SOURCES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
The constitution of India is the longest written Constitution in the world. The English version of India’s Constitution is about 145,000 words long.
The constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on the 26th of November, 1949, but became effective on 26th January, 1950.
But why the 26th January was chosen as the Republic Day?
In December 1929, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress formally demanded the ‘Purna Swaraj’ for India and it was declared that 26th January 1930, would be celebrated as the ‘Independence Day’. So, to glorify that day, India celebrated 26th January as Republic day.
Most parts of the Indian Constitution were taken from the Government of India Act, 1935 and many of its important features were borrowed from the constitutions of different countries from all over the world.
The features which had been brought from the Government of India Act, 1935, are the followings:
- Emergency provisions.
- Office of Governor
- Public Service Commissions
- Union-State Relation.
- Judiciary.
- Administrative details.
- Federal structure.
Now, the borrowed features from the Constitution of foreign countries are given in the table below:
| Sl.no. | Source country | Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Britain | i. Parliamentary Government ii. Bicameral Parliament iii. Single citizenship iv. Cabinet of ministers v. Nominal Head vi. Rule of Law vii. Speaker of the Lower House viii. Writs |
| 2. | United States | i. Idea of Preamble ii. Fundamental Rights iii. Impeachment of the President. President as the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces. iv. Removal of Judges of Supreme Court and High Court. v. Judicial review vi. Separation of power of government into 3 categories i.e. Judiciary, legislative, and administrative. vii. Post of Vice-President |
| 3. | Australia | i. Language of the Preamble ii. Concurrent List, which contains the subject of both Union and State government. iii.Joint parliament session of both the Houses of the Parliament. iv. Freedom of trade and commerce within the country and between the states. |
| 4. | Ireland | i. Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) (Although Ireland borrowed this concept from Spain). ii. Method of election of President iii.Nomination of members to Rajya Sabha. |
| 5. | Canada | i. Quasi-federal government with a strong Centre. ii. Distribution of powers between Union and State government. iii. Giving Residuary subjects to the Centre. iv. Appointment of State Governors by the Union Government. v. Advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. |
| 6. | Erstwhile USSR | i. Fundamental Duties ii. Five-year planning policy. iii.Ideal of justice (social, economic and political) in the Preamble. |
| 7. | Japan | i. Law on which Supreme Court functions ii.Procedure established by Law. |
| 8. | South Africa | i. Procedure of Constitutional Amendment. ii.Election of members of Rajya Sabha. |
| 9. | Weimar constitution of Germany | i.Suspension of Fundamental rights during Emergency. |
| 10. | France | i. Republic. ii.Ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity in the Preamble. |