Constitution as a Living Document Notes in English Class 11 Political Science Chapter-9 Book-1
0Team Eklavyaजून 06, 2025
What is meant by Constitution?
What is the meaning of constitution?
Constitution is a written/unwritten document which contains rules, regulations and laws related to running the government in a country.
The constitution contains detailed information about the form of governance, powers of the government, rights and duties of the people, institutions, various organs of the government and their functions, administration, etc.
How many types of constitutions are there?
There are mainly two types of constitution
1. Written Constitution
India, America, France, Denmark, Brazil
2. Unwritten constitution
Britain, Israel
Are constitutions immutable?
Process of Constitution Amendment?
Why have so many amendments been made in the Constitution?
Subject matter of amendments?
Basic structure of the Constitution and its development?
Is the Constitution a living document?
Contribution of Judiciary?
Maturity of politicians?
Are constitutions immutable?
1. The constitution can be amended as per the need
2. Constitution can be changed according to the situation
Example - Soviet Union changed its constitution 4 times in its 74 years of rule
When did it change - in 1918, 1924, 1936, 1977
Example – France has changed its constitution 5 times
When did it change- in 1793, 1848, 1875, 1946, 1958
constitution in india
The Indian Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949. This Constitution was formally implemented on 26 January 1950. 74 years have passed since then and this Constitution is continuously working.
The government of our country works according to this constitution.
1) Is our Constitution so good that there is no need for any change in it?
2) Were our Constitution makers so far-sighted that they had already anticipated the changes and events of time?
Both these things are correct.
It is true that we have inherited a strong Constitution.
The structure of this Constitution is very suitable to the conditions of our country.
Along with this, it is also true that our constitution makers were extremely farsighted. They had resolved many future questions at that time itself.
But no constitution can be good forever.
There is no document which does not need to be changed.
Our constitution has also been amended whenever required
Therefore, we can say that the constitution is not an immutable document.
It is man who makes the constitution
If there is a need for change in it then it is man who changes or amends it.
Process of Constitution Amendment?
The Indian constitution is a mixture of flexible and rigid
The Constitution makers knew that there might be errors in the Constitution and it might need amendments in the future
That is why he made a provision for amendment in the constitution
Through Article 368, the Parliament can amend the Constitution as per the need, add new provisions or change or remove old provisions.
Ways to amend the constitution
Ways to make amendments
1. Amendment on the basis of simple majority in the Parliament
Provisions/Examples
Creation of new states
Changes in the boundaries and names of states
Creation or abolition of Upper House (Legislative Council) in the States
Acquisition and termination of citizenship
enlarging the jurisdiction of the supreme court
2. Amendment on the basis of special majority in both the houses of the Parliament separately
Provisions/Examples
Fundamental Rights (Directive Principles of State Policy)
Other provisions falling under categories first and third etc.
3. Amendment by special majority and support of half the states
Provisions/Examples
Method of election of President
Distribution of Legislative Powers between the Centre and the States
Representation of States in Parliament, etc.
Why have there been so many amendments in the Constitution?
It has been 74 years since our constitution came into force
Till date, 106 amendments have been made in it. When the constitution was made, it was in accordance with the situation prevailing at that time, but later when the need for amendment was felt, changes were made in it.
Subject matter of amendments?
There are three types of amendments to the constitution
1. Administrative amendment
2. Amendments related to the interpretation of the Constitution
3. Amendments related to political consensus
Administrative amendments
The retirement age of a High Court judge has been raised from 60 to 62
Amendments relating to increase in salary of the judges of the Supreme Court. Provision of reservation for SC/ST in the legislature.
amendments relating to the interpretation of the constitution
There have been many disagreements between the judiciary and the government over the interpretation of the Constitution
Many amendments have been made in the constitution due to these differences.
Example - There was a dispute between the judiciary and the government regarding fundamental rights
Amendments related to political consensus
Most of the amendments after 1984 have been placed in this category
Like – Anti-defection law
61st Amendment (voting age reduced from 21 to 18)
73rd and 74th Amendment
Controversial amendments –
Amendments that have caused controversy
Like- 38, 39, 42nd
The 42nd Amendment of the Constitution is a major amendment.
This influenced the Constitution at a deep level.
In a way, it was also a challenge to the decision given by the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda case.
Even under this, the term of Lok Sabha was increased from 5 years to 6 years.
Fundamental duties were added to the constitution by this amendment.
The 42nd Amendment of the Constitution also places restrictions on the review powers of the judiciary.
It is said that by this amendment a large fundamental part of the Constitution was rewritten.
Through this amendment, changes were made in the Preamble, Seventh Schedule and 53 articles of the Constitution.
When this amendment was passed in Parliament, many MPs from opposition parties were in jail.
Against this backdrop, the 1977 elections were held and the ruling party (Congress) was defeated.
The new government found it necessary to reconsider these contradictory amendments and repealed most of the changes made through the 38th, 39th and 42nd Amendments through the 43rd and 44th Amendments.
Basic Structure of the Constitution
Knowledge of local problems is also necessary for better governance and public welfare administration.
The advantage of local government is that it is closest to the people and hence their problems are solved very quickly and at a lower cost.
Local governance
1. Village
Panchayat
2. Town
Municipality
The need for local governance
Why do we need local government?
Local governance is necessary to establish a strong democratic system.
Local governance is needed to ensure local level political, economic participation
Local governance is necessary for ordinary citizens to have access to their representatives.
To complete the work successfully and speedily (public welfare work)
For mutual harmony and successful administration.
Evolution of local governance in India
It is believed that self-governing village communities in the form of 'Sabha' existed in ancient India.
With the passage of time these village meetings took the form of Panchayat.
As time changed, the role and work of Panchayats also kept changing.
In modern times, elected bodies of local government came into existence after 1882.
At that time Lord Rippon was the Viceroy of India.
He started forming these bodies. At that time it was called Local Board.
Progress in this direction was happening very slowly.
The Indian National Congress demanded the government to take necessary steps to make all local boards more effective.
After the enactment of the Government of India Act 1919, gram panchayats were formed in many provinces.
This trend continued even after the Government of India Act of 1935.
Mahatma Gandhi had stressed that there must be decentralisation of economic and political power.
He believed that strengthening the gram panchayats is an effective means of decentralizing power.
Local people should be involved in every development work
Local Government in Independent India
After the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution, local governance got a strong foundation.
Even before this, some efforts were made to create local governance bodies.
In the year 1952, Community Development Programme was introduced.
The objective of this program was to ensure public participation in various local development activities
It was against this backdrop that a three-tier Panchayati Raj system was recommended for the rural areas.
Some states (Gujarat, Maharashtra) adopted the system of local bodies formed through elections in 1960.
But in many states these local bodies did not have enough power to look after local development.
These bodies were heavily dependent on the state and central governments for financial support.
Many states did not even consider that there was a need to establish local bodies through elections.
There are many such examples where local bodies were dissolved and the responsibility of local governance was handed over to government officials.
In many states, elections for most local bodies were held indirectly.
In many states, elections to local bodies were postponed from time to time.
After 1987, a thorough review of the institutions of local governance began.
In 1989, the P.K. Thugana Committee recommended giving constitutional status to local government bodies.
The Committee recommended that the Constitution should be amended to provide for periodic elections to local government institutions, determine their proper functions and provide funds to such institutions.
73rd and 74th Amendment of the Constitution
In 1989, the Central Government put forward the matter of two constitutional amendments.
The aim of these amendments was to strengthen local governance and bring uniformity in its functioning and structure across the country.
In 1992, the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution were passed by the Parliament.
The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution deals with village local governance.
It is related to the institutions of the Panchayati Raj system.
The 74th Amendment of the Constitution deals with urban local governance (municipality).
The 73rd and 74th Amendments came into force in 1993.
73rd Amendment
three layered structure
1. District Panchayat
2. Block Committee/Taluka/Division
3. Gram Panchayat / Village Assembly
73rd Amendment
Now the structure of Panchayati Raj system is three-tier in all the states.
Gram Panchayat comes at the lowest i.e. first level.
There are one or more villages within the area of a Gram Panchayat.
The intermediate level, i.e. the middle rung is that of the division, which is also called block or taluka.
In the states which are small in size, there is no need to create Mandal or Taluka Panchayat i.e. intermediate level.
The District Panchayat is at the topmost position.
The entire rural area of the district comes under its purview.
Every adult person registered as a voter in the Panchayat constituency is a member of the Gram Sabha.
The role and function of the Gram Sabha are decided by the laws of the state.
District Panchayat
1. Block Samiti Taluka
2. Gram Panchayat Gram Sabha
Election
The public directly elects all three levels of Panchayati Raj
The term of every Panchayati Raj is 5 years.
If the Panchayat is dissolved before time by the state government, then elections have to be held again within six months.
Reservation
1. One third of the seats in all Panchayati institutions are reserved for women
2. There is provision for reservation for SC/ST on the basis of their population
3. If the state government wants, it can also reserve seats for OBCs
Transfer of subjects
29 such subjects which were earlier in the State List have now been listed in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution.
These subjects are to be transferred to Panchayati Raj institutions.
These subjects are related to development and welfare work at the local level.
The actual transfer of these functions depends on the law of the state.
Each state will decide how many of these 29 subjects are to be handed over to the local bodies.
Some subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule
1. Agriculture
3. Development of minor irrigation, water management, water harvesting
..........
8. Small scale industries, this includes food processing industries.
..........
10. Rural Housing
11. Drinking Water
.........
13. Road, culvert
14. Rural electrification
..........
16. Poverty Alleviation Program
17. Education, this includes education at the primary and secondary levels.
18. Technical training and vocational education
19. Adult and non-formal education
20. Library
21. Cultural Activity
22. Markets and fairs
23. Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries
24. Family planning
25. Women and Child Development
26. Social welfare
27. Welfare of the weaker sections, especially the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
28. Public Distribution System.
Tribal populated areas in many states of India were kept out of the provisions of the 73rd Amendment.
These provisions did not apply to these areas.
But in 1996 a separate Act was enacted and these areas were also included within the scope of the provisions of the Panchayat system.
Many tribal communities have customs for the management of common resources such as forests and water bodies.
For this reason, this right of the tribal communities has been protected in the new Act. They can take care of the resources according to their customs.
For this purpose, the Gram Sabha of such areas has been given relatively more powers and the elected Gram Panchayat has to take permission from the Gram Sabha in many ways.
The basic idea behind this Act is to preserve the local tradition of self-governance and to introduce such communities to elected bodies in the modern way.
state election commissioner
It is necessary for the states to appoint a State Election Commissioner.
This commissioner will be responsible for conducting elections of Panchayati Raj institutions.
Earlier this work was done by the state administration, which is under the state government.
Now like the Election Commissioner of India, the Election Commissioner of the State is also autonomous.
The State Election Commissioner is an independent officer.
His office is not connected with the Election Commission of India.
State Finance Commission
It is necessary for the state government to constitute a State Finance Commission every five years.
This commission will review the financial condition of local government institutions in the state.
The Commission will review the distribution of revenue between state and local government systems on the one hand, and between urban and rural local government institutions on the other.
This initiative ensures that allocation of funds to rural local government does not become a political issue.
74th Amendment
The 74th Amendment is related to urban local governance i.e. municipalities.
Urban area:-
(1) Such area has a population of at least 5,000
(2) At least 75% of working men are engaged in work other than agriculture
(3) The population density is at least 400 persons per square kilometre.
special-
The 74th Constitutional Amendment in many ways replicates the 73rd Amendment but this amendment deals with urban areas.
All the provisions of 73rd Amendment relating to direct elections, transfer of reservation subjects, Regional Election Commissioner and Regional Finance Commission are included in 74th Amendment and apply to municipalities.
Implementation of 73rd and 74th Amendment
Now all the states have made laws to implement the provisions of the 73rd Amendment.
It has been more than ten years since these provisions came into existence.
During this period (1994-2004), local body elections have been held at least twice in most states.
Elections have been held three times so far in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and some other states.
At present, in rural India, approximately
District Panchayat – 600
Block level Panchayat – 6000
Gram Panchayat – 2,40,000
At present, in urban India, approximately
Municipal Corporation – 100
Nagar Palika – 1400
Nagar Panchayat – 2000
The provision of reservation for women in Panchayats and Municipalities has ensured the presence of women in large numbers in the local bodies.
There is provision for reservation for posts like President and Sarpanch also.
Due to this, a large number of elected women public representatives have occupied positions like President and Sarpanch.
Today at least 200 women are presidents of district panchayats.
2,000 women are presidents of block or taluka panchayats and the number of women sarpanches in gram panchayats is more than 80,000.
There are 30 women mayors in municipal corporations.
More than 500 women hold the post of president in municipalities. Nearly 650 Nagar Panchayats are headed by women.
Subjects of local government
drinking water
Poverty eradication
Social Welfare
Agriculture, irrigation, roads, small scale industries
