Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes Chapter 17 Salient Features of Indian Constitution
- The constitution and political system of a country are the collective philosophies of faiths, beliefs and basic eternal values and principle of a country.
- The constitution- makers of our country framed or made our constitution keeping in mind the historical, social, religious, and political circumstances of our country.
- The aim of our constitution- makers was to establish a welfare state. They have explained the ideals of the constitution in the preamble of the constitution to achieve this very goal.
- Our constitution- makers have included the best qualities of the important constitutions of the world. They have also provided the options of changes in the constitution as per the Indian needs and circumstances.
- India constitution is called “Living constitution”, a document that took the longest time in the world to prepare. It was prepared in 2 years 11 months and 18 days.
- The expression of its fundamental conceptual base has been given in brief in the preamble of the constitution, which cannot be changed in any circumstance.
- The ideals that ensure our commitment to democracy, freedom, equality, and justice to all, are the soul of our constitution.
Salient Feature of Indian Constitution:
- The salient features of Indian constitution are :
- Sovereign constitution
- Preamble
- Largest constitution of the world
- Written and created constitution
- Parliamentary system of Government.
- Fundamental rights and duties
- Directive principles of state policy
- Socialist state
- Adult Franchise.
- Secular state
- Distinguished document.
- Remarkable fusion of unitary and federal elements
- Independent Judiciary.
- Combination of Rigidity and Flexibility.
- Harmony between judicial review and Parliamentary supremacy.
- Advocate of world peace.
- Emergency provisions.
- Single citizenship.
- Ideal of establishing welfare state
- Special provisions for the welfare of minority and backward classes.
- Indian constitution is based on popular sovereignty. It means it is made by the people of India, o The ultimate power has been given to the people of India by the constitution, o Dr K.M. Munshi has called the preamble, ‘the political horoscope of the constitution’. It (Preamble) is also called the soul of Indian constitution.
- Indian constitution is the largest constitution of the world. It has 395 articles, 22 parts, 12 schedules and 5 appendices.
- The constitution has undergone 101 amendments and this process of making amendments is still going on unobstructed.
- The 101st amendment is related to Goods and Services Tax (GST).
- Along with the centre, the parliamentary system has been followed in the states also where the Governor is the head of the state.
- The fundamental rights of the citizens have been mentioned in the articles 12 to 35 of our constitution.
- A new article 21 (a) has been added to article 21, this article provides all children between the age of 6 to 14, free and compulsory education, which is the responsibility of the state.
- Section 4 of the constitution is inspired by the constitution of Ireland. It mentions the directive principles of state policy.
- By the 42nd amendment of the constitution in 1976, India has been declared a socialist republic. It has-been added to the preamble with a view to giving a new direction to the Indian polity.
- Every citizen attaining the age of 18 has been given the right to vote equally as other adult citizens. ® According to article 25 of the Indian constitution, freedom has been given to every citizen in tht practice of religion.
- The word “Secular” was added in the constitution by the 42nd amendment.
- India is a federal state. The phrase “Union of States” has been used in place of “federal”. States cannot have their own constitutions. Only one constitution, that of the centre, is applicable to both the centre and the states.
- The judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President of India. They can be removed only through impeachment motion passed by the Parliament.
- If the orders of the executive and the laws enacted by the legislative violate the constitutional provisions, the judiciary has the right to declare them unconstitutional and void.
- To protect the fundamental rights of the citizens under article 32, the judiciary can issue writs like habeas corpus, Quo warranto, etc. under judicial review.
- Indian constitution is a combination of rigidity and flexibility.
- The inclusion of rigidity in the constitution has been taken from the constitution of the US and flexibility from that of the U.K. .
- Our constitution makers have taken the middle path between judicial review and parliamentary supremacy in our constitution.
- The Parliament has been made supreme, and to control it, the judiciary has been provided with the right to explain the constitutional provisions concurrently.
- The Supreme Court, by power of judicial review, can declare any law enacted by the Parliament as unconstitutional if it is not as per the spirit of the constitution.
- Following the principle of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam” (the whole world is a family), our constitution has supported world peace.
- According to article 51 of Directive Principles of the state policy, it is the duty of the state that it establishes international peace, secilrity, and just and respectful relations between the nations.
- Indian government has adopted the non-alignment policy and Panchsheel policy.
- Our constitution makers have followed the ideal of single citizenship only.
- For the protection of the religions, linguistic and cultural interests of the minorities, special provisions have been made in the constitution.
- Under article 330 and 332 of the Indian constitution, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes have been provided reservation in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
In article 335, no time limit has been decided for reservation in the government jobs for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Preamble. - The glorious values of our constitution have been placed in the preamble of the constitution.
- On 26 November 1949, we adopted, enacted and gave the constitution to ourselves in the Constituent assembly.Description of Preamble.
- The source of Indian constitution is the people of India. In other words, the constitution has been made by the representatives elected by the people of India.
- India is a sovereign state.
- Mixed economy has been adopted with a view of removing economic disparity and raising the standard of life of the backward and weaker sections of the society.
- The head of the state or sovereign person in India is not hereditary, but he or she is an elected representative.
- The ideal of fraternity is based on two premises:
- Unity of India, and
- Self respect of the individual.
- The fundamental ideals of the constitution have been mentioned in the preamble.
Important Dates and Events Given in the Chapter:
RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes Chapter 17 Important Terms
- Constitution : A body of fundamental principles or established precedents, according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.
- Living Constitution : Constitution makers have provided the options of change in the constitution as per the Indian needs and circumstances, that’s why it is called “Living Constitution.”
- Preamble : Every constitution has a preamble in its beginning. The fundamental goals of the constitution are explained by it so that the constitution is implemented and followed as per its fundamental spirit.
- Parliamentary System of Government : In this system, the executive is collectively responsible to the legislative.
- Fundamental Rights : The fundamental and compulsory rights which are provided by the constitution are called fundamental rights. If these rights are violated by anybody, the citizens can seek justice from the judiciary. These are laid down in section 3 of the constitution.
- Directive Principles of State Policy : These are the ideals which play the role of a guide to the governments. These are mentioned in section 4 of the constitution.
- Socialist State : A Socialist state refers to any state that is constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism.
- Adult Franchise : Every citizen attaining the age of 18, has been given the right to vote, this is called adult franchise.
- Secular State : The state has adopted a neutral stand in the matters of religion. The state doesn’t have any official religion.
- Judicial Review : The Supreme Court, by the power of judicial review, can declare any law enacted by the Parliament as unconstitutional if it is not as per the spirit of the constitution.
- Quo Warranto : It is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right or power they claim to hold.
- Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam : It is a principle which means the whole world is a family. Hence state shall establish international peace, security, and just and respectful relations between the nations of different religions and social systems.
- Panchsheel Policy : The five principles of peaceful coexistence known as the panchsheel treaty. Non interference in others internal affairs and respect for each other’s territorial unity, integrity and sovereignty, are set of principles to govern relations between states.
- Non Alignment Policy : State policy of being neutral. Policy according to which a state is notaligned with or against any major power bloc.
- Public Welfare State : A state which owns the responsibility of protecting the interests pf the weaker sections of society.
- Act: A law passed by the legislature in Parliament or the state assembly.
- Constitutional Amendment : When any change, as per the requirement of the country is made in the constitution, as per the amendment procedure mentioned in the constitution, it is called constitutional amendment.
- Democratic : It means that the sovereign power of state is used by the elected representative of the people who are accountable to the people.
- Republic : It means that the head of the state or sovereign person in India is not hereditary, but he/ she is an elected representative.
- Constituent Assembly : The assembly which consists of representative of people to make the constitution, is called constituent assembly.
- Sovereign : India is a sovereign state. It means it is not subordinated to any foreign power regarding its internal and foreign affairs.
- Political Justice : Indian constitution ensures the ideal of political justice by establishing adult franchise and constitutional remedies.
- Hari Vishnu Kamath : He was the member of the constituent assembly. He said, “ We are proud that our constitution is the largest constitution of the world.”
- Dr K. M. Munshi: He was a renowned freedom fighter and politician. He served as a health minister in central government in 1950-51. He served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1952-57. He called the preamble of Indian constitution “the political horoscope of the constitution.” .
- Emergency : A condition of external aggression, war, armed rebellion, constitutional failure (as described in the article 360) in the whole country or any part of it.