Jonah Patel
The Indian Constitution, which came into force on 26 January 1950, refers to the country as a '
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Names of India in the Constitution | India, Bharat, Hindustan, Aryavarta |
| Date of Adoption | 26 November 1949 |
| Date of Enforcement | 26 January 1950 |
| Type of Government | Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system |
| Constitutional Head of the Executive | The President |
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What You'll Learn
India's constitutional name
The constitutional name of India is the 'Union of States', as outlined in Article 1 of the Constitution of India 1950. This article declares that India is a Union of States and defines the country's territory. The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.
The use of the term 'Union of States' was chosen over 'Federation' to ensure that it was clear that individual states did not have the right to secede from India. During the drafting of this article, there was some debate over the name of the country, with one member suggesting a change from 'India' to 'Bharat', and another proposing the use of both names. As a result of this debate, the Constitution recognises both 'India' and 'Bharat' as the country's name.
The English term 'India' is derived from the Greek 'Indika' or 'Indía', which comes from the Latin transliteration of the country's name. The country is also referred to as 'Hindustan' and 'Aryavarta'.
In addition to the English and Sanskrit names, the Indian Constitution has been translated into various regional languages. One notable example is the translation into the Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri), published on 3 January 2019. This translation was the result of a collaborative effort between the Government of Manipur and the Union Government of India and was written in Bengali script.
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India as a 'Union of States'
The Indian Constitution, which came into force on 26 January 1950, established India as a "Union of States". This union was formed from 9 former Indian provinces and 562 former Indian states. The Indian states retain key powers for themselves and have a strong influence over the national government via the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States. The members of each state legislature elect and appoint their representatives in the Council of States, with the number of seats controlled by each state roughly based on its population. While the Rajya Sabha has equal power to the lower house, or Lok Sabha, on most topics, the national government has the final say in many cases.
The governing powers of the states are shared between the state government and the union government. In contrast, the union territories are directly governed by the union government. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines, resulting in the creation of new states. For example, Andhra Pradesh was created by merging Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State. Bombay State was split into the linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960. The former Union Territory of Nagaland became a state in 1963, and in 1966, the Punjab Reorganisation Act led to the creation of Haryana and the transfer of some northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh.
The Indian Constitution also provides for the creation of new states and the reorganisation of existing ones. For instance, in 2014, Andhra Pradesh was divided into two states: Telangana and a residual Andhra Pradesh. In 2019, the Parliament of India passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which reorganised the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The President of India is chosen by an electoral college composed of members of both the national and state legislatures. The voting is conducted using a secret, single transferable vote. While the Constitution gives legislative powers to the two Houses of Parliament, any bill must be signed by the President to become law. Similarly, any amendment to the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha.
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India's territory
India is a federal union of 28 states and 8 union territories, totalling 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions.
The Indian Constitution defines India as a 'Union of States', with the states retaining key powers for themselves and having a strong influence over the national government via the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States. The states are self-governing administrative divisions, each with its own state government, and the union territories are directly governed by the union government.
The States have separate legislative and executive branches but share the judiciary with the Union government. The High Courts of the States are directly constituted by the national constitution, and the constitution also allows states to set up lower courts under and controlled by the state's High Court. The States are sometimes involved in the amendment process, particularly when an amendment to the Constitution specifically concerns the States by modifying the legislature or the powers reserved for the states in the Seventh Schedule.
The Union government has the power to unilaterally create new states out of territories or existing states and to modify and diminish the boundaries of existing states. The States are represented in the Rajya Sabha, with the number of seats controlled by each State in the Council of States based roughly on each State's population. The members of each state legislature elect and appoint these representatives in the Council of States.
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India's constitutional name in other languages
The Indian Constitution was first translated from English into Sanskrit and published on 1 April 1985 as "Bhartasya Samvidhanam". The Hindi translation of the Indian Constitution is notable as the first translation among Indian languages. This task was undertaken by Raghu Vira, a distinguished linguist, scholar, politician, and member of the Constituent Assembly. The vocabulary developed for Hindi later served as a base for translating the constitution into several other Indic languages.
The Constitution of India has been translated into only a few of the 22 scheduled languages of the Indian Republic. The Indian constitution, in 1950, declared Hindi in Devanagari script to be the official language of the union. The Official Languages Act, 1963, which came into effect on 26 January 1965, made provision for the continuation of English as an official language alongside Hindi. The constitution also allows for the optional use of Hindi in many high courts, with the consent of the president.
The Constitution of India was first translated from English into the Odia language and published on 1 April 1981 as "Bharatara Sambidhana". The Constitution was also first translated into the Bengali language and published in 1983 as "Bharoter Songbidhan". Its third edition was published in 2022 and contains up to the One hundred and fifth Amendment of the Constitution. The Constitution was then translated into the Tamil language and published in 2021 as "Intiya araciyalamaippu".
The Constitution of India was also first translated from English into Meitei (officially known as Manipuri) and published on 3 January 2019 as "Bharotki Songbidhan". On 26 November 2023, the then Chief Minister of the Government of Manipur, Nongthombam Biren Singh, officially released the diglot edition of the Constitution of India in the Meetei Mayek (Meitei for 'Meitei writing system') in Manipuri and English.
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India's constitutional name vs. other names
The constitutional name of India is Bharat, also known as the Republic of India. The country is a "Union of States", as declared in the first article of its constitution, which came into force on 26 January 1950.
The use of the name 'Bharat' in the constitution was a topic of debate during the drafting process. Some members of the Constituent Assembly, which adopted the constitution, preferred 'Bharat' over 'India' due to its historical pedigree. An amendment was introduced to use both 'India' and 'Bharat' in the document, reflecting the country's dual identity.
The name 'India' is derived from the Greek 'Indika' or 'Indía', which comes from the Latin transliteration of the country's name. Other names for India include Hindustan and Aryavarta.
India is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government. The constitution provides for a federal structure with certain unitary features, and the states have a strong influence over the national government through the Rajya Sabha or Council of States. The states are allocated seats in the Council of States based on their population, and their representatives are elected by the members of each state legislature.
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Frequently asked questions
Two names of India are mentioned in the Indian Constitution: India and Bharat.
There was no unanimity in the Constituent Assembly with regard to the name of the country. Some members suggested the traditional name, Bharat, while others advocated for the modern name, India. Thus, the constituent assembly had to adopt a mix of both.
Article 1 of the Indian Constitution says, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." This provision deals with two things: name and type of polity.
