Class 7 Social Science Chapter 10 Notes The Constitution of India An Introduction
I would like to point out that if we are able to act according to the Constitution which has been adopted…, I am sure we shall be able very soon to make our country great. This is a goal which is within our power to reach, but its realisation would require hard physical and mental labour and above all great moral regeneration.
We have prepared a democratic Constitution. But the successful working of democratic institutions requires in those who have to work with them willingness to respect the viewpoint of others, capacity for compromise and accommodation. — Dr. Rajendra Prasad, first President of India
It was yet another chilly January morning in Delhi, much like every Republic Day. Ma’s voice echoed through the house, “Wake up! It’s time, or you’ll miss the parade!” Papa, already up, switched on the television to Doordarshan and called out, “Kumar, Niharika, come quickly! The parade has started!” The children jumped out of their warm beds, rushing to sit in front of the television, eager not to miss even a moment of the Republic Day Parade.
The sight of the majestic marching bands, vibrant displays, and the unfurling of the tricolour at Kartavya Path filled the room with pride and excitement.
This day carries a deep significance — it marks the coming into effect of the Indian Constitution on 26 January 1950.
The book in the picture is our Constitution. To keep it safe, it is carefully preserved in a helium-filled glass case in Parliament. But what exactly is a constitution, and why is it so important?
Fig. The Constitution of India carefully preserved in a helium-filed glass case
The Constitution of India is the document that many of the important officials of our country pledge to uphold. The president takes an oath to preserve, protect, and defend it. The prime minister, council of ministers, and judges promise to follow its provisions.
What Is a Constitution?
A simple answer is that it is a document that spells out a nation’s basic principles and laws. It lays out:
the framework of the three organs of the government (legislature, executive, and judiciary) and their roles and responsibilities;
- checks and balances amongst the three organs of government to ensure fairness, responsibility and accountability;
- the rights and duties of the citizens;
- an outline of the long-term goals and aspirations of the nation.
Why do we need a constitution?
Our Constitution is something like a rulebook for the country.
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Just as your textbook has many sections and chapters, the Constitution of India has 25 parts and 12 schedules. Each part has sections within it. It is the world’s largest written constitution. When it came into effect, it had 22 Parts and 8 schedules. You don’t need to remember these numbers, but can you guess why they have increased since 1950?
The basic rules and principles in a constitution determine what kind of government will be there, how it will be formed, and how it will function. This includes many principles we saw in the previous chapter, such as how the legislature, executive and judiciary are formed and how they work. A constitution describes, for example, how laws are to be made and implemented, who elects the executive, how the judiciary is made, and what rights and duties individual citizens have.
Many constitutions, including the Indian Constitution, also state the values and ideals the country is committed to — for instance, equality and justice for all, fraternity, pluralism and freedom. In fact, it is these values and ideals that usually form the basis for the laws and principles in a constitution.
Some of the important things that most constitutions contain:
Writing the Constitution of India
I wish your labours success, and invoke Divine blessings that your proceedings may be marked not only by good sense, public spirit, and genuine patriotism, but also by wisdom, toleration, justice, and fairness to all; and above all with a vision which may restore India to her pristine glory, and give her a place of honour and equality amongst the great nations of the world.
— Dr Sachidananda Sinha, President of the Constituent Assembly at the start of the process of the writing of the Constitution
While India was struggling for independence from British rule, it was necessary to start planning for how we would govern ourselves. There were many important questions to be answered in a large, culturally diverse and complex country like India: What type of government should we have? What rules and principles should guide us? Who should have the right to vote? How should we decide on disputes?
To answer these and many other questions, a Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946, initially with 389 members (later reduced to 299 after the Partition of India), of which 15 were women. These members represented India’s diverse regions, professions, and social groups.
How was our Constitution developed?
The Indian Constitution was developed and written by the Constituent Assembly over a period of almost three years. It was formed on 9 December 1946, with its members elected by the legislative assemblies of the provinces (whose members had been, in turn, elected by the people). Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly. The work was completed on 26 November 1949, and the resulting document was adopted as the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950, which is why we celebrate this day annually as Republic Day.
The initial text of the Constitution was prepared by a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr B.R. Ambedkar, an eminent social reformer and the first Law and Justice minister of independent India (Figure).
Fig. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (seated, centre) with a few other members of the Drafting Committee.
What Shaped and Influenced the Indian Constitution?
While the Constitution was developed by the Constituent Assembly, it had many influences. The experience, ideas and ideals of the Indian freedom movement were a significant influence. India’s civilisational heritage and culture also played a key role. Useful learnings from constitutions of other countries were also considered.
Influence of the Indian Freedom Movement
Many key ideals and values of the Indian freedom struggle were enshrined in the Constitution. The Constitution was the cornerstone for an independent India. A number of leaders of India’s freedom movement were members of the Constituent Assembly and, therefore, carried their experience and ideas from the freedom struggle to the Constitution.
Some of these values and ideals are: equality of all, justice for all, freedom, fraternity, preservation of India’s cultural heritage, and the idea of using the Constitution as a tool for and means of achieving these values and ideals.
The experience and learnings from the freedom struggle also provided answers to many of the ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions:
Fig. Workings of the Constituent Assembly
Figures Workings of the Constituent Assembly
- How do we make sure that every adult citizen has a right to vote?
- How do we ensure that the powers of the executive, legislature and judiciary are kept separate?
- How do we guarantee that every individual’s fundamental rights are respected?
- What should be the process if we want to amend the Constitution?
- What should be the relationship between the Central and State governments? And so on.
- We will get glimpses of how all these have been structured in the Constitution later in this chapter.
India’s civilisational heritage and history
In the chapter on “Unity in Diversity, or ‘Many in the One’” in Grade 6, we studied what makes India one country and the underlying unity that embraces the diversity.
This idea of India being one country is embedded in the Constitution.
Some fundamental principles are embedded in our culture — acceptance of the idea that people could have different points of view, Nature as sacred, the pursuit of learning and knowledge, respect for women, the concepts of vasudhaiva kutumbakam (“the world is one family”) and sarve bhavantu
sukhinah (an invocation for the well-being of all creatures). All these principles find a place in our Constitution though you might find them expressed a little differently.
Learnings from across the world
In addition, in the Indian tradition of a no bhadrah kratavo yantu vishwatah — “Let noble thoughts come to me from every side” — the Constitution makers studied the constitutions of France, USA, UK, Ireland, Australia, and other countries that have a democratic system, to explore their usefulness for our context. For example, the ideals of ‘liberty, equality, fraternity’ were adopted from France’s constitution (which enshrined them from the French Revolution of 1789); the idea of the Directive Principles of State Policy (which we will study shortly) was inspired by the Irish Constitution; and the American Constitution helped shape the concept of an independent judiciary.
Fig. This ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen’, which focused on equality, liberty and justice for all, was formulated during the 1789 French Revolution. It helped the spread of such ideals in many parts of the world; many constitutions (including the French one) adopted or adapted its values and principles.
Some illustrations in the Constitution of India
Fig. A scene from an ancient gurukuia
Fig. A scene from the Ramayana: Rama’s conquest of Lanka and recovery of Sita
Fig. A scene from the Mahdbhdrata: Krishna propounding the Gita to Arjuna
Fig. A scene from Orissan sculptures
Fig. An image of Naṭaraja
Fig. Scenes from a Mahabalipuram bas-relief: Bhagiratha’s penance and the descent of Ganga
Fig. A scene with Akbar and Mughal architecture
Fig. A scene depicting Nalanda, one of India’s ancient universities
Key Features of the Constitution of India
Before we get acquainted with the main features of the Constitution, let us revisit some of the concepts we saw in Grade 6.
- There are three organs of government—legislature, executive and judiciary—and the ‘separation of powers’ is essential to their effective working.
- The legislature makes the laws.
- The law is implemented by the executive, which is headed by the prime minister.
- The judiciary ensures that all laws made are in accordance with the Constitution. It also decides whether a law has been broken and what punishment is necessary.
- We have a three-tier system of government—central, state and local (Panchayati raj system).
- Some functions and responsibilities are reserved for the central government, and others are assigned to the state government.
The Constitution addresses these points comprehensively. It clearly defines the roles, functions, responsibilities, and accountability measures for each organ of government. The electoral system has been laid down to ensure that every eligible citizen of the country is enabled to vote.
Other core aspects of the Constitution are the Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy. The infographic (Fig. 10.14) provides us with examples of a few of the Fundamental Duties and Rights (which are listed in full in the beginning of all NCERT textbooks). The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP, as they are popularly called) represent the essence of the social and economic vision that the framers of the Constitution had for India. The examples we present in the infographic illustrate the principles they wanted governance to follow.
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Directive Principles are goals that the government should try to achieve. They reflect the direction they wished the country take to make India better for all; for example, everybody in the country must have a good standard of living. But if the government does not make efforts to follow this, one cannot go to a judge and complain about it. The DPSP are more like guidelines than strict rules. Fundamental Rights, on the other hand are promises that must be kept. If someone treats you unfairly because of who you are, you can actually go to court and the judge can help you.
The people who wrote our Constitution created this system on purpose. They wanted some rights that could be demanded immediately (Fundamental Rights) and some bigger goals (Directive Principles) that might take time to achieve as our country progressed.
Sir, the women of India are happy to step into their rightful heritage of complete equality with men in all spheres of life and activity. I say so because I am convinced that this is no new concept which has been postulated for the purposes of this Constitution, but is an ideal that has long been cherished by India, though social conditions for some time had tragically debased it in practice. This Constitution affirms that ideal and gives the solemn assurance that the rights of women in law will be wholly honoured in the Indian Republic.
— Begum Aizaz Rasul, 22 November 1949, during the Constituent Assembly’s debates
Fig. A glimpse of how the parts of the Constitution are organised
The Constitution is a Living Document
Our Constitution makers realised that a need for new laws and rules would emerge over time. For example, Tart IV-A: Fundamental Duties’ was added in 1976. However, we must remember that any changes (called ‘amendments’) to the Constitution are rigorously debated in the Parliament before they are accepted. Some require a debate in legislative assemblies as well. Many times, opinions are sought from the general public. Some changes can also be initiated by popular movements.
The government also creates opportunities for people to provide feedback on proposed laws or changes in rules. See the highlighted portion on the next page.
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The Indian Constitution is not just a legal document but also a work of art. Calligrapher Prem Behari Narain Raizada wrote its text by hand, while Nandalal Bose and his team illustrated its pages with scenes from Indian history, from Mohenjo-daro to the freedom movement.
Understanding the Preamble: The Guiding
Values of the Constitution of India
The Constitution’s core values are the guiding principles for policies and decision-making, which the government is expected to follow. Citizens are also expected to practise them to the best of their ability. These guiding values are present across the Constitution, but their essence is written in the Preamble. So, let us study the Preamble, which is a fitting end to this chapter.
Fig. Preamble of the Indian Constitution
Note: The terms ‘Socialist’ and ‘Secular’ were added in the Preamble through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976
Before we move on …
- The Constitution of India is a guiding book or ‘rulebook’ which protects the rights of all citizens. Citizens are also expected to follow the fundamental duties of the Constitution.
- The rich civilizational heritage of India, the freedom struggle and good practices from the constitutions of other countries served as the building blocks of the Indian Constitution.
- Its key features define the social, economic, and political structure of the country and its parliamentary form of government.
- It is a living document that can be improved as per the country’s needs.
Class 7 Social Science Notes
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