India became independent in 1947 and adopted, after nearly three years of debate in the Constituent Assembly, a Constitution which came into effect on 26 January 1950. This Constitution has lasted until the present, with its basic structure unaltered. India has had thirteen general elections between 1952 and 1999 and is often called the world’s largest democracy. This is a remarkable achievement, given that the generally accepted prerequisites for democratic stability did not exist and do not exist even today. Half a century of constitutional democracy is something that political scientists and legal scholars need to analyse and explain.