ASSIGNMENT ON

INDIAN CONSTITUTION.
2016-2017
FEATURES OF THE
INDIAN CONSTITUTION.

SUBMITTED TO:
LEC.NOORJAHAN.
BY: SAMREEN BEGUM SHAIK.
 Features of
The Indian Constitution
Introduction:
The working constitution of India is the result of deliberations
in the constituent assembly, representation body of India,
which commenced its arduous task of framing the constitution
for the country on, December 9, 1946.
The labour government which came to power in 1945 in Great
Britain with Prime Minister, Mr. Clement Attle, sent to India the
cabinet mission consisting of Sir Pethic Lorence, Staford Cripps
and A.V. Alexander in March 1946 to hold negotiations with the
leaders of Indian National Congress and Muslim League for
granting independence to India. When Mount Batten, Viceroy
of India brought a compromise between the Congress and
Muslim League for the partition of the country. The Parliament
passed India’s Independence Act in July 1947.India and Pakistan
got independence on 15 Aug 1947. Dr.B.R.Ambedkar as
Chairmain and Dr Rajendra Prasad as the president of
constituent assembly.
The following are the salient features of the constitution:
1) The Indian Constitution is a comprehensive document:
It consists of 447 articles in 24 parts and 12 schedules.The
Indian Constitution is a bulky one and it is the lengthiest
document in the world.The bulk of the constitution is due many
causes: a)The constitution contains not only the broad
principles but also the details of administration.
b) The constitution provides not only for the administrative
machinery at the centre but also of the units.
2) Indian constitution declares India to be sovereign
Socialist,Secular,Democratic Republic:
a) India is a sovereign state and it is subject to no other
authority either in her internal affairs or external relations.
b) The constitution establishes a democratic set up in the
country.It means that the Government of India is run through
the elected representatives of the people
i) Socialist state: 42nd Amendment declares India to be a
socialist state.
ii) Secular State: As far as the constitution is concerned,it knows
no established religion.
3) Single Citizenship:
The constitution of India does not recognize double
citizenship.In this respect out constitution differs from the
American Constitution.The constitution of india introduces
single citizenship viz,the citizenship of India.
4) Fundamental Rights:
The fundamental rights are justiciable. The constitutional
remedies are provided for their enforcement.The constitution
makes the supreme court and high courts, the guardian of
rights and liberties of the people.
3rd chapter of the constitution deals with following 7
fundamental rights which are guaranteed to the citizens.
a) Right to equality
b) Right to liberty
c) Right against exploitation
d) Right to religion
e) Right to education
f) Right to property
g) Right to constitutional remedies
5) Fundamental Duties:
The 42nd amendment has included in the constitution a set of
ten fundamental duties which supplement the rights.The
details are given at the end of the 4th chapter.
6) The Directive Principles of State policy:
They relate to those matters which government of India is to
keep in view for promoting the welfare of the people of the
country. The fundamental rights aim to protect the individual’s
life, liberty and property.
The Directive Principles of State Policy Aim
a) To secure adequate means of livelihood for all men and
women.
b) To secure equal distribution of material resources of a
country
c) To avoid concentrations of wealth and means of
production
d) All workers are to get a living wage.
7) Parliamentary system of Government:
The constitution of India prescribes parliamentary system of
government at the centre and in the state. The constitution
provides that there shall be a council of ministers with prime
minister at the head to aid and advice the president in the
exercise of his functions.
Secondly, the popular chamber has a democratic bases and it is
the hub of parliamentary democracy.
8) Federal form of Government:
The constitution of India provides for a federal form of
government, though article one of the constitution which
describes India as a union of states. There are three important
characteristic features of a federal government: a) division of
powers between central government and the regional
governments. (b) The supremacy of the Constitution. (c)
Existence of a supreme court.
i)Central list: this list contains 97 subjects. Among them are
defence, foreign affairs.
ii)State list: it contains 66 subjects. Few of them are land
revenue, police jail.
iii) Concurrent list: it consists of 47 subjects. Eg: civil and
criminal laws, property etc.
9) A Secular state:
Another feature of the constitution is the secular nature of the
Indian union. According to Venkatraman, the state is neither
religious nor irreligious nor antireligious, but it is wholly
detached from religious dogmas and activities and thus neutral
in religious matters.
10) The Doctrine of judicial review is implicit in the Indian
Constitution:
It prescribes limits on the powers of legislation exercisable by
parliament and the state legislature. The supreme court
possesses the power of judicial review, in the last resort. It is
the guardian of the federal constitution and also the protector
of fundamental rights of the citizens .
11) Adult suffrage:
Another radical features of our constitution is the introduction
of adult franchise. Under the constitution, both men and
women completing the age of 21, enjoying the equal right to
vote. The Indian Democracy is the biggest democracy in the
world as its electorate tops in the list of any other democratic
country on the globe.
12) The Emergency Powers:
Constitution generally provides for the governmental
arrangements for normal times. But a constitution should also
provide for unusual situations-like war, external aggression,
internal disturbance, economic disruptions etc.
13) The Dynamic Nature of the Constitution:
Generally a written constitution has a tendency to acquire over
decades a sanctity about it. A certain degree of flexibility was
regarded as desirable. Three distinct ways of amending the
constitution have been detailed in article 368.
14) Written Constitution:
Indian constitution is a written constitution. That is Indian
constitution is a written document duly enacted by a
representative body elected for the purpose ie., by the
constituent assembly.
15) Partly rigid and partly flexible:
A rigid constitution is one which prescribes a difficult procedure
for its amendment. On the other hand, a flexible constitution is
one which can be amend like an ordinary law of the country,
ie., by a simple majority of a parliament.
16) Establishment of welfare state:
The preamble of our constitution and the directive principles of
state policy of our constitution aim at the establishment of a
welfare state in India. A welfare state is a state which is
committed to the welfare ( ie., happiness and good) of the
people of the country.
17) Official language:
In a country like India with numerous languages it is absolutely
essential to declare one language as the official language or the
national language. Accordingly, the constitution of India has
declared Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language or
national language for all purpose. English also been allowed to
be used along with other language for official purpose.
18) An Independent Judiciary:
Mere inclusion of a number of rights in the constitution without
any provision (ie., machinery) for their safefuard will not serve
any purpose. Unless there is remedy, there is no right.
Recognizing this, an independent and impartial judiciary with
power of judicial review has been established in our
constitution.
19) Creation of All India Services:
Article 312 of our constitution has provided for the creation of
all India services like IAS ie., Indian Administrative Service, IFS
ie., Indian Foreign Service, IPS ie., Indian Police Service, etc. It
may be noted that the all India service officers recruited by the
central government, but they are allotted to different states.
20) Special status to Jammu and Kashmir:
The independent act, 1947 partitioned the British India and
created two independent countries, viz., India and Pakistan.
The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir opted to remain
independent. However, when Pakistan attacked the princely
state of Jammu and Kashmir and tried to annex it with Pakistan,
the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir signed an accession
agreement with India on 27th October, 1947. That special status
given to Jammu and Kashmir is mentioned in article 370 of the
constitution of India.

21) National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and State

Human Rights Commission and Protection of Human Rights:

With a view to protect the human rights of all the people the
Protection of Human Rights Act. 1993 was passed by the
Union Parliament. Under it the National Human Rights
Commission was established. It is headed by a former Chief
Justice of India. It acts as an independent commission with a
status of a civil court. It works for preventing the violations
of human rights of the people.

22) Bi-Cameral Union Parliament:

The Constitution provides for a Bicameral Legislature at the
Union level and names it as the Union Parliament. Its two
Houses are: The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Lok
Sabha is the lower, popular, directly elected house of the
Parliament. It represents the people of India.

23) Judicial Activism:

Currently, Indian judiciary has been becoming more and
more active towards the performance of its social
obligations. Through Public Interest Litigation system (PIL)
as well as through a more active exercise of its powers, the
Indian judiciary has been now very actively trying to secure
all public demands and needs due to them under the laws
and policies of the state.

24) Emergency Provisions:

The Constitution of India contains special provisions for
dealing with emergencies.It recognises three types of
possible emergencies:

1)National Emergency (Article 352) an emergency resulting

from war or external aggression or threat of external
aggressions against India or from armed rebellion within
India or in any of its part;(2) Constitutional Emergency in a
State (Article 356) an emergency resulting from the failure of
constitutional machinery in any state; or some states and(3)
Financial Emergency (Article 360) an emergency resulting
from a threat to financial stability of India.

25) A Constitution Drawn from several Sources:

In adopting parliamentary system and bicameralism, the

British Constitution influenced them. The US Constitution
influenced them in favour of republicanism, independence of
judiciary, judicial review and bill of rights. The progress of
the (former) USSR after the 1917 Socialist Revolution
influenced them to adopt socialism as a goal. Likewise, they
were influenced by the constitutions of Canada, Australia,
Weimar Republic (Germany) and Ireland.