Chapter16.Civics.Learning.
Our
Constitution.
Family is
the basic unit of society. It comprises
of various institutions and organizations at Anintable in the Pather of civics
16 Our Constitution different levels.The smooth functioning of all such units
depends upon certain rules and laws which are recognized by a country or a community
to regulate the actions of its members.
Think of what would happen if we all do not follow traffic rules while
driving or walking on the road. Every
individual would feel unsafe. We all
need to follow rules and regulations to regulate our day to day life.
Rule of law
Rule of law means that every
citizen of the country is equal in the eyes of law. There is no discrimination on the basis of
caste, religion, sex, social or economic status. Everybody is required to follow a set of
laws, be it the people or government officials or the elected representatives
of people, who form the government. In
fact, the rule of law is the basic foundation of a democratic system and the
basis of all types of equalities. Therefore,
the rule of law demands that those who are occupying positions of power should
not be allowed to act in an arbitrary or an unlawful manner. On the other hand, the common man should be
provided protection by law to enable her / him to enjoy equal rights. But let us not forget that equal rights are
not possible without discharging equal responsibilities,
The Constitution.
A
constitution is a body of fundamental rules according to which the government
of a country functions. It contains the
powers and functions of the various organs of the government and their mutual
relationship. It also defines the rights
of the citizens and the relation between the government and its citizens. Therefore, in the Indian democratic set-up,
the Constitution is a pivot and the primary source of our laws. It gives a detailed description of fundamental
principles on the basis of which the laws are made and the country works. Need of Constitution India is a vast country
with various physical, cultural and social diversities. Different people belonging to different
regions, who speak different languages, have very different lifestyles. Though different in beliefs and actions, they
have many things in common. Yet, they
may or may not agree on all the issues.
Therefore, the Constitution provides a set of rules, principles and laws
acceptable to almost all, as these basis of life and governance of the
country. It is a multipurpose document
which caters to our needs,requirements,future aspirations and the ideals set before us.To meet these requirements the Constitution serves the following purposes:
Defines the nature of a country's
political system.
Provides certain important
guidelines that help in decision making within a democratic set-up.
Lays down rules and provides
safeguards against misuse of power and abuse of authority which leads to gross
injustice by those in power.
Guarantees
certain rights based on equality to establish social, political and economic
justice.
Ensures that minority groups are
not deprived of the benefits available to the majority group.
Ensures that the majority group does not
dominate the minorities. al Guards our
national interests.Does not allow
dictatorial or biased decisions which may change the very basic structure of
the constitution.
Plays a critical role in
democratic societies towards the achievement of desired goals. 70 Vision and Values of Indian Constitution The
constitution of a country involving its distinctive features, culture and
ethos. The Constitutions of France and
the US (United States) are the products of political revolutions. But the British Constitution is not written
as it is the outcome of gradual evolution.
Unlike the US and the UK United Kingdom), the Constitution of India is
the result of serious deliberations of a representative body called the
Constituent Assembly, which was an indirectly elected body.
Most of the members of this constituent
assembly represented Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Anglo - Indians, Christians,
Harijans, Parsis, etc. The Assembly
included eminent personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel,
Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Azad,
K.M. Munshi, J.B. Kriplani, C. Rajagopalachari, Pattabhi
Sitarammyya, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Dr.
S. Radhakrishnan, M. Gopala Swamy Ayyangar, etc. There were 15 female members also in the
Constituent Assembly like Sacheta Kriplani, Sarojini Naidu, Rajkumari Amrit
Kaur, etc. ) 293 hotel momese of
Prominent members of the Constituent Assembly Do you know their names? Some ideals are included in the Constitution
of free India like commitment to democracy and zuarantee of justice, equality
and freedom to all the people. The
makers of the Constitution were also very much concerned about feeding the
starved clothing the naked and ending the exploitation of the already deprived
and depressed sections of society. Page.185.
Therefore,
the Preamble was included in the beginning of the Constitution. The Preamble an introduction to the
Constitution and is non - justiciable.
It contains the political philosophy, aim objectives and basic purposes
of the Constitution. It is called the
Soul of the Indian Constitutio the courts regard it as a key to interpret the
Constitution. Let us look at the
Preamble to the Constitution of India.
BLUEILLE CONSTITUTION OF THE
We,the people of India, having solemnly
resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizen: JUSTICE, social, economic and
political; LIBERTY of thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship: EQUALITY of status and of
opportunity; and to promote among them
all; FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of
the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty -
sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS
CONSTITUTION.Page.186
achieve
our national goals given in the Preamble.
Let us study some of the salient features of the Indian Constitution
that have been included The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution tried
to incorporate the principles cherished by une leaders of the freedom
struggle. They also tried to adopt the
best features of the Constitutions England, USA (United States of America),
Canada, Ireland, etc. Therefore, our
Constitution is a combination of good features of several constitutions. The needs and aspirations of the people have
150 been written into ideals and rules in the Constitution.
Do you know?Features of Foreign
Constitutions Borrowed by Indian Constitution.
The British Constitution
Constitutional Head of the State like the Queen of UK.
The idea of Preamble.
The Cabinet System.
The Parliamentary type of Government.
Bicameral Legislature.
Making Lok Sabha (the Lower House) more
powerful than Rajya Sabha (the Upper House).
Collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers.
Lok Sabha Speaker
The privileges of the Members
of Parliament.
The American Constitution
Written constitution
The Federal System
Head of the State is called
President.
Provision for a Supreme
Court.
Provinces are known as
States.
Rajya Sabha in India represents
the States like the US Senate.
The
Constitution of Canada
India is known as Union of States.
Constitution of Ireland
Concept of Directive
Principles of State Policy. Canada. Ireland.
Constitution of USSR
Fundamental Duties,Page 187.
Basic Features of Our Constitution
Unique Constitution
The chief
characteristic of the Constitution of India is its uniqueness. The best features of many existing
constitutions of the world were modified and adapted to our nee the Constitution of India is a combination of
many good points of several constitutions.
At the same time, the needs and aspirations of the people were also not
ignored.
The Lengthiest Constitution The
Constitution of India is the lengthiest and the most detailed Constitution of
the world. It is divided into 22 parts
and has 395 Articles and 12 Schedules.
The Constituent Assembly spent 2 years 11 months and 18 days to complete
its final draft on November 26, 1949 but it was adopted and enforced on January
26, 1950. Written Constitution Indian
Constitution is a written constitution.
It was drafted and enacted by the Constituent Assembly, specially
elected for this purpose. It was
presided over by Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar was the Chairman of its Drafting Committee.
Rigid and Flexible A constitution is called
rigid or flexible on the basis of the procedure of its amendments. A rigid constitution is one which cannot be
amended easily. On the contrary, a
flexible constitution can be amended easily.
The strength of a rigid constitution is that it is stable and is a
guarantee against hasty changes. A
flexible constitution is considered progressive in nature and helpful in
development of the nation, keeping this in mind, the Constitution of India is a
combination of both rigid as well as flexible.
It is not only a sacred document, that is, a framework for democratic
governance but also an instrument that may require modifications. Accordingly, there are three methods of
amendment. 05 PROCEDURES OF AMENDMENT OF
INDIAN CONSTITUTION
1. By Simple Majority: Certain provisions of the
Constitution can easily be changed by passing the amendment bill by simple
majority, which means the bill should be approved by a majority of the members
present and voting in both the Houses of
the Parliament.
2. By Special Majority:
The Amendment Bill shall have to be approved by both the Houses of the
Parliament by (1) absolute majority of total membership and (ii) two - third
majority of members present and voting.
Most of the provisions of our Constitution are amended by this
method.
3. Special Majority and
Ratification: After the bill is passed by Special Majority in both the Houses
of the Parliament, it may be approved by the legislatures of at least half of
the total number of states. Page 188
Whenever the need was felt, the Indian
Constitution was suitably amended according to the plevant demands to achieve
national goals or to eradicate certain evil practices, Abolition of Privy
purse, Nationalisation of banks, Reservation for OBC's, Right to Information,
Right to Education, servation of seats
in the local self - bodies for women are some examples which prove that Indian
constitution is dynamic. It is an ample
proof of our commitment to transform India into a truly secular, socialist,
democratic republic.
Do you know? The Kings of the Princely States, who merged
them with India after independence, were paid a fixed annual amount of money as
a stipend. It was called Privy
Purse.
India.
India is a Sovereign,
Socialist, Secular and Democratic Republic En India is a sovereign state
because the country is free from all external controls. Internally, we are free to take our own
decisions, no other country can dictate its policies or terms to us and no body
can interfere in our internal affairs.
India is a socialist state
because socialism is one of the national goals to be achieved. Thus, India is against exploitation in all
forms and will try to establish economic justice, without being attached to any
particular ideology.
India is a secular
state. All religions enjoy equal
freedom. No discrimination is made on
grounds of religion. Right to Freedom of
Religion is granted by our Constitution under the Fundamental Rights.
India is a democratic state. Our
government is elected by the people and the administration of all religions are
equal the country is carried out by the elected representatives of the people. The government is run according to some basic
rules.
India is a republic because the
Head of the State, i.e. Our President
(Rashtrapati) is an elected head from amongst the people. On the other hand, inspite of being a
democracy, England is not a Republic because its head of the state is hereditary king /queen.
adopted
this system on British pattern. In a
parliamentary democracy, there is a close relationship
Parliamentary form of government
We have parliamentary
form of government both at the center and in the states. In fact, we have between the legislature and
the executive The Council of Ministers is constituted from amongst the members
of the legislature. It holds the office
as long as it continues to enjoy the confidence of the Parliamentary Form of
Government legislature. In a
parliamentary form of government, the head of the state, the President in case
of India, is a nominal head. Although,
she / he enjoys many powers, but in practice all these powers are exercised by
the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
Federal and Unitary The constitution of a
federation is written and rigid and it divides powers between the center and
the states. There is an independent
judiciary which interprets the constitution and settles the disputes. Accordingly, India has a federal system but
with a difference. The Central
Government, which is also called the Union Government, is so powerful that at
times it appears that India is not really a federation but a unitary
state. However, the Constitution of
India has several features of a federation A woman casting vote combined with
the elements of a unitary state. Some
people describe India as a federation with a very strong central
government.
Do you know? Universal Adult Franchise, i.e. The Right to Vote was granted in 1950 to
every citizen of India above the age of 21 years. But 61st Amendment in 1988 lowered the age to
18 years,
Universal Adult Franchise Universal Adult Franchise means that every
citizen of India, who is 18 years and above, is entitled to vote in the
elections, without any discrimination of caste, color, class, religion or gender. It is based on equality which is a basic
principle of democracy. This right
enables all citizens to be involved in the governance of the country through
their elected representatives.
Single
Citizenship in United States of America, there is double citizenship. Every American is a citizen of his / his
state and also of the United States. But
in India, we have single citizenship.
Therefore, every Indian 190
irrespective
of the place where she / he lives, is a citizen of India. There is no citizenship in the name of the
states. All the citizens of India can
secure employment anywhere in the country.
People, who call themselves Punjabis, Marathis or Gujaratis, are called
so because they speak these languages, and not on the basis of their citizenship.
Single Integrated Judicial System India has a
single integrated judicial system.
Unlike the judicial system of the United States, we do not have separate
federal and state courts. In our
country, the entire judiciary is one hierarchy of courts. The Supreme Court of India and the High
Courts form a single integrated judicial structure with jurisdiction over all
laws. The High Courts have the right of
supervision over the Subordinate Courts.
India has an independent judiciary, free from the influence of the
executive and the legislature. The
judges are appointed on the basis of their qualifications but they cannot be
easily removed by the executive.
Therefore, a set procedure is followed about which you will read in
Chapter 20 on judiciary.
The Fundamental
Rights, Direct Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties are also the
basic features of the Constitution of India that prescribe the fundamental
obligations of the state to its citizens and the duties of the citizen to the
state. We shall be learning about these
vital elements of the Constitution in the next chapter
Keywords
draft a design
/ a preliminary form of writing subject to revision / review.
governance: a method or system of government
/ management.
hereditary: passing from
parent to their offsprings.
jurisdiction:
the extent of the power to make legal decisions and judgments.
non - justiciable: matters that cannot be
decided by a court. Page 191
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