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The Constitution. India's operating system.
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The Constitution
India's operating system
The document setting out how India is governed and what it may not do.
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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.
SourceConstituent Assembly of India records
Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation (1966)
Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation (1966)
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Because you read The Constitution.
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Fundamental Rights
Six categories of freedom
Six protections the Constitution guarantees to every citizen.
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RTI
Three letters, total transparency
A law letting any citizen ask a public body what it did and why.
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The FIR
Your first step in the legal system
The written report that opens a police investigation.
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