Constitution: Why and How? — Class 11 Political Science

This chapter explains what a constitution is and how the Constitution of India was made. A constitution performs several functions: it provides a set of basic rules allowing minimal coordination and assurance among diverse members of a society; it specifies who has the power to make decisions and how government is constituted; it sets limits on what government can do to its citizens (often through fundamental rights); and, in the case of the Indian Constitution, it enables the government to fulfil the aspirations of society and create conditions for a just society. A constitution also expresses the fundamental identity of a people. The chapter discusses the authority of a constitution — what makes it effective — through its mode of promulgation, its substantive provisions giving everyone a reason to go along with it, and a balanced institutional design that fragments power (Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, Election Commission) so no single group can subvert it. It then describes how the Indian Constitution was made: by a Constituent Assembly that first met on 9 December 1946, drew on the long nationalist movement, used the principle of deliberation and public reason, worked through committees, and adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, with it coming into force on 26 January 1950. It records the Objectives Resolution and the borrowing of provisions from other constitutions.