Apna Gyaan

In the previous posts, we have studied Constitutional Development and Constituent Assembly. So, by now, we know that the Indian Constitution is the world’s lengthiest written constitution.

The Indian Constitution is unique in its contents and spirits. The Indian Constitution adopted many features from the already existing constitution. Because of this, some critic says it is a borrowed constitution.

But when we look deep into its provisions, we could understand that the Indian Constitution is the most balanced Constitution in the world. So, here, we will look at the impressive features of the Constitution of India.

Impressive Features of the Indian Constitution

Lengthiest Written Constitution

Indian Constitution is the lengthiest written constitution. Though the American Constitution is also written Constitution. But the American Constitution is not as comprehensive as Indian Constitution.

Presently (2019), it consists a preamble, 448 Articles (25 parts), and 12 Schedules. Because of the below-written reasons, our Constitution is very lengthy,

• Geographical factors, the vastness of the country and its diversity.
• Historical factors, the influence of the government of India Act 1935.
• Single Constitution for both centre and States except Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Dominance of legal personals in the Constituent Assembly.

Indian Constitution: A mixture of Rigidity and Flexibility

As stated earlier, the Constitution of India is a perfect mixture of rigidity and flexibility.

A rigid Constitution requires a special procedure for its amendments. Whereas a flexible constitution can be amended in the same manner as the ordinary laws made.

So, our intellectuals provided Article 368 of the Indian Constitution. According to Article 368,

• Some provisions can be amended by a special majority in Parliament.
• While some other provisions can be amended by a special majority in Parliament with ratification by half of the total states.
• At the same time, some provisions can be amended with a simple majority.

Federal System with Unitary Bias

We have studied, Government of India act, 1935 came with the provision of Indian Federation.

So, the Indian Constitution establishes a federal system of government. It has features of the federation like,

• Two government,
• Division of powers,
• A written constitution,
• The supremacy of the constitution,
• The rigidity of the constitution,
• An independent judiciary
• And bicameralism.

But the Indian Constitution also contains unitary or non-federal features like,

• A strong Union or more powers to the Union Government,
• A single constitution,
• Single citizenship,
• The appointment of state governor by the union,
• All India services
• And Emergency Provisions.

Parliamentary Form of Government

The Constitution of India has opted for the British Parliamentary system of Government. President is the nominal head of the state. He is indirectly elected by the citizens of India for a fixed period of 5 years.

The Prime Minister is the real head of the state. He is collectively responsible for the management of the Council of Ministers.

There are some fundamental differences between the British and the Indian Parliamentary system. For example, the Indian Parliament is not a sovereign body like the British Parliament. And the Indian state has an elected head (Republic) while the British state has a hereditary head (Monarch).

Integrated and Independent Judiciary

The Indian Constitution establishes an independent judicial system. It is independent as well as integrated. The hierarchy is like,

• The Supreme Court as the apex court is on the top level of the judicial system,
• Below it, there are High Courts at the state level.
• And below it Subordinate courts (District and Lower Courts).

Judicial Activism and Judicial Review

According to Judicial Activism, through the Public Interest Litigation system (PIL) and many other ways. So, by this, the judiciary has been keeping an eye on the functioning of the legislature and the executive.

If the judiciary feels that there is a need for more effective policies or laws on a certain topic of public and national importance, so the judiciary can suggest or make temporary laws in the favour.

The Judicial Review is a part of the Indian Constitution which gives the judiciary, a right to review each law and further declare them as unconstitutional.

So, these were some important features of the Indian Constitution. In the upcoming post, we will read remaining of the important features, like Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, DPSPs and Emergency Provisions etc.

Thanks and Stay Civilised. 😊