[8] The constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular,[9] and democratic republic, assures its citizens justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity.

[2][17] In the constitution assembly, a member of the drafting committee, T. T. Krishnamachari said: Mr. President, Sir, I am one of those in the House who have listened to Dr. Ambedkar very carefully.

His ability to put the most intricate proposals in the simplest and clearest legal form can rarely be equalled, nor his capacity for hard work.

B. R. Ambedkar, Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Vallabhbhai Patel, Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Sandipkumar Patel, Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Nalini Ranjan Ghosh, and Balwantrai Mehta were key figures in the assembly,[2][17] which had over 30 representatives of the scheduled classes.

[2] Judges, such as Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Benegal Narsing Rau, K. M. Munshi and Ganesh Mavlankar were members of the assembly.

[2] Female members included Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Amrit Kaur and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.

[2][18][33] Sir B. N. Rau, a civil servant who became the first Indian judge in the International Court of Justice and was president of the United Nations Security Council, was appointed as the assembly's constitutional advisor in 1946.

[2][17][36] The original constitution is hand-written, with each page decorated by artists from Shantiniketan including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose.

It has features of a federation, including a codified, supreme constitution; a three-tier governmental structure (central, state and local); division of powers; bicameralism; and an independent judiciary.

In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, the Supreme Court ruled that an amendment cannot destroy what it seeks to modify; it cannot tinker with the constitution's basic structure or framework, which are immutable.

The Supreme Court ruled in Minerva Mills v. Union of India that judicial review is a basic characteristic of the constitution, overturning Articles 368(4), 368(5) and 31C.

Chapter 1 of the Constitution of India creates a parliamentary system, with a Prime Minister who, in practice, exercises most executive power.

[84] While the Constitution gives the legislative powers to the two Houses of Parliament, Article 111 requires the President's signature for a bill to become law.

In practice the issue has never arisen, though President Zail Singh threatened to remove Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from office in 1987.

[86] When either or both Houses of Parliament are not in session, the Prime Minister, acting via the President, can unilaterally exercise the legislative power, creating ordinances that have the force of law.

Because this term is not defined, governments have begun abusing the ordinance system to enact laws that could not pass both Houses of Parliament, according to some commentators.

[91] Under the Constitution, the States retain key powers for themselves and have a strong influence over the national government via the Rajya Sabha.

[97] Items on the Union List include the national defense, international relations, immigration, banking, and interstate commerce.

This has become a larger issue as the State Legislatures are often controlled by different parties than that of the Union Prime Minister, unlike the early years of the constitution.

[103] For example, Governors have used stalling tactics to delay giving their assent to legislation that the Union Government disapproves of.

Because the legislative power rests with Parliament, the President's signature on an international agreement does not bring it into effect domestically or enable courts to enforce its provisions.

Article 253 of the Constitution bestows this power on Parliament, enabling it to make laws necessary for implementing international agreements and treaties.

[119] Recent Supreme Court decisions have begun to change this convention, incorporating aspects of international law without enabling legislation from parliament.

According to Granville Austin, "The Indian constitution is first and foremost a social document, and is aided by its Parts III & IV (Fundamental Rights & Directive Principles of State Policy, respectively) acting together, as its chief instruments and its conscience, in realising the goals set by it for all the people.

"[124] A document "intended to endure for ages to come",[125] it must be interpreted not only based on the intention and understanding of its framers, but in the existing social and political context.

The "right to life" guaranteed under Article 21[i] has been expanded to include a number of human rights, including:[2] At the conclusion of his book, Making of India's Constitution, retired Supreme Court Justice Hans Raj Khanna wrote: If the Indian constitution is our heritage bequeathed to us by our founding fathers, no less are we, the people of India, the trustees and custodians of the values which pulsate within its provisions!

In 1948, nearly two years after the formation of the Constituent Assembly, Rajendra Prasad entrusted Raghu Vira and his team to translate the English text of the Constitution into Hindi.

[130] Raghu Vira, using Sanskrit as a common base akin to the role of Latin in European languages, applied the rules of sandhi (joining), samasa (compounding), upasarga (prefix), and pratyaya (suffix) to develop several new terms for scientific and parliamentary use.

[134] On 19 November 2023, Nongthombam Biren Singh, the then Chief Minister of Manipur declared that it will be transliterated into Meetei Mayek (Meitei for 'Meitei script') in digital edition.

[143] The Constitution of India was first translated from English into Sanskrit language and published on 1 April 1985, as भारतस्य संविधानम् (romanised: "Bhartasya Samvidhanam") in New Delhi.