Constitution of India; Introduction to the Constitution of India;

Constitution of India; Introduction to the Constitution of India;

1. Module-1
Introduction to the
Constitution of India
1

2. LEARNING OUTCOME
➢List the role of prominent leaders and
framework adopted while making the
Indian Constitution
➢State the Fundamental Rights of citizens
2

3. INDEX
➢Making of the Constitution
➢Salient features
➢Preamble to the Indian Constitution
Fundamental Rights
3

4. 4
Cover page

5. 5
Initial Pages

6. ➢The Constitution of India (Bhāratīya
Saṃvidhāna) is the supreme law of India.
➢The document lays down the framework
demarcating fundamental political code,
structure, procedures, powers and duties of
government institutions and sets out fundamental
rights, directive principles and the duties of
citizens.
6
Constitution of India

7. ➢It imparts constitutional supremacy & is the
longest written constitution of any sovereign
country in the world.
➢Constituent Assembly or Constitutional Assembly
➢Provisional Parliament till the First General
Elections in 1952
7
Constitution of India

8. ➢The original copies of the Indian Constitution were written in
Hindi and English. 232 pages including all the signatures
and the last page of the list of illustrations.
➢2 years, 11 months and 18 days to complete the historic task
of drafting the Constitution for independent India.
➢There were initially 389 members in total, which declined to
299 after partition. Out of the 389 members, 292 were from
government provinces, 4 from chief commissioner provinces
and 93 from princely states.
8
Constitution of India

9. ➢As of December 1947, the Assembly had 299 members: 229
members elected from 12 Indian Provinces and 70 members
nominated from 29 Princely States.
➢The majority of the members elected to Constituent
Assembly were male Hindus. However, there were 15
women representatives to the Assembly, and all major
religious communities were represented by at least two
members from each community.
➢Cost incurred – Rs 63,96,729/-
9
Constitution of India

10. ➢The original Constitution of India was handwritten by
Prem Behari Narain Raizada in a flowing italic style
with beautiful calligraphy. The Constitution was
published in Dehradun and photolithographed by the
Survey of India offices.
10
Constitution of India

11. ➢The original Constitution
is hand-written, with each
page uniquely decorated
by artists from
Shantiniketan including
Beohar Rammanohar
Sinha and Nandalal Bose.
11
Constitution of India

12. ➢The original copies of the Indian Constitution, written
in Hindi and English, are kept in special helium-filled
cases in the Library of the Parliament of India.
12
Constitution of India

13. ➢When the draft was prepared and put up for debate and
discussion, over 2000 amendments were made before it
was finalized.
➢The Indian Constitution is often called a ‘bag of
borrowings’. It is called so because it has borrowed
provisions from the constitutions of various other
countries
✓The French Constitution
✓The USSR
✓Japan
✓Weimar Constitution of Germany
✓US Constitution
13
Constitution of India

14. ➢In 1922, Gandhiji demanded a representative body freely
elected by the people to frame a constitution for India.
➢The Nehru report (Report of All Party Conference, 1928)
emphasised the necessity of a constituent assembly for
India and outlined the structure of a constitution, which
became a source of public dialogue on constitutional
development in India.
➢In 1929, M N Roy, a leading Indian Marxist and later
radical humanist, suggested a constituent assembly for
India.
14
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

15. ➢In 1934, Pt Nehru, explained India's need for a
constituent assembly for Indians to shape its destiny and
to solve India's communal problem. He visualized a
constituent assembly in which members would be elected
on the widest franchise: such a constituent assembly must
derive its mandate from the people and should be free
from British authority.
➢The Swaraj Party, a parliamentary wing of the Indian
National Congress, rejected the constitutional proposals
of the British government in 1934 and demanded a
representative constituent assembly for India to frame an
acceptable constitution. 15
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

16. ➢All India Congress Committee met at Patna in May 1934
and passed a resolution calling for a scheme for a
constituent assembly to frame a constitution for India.
➢In 1938, the Faizpur session of the All India Congress
Committee (AICC) reiterated its demand for a constituent
assembly for India consisting of elected members on the
basis of adult franchise.
➢In September 1939, the Congress Working Committee
(CWC) demanded a constituent assembly to frame a
constitution for India.
16
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

17. ➢Since 1940, the All India Muslim League started demanding a
separate constituent assembly for Muslim-dominated areas.
➢Cripps proposals of 1942 had a reference to the constituent
assembly.
➢The report of the Sapru Committee (1945) formulated a scheme for
the composition of a constituent assembly.
➢The British Cabinet Mission announced its plan for a future
constitutional setup on 16 May, 1946. It proposed a constituent
assembly that was to frame a constitution for the union government
of India with the provinces being allowed to frame their own
sectional constitutions.
17
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

18. STAGE 1 (First Session of the Constituent Assembly,
09
th December, 1946 - 22
nd January 1947)
➢6
th December, 1946 - Formation of the Constitution
Assembly.
➢9
th December, 1946 - The first meeting was held in the
constitution hall (Central Hall of Parliament House). The
1
st person to address was J. B. Kripalani, Sachchidananda
Sinha became temporary president. (Demanding a
separate state, the Muslim League boycotted the meeting.)
18
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

19. ➢The hope of the Constituent Assembly was expressed by
Jawaharlal Nehru:
“The first task of this Assembly is to free India through a new
constitution, to feed the starving people, and to clothe the naked
masses, and to give every Indian the fullest opportunity to
develop himself according to his capacity. This is certainly a
great task. Look at India today. We, are sitting here and there in
despair in many places, and unrest in many cities. The
atmosphere is surcharged with these quarrels and feuds which are
called communal disturbances, and unfortunately we sometimes
cannot avoid them. But at present the greatest and most important
question in India is how to solve the problem of the poor and the
starving. Wherever we turn, we are confronted with this problem.
If we cannot solve this problem soon, all our paper constitutions
will become useless and purposeless. Keeping this aspect in view,
who could suggest to us to postpone and wait?” 19
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

20. 20
Making of the Constitution - Timeline
meeting at constitution hall

21. ➢11
th December, 1946 - The Assembly appointed Rajendra
Prasad as its President
➢13
th December, 1946 - An 'Objective Resolution' was
presented by Jawaharlal Nehru, laying down the
underlying principles of the constitution. This later
became the Preamble of the Constitution.
➢The Resolution states that it is our firm and solemn
resolve to have a sovereign Indian republic.
21
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

22. "(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 British India and the States as well as such 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
22
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

23. (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 civilised nations, and
(8) this ancient land attains its rightful and honoured place in the
world and make its full and willing contribution to the promotion of
world peace and the welfare of mankind."
23
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

24. ➢23
rd December, 1946 - ELECTION OF COMMITTEES
CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE (05 members), HOUSE COMMITTEE (11
members), FINANCE AND STAFF COMMITTEE (09 members)
➢ 21
st January, 1947 - ELECTION OF COMMITTEES
STEERING COMMITTEE (11 members)
➢ 22
nd January, 1947 - Objective Resolution unanimously adopted.
➢ 24
th January, 1947 –
ELECTION OF VICE-PRESIDENT (proposed),
ADVISORY COMMITTEE (72 members)
➢25
th January, 1947 –
ELECTION OF VICE-PRESIDENT (passed), H. C. Mukherjee
24
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

25. STAGE 2 (Committee Stages and Second Session of Constituent
Assembly, 27
th February, 1947 - 30
th August 1947)
➢After the first session of the Constituent Assembly, a number of committees
were formed to look into and report on various aspects of the Constitution.
➢The Committees that were appointed were - Advisory Committee on
Fundamental Rights and Minority Rights (which consisted of the Sub-Committee
on Fundamental Rights and the Sub-Committee on Minority Rights), Union
Powers Committee, Union Constitution Committee and the Provincial Constitution
Committee. These Committees submitted their reports to the Constituent Assembly
during the period of April - August 1947.
➢In parallel, as and when the Committees submitted their reports, the Constituent
Assembly debated the broad principles that were set out in the recommendations
of these committees. These debates came to a close on the 30
th of August, 1947.
25
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

26. ➢22
nd July, 1947 – NATIONAL FLAG was adopted
✓"Resolved that the National Flag of India shall be
horizontal tricolour of deep Saffron (Kesari), white and
dark green in equal proportion.
✓In the centre of the white band, there shall be a Wheel in
navy blue to represent the Charkha. The design of the
Wheel shall be that of the Wheel (Chakra) which
appears on the abacuse of the Sarnath Lion Capital of
Asoka.
✓The diameter of the Wheel shall approximate to the width
of the white band.
✓The ratio of the width to the length of the Flag shall
ordinarily be 2:3."
26
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

27. ➢14
th August, 1947 – The Fifth Session of the Constituent
Assembly of India commenced In the Constitution Hall,
New Delhi, at Eleven P. M.
✓President (Dr. Rajendra Prasad) quotes, The first item on
the Agenda is the singing of the first verse of VANDE
MATARAM. We will listen to it all standing. (Shrimati
Sucheta Kripalani sang the first verse of the VANDE
MATARAM song)
27
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

28. ➢14
th August, 1947 –
✓As the clock struck twelve (mid-night), Mr. President and
all the Members stood up and took the pledge.
✓PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL FLAG - Shrimati
Hansa Mehta presents the National Flag.
28
Making of the Constitution - Timeline
➢29
th August, 1947 –
COMMITTEE TO SCRUTINISE DRAFT CONSTITUTION
(07 members)

29. ➢Members of Drafting Committee
✓A. K. Ayyar,
✓N. Gopalaswami,
✓B. R. Ambedkar (father of Indian Constitution),
✓K. M. Munshi,
✓M. Saadulla,
✓B. L. Mitter,
✓D. P. Khaitan.
➢At its first meeting on 30
th August, 1947, the Drafting
Committee elected B. R Ambedkar as its Chairman.
29
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

30. STAGE 3 (Draft Constitution by the Constitutional
Advisor, 1
st October, 1947 - 31
st October, 1947)
➢B. N. Rau, the Constitutional Advisor to the Assembly,
on the basis of the reports of the various subcommittees and
discussions in the Constituent Assembly mentioned in the
previous stage, prepared a Draft Constitution.
➢The Draft Constitution was ready by October 1947 and
was submitted to the Drafting Committee.
30
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

31. STAGE 4 (First Draft Constitution)
➢The Drafting Committee began to scrutinize the
Draft Constitution prepared by the Constitutional
Advisor, along with other notes, reports and
memoranda on October 27
th, 1947.
➢It proceeded to make changes and it finally
submitted its Draft Constitution to the President of
the Assembly on the 21
st of February, 1948.
31
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

32. STAGE 5 (Public Circulation of the Draft Constitution)
➢The Draft Constitution once submitted to the
President of the Constituent Assembly was published
and circulated among the public.
➢Many comments, critiques and suggestions were
received, which were then scrutinized by a Special
Committee of members of the Union Constitution
Committee, Provincial Constitution Committee and
the Union Powers Committee and the Drafting
Committee itself.
32
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

33. STAGE 5 (Public Circulation of the Draft Constitution)
➢The Drafting Committee, taking into account comments,
critiques and suggestions arising from different quarters,
along with its own inputs, sat on the 23
rd, 24
th, 27
th of March
and 18
th October of 1948 for discussions.
➢On the 26
th of October 1948, the Drafting Committee
reprinted and resubmitted the version of the Draft
Constitution that had been submitted on 21
st of February,
1948, along with a set of amendments (appended to clauses it
intended to amend).
33
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

34. STAGE 6 (Debates & Revision on the Draft Constitution)
➢The Draft Constitution was presented to the Constituent Assembly on
November 4
th, 1948 by the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, B. R.
Ambedkar (first reading from 4
th Nov. to 9
th Nov., 1948).
➢The Constituent Assembly proceeded to take up, clause by clause, every
part of the Draft Constitution for debate. Members of the assembly often
moved their own amendments to the Draft Constitution seeking to change
or drop specific articles or clauses.
➢The most crucial and voluminous debates took place at this stage, and
the debates would go on till the 17
th of October 1949 (second reading
from 15
th Nov. 1948 to 17
th Oct., 1949).
34
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

35. STAGE 7 (Third Reading of Drafting Constitution)
➢After the debates around the Draft Constitution concluded, the
Drafting Committee then went on to revise the Draft Constitution
according to decisions taken in the Constituent Assembly along
with other tasks such as renumbering of articles, minor changes in
language, dropping and insertion of clauses and articles.
➢The revised Draft Constitution was submitted to the President of
the Constituent Assembly on the 3
rd of Nov 1949, and then
introduced in the Assembly on the 14
th of November 1949 (third
reading from 14
th Nov. 1949 to 26
th Nov., 1949).
35
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

36. STAGE 7 (Third Reading of Drafting Constitution)
➢The third reading of the Draft Constitution began with
Ambedkar moving a motion “that the Constitution as settled
by the assembly be passed”.
➢In this phase, there were few substantive debates. Most of
the speeches involved general comments on the Constitution
as whole. While some members expressed their satisfaction,
others expressed concerns.
36
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

37. STAGE 8
(Enactment and Adoption of the Constitution of India)
➢On the 26
th of November, 1949, the third reading came to
an end with the assembly voting for the motion that
Ambedkar had proposed of adopting the Constitution.
(Constitution Day also known as ‘Samvidhan Divas’)
➢The Constitution was then finally signed by members of the
Constituent Assembly on 24
th January, 1950 and came into
effect on the 26
th of January, 1950.
37
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

38. 38
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

39. 39
Making of the Constitution - Timeline
➢The National Emblem was
adopted on 26
th January, 1950 –
the day India was declared a
republic with its Constitution
coming into effect.
➢A representation of Lion Capital
of Ashoka was initially adopted as
the emblem of the Dominion of
India in December 1947.

40. Living Book consists of:
➢1950 - At its enactment, it had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8
schedules.
➢470 articles, which are grouped into 25 parts. With 12
schedules and five appendices, it has been amended 104
times; the latest amendment became effective on 14
th
January 2019.
40
Making of the Constitution - Timeline

41. ➢The Constituent Assembly appointed a total of 22 committees to
deal with different tasks of constitution-making.
➢Eight major committees and the others were minor committees:
✓Drafting Committee – B. R. Ambedkar
✓Union Power Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
✓Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
✓Provincial Constitution Committee – Vallabhbhai Patel
✓Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and
Tribal and Excluded Areas – Vallabhbhai Patel. This committee
had the following subcommittees:
•Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee – J. B. Kripalani
•Minorities Sub-Committee – Harendra Coomar Mookerjee,
41
Making of the Constitution

42. •North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially
Excluded Areas Sub-Committee – Gopinath Bordoloi
•Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam)
Sub-Committee – A V Thakkar
✓Rules of Procedure Committee – Rajendra Prasad
✓States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States) –
Jawaharlal Nehru
✓Steering Committee – Rajendra Prasad
✓National flag ad hoc committee – Rajendra Prasad
✓Committee for the function of the Constitution Assembly - G V
Mavlankar
✓House committee - B Pattabhi Sitaramayya
✓Language committee - Moturi Satyanarayana
✓Order of business committee - K M Munshi 42
Making of the Constitution

43. 43
Parts of Indian Constitution
Part Contains Articles
Part I Union and its Territory 1 to 4
Part II Citizenship 5 to 11
Part IIIFundamental Rights 12 to 35
Part IV Directive Principles of State Policy 36 to 51
Part IVA Fundamental Duties 51A
Part V The Union 52 to 151
Part VI The States 152 to 237
Part VII States in the B part of the First schedule
(repealed by 7
th Amendment)
Part VIIIThe Union Territories 239 to 242
Part IX The Panchayats 243 to 243O
Part IXA The Municipalities 243P to 243ZG
Part IXB The Co-operative Societies 243ZH to 243ZT
Part X The scheduled and Tribal Areas 244 to 244A
Part XI Relations between the Union and the States 245 to 263
Part XIIFinance, Property, Contracts and Suits 264 to 300A
Part XIIITrade and Commerce within the territory of India 301 to 307
Part XIV Services Under the Union, the States 308 to 323
Part XIVA Tribunals 323A to 323B
Part XV Elections 324 to 329A
Part XVI Special Provisions Relating to certain Classes 330 to 342
Part XVIILanguages 343 to 351
Part XVIIIEmergency Provisions 352 to 360
Part XIX Miscellaneous 361 to 367
Part XX Amendment of the Constitution 368
Part XXI Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions 369 to 392
Part XXIIShort title, date of commencement, etc. 393 to 395

44. 44
Schedules of Indian Constitution
Schedule Contains
First Schedule
Lists the states and territories of India (also about their changes)
Second Schedule
Lists the salaries of officials holding public office, Presidents, judges,
and Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Third Schedule
Forms of oaths and Affirmations of offices for elected officials
including judges
Fourth Schedule
Allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of
Parliament) per State or Union Territory
Fifth Schedule
Provisions as to the Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas
and Scheduled Tribes
Sixth Schedule
Provisions as to the Administration of Tribal Areas in the States of
Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram
Seventh Schedule
The Union (central government), state, and concurrent lists of
responsibilities
Eight Schedule The Languages
Ninth Schedule Validation of certain Acts and Regulations
Tenth Schedule
"Anti-defection" provisions for the Members of Parliament and the
Members of the State Legislatures
Eleventh SchedulePanchayat Raj (rural local government)
Twelfth ScheduleMunicipalities (urban local government)

45. 45
Appendices of Indian Constitution
Appendix I – The Constitution (Application to Jammu and
Kashmir) Order, 1954
Appendix II – Re-statement, referring to the constitution's
present text, of exceptions and modifications applicable to the
state of Jammu and Kashmir
Appendix III – Extracts from the Constitution (Forty-fourth
Amendment) Act, 1978
Appendix IV – The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment)
Act, 2002
Appendix V – The Constitution (Eighty-eighth Amendment)
Act, 2003

46. 46
Constitution of India

47. ➢Shri Benegal Narsing Rau
➢Shri Jawaharlal Nehru
➢Dr. Rajendra Prasad
➢Shri Harendra Coomar Mookerjee
➢Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
➢Shri Vallabhbhai Patel
➢Shri Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
➢Shri Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar
➢Shri Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
➢Shri Abul Kalam Azad
47
Constitution of India - Prominent members

48. ➢Shri Sanjay Phakey
➢Shri C. Rajagopalachari
➢Shri Sandipkumar Patel
➢Shri Nalini Ranjan Ghosh
➢Shri Balwantrai Mehta
➢Shrimati Sarojini Naidu
➢Shrimati Hansa Mehta
➢Shrimati Durgabai Deshmukh
➢Shrimati Amrit Kaur
➢Shrimati Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
48
Constitution of India - Prominent members

49. 49
Preamble
The original text of the
Preamble prior to the
enactment of the 42
nd
A m e n d m e n t o f t h e
Constitution

50. 50
Preamble

51. 51
Preamble
Text of the Preamble after the enactment of the 42
nd Amendment of
the Constitution, Dec., 1976

52. ➢Sovereign
➢Socialist
➢Secular
➢Democratic
➢Republic
52
Preamble

53. ➢Written and Detailed Constitution
➢Self-made and Enacted Constitution
➢Preamble of the Constitution
➢India is a Democratic Socialist State
➢India is a Secular State
➢India is a Democratic State
➢India is a Republic
➢Mixture of Federalism and Unitarianism
➢Mixture of Rigidity and Flexibility
➢Fundamental Rights 53
Indian Constitution – Salient Features

54. ➢National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
and State Human Rights Commission and
Protection of Human Rights
➢Fundamental Duties of the Citizens
➢Directive Principles of State Policy
➢Bi-Cameral Union Parliament
➢Parliamentary System
➢Adult-Suffrage
➢Single integrated State with Single Citizenship
➢Single Integrated Judiciary
54
Indian Constitution – Salient Features

55. ➢Independence of Judiciary
➢Judicial Review
➢Judicial Activism
➢Emergency Provisions
➢Special Provisions relating to Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes
➢Provisions regarding Language
➢A Constitution Drawn from several Sources
55
Indian Constitution – Salient Features

56. ➢The Fundamental Rights are defined as the basic
human rights of all citizens. These rights, defined
in Part III of the Constitution, applied irrespective
of race, place of birth, religion, caste, creed, or
gender. They are enforceable by the courts,
subject to specific restrictions.
➢The purpose of the Fundamental Rights is to
preserve individual liberty and democratic
principles based on equality of all members of
society.
56
Fundamental Rights

57. ➢Right to Equality
➢Right to Freedom
➢Right Against Exploitation
➢Right to Freedom of Religion
➢Cultural and Educational Rights
➢Right to Property (repealed by 44
th Amendment in
1978)
➢Right to Constitutional Remedies
57
Fundamental Rights

58. ➢The Preamble is not regarded as the source of any
substantive governmental power and cannot place any
limitation on exercise of powers of the organs of the
Constitution, viz. the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
➢The Preamble cannot override the express provisions of
the Constitution. It cannot be enforced in a court of law.
➢It has limited applications and can be resorted to only
when there is an ambiguity in the provisions of the
Constitution.
58
Limitations of Preamble of Indian Constitution