Constitution of
India
1
Syllab
us – 1 > Constitution of India
• Module
• Module – 2 > DPSP, Fund. Rights & Duties
• Module – 3 > Union Govt
• Module – 4 > State Govt
• Module – 5 > Federal System
Other Facts
• It is mandatory non – credit paper ( MNC)
• 150 Marks paper – 100 ESE exam and 50 Marks
Internal assessment 2
Module – 1
Constitution of
India
Definition of Constitution
A constitution is the basic design of the
structure and powers of the government and
the rights and duties if its citizens.
• There can be no nation without a
constitution.
• Constitution need not to be written in
nature 3
• Based on amendment nature, constitution has
Background of
Indian
• As early as in Dec 1918, in the 33 session of the Indian National
rd
demanding forConstitution
Congress held in Delhi, a resolution was unanimously adopted
free will and right for India.
• In 1928, Jawaharlal Nehru presented a draft for the constitution of
India.
• 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 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 the4
World War II. 4
• The Cripps Proposals were rejected by the
Muslim League, which wanted India to be divided
into two autonomous states with two separate
Constituent Assemblies.
• 9th Dec 1946, The constituent assembly meeting held
to frame constitution under the temporary
chairmanship of Dr. Sachidananad Sinha.
• Later, Dr. Rajendra Prasad elected as the permanent
chairman of constituent assembly.
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• After 15th AUG 1947, the constituent assembly
became independent to take decisions as India got
independence from British rule.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was appointed as the chairman of
the Drafting committee which submitted their draft
report to constituent assembly on 1948.
• On 26th Nov, 1949 , the constitution of India was
adopted and was signed by Dr.Rajendra Prasad –
Chairman of constituent assembly.
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• In 1950, final session of constituent assembly unanimously
elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the first president of Independent
India after which constitution of India became operational.
1. The constituent assembly 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 brief, it took constituent assembly 2 years, 11 months and 17
days to finalize the constitution of India.
• Originally (1949), the Constitution contained a Preamble, 395
Articles (divided into 22 Parts) and 8 Schedules 7
Salient Features of Indian
1. Constitution
Lengthiest Written Constitution
Lengthiest of all the written Constitutions of the world
Presently (2019), it consists of a Preamble, about 470 Articles
(divided into 25 Parts) and 12 Schedules
Written, like the American Constitution, or unwritten, like the
British Constitution.
2. Sovereign, Democratic, Secular, Socialist & Republic
3. Parliamentary form of government
The parliamentary system is based on the principle of co-operation
and co-ordination between the legislative and executive organs
(British Parliamentary System of Government)
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4. Combination of Flexibility and Rigidity
(Art 368) deals with amendment provision
5. Single Citizenship
In India, all citizens irrespective of the state in
which they are born or reside enjoy the
same political and civil rights of citizenship
6. Bi – Cameral Union government
Upper House and Lower House
7. Independent Federal Judiciary
Integrated as well as independent judicial
system
The Supreme Court stands at the top of the 9
integrated judicial system in the country
8. Fundamental Rights and Duties
Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees six
fundamental rights to all the citizens
The Part IV-A of the Constitution specifies the eleven
Fundamental Duties
9. Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)
The Directive Principles are meant for promoting the
idea of social and economic democracy (Welfare state)
10. Single Election Commission
11. State Languages
12. Emergency Provisions
Emergency provisions to enable the President to meet
any extraordinary situation effectively. ( Art 352.
10
356.
360)
Preamble of the Constitution
• The constitution of India begins with a preamble which
specifies the nature of the Indian state.
• Preamble is an introduction or preface to the
constitution
• Acc to N.A. Palkhivala – “Preamble is an identity card of
the constitution”
• Every constitution begins with a preamble
• It is the soul and key of every constitution
• Preamble defines the basic structure of constitution
• Preamble was adopted by constituent assembly on 26th
Nov 1949. (Later amendments made) 11
Preamble of the Constitution
12
• Sovereign: The word ‘sovereign’ implies that
India is neither a dependency nor a dominion
of any other nation, but an independent state
• Socialist: The Indian brand of socialism is
a ‘democratic socialism’ and not a
‘communistic socialism’ ( Mixed Economy)
• Democratic: The term ‘democratic’ is used
in the Preamble in the broader sense
embracing not only political democracy but
also social and economic democracy. 13
• Republic: Therefore, the term ‘republic’ in our
Preamble indicates that India has an elected
head called the president. He is elected
indirectly for a fixed period of five years.
• Justice: The term ‘justice’ in the Preamble
embraces three distinct forms– social, economic
and political
• Liberty: The term ‘liberty’ means the absence of
restraints on the activities of individuals, and at
the same time, providing opportunities for the
development of individual personalities. 14
• Equality: The term ‘equality’ means the
absence of special privileges to any section of
the society, and the provision of adequate
opportunities for all individuals without any
discrimination.
• Fraternity: Fraternity means a sense of
brotherhood. The Constitution promotes this
feeling of fraternity by the system of single
citizenship.
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• Articles 1Union
to 4 underand
Part-I its Territory
of the Constitution deal with
the Union and its territory.
• Article 1 describes India, that is, Bharat as a ‘Union of
States’
• The Constituent Assembly had to adopt a mix of both
(‘India, that is, Bharat’)
• The country is an integral whole and divided into
different states only for the convenience of 16
11/6/a20d21
• According to Article 1, the territory of India can be
classified into three categories:
1. Territories of the states
2. Union territories
3. Territories that may be acquired by the Government
of India at any time.
• At present, there are 28 states and 9 union territories.
The states are the members of the federal system and
share a distribution of powers with the Centre.
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• Article 2 grants two powers to the Parliament: (a) the power to
admit into the Union of India new states; and (b) the power to
establish new states.
• Article 3, on the other hand, relates to the formation of or
changes in the existing states of the Union of India. In other
words, Article 3 deals with the internal re-adjustment of
the territories of the constituent states of the Union of India
• Article 3 authorizes the Parliament to: (a) form a new state by
separation of territory from any state or by uniting two or more
states or parts of states or by uniting any territory to a part of any
state; (b) increase the area of any state; (c) diminish the area of
any state; (d) alter the boundaries of any state; and (e) alter the
name of any state
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• Moreover, the Constitution (Article 4) itself
declares that laws made for admission or
establishment of new states and formation of
new states and alteration of areas, boundaries
or names of existing states are not to be
considered as amendments of the Constitution
under Article 368. This means that such laws can
be passed by a simple majority and by the
ordinary legislative process. 19
• Citizenship is the statusCitizenship
of a person recognized under
the law of a country of belonging to thereof.
• Citizens are full members of the Indian State who
enjoys all civil and political rights.
• The Constitution deals with the citizenship from
Articles 5 to 11 under Part II
• Single citizenship: The citizens in India owe allegiance
only to the Union. There is no separate state
citizenship 20
• According to the Constitution, the following four
categories of persons became the citizens of
India at its commencement i.e., on January 26,
1950:
(a) Persons domiciled in India
(b) Persons migrated from Pakistan
(c) Persons migrated to Pakistan but later returned
(d) Persons of Indian origin residing outside India.
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CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955
• The Citizenship Act (1955) provides for acquisition
and loss of citizenship after the commencement of
the Constitution.
•Acquisition of Citizenship ( Types )
1. Birth
Citizenship by birth
2. Descent : A person born outside India
A person born outside India shall not be a citizen of
India by descent, unless his birth is registered at an
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Indian consulate within one year of the date of birth or
3. Registration
The Central Government may, on an application,
register as a citizen of India any person
4. Naturalisation
The Central Government may, on an application,
grant a certificate of naturalisation to any person
5. Incorporation of territory
If any foreign territory becomes a part of India, the
Government of India specifies the persons who
among the people of the territory shall be the
citizens of India.
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Loss of
Citizenship
1. By Renunciation
Any citizen of India of full age and capacity can
make a declaration renouncing his Indian
citizenship
2. By Termination
When an Indian citizen voluntarily acquires the
citizenship of another country, his Indian
citizenship automatically terminates. 24
3. By Deprivation
It is a compulsory termination of Indian citizenship by the Central
government, if:
(a) The citizen has obtained the citizenship by fraud:
(b) The citizen has shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India:
(c) The citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated with the
enemy during a war;
(d) The citizen has, within five years after registration or
naturalisation, been imprisoned in any country for two years; and
(e) The citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for seven
years continuously
Thank you
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