Speech on Constitution of India for Students
E.M.Forster wrote, in 1951: ‘So two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism. Two cheers are quite enough: there is no occasion to give three. Only Love the Beloved Republic deserves that.’
All the functioning democracies across the world have this beautiful symphony of functioning Constitution, which strongly harps on proud history, rich culture of debating and disagreeing with each other and a deep foresight into the future. The foremost contribution of India’s national movement was its substantial reliance on constitutionalism, foundational aspects of all kinds of political theories and assimilation from the world. This resulted in the concepts of parliamentary democracy, republicanism, civil freedoms, social and economic fairness, becoming very popular and entrenched in the Indian polity.
To preserve peace, prosperity and justice, each nation has certain prescribed sets of rules, clauses and conventions for its people to follow. These tenets give a broader picture that country, congealing to form that nation’s constitution. The right to equality, the right to expression, the right to life, the right to reputation, the right to citizenship, the right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, the right against exploitation, and the right to constitutional redress are some of the basic rights guaranteed to all the Indian Citizens through its written and one of the longest Constitutions of the world.
In simple terms, the Constitution lays down a set of rules to which the ruling mechanism of the country needs to conform. In it are a long, detailed list of Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental duties, besides everything which deals with the elections, taxes and appointments. The process of the evolution of the constitution began many decades before 26 January, 1950, and has been in. Continuation and evolution all the time. Its roots may be traced back to the princely states’ struggle for independence from Britain and efforts for responsible and constitutional administration. Because most of the Independence struggle leaders were highly read and knew about the history of constitutional traditions the world over, the Constitution of India is one of the most argued-over documents of the history of Independent India.
One of the most important contributions of the constitution of India is it having kept the polity of India alive and vigilant to the changes across the political landscape of the world. It has brilliantly minimized the conflicts between the Union and the states by clearly delineating the legislative powers of each. It contains three lists of subjects for that, which in no uncertain terms do make it known what are areas of polity to be governed exclusively, each, by the Centre and The States.
One of the Corner stones of the Indian Civilisation is its power of assimilation and absorption. The same scheme was utilised while framing the Constitution. The framers of the Indian constitution borrowed freely and unabashedly from other constitutions, the wisdom of the US constitution, and its Supreme Court, the innovations of the Irish constitution, the British Parliament’s time-tested norms, the Canadian Constitution, the South African Constitution, the Japanese Constitution, the Weimar Constitution, the administrative minutiae of the Government of India Act, 1935, and much more, including the very marrow of their own people’s battle for independence — all melded together into the design, structure and content of the Indian Constitution. The institutions created by it for fashioning a democratic structure have survived, thrived and evolved to meet the changing needs, taking every scratch on their surfaces in stride.
Some of the Features of Indian Constitution
Adult Suffrage- Congress had demanded adult suffrage since the 1920s. The overwhelming consensus was in favour of direct elections by Adult Suffrage. The beauty of adult suffrage is that it forces the most elitist of candidates to seek the favour of the vote of the humblest voter. While it took 2 centuries for France to extend the rights of suffrage to women, it took more than 150 years for USA to accept the non-white Americans as its own, India didn’t face even the minutest of qualms in extending the adult suffrage to all, with no distinction at all on the basis of colour, creed, caste, custom, costume and gender.
Preamble- The Preamble contains the constitution’s fundamental idea and driving spirit. According to the Preamble, the people of India made a solemn resolution in the Constituent Assembly to secure to all citizens “social, economic, and political justice; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; equality of status and opportunity; and to promote among them all, fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the nation.”
A Secular State- India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic, according to the constitution. While it was always there as the arch stone of its character, the word secular was overtly appended to the Constitution in 1976 on the basis of 42nd Constitutional Amendment.
India’s constitution became effective on January 26th, 1950, although it was adopted on November 26th, 1949, by the Constituent Assembly. A drafting committee led by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, a polymath, wrote it. The Constituent Assembly thrashed every bit of it, rendering it into the longest written constitution It describes the strength, processes, and responsibilities of India’s government institutions and provides a comprehensive account of the people of our country’s fundamental rights and responsibilities.
It was originally handwritten, calligraphed, and also the longest Constitution in the world. India’s Constitution is the supreme law drawn up by the Constituent Assembly of India, superior also to the Parliament since it does not circumvent it. India’s status from “Dominion of India” was changed to the “Republic of India” with the Constitution coming into effect.
To get it approved and accepted by one and everyone, more than 2000 amendments had to be made to the Original Constitution of India. January 26th, 1950 was the day when the Republic of India began to be recognized. Since then, January 26th has been celebrated as Republic Day. At different locations around the world, the Indian National Flag is hoisted and the National Anthem is sung to rejoice in the day. In 2015, National Constitution Day, a special day , November 26, particularly dedicated to the Indian Constitution, came into being. It is to mark the day, 26th of November, 1949, when the Indian Constitution took that it is in today.
We need to understand that a constitution can only be as good as the people who work it, as Rajendra Prasad noted at the time of its drafting. The constitution may well be a much-needed anchor of support in the turbulent times that may await us in the new millennium. But we all need to work towards making it more responsive to the needs of the times to come, by being honest in our duties towards the Nation.
The decision to have written rights, a list of rights, a declaration of rights in the constitution marked a sharp break with British constitutional tradition and practice because of their colonial experience.
When read collectively, the Preamble, Fundamental Rights, and Directive Principles make it obvious that the constitution aspired to create the circumstances for the development of an equal society with safe and progressive individual liberties.
To sum it up, we can say that:-
- Our Constitution is an amalgam of a number of previous constitutions.
- It is the world’s longest constitution.
- Bhimrao Ambedkar (1891-1956) is the father of the Indian Constitution.
- The Constitution’s is mainly based on the Government of India Act, 1935.
- The Constituent Assembly (albeit elected by limited franchise) met for the first time on December 5, 1946.
- Writing the constitution took nearly three years.
- The Constitution was Legally Enforced on January 26, 1950.
- The Constitution was written in Hindi and English at the outset.
- Each page of the constitution was specifically designed by an artist.
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