The Constitution. India's operating system.
Front
The Constitution
India's operating system
The document setting out how India is governed and what it may not do.
Back
The Indian Constitution is the longest in the world. It was handwritten in calligraphy, took 2 years and 11 months to draft, and runs the lives of 1.4 billion people. It begins with three words: "We, the people." Those words mean the authority comes from citizens, not from the government.
- The Constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950. That date is now Republic Day.
- The original handwritten copies (in Hindi and English) are kept in helium-filled cases in the Parliament Library.
Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation (1966)
Keep exploring
Because you read The Constitution.
Fundamental Rights
Six categories of freedom
Six protections the Constitution guarantees to every citizen.
RTI
Three letters, total transparency
A law letting any citizen ask a public body what it did and why.
The FIR
Your first step in the legal system
The written report that opens a police investigation.
Read as a path · 6 cards · 3 min
How a Citizen ActsFrom the rights you already have to the levers you can actually pull.