London Declaration
Topic: Preamble and the Philosophy of the Constitution · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The London Declaration (27 April 1949) let India stay in the Commonwealth even after becoming a republic. India accepts the British monarch only as the symbolic "Head of the Commonwealth". The monarch has no power over India. The Constituent Assembly ratified, or formally approved, this arrangement in May 1949. It matters because it shows that Commonwealth membership, like UN membership, is a voluntary association. It does not reduce India's sovereignty, which means India's supreme power over its own affairs.
Example
India became a republic on 26 January 1950 with an elected President as head of state. It still remains a Commonwealth member under the 1949 London Declaration.
Don't confuse with
- Dominion status: under dominion status, the British Crown was the head of state. Under the London Declaration, the monarch is only the head of the association, not of India.