Er. Prabhat Kishore
After a long struggle, Bharat got independence from British monarchy on 15 August 1947. At that time, the nation did not have its own constitution, on the basis of which the governance could be run under a democratic system. On 29 August 1947, the Indian Constituent Assembly constituted a 7-member drafting committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Ambedkar, which submitted the draft copy of the Constitution to the Assembly on 4 November 1948.
After thorough discussion and debate, the Constitution prepared was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on behalf of the people of Bharat on 26 November 1949 (Margashirsha Shukla Saptami, Samvat 2006 Vikrami)with the signatures of 284 members. But the date for its implementation was fixed two months later 26 January 1950, because on this historic day i.e. 26 January 1930, on the auspicious occasion of Vasant Panchami, the resolution of “Purna Swaraj” (complete independence) was passed in the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress and the stagnant freedom struggle got new momentum and energy.
It took 2 years 11 months and 18 days to give a concrete shape to the Constitution of Bharat. The Constitution of Bharat is the longest, most comprehensive and detailed written constitution in the world. The Constitution as originally adopted had a preamble, 395 chapters (divided into 22 parts) and 8 schedules. The controversial Government of India Act 1935, passed by the United Kingdom Parliament, was replaced by the Constitution of Bharat on 26 January 1950 and it became a legal indigenous document. On the same day, Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad was sworn in as the first President of Bharat, the supreme constitutional head, and the Constituent Assembly was transitioned into the Parliament of Bharat under the transitional provisions of new constitution.
In fact, after attaining independence on 15 August 1947, first Governor General Lord Mountbatten and afterwards Chakravarti Rajagopalachari discharged the responsibility as constitutional head. There was a lot of political manoeuvrings, upheaval and checkmate moves in the then Congress in the selection of the first President of Bharat. On the one hand, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to continue with the then Governor General Rajagopalachari as the first President by making it a question of his prestige; while on the other hand, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Sardar Patel, who had a strong hold on the Congress organization as well as the government, and most Congressmen were in favour of the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Ultimately, ignoring all the chess moves, Rajendra Babu was given the command of the first constitutional head of the nation.
Bharat is called the mother of democracy. The democratic system here is much older than the western concept of democracy. The constitution of any country is the foundation of its governance system. The preamble of the Constitution of Bharat begins with the words “we, the people of India”, which emphasises the basic spirit of our Constitution i.e. democracy. The preamble states that this constitution ensures social, economic and political Justice, Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, Equality of status and of opportunity and promotes Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.
However, after independence, more than a hundred amendments have been made to the original constitution from time to time till September 2024, some of which were also termed controversial. As of today, the constitution consists of a preamble, 448 chapters (divided into 25 parts) and 12 schedules. While the Constitution of Bharat on the one hand gives the nation the character of a sovereign democratic republic, it also guarantees its citizens their duties and rights. We are proud to be citizens of a nation where every citizen has equal rights. Accordingly, it is the duty of every citizen to respect this right and make his valuable contribution towards nation building.
The historic day of Republic Day gives all the countrymen the pride and self-realization of being the largest democratic nation in the world. It not only reflects the power of the Constitution, but also reaffirms the democratic values and rights of the country. This day inspires us to work together and contribute to the all-round development of the nation.
(The author is an engineer and educationist. He can be reached at [email protected])
