BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE UNDER THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Introduction:
The Indian Constitution gives a core reflection of the country's integrity considering all the powers, rights and duties governing each and every citizen. The makers of our constitution considered it to be a living flexible document which reflects the aspirations of people for the aim of a sovereign, socialist, democratic as well as republic government. Though inspired from various other constitutions, this gives the nation its true essence.
Why Constitution:
As per the census of 1946, India had a population of 390 million which decreased to approximately 330-340 million during the partition of Bangladesh and Pakistan from India followed by an increment of the same to approximately 361 million during 1951. Catering such a large population was a very difficult task. Each person had their own ideological, social, religious, political differences. So considering this the makers strongly believed a separate codified document is required which would not only lay the true essence of the country but will also cater such a large population.
Drafting Of Constitution:
This was started in year 1946 by the organisation of the constituent assembly with a total of 389 members which was reduced to 299 after partition. The first meeting being held as on 9th december 1946 under which Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was appointed as its interim chairman. Later, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the permanent President of the Assembly. The main aim of this committee was to prepare a draft of the Indian Constitution due to which they furtherly appointed several other committees. The most important committee being formed was a seven members committee formulated as on 27 August 1947 under which Dr. BR. Ambedkar was appointed as the chairman. This Committee prepared the first draft in February 1948, and after revisions and debates, the final draft was presented to the Constituent Assembly in November 1949 with a total of 11 subsequent sessions.
Our constitution is inspired from various other constitutions which include the parliamentary system and rule of law being inspired from the British Constitution, fundamental rights, judicial review, independence of judiciary being inspired from the U.S. Constitution, Directive Principles of State policy by the Irish Constitution Emergency Provisions by the Weimar Constitution and Federation Of Strong Centre by the Canadian Constitution.
True Essence Of The Constitution:
From the very first line of the preamble considering “We the people of India”, the constitution treated everyone as a whole irrespective of their caste, creed religious as well as political views. Furtherly aspects like sovereign meaning no external power can interfere within us, socialist empowering states to achieve there goals through non-violent and evolutionary measures uplifting socio economic development. Secular meaning india doesnt have any official religion. Every citizen is enlighted to practice his own religion as per articles 25-28 of the constitution. Furtherly Democratic emphasising on both political and social democracy and republic meaning that the head of the state must be elected and not must be a hereditary monarch. The main objective of this being social justice, liberty, equality and fraternity being inspired from the french constitution enlight the true essence of the same.
Furtherly, as the makers of our constitution believed in democracy, they also believed in accountability being each and every citizen must have an equal opportunity to question the government or institution they have elected in case they violate their fundamental rights. This throws light upon judicial review which is considered to be the true essence of our Constitution. Though not a separate article under the indian constitution, there are provisions which explain the same including Article 13 of the constitution stating laws which are inconsistent with fundamental rights are considered to be void furtherly Article 32 enabling the citizens to approach the supreme court in case any fundamental right has been violated along with Article 226 which initiates the writ issuance power of the High Court in case any fundamental right has been violated. This acts as a check and balances for the government uplifting the supremacy of the constitution.
Amendment Of Constitution In Light Of Basic Structure Doctrine:
Unlike others, Dr. BR. Ambedkar also thoroughly believed that our constitution must have an amending power the same way as done for judicial review. He felt that the constitution must be adaptable by the growth of the nation or its people. He considered it to be a “Vehicle for life” rather than a “mere lawyers document”. But he furtherly put forward his own rejection upon certain provisions through which he explained that if the amendment is to liberal political parties or the government in power could propagate its own ideology through the same which would effect the countries overall outcome of democracy. He merely emphasised upon the strict mechanism of Article 368 under which such amendment is only possible by 2/3rd majority in the parliament or either ratification of half states upon the same. He considered that only the parliament has the power to amend the constitution for better governance.
Considering the view construed by the honourable Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225 : AIR 1973 SC 1461 through a 13 judge bench decided on 24th April 1973 being the longest judge bench in the history. This held that the power to amend the constitution under article 368 is not unlimited. Parliament cannot alter or destroy the “basic structure” of the Constitution. This became known as the Basic Structure Doctrine also considering the preamble a part of this doctrine. Though the Supreme Court considered the power of Amendment is important under Article 368 of the Indian Constitution, it must not supersede the basic fundamental rights which govern each and every citizen of the country. Though contrary, this judgement did not affect the power of Judicial review. Even today citizens have the right to proceed to various forums in case any of their fundamental rights are violated.
Personal View:
Considering my personal view upon the same, I totally agree upon with the decision of honourable Supreme Court upon the basic structure doctrine as put forward under the landmark judgement of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225 : AIR 1973 SC 1461. I personally believe that the apex court was right in its view upon the same as if this amendment power were absolute, the government and other organizations in the present scenario would enact their own laws for governance without considering the basic rights and dignity of citizens within the country. Furtherly, India being a large sub continent has different people having their own intellect and any conflict of interest upon the same will lead to anarchy within the country. So for this a supreme codified document is required considering each citizen as a part of the country as a whole. Lets imagine the same through a hypothetical situation.
B a country has two sects of citizens relatively H and Y having equal majority. Both sects have a conflict of interest in their own ideologies and demand their own personal right and liberty to be protected in their own way. If country B does not have a strong, supreme constitution, neither the rights of H nor Y can be considered to be protected which will lead to nothing but social anarchy.
Conclusion:
With this I would like to conclude that the Basic Structure Doctrine enroots the indian constitution protecting the rights and liberty of the nation as a whole. Without this doctrine our country would get into social anarchy as each person will be demanding his own personal rights to be protected. The constitution is made to protect the unity of the country not the personal right or liberty of any individual. The true essence of this only lies in the basic structure doctrine.