Different Sources of the Indian Constitution

First of all, the constitution is defined as the fundamental laws guiding a nation, organization, or polity, and India being a nation has a constitution to affect the proper running of the day to day activity of India

The Indian constitution has links and sources from other constitutions like the Irish, French, etc. And it was enacted on 26th November 1949. In this guide, we will be taking you through the different sources of the Indian constitution, the preamble of the constitution, the articles of the constitution, and you will also learn more about the father of the Indian constitution and who drafted the Indian constitution. You’ll have a better knowledge of the Indian constitution generally, thereby canceling all your doubts and all the questions you might have had.

Sources of the Indian Constitution 

Ranging from tradition, military decree, international agreements, acts of parliaments, conventions, agreements of elder statesmen, etc. All these and more are where constitutions are normally gotten, India’s constitution inclusive.

In drafting a constitution, it is a well-thought idea to acquire knowledge from an already existing constitution that is effective in another country, or a previous constitution that helped in running a nation effectively and that is why the Indian constitution is made up of some external sources. One of the sources of the Indian constitution that has a huge role to play in the Indian constitution is the Government of India Act 1935.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT: It was enacted by the British parliament whose idea was to aid the progress of the Indians and the effective running of the country as well as make the “Federation of India” a stable one.

It is also said to be the longest Act the British government passed and was for this reason divided into The Government of India Act 1935 and the Government of Burma Act 1935.

The Indian constitution is made of some features from the government of the Indian act, features like The Judiciary, Federal Scheme, etc. Our constitution also borrowed some of its features from Japan, France, South Africa, Canada, Ireland, Russia, The United Kingdom, The United States, Germany, and the Australian constitution.

The preamble of the Indian Constitution 

The preamble of the Indian constitution was sketched on 13th December 1946 by Jawaharlal Nehru and was sent to the Constituent assembly which later adopted it on 26th November 1949 and enacted fully on 26th January 1950 which we all know as our Republic day.

Initially, the preamble of the Indian constitution wasn’t accepted to be one of the main parts of the Indian Constitution and was then not enforceable by law but later in 1973, it was recognized as an integral part of the constitution by the same court, thereby overruling itself. The court recognized the preamble to be able to interpret unclear areas of the constitution.

Indian Constitution Articles

The Indian constitution is presently 72 years old, it came into operation on 26th January 1950 and has since gone through up to 105 amendments, its last amendment took place on 10th August 2021 which was the 105th amendments. The Indian constitution Originally contains 395 articles and are divided into 22 parts.

 All the parts have its name and are broken down into articles that further explain the part. Like part 1 of the Indian constitution Articles which is THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORY, it has 4 articles under it, it has to do with the name of the Union and its territory, boundaries, and names of the other states, Establishment and developments of other states, etc.

The father of the Indian constitution

The father of the Indian constitution is Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was a member of the Jury, an economist, and a philanthropist. He was a Member of Parliament of Rajya Sabha for Bombay State 

He was born on 14th April 1891 into a family of 16, being the last born to Mr & Mrs. Ramji Sakpal. In 1906 He had his secondary education at Elphinstone high school where he was segregated with other “untouchable kids” and wasn’t allowed to learn with the other kids inside; it didn’t stop him from graduating with good grades and joining Elphinstone College.

 He got married at age 15 to 9 years old Ramabai because of the culture dominant at the time. He pursued his economics and political degree which he got in 1912 and was employed by the Baroda state government, and was also given a scholarship after which he moved to the United States and studied in the Columbian University and later in London school of Economics. 

Acquiring all this knowledge, he moved back to India when his scholarship had ended, where he pursued politics, He served in lots of offices in so many capacities, where he fought against the segregation going on then known as “The untouchability”. 

Earning himself a good name and was also recognized by the government for his numerous good works. He was appointed the first law minister of India, he was also appointed Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, it was in this capacity he drafted the Indian Constitution and is now recognized as the father of the Indian constitution.

Who drafted the Indian Constitution ?

As we earlier stated, the father of the Indian constitution answers the question, Who drafted the Indian constitution?

Dr. B.R Ambedker was the chairman of the committee that drafted the Indian constitution, so he played a major role in drafting the Indian constitution. The constitution he drafted provided civil liberty to the citizens of India, he abolished untouchability and all forms of discrimination. He made sure he stopped every form of superiority. The constitution brought a whole lot of revolution to India, he made sure he pushed the agender that every Indian is equal irrespective of their religion. All these and more he did with the constitution which was later enacted on 26th November 1949.

Conclusion

The different sources of the Indian constitution date back to 1935. This was when it all started for us, our colonization and Independence caused a huge change and transformation in everything we represented. The constitution drafted by Dr. Ramji holds our virtues and values up until this day.