Competitive World

Category: State PCS

  • Criticism of Indian Constitution: Paradise of the Lawyers

    In this article, we will discuss Criticism of Indian Constitution: Paradise of the Lawyers. So, let’s get started.

    Paradise of the Lawyers

    According to the critics, the Indian Constitution is too legalistic and very complicated. They opened that the legal language and phraseology adopted in the Constitution makes it a complex document. The same Sir Ivor Jennings called it a “Lawyer’s paradise”.

    In this context, H.K. Maheshwari, a member of the Constituent Assembly, observed: “The draft tends to make people more litigious, more inclined to go to law courts, less truthful and less likely to follow the methods of truth and non-violence. If I may say so , the draft is really a lawyer’s paradise. It opens up vast avenues of litigation and will give our able and ingenious lawyers plenty of work to do”.

    Similarly P.R. Deshmukh, another member of the Constituent Assembly, said : “I should, however, like to say that the draft of the articles that have been brought before the House by Dr. Ambedkar seems to my mind to be far too ponderous like the ponderous tomes of a law manual. A document dealing with a Constitution hardly uses so much of padding and so much of verbiage. Perhaps it is difficult for them to compose a document which should be, to my mind, not a law manual but a socio-political document, a vibrating, pulsating and life-giving document. But, to our misfortune, that was not to be, and we have been burdened with so much of words, words and words which could have been very easily eliminated”.

  • Criticism of Indian Constitution: A Borrowed Constitution

    In this article, we will discuss Criticism of Indian Constitution: A Borrowed Constitution. So, let’s get started.

    Criticism of the Constitution

    The Constitution of India, as framed and adopted by the Constitution Assembly of India, has been criticized on the following grounds:

    A Borrowed Constitution

    The critics opined that the Indian Constitution contains nothing new and original. They described it as a’borrowed Constitution’ or a bag of borrowings’ or a ‘hotch-potch Constitution’ or a ‘patchwork’ of several documents of the world Constitutions. However, this criticism is unfair and illogical. This is because, the framers of the Constitution made necessary modifications in the features borrowed from other Constitutions for their suitability to the Indian conditions, at the same time avoiding their faults.

    While answering the above criticism in the Constituent Assembly, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, said: “One likes to ask whether there can be anything new in a Constitution formed at this hour in the history of the world. More than hundred years have rolled over when the first written Constitution was drafted. It has been followed by many countries reducing their Constitutions to writing. What the scope of a Constitution should be has long been settled. Similarly, what are the fundamentals of a Constitution are recognized all over the world. Given these facts, all Constitutions in their main provisions must look similar. The only new things, if there can be any, in a Constitution framed so late in the day are the variations made to remove the faults and to accommodate it to the needs of the country. The charges of producing a blind copy of the Constitutions of other countries is based, I am sure, on an inadequate study of the Constitution”.

  • Karbi Anglong Crisis

    In this article, we will discuss Karbi Anglong Crisis (Brief Note). So, let’s get started.

    Karbi Anglong Crisis

    • Located in central Assam, Karbi Anglong is the state’s largest district and a melting pot of ethnicities and tribal groups — Karbi, Dimasa, Bodo, Kuki, Hmar, Tiwa, Garo, Man (Tai speakers), Rengma Naga. Its diversity also generated different outfits and fuelled an insurgency that did not allow the region to develop.
    • The Karbis are a major ethnic group of Assam, dotted by several factions and splinters. The history of the Karbi group has been marked by killings, ethnic violence, abductions and taxation since the late 1980s.
    • Insurgent groups of Karbi Anglong district like People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK), Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), etc. originated from the core demand of forming a separate state.
    • Some of the other demands of the militant groups are:
    • Inclusion of some areas into Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC),
    • Reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes,
    • More powers to the council,
    • Inclusion of Karbi language in the Eighth Schedule,
    • Financial package of Rs 1,500 crore.

    The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) is an autonomous district council, protected under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

  • Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-10)

    In this article, we will discuss Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-10). So, let’s get started.

    Co-operative Societies

    The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011 gave a constitutional status and protection to co-operative societies. In this context, it made the following three changes in the Constitution:

    1. It made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental rights (Article 19).
    2. It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on promotion of co-operative societies (Article 43-B).
    3. It added a new Part IX-B in the Constitution which is entitled as “The Cooperative Societies” (Article 243-ZH to 243-ZT).

    The new part IX-B contains various provisions to ensure that the co-operative societies in the country function in a democratic, professional, autonomous and economically sound manner. It empowers the Parliament in respect of multi-state co-operative societies and the state legislatures in respect of other co-operative societies to make the appropriate law.

  • Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-9)

    In this article, we will discuss Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-9). So, let’s get started.

    Three-tier Government

    Originally, the Indian Constitution, like any other federal Constitution, provided for a dual polity and contained provisions with regards to the organisation and powers of the Centre and the states. Later, the 73rd and 74th constitutional Amendment Acts (1992) have added a third-tier of Government (i.e., local) which is not found in any other Constitution of the world.

    The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 gave Constitutional recognition to the Panchayats (rural local government) by adding a new Part IX and a new Schedule 11 to the Constitution. Similarly, the 74th Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the municipalities (urban local governments) by adding a new Part IX-A and a new Schedule 12 to the Constitution.

  • Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-8)

    In this article, we will discuss Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-8). So, let’s get started.

    Single Citizenship

    Though the Indian Constitution is federal and envisages a dual polity (Centre and states), it provides for only a single citizenship, that is, the Indian citizenship.

    In countries like USA, on the other hand, each person is not only a citizen of USA, but also a citizen of the particular state to which he/she belongs. Thus he/she owes allegiance to both and enjoys dual sets of right-one conferred by the National government and another by the state government. In India, all citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside enjoy the same political and civil rights of citizenship all over the country and no discrimination is made between them.

    Despite the constitutional provision for a single citizenship and uniform rights for all the people, India has been witnessing the communal riots, class conflicts, caste wars, linguistic clashes and ethnic disputes. This means that the cherished goal of the Constitution-makers to build a united and integrated Indian nation has not been fully realised.

  • Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-7)

    In this article, we will discuss Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-7). So, let’s get started.

    Single Citizenship

    Though the Indian Constitution is federal and envisages a dual polity (Centre and states), it provides for only a single citizenship, that is, the Indian citizenship.

    In countries like USA, on the other hand, each person is not only a citizen of USA, but also a citizen of the particular state to which he/she belongs. Thus he/she owes allegiance to both and enjoys dual sets of right-one conferred by the National government and another by the state government. In India, all citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside enjoy the same political and civil rights of citizenship all over the country and no discrimination is made between them.

    Despite the constitutional provision for a single citizenship and uniform rights for all the people, India has been witnessing the communal riots, class conflicts, caste wars, linguistic clashes and ethnic disputes. This means that the cherished goal of the Constitution-makers to build a united and integrated Indian nation has not been fully realised.

  • Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-6)

    In this article, we will discuss Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-6). So, let’s get started.

    Blend of Rigidity and Flexiblity

    Constitution are also classified into rigid and flexible. A rigid constitution is one that require a special procedure for its amendment, as for example, the American constitution for staff a flexible constitution on the other hand is one that can be amended in the same manner as the ordinary laws are made as for example the British constitution. The American constitution. A flexible constitution, on the other hand is one that can be amended in the same manner as the ordinary laws are made, as for example the British constitution. The Constitution of India is neither rigid nor flexible, but a synthesis of both. Article 368 provides for two types of amendments:
    (a) Some provisions can be amended by a special majority of the Parliament, i.e., a two-third majority of the members of each House present and voting, and a majority of the total membership of each House.
    (b) Some other provisions can be amended by a special majority of the Parliyament and with the ratification by half of the total states.

    At the same time, some provisions of the Constitution can be amended by a simple majority of the Parliament in the manner of ordinary legislative process. Notably, these amendments do not come under Article 368.

  • Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-5)

    In this article, we will discuss Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-5). So, let’s get started.

    Federal System with Unitary Bias

    The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of Government. It contains all the usual features of a federation, viz., two Government, division of powers, written Constitution, supremacy of Constitution, rigidity of Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism.

    However, the Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-federal features, viz., a strong Centre, single Constitution, single citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment of state governor by the Centre,all-India services, emergency provisions and so on.

    Moreover, the term ‘Federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution. Article 1, on the other hand, describes India as a ‘Union of States’ which implies two things: one, Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement by the states; and two, no state has the right to secede from the federation.

    Hence, the Indian Constitution has been variously described as ‘federal in form but, unitary in spirit’, quasi-federal’ by K.C. Wheare, ‘bargaining federalism’ by Morris Jones, ‘co-operative federalism’ by Granville Austin , ‘federation with a centralising tendency’ by Ivor jennings and so on.

  • Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-4)

    In this article, we will discuss Salient Features of Indian Constitution (Part-4). So, let’s get started.

    Integrated and Independent Judiciary

    The Indian Constitution establishes a judicial system that is integrated as well as independent. The Supreme Court stands at the top of the integrated judicial system in the country. Below it, there are high courts at the state level. Under a high court, there is a hierarchy b of subordinate courts, D that is, district courts and other lower courts. This single system of courts enforces both the central laws as well as the state laws, unlike in USA, where the federal laws are enforced by the federal judiciary and the state laws are enforced by the state judiciary.

    The Supreme Court is a federal court, the highest court of appeal, the guarantor of the fundamental rights of the citizens and the guardian of the Constitution. Hence the Constitution has made various provisions to ensure its independence security of tenure of the judges, fixed service conditions for the judges, all the expenses of the Supreme Court charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, prohibition on discussion on the conduct of judges in the legislature, ban on practice after retirement, power to punish for its contempt vested in the Supreme Court, separation of the judiciary from the executive, and so on.