It was only after the enforcement of the Indian Constitution that our country's women got the right to vote.

There are three original copies of the Constitution, safely kept in special helium-filled cases in the library of the Parliament. The pages are bound together in black leather, with beautiful gold patterns.

Our supreme law is referred to as a living document, as it can be changed or amended. Those who crafted it wanted it to be by our citizens’ aspirations and understood the need for modifications. Changes done to the Constitution are called constitutional amendments. The document has undergone 105 amendments, the last being in August 2021.

Ambedkar was unhappy with the document just three years after it was adopted. Why? He strongly argued in favor of more powers for the governors. “Sir, my friends tell me that I have made the Constitution. But I am quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not want it. It does not suit anybody,” he had said in Rajya Sabha in 1953.

Our Constitution is the longest in the world and contains 1.46 lakh words. It took two years, 11 months, and 18 days to draft it. 

Each page of the handwritten document was decorated by artists like Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose from Shantiniketan, West Bengal. The trailblazing educational institution was developed by poet-philosopher Ravindranath Tagore in the early 20th century.

Article 32 of the Indian Constitution — ‘Right to Constitutional remedies’ — is considered the 'heart and soul of the Constitution'. This guarantees the fundamental rights of individuals. It is what makes all other rights effective.

The preamble of our Constitution is inspired by the preamble to the US constitution. The concept of popular sovereignty, meaning the authority of a state and its government, is created and sustained by the people's consent through elected representatives. This thought is reflected in both documents. Our preamble says: “We, the people of India… in our constituent assembly… do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.”

The Constitution, sometimes referred to as ‘a bag of borrowings’, has borrowed provisions from the constitutions of the UK, USA, France, and USSR. Its fundamental principles are inspired by many sources, but keep in mind India’s traditions and our historical, geographical and cultural diversity. Ambedkar studied 60 other constitutions in the course of his work. He was assisted in the drafting by a committee.

Queen Victoria may have been one of the longest reigning monarchs, but she was also one of the luckiest. On at least eight occasions—most of them while riding in her open carriage—would-be assassins tried to kill her. She also had a stalker. A man by the name of Edward Jones broke into the royal residence at Buckingham Palace several times and was eventually caught—but not before he sat on her throne and stole her underwear.

Queen Victoria ruled for 63 years, and up until September 2015, was the longest reigning British monarch. The current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II—celebrating her Platinum Jubilee of 70 years on the throne—now holds the title.

If you thought being bilingual made you an overachiever, you’re about to get schooled. Queen Victoria was fluent in no fewer than five languages: English, German, French, Latin, and Italian. She also learned a little Hindustani and Urdu to chat with her Indian servants at Windsor Castle (above)

After 21 years of marriage, Queen Victoria became a widow. In 1861, her beloved Prince Albert died from typhoid. Consumed with grief, Victoria would spend her next 40 years of life wearing only black clothing, and would rarely be seen in public.

Victoria and Albert’s first child, Princess Victoria, was born nine months after their wedding. But little Vicky wasn’t an only child for long. A year later, she had a baby brother for company, and within 17 years, the royal household boasted nine children: four boys and five girls.

The young queen was a wedding trendsetter. In 1840, it wasn’t normal to see a bride wearing white. The color was considered boring and conservative, but Victoria didn’t care. She chose simplicity over opulence, and her lacy silk-satin grown—crafted from the finest British textiles—gave a much-needed boost to the struggling lace trade. Several years later, a women’s publication stated that white was the “most fitting hue” for brides, and a tradition was born.

At age 16, Victoria met her future husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who also happened to be her first cousin. After four years of friendship and flirtation, Queen Victoria proposed to her prince (actually, she had no choice—according to tradition, a man couldn’t propose to the queen). The smitten couple married in 1840.

Can you imagine Prince Harry as king—even before the scandal of his stepping down from royal duties? Back in 1837, the unthinkable became reality for Victoria. At birth, Victoria was fifth in line to the throne, but the deaths of various princes and a lack of male heirs resulted in the young woman capturing the crown.

Kensington Palace, the current London abode of William and Kate—the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge—was Queen Victoria’s birthplace. Born on May 24, 1819, Victoria spent much of her childhood at Kensington, raised by her widowed mother (Victoria’s father died when she was eight months old) and several royal courtiers.

Christened Alexandrina (but called Drina as a child), she started using Victoria—her middle name—at 18 when she ascended to the throne.

Luckily, lots of locals speak English so don’t fret if your Mandarin is less than fluent.

As facts about Taiwan go, I couldn’t stay off the topic of food for long. Food is of utmost importance to the Taiwanese and they’ll often say ‘have you eaten?’ rather than ‘how are you?. Stinky tofu is as smelly as it sounds.

This only lasted until 2007 when the Burj Khalifa was built.

The Republic of China (RoC) is not to be confused with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Both parties fought during the Chinese Civil War which ended in 1949 and ignore each other’s sovereignty. Today the PRC controls mainland China and the RoC control Taiwan.

 

Belgium only has 11 million residents. This makes it a densely populated country… Especially when you consider that 50% of the island is covered in forest and therefore uninhabited. In fact, 90% of the population lives along a strip of land along the east coast.

During Japanese rule it became the wealthy, modernized country it is today. There are plenty of places you can visit Japanese hill towns, tea houses, and hot springs used by the colonial rulers. While these places are quaint and charming, historians tell us that the Japanese were cruel rulers and forced local women to be their concubines.