Constitution Formation

CONSTITUTION FORMATION

Historical Background:

•    In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India.
•    In 1931, Indian National Congress in its session at Karachi passed a resolution on how the constitution of independent India should look like.
•    Both these two documents have included the right of universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equality, and to protecting the rights of minorities.
•    Later, the provisions of these documents provided a background of the certain basic values, which were accepted by all leaders and included in the constitution of independent India.
•    British rule had introduced weak legislatures in India by the given voting rights to a few elite persons only.
•    Elections were held in 1937 to Provincial Legislatures all over British India, which were not fully democratic governments. However, the working with these legislative institutions provided useful experience to Indians, which helped in setting up native institutions in independent India.
•    Like South Africa, India’s Constitution was also drawn up under very difficult circumstances.
•    The makers of the Indian Constitution have adopted its fundamental structure from the Government of India Act 1935.

The Constituent Assembly:

•    The Constituent Assembly was the body of elected representatives of the people of India.
•    Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946 and its first meeting was convened in December 1946.
•    On Partition, the Constituent Assembly was also divided into two parts called as the Constituent Assembly of India and the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
•    The Constituent Assembly of India that drafted the Indian Constitution had 299 members.
•    The Constituent Assembly of India had adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, but it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

Factors of Constitution Formation:

The factors that contributed to the making of Indian Constitution were
•    French Revolution
•    Parliamentary democracy in Britain
•    Bill of Rights in the US
•    Socialist revolution in Russia.

Key Features of Indian Constitution:

•    Indian Constitution is a ‘written’ constitution.
•    Indian Constitution is ‘flexible’ (it can be amended), but it is also ‘rigid’ (as some part, i.e., its ‘basic structure’ cannot be amended).
•    Indian Constitution is ‘Unitary’ (as Center has more power), but it is also ‘Federal’ (as power is divided between the Center and the State).

Other Facts of Constitution:

•    The Indian National Congress made a demand for a Constituent Assembly in 1934, which came into existence for drafting the constitution of India on 9 December 1946.
•    The Constituent Assembly drafted the Constitution for independent India between 9 December 1946 and 26 November 1949.
•    We, the people of India, have adopted and enacted the Indian Constitution on 26 November 1949; however, it was made fully functional on 26 January 1950.
•    Constitution is a fundamental set of rules and principles on the basis of which the people of this country obliged to be governed by.
•    The fundamental rules of Constitution define the type of government and its
•    constituent’s parts as well as the nature of the policies to be adopted by the country.
•    So, the Constitution serves as a pivot in striking a balance between the differences and provides safeguards to the interests of each of its citizen.

Likewise, the Constitution of India makes India a democratic country and determines

•    The procedures of government formation;
•    The methods and process of government’s functionality; and
•    The process of interactions among the different parts of the government in the specific area of their work.

The Constitution also defines a list of Fundamental Rights that are an important part of the Constitution to protect the interest of every citizen against the tyranny of the state as well as from the dominance of a particular community (Who are in majority and in power).