The Preamble, as you already know, contain the ideals and basic principles of the Indian Constitution. The Preamble is not a part of the Constitution. It  is not enforceable in a court of law. No one can go to the court and say that the Preamble has not been enforced by the government. Still the Preamble serves as the guiding light of the Constitution.
            Before reading about the salient features of the Constitution, it is necessary to know about the Preamble. The Preamble remained unchanged till 1976. In 1976, the words 'Socialist', 'Secular' and 'Unity and integrity of the Nation' were added. As you read about the different features you will know how the Preamble has been reflected in the Constitution . The following are the salient features of the Constitution :

A detailed written Constitution
The Constitution of India is the most detailed Constitution in the World. The Constitution was framed by the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly under the chairmanship of B.R. Ambedkar. The Constitution was divided into 22 parts, 396 Articles and 8 Schedules. (Four more schedules have been added since then.)
                 No other Constitution has gone into such minute details as the Indian Constitution . Besides the governmental structure at the central, state and local levels, the Constitution elaborates upon citizenship, rights and duties or the people, directive principles of state policy, union-state relations, trade and commerce, services, elections, emergency provisions and representation. You know the complex problems India faced at the time of independence. Our Constitution makers did not wantto leave any gap in the Constitution that would create problems later. They did not want any portion of the Constitution to be vague or unclear. They felt no matter should be left subject to doubts. The result was an elaborate and detailed constitutional document.

Amending Procedure
You already why the Indian Constitution is called a 'living document'. In the Constituent Assembly there were members who wanted to give a written, elaborate Constitution. They wanted to write every detail in black and white. While there was another group of experts who were conscious of the fast changing Indian society. Such a society would need vast programes of socioeconomic changes. They argued that eh Constitution must be able to adapt itself to the changing conditions. This would have been possible only with a suitable amending procedures. In the first category, amendments can be done by simple majority of members present and voting before sending it for the President's assent. In the second category, amendments require a special majority. Such an amendment be passed by each House of Parliament by the two-third majority of the members of the House present and voting and then sent to the President for his assent. The third category of amendment is really difficult to pass. Besides the special majority mentioned in the second category, the same has to be approved by at least 50 % of the state legislatures.

A Sovereign Democratic Republic
The Preamble declares India a Sovereign Democratic Republic. India is a sovereign country. It is free from external control. Internally, India can frame or form its own policies. It cannot be dictated by any other foreign power. India can formulate its own foreign policy.
                    India is a democracy. People of India elect their governments at all the levels (central, state and local ) by the method of Universal Adult Franchise. Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above and who is not otherwise debarred by law, is entitled to vote in the election. Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed , colour, sex or education .
                    The Preamble declares India a Republic. It means that the head of the State, i.e., the President is elected by the people. The President is not a hereditary ruler like the British monarch.

Federal Features
In a federal government, there are two sets of governments. The union ( as we call in India ) government and the state governments. The Constitution gives both the sets of governments clearly marked areas of functioning . But the Constitution of India does not use the term'Federal. It says India is a 'Union of States' . The Constitution clearly mentions the subjects on which the central and the state governments can pass laws. This is called division of powers between the centre  and the state governments. The Constitution demarcates the powers of the central and the state governments into different lists of subjects. These lists are called the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List. Subjects of national importance like defence , foreign affairs, atomic energy, banking, post and telegraph are included in the Union List. The central government can pass laws on the subjects mentioned in the Union List. The Union list has 97 subjects. The State List comprises those important subjects on which the state government can pass laws. Subjects like police, local government, trade and commerce within the state, agriculture are included in the State List. The State List has 66 subjects. In order to avoid any kind of ambiguity in the distribution of functions, the Constitution provides for a third list which is called Concurrent List. These are the subjects which are of common concer both to the centre and the state governments . Ordinarily both the central and state governments can frame law on these subjects . However, if there, is a conflict between the central law and the state law, over a subject in the Concurrent List the central law would be effective. This list includes subjects like criminal and civil procedure, marriage and divorce, education, economic planning, trade unions. The Concurrent List has 47 subjects. Our Constitution makers wanted to be so precise about the distribution of powers between the governments, that after providing for three lists, they provided for what is called 'residuary powers' . Matters which are not included in the division of powers, are known as residuary powers. It was felt that there can be subjects which are not mentioned in either of these lists. The central government has been given the power to legislate on these 'residuary' subjects.
                         Unlike other federation, in India the centre clearly has advantages over the states. The Union List has more subjects and has subjects of national importance. In teh Concurrent List, the Constitution gives greater powers to the center. Besides the division of powers, in a federation normally we find dual citizenship. In the USA which is a federation, everyperson is a citizen of the United States and also a citizen of his/ her state. But in India we have single citizenship only. In an election, a citizen votes as an individual or an Indian and not as a Bengali, a Punjabi, a Tamil, or a Gujarati. Finally , there are some provisions in the Constitution known as emergency provisions. The Constitution specifies certain conditions when an emergency can be declared. At the time of emergency, the Central Government has surely been given more powers about which you are going to read later.

Parliamentary System
India has a parliamentary form of government . In a parliamentary system, the  Parliament is supreme and represents the people. The legislature in the centre is called the Parliament or the Sansad. The Parliament is bicameral which means it has two houses :
                     Though teh government is carried on in the name of the President at the centre and the Governor in the states, actual administration is carried on by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister in the centre and Chief Minister in the states. The Council of Ministers is responsible to the legislature which comprises the representatives of the people. This makes the legislature or the Parliament supreme.

A Welfare State
The Constitution spells out the establishment of a welfare state. A welfare state is the state which performs functions aimed ate the welfare of the people. Such a state regards subjects like education, public health or agriculture as important as looking after the defence or the foreign affairs of the country.
                     Directive Principles of State Policy about which you are going to read in the next chapter, aims at making India a welfare state.

A Socialist, Secular State
The Preamble declares India as socialist and sevular state. Democracy with its theory of universal adult franchise, give  political equality to its citizens. But equality remains incomplete if it is not extended to social and economic life too. India strives for a society where there will be no major economic inequality between people.
India is a secular state. All citizens irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of the law. The government cannot formulate such policies which discriminate between various religious communities which live in India .

Emergency Provisions
Emergency provisions are another very important feature of the Indian Constitution . There are times when the country could not be run as in ordinary times. To cope with such difficult times, the Constitution provides for the emergency provisions. You are going to read about the emergency provisions in the following chapters.


Independent and Impartial Judiciary
The Constitutiona has provided for he establishment of independent and impartial judiciary. You have already read that India has two sets of governments, the central or union government and teh state government . In case of a conflict between the two sets of governments the Judiciary is expected to play the role of an umpire as it is in a cricket match. The judiciary has to play an impartial role in such a situation. The Constitution has laid down that in case of a dispute between centre and the state on constitutional matters (matters relating to the Constitution) it will be decided by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the apex court in our judiciary . The Indian Constitution in keeping to its size, has a number of distinctive features.

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Introduction 
This unit begins with two maps of India. The first map shows India as it emerged after independence. The second map is  a political map showing India of today. It is  for you to study both the maps and find out the difference between 'India in 1947'  and 'India in 2002' .
                     After independence the first massive task was the integration of over 500 princely states about which you have already studied in the last chapter of Unit I. It was a challenge to the government of free India. To the relief of the nation as a whole this challenge was met with satisfaction. However, creating a new India encompassing in it diversities of languages, religions and regions was indeed a Herculean task. In 1956, reorganization of states on linguistic basis became a reality. But there is a brief history of how reorganization of states on linguistic basis was mooted and achieved. Surely you would like to know about it, though very briefly.
                    Hindi was given the status of national and official language with English being retained as a link language. The Constitution enumerated a list of 15 languages (including Hindi ) . To this list three more languages have been added since then.
                     The very fact that the previous provinces were redistributed on the basis of language, shows that the government from its inception, wanted, as far as possible, to accommodate the aspirations of the people of different parts and regions.
                    Reorganization of states in 1956 was not the end in itself. Much after the reorganization of 1956, quite a few new states were carved out in view of the popular demands. These states included Gujarat, Nagaland, Haryana, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura and Goa. Very Recently three more states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal were created.
                    Now it is time again for you to look into the present political map of India. Find out the total number of states and union territories in India. The term "Union territories " may sound unfamiliar to you. About union territories you are going to read later on. But before you read about states and union territories it is very essential for you to know about the Indian Constitution. How this Constitution was framed ? How our Constitution makers with their exemplary dedication and hard work evolved this document.
                   It was on 26 January 1950 that the Indian Constitution was enforced and India was declared a 'Republic'. Since then this day is celebrated as 'Republic Day'. The Constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, but it came into being on 26 January 1950. Why 26 January 1950 was chosen? There is a history behind selecting this day about which you have already read in earlier chapters. In December 1929, the Congress in its Lahore session had decided to fight for Poorna Swaraj or Complete Independence and 26 January 1930 was celebrated as the Independence Day since then. That is why our leaders decided to celebrate 26 January 1950 as the day to enforce the Constitution of India which is  a symbol of India's Independence.
                  Before going into the details of the features of the Indian Constitution in the following chapter, it will be interesting to know how was this Constitution framed. Even before we read about the framing of the Constitution, would you not like to know what is a Constitution ?

Meaning of a Constitution
A Constitution signifies independence. Every independent country prepares a Constitution of its own. It lays down the basic structure of the government under which its people are to be governed. It establishes the main organs of the government -- the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. The Constitution not only defines the powers of each organ, it demarcates the responsibilities of each. It regulates the relationship between the three organs and also with the people. In short, the Constitution is a fundamental legal document according to which the government of a country functions. A Constitution is superior to all the laws of a country. Every law enacted by the governmental machinery, has to be in conformity with the Constitution, which are also called basic laws, act as the source according to which rules and regulations of governing a country are framed.
                   In a democratic country like India, the importance of the Constitution is still more significant. In a democratic government, the citizens participate in the functioning of the government, directly or indirectly. It is a government in which the government's powers are clearly spelt out. It is also a government under which citizen's rights are given clearly.. How are these limits to be placed on the activities of he government under which citizen's rights are given clearly. How are these limits to be placed on the activities of the government as well as the citizens? This is done by the Constitution . So you see the Constitution is not a mere document. It is constantly growing and evolving according to the needs, requirements and aspirations of the functioning institutions . Every Constitution gets meaning and content only from the manner in which and by the people by whom it is operated. A Constitution, thus , is a living document.

The Indian Constitution : How was it Framed? 
The Indian Constitution which stands for national goals like Democracy, socialism , Secularism and National Integration, was framed by the representatives of Indian people after a long period of debates and discussions. India became an independent country on 15 August 1947 after waging a long struggle for freedom against the British rule under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
                       With the outbreak of World War II , the national struggle for freedom in India gathered momentum. The war in Europe came to an end in May 1945. In July, a new Government about which you have already studied came to power in England. The government announced its Indian Policy. His Majestys' Governments intention to convene a Constitution Making Body was announced. The British government sent three of its ministers to find a solution to the question of India's Independence. This team of ministers was called Cabinet Mission.
                   The Cabinet Mission discussed the frame work for the Constitution and laid down in some detail of the procedure to be followed by the constitution making body. Elections for the 296 seats assigned to the British- Indian provinces were completed by July-August 1946. With the independence of India, the Constituent Assembly became a fully sovereign body. The Assembly started working from the ninth-day of December 1946.
                    It was India's good fortune that when she emerged as and independent country, she had the benefit of a galaxy of outstanding leaders. Some of these leaders who were elected to the Constituent Assembly, were fully conscious about the enormity of the task before them. Their farsightedness and visionary statesmanship found expression in the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land. Great men and women from different communities were entrusted with the momentous task of drafting the Constitution of free India. They came to the Constituent Assembly from all parts of the country, making it a miniature India.
                   The Constituent Assembly had members belonging to different communities and regions of India. It also had members representing different political parties. Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad , Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad Mookerji, Sardar Baldev Singh were some of the important leaders who guided the discussion in the Assembly. There were more than 30 members from scheduled castes as well. Anglo-Indian community was represented by frank anthony while Parsis were represented by H.P.Modi. Constitutional experts like Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar, B.R. Ambedkar, K.M.Munshi were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu and Vijaylakshmi Pandit were important women members.
                  Rajendra Prasad was elected President of Constituent Assembly. A Drafting Committee was appointed to draft the Constitution. B.R.Ambedkar was appointed the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
                 The Constituent Assembly met for 166 days spread over a period of 2 years , 11 months and 18 days. By the time the Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949, the distinguished members of the Assembly had discussed threadbare each and every one of its provisions. The Constitution had incorporated some of the salient features of the British, Irish, French and the American Constitutions.
                    Though, the Constituent Assembly was not directly elected by the people, its sessions were open to the press and the people. The views and the opinions of the people were also expressed freely in the newspapers. The Constitution, thus incorporated in itself the views and opinions of the people of India.
                     The Constitution was passed by the Assembly on 26 November 1949. It came into being on 26 January 1950. Do you remember why this date was chosen? Move backward to the beginning of this chapter and read about the Lahore Session and Poorna Swaraj and you will remember.
                The underlying philosophy of the Constitution was set out by Jawaharlal Nehru in his Objectives Resolution.
              The Preamble to the Indian Constitution about which you are going to read in the next chapter , incorporates this underlying philoshophy . The wordings of the Preamble highlight some of the fundamental and noblest values and guiding principles on which the Indian Constitution is based .

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Constitutional History of India

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