Features of the Indian Constitution.pptx

A PPT presentation on the unique features of the Indian Constitution

1. Constitution

2. The Indian Constitution The Indian Constitution ,  adopted on November 26, 1949 , and enforced on January 26, 1950 , is the supreme law of India. It establishes India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republi c with a parliamentary system of government .  The Constitution outlines the framework for governance, defines the powers and responsibilities of government institutions, safeguards fundamental rights, and establishes the principles of governance. It's a comprehensive document, the longest written constitution in the world, and serves as the foundation of India's democratic ethos. 

3. How the Indian Constitution was written The constitution is the supreme law of India . This is a written document which lays down the framework demarcating fundamental basic code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of Government and its organizations and rights & duties of the citizen. At the time of its adoption, the Constitution contained 395 Articles and 8 Schedules and was about 145,000 words long. Every Article in the Constitution was debated by the members of the Constituent Assembly, who sat for 11 sessions and 167 days to frame the Constitution, over a period of 2 years and 11 months. The preamble of the Constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic Republic and assures its citizens justice, equality, and liberty , and endeavours to promote fraternity . The Constitution provides for a Parliamentary form of government which is federal in structure with certain unitary features . The constitutional head of the Executive of the Union is the President . As per Article 79 of the Constitution of India, the council of the Parliament of the Union consists of the President and two Houses are known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha ). Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise the President, who shall exercise his/her functions in accordance to the advice. The real executive power is thus vested in the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head. Interesting facts on the Indian constitution: Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar is regarded as the chief Architect of Indian Constitution. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India become the first person to sign the constitution of India. The Constitution of India is neither printed nor typed. It is handwritten and calligraphed in both Hindi and English. It was handwritten by Sh. Prem Behari Narain Raizada and was published in Dehradun by him. Every page got decorated by Shantiniketan artists including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandala Bose. It took two years, 11 months, and 18 days to complete the final draft. At present, It is containing395Articles and 12 Schedules. Till date, the constitution has been amended for 105 times.

4. Background to the making of the Constitution The objectives and framework of the Constitution were shaped by the  Indian Independence Movement , which ended almost two centuries of British rule in the  Indian subcontinent . In 1928 a  constitutional  document was prepared for the first time by Indian leaders. A conference of political parties that included the  Indian National Congress  (Congress Party) and the  Muslim League  produced the Nehru Report, named after  Motilal Nehru , who chaired the report’s drafting committee. The report, written in legal style, proposed  dominion  status for India. As the struggle for freedom progressed, however, Indian leaders abandoned the goal of dominion status in favor of  sovereignty . On January 26, 1930, the Congress Party resolved to demand  Purna Swaraj  (“Complete Self-Rule”). In 1942 the right of Indians to frame their own  constitution  was formally acknowledged by the  Cripps  Mission (negotiations by the  British  government to rally Indian support for the defense of India against Japanese forces in  World War II ).  British-ruled India  achieved independence on August 15, 1947, and the union of states was later joined by enclaves formerly held by the  French  and the  Portuguese , such as  Puducherry  and  Goa , respectively. From 1947 to 1950, while the Constitution was being drafted, the new Indian union of states was governed by existing legislation enacted by the British Parliament. When it went into effect, the Constitution of India repealed nearly all existing legislation, including the  Indian Independence Act  of 1947 and various  Government of India Acts .

5. Constituent Assembly The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, an elected legislative body that originally consisted of 389 members but was reduced to 299 after the  partition of India . The majority of the membership was drawn from the Congress Party; the Muslim League originally  boycotted  the assembly but eventually joined it. Minority groups, such as the  Sikh  and Anglo-Indian  communities , were given special representation.  Rajendra Prasad  was elected president of the assembly (he later became India’s first  president ). Harendra Coomar Mookerjee was vice president of the assembly and chaired the Minorities Committee.  Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , perhaps the best known of the assembly members, chaired the drafting committee. Jurist  Benegal Narsing Rau , who was not an assembly member, was appointed constitutional adviser and wrote the original draft of the document. The Constituent Assembly had 15 women members, who advocated for universal suffrage and  gender equality . Of those women, 14 served their full term in the assembly, whereas Leela Roy, an independence activist from  Bengal , resigned her post in protest against the partition of India, which divided her home state in two, creating  West Bengal  and East Pakistan (now  Bangladesh ). This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

6. Making of the Constitution The assembly took more than two years to frame the Constitution, holding 11 sessions over 165 days. The first draft was submitted by the Ambedkar-led drafting committee to the Constituent Assembly in November 1948. Every provision was discussed, debated, and  amended  where deemed necessary. The final document was influenced by the constitutions of several other countries: the parliamentary framework was based on the British system, the fundamental rights and Preamble were inspired by the  Constitution of the United States , and the directive principles of state policy were drawn from Ireland. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

7. The original Constitution of India document was illustrated by a team of artists from  Shantiniketan   led by distinguished painter Nandalal Bose. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

8. Structures and features In its original form, the Constitution of India consisted of 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules. In its amended form as of 2025, it consists of more than 400 articles in 25 parts, 12 schedules, and five appendices. The articles outline the framework of the union and state governments, define citizenship, and provide for elections and states of emergency. There are provisions for communities and regions requiring special consideration: these provisions include safeguards for northeastern states, such as  Nagaland  and  Arunachal Pradesh , to protect local religious, social, and cultural identities.  Article 370 , a  contentious  provision that gave the  erstwhile  state of  Jammu and Kashmir  special status, was  abrogated  in 2019. The schedules are lists that tabulate India’s states and territories, salaries of public officials, provisions relating to scheduled areas and scheduled tribes, and official languages. They divide administrative responsibilities between the national and state governments. The Union List contains subjects on which only the national government can legislate; the State List contains subjects on which the state governments can legislate; and the  Concurrent  List allows legislation by both the national and state governments. The schedules also define the functions of the Panchayati Raj (rural administration) and municipalities (urban administration).

9. Preamble The Constitution of India is prefaced by a summary of its core values, which emphasize the  secular  and  democratic  nature of the Indian state: We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to  constitute  India into a  sovereign  socialist  secular  democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens… The original Preamble included only “sovereign” and “democratic”; it was amended in 1976 to include “socialist” and “secular.” It lists the Constitution’s objectives of assuring citizens  justice ,  liberty ,  equality , and fraternity—the last three having been inspired by ideals that originated during the  French Revolution .

10. Federalism Although the Constitution defines India as a “union of states” rather than a  federation , power is divided along federal principles between a central government and state governments. However, there are some  unitary features : greater power vested in the central government, national unity promoted over  community  interests, and the principle of single citizenship.

11. Parliamentary system As outlined in the Constitution, the government of India is modeled on the  parliamentary form  followed by the  United Kingdom  rather than on the presidential system of the  United States . The party (or coalition of parties) with the highest representation in the legislature forms the government, led by a  prime minister  who appoints members of the legislature to a council of ministers. However, the  nominal  head of state is the  president , which makes India a  republic .

12. Separation of powers The Constitution is the source of power for the government, which is divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judiciary. The executive is directly accountable to the legislature. The president is nominally the head of the executive, of which the  prime minister  and council of ministers are a part. A system of  checks and balances  limits any single branch from achieving supremacy. The Constitution provides for independent  judicial review , which empowers the Supreme Court and the high courts to safeguard fundamental rights and to preserve the supremacy of the Constitution.

13. Fundamental Rights The Constitution guarantees the  civil liberties  of Indian citizens under six categories: Right to equality Right to freedom Right against exploitation Right to freedom of religion Cultural and educational rights Right to constitutional remedies The fundamental rights are intended to advance the causes of social and economic  justice . “Untouchability,” an oppressive social practice based on caste  hierarchies , was abolished in Article 17 under the right to equality.  Discrimination  based on religion, caste, race, sex, or place of birth is prohibited. The right to freedom includes the right to education and protects  freedom of speech . The Right to Information Act, by which citizens can gain access to information on public authorities, was enacted in 2005, using the right to freedom of speech as its legal basis. The fundamental rights also prohibit  human trafficking  and child labor and protect the interests of linguistic, cultural, and religious minorities.

14. Directive Principles of State Policy The Constitution outlines a set of guidelines for the national and state governments with the aim of promoting social and economic welfare. These guidelines cannot be legally enforced; rather, they are intended to provide direction toward good governance. They direct the government to encourage equal pay for equal work regardless of gender, protect the welfare of workers, organize village  panchayat s (rural systems of governance), develop cottage industries, improve  public health , and protect forests and wildlife. There is an emphasis on the right to work and the right to education. The directive principles also recommend a uniform civil code (a proposed personal law applicable to all citizens regardless of religion)—a subject that created conflict within the Constituent Assembly and remains controversial.

15. Amendments to the Constitution The Constitution provides for its own  amendment , and the process is outlined in Article 368. A bill proposing an amendment can be introduced in either house of Parliament (the Lok Sabha or  Rajya Sabha ) and must then be passed by a majority in both houses before being sent for the president’s assent. If the amendment affects Article 368 itself, more than half the Indian states must ratify it. Parliament’s power to  amend  the Constitution is limited by the basic structure doctrine, formulated by the Supreme Court, by which the legislature is prevented from erasing or  amending  certain characteristics or basic features. These features include the supremacy of the Constitution, the  rule of law , the  separation of powers , the ideals in the Preamble, judicial review, and  secularism . The Supreme Court reserves the right to strike down any amendments it judges to be in violation of the fundamental principles of the Constitution. The basic structure doctrine was outlined in  Kesavananda Bharati  v.  State of Kerala , a landmark legal case decided in 1973. As of 2025 the Constitution of India has been amended more than a hundred times. Amendments span such subjects as the creation of new states, additions to the list of officially recognized languages, and changes related to minority communities and areas.

16. Notable amendments Notable Amendments to the Constitution of India amendment year description First 1951 Added limitations to the freedom of speech in the interest of maintaining law and order Twelfth 1962 Incorporated the former Portuguese colonies of Goa and Daman and Diu into India Twenty-sixth 1971 Abolished the privy purse, or payments made to erstwhile princely states of the British raj

17. Notable amendments Thirty-ninth 1975 Restricted judicial scrutiny of the post of prime minister (enabling Prime Minister  Indira Gandhi  to retain power and enabling the imposition of  the Emergency ) Forty-second 1976 Passed during the Emergency; curtailed several fundamental rights, added “socialist” and “secular” to the Preamble, and added fundamental duties Forty-fourth 1978 Passed after the Emergency and Gandhi’s electoral defeat; added safeguards for civil liberties and replaced “internal disturbance” with “armed rebellion” as a condition for applying emergency powers

18. Notable amendments Sixty-first 1989 Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 Eighty-sixth 2002 Guaranteed the right to education up to the age of 14

19. Article 370 Article 370 of the Constitution of India , a  constitutional  provision,  abrogated  in 2019, that granted special status and a high degree of  autonomy  to  Jammu and Kashmir  state,  India . Included in the  Constitution of India  when it came into effect in 1950, Article 370 was  contentious  from the start and regarded as  divisive  because of the privileges given to Jammu and Kashmir. It was rendered inoperative along with the removal of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood in 2019. The region was reorganized into two separate union territories—Jammu and Kashmir, and  Ladakh .

20. 130 th Amendment Bill

21. References https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of -https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s380537a945c7aaa788ccfcdf1b99b5d8f/uploads/2024/07/20240716890312078.pdf https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/19150/1/constitution_of_india.pdf https://www.constitutionofindia.net/read/ https://www.india.gov.in/my-government/constitution-india