Constitution: Why and How?

Vocabulary flashcards based on Chapter 1 'Constitution: Why and How?' covering the functions, authority, and making of the Indian Constitution.

Constitution

A body of fundamental principles according to which a state is constituted or governed.

First function of a constitution

To provide a set of basic rules that allow for minimal coordination amongst members of a society.

Second function of a constitution

To specify who has the power to make decisions in a society and decide how the government will be constituted.

Third function of a constitution

To set some limits on what a government can impose on its citizens, which are fundamental in the sense that government may never trespass them.

Fourth function of a constitution

To enable the government to fulfil the aspirations of a society and create conditions for a just society.

Fundamental Identity

The collective identity formed when people agree to a basic set of norms about how they should be governed and who should be governed.

Moral Identity

An identity defined by the constitution setting authoritative constraints upon what one may or may not do, defining fundamental values that may not be trespassed.

Mode of Promulgation

The manner in which a constitution comes into being, including who crafted it and the authority they possessed.

Constituent Assembly

The body of elected representatives who framed the Indian Constitution between December $1946$ and November $1949$.

Cabinet Mission

The committee of the British cabinet whose plan proposed the composition of the Constituent Assembly for India.

Ratio of seat allotment in the Constituent Assembly

Each Province and Princely State was allotted seats proportional to their population roughly in a ratio of $1:10,00,000$.

Princely States

Territories that were not under direct British rule and were allotted a minimum of $93$ seats in the Constituent Assembly.

3 June 1947 Plan

The plan under which the Partition occurred, leading to the reduction of the Constituent Assembly to $299$ members.

Universal Suffrage

The provision that all citizens reaching a certain age are entitled to be voters irrespective of religion, caste, education, gender, or income.

Public Reason

The practice in the Constituent Assembly where members gave principled reasons for their positions rather than simply advancing narrow interests.

Objective Resolution

The resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru in $1946$ that defined the aims of the Assembly and encapsulated the values behind the Constitution.

Provisions adapted from the British Constitution

First Past the Post, Parliamentary Form of Government, the idea of the rule of law, the institution of the Speaker, and law-making procedures.

Provisions adapted from the United States Constitution

Charter of Fundamental Rights, power of Judicial Review, and the independence of the judiciary.

Provisions adapted from the Irish Constitution

Directive Principles of State Policy.

Provisions adapted from the French Constitution

Principles of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.

Provisions adapted from the Canadian Constitution

A quasi-federal form of government with a strong central government and the idea of Residual Powers.

Living Document

A term describing a constitution that strikes a balance between preserving core values and allowing enough flexibility to adapt to changing needs.

26 November 1949

The date on which the Indian Constitution was adopted.

26 January 1950

The date on which the Indian Constitution officially came into force.