The Constitution of
India is the longest written constitution in the world. It is a set of rules by
which the government rules our country. It is the supreme law of the land. It
came into effect on 26th January 1950. Our Constitution is based on the
principles of democracy, socialism and secularism.
Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar is known as 'The Father of Indian Constitution'.
Why Does a Country Need a Constitution :
(i) A Constitution lays
out certain ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that we as
citizens aspire to live in.
(ii) It tells us about
the fundamental nature of our society.
(iii) It helps serve as
a set of rules and principles that all persons in a country can agree upon as
the basis of the way in which they want the country to be governed.
(iv) This includes the
type of government and also an agreement on certain ideals that they all
believe the country should uphold.
(v) When Nepal was a
monarchy, it reflected the final authority of the king. After transition of
Nepal into a democracy, it started the process of writing a new constitution
for the country.
(vi) In a democracy,
leaders exercise their power responsibly on the behalf of the people. It
defines country's political system.
(vii) In democratic
societies, the constitution lays down the rules that guard against the misuse
of authority by our political leaders. It lays certain important guidelines
that govern decision making processes.
(viii) A Constitution
plays an important function in a democracy to ensure that a dominant groups
does not use its power against any person, group, organization, etc.
(ix) Constitution
prevents tyranny or domination by the majority of a minority.
(x) The Indian
Constitution guarantees the right to equality to all citizens and says that no
citizen can be discriminated on the basis of religion, caste, gender, race,
etc.
The Indian Constitution Key Feature:
(i) The Indian National
Movement had been active in the struggle for Independence from British rule for
several decades.
Nationalists devoted a
great deal of time to imagining and planning what a free India would be like.
When the constitution
was being written India was going through a turmoil because of partition of
India and Pakistan.
The final document
reflects a respect for maintaining diversity with preserving national unity,
along with eradication of poverty through socio-economic reforms.
Following are the key
features of Indian constitution.
1) Federalism: It refers to the existence of more than one level of government
in the country. These are at the state and at the central levels. Citizens are
governed by laws & policies made by each of these levels of government.
2) Parliamentary Form of Government: The Constitution of Indian guarantees
universal adult suffrage for all citizens. This means every citizen of the
country irrespective of his/her social background have a direct role in
electing their representatives.
Representatives are thus
accountable to the people in a parliamentary form of government.
3) Separation of Powers: There are three organs of the State: (a) the Legislature (b) the
Executive and (c) the Judiciary.
a)The legislature refers to our elected representative;
those who makes laws.
b) The executive is a smaller group of people who are
responsible for implementing laws and running the government.
c) The judiciary refers to the system of courts in the
country; who settles disputes and makes sure that laws are obeyed.
Each organ acts as a
check on the other organs ofthe State and this ensures the balance of power
between all three.
4) Fundamental Rights:
(i) The Fundamental
Rights are referred to as the ‘conscience’ of Indian Constitution. Fundamental
Rights protect citizens against the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by
the state.
(ii) The Constitution
guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as well as against other
individuals.
(iii) There are six
Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution, which are: (i) Right to
Equality; (ii) Right to Freedom; (iii) Right against Exploitation; (iv) Right
to Freedom of Religion; (v) Cultural and Educational Rights; (vi) Right to
Freedom of Religion; (iv) Right to Constitution Remedies.
(iv) In addition to
Fundamental Rights, the Constitution has a section called Directive Principles
of State Policy. It ensures greater social and economic reforms and to serve as
a guide to independent Indian state to institute laws and policies that help
reduce the poverty of the masses.
5) Secularism
A secular state is one
in which the state does not officially promote any one religion as the state
religion.
The Constitution plays a
crucial role in laying out the ideals that we would like all citizens of the
country to adhere to, including the representatives that we elect to rule us.
Constitution has been
changed over the years to reflect new concerns of the polity that involves a
change in the fundamental nature of the country.
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