Indian Polity

Indian Polity-

The preamble of Indian constitution says that India is a Sovereign [undisputed legal right of Indian citizens over the state], Socialist [adhere to socialism ideology], Secular [without any religion and equal respect for all prevailed ones], Democratic [government by the people or by their elected representatives] Republic [A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens] country.

Some cardinal features of Indian Polity incorporated by Indian Constitution-

■Written

■Partially rigid and partially flexible

■Impartial Judiciary with Judicial Review

■Directive Principles of State Policy

■Universal Adult franchise

■Emergency Provisions

■Power distribution between Union and State on doctrine of "Pitch and Substance."

■Independent Agencies like UPSC, EC and CAGI

■Positive Discrimination

■PRI

Government Form Parliamentary Government on lines of British Parliament

Nature of State Quasi-Federal [India is union of states but centre is more powerful]

Executive agency of Government Legislature and executive organs are based upon the fusion principle not on separation of power like in USA

Liberty Fundamental Rights and Independent Judiciary

Who made Indian Constitution-?

Indian Constitution was drafted and adopted by a Constituent Assembly that was not elected directly by the people. In fact, the Legislative Assemblies of the Indian Provinces elected it indirectly. The Assemblies themselves were elected in 1946 according to the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935. The Constituent Assembly could be called real representative of the people because it had representation of almost all shades of opinions. The words socialist and secular added into preamble of India constitution by 42nd Amendment Act in 1976. Here it should be noted that Mr. K. T. Shah [then member of constitution assembly] advocated addition of these word into preamble but move was strongly opposed by Nehru. Here are few important details regarding development of Indian constitution-

■Cabinet Mission recommended the establishment of constitution assembly

■Each province was allotted seats in constitution assembly in proportion of its population and members were elected from provincial legislative assemblies indirectly

■Total member of constitution assembly was 385. Out of which 93 were representative of Indian States and rest were from British Indian council. Total 205 members were from Indian national congress. After partition total number members of constitutional assembly reduced to 299 but of whom 284 members were actually present and signed on the final Indian Constitution on 26th November 1949.

■The main communities recognized for appropriate representation were General, Muslim and Sikh

■1st meeting of Constitution Assembly- 9-23, December 1946

■Objective Resolution of Indian Constitution put forward by Nehru on 13th December 1946 and adopted by assembly on 22nd Jan 1947 after a comprehensive debate

■Dr. Sinha was elected as temporary president of Constitution Assembly who later replaced by Dr. Rajendra Prasad

■Constitution assembly worked through various individual committees on separate subject matter which later drafted into a single unified document by Drafting Committee of Constitution Assembly

■Drafted Committee was established in 1947 under chairmanship of Mr. B. R. Ambedkar

■11th last meeting and adoption- 26th November 1949

■Full adoption or ratification- 26th January 1950 [this date was choosed because on the same date earlier National Congress adopted Indian Constitution in 1930s]

■It took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to frame Indian Constitution

Important Committees established by Constitution Assembly-

Committee - Chairman

Committee on the Rules of Procedure- Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Steering Committee- Do

Finance and Staff Committee -Do

Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag -Do

Credential or Bonafide Committee- Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar

House Committee- B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya

Order of Business Committee -K. M. Munshi

Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly -G. V. Mavalanker

States Committee -Jawahar Lal Nehru

Union Powers Committee -Do

Union Constitution Committee -Do

Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas -Sardar Patel

Minorities Sub-Committee- H. C. Mukherjee

Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee -J. B. Kriplani

North-East Frontier Tribal Areas Committee -Gopinath Bardoloi

Drafting Committee- B. R. Ambedkar     -

Various provisions copied from outside sources in Indian Constitution-

The Constitution of India, as opted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949, was not something absolutely new. It was, to a great extent, influenced by the Government of India Act of 1935 that was passed by the British Parliament. In addition Constitution Assembly copied many provisions from the already working constitution of various countries which makes Indian Constitution most lengthy and comprehensive document in world of constitution. The provisions took by constitution assembly from various country's constitutions are as follows-

S. No. Provision Source

1. Federal Structure, Office of Governor, Power Division, Judiciary and Public service commission GOI Act 1935

2. Parliamentary system, Rule of Law, Single Citizenship, Office of CAG, Legislation, Cabinet form of govt., Prerogative writs and Bicameralism Britain

3. Fundamental Rights, Judicial Review, Office of Vice-President, Independence of Judiciary, Impeachment of President and Impeachment process of SC and HCs Judges USA

4. Quasi Federal Structure with strong center [residuary powers], Appointment of state governors by center and Advisory/review role of supreme court Canada

5. Concurrent List [List III], Freedom of trade, Commerce and interstate trade, Joint Sitting of Parliament Australia

6. Preamble & Fundamental Duties USSR

7. Emergency Provisions and suspension of rights during emergency Weimer constitution of Germany

8. Amendment Procedure, Indirect election of RS members and PRIs South Africa

9. Directive Principles of State Policy, Election process of President & Nomination of members by President Irish Constitution of Ireland

10. Procedures established by law Japan

11. Idea of Justice in SOCIAL, EDUCATION, ECONOMIC and POLITICAL Russian Revolution, 1917

12. Idea of Liberty, Equality and fraternity French Revolution, 1789-1799

Indian Parliament-

What is Parliament?

According to the Constitution of India, the union legislative body is called the Parliament. The Hindi term for Parliament is Sansad. The Parliament includes the President and the two Houses – the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). This kind of system, with two Houses, is called a bicameral legislature

Rajya Sabha-

The Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the Upper House of Parliament. The House has a maximum of 250 members, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature, science, and social services. The remaining 238 members are elected by the members of the legislative bodies from the States and Union Territories. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and unlike the Lok Sabha, it cannot be dissolved at any time.

Each member of the Rajya Sabha serves for a term of six years. But one third of its members retire at the expiration of every two years. The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. It, however, elects a Deputy Chairman from among its members who takes care of the day-to-day working of the House. Both Houses have equal legislative powers except in the area of finance where the Lok Sabha is given overriding powers.

Lok Sabha-

The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the Lower House of Parliament. The members are directly elected to the House. The electorate consists of all citizens who have attained 18 years of age and are otherwise not disqualified to vote under the law. Under the Constitution, the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha can be 552 members. The Constitution provides that up to 530 members would represent territorial constituencies in the states, up to 20 members would represent the Union Territories, and two members would be appointed by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian community if there is inadequate representation of the community.

The minimum age for qualification as a member of the Lok Sabha is 25 years. Each Lok Sabha is formed for a period of five years, at the end of which the House is dissolved. The House can be dissolved before the completion of the term or it can be extended by a Proclamation of Emergency. The period of extension cannot exceed one year at a time. A Speaker and a Deputy Speaker, elected by the members of the Lok Sabha, conduct day to day business. The Deputy Speaker presides during the absence of the Speaker.

What are the functions of Parliament?

Parliament has four primary functions- to make laws, to sanction government expenditure, to oversee the work of the government, and to represent the interests of the people. In the Indian system, the Council of Ministers are also Members of Parliament (that is, there is an overlap of the legislative and executive functions for several members) For those members who are part of the Council of Ministers, there is an additional responsibility of the executive as compared to those who are not in the Council of Ministers. The broad functions of Parliament can be described as follows-

■Legislative responsibility- To pass laws

■Oversight responsibility- To ensure that the executive (i.e. government) performs its duties satisfactorily

■Representative responsibility- To represent the views and aspirations of the people of their constituency in Parliament

■"Power of the Purse" responsibility- To approve and oversee the revenues and expenditures proposed by the government

What constitutes the Government of India?

The President is the formal, constitutional head of the Republic of India. After the Lok Sabha elections, the President invites the leader of the party or parties with the majority of votes in the Lok Sabha to form the Government. The President appoints the leader of the majority party as the Prime Minister and on the advice of the Prime Minister appoints other ministers. The ministers can be chosen from both Houses of Parliament. The political power is vested with the Prime Minister and his team of ministers – the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers constitutes the Government of India and the government is headed by the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, (together forming the Executive) is responsible for the governance of the country and is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. If the Lok Sabha passes a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers, the term of the Government comes to an end. As the leader of the majority, the Prime Minister is also the Leader of the Lok Sabha. He has to perform certain parliamentary functions like proposing dates of calling the House in session to the Speaker and drawing up the programme of official business. The leader of the largest party in opposition in each House is designated as the Leader of the Opposition. Till 18th December 2009 leader of opposition in LS was Mr. L. K. Aadvani but at present he has replaced by Susma Swaraj

What is the role of the President of India with regard to Parliament?

The President is the constitutional head of Republic of India, directly elected by an electoral college that includes elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States. The President performs certain constitutional functions-

■The President invites the leader of the majority party to form the Government after a new Lok Sabha is duly elected

■The President nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha and has the right to nominate two members from the Anglo Indian community to the Lok Sabha if they are under-represented

■On the advice of the Executive, the President summons the two Houses of Parliament to meet from time to time

■The President has the power to discontinue a session in the two Houses and dissolve the Lok Sabha (in consultation with the Executive)

■The President has to agree to sign a Bill before it can become a law

■If the Houses are not in session, the President can enact or promulgate Ordinances having the same validity as a law passed in Parliament.

■The President has the power to appoint the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of Rajya Sabha on an interim basis

■The President has the right to address either or both Houses of Parliament

■The President has the power to call both Houses for a joint sitting in case a dispute arises over passing a Bill. In the joint sitting, the matter is decided by majority vote

What are the special powers of Rajya Sabha?

Rajya Sabha enjoys certain special powers. They are as follows-

■Rajya Sabha can declare that it would be in the national interest for the Parliament to make laws on any subject in the State List

■Rajya Sabha is empowered to make laws creating one or more All India Services, which would be common to the Union and State, if it is deemed to serve the national interest. The services such as the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, and All-India Judicial Service are part of the All India Services.