Fazlu
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2012
- Messages
- 497
- Reaction score
- 0
One of the longest and most comprehensive documents in the history of modern Asian legislature, the Indian constitution has twenty-two parts, 395 articles, and twelve schedules that provide an enormous body of instructions and provisions that affect almost every aspect of Indian life.
Most of the framers of the Indian constitution had extensive experience in constitutional law during the British rule in India. Soon after India gained independence on 15 August 1947, its Constituent Assembly started working on constructing a constitution for a country beset by the centuries-old socioeconomic inequities of the caste system and the unsatisfactory postcolonial sharing of political powers between the central and provincial authorities.
Ironically, the committee that wrote the constitution worked under an untouchable leader of India, Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (18931956), a law graduate from Columbia University, New York. The first draft constitution was published in February 1948. Its final version was officially adopted on 26 November 1949 but went into effect on 26 January 1950. Mohandas K. Gandhi (18691948) was not there to guide the framers of Indias constitution while it was being written, but the ideals for which he had struggled were enshrined in it: liberty, equality, justice, and fraternity.
Contents
The preamble states the solemn resolution of the people of India: that of turning the country into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic that will secure social, economic, and political justice for all its citizens. It guarantees liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; equality of status and of opportunity; and promotion of fraternity, securing the dignity of the individual, and the unity and integrity of the nation.
Articles in the twenty-two parts of the constitution mainly deal with the Indian union and its territories; citizenship; fundamental rights; principles of state policy; fundamental duties; the union government; the state governments; the panchayat (village council) system; city municipalities; tribal areas; relations between the central and state governments; finance, property, contracts, and suits; trade; commercial dealings within the territory of India; services under the union and the states; tribunals; elections; special provisions relating to certain classes; official languages; emergency provisions; miscellaneous matters; amendments to the constitution; temporary, transitional, and special provisions. The authoritative text of the constitution is in Hindi.
Redressing Historical Inequity
Indias constitution provides equal opportunity for all citizens regardless of their creed or color. Article 16 promises equal opportunity in matters related to employment or appointment for any office under the state. No citizen, therefore, shall be considered ineligible or discriminated on the bases of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, or residence. Since the government of India, through its military and bureaucracy, is the largest economic provider in the country, Article 16 opened public positions to lower-caste members of the society who had hitherto been excluded from pursuing economic and political opportunities. Abolition of untouchability was the crowning achievement of the Indian constitution. Indias vast majority of untouchableswhom Gandhi called Harijan, or "children of God"were among the most oppressed people in the world.
Article 17 declares the practice or enforcement of untouchability in any form as an offense punishable in accordance with the law. The constitution not only did away with special powers for the privileged social and economic classes such as the feudal lords but also provided special protection and quotas for the historically oppressed castes and tribes. With these leveling measures, the constitution changed for the better the social, political, and economic conditions of Ind as 1 billion people. Reservation of seats and quotas for depressed classes in union and state governmentsand especially in educational institutionsbrought about revolutionary changes in India. And even though there were calls to end such reservations, they were extended in 1952. Although discrimination against women is unconstitutional, it has been rampant in every aspect of Indian life. Thanks to the growing womens rights movement and the rise in female education in India, politicians are now more responsive to womens needs.
Although the socioeconomic and political conditions of women in rural India are far from satisfactory, the status of the educated and liberated women in cities and urban centers is a spectacular success story. India is a signatory to the worldwide womens resolution to set aside 33 percent of national and state legislative assembly seats for women, and in Indira Gandhi (19171984) has already had a powerful female prime minister.
National and Local Government
Central and state powers are balanced by organizing India into a federal democratic republic of twenty five states headed by governors and seven union territories administered by ministers, all appointed by the president. India has a bicameral parliament composed of two bodies: the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States; and the Lok Sabha, or House of the People. The Rajya Sabha has 250 members, of which 238 are elected by their state legislative assemblies every second year. The president nominates the other twelve members, who are known nationally for their sound knowledge and experience in the fields of arts, literature, social sciences, and natural sciences. The Lok Sabha has 550 seats, with 530 members from the states and twenty members from the union territories.
Amendments
With more than eighty amendments as of 2000, Indias constitution stands as one of the most frequently amended documents. Jawaharlal Nehru (18891964), the first prime minister of India, insisted that Indias constitution must be flexible and responsive to new changes in the country.
There are three ways to pass amendments to the constitution. First, a simple majority of both houses of the legislature can amend only those articles that are related to matters in the schedules those parts in the constitution that deal with states and union territories, state governors, allocation of seats in the state councils, administration of tribal areas, and state languages, and so forth. Second, a two thirds majority in both houses of the parliament is required for amending articles that deal with important matters, such as fundamental rights, citizenship, state policies, duties of the executive, constitution of parliament and state legislatures, legislative powers of the president, state governors, relations between the union and the state, and elections under the union and the states. Third, in addition to the two-thirds majority in each house of parliament, an amendment related to the distribution of legislative authority between the central and state government also must be passed by 50 percent of the state legislatures.
Checks and Balances
The Indian Supreme Court and Election Commission are recognized as the bedrock of Indian democracy; these two bodies stand up to the enormous powers that the constitution invests in the central government in general and to the unbridled powers of the Indian prime minister in particular. The checks and balances that are provided by the constitution also smooth out the strained relations between the central government and the states by limiting the central governments ability to interfere in the states affairs.
Usually, either the state government or a political party may file an appeal or a writ petition in the Supreme Court against a policy or practice of the union or a state. Although Indias constitution follows the British parliamentary system, it is the constitution and not the parliament of India that reigns supreme. As in the United States, the Indian courts interpret the constitution and adjudicate the laws passed by the parliament. Although the parliament has the authority to amend the constitution, Indias courts have made sure that the parliament does not change its fundamental structure, which guarantees economic opportunities, social justice, and religious and political freedom to all its citizens. Although political corruption and coercion are rampant in Indiaas they are in other developing countriesthe courts are judiciary guarantors of Indias freedom from oppression.
Most of the framers of the Indian constitution had extensive experience in constitutional law during the British rule in India. Soon after India gained independence on 15 August 1947, its Constituent Assembly started working on constructing a constitution for a country beset by the centuries-old socioeconomic inequities of the caste system and the unsatisfactory postcolonial sharing of political powers between the central and provincial authorities.
Ironically, the committee that wrote the constitution worked under an untouchable leader of India, Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (18931956), a law graduate from Columbia University, New York. The first draft constitution was published in February 1948. Its final version was officially adopted on 26 November 1949 but went into effect on 26 January 1950. Mohandas K. Gandhi (18691948) was not there to guide the framers of Indias constitution while it was being written, but the ideals for which he had struggled were enshrined in it: liberty, equality, justice, and fraternity.
Contents
The preamble states the solemn resolution of the people of India: that of turning the country into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic that will secure social, economic, and political justice for all its citizens. It guarantees liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; equality of status and of opportunity; and promotion of fraternity, securing the dignity of the individual, and the unity and integrity of the nation.
Articles in the twenty-two parts of the constitution mainly deal with the Indian union and its territories; citizenship; fundamental rights; principles of state policy; fundamental duties; the union government; the state governments; the panchayat (village council) system; city municipalities; tribal areas; relations between the central and state governments; finance, property, contracts, and suits; trade; commercial dealings within the territory of India; services under the union and the states; tribunals; elections; special provisions relating to certain classes; official languages; emergency provisions; miscellaneous matters; amendments to the constitution; temporary, transitional, and special provisions. The authoritative text of the constitution is in Hindi.
Redressing Historical Inequity
Indias constitution provides equal opportunity for all citizens regardless of their creed or color. Article 16 promises equal opportunity in matters related to employment or appointment for any office under the state. No citizen, therefore, shall be considered ineligible or discriminated on the bases of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, or residence. Since the government of India, through its military and bureaucracy, is the largest economic provider in the country, Article 16 opened public positions to lower-caste members of the society who had hitherto been excluded from pursuing economic and political opportunities. Abolition of untouchability was the crowning achievement of the Indian constitution. Indias vast majority of untouchableswhom Gandhi called Harijan, or "children of God"were among the most oppressed people in the world.
Article 17 declares the practice or enforcement of untouchability in any form as an offense punishable in accordance with the law. The constitution not only did away with special powers for the privileged social and economic classes such as the feudal lords but also provided special protection and quotas for the historically oppressed castes and tribes. With these leveling measures, the constitution changed for the better the social, political, and economic conditions of Ind as 1 billion people. Reservation of seats and quotas for depressed classes in union and state governmentsand especially in educational institutionsbrought about revolutionary changes in India. And even though there were calls to end such reservations, they were extended in 1952. Although discrimination against women is unconstitutional, it has been rampant in every aspect of Indian life. Thanks to the growing womens rights movement and the rise in female education in India, politicians are now more responsive to womens needs.
Although the socioeconomic and political conditions of women in rural India are far from satisfactory, the status of the educated and liberated women in cities and urban centers is a spectacular success story. India is a signatory to the worldwide womens resolution to set aside 33 percent of national and state legislative assembly seats for women, and in Indira Gandhi (19171984) has already had a powerful female prime minister.
National and Local Government
Central and state powers are balanced by organizing India into a federal democratic republic of twenty five states headed by governors and seven union territories administered by ministers, all appointed by the president. India has a bicameral parliament composed of two bodies: the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States; and the Lok Sabha, or House of the People. The Rajya Sabha has 250 members, of which 238 are elected by their state legislative assemblies every second year. The president nominates the other twelve members, who are known nationally for their sound knowledge and experience in the fields of arts, literature, social sciences, and natural sciences. The Lok Sabha has 550 seats, with 530 members from the states and twenty members from the union territories.
Amendments
With more than eighty amendments as of 2000, Indias constitution stands as one of the most frequently amended documents. Jawaharlal Nehru (18891964), the first prime minister of India, insisted that Indias constitution must be flexible and responsive to new changes in the country.
There are three ways to pass amendments to the constitution. First, a simple majority of both houses of the legislature can amend only those articles that are related to matters in the schedules those parts in the constitution that deal with states and union territories, state governors, allocation of seats in the state councils, administration of tribal areas, and state languages, and so forth. Second, a two thirds majority in both houses of the parliament is required for amending articles that deal with important matters, such as fundamental rights, citizenship, state policies, duties of the executive, constitution of parliament and state legislatures, legislative powers of the president, state governors, relations between the union and the state, and elections under the union and the states. Third, in addition to the two-thirds majority in each house of parliament, an amendment related to the distribution of legislative authority between the central and state government also must be passed by 50 percent of the state legislatures.
Checks and Balances
The Indian Supreme Court and Election Commission are recognized as the bedrock of Indian democracy; these two bodies stand up to the enormous powers that the constitution invests in the central government in general and to the unbridled powers of the Indian prime minister in particular. The checks and balances that are provided by the constitution also smooth out the strained relations between the central government and the states by limiting the central governments ability to interfere in the states affairs.
Usually, either the state government or a political party may file an appeal or a writ petition in the Supreme Court against a policy or practice of the union or a state. Although Indias constitution follows the British parliamentary system, it is the constitution and not the parliament of India that reigns supreme. As in the United States, the Indian courts interpret the constitution and adjudicate the laws passed by the parliament. Although the parliament has the authority to amend the constitution, Indias courts have made sure that the parliament does not change its fundamental structure, which guarantees economic opportunities, social justice, and religious and political freedom to all its citizens. Although political corruption and coercion are rampant in Indiaas they are in other developing countriesthe courts are judiciary guarantors of Indias freedom from oppression.
