From which foreign constitution did India borrow the idea of including detailed Emergency provisions in its own Constitution?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Weimar Constitution of Germany

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
The Constitution of India is often described as a blend of features borrowed from various constitutions around the world. Understanding the sources of specific features is a frequent theme in Indian Polity questions. This question asks about the origin of India's Emergency provisions, which give the Union government special powers during extraordinary situations such as war, external aggression, or armed rebellion.


Given Data / Assumptions:
- The focus is on Emergency provisions in the Constitution of India.
- The options list constitutions of several countries: Canada, Germany (Weimar Constitution), Ireland, United States, and Australia.
- Only one of these was explicitly used as the model for Emergency provisions in India.


Concept / Approach:
While drafting the Constitution, the Constituent Assembly examined many foreign constitutions. Federal features and division of powers were partly inspired by Canada, fundamental rights and judicial review by the United States, directive principles by Ireland, and the idea of an all India civil service by the United Kingdom. The Emergency provisions, particularly those allowing suspension of rights and centralisation of power during crises, were largely borrowed from the Weimar Constitution of Germany, which had similar mechanisms that were misused during the inter war period.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that Part XVIII of the Constitution of India (Articles 352 to 360) deals with Emergency provisions. Step 2: Remember that the Weimar Constitution of Germany contained detailed provisions for emergency powers that allowed the central government to suspend certain rights. Step 3: Note that the drafting committee studied and drew from this German model when framing India's own Emergency provisions. Step 4: Check the other options: Canada is known for federal structure with a strong centre; Ireland for directive principles of state policy; the United States for fundamental rights and judicial review; Australia for the idea of concurrent list and trade provisions. Step 5: Therefore, the Emergency provisions in the Indian Constitution were borrowed mainly from the Weimar Constitution of Germany.


Verification / Alternative check:
Most standard Indian Polity books, which summarise the sources of constitutional features, explicitly state that Emergency provisions were taken from the Weimar Constitution of Germany. They list this alongside other borrowings such as parliamentary system from the United Kingdom and directive principles from Ireland, confirming the answer.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Constitution of Canada: Known as a model for federalism with a strong centre and for distribution of powers, not for emergency provisions.
Constitution of Ireland: Source of Directive Principles of State Policy in India rather than Emergency provisions.
Constitution of the United States of America: Provided inspiration for fundamental rights and judicial review, not for the emergency scheme adopted in Part XVIII.
Constitution of Australia: Contributed ideas like concurrent list and trade and commerce provisions but is not the source of India's Emergency provisions.


Common Pitfalls:
A typical mistake is to confuse the sources of different features and to assume that emergency powers must have come from the United Kingdom or United States because they are widely studied democracies. Another pitfall is mixing up the Canadian strong centre model with emergency centralisation of power. The key is to memorise the specific mapping between constitutional features and their foreign inspirations.


Final Answer:
India borrowed the idea of detailed Emergency provisions for its Constitution from the Weimar Constitution of Germany.

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