Test Your Knowledge of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution!

The Constitution of India: Framework, History, and Features

• The Constitution of India is the supreme law of the country, providing a framework for government institutions, fundamental rights, and duties of citizens.

• It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950, replacing the Government of India Act 1935.

• The Constitution is the longest written national constitution in the world and imparts constitutional supremacy, which means Parliament cannot override it.

• The Constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic, assuring its citizens justice, equality, and liberty, and promoting fraternity.

• The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected members of the provincial assemblies, and took almost three years to complete.

• The Constitution has 470 articles, which are grouped into 25 parts, with 12 schedules and five appendices, and it has been amended 105 times.

• The Constitution is federal in nature, with a parliamentary system of government, and a three-tier governmental structure (central, state, and local).

• The Constitution has unitary features such as a single constitution, single citizenship, an integrated judiciary, a flexible constitution, a strong central government, and emergency provisions.

• The Constitution allows for constitutional amendments, but the basic structure doctrine protects the constitution's fundamental features from being changed.

• The judiciary is the final arbiter of the constitution, acting as a watchdog to prevent any legislative or executive act from overstepping constitutional bounds.

• The Prime Minister is the member of parliament who leads the majority party or coalition, exercises executive power in practice, and governs with the aid of a Council of Ministers.

• Despite the Prime Minister exercising executive power in practice, the Constitution bestows all the national government's executive power in the office of the President, who must follow the "aid and advice" of the Council.Understanding the Constitution of India: Federalism, Presidential Power, and Flexibility

• The President of India has a mostly ceremonial role, with the Prime Minister exercising executive power through the President's obligation to act on the Prime Minister's wishes.

• The President retains the power to ask the Council to reconsider its advice, but the Council is not required to make any changes before resubmitting the advice to the President, who must then adhere to it.

• The President is chosen by an electoral college composed of members of both the national and state legislatures, with half of the votes assigned to state representatives in proportion to population and the other half assigned to national representatives.

• The President's signature is required for a bill to become law, but the President can refuse to sign and send it back to the Parliament, which can then send it back to the President for signing.

• The President has the constitutional power to dismiss the Prime Minister or Council at any time, but this could trigger a constitutional crisis if the Prime Minister still retains a majority vote in the Lok Sabha.

• When either or both Houses of Parliament are not in session, the Prime Minister, acting via the President, can unilaterally create ordinances that have the force of law, but these expire six weeks after Parliament reconvenes or sooner if both Houses disapprove.

• India is a "Union of States," with states retaining key powers for themselves and having a strong influence over the national government via the Rajya Sabha, where the states are represented.

• The Constitution provides the states with a long list of powers exclusive to their jurisdiction, known as the State List, including control over police, healthcare, agriculture, and elections.

• There are two other lists in the Seventh Schedule that generally weaken state powers: the Union List, containing areas of exclusive jurisdiction of the Union government, and the Concurrent List, containing topics on which both the Union and State-level governments may legislate.

• The Governor of each state is given the executive power of the respective state by the Constitution and is appointed directly by the President of the central government, who chooses the Governors in practice.

• The Union government can unilaterally create new states out of territories or existing states and modify and diminish the boundaries of existing states, with Parliament passing a simple law with no supermajority requirements.

• The Indian constitution has deliberately been worded in generalities to ensure its flexibility, with the "right to life" under Article 21[A] expanded to include a number of human rights.

Understanding the Preamble of the Indian Constitution

• The Preamble of the Indian Constitution was inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru's Objectives Resolution, adopted in 1947.
• The Preamble is not enforceable in court but acts as an aid during the interpretation of Articles when language is ambiguous.
• The source of authority of the Constitution lies with the people of India, and the Preamble declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic.
• The objectives of the Constitution, as stated in the Preamble, are to secure justice, liberty, equality to all citizens, and promote fraternity to maintain unity and integrity of the nation.
• The key words in the Preamble include "We, the people of India," "Sovereign," "Socialist," "Secular," "Democratic," and "Republic."
• The main objective of the Indian Constitution is to promote harmony throughout the nation, with justice, equality, and liberty being the factors that help achieve this objective.
• The Preamble being part of the Constitution has been discussed several times in the Supreme Court, with the Berubari case stating that it is not enforceable in a court of law, and the Kesavananda Bharati case holding that it is an integral part of the Constitution and plays an important role in the interpretation of statutes and provisions.
• The Preamble can be amended under Article 368 of the Constitution, but the basic structure of the Preamble cannot be amended.
• The Preamble was amended once through the 42nd Amendment Act of 1976, adding the terms "Socialist," "Secular," and "Integrity" to the Preamble.
• The concept of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity in the Preamble was adopted from the French Motto of the French Revolution.
• The Constitution is the supreme law and helps maintain integrity in society and promote unity among citizens to build a great nation.
• The factors that help achieve this objective are Justice, Equality, Liberty, and Fraternity, which are interdependent and cannot be divorced from each other.