question_answer

  "Most of the countries of the world keep changing their constitution as needed but Indian Constitutions is accepted even today." Is it an unusual achievement for any constitution? Give reasons in support of your answer.

Answer:

                  (i) The constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone. It expresses a broad consensus of its time. (ii) Many countries of the world have had to rewrite their constitution afresh because the basic rules were not accepted to all major social groups or political parties. (iii) The Constituent Assembly represented the people of India. There was no universal adult franchise at that time. So the Constituent Assembly could not have been chosen directly by all the people of India. (iv) In social terms, the Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes, classes, religions and occupations. It was elected by the members of the existing provincial legislatures, ensuring a fair geographical share of members from all the regions of the country. (v) The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner. First, some basic principles were declared and agreed upon. Then a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar prepared a draft constitution for discussion. These documents were thoroughly studied with several debates and then presented. Over the last half a century, several groups have questioned some provisions of the constitution. But no large social group or political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the constitution itself. This is an unusual achievement for any constitution.