Celebrating the Indian Constitution in the Comity of Nations
TweetOn the occasion of Republic Day this year, it is important to recall that this day in 1950 we gave to ourselves our Constitution.
The Constitution of India is the most sacred and central legal document. It is on the basis of this document that many other laws are derived and that we learn to uphold the ‘rule of law’ in a democracy under all circumstances.
Critics of our Constitution have been silenced as the document has shown its strength and mettle for more than 60 years. This just goes to show that it is critical to salute and reaffirm our faith in the Constitution because around us in South Asia and other parts of the world we see ‘failed’ if not ‘almost-failed’ states where the rule of law has broken down and anarchy prevails. Again, in the media when there are references made to ‘banana republics’ it’s a vicarious reminder to the achievement of our founding fathers in consolidating the ‘rule of law’ and state in India in what they envisioned would befit generations of Indians to come.
The history of the forming of this Constitution goes back to several decades of legal debates under British rule. The defining debate and draft was the Government of India Act of 1935 which functioned as the backbone of the later-to-be Constitution of India. With the Constituent Assembly in place, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was appointed the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution.
In the transition between colonial rule and freedom, our leaders showed a remarkably global outlook in learning from the political and constitutional experiences of other countries and this has stood us in remarkably good stead. Some highlights of the borrowings for our Constitution are as follows:
Chapter on Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution [Part III] which are enforceable if a citizens rights has been infringed by any action of the State : modeled on the American Constitution notably the American Bill of Rights (contained in the first Ten Amendments to the Constitution of USA).
Parliamentary System of Government which is based on that of Britain [Part V]: The system has three main institutions, the Parliament, the Executive and Judiciary each with their roles and responsibilities cut out for them. This was adopted because our leaders had some experience with this system during years of British rule.
Directive Principles of State Policy based on that of Ireland (Eire )[Part IV] : These are broad guidelines of action for the state and society in India but they are not enforceable in a court of law. Despite this, these principles are considered fundamental to the governance of the country and achieving social and economic justice in Indian society.
Emergency Provisions based on that of the German Reich [Part XVIII] : clause 48 of the Weimar Constitution.
It was a continuing testimony to the Indian historical experience, even post-independence, that we have never been an insular people. East or West, what would work is what needed to be retained, borrowed and built upon into the fabric of our national life. The members of the Constituent Assembly showed tremendous acumen and foresight in the melee that was partition and the transfer of power. I suppose this is why in all the countries mentioned above and other like-minded ones continuing generations refer to the ‘wisdom’ and ‘sagacity’ of the ‘founding fathers’. Cheers to them !!!
Awesome Abdul. Long Live the Republic of India.
but then I feel that the constitution need to be strengthened further as time evolves. When everything arounds us change, it is also vital for the constitution to adapt to to changes and we cannot sit back and claim that our constitution is still strong enough.
Excellent post Abdul. I knew that our constitution has been inspired by many others, but didn’t know the specifics. Our constitution clearly has succeeded in creating an India where freedom is paramount. Wonder what the constitution makers thought of our economy? Did the economy figure in their thought process?
offcourse hats off to the founding fathers for laying down a strong base and Happy republic day to Indians living all around…
It is indeed a proud moment to see that despite all the shortcomings and the deficiencies we are still a Sovereign Democratic Republic. The writers of our constitution certainly would not have loved the degradation of moral values, but seems they visualized the worst. That’s why to this day our Democracy has survived. Thanks for reminding it Dr.Abdul..
Happy Republican Day…Great Post
@Subba Muthurangan – I am sure you stay in US and miss our ‘Republic Day’ … Please note that this is ‘Republic’ day and NOT ‘Republican’ Day. Cheers
Thanks for your kind words Vamsi ! Long live the Republic of India indeed!
Thanks Rajesh. How much ever you may change the ‘letter’ of law, the ultimate test is in the ‘spirit’ in which it is implemented. Between Part III and Part V, how our Constitution is enforced would determine its strength.
I am sure that you will agree with me that it is in the day-to-day life of a society that law takes on significance and for that purpose several legal luminaries concur that we have sound fundamentals in our Constitution.
Like you say in your second comment, hats off to our founding fathers in evolving a uniquely Indian system while valuing the best from all around. 🙂
Sukumar, Thanks for your kind words. Touche in zeroing in on freedom as paramount. There is no doubt that with all the constraints we face we are today a thriving and vibrant democracy. And for that we have to thank our founding fathers for their foresight in firmly including Part III on Fundamental Rights.
You might be happy to note that somewhere there is a provision that these fundamental rights are sacrosanct and cannot be amended or modified. Hence, the citizen’s rights are even safeguarded vis-a-vis the powers of the state.
Regarding the economy, the Constitution does discuss it in diverse and several ways:
First and foremost, I draw your attention to Part XIII, Article 301 assuring freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse. There is a caveat in this part where the state can step in to curb some trade etc in public interest;
Second, is Part XII dealing with Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits. Here Article 265 assures us that Taxes are not to be imposed save by authority of law. The rest of this part deals mainly with Centre-State relations on finances (duties and taxes).
Third is Chapter IV, Article 300-A, Persons not to be deprived of property, save by authority of law;
Fourth is Article 243-G regarding Powers, authorities and responsibilities of Panchayats …subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, with respect to – ….the implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule (this schedule is a pretty long list of mainly agriculture-related economic activities)
Fifth and finally certain provisions of Directive Principles of State Policy: Article 41: Right to work ….Article 42: Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief; Article 43: Living wage for workers; Article 43-A: Participation of workers in management of industries; and Article 48: Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines.
Thanks Mayil especially for reminding me of the Preamble to our Constitution which uses those terms “We the people resolved to constitute India into a …. sovereign secular democratic Republic” and to secure to all its citizens, justice, liberty, equality and fraternity …”:)
Thanks for your kind comment Subba.
Thanks Maxmail. Happy Republic Day !
Thanks for the detailed explanation Abdul. I need to read those sections that you refer. thanks.
Before we celebrate the constitution, let’s first understand that the constitution of india is illegitimate and an imposed one. A constitution has to be for the people of the country. And hence when a constitution is created, it should have been put to voting by the people for their approval. The american constitution were put to people’s review and voting.
is our indian constitution ever put in to public approval? Or atleast, is it subject to voting by those “Gandhians”who have participated in the freedom struggle?
So what do we call a system that is not approved by the people? Illegitimate by all means. And why should we celebrate an illegitimate and anti-people thing at first hand?
Nice Post Abdul!!!…while the constitution provides a sold foundation to the Indian Republic, enforcement still remains a major issue…also i feel the constitution needs to be strengthened further for the betterment of our democracy.
excellent review Naveed.Despite the excellent features of our constitution if you take a walk down streets and kuppams oof Triplicane do you feel that we need to do much more towards how we are commiited to it.When you hear the beggimgs of a chiild when you stop at a red light I am convinced we the citizens of this great nation need to do much more than what we are doing. For a start we can all stiick to truth and discipline to the maximum extent possible.
Zaheer
Thanks Deepak for some very relevant thoughts. As it is said, the greater “teeth” that the law has the better for citizens.
Slow awareness of the value of these statutes and developments like the Right to Information Act are surely a step forward.
Dr. Zaheer, Thank you very much for your kind words.
Your words echo the thought that its better to light a candle than to curse the darkness and as citizens we should be contributing more towards the well-being of our “weaker sections.”(as someone pointed out recently those two words themselves constitute a complicated expression).
There are no two ways of looking at your concerns in your comment and one can only fully concur with what you have said. We need to keep revisiting the Directive Principles of State Policy as frequently as possible with an eye to their increased implementation.
I have some more questions..
1. Why should the constitution be treated as sacred, and NOT in skeptical manner? Are we again treating the constitution as Holy books?
2. Often an argument is placed.. like constitution gives us this and that.. and hence we have to celebrate it and uphold it.. That means, we are judging the constitution based on what it gives, rather than what its purpose are? I call it a misplaced judgement or argument.. A constitution should be a system of governance, and NOT a system of appeasing people.
3. On the concept of “RULE of LAW”, in a country of extreme diversity and different cultures like India, how can a universal law be enforced on all people? Does it mean, all people of india is slave to the bunch of texts called Law, enacted by a group of so called legislators.
This Rule of Law concept is completely alien to Indian society.
4. And based on my above points, we can find a lot of similarity b/w Christianity and the constitutional model. In christianity, the Bible is the authority for all christians. In a republic, the constitution is the authority.
In christianity, any one who violates bible is anti-christian, and an “Apostate”. In a republican model, any one who violates the law is Unlawful or illegal or unconstitutional.
there are many other similarities.. But essentially, the people are NOT an independant entity but always subject to the state authority, and they cannot live as per their free will.. Even the so called freedom is as per the definition of the constitution and NOT based on what people really wants.
We are all told that the constitution provides this and that.. But do any one know, what are the things that the constitution has unsurped and confiscated from the native india?
Abdul,
It`s great to note that India has not become a ‘banana republic’ like the ‘almost failed’ states in other parts of the world.
Fortunately we had some excellent and erudite men who could draft a constitution, committed to the larger interests of the country.
It`s odd to see that you have replaced parts of the preamble with dots.Why should one be shy to say that India is a soverign,socialist,secular,democratic republic.The essence of constitution is socialism as much as it is secularism.Socialism has always been the goal is evident from the directive principles as well as some of the fundamental rights
Really good work, remembering the ‘founding fathers’ of our Republic on the occasion of our Republic Day. Thanks for sharing those details, Abdul. It is really good to note that our leaders borrowed good points from other countries and added it to our constitution. Great job, ‘historian’ Abdul!
/** It is really good to note that our leaders borrowed good points from other countries and added it to our constitution. **/
/** East or West, what would work is what needed to be retained, borrowed and built upon into the fabric of our national life. **/
I dont understand this line of “Borrow” arguments.. Borrowing means, we have an indigenous content/entity, where we borrow a small or considerable amount, to fulfill..
For example, i am writing a book on a concept.. and few points i may borrow from other sources.. that means, the majority of content is native to me..
Similarly, i am developing a product.. and i borrow ideas to improve or fine tune.. and here, the product is my own creation, and ideas are fulfillers..
But in the case of Constitution, can any one enlighten me, what portion of it are Native and indigenous, and what portion of the constitution are borrowed?
The truth is that almost entire content of the constitution is borrowed (infact, copied ) one, either, borrowed from laws of british india, or borrowed from other countries constitution..
What if a whole thing of a content is borrowed one? At worst it should be called a “Piracy” 🙂 . and in a moderate tone, it would be called as “Plagiarism”.. 🙂 and in a decent tone, it would be called as a “Copy cat”.. 🙂
Our founding fathers has written a constitution, just like a typical Master graduate gets his Phd degree.. 🙂 . (For those who are not aware, many Phd degrees are got simply by cut& paste from different sources and submitting for review. They may get a degree certificate, but there wont be any worth)
Abdul,
Thanks for educating me on how much thought went into establishing India’s constitution. And I did not know that the committee under Dr. Ambedkar was formed in 1935. So, it took 15 years for it crystallize another testament to the fact that serious thought was given to this activity.
As much as it is to be appreciated that India is still a democracy and we have not become a ‘banana’ republic, it is still sad that the law of the land does not equally apply to all the citizens of India. We have failed to uphold the constitution in this regard. As much as we are focused on economic upliftment, do we have the same focus with social upliftment? Will one lead to the other? That is, as more of India moves up to the middle class and literacy rate improves, it will lead to eradication of some of the evils – caste system, religious intolerance? I sure would hope so.
Irrespective, three cheers to the resiliency of the Indian constitution and more importantly the Indian people.
Thanks Arun for capturing the moot point of the post.
As regards socialism, please watch this space in future posts. I empathize with your concern for its absence in the reference and discussions.
Krithika, Thanks for your kind words. It sounded a cheerful note to be addressed as a historian from a professional like yourself. 🙂
As Arun notes about the erudition of our founding fathers, we were lucky to have these gentlemen/women. Enough cannot be said about how they have safeguarded the future of what we are now near 1.5 billion people and those of scores of generations to come.
Thanks Ganesh.
May I make a slight factual correction in your comment: The Government of India Act of 1935 was a central document leading to our Constitution but that was not when the Drafting Committee appointed.
The Drafting Committee was part of our Constituent Assembly which was the Assembly set up for drafting and debating the future Constitution of India. This sovereign Constituent Assembly for independent India (re)assembled on 14th August 1947.
This Assembly appointed a drafting committee under Dr. Ambedkar on 29th August 1947 which published the Draft Constitution of India in February 1948. The final version on 26th Nov 1949 received the signature of the President of the Assembly and was declared as passed. 26th January 1950 is referred to in the Constitution as the Date of its Commencement.
The demand for a Constituent Assembly for a Constitution for India had been articulated first by Pandit Nehru in 1938 itself.
Indeed, three cheers to resiliency of the Indian Constitution!
Hi Ganesh, an observation with some information: for the purposes of brevity, I had moved from 1935 to 1947 in my main post that led to your inadvertently thinking that the drafting committee was appointed in 1935 itself.
Here are some additional landmarks that all mattered to the inputs that went into the Constituent Assembly: the debate around the provisions of the Cripps Mission of March 1942, the Cabinet delegation of May 1946, the Mountbatten Plan, subsequent statements by the British Government and the Indian Independence Act of 1947.
Prior to 1935, other valuable legal developments were Government of India Act 1858, Indian Councils Act 1861, Indian Councils Act 1892, Minto-Morley reforms and the Indian Councils Act 1909, Montague-Chelmsford Report and the Government of India Act 1919 and the Statutory/Simon Commission 1927.
This historical experience with framing useful and just laws, as mentioned in the above paragraphs, for a post-colonial society mattered to our leaders as they went about their work in the Constituent Assembly.
Your remarks in paragraph 2 of your comment are very perceptive and incisive. I could not agree more with what you have said and share your hopes. 🙂
/** As much as we are focused on economic upliftment, do we have the same focus with social upliftment? Will one lead to the other? That is, as more of India moves up to the middle class and literacy rate improves, it will lead to eradication of some of the evils – caste system, religious intolerance? I sure would hope so.
**/
The above three lines actually gives a lot of perspective in to the thought process of the indian intellegentsia.. Just had my thoughts running over this, and the following are what i could understand..
1. The idea of social upliftment comes from the discrete categorisation of the society in to three categories.. Lower class, Middle Class and Upper class. And a self-proclaimed duty has been taken, that we have to uplift the lower class to middle class.
Is it not a new set of divisions, that is created in our native india? The Caste system which was self-governing and interdependant on one another is being replaced with Class system, where people become isolated from one class to another and subservient to authoratarian system?
Is this what Ganesh and others feel as social upliftment?
2. Secondly, the usual ostracisation of caste as Evil.. I have many times challenged this notion, and still this “Caste as Evil” is being repeatedly articulated continously without any substantiation or pragmatism. Through such ostracisation, more than 50% of india’s population is being branded as villain as they follow caste system.
3. In my earlier comments, i have already mentioned about the christianised version of the Indian Constitution. Now after reading further comments, i feel, that my contention is becoming more true.. Am giving the further comparison..
In Christianity, there is clear distinction of God and Evil.. and the attitude of the english educated elites, exhibit the same character.. that constitution is the Bible, and Caste system is the evil, and as followers of the constitution, the elites have the religious call to destroy the evil..
Is it the way, that we have to approach a constitution of a nation?
4. The constitution treats every native system with contempt, including caste system. The constitution DID NOT recognize native education system, native political structure, native administrative structure, traditional village republics.. Infact, all these are looked down upon with contempt by the creators of the constitution, and hence the branding that Caste system as EVIL, and other native systems as backward and primitive..
Is it not a surprise that the same attitude is displayed in some of the comments here, NOT to mention about the post?
So, in one way, the constitution has done the greatest INJUSTICE to the native systems of india, including the caste system..
Thus, the constitution has always made our people to conflict with the systems and traditions they come from.. and this is the reason, why india has been stagnant, unable to move forward? Its like the dual personality of a man, contradicting each other.. Such a person can never progress in life.. and so as a nation which contradicts itself..
PS: I may be sarcastic in my earlier comments.. but definitely not in this.. I am bit serious here..
/** Here are some additional landmarks that all mattered to the inputs that went into the Constituent Assembly: the debate around the provisions of the Cripps Mission of March 1942, the Cabinet delegation of May 1946, the Mountbatten Plan, subsequent statements by the British Government and the Indian Independence Act of 1947.
Prior to 1935, other valuable legal developments were Government of India Act 1858, Indian Councils Act 1861, Indian Councils Act 1892, Minto-Morley reforms and the Indian Councils Act 1909, Montague-Chelmsford Report and the Government of India Act 1919 and the Statutory/Simon Commission 1927.
**/
I am really pained to see such comments and particularly phrases like “Valuable Legal developments” used in the above quote..
Dont we have even a bit of feeling that British were exploiting us before independance, and all their laws were to strengthen their colonisation on India? The extinction of 1/3rd of Bengal population (around 2 crores) due to artificial famines, the systematic destruction of Indian Manufacturing industries, the collapse of native supply chain to these industries, the jalian wala bagh massacre, the brutal repression of 1857 revolt, where villages after villages were destroyed by the britishers, the systematic elimination of all who are fierce about independance, like Tilak, Aurobindo, savarkar etc.
Atleast, we could have considered the sufferings of the lakhs of people, who gathered behind Gandhi, received all kinds of brutal assault in their body, languished in jails for months.. All against those colonial laws, under the direction of Gandhi..
There are numerous incidents like that i can quote.. but for want of space i am leaving here..
Its really a national shame, to treat the colonial laws as valuable legal one, and it is the greatest insult to all those freedom fighters (both including gandhians and the unknown others)..
This reflects the stark and the most unfortunate reality, that India had NOT really achieved any independance so far.. .. what happened is only transfer of power from White Britishers to Brown Indian elites who identified themselves with the british culture, rather than indian culture.. This fact is clearly proved in some of the above few comments..
We havent YET got any freedom from the Colonial Mindsets.. I long for the real freedom.. JAI HIND..
Abdul had written a post about the need for scientific temper earlier.. In my humble opinion, i am sorry to say that i feel, such attribute is NOT exhibited in this post, NOR in the comments. There is no questioning or critical analysis.. Only loyalty and total surrender to constitutoin is stressed all through out the post and the comments..
Senthil,
Have you analyzed the different acts that were mentioned above? Did you understand why those acts (in British Parliament) are passed or the difference between the Company Rule and British Govt ruled India.
Abdul,
Thanks for correcting my factual mistake (which is always important to get right 🙂 and providing more data on the activities that went on before official ratification of the Indian constitution.
You are welcome Ganesh. 🙂
/** Have you analyzed the different acts that were mentioned above? Did you understand why those acts (in British Parliament) are passed or the difference between the Company Rule and British Govt ruled India.
**/
Vamsi.. i have analysed those acts.. what’s special about those? Those acts are meant to strengthen the british hold on india, and to dissipate and subvert the freedom movement..
Different b/w company rule and British rule??????? The only difference i could find is that before 1857, Britain exploited india through a benomy 🙂 , and after 1857, it directly exploited us..
If we read the true history (NOT the romila thapar kinda version) , we find that the British East India Company was approved by British queen Elizabeth-I for the sole purpose of colonising indian trade. Later British Military used this company as front end to colonise militarily.
Have you ever seen any corporate company, with a standing army, a naval fleet, with all types of military hardware? British East India company had all those which was supplied by British military..
Also, till 1857, various administrative activities of the company are supervised by the British Parliament, which means, the british are colloborators to company’s activities, and only when they find that the company could no more keep india, they sent an army to take over it..
Now my question? What is the difference b/w company rule and British Rule, for us to cherish?
Also Can we ever see history from an indigenous perspective? The manner in which you and some other bloggers in this community approach history indicates that you all identify yourself more with the Britishers rather than our native people.. and that’s why british laws are considered as valuable…
So One more reason to prove my point that India had NOT really obtained independance, and it is the Brown Britishers (also called Indian Elites or the Brown sahibs) who really inherited the power to colonise native Indians.. (past 60 years of history only prove this)
Before independance Britishers started creating a class of people similar to their lifestyle, attitude, attire to strengthen their hold on india.. After independence, this task is continued by the brown sahibs to complete the task..
PS: This is an intended provocation to drive my point.. I hope i have done this without hurting anyone directly..
Great post Abdul. Post colonization is a very rough phase to cross and this is the topic of research offlate. Especially the colonized (people) would become self reliant in every aspect of life but still would have the streak of the colonizer in everything, be it law, language or medicine. It was a very nice read.
Senthil,
I read all your comments… I am very sorry to say that they are utterly meaningless and ofcourse reflects your mentality to not accept things in the right way! If that is so, please leave this good post and write all your mutterings in your own blog, where I would even by mistake stumble upon!!!
“What if a whole thing of a content is borrowed one? At worst it should be called a “Piracy” . and in a moderate tone, it would be called as “Plagiarism”.. and in a decent tone, it would be called as a “Copy cat”..
Our founding fathers has written a constitution, just like a typical Master graduate gets his Phd degree.. . (For those who are not aware, many Phd degrees are got simply by cut& paste from different sources and submitting for review. They may get a degree certificate, but there wont be any worth)”
FYVKI… I am very much hurt by the above comment of yours on PhD scholars. I am a research scholar, and would love to sue you for this nonsensical declaration. You need to visit a research lab to realise what are the efforts of a research scholar! How many PhDs have you done or guided so far to declare this?! I am sure a PhD written/guided by you will have all those SALIENT FEATURES mentioned by you!!! Stop bragging and join an NGO and serve people other than blogging people to serve others/ and commenting just to show your defiance. You are not welcome to reply!
Someone,
If my comment appears to have generalised all Ph.D degrees, i regret for it.. I do not mean that.. There are many Ph.D scholars who are passionate in their research..
I was mentioning about what i have seen in and around.. There are around 400 engg colleges in Tamilnadu alone.. and there are many lecturers who complete ME, and do a Ph.D just for getting a degree to get promoted, and NOT for the research purpose.. This includes my friends and relatives.. and we can interpolate at an all india level.. If we ever have a review of the quality of the research papers submitted in india, we can get a perspective.. I dont know if we have that review.
And barring my Mutterings which i do agree i have made, there are many questions i have raised which is so far not answered.. We cannot accept things in right way, just for the sake of it..
Senthil
MOST of the PhD scholars are doing it just because they are passionate abt their research topic or they want to excel in their (research) career; there are a few exceptions (like YOUR friends and relatives) who do it just for getting a degree. We cannot demean all research scholars by assuming these exceptions/worst examples as role models.
Most of my family members – just for example- are researchers. Many carry out their research not just for a PhD degree, but for their passion… They dont even submit any thesis, but put their findings in a public blog…
Your comments cannot be answered as they dont have any meaning!!!! Very sorry for this. PLEASE STOP generalizing by considering a limited population; this shows your limited research/view…
Talk of something which you can prove. Stop arguing without any reference. We come here to read blogs and not your meaningless arguement.
@Someone,
Just like i could not generalise Ph.D scholars based on my friends and relatives, the same applies your case too.. YOu and your relatives are passionate .. but that cannot be a proof to claim that MOST of Ph.D scholars are passionate .. As i said earlier, there is no statistical evaluation of the Ph.D results, neither in terms of the quality of the content, nor in terms of the outcome of the research..
That’s why i limited my claim and said “There are many Ph.D scholars..”.. I do extrapolate based on sample data and the environmental and psychological factors..
Regarding my questions in my comment, let me repeat the most important one in simple words..
“Is Indian constitution subjected to public voting when written? If not, how can it be legitimate”..
If you could not understand atleast the above question, i have no words to say.. there is a rationale reasaon available to explain why a particular thing is NOT understandable.. I welcome such arguments to disprove or falsify my questions..