Indian Constitution

Lecture-1
Syllabus
 Contents
• what does a constitution mean?
• What a constitution does to the society?
• How constitutions govern the allocation of power in
society?
• what was the way in which the Constitution of India
was made?
 What is constitution?
• Almost everything we do is governed by some set of rules.
There are rules for games (like- soccer), for social clubs and
for adults in the workplace. There are also rules imposed by
morality and custom that play an important role in telling us
what we should and should not do.
• For example- In the game of soccer, a referee has "full
authority to enforce the Rules or Law of the Game on the
Players”, when a player do something against the Rules
referee takes action like send-off a player, as shown in images
below.
 What is constitution?
• Some rules that are made by the legislatures (also
known as Lok sabha/Rajya Sabha in India), for there
own country, are called “Law”.
• We need Laws in Society so our society can regulate
and work properly. They are designed to protect us and
our property and to ensure that everyone in society
behaves the way that the community expects them too.
• Laws tell us what to expect as a consequence of our
actions. Laws have been the glue that has kept society
together. Without laws there would be complete
anarchy.
 What is constitution
I) In GeneralThe Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All
other laws have to conform to the Constitution. The constitution
contains laws concerning the government and its relations with the
people.
A constitution is concerned with 2 main aspects:-
a) The relation between the different levels of government and
b) Between the government and the citizens.
 What is constitution
• Role of Constitution in relationship between
Government and its people:
 What is constitution
Technical Definitions
• A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or
established precedents according to which a state or other
organization is governed. These rules together make up,
i.e. constitute, what the entity is. When these principles are
written down into a single collection or set of legal
documents, those documents may be said to comprise a
written constitution.
• The document containing laws and rules which determine
and describe the form of the government, the relationship
between the citizens and the government, is called a
Constitution.
 WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION?
I. We need a constitution to govern a country properly.
II. The constitution defines the nature of political system of a
country.
III. sometimes we feel strongly about an issue that might go
against our larger interests and the constitution helps us guard
against this.
IV. All the 3 organs of government (executive, legislature and
judiciary) functions within the constitution. All the 3 organs of
government, including ordinary citizens, derive their power and
authority (i.e. Fundamental Right) from the constitution. If they
act against it, it is unconstitutional and unlawful.
So constitution is required to have authoritative allocation of
power and function, and also to restrict them within its limit.
WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION?
 WE NEED A CONSTITUTION
To perform following Functions we need Constitution

I. The first function of a constitution is to provide a set of basic rules

that allow for minimal coordination amongst members of a society.

II. The second function of a constitution is to specify who has the

power to make decisions in a society. It decides how the government
will be constituted.

III. The third function of a constitution is to set some limits on what a

government can impose on its citizens. These limits are fundamental
in the sense that government may ever trespass them.

IV. The fourth function of a constitution is to enable the government to

fulfill the separations of a society and create conditions for a just
society.
 The Framing of Constitution of India.
The Constituent Assembly of IndiaIndia.
was elected to write the Constitution of India.
Following India's independence from Great Britain, its members served as the
nation's first Parliament.

This body was formed in 1946 for the purpose of making independent India's
constitution. The assembly passed a resolution in 1947 January defining the
objectives of the constitution:-

1) To set up a Union of India comprising British India and the princely states.
2) To set up a federal form of government with separate state and central
governments.
3) To set up a democracy in which all power is derived from the people:
I) where all people are guaranteed justice, equality and freedom;
II) where minorities, depressed classes and the tribal's rights are protected;
4) To protect the integrity of India and her sovereign rights over land, sea and air.
5) To help India attain its rightful place in the world - and work for peace and
welfare of all mankind.
 The Framing of Constitution of India
Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was the first president (temporary) of the
Constituent Assembly when it met on December 9, 1946. Later, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad became the President of the Constituent Assembly and Dr. Bhimrao
Ambedkar became the Chairman of its drafting committee on December
11,1946.
The Framing of Constitution of India
 The Framing of Constitution of India
• For the time being till the constitution was made, India would
be governed in accordance with the Government of India act
1935.
• The Assembly met in sessions open to the public, for 166 days,
spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before
adopting the constitution. It was finally passed and accepted on
Nov 26, 1949. In all the 284 members of the Assembly signed the
official copies (Original) of the Indian Constitution.
• After many deliberations and some modifications over 111 plenary
sessions in 114 days, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two
copies (Final) of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on
24 January 1950
• Same day the Assembly unanimously elected Dr, Rajendra Prasad as
the President of India. which came into effect on Jan 26, 1950,
known and celebrated as the Republic Day of India.
The Framing of Constitution of India
SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION