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Indian Political System: Politics in India
Indian Political System: Politics in India
Introduction
The official name of India is Republic of India. New Delhi is the capital of India. The Republic of India has
three principal short names, in both official and popular English usage, each of which is historically significant.
These names are India, Bharat and Hindustan.
It is the 17th largest country by area, the second largest country with population of 1.2 billion and the most
populous democracy in the world. Bounded by Indian ocean on the south, Arabian sea on the south-west, and
the bay of Bengal on the south-east. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, china, Bhutan and Nepal to
the south-east. In the Indian ocean India is in the vicinity of Sri lanka and Maldives.
India is the home of world religions- Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism.
it became an independent nation in 1947 after struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent
resistance that was led by Mahatma Gandhi.
Politics in India :
In india politics takes place within the framework of a constitution. India is a
federal parliamentary democratic republic in which the President of India is head of state and the
Prime Minister of India is the head of government. India follows the dual polity, i.e. double government
which consists of the union at the centre and states at the periphery. The constitution defines the
organisation, powers and limitations of both central and state governments, it is written, rigid and
supreme, i.e. laws of the nation must conform to it. There is provision for a bicameral legislature
consisting of an Upper House, i.e. Rajya Sabha, which represent the states of the Indian federation
and a lower house i.e. Lok Sabha, that represents the people of India as a whole. Indian constitution
provides for an independent Judiciary headed by the Supreme Court to adhere and protect the
constitution and to settle disputes between the centre and the states or between the states, it can also
nullify any central or state laws if they are against the constitution.
The governments, union or state,
are formed through elections held every five years (unless otherwise specified), by having the majority
of members in their respective lower houses (Lok Sabha in centre and Vidhan Sabha in states). India
had its first general election in 1951, which was dominated by Indian National Congress, and went on
to dominate the successive elections, up till 1977, when the first non-Congress government was
formed for the first time in independent India. The 1990s saw the end of Single Party domination and
rise of Coalition Governments. The elections for 16th Lok Sabha held in April and May 2014 once
again brought back single-party rule in the country, that of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
EXECUTIVE
JUDICIARY
Parliament: In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercise supreme political authority
on behalf of people. In India such as such as national assembly called Parliament.
Legislature: The body of elected representatives at the state level is called Legislature or Legislative
assembly.
In India, the parliament consists of two houses- Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and Lok Sabha (House of
the people)
The president of India is a part of the parliament, although she is not a member of either houses
History
A major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1857 to 1947.[7] During this
period, the office of the Secretary of State for India (along with the Council of India) was the authority
through whom parliament exercised its rule in the Indian sub-continent, and the office of Viceroy of
India was created, along with an Executive Council in India, consisting of high officials of the British
government. The Indian Councils Act 1861 provided for a Legislative Council consisting of the
members of the Executive Council and non-official members. The Indian Councils Act
1892 established legislatures in each of the provinces of British India and increased the powers of the
Legislative Council. Although these Acts increased the representation of Indians in the government,
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their power still remained limited, and the electorate very small. The Indian Councils Act 1909 and
the Government of India Act 1919 further expanded the participation of Indians in the administration.
The Indian Independence Act, passed by the British parliament on 18 July 1947, divided British India
(which did not include the Princely States) into two new independent countries, India and Pakistan,
which were to be dominions under the Crown until they had each enacted a new constitution. The
Constituent Assembly was divided into two for the separate nations, with each new Assembly having
sovereign powers transferred to it for the respective dominion.
The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January
1950, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. This contained the founding principles
of the law of the land which would govern India in its new form, which now included all the princely
states which had not acceded to Pakistan.
According to Article 79 (Part V-The Union.) of the Constitution of India, the Parliament of India
consists of the President of India and the two Houses of Parliament known as the Council of States
(Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
The Lok Sabha (House of the Leaders) was duly constituted for the first time on 17 April 1952 after
the first General Elections held from 5 October 1951 to 21 February 1952. The first Session of the
First Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952. The Second Lok Sabha in April 1957, the Third Lok
Sabha in April 1962, the Fourth Lok Sabha in March 1967, the Fifth Lok Sabha in March 1971, the
Sixth Lok Sabha in March 1977, the Seventh Lok Sabha in January 1980, the Eighth Lok Sabha in
December 1984, the Ninth Lok Sabha in December 1989, the Tenth Lok Sabha in June 1991, the
Eleventh Lok Sabha in May 1996, the Twelfth Lok Sabha in March 1998, the Thirteenth Lok Sabha in
October 1999, the Fourteenth Lok Sabha in May 2004, the Fifteenth Lok Sabha in May 2009 and the
Sixteenth ("current") Lok Sabha in May 2014.
1. He/She should be a citizen of India, and must subscribe before the Election Commission of
India an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third
Schedule of Indian Constitution.
2. He/She, in the case of a seat in the House of the People, should not be less than twenty-five
years of age; and
3. He/She possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under
any law made by Parliament.
However, a member can be disqualified of being a member of Parliament:-
Powers
Lok Sabha has certain powers that make it more powerful than the Rajya Sabha.
When in session, Lok Sabha holds its sittings usually from 11 A.M. to 1 P.M. and from 2 P.M. to 6
P.M. On some days the sittings are continuously held without observing lunch break and are also
extended beyond 6 P.M. depending upon the business before the House. Lok Sabha does not
ordinarily sit on Saturdays and Sundays and other closed holidays.
Question Hour
The first hour every sitting is called the Question Hour. Asking of questions in Parliament is the free
and unfettered right of members. It is during the Question hour that they may ask questions on
different aspects of administration and Government policy in the national as well as international
spheres. Every Minister whose turn it is to answer to questions has to stand up and answer for his
Ministry's acts of omission or commission.
Questions are of three types - Starred, Unstarred and Short Notice. A Starred Question is one to
which a member desires an oral answer in the House and which is distinguished by an asterisk mark.
An unstarred Question is one which is not called for oral answer in the house and on which no
supplementary questions can consequently be asked. An answer to such a question is given in
writing. Minimum period of notice for starred/ unstarred question is 10 clear days.If the questions
given notice of are admitted by the Speaker, they are listed and printed for answer on the dates
allotted to the Ministries to which the subject matter of the question pertains.
The normal period of notice does not apply to short notice questions which relate to matters of urgent
public importance. However, a Short Notice Question may only be answered on short notice if so
permitted by the Speaker and the Minister concerned is prepared to answer it at shorter notice. A
short notice question is taken up for answer immediately after the Question Hour.
Though a member of the House, the Speaker does not vote in the House except on those rare
occasions when there is a tie at the end of a decision. Till date, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has not
been called upon to exercise this unique casting vote. While the office of Speaker is vacant due to
absence/resignation/removal, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker or, if
the office of Deputy Speaker is also vacant, by such member of the House of the People as the
President may appoint for the purpose.
Shri G.V. Mavalankar was the first Speaker of Lok Sabha (15 May 1952- 27 February 1956) and
Shri M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar was the first Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha (30 May 1952 – 7
March 1956). In the 15th Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar was elected as the speaker on 3 June 2009, and is
its first woman speaker to date and Shri Kariya Munda as the deputy speaker.
The Lok Sabha has also a separate non-elected Secretariat staff.
Samajwadi Party 5
Nationalist Congress Party 6
Communist Parties - 12 seats Communist Party of India 1
"Communist Party of India (Marxist) 9
Revolutionary Socialist Party 2
Independents - 3
Vacant - 4
Total 545
Qualifications
Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. A person to
be qualified for the membership of the Rajya Sabha should posses the following qualifications: he
must be a citizen of India and make and subscribe before some person authorized in that behalf by
the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the
Third Schedule to the Constitution; he must be not less than 30 years of age; he must possess such
other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament.
Members are elected by the Legislative Assembly of States and Union territories by means of Single
transferable vote through Proportional representation.
In addition, twelve members are nominated by the President of India having special knowledge in
various areas like Arts, Science etc. However they are not entitled to vote in Presidential elections as
per Article 55 of Indian Constitution.
Limitations
There are certain limitations, which makes Lok Sabha more powerful than Rajya Sabha.
Financial Bills
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In case of Financial bills, if the Rajya Sabha returns the bill to Lok Sabha, opposing the bill, it is
deemed to have passed . Though the Rajya Sabha can send recommendations to the Lok Sabha, it is
not binding on the Lok Sabha to act on it. Also, the house cannot exercise Pocket Veto; if the house
does not pass the bill within 14 days, it is again deemed to have been passed by the house.
No-Confidence Motion
Unlike Lok Sabha, it cannot pass motion of no confidence against the government.
Legislation
The number of members of Lok Sabha are more than twice the members of Rajya Sabha. As a result,
in case a non-financial bill is rejected by the Rajya Sabha, if passed by the Lok Sabha, then in the
joint-session of the parliament, the bill is most likely to be passed. So, in general, the Lok Sabha has
more power than Rajya Sabha in matters of legislation..
See also List of members of the Rajya Sabha
Membership by party In Rajya Sabha
Members by Party Source: Rajya Sabha Secretariat (as of 20 October 2014)
Shiv Sena 3
Samajwadi Party 10
National Conference 2
10
Nominated 10
Independents 9
Vacant Seats 3
Total 245
Officers
Chairman and Vice-Chairman
As per the Constitution of India, there is a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
Leader of the House
Besides the Chairman (Vice-President of India) and the Deputy Chairman, there is also a function
called Leader of the House. This is a cabinet minister - the prime minister if he is a member of the
House, or another nominated minister. The Leader has a seat next to the Chairman, in the front row.
The following people have been the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha:
N
Name From To
o
Shri Mahomadali Currim
8 March 1964 Nov. 1967
Chagla
N
Name From To
o
13
Shri Shyam Nandan
1 Decermber 1969 March 1971
Mishra
Shri M. S.
2 March 1971 April 1972
Gurupadaswamy
Shri M. S.
9 28.6.1991 21.7.1991
Gurupadaswamy
Secretariat
The Secretariat of Rajya Sabha was set up pursuant to the provisions contained in Article 98 of the
Constitution. The said Article, which provides for a separate secretarial staff for each House of
Parliament, reads as follows:- 98. Secretariat of Parliament -Each House of Parliament shall have a
separate secretarial staff: Provided that nothing in this clause shall be construed as preventing the
creation of posts common to both Houses of Parliament. (2) Parliament may by law regulate the
recruitment and the conditions of service of persons appointed to the secretarial staff of either House
of Parliament.
The Rajya Sabha Secretariat functions under the overall guidance and control of the Chairman. The
main activities of the Secretariat inter alia include the following :-
(i) providing secretarial assistance and support to the effective functioning of the Council of States
(Rajya Sabha)ssible to Members of Rajya Sabha;
(iv) servicing the various Parliamentary Committees;
(v) preparing research and reference material and bringing out various publications;
(vi) recruitment of manpower in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and attending to personnel matters; and
(vii) preparing and publishing a record of the day-to-day proceedings of the Rajya Sabha and bringing
out such other publications, as may be required concerning the functioning of the Rajya Sabha and its
Committees.
In the discharge of his constitutional and statutory responsibilities, the Chairman, Rajya Sabha is
assisted by the Secretary-General, who holds the rank equivalent[8] to the Cabinet Secretary to the
Government of India. The Secretary-General, in turn, is assisted by senior functionaries at the level of
Secretary, Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary and other officers and staff of the Secretariat.
Media
Rajya Sabha Television (RSTV) is a 24*7 parliamentary TV channel fully owned and operated by the
Rajya Sabha. The channel is aimed at providing in-depth coverage and analysis of parliamentary
affairs especially the functioning of and developments related to Rajya Sabha. During sessions of
Parliament, apart from telecasting live coverage of the proceedings of Rajya Sabha, RSTV presents
incisive analysis of the proceedings of the House as well as other day-to-day parliamentary events
and developments
JUDICIARY
The Indian Judiciary is partly a continuation of the British legal system established by the British in
the mid-19th century based on a typical hybrid legal system known as the Common Law System, in
which customs, precedents and legislative are all components of the law. The Constitution of India is
the supreme legal document of the country. There are various levels of judiciary in India – different
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types of courts, each with varying powers depending on the tier and jurisdiction bestowed upon them.
They form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, with
the Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with district judges
sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge (Junior Division) at the
bottom. Courts hear criminal and civil cases, including disputes between individuals and the
government. The Indian judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches of
government according to the Constitution.
exist for the appointment of a Judge of a high court as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court and for
retired judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts to sit and act as Judges of that Court.
The Constitution seeks to ensure the independence of Supreme Court Judges in various ways. A
judge of the Supreme Court cannot be removed from office except by an order of the president
passed after an address in each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership
of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, and
presented to the president in the same Session for such removal on the ground of proved
misbehaviour or incapacity. A person who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court is debarred from
practising in any court of law or before any other authority in India.
The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in English only. Supreme Court Rules,
1966 are framed under Article 145 of the Constitution to regulate the practice and procedure of the
Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of
the Constitution of India. According to the Constitution of India, the role of the Supreme Court is that
of a federal court, guardian of the Constitution and the highest court of appeal. Articles 124 to 147 of
the Constitution of India lay down the composition and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India.
Primarily, it is an appellate court which takes up appeals against judgments of the High Courts of the
states and territories. However, it also takes writ petitions in cases of[2] serious human rights
violations or any petition filed under Article 32 which is the right to constitutional remedies or if a case
involves a serious issue that needs immediate resolution. The Supreme Court of India had its
inaugural sitting on 28 January 1950, and since then has delivered more than 24,000 reported
judgments.
High courts
There are 24 High Courts at the State level. Article 141 of the Constitution of India mandates that they
are bound by the judgments and orders of the Supreme Court of India by precedence. These courts
have jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union territories. Below the
High Courts are a hierarchy of subordinate courts such as the civil courts, family courts, criminal
courts and various other district courts. High courts are instituted as constitutional courts under Part
VI, Chapter V, Article 214 of the Indian Constitution.
The High Courts are the principal civil courts of original jurisdiction in the state along with District
Courts which are subordinate to the High courts. However, High courts exercise their original civil and
criminal jurisdiction only if the courts subordinate to the high court in the state are not competent (not
authorised by law) to try such matters for lack of pecuniary, territorial jurisdiction. High courts may
also enjoy original jurisdiction in certain matters if so designated specifically in a state or Federal law.
e.g.: Company law cases are instituted only in a high court.
However, primarily the work of most High Courts consists of Appeals from lower courts and writ
petitions in terms of Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Writ Jurisdiction is also original jurisdiction
of High Court. The precise territorial jurisdiction of each High Court varies.
Judges in a high court are appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India,
Chief Justice of High Court and the governor of the state. The number of judges in a court is decided
by dividing the average institution of main cases during the last five years by the national average, or
the average rate of disposal of main cases per judge per year in that High Court, whichever is higher.
[citation needed]
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in the country, established on 2 July 1862. High
courts which handle a large number of cases of a particular region, have permanentbenches (or a
branch of the court) established there.
District courts
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The District Courts of India are established by the State governments in India for every district or for
one or more districts together taking into account the number of cases, population distribution in the
district. They administer justice in India at a district level. These courts are under administrative
control of the High Court of the State to which the district concerned belongs. The decisions of District
court are subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the concerned High court.
The district court is presided over by one District Judge appointed by the state Government. In
addition to the district judge there may be number of Additional District Judges and Assistant District
Judges depending on the workload. The Additional District Judge and the court presided have
equivalent jurisdiction as the District Judge and his district court. The district judge is also called
"Metropolitan session judge" when he is presiding over a district court in a city which is designated
"Metropolitan area" by the state Government. The district court has appellate jurisdiction over all
subordinate courts situated in the district on both civil and criminal matters. Subordinate courts, on the
civil side (in ascending order) are, Junior Civil Judge Court, Principal Junior Civil Judge Court, Senior
Civil Judge Court (also called sub-court). Subordinate courts, on the criminal side (in ascending order)
are, Second Class Judicial Magistrate Court, First Class Judicial Magistrate Court, Chief Judicial
Magistrate Court.
Gram Nyayalayas having power of Judicial Magistrate of the first class are being established
in Panchayat levels under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The executive branch of government is the one that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily
administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government
is central to the republican idea of the separation of powers.
President
The executive power is vested mainly in the President of India, as per Article 53 (1) of the constitution.
The President enjoys allconstitutional powers and exercises them directly or through officers
subordinate to him as per the aforesaid Article 53(1).The President is to act in accordance with aid
and advise tendered by the head of government (Prime Minister of India) and his or her Council of
Ministers (the cabinet) as described in Article 74 (Constitution of India).
Ranking
The Election Commission is regarded as guardian of free and fair elections. In every election, it issues
a Model code of Conduct for political parties and candidates to conduct elections in a free and fair
manner. The Commission issued the code for the first time in 1971 (5th Election) and revised it from
time to time. It lay down guidelines for conduct of political parties & candidates during elections.
However, there are instances of violation of code by the political parties and complaints are received
for misuse of official machinery by the candidates.
In I.D. Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd. v/s. Chief Election Commissioner,[6] the Kerala High Court held that
the object of model code of conduct is not to stop all governmental activities but only those actions
which may directly influence a section of electors need to be prevented.
The need for such code is in the interest of free and fair elections. However, the code does not have
any specific statutory basis. It has only a persuasive effect. It contains what, known as "rules of
electoral morality". But this lack of statutory backing does not prevent the Commission from enforcing
it.
Indian National congress (Ruling). After a further split, she formed the Congress (Indira) or
Congress(I). Indira remained the leader of the party until her death in 1984, when her son Rajiv
Gandhitook the reigns and after his death his widow Sonia Gandhi, the current leader of INC took
command As a result of such dominance, the leaders of political parties of the country tend to take an
autocratic tone.
One other major feature of the political parties is that, except the communist parties, most of the
political parties of India lack an ideological basis. Instead political parties in India are formed on the
basis of race, religion, language, caste etc. factors, thus the high number of political parties.[3]
Local governanc
On April 24, 1993, the Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 came into force to provide
constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions. This Act was extended to Panchayats in the
tribal areas of eight States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan from 24 December 1996.
The Act aims to provide 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 2
million, to hold Panchayat elections regularly every 5 years, to provide reservation of seats for
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women, to appoint State Finance Commission to make
recommendations as regards the financial powers of the Panchayats and to constitute District
Planning Committee to prepare draft development plan for the district.
case no single party gains a simple majority in the lower house. Unless a party or a coalition have a
majority in the lower house, a government cannot be formed by that party or the coalition.
India has a multi-party system, where there are a number of national as well as regional parties. A
regional party may gain a majority and rule a particular state. If a party is represented in more than 4
states, it would be labelled a national party. Out of the 66 years of India's independence, India has
been ruled by the Indian National Congress (INC) for 53 of those years.
The party enjoyed a parliamentary majority save for two brief periods during the 1970s and late
1980s. This rule was interrupted between 1977 to 1980, when the Janata Party coalition won the
election owing to public discontent with the controversial state of emergency declared by the then
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Janata Dal won elections in 1989, but its government managed to
hold on to power for only two years.
Between 1996 and 1998, there was a period of political flux with the government being formed first by
the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed by a left-leaning United Front coalition. In 1998,
the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance with smaller regional parties, and became the first
non-INC and coalition government to complete a full five-year term. The 2004 Indian electionssaw the
INC winning the largest number of seats to form a government leading the United Progressive
Alliance, and supported by left-parties and those opposed to the BJP.
On 22 May 2004, Manmohan Singh was appointed the Prime Minister of India following the victory of
the INC & the left front in the2004 Lok Sabha election. The UPA ruled India without the support of the
left front. Previously, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken office in October 1999 after a general election in
which a BJP-led coalition of 13 parties called the National Democratic Alliance emerged with a
majority. In May 2014, Narendra Modi of BJP was elected as Prime Minister of India.
Formation of coalition governments reflects the transition in Indian politics away from the national
parties toward smaller, more narrowly based regional parties. Some regional parties, especially in
South India, are deeply aligned to the ideologies of the region unlike the national parties and thus the
relationship between the central government and the state government in various states has not
always been free of rancor. Disparity between the ideologies of the political parties ruling the centre
and the state leads to severely skewed allocation of resources between the states.
Political issues
Social issues
The lack of homogeneity in the Indian population causes division between different sections of the
people based on religion, region,language, caste and race. This has led to the rise of political parties
with agendas catering to one or a mix of these groups.
Some parties openly profess their focus on a particular group; for example, the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam's and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's focus on the Dravidian population,
and the Shiv Sena's pro-Marathi agenda. Some other parties claim to be universal in nature, but tend
to draw support from particular sections of the population. For example, the Rashtriya Janata
Dal (translated as National People's Party) has a vote bank among the Yadav and Muslim population
of Bihar and the All India Trinamool Congress does not have any significant support outside West
Bengal.
The narrow focus and votebank politics of most parties, even in the central government and central
legislature, sidelines national issues such as economic welfare and national security. Moreover,
internal security is also threatened as incidences of political parties instigating and leading violence
between two opposing groups of people is a frequent occurrence.
Economic issues
Economic issues like poverty, unemployment, development are main issues that influence
politics. Garibi hatao (eradicate poverty) has been a slogan of the Indian National Congress for a long
time. The well known Bharatiya Janata Party encourages a free market economy. The Communist
Party of India (Marxist) vehemently supports left-wing politics like land-for-all, right to work and
strongly opposes neo-liberal policies such as globalization, capitalism and privatization.
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REFERENCES
www.slideshare.net
www.elections.in
www.authorstream.com
www.hrdiap.gov.in
www.universityofcalicut.info
www.wikipedia.com
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