Borrowed from most of the constitutions of the world, the Indian Constitution is unique in its own way. M.N Roy, who was a pioneer in the communist movement of India, put forward the idea of a constituent assembly in the year 1934. In the August Offer of 1940, the British finally accepted the demand. There are many interesting facts about the Indian constitution. For example, in the year 1946, a Constituent Assembly was created with a total of 389 members, which later came down to 299.
The constitution of India was finally ready on 26 November 1949 with 395 Articles, 8 Schedules, and a Preamble. Some of the articles of the constitution came into force on that day itself. On the contrary, the remaining of them came into force on 26 January 1950.
Top 10 Interesting Facts About the Indian Constitution
Lengthiest Constitution Ever Written
One of the interesting facts about the Indian constitution is that it is the lengthiest constitution in the world. There are two kinds of constitutions. The first is the written constitution, and the second is the unwritten one. America has a written constitution like India. On the other hand, the British have an unwritten constitution.
The thing that makes the Indian constitution different from every other constitution is that it is written in detail, expressing every topic elaborately. It is the reason why the Indian constitution is the lengthiest of all constitutions. Even the issues left for the ruling parties in democratic countries are skillfully written in the Indian Constitution. It covers every topic, from fundamental rights to administrative provisions.
The Three-Tier Government
Another interesting fact about the Indian constitution that makes it different from the rest of the world is that it follows a three-tier government. The three-tier government has not always been in the Indian Constitution. When it was prepared, there were only two-tier governments. It was in 1992 when the 73rd Amendment was brought to introduce a third-tier government. The third tier of government is the Panchayat. After its introduction, the Indian constitution became the only one in the world with a three-tier government.
Various Source
It took almost two years, 11 months, and 17 days to create the Indian Constitution. As a reason, it has to look out for other sources. The Indian Constitution has borrowed most of its provisions from other countries’ constitutions. Most of the law has been taken from the Government of India act 1935.
The most important part of the Indian constitution, the Fundamental Rights, has been taken from the American constitution. In contrast, the State Policy principles have been derived from the Irish Government.
Parliamentary System
The Indian constitution has taken various ideas from the American Constitution that follows the Presidential System; however, the Indian constitution chose to adopt the Parliamentary System of the British Constitution.
In the Parliamentary form of Government, there is a sense of cooperation and coordination between legislative and executive organs of the government. On the other hand, in the Presidential form of government, powers are distributed between two organs.
Rigid As Well As Flexible
The Constitution can be rigid like the American Constitution, and it can also be flexible like the British Constitution. However, the Indian Constitution is both sorts of Constitution. It is rigid as well as flexible.
In a rigid form of constitution, special provisions are made to pass any amendment. While in the flexible form of the constitution, there is no provision or special procedure to pass any amendment.
Secular State
While almost all western countries are divided into religion and politics, the Indian constitution is one that promotes secularism; it does not give any religion the country’s official religion status. It provides equal respect for all faiths and protects their rights.
However, temporary reservations are made for the backward classes like the Scheduled Tribes and the Schedule Caste to promote social equality. The articles that cover this are 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30.
Handwritten Constitution
Unlike most other constitutions, the Indian Constitution is neither typed nor printed; it is handwritten. The exciting thing here is that Prem Behari Narain Raizada calligraphed the English version of the Indian constitution. At the same time, Vasant Krishan Vaidya calligraphed the Hindi Version of the Constitution.
Each page of the constitution is well-designed and decorated by the hands of Shantiniketan artists.
Preservation of the Indian Constitution
The Indian Constitution is proud of India. Therefore, it needs utmost care. As a reason for this, the Indian Constitution is kept in a helium case inside the Parliament of India.
The Role of Elephant
When the Constituent Assembly was constituted, it required a symbol. It is why the Constituent Assembly adopted the Elephant as a symbol.
B.R. Ambedkar Wanted to Burn Indian Constitution
The last interesting fact about the Indian Constitution in this article is that the father of the Indian constitution wanted to destroy it. Even though B.R. Ambedkar was the chairperson of the Constituent Assembly, in a debate, in 1953, B.R. Ambedkar said he would be the first person to burn the constitution.
Conclusion
There are not only ten but many unheard interesting facts about the Indian Constitution. In 1949, there were 395 Articles and 8 Schedules, which increased to 470 Articles and 12 Schedules.
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