The constitution of our country is the ultimate shield against all forms of abuse and enabler of powers and rights for Indians. It provides direction to the polity, society and citizenry of India to strive for excellence in the collective conduct and individual behaviour.
Essentially it governs how the government and people interact with each other. After Independence, a constituent assembly was formed to create a document installing the national aims and aspirations as a newly independent country.
Consequently, they drafted a legal document that encompasses national values and goals. Officially our constitution was enacted on 26 January 1950.
India constitution stipulates the limits all form of governance and authority, be it state, judiciary or private entities. Due to its detailed nature, it is also the world’s most capacious constitution. Our constitution incorporated inspirations and various provisions from diverse sources.
It has stipulations and adoptions from the Government of India Act (1935), the US constitution, the UK constitution, from countries like USSR, Japan etc. This tradition has been a constant it has always been an organically growing entity, liable to change in light of changing aspirations and circumstances.
Over the years, the modifications (amendment, repeal etc) have changed the overall nature of our polity adding the descriptions like socialist and secular (42nd amendment, 1976).
In terms of governance, it contains information regarding the nature and constitution of the three organs, namely: the legislature (law-making), executive (law enforcing) and judiciary (law maintaining). The state or territory of India, according to the constitution, is a union of different smaller states and union territories (and acquired territories like annexation, enclaves).
These subunits have their own governmental architecture culminating in local administration bodies like panchayats and municipal corporations. This symbiotic relationship is called cooperative federalism.
However, in certain circumstances like war etc. a state of emergency brings the entire nation under one government i.e. the Union. The executive head of the country is the President while the legislature is represented by the Parliament.
The Judicial system has Supreme Court at its apex and the legislature is constituted with two sub-houses- Lok Sabha (directly elected and nominated parliamentarians) and Rajya Sabha (Indirectly elected+nominated parliamentarians).
