PART XXII: SHORT TITLE, COMMENCEMENT, AUTHORITATIVE TEXT IN HINDI AND REPEALS
This is the final part of the Constitution.
Article 393: Short title.
- Plain English: This is the official “name tag” for the entire document. It states: “This Constitution may be called the Constitution of India.”
- Real-World Example: When a lawyer files a case in court, they write, “This law violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India.” This article is what gives the document its official name.
Article 394: Commencement.
- Plain English: This article explains when the Constitution came into effect. It set up a two-stage launch:
- Stage 1: “At once” (November 26, 1949)
- The moment the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution, a small group of 15 “housekeeping” articles came into force immediately. This included all the rules on Citizenship (Arts. 5-9), the Election Commission (Art. 324), the President’s oath (Art. 60), and the temporary transitional rules (like Arts. 379, 380, 391, 392, 393, and this one).
- Reason: This was necessary so that the “Republic of India” could be legally prepared, elections could be planned, and citizenship could be defined before the full launch.
- Stage 2: “The remaining provisions” (January 26, 1950)
- Plain English: All other parts of the Constitution (like all the Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, powers of Parliament, the Supreme Court, etc.) came into force on January 26, 1950.
- Real-World Example: This date is what we celebrate as Republic Day. It is the official “birthday” of the Republic of India and the day the full Constitution became the law of the land.
Article 394A: Authoritative text in the Hindi language.
(This article was added later by the 58th Amendment in 1987.)
- Clause (1):
- Plain English: The President shall publish an official translation of the Constitution in the Hindi language. This translation must:
- (a) Be a modified version of the Hindi translation that was signed by the original Constituent Assembly members.
- (b) Include all amendments that have been made to the Constitution.
- Plain English: The President shall publish an official translation of the Constitution in the Hindi language. This translation must:
- Clause (2):
- Plain English: This Hindi translation “shall be construed to have the same meaning” as the original English text. If there is any confusion or conflict in interpretation, the President will have the Hindi text revised to match the English.
- Clause (3):
- Plain English: This official, published Hindi translation is “deemed to be, for all purposes, the authoritative text” of the Constitution in the Hindi language.
- Real-World Example: Before 1987, the only legally binding version of the Constitution was the original English one. This article gave the official Hindi translation equal legal status. A lawyer in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (where Hindi proceedings are allowed) can now stand up and base their legal argument on the official Hindi text of the Constitution.
Article 395: Repeals.
- Plain English: This is the final, concluding article of the Constitution. It formally “repeals” (cancels and makes legally void) the two main British laws that had governed India until this moment:
- The Indian Independence Act, 1947 (the British law that created the “Dominion of India” and “Dominion of Pakistan”).
- The Government of India Act, 1935 (the detailed law that had been acting as India’s “constitution” for the previous 15 years).
- Real-World Example: This article represents the final and complete legal severing of ties with British rule. On January 25, 1950, the “Government of India Act, 1935” was the supreme law. On January 26, 1950, this article repealed it, and the “Constitution of India” took its place as the one and only supreme law of the land.
