CONSTITUTION DAY

 

“However good a Constitution may be, if those who are implementing it are not good, it will prove to be bad. However bad a Constitution may be, if those implementing it are good, it will prove to be good."

--Dr. BR Ambedkar

These are the words of Dr. BR Ambedkar, who drafted the most detailed Constitution of the world i.e. the Constitution of India. These words tell us how important a constitution is for a country.

So; what exactly is a Constitution?

A Constitution is a collection of rules and principles which enunciate how a state will be governed. It forms the framework for all the decisions made by every government official and particularly the Legislature (the lawmaking body), the Executive (President/Prime Minister/Ministers) and the Courts. It also sets out the rights of its citizenswhich must be respected by the state, and therefore, strengthenthe relationship between the government and the people.

India adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 after almost 2 years, 11 months and 17 days. But, It was legally enforced on 26 January 1950. The two-month period between the adoption and enforcement of the Constitution, was used for a thorough reading and translation from English to Hindi.

However, it was only from the year 2015, while laying the foundation stone of the Ambedkar memorial in Mumbai on November 19, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked November 26, as the Constitution Day of India. Since then, November 26 is celebrated as the 'Constitution Day or the Samvidhan Diwas of India' every year.

Previously, this day was celebrated as the ‘Law Day’.The main aim of declaring November 26 as the ‘Constitution Day of India’ is to spread awareness about the ‘Constitution of India’ among the citizens of India.

Today, on this special day, I feel privileged to take this opportunity to mention the lesser known facts about the Constitution of India:

1. The Preamble is the statement that appears first in the Constitution, it tells us about the ideology and ideals which a country is established upon. It is surprising to know that Preamble was the last to be included in the Constitution.

2. There is a total of 117,369 words in the English version of the Constitution of India which contains 444 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 115 amendments. All these words were handwritten by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in italic style with beautiful calligraphy.

3. Each page of the constitution is beautifully decorated by the artists from Shantiniketan including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose.

4. When the draft was prepared and put up for debate and discussion, over 2000 amendments were made before its final version.

5. Along with the Constitution, the National Emblem of India was also adopted.

6. The Constitution of India is an amalgamation of various provisions which are borrowed from other constitutions of the world.

7. The Ideals of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity come from the French Constitution. These words appear in the Preamble of our Constitution.

8. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution was inspired by the US Constitution’s Preamble. Both the Preambles begin with “We the People”.

9. The very idea, 'Fundamental Rights' which are enumerated in our Constitution, was obtained from America’s Bill of Rights.

10. The Fundamental Duties are obtained from the citizen's duties which were listed in the Constitution of the former USSR.

Why a constitution is so important for a country and its people?

As we all know, India got freedom from the British rule in 1947.

The leaders at that point thought wisely in having a written set of rules that can control this newly found freedom so that it is not misused by the people in government.

In this manner; it is a very important tool in the hands of citizens of a country to keep the government in check. It guarantees freedom and rights to the people which ensures dignity to the people. It is the supreme law of a nation.

It is the spine of a nation and in its absence no nation can exist, it would end up simply as a crowd of people.

The Constitution Day is not merely a celebration, rather it is a significant day that motivates all Indians to cherish and follow it in favour of all.

I would like to sum up with the words of the father of Indian Constitution:

“Constitution is not a mere lawyer’s document, it is a vehicle of Life, and its spirit is always the spirit of Age.”     – Dr. BR Ambedkar

 

 

VIJAY LAKSHMI

TGT- SOCIAL SCIENCE

THE MANN SCHOOL