The document provides a comprehensive overview of the concept of the constitution, its definitions, characteristics of a good constitution, and the process of constitutionalism in India. It explores various classifications of constitutions, including written vs. unwritten and flexible vs. rigid, and details the formation and function of India's constituent assembly. Key figures, historical contexts, and essential principles that underpin the constitution-making process are discussed, highlighting the importance of constitutional governance in ensuring rule of law and protecting citizens' rights.

1. United States Constitution 101
Constitution
By
Mr. Mahesh Jaiwantrao Patil
Assistant Professor,
Narayanrao Chavan Law College Nanded , Maharashtra, India
Cell no.(91+) 09860816313

2. Main object of the Chapter
• To understand what is Constitution
(including meaning and definition).
• To learn characteristics of Good
Constitution.
• To learn Classification of the Constitution.
• To study the concept of Constitutionalism.
• To study Constituent Assembly of India.

3. Introduction
• Every state must have a constitution. Without a
constitution, it is difficult to govern a state. History
tells that since the origin of the state there had been
some kinds of rules and regulations in some form to
maintain the order and harmony in the state.
• In every state be it a democratic or despotic it is
essential that such rules must be accepted which
would decide the role and organization of political
institutions in order to save the society from anarchy.
• In modern states these rules find expression in the
form of a constitution

4. What is Constitution?
• The supreme law of the State.
• It is the foundation and source of the legal authority
underlying the existence of the State.
• It provides the framework for the organization of the
State Government.
• A constitution is a basic design, which deals with the
structure and powers of the government. It also
includes rights and duties of citizens.
• Sometimes it is found in an established body of rules,
maxims, traditions and practices in accordance with
which its government is organized and its powers are
exercised.

5. • the term Constitution is derived from Latin
‘Constitute’ which means ‘to establish’. The
constitution is the basic document of a state.
• It is the fundamental rule of a state which
regulates the distribution of powers within
organs of government.

6. Definition
• Aristotle:- “constitution is the way in which,
citizens who are the component parts of the
state are arranged in relation to one another”.
• Woolsey: - defines a constitution as “the
collection of principal according to which he
powers of the government rights of the
government and relations between the two are
adjusted.”
• George Cornewell Lewis: defines the
constitution as “ the arrangement and
distribution of sovereign power in the
community or the form of the government”

7. • Austin: defines constitution as, “that it fixes the
structure of supreme government.”
• On the basis of above definitions we can say that a
constitution is: -
• The fundamental law of the land
• May be written or unwritten.
• Deals with the composition and power of the
government.
• Deals with the rights of citizens.
• Deals with the relationship between the government
and governed.
• It is supreme law of the land & it must be followed by its
components.

8. Need of the Constitution
• A constitution is needed for a variety of reasons.
• To curb the powers of the government by
fundamental law.
• To protect the rights of individuals
• To establish the principle of ‘rule of law’.
• To save the state from anarchy.
• To define the operation of the sovereign power of
the state.
• To limit present and future generations from
arbitrary government.

9. Characteristics of Good Constitution
• Clarity or definiteness: Every
clause of the constitution should be
written in simple language. It should
express its meaning clearly
• without leaving any scope for
confusion.
• Brevity (Briefness):-The
constitutions should not be lengthy. It
should contain only important things
and unimportant things should be left
out. But the brevity should not lead to
gap in Constitution having some
issues unexplained.

10. • Comprehensiveness: The
constitution should be applicable to
the whole country. If it is a federation
then it must say the structure and
power of the center and provincial
government
• Flexibility: The constitution
should not be too rigid to hinder the
process of amendment when needed.
• Fundamental Rights: A good
constitution must contain the
fundamental rights of the people. In
the constitution of countries like
India, Russia, China, America and
Japan such declaration have been
made.

11. • Independence of judiciary:
• Independence of judiciary is another
quality of a good constitution. The
judiciary should function freely and
act as the guardian of the fundamental
rights of the people without favour or
fear.
• Directive Principles of State
Policy: In a good constitution
mention must be made of the
directive Principles of the State
Policy because, it helps the
establishment of a welfare state.
These principles also serve as a boon
for the government.
•

12. Classification of the Constitution

13. • Written & Unwritten Constitution: A written
constitution is a formal document defining the nature of the
constitutional settlement, the rules that govern the political
system and the rights of citizens and governments in a
codified form. A written constitution is normally supposed to
mean a document or a collection of documents in which the
basic rules regarding the main organs and institutions of
government are clearly laid down.
• Example : The constitution of India was formulated and
adopted by the constituent assembly.
• An unwritten constitution reflects the evolutionary nature
of free documentation of the rules and regulations. First they
are practiced and by a continuous practice, they become part
of the construction.
• The constitution of Britain is the best example of An
uncodified constitution is a type of constitution where the
fundamental rules often take the form of customs, usage,
precedent and a variety of statutes and legal instruments. ... A
new condition or situation of government may be resolved by
precedent or passing legislation.

14. • Flexible and Rigid Constitution: the classification of the
constitution should be based on the method of amendment to the
constitution.
• In a flexible constitution there is no distinction between ordinary
law and constitutional law. Both the enacted in the same way and
their source is also same. Constitution may be written or largely
based on conventions. They are amended in the same way. No
special procedure is required for amending the ordinary or
constitutional law.
• The constitution of Britain is a classic example of a flexible
constitution. Parliament in Britain is sovereign. In Britain
constitutional changes can be made by following the same way as
an ordinary law is enacted. The courts have no authority of review.

15. • Rigid constitutions are those, which require a special procedure for
the amendment of the constitution. The constitutions of USA,
Australia and Switzerland are the example of a rigid constitution.
The rigid constitution is above the ordinary law and can be changed
by a procedure, which is different from the procedure of ordinary
law, thus making it difficult to change. The objective is to
emphasize that the constitutional law embodies the will of the
sovereign, and it should be treated as sacred document. American
constitution is the best example of a rigid constitution.
• The American congress cannot make any law contrary to the
constitution. The American Supreme Court acts as the guardian of
the constitution and it has right to declare any law of the congress
null and void. The constitution of India is neither so flexible as the
British constitution not so rigid as the American constitution. But it
is midway, which means more rigid than British constitution and
less rigid than American constitution. A rigid constitution is always
written.

16. • Unitary & federal constitution: A unitary state is a state
governed as a single power in which the central government is ultimately
supreme and any administrative divisions (sub-national units) exercise only
powers that the central government chooses to delegate. The majority of states in
the world have a unitary system of government.
• A unitary system is governed constitutionally as one single unit, with one
constitutionally created legislature. This means that all powers of the
Government are centralized in one Government that is Central Government. The
most famous example of Unitary Constitution is UK. In Unitary Constitution the
provinces are subordinate to the centre.
• A federal constitution is one which sets up a system of federalism within a
country. Federalism is a political system in which the national government and
the smaller governments (states or provinces) each have their own powers that
are specified by the constitution. In such a system, neither level of government
has the ability to infringe on the rights of the other level of government.
• US Constitution which gives specific rights and powers to the state governments
and other rights and powers to the national government.

17. • Quasi-Federal Constitution: It combines the features of a
federal government and the features of a unitary government which
can also be called the non-federal features. Because of this, India is
regarded as a semi-federal state or Quasi federal state. The Supreme
Court of India also describes it as “a federal structure with a strong
bias towards the Centre”.

18. Constitutionalism
• Introduction: it is modern concept that desires a
political order governed by laws and regulations.
It stands for the supremacy of law and not of
the individuals. It insists limited government. It
also stands for the existence of a constitution in
the state, since it is the instrument of
government, or the fundamental law of land,
whose objects are to limit the arbitrary action of
government, to guarantee the rights of the
governed, and to define the operation of the
sovereign power.

19. Meaning
• It is the idea, often associated with the political
theories of John Locke and the "founders" of the
American republic, and equated with the concept
of "Rule of Law", that government can and should
be legally limited in its powers, and that its
authority depends on enforcing these limitations.
• Government in which power is distributed and
limited by a system of laws that the rulers must
obey.
• The principle that insists on organization and
working of the state according to a constitution so

20. • that no organ or office holder of the state is
allowed to use arbitrary power. A constitution
not only provides for a frame work of
government but also prescribes powers of
various of government and the limits of those
powers.

21. Constituent Assembly of India
• It was in 1934 that the idea of a Constituent
Assembly for India was put forward for the first time
by M.N.Roy , a pioneer of communist movement in
India and an advocate of radical democratism. In 1935,
the Indian Nat ion al Congress (I NC), for t h e first time,
officially demanded a Constituent Assembly to frame
the Constitution of India. In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru ,
on behalf the INC declared that ‘the Constitution of
free India must be framed, with out outside
interference, by a Constituent Assembly elected on the
basis of adult franchise.
• The Cabinet Mission consisting of three members
arrived in India on March 24, 1946.

22. • A constituent assembly is a body of representatives which is composed
for drafting a constitution. Recently Nepal’s constituent assembly has drafted
its constitution recently. Drafting the constitution is the only function of a
constituent assembly. Once the constitution is ready and adopted; the assembly
is dissolved. Further, since members of constituent assembly are
representatives (elected or unelected). It is a form of representative democracy.
• Idea of Constituent Assembly: The idea of Constituent assembly of
India was first put forward by Manabendra Nath Roy or MN Roy in 1934. In
1935, it became the official demand of INC. It was accepted in August 1940 in
the August Offer however, constituted under the Under Cabinet Mission plan
1946. It was first elected for undivided India but after partition, some of its
members ceased to exist as a separate constituent assembly was created for
Pakistan.
• Elections of Members of Constituent Assembly: Members of
Constituent Assembly were indirectly elected. During British Era, India had
provincial assemblies like the current legislative assemblies of states. The
members of the Constituent assembly were indirectly elected by the members
of the provincial assemblies by method of single transferable vote system of
proportional representations.
•

23. COMPOSITION OF THE CONSTITUENT
ASSEMB LY
• The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the scheme
formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan . The f eat u res of t h e schem e
were:
• Initially, its total membership was kept 389. After partition, the Constituent
Assembly of India had 299 representatives. These included 229 members from
provinces and 70 from princely states. There were total nine women members
also. The membership plan was roughly as per suggestions of the Cabinet
Mission plan. The basis of divisions of seats was “population” roughly in 1:10
Lakh ratio.
• Objectives Resolution The historic Objectives Resolution was moved by
Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946. It defined the aims of the assembly and
enshrined the aspirations and values behind the Constitution making. On the
basis of the Objectives Resolution, India’s Constitution gave institutional
expression to the fundamental commitments: equality, liberty, democracy,
sovereignty and a cosmopolitan identity. The preamble of the constitution of
India is derived from Objectives Resolution.
•

24. Different committees of the Constituent Assembly
• A number of committees were created by constituent assembly to
perform different tasks related to framing of constitution.
• Most important among them was drafting committee headed by
Dr. B R Ambedkar, which had to draft the constitution.
• Chairman of other important committees were as follows:
• Rajendra Prasad was chairman of Committee on the Rules of
Procedure Committee; Steering Committee: Rajendra Prasad,
Finance and Staff Committee and Ad hoc Committee on the
National Flag.
• Jawaharlal Nehru was chairman of Union Constitution Committee,
Union Powers Committee and States Committee (this committee
was there for negotiating with states).
• Sardar Patel was chairman of Provincial Constitution Committee
and Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and
Tribal and Excluded Areas

25. • Some of the other committees and their chairmen were as follows:
• Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly – G.V. Mavalankar.
• Order of Business Committee – Dr. K.M. Munshi.
• House Committee – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya .
• Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution – Alladi Krishnaswamy
Ayyar.
• Credentials Committee – Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar.
• Other members of drafting Committee: -The drafting committee of the constituent
assembly was made of total seven members including chairman Dr. B R Ambedkar.
The six other members were as follows: N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar, Alladi
Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Dr K M Munshi, Syed Mohammad Saadullah, N Madhava
Rau (NMR was Diwan of Mysore state and had replaced B L Mitter who had
resigned due to ill-health. He strongly opposed to the imposition of Hindi language
as the lingua franca for India) T T Krishnamachari (TTK had replaced D P Khaitan
who died in 1948. He was one of the members of Nehru cabinet and served as
Union Minister for two times) .