Understanding the Indian Constitution: A Beginner's Guide (Part 1)

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of the country. Every law passed by Parliament or a state legislature, and every action of every government, must conform to it. This guide explains how it is organised and what it promises you.

The Preamble

The Preamble is the Constitution's statement of purpose. It says that the people of India give the Constitution to themselves, and resolve to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, and to secure to all citizens:

• Justice: social, economic and political;
• Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
• Equality of status and of opportunity;
• and to promote among them all Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.

The words "socialist", "secular" and "integrity" were added by the Forty-second Amendment in 1976.

How it is organised

The Constitution is divided into parts, which group articles by subject, and schedules, which hold lists and detailed provisions. As adopted in 1949 it had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules. Amendments have added many articles (numbered with letters, like 21A) and four schedules; there are now 12.

A few of the parts every citizen should know:

• Part III: Fundamental Rights (Articles 12 to 35).
• Part IV: Directive Principles of State Policy (Articles 36 to 51).
• Part IVA: Fundamental Duties (Article 51A).
• Part V: The Union: President, Parliament, Supreme Court.
• Part VI: The States: Governor, state legislature, High Courts.
• Parts IX and IXA: Panchayats and municipalities.

Fundamental Rights

These rights can be enforced in court. If they are violated you can go directly to the Supreme Court under Article 32, which Dr Ambedkar called "the very soul of the Constitution", or to a High Court under Article 226.

• Right to equality (Articles 14 to 18): equality before the law; no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; equal opportunity in public employment; abolition of untouchability.
• Right to freedom (Articles 19 to 22): speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence and profession; protection of life and personal liberty (Article 21); and the right to education for children aged six to fourteen (Article 21A).
• Right against exploitation (Articles 23 and 24): no forced labour or trafficking; no child labour in hazardous work.
• Right to freedom of religion (Articles 25 to 28).
• Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29 and 30), including the right of minorities to run their own institutions.
• Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32).

Most of these rights have reasonable limits, which the Constitution sets out. The courts decide where those limits fall.

Directive Principles

The Directive Principles guide the government in making laws: adequate means of livelihood, equal pay for equal work, free legal aid, village panchayats, protection of the environment and more. They cannot be enforced in court, but they are "fundamental in the governance of the country", and many laws, from the right to education to rural employment guarantees, put them into practice.

Fundamental Duties

Article 51A lists eleven duties of every citizen, including to abide by the Constitution and respect the national flag and anthem, to promote harmony, to protect the environment, to develop a scientific temper, and, for parents, to provide opportunities for education to children aged six to fourteen.

The basic structure

Parliament can amend the Constitution under Article 368. But in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), a bench of thirteen judges held by seven to six that Parliament cannot alter its basic structure: features such as the supremacy of the Constitution, democracy, secularism, federalism, the separation of powers and judicial review. That doctrine remains the single most important protection of the Constitution's core.

Keep reading

Browse every part and article of the Constitution, and read how it was written and how it has been amended.