The Constitution Day and its journey in 73 years

Published
26th Nov, 2022

Context

The Constitution Day of India also known as 'Samvidhan Divas’ is celebrated on 26th November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India.

About the Constitution of India (One document to bind diverse India)

The Republic of India is governed in terms of the Constitution of India adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and came into force on 26th January 1950.
The Constitution provides for a Parliamentary form of government which is federal in structure with certain unitary features. The constitutional head of the Executive of the Union is the President.
The B. R. Ambedkar-written Constitution has been referred to as first and foremost a social document by American historian Granville Seward Austin.

The Constitution day:

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 19th November 2015 notified the decision of the Government of India to celebrate the 26th day of November every year as Constitution Day of India to promote Constitution values among citizens.
The day was previously celebrated as National Law Day.

Significance of the Constitution:

The Indian government’s written principles and precedents are contained in the Constitution.
It outlines the fundamental political procedures, rights, guiding principles, constraints, and obligations of both the government and its population.
According to the Indian Constitution, it is a democratic, socialist, secular, and democratic republic.
It guarantees justice, equality, and liberty to its citizens.

Background (Drafting of the Constitution)

A Constituent Assembly constituted as part of the Cabinet Mission Plan in 1946 drafted the Indian Constitution.
The Constituent Assembly took two years, 11 months, and 17 days to draft the Constitution for Independent India.
During this period, it held 11 sessions covering 165 days, and its members submitted around 7,600 amendments to the draft Constitution.
On December 9, 1946, the Assembly convened for the first time, electing Dr. Sachhidanand Sinha, its oldest member, as its provisional president.
The first Elected President of the Assembly: Dr. Rajendra Prasad
A Drafting Committee: A seven-member Drafting Committee prepared the Constitution based on the reports of these committees.
The Drafting Committee was led by: B.R. Ambedkar

Some essential parts of our constitution have been taken from the body of many countries, few important ones are:
the fundamental rights and independent judiciary from the USA
the parliamentary system of Britain
the post of President, the federal government system from Canada
the constitutional amendment system in Africa
the fundamental duties of the Soviet Union
Emergency provisions from Germany
Directive principles of policy from Ireland
the Republican system of governance in France
a Concurrent list from Australia