Before we get on to the salient features of Indian Constitution, let us first look at how and when it came into being. What was once the Dominion of India became the Republic of India on 26th January 1950- the day when our Constitution came into being. Adopted on 26th November 1949, the Constitution replaced the Government of India Act, 1935, the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and also repealed the prior acts enacted by the British Parliament.
As it stands today, our Constitution is the supreme legal document of India and is above all in the country. It is stood the test of time, and remains unalterable beyond a limit to this day. It is the remarkable Kesavananda Bharati Case which brought into discussions as to what and how much of our Constitutoin can be amended by the Parliament.
While there were some territories under French and Portuguese control, India was under the British Rule from 1857 to 1947. And while India got freedom on 15th August 1947, its external security was still the responsibility of British government till 1950.
Salient Feature of Indian Constitution
- World’s Lengthiest Written Constitution:
Written; because it is the only law which defines how the other laws must come and operate. It’s the supreme law of India and dictates how every institution must work. Being drawn from various sources, India’s Constitution is lengthiest one in the world. One of the major sources is the complex Government of India Act, 1935. It covers the functioning of both Central as well as State governments in India. - It’s both rigid and flexible at the same time:
A Constitution which allows the parliament to change its provisions with ease is a flexible one. And the one which makes it extremely difficult is a rigid one. We have the Constitution which is both. Sounds interesting, no? Well, that’s because it is. Take the United States for example. It has the constitution which is tremendously hard to amend. However, in India, our parliament can amend a lot of its provisions with a simple majority and some with special majority. What’s simple and special majority is a topic for another day.
So, is our Constitution rigid or flexible? And the answer to this is Yes! - Federal Constitution- but with Unitary Bias:
A Federal Constitution is the one which gives equal powers to both the Central as well as State governments. And it also gives the right to the states to frame their individual constitution. But when it comes to India, it has a constitution which is federal in nature, but has a unitary bias. What’s unitary bias now? It’s the distribution of a major chunk of powers with the Central government with the state governments having a few areas to deal with on their own. We have three lists in our constitution namely; the Union List, State List and the Concurrent List. And the Union List has a wider range of matters to legislate, and hence, the ‘unitary bias.’ - Parliamentary Form of Government:
There’s Presidential form of government where the President is the head of the state. And then there’s Parliamentary form of government where the party with majority takes the lead. And it works on the principle of co-operation and co-ordination between legislative and executive organs. - Fundamental Rights:
Every citizen of India has six fundamental rights which give them a variety of freedoms they can exercise. And the state, in most cases, cannot violate these rights. These rights are:
a. Right to Equality (Article 14 -18)
b. Right to Freedom (Article 19-22)
c. Right against Exploitation (Article 23-24)
d. Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25-28)
e. Cultural and Educational Rights (Article 29-30)
f. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32) - Fundamental Duties:
While our constitution did not contain any fundamental duties to begin with, they became a part of it with the 42nd Amendment. It’s Part IVA [Article 51A- clause (a) to (j)] of the constitution which defines the fundamental duties cast on every Indian citizen. There were ten duties on an Indian citizen till 2002. And then, through 86th Amendment in 2002, clause (k) was inserted. In fact, the Supreme Court has held in AIIMS Students Union versus AIIMS & Ors (2002) that Fundamental Duties are as important as Fundamental Rights. - Single Citizenship:
Part II of the Indian Constitution deals with the concept of citizenship. It tells us that an Indian citizen is a citizen of the entire nation, and not of any individual state. In countries like the USA, every citizen has dual citizenship i.e. of the State as well as Centre. But in India, the everyone is a citizen of India only. And this allows him to enjoy his equal rights (political or civil) throughout the country. - Universal Adult Franchise:
For an Indian citizen to become a voter, the only pre-requisite is the age. You get to enjoy your right to vote once you turn 18. And there is no bias on the basis of your caste, creed, religion, race or gender. As long as you fulfill the age criteria, there’s no force which can violate your right to vote. - Directive Principles of State Policy:
Part IV (Article 36-51) of the Indian Constitution deals with Directive Principles of State Policy. The states are duty bound to apply these principles when making new laws. In simple words- DPSPs are instructions for parliament and legislature set out in the constitution. - Emergency Provisions:
There are normal circumstances and then there are exceptional circumstances. During normal circumstances, the government functions well enough. But there are times when a government cannot do so. These are the times when the federal structure of our constitution shifts to unitary one. - Three-Tier Government:
We have a union government at the central level, and then we have state governments at the state level. The initial idea of our constitution was a two-tier government. But come 1992, 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts were passed. Through 73rd amendment, Panchayats (Rural local governments) were given a formal status in India in Part IX and Schedule 11 of the Constitution.
And in the same way, Municipalities (Urban local governments) were given the formal status through 74th Amendment Act, 1992. This Amendment Act inserted Part IX-A and Schedule 12 to our Constitution. And that’s how our tow-tier government was transformed into a three-tier one. - Integrated and Independent Judiciary:
We have judicial courts at District levels which are sub-ordinate to the High Courts of the state. And then there’s Supreme Court, which is above all. It is the highest court of appeal in India. That’s how the judiciary in India is integrated. And it has been given duty of being the guardian of the constitution. That’s the reason the judiciary in India is independent of legislature as well as executive.
