The Constitution of India is unique..because it borrows from others.

1. The Indian Constitution is Unique
because it is a result of borrowings from other
countries
presented by
BALAGOPAL P 301
CHIRAG CHAUHAN 303
KUSHAL KARAMCHANDANI 309
NACHIKET KULKARNI 311
ISHAN PAREKH 315
ANKIT SHAH 317

2. Some Unique Features of Indian Constitution.
 A written Constitution
 The longest Known constitution
 Popular Sovergeinity
 Sovereign democratic republic
 Both Rigid and Flexible
 Cabinet Government
 Secular State
 A federal System with unitary bias
 Universal Franchise without communal representation
 Compromise between Judicial Review and Parliamentary Soverginity.
 Independence of Judiciary
 Fundamental Rights
 Fundamental Duties
 Directive Principles of state policy

3. Some Major Criticism about our Constitution
 The constitution of India is being criticized on the ground that it is the most
lengthy and detailed constitutional document the world has so far produced.
 The constitution of India is called as the carbon copy of the Act of 1935. The
fathers of the constitution have borrowed a large number of provisions from the
Act of 1935 and made them part of the new constitution.
 One of the frequent criticism of the constitution was that was a lawyer’s paradise.
It is true that the constitution is a complex document. The language in which it was
drafted is that which is familiar only in courts of law.
 The constitution has been criticized by a small but vocal section on the ground that
it is un-Gandhian. The constitution did not embody the principles for which
Mahatma Gandhi stood or the ideology of the Indian National Congress.
 It is said that the Indian constitution is a bag of borrowings or is a more paper
and scissors work. Parliamentary form of government is borrowed from the
British constitution while federalism and judicial review is borrowed from the
U.S. constitution and many similarities from other countries.

4. Some major Borrowings
Indian Constitution is supposed to be a copy from
the following constitutions from the world
 UK
 US
 USSR
 Australia
 Japan
 Germany
 Canada
 Ireland.

5. Comparing Indian constitution with UK
• Nominal Head – President (like Queen)
• Cabinet System of Ministers
• Post of PM
• Parliamentary Type of Govt.
• Bicameral Parliament
• Lower House more powerful
• Council of Ministers responsible to Lowe
House

6. Comparing Indian Constitution with US
• Written Constitution
• Provision of States (Federal System)
• Fundamental Rights
• Executive head of state known as President and
his being the Supreme Commander of the Armed
Forces
• Independence of Judiciary and judicial review
• Supreme Court
• Removal of Supreme court and High court Judges

7. Comparing Indian Constitution with
Japan
• Establishment of the Japanese Constitution
• Fundamental rights to the people
• Law for protection of life and personal liberty
• Social and cultural rights to its citizens
• Law on which the Supreme Court function

8. Directive principles of state policy taken from
Ireland
• The Constitution of India lays down Directive Principles of
State Policy.
• Similar to the Fundamental Duties, the directive principles are
not enforceable by the courts.
• Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines to the central
and state governments of India which are significant while
framing laws and policies.
• They are incorporated in the constitution of India based on
the Directive Principles given in the Constitution of Ireland
and also by the principles of Gandhism.
• The principles laid down are related to social justice,
economic welfare, foreign policy, and legal and administrative
matters.

9. • in 1919, the Rowlatt Acts gave extensive powers to the British government
and police, and allowed indefinite arrest and detention of individuals,
restrictions on public gatherings and intensive censorship of media and
publications.
• All these led to public opposition and mass campaigns started demanding
guaranteed civil freedoms, and limitations on government power.
• Thus the Directive Principles of State Policy in Irish constitution were
looked upon by the people of India as an inspiration in order to
independently handle complex social and economic challenges in the
nation
• The concept of these principles was augmented in 1928 by the Nehru
Commission and in 1931 by the Indian National Congress. After India
getting independence on 15 August 1947, the task of developing a
constitution for the nation was undertaken by the Constituent Assembly
of India. Hence, Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State
Policy were included in the I Draft Constitution by the constituent
assembly.

10. • Directive Principles of State Policy aims at creating social and economic
conditions so that the citizens can lead a good life.
• They act as a check on the government.
• Prevention of child abuse and exploitation of workers.
• provide free legal aid in order to ensure equal opportunities for securing
justice.
• To provide the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases
of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement.
• Children are provided free and compulsory education till they attain the
age of 14 years.
• Securing right to an adequate means of livelihood for all citizens to men
and women offer equal pay for equal work for both men and women
• To raise the level of nutrition & the standard of living and to improve
public health
• Protection of monuments, places of historic and national importance
against destruction and damage.
• Protect and improvement of the environment and safeguarding the forests
as well as the wild life of the country.

11. Selection of president in Ireland
• The President is formally elected by the people once
every seven years, except in the event of premature
vacancy
• election must be held within sixty days
• No one may be elected as President more than twice
• Where only one candidate is nominated, he or she is
deemed elected without the need for a ballot.
• Where more than one candidate is nominated, the
election is 'adjourned' so that a ballot can take place,
allowing the electors to choose between candidates.

12. ELIGIBILITY
The Constitution sets the principle qualifications one must meet to be
eligible to the office of the President. A President must be
• A citizen of the state .
• Of 35 years of age or above.
ELECTION
• The President is directly elected by secret ballot under the Alternative
Vote form of the Single Transferable Vote system
• only Irish citizens, who must be at least eighteen years of age, may
vote in the election of the President.
• A candidate must, however be nominated by one of the following:
 At least twenty members of the national parliament
 At least four county or city councils.
 Themselves (in the case of an incumbent or former president that has
served one term).

13. Selection of president in India
ELIGIBILITY
The Constitution sets the principle qualifications one must meet to be
eligible to the office of the President. A President must be:
• A citizen of India.
• of 35 years of age or above
• qualified to become a member of the Lok Sabha
ELECTION
• The new President is chosen by an electoral college consisting of the
elected members of both houses of the Parliament and the elected
members of the State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabha).
• The election is held in accordance to the system of Proportional
Representation by means of Single Transferable Vote method. The
Voting takes place by secret ballot system.

14. Federalism in India and Canada
• Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are
bound together by covenant with a governing representative head.
• Federalism is a system in which the power to govern is shared
between national and provincial/state governments, creating what
is often called a federation
• In Canada, federalism typically implies opposition to sovereignties
movements
• Europe, United States, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, India and
Malaysia among others, are also federal countries

15. • “Federalism” as a concept has important implications
for comparative studies of federations such as the
United States, Canada, and India.
• India began as quasi-federations and have gradually
become federations
• federalism,” a set of interlocking principles of
government very different from the parliamentary
tradition that Canada and India inherited from the
United Kingdom.

16. Federalism in India
• The Government of India was established by the Constitution of India , and is
the governing authority of a federal union of 28 states and 7 union territories
• A distinguishing aspect of Indian federalism is that unlike many other forms of
federalism, it is asymmetric
Asymmetric federalism
• Article 370 makes special provisions for the state of Jammu and Kashmir as
per its Instrument of Accession. Article 371 makes special provisions for the
states of Andhra Pradesh , Arunachal Pradesh , Assam , Goa , Mizoram,
Manipur , Nagaland and Sikkim.
• Indian federalism is system of President's Rule in which the central
government (through its appointed Governor) takes control of state's
administration for certain months when no party can form a government in
the state or there is violent disturbance in the state.

17. Federalism in canada
• Canada it is it is divided into 10 separate provinces and 3 territories.
• In Canada, the system of federalism is described by the division of powers
between the federal parliament and the country's provincial governments.
• For matters not directly dealt with in the constitution, the federal
government retains residual powers.
• conflict between the two levels of government, relating to which level has
legislative jurisdiction over various matters, has been a longstanding and
evolving issue.
• Areas of contest include legislation with respect to regulation of the
economy, taxation, and natural resources.

18. Comparing Indian Constitution with
USSR & Germany
USSR
• Fundamental Duties
• Five year Plan
Germany
• Suspension of Fundamental Rights during the
emergency

19. The German Emergency Acts were passed on 30 May 1968 at the time of
the First Grand Coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany
and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. The Emergency Acts faced
opposition from outside the German parliament. It was the 17th
constitutional amendment to the Grundgesetz, adding emergency clauses
to ensure the federal government's ability to act in crises such as natural
disasters, uprisings or war.

20. • Right to resist
• To appease critics, a fourth paragraph was introduced in Article 20 of the Grundgesetz, giving the people of
Germany the right, if no other remedy was possible, to resist anyone trying to go against the constitutional laws.
• States of defence, states of tension, internal states of emergency, disasters
• The law contains legislation on what happens in case of a state of defence, a state of tension, or an internal state
of emergency or disaster comes about. In such cases, basic constitutional rights may be limited.
• Emergency legislation
• If, in a state of defence, the Bundestag (parliament) can not convene, its functions and those of the Bundesrat
(federal council) are taken over by a Joint Committee. Two thirds of this Joint Committee are members of the
Bundestag and the other third are members of the Bundesrat. The Joint Committee is not allowed to change the
Basic Law.
• Limitations of basic constitutional rights
• According to Article 10 of the Grundgesetz, limitations may be placed on privacy of correspondence,
confidentiality of telecommunication and of postal communication, in order to protect the free and democratic
constitutional order. Freedom of movement may also be limited under certain conditions. Occupational freedom
(the right to pursue a career of one's choice) may also be altered.
• Compulsory military service
• Compulsory military service was introduced and regulated in Article 12a. Conscientious objection was also allowed
in the form of community services.
• Natural disasters
• According to Article 35, during a natural disaster, the Bundespolizei and the Bundeswehr may also be called in as
well as the police. When catastrophes take place which concern more than one German state, the German
government may also give instructions to the states.

21. ARTICLE 130. It is the duty of every citizen of the U.S.S.R. to abide by the Constitution of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, to observe the laws, to maintain labor discipline, honestly to perform public
duties, and to respect the rules of socialist intercourse.
ARTICLE 131. It is the duty of every citizen of the U.S.S.R. to safeguard and strengthen public, socialist
property as the sacred and inviolable foundation of the Soviet system, as the source of the wealth and
might of the country, as the source of the prosperous and cultured life of all the working people.
Persons committing offenses against public, socialist property are enemies of the people.
ARTICLE 132. Universal military service is law. Military service in the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is
an honorable duty of the citizens of the U.S.S.R.
ARTICLE 133. To defend the fatherland is the sacred duty of every citizen of the U.S.S.R. Treason to the
country--violation of the oath of allegiance, desertion to the enemy, impairing the military power of the
state, espionage is punishable with all the severity of the law as the most heinous of crimes.

22. • Stalin introduced the first plan in 1928, and its success in achieving its goals was declared ahead of schedule, in
1932.
• The First Five-Year Plan emphasized heavy industry to lay the foundations for future industrial growth. Stalin
argued that if rapid industrialization did not occur then Russia would be at risk from aggressive foreign, capitalist
countries. The five year plans did have some remarkable results, if only in industrial sectors. For instance, coal and
iron production both quadrupled their output, electric power production increased and 1500 new industrial plants
were built. The First Five-Year Plan led to marked improvements in heavy industry, but not without commensurate
failures in consumer goods production and agriculture. There was also a great deal of suffering for many peasants.
In the Ukrainian lands about 3 million peasants died because of hunger during the Ukrainian Great Famine 1932-
1933. Prisoners were forced into work at Gulags, or labor camps, where people died on average within five years
and the chances of freedom were slim.
• The Second Plan, 1933–1937
• Because of the success of the first plan, the government went ahead with the Second Five-Year Plan in 1932,
although the official start-date for the plan was 1933. The Second Five-Year Plan gave heavy industry top priority,
placing the Soviet Union not far behind Germany as one of the major steel-producing countries of the world. On
top of this, communications, especially railways, became faster. As was the case with the other five-year plans, the
second was not uniformly successful, failing to reach the recommended production levels in such crucial areas as
coal and oil. The second plan employed incentives as well as punishments and the targets were eased as a reward
for the first plan being finished ahead of schedule in only four years. Women were encouraged to participate in
the plan as childcare was offered to mothers so they could go to work and not need to worry about their children.
• During this time, the new Soviet system of government continued to evolve as different solutions were applied in
an attempt to revive the agrarian sector of the country's economy, but these efforts were largely unsuccessful
because almost all of the farmers had already been evicted, imprisoned and systematically murdered as the
political persecutions shifted into high gear, culminating in the Great Purge. The sum total of The Second Five-Year
Plan was a deterioration of the standard of living because the focus of "planners' preferences" replaced consumer
preferences in the country's economy, with an emphasis on military goods and heavy industry, so that is what the
economy provided. This resulted in a much lower quality and quantity of available consumer goods.

23. • The Third Plan, 1938–1941
• The Third Five-Year Plan ran for only 3 years, up to 1941, when the Soviet Union entered the Second World War. As war
approached, more resources were put into developing armaments, tanks and weapons.
• The first two years of the Third Five-Year Plan proved to be even more of a disappointment in terms of proclaimed
production goals. Even so, the value of these goals and of the coordination of an entire economy's development of central
planning has been undeniable. For the 12% to 13% rate of annual industrial growth attained in the Soviet Union during the
1930s has few parallels in the economic history of other countries. Since Russia's economy had always lagged behind the
rest of Europe, these increases appeared all the more dramatic. Additionally, this high rate of growth was continued after
World War II, as much devastation needed to be repaired, and continued into the early fifties, after which it had gradually
declined.
• The Fourth and Fifth Plans, 1946–1950 and 1951–1955
• After the Second World War, the emphasis was on reconstruction, and Stalin in 1945 promised that the USSR would be the
leading industrial power by 1960.
• Much of the USSR at this stage had been devastated by the war. Officially, 98,000 collective farms had been ransacked and
ruined, with the loss of 137,000 tractors, 49,000 combine harvesters, 7 million horses, 17 million cattle, 20 million pigs, 27
million sheep; 25% of all capital equipment had been destroyed in 35,000 plants and factories; 6 million buildings, including
40,000 hospitals, in 70,666 villages and 4,710 towns (40% urban housing) were destroyed, leaving 25 million homeless;
about 40% of railway tracks had been destroyed; officially 7.5 million servicemen died, plus 6 million civilians, but perhaps
20 million in all died. In 1945, mining and metallurgy were at 40% of the 1940 levels, electric power was down to 52%, pig-
iron 26% and steel 45%; food production was 60% of the 1940 level. After Poland, the USSR had been the hardest hit by the
war. Reconstruction was impeded by a chronic labour shortage due to the enormous number of Soviet casualties in the war.
Moreover, 1946 was the driest year since 1891, and the harvest was poor.
• The USA and USSR were unable to agree on the terms of a US loan to aid reconstruction, and this was a contributing factor
in the rapid escalation of the Cold War. However, the USSR did gain reparations from Germany, and made Eastern European
countries make payments in return for the Soviets having liberated them from the Nazis. In 1949, the Comecon (Council for
Mutual Economic Aid) was set up, linking the Eastern bloc countries economically. One-third of the Fourth Plan's capital
expenditure was spent on Ukraine, which was important agriculturally and industrially, and which had been one of the areas
most devastated by war.
• By 1947, food rationing had ended, but agricultural production was barely above the 1940 level by 1952. However, industrial
production in 1952 was nearly double the 1941 level.

24. • The Sixth Plan, 1956–1960
• Another Plan to improve industry was carried out in 1956 by Nikita Khrushchev,
following Stalin's death in 1953. Some of Khrushchev's policies included
nationalization, the Virgin Lands Campaign, creation of a minimum wage and the
production of consumer goods which raised the living standards of the Russians in
return.
• The Seventh Plan, 1961–1965
• The progress of the Soviet Union slowed considerably during this period.
• The Eighth Plan, 1968–1971
• The Eighth Plan led to the amount of grain exported being doubled.
• The Ninth Plan, 1971–1975
• Some 14 million tonnes of grain were imported by the USSR. Détente and
improving relations between the Soviet Union and the United States allowed for
more trade.
• The Tenth Plan, 1976–1981
• Leonid Brezhnev declared the slogan "Pyatiletka of Quality and Efficiency" for this
period.

25. • The Eleventh Plan, 1981–1985
• During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, the country imported some 42 million tons of
grain annually, almost twice as much as during the Tenth Five-Year Plan and three
times as much as during the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1971–75). The bulk of this grain
was sold by the West; in 1985, for example, 94 percent of Soviet grain imports
were from the nonsocialist world, with the United States selling 14.1 million tons.
However, total Soviet export to the West was always almost as high as import, for
example, in 1984 total export to the West was 21.3 billion rubles, while total
import was 19.6 billion rubles.
• The Twelfth Plan 1986–1990
• The 1987 Law on State Enterprise and the follow-up decrees about khozraschyot
and self-financing in various areas of the Soviet economy were aimed at the
decentralization of the planned economy.
• The Thirteenth Five Year Plan which would have run until 1995, only lasted about
one year due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.