JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

FACULTY OF LAW

PROJECT (POLITICAL SCIENCE)

SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Submitted to –
DR. NOORJAHAN MOMIN

Submitted by –
SHADAB ANWAR
B.A.LL.B (REGULAR) 2nd Semester
Roll No. 55
Student ID. 201904055
Batch (2019-2024)
The objective of this essay is to provide us with an overview of the salient features of Indian
Constitution. I have aimed at giving the information on the different aspects of Indian
Constitution.

The Constitution of India is a very dynamic creation of our lawmakers. The Indian
Constitution is unique in its contents and spirit. Though borrowed from almost every
constitution of the world, the constitution of India has several salient features that
distinguishes it from the rest.

The Constitution of India was outlined by a Constituent Assembly. This Assembly was an
indirectly chosen body and held its first sitting on the 9th December, 1946. Passed by the
Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, Constitution came into effect on 26 January
1950. The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the declaration of independence of
1930. Since its inauguration on 26th January 1950, the Indian Constitution has been
efficaciously guiding the path and development of India.

Salient Features of Indian Constitution:

1. Lengthiest Written Constitution

Constitutions are divided into written, like the Constitution of America, or unwritten, like the
Constitution of Britain. India's constitution is the lengthiest in the history of all written
constitutions. It is a wide-ranging, extensive and comprehensive text. The Government of
India Act,1935 was the parent document for drafting the Indian Constitution, and that text
itself was quite long.

Presently (2019), there are 12 schedules and 448 articles in our Constitution. Constitution
of U.S.A. contains just 7 Articles, that of Canada 47 Articles and that of Australia 128. Indian
Constitution contains separate provisions for state and centre and their inter-relationship.
Moreover, there are separate provisions for scheduled casts, scheduled tribes, other backward
classes, children and women.i

2. Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility

The Indian Constitution is a rare example of combination of rigidity and flexibility.

Depending on its amending process, a constitution is called rigid or flexible. In a rigid
constitution, constitutional amendment is not simple, just as the US, Switzerland and
Australian constitutions. Whereas the British Constitution is considered flexible because the
process for amending it, is clear and quick.ii

It has gone through 103 amendments so far but there are certain steps to be satisfied before
bringing in the amendment. Article 368 of Indian Constitution provides for two types of
amendments:

i. Some provisions can be amended by a special majority of Parliament, i.e., a two-third

majority of members of each House present and voting, and a majority (that is, more
than 50%), of the total membership of each House.
ii. Some other provisions can be amended by a special majority of the Parliament and
with the ratification by half of the total states.
3. Federal System with Unitary Bias

India has a federal structure in place. There are two distinct levels of governments within
a federation. The United States is a federation whereas the United Kingdom (Britain) has
a unitary form of government in which there is only one government for the whole
country and the power is centralized. There is a proper distribution of powers in the form
of a Union List, State List and the Concurrent List between the Central and the State
Governments.iii

Another significant feature of Indian Constitution is dominance of Union government

over States. The more number of subjects (power) have been given to the Union, such as
appointment of governor by the Centre, All India Services, Integrated judiciary, single
Election Commission, President’s rule, Emergency provisions, etc. Such provisions create
a strong unitary or centralizing tendency in the federal structure. It has been famously
described as ‘a Constitution federal in form but unitary in spirit.’iv

4. Parliamentary Form of Government

The Constitution of India has opted for the British Parliamentary System of Government
rather than American Presidential System of Government. The parliamentary system is
based on the principle of cooperation and co-ordination between the legislative and
executive organs while the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation of
powers between the two organs.v

Even though the Indian Parliamentary System is largely based on the British pattern, there
are some fundamental differences between the two. For example, the Indian parliament is
 not a sovereign body like the British Parliament. Further, the Indian State has an elected
head (republic) while the British State has hereditary head (monarchy).

5. Integrated and Independent Judiciary

Unlike the judicial systems of federal countries such as the United States of America, where
the federal laws are enforced by federal judiciary and state laws are enforced by the state
judiciary, the Indian Constitution has created an integrated judicial structure. While the
Supreme Court is at the national level, the High Courts at the state level and the district courts
at the district and lower levels, there is a single hierarchy of courts. The Supreme Court sits at
the top of the hierarchy.vi

The Indian judicial system is independent and unbiased. It is exempt from the control of both
the executive and the legislature. The judges are selected on the basis of their credentials and
cannot be dismissed easily, nor can their terms of office be changed to their disadvantage.
Judges have been constitutionally granted the security of tenure.vii

6. Fundamental Rights

The most noticeable distinction between the Indian Constitution and the Government of India
Act,1935 under British rule is the inclusion of a number of Fundamental Rights in the
Constitution. The Constitution of India contains these privileges in a separate section,
sometimes referred to as the 'consciousness' of the Constitution. Fundamental rights protect
people from the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by the State as well as by certain
persons.

However, the Fundamental Rights are not absolute. They are subjected to certain restrictions,
based on some social interests. They can also be suspended during the operation of a National
Emergency excepts the rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21. Thus, our Constitution tries
to strike a balance between the individual liberty and the social interest.viii

7. Fundamental Duties

The Constitution (42nd Amendment Act, 1976) has introduced a Code of ten “Fundamental
Duties” for Citizens under Article 51A. There are no statutory provisions for the
implementation of fundamental duties in the Courts, such as fundamental rights, but there is
also a need to carry out fundamental duties. In the case of AIIMS Student Union vs AIIMS ix,
it has been held that fundamental duties are just as important as fundamental rights. It’s a
unique feature of the Indian Constitution that takes something from the citizens instead of
only giving and makes the citizens duties a part of the basic law of the land.x

8. Directive Principles of State Policy

They have been adopted by the Irish Constitution, which is part of our Constitution (Part IV)
to ensure social and economic justice for our people. The goal of Directive Principles is to
create a welfare state in India where there will be no accumulation of wealth in the hands of a
few. It is the responsibility of each State to apply these principles at the same time as making
any new legislation. The Directive Principles of State Policy is identical to the Guidelines of
the Government of India Act 1935. However, these policies are not enforceable at the Court
of Law.xi

9. A Secular State

In no other country of the world, so many religions co-exist as in India.  In spite of this
diversity, the Constitution guarantees us complete freedom of religion. The term secular state
means that there is no separate religion for the State and that all religions are equally valued
in the State. The Preamble to the Indian Constitution itself states that India must be a secular
state and no one should be compelled to follow another religion. The State does not
discriminate anyone on the ground of his religion, nor can the State compel anybody to pay
taxes for the support of any particular religion. Everybody is equally entitled to freedom of
conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.xii

10. Universal Adult Franchise

Indian democracy functions on the basis of ‘one person one vote’. Under the Indian
Constitution, every person over 18 years of age has been granted the right to elect members
to the legislature without any discrimination or requirements on the basis of religion, colour,
caste, sex, descent, place of birth or residence, education or the like. This right is regarded as
a universal adult franchise. The right to universal adult franchise is the only way to claim
common sovereignty underpinning the concept of democracy and also establishes political
equality in the country.xiii

11. Single Citizenship

While the Constitution provided for a dual system, i.e. the Centre and the States, it provided
for a single citizenship for the whole of India. This means that every Indian is a citizen of
India, no matter where he or she lives or where he or she is raised. He/she is not a citizen of
the Constituent State like Rajasthan, Uttaranchal or Chattisgarh to which he/she may belong
to.  This is not the case in the United States of America where there is a scheme of dual
citizenship, i.e. the citizen of the United States and the citizen of the State. Every Indian has
the same rights of citizenship throughout the country. This clause in the Indian Constitution
undoubtedly reflects the principles of freedom, solidarity and dignity.xiv

12. Emergency Provisions

The most remarkable feature of the Indian Constitution is that being a federal Constitution it
acquires unitary character during the time of emergency. The regular allocation of powers
between the Centre and the States undergoes a critical adjustment during the declaration of
emergency. The central government is empowered to give instructions to the state as to how
it will exercise its executive powers. Thus, within the state of emergency, all powers are
concentrated within the Central Government and the Constitution has a unitary character. It
converts the federal structure into a unitary one without a formal amendment of the
Constitution.

There are three types of emergency; A) emergency caused by war, external aggression or
armed rebellion; B) emergency arising out of the failure of constitutional machinery in states;
and C) financial emergency.xv

Conclusion:

The Indian Constitution has a lot of salient features which makes it special. The lawmakers
have taken all the factors into consideration and have tried to accommodate all the differences
in our Country. The Constitution and various rights provided in the Constitution acts as a
guardian to our citizens.
i
https://www.brainyias.com/salient-features-of-the-constitution-of-india/
ii
https://blog.ipleaders.in/salient-features-of-the-indian-constitution/
iii
https://exampariksha.com/salient-features-indian-constitution-political-science-study-material-notes/
iv
https://www.brainyias.com/salient-features-of-the-constitution-of-india/
v
Ibid.
vi
https://www.brainyias.com/salient-features-of-the-constitution-of-india/
vii
https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/Salient-Features-of-the-Indian-Constitution-9258.asp
viii
https://www.brainyias.com/salient-features-of-the-constitution-of-india/
ix
AIIMS Students Union vs AIIMS & Ors. AIR 2001 SC 3262
x
https://blog.ipleaders.in/salient-features-of-the-indian-constitution/#Fundamental_Duties
xi
Ibid.
xii
Ibid.
xiii
https://www.brainyias.com/salient-features-of-the-constitution-of-india/
xiv
Ibid.
xv
Ibid.