Making of the Indian Constitution
India’s Constitution was drawn up under very difficult circumstances. The
country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences
and was a traumatic experience for the people of India and Pakistan. The
British had left it to the rulers of the princely states to decide whether they
wanted to merge with India or with Pakistan or remain independent. The
merger of these princely states was a difficult and uncertain task. When the
constitution was being written, the future of the country did not look as
secure as it does today.
The Path to the Constitution
One of the major advantages for the makers of the Indian Constitution was
that consensus about what a democratic India should look like had already
evolved during the freedom struggle.
In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a
constitution for India and In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of
the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s
constitution should look like.
Both these documents included features such as Universal Adult Franchise,
Right to Freedom and Equality and to protecting the rights of minorities in
the constitution of independent India. These basic values were accepted by
all leaders much before the Constituent Assembly met to deliberate on the
Constitution. That is why the Indian constitution adopted many institutional
details and procedures from colonial laws like the Government of India Act,
1935.
Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution,
the practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain and the Bill of Rights in
the US.
The Constituent Assembly
The drafting of the constitution was done by an assembly of elected
representatives called the Constituent Assembly.
Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946 and its first
meeting was held in December 1946. Soon after, the country was divided
into India and Pakistan and the Constituent Assembly was also divided into
the Constituent Assembly of India and that of Pakistan
. The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian constitution had 299
members. The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949
but it came into effect on 26 January 1950. To mark this day we celebrate
January 26 as Republic Day every year.
Why should we accept the Constitution made by this Assembly more than
six decades ago?
• The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It
expresses a broad consensus of its time.
• The second reason for accepting the Constitution is that the
Constituent Assembly represented the people of India.
• Finally, the manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives
sanctity to the Constitution. The Constituent Assembly worked in a
systematic, open and consensual manner.
First, some basic principles were decided and agreed upon. Then a Drafting
Committee chaired by Dr B.R. Ambedkar prepared a draft constitution for
discussion. Several rounds of thorough discussion took place on the Draft
Constitution, clause by clause. More than two thousand amendments were
considered. Every document was presented and every word spoken in the
Constituent Assembly has been recorded and preserved. These are called
‘Constituent Assembly Debates.’
Guiding Values of the Indian Constitution
First, understand the overall philosophy of what our Constitution is all
about. Read the views of some of our major leaders on our Constitution
and read what the Constitution says about its own philosophy. This is what
the preamble to the Constitution does.
The Dream and the Promise
There were many members who followed the vision of Mahatma Gandhi.
This dream of an India that has eliminated inequality was shared by Dr
Ambedkar, who played a key role in the making of the Constitution, but his
vision of removing inequalities from India was different from Gandhiji.
Philosophy of the Constitution
Values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle and were in turn
nurtured by it, formed the foundation for India’s democracy. Given below
are the values embedded in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
We, the People of India: The Constitution has been drawn up and enacted
by the people through their representatives, and not handed down to them
by a king or any outside powers.
Sovereign: People have the supreme right to make decisions on internal as
well as external matters. No external power can dictate the Government of
India.
Socialist: Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by
society. The government should regulate the ownership of land and
industry to reduce socio-economic inequalities.
Secular: Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. But there is
no official religion. The government treats all religious beliefs and practices
with equal respect.
Democratic: A form of government where people enjoy equal political
rights, elect their rulers and hold them accountable. The government is run
according to some basic rules.
Republic: The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary
position.
Justice: Citizens cannot be discriminated against on the grounds of caste,
religion and gender. Social inequalities have to be reduced. The
government should work for the welfare of all, especially of the
disadvantaged groups.
Liberty: There are no unreasonable restrictions on the citizens in what they
think, how they wish to express their thoughts and the way they wish to
follow up their thoughts in action.
Equality: All are equal before the law. The traditional social inequalities
have to be ended. The government should ensure equal opportunity for all.
Fraternity: All of us should behave as if we are members of the same
family. No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.
Institutional Design
A Constitution is not merely a statement of values and philosophy. It is
mainly about embodying these values into institutional arrangements. It is
a very long and detailed document. Therefore, it needs to be amended quite
regularly to keep it updated. Provisions are made to incorporate changes,
known as constitutional amendments from time to time. Like any
Constitution, the Indian Constitution also lays down a procedure for
choosing persons to govern the country. It defines who will have how much
power to make which decisions. And it puts limits to what the government
can do by providing some rights to the citizen that cannot be violated.