Salient Features of Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution has unique contents and a national spirit. However, it contains various features from different constitution of the world, even after that the Indian Constitution have several salient features that distinguish it from the other constitutions worldwide.

Let’s see the Salient features of Indian Constitution one by one –

1. Lengthiest Written Constitution

• • Contains about 465 Articles (divided into 25 Parts) and 12 Schedules.
  • Originally, the constitution contained a Preamble, 395 articles divided into 22 parts and 8 schedules in 1949.
  • Various Constitution Amendments have added about 90 articles, 4 parts and 4 schedules whereas they deleted about 20 articles and 1 parts.
  • Factors which have contributed to the elephantine size of our Constitution are –
    • • Vastness of the country and its diversity.
      • Historical factors, e.g., the influence of the Government of India Act of 1935.
      • Single Constitution for both the Centre and the states (except Jammu and Kashmir).
      • Dominance of legal personalities in the Constituent Assembly.

2. Drawn From Various Sources

• • B.R. Ambedkar proudly acclaimed that the Constitution of India has been framed after ‘ransacking all the known Constitutions of the World’.
  • Structural part of the Constitution derived from the Government of India Act of 1935.
  • Philosophical part of the Constitution (the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy) derive their inspiration from the American and Irish Constitutions respectively.

3. Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility

• • The Constitution of India is neither rigid nor flexible but a synthesis of both. Article 368 provides for two types of amendments –
    • • Special majority of the Parliament i.e. 2/3rd members of Parliament,
      • Special majority of the Parliament and with the ratification by half of the total states.
  • Some provisions of the Constitution can be amended by a simple majority of the Parliament in the manner of ordinary legislative process. But, these amendments do not come under Article 368.

4. Federal System with Unitary Bias

• • Indian Constitution establishes a federal government with unitary features.
  • Features of a federation, such as – dual government, division of powers, written Constitution, supremacy of Constitution, rigidity of constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism.
  • Features of Unitary system, such as – a strong Centre, single Constitution, single citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment of state governor by the Centre, all-India services, emergency provisions, and so on.
  • Moreover India is referred as ‘Union of India’ instead of ‘Federation’ in Indian Constitution.

5. Parliamentary Form of Government

• • Parliamentary System is based on principle of cooperation and coordination between the legislative and executive organs.
  • The Constitution establishes the parliamentary system not only at the Centre but also in the states. The features of parliamentary government in India are –
    • • • Presence of nominal and real executives
        • Majority party rule
        • Collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature,
        • Membership of the ministers in the legislature,
        • Leadership of the prime minister or the chief minister,
        • Dissolution of the lower House (Lok Sabha or Assembly).

6. Synthesis of Parliamentary Sovereignty and Judicial Supremacy

• • Indian parliamentary system is a proper synthesis between the British principle of parliamentary sovereignty and the American principle of judicial supremacy.
  • The Supreme Court, on the one hand, can declare the parliamentary laws as unconstitutional through its power of judicial review.
  • The Parliament, on the other hand, can amend the major portion of the Constitution through its constituent power.

7. Integrated and Independent Judiciary

• • The Indian Constitution establishes a judicial system that is integrated as well as independent. The Supreme Court stands at the top of the integrated judicial system in the country.
  • Supreme Court is a federal court, the highest court of appeal, the guarantor of the fundamental rights of the citizens and the guardian of the Constitution.
  • The Constitution has made various provisions to ensure its independence—security of tenure of the judges, fixed service conditions for the judges, all the expenses of the Supreme Court charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, ban on practice after retirement, separation of the judiciary from the executive etc.

8. Fundamental Rights

• • Indian Constitution guarantees six Fundamental Rights to all the citizens –
    • • Right to Equality (Articles 14–18),
      • Right to Freedom (Articles 19–22),
      • Right against Exploitation (Articles 23–24),
      • Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25–28),
      • Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29–30), and
      • Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32).
  • These are meant for promoting the idea of political democracy. They are justiciable in nature.
  • Fundamental Rights are not absolute and subject to reasonable restriction.

9. Directive Principles of  State  Policy

• • According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Directive Principles of State Policy is a ‘novel feature’ of the Indian Constitution.
  • The directive principles are meant for promoting the ideal of social and economic democracy.
  • They are non-justiciable and are not enforceable by the court.

10. Fundamental Duties

• • Added by 42^nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.
  • The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 added one more fundamental duty.
  • Part IV-A of Constitution specifies the eleven Fundamental Duties in article 51 A.

 

11. A Secular State

• • ‘Secular’ was added to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution by the Amendment Act of 1976.
  • Constitution does not hold any particular religion as official religion of India.

12. Three-tier Government

• • 73^rd and 74^th Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to panchayats and municipalities by adding a new part IX and IX-A, Schedule 11 and 12 to the constitution.
  • It is one of the Salient features of Indian Constitution as it is not seen in any other constitutions of the world.

13. Universal Adult  Franchise  (42^nd  Constitution Amendment)

• • Every citizen who is not less than 18 years of age has a right to vote without any discrimination of caste, race, religion, sex, literacy, wealth, and so on.
  • The voting age was reduced to 18 years from 21 years in 1989 by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988.
  • Universal adult franchise makes democracy broad-based, enhances the self-respect and prestige of the common people, upholds the principle of equality, enables minorities to protect their interests etc.

14. Single Citizenship

• • Even India has dual Government in centre and states, it provides for single citizenship of centre, i.e., Indian Citizenship.
  • This was done to promote the national interests and unity and harmony between the citizens.

15. Independent Bodies

• • Various Independent bodies have been established by the constitution of India. These are –
    • • Election Commission of India to ensure free and fair elections
      • Comptroller and Auditor General of India to audits the accounts of State and central government
      • Union Public Service Commission for all India service
      • State Public Service Commission
  • The Constitution ensures the independence of these bodies through various provisions like security of tenure, fixed service conditions, expenses being charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, and so on.

16. Emergency Provisions

• • The Constitution of India Contains elaborate emergency feature to enable president to meet any extraordinary situation effectively.
  • The rationality behind this is to safeguard the sovereignty, unity, integrity and security of the country and the democratic political system and the constitution.
  • There are three types of Emergencies, namely –
    • • National emergency (Article 352);
      • State emergency (President’s Rule) (Article 356) and (Article 365)
      • Financial emergency (Article 360).

So, this post was all about the Salient features of Indian Constitution.

In the next post (Click Here), we will learn about the Preamble of the Constitution of India.