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HUMAN Rights & LAW BHM (3 Semester) : Introduction To Indian Constitution

BHM

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Joy Bhowmick
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15 views

HUMAN Rights & LAW BHM (3 Semester) : Introduction To Indian Constitution

BHM

Uploaded by

Joy Bhowmick
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Siksha Srijan Academy Of Technology and Management

SIKSHA SRIJAN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT


Contact: 7449393135 / 6291355543

HUMAN Rights & LAW


BHM ( 3rd Semester)

Introduction to Indian Constitution


The framing of the Constitution was completed on November 26, 1949 when
the Constituent Assembly formally adopted the new Constitution. The
Constitution came into force with ef f ect from January 26, 1950.
The Constitution contains the fundamental law of the land. It is the source of all
powers of, and limitations on, the three organs of State, viz. The executive,
legislature and judiciary. No action of the state would be valid unless it is
permissible under the Constitution. Therefore, it is imperative to have a clear
understanding of the nature and working of the Constitution.
Objectives of The Constitution
The Constitution of Independent India was framed in the background of about
200 years of colonial rule, mass-based freedom struggle, the national
movement, partition of the country and spread of communal violence.
Therefore, the framers of the Constitution were concerned about the aspirations
of the people, integrity and unity of the country and establishment of a
democratic society. Their main was to give India a ‘Constitution’ which will fulf
ill the cherished ideas and ideals of the people of this country.
Salient Features of the Indian Constitution
The main features of Indian Constitution are the following:

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Siksha Srijan Academy Of Technology and Management

1. A written Constitution: The Indian Constitution is mainly a written


constitution. A written constitution is framed at a given time and comes
into force or is adopted on af i xed date as a document. As you have
already read that our constitution was framed over a period of 2 years, 11
months and 18 days, it was adopted on 26th November, 1949 and enforced
on January 26, 1950. Certain
conventions have gradually evolved over a period of time which have
proved useful in the working of the constitution.

2. Federal Policy: The Constitution of India does not use the term
'federal state'. It says that India is a 'Union of States'. There is a
distribution of powers between the Union/Central Government and the
State Governments. Since India is a federation, such distribution of
functions becomes necessary. There are three lists of powers such as
Union List, State List and the Concurrent List.

3. Parliamentary Democracy: India has a parliamentary form of


democracy. This has been adopted from the British system. In a
parliamentary democracy there is a close relationship between the
legislature and the executive. The Cabinet is selected from among the
members of legislature. The cabinet is responsible to the latter. In fact the
Cabinet holds of fi ce so long as it enjoys the conf i dence of the
legislature. In this form of democracy, the Head of the State is nominal.
In India, the President is the Head of the State. Constitutionally the
President enjoys numerous powers but in practice the Council of
Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, which really exercises these
powers. The President acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and the
Council of Ministers.

4. Fundamental Rights and Duties: Fundamental Rights are one of the


important features of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution provides
for six Fundamental Rights about which you will read in the following
lesson. Fundamental Rights are justiciable and are protected by the
judiciary. In case of violation of any of these rights one can move to the
court of law for their protection. Fundamental Duties were added to our
Constitution by the 42nd Amendment. It lays down a list of ten
Fundamental Duties for all citizens of India. While the rights are given as

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guarantees to the people, the duties are obligations which every citizen is
expected to perform.

5. Directive Principles of State Policy: The Directive Principles of


State Policy which have been adopted from the Irish Constitution, is another
unique feature of the Constitution of India. The Directive Principles were
included in our Constitution in order to provide social and economic justice to
our people. Directive Principles aim at establishing a welfare state in India
where there will be no concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.

6. Partly rigid and Partly f I exible: A constitution may be called rigid


or f I exible on the basis of its amending procedure. The Constitution of
India provides for three categories of amendments.In the first category,
amendment can be done by the two housesof Parliament simple majority
of the members present and voting of before sending it for the President's
assent. In the second category amendments require a special majority.
Such an amendment can be passed by each House of Parliament by a
majority of the total members of that House as well as by the 2/3rd
majority of the members present and voting in each house of Parliament
and send to the President for his assent which cannot be denied. In the
third category besides the special majority mentioned in the second
category, the same has to be approved also by at least 50% of the State
legislatures.

7. Language Policy: India is a country where different languages are


spoken in various parts of the country. Hindi and English have been made
of f i cial languages of the central government. A state can adopt the
language spoken by its people in that state also as its of fi cial language.

8. Special Provisions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: The


Constitution provides for giving certain special concessions and
privileges to the members of these castes. Seats have been reserved for
them in Parliament, State legislature and local bodies, all government
services and in all professional colleges.

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9. A Constitution Derived from Many Sources: The framers of our


constitution borrowed many things from the constitutions of various other
countries and included them in our constitution. That is why; some
writers call Indian Constitution a bag of borrowings'.

10. Independent Judiciary: Indian judiciary is independent an impartial.


The Indian judiciary is free from the inf I uence of the executive and the
legislature. The judges are appointed on the basis of their qualif i cations
and cannot be removed easily.

11. Single Citizenship: In India there is only single citizenship. It means


that every Indian is a citizen of India, irrespective of the place of his/her
residence or place of birth. He/she is not a citizen. of the Constituent
State like Jharkhand, Uttaranchal or Chattisgarh. to which he/she may
belong to but remains a citizen of India. All the citizens of India can
secure employment anywhere in the country and enjoy all the rights
equally in all the parts of India.

12. Universal Adult Franchise: Indian democracy functions on the basis


of 'one person one vote'. Every citizen of India who is 18 years of age or
above is entitled to vote in the elections irrespective of caste, sex, race,
religion or status. The Indian Constitution establishes political equality in
India through the method of universal adult franchise.

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