4.1 The Constitution — Making, Preamble, Citizenship & Salient Features
Key Takeaways
- The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 and it commenced on 26 January 1950; Dr B. R. Ambedkar chaired the seven-member Drafting Committee.
- As enacted the Constitution had 395 Articles, 22 Parts and 8 Schedules; it now has about 448 Articles, 25 Parts and 12 Schedules.
- The words Socialist, Secular and Integrity were added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 — the original 1949 Preamble did not contain them.
- Citizenship is dealt with in Articles 5 to 11 of Part II, and India permits only single citizenship — there is no separate citizenship of Karnataka or any other state.
- The Seventh Schedule holds the three legislative lists, the Eleventh Schedule the 29 Panchayat subjects, and the Twelfth Schedule the 18 municipal subjects.
Making of the Indian Constitution
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of the land. It was drafted by the Constituent Assembly under the chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who led the seven-member Drafting Committee. The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, and it came into full force on 26 January 1950 — celebrated every year as Republic Day.
India has the longest written constitution of any sovereign country. As originally enacted, it contained 395 Articles, 22 Parts, and 8 Schedules. Through amendments it now has about 448 Articles, 25 Parts, and 12 Schedules, reflecting the scale and diversity of the country it governs. (Articles are never renumbered when new ones are inserted, so the count grows through additions like 21A, 31A–C and 51A rather than by renumbering.)
Exam Tip: A common VAO trap confuses the date of adoption (26 Nov 1949) with the date of commencement (26 Jan 1950). Some Articles — relating to citizenship, Parliament, and provisional government — actually came into force on 26 November 1949, but the Constitution as a whole commenced on Republic Day.
The Preamble
The Preamble is the introductory statement that sets out the purpose, philosophy, and guiding values of the Constitution. It declares India to be a:
- Sovereign — independent of any external authority
- Socialist — committed to reducing economic inequality (added by 42nd Amendment, 1976)
- Secular — all religions treated equally by the state (added by 42nd Amendment, 1976)
- Democratic — government elected by the people
- Republic — head of state is an elected President, not a hereditary monarch
The Preamble also promises Justice (social, economic, and political), Liberty (of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship), Equality (of status and opportunity), and Fraternity (dignity of the individual and unity of the nation).
Key Point: The Preamble is part of the Constitution (settled by the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati, 1973) but is NOT enforceable in court on its own. The words 'Socialist' and 'Secular' were inserted by the 42nd Amendment — the original 1949 Preamble did not contain them.
The Constituent Assembly in Numbers
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Constituted under | The Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946 |
| First sitting | 9 December 1946 |
| Permanent Chairman / President | Dr Rajendra Prasad |
| Chairman, Drafting Committee | Dr B. R. Ambedkar (7 members) |
| Constitutional Adviser | Sir B. N. Rau |
| Objectives Resolution moved by | Jawaharlal Nehru, 13 December 1946 |
| Time taken | 2 years, 11 months and 18 days |
| Adopted | 26 November 1949 — observed as Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) |
| Commenced | 26 January 1950 — Republic Day |
The commencement date was chosen deliberately: 26 January 1930 had been observed as the first Purna Swaraj day, so the Republic began on that anniversary.
Borrowed Features — A Standard Objective Question
| Feature | Borrowed from |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary system, rule of law, single citizenship, writs | United Kingdom |
| Fundamental Rights, judicial review, independent judiciary, preamble | United States |
| Directive Principles of State Policy | Ireland |
| Federal structure with a strong Centre, residuary powers, Concurrent List | Canada |
| Fundamental Duties, planning | erstwhile USSR |
| Emergency provisions, suspension of rights | Germany (Weimar) |
| Procedure for constitutional amendment, election of Rajya Sabha members | South Africa |
| Concurrent List and joint sitting mechanics | Australia |
Citizenship — Articles 5 to 11 (Part II)
The Constitution deals with citizenship only at the commencement of the Constitution; Parliament legislates the rest through the Citizenship Act, 1955.
- Article 5 — citizenship of persons domiciled in India at commencement.
- Articles 6 and 7 — citizenship of migrants to and from Pakistan.
- Article 8 — citizenship of persons of Indian origin residing abroad.
- Article 9 — a person voluntarily acquiring foreign citizenship ceases to be an Indian citizen.
- Article 10 — continuance of citizenship rights.
- Article 11 — Parliament's power to regulate citizenship by law.
Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, citizenship is acquired by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation or incorporation of territory, and lost by renunciation, termination or deprivation.
India has single citizenship. However long you have lived in Karnataka, you are a citizen of India only — there is no citizenship of a state. Domicile and "local candidate" status for reservation are administrative categories under state rules, not a second citizenship. A VAO verifying residence or study certificates is establishing domicile for reservation, not citizenship, and it is worth being precise about that in both the exam and the office.
Salient Features to Be Able to List
- Longest written constitution of any sovereign country.
- Drawn from many sources — see the borrowed-features table.
- Blend of rigidity and flexibility — three different amendment procedures under Article 368.
- Federal in form, unitary in spirit — a strong Centre, single citizenship, a single integrated judiciary, All India Services and emergency provisions that can convert the system into a unitary one.
- Parliamentary form of government at both Union and State levels.
- Independent judiciary with judicial review.
- Universal adult suffrage — the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 by the 61st Amendment, 1988.
- Fundamental Rights balanced by Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles.
- Three-tier government since the 73rd and 74th Amendments, 1992 added local self-government.
- Secular state — no state religion; equal treatment of all faiths.
The Twelve Schedules
| Schedule | Content |
|---|---|
| First | States and Union Territories |
| Second | Emoluments of the President, Governors, judges, CAG |
| Third | Forms of oath and affirmation |
| Fourth | Allocation of Rajya Sabha seats among States and UTs |
| Fifth | Administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes |
| Sixth | Tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram |
| Seventh | Union, State and Concurrent Lists |
| Eighth | The 22 scheduled languages, including Kannada |
| Ninth | Laws immune from judicial review on Fundamental Rights grounds (added by the 1st Amendment, 1951; since I. R. Coelho, 2007, still testable against the basic structure) |
| Tenth | Anti-defection provisions (52nd Amendment, 1985) |
| Eleventh | 29 subjects for Panchayats (73rd Amendment) |
| Twelfth | 18 subjects for Municipalities (74th Amendment) |
Three of these matter directly to village revenue work: the Seventh (land revenue is a State subject), the Eighth (Kannada's status underpins the compulsory Kannada test) and the Eleventh (the Panchayat subjects a VAO's records feed into).
Quick-Recap Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1949 (26 Nov) | Constitution adopted by the Constituent Assembly |
| 1950 (26 Jan) | Constitution came into force (Republic Day) |
| 1976 (42nd Amendment) | Added 'Socialist' and 'Secular' to the Preamble; added Fundamental Duties |
| 2002 (86th Amendment) | Added the 11th Fundamental Duty and Right to Education (Article 21A) |
On which date was the Constitution of India adopted by the Constituent Assembly, and on which date did it commence?
Which Schedule of the Constitution contains the 29 subjects that may be devolved to Panchayats?
A candidate argues at an interview that a person born and settled in Karnataka holds both Indian citizenship and Karnataka citizenship. Why is this wrong?