Why is India’s constitution Day of India 2022 called the “Loan Constitution”?
The constitution of a country determines the governance of that country. India’s governance system is determined by the fully prepared constitution of November 26, 1949, in which the institutions of governance, law making, justice delivery, law enforcement procedures, and the relationship between them, have been explained. Considered to be the longest constitution in the world, this constitution is unique in many ways. But it is also called the “borrowed constitution.” On the occasion of India’s Constitution Day of India 2022, please tell us what and why our constitution is known as the “borrowed constitution.”
Celebrating Constitution Day of India 2022
longest constitution
The Indian Constitution has 448 articles divided into 25 parts, 12 schedules, 5 appendices, and 105 amendments. It has the world’s longest-written constitution of any independent country. The Indian Constitution is not a typewritten constitution but a handwritten constitution. It was written by Prem Bihari Narayan Raizada in Hindi and English. The original copy of the Constitution is kept in a transparent box filled with a special type of helium in the library of the Indian Parliament.
How much constitution is borrowed?
But it is also true that many or most of the provisions of the Constitution of India have been taken from the constitution of one country or another, and it is also called the “refined form” of the Government of India Act 1935 of British rule, which is not wrong. It was not plagiarism of any kind. A rather sophisticated proposal was prepared entirely after careful thought.
What was taken from the 1935 law?
The Government of India Act of 1935 is considered to be a very big system bringing the law to India, in which efforts were made to involve Indians more in the governance process. This meant that British Indians could be distanced from the demand for independence. With this, the republic system, governor’s office, judicial system, public service commission, emergency provisions, and administrative details were included in the Indian constitution.
The majority of the Indian Constitution is based on the Government of India Act of 1935. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
What was adopted from the British Constitution?
The bicameral parliamentary system of governance in the Indian Constitution was adopted from the British Constitution. Under this, the Prime Minister of India, the power of the Lok Sabha, the cabinet system, and the speaker of the Lok Sabha were also adopted from this constitution. As the head of the country, the President of India plays the role of the Queen (now Maharaj) of Britain, who represents the country in every way and all of the country’s work is done in his name. Apart from this, some other provisions like single citizenship, rule of law, etc. were also taken from the English constitution.
from Ireland and America
After this, the Policy Directive Elements from the Constitution of Ireland, which Ireland itself took from space, The nomination of members of the Rajya Sabha by the President, and the procedure for the election of the President have also been taken from the Constitution of Ireland. Apart from this, the Constitution, the process of impeachment of the President, and the arrangement of the states in the Indian Constitution were all adapted from the American Constitution. The functions of the President and Vice President, the Supreme Court system, the process of removing Supreme and High Court judges, fundamental rights, judicial independence, the preamble to the Constitution, and judicial review were all included.
The majority of the Indian Constitution is based on the Government of India Act of 1935. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
from South Africa, Canada, and France
India has adopted the process of amending the constitution from the Constitution of South Africa, as has the process of electing members of the Rajya Sabha, while the federal system of states with a powerful center and the appointment of governors in the states by the center have been taken from the Canadian Constitution. With this, the ideals of the republic—liberty, equality, and the concept of fraternity—have been included in the Preamble to the Constitution of France.
A concurrent list, freedom of trade, trade and interactions, the language of the constitution’s preamble, and the provision of joint sitting of both houses were adopted from the Australian Constitution, followed by fundamental duties from the Soviet Union’s Constitution, the ideals of justice in the preamble, and the five-year plan. The system of abolishing fundamental rights in emergencies was taken from the constitution of Germany and the concept of procedure established by law from Japan.
