UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
Introduction
India is indeed a unique country with its diversity in religion, caste, creed, race and languages. In no other country, its natives are so different and varied. In some countries like U.S., people belonging to different countries have settled down there. They could not be called as natives of U.S. In India its natives are so dissimilar yet they are one. Naturally the constitution of such a unique country as India is also unique.
The size of the constitution
It is the largest of all constitutions in the world. Initially the constitution had 395 articles and 8 schedules. At present it contains 395 Articles and 12 Schedules, and more than 80 amendments. The following are the reasons for its bulk nature.
a) borrowed from several other constitutions of the world.
b) The vastness of the country and its population size and diversity, compelled the framers of the constitution to make provisions for the protection and promotion of the interests of different regions and groups in the country like scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward regions.
c) elaborate on centre-state relations in all aspects of their administrative and other activities. Thus, the Constitution of India became a lengthy one
Partly Rigid and Partly Flexible
Pandit Nehru expressed, "While we want the Constitution to be as solid and permanent as we can make it, there is no permanence in Constitution. There should be certain flexibility. If you make anything rigid and permanent, you stop the nation’s growth, the growth of a living, vital organic people."
This unique combination of rigidity and flexibility has helped our constitution endure for about sixty five years and during periods of crisis. When constitutions of neighboring countries like Pakistan, Burma or Bangladesh were crumbling like houses of cards, our constitution stood steady like a rock.
Detailed and minute Unlike other constitutions, the Indian constitution provides not only the basic law. It also provides very detailed and minute administrative provisions. A detail list of individual rights, directive principles of state policy and the details of administration procedure were laid down to make the Constitution clear and unambiguous for the ordinary citizen. This was to prevent subversion of the constitution through legislative process.

Clarity of preamble The preamble is very clear about the philosophy of the constitution. The original preamble declared India to be a Sovereign Democratic Republic. The 42nd amendment makes India “a Sovereign, Secular Socialist Democratic Republic”.
Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are set as the ideals to be achieved by India as a nation. The preamble to the Indian constitution is praised by all critics for its high political ideals.
Secularism in India
The western concept of secularism means separation of religion and state. In India it means equal treatment of all religions and accepting religious laws as binding on the country and equal participation of the country in different religions.
Indian citizenship Indian constitution does not sanction double citizenship as in federations like the U.S.A. There is only one uniform Indian citizenship
Conclusion
The Indian constitution is a living document that genuinely and faithfully reveals the sovereign will of the people. As a democratic nation we can be effectively ruled only by it.