CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

INTRODUCTION

The Constitution of India is a product of the Constituent Assembly, which had been elected for undivided India. The said Assembly held its first sitting on the 9th December, 1946. It reassembled on the 14th August, 1947, as the sovereign Constituent Assembly for the Dominion of India. The salient principles of the proposed Constitution had been outlined by various committees of the Assembly such as the Union Constitution Committee, the Union Powers Committee, Committee on Fundamental Rights, and, after a general discussion of the reports of these Committees, the Assembly appointed a Drafting Committee on the 29th August, 1947. The Drafting Committee, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Ambedkar, embodied the decision of the Assembly with alternative and additional proposals in the form of a 'Draft Constitution of India which was published in February, 1948. The Constituent Assembly next met in November, 1948, to consider the provisions of the Draft, clause by clause. After several sessions the consideration of the clauses or second reading was completed by the 17th October, 1949. The Constituent Assembly again sat on the 14th November, 1949, for the third reading and finished it on the 26th November, 1949, on which date the Constitution received the signature of the President of the Assembly and was declared as passed. The provisions relating to citizenship, elections, provisional Parliament, temporary and transitional provisions, were given immediate effect, i.e., from November 26, 1949. The rest of the Constitution came into force on the 26th January, 1950, and this date is referred to in the Constitution as the Date of its Commencement.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

1. The Constitution has been amended eighty-six times, the last amendment being the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002. The said amendment provides for-

(i) insertion of a new article 21A that the State Shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the state may, by law, determine;

(ii) substitution of article 45 that the State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years; and

(iii) amendment of article 51A inserted therein a new clause (k) after clause (j) that who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

2. The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Bill, 1988 providing for transfer of the subject “Sports” from List II – State List to List III – Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule, the Constitution (Seventy-ninth Amendment) Bill 1992 providing for a small family norm and the Constitution (Eighty-seventh Amendment) Bill, 1999 to confer upon the Legislatures of the States the discretion to fill all the seats in the Panchayats at intermediate level and district level by amending article 243C of the Constitution, are pending in Rajya Sabha. The Constitution (Eighty-fifth Amendment) Bill, 1999 seeking to provide reservation for women in Parliament and in the Legislative Assemblies and the Constitution (Ninety-fourth Amendment) Bill, 2002 to provide for setting up a separate National Commission for Scheduled Tribes by amending article 338 and inserting a new article 338A in the Constitution are pending in Lok Sabha.

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