CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

MEANING OF CONSTITUTION
• Constitution is a fundamental legal document that specifies the rules
and regulations according to which organs of the government function
and citizens enjoy their rights.
• It is the supreme law of the country.
• It is a set of rules that are accepted by all citizens together in a country.
• It creates a link between a government and people.
 NEED OF THE CONSTITUTION
• First, it generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary
for different kind of people to live together;
• Second, it specifies how the government will be constituted, who will
have power to take which decisions;
• Third, it lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells
us what the rights of the citizens are;
• Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a
good society.
 THE PATH TO CONSTITUTION
• 1928 : Motilal Nehru and eight other congress
leaders drafted the Indian Constitution.
• 1931 : Resolution at Karachi Session of the Indian
National Congress dwelt on how independent
India’s constitution should look like.
• Elections were held in 1937 to Provincial Legislatures and
Ministries all over British India. But the experience gained
by Indians in the working of the legislative institutions
proved to be very useful for setting up its own institutions.
• Indian constitution adopted many institutional details and
procedures from colonial laws like the Government of India
Act, 1935.
• Many ideals were borrowed from different countries such as
Fundamental Rights from USA, Directive Principles from
Ireland, Parliamentary democracy from Britain, socialism
and Five year plans from Russia etc.
 PROBLEMS FACED WHILE MAKING INDIAN
CONSTITUTION
• India was huge and diverse country
• The country’s division was based on religious differences
• The merger of Princely States with India or Pakistan or remain independent
was difficult to decide.
• Because of partition the future of the country was seen not much secure.
 IMPORTANCE OF CONSTITUTION

• Trust and Coordination

• Specification : It specifies how the govt. will be constituted, who will
have power to which decision
• Rights and Duties : limits the power of government and tell rights of
the citizens
• Good Society : it aspires to make a good society.
 CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY(1946)
• THE ASSEMBLY OF ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES WHO DRAFTED
THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION KNOWN AS CONSTITUENT
ASSEMBLY.
• THERE WERE 299 MEMBERS IN THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY.
• THE ASSEMBLY WAS DOMINATED BY INDIAN NATIONAL
CONGRESS.
BUT NON - CONGRESS MEMBERS WERE ALSO THERE.
• ELECTIONS TO THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY WERE HELD IN
JULY 1946.
• THE ASSEMBLY ADOPTED THE CONSTITUTION IN26 NOV. 1949
THAT DAY IS CELEBRATED AS CONSTITUTION DAY.
CONTINUED……………
• THE CONSTITUTION WAS OFFICIALLY ENACTED ON 26 JAN. 1950
DUE TO ITS HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE.
• AS ON 26 JAN 1930,COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE DAY WAS
CELEBRATED OR POORNA SWARAJ DIWAS UNDER BRITISH
RULE.
• THE CHAIRMAN OF CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY WAS DR.
RAJENDRA PRASAD
• THE CHAIRMAN OF DRAFTING COMMITTEE WAS DR. B. R.
AMBEDKAR
• THE PROVISIONAL PRESIDENT WAS SACHIDANAND SINHA.
• THE LEGAL ADVISOR WAS B.N.RAU
 WHY SHOULD WE ACCEPT THE
CONSTITUTION MADE BY THIS ASSEMBLY
• The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It
expresses a broad consensus of its time. No large social group or
political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution
itself. This is an unusual achievement for any constitution.
• The second reason is that the Constituent Assembly represented the
people of India. There was no universal adult franchise at that time. So
the Constituent Assembly could not have been chosen directly by all
the people of India. It was elected mainly by the members of the
existing Provincial Legislatures.
• Finally, the manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives
sanctity to the Constitution.
 THE DREAMS AND THE PROMISES
• Years ago, MAHATMA GANDHI in his magazine Young India in
1931, he had spelt out what he wanted the Constitution to do.
• The dream of an India that has eliminated inequality was shared by Dr.
Ambedkar, who played a key role in the making of the constitution.
He criticized MAHATMA GANDHI and his vision.
• Jawaharlal Nehru giving his famous speech to the Constituent
Assembly at the stroke of midnight on 15 August 1947:he stated when
the world sleep ,India will awake to life and freedom. Freedom and
power brings responsibilities, service of India means service of the
millions who suffer. The ambition of the greatest man of our
generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye.
 PREAMBLE
THE INTRODUCTORY PART OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
IS KNOWN AS PREAMBLE.
 GUIDING VALUES OF PREAMBLE
• JUSTICE- social, economic and political
• LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship
• EQUALITY of status and opportunities
• FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of individual, unity and integrity of the nation
 SALIENT FEATURES OF THE INDIAN
CONSTITUTION

• Establishment of a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic

• Parliamentary form of government
• Fundamental rights
• A federation with a strong centralizing tendency
• Universal adult franchise
 PHILOSOPHY OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

• Values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle and were in turn
nurtured by it, formed the foundation for India’s democracy.
• These values are embedded in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
• They guide all the articles of the Indian Constitution.
• The Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values
known as Preamble
 INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN
• Constitution of India is about these arrangements. It is a very long and detailed
document. Therefore it needs to be amended quite regularly to keep it updated
• Those who crafted the Indian Constitution felt that it has to be in accordance with
people’s aspirations and changes in society. They did not see it as a sacred, static
and unalterable law
• They made provisions to incorporate changes from time to time. These changes
are called constitutional amendments.
• The Constitution describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal language.
• The Indian Constitution lays down a procedure for choosing persons to govern the
country. It defines who will have how much power to take which decisions. And it
puts limits to what the government can do by providing some rights to the citizen
that cannot be violated