January 26 marks the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect in 1950 and is celebrated as Republic Day. On this date, India became a sovereign nation free from the British Monarchy. On the 72nd anniversary of Republic Day, we look at some key facts about the Indian Constitution.

HISTORY

The Constitution of India became the supreme law of this nation, replacing the Government of India Act of 1935, adapted from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. After India’s independence from British rule in 1947, The Constituent Assembly of India got elected to create the Constitution of India. It was passed and adopted on November 26, 1949, and came into force on January 26, the following year.

The Drafting Committee was headed by its chairman, Dr. BR Ambedkar, the jurist, economist and social reformer who worked to uplift the Dalits of India. K.M. Munshi, Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Muhammed Saadullah, N Madhava Rao and Gopala Swami Ayyangar were the other six members of the committee. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, was the president of the Drafting Committee.

FEATURES

The Indian Constitution is the longest one in the world and is the second-largest active Constitution. It has 470 articles in 25 parts and 12 schedules with five appendices. It had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules, originally. Additions took place through amendments or changes to the Constitution.

SEPARATION OF POWERS

The Constitution of India lays down the distinctions in the political power structure in the country between the Centre and the states. It provides for the checks and balances between the organs of the government, namely, the Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislature, to prevent the concentration of power in one particular branch.

DEMOCRACY

The preamble to the Constitution of India declares India to be a ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic republic,’ having a parliamentary governance system. Six fundamental rights, namely, the right to equality, liberty, right against exploitation, freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, and right to constitutional remedies, are recognised by the Indian Constitution.

Background

The major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1857 to 1947. When the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, it repealed the Indian Independence Act. India ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown and became a sovereign democratic republic. The date of 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930.

Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392, 393 and 394 of the Constitution came into force on 26 Nov 1949 and the remaining articles on 26 Jan 1950.

Previous legislation used as sources

It is drawn from many sources. Keeping in mind the needs and conditions of India its framers borrowed different features freely from previous legislation viz. Government of India Act 1858, Indian Councils Act 1861, Indian Councils Act 1892, Indian Councils Act 1909, Government of India Act 1919, Government of India Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act 1947. The last legislation which led to the creation of the two independent nations of India and Pakistan provided for the division of the erstwhile Constituent Assembly into two, with each new assembly having sovereign powers transferred to it, to enable each to draft and enact a new constitution, for the separate states.

Constituent assembly

It was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected members of the provincial assemblies. The 389 member Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and eighteen days to be precise) to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for independent India, during which, it held eleven sessions over 165 days. Of these, 114 days were spent on the consideration of the draft Constitution. On 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a draft Constitution for India. While deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled. Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Kanaiyalal Munshi, Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Sandipkumar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Nalini Ranjan Ghosh, and Balwantrai Mehta were some important figures in the assembly. There were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. Frank Anthony represented the Anglo-Indian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P. Modi. The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Ari Bahadur Gurung represented the Gorkha Community. Prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Benegal Narsing Rau and K. M. Munshi, Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Vijayalakshmi Pandit were important women members

The first temporary 2-day president of the Constituent Assembly was Dr Sachchidananda Sinha. Later, Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly.The members of the Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946.

Drafting

On the 14 August 1947 meeting of the Assembly, a proposal for forming various committees was presented. Such committees included a Committee on Fundamental Rights, the Union Powers Committee and Union Constitution Committee. On 29 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed, with Dr B. R. Ambedkar as the Chairman along with six other members assisted by a constitutional advisor. These members were Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (K M Munshi, Ex- Home Minister, Bombay), Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer (Ex- Advocate General, Madras State), N Gopalaswami Ayengar (Ex-Prime Minister, J&K and later member of Nehru Cabinet), B L Mitter (Ex-Advocate General, India), Md. Saadullah (Ex- Chief Minister of Assam, Muslim League member) and D P Khaitan (Scion of Khaitan Business family and a renowned lawyer). The constitutional advisor was Sir Benegal Narsing Rau (who became First Indian Judge in International Court of Justice, 1950-54). Later B L Mitter resigned and was replaced by Madhav Rao (Legal Advisor of Maharaja of Vadodara). On D P Khaitan’s death, T T Krishnamachari was included in the drafting committee. A draft Constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947, which was debated and over 2000 amendments were moved over a period of two years. Finally on 26 November 1949, the process was completed and the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution. 284 members signed the document and the process of constitution making was complete. This day is celebrated as National Law Day or Constitution Day.

The assembly met in sessions open to the public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution, the 308 members of the assembly signed two copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 January 1950. The original Constitution of India is hand-written with beautiful calligraphy, each page beautified and decorated by artists from Shantiniketan including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose. The illustrations on the cover and pages represent styles from the different civilisations of the subcontinent, ranging from the prehistoric Mohenjodaro civilisation, in the Indus Valley, to the present. The calligraphy in the book was done by Prem Behari Narain Raizda. It was published in Dehra Dun, and photolithographed at the offices of Survey of India. The entire exercise to produce the original took nearly five years. Two days later, on 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India became the law of all the States and territories of India. Rs.1,00,00,000 was official estimate of expenditure on constituent assembly. It has undergone many amendments since its enactment. The original 1950 Constitution of India is preserved in helium cases in the Parliament house, New Delhi. There are two original versions of this – one in Hindi and the other in English.

Preamble to the Constitution of India

India on Sunday, Jan 23,  kicked off its Republic Day celebrations with ‘Parakram Diwas,’ a day dedicated to iconic freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. January 23 is also Netaji’s birth anniversary.

January 26th is significant for the country’s political history as it is the day when the country formally adopted its constitution in 1950. It replaced the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India and thus, turning the nation into a newly formed republic.

What is Preamble to the Constitution of India?

The Preamble to the Constitution of India is an introductory statement that presents the key principles of the Constitution. It was adopted on 26 November 1949 by the Constituent Assembly and came into effect on 26 January 1950, celebrated as the Republic day in India.

Full text of Preamble to the Constitution

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 this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

Preamble embodies Constitution’s vision

The Preamble manifests the vision of the draftspersons of the Constitution. In adopting it after the draft Constitution was approved, the Constituent Assembly ensured that the Preamble exhibited conformity with the provisions of the Constitution. Yet, the content of the Preamble traces its origins to even before the task of drafting the Constitution began. The foundations of the Preamble were laid down in the Objectives Resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru before the Constituent Assembly in December 1946.

The purpose of the resolution was to “proclaim India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution”, which would secure “to all the people of India justice, social, economic and political; equality of status, of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith worship, vocation, association and action”, among other goals. Seconding the resolution, one member remarked that equality was “its underlying theme”. Another member supporting the resolution firmly believed that the Indian Republic would “be both democratic and socialist”. The resolution was enthusiastically supported by most of the members and was adopted in January 1947.

Later, Nehru pointed out that Objective Resolution could be adopted with certain changes as the Preamble. The Drafting Committee headed by BR Ambedkar felt that the Preamble should be restricted to defining the essential features of the new State and its basic socio-political objectives and that the other matters dealt with in the resolution could be more appropriately provided for in the substantive parts of the Constitution.

The Committee modified the content of the Objectives Resolution to formulate the Preamble, while clarifying that it followed the spirit and, as far as possible, the language of the resolution. The Committee adopted the expression “Sovereign Democratic Republic” instead of “Sovereign Independent Republic”, as it considered independence to be implied in the word “Sovereign”. The Committee introduced a clause on “Fraternity” to emphasize upon the need for fraternal concord and goodwill in India, which was specifically greater than ever, after the Partition.

The draft Preamble, as it is in current form, was tabled before the Constituent Assembly in October 1949. One member sought to include “In the name of God” in the beginning of the Preamble. The Assembly rejected the proposed amendment. Another member argued that inclusion of God would amount to compulsion of faith and violate the fundamental right to freedom of faith. Another member stated that invoking the name of God in the Preamble would resemble “a narrow, sectarian spirit, which is contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.” The Assembly adopted the Preamble as presented by the Drafting Committee.

The Preamble recognizes and proclaims that the Constitution has its root, its authority, and its sovereignty, from the people. “Sovereign Democratic Republic” reflects the establishment of a democratic form of government, where ultimate power is vested with the public and exercised through universal adult franchise. Commenting upon this aspect of the Preamble, Acharya Kriplani observed that “democracy is inconsistent with caste system”, and that we must do away with castes and classes. “Justice, social, economic and political” symbolizes the commitment of the framers to put an end to status quo of inequalities and historical injustices and to replace fundamental wrongs with fundamental rights. As Kriplani remarked, “Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship” can only be guaranteed on the basis of non-violence and mutual respect for each other. “Equality of status and of opportunity”, in Ambedkar’s words, means absence of glaring inequalities and discrimination in the society. The expression “to promote among them all” is linked with “Fraternity”. Ambedkar defined “Fraternity” as “a sense of common brotherhood of all Indians” and “an attitude of respect and reverence towards fellow men”, which give “unity and solidarity to social life”. The principles of liberty, equality and fraternity would ensure dignity of each individual, thus leading to unity of the nation. Ambedkar considered liberty, equality and fraternity to be forming “a union of trinity in the sense that to divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy”.

The addition of the words “Socialist” and “Secular” into the Preamble by the 42nd constitutional amendment during the Emergency in 1976 did not alter its nature or identity. It merely provided a label to what was already in existence. There are three key points in support of this contention. First, in support of Nehru’s Objectives Resolution, one member explained that the content of economic democracy and rejection of the existing social structure reflected through the phrases “justice, social, economic and political” and “equality of opportunity” represent the socialist aspect of the Resolution, without providing it with an open label. These phrases were later adopted into the Preamble. Second, by rejecting inclusion of any phrase on God in the Preamble, the Assembly adopted a secular document instead of a sectarian one. Third, the Preamble embodies the philosophy of the Constitution, which is reflected through its provisions and the basic structure. As Justice DY Chandrachud held in one of his judgments, the addition of the word “secular” solidified the basic structure of the Constitution, which enshrines secularism in the fundamental rights chapter.

The Court has often engaged with interpretation of the Constitution by relying upon the vision and values contained in the Preamble. While the flourishing of a constitutional order demands an active institutional role of courts, it also requires a responsive participation of the citizenry. The response of the citizens to their elected representatives has a powerful role in giving a meaning to the words of the Constitution. The content of the Preamble not only embodies events which predate the adoption of the Constitution, but also incorporates the citizens’ experiences in the unfolding of the Constitution over the past seventy years. The hopes and aspirations of the people enshrined in the Preamble have sustained due to years of practice, effort, and experience to make society work with those values. The recent events of claiming the Preamble and the Constitution by the citizens as their very own resemble a path towards the professed collective destiny of India.