ENACTMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
#Constituentassembly
◇ Dr. B.R. Ambedkar introduced the final draft of the Constitution in the Assembly on November 4, 1948 (first reading).
◇ The Assembly had general discussion on it for five days (till November9, 1948).The second reading (clause by clause consideration) started on November 15, 1948, and ended on October 17, 1949.
◇ During this stage, as many as 7653 amendments were proposed and 2473 were actually discussed in the Assembly. The third reading of the draft started on November 14, 1949.
◇ Dr. B.R. Ambedkar moved motion -the Constitution as settled by the Assembly be passed’.
■ ENFORCEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
#Constituentassembly
◇ Some provisions of the Constitution pertaining to citizenship, elections, provisional parliament, temporary and transitional provisions,
◇ and short title contained in Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392 and 393 came into force on November 26, 1949, itself.
◇ The remaining provisions (the major part) of the Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950.
◇ This day is referred to in the Constitution as the ‘date of its commencement’, and celebrated as the Republic Day.
■ CRITICISM OF CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY [PART 1]
#Constituentassembly
The critics have criticised the Constituent Assembly on various grounds. These are as follows :
◇ Not a Representative Body: The critics have argued that the Constituent Assembly was not a representative body as its members were not directly elected by the people of India on the basis of universal adult franchise.
◇ Not a Sovereign Body: The critics maintained that the Constituent Assembly was not a sovereign body as it was created by the proposals of the British Government.
◇ Time Consuming: According to the critics, the Constituent Assembly took unduly long time to make the Constitution.
■ CRITICISM OF CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY [PART 2]
#Constituentassembly
◇ Dominated by Congress: The critics charged that the Constituent Assembly was dominated by the Congress party.
◇ Lawyer-Politician Domination: It is also maintained by the critics that the Constituent Assembly was dominated by lawyers and politicians. They pointed out that other sections of the society were not sufficiently represented.
◇ Dominated by Hindus: According to some critics, the Constituent Assembly was a Hindu dominated body. Lord Viscount Simon called it ‘a body of Hindus’.
■ LENGTHIEST CONSTITUTION OF WORLD
#Salientfeatures
◇ The Constitution of India is the lengthiest of all the written Constitutions in world.
◇ Originally (1949), the Constitution contained a Preamble, 395 Articles (divided into 22 Parts) and 8 Schedules.
◇ Presently (2019), it consists of a Preamble, about 470 Articles (divided into 25 Parts) and 12 Schedules.
◇ The various amendments carried out since 1951 have deleted about 20 Articles and one Part (VII) and added about 95 Articles, four Parts (IVA, IXA, IXB and XIVA) and four Schedules (9, 10, 11 and 12).
□ Four factors have contributed to the elephantine size of our Constitution. They are:
1. Geographical factors, that is, the vastness of the country and its diversity.
2. Historical factors, e.g., the influence of the Government of India Act of 1935, which was bulky.
3. Single Constitution for both the Centre and the states.
4. Dominance of legal luminaries in the Constituent Assembly.
■ DRAWN FROM VARIOUS SOURCES
#Salientfeatureofconstitution
◇ Dr. B.R. Ambedkar proudly acclaimed that the Constitution of India has been framed after ransacking all the known Constitutions of the World.
◇ The structural part of the Constitution is, to a large extent, derived from the Government of India Act of 1935.
◇ The philosophical part of the Constitution (the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy) derive their inspiration from the American and Irish Constitutions, respectively.
◇ The political part of the Constitution (the principle of Cabinet Government and the relations between the Executive and the Legislature) have been largely drawn from the British Constitution.
◇ The other provisions of the Constitution have been drawn from
the Constitutions of Canada, Australia, Germany, USSR (now Russia), France, South Africa, Japan and so on.
■ BLEND OF RIGID AND FLEXIBLE CONSTITUTION
#Salientfeaturesofconstitution
◇ A rigid Constitution is one that requires a special procedure for its amendment.
◇ A flexible constitution, on the other hand, is one that can be amended in the same manner as the ordinary laws are made.
◇ The Constitution of India is neither rigid nor flexible, but a synthesis of both.
■ FEDERAL SYSTEM WITH UNITARY BIAS
#Salientfeaturesofconstitution
◇ The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of Government.
◇ It contains all the usual features of a federation, viz., two Government, division of powers, written Constitution, supremacy of Constitution, rigidity of Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism.
◇ However, the Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-federal features, viz., a strong Centre, single Constitution, single citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment of state governor by the Centre, all-India services, emergency provisions and so on.
◇ Moreover, the term ‘Federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution.
◇ Article 1, on the other hand, describes India as a ‘Union of States’ which implies two things:
• one, Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement by the states; and
• two, no state has the right to secede from the federation.
■ PARLIAMENTARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT
#Salientfeaturesofconstitution■
◇ The Constitution of India has opted for the British Parliamentary System of Government rather than American Presidential System of Government.
◇ The parliamentary system is based on the principle of co-operation and co-ordination between the legislative and executive organs while the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation of powers between the two organs.
◇ The parliamentary system is also known as the ‘Westminster’ Model of Government, responsible Government and Cabinet Government.
◇ The Constitution establishes the parliamentary system not only at the Centre, but also in the states.
■ SYNTHESIS OF PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY AND JUDICIAL SUPREMACY
#Salientfeaturesofconstitution
◇ The doctrine of sovereignty of Parliament is associated with the British Parliament, while the principle of judicial supremacy with that of the American Supreme Court.
◇ Just as the Indian parliamentary system differs from the British system, the scope of judicial review power of the Supreme Court in India is narrower than that of what exists in US.
◇ This is because the American Constitution provides for ‘due process of law’ against that of ‘procedure established by law’ contained in the Indian Constitution (Article 21).
