The Indian Constitution is one of the longest written Constitutions in the world. It has over 395 provisions arranged in what are termed as “Article” in contrast to other laws, which are referred to as “sections”. The Constitution of India was adopted on 26th November, 1949 and came into operation from 26th January, 1950. It was drafted and debated in the Constituent Assembly over a period of 2 years between 1947 to 1949.
Dr. BR Ambedkar was the chief of the Drafting Committee and therefore is referred to as the `Architect of the Indian Constitution’. As of January, 2020, the Constitution of India has been amended 104 times so far. The Constitution is a very comprehensive document which defines the nature of relationship between (a) the citizen and the State (or Government); (b) between the three branches of democratic system – viz., the legislature, executive and judiciary; and (c) between the Central government and State governments and between states.
In the first lecture of Bring Home the Constitution, Dr. V. Suresh and D. Nagasaila introduce the series, with a session about the Preamble. They also share the historical timeline of the drafting of the Constitution, along with stories of debates and planning that shaped the political and social context of the drafting. Please find the reading material sent to participants and the PPT used in the lecture.
Constituent Assembly Debates – Ambedkar introducing Draft Constitution – November 4th 1948