Basic Philosophy of Indian Constitution
Introduction - When the Constituent Assembly of Indian began framing the Constitution of India, the environment was characterised by the existence of several ideologies or philosophical principles.
In their struggle for freedom from the clutches of British imperialism, most of Indian leaders were greatly influenced by Western Liberialism and it's value of freedom, rights, equality, justice, democracy and development. However, after the Socialist Revolution in Russia, they came forward to accept the importance Socialist goals.
The makers of the Constitution of India adopted these as the philosophical foundations of Indian Constitution. They accepted the principles of liberalism, democratic socialism, secularism, Gandhism and internationalism. Even after adopting the principles of economic liberlisation, open competition and market economy and free trade, Indian Constitution continues to uphold the principle of Democratic Socialism.
Basic Philosophy and ideologies of Indian Constitution
The following are the basic philosophy and ideologies of Indian Constitution.
- Democratic Socialism
The members of the Constituent Assembly of India reached a consensus and adopted Democratic Socialism as a goal. They accepted the value of Socialist goals, but didn't accept the Socialist, Russian way (authoritarian way) for achieving these. They decided to use democratic means for achieving the socialist goals of social, economic and political justice, equality and welfare of all They described India as a Sovereign Democratic Republic and defined Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity as it's goal. Indian objective was described as socialistic pattern of society. In 1976 the word - "Socialism"- was added in the Preambles of the Constitution. This made it clear that India up holds the ideology of Democratic Socialism.
2. Liberalism
Ideologies of liberalism continues to be the underlaying philosophy of the Indian Constitution. It grants and guarantees to the people of India several Fundamental Rights and freedoms. it up holds the principles of representative democracy, free, fair and tegualr elections, Universal Adult Suffrage, political rights of the people, representative responsible, transparable and accountable government, rule of law, Independence of judiciary, freedom of press, a system of powerful local-self government, multi-party system and development of a strong civil society.
3. Gandhism
Indian Constitution accept the values and principles, advocated, accepted and used by Mahatma Gandhi. It up holds peace, peaceful co-existence, rural local - self government, economic decentralization, rural development and equality of all the people of India.
4. Secularism
The Constitution of India up holds the philosophy of secularism. India has no state region all religions enjoy equality. People has right to religious freedom and they can follow any religion or even remain atheists. All people enjoys equal rights and freedoms, protection of law, protection of law and opportunities for their all round development. Secularism is a basic feature of Construction. India is a Secular Democratic Republic.
5. Internationalism
Indian Constitution expresses full faith in the principle of internationalism. It up holds the ideals of the equality of all nation's, right of self - determination of eacheach nation, friendships and co - operation among all nations, U.N.O as the agency for the promotion of peace, security and development of all the nations through the cultivation of friendship and co-operation among all the members of international community. Under it's Article - 51, the Constitution up holds the principles of promotion of International peace and security, honorable relations among nations, respect for international law and treaties and peaceful settlement of disputes among nations.
To be summed up,
These five constitute the basic philosophical foundations of the Indian Constitution. The Preamble of the Constitution and it's salient features fully reflect this fact.
No comments:
Post a Comment