In 1949, a historic event took place which ultimately transformed the picture
of India for better and granted the country the status of a 'Sovereign,
Socialist, Secular, Democratic and Republic' nation. Yes, India adopted its own
constitution.
On November 26, 1949 the Constitution of India was adopted, enacted and
ultimately dedicated to the people of India by the People of India, a reason why
November 26 every year is known and celebrated as 'Samvidhan Diwas' or the 'Law
Day' for India's democracy.
'Samvidhan Diwas' not only signifies the construction and the commencement of
the world's largest democracy but along with the same it educates us about the
relevance and the visionary perspectives of our constitution makers that has
guided in the complete formation of our constitution into a document which not
only reflects a sense of freedom that has been guaranteed to the people of India
but also a sense of deep faith and reverence to this very sacred body of law.
Thus, with this background, it seems relevant to know some of the important
points about the Constitution of India.
- Indian Constitution is based on Natural Law Principles:
The Constitution of India guarantees to the people of the country their
important Rights and Freedoms foundational not only upon the considerations
of the societal changes from time to time but also guarantees and assures
them these rights and freedoms based on the principles of Natural Law. Even
though 'Natural Law', as such, is no where mentioned in the text of the
constitution, the document surely has provided us with protections of the
same.
Natural Law, principally, is a law that is derived not from any Code or
Rules nor any other Convention, neither it is governed by them, but from the
nature itself straight from the existence of a human being and the same is
considered most fundamental and paramount for the actual survival and
development of a human personality. Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the
Constitution of India are the most prominent examples representing the
presence of Natural Law principles in the document.
- Women's Right to vote:
Right to Vote to be granted to the people, especially women, in any
democratic State represents the existence of a developed Nation in this
respect as well as a much evolved sense of an individual's subsistence and
contribution in the making of the governmental regime of the country. Right
to vote provides a citizen of a particular nation with a responsibility of
building a fair authority which is vested with an obligation of creating and
preserving basic rights for its people.
In India, the implementation of Universal Adult Franchise (Right to vote)
actually became effective after the Constitution of India came into force,
that is on 26 January, 1950. However, before India gained independence there
were several laws which were passed by the British Government that provided
voting rights to women on certain criterias only, for instance, The
Government of India Act of 1919, women were granted voting rights however
not every women enjoyed such a status. Their Right to Vote was dependent
upon the eligibility criteria of them owning certain property and wealth and
therefore during that time women's voting rights clearly were not considered
fundamental to the development of the state.
However, this state of affairs was no more to be found when India gained
freedom from British Raj and it was finally in the 1951 general elections,
after the enforcement of the Constitution of India, in free and democratic
India that women received the required recognition to vote and bring a
change in the nation which was needed without any discrimination on the
grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or any of them.
- Supreme law of the land:
The Indian Constitution is the supreme law of the land in India endorsing
within its structured framework the 'Rule of Law'. The Rule of Law is the
soul of the Indian Constitution and can be found in the interpretation of
words like 'Liberty, Justice and Equality' contained in the Preamble and in
Part III of the document titled as 'Fundamental Rights'.
Not only this, the Constitution has provided for the three different organs
of the government and their functioning;
An independent judicial system (Articles 124-147 and 214-237) and various
provisions for the harmonious existence of the centre and state relations
(Article 245-263).
- An individual's Protector, Article 21 : Article 21of the Constitution
of India titled as:
'Right to Life and Personal Liberty' acts as an individual's protector. This
provision not only speaks about the mere animal existence of a person but
living a life with complete dignity and respect along with enjoying a
standard of living with attainment of certain opportunities beneficial for
an individual's overall personality.
In a case titled as
Francis Coralie v. UT of Delhi (1981) the Hon'ble
Supreme Court of India held that right to life includes living with human
dignity and having the essentials required to lead a good life at the disposal
of an individual for the development of his or her overall personality. Along
with this, protection to the personal liberty of an individual is also
guaranteed, which includes his right to privacy; right to go abroad etc.
Therefore, the very existence and personality of an individual has been
protected and guaranteed by the Constitution.
Thus, from the above facts and discussion its clear that the Constitution of
India has granted and guaranteed to us various protections and freedoms for our
development and progress. However, it is not merely about enjoying our own
rights but also giving due consideration to the rights of others as well, it is
only then that a harmonic relationship could be developed among the members of a
society.
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