Constitutionalism

The act of specifying that a country should be governed by strict guidelines or the governing
document, which is the Constitution, is regarded as constitutionalism. A constitution is a guiding
document within a country that describes the particular guidelines and actions that must be
followed in order to govern and run the country.
Constitutionalism and the Constitution are concepts created by and for the people. They
function for the people to make sure that their human rights are protected. It is an ideology that
limits the government's ability to manage the country appropriately. Constitutionalism is the
notion that laws prevent the governing council from wrongfully exercising authority.

Elements of Constitutionalism
The elements of constitutionalism include - sovereignty, separation of power, the supremacy of
the constitution, autonomous judiciary, Representative-Bounded Government, Political Nature of
Democracy, Judicial control over the Police, and Civilian Control of the Military Forces. The
elements of constitutionalism are explained below:
• The Constitution and Rule of Law are Supreme: It denotes that the country is
governed by rules rather than authority or power. Except for the laws and regulations
that have already been stated, no one can decide on governance.
• Sovereignty: It begins with the assumption that the government is free of any bias from
any particular authority. In short, it ensures that the government is of, by, and for the
people.
• Representative-Bounded Government: This element of constitutionalism declares that
the people choose the representatives through a legitimate election process. They elect
representatives to look after their interests, so they must be accountable and answerable
to the public for their actions.
• Political Nature of Democracy: Individual rights and equality should be protected in a
democracy. It declares equal rights for all citizens of the country.
• Separation of Power: It splits the power into 3 tiers: executive, legislative, and judicial.
This helps to maintain balances and checks in each area separately and more
effectively.
• Law and Judiciary Govern the Police: It is one of the important elements of
constitutionalism that ensures that police power is critiqued by the law and under legal
authority. The police have no right to violate people's dignity.
• Autonomous Judiciary: The autonomy of India's judicial system means ensuring the
liberty of democratic legitimacy. It means that the government has the authority to
control the nation if the laws allow it.
• Civilian Control of the Military Forces: It symbolises that the Civilian government must
supervise the military force in a manner that the military cannot interrupt the country's
democratic judgement procedure.

Features of Constitutionalism
The features of Constitutionalism are given below to understand the constitution in India:
• The Indian constitution can be defined as a written form of the constitution.
• It is extremely complaisant, so it is easy to undergo amendments. Although it can also
be called rigid since its basic layout is not up for amendment.
 • The Indian constitution can be quoted as being unitary since it gives the Centre the
higher authority. Yet, it is also defined as federal since the power age split between the
Centre and the state.

Importance of Constitutionalism
Countries that have formed and maintained constitutional governments have typically remained
at the leading edge of advancements in science and technology, economic power, social
evolution, and human well-being. The importance of constitutionalism can be understood by
going through the following points:
• States that have repeatedly been unable to keep the constitutional government, on the
other hand, have frequently suffered from the lack of their potential growth.
• This is because constitutionalism means ensuring "the fair and impartial exercise of
power"; it "facilitates a peaceful and orderly society, defends the rights of citizens and
communities, and encourages appropriate resource management and economic growth
and progress."
• In a way, we can say that constitutionalism equips lawful authorities to manage valid
concerns for the public good while offering protection to people from the despotism of
rulers whose authority might otherwise be utilised for their personal advantage rather
than the public good.
• A constitution exposes a disconnection between the fixed, enduring institutional bodies
of the state, on one side, and the elected government, on the other, by offering
fundamental rules related to the source, transfer, accountability, and application of
political power in a society.
• The constitutionalism guarantees that the government does not possess the state;
rather, it handles the state on behalf of its citizens under the jurisdiction of higher laws.

Constitution and Constitutionalism UPSC

Being a democratic nation, India is governed by constitutionalism, which effectively directs the
government and helps rule the country for the benefit of the public. The Indian Constitution
comprises the country's fundamental laws and foundational principles, authored by Dr B. R.
Ambedkar, widely recognized as the "Father of the Indian Constitution."

It was approved by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, and went into effect on
January 26, 1950. It establishes the fundamental structure and laws for running the country
while respecting human rights.

Preamble as a Part of Constitutionalism in India

The preamble is an introductory statement that outlines the goals and rationale for a piece of
legislation or a rule. The Indian Constitution's preamble declares that the nation is a sovereign,
secular, socialist, and domestic republic. The preamble's objective is to pursue justice and equal
treatment for the public.
The Indian Constitution's preamble aims to provide autonomy to the general populace in the
country. It implies that all individuals are equal according to the law and ought to be treated as
such.

The preamble describes the goals of constitutionalism in two ways:

1. Concerning the constituents of institutions of governance, and
2. The goals desired to be attained in independent India.
The following objectives of constitutionalism are made clear in the preamble:
• To establish India as a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, and Democratic Republic (words
Socialist and Secular inserted by 42nd Constitutional Amendment,1976) Other preamble
provisions include:
• Justice, Social, Economic, and Political;
• Liberty, of expression, belief, faith, and worship
• Equality, of status and opportunity;
Fraternity, which ensures the individual's right to dignity as well as the oneness and the nation's
integrity (word unity incorporated by the 42nd constitutional Amendment,1976), may be cited to
establish the scope of Fundamental rights and Directive principles of state policy.