Sources of the Indian Constitution (Borrowed Features)
The sources of constitution: how the Government of India Act, 1935 and features borrowed from Britain, the US, Ireland, Canada, Australia and more shaped India's Constitution.
At a glance
The pre-existing constitutions/statutes the Constituent Assembly drew upon while framing India's Constitution.
Government of India Act, 1935 supplied the structural base; foreign constitutions contributed specific features.
Explains the origin of institutions like Fundamental Rights, DPSPs, federal scheme, and Fundamental Duties.
The sources of constitution discussion refers to the various pre-existing constitutions and statutes that the makers of the Indian Constitution drew upon while framing individual provisions, rather than inventing every institution from scratch. Chief among these was the Government of India Act, 1935, which supplied much of the Constitution's structural skeleton, while a range of foreign constitutions contributed specific institutions and provisions layered on top of that framework.
The Government of India Act, 1935 as the Structural Base
The Government of India Act, 1935 is regarded as the single most important legislative ancestor of the Indian Constitution. Enacted by the British Parliament as its last major statute for India before independence, the 1935 Act had already worked out a federation with British Indian provinces (and, on paper, princely states) as constituent units, a three-fold division of legislative powers into Federal, Provincial, and Concurrent Lists, and provincial autonomy in place of the earlier dyarchy. When the Constituent Assembly framed the Constitution, large portions of this structure — and in places even its phrasing — were carried forward, giving independent India's Constitution a federal scheme and a Seventh Schedule that closely track the 1935 Act's design.
Features Borrowed from Other Constitutions
Alongside this structural base, the Constituent Assembly deliberately studied and adapted specific features from several other democratic constitutions of the time. The table below sets out the principal borrowings:
| Source Constitution | Features Borrowed |
|---|---|
| British Constitution | Parliamentary government, the Rule of Law, legislative procedure, single citizenship, the cabinet system, prerogative writs, parliamentary privileges, and bicameralism |
| US Constitution | Fundamental Rights, independence of the judiciary, judicial review, impeachment of the President, removal of Supreme Court and High Court judges, and the office of Vice-President |
| Irish Constitution | Directive Principles of State Policy, the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha, and the method of electing the President |
| Canadian Constitution | A federation with a strong Centre, vesting of residuary powers in the Centre, and appointment of State Governors by the Centre |
| Australian Constitution | The Concurrent List, freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse, and joint sittings of the two Houses of Parliament |
| Weimar Constitution (Germany) | Emergency provisions relating to the suspension of Fundamental Rights |
| Soviet Constitution (USSR) | Fundamental Duties and the ideal of justice — social, economic and political — in the Preamble |
| French Constitution | The ideal of a Republic, and the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity in the Preamble |
Directive Principles: A Closer Look
The Directive Principles of State Policy are the clearest single illustration of this borrowing at work: they are constitutional instructions to the State on legislative, executive, and administrative matters, setting out ideals the State should keep in mind while formulating policy. Non-justiciable yet regarded as fundamental to governance, they were adapted from the Irish Constitution and are conventionally classified into socialistic, Gandhian, and liberal-intellectual categories within the Indian text.
Significance
Drawing on the Government of India Act, 1935 for structure and on multiple foreign constitutions for specific institutions allowed the Constituent Assembly to combine a tested administrative framework with democratic and rights-based features already proven elsewhere, rather than starting from first principles on every question. This mixed parentage is one reason the Indian Constitution is often described as a comparative-constitutional document — federal in form yet drawing individual features from parliamentary Britain, presidential-inspired judicial safeguards in the US, socio-economic goals from Ireland, and emergency and Preamble language influenced by Germany, the USSR, and France.
UPSC Relevance
Prelims
- The Government of India Act, 1935 is the principal structural source of the Indian Constitution's federal scheme and Seventh Schedule.
- Fundamental Rights, judicial review, and the office of Vice-President are borrowed from the US Constitution.
- Directive Principles of State Policy, Rajya Sabha nominations, and the presidential election method are borrowed from the Irish Constitution.
- Fundamental Duties and the Preamble's justice ideal are traced to the Soviet (USSR) Constitution.
- The Concurrent List and joint sittings of Parliament are borrowed from the Australian Constitution.
Mains
- Discuss how the Government of India Act, 1935 and select foreign constitutions together shaped the structure and content of the Indian Constitution.
- Examine the Directive Principles of State Policy as an example of a borrowed feature adapted to Indian conditions.
FAQ
Q1. What is the single most important source of the Indian Constitution's structure? The Government of India Act, 1935, which supplied the federal scheme, the three-list division of powers, and much of the administrative framework.
Q2. Which features did India borrow from the British Constitution? Parliamentary government, the Rule of Law, legislative procedure, single citizenship, the cabinet system, prerogative writs, parliamentary privileges, and bicameralism.
Q3. Which features came from the US Constitution? Fundamental Rights, independence of the judiciary, judicial review, impeachment of the President, removal of Supreme Court and High Court judges, and the office of Vice-President.
Q4. Where do the Directive Principles of State Policy come from? They were adapted from the Irish Constitution, and are non-justiciable but fundamental to governance.
Q5. What did India borrow from the Soviet and French Constitutions? From the Soviet (USSR) Constitution: Fundamental Duties and the Preamble's justice ideal. From the French Constitution: the ideal of a Republic and the Preamble's liberty, equality and fraternity ideals.
Quick Revision
- Government of India Act, 1935 — structural base (federation, three lists, provincial autonomy).
- British Constitution — parliamentary government, cabinet system, rule of law, bicameralism.
- US Constitution — Fundamental Rights, judicial review, Vice-President.
- Irish Constitution — Directive Principles, Rajya Sabha nominations, presidential election method.
- Canadian Constitution — strong Centre, residuary powers, Governor appointment.
- Australian Constitution — Concurrent List, joint sitting, freedom of trade.
- Weimar (German) Constitution — emergency provisions.
- Soviet Constitution — Fundamental Duties, Preamble's justice ideal.
- French Constitution — Republic, liberty-equality-fraternity in Preamble.
Sources
- The Constitution of India — legislative.gov.in — official text of the Constitution.
Further Reference
For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:
- M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
- D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
- The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.
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