters of national importance for the central government.

• Laws are made by the central as well as the state governments.

Parliamentary Form of Government

• The Indian Constitution states that India will have a Parliamentary form of Government, that is, the real power to run the government will be given to the members of the cabinet who will be answerable to the legislature.

• The Constitutional Head of the State will have powers that he/she can use only in special cases.

• The Constitution also guarantees the right to vote to all Indian citizens irrespective of caste, creed, culture, gender, etc; to elect their representatives to the Legislatures.

Separation of Powers

• The Indian Constitution divides the government’s power into three different entities, namely Legislature, Executive and Judiciary.

• Legislature makes laws, the Executive implements the law and the Judiciary is responsible for punishing people who break the laws and protect those who have been wronged.

• Separation of powers is essential to prevent misuse of power by the government. Each organ of the government acts as a check on the other.

Secularism & Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties

• Secularism refers to refraining the use or promotion of any religion in political matters.

• It also means that there is no state religion.

• In a diverse country such as India, there are many religions and the country does not promote any one religion.

• The Constitution of India grants basic fundamental rights to all citizens, against individuals and the State itself.

• The Constitution also lays down some fundamental duties that each citizen is expected to follow.

Vision of the Indian Constitution

• The makers of the Indian Constitution envisioned the Constitution to be more than just a legal document; they wanted it to be a guiding principle to conduct the affairs of the country in a fair and just manner.

• The Indian Constitution was meant to fulfill all the expectations of the people that they envisaged when they were under British Rule.

• The makers of the Constitution wanted to draft it in a manner so as to make everyone equal in the eyes of law.

• They wanted to give some special privileges to the down trodden classes who have been exploited by others for their own benefit.

• The makers of the Indian Constitution wanted to identify the functions of the various institutions and the important political figures of India.

The Preamble

• The Preamble of the Indian Constitution is an introduction to the basic ideals and objectives of the constitution.

• It points to the source of authority from which it gets its power.

• The Preamble promises features like justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to all the citizens of the country although it cannot be enforced in a court of law.

Sovereign & Socialist

• The Preamble states that India is a sovereign country; it means that India is free from external control by any other country or authority.

• India is independent to conduct its own internal and external affairs.

• The term socialist was added to the Preamble in the year 1976 through the 42nd Amendment.

• Although socialism means public control and equal distribution of all resources, the term socialist in the Preamble aims to reduce the differences between the wealthy and the needy sections of society.

Secular & Democratic

• India is a country of people of different religions, cultures, languages, caste, creed, etc.

• The term secular suggests that India does not endorse any religion as the state religion.

• It also means that the citizens of the country are not discriminated on the basis of religion.

• Citizens of the country are free to practice or preach any religion.

• The word democracy means power of the people.

• The word democratic emphasises that the leaders of the country will be chosen from among the citizens of the country itself.

• It also states that the citizens of the country choose their own leaders.

Republic & Justice

• The term republic means that the head of the state of India is chosen from amongst its citizens through their elected representatives.

• It also means that the position of the head of the state is not hereditary as in the case of a monarchy.

• As mentioned in the Preamble itself, the Constitution of India would provide social, economic and political justice to all the citizens of the country.

• It means that all the citizens will be treated and protected equally by the law of the state; irrespective of their gender, caste, creed, colour, religion, etc.

• The term justice also emphasises the fact that all the citizens of the country are free to participate in the affairs of the state.

Liberty, Equality & Fraternity

• The Indian Constitution gives all the citizens of the country - the freedom to think, express, worship and work in the way that an individual desires.

• – Equality means that all the citizens will be treated equally and given equal opportunity by the government.

• It also means that the government would not differentiate on the basis of gender, caste, creed, colour or religion.

• Fraternity means brotherhood or alliance between a group of people. In a country as vast and diverse as India, the makers of the Constitution felt the importance of binding the nation as a whole, to strengthen its unity and integrity.

• This was only possible by emphasizing a feeling of brotherhood amongst the citizens of the country by treating them equally.

Constitutional Amendment

• India’s Constitution is sometimes referred to as a ‘living document’ as changes can be made in it.

• The process of making changes in the Constitution is known as constitutional amendment.

• Sometimes, changes are required in the law to incorporate modern sentiments and values.

• For example, the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, gives equal rights to daughters in their father’s property.

• New states have also been formed in India through the provision of constitutional amendments.

Law and Dissent

• Law and dissent are like two sides of the same coin. If people agree to most of the laws made by the government, there will be times when people will not agree to the law made by them.

• Dissent also means refusal to conform to a particular authority. Dissent can sometimes bring about a change in society or the political situation of the country.

Let us look at the following example.

Salt Satyagraha&

Anti-arrack movement

• During the British rule, Mahatma Gandhi showed dissent against the British rule by starting the Salt Satyagraha or the Salt March in 1930.

• The British made a law which did not allow Indians to manufacture salt.

• They were forced to buy imported and expensive salt which everybody could not afford.

• Gandhiji started the Salt Satyagraha, a demonstration against the British by marching to the town of Dandi and making salt, along with many people.

• Gandhiji started a Civil Disobedience Movement by urging everybody to break the unjust rule made by the British.

• An anti-arrack movement was started as a spontaneous movement by a group of women against the widespread practice alcoholism in Dubagunta village of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh.

• The consumption of locally brewed alcohol, arrack, by male members of their families compelled the women to initiate a movement.

Conti…..

• Their aim was to impose a ban on the sale of arrack. The State government imposed taxes on the sale of arrack and collected revenues.

• Hence the government was not keen to impose a ban.

• However, after much protest a ban was imposed on the sale of arrack.

• This movement was a reflection of women empowerment at local level.

• The women not only mobilised themselves on important issues but also forced the government to act against the harmful practice.

Anti Arrack MovementSalt Satyagraha Movement