Kuldip Chand Dobhetta
The Constitution of India was drafted at a cost of approximately 6 crore rupees, in 2 years, 11 months and 18 days was adopted on 26th November 1949 and came into force on 26th January 1950.
The constitution of any country is the pillar of its strength. The Constitution of India is the largest written constitution in the world. If we look at the history of the Indian constitution, the idea of making a constitution was first given by the internationally famous revolutionary Comrade M N Rao in 1934 which was accepted by the Congress in 1935. In 1940, the British government put forward a proposal also known as the August Offer which included recognition of the people for the creation of their own constitution.
After the 2nd World War, in July 1945, the British Government sent a Cabinet Mission to India which included 03 Ministers for the formation of the Constituent Assembly of India. The members of the Constituent Assembly were constituted by the elected members of the State Assemblies of India. A total 12 sessions were held in this regard and 1st session was from 09 to 23 December 1946, 2nd from 20 to 25 January 1947, 3rd from 28 April to 02 May 1947, 4th from 13-14 July 1947, 5th from 14 to 30 August 1947, 6th on 27 January 1948, 7th from 04 November 1948 to 08 January 1949, 8th from 16 May to 16 June 1949, 9th from 30 July to 18 September 1949, 10th from 6 to 17 October 1949, 11th from 14 to 26 November 1949 and 12th session was on 24th January 1950. A committee was formed to draft the constitution which had a total of 389 members. On 29 August 1947, a Constitution Drafting Committee was formed with Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar as its Chairman.
The Constituent Assembly held approximately 166 meetings in 2 years, 11 months and 18 days. The press and the public were free to attend its meetings. The draft constitution was prepared by the drafting committee and presented to the assembly on 4th November 1947. The draft was discussed in the Constituent Assembly and about 2000 amendments were made during these 2 years. The Indian Constitution has taken a lot from the constitutions of other countries including the Britain, Australia, United States, Soviet Union, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa and Japan. Thus can be said that the Indian Constitution is a mix of all the best constitutions in the world. The Constitution of India is very similar to the constitution of England. All the proceedings regarding the Constitution of India were completed on 26 November 1949 and the Constituent Assembly accepted the Constitution. The Constitution of India was passed on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950. National Constitution Day is celebrated on the 26th of November every year.
The Indian Constitution was originally written in English and the Hindi version was also published in 1950 by the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly Dr. Rajendra Prasad. About 6 crore rupees was spent on preparing the Constitution of India at that time. It has about 80 thousand words. The Indian Constitution has 465 Articles, 12 Schedules and is divided into 22 Parts. Initially it had 395 articles and it had only 08 schedules and it was divided into 22 parts. Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392, 393 and 394 etc. of the Constitution of India came into force on 26 November, 1949, and the remaining part came into force on January 26, 1950. A total 284 members signed it and the constitution making process was completed. 308 members of the Assembly signed two copies of the Constitution in English and in Hindi On 24 January 1950. The original copy of the Indian Constitution is handwritten and was engraved by Santiniketan artists including Ram Manohar Sinha and Nand Lal Bose. On 26 January 1950 the Indian Constitution was fully implemented. 26th January was a very important day in Indian history because it was on 26th January 1930 that the Congress celebrated the Complete Swaraj Day and started the complete freedom struggle.
The constitution has made many rules for the betterment of the people. The Indian Constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government which is federal in structure along with some uniform features. The constitution of India is comprehensive and written which includes a democratic government of elected members and gives freedom of residence, expression of views, education, travel, religion etc. Bhutan which is a neighboring country of India has also accepted the Indian democratic system. The Constitution of India declares a socialist, secular, democratic, and sovereign republic which gives the citizens of this country equal justice and liberty and also promotes the values of the fraternity.
The year 2015 was the 125th birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and on this occasion the Government of India decided to celebrate National Constitution Day in a massive way. On 11th October 2015 while laying the foundation stone of statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in Mumbai Prime Minister Narendra Modi made this declaration. On 19th November 2015 the Government of India officially declared 26th November as the National Constitution Day by notification in the Gazette. For this sole purpose a special committee was formed under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Various other ministries and departments organized the various programs throughout the year with a view to uplift the thoughts and ideas of Dr. Ambedkar. The department of Education and Literacy studies the preamble of the constitution. The salient features of the constitution are known to the students through lectures and seminars. Quiz and essay competitions are also conducted on the Constitution of India. On 26th November 2015 a special session of Parliament was conducted which gave tribute to the constitution and to Baba Saheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. On this occasion the Parliament House was decorated and illuminated with lights. This day is celebrated to spread the importance and awareness of the Constitution as well as the ideas and thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar. The Ministry of External Affairs has also instructed all overseas Indian schools to celebrate the Constitution Day and has also asked all embassies to translate the Indian Constitution into the local language of that country and distribute it to various academies, libraries etc.
The translation of the Indian Constitution into Arabic has been completed and the work is in progress in many other languages. Students of Andhra University participated in the ‘Run for Ambedkar’ rally on the occasion of the 70th Constitution Day at Beach Road in Visakhapatnam on 27 November 2019. On 26th November each year the Department of Sports organized a symbolic run called “Run for Equality”. In year 2023 Government of Manipur officially issued the bilingual edition of the Constitution in Manipuri and English in the Secretariat in Imphal having the contents up to the 105th Amendment of the Constitution becoming the publication of the first time of its kind in its history. In the year 2000, the commission was constituted to investigate the constitution. The Commission submitted its report on 31 March 2002, but the recommendations of the report were not accepted by the governments. Hans Raj Khanna, retired Judge of the Supreme Court has written at the end of his book “Making of India’s Constitution” that if the Indian Constitution is our heritage, then we the people of India are no less than trustees and protectors of those values. The Indian Constitution is not just a paper, it is a way of life and its custodians are only the people. Article 368 lays down the procedure for constitutional amendments. After the implementation of the Constitution, it has been amended 106 times so far. The first amendment was made on 18 June 1951 and so far the last 106th amendment has been made on 28 September 2023. Most of the amendments in the constitution have been made during the emergency imposed in the country.
The Indian Constitution is framed to ensure the dignity of citizens and the unity and integrity of the Nation to promote freedom of thoughts, expression, faith, belief and worship, equality of status and opportunity and promote all communities. National Constitution Day is a symbol of respect for the Constitution of India. It is the basis of a strong and peaceful society, a way to remind us of its importance and celebrate its existence. Of course the makers of the Indian Constitution prepared the constitution keeping in mind every class but the agencies that implement it sometimes fail due to which there is unrest and dissatisfaction in some sections of the society. Sometimes serious questions like misuse of the constitution and attempts to make illegal changes in this are becoming the subject of discussion. To maintain the importance of the Constitution and National Constitution Day our policy makers and implementing agencies should implement the Indian Constitution properly.
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Advocate Kuldip Chand Dobhetta is from Ropar, Punjab.
