Chapter 1: Constitution: Why and How?

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the functions, effectiveness, and historical making of the Indian Constitution, as well as its borrowed international provisions.

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 the government may never trespass.

Fourth Function of a Constitution

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

Fundamental Rights

A basic cluster of rights protected by a constitution that limit the power of government, such as freedom of speech, conscience, and association.

Directive Principles of State Policy

Constitutional provisions that enjoin the government to fulfil certain aspirations of the people.

Political Identity

A collective identity formed by agreeing to a basic set of norms about how one should be governed.

Moral Identity

A set of identity-defining values derived from authoritative constraints in a constitution upon what one may or may not do.

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 that formally made the Indian Constitution, holding its first sitting on 9 December $1946$ and reassembling on 14 August $1947$.

Cabinet Mission

The committee of the British cabinet that proposed the plan for the composition of the Indian Constituent Assembly.

Cabinet Mission Ratio

The plan allotted seats to Provinces and Princely States proportional to their population in a ratio of $1:1,000,000$.

Substantive Provisions

The specific contents of a constitution that provide every member of society a reason to go along with its framework.

Horizontal Fragmentation of Power

The intelligent design of distributing power across different institutions like the Legislature, Executive, and the Judiciary.

Living Document

A description of the Indian Constitution due to its balance between preserving core values and allowing enough flexibility to adapt to changing needs.

Objectives Resolution

A resolution moved by Nehru in $1946$ which encapsulated the aspirations and values behind the Indian Constitution.

Universal Suffrage

A provision meaning all citizens reaching a certain age are entitled to be voters regardless of religion, caste, education, gender, or income.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

The Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly who advocated that political democracy must be based on social democracy.

Union of Trinity

A concept by Dr. Ambedkar where liberty, equality, and fraternity form a union where one cannot be divorced from the others.

British Constitution (Adapted Provisions)

Source of the first past the post system, parliamentary form of government, rule of law, the role of the Speaker, and law-making procedures.

United States Constitution (Adapted Provisions)

Source of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the power of Judicial Review.

Irish Constitution (Adapted Provisions)

Source of the Directive Principles of State Policy.

French Constitution (Adapted Provisions)

Source of the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Canadian Constitution (Adapted Provisions)

Source of a quasi-federal form of government with a strong central government and the idea of residual powers.

Public Reason

The emphasis on discussion and reasoned argument in the Constituent Assembly where principled reasons were given to others for one's positions.