Comparative Constitutional Law: India vs Other Countries

India’s Constitution draws on more than 60 constitutions from around the world. Yet it reads as one coherent document, not a patchwork stitched from spare parts. Here is exactly what India borrowed, and from where.

1The Constituent Assembly studies the world

Must Know

The Constituent Assembly held its first meeting on 9 December 1946, and began studying more than 60 constitutions from around the world.

The Assembly adopted the finished Constitution of India on 26 November 1949. It came into force on 26 January 1950, and India became a republic. See Polity0064 — The Constituent Assembly’s Drafting Committee for how that finished text actually got written.

2Britain: the parliamentary system

Must Know

From Britain, India borrowed the parliamentary system of government, the rule of law, and single citizenship. It also borrowed the legislative law-making procedure, the Cabinet system, and bicameralism.

One more British gift sits inside the courts themselves: the writ system. Articles 32 and 226 let the Supreme Court and High Courts issue five specific writs — habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and quo warranto — to protect a person’s rights directly.

3USA: Fundamental Rights and judicial review

Must Know

From the USA, India borrowed Fundamental Rights, judicial review, and an independent judiciary. This protects each person with rights that Parliament cannot easily take away.

India also borrowed the very office of Vice-President from the USA — a post with no equivalent in Britain’s parliamentary model, where the job of standing in for the head of state doesn’t work the same way.

4Ireland, Canada, Australia, and the USSR

Must Know

Ireland: Directive Principles

From Ireland, India borrowed the Directive Principles of State Policy. It also borrowed indirect election of the President, and nominated members of the Rajya Sabha.

Canada: a federation with a strong Centre

From Canada, India borrowed a federal system with a strong Centre. Residuary powers rest with the Centre, and the Centre appoints state governors.

Australia: the Concurrent List

From Australia, India borrowed the Concurrent List, and provisions on freedom of trade and commerce. Australia also gave India the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament — the way to break a deadlock when the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha can’t agree on a bill.

USSR: Fundamental Duties

From the USSR, India borrowed the idea of Fundamental Duties for citizens. These were added later, through the 42nd Amendment in 1976 — not in the Constitution’s original 1950 text. See Polity0001 for the full list.

5Germany, France, South Africa, and Japan

Good to Know

Germany: Emergency provisions

From Germany’s Weimar Constitution, India borrowed provisions on suspending Fundamental Rights during a national Emergency.

France: liberty, equality, fraternity

From France, India drew the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, which appear directly in the Preamble.

Canada, again: giving advice outside a real case

Canada also gave India one more idea: the Supreme Court can offer its opinion on a question even when there is no actual court case. The President can simply ask the Court a question directly, and it can answer.

South Africa: how to change the Constitution

From South Africa, India borrowed its process for amending the Constitution. This built in a flexible system: some parts change easily, others need a much higher bar.

Japan: “procedure established by law”

From Japan, India borrowed the phrase “procedure established by law,” used in Article 21. This wording covers less ground than America’s “due process of law.” Indian courts later read similar protections back into it anyway, through their own rulings over time.

6A coherent patchwork, not a copy

Great to Know

Borrowing from more than 60 constitutions did not leave India with a confused or clashing document. The framers picked single, specific ideas, rather than copying whole foreign systems. That choice kept the result usable, and made all its parts fit together well.

The framers did not copy any one country’s constitution as a whole. They reshaped each borrowed idea to fit Indian conditions, and tried to avoid the same mistakes that country had made. See Polity0016 for the broader drafting history.

7Rights vs. Parliament: a built-in tension

Great to Know

The American and British ideas actually pull against each other. Fundamental Rights, borrowed from America, protect each person — Parliament cannot easily take them away. The parliamentary system, borrowed from Britain, gives Parliament broad day-to-day power instead. India’s Constitution deliberately holds both at once.

Pairing Ireland’s Directive Principles with America’s Fundamental Rights created two different levels of promise. Rights are enforceable in court — you can sue over them. Directive Principles are not, yet both were seen as important enough to include.

Canada’s “strong Centre” model, chosen over America’s more state-heavy version, came from a real fear at the time. Partition had just torn the country apart along religious and regional lines. A strong Centre felt like the safer choice for holding a large, diverse, brand-new country together.

8How exams test this

Exams love mixing up which country a feature actually came from. The most common trap: crediting Independence of the Judiciary to Britain, since Britain also has a real judiciary — but exams credit that feature to the USA instead.

Quick Q&A

• Which country is credited with India’s independent judiciary — Britain or the USA? The USA, even though Britain also has a real judiciary. This is the most common exam trap on this topic.
• Are Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles enforced the same way? No. Rights are justiciable — enforceable in court. Directive Principles are not, though both were considered essential enough to include.
• Why did India choose Canada’s strong-Centre federalism over America’s more balanced model? Partition-era fears about the country fragmenting made central authority feel necessary to hold a diverse, newly independent nation together.
• When were Fundamental Duties added to the Constitution? Later, through the 42nd Amendment in 1976 — not in the original 1950 text. The idea itself came from the USSR.