MY INDIA MY CONSTITUTION PREAMBLE
What is constitution?
Constitution of India is the supreme law
of India. It lays down the framework
defining fundamental political principle
establishing the structure, procedure,
power, and duties of the government &
spells out the fundamentals rights,
directive principles & duties of citizens.
ORIGIN
History of Indian Constitution started
from Government of India Act 1979. It
was an act of parliament of United
Kingdom to expand participation of native
in government.
Government of India Act, 1935 was the
last constitution of British Raj. After that,
under the guidance of British Prime
Minister Celment Attle, a frame work of
constitution [procedure to be followed
while drafting] was made.
On 29th August, 1947, drafting committee
was appointed with Dr. Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar [who had degree from
Columbia University & university of
London] as chairman. Besides Dr. BR
Ambedkar the four Congress giants
Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel,
Rajendra Prasad & Abdul Kalam Azad
were dominant players in drafting the
constitution.
Our constitution is derived from the
constitution of various countries (like UK,
USA, Malaysia, Ireland, France, Japan,
Canada, Australia & Germany). It took 2
years, 11 months & 18 days to be drafted
and came with 12 bulky volumes [22parts
containing 448 articles, 12 schedules, 5
appendices & 109 amendments]
Although committee formed for drafting
the constitution did the job admirably by
middle of 1949 & assembly approved a
new constitution on November 25, but it
was signed by members on January 24,
1950 & came into effect on 26th January
1950, because the choice for the date of
Republic Day was made at 1930 Lahore
session of Indian National Congress where
Tri colour was raised for the first time and
the concept of PURNA SWARAJA came
into picture.
Preamble summarizes the aim and
objectives of the constitution and
preamble of India constitution seeks to
establish what Ghandhiji described as
“The India of My Dream”.
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, have
solemnly resolved to constitute India
into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST
SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and
to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief,
faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the
individual and the unity and integrity of
the Nation.
Fundamental rights
Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right
against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of
Religion, Cultural and Educational
Rights, Saving of Certain Laws, Right to
Constitutional Remedies.
Ambedkar may bring justice for
Pakistanis
On 5th July 2008, a book on Ambedkar
was launched in Pakistan by the Author
Yusuf Irfan. He said, Ambedkar struggled
hard to eliminate social injustice from
India & served humanity. He also said
this book would help Pakistani people
learn about fighting injustice.
EVOLUTION OF LAWS IN 60
YEAR OLD REPUBLIC
Nothing is static in world, all things need
to be modified with time and same is the
case with our constitution. Sri Lanka’s
first constitution lasted for only seven
years and our constitution has survived
for 60 years and it is because our
constitution is continuously amended.
Sir Iver Jenning (constitutional historian
of common wealth) once said, Indian
constitution is “Too long, too rigid & too
prolix” and it was further made complex
by dominance of lawyer–politicians in
constituent assembly. So government
understood the importance of
amendments and in 2002, national
commission to review the working of the
constitution was set up to look into
updating the constitution of India.
Let us discuss few important
amendments that shape the republic:-
1. Representation of people act 1951-Laid
down the procedure and machinery for
preparing electoral rolls and demarcating
constituencies. This act reduces
canvassing period from one month to
fortnight.
2. 1951 amendment - (a) Reasonable
restriction on freedom of speech and
expression and freedom to practice any
profession. (b) Introduction of 9th schedule
to insulate agrarian reform from legal
challenge.
3. Hindu marriage act 1955-Outlawed
polygamy and introduced the concept of
divorce.
4. Protection of civil act 1955-Penalizes
various manifestations of untouchability.
5. 91st constitution amendment 2003-
Defection can take place through merge
route (when at least 2\3 of member of
legislature party agree to its merger with
another party)
6. Muslim women act 1986- To appease
Muslim fundamentalist.
7. 73rd amendment –Reserving 1\3
constituencies for women in panchayati
raj.
8. Right to information act 2005 is
acknowledged as one of the most
progressive transparency law in the world.
Besides specifying the limited
organizations and categories
information exempted from its
purview.RTI provided for independent
appellate bodies and penalties for errant
officials.
9. National rural employment guarantee
act (NREGA 2005) -This act guarantees
employment for 100 days in a year to
every rural household.
AZIM PREMJI-We have shown the world
that it is possible to run a billion size
population in a democratic manner.
About our achievement against the
aspiration to be the sovereign & secular
we have done well. The aspiration to
provide justice (social, economic &
political) is perhaps where we have fallen
short; while we can take pride in having
delivered, for the most part, on liberty of
thought, expression, belief, faith and
worship. We need to develop a far more
inclusive society to be able to justify our
dream of providing EQUALITY of status
and of opportunity.
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM - Judges believe that
they don’t make laws, they only interpret
laws, but this is an illusion. In fact, every
new decision on every new situation is
development of law. Law does not stand
still. A judge must consciously seek to
mould the law so as to serve the need of
the time. He must not be mere mechanic,
a mere working meson. Rather, he must
be an architect thinking as a structure as
a whole building a just strong and
durable system for society. This concept is
in favour of progressive social policies, for
e.g. Supreme Court in 1989 held that
right to life must be reinterpreted to
include the right to live in healthy
environment with minimum disturbance
of ecological balance with regard to “Delhi
pollution case”.
SOURCES
Legal-article.deysat.com
Legal service india.com
www.India.gov.in
Times of India & Economic Times dated
24th January 2010
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