We all know that our children are going to be the nation builders of tomorrow. But how many of them are aware of the country’s constitution and citizenship rights? Not many really! Now, with today’s generation starting to speak up for their fundamental rights, it is high time we teach our children about Indian constitutional principles, their fundamental rights and duties, and the political and secular values of the nation.
“We the people of India have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic….” This is how the Constitution of India begins. Our Constitution is the most important legal document of the land. It came into being on 26 January 1950
The Indian Constitution, crafted by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – the father of our constitution, is the longest in the world. It covers a wide range of civil liberties, religious freedom, and civic duties. India being a Secular, Sovereign, Socialist, and Democratic republic, its constitution puts the welfare of its people as a priority rather than the state. It is hence important that our children know why and how the constitution of India proposes equality, justice, and freedom of its people so that they can add to the pool of the politically conscious young generation for the future.
Knowing about the Indian Constitution helps children understand about the country, its political structure, and social values. As today’s youth are conscious of secular values and constitutional principles, it’s even more important for the next generation to be educated about the constitution, the founding document of the Indian republic.
Knowing the laws
Laws protect the general safety of the public and ensure their rights against any abuse of it. Our constitutional laws tell us what our rights and duties are. Children should be taught the basic laws – set of principles, rules and standards of conduct – that all Indian citizens are bound to abide by. In order to act against anything like child employment, child abuse, or even talking for violation of road rules, we need to know the laws first. Knowing the fundamental laws and rights of our constitution can help students advocate and protect themselves and others against any tyranny or illicit violation of laws by individuals, by organisations, or by the government itself.
Understanding the rights
In today’s world, knowing your rights is empowerment. Students need to be aware of their own fundamental rights and should have the courage to raise their voice for any violation of personal or social rights. Knowing about the constitution gives students a sense of social empowerment and motivates them towards understanding the importance of the constitution. Whether it is the recent CAA amendment or a violation of human rights, children need to be aware of their own rights, freedom, as well as the limits to help them become conscious and responsible citizens.
Learning the responsibilities
Apart from understanding the civil laws and citizen rights, it is also necessary to know what responsibilities a citizen holds. When children know about the rights and duties of a citizen enshrined in our constitution, it will help them understand how and why some of our Constitutional provisions are being violated. They will also know when to speak up for their rights and what their role is as a dutiful citizen. Whether it is for calling a general helpline to fix street lights or reporting to a child helpline to rescue a friend, it is important that children are taught and trained to be confident, courageous, and knowledgeable enough to tackle real-life issues.
Here are some facts about the Constitution of India
- The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world.
- The Indian Constitution was originally written by hand. The hand-written documents have been preserved in helium-filled cases in the library of the Parliament House.
- The Indian Constitution is a combination of the best features of constitutions of various countries around the world.
- 101 amendments have been made to the Indian Constitution since it was first drafted.
What your child must know about the Indian Constitution:
The Indian Constitution has 22 parts and 395 articles. The following are the most important ones:
- The Preamble: The Preamble is the introduction to the Constitution and defines the main ideals of the country – liberty, equality, fraternity and justice. Our Constitution characterises India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and a republic country. These terms have been given many meanings over the years and they are important for the interpretation of the rest of the Constitution.
- Part I- The Union and its Territory: This section contains information on what defines a state and other matters relating to states such as formation and alteration.
- Part II – Citizenship: This part defines who a citizen of India is and what his rights are.
- Part III – Fundamental Rights: This is the most important part of the Constitution as it lays down certain rights that cannot be violated except under exceptional circumstances. These rights are known as fundamental rights. They are: the right to equality (Art. 14 – 18), the right to various freedoms (Art. 19 – 22), the right against exploitation (Art. 23 – 24), the right to freedom of religion (Art. 25 – 28) and cultural and educational rights (Art. 29 – 30). Most constitutional cases are based on violations of these rights. These rights are very broad and, in some cases, even individuals or organisations who are not directly affected by their violation may bring petitions before the court by a process known as public interest litigation. Over the course of time, the law has developed to make it easy for citizens to raise claims of violation of these rights.
- Part IV – Directives of State Policy: This part contains various directions to the government which would ensure an ideal society if followed. Unfortunately, these directives are not binding.
- Part IV A – Fundamental Duties: Similar to the Directives of State Policy, this part imposes certain duties on citizens to ensure the proper functioning of society. However, these duties are also not binding.
- Part V – The Union: This part lays down rules relating to the functioning of the three wings of the Union – the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature.
- Part VI – The States: This part lays down the rules regarding the functioning of the State governments.
- Parts VII – X: These parts lay down rules for other units of administration such as special states mentioned in Schedule B, union territories, panchayats, municipalities and scheduled and tribal areas.
- Part XI: This part regulates the relationship between the Union and the States.
- Part XVIII: This part deals with emergency provisions. Emergency may be declared throughout the nation or in any state on various grounds mentioned in this part.
- Various other topics such as financial matters, rules relating to trade, elections and special provisions are dealt with in the other parts of the Constitution of India
This comes to the question as to why it is not taught in schools?
The reason the constitution of India is not taught at Indian school is because it’s a very lengthy document divided over 22 parts , 395 schedules and has 124 amendments, the latest being the GST one.
Now for policy makers it will be very difficult to select at what level the constitution should be introduced, and it cannot be taught in a single academic year, and since it’s the law of the land and need a certain level of intelligence to understand it, makes it for difficult to decide the level of its induction in school. Though 11th and 12th standard seems to be good options, our education system already makes them too difficult.
However, as parents and educators we can make them a bit aware of how, what, when and why our Constitution came into force. It can be a great reminder to be respectable and responsible citizens of India.
