Introduction
The history of the Constitutional development in India can be traced back to the Regulating Act of 1773, which for the first time made the provision for the post of Governor – General in India.
Since then a number of constitutional experiments were introduced aiming at streamlining the Indian Administration.
However, the year 1858 serves as watershed when the Indian Administration came under the direct rule of the British Crown and the centralization of the administration was at its pinnacle.
Thus the period of British constitutional development experiment in India can be divided into two phases: The British rule in India can be divided into two phases-
- Constitutional experiments during the rule of the East India Company (1773-1857)
- Constitutional experiments under the British Crown (1857-1947).
Regulating Act 1773
- Subjected the Company’s actions to the supervision of the British Government
- End of Dual government.
- Governor of Bengal to be the Governor – General of British territories of India.
- Establishment of Supreme Court in Calcutta.
- The servants of the Company were forbidden to engage in private trade, accept presents or bribes, etc.
Pitts India Act of 1784
- The commercial and political activities of the Company were now separated. Board of Control of six members (including two cabinet ministers) set – up to guide and supervise the affairs of the Company in India.
- Three members will be there in Governor – General’s Executive Council.
- Secret Committee of three Directors were to look into political and military affairs. [Governor General and the council were forbidden to declare war and make treaties without the sanction of secret committee].
- Madras and Bombay Presidencies were subordinated to the Governor – General – in – Council of Bengal in all matters.
- This act gave the British Government a measure of control over the Company’s affairs. In fact, the Company became a subordinate department of the State.
- Act of 1786: Governor General given the power to over – ride the council and was made Commander – in – Chief also.
Charter Act of 1793
- Company given monopoly of trade for 20 more years.
- Expenses and salaries of the Board of Control to be charged on Indian revenue.
- The Governor General and the Governors could now over – ride the decisions of their respective Councils.
- All laws were to be translated in Indian languages.
- It laid the foundation of government, by written laws, interpreted by courts.
- Company deprived of its trade monopoly in India except in tea and trade with China. This made the Company more of an administrative body. All Englishmen could trade in India subject to few restrictions.
- A sum of
1 lakh earmarked annually for education of Indians. - Further, Christian missionaries were also permitted to come to India and preach their religion.
Charter Act of 1813
- End of Company’s monopoly even in tea and trade with China. Company was asked to close its commercial business at the earliest.
- All restrictions on European immigration into India and acquisition of land and property in India by them were removed, legalizing European colonization of India.
- Governor General of Bengal to be Governor General of India; all powers, administrative and financial, were centralized in the hands of the Governor – General – in – Council. (1st Governor General of India – Lord William Bentinck).
- President of Board of Control became the minister for Indian affairs.
- A law member (without power to vote) was added to the Executive Council of the Governor General. Macaulay was the first Law member. This increased the Council’s strength to four, with it began the Indian Legislature.
- A law commission was constituted for codification of laws.
- The Act threw open to ail, irrespective of religion, place of birth, descent and colour, services under the Company.
Charter Act of 1853
- The Act renewed the powers of the Company and allowed it to retain the possession of Indian territories in trust for the British Crown but not for any specified period.
- The number of members of the Court of Directors was reduced from 24 to 18 of which 6 were to be nominated by the Crown.
- The Law member was made a full member of the Governor General’s Executive Council.
- Legislation was treated for the first time as separate from executive functions.
- Questions could be asked and the policy of the Executive Council could be discussed, though the Executive Council could veto a bill of the Legislative Council.
- Recruitment to Civil Services was based on open annual competition examination (excluding Indians).
Government of India Act 1858
- Rule of Company in India ended and that of the Crown began.
- System of Dual government ended. Court of Directors and Board of Control abolished and substituted them with a post of Secretary of State (a member of the British cabinet). He was assisted by a 15 – member council (called Indian Council). He was to exercise the powers of the Crown.
- Secretary of State governed India through the Governor General.
- Governor General received the title of Viceroy. He represented Secretary of State and was assisted by an Executive Council, which consisted of high officials of the Government.
- A unitary and highly centralized administrative structure was created.
The Indian Council Act 1861
- A fifth member, who was to be a jurist, was added to the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
- 6 – 12 additional members to be added to the Executive Council for legislation purpose. This implied that Viceroy’s Executive Council, which was so long composed of officials, would now include certain additional non – official members. Some of non – official seats were offered to natives of high ranks. Thus, a minute element of ‘popular’ participation was introduced in the legislative process. The additional members, though, had little powers.
- The Executive Council was now to be called Central Legislative Council.
- Viceroy could issue ordinances in case of emergency.
Indian Council Act 1892
- Two improvements in both the Central and the Provincial Legislative Councils were suggested.
- Though the majority of the official members was retained, the non – official members were to be nominated by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Provincial Legislative Councils. [The non - official members of the Provincial Councils were to be nominated by certain local bodies such as universities, district boards, municipalities]. Indian leaders like G.K. Gokhale, Ashutosh Mukherjee, Ras Bihari Ghosh and S.N. Banerjee found their way in the Legislative Council.
- The Councils were to have the powers to discuss the annual statement of revenue and expenditure (i.e. the budget) and of addressing questions to the Executive). They could also put questions, within certain limits, to the Government on matters of public interest after giving six days notice.
Indian Council Act 1909
Morley – Minto Reforms
- Morley was the Secretary of State, while Minto was the Indian Viceroy.
- Legislative Councils, both at the Centre and in the Provinces, were expanded.
- With regard to Central Government, an Indian member was taken in the Executive Council of the Governor General.
- The size of the Provincial Legislative Councils was enlarged by including elected non – official members so that the official majority was gone. Their functions were also increased. Now, they could move resolutions on Budget and on some matters of public matters.
- An element of election was also introduced in the Central Legislative Council, but the official majority was maintained.
- The most notable and retrograde change introduced was that Muslims were given separate representation. Thus, communal representation was introduced.
Government of India Act 1919
Montague – Chelmsford Reforms
- Diarchy system introduced in the provinces. It was considered to be a substantial step towards transfer of power to the Indians). The Provincial subjects of administration were to be divided into two categories: Transferred and Reserved.
- The Transferred subjects were to be administered by the Governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the Legislative Council. The Governor and the Executive Council were to administer the reserved subjects without any responsibility to the legislature.
- Devolution Rules: Subjects of administration were divided into two categories – Central and Provincial. Subjects of all India importance (like railways and finance) were brought under the category of Central, while matters relating to the administration of the provinces were classified as Provincial.
- The Provincial Legislature was to consist of one House only (Legislative Council).
- The number of Indians in the Governor General’s Executive Council was raised to three in a Council of eight. The Indian members were entrusted with departments such as Law, Education, Labour, Health and Industries.
- The Centre was now to have a Bicameral Legislature for the first time. It actually happened after 1935 Act.
- Communal representation extended to Sikhs, Christians, Anglo – Indians, etc. Secretary of State to be henceforth paid salary out of the British revenue.
Government of India Act 1935
- Provided for the establishment of All – India Federation consisting of the British provinces and the Princely States. The joining of Princely States was voluntary and as a result the federation did not come into existence.
- Diarchy was introduced at the Centre (e.g., Department of Foreign Affairs and Defense were reserved for the Governor General).
- The other Federal subjects were to be administered by the Governor General with the assistance and advice of a Council of Ministers to be chosen by him (but to include representatives of Princely States and minorities, and to be responsible to the Central Legislature). Residuary powers were to be with the Governor General only.
- The Federal Legislature (Central Legislature) was to have two chambers (bicameral) – the Council of State and the Federal Assembly. The Council of State was to be a permanent body with one – third of its membership being vacated and renewed triennially. The Federal Assembly’s duration was fixed for five years.
- It made a 3 – fold division of powers: Federal (Central) Legisl1ative List Provincial Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative List. Residuary legislative powers were subject to the discretion of the Governor General. Even if a bill was passed by the Federal Legislature, the Governor General could veto it, while even Acts assented to by the Governor General could be disallowed by the King – in – Council.
- Provincial autonomy replaced Diarchy in Provinces i.e., the distinction between Reserved and Transferred subjects was abolished and full responsible government was established, subject to certain safeguards. They were granted separate legal identity.
- The Governor was the head of the Provincial Executive and was expected to be guided by the advice of the popular ministries. However, the Act gave arbitrary powers to the Governors to act in their ‘discretion’ in certain matters.
- The Act also provided for a Federal Court (which was established in 1937), with original and appellate powers) to interpret the Constitution. A Federal Bank (the Reserve Bank of India) was also established. The Indian Council of Secretary of State was abolished.
- Principle of separate electorate was extended to include Anglo – Indians, Indian Christians and Europeans.
- Burma (now Myanmar) and Aden were separated from India and two new provinces Orissa and Sind were created.
Composition of Constituent Assembly
The present constitution was framed by the Constituent Assembly of India setup under Cabinet Mission Plan of May 16, 1946.
- A representative from each of the four Chief Commissioners Provinces of Delhi, Ajmer-Marwad, Coorg and British Baluchistan was also added.
- Each Province and each Indian State or group of States were allotted the total number of seats proportional to their respective population roughly in die ratio of one to a million.
- The seats in each province were distributed among the three main communities – Muslim, Sikh and General, in proportion to their respective populations.
- Members of each community in the Provincial Legislative Assembly elected their own representatives by the method of proportional representation with single transferable vote.
- The method of selection in the case of representatives of Indian States was to be determined by consultation.
- But when the Muslim League decided to withdraw its members from the Constituent Assembly of India and with the creation of a separate Constituent Assembly for Pakistan on July 16, 1947, the membership of the Constituent Assembly of India was reduced to 299, out of which 229 represented the provinces and 70 were nominated by the Princely states.
Functioning of the Constituent Assembly
- B N Rao was appointed the constitutional advisor of the Assembly.
- The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place on Dec 9, 1946 with Dr. Sachidanand Sinha as its interim President.
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as its President on Dec 11, 1946.
- The Assembly had 13 committees for framing the constitution.
Drafting Committee
Drafting Committee, which bore the responsibility of drafting the Constitutional document during the recess of the Constituent Assembly, from July 1947 to Sept 1948, was formed on Aug 29, 1947.
Its members were:
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar – Chairman
- N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
- Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar (a distinguished jurist)
- K.M. Munshi (a distinguished jurist)
- Syyed Mohd. Saadulla
- N. Madhav Rao fin place of B.L. Mitra)
- D.P Khaitan (T Krishnamachari, after Khaitan’s death in 1948).
The other important Committees
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Committee |
Chairman |
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Union Power Committee |
Jawaharlal Nehru |
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Fundamental Rights and Minority Committee |
V.B Patel |
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Provincial Constitution Committee |
V.B Patel |
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Union Constitution Committee |
Jawaharlal Nehru |
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Drafting Committee |
B.R Ambedkar |
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Flag Committee |
Jivatram Kripalani |
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Steering Committee |
K.M Munshi |
Enactment of the Constitution
The Drafting Committee prepared the draft of the Constitution, which came out in the open on Feb 4, 1948 (first reading) to elicit the public opinion and reaction to it.
The Assembly had a general discussion on it for five days.
The Constituent Assembly next met on Nov 15, 1948 when the provisions of the Draft were considered and discussed in detail (second reading).
During this stage, as many as 7,653 amendments were proposed and 2,473 were actually discussed in the Assembly.
The third reading of the draft started on Nov 14, 1949. It was finally passed and accepted on Nov 26, 1949.
The last session of the Assembly was held on Jan 24, 1950, which unanimously elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the President of India.
In all, 284 members of the Assembly signed the official copies of the Indian Constitution which came into effect on Jan 26, 1950, known and celebrated as the Republic Day of India.
DO YOU KNOW?
- The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the declaration of independence of 1930.
- The British Constitution is the unwritten constitution.
- The Constitution, adopted on Nov 26, 1949, contained a Preamble, 395 articles & 8 schedules (12 at present).
- Constituent Assembly took 2 years – 11 months – 18 days to complete the constitution.
- Although Constitution was ready on Nov 26, 1949 but was delayed till Jan 26, 1950 because in 1929 on this day Indian National Congress demanded ‘Poorna Swaraj’ in Lahore session under Jawaharlal Nehru.
- [Some of the provisions as those related to citizenship, elections, provisional Parliament etc, were given immediate effect].
- Constituent Assembly adopted our National Flag on July 22, 1947.
- It was designed by Pingali Venkaiah of Andhra Pradesh.
Preamble
- The preamble to the Constitution of India is a brief introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose and principles of the document.
- The “Objective Resolution”, proposed by Pandit Nehru and passed by constituent assembly, ultimately became the Preamble to the Constitution of India.
- The preamble is not an integral part of the Indian constitution to be enforceable in a court of law.
- However, Supreme Court of India has, in the Kesavananda case, recognised that the preamble may be used to interpret ambiguous areas of the constitution where differing interpretations present themselves.
- As originally enacted the preamble described the state as a ""sovereign democratic republic".
- In 1976 the Forty-second Amendment changed this to read "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic".
“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”
Meaning of the key words
Enacting formula
The enacting words "We, the people of India ...in our constituent assembly ...do here by adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution", signifies the democratic principle that power is ultimately vested in the hands of the people. It also emphasizes that the constitution is made by and for the Indian people and not given to them by any outside power (such as the British Parliament).
Sovereign
The word sovereign means supreme or independent. India is internally and externally sovereign - externally free from the control of any foreign power and internally, it has a free government which is directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern the people. She allies in peace and war. The Popular sovereignty is also one of the basic structures of constitution of India. Hence, Citizens of India also enjoys sovereign power to elect their representatives in elections held for parliament, state legislature and local bodies as well.
Socialist
The word socialist was added to the Preamble by the Forty-second Amendment. It implies social and economic equality.
Social equality in this context means the absence of discrimination on the grounds only of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion, or language. Under social equality, everyone has equal status and opportunities.
Economic equality in this context means that the government will endeavor to make the distribution of wealth more equal and provide a decent standard of living for all. This is in effect emphasized a commitment towards the formation of a welfare state. India has adopted a socialistic and mixed economy and the government has framed many laws to achieve the aim.
Secular
The word secular was also inserted into the preamble by the Forty-second Amendment (1976). It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance. India therefore does not have an official state religion. Every person has the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion they choose. The government must not favour or discriminate against any religion. It must treat all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of law.
Democratic
The first part of the preamble “We, the people of India” and, its last part “give to ourselves this Constitution” clearly indicate the democratic spirit involved even in the Constitution. India is a democracy. The people of India elect their governments at all levels (Union, State and local) by a system of universal adult suffrage; popularly known as "one man one vote". Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above and not otherwise debarred by law, is entitled to vote. Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex, religion or education.
Republic
As opposed to a monarchy, in which the head of state is appointed on hereditary basis for a lifetime or until he abdicates from the throne, a democratic republic is an entity in which the head of state is elected, directly or indirectly, for a fixed tenure. The President of India is elected by an electoral college for a term of five years. The post of the President of India is not hereditary. Every citizen of India is eligible to become the President of the country.
Forty-second Amendment
On 18 December 1976, during the Emergency in India, the Indira Gandhi government pushed through several changes in the Forty-second Amendment of the constitution. Through this amendment the words "socialist" and "secular" were added between the words "soveregn" and "democratic" and the words "unity of the Nation" were changed to "unity and integrity of the Nation".
DO YOU KNOW?
- The wording is close to the preamble to the Constitution of Ireland, which had been adopted in 1937; it reads "We, the people of Éire [Ireland] ...Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution".
- The Supreme Court in S.R Bommai v. Union of India held that secularism was an integral part of the basic structure of the constitution.
- The idea for the addition of 'socialist' was prompted by Indira Gandhi, as an ode to India's growing relationship with the erstwhile USSR.
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| From AUSTRALIA |
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| From JAPAN |
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| From WEIMAR CONSTITUION OF GERMANY |
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