The Constitutional Name Of India: A Historical Overview

The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India and the country's fundamental governing document. It is the world's longest written national constitution for a sovereign nation. The Constitution declares India a ''Union of States' and a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic, and assures its citizens justice, equality, and liberty. The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, and it came into force on 26 January 1950, replacing the Government of India Act 1935. The Constitution uses both 'India' and 'Bharat' in its text, with the country known as Bharat, India, and Hindustan before 1949.

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The Indian Constitution uses both 'India' and 'Bharat' in its text

The Indian Constitution is the supreme legal document of India and is the world's longest written national constitution for a sovereign nation. It lays down the framework that demarcates the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens.

The Indian Constitution, which came into effect on 26 January 1950, uses both 'India' and 'Bharat' in its text. Article 1 of the Constitution, which sets the tone for the entire constitutional framework, starts with both 'India' and 'Bharat'. The Constituent Assembly decided to use both terms in the statement after a debate during the drafting of the Constitution. The country was referred to as Bharat, India, and Hindustan before the Constitutional Assembly in 1949.

The use of both terms in the Constitution has sparked conversations about a potential name change for the country. Some reports claim that the Narendra Modi-led government is considering changing the country's official name to 'Bharat'. However, constitutional experts like P D T Achary have emphasised that 'India, that is Bharat' in Article 1 is descriptive, and the two cannot be used interchangeably. Any change in the country's name from the Republic of India would require amendments to the Constitution.

The Indian Constitution establishes India as a 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic' with a parliamentary system of government. It provides for a federal structure with certain unitary features, recognising the Union of States that comprise the country. The Constitution grants all citizens Fundamental Rights and empowers an independent judiciary to invalidate any legislation or government actions that violate it. It ensures the separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial organs of the government, with the Supreme Court of India as the highest judicial authority.

India is a ''Union of States'

India, also known as Bharat, is a Union of States. It is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, and Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government. The Constitution of India, the supreme legal document of India, is the world's longest written national constitution for a sovereign nation. It lays down the framework that demarcates the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. The Constitution also espouses constitutional supremacy, as it was created by a Constituent Assembly rather than Parliament.

The Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950. The Constitution replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document, and the Dominion of India became the Republic of India. The Constitution declares India to be a union of states, not a unitary state. This means that the central government has certain powers, and the states have their own spheres of authority. This federal structure was adopted to maintain regional diversity and promote cooperative federalism, where states and the central government work together.

The Constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government that is federal in structure with certain unitary features. The constitutional head of the Executive of the Union is the President. The council of the Parliament of the Union consists of the President and two Houses: the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). There is also a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head, who aids and advises the President. The President exercises his or her functions in accordance with the advice of the Council of Ministers.

The Constitution grants all citizens Fundamental Rights and empowers the independent judiciary to invalidate legislation or government actions that violate the Constitution. It also contains a federal system of governance between the Union and the States, a separation of powers between the three organs of the Government, free and fair elections, equality before the law, and a secular state that recognizes freedom of conscience and religion. The Seventh Schedule of the Constitution contains three lists: a Union List, a State List, and a Concurrent List. These lists outline the various subjects on which Parliament and State Legislatures are empowered to make laws.

The Constitution is the supreme legal document of India

The Constitution of India is the country's supreme legal document and the world's longest written national constitution. It lays out the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, as well as the fundamental rights, directive principles, and duties of citizens. The Constitution establishes India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic, with a parliamentary form of government. It ensures citizens' justice, equality, and liberty and promotes fraternity.

The Constitution of India came into effect on January 26, 1950, replacing the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. The Constituent Assembly of India, with 389 members (later reduced to 299 after the partition), took almost three years to draft the Constitution, holding eleven sessions over a 165-day period. The original 1950 Constitution, hand-written and decorated by artists, is preserved in a nitrogen-filled case at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi.

The Constitution of India is notable for its adoption of a federal system, providing for a single integrated system of courts to administer both Union and State laws. At the apex is the Supreme Court of India, followed by High Courts in each state or group of states, and then District Courts. The Constitution grants all citizens Fundamental Rights and empowers the independent judiciary to invalidate any legislation or government action that violates it. It also includes a federal system of governance between the Union and the States, separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial organs of the government, free and fair elections, equality before the law, and the recognition of freedom of conscience and religion in a secular state.

The Constitution has been amended over 100 times since its enactment, making it the world's most frequently amended national governing document. While it does not contain a provision to limit the powers of Parliament to amend it, the Supreme Court has ruled that certain features of the Constitution are integral and cannot be removed. This is known as the ''Basic Structure' Doctrine. The Constitution's specificity in outlining government powers means that many amendments address issues typically handled by statute in other democracies.

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The Constitution declares India a 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic'

The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India and is the world's longest written national constitution. It lays down the framework for the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. The Constitution replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. The original 1950 constitution is preserved in a nitrogen-filled case at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi.

The Constitution declares India a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic. The term "sovereign" signifies India's independence and supreme authority. It denotes India's departure from being a dominion of the British Crown, as set up by the Indian Independence Act, 1947, to a free nation when the Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950. Sovereignty has both external and internal aspects. External sovereignty refers to India's freedom from interference by other states and its ability to acquire or cede territory. On the other hand, internal sovereignty relates to the relationship between the state and individuals within its territory and is divided into four organs: the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, and the administrative.

The term "socialist" in the Constitution refers to social democracy, which involves achieving socialist goals through democratic and non-violent means. While the term is not explicitly defined in the Constitution, it embodies the philosophy that the welfare of society as a whole takes precedence over individual interests. This includes the idea that wealth, being generated socially, should be shared equally by society and that the government should regulate land and industry ownership to reduce socioeconomic inequalities.

The inclusion of "secular" in the Constitution signifies that India is not a theocratic state and does not have an official religion. Secularism, as adopted by India, means equal freedom and respect for all religions, with the relationship between the government and religious groups determined by the Constitution and law.

Finally, "democratic republic" indicates that India is a representative democracy, with its citizens entitled to elect their governments through universal adult franchise, commonly known as "one person, one vote." This form of government is particularly suitable for India due to its large and diverse population.

The Constitution became effective on 26 January 1950

The Constitution of India, the country's supreme legal document, became effective on 26 January 1950. This date is celebrated annually in India as Republic Day. The Constitution, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949, replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document.

The Constitution of India is the world's longest written national constitution for a sovereign nation. It contains approximately 145,000 words across 395 articles, 22 parts, and 8 schedules. The original 1950 constitution, which is written in both Hindi and English, is preserved in a nitrogen-filled case at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi.

The process of drafting the Constitution took almost three years and eleven sessions over a 165-day period. The 389-member assembly (reduced to 299 after the partition of India) was elected by the elected members of the provincial assemblies. The final session of the assembly was held on 24 January 1950, two days before the Constitution became effective. Each member signed two copies of the document, one in Hindi and the other in English.

The Constitution establishes India, also known as Bharat, as a "Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic" with a parliamentary system of government. It lays down the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out the fundamental rights, directive principles, and duties of citizens. It also provides for a federal system of governance between the Union and the States, with certain unitary features. The constitutional head of the Executive of the Union is the President, who exercises his or her functions with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime Minister.

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