The Indian Constitution Summary, Cheat Sheet of Political Science

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Indian Polity

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What is a Constitution?

• (^) What is a Constitution? [Please refer to NCERT Chap 1 of Class 12]
• (^) A sovereign document of a country that enlists how a country should be run
• (^) Establishes Government and Various Institutions
• (^) A Guide
• (^) Est. and influences Political Culture of a country and a society :

Is the Constitution important for a

democracy?

• (^) Constitutionalism as an Ideology- Supremacy of the Constitution
• (^) Magna Carta
• (^) French Revolution
• (^) Rights of Man and Citizen
• (^) Weimar Republic
• (^) Indian Constitution

Constitutions around the World

• (^) Countries without a (written) constitution
  • (^) Great Britain or the United Kingdom
  • (^) Israel
  • (^) New Zealand
• (^) World’s Largest Constitution- India
• (^) World’s First Constitution- USA
• (^) World’s Shortest Constitution- Monaco
• (^) World’s Most Amended Constitution- India
• (^) World’s Least Amended Constitution- USA
• (^) Shortest Drafted Constitution- Japan (8 Days)

Indian Constitution

• (^) Original- 395 articles, 22 parts, and 8 schedules
• (^) Today- 448 articles, 25 parts, and 12 schedules
• (^) Drafting- 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days
• (^) Made of Handmade calligraphy
• (^) Constitution Day- 26 th November 1949
• (^) Constitution Adoption Day- 26 th January 1950
• (^) Both English and Hindi
• (^) Very Elaborate
• (^) 100+ Amendments

Objectives of Indian Constitution

• (^) Replaced the Government of India Act- 1935 as the Governing Document of India.
• (^) Est. Governance structures and Institutions in a post-Independent India
• (^) Born out of Indian Independence and the Nationalist Movement
• (^) Replace several colonial power and governance structures
• (^) Manage the divided and diverse society of India
• (^) Est. Democracy

Preamble of Indian Constitution

• (^) Derives its Sovereignty- People of India
• (^) Nature of India
  • (^) Sovereign
  • (^) Socialist
  • (^) Republic
  • (^) Secular
  • (^) Democratic
• (^) Aim of Constitution- Establish
  • (^) Liberty
  • (^) Justice
  • (^) Equality
  • (^) Fraternity
• (^) Date of Adoption as November 26 th 1949

Preamble of Indian Constitution

• (^) Nature of India
  • (^) Sovereign- Free from Internal and External Pressures
  • (^) Socialist- Blend of Gandhism, and Western Socialism- Indian Socialism- Welfarism
  • (^) Republic- President/an elected representative as the Head of the State
  • (^) Secular- Positive Neutrality towards all religions and no State Religions
  • (^) Democratic- The power of people
• (^) Fraternity- brotherhood irrespective of diversity. Adapted from UDHR
• (^) Acts as an introduction or an identity card to the constitution- Nani J Palkiwala
• (^) Source or Authority to the constitution
• (^) An Integral Part of the Indian Constitution- SC Judgements

Salient features of Indian Constitution

• (^) Adaptations
  • (^) Preamble- USA
  • (^) Features in Preamble- France (Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen)
  • (^) Fundamental Rights- USA (Bill of Rights)
  • (^) Directive Principles of State Policy- Erie/Ireland
  • (^) Germany- Emergency (Weimar Constitution)
  • (^) Amendments- USA
  • (^) Concurrent list- Australia
  • (^) Joint Session of Parliament- Australia
  • (^) Single Citizenship- Britain
  • (^) Procedure Established by Law- Japan
  • (^) Fundamental Duties- USSR
  • (^) Parliamentary System - UK and Presidential Elections from - Ireland
• (^) Adaptations from GOI Act 1935
• (^) Exceptions
  • (^) Art 370- Jammu and Kashmir
  • (^) Art 371- Regional provisions

Basic Structure Doctrine

• (^) Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973):
  • (^) This case is a milestone in the history of Indian constitutional law, introducing the "basic structure doctrine." It affirmed that the Indian Parliament, despite its power to amend the Constitution, cannot change its fundamental framework. This doctrine has profound implications for the boundaries of legislative and administrative powers.
  • (^) The doctrine's primary objective is to safeguard the core values and principles upon which the Constitution is founded, ensuring that it retains its essential character and identity despite amendments. It acts as a check against arbitrary or radical changes by the legislature that could undermine the fundamental framework of the nation.

Other features of Indian Constitution

• (^) Rigidity
• (^) Flexibility
• (^) Amendments- 2/ rd

of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and ½ of the states

• (^) Federalism- Quasi-federal
• (^) The role of the Judiciary- Supreme and Interpretation
• (^) Prime Minister is more powerful than President
• (^) Single Citizenship
• (^) Universal Adult Franchise

The Constituent Assembly

• (^) Various Committees and their Chairs 1.States Committee: Jawaharlal Nehru
  2. Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
  3. Union Powers Committee: Jawaharlal Nehru
  4. Union Constitution Committee: Jawaharlal Nehru
  5. Provincial Constitution Committee: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
  6. Drafting Committee: B.R. Ambedkar.
• (^) Besides Ambedkar, the other members of the drafting committee included Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, K. M. Munshi, Saiyed Mohammed Sadulla, B. L. Mitter, and D. P. Khaitan. A
• (^) Role of B R Ambedkar- Draft the constitution, present it in the Assembly, debate and defend.

The Constituent Assembly

• (^) A thorough representation of the Indian Society- Lawyers, intellectuals,

freedom fighters, and politicians etc.

• (^) Strength of the Assembly- 389=>299 due to Partition
• (^) Dr. Rajendra Prasad: President of the Constituent Assembly and was later
• (^) H.C. Mukherjee: Vice-President of the Assembly
• (^) Had 22 Committees with the main one under the BR Ambedkar
• (^) Objective Resolutions moved by Jawaharlal Nehru

Challenges of Constituent Assembly

• (^) 200 Years of Colonial Rule
• (^) Partition and Communal Tensions
• (^) Linguistic and Regional Diversity
• (^) Princely states and protection of the Union.
• (^) Elitism argument