The Constitution of India came to force on 26th January 1950 and actually defines the Republic of India. Apart from defining structures of the Republic at the Central and State Level it also talks about the basic structure of Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, which are also known as the Three Pillars of the Constitution.
Executive – The term refers to government which is manifested in the Council of Ministers and entire government machinery in the country.
Legislature – refers to the elected member body of Parliament, State Legislatures and Councils. Legislature has the primary role of making laws to govern the country
Judiciary – refers to the judiciary structure in the school with Supreme Court, High Courts and other courts.
While the Constitution defines the Republic in its entirety, an understanding of the Constitution in terms of its pillars is an appropriate method to comprehend it. While students do read about the same in Social Studies, it is difficult for a child to comprehend the structure in the context of his life and the people s/he meets.
In order to make this understanding clear, it is proposed that in the run up to 26th January, the school invites people who are contextual manifestations of Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. The following people could be invited:
Guest for Executive: Technically a sitting minister of government is the executive, but he may be confused with the legislature by small children. So, it is advised to invite a local government official as ‘Executive’. This could be the Local District Collector (DC), Municipal Commissioner, Superintendent of Police (SP), ADM, SDM (Sub-Divisional Magistrate), BDO, Officials of PWD, Irrigation & Public Health (IPH) or any other government department.
Guest for Legislature: This could be an elected Member of Parliament (M.P), or Member of Vidhan Sabha or State Legislature (M.LA), Elected Member of Municipal Council, Elected Member of Zila Parishad, or the Gram Pradhan or elected Head of the Village
Guest for Judiciary: This could be the Chief Justice of India, A judge of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of a High Court, High Court Judge, Sessions Judge, or Local Judge from the Civil Court. Please do not call Executive Magistrates like DM (District Magistrate) or SDM (Sub-Divisional Magistrate) as it may confuse children.
Discussions
These three people would then sit on a panel and deliberate on where they are in the Constitution of India. Each one of them would speak on the following:
· What is the structure of their pillar (i.e Executive, Legislature or Judiciary) in India? So, a judge would elaborate on the structure right from Supreme Court to High Court and then Local Courts?
· What are the roles and responsibilities of their pillar? For example: The role of a District Magistrate could be implement government schemes like NREGA, Senior Citizens’ Welfare scheme etc.
· What is the relationship of their pillar with the other two pillars? For example: A local M.P could say that once a bill becomes an Act , it is the responsibility of the Executive to implement it and the responsibility of Judiciary to see that if there are any conflicts with respect to the Act – take a decision on them
Apart from the above the guests should be given a chance to share their experiences with children. They should be shown the guest book of the school to share their feedback on celebrating Republic Day in this manner.
Communication
Appropriate Communication needs to go to the guests from the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary for inviting them to the school function. There needs to be a clear communication that the school intends to contextualize the three pillars for children on Republic Day. Suggestive Formats of communication to these People is given in the Annexures. All letters need to be sent on the School Letter Head from the Principal’s Desk.
It would be a good idea to go and meet these people and invite them in person…handing over the letter
Additional Activities:
· -Painting competition for children on the Three Pillars of the Constitution
-Mock Parliament
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