India's enduring document of governance (Constitution is durable because makers were sincere)

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 India's enduring document of governance (Constitution is durable because makers were sincere)

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• A remarkable document: The constitution of India is one of the world's oldest and most enduring, having survived much longer than most expected in 1950s. Early critics included Sir Ivor Jennings, a constitutional law expert.
• What Jennings said: In his lectures in 1951, he called the constitution "Too long, too rigid, too prolix". He forecast that it was too unwieldy to be moulded into use by judicious interpretations. He suspected it would collapse soon. (While Indian constitution has survived, the one Jennings wrote for Sri Lanka in 1960s collapsed in 6 years!)
• Detailed study: A study by University of Chicago of constitutional systems of independent states from 1789 to 2006.

1. Of the 792 studied, 518 were replaced, 192 still in force, 82 suspended.
2. Mean lifespan of a constitution from 1789 onwards was only 17 years.
3. 50% die by the age of 18, and 81% by the age of 50. 7% die out in the first year.
4. Mean life in Latin America and Africa is 12.4 and 10.2 years, resp.
5. Mean life in western Europe and Asia is 32 and 19 years, resp.
6. Things aren't improving over the years.
7. It is only at age 50 that constitutions begin to crystallise.

• Work of a Constitution: The key task is to ring fence and limit the power of authorities created by the constitution. They define a nation and its goals. They set up institutions, and define authority clearly.
• Changes in a constitution: Various mechanisms exist – formal (amendments) and informal (interpretive changes). Lifespan depends on events like civil war, shocks and crises, structural attributes, enforceability and adaptability, nature of state, etc.
• Longevity depends on... : The specificity of the document (longer constitutions are more durable than shorter ones), inclusiveness of origins, and ability to adapt to changing circumstances decide longevity. If their provisions are well-known, they'll become self-enforcing.
• Who interprets it: A court empowered with powers of constitutional judicial review does it.
• The Indian case: The study says that fractionalised environments do not allow any one group to dominate others, leading to constitutional stability. It is detailed, and relatively easy to modify too.
• Constituent Assembly: It is remarkable that the seven members of the drafting committee, and all other of Constituent Assembly worked together and used multiple parameters to make a durable constitution. They ensured key elements were in place –

1. Specificity of provisions (so a balance between verbosity and ambiguity)
2. Judicial review and fundamental rights (key ideas)
3. Workable scheme to amend

• Commitment: It is clear that India's founding fathers and mothers had a commitment to national welfare, borne out of struggles faced during freedom struggle. Indeed ‘life of the law has not been logic. It has been experience’.
• Summary : Indian constitution is a model of success as it incorporated some crucial elements that ensured its longevity, while many others floundered and collapsed.

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