A Short Study on India, U.S. Constitution and My Objective of Writing

I would like to put it straight that I am not off to prove a point or embarrass any one through this activity of voicing my two cents on some area of interest. I would like to get it across like a noble and divine activity which brings out something good for someone or other. I can hit a self-goal if it caters to third grade objectives. Hence, the whole notion, as envisioned by many, is to bring out the best and present it in this medium to share the narratives which in turn will shape the actions of individuals. We can say a write-up as divine as a constitution should dictate the direction and rules of a country. A popular medium of expression should bring out the inner realities around us and present as a compass to the contemporary world. Anything popular should be responsible and reasonable. Much less, the objective of defaming someone else is extremely cringeworthy and should be ridiculed, derided. Such objectives will never succeed, lasts long nor the activity built along these outcomes will run a marathon. We should touch upon the divinity, worship the God within every individual and not act in a way to insult or insinuate humiliation by looking down on people. 

The outcome of your work should enhance the lives, make them feel better about themselves and not act in opposite. Only then will your work continue unabated or will come to stop when it is distasteful. You need not hit a goal and can still get a draw but when you hit a self-goal, there is high probability of a loss. In the same light, let us cling to higher ideals of derivation from work to uplift one and all but not suppress. Treat others with respect and you will get back the same. Otherwise, you will end up dishing out garbage under the veil of articles. On the other end of spectrum, let us delve into how our constitution has been written and some other details surrounding it. When you look deeper into the great works in action, will you end up imitating in your own little way or hit a goal for a winning cause.

 

When the constituents of your inner self are moral and in good shape, you end up charting a good constitution for your own self and everyone else. A constitution can be two types 1. Individual Constitution 2. National Constitution. A body of fundamental principles or established precedents is known as constitution. These principles can govern at an individual level and national level. For any person, there will be set of rules through which he lives. A country also decides or frames a book of articles or rules upon which the nation rests and falls back in its journey. Hence, an individual can have rules and nation can also have rules which are necessary for the present and future trajectory of a nation.

How can you end up writing these articles or rules within which these individuals and nations operate. Let us dig a bit into the Indian constitution. The constitution of India is one of the longest and most detailed constitutions in the world. It has 395 articles, 12 schedules (each clarifying and expanding upon a number of articles), and 100 amendments. It came into existence on 26th January 1950 the day came to know henceforth as Republic Day of India. Indian Constitution is a unique document drafted after a hard work of three years by the constituent assembly.

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles and the duties of citizens. The significance cannot be understood by most as it laid out the entire structure and architecture of Indian system of governance in the modern world. The powers and manner of operation of the union government and the state governments has also been detailed. It is the playbook for the politicians and citizens who depend on each other.  If there is anything which was right, the Indian constitution was one in providing right direction, structure to the country. It provided the right set of rules to dictate the future of the country in the right direction.

Who had written this Indian constitution which was mostly accurate for the times around? Dr. B.R.Ambedkar is widely known as Father of Indian constitution. Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee which played an important role in the formation of the Constitution. Dr. Ambedkar handled the task of presenting the draft constitution, review and making necessary changes according to the suggestions of the Constituent Assembly. A fact which is known to most is Ambedkar is heavily influenced by west, which can also be seen from his education from western universities. The fact is also there that Indian constitution is heavily borrowed from 10 other developed countries of the times. The existing system of governance from U.S., U.K. and few other countries was also derived and imbibed in the Indian constitution. Still, it is the best possible written set of rules which augured well for India in 75 years post-independence. If there is anything which has withstood the rigorous test of modern times to achieve the lofty ambitions, it is the constitution of India which gave the right foundations for the great institutions of the country. The structure has withered the many challenges of times and still stood tall to cater to the aspirations of a billion plus population. This is the power of the powerful constitution which has been drafted by Ambedkar and the ilk during the most humble times. There is a reason why he is rated very highly and celebrated by most Indians at every possible occasion.

 

Just look at these lines and it will reveal the enormous impact of constitution on Indian polity - “The constitution proclaims the country ‘a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic.’ It establishes India as a parliamentary democracy with powers divided between the union (central) government and the state governments. The constitution provides for a legislature with two houses: the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government.” In simple rules, it has made the nation’s discharge of powers and duties compliant to articles of Indian constitution book.

I am writing this on Christmas day and on this auspicious occasion, let the great constitutions of nations all over the world dictate the future of these countries in the best possible way for many years to come. Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating it around the world and in U.S. too. And well, U.S. also has a constitution written sometime in 1787 and in operation since 1789. The United States Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. Its first three words – “We The People” – affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. The supremacy of the people through their elected representatives is recognized in Article I, which creates a Congress consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. It is an astonishing fact that U.S. was functioning on this premise since nearly 250 years.

The U.S. Constitution has just 4,400 words and compare it with extensive and all-inclusive Indian one. It is the oldest codified and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world. The US Constitution is the hardest constitution to amend in the world. Since it was officially operational in 1879, the constitution has been amended 27 times out (as of 2022) of 11,770 amendment proposals. This is because the process to amend the constitution is extensive. The part which is distinguished in U.S. constitution is impeachment of U.S. President. Trump is the only U.S. president to be twice impeached. He is the only federal official to be impeached twice as well. The constitution has such provisions to safeguard the country from abuse of power including treason, bribery, or other high Crimes and misdemeanors.