Approaches to study political science

Most authors do not make a distinction between the term approach and method
to the study of political science as they as synonyms. However method is more
general term which denotes the particular way of doing something. in a
systematic study method may be defined as the procedure of enquiry by which
reliable knowledge could be obtained and reliable conclusions could be drawn.
Examples of methods are; scientific method, inductive method, dedhuctive
method, comparative method etc on the other hand approach is a viral term
which comprehends not only the method but also the focus of our study in order
to understand the given phenomena.

Political science is characterised by diversity of approaches. Approaches are

classified in order of their chronological emergence or on the basis of their
methodology orientations.

Before 1900 the study of politics was largely dominated by philosophy, history
and law. These approaches to politics are collectively labelled as traditional
approaches. Since 12th century there has been an emphasis on applying
methods and concepts in political science borrowed from physical sciences as
well as other social sciences like economics sociology and psychology. These
are defined as modern approaches to the study of political science

Traditional approach
The traditional approach is value based and lays emphasis on the inclusion of
values to the study of political phenomena. The adherent of this approach
believes that the study of political science should not be based on facts alone
since facts and values are closely related to each other. Since the days on Plato
and Aristotle the great issues of politics have evolved around normative
orientations. Accordingly there are a large number of traditional approaches like
legal approach philosophical approach historical approach institutional
approach etc.

Philosophical approach

Could be traced in the writings of ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle,
Leo Straw who was one of the urgent supporter of this approach believe that
‘the physiology is the quest for wisdom and political philosophy is the attempt
truly to know about the nature of political things and the right or god political
order’ this approach lays stress on ethical and normative studies of politics and
it is idealistic in nature. It deals with the problems of nature and function of
state, issues of citizenship, rights and duties etc

Historical approach believes that political phenomena could be understood

better with the help of historical factors like age, place situation etc
political thinkers like mc Kelly and dunning believes that politics and
history are intricately related and the study of politics always should have
an historical perspective. He is of the view that political science should
include all those subjects which have been discussed in the writings of
different political thinkers from the time of Plato. Every pass is linked with
the present and thus historical analysis provides a chronological order of
every political phenomena.

Institutional approach

Lays stress on the study of political institutions and structures like executive
judiciary, political parties, interest groups etc among the ancient thinkers
Aristotle is an important contributive to this approach

Legal approach

Regards state as a creative and enforcer of law and these legal institutions and
deals with the processes. Advocate include Jean Bodmin, Thomas hopps, John
hosten, dicey

Modern approach to study political science

The modern approach is fact based and lay emphasis on the factual study of
political phenomena to arrive at scientific conclusion. The modern approaches
include sociological approach, economic approach, psychological approach,
quantitative approach, simulation approach, system approach, behavioural
approach, Marxian approach etc

Normative methods generally refer to the traditional method of enquiry to the

phenomena of politics are not merely concerned with ‘what is’ but ‘what ought
to be’ issues in political science. It focus on the analysis of institution as a basic
unit of the study however, with the advent of industrialisation and behavioural
revolution in the field of political science emphasis shifted from the study ‘what
ought to be’ to ‘what reversed’ today political scientist are more interested in
analysing how people behave in matter related to state and government

A new movement was started by a group of political scientist in America who

were not satisfied with the traditional approach to the analysis of government of
state as they felt that the huge exploration had occurred in other social sciences
like sociology, psychology, anthropology at which when applied to the political
issues could render new insights. The now collect data relating to actual political
happenings.

Statistical information coupled with the actual behaviour of man may help the
political scientist in arriving at definite conclusion and predicting things correctly
in political matters. The quantitative or statistical matter, the system approach or
stimulation of political science based their enquiry on scientific data and as such
are known as modern or research

Behavioural approach
Until the mid of 20th century, political science was mainly concerned with
qualitative question which had a philosophical, legalistic and descriptive
analysis. The discipline was in fact transformed by the behavioural revolution in
the 1950s which laid stress on scientific and empirical to understanding of
political phenomena. The revolution was a success with the establishment of the
general experimental study of politics in 1970. The central focus of
behaviouralist is its emphasis on the study of political behaviour which refers to
act, attitudes, preferences and expectations of men in a political context.

Based on the definition of traditional approach to the political

issue, the following features of traditional approach could be
deducted.

• Ascent on large questions

The issue of larger concern such as how the authority should be organised,
what should be the criteria for citizenship, what should be the function of the
state etc are the subject matter of traditional approach and appear with greater
degree of regularity

• Normative
Normative orientation or statement of preferences occurs frequently in
traditional thinking. The traditional thinkers as such do not make a distinction
between political and ethical questions therefore thinkers like Plato have raised
questions like what should be the size of state, what should be an ideal state etc

• Philosophical orientation

An important feature of traditional political thought has been its physical

orientation. The philosophical approach takes in all aspects of men’s political
theories and has got a statement of underline principles concerning those
activities. Actually political a theories have often been judged against ideal
postulate as state of nature, natural law, ideal polity and so on. Plato republic
and leviathan will always be remembered a treaties which served for deeper
general principles underline the actual political activities.

• Legal institutional bias

Formal aspects of government such as constitution, the organs of government,

the laws of election, and so on have been the concern of traditional political
thought. The institutional approach has legal orientation and emphasis is placed
on laws rules and regulations that determine the structure and processes of
governmental
This traditional approach with all its intensive features has made great
contributions to the understanding of political problems even now political
researchers adhere to traditional approach for understand issues of government
and politics which shows significance of traditional approach

Definition of behaviouralism

According to Robert fall Behavioural approach is an attempt to improve

understanding of politics by seeking to explain that empirical aspects of political
life by means of method, theories and criteria of proof that are acceptable to the
canons conventions and assumptions of modern empirical science.

JC Charles worth said ‘unlike the great traditional theories of pan political
thought New theory tends to be analytical nor substantive General rather than
particular and explanatory rather than ethical. The portions of political research
which share these commitments to both the new theory and technical means of
analysis and verification thereby links political science to broader behaviour
tendencies which social science and hence a description as political behaviour
this is the full meaning and significance of behavioural approach and political
science today.

Features of behavioural revolutions

1. It projects political institutions as a basic unit for research and identifies

the behaviour of individuals in political education as the basic unit of analysis
2. It identifies social sciences as behavioural sciences and emphasis on the
unity of political science with the other social sciences
3. It advocates the utilisation and development of more precise techniques
of observing classifying and measuring data and urge the use of statistical or
quantitative formulation wherever possible
4. It defines the construction of systematic empirical theory as a goal of
political science

The intellectual foundation of behaviouralism have been summed up by David

Easton as regularities, verification, technique, quantification, values,
systemisation, pure science and integration

1. Regularities- political scientist should focus on the regularities of political

behaviour of men and be ready for rigorous analytic treatment of data
2. Verification- valid knowledge should be empirically observable and can be
presented in a way it can be verified
3. Techniques- political scientist should use sophisticated techniques
borrowed from other social and natural science for managing data
4. Quantitative- data for research should be quantified so that the conclusion
of the researchers may be certified on the basis of quantified evidence
5. Values- value and facts should be separated to avoid ethical or moral
biases. Research should reflect objective and verifiable truth
6. Systematic- Research should be theory oriented the hypothesis to be
justifiable and the goal should be general
7. Pure sciences- even if the findings may not be applicable to its specific
social problem the research should be of pure type ie perfectly verifiable by
evidence
8. Integration- the approach should be inter disciplinary ie political science
should be integrated with other social sciences such as economic, psychology
and sociology etc

Criticism of behaviouralism
Behaviouralism has been criticised on a number of grounds some of them are as
below
1. The movement has been criticised on its dependence on techniques and
methods ignoring the subject matter
2. The advocates of this approach were wrong when they said that human
beings behave in similar ways in similar circumstances
3. Besides it is a difficult task to study human behaviour and to get a definite
result
4. Most of political phenomena is unquantifiable therefore it is always
difficult to use scientific method in the study of political science
5. Moreover the researcher being a human beings is not always value neutral
as believed by the advocates of this theory

Conclusion

Behaviouralism is known to be looked as a complete disassociation with the

traditional thinking in fact it is a protest against an extension and enrichment of
the traditionalist stance in political science the goals of behavioural approach for
research has been said as understanding describing analysing and if possible
predicting political phenomenon

Post behavioural approach

David Easton coined the term post behaviouralism in his presidential address at
the 65 annual meeting of the American political science association in 1969 . In
fact Easton was one of the key figures of behavioural revolution. post
behaviouralism claimed that despite the fact that behaviouralism claimed to be
value free there was tendencies in it towards social preservation and status quo
rather than social change therefore the new movement led stress on action and
relevance. Three key points of the post behavioural movement were:
1. It challenge the view of behaviouralist that research has to be value
neutral and stressed that value should not be totally neglected. Unlike natural
sciences generalisations can’t be made in the field of social sciences because
study of men in the social context was a complicated affair
2. Post behaviouralism claimed that behaviouralist stressed on observable
and measurable phenomena mean that too much emphasis was being placed
on easily study trivial issues at the expense of most important topics. Easton
himself declared that he felt dissatisfied with the research made under the
impact of behaviouralist movement as it looked more of mathematics than
political science which had lost touch with the reality And contemporary world
3. Post behaviouralism stressed that research should have relevance to the
society and that intellectuals have a positive role to play. The new movement
believed that the use of scientific tools in political science could be beneficial
only when it is able to solve the various problems confronting society. It
criticised behaviouralism for ignoring the realities of society while laying too
much emphasis on techniques

However it needs to be stressed that post behaviouralism for the continuation of

the behavioural movement as it recognised the continuation of behaviouralism in
the realm of political science by making use of different techniques and
methods. Post behaviouralism tried to overcome the drawbacks of
behaviouralism and make the study of political science more relevant to the
society

State
⁃ Sovereignty is the authority of a state to govern itself or another state.
⁃ State can be defined as a nation or territory considered as an organised
political community under one government.
⁃ Nation is a large body of people united by common descent, history,
culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.
• Nation is a group of people which are connected by a common ground
while a state is a nation that is governed by one government

Elements of state

The state stands identified with four absolutely essential elements

1. Population- a state is a community of people. It is a human political
institution without a population there can be no state. Population can be more or
less but it has to be there. There are states with very small population like
Switzerland, Canada and others. There are states like China India and others
with very large populations. •The people living in the state are the
citizens of the state. They enjoy rights and freedom as citizens as well as
performs several duties towards the state. When citizens of another state are
living in the territory of a state they are cold aliens. All the people citizens as well
as aliens who are living in the territory of the state are duty bound to over the
state laws and policies. The state exercises supreme authority over them
through its government •there is no definite limit for the size of
population essential for a state however it is recognised that the population
should be neither too large nor very small it has to be within a reasonable limit. It
should be on the basis of the size of the territory of the state, the available
resources, the standard of living expected and needs of defence, production of
goods and supplies. India has a very large and fast growing population and
there is very need to check population growth. It is essential for enhancing the
ability of India to register a higher level of sustainable development
2. Territory- it is the second essential elements of a state. State is a territorial
unit. Definite territory is its essential components. A state cannot exist in the
area of at sea. It is essential a territorial state. The size of the territory of a state
can be big or small, nevertheless it has to be a definite well marked portion of
territory. State like Russia Canada USA India etc, are large sized states whereas
Maldives Switzerland Sri Lanka Bhutan Nepal and many others are states with
smaller territories.
3. Government - an organisation of the state which makes, implements,
enforces the laws and rules of the state. It is the 3rd essential element of the
state. The state exercises it’s sovereign power through its government. This
sometimes creates the impression that there is no difference between state ad
government. However it must be clearly noted that government is just an
element of the state. It is the agent of the

As a supreme power of the state sovereignty has two dimensions; internal

sovereignty and external sovereignty
1. Internal sovereignty- it means the power of the state who ordered and
regulate the activities of all the people, groups and institutions which are at word
within its territory. All these institutions always had in accordance with the laws
of the state. The state can punish them for every violation of any of its laws.
2. External sovereignty- it means complete independence of the state from
external control . It also means the full freedom of the state to participate in the
activities of the communities of nation. These state as a sovereign power to
formulate and act on the basis of its independent foreign policy
*We can define external sovereignty of the state as its sovereign equality with
every other state. State by choice accept rules of international law, these cannot
be forced upon the state . India is free to sign or not to sign any treaty with any
other state, no state can force it to do so.

no state can clearly become a state without sovereignty. India became a state in
1947 when it got independence and sovereignty after our independence, India
got the power to exercise both internal and external sovereignty. Sovereignty
permanently , exclusively and absolutely belong to the state. End of sovereignty
means end of the state that is why sovereignty is accepted as an exclusive
property and hallmark of the state.

these are four essential elements of a state, a state comes to be a state only
when it has all these elements, out of these four elements sovereignty stands
accepted as the most important and exclusive element of the state.

No other organisation or institution can claim sovereignty. An institution can

have population, territory and government but not sovereignty. in fact all states
of the Indian union
Have their population territories and government. These are also called loosely
states. Yet these are not clearly states, these are integral parts of the Indian
state. Sovereignty belongs to India

Necessity of state (why do we need state)

1. State is a natural institution, man is a social animal. His nature impels him
and necessities compel him to live in a society and enter into social relations
with others. He is by nature self focused animal he always want to live and
remain in the company of fellow human beings. State is needed by him for
providing security law and order as well as for punishing all criminals and anti
social elements.
2. State is a social necessity when man lives in the company of others he
naturally develops social relations with other human beings. He forms family and
several other groups he gets involved in a system of relations . He inherits
several relations and throughout his life remains bounder with these. *Further,
his physical and economic necessities always force him to form economic trade
and cultural relations . He and the society needs security for their life , property
and relations. The state serves this need by protecting the society from internal
and external dangers
3. Economic necessity of state- in each society the people need the state
because it provides currency and coinage for the conduct of economic business
and trade relations. State formulates and implements all financial policies for the
benefit of all the citizens. It provides financial help to the poor and weaker
section of the society. By providing security law and order the state helps the
people to carry out their economic relations and activities.
4. State secures peace, security and welfare of all in society. Social relations
continuously need peace, security and order. Man is a social being however
along with it some selfishness is also a part of his being. At times selfishness of
some people can cause some difficulties and harm to others. This is prevented
by the state. While living in society man needs protection for his life and
property and this is provided by the state
5. State is needed for protection against war and external enemies. State is
needed for getting protection and security against external aggression. Wars
and internal disturbances and disorders, the society needs the state for security,
peace, order stability, and protection against external aggression and wars.
State maintains defence forces for fighting external wars and meeting
aggressions. The state work for the elimination of terrorism and violence. State
is a sovereign political institution of each society. It protects the people and tires
to ensure conditions for their happiness, prosperity and development.

Definition of sovereignty

From the definition,

• Sovereignty is an attribute of the state.
• It is the supreme will of the state.
• It is a legal coercive power of the state
• The sovereign makes the laws and extract obedience from the people
• Sovereignty lies in a person or a body or persons
• The power of the sovereign is absolute and unlimited.

Monastic theory of sovereignty/Legal theory of sovereignty

The legal sovereign is a constitutional concept which means the identification of
the holder or holders of power in the legal sense.There cannot be any confusion
regarding the person who exercise the power of sovereignty in the eyes of law.
The legal sovereign commands and makes the law and such commands and
laws are to be obeyed by the people. In case of violation it is equipped with the
necessary power to punish the offender. Legal sovereign is determinate or
comprehensive or possessive all powers to implement its law and commands.
Thus, the authority of the legal sovereign is characterised by legal sanctity in
which no individual or association can claim humility. The best example of legal
sovereignty is the British king in parliament which as one political scientist
narrates as “it may be model the British constitution may prolong its life, may
legalise illegalities, may give doctoral powers to the government, may introduce
communism, fascism entirely with legal restriction” this position of the British
parliament is also summed up in the same time it can do anything or everything
except making a men a woman and vice versa. Though it may do even that
legally thus the power of legal sovereign is absolutely without any restriction.

Austin’s concept of sovereignty

The legal view also called monastic view was propounded by John Austin and
his ‘lectures on jurisprudence 18” according to Austin following are the
characteristic of sovereignty
• Sovereignty is necessary for a state. It is one of the four elements of the
state There cannot be a state without sovereignty The end of sovereignty means
the end of state
• Sovereignty has to be determinate. It resides in a person or a body of
persons. Austin’s state is a legal order in which the sovereignty can be located
very clearly. Sovereign must be human being or a body of human beings who
can be identified. Hence it is not wasted in goal
• Sovereign is the supreme power in the state. He is the source if all
authority in the state. His authority is unlimited and absolute. He does not take
commands from anyone as nobody has right to command him but he
commands everyone within the state. His authority is universal and all
comprehensive. Sovereignty is independent from any internal and external
control.
• Sovereign receives habitual obedience from the people. Thus the authority
of the sovereign is not casual. It is continuous, regular, undisturbed and
uninterrupted. If a significant part of the population refuses to accept him and
renders disobedience then he is no longer a sovereign. Similarly a short term
obedience is not an attribute of sovereignty. The power of sovereign has to be
permanent in the society.
• Law is the bill and command of the sovereign. He is the source of law.
Law is a command given by a superior to the inferiors who are in a state of
subjection or dependence. Sovereign is about the customs and traditions of
society. They exist with his permission, whatever the sovereign permits that
alone can exist the rights and liberties of the individual. Also derived from the bill
of sovereign and do restrict the operation of individuals of sovereignty
• Sovereignty has a legitimate physical force, to force commands and
extract obedience and enforce it’s laws
• The power of sovereignty is exclusive and undeniable. It is a unit in itself
that cannot be divided between two or more people. Division of sovereignty
means its description.

Thus according to Austin sovereignty is a supreme power of the state that is

absolute, permanent, universal, exclusive and undividable. However these
characteristics are not acceptable to the pluralist who reject the entire thesis of
Austin.

Pluralistic view of sovereignty

The pluralist do not believe that the sovereign is determinate. According to them
the determination was possible in old days when the king rule with absolute
powers but in the modern times the political system is based upon the concept
of popular sovereignty in which the government is responsible to the people
who can make or unmake the government. The constitutions clearly proclaim
the sovereignty of the people but Austin will not accept people as sovereign.
Similarly the electorate cannot be termed as sovereign because both the terms
people and electorate are vague and do not constitute determinate human being
in the Austin’s sense. The taste of locating sovereignty becomes more difficult in
case of a federation in which the powers are divided between the central and
the units and both are supposed to be sovereign in their respective fields. In
such a system a constitution is supposed to be supreme but it is not a human
being and hence cannot be sovereign. Even in Britain where the supremacy of
the parliament is the basic law of the land the parliament cannot be termed as
totally sovereign as it also works under limitations. Laski rightly points out that
the real rulers of a society are not discoverable.

They believed that Austin’s concept of sovereignty cannot be verified from

history. According to Laski historically sovereignty has always been subjected to
limitations except for a very small period when we nearly had a sovereign in
Austin’s sense. This was the period when the nations state aroused and king’s
asserted their authority. The nation state was a result of the religious struggle of
the 16th century and the emergence of the sovereign state was an indication of
the primacy of the secular order over religion. Thus there were certain historical
factors which were responsible for the creation of absolute sovereignty of the
state and if we leave that brief period we don’t find any example of absolute
sovereignty. In modern times sovereignty is limited, the only exception would be
the British king in parliament but as Laski argues ‘everybody knows that to
regard the king in parliament as sovereign body in the Austin’s sense is an
absurd ‘. No parliament can defranchise the Roman Catholic Church or prohibit
the existence of trade unions. Therefore laski says ‘no sovereign has any way
possess unlimited power and an attempt to exert it as always resulted in the
safeguards.” In fact every sovereign has to work within the society and the
society works through customs and traditions which are the result of the long
historical process and no ruler no matter how ruthless he is can violate them. It
has been pointed out that internally the rights of the individual limit the
sovereignty and externally the international law restricts the operation of
sovereign power. Besides the concept of popular sovereignty gives ultimate
power to the people and accordingly the legal sovereign has to go before them.

The pluralist also reject the notion of law as advocated by Austin. According to
Austin law is the command of the superior and this command is from higher to
inferior. Laski termed this as ridiculous, he pointed out that to call law as a
command from the higher to the inferior is to strain his definition to the verge of
indecency. Laws are universal in character and that applied on both the
lawmaker as well as the subjects but in the case of a command the
commanding authority is over and above its command and is not bound by it.
They also point out that there are customs and traditions in society which were
neither created by the state nor the state has any control over them. Even the
most Victoria ruler had to go before them. Laski gave the example of sultan of
turkey who even at the height of his power was bound by a court of observance
and it was compulsory for him to obey them.

Features of pluralist view of sovereignty

Due to growth of various associations, discharging functions, in modern times

provoked a revolt against the monistic theory led to the rise of pluralistic theory.
The pluralists declare that if a political theory is to be “philosophically true,
scientifically sound, morally righteous, legally implicit in codes and decision and
practically convenient,” it must recognise the personality of a corporation as a real
and spontaneous entity, with an inherent life and activity of its own. The pluralism
undertakes to transform the state. It criticises and “discredits” the State as it is,
and seeks to reduce it from its place of “honour too servitude.”
Laski, who was the most vehement critic of the monistic theory, said, “It is
impossible to make legal theory of sovereignty valid for political philosophy.”11
Pluralists view modern society as a web of associations. These associations
which emerge naturally to fulfil the diverse needs and aspirations of the members
of a society must have functional freedom and the state which is but one among
numerous associations must not claim monopoly over sovereignty. Thus in
contrast to the features of monistic theory of sovereignty, pluralistic theory
advocates division or sharing of sovereignty on group basis, and limited sphere
of state action.

The central idea of Pluralism has been summed by Get-tell. He says, “The
Pluralists deny that the state is a unique organisation; they hold other associations
are equally important and natural; they argue that such association for their
purpose as a sovereign as the state is for its purpose. They emphasise the inability
of the State to enforce its will in practice against the opposition of certain groups
within it. They deny that the possession of force by the State gives it any superior
right. They insist on the equal rights of all groups that command the allegiance
their member and that perform valuable functions in society. Hence sovereignty
is possessed by many associations. It is not an indivisible unit; the state is not
supreme or unlimited.” all this may be reduced to the following bare analysis:-
1. The parts of the State are as real as the whole. The State is, therefore,
distributive, not collective.
2. The distinction between the State and government is not real. Both are the
same.
3. The State is one among other groups which man needs to fulfil the purpose
of his life. His allegiance is, accordingly, not unified. It is divided and diffused. His
allegiance to the state may conflict with his allegiance to other associations, and
may even take priority over his loyalty to the State.
4. The State is not in any way a mysterious formation with supernatural or
metaphysical characteristics. Omnipotent sovereignty is not true to facts. It is not
unitary, but federal.
5. The state can serve its purpose by and through goodwill alone. It cannot
destroy associations and groups, as it cannot create them. Nor can it enforce its
will against the opposition of associations and groups within it, it “does not enjoy
any necessary pre-eminence for its demands,

Law
The nature and meaning of law has been described by various jurists however
there is no unanimity of the opinion regarding the true nature and meaning of
law. the reason for lack of unanimity on the subject is that the subject has been
viewed and deal with by different jurists so as the formulate a general theory of
legal order at times for a different times and from different point of view that is to
say from the point of view of nature, sources, functions and purpose of law to
meet the needs of some given period of legal development. Therefore it is not
feasible or practical to give it precise definition of law which may hold good for
all times to come. However it is desirable to refer to some of the definitions
given by different jurists so as to clarify and amplify the term law. The various
definitions of law propounded by legal theorist serve to emphasise the different
phases of law and build up the complete and grounded picture of the concept of
law. For the purpose of clarity and better understanding of the nature and
meaning of law we may classify various definition into five broad classes.
• Natural definition of law
• Positivistic
• Historical
• Sociological
• Realistic

To summarise, following are the main characteristics of law and the definition to
become universal one must incorporate all these elements.
• Law prepose a state
• A state makes all authorise to make or recognise of sanctions rules which
are called law.
• For the rules to be effective there are sanctions behind them
• These rules are made to serve some purpose. The purpose may be a
social purpose, or it may be simply to serve some personal ends of the ruler.

Separate rules and principles are known as laws. Such laws may be mandatory,
prohibited or permissive. A mandatory law calls for affirmative edge as in the
case of law requiring the payment of taxes. A prohibited law requires narrative
conduct as in the case of law prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapon
on running a lottery. A permissive law is one which neither requires nor forbids
action but a law allow certain conduct on the part of an individual if he desire to
act.

Law are made effective. The law and the system through which have developed
for many centuries into the present combination of statutes, judicial decisions,
customs, and conventions by examining the sources from which we tried our
laws and legal system, we gain some insight into the particular characteristics of
our laws. The state in order to maintain peace and order in society formulates
certain rules of conduct to be followed by people. These rules of conduct are
called laws.

Significance of law

Law is not static as circumstances and conditions in a society change, laws are
also changed to fit the requirements of society. At a given point of time the
prevailing law of a society must be in confirmative with the general statements,
customs and aspirations of its people.

Modern science and technology have unfolded vast prospect and have aroused
new and big ambitions in men. Materialism is prevailing at all spheres of life.
These developments and changes have tended to transform the law latently and
patently. Therefore law has undergone a vast transformation, conceptual and
structural. The idea of abstract justice has been replaced by social justice. The
object of law is order which in term provides hope of security for the future. Law
is expected to provide socio-economic justice and remove the existing
imbalances in the socio-economic structure and to play special role in the task
of achieving various socio economic goals ensuring own institution.

(More in notes purple)

Hindus are governed by their personal law as modified by statute law and
customs in all matters relating to inheritance succession marriage adoption
partition of joint family, property guardianship maintenance and religious or
charitable endowments
The personal laws of muslims to be found in
5. the holy Quran
6. The actions percepts, saints of prophet Muhammad which though not
written during his lifetime were preserved by tradition and handed down by
authorised persons these are known as hadiyths

9. Igmaz - a concurrence of opinion of the companions of the prophet and

his disciples Kiyaz or reasoning by analogy. These are analogical deductions
derived from the comparison of the Quran hadiyths and igmaz when none of
these applied to a particular case.
10. Digest in commentaries of Muhammad law, the most important and
famous of them being the hedaya which was composed in the 12th century and
the fataya Alagiri which was comprised of the Mughal emperor Auragzep.

Muslims are governed by the muslim laws as modified by statutory law and
customs in the matters relating to inheritance, succession marriage, dowry
divorce gift guardianship and waqf

Punishment

The immediate consequence that follows a criminal act is known as punishment.

Punishment is the penalty on someone as a result of their wrongdoing. Does
punishment is defined as suffering loss pain or any other penalty that is inflicted
on a person for the crime by the concerned authority and there are different
theories of punishment in law.
6. Deterrent theory
7. Retributive theory
8. Preventive theory
9. Reformative theory

The word deter means to prevent. Here, deterrent theory refers to refraining
from doing a particular act. The main core behind using this theory is to restrain
criminals from committing a crime. In such theories punishment awarded are
civil in nature which creates a fear not only in the criminal’s mind but also in the
mind of others. This theory is still prevalent in some islamic countries

The object of this theory is not only to prevent the wrongdoer from doing a
wrong subsequently but also to make him an example of society and other
people who have criminal tendencies. John Locke is the supporter of the
deterrent theory and said that ‘every commissioner of crime should be made a
bad bargain for the offenders’

Drawbacks -
4. Punishment failed to create fear in the mind of the criminals once the
punishment is over
5. This type of punishment fails to create fear in the mind of hardened or
hardcore criminals
6. It arouse sympathy in the mind of publics for criminals.
Idealistic theory of state

Plato and Aristotle had been it’s great supporter. Plato in his famous book has
presented the plan of his ideal republic. This theory was explained in better
ways by German philosophers of the 18th and 19 c. in this people remember
two names khan and , political philosophers whose thoughts greatly influence
the German political thinking

Meaning of idealistic theory of state

The basic principle of this theory is that the state is an end and the individual is
a means. According to High a individual can perfect himself only in a state.
Everything is neither within a state, a thing outside nor against it. The supporters
of this theory also believe that a state is a person and has a will of this own. This
will is the real one and represents the will of all so that individual must always
obey the law of the state because they represent the will of the state. The
actions of the state are always right in fact when an individual obeys a state here
obeys his own self. The supporters also say that the state is a reality and the
individual is something temporary.

Some of the idealist have gone to the extent of idealising. High Says that the
state is the march of god earth and that the people should worship it. This is the
reason that the state must always be obeyed. These teachings have been
influenced on the matters of the Germans after their reveal in world war 1. The
nazi movement began which gave rise to people like hitler. Similar there call on
the political scene a person
& his fastest movement

Limitations of idealistic theory

⁃ It is an abstract theory because the state which describes does not exist
in reality
⁃ The argument of the supporters that the state is everything and individual
is nothing is false and presence a great danger to the individual freedom or
rights.
⁃ The idealist also consider the state to be sovereign that their is no check
and limitations on the authority of the state which is not possible in this modern
world
⁃ The idealist is also known in the assumption that the state embodies real
will of the people. In fact I’m today’s world the will of the state is the will of ruling
party not of all the people
⁃ This theory does not grant any right to the individual. People have only
one right that is to obey the state so we can say this theory is anti humanitarian.

Liberal theory of state

A liberal state adopt liberal attitude towards the rights and privileges of the
citizens. The restrictions of any type adopted by the government will cut the
liberty and liberty of individual’s. It will slow down the growth of mens
personality and inherent qualities. So the liberal state talks about limited
government or limited state. A state is liberal when it acknowledged the opinion
attitudes and behaviour of individuals and does not think these as a threat to
existence and administration of state.

Features of liberal state

• Liberal state embraces multiplicity ideas views and existence of numerous
groups and parties
• liberal state maintains absolute neutrality towards all groups since
multiplicity of groups and organisations and Co existence among them are the
characteristic features of a liberal state. Clash of interest have been seen as an
inevitable consequence
• It is accountable to the citizens for all its activities decisions and policies.
The consent and accountability are the twin ideas associated with the liberal
state

Most political theories of a state can have approximate regroup into two groups
The first which includes liberal or conservative theories tress capitalism as a
given and concentrate on functions of state in a capitalist society. Theories of
this kind Views the state as a neutral entity distinct from both society and
economy. Liberalism is a phrase used in several ways in political thought and
social science. Liberalism is best characterised as many arguments that have
been classified as liberal and recognise as such by others as self proclaimed
liberals over time and space.

The indispensable characteristics of liberal theory of state is the dogma of

jurisdiction that is the idea that there is such a thing as a limited area of power
and authority of the state. A de limitation of its proper skill being which it is
inadequate for the state to trespass. This principle is essentially the sore
preserve of liberals. Only liberals seriously think about it.

The first principle of liberal theory is that the state uses more superior to other
institutions. The state is simply one social institution among many. Each has its
proper sphere. It should not interfere in the spheres of other institutions. It might
be described as rule of internal assumption that each institution is a appropriate
authority for the management of growth matters which pertain to it.

Second principle is that the state ought to respect the fourth principle. The state
not to punish nor impose restrictions upon any person except on the basis of his
fault.

Third principle of the liberal theory of state is the sovereignty of law and
adherence to establish proper procedures.

The fourth principle of liberty of the state represent a power of state or to be

split and retributive amongst many centre’s. This principle is founded on the
observation lord Actons say that ‘power corrupts absolute power corrupts
absolutely’ it is by minimising the concentration of power in any one Center and
by setting up many alternatives that is counterbalancing with power.

A liberal state signifies a limited government and limited state. It can also be
called theory of limited state by a number of philosophies. The term limited state
may be confusing, it exactly means limited function and role of the state or non
interaction of the state.

Power
Power is frequently defined by political scientist as the ability to influence the
behaviour of others with or without resistance. The term authority is often used
for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as
evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as
social beings. The use of power need not involve coercion, force or the threat of
force. At one extreme, power closely resembles what English speakers call
“influence”, although some authors make a distinction between the two.

The sociological examination of power involves discovering and describing the

relative strengths: equal or unequal, stable or subject to periodic change.
Sociologist usually analyse relationship in which parties have relatively equal or
nearly equal power in terms of constraint rather than of power. This power has a
connotation of unilateralism. If this were not so then all relationships could be
described in terms of power and it’s meaning would be lost.

Power may derive from number of sources including social class, resource
currency (material items like money property food) personal or group charisma,
social influence of tradition etc.

People use more than rewards, threats and information to influence others. In
everyday situations, people use a variety of power tactics to push or prompt
others into particular action. There are many examples of power tactics that are
quite common and employed everyday. Some of these tactics include bullying,
collaboration, complaining, criticising, demanding, evading, humour,
disengaging, inspiring, manipulating, negotiating, socialising and supplicating.
Recent experimental psychology suggests that the more power one has the less
one takes on the perspective of others, implying that the powerful have less
empathy.

Powerful people are also more likely to take actions. In one example, more
powerful people turned off an irritatingly close fan twice as much as less
powerful people.

Authority
Authority is a legitimate or socially approved use of power that a person or a
group holds over another. Legitimacy is vital to the notion of authority.
Legitimacy is the main means by which authority is distinguished from more
general notions of power. Power can be exerted by the use of force of violence.
Authority by contrast depends on subordinate groups consenting to the use of
power wielded by superior groups.

Max Weber, in his sociological and philosophical work identify and distinguished
three types of legitimate domination(three types of authority). He defined
authority as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of
people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and
justified by both the ruler and the ruled.

4. Rational legal authority - it is a form of authority with legitimacy that

depends on formal rules and established rules of the state which are usually
written down and are often very complex
5. Traditional authority- which derives from long established customs, habits
and social structures. When power passes from one generation to another, it is
known as traditional authority.
6. Charismatic authority- here the charisma of the individual or the leader
plays an important role

Weber states that legitimacy distinguished authority from force, power,

leadership, persuasion and influence. Superior, he states, feel that they have
right to issue commands; subordinates perceive an obligation to obey. The
degree to which these rights and obligations are felt is based on the perceived
legitimacy of the authority. A well established, respected , democratically
elected government typically wields more authority than an ad hoc, temporary or
corrupt government.

LIBERTY

LIBERTY is derived from Latin word liber which means free or independent. The
concept of liberty occupies a very important place in political science. It has
made powerful appeal to every man in every age. It’s the source of many wars
and revolutions. In the name of liberty wars, revolutions, battles and struggles
have taken place in the history of mankind. Liberty means the unrestricted
freedom of the individual to do anything he likes to do but this kind of
unrestricted liberty is not possible in a society.

Nature and scope

The idea of liberal may be analysed in terms of freedom as a quality of human

being. As animals birds and insects are governed by struggle for existence and
survival of the fittest. Only a human being is capable of freedom. Man as a homo
sapien has distinguished himself from other living beings as he claims to have
an aim in his life. Man has created many social organisations. Freedom is the
distinctive quality of human and the capacity to gain scientific knowledge is the
source of their freedom.

Freedom as condition of human being

Liberty is usually defined as ‘absence of constraint’ the concept of liberty has

very wide implication in the sphere of political philosophy. We demand liberty for
the human being because we treat him to be a rational creature. Since here our
demand is confined to be the removal of external restraint hence it is termed as
negative liberty. Nowadays a man not be free even if there is no essential
restraints. Freedom in the vital sense requires that man should not feel any
internal or external constraints.

Freedom from physical pain disease ignorance fear or wounds is termed as

positive liberty. A state tends to secure positive liberty for its reasons . If the
person is not free in the real sense and still he not keep to have freedom efforts
should be made to arouse his conscience and make him anxious to win his
freedom.

Political Liberty: It refers to the power of the people to be active in the affairs
of the state. Political liberty is closely interlinked with the life of man as a citizen.
Simply stated political liberty consists in provisions for universal adult
franchise, free and fair elections, freedom for the avenues that make a healthy
public opinion. As a matter of fact political liberty consists in curbing as well as
constituting and controlling the government.

Equality

Liberty and equality are the most valuable rights of the people. These constitute
to basic pillars of democracy. The French revolutionaries demanded liberty
along with equality and fraternity. The French declaration of rights clearly stated
that ‘men are born free and always continue to be free and equal in respect of
their rights’. The Preamble of Indian constitution defines equality as one of the
four basic objectives of the Indian polity, the other three are injustice liberty and
fraternity.

Meaning
Equality does not mean absolute equality. In common usage equality is taken to
mean full equality of treatment and reward for all. It is demanded as natural
equality. It is said that all men are born natural and free however despite the
strong emotional appeal of our hearts the notion of natural and absolute equality
of all cannot be fully accepted and realised. Men are neither equal in respect of
their physical features nor in the respect of their mental abilities. Some are
stronger others weaker and some are more intelligent and capable than others .
There capacities and abilities are different as such equality of treatment and
reward cannot be ensured. Rewards must depend upon actual abilities and
work of various people. for as equality not mean absolute and total equality.
Equality really means equal opportunity for development in fact when we talk if
equality of all men we really mean general or fair equality and not absolute
equality. We really talk about a fair distribution of opportunity, reward and not
equal reward for all.

Equality means absence of unnatural and unjust inequality

In society there are two types of inequalities

(1) Natural inequalities, and

(2) Man-made unnatural inequalities.

The former means natural differences among human beings. These have to be
accepted by all. The man-made inequalities are those which are there because
of some social conditions and discriminations. These are of the nature of
socioeconomic inequalities resulting from the operation of social system. The
discriminations practiced and inequalities maintained in the name of caste,
colour, creed, religion, sex, place of birth and the like are all unnatural man-
made inequalities. Equality means end of all such inequalities and
discriminations.

Quotations

Equality means that no man shall be so placed in society that he can over-reach
his neighbour to the extent which constitutes a denial of latter’s citizenship.” -
Laski

“Equality means equal rights for all the people and the abolition of all special
rights and privileges”. - Barker

Features of equality

(a) Absence of special privileges in society.

(b) Presence of adequate and equal opportunities for development for all.
(c) Equal satisfaction of basic needs of all.

Justice

Man has been continuously struggling for the maintenance of justice. In

democratic system justice is given the highest place. It is the most important
and most discussed in the society. It demands the regulation of selfish actions
of people for securing a fair distribution, equal treatment of equals and
proportionate and just rewards for all. It stands for harmony between individual
interest and the interest of society. Justice is a central importance to political
theory in defending of opposing law, policies, decisions and actions of
government. Appeals are made in the name of justice. People involved in every
education in securing their interest always raise the slogan ‘we want justice’ all
civil rights justice are essentially movements for justice.

Justice stands for rule of law, absence of arbitrariness and a system of equal
rights, freedoms and opportunities for all in society . In fact justice stands
recognised as the first virtues or ideal or objective to secured . in its preamble
the constitution of India gives first priority to the securing of social economic
and political justice for all its people . In contemporary times justice stands
conceptualised basically as social justice

Meaning and definition of justice

Justice is a complex concept and touches almost every aspect of human life.
The word Justice has been derived from the Latin word Jungere meaning ‘to
bind or to tie together’. The word ‘Jus’ also means ‘Tie’ or ‘Bond’. In this way
Justice can be defined as a system in which men are tied or joined in a close
relationship. Justice seeks to harmonise different values and to organise upon it
all human relations. As such, Justice means bonding or joining or organising
people together into a right or fair order of relationships.

Some popular definitions of Justice:

“Justice means to distribute the due share to everybody.” -Salmon

“Justice protects the rights of the individual as well as the order of society.” -Dr.
Raphael

In other words, Justice means securing and protecting of rights of all in a fair
way. It stands for harmony among all the people, orderly living and securing of
rights of all in a just and fair way.

Key features of justice

1. Justice is related to mutual relationships of persons living in society.

2. Justice is based on values and traditions of society.
3. Justice is related to all aspects of human behaviour in society. Laws are made
and courts are set up with this aim in view.
4. Aim of Justice is to provide equal rights, opportunities and facilities to all in a
fair way.
5. The function of Justice is to harmonise individual interests with the interests
of society.
6.Justice is the principle of balancing or reconciling human relations in society in
such a way as enables each one to get his due rights, towards and
punishments.
7.Justice has several dimensions: Social Justice, Economic Justice, Political
Justice and Legal Justice.

Legitimacy and obligation

Obligation- the word obligation came from latin word obligate which means
performance of duties. Everyone has to follow rules of behaviour in society for
his own good and good for others. In order for the state mechanism to function
smoothly a well organised system of the duties is needed.

Political obligation -
According to P.H. Green political obligation is intended to include the obligation
of the subject towards sovereign, obligation of citizen toward the state and
obligation of individual to each other as enforced by a political superior.

The divine theory of political obligation believes that state was created by God
and governed by his agent. The agent of God was responsible for his actions to
God alone. No one could limit or restrict his power. His work was law and his
actions were always just and kind.

Political culture

Political culture is a view aspirations and beliefs of most citizens of the country.
It can be said to be a psychological method of the people. It is also the type of
people’s mentality in relation to political activities, not political activities itself.

Different types of political cultures exist among the people of did different state.
In this context, it is to be noted that the tradition of British citizens, the protest
among French nationals and the patriotism among American citizens are
strongly present. These are one of the characteristics of the political culture of
those countries.

The concept of political culture is changing oriented, but the change is very
slow. People’s perception change as new experiences unfold. Depending on the
city-life experiences of people coming from village top city and living in the city,
there are rapid changes in attitudes but cultural attitudes or values change very
slowly. Hence the attitude towards political action reflects fairly permanent
aspect of political culture.

Features of political culture

3. The view of people regarding the world of politics are the subject of
political culture but not the various events organised in world politics. So it can
be called a psychological dimension of politics.
4. In the political culture the attitude of both the political ideal and the
effective system of the state is expressed.
5. It consist of empirical concepts of political life and values that are worth
pursuing in political life and they can be emotional and perceptive.
6. If there is a kind of attitude among the people about important political
issues in a political culture, then there is political stability. It is easy to get rid of
crisis if people’s attitude are favourable to political institutions during the crisis
of the country.
7. Political culture does not remain unchanged. It is also constantly
reorganised in terms of cultural change in society. With the arrival of foreigners
to live, the revolution, the war or any other major change can completely change
the political culture of a state.

Political participation

Political participation is any number of voluntary activities undertaken by the

public to influence public policy either directly or by affecting the selection of
people who make those policies. Though it is typically associated with voting
elections, It includes activities such as political campaigning, donating money to
candidate or causes, contacting public officials, petitions protesting and working
with the other people on issues.

The health of a democratic nation’s government is often measured by how

actively its citizens participate in politics. Political apathy, a total lack of interest
in politics or government contributes to the United States suffering one of the
lowest percentages of voter turnout among the world’s major democracies.

Voter’s participation

Considered one of the most impactful expressions of patriotism, voting is the

primary means of participating in politics. No other political activity allows the
opinion of more people to be represented than voting. One of the basic principle
of participatory democracy, each citizen gets one vote and each vote counts
equally.

Participation beyond the polls

While voting is an important form of citizen participation in politics, it takes place

only periodically. Besides voting citizens have several other ways to take part in
politics, each involving varying amounts of time, skill and resources.

Parliamentary system

Parliamentary system has been taken from UK because UK constitution is the

mother constitution of parliamentary system. It's also called ministerial or
cabinet system. Cabinet or parliamentary system is that which
6. Legislature and executive are closely related and share power with each
other.
7. Cabinet is formed by the parliament and parliament is superior organ.
8. There are 2 executives ie the elected president or king and the prime
minister. President represents state, and pm represents government.
9. Cabinet is responsible before the legislature.

Features of Parliamentary system

Following r the features and characteristics
1. Formation of Cabinet- When general election is over and pm is elected
them pm nominates his council of ministers or Cabinet. This responsibility of the
pm is of prime significance. The list of ministers is presented before head of
state for his approval
2. Team work spirit- In parliamentary system all ministers work in a team
spirit. They must agree on an issue in cabinet meeting and because of opinions
the minister concerned must reign or h is expelled form the Cabinet. All
differences must be kept sacred. The Cabinet members are in 1 single boat they
either swim together or sink together.
3. Supremacy of prime minister In the parliamentary system pm is very
important and has too many powers. In legislature he is leader of the house
while I'm executive he is leader of the council of ministers. Pm is to appoint
remove and supervises the activity of his ministers. He act as a bridge between
cabinets and president. On his resignation the council of ministers must resign
so we can say pm is shining moon in the galaxy of stars.
4. Coordination of powers -It’s the basic feature that 2 powers legislature
and executive share their power in the system both are dependent upon each
other.
5. Political collective responsibility- It is another significant attribute of
parliamentary system that cabinet is collectively responsible before legislature.
Activities of the cabinet can be questioned and checked by legislature through
various constitutional means. Ministers remain in office as long as they enjoy
confidence and legislature. In case of no confidence in a single minister the
whole cabinet must resign.
6. Term of cabinet is fixed by the constitution but not in rigid sense. A
minister may be removed or changed any time. Parliament can be dissolved
during the national; emergencies. The parliament is resolved, government no
longer remains an office. Parliament through no confidence movement against
any minister or government, prime minister or against whole cabinet can remove
the government. Therefore life of parliamentary government is uncertain.
7. Two executives: another characteristics of parliamentary system is that
they are two types of executive ie …. head and real executive, … executive is
the head of the state eg- President of India , this type of executive is merer
symbolic or constitutional head of state not he other side , real executive is to
exercise real powers of the state and he is the head of the government eg-
Prime Minister of India

Presidential form of government

The presidential system is a form of government in which the president is a chief

executive and is elected directly by the people. In this system all the branches
that is executive, legislative and judiciary are constitutionally independent of
each other and no branch and dismiss or dissolves any other. The president is
responsible for enforcing law and the legislature for making them and the courts
for judging. Each is given specific powers to check and balance the other.

Features of presidential form of government

1. Real head of the state- in this system the president is real executive head
2. Separation of powers- the presidential form of government is based on
the principle of separation of power among the three organs of the government,
the executive is not responsible to legislature. The executive cannot dissolve the
legislature and the judiciary is independent from the executive and legislature
3. Principle of checks and balances- all the three organs of the government
is separated from each other but all are checking each other and restraining
each other from any type of misuse of power or abuse of power.
4. Superior position of president- the president has a superior position
because all the power of the government are concentrated with him.
5. Political homogeneity not necessary- it is not necessary that all cabinet
should belong to same political party.

Unity vs Federal government

Q. India is a quasi federal country. Explain.

On the basis of relationship between centre and units the government may be
classified as unity and federal. In a unitary government all the power of
government are wasted in the central government whereas in a federal the
powers of government are divided between the central and the units.

Unitary government
⁃ is a kind of government system in which a single power with is known as
central government controls the whole government. In fact all powers and
administrative divisions, authorities lies at the central place. Today most of the
government systems in the world are based on unitary form of government. In
unitary government central government has a power to increase or curtail the
power of sub national units. It can create or abolish the same. Uk, Italy , china,
Saudi Arabia, Ukraine etc are important examples of unitary government. Unitary
system is based on the concept of consistency, unity and identity that’s why the
centralisation of power and authority remains at the top priority. The decision
making power rest with the central government that are shared by the
government with the lower level government whenever needed. There are not so
many options for change and new innovations as the people have a very limited
voice in this governmental system. There are many merits and demerits of the
system. It is useful in the term that rules and regulations in this governmental
system remains consist and equal throughout the country. Moreover it is less
expensive as compared to federal government because the number of powerful
people remains very low. In the times of emergency it makes timely decisions as
compared to the federal government but at the same tine the concept of
freedom of speech and expression always remain at the low priority that’s why
most principles of unitary government are much similar to that of dictatorship
system of government. Unitary systems features can be highlighted in below
points:
• Concentration of power
• Single government
• Written or unwritten constitution
• Rigid or flexible constitution
• No special division.

Federal government
⁃ is a type of national government in which government have powers,
delegates the power to other elective members of the state. There can be two
level of federal government in a country. Either it is performing through common
institutions or through powers as prescribed by the constitution of the state. It is
totally opposite to unitary government. In federation or federal government
provisions or territories enjoy some rights as are available through the
independent states. However international diplomacy, national security, foreign
affairs, and other kinds of international dealings are made by federal
government. Pakistan, India, Brazil, Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Canada etc
are the significant examples of federal government. Mostly the federal
government system is preferred to the United States government. This
government is based on a system in which power is jointly shared between state
and federal governments. The federal government system the power never rests
with the national government, however there can be certain powers and
authorities that remain totally with the federal government like policies on
defence, budget, international diplomacy etc. the hierarchy of power in federal
government system start from the federal level and then flows to the state and
then local level. These are main features of federal government
• Division of powers
• Separate government
• Written constitution
• Rigid constitution
• Special judicial

POLITICAL PARTIES
India has a multi party system as of January 2022. It has 8 national parties. Over
50 recognised 8 parties and 2796 unrecognised parties. If a political party fulfils
certain objectives then it is recognised as the national or state political party by
the election commission of India. A party recognised by the ECI (election
commission of India) enjoys certain privileges such as a reserved party single,
free broadcast trying on state run, television and radio, consultation in the
setting of election date and more.

National Political party

A registered party is recognised as national party only if it fulfils any of the 3
conditions:
• If a party wins 2% of seats in Lok Sabha from at least 3 different
states(11seats)
• At a general election to Lok Sabha or legislative assembly the party
holds 6% of votes in 4 states in addition to 4 Lok Sabha seats.
• A party is recognised as a state party in 4 or more states.

State Political party

A registered party has to fulfil any of the conditions to be known as state
political party.
· A party should win a minimum of 3% of total no. of seats or a minimum of 3
seats in the legislative assembly.
· A party should win at least one seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or
any fraction they are allotted to the state.
· A political party should secure at least 6 % of the total valid votes
called during the general election of Lok Sabha or a state legislative assembly
ensure in addition win at least one Lok Sabha and legislative assembly seats in
that election.
· Under the liberalised criteria one more point has been added to provide that
even if a party fails to win any seat in the state , in a general election the Lok
Sabha or general assembly of the state , the party will still be eligible for
recognition as a state party if it secures 8% or more of the total valid votes polls
in the state.

A political party is a group of people who share similar political views , come
together to contest elections and try to hold power in the government. The
members of the political parties agree on some policies and programmes for the
society with the view to promote the collective good. Political parties that wish to
contest local state or national elections are required to be registered with the
Election Commission of India. The no. or status of national state and regional
parties increases or decreases on the basis of their performance in the elections.
Pressure group

Is a group of people who are organised actively for promoting and defending
their common interest. It is called so as it attempt to bring a change in public
policy by exerting pressure on the government. It acts as liaison between the
government and its mentors. The pressure groups are called interest groups.
They are different from the political parties as they neither contest elections nor
try to capture political power. They are concerned with specific programmes
and issues and their activities are confined to the protection and promotion of
the interest of their members by influencing the government. They influence the
policy making and policy implementation in the government through legal and
legitimate methods like creed, correspondence, publicity, propaganda,
petitioning, public debating, maintaining contacts with their legislatives and so
forth.

Characteristics of pressure groups

1. Based on certain interest- each pressure group organises itself keeping in
the view certain interest and thus tries to adopt the structure of power in the
political systems.
2. Use of modern as well as traditional means- they adopt techniques like
financing the political parties, sponsoring their closed candidates at the time of
elections and keeping the bureaucracy also satisfied. Their traditional means
include exploitation of caste, creed and religious dealings to promote their
interest.
3. Resulting out of increasing pressure and demands on resources- scarcity
of resources claims and counter claims on the resources from the different and
competing sections of the society leads to the rise of pressure groups.
4. Inadequacy of political parties- pressure groups are basically a
consequence of inadequacies of the political parties
5. Represent changing conscience- for instance the increase in the food
production or industrial good thus bring a change in the way individuals and
groups look at the world. The stagnation in production levels to fertillism but
increase in production leads to demands, protest and formation of new pressure
groups.

Types of pressure groups

Three pillars/organs of the government
Legislature, executive and judiciary are the three organs of the government. The
functions of each are as follows;

Legislature -

It forms law and procedures along with examining the administration and its
resolutions. The chief function of the legislature is to enact laws.
• It is a basic for the functioning of the other two organs.
• it is also sometimes accorded the first place among the three organs
because until and unless law are connected there can be no implementation and
application of law.

Executive-

It comprised of the president or governor, council of ministers and union at state

level, along with the administration which executes and enforces laws made by
the legislature. The executive is the organ that implements the laws connected
by the legislature and enforces the will of the state.
• It is the administrative head of the government.
• Ministers including prime minister, chief ministers and president or
governor form part of the executive.

Judiciary -

Supreme court at the top level with the community court at the bottom. They
interpret the laws made. The judiciary is that branch of the government that
interprets the law, settles disputes and administers justice to all citizens
• The judiciary is considered the watch clock of democracy and guardian of
constitution
• It comprises the Supreme Court , the high courts, district and other
subordinate courts

Secularism

It means the separation of religion from political, economic, social and cultural
aspects of life and religion being treated as purely personal matter. The term
secular means being separate from religion or having no religious basis. Religion
is open to one and all and is given a personal choice to an individual without any
different treatment to the latter.

Secularism is related to the Vedic concept of dharma nirapekshata that is the

indifference of the state to religion. Secularism calls for a doctrine where all
religions are given equal status, recognition and support from the state or it can
also be defined as a doctrine that promotes separation of state from religion. A
secular person is one who does not owe his moral values to any religion, his
values are the product of his rational and scientific thinking. It stands for no
discrimination and partiality on grounds of religion and equal opportunities to
follow all religions.

Public opinion

Public opinion is the measure of what the public thinks about a particular issue,
party or individual public figure. Historically it has been pretty difficult to
accurately measure what the public thinks about the particular issue. However
most forms of democracy are based on the understanding that the government
will function with the interest of their people in mind. We can find an
acknowledgement in people’s role in many historical documents including the
constitution of USA which begins with the phrase ‘we the people’.

Q. Where does public opinion come from?

- There is a lot of things that come into play when discussing how people
form opinions developing your opinions about issues affecting the world around
you is a lifelong process that social scientist called political socialisation. You
will have different life factors than everyone else but for most people factors like
family beliefs, education, religious beliefs, peer beliefs., media have the greatest
impact on the political opinions. The privacy tendency or the theory that
impressions acquire during childhood are most long lasting and influential
guides many studies of public opinion. For example if our parents or other
authority figure like teachers regularly included you in patriotic activities such as
15th august, 26th January. Social scientist would conclude that you more likely
to be patriotic and supportive of Indian government as an adult.

Q. How media is forming public opinion?

Social Justice

Justice is a concept of fairness. Social justice is fairness as it manifest in society

that includes fairness in healthcare, employment, housing and more.
Discrimination and social justice are not compatible at all. There are four
essential goals in which social justice depends, that is;
1. Human rights - the connection between social justice and human rights
has strengthen over the years. It has become clear to activist and governments
that one cannot exist without the other. When a society is just it protects and
respects everyone’s human right. This connection is essential since human
rights are recognised globally. Various treaties help keep governments
accountable.
2. Access - being able to access essentials like shelter, food and education
is crucial for a just society, if access is restricted based on factors like gender,
race or class it leads to suffering for individuals, communities and society as a
whole. Social justice activist work on increase and restore access, giving
everyone equal opportunity for a good life.
3. Participation - social justice is not possible if only some voices are heard.
Unfortunately that’s often what happens and the voices of marginalised or
vulnerable are silenced even when society tries to address problems, solutions
could not work if those most effected can’t participate in the process.
Participation must be encouraged and rewarded so that everyone specially
those who have not had a chance before they can speak.
4. Equity - many people believe that equality is one of the principles of
social justice but it’s actually equity. Equity takes into account the effects of
discrimination and aims for an equal outcome. There is a graphic that
demonstrates this very well; three people are trying to see over events. One of
them is already tall and able to see. They represent the most privileged in
society. The other can just barely see. And the last person, the most vulnerable
in society can’t see at all. Equality gives everyone one box stand on even tough
the tallest person doesn’t need it and it still doesn’t allow the shortest person to
see. Equity doesn’t give the privileged person any boxes instead the middle
person gets one box and the last gets two. Now everyone is at equal level.

Social justice can’t be achieved without these four principles.

Social justice means that everyone’s human rights are respected and protected.
Everyone has equal opportunities, this doesn’t guarantee that society will be
perfect and everyone will always be happy. However everyone will have a
fighting chance at the life they want. They are not held back by the things out of
their control like systematic obstacles or discrimination. There is not one clear
framework for what successful social justice looks like in practice but that’s why
principles like participation are so important as long as a nation values social
justice and remains committed to equality, progresses of civil.