Indian Polity GIST of NCERT

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N.C.E.R.T. Polity
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What is a constitution? What are its functions?
What role does it perform society? How does a
constitution relate to our daily existence?
The first function of a constitution is to
provide a set of basic rules allow for minimal
coordination amongst members of a society.
Specification of decision making powers
A constitution is a body of fundamental that
principles according to which a state is constituted
or governed. But what should these fundamental
rules be? And what makes-them fundamental?
Well, the first question-you will have to decide is
who gets to decide what the laws governing the
society should be? You may want rule X, but others
may want rule Y. How do we decide whose rules or
preferences should govern us? You may think the
rules you want everyone to live by are the best;
but others think that their rules are the best. How
do we resolve this dispute? So even before you
decide what rules should govern this group you
have to decide: Who gets to decide?
The constitution ho provide an answer to this
question. It specifies the basic allocation of power
in a society. It decides who gets to decide what the
laws will be. In principle, this question, who gets
to decide, can be answered in many ways: in a
monarchical constitution, a monarch decides; in
some constitutions like the old Soviet Union, one
single party was given the power to decide. But in
democratic constitutions, broadly speaking, the
people get to decide. But this matter is not so
simple. Because even if you answer that the people
should decide, it will not answer the question: how
should the people decide? For something to be law,
should everyone agree to it? Should the people
directly vote on each matter as the ancient Greeks
did? Or should the people express their preferences
by electing representatives? But if the people act
through their representatives be elected? How
many should there be?
This the function of the constitution. It
is an authority that constitutes
government in the first place.
In the Indian Constitution for example, it is
specified that in most instances, Parliament gets
to decide laws and policies, and that Parliament
itself be organised in a particular manner Before
identifying what the law in any given society is,
you have to identify who has the authority to enact
it. If Parliament has the authority to enact laws,
there must be a law that bestows this authority on
Parliament in the first place.
Limitations on the powers of government
But this is clearly not enough. Suppose you
decided who had the authority to make decisions.
But then this authority passed laws that you
thought were patently unfair. It prohibited YOU
from practising your a religion for instance. Or it
enjoined that clothes of certain colour were
prohibited, or that you were not free to sing certain
songs or that people who belonged to a particular
group (caste or religion) would always have to serve
others and would not be allowed to retain any
property. Or that government could arbitrarily
arrest someone, or that only people of a certain
skin colour would be allowed to draw water from
wells. You would obviously think these laws were
unjust and unfair. And even though they were
passed by a government that had come into
existence based on certain procedures there would
be something obviously unjust about that
government enacting these laws. Constitutions
limit the power of government in many ways. The
most common way of limiting the power of
government is to specify certain fundamental
rights that all of us possess as citizens and which
The second function of a constitution
is to specify who has the power to
make decisions in a society. It decides
how the government will be
constituted.
GIST OF N.C.E.R.T
WHY DO WE NEED A
CONSTITUTION
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no government can ever be allowed to violate. The
exact content an interpretation of these rights
varies from constitution to constitution. But most
Constitutions will protect a basic cluster of rights.
Citizens will be protected from being arrested
arbitrarily and for no reason. This is one basic
limitation upon the power of government. Citizens
will normally have the right to some basic liberties:
to freedom of speech, freedom of conscience,
freedom of association, freedom to conduct a trade
or business etc. En practice, these rights can be
limited during times of national emergency and
the constitution specifies the circumstances under
which these rights may be withdrawn.
So the third function of a constitution is
to set some limits on what a government
can impose on its citizens. These limits
are fundamental in the sense that
government may never trespass them.
Aspirations and goals of a society
Most of the older constitutions limited
themselves largely to allocating decision-making
power and setting some limits to g2vernmeflt
power. But many twentieth century constitutions,
of which the Indian Constitution is the finest
example, also provide an enabling framework for
the government to do certain positive things, to
express the aspirations and goals of society. The
Indian Constitution was particularly innovative in
this respect. Societies with deep entrenched
inequalities of various kinds, will not only have to
set limits on the power of government, they will
also have to enable and empower the government
to take positive measures to overcome forms of
inequality or deprivation.
For example, India aspires to be a society that
is free of caste discrimination. if this is our
societys aspiration, the government will have to
be enabled or empowered to take all the necessary
steps to achieve this goal. In a country like South
Africa, which had a deep history of racial
discrimination, its new constitution had to enable-
the government to end racial discrimination. More
positively, a constitution may enshrine the
aspirations of a society. The framers of the Indian
Constitution, for example, thought that each
individual in society should have all that is
necessary for them to lead a life of minimal dignity
and social self-respect minimum material well
being, education etc. The Indian Constitution
enables the government to take positive welfare
measures some of which are legally enforceable.
As we go on studying the Indian Constitution, we
shall find that such enabling provisions have the
support of the Preamble to our Constitution, and
these provisions are found in the section on
Fundamental Rights. The Directive Principles of
State of Policy also enjoin government to fulfil
certain aspirations of the people.
Fundamental identity of a people
Finally, and perhaps even most importantly, a
constitution expresses the fundamental identity
of a people.
The fourth function of a constitution is
to enable the government to fulfil the
aspirations of a society and create
conditions for a just society.
This means the people as a collective entity
come into being only through the basic
constitution. It is by agreeing to a basic set of
norms about how one should be governed, and who
should be governed that one forms a collective
identity. One has many sets of identities that exist
prior to a constitution. But by agreeing to certain
basic norms and principles one constitutes ones
basic political identity. Second, constitutional
norms are the overarching framework within
which one pursues individual aspirations, goals
and freedoms. The constitution sets authoritative
constraints upon what one may or may not do. It
defines the fundamental values that we may not
trespass. So the constitution also gives one a moral
identity. Third and finally, it may be the case that
many basic political and moral values are now
shared across different constitutional traditions.
If one looks at constitutions around the world,
they differ in many respects in the form of
government they enjoin in many procedural
details. But they also share a good deal. Most
modern constitutions create a form of government
that is democratic in some respects, most claim
to protect certain basic rights. But constitutions
are different in the way they embody conceptions
of natural identity. Most nations are an
amalgamation of a complex set of historical
traditions; they weave together the diverse groups
that reside within the nation in different ways.
For example, German identity was constituted by
being ethnically German. The constitution gave
expression to this identity. The Indian
Constitution, on the other hand, does not make
ethnic identity a criterion for citizenship. Different
nations embody different conceptions of what the
relationship between the different regions of a
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nation and the central government should be. This
relationship constitutes the national identity of a
country.
The Authority of a Constitution
We have outlined some of the functions a
constitution performs. These functions explain why
most societies have a constitution. But there are
three further questions we can ask about
constitutions:
a) What is a constitution?
b) Row effective is a constitution?
c) Is a constitution just?
In most countries, Constitution is a compact
document that comprises a number of articles
about the state, specifying how the state is to be
constituted and what norms it should follow. When
we ask for the constitution of a country we are
usually referring to this document. But some
countries, the United Kingdom for instance, do not
have one single document that can be called the
Constitution. Rather they have a series of
documents and decisions that, taken collectively,
are referred to a the constitution. So, we can say
that constitution is the document or set of
documents that seeks to perform the functions that
we mentioned above.
But many constitutions around the world exist
only on paper; they are mere words existing on a
parchment. The crucial question is: how effective
is a constitution? What makes it effective? What
ensures that it has a real impact on the lives of
people? Making a constitution effective depends
upon many factors.
Mode of promulgation
This refers to how a constitution comes into
being. Who crafted the constitution and how much
authority did they have? In many countries
Constitutions remain defunct because they are
crafted by military leaders or leaders who are not
popular and do not have the ability to carry the
people with them. The most successful
constitutions, like India, South Africa and the
United States, are constitutions which were
created in the aftermath of popular national
movements. Although Indias Constitution was
formally created by a Constituent Assembly
between December 1946 and November 1949, it
drew upon a long history of the nationalist
movement that had a remarkable ability to take
along different sections of Indian society together.
The Constitution drew enormous legitimacy from
the fact that it was drawn up by people who enjoyed
immense public credibility, who had the capacity
to negotiate and command the respect of a wide
cross- section of society, and who were able to
convince the people that the constitution was not
an instrument for the aggrandisement of their
personal power. The final document reflected the
broad national consensus at the time. Some
countries have subjected their constitution to a
full- fledged referendum, where all the people vote
on the desirability of a constitution. The Indian
Constitution was never subject to such a
referendum, but nevertheless carried enormous
public authority, because it had the consensus and
backing of leaders who were themselves popular.
Although the Constitution itself was not subjected
to a referendum, the people adopted it as their own
by abiding by its provisions. Therefore, the
authority of people who enact the constitution helps
determine in part its prospects for success.
The substantive provisions of a constitution
It is the hallmark of a successful Constitution
that it gives everyone in society some reason to go
along with its provisions. A Constitution that, for
instance, allowed permanent majorities to oppress
minority groups with society would give minorities
no reason to go along with the provision of the
Constitution. Or a constitution that systematically
privileged some members at the expense of others,
or that systematically entrenched the power of
small groups in society, would cease to command
allegiance. If any group feels their identity is being
stifled, they will have no reason to abide by the
constitution. No constitution by itself achieves
perfect justice. But it has to convince -people that
it provides the framework for pursuing basic
justice.
Do this thought experiment. Ask yourself this
question: What would be the content of some basic
rules in society, such that they gave everyone a
reason to go along with them?
The more a constitution preserves the freedom
and equality of all its members, the more likely it
is to succeed. Does the Indian Constitution, broadly
speaking, give everyone a reason to go along with
its broad outlines?
Balanced institutional design
Constitutions are often subverted, not by the
people, but by small groups, who wish to enhance
their own power. Well crafted constitutions
fragment power in society intelligently so that no
single group can subvert the constitution. One way
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of such intelligent designing of a constitution is to
ensure that no single institution acquires
monopoly of power. This is often done by
fragmenting power across different institutions.
The Indian Constitution, for example, horizontally
fragments power across different institutions like
the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary and
even independent statutory bodies like the Election
Commission. This ensures that even if one
institution wants to subvert the Constitution,
others can check its transgressions. An intelligent
system of checks and balances has facilitated the
success of the Indian Constitution.
Another important aspect of intelligent
institutional design is: that a constitution must
strike the right balance between certain values,
norms and procedures as authoritative, and at the
same time allow enough flexibility in its operations
to adapt to changing needs and circumstances. Too
rigid a constitution is Likely to break under the
weight of change; a constitution that is, on the
other hand, too flexible, will give no security,
predictability or identity to a people. Successful
constitutions strike the right balance between
preserving core values and adapting them to new
circumstances. You will notice the wisdom of
makers of the Indian Constitution in the chapter
on the Constitution as a living document (Chapter
9}. The Indian Constitution is described as a living
document. By striking a balance between the
possibility to change the provisions and the limits
on such changes, the Constitution has ensured
that it will survive as a document respected by
people. This arrangement also ensures that no
section or group can, on its own, subvert the
Constitutioit
MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION:
As far back as in 1928. Motilal Nehru and eight
other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for
India. In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi
session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on
how independent Indias constitution should look,
like. Both these documents were committed to the
inclusion of universal adult franchise, right to
freedom and equality and to protecting the rights
of minorities in the constitution of independent
India. Thus some basic values were accepted by
all leaders much before the Constituent Assembly
met to deliberate on the Constitution.
The familiarity with political institutions of
colonial rule also helped develop an agreement over
the institutional design. The Indian constitution
adopted many institutional details and procedures
from colonial laws like the Government of India
Act 1935.
Years of thinking and deliberation on the
framework of the constitution had another benefit.
Our leaders gained confidence to learn from other
countries, but on our own terms. Many of our
leaders were inspired by the ideals of French
Revolution, the practice of parliamentary
democracy in Britain and the Bill of right in the
US. The socialist revolution in Russia had inspired
many Indians to think o shaping a system based
on social and economic equality. Yet they were not
simply imitating what others had done. At each
step they were questioning whether these things
suited our country. All these factors contributed to
the making of our Constitution.
The drafting of the document called the
constitution was done by an assembly of elected
representatives called the Constituent Assembly.
Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held
in July 1946. It held its first sitting on 9 December
1946 and re-assembled as Constituent Assembly
for divided Indian on 14 August 1947. Its members
were elected by indirect election by the members
of the Provisional Legislative Assemblies that had
been established in 1935. The Constituent
Assembly was composed roughly along the lines
suggested by the plan proposed by the committee
of the British cabinet, known as the Cabinet
Mission. According to this plan:
Each Province and each Princely State or group
of States were allotted seats proportional of
their respective population roughly in the ratio
of 1:1.000000. As a result the Provinces (that
were under direct British rule) were to elect
292 members while the Princely States were
allotted a minimum of 93seats.
The seats in each Province were distributed
among the three main communities, Muslims,
Sikhs and general, in proportion to their
respective populations.
Members of each community in the Provisional
Legislative Assembly elected their own
representatives by the method of proportional
representation with single transferable vote
The method of selection in the case of
representatives of Princely States was to be
determined by consultation.
Composition of the Constituent Assembly
As a consequence of the Partition under the
plan of 3 June 1947 those members who were
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elected from territories which fell under Pakistan
ceased to be members of the Constituent Assembly.
The numbers in the Assembly were reduced to 299
of which 284 were actually present on 26 November
1949 and appended their signature to the
Constitution as finally passed. The Constitution
was thus framed against the backdrop of the
horrendous violence that the Partition unleashed
on the sub-continent. But it is a tribute to the
fortitude of the framers that they were not only
able to draft a constitution under immense
pressure, but also learnt the right lessons from
the unimaginable violence that accompanied
Partition. The Constitution was committed to a
new conception of citizenship, where not only would
minorities be secure, but religious identity would
have no bearing on citizenship rights.
But this account of the composition of the
Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution
touches upon only the surface of how our
Constitution was made. Although, the members of
the Assembly were not elected by universal
suffrage, there was a serious attempt to make the
Assembly a representative body. Members of all
religions re given representation under the
scheme described above; in addition, the Assembly
had twentysix members from what then known as
the Scheduled Classes. In terms of the Congress
dominated the Assembly occupying as many as
eighty-two per cent of the seats in the assembly
after the Partition. The Congress itself was such a
diverse party that it managed to accommodate
almost all shades of opinion within it.
The Principle of Deliberation
The authority of the Constituent Assembly does
not come only from the fact that it was broadly,
though not perfectly, representative. It comes from
the procedures it adopted to frame the Constitution
and the values its members brought to their
deliberations. While in any assembly that claims
to be representative, it is desirable that diverse
sections of society participate, it is equally
important that they participate not only as
representatives of their own identity or community.
Each member deliberated upon the Constitution
with the interests of the whole nation in mind.
There were often disagreements amongst
members, but few of these disagreements could
be traced to members protecting their own
interests.
There ere legitimate differences of principle.
And the differences were many: should India adopt
a centralised or decentralised system of
government? What should be the relations between
the States and the centre? What should be the
powers of the judiciary? Should the Constitution
protect property rights? Almost every issue that
lies at the foundation of a modem state was
discussed with great sophistication. Only one
provision of the Constitution was passed without
virtually any debate: the introduction of universal
suffrage (meaning that all citizens reaching a
certain age, would be entitled to be voters
irrespective of religion, caste, education, gender
or income). So, while the members felt no need at
all to discuss the issue of who should have the right
to vote, every other matter was seriously discussed
and debated. Nothing can be a better testament to
the democratic commitment of this Assembly.
1. Jhaverbhai Vallabhai Patel (1875-1950)
born: Gujarat. Minister of Home, Information
and Broadcasting in the Interim
Government. Lawyer and leader of Bardoli
peasant satyagraha. Played a decisive role
in the integration of the Indian princely
states. Later: Deputy Prime Minister.
2. Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958) born: Saudi
Arabia. Educationist, author and theologian;
scholar of Arabic. Congress leader, active in
the national movement. Opposed Muslim
separatist politics. Later Education Minister
in the first union cabinet.
3. T.T. Krishnamachari (1899-19741 born:
Tamil Nadu. Member Drafting Committee.
Entrepreneur and Congress leader. Later:
Finance Minister in the Union Cabinet.
4. Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963) born: Bihar
Chairman of the Constituent Assembly.
Lawyer, known for his role in the
Champaran satyagraha. Three times the
president of Congress. Later: the first
President of India.
5. JaIpal Singh (1903-1970) born: Jharkhand
a sportsman and educationist. Captain of the
first national Hockey team. Founder
President of Adivasi Maha Sabha. Later:
founder of Jharkhand Party.
6. H. C. Mookherjee (1887-1956) born: Bengal.
Vice Chairman of the Constituent
Assembly. Reputed author and educationist.
Congress leader. Member of All India
Christian Council and Bengal Legislative
Assembly. Later: Governor of West Bengal.
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The voluminous debates in the Constituent
Assembly , where-each - clause of the Constitution
was subjected toscrutiny and debate, is a tribute
to. public reason at its best. These debates deserved
to be memorialised -as one of the most significant
chapters in the history- of constitution making,.
equal in importance to the French and American
revolutions.
Procedures
The Constituent Assembly had eight major
Committees on different subjects. Usually,
Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel,
Maulana Azad or Ambedkar chaired these
Committees. These were not men who agreed with
each other on many things. Ambedkar had been a
bitter critic of the Congress and Gandhi, accusing,
them of not doing enough for the upliftment of
Scheduled Castes. Patel and Nehru disagreed on
many issues. Nevertheless, they all worked
together. Each Committee usually drafted
particular provisions of the Constitution which
were then subjected to debate by the entire
Assembly. Usually an attempt was made to reach
a consensus with the belief that provisions agreed
to by 411, would not be detrimental to any particular
interests. Some provisions were subject to the vote.
The Assembly met for one hundred and sixty six
days, spread over two years and eleven months.
Inheritance of the nationalist movement
But no constitution is simply a product of the
Assembly that produces it. An Assembly as diverse
as the Constituent Assembly of India could not
have functioned if there was no background
consensus on the main principles the Constitution
should enshrine. These principles were forged
during the long struggle for freedom. In a way, the
Constituent Assembly was giving concrete shape
and form to the principles it had inherited from
the nationalist movement. For decades preceding
the promulgation of the Constitution, the
nationalist movement had debated many
questions that were relevant to the making of the
constitution the shape and form of government
India should have, the values it should uphold, the
inequalities it should overcome. Answers forged
in those debates were given their final form in the
Constitution.
Perhaps the best summary of the principles
that the nationalist movement brought to the
Constituent Assembly is the Objectives Resolution
(the resolution that defined the aims of the
Assembly) moved by Nehru in 1946. This resolution
encapsulated the aspirations and values behind
the constitution. Based on this resolution our
Constitution gave institutional expression to the
fundamental commitments: equality, liberty,
democracy, sovereignty and a cosmopolitan
7. G. Durgabal Desmukh (1909-1981) born:
Andhra Pradesh. Advocate and public
activist for womens emancipation. Founder
of Aridhra Mahila Sabha. Congress leader.
Later: Founder Chairperson of Central
Social Welfare Board.
8. Baldev Singh (1901-1961) born: Haryana
A successful entrepreneur and leader of the
Panthic Akali Party in the Punjab Assembly.
A nominee of the Congress in the
Constituent Assembly. Later: Defence
Minister in the Union Cabinet.
9. Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi (1887-
1971) born: Gujarat. Advocate, historian
and linguist. Congress leader and
Gandhian. Later: Minister in the Union
Cabinet. Founder of the Swatantra Party.
10. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956)
born: Maharashtra. Chairman of the
Drafting Committee. Social revolutionary
thinker and agitator against caste divisions
and caste based inequalities. Later: Law
minister in the first, cabinet of post-
independence India. Founder of Republican
Party of India
11. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (1901-1953)
born: West Bengal. Minister for Industry
and Supply in the Interim Government.
Educationist and lawyer. Active in Hindu
Mahasabha. Later: Founder President of
12. Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) born: Uttar
Pradesh. Prime Minister of the interim
government. Lawyer and Congress leader.
Advocate of socialism, democracy and anti-
imperialism. Later: First Prime Minister of
India.
13. Sarojini Naidu (1879.1949) born: Andhra
Pradesh. Poet, writer and political activist.
Among the foremost women leaders in the
Congress. Later: Governor of Uttar Pradesh.
14. Somnath Lahiri (1901-1984) born: West
Bengal. Writer and editor. Leader of the
Communist Party of India. Later: Member
of West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
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identity. Thus, our Constitution is not merely a maze of rules and procedures, but a moral commitment
to establish a government that will fulfil the many promises that the nationalist movement held before
the people.
Institutional arrangements
The third factor ensuring effectiveness of a constitution is a balanced arrangement of the institutions
of government. The basic principle is that government must be democratic and committed to the welfare
of the people. The Constituent Assembly spent a lot of time on evolving the right balance among the
various institutions like the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. This led to the adoption of the
parliamentary form aid the federal arrangement, which would distribute governmental powers between
the legislature and the executive on the one hand and between the States and the central government
on the other hand.
Provisions borrowed from constitutions of different countries
British United States Irish French Canadian
Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
First Past the Post Charter of Funda- Directive Principles Principles of A quasi-federal
Parliamentary Form mental Rights, Power of State Policy Liberty, Equality form of govern-
of Government The of Judicial Review and Fraternity ment (a federal
idea of the rule of and independence system with-a
law Institution of of the judiciary strong central
the speaker and government The
his role Lawmaking idea of Residual
procedure Powers
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Some people believe that a constitution merely
consists of laws and that laws are one thing, values
and morality, quite another. Therefore, we can
have only a legalistic, not a political philosophy
approach to the Constitution. It is true that all laws
do not have a moral content, but many laws are
closely connected to our deeply held values. For
example, a law might prohibit discrimination of
persons on grounds of language or religion. Such a
law is connected to the idea of equality. Such a
law exists because we value equality. Therefore,
there is a connection between laws and moral
values. One should look upon the constitution as
a document that is based on a certain moral vision,
and adopt a political philosophy approach to the
constitution. What do we mean by a political
philosophy approach to the constitution? We have
three things in mind.
First, we need to understand the conceptual
structure of the constitution. What does this
mean? It means that we must ask questions
like what are the possible meanings of terms
used in the constitution such as rights,
citizenship, minority or democracy?
Furthermore, we must attempt to work out a
coherent vision of society and polity conditional
upon an interpretation of the key concepts of
the constitution. We must have a better grasp
of the set of ideals embedded in the
constitution.
Our final point is that the Indian Constitution
must be read in conjunction with the
Constituent Assembly Debates in order to
refine and raise to a higher theoretical plane,
the justification of values embedded in the
Constitution. A philosophical treatment of a
value is incomplete if a detailed justification
for it is not provided. When the framers of the
Constitution chose to guide Indian society and
polity by a set of values, there must have been
a corresponding set of reasons. Many of them,
though, may not have been fully explained.
A political philosophy approach to the
constitution is needed not only to find out the moral
content expressed in it and to evaluate its claims
but possibly to use it to arbitrate between varying
interpretations of the many core values in our
polity. It is obvious that many of its ideals are
challenged, discussed, debated and contested in
different political arenas, in the legislatures. in
party forums, in the press, in schools and
universities. These ideals are variously
interpreted and sometimes wilfully manipulated
to suit partisan short term interests. We must,
therefore, examine whether or not a serious
disjunction exists between the constitutional ideal
and its expression in other arenas.
Sometimes, the same ideal is interpreted
differently by different institutions. We need to
compare these differing interpretations. Since the
expression of the ideal in the constitution has
considerable authority it must be used to arbitrate
in conflict of interpretation over values or ideals.
Our Constitution can perform this job of arbitration.
Constitution as Means of Democratic
Transformation
It is widely agreed that one reason for having
constitutions is the need to restrict the exercise
of power. Modern states are excessively powerful.
They are believed to have a monopoly over force
and coercion. What if institutions of such states
fall into wrong hands who abuse this power? Even
if these institutions were created for our safety
and well-being, they can easily turn against us.
Experience of state power the world over shows that
most states are prone to harming the interests of
at least some individuals and groups. If so, we need
to draw the rules of the game in such a way that
this tendency of states is continuously checked.
Constitutions provide these basic rules and
therefore, prevent states from turning tyrannical.
Constitutions also provide peaceful, democratic
means to bring about social transformation.
Moreover, for a hitherto colonised people,
constitutions announce and embody the first real
exercise of political self-determination.
GIST OF N.C.E.R.T
PHILOSOPHY OF THE
CONSTITUTION
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Nehru understood both these points well. The
demand for a Constituent Assembly, he claimed,
represented a collective demand for full self-
determination because; only a Constituent
Assembly of elected representatives of the Indian
people had the right to frame Indias constitution
without external interference. Second, he argued,
the Constituent Assembly is not just a body of people
or a gathering of able lawyers. Rather, it is a
nation on the move, throwing away the shell of its
past political and possibly social structure, and
fashioning for itself a new garment of its own
making. The Indian Constitution was designed to
break the shackles of traditional social hierarchies
and to usher in a new era of freedom, equality and
justice.
This approach had the potential of changing
the theory of constitutional democracy altogether:
according to this approach, constitutions exist not
only to limit people in power but to empower those
who traditionally have been deprived of it.
Constitutions can give vulnerable people the power
to achieve Collective good.
Why do we need to go back to the Constituent
Assembly?
Why look backwards and bind ourselves to the
past? That may be the job of a legal historian to
go into the past and search for the basis of legal
and political ideas. But why should students of
politics be interested in studying the intentions
and Concerns of those who framed the
Constitution? Why not take account of changed
circumstances and define anew the normative
function of the Constitution?
In the context of America where the
Constitution was written in the late 18th century
it is absurd to apply the values and standards of
that era to the 21st century. However, in India,
the world of the original framers and our present
day world may not have changed so drastically. In
terms of our values, ideals and conception, we have
not separated ourselves from the world of the
Constituent Assembly. A history of our Constitution
is still very much a history of the present.
Furthermore, we may have forgotten the real
point underlying several of our legal and political
practices, simply because somewhere down the
road we began to take them for granted. These
reasons have now slipped into the background,
screened off from our consciousness even though
they still provide the organizational principle to
current practices. When the going is good, this
forgetting is harmless. But when these practices
are challenged or threatened, neglect of the
underlying principles can be harmful. In short, to
get a handle on current constitutional practice, to
grasp their value and meaning, we may have no
option but to go back in time to the Constituent
Assembly debates and perhaps even further back
in time to the colonial era. Therefore, we need to
remember and keep revisiting the political
philosophy underlying our Constitution.
WHAT IS THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF OUR
CONSTITUTION?
It is hard to describe this philosophy in one
word. It resists any single label because it is liberal,
democratic, egalitarian, secular, and federal, open
to community values, sensitive to the needs of
religious and linguistic minorities as well as
historically disadvantaged groups, and committed
to building a common national identity. In short,
it is committed to freedom, equality, social justice,
and some form of national unity. But underneath
all this, there is a clear emphasis on peaceful and
democratic measures for putting this philosophy
into practice.
Individual freedom
The first point to note about the Constitution
is its commitment to individual freedom. This
commitment did not emerge miraculously out of
calm deliberations around a table. Rather, it was
the product of continuous intellectual and political
activity of well over a century. As early as the
beginning of the nineteenth century, Rammohan
Roy protested against curtailment of the freedom
of the press by the British colonial state. Roy
argued that a state responsive to the needs of
individuals must provide them the means by which
their needs are communicated. Therefore, the
state must permit unlimited liberty of publication.
Likewise, Indians continued to demand a free
press throughout the British rule.
It is not surprising therefore that freedom of
expression is an integral part of the Indian
Constitution. So is the freedom from arbitrary
arrest. After all, the infamous Rowlatt Act, which
the national movement opposed so vehemently,
sought to deny this basic freedom. These and other
individual freedoms such as freedom of conscience
are part of the liberal ideology. On this basis, we
can say that the Indian Constitution has a pretty
strong liberal character. In the chapter on
fundamental rights we have already seen how the
Constitution values individual freedom, It might
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be recalled that for over forty years before the
adoption of the Constitution, every single
resolution, scheme, bill and report of the Indian
National Congress mentioned individual rights, not
just in passing but as a nonnegotiable value.
Social Justice
When we say that the Indian Constitution is
liberal, we do not mean that it is liberal only in the
classical western sense. In the book on Political
Theo you will learn more about the idea of
liberalism. Classical liberalism always privileges
rights of the individuals over demands of social
justice and community values.
The liberalism of the Indian Constitution differs
from this version in two ways. First, it was always
linked to social justice. The best example of this
is the provision for reservations for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution.
The makers of the Constitution believed that the
mere granting of the right to equality was not
enough to overcome age-old injustices suffered by
these groups or to give real meaning to their right
to vote. Special constitutional measures were
required to advance their interests. Therefore the
constitution makers provided a number of special
measures to protect the interests of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes such as the
reservation of seats in legislatures. The
Constitution also made it possible for the
government to reserve public sector jobs for these
groups.
Respect for diversity and minority rights The
Indian Constitution encourages equal respect
between communities. This was not easy in our
country, first because communities do not always
have a relationship of equality; they tend to have
hierarchical relationships with one another (as in
the case of caste). Second, when these
communities do see each other as equals, they
also tend to become rivals (as in the case of
religious communities). This was a huge challenge
for the makers of the Constitution: how to make
communities liberal in their approach and foster
a sense of equal respect among them under
existing conditions of hierarchy or intense rivalry?
It would have been very easy to resolve this
problem by not recognising communities at all, as
most western liberal constitutions do. But this
would have been unworkable and undesirable in
our country. This is not because Indians are
attached to communities more than others.
Individuals everywhere also belong to cultural
communities and every such community has its
own values, traditions, customs and language
shared by its members. For example, individuals
in France or Germany belong to a linguistic
community and are deeply attached to it. What
makes us different is that we have more openl3
acknowledged the value of communities. More
importantly, India is a land of multiple cultural
communities. Unlike Germany or France we have
several linguistic and religious communities. It
was important to ensure that no one community
systematically dominates others. This made it
mandatory for our Constitution to recognise
community basted rights.
One such right is the right of religious
communities to establish and run their own
educational institutions. Such institutions may
receive money from the government. This
provision shows that the Indian Constitution does
not see religion merely as a private matter
concerning the individual.
Secularism
Secular states are widely seen as treating
religion as only a private matter. That is to say,
they refuse to give religion public or official
recognition. Does this mean that the Indian
Constitution is not secular? This does not follow.
Though the term secular was not initially
mentioned, the Indian Constitution has always
been secular. The mainstream, western
conception, of secularism means mutual exclusion
of state and religion in order to protect values such
as individual freedom and citizenship rights of
individuals.
Again, this is something that you will learn
more about in Political Theory. The term mutual
exclusion means this: both religion and state must
stay away from the internal affairs of one another.
The state must not intervene in the domain of
religion; religion likewise should not dictate state
policy or influence the conduct of the state. In other
words, mutual exclusion means that religion and
state must be strictly separated.
What is the purpose behind strict separation?
It is to safeguard the freedom of individuals. States
which lend support to organised religions make
them more powerful than they already are. When
religious organisations begin to control the
religious lives of individuals, when they start
dictating how they should relate to God or how they
should pray, individuals may have the option of
turning to the modern state for protecting their
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religious freedom, but what help would a state offer
them if it has already joined hands with these
organisations? To protect religious freedom of
individuals, therefore, state must not help religious
organisations. But at the same time, state should
not tell religious organisations how to manage their
affairs. That too can thwart religious freedom. The
state must, therefore, not hinder religious
organisations either. In short, states should
neither help nor hinder religions. Instead, they
should keep themselves at an arms length from
them. This has been the prevalent western
conception of secularism.
Conditions in India were different and to
respond to the challenge they posed, the makers
of the Constitution had to work out an alternative
conception of secularism. They departed from the
western model in two ways and for two different
reasons.
Rights of Religious Groups First, as mentioned
already, they recognised that intercommunity
equality was as necessary as equality between
individuals. This was because a persons
freedom and sense of self-respect was directly
dependent upon the status of her community.
If one community was dominated by another,
then its members would also be significantly
less free. If, on the other hand, their relations
were equal, marked by an absence of
domination, then its members would also walk
about with dignity, self-respect and freedom.
Thus, the Indian Constitution grants rights to
all religious communities such as the right to
establish and maintain their educational
institutions. Freedom of religion in India
means the freedom of religion of both
individuals and communities.
State s Power of Intervention Second,
separation in India could not mean mutual
exclusion. Why is it so? Because, religiously
sanctioned customs such as untouchability
deprived individuals of the most basic dignity
and -self-respect. Such customs were so deeply
rooted and pervasive that without active state
intervention, there was no hope of their
dissolution. The state simply had to interfere
in the affairs of religion. Such intervention
was not always negative. The state could also
help religious communities by giving aid to
educational institutions run by them. Thus,
the state may help or hinder religious
communities depending on which mode of
action promotes values such as freedom and
equality. In India separation between religion
and state did not mean their mutual exclusion
but rather principled distance, a rather complex
idea that allows the state to be distant from all
religions so that it can intervene or abstain
from interference, depending upon which of
these two would better promote liberty, equality
and social justice. We have hitherto mentioned
three core features these can also be seen
as the achievements of our Constitution.
First, our Constitution reinforces and reinvents
forms of liberal individualism. This is an
important achievement because this is done
in the backdrop of a society where community
values are often indifferent or hostile to
individual autonomy.
Second, our Constitution upholds the principle
of social justice without compromising on
individual liberties. The constitutional
commitment to caste-based affirmative action
programme shows how much ahead India was
compared to other nations. Can one forget that
affirmative action programmes in the U.S. were
begun after the 1964 Civil Rights Movement,
almost two decades after they were
constitutionally entrenched in India?
Third against the background of inter-
communal strife, the Constitution upholds its
commitment to group rights (the right to the
expression of cultural particularity). This
indicates that the framers of the Constitution
were more than willing to face the challenges
of what more than four decades later has come
to be known as multiculturalism.
Universal franchise
Two other core features may also be regarded
as achievements. First, it is no mean achievement
to commit oneself to universal franchise, specially
when there is widespread belief that traditional
hierarchies in India are congealed and more or
less impossible to eliminate, and when the right
to vote has only recently been extended to women
and to the working class in stable, Western
democracies.
Once the idea of a nation took root among the
elite, the idea of democratic self government
followed. Thus, Indian nationalism always
conceived of a political order based on the will of
every single member of society. The idea of
universal franchise lay securely within the heart
of nationalism. As early as the Constitution of India
Bill (1895), the first non-official attempt at drafting
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a constitution for India the author declared that
every citizen i e anyone born in India had a right
to take part in the affairs of the country and be
admitted to public office. The Motilal Nehru Report
(1928) reaffirms this conception of citizenship,
reiterating that every person of either sex who has
attained the age of twenty-one is entitled to vote
for the house of Representatives or Parliament.
Thus from very early on, universal franchise was
considered as the most important and legitimate
instrument by which the will of the nation was to
be properly expressed.
Faderalism
Second, by introducing the articles concerning
Jammu and Kashmir (Art. 370) and the North-East
(Art, 371), the Indian Constitution anticipates the
very, important concept of asymmetric federalism.
We have seen in the chapter on federalism that
the Constitution has created a strong central
government. But despite this unitary bias of the
Indian Constitution, there are important
constitutionally embedded differences between the
legal status and prerogatives of different sub-units
within the same federation. Unlike the
constitutional symmetry of American federalism,
Indian federalism has been constitutionally
asymmetric. To meet the specific needs and
requirements of some sub-units, it was always part
of the original design to have a unique relationship
with them or to give them special status.
For example, the accession of Jammu and
Kashmir to the Indian union was based on a
commitment to safeguard autonomy under Article
370 of the Constitution. This is the only State that
is governed by its own constitution. Similarly,
under Article 371A, the privilege of special status
was also accorded to the North-Eastern State of
Nagaland. This Article not only confers validity on
preexisting laws within Nagaland, but also protects
local. Many other States too, are beneficiaries of
such special provisions. According to the Indian
Constitution, then, there is nothing bad about this
differential treatment.
Although the Constitution did not originally
envisage this, India is now a multi-lingual
federation. Each major linguistic group is politically
recognised and all are treated as equals. Thus, the
democratic and linguistic federalism of India has
managed to combine claims to unity with claims
to cultural recognition. A fairly robust political
arena exists that allows for the play of multiple
identities that complement one another.
National identity
Thus, the Constitution constantly reinforces
a common national identity. In the chapter on
federalism, you have studied how India strives to
retain regional identities along with the national
identity. It is clear from what is mentioned above
that this common national identity was not
incompatible with distinct religious or linguistic
identities. The Indian Constitution tried to balance
these various i4entities. Yet, preference was given
to common identity under certain conditions. This
is clarified, in the debate over separate electorates
based on religious identity which the Constitution
rejects. Separate electorates were rejected not
because they fostered difference between religious
communities as such or because they endangered
a simple notion of national unity but because they
endangered a healthy national life. Rather than
forced unity, our Constitution sought to evolve true
fraternity, a goal dear to the heart of Dr. Ambedkar.
As Sardar Patel put it, the main objective was to
evolve one community.
PROCEDURAL ACHIEVEMENTS
All these five core features are what might be
called the substantive achievements of the
Constitution. However, there were also some
procedural achievements.
First, the Indian Constitution reflects a faith
in political deliberation. We know that many
groups and interests were not adequately
represented in the Constituent Assembly. But
the debates in the Assembly amply show that
the makers of the Constitution wanted to be
as inclusive in their approach as possible. This
open-endedness indicates the willingness of
people to modify their existing preferences, in
short, to justify outcomes by reference not to
self-interest but to reasons. It also shows a
willingness to recognise creative value in
difference and disagreement.
Second, it reflects a spirit of compromise and
accommodation. These words, compromise and
accommodation, should not always be seen
with disapproval. Not all compromises are bad.
If something of value is traded off for mere self-
interest, then we naturally have compromised in
the bad sense. However, if one value is partially
traded off for another value, especially in an open
process of free deliberation among equals, then the
compromise arrived in this manner can hardly be
objected to. We max lament that we could not have
everything but to secure a bit of all things
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important cannot be morally blameworthy. Besides,
a commitment to the idea that decisions on the
most important issues must be arrived at
consenua1ly rather than by majority vote is equally
morally commendable.
The Preamble of the Constitution reads like a
poem on democracy. It contains the philosophy
on which the entire Constitution has been built.
It provides a standard to examine and evaluate
any law and action of government, to find out
whether it is good or bad. It is the soul of the
Indian Constitution.
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly
resolved to constitute India a SOVEREIGN,
SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCARATIC
REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and
worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to
promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the
individual and the unity and integrity of the
nation; IN OUR CONSTITUTENT ASSEMBLY
this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do
HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AN? ?IVE TO
OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
WE, THE PEOPLE O INDIA
The constitution has been drawn up and
enacted by the people through their
representatives, and not handed down to them
by a king or any outside powers.
SOVEREIGN
People have supreme right to make decisions
on internal as well as external matters. No
external power can dictate the government of
India.
SOCIALIST
Wealth is generated socially and should be
shared equally by society. Government should
regulate the ownership of land and industry
to reduce socio-economic inequalities.
SECULAR
Citizens have complete freedom to follow any
religion. But there is no official religion.
Government treats all religious beliefs and
practices with equal respect.
DEMOCRATIC
A form of government where people enjoy equal
political rights, elect their rulers and hold
them accountable. The government is run
according to some basic rules.
REPUBLIC
The head of the state is an elected person and
not a hereditary position.
JUSTICE
Citizens cannot l discriminated on the grounds
of caste, religion and gender. Social
inequalities have to be reduced. Government
should work for the welfare of all, especially of
the disadvantaged groups.
LIBERTY
There are no unreasonable restrictions on the
citizens in what they think, how they wish to
express their thoughts and the way, they wish
to follow up their thoughts in action.
EQULITY
All are equal before the law. The traditional
social inequalities have to be ended. The
government should ensure equal opportunity
for all.
FRATERNITY
All of us should behave as if we are members
of the same family. No one should treat a fellow
citizen as inferior.
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During our freedom struggle, the leaders of the
freedom movement had realised the importance
of rights and demanded that the British rulers
should respect rights of the people. The Motilal
Nehru committee had. demanded bill of rights as
far as back as in 1928. It was therefore, natural
that when India became independent and the
Constitution was being prepared, there were no
two opinions on the inclusion and protection of
rights in the Constitution. The Constitution listed
the rights that would be specially protected and
called them fundamental rights.
The word fundamental suggests that these
rights are so important that the Constitution has
separately listed them and made special provisions
for their protection. The Fundamental Rights are
so important that the Constitution itself ensures
that they are not violated by the government.
Fundamental Rights are different from other
rights available to us. While ordinary legal rights
are protected and enforced by ordinary law,
Fundamental Rights are protected and guaranteed
by the constitution of the country. Ordinary rights
may be changed by the legislature by ordinary
process of law making, but a fundamental right
may only be changed by amending the Constitution
itself. Besides this, no organ of the government
can act in a manner that violates them. Judiciary
has the powers and responsibility to protect the
fundamental rights from violations by actions of
the government. Executive as well as legislative
actions can be declared illegal by the judiciary if
these violate the fundamental rights or restrict
them in an unreasonable manner. However,
fundamental rights are not absolute or unlimited
rights. Government can put reasonable
restrictions on the exercise of our fundamental
rights.
Right to Equality:
It provides for equal access to public places like
shops, hotels, places of entertainment, wells,
bathing ghats and places of worship. There cannot
Right to Equality Right to liberty and Personal freedoms Right to:
Equality before law Speech and expression
Equal protection of laws Assemble peacefully
Prohibition on discrimination on ground Form association
of religion Move freely throughout the territory of India
Equal access to shops, bathing ghats, Reside and settle in any part of India
hotels etc. Practice any profession or to carry on any
Equality of opportunity in employment occupation, trade or business.
Abolition of titles Right to life and liberty;
Abolition of untouchability Rights of the accused and convicts
Right to freedom of religion Cultural and educational Rights of
minority groups
Freedom of conscience and profession; Protection of language, culture of minorities;
Freedom to manage religious affairs; Right of minorities to
freedom to give religious instructions in educational institutions
certain institutions Right to Constitutional remedy
Right against exploitation Right to move the courts for issuance of writs
Prohibition of forced labour;
Prohibition of employment of children
in hazardous jobs
GIST OF N.C.E.R.T
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE
INDIAN CONSTITUTION
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be any discrimination in this access on the basis
of caste, creed, colour, sex, religion, or place of
birth. It also prohibits any discrimination in public
employment on any of the above mentioned basis.
This right is very important because our society
did not practice equal access in the past.
The practice of untouchability is one of the
crudest manifestations of inequality. This has
been abolished under the right to equality. The
same right also provides that the state shall confer
no title on a person except those who excel
themselves in military or academic field. Thus
right to equality strives to make India a true
democracy by ensuring a sense of equality of
dignity and status among all its citizens.
Read the Preamble to our Constitution? You
will find that the Preamble mentions two things
about equality: equality of status and equality of
opportunity. Equality of opportunity means that all
sections of the society enjoy equal opportunities.
But in a society where there are various kinds of
social inequalities, what does equal opportunity
mean? The Constitution clarifies that the
government can implement special schemes and
measures for improving the conditions of certain
sections of society: children, women, and the
socially and educationally backward classes. You
may have heard about reservations in jobs, and
in admissions. You would have wondered why there
are reservations if we follow the principle of
equality. in fact Article 16(4) of the constitution
explicitly clarifies that a policy like reservation will
not be seen as a violation of right to equality. If
you see the spirit of the Constitution, this is
required for the fulfilment of the right to equality
of opportunity.
Article 16 (4): Nothing in this article shall
prevent the State from making any
provision for the reservation of
appointments or posts in favour of any
backward class of citizens which, in the
opinion of the State, is not adequately
represented in the services under the
State.
RIGHT TO FREEDOM
Equality and freedom liberty, are the two rights
that are most essential to a democracy. It is not
possible to think of the one without thinking of
the other. Liberty means freedom of thought,
expression and action. However it does not mean
freedom to do anything that one desires or likes. If
that were to be permitted then a large number of
people will not be able to enjoy their freedom.
Therefore, freedoms are defined in such a manner
that every person will enjoy her freedom without
threatening freedom of others and without
endangering the law and order situation.
Article 21: Protection of life and personal
libertyNo person shall be deprived of his
life or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law.
Right to life and personal liberty
The foremost right among rights to freedom is
the right to life and personal liberty. No citizen can
be denied his or her life except by procedure as
laid down under the law. Similarly no one can be
denied his/her personal liberty. That means no
one can be arrested without being told the grounds
for such an arrest. If arrested, the person has the
right to defend himself by a lawyer of his choice.
Also, it is mandatory for the police to take that
person to the nearest magistrate within 24 hours.
The magistrate, who is not part of the police, will
decide whether the arrest is justified or not.
This right is not just confined to a guarantee
against taking away of an individuals life but has
wider application. Various judgments of Supreme
Court have expanded the scope of this right. The
Supreme Court has ruled that this right also
includes right to live with human dignity, free from
exploitation. The court has held that right to
shelter and livelihood is also included in the right
to life because no person can live without the
means of living, that is, the means of livelihood.
Preventive detention
Ordinarily, a person would be arrested after he
or she has reportedly committed some offence.
However there are exceptions to this. Sometimes
a person can be arrested simply out of an
apprehension that he or she is likely to engage in
unlawful activity and imprisoned for some time
without following the above mentioned procedure.
This is known as preventive detention. It means
that if the government feels that a person can be a
threat to law and order or to the peace and security
of the nation, it can detain or arrest that person.
This preventive detention can be extended only
for three months. After three months such a case
is brought before an advisory board for review.
On the face of it, preventive detention looks
like an effective tool in the hands of the
government to deal with anti-social elements or
subversives. But this provision has often been
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misused by the government. Many people think
that there must be greater safeguards in this law
so that it may not be misused against people for
reasons other than that which are really justified.
In fact, there is a clear tension between right to
life and personal liberty and the provision for
preventive detention.
Other freedoms: You can see that under the
right to freedom there are some other rights as
well. These rights however are not absolute. Each
of these is subject to restrictions imposed by the
government.
For example right to freedom of speech and
expression is subject to restrictions such as public
order, peace and morality etc. Freedom to assemble
too is to be exercised peacefully and without arms.
The government may impose restrictions in certain
areas declaring the assembly of five or more
persons as unlawful. Such powers can be easily
misused by the administration. The genuine
protest against an act or policy of government by
the people may be denied permission. However, if
the people are aware and vigilant in regard to their
rights and choose to protest against such acts of
administration such misuse becomes rare. In the
Constituent Assembly itself, some members had
expressed their dissatisfaction about restrictions
on rights.
Rights of accused
Our Constitution ensures that persons accused
of various offences would also get sufficient
protection. We often tend to believe that anyone
who is charged with some offence is guilty.
However, no one is guilty unless the court has
found that person guilty of an offence. It is also
necessary that a person accused of any crime
should get adequate opportunity to defend herself
or himself. To ensure a fair trial in courts, the
Constitution has provided three rights:
no person would punished for the same offence
more than once,
no law shall declare any action as illegal from
a backdate, and
no person shall be asked to give evidence
against himself or herself.
RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOITATION
In our country there are millions of people who
are underprivileged and deprived. They may be
subjected to exploitation by their fellow human
beings. One such form of exploitation in our
country has been begar or forced labour without
payment. Another closely related form of
exploitation is buying and selling of human beings
and using them as slaves. Both of these are
prohibited under the Constitution. Forced labour
was imposed by landlords, money lenders and other
wealthy persons in the past. Some form of bonded
labour still continues in the country, specially in
brick kiln work. It has now been declared a crime
and it is punishable.
The Constitution also forbids employment of
children below the age of 14 years in dangerous
jobs like factories and mines. With child labour
being made illegal and right to education becoming
a fundamental right for children, this right against
exploitation has become more meaningful.
RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION
According to our Constitution, everyone enjoys
the right to follow the religion of his or her choice.
This freedom is considered as a hallmark of
democracy. Historically, there were rulers and
emperors in different parts of the world who did
not allow residents of their countries to enjoy the
right to freedom of religion. Persons following a
religion different from that of the ruler were either
persecuted or forced to convert to the official
religion of the rulers. Therefore, democracy has
always incorporated the freedom to follow the
religion of ones choice as one of its basic principle.
Freedom of faith and worship
In India, everyone is free to choose a religion
and practice that religion. Freedom of religion also
includes the freedom of conscience. This means
that a person may choose any religion or may
choose not to follow any religion. Freedom of
religion includes the freedom to profess, follow and
propagate any religion. Freedom of religion is
subject to certain limitations. The government can
impose restrictions on the practice of freedom of
religion in order to protect public order, morality
and health. This means that the freedom of
religion is not an unlimited right. The government
can interfere in religious matters for rooting out
certain social evils. For example in the past, the
government has taken steps banning practices like
sati, bigamy or human sacrifice. Such restrictions
cannot be opposed in the name of interference in
right to freedom of religion.
The limitations on the right to freedom of
religion always produce tensions between followers
of various religions and the government. When the
government seeks to restrict some activities of any
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religious group, people of that religion feel that this
is interference in their religion.
Freedom of religion becomes a matter of
political controversy for yet another reason. The
Constitution has guaranteed the right to propagate
ones religion. This includes persuading people to
convert from one religion to another. However,
some people resent conversions on the ground that
these are based on intimidation or inducement.
The Constitution does not allow forcible
conversions. It only gives us the right to spread
information about our religion and thus attract
others to it.
Equality of all religions
Being a country which is home to several
religions, it is necessary that the government must
extend equal treatment to different religions.
Negatively, it means that government will not
favour any particular religion. India does not have
any official religion. We dont have to belong to any
particular religion in order to be a prime minister
or president or judge or any other public official.
We have also seen that under the right to equality,
there is a guarantee that government will not
discriminate on the basis of religion in giving
employment. The institutions run by the state will
not preach any religion or give religious education
nor will they favour persons of any religion. The
objective of these provisions is to sustain and
nurture the principle of secularism.
CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS
When we talk of the Indian society, the image
of diversity comes before our minds. India is not
made up of a monolithic society. We are a society
that has vast diversity. In such a society that is
full of diversity, there would be social sections
which are small in numbers compared to some
other groups.
Our Constitution believes that diversity is our
strength. Therefore, one of the fundamental rights
is the right of the minorities to maintain their
culture. This minority status is not dependent only
upon religion. Linguistic and cultural minorities
are also included in this provision. Minorities are
groups that have common language or religion and
in a particular part of the country or in the country
as a whole, they are outnumbered by some other
social section. Such communities have a culture,
language and a script of their own, and have the
right to conserve and develop these.
All minorities, religious or linguistic, can set
up their own educational institutions. By doing so,
they can preserve and develop their own culture.
The government will not, while granting aid to
educational institutions, discriminate against any
educational institution on the basis that it is under
the management of minority community.
RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES
One would agree that our Constitution contains
a very impressive list of Fundamental Rights. But
merely writing down a list of rights is not enough.
There has to be a way through which they could be
realised in practice and defended against any
attack on these rights.
Fundamental Duties of citizens
In 1976, the 42nd amendment to the
Constitution was passed. Among other
things, this amendment inserted a list of
Fundamental Duties of Citizens. In all, ten
duties were enumerated. However, the
Constitution does not say anything about
enforcing these duties.
As citizens, we must abide by the
Constitution, defend our country, promote
harmony among all citizens, protect the
environment.
However, it must be noted that our
Constitution does not make the enjoyment
of rights dependent or conditional upon
fulfilment of duties. in this sense, the
inclusion of fundamental duties has not
changed the status of our fundamental
rights.
Right to constitutional remedies is the means
through which this is to be achieved. Dr. Ambedkar
considered the right to constitutional remedies as
heart and soul of the constitution, It is so because
this right gives a citizen the right to approach a
High Court or the Supreme Court to get any of the
fundamental rights restored in case of their
violation. The Supreme Court and the High Courts
can issue orders and give directives to the
government for the enforcement of rights.
The courts can issue various special orders
known as writs.
Habeas corpus: A writ of habeas corpus means
that the court orders that the arrested person
should be presented before it. It can also order to
set free an arrested person if the manner or
grounds of arrest are not lawful or satisfactory.
Mandamus: This writ is issued when the court
finds that a particular office holder is not doing
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legal duty and thereby is infringing on the right of
an individual.
Prohibition: This writ is issued by a higher
court (High Court or Supreme Court) when a lower
court has considered a case going beyond its
jurisdiction.
Quo Warranto: If the court finds that a person
is holding office but is not entitled to hold that
office, it issues the writ of quo warranto and
restricts that person from acting as an office holder.
Certiorari: Under this writ, the court orders a
lower court or another authority to transfer a
matter pending before it to the higher authority or
court.
Apart from the judiciary, many other
mechanisms have been created in later years for
the protection of rights. You may have heard about
the National Commission on Minorities, the
National Commission on Women, the National
Commission on Scheduled Castes, etc. These
institutions protect the rights of women,
minorities or Dalits. Besides, the National Human
Rights Commission has also been established by
law to protect the fundamental and other kinds of
rights.
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY
The makers of our Constitution knew that
independent India was going to face many
challenges. Foremost among these was the
challenge to bring about equality and well-being of
all citizens. They also thought, that certain policy
direction was required for handling these problems.
At the same time, the Constitution did not want
future governments to be bound by certain policy
decisions.
Therefore, some guidelines were incorporated
in the Constitution but they were not made legally
enforceable: this means that if a government did
not implement a particular guideline, we cannot
go to the court asking the court to instruct the
government to implement that policy. Thus, these
guidelines are nonjusticiable i.e., parts of the
Constitution that cannot be enforced by the
judiciary Those who framed our Constitution
thought that the moral force behind these
guidelines would ensure that the government would
take them seriously. Besides, they expected that
the people would also hold the governments
responsible for implementing these directives. So,
a separate list of policy guidelines is included in
the Constitution. The list of these guidelines is
called the Directive Principles of State Policy.
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES
Goals
Welfare of the people; Social, economic and
political justice;
Raising the standard of living; equitable
distribution of resources;
promotion of international peace
Policies
Uniform civil code; Prohibition of consumption
of alcoholic liquor;
Promotion of cottage industries;
Prevention of slaughter of useful cattle;
Promotion of village panchayats.
Non-justiciable rights
Adequate livelihood equal pay for equal work (for
men and women)
Right against economic Exploitation. Right to
work;
Right of children to free and compulsory
education
What do the Directive Principles contain?
The chapter on Directive Principles lists mainly
three things:
the goals and objectives that we as a society
should adopt;
certain rights that individuals should enjoy
apart from the Fundamental Rights; and
certain policies that the government should
adopt.
You may get some idea of the vision of makers
of our Constitution by looking at some of the
Directive Principles shown below.
The governments from time to time tried to
give effect to some Directive Principles of State
Policy. They passed several zamindari abolition
bills, nationalised banks, enacted numerous
factory laws, fixed minimum wages, cottage and
small industries were promoted and provisions for
reservation for the uplift of the scheduled castes
and scheduled tribes were made. Such efforts to
give effect to the Directive Principles include the
right to education, formation of panchayati raj
institutions all over the country, partial right to
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work under employment guarantee programme
and the mid-day meal scheme etc.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES
It is possible to see both Fundamental Rights
and Directive Principles as complementary to each
other. Fundamental Rights restrain the
government from doing certain things while
Directive Principles exhort the government to do
certain things. Fundamental Rights mainly protect
the rights of individuals while directive principles
ensure the well-being of the entire society.
However, at times, when government intends
to implement Directive Principles of State Policy,
it can come in conflict with the Fundamental
Rights of the citizen.
This problem arose when the government
sought to pass laws to abolish zamindari system.
These measures were opposed on the ground that
they violated right to property. However, keeping
in mind the societal needs that are greater than
the individual interests, the government amended
the Constitution to give effect to the Directive
Principles of State Policy. This led to a long legal
battle. The executive and the judiciary took
different positions. The government claimed that
rights can be abridged for giving effect to Directive
Principles. This argument assumed that rights
were a hindrance to welfare of the people. On the
other hand, the court held the view that
Fundamental Rights were so important and sacred
that they cannot be limited even for purposes of
implementing Directive Principles.
Right to Property
Behind the controversy about the relationship
between rights and directive principles, there
was one important reason: in the Constitution,
originally, there was a fundamental right to
acquire, possess and maintain property. But
the Constitution made it clear that property
could be taken away by the government for
public welfare. Since 1950, government made
many laws that limited this right to property.
This right was at the centre of the long debate
over the relationship between rights and
directive principles. Finally, in 1973, the
Supreme Court gave a decision that the right
to property was not part of the basic structure
of the Constitution and therefore, parliament
had power to abridge this right by an
amendment. In 1978, the 44th amendment to
the Constitution removed the right to property
from the list of Fundamental Rights and
converted it into a simple legal right under.
article 300 A.
This generated another complicated debate.
This related to the amendment of the Constitution.
The government was saying that Parliament can
amend any part of the Constitution. The court was
saying that Parliament cannot make an
amendment that violated Fundamental Rights.
This controversy was settled by an important
decision of the Supreme Court in Kesavananda
Bharati case. In this case, the court said that there
are certain basic features of the Constitution and
these cannot be changed by Parliament.
Conclusion
In the writings of Jotirao Phuley (1827-1890),
a radical social reformer from Maharashtra, we find
one of the earliest expressions of the view that
rights include both freedom and equality. During
the national movement, this idea of rights was
further sharpened and expanded to constitutional
rights. Our Constitution reflected this long
tradition and listed the fundamental rights. Since
1950, the judiciary has functioned as an important
protector of rights. Judicial interpretations have
expanded the scope of rights in many respects. The
government and administration of our country
function within this overall framework. Rights
enforce limitations on the functioning of the
government and ensure democratic governance of
the country.
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EXECUTIVE
In any organisation, some office holder has to
take decisions and implement those decisions. We
call this activity administration or management.
But administration requires body at the top that
will take policy decisions or the big decisions and
supervise and coordinate the routine
administrative functioning. You may have heard
about the executives of bi companies, banks or
industrial units. Every formal group has a body of
those who function as the chief administrators or
the executives of that organisation. Some office
holders decide the policies and rules and
regulations and then some office holders
implement those decisions in actual day to-day
functioning of the organisation. The word executive
means a body of persons that look after the
implementation of rules and regulations in actual
practice.
In the case of government also, one body may
take policy decisions and decide about rules and
regulations, while the other one would be in charge
of implementing those rules. The organ
government that primarily looks after the function
of implementation and administration is called the
executive.
Executive is the branch of government
responsible for the implementation of laws an
policies adopted by the legislature. The executive
is often involved in framing of policy. The official
designations of the executive vary from country to
country. Some countries have presidents, while
others have chancellors. The executive branch is
not just about presidents, prime ministers and
ministers. It also extends to the administrative
machinery (civil servants). While the heads
government and their ministers, saddled with the
overall responsibility of government policy,
altogether known as the political executive, those
responsible for day to day administration a called
the permanent executive.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF
EXECUTIVE?
Every country may not have the same type of
executive. You may have heard about the President
of the USA and the Queen of England. But the
powers and functions of the President of the USA
are very different from the powers of the President
of India. Similarly, the powers of the Queen of
England are different from the powers of the King
of Nepal. Both India and France have prime
ministers, but their roles are different from each
other.
To answer this question we will briefly outline
the nature of executive existing in some of these
countries. The USA has a presidential system and
executive powers are in the hands of the president.
Canada has a parliamentary democracy with
constitutional m6narchy where Queen Elizabeth
II is the formal chief of state and the Prime
Minister is the head of government. In France, both
the president and the prime minister a part of the
semi presidential system. The president appoints

System based on the
principles of
collective leadership
System based on
individual
leadership
Parliamentary
Head of the
government is
usually
known
Minister.
He is the
leader of the
majority party
in Legislature.
He is account-
able to the
legislature.
The head of
the state may
be
Monarch
President
Semi
Presidential
system
Has the
President as
head of the
state.
Has a prime
minister as
head of the
government
PM and his
Council are
responsible to
legislature
Presidential
system
President is
Head of the
state.
He is also
the head of
the Govern-
ment.
The President
is usually
directly
elected by the
people.
He is not
accoutable to
legislature
Constitutional
Monarchy
Parlimentary
Republic
Ceremonial
Executive
GIST OF N.C.E.R.T
INDIA - LOCATION
GIST OF N.C.E.R.T
EXECUTIVE
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the prime minister as well as the ministers but
cannot dismiss them as they are responsible to
the parliament. Japan has a parliamentary system
with the Emperor as the head of the state and the
prime minister as the head of government. Italy
has a parliamentary system with the president as
the formal head of state and the prime minister
as the head of government. Russia has a semi-
presidential system where president is the head
of state and prime minister, who is appointed by
the president, is the head of government. Germany
has a parliamentary system in which president is
the ceremonial head of state and the chancellor is
the head of government. In a presidential system,
the president is the Head of state as well as head
of Government. In this system the office of
president is very powerful, both in theory and
practice. Countries with such a system include
the United States, Brazil and most nations in Latin
America.
In a parliamentary system, the prime minister
is the head of government. Most parliamentary
systems have a president or a monarch who is the
nominal Head of state. In such a system, the role
of president or monarch is primarily ceremonial
and prime minister along with the cabinet wields
effective power. Countries with such system
include Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom as
well as Portugal. A semi-presidential system has
both a president and a prime minister but unlike
the parliamentary system the president may
possess significant day-to-day powers. In this
system, it is possible that sometimes the president
and the prime minister may belong to the same
party and at times they may belong to two different
parties and thus, would be opposed to each other.
Countries with such a system include France,
Russia, Sri Lanka, etc.
PARLIAMENTARY EXECUTIVE IN INDIA
When the Constitution of India was written,
India already had some experience of running the
parliamentary system under the Acts of 1919 and
1935. This experience had shown that in the
parliamentary system, the executive can be
effectively controlled by the representatives of the
people. The makers of the Indian Constitution
wanted to ensure that the government would be
sensitive to public expectations and would be
responsible and accountable. The other alternative
to the parliamentary executive was the
presidential form of government. But the
presidential executive puts much emphasis on the
president as the chief executive and as source of
all executive power. There is always the danger of
personality cult in presidential executive. The
makers of the Indian Constitution wanted a
government that would have a strong executive
branch, but at the same time, enough safeguards
should be there to check against the personality
cult. In the parliamentary form there are many
mechanisms that ensure that the executive will
be answerable to and controlled by the legislature
or people's representatives. So the Constitution
adopted the parliamentary system of executive for
the governments both at the national and State
levels.
Power and position of President
Article 74 (1): There shall be a Council of
Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head
to aid and advise the President who shall in
the exercise of his functions, act in accordance
with such advice. Provided that the President
may require the Council of Ministers to
reconsider such advice and the President shall
act in accordance with the advice tendered
after such reconsideration.
According to this system, there is a President
who is the formal Head of the state of India and
the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers,
which run the government at the national level.
At the State level, the executive comprises the
Governor and the Chief Minister and Council of
Ministers. The Constitution of India vests the
executive power of the Union formally in the
President. In reality, the President exercises these
powers through the Council of Ministers headed
by the Prime Minister. The President is elected
for a period of five years. But there is no direct
election by the people for the office of President.
The President is elected indirectly. This means
that the president is elected not by the ordinary
citizens but by the elected MLAs and MPs. This
election takes place in accordance with the
principle of proportional representation with single
transferable vote.
The President can be removed from office only
by Parliament by following the procedure for
impeachment. The only ground for impeachment
is violation of the Constitution.
Do you know what the word shall means here?
It indicates that the advice is binding on the
President. In view of the controversy about the
scope of the Presidents powers, a specific mention
was made in the Constitution by an amendment
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that the advice of the Council of Ministers will be
binding on the President. By another amendment
made later, it was decided that the President can
ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its
advice but, has to accept the reconsidered advice
of the Council of Ministers.
We have already seen that President is the
formal head of the government. In this formal
sense, the President has wide ranging executive,
legislative, judicial and emergency powers. In a
parliamentary system, these powers are in reality
used by the President only on the advice of the
Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister and the
Council of Ministers have support of the majority
in the Lok Sabha and they are the real executive.
In most of the cases, the President has to follow
the advice of the Council of Ministers.
We did not give him any real power but we
have made his position one of authority and
dignity. The constitution wants to create
neither a real executive nor a mere figurehead,
but a head that neither reigns nor governs; it
wants to create a great figurehead...
Discretionary Powers of the President
The President has no discretionary power
under any circumstances? This will be an
incorrect assessment. Constitutionally, the
President has a right to be informed of all important
matters and deliberations of the Council of
Ministers. The Prime Minister is obliged to furnish
all the information that the President may call for.
The President often writes to the Prime Minister
and expresses his views on matters confronting
the country.
Presidents role in choosing the Prime
Minister
After 1977, party politics in India became more
competitive and there have been many
instances when no party had clear majority in
the Lok Sabha. What does the President do in
such situations? No political party or coalition
secured majority in the elections held in March
1998. The BJP and its allies secured 251 seats,
21 short of a majority. President Narayanan
adopted an elaborate procedure. He asked the
leader of the alliance, Atal Behari Vajpayee,
to furnish documents in support of his claim
from concerned political parties. Not stopping
at this the President also advised Vajpayee to
secure a vote of confidence within ten days of
being sworn in.
Besides this, there are at least three
situations where the President can exercise the
powers using his or her own discretion. In the first
place, we have already noted that the President
can send back the advice given by the Council of
Ministers and ask the Council to reconsider the
decision. In doing this, the President acts on his
(or her) own discretion. When the President thinks
that the advice has certain flaws or legal lacunae,
or that it is not in the best interests of the country,
the President can ask the Council to reconsider
the decision. Although, the Council can still send
back the same advice and the President would then
be - bound by that advice, such a request by the
President to reconsider the decision, would
naturally carry a lot of weight. So, this is one way
in which the president can act in his own
discretion.
Secondly, the President also has veto power by
which he can withhold or refuse to give assent to
Bills (other than Money Bill) passed by the
Parliament. Every bill passed by the Parliament
goes to the President for his assent before it
becomes a law. The President can send the bill
back to the Parliament asking it to reconsider the
bill. This veto power is limited because, if the
Parliament passes the same bill again and sends
it back to the President, then, the President has
to give assent to that bill. However, there is no
mention in the Constitution about the time limit
within which the President must send the bill back
for reconsideration. This means that the President
can just keep the bill pending with him without
ally tin limit This gives the President an informal
power to use the veto in a very effective manner
This is sometimes referred to as pocket veto.
We saw that there is no time limit on the
President for giving his assent to a bill. Do
you know that such a thing has already
happened? In 1986, the Parliament passed
a bill known as Indian Post office
(amendment) bill. This bill was widely
criticised by many for it sought to curtail
the freedom of the press. The then
President, Gyani Zail Singh, did not, take
any decision on this bill. After his term was
over, the next President, Venkataraman
sent the bill finally back to the Parliament
for reconsideration. By that time, the
government that brought the bill before the
Parliament had changed and a new
government was elected in 1989. This
government belonged to a different coalition
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and did not bring the bill back before the
Parliament. Thus, Zail Singhs decision to
postpone giving assent to the bill effectively
meant that the bill could never become a
law!
Then, the third kind of discretion arises more
out of political circumstances. Formally, the
President appoints the Prime Minister. Normally,
in the parliamentary system, a leader who has the
support of the majority in the Lok Sabha would be
appointed as Prime Minister and the question of
discretion would not arise. But imagine a situation
when after an election, no leader has a clear
majority in the Lok Sabha. Imagine further that
after attempts to forge alliances, two or three
leaders are claiming that they have the support of
the majority in the house. Now, the President has
to decide whom to appoint as the Prime Minister.
In such a situation, the President has to use his
own discretion in judging who really may have the
support of the majority or who can actually form
and run the government.
The Vice President of India
The Vice President is elected for five years.
His election method is similar to that of the
President, the only difference is that members
of State legislatures are not part of the electoral
college. The Vice President may be removed
from his office by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha
passed by a majority and agreed to by the Lok
Sabha. The Vice President acts as the ex-officio
considerably increased the importance of the
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and takes over
the office of the President when there is a
vacancy by reasons of death, resignation,
removal by impeachment or otherwise. The
Vice President only until a new President is
elected, B. D. Jatti acted as President on the
death of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed until a new
President was elected.
Since 1989 major political changes have
presidential office. In the four parliamentary
elections held from 1989 to 1998, no single party
or coalition attained a majority in the Lok acts as
the President Sabha. These situations demanded
presidential intervention either in order to
constitute, governments or to grant a request for
dissolution of Lok Sabha a Prime Minister who
could not prove majority in the House. It may thus
be said that presidential discretion is related to
political conditions. There is greater scope for
presidential assertiveness when governments are
not stable and coalitions occupy power.
For the most part, the President is a formal
power holder and a ceremonial head of the - nation.
You may wonder why then do we need a President?
In a parliamentary system, the Council of
Ministers is dependent on the support of the
majority in the legislature. This also means that
the Council of Ministers may be removed at any
time and a new Council of Ministers will have to
be put in place. Such a situation requires a Head
of the state who has a fixed term, who may be
empowered to appoint the Prime Minister and who
may symbolically represent the entire country.
This is exactly the role of the President in ordinary
circumstances. Besides, when no party has a clear
majority, the President has the additional
responsibility of making a choice and appointing
the Prime Minister to run the government of the
country.
Size of the Council of Ministers
Before the 91st Amendment Act (2003), the size
of the Council of Minister was determined
according to exigencies of time and
requirements of the situation. But this led to
very large size of the Council of Ministers.
Besides, when no party had a clear majority,
there was a temptation to win over the support
of the members of the Parliament by giving
them ministerial positions as there was no
restriction on the number of the members of
the Council of Ministers. This was happening
in many States also. Therefore, an amendment
was made that the Council of Ministers shall
not exceed 15 percent of total number of
members of the House of People (or Assembly
the case of the States).
PRIME MINISTER AND COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
No discussion of government or politics in
India, would normally take place without
mentioning one office: the Prime Minister of India.
The President exercises his powers only on the
advice of the Council of Ministers. The Council of
Ministers is headed by the Prime Minister.
Therefore, as head of the Council of Ministers, the
Prime Minister becomes the most important
functionary of the government in our country.
In the parliamentary form of executive, it is
essential that the Prime Minister has the support
of the majority in the Lok Sabha. This support by
the majority also makes the Prime Minister very
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powerful. The moment this support of the majority
is lost, the Prime Minister loses the office. For
many years after independence, the Congress party
had the majority in the Lok Sabha and its leader
would become the Prime Minister. Since 1989,
there have been many occasions when no party
had majority in the Lok Sabha. Various political
parties have come together and formed a coalition
that has majority in the House. In such situations,
a leader who is acceptable to most partners of the
coalition becomes the Prime Minister.
Formally, a leader who has the support of the
majority is appointed by the President as Prime
Minister. The Prime Minister then decides who
will be the ministers in the Council of Ministers.
The Prime Minister allocates ranks and portfolios
to the ministers. Depending upon the seniority
and political importance, the ministers are given
the ranks of cabinet minister, minister of State or
deputy minister. In the same manner, Chief
Ministers of the States choose ministers from their
own party or coalition. The Prime Minister and all
the ministers have to be members of the
Parliament. If someone becomes a minister or
Prime Minister without being an MP, such a person
has to get elected to the Parliament within six
months.
But remember that the most important feature
of parliamentary executive is that the executive
is routinely under the control and supervision of
the legislature.
The Council of Ministers is collectively
responsible to the Lok Sabha. This provision means
that a Ministry which loses confidence of the Lok
Sabha is obliged to resign. The principle indicates
that the ministry is an executive committee of the
Parliament and it collectively governs on behalf of
the Parliament. Collective responsibility is based
on the principle of the solidarity of the cabinet. It
implies that a vote of no confidence even against
a single minister leads to the resignation of the
entire Council of Ministers. It also indicates that
if a minister does not agree with a policy or decision
of the cabinet, he or she must either accept the
decision or resign. It is binding o all ministers to
pursue or agree to a policy for which there is
collective responsibility.
In India, the Prime Minister enjoys a pre-
eminent place in the government. The Council of
Ministers cannot exist without the Prime Minister.
The Council comes into existence only after the
Prime Minister has taken the oath of office. The
death or resignation of the. Prime Minister
automatically brings about the dissolution of the
demise, dismissal or resignation of a minister only
creates a ministerial vacancy. The Prime Minister
acts as a link between the Council of Ministers on
the one hand and the President as well as the
Parliament on the other. It is this role of the Prime
Minister which led Pt. Nehru to describe him as
he linchpin of Government . It is also the
constitutional obligation the Prime Minister to
communicate to the President all decisions of the
Council of Ministers relating to the administration
of the affairs of the Union and proposals for
legislation. The Prime Minister is involved in all
crucial decisions of the government and decides
on the policies of the government.
Thus, the power wielded by the Prime Minister
flows from various sources: control over the Council
of Ministers, leadership of the Lok Sabha,
command over the bureaucratic machine, access
to media, projection of personalities during
elections, projection as national leader during
international summitry as well as foreign visits.
However, the power which the Prime Minister
wields and actually puts into use depends upon the
prevailing political conditions. The position of the
Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has been
unassailable whenever a single political party has
secured majority in the Lok Sabha. However, this
has not been the case when governments have
been led by coalitions of political parties. Since
1989, we have witnessed many coalition
governments in India. Many of these governments
could not remain in power for the full term of the
Lok Sabha. They were either removed or they
resigned due to loss of support of the majority. These
developments have affected the working of the
parliamentary executive.
In the first place, these developments have
resulted in a growing discretionary role of the
President in the selection of Prime Ministers.
Secondly, the coalitional nature of Indian politics
in this period has necessitated much more
consultation between political partners, leading to
erosion of prime ministerial authority. Thirdly, it
has also brought restrictions on various
prerogatives of the Prime Minister like choosing
the ministers and deciding their ranks and
portfolios, Fourthly, even the policies and
programmes of the government cannot be decided
by the Prime Minister alone. Political parties of
different ideologies come together both as pre-poll
and post-poll allies to form a government. Policies
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are framed after a lot of negotiations and
compromises among the allies. In this entire
process, the Prime Minister has to act more as a
negotiator than as leader of the government.
At the State level, a similar parliamentary
executive exists, though with some variations. The
most important variation is that there is a
Governor of the State appointed by the President
(on the advice of the central government). Though
the Chief Minister, like the Prime Minister is the
leader of the majority party in the Assembly, the
Governor has more discretionary powers. However,
the main principles of parliamentary system
operate at the State level too.

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