User:SHUBHAM.K.KASHYAP

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SHUBHAM.K.KASHYAP

He is the former Other books authored by him include Governance in India, Objective Indian Polity and Public Administration.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the course of writing this ARTICLE, I have received help, encouragement and assistance from my teachers,family members, colleagues, friends, library staff and others. I am thankful to all of them. I am particularly grateful for the encouragement and support that they provided during the preparation of the article. whose valuable works have been highly useful in the writing of this article.

ABOUT ARTICLE This ARTICLE is very usefull to those student those how GAIN KNOWLEDGE for the INDIAN JOBS In this ARTICLE competitors gain knowledge for our competition in the field of INDIAN JOBS This article useful in field of IAS,PCS,FOREST SERVICES,INDIAN FORCES,POLICE LINE,BANKING,HOTEL MANAGEMENT and many more IN INDIAN JOBS and in ssc, upsssc exams also

NOTE:- In 2013, the UPSC changed the pattern and syllabus of the Main Examination. In the new scheme, a separate and full paper on “Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations” has been introduced. It carries 250 marks. Note II: In the above table, the number of marks allotted to the questions relating to the “International Relations” (since 2013) are not included. About the Civil Services Examination:- The Civil Services examination comprises two successive stages: (i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for Main Examination; and (ii) Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various services and posts.Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary and Main Examination.

A. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

The Examination shall comprise two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each. Note: (i) Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions). (ii) The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English. However, questions relating to English Language Comprehension Skills of Class X level will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.

B. MAIN EXAMINATION

The written examination will consist of the following papers: Qualifying Papers: Paper A: (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution). 300 MARK

Paper B: English

The papers on Indian Languages and English (Paper A and Paper B) will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking

Papers to be counted for merit

Paper I: Essay                                                            250 MARKS

Paper II: General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)                                                                   250 MARKS

Paper III: General Studies-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations)  250 MARKS

Paper IV: General Studies-III                                                     250 MARKS (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)

Paper V: General Studies-IV                                                    250 MARKS (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)

Paper VI: Optional Subject - Paper 1                                             250 MARKS

Paper VII: Optional Subject - Paper 2 Sub Total (Written test): Personality Test: 5

Candidates may choose any one of the optional subjects from amongst the list of subjects given below:

List of optional subjects for Main Examination: (i) Agriculture (ii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science (iii) Anthropology (iv) Botany (v) Chemistry (vi) Civil Engineering (vii) Commerce and Accountancy (viii) Economics (ix) Electrical Engineering (x) Geography (xi) Geology (xii) History (xiii) Law (xiv) Management (xv) Mathematics (xvi) Mechanical Engineering (xvii) Medical Science (xviii) Philosophy (xix) Physics (xx) Political Science and International Relations (xxi) Psychology (xxii) Public Administration (xxiii) Sociology (xxiv) Statistics (xxv) Zoology

1.HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The British came to India in 1600 as traders, in the form of East India Company, which had the exclusive right of trading in India under a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I. In 1765, the Company, which till now had purely trading functions obtained the ‘diwani’ (i.e., rights over revenue and civil justice) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.1 This started its career as a territorial power. In 1858, in the wake of the ‘sepoy mutiny’, the British Crown assumed direct responsibility for the governance of India. This rule continued until India was granted independence on August 15, 1947. With Independence came the need of a Constitution. As suggested by M N Roy (a pioneer of communist movement in India) in 1934, a Constituent Assembly was formed for this purpose in 1946 and on January 26, 1950, the Constitution came into being. However, various features of the Indian Constitution and polity have their roots in the British rule. There are certain events in the British rule that laid down the legal framework for the organisation and functioning of government and administration in British India. These events have greatly influenced our constitution and polity. They are explained here in a chronological order:

A-THE COMPANY RULE (1773–1858)
THE COMPANY RULE (1773–1858)

a-Regulating Act of 1773
This act is of great constitutional importance as:-

(a) it was the first step taken by the British Government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India;

(b) it recognised, for the first time, the political and administrative functions of the Company; and

(c) it laid the foundations of central administration in India.

Features of the Act
1. It designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and created an Executive Council of four members to assist him. The first such Governor-General was Lord Warren Hastings.

2. It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the governor-general of Bengal, unlike earlier, when the three presidencies were independent of one another.

3. It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) comprising one chief justice and three other judges.

4. It prohibited the servants of the Company from engaging in any private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the ‘natives’.

5. It strengthened the control of the British Government over the Company by requiring the Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) to report on its revenue, civil, and military affairs in India.

b-Pitt’s India Act of 1784
In a bid to rectify the defects of the Regulating Act of 1773, the British Parliament passed the Amending Act of 1781, also known as the Act of Settlement. The next important act was the Pitt’s India Act2 of 1784.

Features of the Act
1. It distinguished between the commercial and political functions of the Company.

2. It allowed the Court of Directors to manage the commercial affairs but created a new body called Board of Control to manage the political affairs. Thus, it established a system of double government.

3. It empowered the Board of Control to supervise and direct all operations of the civil and military government or revenues of the British possessions in India.

Thus, the act was significant for two reasons: first, the Company’s territories in India were for the first time called the ‘British possessions in India’; and second, the British Government was given the supreme control over Company’s affairs and its administration in India.

c-Charter Act of 1833
This Act was the final step towards centralisation in British India.

Features of the Act
1. It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General of India and vested in him all civil and military powers. Thus, the act created, for the first time, a Government of India having authority over the entire territorial area possessed by the British in India. Lord William Bentick was the first governor-general of India.

2. It deprived the governor of Bombay and Madras of their legislative powers. The Governor-General of India was given exclusive legislative powers for the entire British India. The laws made under the previous acts were called as Regulations while laws made under this act were called as Acts.

3. It ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body, which became a purely administrative body. It provided that the company’s territories in India were held by it ‘in trust for His Majesty, His heirs and successors’.

4. The Charter Act of 1833 attempted to introduce a system of open competition for selection of civil servants, and stated that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any place, office and employment under the Company. However, this provision was negated after opposition from the Court of Directors.

d-Charter Act of 1853
This was the last of the series of Charter Acts passed by the British Parliament between 1793 and 1853. It was a significant constitutional landmark.

Features of the Act
1. It separated, for the first time, the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s council. It provided for addition of six new members called legislative councillors to the council. In other words, it established a separate Governor-General’s legislative council which came to be known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. This legislative wing of the council functioned as a mini-Parliament, adopting the same procedures as the British Parliament. Thus, legislation, for the first time, was treated as a special function of the government, requiring special machinery and special process.

2. It introduced an open competition system of selection and recruitment of civil servants. The covenanted civil service3 was thus thrown open to the Indians also. Accordingly, the Macaulay Committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil Service) was appointed in 1854.

3. It extended the Company’s rule and allowed it to retain the possession of Indian territories on trust for the British Crown. But, it did not specify any particular period, unlike the previous Charters. This was a clear indication that the Company’s rule could be terminated at any time the Parliament liked.

4. It introduced, for the first time, local representation in the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. Of the six new legislative members of the governorgeneral’s council, four members were appointed by the local (provincial) governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra.

a-Government of India Act of 1858
This significant Act was enacted in the wake of the Revolt of 1857—also known as the First War of Independence or the ‘sepoy mutiny’. The act known as the Act for the Good Government of India, abolished the East India Company, and transferred the powers of government, territories and revenues to the British Crown.

Features of the Act
1. It provided that India henceforth was to be governed by, and in the name of, Her Majesty. It changed the designation of the Governor-General of India to that of Viceroy of India. He (viceroy) was the direct representative of the British Crown in India. Lord Canning thus became the first Viceroy of India.

2. It ended the system of double government by abolishing the Board of Control and Court of Directors.

3. It created a new office, Secretary of State for India, vested with complete authority and control over Indian administration. The secretary of state was a member of the British cabinet and was responsible ultimately to the British Parliament.

4. It established a 15-member Council of India to assist the secretary of state for India. The council was an advisory body. The secretary of state was made the chairman of the council.

5. It constituted the secretary of state-in-council as a body corporate, capable of suing and being sued in India and in England. ‘The Act of 1858 was, however, largely confined to the improvement of the administrative machinery by which the Indian Government was to be supervised and controlled in England. It did not alter in any substantial way the system of government that prevailed in India4.’

b-Indian Councils Act of 1861, 1892 and 1909
After the great revolt of 1857, the British Government felt the necessity of seeking the cooperation of the Indians in the administration of their country. In pursuance of this policy of association, three acts were enacted by the British Parliament in 1861, 1892 and 1909. The Indian Councils Act of 1861 is an important landmark in the constitutional and political history of India.

Features of the Act of 1861
1. It made a beginning of representative institutions by associating Indians with the law-making process. It thus provided that the viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members of his expanded council. In 1862, Lord Canning, the then viceroy, nominated three Indians to his legislative council—the Raja of Benaras, the Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Dinkar Rao.

2. It initiated the process of decentralisation by restoring the legislative powers to the Bombay and Madras Presidencies. It thus reversed the centralising tendency that started from the Regulating Act of 1773 and reached its climax under the Charter Act of 1833. This policy of legislative devolution resulted in the grant of almost complete internal autonomy to the provinces in 1937.

3. It also provided for the establishment of new legislative councils for Bengal, North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab, which were established in 1862, 1866 and 1897 respectively.

4. It empowered the Viceroy to make rules and orders for the more convenient transaction of business in the council. It also gave a recognition to the ‘portfolio’ system, introduced by Lord Canning in 1859. Under this, a member of the Viceroy’s council was made in-charge of one or more departments of the government and was authorised to issue final orders on behalf of the council on matters of his department(s).

5. It empowered the Viceroy to issue ordinances, without the concurrence of the legislative council, during an emergency. The life of such an ordinance was six months.

Features of the Act of 1892
1. It increased the number of additional (non-official) members in the Central and provincial legislative councils, but maintained the official majority in them.

2. It increased the functions of legislative councils and gave them the power of discussing the budget5 and addressing questions to the executive.

3. It provided for the nomination of some non-official members of the (a) Central Legislative Council by the viceroy on the recommendation of the provincial legislative councils and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, and (b) that of the Provincial legislative councils by the Governors on the recommendation of the district boards, municipalities, universities, trade associations, zamindars and chambers. ‘The act made a limited and indirect provision for the use of election in filling up some of the non-official seats both in the Central and provincial legislative councils. The word “election” was, however, not used in the act. The process was described as nomination made on the recommendation of certain bodies6.’

Features of the Act of 1909
This Act is also known as Morley-Minto Reforms (Lord Morley was the then Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto was the then Viceroy of India).

1. It considerably increased the size of the legislative councils, both Central and provincial. The number of members in the Central Legislative Council was raised from 16 to 60. The number of members in the provincial legislative councils was not uniform.

2. It retained official majority in the Central Legislative Council but allowed the provincial legislative councils to have non-official majority.

3. It enlarged the deliberative functions of the legislative councils at both the levels. For example, members were allowed to ask supplementary questions, move resolutions on the budget, and so on.

4. It provided (for the first time) for the association of Indians with the executive Councils of the Viceroy and Governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian to join the Viceroy’s Executive Council.

He was appointed as the law member.

5. It introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of ‘separate electorate’. Under this, the Muslim members were to be elected only by Muslim voters. Thus, the Act ‘legalised communalism’ and Lord Minto came to be known as the

Father of Communal Electorate.

6. It also provided for the separate representation of presidency corporations, chambers of commerce, universities and zamindars.

c-Government of India Act of 1919
On August 20, 1917, the British Government declared, for the first time, that its objective was the gradual introduction of responsible government in India. The Government of India Act of 1919 was thus enacted, which came into force in 1921. This Act is also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Montagu was the Secretary of State for India and Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India).

Features of the Act
1. It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and provincial subjects. The central and provincial legislatures were authorised to make laws on their respective list of subjects. However, the structure of government continued to be centralised and unitary.

2. It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts—transferred and reserved. The transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the legislative Council. The reserved subjects, on the other hand, were to be administered by the governor and his executive council without being responsible to the legislative Council. This dual scheme of governance was known as ‘dyarchy’—a term derived from the Greek word di-arche which means double rule. However, this experiment was largely unsuccessful.

3. It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and direct elections in the country. Thus, the Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly). The majority of members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.

4. It required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s executive Council (other than the commander-in-chief) were to be Indian.

5. It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.

6. It granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax or education.

7. It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred to him some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of State for India.

8. It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence, a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants.

9. It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorised the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.

10. It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to inquire into and report on its working after ten years of its coming into force.

Simon Commission
In November 1927 itself (i.e., 2 years before the schedule), the British Government announced the appointment a seven member statutory commission under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon to report on the condition of India under its new Constitution. All the members of the commission were British and hence, all the parties boycotted the commission. The commission submitted its report in 1930 and recommended the abolition of dyarchy, extension of responsible government in the provinces, establishment of a federation of British India and princely states, continuation of communal electorate and so on. To consider the proposals of the commission, the British Government convened three round table conferences of the representatives of the British Government, British India and Indian princely states. On the basis of these discussions, a ‘White Paper on Consitutional Reforms’ was prepared and submitted for the consideration of the Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament. The recommendations of this committee were incorporated (with certain changes) in the next Government of Inida Act of 1935.

Communal Award
In August 1932, Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, announced a scheme of representation of the minorities, which came to be known as the Communal Award. The award not only continued separate electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans but also extended it to the depressed classes (scheduled castes). Gandhiji was distressed over this extension of the principle of communal representation to the depressed classes and undertook fast unto death in Yeravada Jail (Poona) to get the award modified. At last, there was an agreement between the leaders of the Congress and the depressed classes. The agreement, known as Poona Pact, retained the Hindu joint electorate and gave reserved seats to the depressed classes.

d-Government of India Act of 1935
The Act marked a second milestone towards a completely responsible government in India. It was a lengthy and detailed document having 321 Sections and 10 Schedules.

Features of the Act
1. It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of provinces and princely states as units. The Act divided the powers between the Centre and units in terms of three lists—Federal List (for Centre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54 items) and the Concurrent List (for both, with 36 items). Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy. However, the federation never came into being as the princely states did not join it.

2. It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ in its place. The provinces were allowed to act as autonomous units of administration in their defined spheres. Moreover, the Act introduced responsible governments in provinces, that is, the governor was required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the provincial legislature. This came into effect in 1937 and was discontinued in 1939.

3. It provided for the adoption of dyarchy at the Centre. Consequently, the federal subjects were divided into reserved subjects and transferred subjects. However, this provision of the Act did not come into operation at all.

4. It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces. Thus, the legislatures of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces were made bicameral consisting of a legislative council (upper house) and a legislative assembly (lower house). However, many restrictions were placed on them.

5. It further extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes), women and labour (workers).

6. It abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of India Act of 1858. The secretary of state for India was provided with a team of advisors.

7. It extended franchise. About 10 per cent of the total population got the voting right.

8. It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and credit of the country.

9. It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service Commission but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission for two or more provinces.

10. It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set up in 1937.

e-Indian Independence Act of 1947
On February 20, 1947, the British Prime Minister Clement Atlee declared that the British rule in India would end by June 30,1948; after which the power would be transferred to responsible Indian hands. This announcement was followed by the agitation by the Muslim League demanding partition of the country. Again on June 3, 1947, the British Government made it clear that any Constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly of India (formed in 1946) cannot apply to those parts of the country which were unwilling to accept it. On the same day (June 3, 1947), Lord Mountbatten, the viceroy of India, put forth the partition plan, known as the Mountbatten Plan. The plan was accepted by the Congress and the Muslim League. Immediate effect was given to the plan by enacting the Indian Independence Act9 (1947).

Features of the Act
1. It ended the British rule in India and declared India as an independent and sovereign state from August 15,1947. 2. It provided for the partition of India and creation of two independent dominions of India and Pakistan with the right to secede from the British Commonwealth.

3. It abolished the office of viceroy and provided, for each dominion, a governor-general, who was to be appointed by the British King on the advice of the dominion cabinet. His Majesty’s Government in Britain was to have no responsibility with respect to the Government of India or Pakistan.

4. It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of the two dominions to frame and adopt any constitution for their respective nations and to repeal any act of the British Parliament, including the Independence act itself.

5. It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of both the dominions to legislate for their respective territories till the new constitutions were drafted and enforced. No Act of the British Parliament passed after August 15, 1947 was to extend to either of the new dominions unless it was extended thereto by a law of the legislature of the dominion.

6. It abolished the office of the secretary of state for India and transferred his functions to the secretary of state for Commonwealth Affairs.

7. It proclaimed the lapse of British paramountcy over the Indian princely states and treaty relations with tribal areas from August 15,1947.

8. It granted freedom to the Indian princely states either to join the Dominion of India or Dominion of Pakistan or to remain independent.

9. It provided for the governance of each of the dominions and the provinces by the Government of India Act of 1935, till the new Constitutions were framed. The dominions were however authorised to make modifications in the Act.

10. It deprived the British Monarch of his right to veto bills or ask for reservation of certain bills for his approval. But, this right was reserved for the Governor-General. The Governor-General would have full power to assent to any bill in the name of His Majesty.

11. It designated the Governor-General of India and the provincial governors as constitutional (nominal) heads of the states. They were made to act on the advice of the respective council of ministers in all matters.

12. It dropped the title of Emperor of India from the royal titles of the king of England.

13. It discontinued the appointment to civil services and reservation of posts by the secretary of state for India. The members of the civil services appointed before August 15, 1947 would continue to enjoy all benefits that they were entitled to till that time.

At the stroke of midnight of 14–15 August, 1947, the British rule came to an end and power was transferred to the two new independent Dominions of India and Pakistan. Lord Mountbatten became the first governor-general of the new Dominion of India. He swore in Jawaharlal Nehru as the first prime minister of independent India. The Constituent Assembly of India formed in 1946 became the Parliament of the Indian Dominion.

Table 1.1 Interim Government (1946)

Note:-The members of the interim government were members of the Viceroy’s Executive Council. The Viceroy continued to be the head of the Council. But, Jawaharlal Nehru was designated as the Vice-President of the council

Table 1.2 First Cabinet of Free India (1947)

NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. The Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam, granted ‘Diwani’ to the Company after its victory in the Battle of Buxar (1764).

2. It was introduced in the British Parliament by the then Prime Minister, William Pitt.

3. At that time, the Civil Services of the company were classified into covenanted civil services (higher civil services) and uncovenanted civil services (lower civil services). The former was created by a law of the Company, while the later was created otherwise.

4. Subhash C. Kashyap, Our Constitution, National Book Trust, Third Edition, 2001, P. 14.

5. The system of Budget was introduced in British India in 1860.

6. V. N. Shukla, The Constitution of India, Eastern Book Company, Tenth Edition, 2001, P. A-10.

7. The declaration thus stated: ‘The policy of His Majesty’s Government is that of the increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration, and the gradual development of self-government institutions, with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire’.

8. This was done on the recommendation of the Lee Commission on Superior Civil Services in India (1923–24).

9. The Indian Independence Bill was introduced in the British Parliament on July 4, 1947 and received the Royal Assent on July 18, 1947. The act came into force on August 15, 1947.

10. The boundaries between the two Dominions were determined by a Boundary Commission headed by Radcliff. Pakistan included the provinces of West Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan, East Bengal, North-Western Frontier Province and the district of Sylhet in Assam. The referendum in the North-Western Frontier Province and Sylhet was in favour of Pakistan.

DEMAND FOR A CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
It was in 1934 that the idea of a Constituent Assembly for India was put forward for the first time by M. N. Roy, a pioneer of communist movement in India. In 1935, the Indian National Congress (INC), for the first time, officially demanded a Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution of India. In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf the INC declared that ‘the Constitution of free India must be framed, without outside interference, by a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise’. The demand was finally accepted in principle by the British Government in what is known as the ‘August Offer’ of 1940. In 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the cabinet, came to India with a draft proposal of the British Government on the framing of an independent Constitution to be adopted after the World War II. The Cripps Proposals were rejected by the Muslim League which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states with two separate Constituent Assemblies. Finally, a Cabinet Mission was sent to India. While it rejected the idea of two Constituent Assemblies, it put forth a scheme for the Constituent Assembly which more or less satisfied the Muslim League.

COMPOSITION OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan. The features of the scheme were:

1. The total strength of the Constituent Assembly was to be 389. Of these, 296 seats were to be allotted to British India and 93 seats to the Princely States. Out of 296 seats allotted to the British India, 292 members were to be drawn from the eleven governors’ provinces and four from the four chief commissioners’ provinces, one from each.

2. Each province and princely state (or group of states in case of small states) were to be allotted seats in proportion to their respective population. Roughly, one seat was to be allotted for every million population.

3. Seats allocated to each British province were to be divided among the three principal communities—Muslims, Sikhs and general (all except Muslims and Sikhs), in proportion to their population.

4. The representatives of each community were to be elected by members of that community in the provincial legislative assembly and voting was to be by the method of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

5. The representatives of princely states were to be nominated by the heads of the princely states.

It is thus clear that the Constituent Assembly was to be a partly elected and partly nominated body. Moreover, the members were to be indirectly elected by the members of the provincial assemblies, who themselves were elected on a limited franchise.

The elections to the Constituent Assembly (for 296 seats allotted to the British Indian Provinces) were held in July–August 1946. The Indian National Congress won 208 seats, the Muslim League 73 seats, and the small groups and independents got the remaining 15 seats. However, the 93 seats allotted to the princely states were not filled as they decided to stay away from the Constituent Assembly.

Although the Constituent Assembly was not directly elected by the people of India on the basis of adult franchise, the Assembly comprised representatives of all sections of Indian Society—Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Anglo–Indians, Indian Christians, SCs, STs including women of all these sections. The Assembly included all important personalities of India at that time, with the exception of Mahatma Gandhi.

WORKING OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
The Constituent Assembly held its first meeting on December 9, 1946. The Muslim League boycotted the meeting and insisted on a separate state of Pakistan. The meeting was thus attended by only 211 members. Dr.Sachchidanand Sinha, the oldest member, was elected as the temporary President of the Assembly, following the French practice.

Later, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President of the Assembly. Similarly, both H.C. Mukherjee and V.T. Krishnamachari were elected as the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly. In other words, the Assembly had two Vice-Presidents.

Objectives Resolution
On December 13, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the historic ‘Objectives Resolution’ in the Assembly. It laid down the fundamentals and philosophy of the constitutional structure. It read:

1. “This Constituent Assembly declares its firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution:

2. Wherein the territories that now comprise British India, the territories that now form the Indian States, and such other parts of India as are outside India and the States as well as other territories as are willing to be constituted into the independent sovereign India, shall be a Union of them all; and

3. wherein the said territories, whether with their present boundaries or with such others as may be determined by the Constituent Assembly and thereafter according to the law of the Constitution, shall possess and retain the status of autonomous units together with residuary powers and exercise all powers and functions of Government and administration save and except such powers and functions as are vested in or assigned to the Union or as are inherent or implied in the Union or resulting therefrom; and

4. wherein all power and authority of the Sovereign Independent India, its constituent parts and organs of Government are derived from the people; and

5. wherein shall be guaranteed and secured to all the people of India justice, social, economic and political; equality of status of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to law and public morality; and

6. wherein adequate safeguards shall be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes; and

7. whereby shall be maintained the integrity of the territory of the Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea and air according to justice and the law of civilized nations; and

8. This ancient land attains its rightful and honoured place in the world and makes its full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.” This Resolution was unanimously adopted by the Assembly on January 22, 1947. It influenced the eventual shaping of the constitution through all its subsequent stages. Its modified version forms the Preamble of the present Constitution.

Changes by the Independence Act
The representatives of the princely states, who had stayed away from the Constituent Assembly, gradually joined it. On April 28, 1947, representatives of the six states were part of the Assembly. After the acceptance of the Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947 for a partition of the country, the representatives of most of the other princely states took their seats in the Assembly. The members of the Muslim League from the Indian Dominion also entered the Assembly.

The Indian Independence Act of 1947 made the following three changes in the position of the Assembly:

1. The Assembly was made a fully sovereign body, which could frame any Constitution it pleased. The act empowered the Assembly to abrogate or alter any law made by the British Parliament in relation to India.

2. The Assembly also became a legislative body. In other words, two separate functions were assigned to the Assembly, that is, making of a constitution for free India and enacting of ordinary laws for the country. These two tasks were to be performed on separate days. Thus, the Assembly became the first Parliament of free India (Dominion Legislature). Whenever the Assembly met as the Constituent body it was chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and when it met as the legislative body, it was chaired by G V Mavlankar. These two functions continued till November 26, 1949, when the task of making the Constitution was over.

3. The Muslim League members (hailing from the areas7 included in the Pakistan) withdrew from the Constituent Assembly for India. Consequently, the total strength of the Assembly came down to 299 as against 389 originally fixed in 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan. The strength of the Indian provinces (formerly British Provinces) was reduced from 296 to 229 and those of the princely states from 93 to 70. The statewise membership of the Assembly as on December 31, 1947, is shown in Table 2.4 at the end of this chapter.

Other Functions Performed
In addition to the making of the Constitution and enacting of ordinary laws, the Constituent Assembly also performed the following functions: 1. It ratified the India’s membership of the Commonwealth in May 1949. 2. It adopted the national flag on July 22, 1947. 3. It adopted the national anthem on January 24, 1950. 4. It adopted the national song on January 24, 1950. 5. It elected Dr Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India on January 24, 1950. In all, the Constituent Assembly had 11 sessions over two years, 11 months and 18 days. The Constitution-makers had gone through the constitutions of about 60 countries, and the Draft Constitution was considered for 114 days. The total expenditure incurred on making the Constitution amounted to ` 64 lakh.

On January 24, 1950, the Constituent Assembly held its final session. It, however, did not end, and continued as the provisional parliament of India from January 26, 1950 till the formation of new Parliament8 after the first general elections in 1951–52.

COMMITTEES OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
The Constituent Assembly appointed a number of committees to deal with different tasks of constitution-making. Out of these, eight were major committees and the others were minor committees. The names of these committees and their chairmen are given below:

Major Committees
1. Union Powers Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru

2. Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru

3. Provincial Constitution Committee – Sardar Patel

4. Drafting Committee – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

5. Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas – Sardar Patel. This committee had the following five sub-committees:

(a) Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee – J.B. Kripalani

(b) Minorities Sub-Committee – H.C. Mukherjee

(c) North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee – Gopinath Bardoloi

(d) Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam) Sub-Committee – A.V. Thakkar

(e) North-West Frontier Tribal Areas Sub-Committee8a

6. Rules of Procedure Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad

7. States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States) – Jawaharlal Nehru

8. Steering Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Minor Committees
1. Finance and Staff Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad

2. Credentials Committee – Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar

3. House Committee – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya

4. Order of Business Committee – Dr. K.M. Munshi

5. Ad-hoc Committee on the National Flag – Dr. Rajendra Prasad

6. Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly – G.V. Mavalankar

7. Ad-hoc Committee on the Supreme Court – S. Varadachari (Not an Assembly Member)

8. Committee on Chief Commissioners’ Provinces – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya

9. Expert Committee on the Financial Provisions of the Union Constitution – Nalini Ranjan Sarkar (Not an Assembly Member)

10. Linguistic Provinces Commission – S.K. Dar (Not an Assembly Member)

11. Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution – Jawaharlal Nehru

12. Press Gallery Committee – Usha Nath Sen

13. Ad-hoc Committee on Citizenship – S. Varadachari

Drafting Committee
Among all the committees of the Constituent Assembly, the most important committee was the Drafting Committee set up on August 29, 1947. It was this committee that was entrusted with the task of preparing a draft of the new Constitution. It consisted of seven members. They were:

1. Dr B R Ambedkar (Chairman)

2. N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar

3. Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar

4. Dr K M Munshi

5. Syed Mohammad Saadullah

6. N Madhava Rau (He replaced B L Mitter who resigned due to ill-health)

7. T T Krishnamachari (He replaced D P Khaitan who died in 1948)

The Drafting Committee, after taking into consideration the proposals of the various committees, prepared the first draft of the Constitution of India, which was published in February 1948. The people of India were given eight months to discuss the draft and propose amendments. In the light of the public comments, criticisms and suggestions, the Drafting Committee prepared a second draft, which was published in October 1948. The Drafting Committee took less than six months to prepare its draft. In all it sat only for 141 days.

ENACTMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
Dr B R Ambedkar introduced the final draft of the Constitution in the Assembly on November 4, 1948 (first reading). The Assembly had a general discussion on it for five days (till November 9, 1948). The second reading (clause by clause consid-eration) started on November 15, 1948 and ended on October 17, 1949. During this stage, as many as 7653 amendments were proposed and 2473 were actually discussed in the Assembly.

The third reading of the draft started on November 14, 1949. Dr B R Ambedkar moved a motion—‘the Constitution as settled by the Assembly be passed’. The motion on Draft Constitution was declared as passed on November 26, 1949, and received the signatures of the members and the president. Out of a total 299 members of the Assembly, only 284 were actually present on that day and signed the Constitution. This is also the date mentioned in the Preamble as the date on which the people of India in the Constituent Assembly adopted, enacted and gave to themselves this Constitution.

The Constitution as adopted on November 26, 1949, contained a Preamble, 395 Articles and 8 Schedules. The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was already enacted.

Dr B R Ambedkar, the then Law Minister, piloted the Draft Constitution in the Assembly. He took a very prominent part in the deliberations of the Assembly. He was known for his logical, forceful and persuasive arguments on the floor of the Assembly. He is recognised as the ‘Father of the Constitution of India’. This brilliant writer, constitutional expert, undisputed leader of the scheduled castes and the ‘chief architect of the Constitution of India’ is also known as a ‘Modern Manu’.

ENFORCEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
Some provisions of the Constitution pertaining to citizenship, elections, provisional parliament, temporary and transitional provisions, and short title contained in Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392 and 393 came into force on November 26, 1949 itself.

The remaining provisions (the major part) of the Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950. This day is referred to in the Constitution as the ‘date of its commencement’, and celebrated as the Republic Day.

January 26 was specifically chosen as the ‘date of commencement’ of the Constitution because of its historical importance. It was on this day in 1930 that Purna Swaraj day was celebrated, following the resolution of the Lahore Session (December 1929) of the INC.

With the commencement of the Constitution, the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935, with all enactments amending or supplementing the latter Act, were repealed. The Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act (1949) was however continued.

CRITICISM OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
The critics have criticised the Constituent Assembly on various grounds. These are as follows:

1.Not a Representative Body:
The critics have argued that the Constituent Assembly was not a representative body as its members were not directly elected by the people of India on the basis of universal adult franchise.

2.Not a Sovereign Body:
The critics maintained that the Constituent Assembly was not a sovereign body as it was created by the proposals of the British Government. Further, they said that the Assembly held its sessions with the permission of the British Government.

3. Time Consuming:
According to the critics, the Constituent Assembly took unduly long time to make the Constitution. They stated that the framers of the American Constitution took only four months to complete their work. In this context, Naziruddin Ahmed, a member of the Constituent Assembly, coined a new name for the Drafting Committee to show his contempt for it. He called it a “Drifting Committee”.

4. Dominated by Congress:
The critics charged that the Constituent Assembly was dominated by the Congress party. Granville Austin, a British Constitutional expert, remarked: ‘The Constituent Assembly was a one-party body in an essentially one-party country. The Assembly was the Congress and the Congress was India’9.

5. Lawyer–Politician Domination:
It is also maintained by the critics that the Constituent Assembly was dominated by lawyers and politicians. They pointed out that other sections of the society were not sufficiently represented. This, to them, is the main reason for the bulkiness and complicated language of the Constitution.

6. Dominated by Hindus:
According to some critics, the Constituent Assembly was a Hindu dominated body. Lord Viscount Simon called it ‘a body of Hindus’. Similarly, Winston Churchill commented that the Constituent Assembly represented ‘only one major community in India’.

IMPORTANT FACTS

1. Elephant was adopted as the symbol (seal) of the Constituent Assembly.

2. Sir B.N. Rau was appointed as the constitutional advisor (Legal advisor) to the Constituent Assembly.

3. H.V.R. Iyengar was the Secretary to the Constituent Assembly.

4. S.N. Mukerjee was the chief draftsman of the constitution in the Constituent Assembly.

5. Prem Behari Narain Raizada was the calligrapher of the Indian Constitution. The original constitution was handwritten by him in a flowing italic style.

6. The original version was beautified and decorated by artists from Shantiniketan including Nand Lal Bose and Beohar Rammanohar Sinha.

7. Beohar Rammanohar Sinha illuminated, beautified and ornamented the original Preamble calligraphed by Prem Behari Narain Raizada.

8. The calligraphy of the Hindi version of the original constitution was done by Vasant Krishan Vaidya and elegantly decorated and illuminated by Nand Lal Bose.

Table 2.1 Allocation of seats in the Constituent Assembly of India (1946)

Table 2.2 Results of the Elections to the Constituent Assembly (July–August 1946)

Table 2.3 Community-wise Representation in the Constituent Assembly (1946)

Table 2.4 Sessions of the Constituent Assembly at a Glance

Note:-The Assembly met once again on 24 January, 1950, when the members appended their signatures to the Constitution of India.

3.SALIENT FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION
INTRODUCTION

The Indian Constitution is unique in its contents and spirit. Though borrowed from almost every constitution of the world, the constitution of India has several salient features that distinguish it from the constitutions of other countries.

It should be noted at the outset that a number of original features of the Constitution (as adopted in 1949) have undergone a substantial change, on account of several amendments, particularly 7th, 42nd, 44th, 73rd, 74th and 97th Amendments. In fact, the 42nd Amendment Act (1976) is known as ‘Mini-Constitution’ due to the important and large number of changes made by it in various parts of the Constitution. However, in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court ruled that the constituent power of Parliament under Article 368 does not enable it to alter the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION
The salient features of the Constitution, as it stands today, are as follows:

1. Lengthiest Written Constitution
Constitutions are classified into written, like the American Constitution, or unwritten, like the British Constitution. The Constitution of India is the lengthiest of all the written constitutions of the world. It is a very comprehensive, elaborate and detailed document. Originally (1949), the Constitution contained a Preamble, 395 Articles (divided into 22 Parts) and 8 Schedules. Presently (2016), it consists of a Preamble, about 465 Articles (divided into 25 Parts) and 12 Schedules. The various amendments carried out since 1951 have deleted about 20 Articles and one Part (VII) and added about 90 Articles, four Parts (IVA, IXA, IXB and XIVA) and four Schedules (9, 10, 11 and 12). No other Constitution in the world has so many Articles and Schedules. Four factors have contributed to the elephantine size of our Constitution. They are:

(a) Geographical factors, that is, the vastness of the country and its diversity.

(b) Historical factors, e.g., the influence of the Government of India Act of 1935, which was bulky.

(c) Single Constitution for both the Centre and the states except Jammu and Kashmir.

(d) Dominance of legal luminaries in the Constituent Assembly. The Constitution contains not only the fundamental principles of governance but also detailed administrative provisions. Further, those matters which in other modern democratic countries have been left to the ordinary legislation or established political conventions have also been included in the constitutional document itself in India.

2. Drawn From Various Sources
The Constitution of India has borrowed most of its provisions from the constitutions of various other countries as well as from the Government of India Act of 1935. Dr B R Ambedkar proudly acclaimed that the Constitution of India has been framed after ‘ransacking all the known Constitutions of the World’.

The structural part of the Constitution is, to a large extent, derived from the Government of India Act of 1935. The philosophical part of the Constitution (the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy) derive their inspiration from the American and Irish Constitutions respectively. The political part of the Constitution (the principle of Cabinet Government and the relations between the executive and the legislature) have been largely drawn from the British Constitution. The other provisions of the Constitution have been drawn from the constitutions of Canada, Australia, Germany, USSR (now Russia), France, South Africa, Japan, and so on.

The most profound influence and material source of the Constitution is the Government of India Act, 1935. The Federal Scheme, Judiciary, Governors, emergency powers, the Public Service Commissions and most of the administrative details are drawn from this Act. More than half of the provisions of Constitution are identical to or bear a close resemblance to the Act of 1935.

3. Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility
Constitutions are also classified into rigid and flexible. A rigid Constitution is one that requires a special procedure for its amendment, as for example, the American Constitution. A flexible constitution, on the other hand, is one that can be amended in the same manner as the ordinary laws are made, as for example, the British Constitution.

The Constitution of India is neither rigid nor flexible but a synthesis of both. Article 368 provides for two types of amendments:

(a) Some provisions can be amended by a special majority of the Parliament, i.e., a two-third majority of the members of each House present and voting, and a majority (that is, more than 50 per cent), of the total membership of each House.

(b) Some other provisions can be amended by a special majority of the Parliament and with the ratification by half of the total states. At the same time, some provisions of the Constitution can be amended by a simple majority of the Parliament in the manner of ordinary legislative process. Notably, these amendments do not come under Article 368.

4. Federal System with Unitary Bias
The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of government. It contains all the usual features of a federation, viz., two government, division of powers, written Constitution, supermacy of Constitution, rigidity of Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism.

However, the Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-federal features, viz., a strong Centre, single Constitution, single citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment of state governor by the Centre, all-India services, emergency provisions, and so on.

Moreover, the term ‘Federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution. Article 1, on the other hand, describes India as a ‘Union of States’ which implies two things: one, Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement by the states; and two, no state has the right to secede from the federation.

Hence, the Indian Constitution has been variously described as ‘federal in form but unitary in spirit’, ‘quasi-federal’ by K C Wheare, ‘bargaining federalism’ by Morris Jones, ‘co-operative federalism’ by Granville Austin, ‘federation with a centralising tendency’ by Ivor Jennings, and so on.

5. Parliamentary Form of Government
The Constitution of India has opted for the British parliamentary System of Government rather than American Presidential System of Government. The parliamentary system is based on the principle of cooperation and coordination between the legislative and executive organs while the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation of powers between the two organs.

The parliamentary system is also known as the ‘Westminster’ model of government, responsible government and cabinet government. The Constitution establishes the parliamentary system not only at the Centre but also in the states. The features of parliamentary government in India are:

(a) Presence of nominal and real executives;

(b) Majority party rule,

(c) Collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature,

(d) Membership of the ministers in the legislature,

(e) Leadership of the prime minister or the chief minister,

(f) Dissolution of the lower House (Lok Sabha or Assembly).

Even though the Indian Parliamentary System is largely based on the British pattern, there are some fundamental differences between the two. For example, the Indian Parliament is not a sovereign body like the British Parliament. Further, the Indian State has an elected head (republic) while the British State has hereditary head (monarchy).

In a parliamentary system whether in India or Britain, the role of the Prime Minister has become so significant and crucial that the political scientists like to call it a ‘Prime Ministerial Government’.

6. Synthesis of Parliamentary Sovereignty and Judicial Supremacy
The doctrine of sovereignty of Parliament is associated with the British Parliament while the principle of judicial supremacy with that of the American Supreme Court.

Just as the Indian parliamentary system differs from the British system, the scope of judicial review power of the Supreme Court in India is narrower than that of what exists in US. This is because the American Constitution provides for ‘due process of law’ against that of ‘procedure established by law’ contained in the Indian Constitution (Article 21). Therefore, the framers of the Indian Constitution have preferred a proper synthesis between the British principle of parliamentary sovereignty and the American principle of judicial supremacy. The Supreme Court, on the one hand, can declare the parliamentary laws as unconstitutional through its power of judicial review. The Parliament, on the other hand, can amend the major portion of the Constitution through its constituent power.

7. Integrated and Independent Judiciary
The Indian Constitution establishes a judicial system that is integrated as well as independent.

The Supreme Court stands at the top of the integrated judicial system in the country. Below it, there are high courts at the state level. Under a high court, there is a hierarchy of subordinate courts, that is, district courts and other lower courts. This single system of courts enforces both the central laws as well as the state laws, unlike in USA, where the federal laws are enforced by the federal judiciary and the state laws are enforced by the state judiciary.

The Supreme Court is a federal court, the highest court of appeal, the guarantor of the fundamental rights of the citizens and the guardian of the Constitution. Hence, the Constitution has made various provisions to ensure its independence—security of tenure of the judges, fixed service conditions for the judges, all the expenses of the Supreme Court charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, prohibition on discussion on the conduct of judges in the legislatures, ban on practice after retirement, power to punish for its contempt vested in the Supreme Court, separation of the judiciary from the executive, and so on.

8. Fundamental Rights
Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights to all the citizens:

(a) Right to Equality (Articles 14–18),

(b) Right to Freedom (Articles 19–22),

(c) Right against Exploitation (Articles 23–24),

(d) Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25–28),

(e) Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29–30), and

(f) Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32).

The Fundamental Rights are meant for promoting the idea of political democracy. They operate as limitations on the tyranny of the executive and arbitrary laws of the legislature. They are justiciable in nature, that is, they are enforceable by the courts for their violation. The aggrieved person can directly go to the Supreme Court which can issue the writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto for the restoration of his rights. However, the Fundamental Rights are not absolute and subject to reasonable restrictions. Further, they are not sacrosanct and can be curtailed or repealed by the Parliament through a constitutional amendment act. They can also be suspended during the operation of a National Emergency except the rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21.

9. Directive Principles of State Policy
According to Dr B R Ambedkar, the Directive Principles of State Policy is a ‘novel feature’ of the Indian Constitution. They are enumerated in Part IV of the Constitution. They can be classified into three broad categories— socialistic, Gandhian and liberal–intellectual.

The directive principles are meant for promoting the ideal of social and economic democracy. They seek to establish a ‘welfare state’ in India. However, unlike the Fundamental Rights, the directives are non-justiciable in nature, that is, they are not enforceable by the courts for their violation. Yet, the Constitution itself declares that ‘these principles are fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws’. Hence, they impose a moral obligation on the state authorities for their application. But, the real force (sanction) behind them is political, that is, public opinion.

In the" Minerva Mills" case (1980), the Supreme Court held that ‘the Indian Constitution is founded on the bedrock of the balance between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles’.

10. Fundamental Duties
The original constitution did not provide for the fundamental duties of the citizens. These were added during the operation of internal emergency (1975–77) by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 added one more fundamental duty.

The Part IV-A of the Constitution (which consists of only one Article—51-

A) specifies the eleven Fundamental Duties viz., to respect the Constitution, national flag and national anthem; to protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country; to promote the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people; to preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture and so on.

The fundamental duties serve as a reminder to citizens that while enjoying their rights, they have also to be quite conscious of duties they owe to their country, their society and to their fellow-citizens. However, like the Directive Principles, the duties are also non-justiciable in nature.

11. A Secular State
The Constitution of India stands for a secular state. Hence, it does not uphold any particular religion as the official religion of the Indian State. The following provisions of the Constitution reveal the secular character of the Indian State:

(a) The term ‘secular’ was added to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976.

(b) The Preamble secures to all citizens of India liberty of belief, faith and worship.

(c) The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or equal protection of the laws (Article 14).

(d) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the ground of religion (Article 15).

(e) Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment (Article 16).

(f) All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate any religion (Article 25).

(g) Every religious denomination or any of its section shall have the right to manage its religious affairs (Article 26).

(h) No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for the promotion of a particular religion (Article 27).

(i) No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution maintained by the State (Article 28).

(j) Any section of the citizens shall have the right to conserve its distinct language, script or culture (Article 29).

(k) All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice (Article 30).

(l) The State shall endeavour to secure for all the citizens a Uniform Civil Code (Article 44).

The Western concept of secularism connotes a complete separation between the religion (the church) and the state (the politics). This negative concept of secularism is inapplicable in the Indian situation where the society is multireligious. Hence, the Indian Constitution embodies the positive concept of secularism, i.e., giving equal respect to all religions or protecting all religions equally.

Moreover, the Constitution has also abolished the old system of communal representation, that is, reservation of seats in the legislatures on the basis of religion. However, it provides for the temporary reservation of seats for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes to ensure adequate representation to them.

12. Universal Adult Franchise
The Indian Constitution adopts universal adult franchise as a basis of elections to the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. Every citizen who is not less than 18 years of age has a right to vote without any discrimination of caste, race, religion, sex, literacy, wealth, and so on. The voting age was reduced to 18 years from 21 years in 1989 by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988.

The introduction of universal adult franchise by the Constitution-makers was a bold experiment and highly remarkable in view of the vast size of the country, its huge population, high poverty, social inequality and overwhelming illiteracy. Universal adult franchise makes democracy broad-based, enhances the self-respect and prestige of the common people, upholds the principle of equality, enables minorities to protect their interests and opens up new hopes and vistas for weaker sections.

13. Single Citizenship
Though the Indian Constitution is federal and envisages a dual polity (Centre and states), it provides for only a single citizenship, that is, the Indian citizenship.

In countries like USA, on the other hand, each person is not only a citizen of USA but also a citizen of the particular state to which he belongs. Thus, he owes allegiance to both and enjoys dual sets of rights—one conferred by the

National government and another by the state government.

In India, all citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside enjoy the same political and civil rights of citizenship all over the country and no discrimination is made between them excepting in few cases like tribal areas, Jammu and Kashmir, and so on.

Despite the constitutional provision for a single citizenship and uniform rights for all the people, India has been witnessing the communal riots, class conflicts, caste wars, linguistic clashes and ethnic disputes. This means that the cherished goal of the Constitution-makers to build an united and integrated Indian nation has not been fully realised.

14. Independent Bodies
The Indian Constitution not only provides for the legislative, executive and judicial organs of the government (Central and state) but also establishes certain independent bodies. They are envisaged by the Constitution as the bull works of the democratic system of Government in India. These are:

(a) Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections to the Parliament, the state legislatures, the office of President of India and the office of Vice-president of India.

(b) Comptroller and Auditor-General of India to audit the accounts of the Central and state governments. He acts as the guardian of public purse and comments on the legality and propriety of government expenditure.

(c) Union Public Service Commission to conduct examinations for recruitment to all-India services and higher Central services and to advise the President on disciplinary matters.

(d) State Public Service Commission in every state to conduct examinations for recruitment to state services and to advice the governor on disciplinary matters.

The Constitution ensures the independence of these bodies through various provisions like security of tenure, fixed service conditions, expenses being charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, and so on.

15. Emergency Provisions
The Indian Constitution contains eleborate emergency provisions to enable the President to meet any extraordinary situation effectively. The rationality behind the incorporation of these provisions is to safeguard the sovereignty, unity, integrity and security of the country, the democratic political system and the Constitution.

The Constitution envisages three types of emergencies, namely:

(a) National emergency on the ground of war or external aggression or armed rebellion (Article 352);

(b) State emergency (President’s Rule) on the ground of failure of Constitutional machinery in the states (Article 356) or failure to comply with the directions of the Centre (Article 365); and

(c) Financial emergency on the ground of threat to the financial stability or credit of India (Article 360).

During an emergency, the Central Government becomes all-powerful and the states go into the total control of the centre. It converts the federal structure into a unitary one without a formal amendment of the Constitution. This kind of transformation of the political system from federal (during normal times) to unitary (during emergency) is a unique feature of the Indian Constitution.

16. Three-tier Government
Originally, the Indian Constitution, like any other federal constitution, provided for a dual polity and contained provisions with regard to the organisation and powers of the Centre and the states. Later, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts (1992) have added a third-tier of government (i.e., local) which is not found in any other Constitution of the world.

The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the panchayats (rural local governments) by adding a new Part IX and a new Schedule 11 to the Constitution. Similarly, the 74th Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the municipalities (urban local governments) by adding a new Part IX-A and a new Schedule 12 to the Constitution.

Table 3.1 The Constitution of India at a Glance
Chapter V – The High Courts 214 to 232 Chapter VI – Subordinate Courts 233 to 237 238 VII The States in Part B of the First Schedule (deleted) (deleted) VIII The Union Territories 239 to 242 IX The Panchayats 243 to 243- 0 IX-A The Municipalities 243-P to 243-ZG IX-B The Co-operative Societies 243-ZH to 243-ZT X The Scheduled and Tribal Areas 244 to 244- A XI Relations between the Union and the States 245 to 263 Chapter I – Legislative Relations 245 to 255 Chapter II – Administrative Relations 256 to 263 XII Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits 264 to 300- A Chapter I – Finance 264 to 291 Chapter II – Borrowing 292 to 293 Chapter III – Property, Contracts, Rights, Liabilities, Obligations and Suits 294 to 300 Chapter IV – Right to Property 300-A XIII Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the Territory of India 301 to 307 XIV Services under the Union and the States 308 to 323 Chapter I – Services 308 to 314 Chapter II – Public Service Commissions 315 to 323 323-A to XIV-A Tribunals 323-B XV Elections 324 to 329- A XVI Special Provisions relating to Certain Classes 330 to 342 XVII Official Language 343 to 351 Chapter I – Language of the Union 343 to 344 Chapter II – Regional Languages 345 to 347 Chapter III—Language of the Supreme Court, High Courts, and so on 348 to 349 Chapter IV—Special Directives 350 to 351 XVIII Emergency Provisions 352 to 360 XIX Miscellaneous 361 to 367 XX Amendment of the Constitution 368 XXI Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions 369 to 392 XXII Short title, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindi and Repeals 393 to 395 Note: Part VII (dealing with Part-B states) was deleted by the 7th Amendment Act (1956). On the other hand, both Part IV-A and Part XIV-A were added by the 42nd Amendment Act (1976), while Part IX-A was added by the 74th Amendment Act (1992), and Part IX-B was added by the 97th Amendment Act (2011). Table 3.2 Important Articles of the Constitution at a Glance Articles Deals with 1 Name and territory of the Union 3 Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of