Published By: Sayan Paul

On This Day, 1949 - The Constitution Of India Was Adopted: Did You Know THESE Features Are Borrowed From Other Constitutions?

On November 26, 1949, the Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India. It became effective on January 26, 1950.

"We the people of India... "

For India during the mid-20th century, just gaining independence from British colonial rule wasn't enough. The country needed to guarantee the democratic rights for each of its citizens and lay the foundation of a sovereign, socialist, and secular republic. Hence, the Constitution of India - the longest-written national constitution in the world - was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on November 26, 1949. Yes, that's exactly 75 years ago!

Before the Constitution of India came into effect, the Government of India Act 1935 was the country's fundamental governing document. After January 26, 1950, the constitution replaced that and laid down the framework of fundamental political code, procedures, structure, powers, and duties of government institutions. Also, it assured Indian citizens justice, equality, and liberty.

Jan 25, 1950: Key members of the Constituent Assembly sign the first copies of the Constitution

Well, November 26 is observed as the "Constitution Day" in India. And speaking about the document, not many know that several of its features are actually borrowed from other countries. In this article, let's have a look at them.

United Kingdom

Thanks to India's history of colonial rule, our constitution is deeply influenced by that of the United Kingdom. The borrowed features include:

Parliamentary government (Westminster model), Nominal head of the state (President), Post of Prime Minister (the real executive), Rule of Law (all people and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders), Concept of single citizenship, and Legislative procedure among others.

Credit: Ministry of Culture

United States

To adopt a federal framework within the system, the Constitution of India borrowed several features from the United States.

Fundamental rights (the right to equality, the right to freedom, the right against exploitation, the right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, and the right to constitutional remedies), Preamble to the Constitution, federal structure of government, judicial review (the judiciary has the authority to invalidate conflicting laws), removal of Supreme Court and High courts judges, electoral college (the President of India is indirectly elected with Instant-runoff voting), equal protection under law (individuals in similar situations be treated equally by the law), and President as commander-in-chief of the armed forces among others.

Credit: Ministry of Law and Justice

Canada

Canada's structure of a federation with a strong central government inspired India's Constitution as well. The borrowed features are as follows:

Quasi-federal government (a federal system with a strong central government), distribution of powers between the central and state governments, residual powers (powers that are neither prohibited to be exercised by an organ of government, nor given by law to any other organ of government), appointment of Governor of states by Center, and advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court among others.

Credit: Tribal Army

Ireland

In order to create a welfare-oriented governance model, India borrowed several features from the Constitution of Ireland as well.

Directive principles of state policy (directions given to the state to guide the establishment of an economic and social democracy), Nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha by the President (12 members are nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India for a six-year term for their contributions towards arts, literature, sciences, and social services), and method of election of the President (by an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both houses of parliament, the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies of all States and the elected members of the legislative assemblies of union territories).

Credit: Ministry of Education

Well, the list certainly doesn't end here. Besides the UK, the US, Canada, and Ireland, some other countries that inspired the Constitution of India are France, Australia, the Soviet Union, Japan, South Africa, and the Weimar Republic.