Indian Constitution at Work

Chapter Ten
THE PHILOSOPHY OF
THE CONSTITUTION

INTRODUCTION
In this book, so far we have studied some important provisions of our Constitution
and the way in which these have worked in the last 69 years. We also studied
the way in which the Constitution was made. But have you ever asked yourself
why leaders of the national movement felt the need to adopt a constitution after
achieving independence from British rule? Why did they choose to bind
themselves and the future generations to a constitution? In this book, you have
repeatedly visited the debates in the Constituent Assembly. But it should be
asked why the study of the constitution must be accompanied by a deep
examination of the debates in the Constituent Assembly? This question will be
addressed in this chapter. Secondly, it is important to ask what kind of a
constitution we have given ourselves. What objectives did we hope to achieve
by it? Do these objectives have a moral content? If so, what precisely is it? What
are the strengths and limitations of this vision and, by implication, the achievements
and weaknesses of the Constitution? In doing so, we try to understand what can
be called the philosophy of the Constitution.
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand:
± why it is important to study the philosophy of the Constitution;
220 ± what are the core features of the Indian Constitution;
± what are the criticisms of this Constitution; and
± what are the limitations of the Constitution?

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WHAT IS MEANT BY PHILOSOPHY OF THE

221
CONSTITUTION?
Some people believe that a constitution merely
consists of laws and that laws are one thing, values
and morality, quite another. Therefore, we can have
only a legalistic, not a political philosophy approach
to the Constitution. It is true that all laws do not
have a moral content, but many laws are closely
connected to our deeply held values. For example, a
law might prohibit discrimination of persons on
grounds of language or religion. Such a law is
connected to the idea of equality. Such a law exists
because we value equality. Therefore, there is a
connection between laws and moral values.
We must therefore, look upon the constitution as a
document that is based on a certain moral vision. We need
to adopt a political philosophy approach to the
constitution. What do we mean by a political philosophy
approach to the constitution? We have three things in
mind.
± First, we need to understand the conceptual structure
of the constitution. What does this mean? It means
that we must ask questions like what are the possible
meanings of terms used in the constitution such as
‘rights’, ‘citizenship’, ‘minority’ or ‘democracy’?
± Furthermore, we must attempt to work out a coherent
vision of society and polity conditional upon an
interpretation of the key concepts of the constitution.
We must have a better grasp of the set of ideals
embedded in the constitution.
± Our final point is that the Indian Constitution must
be read in conjunction with the Constituent Assembly
Debates in order to refine and raise to a higher
Does it mean that all
theoretical plane, the justification of values embedded
constitutions have a
in the Constitution. A philosophical treatment of a philosophy? Or is it that only
value is incomplete if a detailed justification for it is some constitutions have a
not provided. When the framers of the Constitution philosophy?

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chose to guide Indian society

and polity by a set of values,
there must have been a
The Japanese Constitution
corresponding set of reasons.
of 1947 is popularly known
Many of them, though, may not as the ‘peace constitution’.
have been fully explained. The preamble states that
A political philosophy approach “We, the Japanese people
to the constitution is needed not desire peace for all time and
only to find out the moral content are deeply conscious of
expressed in it and to evaluate its the high ideals controlling
claims but possibly to use it to human relationship”. The
philosophy of the Japanese
arbitrate between varying
constitution is thus based
interpretations of the many core
on the ideal of peace.
values in our polity. It is obvious Article 9 of the
that many of its ideals are Japanese constitution
challenged, discussed, debated and states —
contested in different political 1) Aspiring sincerely to an
arenas, in the legislatures, in party international peace based
forums, in the press, in schools and on justice and order, the
universities. These Japanese people forever
ideals are variously renounce war as a
sovereign right of the nation
interpreted and
and the threat or use of
sometimes wilfully
force as means of settling
manipulated to suit international disputes.
partisan short term 2) In order to accomplish
interests. We must, the aim of the preceding
therefore, examine paragraph, land, sea, and
Yes, of course, I do remember whether or not a air forces, as well as other
this issue of different serious disjunction war potential, will never be
interpretations of the exists between the maintained…
This shows how the
Constitution. We discussed it constitutional ideal
context of making the
in the last chapter, didn’t we? and its expression
constitution dominates the
in other arenas. thinking of the constitution
Sometimes, the same makers.
222 ideal is interpreted differently
by different institutions. We need
to compare these differing
interpretations. Since the expression

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of the ideal in the constitution has considerable authority

it must be used to arbitrate in conflict of interpretation over 223
values or ideals. Our Constitution can perform this job of
arbitration.

Constitution as Means of Democratic Transformation

In the first chapter we have studied the meaning of the
term constitution and the need to have a constitution. It is
widely agreed that one reason for having constitutions is
the need to restrict the exercise of power. Modern states
are excessively powerful. They are believed to have a
monopoly over force and coercion. What if institutions of
such states fall into wrong hands who abuse this power?
Even if these institutions were created for our safety and
well-being, they can easily turn against us. Experience of
state power the world over shows that most states are prone
to harming the interests of at least some individuals and
groups. If so, we need to draw the rules of the game in
such a way that this tendency of states is continuously
checked. Constitutions provide these basic rules and
therefore, prevent states from turning tyrannical.
Constitutions also provide peaceful, democratic means
to bring about social transformation. Moreover, for a
hitherto colonised people, constitutions announce and
embody the first real exercise of political self-determination.
Nehru understood both these points well. The demand
for a Constituent Assembly, he claimed, represented a
collective demand for full self-determination because; only
a Constituent Assembly of elected representatives of the
Indian people had the right to frame India’s constitution
without external interference. Second, he argued, the So, can we say that members
Constituent Assembly is not just a body of people or a of the Constituent Assembly
gathering of able lawyers. Rather, it is a ‘nation on the move, were all eager to bring social
throwing away the shell of its past political and possibly transformation? But we also
social structure, and fashioning for itself a new garment of keep saying that all view points
its own making.’ The Indian Constitution was designed to were represented in the
break the shackles of traditional social hierarchies and to Assembly!
usher in a new era of freedom, equality and justice.

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This approach had the potential of changing the theory of

constitutional democracy altogether: according to this approach,
constitutions exist not only to limit people in power but to empower
those who traditionally have been deprived of it. Constitutions can
give vulnerable people the power to achieve collective good.

Why do we need to go back to the Constituent Assembly?

Why look backwards and bind ourselves to the past? That may be
the job of a legal historian — to go into the past and search for the
basis of legal and political ideas. But why should students of politics
be interested in studying the intentions and concerns of those who
framed the Constitution? Why not take account of changed
circumstances and define anew the normative function of the
constitution?
In the context of America — where the constitution was written
in the late 18th century— it is absurd to apply the values and
standards of that era to the 21st century. However, in India, the
world of the original framers and our present day world may not
have changed so drastically. In terms of our values, ideals and
conception, we have not separated ourselves from the world of the
Constituent Assembly. A history of our Constitution is still very
much a history of the present.

Activity
Read again the quotes from the Debates of
the Constituent Assembly (CAD) given in
the following chapters. Do you think that
the arguments in those quotations have
relevance for our present times? Why?
i. Quotes in Chapter two
ii. Quote in Chapter seven

Furthermore, we may have forgotten the real point underlying

several of our legal and political practices, simply because somewhere
224 down the road we began to take them for granted. These reasons
have now slipped into the background, screened off from our
consciousness even though they still provide the organizational
principle to current practices. When the going is good, this forgetting

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is harmless. But when these practices are challenged or

threatened, neglect of the underlying principles can be 225
harmful. In short, to get a handle on current constitutional
practice, to grasp their value and meaning, we may have
no option but to go back in time to the Constituent
Assembly debates and perhaps even further back in time
to the colonial era. Therefore, we need to remember and
keep revisiting the political philosophy underlying our
Constitution.

WHAT IS THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF OUR

CONSTITUTION? This is tough. Why couldn’t they
It is hard to describe this philosophy in one word. It resists plainly tell us what the
any single label because it is liberal, democratic, philosophy of this Constitution
egalitarian, secular, and federal, open to community is? How can ordinary citizens
values, sensitive to the needs of religious and linguistic understand the philosophy if it
minorities as well as historically disadvantaged groups, is hidden like this?
and committed to building a common national identity.
Shankar. Copyright: Children’s Book Trust.

READ A CARTOON

26 January 1950

While all ideas unfold on this playfield, democracy is the ‘Umpire’.

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In short, it is committed to freedom, equality, social justice, and some

form of national unity. But underneath all this, there is a clear
emphasis on peaceful and democratic measures for putting this
philosophy into practice.

Individual freedom
The first point to note about the Constitution is its commitment to
individual freedom. This commitment did not emerge miraculously
out of calm deliberations around a table. Rather, it was the product
of continuous intellectual and political activity of well over a century.
As early as the beginning of the nineteenth century, Rammohan Roy
protested against curtailment of the freedom of the press by the
British colonial state. Roy argued that a state responsive to the needs
of individuals must provide them the means by which their needs
are communicated. Therefore, the state must permit unlimited liberty
of publication. Likewise, Indians continued to demand a free press
throughout the British rule.
It is not surprising therefore that freedom of expression is an
integral part of the Indian Constitution. So is the freedom from
arbitrary arrest. After all, the infamous Rowlatt Act, which the national
movement opposed so vehemently, sought to deny this basic freedom.
These and other individual freedoms such as freedom of conscience
are part of the liberal ideology. On this basis, we can say that the
Indian Constitution has a pretty strong liberal character. In the
chapter on fundamental rights we have already seen how the
Constitution values individual freedom. It might be recalled that for
over forty years before the adoption of the Constitution, every single
resolution, scheme, bill and report of the Indian National Congress
mentioned individual rights, not just in passing but as a non-
negotiable value.

Social Justice
When we say that the Indian Constitution is liberal, we do not mean
that it is liberal only in the classical western sense. In the book on
226 Political Theory, you will learn more about the idea of liberalism.
Classical liberalism always privileges rights of the individuals over
demands of social justice and community values.

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Check your progress 227

State which of the following rights are part of
individual freedom:
± Freedom of expression
± Freedom of religion
± Cultural and educational rights of minorities
± Equal access to public places

The liberalism of the Indian Constitution differs from this version

in two ways. First, it was always linked to social justice. The best
example of this is the provision for reservations for Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution. The makers of the
Constitution believed that the mere granting of the right to equality
was not enough to overcome age-old injustices suffered by these
groups or to give real meaning to their right to vote. Special
constitutional measures were required to advance their interests.
Therefore the constitution makers provided a number of special
measures to protect the interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes such as the reservation of seats in legislatures. The Constitution
also made it possible for the government to reserve public sector
jobs for these groups.

Indian liberalism has two streams. The

first stream began with Rammohan Roy.
He emphasised individual rights,
particularly the rights of women. The
second stream included thinkers like K.C.
Sen, Justice Ranade and Swami
Vivekananda. They introduced the spirit
of social justice within orthodox Hinduism.
For Vivekananda, such a reordering of
Hindu society could not have been possible
without liberal principles. — K.M.
Panikkar , In Defence of Liberalism, And while talking of social
Bombay, Asia Publishing House, 1962. justice, let us not forget the
directive principles.

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Respect for diversity and minority rights

The Indian Constitution encourages equal respect between
communities. This was not easy in our country, first
because communities do not always have a relationship
of equality; they tend to have hierarchical relationships
with one another (as in the case of caste). Second, when
these communities do see each other as equals, they also
tend to become rivals (as in the case of religious
communities). This was a huge challenge for the makers
of the Constitution: how to make communities liberal in
their approach and foster a sense of equal respect among
them under existing conditions of hierarchy or intense
rivalry?
It would have been very easy to resolve this problem
by not recognising communities at all, as most western
liberal constitutions do. But this would have been
unworkable and undesirable in our country. This is not
because Indians are attached to communities more than
others. Individuals everywhere also belong to cultural
communities and every such community has its own
values, traditions, customs and language shared by its
members. For example, individuals in France or Germany
belong to a linguistic community and are deeply attached
to it. What makes us different is that we have more openly
I have always wondered who I acknowledged the value of communities. More
am. I have so many ‘identities’ in importantly, India is a land of multiple cultural
my bag: I have my religious communities. Unlike Germany or France we have several
identity, I have my linguistic linguistic and religious communities. It was important to
identity, I have ties with my ensure that no one community systematically dominates
parental town, and of course, I others. This made it mandatory for our Constitution to
am a student also. recognise community based rights.
One such right is the right of religious communities
to establish and run their own educational institutions.
Such institutions may receive money from the
228 government. This provision shows that the Indian
Constitution does not see religion merely as a ‘private’
matter concerning the individual.

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Secularism
Secular states are widely seen as treating religion as only 229
a private matter. That is to say, they refuse to give religion
public or official recognition. Does this mean that the
Indian Constitution is not secular? This does not follow.
Though the term ‘secular’ was not initially mentioned, the
Indian Constitution has always been secular. The
mainstream, western conception, of secularism means
mutual exclusion of state and religion in order to protect
values such as individual freedom and citizenship rights
of individuals.
Again, this is something that you will learn more about
in Political Theory. The term ‘mutual exclusion’ means this: Have they started teaching
both religion and state must stay away from the internal us the Political Theory
course?
affairs of one another. The state must not intervene in the
domain of religion; religion likewise should not dictate state
policy or influence the conduct of the state. In other words,
mutual exclusion means that religion and state must be
strictly separated.
What is the purpose behind strict separation? It is to
safeguard the freedom of individuals. States which lend
support to organised religions make them more powerful
than they already are. When religious organisations begin
to control the religious lives of individuals, when they start
dictating how they should relate to God or how they should
pray, individuals may have the option of turning to the
modern state for protecting their religious freedom, but what
help would a state offer them if it has already joined hands
with these organisations? To protect religious freedom of
individuals, therefore, state must not help religious
organisations. But at the same time, state should not tell
religious organisations how to manage their affairs. That
too can thwart religious freedom. The state must, therefore,
not hinder religious organisations either. In short, states
should neither help nor hinder religions. Instead, they should
keep themselves at an arm’s length from them. This has been
the prevalent western conception of secularism.

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Conditions in India were different and to respond to the

challenge they posed, the makers of the Constitution had
to work out an alternative conception of secularism. They
departed from the western model in two ways and for two
different reasons.
± Rights of Religious Groups
First, as mentioned already, they recognised that inter-
community equality was as necessary as equality
between individuals. This was because a person’s
freedom and sense of self-respect was directly
dependent upon the status of her community. If one
community was dominated by another, then its
members would also be significantly less free. If, on
the other hand, their relations were equal, marked by
an absence of domination, then its members would
also walk about with dignity, self-respect and freedom.
Thus, the Indian Constitution grants rights to all
religious communities such as the right to establish
and maintain their educational institutions. Freedom
of religion in India means the freedom of religion of
both individuals and communities.

± State’s Power of Intervention

Second, separation in India could not mean mutual
exclusion. Why is it so? Because, religiously
sanctioned customs such as untouchability deprived
individuals of the most basic dignity and self-respect.
Such customs were so deeply rooted and pervasive
I would like to know whether that without active state intervention, there was no
finally, the state can regulate hope of their dissolution. The state simply had to
matters related to religion or not. interfere in the affairs of religion. Such intervention
Otherwise, there can be no was not always negative. The state could also help
religious reform. religious communities by giving aid to educational
institutions run by them. Thus, the state may help or
230 hinder religious communities depending on which
mode of action promotes values such as freedom and
equality. In India separation between religion and state
did not mean their mutual exclusion but rather

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principled distance, a rather complex idea that allows the state

to be distant from all religions so that it can intervene or abstain 231
from interference, depending upon which of these two would better
promote liberty, equality and social justice.
We have hitherto mentioned three core features — these can also
be seen as the achievements — of our Constitution.
± First, our Constitution reinforces and reinvents forms of liberal
individualism. This is an important achievement because this is
done in the backdrop of a society where community values are
often indifferent or hostile to individual autonomy.
± Second, our Constitution upholds the principle of social justice
without compromising on individual liberties. The constitutional
commitment to caste-based affirmative action programme shows
how much ahead India was compared to other nations. Can one
forget that affirmative action programmes in the U.S. were begun
after the 1964 Civil Rights Act, almost two decades after they
were constitutionally entrenched in India?
± Third, against the background of inter-communal strife, the
Constitution upholds its commitment to group rights (the right
to the expression of cultural particularity). This indicates that
the framers of the Constitution were more than willing to face the
challenges of what more than four decades later has come to be
known as multiculturalism.

Universal franchise
Two other core features may also be regarded as achievements. First,
it is no mean achievement to commit oneself to universal franchise,
specially when there is widespread belief that traditional hierarchies
in India are congealed and more or less impossible to eliminate, and
when the right to vote has only recently been extended to women
and to the working class in stable, Western democracies.
Once the idea of a nation took root among the elite, the idea of
democratic self-government followed. Thus, Indian nationalism
always conceived of a political order based on the will of every single
member of society. The idea of universal franchise lay securely within
the heart of nationalism. As early as the Constitution of India Bill
(1895), the first non-official attempt at drafting a constitution for
India, the author declared that every citizen, i.e., anyone born in

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“The Assembly has adopted the

principle of adult franchise with an
abundant faith in the common
man and the ultimate success of
democratic rule and in the full
belief that the introduction of
democratic government on the
basis of adult suffrage will…
promote the well-being...”

Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, CAD, Vol. XI, p. 835, 23 November 1949

India, had a right to take part in the affairs of the country

It’s certainly a matter of pride that and be admitted to public office. The Motilal Nehru Report
the principle of ‘one man one
(1928) reaffirms this conception of citizenship, reiterating
vote’ was accepted almost
that every person of either sex who has attained the age of
uncontested. Isn’t it true that
twenty-one is entitled to vote for the House of
women had to struggle for their
Representatives or Parliament. Thus from very early on,
right to vote in many other
countries? universal franchise was considered as the most important
and legitimate instrument by which the will of the nation
was to be properly expressed.

Federalism
Second, by introducing the article concerning North-East
(Art. 371), the Indian Constitution anticipates the very
important concept of asymmetric federalism. We have seen
in the chapter on federalism that the Constitution has
created a strong central government. But despite this
unitary bias of the Indian Constitution, there are
important constitutionally embedded differences between
the legal status and prerogatives of different sub-units
within the same federation. Unlike the constitutional
232 symmetry of American federalism, Indian federalism has
been constitutionally asymmetric. To meet the specific

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needs and requirements of some sub-units, it was always

part of the original design to have a unique relationship 233
with them or to give them special status.
Under Article 371A, the privilege of special status was
also accorded to the North-Eastern State of Nagaland. This
Article not only confers validity on pre-existing laws within
Nagaland, but also protects local identity through
restrictions on immigration. Many other States too, are
beneficiaries of such special provisions. According to the
Indian Constitution, then, there is nothing bad about this
differential treatment.
Although the Constitution did not originally envisage
this, India is now a multi-lingual federation. Each major
linguistic group is politically recognised and all are treated I am really impressed! Who says
as equals. Thus, the democratic and linguistic federalism our Constitution is based on
of India has managed to combine claims to unity with imitation?. In every ‘borrowed’
claims to cultural recognition. A fairly robust political aspect, we have put our own
distinct imprint.
arena exists that allows for the play of multiple identities
that complement one another.

National identity
Thus, the Constitution constantly reinforces a common
national identity. In the chapter on federalism, you have
studied how India strives to retain regional identities along
with the national identity. It is clear from what is
mentioned above that this common national identity was
not incompatible with distinct religious or linguistic
identities. The Indian Constitution tried to balance these
various identities. Yet, preference was given to common
identity under certain conditions. This is clarified in the
debate over separate electorates based on religious identity
which the Constitution rejects. Separate electorates were
rejected not because they fostered difference between
religious communities as such or because they
endangered a simple notion of national unity but because

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they endangered a healthy national life. Rather than forced unity,

our Constitution sought to evolve true fraternity, a goal dear to the
heart of Dr. Ambedkar. As Sardar Patel put it, the main objective
was to evolve ‘one community’.

“But in the long run, it

would be in the interest of
all to forget that there is
anything like majority or
minority in this country
and that in India there is
only one community…”

Sardar Patel, CAD, Vol. VIII, p. 272, 25 May 1949

PROCEDURAL ACHIEVEMENTS
All these five core features are what might be called the substantive
achievements of the Constitution. However, there were also some
procedural achievements.
± First, the Indian Constitution reflects a faith in political
deliberation. We know that many groups and interests were not
adequately represented in the Constituent Assembly. But the
debates in the Assembly amply show that the makers of the
Constitution wanted to be as inclusive in their approach as
possible. This open-ended approach indicates the willingness of
people to modify their existing preferences, in short, to justify
outcomes by reference not to self-interest but to reasons. It also
shows a willingness to recognise creative value in difference and
disagreement.
234
± Second, it reflects a spirit of compromise and accommodation.
These words, compromise and accommodation, should not
always be seen with disapproval. Not all compromises are bad.

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If something of value is traded off for mere self-interest,

then we naturally have compromised in the bad sense. 235
However, if one value is partially traded off for another
value, especially in an open process of free deliberation
among equals, then the compromise arrived in this
manner can hardly be objected to. We may lament
that we could not have everything but to secure a bit
of all things important cannot be morally blame-
worthy. Besides, a commitment to the idea that
decisions on the most important issues must be arrived
at consensually rather than by majority vote is equally
morally commendable.
I understand compromises in the
CRITICISMS design of institutions, but how can
The Indian Constitution can be subjected to many conflicting principles be
criticisms of which three may be briefly mentioned: first, accommodated?
that it is unwieldy; second, that it is unrepresentative and
third, that it is alien to our conditions.
The criticism that it is unwieldy is based on the
assumption that the entire constitution of a country must
be found in one compact document. But this is not true
even of countries such as the US which do have a compact
constitution. The fact is that a country’s constitution is
to be identified with a compact document and with other
written documents with constitutional status. Thus, it is
possible to find important constitutional statements and
practices outside one compact document. In the case of
India, many such details, practices and statements are
included in one single document and this has made that
document somewhat large in size. Many countries for
instance, do not have provisions for election commission
or the civil service commission in the document known as
constitution. But in India, many such matters are
attended to by the Constitutional document itself.
A second criticism of the Constitution is that it is
unrepresentative. Do you remember how the Constituent
Assembly was formed? At that time, adult franchise was

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not yet granted and most members came from the

advanced sections of the society. Does this make our
Constitution unrepresentative?
Here we must distinguish two components of
representation, one that might be called voice and the other
opinion. The voice component of representation is
important. People must be recognised in their own
language or voice, not in the language of the masters. If
we look at the Indian Constitution from this dimension, it
is indeed unrepresentative because members of the
Constituent Assembly were chosen by a restricted
franchise, not by universal suffrage. However, if we
examine the other dimension, we may not find it altogether
lacking in representativeness. The claim that almost every
shade of opinion was represented in the Constituent
Assembly may be a trifle exaggerated but may have
something to it. If we read the debates that took place in
the Constituent Assembly, we find that a vast range of
issues and opinions were mentioned, members raised
matters not only based on their individual social concerns
but based on the perceived interests and concerns of
various social sections as well.
Is it a coincidence that the central square of every other
small town has a statue of Dr. Ambedkar with a copy of
Of course! Isn’t it what we learnt the Indian Constitution? Far from being a mere symbolic
in the first chapter? That there
tribute to him, this expresses the feeling among Dalits
should be a valid reason for every
that the Constitution reflects many of their aspirations.
section of society to go along with
A final criticism alleges that the Indian Constitution is
the Constitution?
entirely an alien document, borrowed article by article
from western constitutions and sits uneasily with the
cultural ethos of the Indian people. This criticism is often
voiced by many. Even in the Constituent Assembly itself,
there were some voices that echo this concern.
How far is this charge true?
236 It is true that the Indian Constitution is modern and
partly western. Do you remember that in the first chapter
we have listed the various sources from which our
Constitution ‘borrowed’? But in this chapter you have also

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“…we wanted the music of Veena or Sitar, but here we 237

have the music of an English band. That was because
our constitution makers were educated that way.
…That is exactly the kind of Constitution Mahatma
Gandhi did not want and did not envisage.”

K. Hanumanthaiya
CAD, Vol. XI, pp.616-617, 17 November 1949

seen that it was never a blind borrowing. It was innovative borrowing.

Besides, as we shall see, this does not make it entirely alien.
First, many Indians have not only adopted modern ways of
thinking, but have made these their own. For them westernisation
became a form of protest against the filth in their own tradition.
Rammohan Roy started this trend and it is continued to this day by
Dalits. Indeed, as early as 1841, it was noticed that the Dalit people
of northern India were not afraid to use the newly introduced legal
system and bring suits against their landlords. So, this new
instrument of modern law was effectively adopted by the people to
address questions of dignity and justice.
Second, when western modernity began to interact with local
cultural systems, something like a hybrid culture began to emerge,
possibly by creative adaptation, for which a parallel can be found
neither in western modernity nor in indigenous tradition. This cluster
of newly developed phenomenon forged out of western modern and
indigenous traditional cultural systems have the character of a
different, alternative modernity. In non-western societies, different
modernities emerged as non-western societies tried to break loose
not only from their own past practices but also from the shackles of
a particular version of western modernity imposed on them. Thus,
when we were drafting our Constitution, efforts were made to
amalgamate western and traditional Indian values. It was a process
of selective adaptation and not borrowing.

Limitations
All this is not to say that the Constitution of India is a perfect and
flawless document. Given the social conditions within which the

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 Indian Constitution at Work

Constitution was made, it was only natural that there may

be many controversial matters, that there would be many
areas that needed careful revision. There are many
features of this Constitution that have emerged mainly
due to the exigencies of the time. Nonetheless, we must
admit that there are many limitations to this Constitution.
Let us briefly mention the limitations of the Constitution.
± First, the Indian Constitution has a centralised idea
of national unity.
± Second, it appears to have glossed over some
important issues of gender justice, particularly within
the family.
± Third, it is not clear why in a poor developing country,
certain basic socio-economic rights were relegated to
the section on Directive Principles rather than made
an integral feature of our fundamental rights.
It is possible to give answers to these limitations, to explain
why this happened, or even to overcome them. But that is
not our point. We are arguing that these limitations are
not serious enough to jeopardise the philosophy of the
Constitution.

Conclusion
In the previous chapter we described the
Constitution as a living document. It is these core
features of the Constitution that give it this stature
No document can be perfect and of a living document. Legal provisions and
no ideals can be fully achieved. institutional arrangements depend upon the needs
But does that mean we should of the society and the philosophy adopted by the
have no ideals? No vision? Am I society. The Constitution gives expression to this
right? philosophy. The institutional arrangements that we
studied throughout this book are based on a core
and commonly agreed vision. That vision has
historically emerged through our struggle for
238 independence. The Constituent Assembly was the
platform on which this vision was stated, refined
and articulated in legal-institutional form. Thus, the

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Chapter 10: The Philosophy of the Constitution

Constitution becomes the embodiment of this vision. Many

people have said that the best summary of this vision or the 239
philosophy of the Constitution is to be found in the preamble to
our Constitution.
Have you carefully read the preamble? Apart from the various
objectives mentioned in it, the preamble makes a very humble
claim: the Constitution is not ‘given’ by a body of great men, it
is prepared and adopted by ‘We, the people of India…’. Thus,
the people are themselves the makers of their own destinies,
and democracy is the instrument that people have used for
shaping their present and their future. More than five decades
since the Constitution was drafted, we have fought over many
matters, we have seen that the courts and the governments
have disagreed on many interpretations, the centre and the
States have many differences of opinion, and political parties
have fought bitterly. As you will study next year, our politics
has been full of problems and shortcomings. And yet, if you
asked the politician or the common citizen, you will find that
every one continues to share in that famous vision embodied in
the Constitution: we want to live together and prosper together
on the basis of the principles of equality, liberty and fraternity.
This sharing in the vision or the philosophy of the Constitution
is the valuable outcome of the working of the Constitution. In
1950, making of this Constitution was a great achievement.
Today, keeping alive the philosophical vision of that Constitution
may be our important achievement.

Exercises
1. The following are certain laws. Are they connected with any value?
If yes, then what is the underlying value? Give reasons.
a. Both daughters and sons will have share in the family property.
b. There will be different slabs of sales tax on different consumer
items.
c. Religious instructions will not be given in any government
school.
d. There shall be no begar or forced labour.

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 Indian Constitution at Work

2. Which of the options given below cannot be used to complete the

following statement?
Democratic countries need a constitution to
i. Check the power of the government.
ii. Protect minorities from majority.
iii. Bring independence from colonial rule.
iv. Ensure that a long-term vision is not lost by momentary
passions.
v. Bring social change in peaceful manner.

3. The following are different positions about reading and

understanding Constituent Assembly debates.
i. Which of these statements argues that Constituent Assembly
debates are relevant even today? Which statement says that
they are not relevant?
ii. With which of these positions do you agree and why?
a. Common people are too busy in earning livelihood and
meeting different pressures of life. They can’t understand
the legal language of these debates.
b. The conditions and challenges today are different from the
time when the Constitution was made. To read the ideas of
Constitution makers and use them for our new times is
trying to bring past in the present
c. Our ways of understanding the world and the present
challenges have not changed totally. Constituent Assembly
debates can provide us reasons why certain practises are
important. In a period when constitutional practises are
being challenged, not knowing the reasons can destroy them.

4. Explain the difference between the Indian Constitution and western

ideas in the light of
a. Understanding of secularism.
b. Articles 370 and 371.
c. Affirmative action.
d. Universal adult franchise.

5. Which of the following principles of secularism are adopted in the

Constitution of India?
240 a. that state will have nothing to do with religion
b. that state will have close relation with religion
c. that state can discriminate among religions

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Chapter 10: The Philosophy of the Constitution

d. that state will recognise rights of religious groups

e. that state will have limited powers to intervene in affairs of 241
religions

6. Match the following.

a. Freedom to criticise i. Substantive

treatment of widows achievement

b. Taking decisions in the ii. Procedural achievement

constituent assembly on
the basis of reason,
not self interest

c. Accepting importance of iii. Neglect of gender justice

community in an individual’s
life

d. Article 370 and 371 iv. Liberal individualism

e. Unequal rights to women v. Attention to requirements of

regarding family property and a particular region
children

7. This discussion was taking place in a class. Read the various

arguments and state which of these do you agree with and why.
Jayesh: I still think that our Constitution is only a borrowed
document.

Saba: Do you mean to say that there is nothing Indian in it? But is
there such a thing as Indian and western in the case of values and
ideas? Take equality between men and women. What is western
about it? And even if it is, should we reject it only because it is
western?

Jayesh: What I mean is that after fighting for independence from

the British, did we not adopt their system of parliamentary
government?

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 Indian Constitution at Work

Neha: You forget that when we fought the British, we were not
against the British as such, we were against the principle of
colonialism. That has nothing to do with adopting a system of
government that we wanted, wherever it came from.

8. Why is it said that the making of the Indian Constitution was

unrepresentative? Does that make the Constitution
unrepresentative? Give reasons for your answer.

9. One of the limitations of the Constitution of India is that it does not

adequately attend to gender justice. What evidence can you give to
substantiate this charge? If you were writing the Constitution today,
what provisions would you recommend for remedying this limitation?

10. Do you agree with the statement that “it is not clear why in a poor
developing country, certain basic socio-economic rights were
relegated to the section on Directive Principles rather than made
an integral feature of our Fundamental Rights”? Give reasons for
your answer. What do you think are the possible reasons for putting
socio-economic rights in the section on Directive Principles?

11. How did your school celebrate the Constitution Day on November
26th?

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