The Constitution of India was passed by the Constituent Assembly of India on November 26, 1949, and came into effect on January 26, 1950. The Indian constitution was prepared by Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar. That is why, each year India celebrates January 26 as Republic Day. It is the longest written constitution of any independent nation in the world, containing 395 articles and 12 schedules, as well as numerous amendments, for a total of 117,369 words in the English language version.

History
The Cabinet Mission:World War II in Europe came to an end on May 9, 1945. In July, a new government came to power in the United Kingdom. The new British government announced its Indian Policy and decided to convene a constitution drafting body. Three British cabinet ministers were sent to find a solution to the question of India`s independence. This team of ministers were called the Cabinet Mission.

The Cabinet Mission discussed the framework of the constitution and laid down in some detail the procedure to be followed by the constitution drafting body. Elections for the 296 seats assigned to the British Indian provinces were completed by July-August 1946. With the independence of India on August 15, 1947, the Constituent Assembly became a fully self governing body. The Assembly began work on 9 December 1947.

The Constituent Assembly:The people of India elected the members of the provincial assemblies, who in turn elected the constituent assembly. Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee were some important figures in the Assembly. There were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. The Anglo-Indian community was represented by Frank Anthony and the Parsis were represented by H.P. Modi. The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Constitutional experts like Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyer, B.R. Ambedkar, B.N. Rau and K.M. Munshi were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu and Vijaylakshmi Pandit were important women members. Dr. Sachidanand Sinha was the first president of the Constituent Assembly. Later, Dr.Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly while B.R. Ambedkar was appointed the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.The Constituent Assembly met for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days. Its sessions were open to the press and the public.

Objectives of the Resolution:The underlying principles of the Constitution were laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru in his Objectives Resolution:
India is an Independent, Sovereign, Republic;
India shall be a Union of previous British Indian territories, Indian States, and other parts outside British India and Indian States as are willing to be a part of the Union;
Territories forming the Union shall be autonomous units and exercise all powers and functions of the Government and administration, except those assigned to or vested in the Union;
All powers and authority of sovereign and independent India and its constitution shall flow from the people;
All people of India shall be guaranteed and secured social, economic and political justice; equality of status and opportunities before law; and fundamental freedoms of talk, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action - subject to law and public morality.
The minorities, backward and tribal areas, depressed and other backward classes, shall be provided adequate safeguards;
The territorial integrity of the Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea and air shall be maintained according to justice and law of civilized nations;
The land would make full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and welfare of mankind.

Preamble
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

The preamble is not a part of the Constitution of India as it is not enforceable in a court of law. However, the Supreme Court has, in the case of `Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala`, recognized that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and may be used to interpret ambiguous areas of the Constitution where differing interpretations present themselves. However, the Preamble is useful as an interpretive tool only if there is an doubtfulness in the article itself and should not be treated as a rights bestowing part of the Constitution.

An interesting side note contains the words "SOCIALIST" and SECULAR in the preamble. The original drafting used the words "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC". The two additional words "SOCIALIST" and SECULAR were introduced by the controversial 42nd amendment. The amendment was pushed through by Indira Gandhi in 1976, when she had dictatorial powers. A committee under the chairmanship of Sardar Swaran Singh recommended that this amendment be enacted after being constituted to study the question of amending the constitution in the light of past experience.

The importance of the Preamble
The wordings of the Preamble highlights some of the essential values and guiding principles on which the Constitution of India is based on. The Preamble serves as a directing light for the Constitution and judges the Constitution in its light. In a majority of decisions, the Supreme Court of India has mentioned that the objectives specified in the preamble constitutes the basic structure of the Indian Constitution, which cannot be amended (changed). Though the Preamble is a part of the constitution still it is or any of its content are not legally enforced. The first words of the Preamble"We, the people"signifies that power is ultimately in the hands of the people of India. The Preamble lays down the most important national goals which every citizen and the government must try to achieve, such as socialism, secularism and national integration. Lastly, it lays down the date for the adoption of the Constitution 26 November 1949.

Explanation of some of the important words in the Preamble
Sovereign: The word sovereign means supreme or independent. India is internally and externally sovereign externally free from the control of any foreign power and internally, it has a free government which is directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern the people.

Socialist: The word socialist was added to the Preamble by the 42nd amendment act of 1976. It implies social and economic equality. Social equality here means the absence of discrimination on the grounds of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion, language, etc. Under social equality, everyone has equal rights,status and opportunities. Economic equality in this sense means that the government will make an attempt without any bias to make the distribution of wealth equally and provide a decent standard of living for all. This act was done in order to give special importance to the commitment towards the formation of a welfare state.

Secular: The word secular was inserted into the Preamble by the 42nd amendment act of 1976. It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance. India, therefore does not have an official state religion. Every person has the right to preach, practice and spread any religion they choose. The government must not favour or discriminate against any religion. It must treat all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of law. No religious instruction is imparted in government or government aided schools.

Democratic: India is a democracy. The people of India elect their governments at all levels (Union, State and local) by a system of universal Voting system. Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above and not otherwise excluded by law, has a right to vote. Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex, religion or education.

Republic: As opposed to a monarchy, in which the head of state is elected on the basis of hereditary(blood relations) for a lifetime or until he gives away the throne, a democratic republic is a system in which the head of state is elected, directly or indirectly, for a fixedperiod of time. The President of India is elected by an electoral college for a term of five years. The Post of the President Of India is not hereditary. Every citizen of India is eligible to become the President of the country.

Schedules
Schedules can be added to the constitution if there are any amendments to be made. The twelve schedules in the constitution covers the following designations of the
1. States and Union Territories.
2. emoluments(compensation) for high-level officials
3. Forms of oaths.
4. Distribution of the number of seats in the Rajya Sabha per State or Union Territory;
5. provisions for the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes
6. provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam;
7. The Union (central government), State, and Concurrent (dual) lists of responsibilities;
8. The official languages;
9. Article 31B-Validity excluded from Court`s Review (land and tenure reforms; the association of Sikkim with India);
10.Anti-defection provisions for Members of Parliament and Members of the State Legislatures;
11.Panchayat Raj (rural development);
12.Municipality (urban planning).

Amendments
Methods of Amendment