By Abhinandan Krishn Kaul 1 Year B.A, Programme (Submitted On: 7/04/2020)India posses a very distinct and unique Constitution, The Constitution was formulated by the Constituent Assembly, which was an indirectly chosen body, Ittook the Constituent Assembly, around 2 years and 11 ‘months to formulate the Constitution. The Assembly had its first sitting on the 9th December, 1946 and, ‘thereatter it initiated the process of constitution making and was in a position to finally pass and adopt the Constitution on 26" November 1949. The Constitution was made fully operational on 26" January 1950 ‘which we celebrate each year as “Republic Day” to commemorate the occasion. The Indian Constitution is unique in the sense that it propounds a complex blend of Federalism and Unitarianism along with being, flexible and rigid atthe same time, The flexibility of the Constitution is reflected in Article 368 of the Constitution, by which the Parliament can amend the Constitution. However, although every part of constitution can be modified by the Parliament except “basic structure” of the constitution as held by the Supreme Court. Any law which violates the basic structure of the constitution is declared unconstitutional & invalid by the court and hence the Constitution is rigid in a sense too. Another factor whieh sets apart our Constitution from rest of the others whieh exist around the world is the fact that Indian Constitution lacks an “ideological fervor” as was very correctly pointed out by the socialist leader J.P Narayan. This may be due to the fact that most of the members of the Constituent Assembly weren't expressive or alertly aware of their support to any particular ideology as they were more concemed in providing factual details for governance like the jurisdictions, restrictions, procedures and so on, However, this didn’t imply that the Constitution was bereft of ideology. The founding fathers of our nation did acknowledge the two dominant ideologies of Capitalism and Socialism prevalent at the time of the formulation of the Constitution, however they didn’t follow any extreme bias, rather followed a middle path and ensured that everyone's interests and concerns were adcvessed. Further, our Constitution unlike those of European nations was based on the ideal of “Unity Diversity”, itegrate the diverse population of the nation in order to establish a modern, democratic state of India, The Indian Constitution is the longest written democratic constitution in the World, due to its contents. In its earliest form, it contained around 395 idered through subsequent amendments. There are many reasons which have made our Constitution the lengthiest in the world, a major factor being the fact, since the leaders then realized that it was necessary to articles and 8 schedules to which additions were that the constitution framers had borrowed several clauses and provisions from various sources and other for issues unique to India like the Scheduled Castes and Tribes as well as backward regions, ete were also formulated. The provisions related to states constitutions around the world. Further, provisi administration were also included in the Constitution adding to its size. In addition to allthis, a comprehensive list of citizen rights, directive principles of state policy administrative procedural information were also laid down to make the constitution simple and unambiguous to the ordinary citizens, whieh also has contributed to making the Indian Constitution a lengthy and exhaustive one. The Constitution refleets India’s vision of a democratic nation, While doing so, it also represents the core constitutional principles. The following are it’s salient features-1) Preamble Of Constitution- ‘The Constitution of India begins with the Preamble. The Preamble consists of the Constitution’s goals, values and basic principles. The Constitution’ salient features have emerged and evolved from explicitly ‘or indireetly from the aims that stem from the Preamble. Hence, the Preamble is also popularly referred to as exordium to a book, the book being the Indian Constitution, The Preamble very lucidly gives an overview of intentions and objectives with which the Constitution was formulated. Henee, basically it's a brief prelusive part of the Constitution which lays out the Constitution's guiding principles while ndicating the source from which it gleans out authority, ie the people of India. The Preamble follows a dual approach in elucidating the aims and objectives of the Constitution. The first approach is regarding the structure of governance, and the second one is by explaining the ideals supposed to be achieved by the independent nation of india. ‘The Preamble describes the Indian uation as a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, and Democratic Republic. Hence, by using these terms, the Preamble mentions the objectives and ideals of how the independent nation of India must funtion, Hence, to get a comprehensive understanding of these objectives, itis essential to examine each word in India’s context, 4) Sovereign. This implies that the nation must be free from any outside interference and that only the Indian government will have full authority within the territory of India, Sovereignty can be understood as the ultimate authority which ean be overstepped. Such kind of authority is essential as without it, there swauld be possibility of great chaos and disorder in the society which would bar the citizens from realizing their interests, 1) Socialist and Secular- Atthough the Indian Constitution right from the time of its very existence had in some crucial aspects mirrored the spirit of democratic socialism and secularism, it was in 1976 that these two terms were added to the Preamble by the 42 amendment of the Constitution, India has always been committed to social, economic and political justice of its citizens which can be seen by the government's removal of all kinds of exploitation (untouchability, unpaid labor) as well as by certain socialist measures a the past which were aimed at equitable distribution of income, wealth and resources, all of which was done through democratic means and not revolutionary methods. Further, India since its inception never gave any particular religion a “Special Status”, Majority of the Indian leaders had rejected the "2- nation theory” and had advocated unity in diversity. The Constitution hence, guarantees equal freedom to members of all religions, © Demoeratie Republic- The Tadian Constitution makes space for a democratic system. The power and, authority of the state rests over the sovereignty of the people. All citizens enjoy equal political entitlements. These rights enable people to freely take part in the democratic system and polities. Hence, the people take part in free and fair elections to elect their representatives who then govern the country on the bebalf of the people. This hence, enables the people to remove and change the goverment if they are dissatisfied with it after a periodic interval of 5 years and hence, this ensures that no government cant remain in power without the support and confidence of the country's people. Further, the Preamble alsodeclares India to be a Republic, and hence the nation isn't ruled by a monareh or a nominated head of state 2) Fundamental Rights and Dui ‘The great thinker FLJ, Laski once very wisely said “A state iy known by the rights it maintains”. The Indian Constitution upholds this basic principle that every person is entitled to enjoy certain basic essential rights, The Part III (Article 14-32) of the Indian Constitution deals with those rights, which are known as Fundamental Rights and have often heen referred to as the ‘conscience’ of the Constitution, ‘These Fundamental Rights are meant to protect the people from absolute and domineering exercise of state power. The Consticution guarantees rights to individuals both at odds with the state and at odds with other individuals, The Constitution also grants rights to the minorities against the majority. However, these Fundamental Rights although essential in nature, aren*t absolute. They are subject to certain reasonable restrictions that are based on the certain social interests. Hence, the Constitution tries to strike ‘judicious balance between individual liberty and social interests ‘The Six Fundamental Rights are und: 1. Right to Equality Ik provides for Equality before Law, End of Discrimination, Equality of Opportunity, Abolition of ‘untouchability and Abolition of Titles. 2. Right to Freedom: It includes freedoms of speech and expression, freedom to form associations, freedom to assemble peaceably without arms, freedom to move freely in India, freedom of residence in any part, and freedom of adopting any profession or trade or occupation, It safeguards personal freedom and protection in respect of convietion for certain offences. ‘The Constitution lays down that the freedom of lie and liberty cannot be limited or denied except in accordance with the procedure established by law. Now under Art 21A Right to Education for the children between the ages of 6-14 years has been granted. Art, 22 guarantees protection against arbitrary arrest and detention. 3, Right against Exploitation: This Fundamental Right forbids sale and purchase of human beings, forced ‘unpaid labor (begar) and employment of children in hazardous jobs and factories,A. Bight to Freedom of Religion: The objectives of this ight include the freedom of conscience, religion and worship. Any person can follow any religion. Ic gives to all religions freedom to establish and maintain theie religious institutions, Citizens cannot be compelled to pay any tax for the propagation of any religion. The state cannot levy a tax for any religion and constitution probibits the imparting of religious instructions in schools and colleges. Cultural and Educational Rights: The Constitution guarantees the rights of the minorities to maintain and develop their languages and cultures. It also confers upon them the right to establish, maintain and administer their educational astitutions, 6. Right to Constitutional Remedies: B.R Ambedkar referred to this right as the “Heart and Soul” of the Constitution since it provides for the enforcement and protection of Fundamental Rights by the courts, It empowers the Supreme Court and High Courts to issue writs for the enforcement of these rights. ‘The Constitution claims that all the Fundamental Rights are legally justiciable and that @ person may appeal to the higher judiciary which includes the High and Supreme Court, if any of these are violated, However, as mentioned above, Fundamental also are subject to certain restrietions in interest. lew of social Further, itis also speculated that Fundamental Rights were also meant to nullify the pre- independence disparities of gender, caste, class, etc as well as the evil and discriminatory social practices, ‘The Constitution also bas established a code of 10 Fundamental Duties which were incorporated by the 42"! Amendment Act of 1976, The Fundamental Duties act as a continuous aide- memoir to citizens of the country, that while the Constitution has expressly bestowed certain Fundamental Rights on them, it also is essential for people to uphold certain fundamental norms of demoeratic comportment and behavior, These duties like the Directive Principles of State Policy aren’t legally justiciable, These duties hence are a peculiar aspect of the Indian Constitution and highlight the fact that the Constitution doesnt only basic law of land, Some Fundamental duties inelude the duty of citizens to defend the country when y of the country, ete ive tothe citizens but also takes back something by making the duties of the citizens a part of the called upon to do so, protect the sovereignty, integrity and un3) Directive Principles Of State Policy: ‘The directive principles are a novel and unique feature of the Indian Constitution and are contained in Part IV of the Constitution (Article 36-51). The Directive Principles of State Policy is @ feature that the Constitution framers had borrowed from the Irish Constitution, They are the guidelines or 15 principles given to the federal institutes governing the state of India, to be kept in citation while framing laws and policies. They are not legally justiciable, but are fundamental to the governance of the country since they aim to secure the ideals of social and economic justice as mentioned in the Preamble and steer the government towards it to make India a welfare state. Hence, they basically can also be understood as positive obligations of the state, With regard to Eeonomie justice, some of these directives seek to reduce the disparities in income, opportunities as well as status, not only among people but also the communities; others emphasize on a fair distribution of wealth and means of production, ete. n the context of Social Justice, the DPSP includes facilities and resourees the Schedule Castes, Womer 1g social change in the field of religion, There are also guidelines which guide the state towards the development of the rural economic systems as well as Panchayats for local self governance. children, etc. The Directives related to the Uniform Civil Code aim at bri Hence, the Directive Pi ples of State Policy along with the Fundamental Rights can be said to form the cience of the Constitution and embody the basic essential rights inherent to the Indian people 4) Parliamentary System of Governance ‘The Constituent Assembly upon independence had the options of a establis Parliamentary form of government for India. While the Presidential system included Legislative and Executive Separation as well as offered stability, in the Parliamentary system the Executive derived its democratic legitimacy from the Legislature and hence was also accountable to it. This provision ensured that the powers of the Executive were more dispersed and not concentrated onto a single individual and hence the Constitution makers had decided to formulate and establish a Parliamentary form of government for both the center and the different states that made up the country Presidential or a In such a system the Head of State and Head of Government are different people. In Indian parliamentary system, distinction is made between nominal and real executive head, being the President and Prime Minister respectively ‘The Indian Parliamentary system, the Parliament consists of two houses. The Upper house or the “Rajya Sabha’ and the Lower House or the “Lok Sabha’. The members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people through General Elections held regularly after periodic intervals of 5 years, and the members of the Rajya Sabha are indirectly elected by the people, ie. elected by the representatives of the people. ‘The term of a Lok Sabha member is 5 years and that of the Rajya Sabha members is 6 years. The Couneil Of Ministers are responsible to the Lower House of the Parliament and their temure isn’t fixed since they can be replaced anytime by a cabinet re- shuffle. The bills passed by both houses of the Parliament only after getting the ascent of the President become a law. The power of the Parliament is also limited by the Constitution. The Supreme Court may exercise judicial review powers over the laws passed by the parliament and may declare unconstitutional the laws it finds to be contrary to the constitution,5) Independent Judiciary and Judicial Review: Without autonomous institutions to protect them, the political rights guaranteed by the Constitution would have been worthless, The Judiciary is a citizen's only option to uphold the constitutional guarantees and protect the freedoms they are entitled to as citizens, Further, the Judiciary is also important for the settlement of disputes that may arise during governance between the Union government and state governments or between state governments themselves, ete. Hence, the establishment of an autonomous judiciary was fundamental for maintaining the constitutionally established structures and functions. The constitution makers hence created a judicial organ of the government which was separate from the Executive and Legislature, Judicial review powers also allowed the judiciary to keep other government bodies within their respective borders, aud to avoid any interference in the realms of each other. Furthermore, the Constitution granted the judiciary with complete autonomy in administration and finance matters, Other Issues relevant to the appointment and transition can not be achieved without consultation with India’s chief justice. The Constitution has also accorded the judges with security of tenure and a very difficult method has been espoused for the elimination of the judges through impeachment, 6) Integrated Judicial System Unlike the judicial systems of federal countries like the United States of America, an integrated judicial system was developed and put in place by the Constitution framers of India. Although the Supreme Court is at the national level, the High Court a the state level and subordinate courts at lower levels, the entire judiciary in India is systematized into a heairarchy with the Supreme Court at the top, — ‘The purpose of such a kind of integrated judicial system is to facilitate and guarantee justice in a uniform ‘and equal manner.7) Mixture of Federalism and Unitarianism ‘The Indian Constitution provides for a Federal System with a unitary spirit while defining India as “Union of States”, This has been interpreted by many scholars and political seientists as a “Quasi Federation” or a “Federation with unitary basis” or even as “Unitary Federation”, Considering the geographical vastness and diversity of languages, country, faiths, castes, ee., the Indian Constitution envisaged a sort of federal structure for India. This federal structure can be reflected by the various characteristics of the Constitutions like Separation of Powers between Union and states, an independent Judiciary, a bicameral legislature, ete. However, on the same hand the dominance of the Union government over the states can also be seen in the constitution which reflects characteristies of a unitary system. More number of subjects (powers) have been given to the Union under the Union List, the power of appointment of a Governor with the centre, All India Serviees, Emergency Provisions, provision of President’s Rule, ete create a strong unitary of centralizing tendeney in the so proposed federal structure by the Constitution and hence gives way for Quasi Federalism, This makes the Constitution federal in form but unitary in spiit. This complex blend of Unitarianism and Federalism was probably founded by the Indian Constitution taking into account both the pluralistic and inclusive nature of Indian society and existence of regional diversities, as well as the fundamental need to of protecting the country's unity and. integrity With all these features in place, itis evident that the Indian Constitution is best suited to the complex, ‘unique and diverse Indian environment and society. Such a constitution has tremendously helped India in coordinating and handling its government and administration in an efficient manner both during times of ‘warfare and conflicts as well as peace and tranquility. It has enabled India to solve both internal and external problems and conflicts. Although the Indian Constitution has been amended and changed according to the requirements of changing times, its basic structure and features have remained intact and it has continued on as a living document, respected and abided to by the people of India