Political Science

Paper- V

Indian Government and Politics:

Basics / Political Ideologies/ Nation Building

Author

Dr. Jayanta Kumar Dash

&

Dr. Ratnaprava Barik

Edited By

Prof. Amareswar Mishra

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 Detailed Syllabus

Unit-I

Indian government and politics: basics Nation­Building in India: Theoretical, Historical,

Cultural perspective, National Movements in India.

Unit-II

Making of the Indian Constitution: The Constituent Assembly ­ Background,

Composition, Nature and its working, Ideological Contents: Preamble, fundamental Rights
and Directive Principles of State Policy.

Unit-III

Distinctiveness of Indian Secularism, Constitution as an instrument of social change:

Constitutional Amendments.

Unit-IV

Federalism and its working: Nature, the Areas of Tension in Centre­State relations,
Demands for State Autonomy, Separatist Movements.

Unit-V

Executive and Central Administration: President, Prime Minister, and council of ministers,
Union Territories: Administration, Critical Appreciation.

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 UNIT-I

1.0: Objectives

1.1: Introduction

1.2: Definition of Nation Building

1.3: Mechanisms of Nation Building

1.4: Nation Building: A Historical Overview

1.4.1: Nation Building: A traditional, pre­modern state point of view

1.4.2: Nation Building: Nationalist, and Modernist and imaginist Schools of Thought

1.4.3: Nation Building: As a Recent phenomena

1.4.4: War and Nation Building

1.5: Nation and state

1.6: Aspects of Effective Nation­Building

1.7: The process of Nation­Building in India: An overview

1.7.1: India and its Nationhood

1.7.2: Cultural Perspective of Nation building in India

1.7.3: Steps of failure of Nation­Building in India

1.7.4: Hindrances of Nation­Building in India

1.8: United Nations: The role of Nation Building

1.9: Summary

1.10: Possible Questions

1.11: Further Readings

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“There cannot be firmly established political state unless there is a teaching body with
definitely recognized principles. If the child is not taught from infancy that he ought to be a
republican or a monarchist, a Catholic or a free-thinker, the state will not constitute a
nation; it will rest on uncertain and shifting foundations; and it will be constantly exposed to
disorder and change” Napoleon I

1.0: Objectives

The unit aims to introduce theoretical, historical and cultural perspectives of nation­
building along with the national movements in India which helped and stimulated the
process of Nation­building in the country as a whole.

After going through this unit, you will be able to

 Enlighten the meaning, definition and factors of Nation­building.

 Deliberate the theoretical concept of Nation­ building from different schools of
thought.
 Generalize the cultural and historical process of the Nation Building.

1.1: Introduction

Nation­building is one of the important aspect of a Nation. It is a process of uniting the

people of the state into a well­functioning, good governing, well­dignified and unified
nation. It builds in the state through the state of power with the political, social,
economic, and cultural institutions. It inculcates the emotional unity of the people. It
creates an enthusiasm among the people to participate in the process of modernization,
development and socio­economic reconstruction of a nation. It creates a spirit of
nationalism among the people of a nation. It always tries to unite the free people to give
their efforts to develop a new egalitarian society with the high altitude of social,
economic, political and emotional development in the era of Modernization,

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Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization. It is a great challenge before each Nation
to build the nation on the basis of identity, formation, culture etc. Nation Building refers
the phase that is ‘How to construct and restructure the identity of a Nation by using the
power of the state’. Nation the word binds all the people in the single thread not only to
form a state but also to find the process by which the nation states came into existence.
Nation builders are those members of a state who take the initiative to develop the
national community through government programmes, including military conscription
and national content mass schooling. Nation­building can involve the use of propaganda
or major infrastructure development to foster social harmony and economic growth.

Nation Building is a process of building the following:

(a)State Building
(b)People Building
(c) Democracy Building
(d) Citizen Building
(e) Economy Building
(f) Social Building
(g) Government Building

It is a process which focusses on the Nation States as well as true Nation States; people as
well as well­organized, well defined and well­ focused people; society as well as
democratic and developed society and so on. It not only tends the people of a nation but
also emphasizes on the legitimate role of the political system in fulfilling the demands
and need of the people. It also stretches the power of the political systems by making
them autonomous bodies. It implies the arrangement of a large number of individuals
from the middle and lower classes linked to regional centers and leading social groups,
by channel of social communications and economic intercourse. It involves the blend of
integration of masses and the elite class.

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Nation Building refers to a process of exercising the people in to a nation committed to
all old­fashioned, indigenous allegiances, arrangements and power systems to one
overriding loyalty to the nation, the motherland and to the authority of the state. All want
to see their nation stand prosperous and proud. The question is ‘how is it going to
happen?’ Building a nation may not mean to develop ‘infrastructure and material’ by the
government for people in order to improve trade and technology or to encourage arts and
culture to flourish using government funds etc. Nation Building is something humanistic
development along with all these materialistic progress. Building a nation is certainly not
by members of the ruling party in Government 'learning new technologies' by going on
foreign trips. All these are products of the peculiar brand of socialism that we have
followed in our country since Independence. From the individualistic ground of none is
blamed or cursed for the development of a nation. Let's not blame Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru entirely for this state, a great wave of acceptance sweeped across the country when
Nehru announced his 'Five Year Plans' and other incentives for industry, agriculture and
trade. People were ready for progress, they didn't care in which form it came, they didn't
care from whose pockets the money flowed. It is that altruist morality that has landed us
here today. From the ground of a businessman, the Nation Building is something
individualistic. The central question is ‘What does a 'man of business' do in this country
today? By this, it broadly refers to anyone who has something creative to offer. Such men
of business today are too busy to see all this, they are busy waiting to jump off their
office balcony, twist their necks, crawl on their bellies and lick boots to get 'documents
passed' or 'projects cleared'. They are willing to 'pay' bribes, run errands, wait years 'for
the next government to come' to get things going. Our businessmen are willing to work
under any system as long as they are free to make a little profit. They are willing to listen
to environmentalists, charlatans, soothsayers, yoga therapists, hi­tech consultancy
agencies about matters of business policy. They are ready to shake hands with the worst
of their enemies to gain political pull. They are willing to sponsor civic amenities like
road blocks, dividers, traffic signals, pavements and are willing to forego the costs,
satisfied with their logo being brandished on these 'civic amenities'.

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1.2: Definition of Nation Building

Nation Building is process of developing a developed nation through collective, united

and systematized efforts. Modern nation­building refers to the efforts taken by the
newly independent nations, to redefine the populace of territories that had been carved
out by colonial powers or empires without regard to ethnic, religious, or other boundaries
Nation­building includes the creation of national equipment such as flags, anthems,
national days, national stadiums, national airlines, national languages, and national
myths. At a deeper level, national identity needed to be deliberately constructed by
molding different ethnic groups into a nation, especially since in many newly established
states colonial practices of divide and rule had resulted in ethnically heterogeneous
populations.

“Nation Building and Nation formation is the broad process through which Nations come
into being. Nation­building wishes at the association of the people within the state and
tries to bring a politically stable and practicable state with a long existence”.
Paul James

“Nation Building and Legitimate authority in modern national states are connected to
popular rule, to majorities. Nation­building is the process through which these majorities
are constructed”. Harris
Mylonas

“Nation Building is broad spectrum and wide ranging process, which begins after the
creation of a nation state so as to make it viable, cohesive, and well­organized,
authomous and widely acceptable entity”. Myron Weiner

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 “A nation is not defined by its borders or the boundaries of its land mass Rather, a nation
is defined by adverse people who have been unified by a cause and a value system and
who are committed to a vision for the type of society they wish to live in and give to the
future generations to come.” Fela
Durotoye
“A nation that craves for development and a stronger union should carry everyone along
irrespective of language, colour, race, creed, ethnic diversity, religion, cultural values or
sexual orientation. In essence, the country in question should practice an equitable
distribution of wealth, equal opportunities and procrustean development where every
individual will see each other as equal more so where no ethnic, race or group of persons
should see the country as patrimony or 'born to rule syndrome.”
Lucas Anuforo

“No nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the
men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men.
There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a
great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both,
that of the women.”
Muhammad Ali Jinnah

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm
basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That
they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I
reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
Thomas Jefferson

1.3: Mechanisms of Nation Building

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The mechanisms of nation building are the indicators for judging the progress of the
process of nation building in a state. The vital mechanisms of Nation Building are

(a) Support of the people­ Nation Building is made through the constant and
enthusiastic provision of the people to the community, the administration and the
power holders.

(b) Leader­ A Nation is built under the vigilant guidance of the leader. A committed,
devoted and dedicated national leader is only able to build a vibrant nation.

(b) Goals and Co-operation of the people­ Nation building is meant for achieving the
national’s goals, objectives and cooperation and coordination among the peoples of
the nation.
(c) Respect for national symbols­ Nation building teaches the peoples of the nation to
respect for their nationals symbols like National Flag, National Anthem, etc.

(d) Territorial Integrity- Nation building is based on the principle of territorial

integration not only among the states but among the nation­states.

(e) National priority and National identity- Identity is the national priority of a nation.
A nation aims to preserve national identity, unity and integrity. So national identity is
a major component of a nation.

(f) Public literacy and freedom- Nation Building aims to establish a high level of
public literacy and freedom from orthodoxism, radicalism, parochialism and
conventionalism etc.

(g) Instrument of Nation building ­ The qualities and commitments of intellectual elite
of the society towards the goals adopted by the nation, the existence of the class of

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 academic elites free from cast, communal and religious barriers always acting as a big
instrument of nation building.

(h) Role of the fourth pillar of Democracy- Mass media is the fourth pillar of
democracy which is very alert, active and an effective instrument of political
socialization, modernization and development.

(i) Nation Building as discipline­ Nation Building is a process and consistent march
towards economic growth, political development and social justice. It works as a
discipline in the nation.

(j) Nation Building as a process of development- Nation Building aims in bringing

development of national participants, developed and civic political culture.
Development consistently goes on like nation building.

(k) Effective state controlled mechanism – A nation is built with the development of
effective, efficient and systematic state control mechanisms. A nation can be better
constructed with better constructive mechanisms.

(l) National integration- The thing which binds the people of a nation in one thread, one
nation is the national integration. It is an emotional and psychological feeling which
binds the people of a nation in one bond and tends towards development of a nation.
A high level national integration builds a strong and united Nation.

1.4: Nation Building: A Historical Overview

The word ‘nation­building’ originated into craze among traditionally oriented political
scientists in the 1950s and 1960s. Its main protagonists incorporates the leaders of the
American academic community like Karl Deutsch, Charles Tilly, and Reinhard Bendix.
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Ernest Renan’s famous question ‘what is a nation?’ in his lecture at Sorbonne in 1887, marks
the beginning of the academic debate on nations and nationalism, which continues to this
day. Nation­building philosophy was predominantly used to describe the processes of
national integration and consolidation that led up to the establishment of the modern nation
state as distinct from various form of traditional states, such as feudal and dynastic states,
church states, empires, etc. “Nation­building” is an architectural representation which,
strictly speaking, implies the existence of consciously acting agents such as architects,
engineers, carpenters, and the like. For the political scientists, the word covers not only
conscious strategies initiated by state leaders but also unplanned societal change. The
‘nation­building’ is for political science what “industrialization” is to social economy, an
indispensable tool for detecting, describing and analyzing the instruction of historical and
sociological dynamics that have produced the modern state. The traditional, pre­modern state
was made up of isolated communities with parochial cultures at the “bottom” of society and
a distant, and aloof, state structure at “the top,” largely content with collecting taxes and
keeping order. Through nation­building these two spheres were brought into more intimate
contact with each other. Members of the local communities were drawn upwards into the
larger society through education and political participation. The state authorities, in turn,
expanded their demands and obligations towards the members of society by offering a wide
array of services and in­tegrative social networks. The subjects of the monarch were
gradually and imperceptibly turned into citizens of the nation­state. Substate cultures and
loyalties either vanished or lost their political importance, superseded by loyalties toward the
larger entity, the state. Oyvind Osterud, in the concept of ‘nation­building’, said political
science is what ‘industrialization' is to social economy: an indispensable tool for detecting,
describing and analyzing the macro historical and sociological dynamics that have produced
the modern state.

1.4.1: Nation Building: A traditional, pre-modern state point of view

The traditional, pre­modern state was made up of isolated communities with parochial
cultures at the ‘bottom’ of society and a distant, and aloof, state structure at ‘the top, largely

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content with collecting taxes and keeping order. Through nation­building these two spheres
were brought into more intimate contact with each other. Members of the local communities
were drawn upwards into the larger society through education and political participation. The
state authorities, in turn, expanded their demands and obligations towards the members of
society by offering a wide array of services and integrative social networks. The subjects of
the monarch were gradually and imperceptibly turned into citizens of the nation­state. Sub­
state cultures and loyalties either vanished or lost their political importance, superseded by
loyalties toward the larger entity, the state. Stein Rokkan‘s model saw nation­building as
consisting of four analytically distinct aspects. In Western Europe these as­pects had usually
followed each other in more or less the same order. Subsequently, they could be regarded not
only as aspects but also as phases of nation­building.

The first phase ensued in economic and cultural unification at the elitist level. The second
phase brought ever larger sectors of the masses into the system through conscription into the
army, enrollment in compulsory schools, etc. The burgeoning mass media created channels
for direct contact between the central elites and periphery populations and generated
widespread feelings of identity with the political system at large. In the third phase, the
subject masses were brought into active participation in the workings of the territorial
political system. Finally, in the last stage the administrative apparatus of the state expanded.
Public welfare services were established and nation­wide policies for the equalization of
economic conditions were designed. In the oldest nation­states of Europe, along the Atlantic
rim, the earliest stage of these processes commenced in the Middle Ages and lasted until the
French Revolution. While it is impossible to pin­point exactly when the entire nation­
building process was completed, it certainly went on for several centuries. In the ideal
variant, each consecutive phase set in only after the previous one had run its course. This
ensured the lowest possible level of social upheavals and disruptions, Rokkan believed. In
the mid­1970s, discussions on nation­building took a new turn. In a seminal article pointedly
titled “Nation­building or Nation­destroying”.

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Walker Connor launched a blistering attack on the school of thought associated with Karl
Deutsch and his students. Connor noted that the nation­building literature was preoccupied
with social cleavages of various kinds between burghers and peasants, nobles and
commoners, elites and masses but virtually or totally ignored ethnic diversity. This Connor
regarded as an inexcusable sin of omission, since, according to his computation, only 9
percent of the states of the world could be regarded as ethnically homogeneous. Since
“nation­building” in the Deutschland tradition meant assimila­tion into the larger society and
the eradication of ethnic pecu­liarities, Connor believed that in world history it had produced
more nation­destroying than nation­building. However, the effi­ciency of active engineering
in nation­building, he held, had generally been greatly exaggerated. Very often it was
counter­productive, regularly producing a backlash of ethnic revival­ism. Complete
assimilation of ethnic minorities had largely failed all over the world, even in that alleged
stronghold of consum­mate nation­building, Western Europe, Connor maintained.

‘The reason behind the fundamental flaws of nation­building theory Connor found in the
terminological confusion caused by the diverse usages of the word ‘nation’. As he pointed
out, this term sometimes is used with reference to cultural groups and peoples, while at other
times it describes political entities I.e. states, cf. expressions such as “United Nations” and
“International Politics.” Even more misleading, he felt, was the tendency to use the term
‘Nation’ to describe the total population of a particular state without regard for its ethnic
composition’.

From the ethnic groups the term “nation” discards all objective cultural markers as valid
identity demarcations for these units. Neither common language, common religion, nor any
other, shared cultural reservoir within a group qualified as a genuine sign of nation hood.
Any such attempt to objectivize the nation was to mistake the cultural manifestations of a
nation for its essence. The true nature of the ethnos was in all and every case the sense of
common ancestry shared by its members. The nation is the ultimate extended family. To be
sure, hardly ever could a common origin of the members of the nation be proven. In fact,
very often it can be established that a nation stems from diverse ethnic sources. The belief in

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a common genetic origin can therefore usually be shown to be pure myth. Nonetheless,
adherence to this myth has remained a sine qua non for every nation.

Later theoreticians developed Connor’s understanding in two different directions. The

“modernists” such as Benedict Anderson, Tom Nairn, Ernest Gellner and Eric Hobsbawm
strongly underlined the myth aspect of the nation. In a celebrated book title, Benedict
Anderson coined the expression “imagined communities” to describe modern nations. The
nation is a product of imagination in the sense that the members of the community do not
know each other personally and can only imagine themselves to be in communion with each
other. Subsequently, Anderson distanced himself from Gellner and Hobsbawm who took the
“imagination” metaphor one step further, interpreting it in the direction of “invention” and
“fabrication.” The nation should not be defined as “false consciousness” Anderson insisted.
Definitions like that would imply that there are such things as “true communities” which can
be juxtaposed to “artificial” nations. “In fact, all communities larger than primordial villages
of face­to­face contact (and per­haps even these) are imagined”. At the same time, Anthony
Smith, Rasma Karklins and others developed Connor’s themes further in another direction,
strongly emphasizing the ethnic aspect of the nation. While agreeing with the modernists that
“nations” as we know them are recent phenom­ena, Smith insisted that they have a long
prehistory, evolving out of ethnic cores. Of the conglomerate of ethnic groups existing in
earlier ages, some developed into would be nations aspiring for nationhood and a state of
their own, with a few eventually acquiring it. Why do some groups succeed while others fail?
Often this must be explained as a result of historical contingencies, a con­fluence of
felicitous circumstances but it may also be due to the active efforts of determined
nationalists, the Nation­builders.

Smith and his disciples retained but reemployed the term “nation­building” introduced by the
earlier, modernist school of thought. In accordance with their “neo­primordialist”
under­standing of all modern nations as products of age­old ethnic building material they

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heavily underlined the cultural, symbolic, (ethnic) and myth­making aspects of nation­
building”.

Even for the most recently created states, ethnic homogeneity and cultural unity are
paramount considerations. Even where their societies are genuinely “plural” and there is an
ideological commitment to pluralism and cul­tural toleration, the elites of the new states find
them­selves compelled, by their own ideals and the logic of the ethnic situation, to forge new
myths and symbols of their emergent nations and a new “political culture” of anti­
colonialism and the post­colonialism i.e. African or Asian state.

1.4.2: Nation Building: Nationalist, and Modernist and imaginist Schools of Thought

There are three main schools of thought regarding the Nation Building such as nationalist,
modernist and Imaginist.

(a)The Nationalist school of thought

Nation is the soul and the spiritual principle of the Nationalist school of thought. It is a moral
consciousness. Nineteenth­century scholars like Renan who also believed in the ancient
times of the nation and interpreted its rise merely as a collective process of becoming aware
of one’s nationality. This and similar views basically represent the nationalist school, that is,
the history of nations written by nationalists. The method applied by the nationalist school
essentially is to look at visible manifestations and characteristics of nations and to
extrapolate some kind of general definition from them. To count and accumulate so called
objective claiming popular identification with them would be the second. The long­winded
argument between the proponents of the state’s nation and the kulturnation with all its
overtones of Franco­German antagonism shows the ultimate futility of such an approach
because neither concept can be applied universally. Moreover, there will always be

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communities or political entities meeting all ‘objective’ criteria without being a nation and
vice versa.

(b) The Modernist School of thought

The characters of the modernist school, in contrast, have enthusiastically disputed the
nationalist assertion of the antiquity of the nation. Ernest Gellner’s famous words of
nationalism creating nations and not vice versa, is a direct response to the nationalist
conception of nations as having always existed and only recently having occupied a more
prominent place in the minds of the inhabitants of Europe. In fact, Gellner and others have
claimed that the rise of nations and nationalism has been the ‘logical’ consequence of a
transition from one social order to another­from agrarian to industrial society. The need of
modern industrial societies for increasing cultural unity in order to reach a high level of
workforce mobility is at the heart of the modernist perspective. This cultural unity was,
according to the modernist school, provided by nationalism which, in turn, has been
propagated by the economic elite in order to stabilize the new social order beneficial to their
interests. All this has led Gellner to claim that nationalism is not awakening of nations to
self­consciousness: it invents nations where they do not exist.’ It is important to note that this
view rests in large part on the assumption that nationalism was a response to modernity.

(c) The imaginist school of thought-

The imaginist school of thought is most prominently characterized by the very influential
work of Benedict Anderson. The central argument here is that nations like any other large
communities are imagined since ‘the members of even the smallest nation will never know
most of their fellow members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each
lives the image of their communion.’ What has been called a ‘spiritual principle’ by the
nationalist school and is represented by the modernists almost like a political plot of the
economically dominant classes, is taken a step further here. Nations only exist through an act
of the imagination. From there, Anderson goes on to say that, therefore, nations should be

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distinguished not by their supposed spuriousness or legitimacy ‘but by the style in which
they are fictional.’

1.4.3: Nation Building: As a Recent phenomena

The goal of nation building should not be to impose common identities on deeply divided
peoples but to organize states that can administer their territories and allow people to live
together despite differences. while organizing such a state within the old internationally
recognized borders does not seem possible, the international community should admit that
nation building may require the disintegration of old states and the formation of new nation
states. Taking a look at how the political map of the world has changed in every century
since the collapse of the Roman Empire­that should be proof enough that nation building has
been around for quite a while. Molding a glance at the 19th and 20th centuries will reveal
that the types of nation building with the most lasting impact on the modern world are
nationalism, colonialism, and post­World War II reconstruction. Nationalism gave rise to
most European countries that exist today. The theory was that each nation, embodying a
shared community of culture and blood, was entitled to its own state. (In reality, though, few
beyond the intellectual and political elite shared a common identity.) This brand of
nationalism led to the reunification of Italy in 1861 and Germany in 1871 and to the breakup
of Austria­Hungary in 1918. This process of nation building was successful where
governments were relatively capable, where powerful states decided to make room for new
entrants, and where the population of new states was not deeply divided. Germany had a
capable government and succeeded so well in forging a common identity that the entire
world eventually paid for it. Yugoslavia, by contrast, failed in its efforts, and the
international community is still sorting out the mess.

The Colonial powers formed dozens of new states as they conquered vast bandages of
territory, interfered with old political and leadership structures, and eventually replaced them
with new countries and governments. Most of today's collapsed states, such as Somalia or

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Afghanistan, are a product of colonial nation building. The greater the difference between the
precolonial political entities , and what the colonial powers tried to impose, the higher the
rate of failure. Many European countries, such as France and Spain, grudgingly have
recognized the existence of regional cultures. In the United States, the notion of the melting
pot has been debunked, particularly as a new wave of immigrants from the developing world
has shunned outright assimilation by forming a mosaic of hyphenated Americans. And
contrary to the mythology inherited from 19th­century Europe, historical evidence reveals
that the common identity, or sense of nationhood, that exists in many countries did not
precede the state but was forged by it through the imposition of a common language and
culture in schools. The Gaul’s were not France's ancestors until history textbooks decided so.
The transformation of West Germany and Japan into democratic states following World War
II is the most successful nation­building exercise ever undertaken from the outside.
Unfortunately, this process took place under circumstances unlikely to be repeated
elsewhere. Although defeated and destroyed, these countries had strong state traditions and
competent government personnel. West Germany and Japan were nation­states in the literal
sense of the term­they were ethnic and cultural communities as well as political states, and
they were occupied by the U.S. military, a situation that precluded choices other than the
democratic state.

1.4.4: War and Nation Building

The most successful nations, including the United States and the countries of Europe, were
built by struggle and war. These countries accomplished statehood because they developed
the administrative capacity to mobilize resources and to abstract the revenue they needed to
fight wars. Some countries have been created not by their own efforts but by decisions made
by the international community. The Balkans offer unfortunate examples of states cobbled
together from pieces of defunct empires. Many African countries exist because colonial
powers chose to grant them independence. The British Empire created most modern states in

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the Middle East by carving up the territory of the defeated Ottoman Empire. The Palestinian
state, if it becomes a reality, will be another example of a state that owes its existence to an
international decision. Such countries have been called quasi states­entities that exist legally
because they are recognized internationally but that hardly function as states in practice
because they do not have governments capable of controlling their territory. Some quasi
states succeed in retrofitting a functioning country into the legalistic shell. The state of Israel,
for example, was formed because of an international decision, and Israel immediately
demonstrated its staying power by waging a successful war to defend its existence. But many
quasi states fail and then become collapsed states.

However, today, war is not an acceptable means of state building. Instead, nation building
must be a consensual, spiritual and democratic process. But such a process is not effective
against adversaries who are not democratic, who have weapons, and who are determined to
use them. The world should not be fooled into thinking that it is possible to build states
without coercion. If the international community is unwilling to allow states to be rebuilt by
wars, it must provide the military muscle in the form of a sufficiently strong peacekeeping
force. In this case, military power is a essential constituent of state building.

1.5: Nation and state

A Nation is an association of states with different entities, culture, religion, politics and
economics. The major question is that ‘How a nation comes to be associated with a certain
territory’, and how the corresponding states depends upon a complex of factors, often on
accidents of history, including the accident of leadership. The process is well demonstrated
in the case of our own nation, India. Parenthetically an examination of the process might help
in overcoming the fixation from which many in this country suffer as a result of partition.

Reminding ourselves that until the experience of British rule we were never a nation, in
the modern sense of the term. Unquestionably, there was an indescribable unity in which our
ancestors shared. There was even the territorial concept of the land of Bharat, Bharat ­varsha,

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which was bounded in the north by the Himalayas and in the south by the seas. But that sense
of unity so eloquently spoken by Rabindranath was not a nationalistic sentiment but a
spiritual and cultural sentiment that was based upon a common outlook on life, ‘unity of
spirit’ as Tagore called it, and a common pattern of social living. It was only when British
rule was established over the entire length and breadth of the country that India was united
politically under one government. That political unity was, however, imposed from above
and did not in itself constitute nationhood. It was in the process of opposition to this imposed
rule that Indian nationalism took its birth. The most interesting point that might be raised
here is whether the reaction to British rule would have been the same, that is to say
nationalistic in the modern sense, if Great Britain had not been transformed meanwhile into a
nation. Is it not reasonable to suppose that if Elizabethan England, for instance, had
conquered the whole of India, opposition to it­successful? Otherwise ­would have followed
the traditional dynastic pattern than the modern nationalistic one.

1.6: Aspects of Effective Nation-Building

A successful nation­building has the following aspects:

(a) Nation, Nationalism and democracy: Democracy is the powerful force

behind all successful nations. Successful nations are defined as
democratically constituted nations. In terms of theory, nationalism does not
require a particular form of government, although there is always a strong
element of at least implicit popular sovereignty involved in any nation­
building process. It could, therefore, be argued that democracy is the
natural form of government for nations, and that, indeed, nationalism and
democracy depend on each other.

(b) Elite and Elite consent: The elite and their consent are the motivating force
behind the nation building. Specified the fundamental role of the elite in
any nation­building process, the question of consensus focuses on this
particular group. Through it may appear to be easier to reach a sufficient

20
 degree of consensus among a relatively small and well educated number of
individuals rather than across a population of millions, this does not have
to be the case. Most members of any given elite represent vested interests,
regions or professions and reaching an agreement is by no means a
foregone conclusion.

The most important requirement for nationalism to spread to the wider

elite and non­elite parts of the population is met by one of the central tenets
of nationalism itself that is the nation of popular sovereignty and
fundamental equality. Any elite adopting a national identity may have had
their own interests in mind but it would have been impossible to advance
those interests without referring to a larger collective body, the nation, at
the same time. Nationalist elites entered into their conflictive with
traditional divinely ordained monarchies in the name of the people.
References to the nation served a double purpose: to legitimize their own
involvement and their desire for political power vis­à­vis the ancient
regime and the populace at the same time.

(c) Incorporate the existing institution: The most crucial responsibilities of

nation builders is to incorporate existing institutions and traditions in the
institutional make­up of the nation according to what importance they
might have in the new national narrative. This is an open­ended process
since any institutional structure might reinforce or change the national
identity in one or another direction and could well be reformed or
abolished as a consequence of the process it has triggered in the first place.
This, in turn, may not only lead to political instability but to a decrease in
social coherence and even to fundamental conflicts about the content of the
national narrative and questions of national identity. It is important to keep
in mind that in a national context, all public institutions take on an
additional, symbolic meaning: not only are they supposed to perform

21
 certain political, social or economic functions but they also form the visible
surface of the nation. The historical record would suggest that it can be
helpful to remove predominantly symbolic institutions from the political
fray as much as possible in order to preserve their meaningfulness beyond
political partisanship.

1.7: The process of Nation-Building in India: An overview

The process of nation building in India, can be traced from her time of independence. By 26th
day of November 1949 the constituent assembly completed the drafting of constitution of
free India. The main objective of the constituent assembly was to achieve the sovereign,
democratic and republic of India. The constitution was formed to bring justice, liberty,
equality, fraternity, unity, integrity in India. The Constitution of India defined India as
Bharat and a union of states, with single uniform citizenship, common unified electorate,
duly and freely elected representative government, a federal polity with emphasis upon a
strong center, a secular state providing to all its citizens without any discrimination of caste,
colour, creed, religion, place of birth, sex, etc. The constitution of India in Part­III,
Fundamental Rights, grants and guarantees to all the citizens equal justice, liberty, equality,
etc. The main aim of the nation­building is the creation of a national history. A successful
nationalization of the past would meet two key requirements of both nationalism and
modernity. The national histories always attempt to prove the uniqueness of the nation. The
great national histories of the 19th century present the political order of the day as the result
of a great national struggle, thus strengthening the legitimacy of the regiment the time in
nationalist terms. It is no doubt that the Indian nationalism grew up as a reaction against the
aggressive British nationalism. But unfortunately it was not strong enough to seam together
psychologically all the people of India into one nationality. The result was that almost on the
eve of independence there arose a new concept of nationality which challenges the older one.
The two nation theory was undoubtedly doomed and ill­founded, because if the history on
national’s origin and growth proves anything it is that religion alone never determines
nationality.

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Rajni Kothari describes a nature of nation building process in free India as “the center
periphery model”. By this statement he tried to describe the socio, economic, political
development and modernization process in India. He stated that “the whole process in India
is supposed to have started with the establishment of a constitutional and political centre
which, through its creative activity in the management of political institutions, has penetrated
into society at various levels. Thus, instead of being determined by economic factors both the
elite and political institutions are creative forces which bring about the integration of
diversities and pluralities in national life in the spirit of tolerance.”

Nation building is a process of constructing the unity of a nation. It starts after the nation has
got independence.

India became independent after a long struggle against British Empire in 1947. That
struggle resulted in the rise of a batch of leaders committed to the freedom and welfare of the
nation. This welfare rested in the economic, educational and cultural development and
achievement of national harmony. Indian was the poor nation at the time of independence. It
had gone through a series of communal riots during the British period that resulted in the
partition of India. There were other differences of language and caste. All these needed a
concerted effort to solve. India started with making a constitution ensuring rule of law and
democracy on the basis of universal adult franchise. Every person in India entered the
domain of the government which had so far only ruled them. The difference between the
state and citizen were eliminated. With the proclamation of the constitution of India, the
Planning Commission was established to guide the developmental activities of the country.
In the first five­year plans there was a great improvement of agriculture through irrigation
and establishment of heavy industries in the country. There was also a great change in the
transport and communication particularly in backward regions of the country. Strong efforts
at spreading education from the primary to the post­graduate level were taken up after a
number of commissions of enquiry made their recommendations. Especial efforts were taken
for the development of scientific and technological knowledge. Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) were set up first at Kharagpur, then at Kanpur and then in other important

23
centers. A University Grant Commission (UGC) was entrusted with the spread of higher
education in the country.

There were different developmental measures taken during the period. The
government tried to reduce poverty by adopting various measures especially among the
Backward Class of People. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes got particular
attention and commission was set up for the welfare of Scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes. In 1955, a State Reorganization Commission was set up to rationalized the state
territories with reference to economic and administrative convenience. Accordingly in 1956,
the State Reorganizations Act was passed. But the process did not stop there. It is continuing
till today. This reorganization has a bearing on the linguistic division in the country. The
autonomy of provinces largely based on languages is meant for balance growth of the
linguistic communities. In 1961, the National Integration Council was set up primarily to
control communal flare ups. The Commission consisted of union ministers, state chief
ministers and representatives of major political parties. It does not have any executive power
in its own. Communal conflicts are treated as law and order problems. The
recommendations of the council have bearing upon the maintenance of law and order. Once,
nations were forged through "blood and iron." Today, the world seeks to build them through
conflict resolution, multilateral aid, and free elections. But this more civilized approach has
not yielded many successes. For nation building to work, some harsh compromises are
necessary­including military coercion and the recognition that democracy is not always a
realistic goal.

An arrangement of aspects conspired and India was partitioned. But the two nation
theory did not have an unqualified victory. It had proclaimed that the Hindus and Muslim
were two distinct nations which must live separately in their own sovereign nations­states.
But in the event of partitioned, vast number of people belonging to these so called nations
were left behind on either side. In clearheaded completion the partition of India would appear
to have been a clumsy device which settled nothing and satisfied none. If we add to that the
holocaust, the misery and suffering, the moral degradation and debasement which followed it

24
one cannot but be appalled at the historic folly. It demonstrates how a turn of history can be
responsible for the delamination ‘national’ territory and how there is nothing immutable or
sacrosanct about it. It is quite conceivable that partition could have been avoided even with
the consent of all concerned, and where mere are two nations today there might have been
only one. The role of events of history in giving rise to nations might be appreciated even
better if we consider what might have been the situation if Britain or any other foreign
nations had never established its rule over India and forcibly unified the country. The
Mughal Empire, which in case never extended to the whole of India, was breaking up.

Taking the above measures one may go through different question such as, can it be
said with any assurance that there would have been toady a single national state in India, or
at any rate not more than two? Those who talk sentimentally about undivided India might
give India serious thought to this question and also not forget the fact that the political
divisions and the struggle for power of those days rarely followed religious or communal
lines. True, there did not exist a degree of cultural ‘unity’ in Hindu society at that time. There
was also, it is true a discernable process a foot towards a cultural synthesis between the
Hindu and the Muslim ways of life. But the history of Western Europe has shown that
cultural unity does not necessarily lead, to a single national state. So, while it is difficult to
say with any assurance what would have happened if then British had not brought the whole
of India under one government? It is a sobering experience to realize that undivided India
would have been perhaps one of the lesser possibilities. This thought should bring those who
even eat our hearts over partition and consider it their patriotic duty to undo it.

Ingredients of Nation Building in India-

There are various ingredients of nation building in India. Among them some are discussed
below.

1­ Well defined and well-functioning constitution-

25
 The constitution of India was successfully formulated, adopted and enacted on 26th
day of November 1949. It was also the test of the time. Our constitutional makers
made it so successfully, that taking different good provisions of the different
constitutions of the world, it has successfully established with well­functioning
structure. Structurally it has been well designed and functionally it was workable to
control the then situation of the country.

2­ Achievement of national goals and objectives-

Our constitutional makers try to make India a welfare state. In order to make it
welfare they were agreed to accept the goals of democracy, secularism, socialism,
socio­economic development of the society, equality, liberty, fraternity, cultural
diversity, dignity of the country and unity and integrity of the nation. To make it
successful the constitutional makers also adopts the mixed economy model of
development in the country where both the private and public sector runs side by side.
It is also described in the Part­IV of the constitution of India under the heading of
Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP). These goals are also discussed in the
preamble of the constitution of India. As the development of a welfare state commits
to secure for all its people social, economic and political justice, the preamble of the
constitution of India directs towards the fulfillment of these commitments.

3- Capability to bring peaceful and constitutional means of political change-

The constitution of India has declared India as a sovereign, socialist, secular,

democratic and a republic state. These principles are very necessary to bring about
peaceful political changes in the country through constitutional means. From the time
of independence a constitution of India has developed the ability to remain free from
the rebellions and insurgencies. Over the years with all sorts of ups and downs the
constitution of India has maintained a balance and established itself with a peaceful
political life.

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4- Unity in Diversity-

India is a land of immense diversities. It is multi­lingual, multi­religious, multi­

cultural and multi­regional country. With all sorts of diversities, the country has
maintained unity and integrity. There is unity amidst diversity. There is a slogan of
one state, one nation and one country. With all the past aggressions like Chinese
Aggression 1962, Indo­Pak war 1965 and 1971, Kargil war of 1999, Terrorist attack
on India parliament 26/11, etc. the country has raised her head maintaining its unity
and integrity from the great Himalayas to the Kanyakumari. Despite all the crisis,
political decay, chaos, instability changes and challenges, the country has remained its
unity, integrity and nation hood.

5- Communication and Infrastructure-

The development of a country reflects from her communication and infrastructure.

These are the yardsticks of the process of development of a country. The more the
communication development, the more the progress of the nation;the more the
infrastructural facility, the more the economic growth. Subsequently, the country is
developed with high level of communication and developed infrastructure facility.
The basic infrastructures deals with roads, power generation, communication system
of the country, satellites, aircrafts, ships, electronic gadgets, semiconductors,
computers, automobiles, railway, airways, waterway, ports, textiles, steels, nuclear
technology, etc. In India, the development of all these infrastructures has been
successfully going on.

6- Development of Economy-

27
 In India the economic development is going on through five years plans. From the
very beginning it has focused on agriculture as 70% of the people in India were
depending on it. Agriculture is regarded as the backbone of Indian Gross Domestic
Product (GDP). Indian economy is guided by three sectors such as, Primary sector
deals with agriculture and agro­based industries, Secondary sector deals with various
types of industries and the Tertiary sector deals with the service sector of the country.
The development of Indian economy depends upon four factors of production such as,
Land, Labour, Capital and Organization. In the modern time the fifth and the most
vital factor of production is the latest technology, which contributes more to the
growth of GDP. Subsequently India has been accompanying the people towards the
economic development with both public and private sector. There is a consistent
growth of 5% in economic growth rate in India.

7- Safeguards to the minorities and weaker sections of the society-

The 5th Scheduled of the Constitution of India provides safeguards to the minorities
and weaker sections of Indian society. It has implemented several privileges to the
weaker and down trodden section of the society. Part­IV of the constitution of India
i.e. DPSP also deals with the upliftment of the Scheduled caste, Scheduled tribe and
other backward classes of tribal areas in the process of socio­economic reconstruction
and development. The Mandal Commission has also recommended for increased
reservation for the backward classes under the chairmanship of B. P. Mandal. Socio­
economic upliftment including women empowerment is an important factor in Indian
democracy.

8- Settlement of crisis-
As India is multi­ferrous country, there arises various obstacles and negative forces in
the path of nation building. The hindrances in the way of nation building in India are
Regionalism, Communalism, Casteism, Politicization, Religious differences, Political
defection, etc. Several cases in India are Ram Janmabhumi vs Babrimasjid issue,

28
 Gujrat roit, terrorism issues like 26/11, parliament attack etc. When we want to build
a strong and vibrant nation, we have to over throw all these hindrances from the mind
of the people. In order to overthrow them there needs a strong mindset and political
settlement.

1.7.1: India and its Nationhood

India is land of immense diversities. It is a multi­lingual, multi­religious, multi­regional

country. It is not the situation of today. It is there from the time of immemorial. One cannot
say exactly at which point of view the nation is created and in which dimension it has been
united. There are several questions may be asked regarding its nationhood and nation
building. The question of nation­building has been much to the fore ever since India got
Independence. It is one of highest aspirations, if not the highest of the Indian people to
become an integrated and strong nation. There is a strong feeling in the country that our very
future as a people would be brought into question if this task of nation­building was not
appropriately and speedily contented.

Nationhood is very important for the nation. It is the basic idea on which a nation persists.
Thus it is important to have a close look at the phenomenon of nationhood. It has been found
to be extremely difficult to define precisely what a nation is, what is the behavior of a nation,
what should be the importance of the nationhood, in which ground the nation can be better
with the nationhood etc. The most important question is what the base of a nation is. Taking
all this questions one may focus with the genesis and development of the word nation and
nationhood. The word has a long history and its meaning has undergone a considerable
process of evolution. Originally ‘nation’ meant a backward tribe, (civilized peoples, as of
Greece and Rome, called themselves gens or populous). At the beginning of the Middle Age,
the word nation was used in Germany and France to designate the higher ruling class in
opposition to the people. In former times the chieftain of an Irish clan was called captain of

29
his nation. ‘The meaning of the word gradually evolved in western usage and came generally
to refer to a free, self­governing people or a people constituted as a state. In the long history
of our country there is no word or concept found to correspond with the modern concept of
nationality. The long history of the word the nation in its modern sense is comparatively of
recent origin.

Subsequently, some of the elementary traits of nationality, writes Hertz, may be as old as
humanity, but the ‘more complicated phenomena have gradually arisen at different times.
‘While it is not possible to state definitely when nationality as we know it today was born, it
would not be wrong to say that the second half of the 18th century saw its first beginnings.
The 19th was par excellence the century of nationalism. The scene of this new development
in human history was Western Europe. Why should it has been so is not very clear? For the
present let it suffice to point out that it was not as if human society had to reach a ‘higher’
stage of civilization to give birth to the modern nation. To quote Hertz again, India, China
and the Islamic peoples brought forth great and comparatively homogenous civilizations, but
the ideas, In Europe nationality was alien to them before they were permeated by Europe
itself,’ Hertz goes on to say, ‘ancient Greece or medieval Italy and Germany possessed very
high civilization while there was hardly any national solidarity between the different peoples
into which each was divided. A high level of civilization was even adverse to national unity
on a wide scale. Athens, Florence and Nuremberg were proud of the splendor of their own
achievements and looked down upon their backward kinsmen in other cities. History shows
that the progress of civilization was often accompanied by a dwindling of national thoughts.’

 Three important attributes of Nationhood: -

A nation is consisted of various attributes. The attributes are important for the construction of
a good nation. It would be helpful to keep in mind that to be a nation does not necessarily
mean to be terribly civilized. While civilization is an end desirable in itself, nationalism can
only be a means to an end. Scholars have distinguished between legal and social or political

30
nationhood or nationality. The first is the objective and the second the subjective aspect of
nationalism. Legally considered, a nation usually has the following three essential attributes:

(a) Well­defined territory that it calls its own;

(b) Political unity represented by a common state to which all citizens owe
allegiance;
(c) Recognition by other nations, and by international law, as a distinct,
sovereign nation. A legally defined nation might well be composed of a
number of nations which in some respects consider themselves distinct
from one another but yet accept willingly a common state.

With the characteristics of nationhood, one may inspire with all the phenomena of the nation.
Only legal nationality is not enough. A nation might have its state and well­defined territory
and yet lack the substance of nationality. That substance is denned as national consciousness
or national sentiment’. ‘Without a sufficient measure of this consciousness,’ says Hertz,
‘there is no nation.’ When we speak of national integration in our own country, we mean
precisely the development of this very consciousness of nationality.

Subsequently, this consciousness or sentiment is an exceedingly elusive thing, and whether

or not a specific people possess it in sufficient degree is very difficult to determine. It is a
product of varied historical experience, which is seldom the same for every nation. It is
therefore difficult to generalize and lay down prescriptions on how to develop national
consciousness. It would be interesting to quote here from Hertz two views of two
distinguished Europeans on the question. Jonh stuart mill, saw the essence of nationality in
the mutual sympathy of its adherents and in their desire to be united, under a government of
their own, produced through a community of history and politics and through feelings of
pride and shame, joy and grief connected with experiences of the past.’ According to Ernest
Renan, the great French philosopher and author of the famous Life of Jesus, it is not race,

31
religion, language, state, civilization or economic interests that make a nation. The national
idea is founded on a heroic past, great men, and true glory. Common experience leads to the
formation of a community of will. More than anything else it is common grief that binds a
nation together, more than triumphs. It made in the past and on willingness to make further
ones in the future. The existence of a nation resembles a plebiscite repeated every day.

1.7.2: Cultural Perspective of Nation building in India

The process of nation building has a long run history. It has shaped its formation from its
long historical traditions .In principle, all nation building process are cultural interventions as
the center established a particular identity on the periphery or in other words, the elites
creates a national identity for the rest of the population. In addition, there has always been a
certain measure of foreignness in nationalism. In Russia the contribution of enlightenment
thought and later German idealism have been crucial. The same applies to Arab nationalism
in which the German notion of the Kulturnation played a prominent part. Ever since the end
of the Cold war, intervention have occurred in cases of humanitarian disasters, such as
genocide or ‘ethnic cleansing’, famine, civil war, in response to a war of aggression on a
third party or a perceived military threat to the international community. Politically, nations
in the grip of civil war or expediting genocide may present good reasons for intervention. If
such an intervention occurs, the intervening powers inherit the causes of crisis and will have
to address them. There is, of course a multitude of possible reasons for a process of national
disintegration leading to unrest or even civil war. The underlying cause of such a
development, however, can be a profound disagreement about national identity.

1.7.3: Steps of failure of Nation-Building in India

The causes of the failure of Nation building in are as follows

(1) Frequent amendments in the constitution made its operational failure.

32
(2) Lack of political stability and development.
(3) Increase in political violence, electoral violence, political corruption
(4) Lack of conflict resolution measures
(5) Problem in implementing all the good measures of democracy in India
(6) Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, ignorance, casteism, factionalism, regionalism,
linguism etc.
(7) Politics and personality cult
(8) Groupism and political defection
(9) Lack of mature unity
(10) Aggression, war, and external interferences
(11) Decreasing level of emotional integration
(12) Weak infrastructure and large based infrastructure in the country due to its
large size
(13) Lack of development in industrial sector
(14) National income remains low
(15) Low GNP and GDP in India
(16) Over­population, less­productivity, mass poverty and fall in industrial
production
(17) Frequent strikes and Labour problems
(18) Socio­economic imbalance
(19) The benefits have failed to reach at all the sections of the society
(20) The reservation policies vs. anti­reservations leads communal riots
(21) Vote bank politics and corruption in politics
(22) Miss use of power in politics
(23) Red tapism

However, all these failures reflect the weakness of the process of nation building in
India. In spite of all these problems, India is yet to undertake the challenging task of

33
 connecting Indians into a fully united, resilient, vigorous, dynamic and established
nation.

1.7.4: Hindrances of Nation-Building in India

There are various hindrances in the process of nation building in India. These are

1. Ever growing and rapidly expanding population in India

2. Large section of India’s population continues to live below poverty line
3. There is vicious circle of poverty
4. Sloe and inadequate economic growth
5. Regional imbalance
6. Uneven economic development
7. Huge gap between rich and poor
8. Unemployment and underemployment
9. Provincial inequalities
10. Inadequate technological development
11. Communalism, regionalism and secessionism
12. Centre­state conflict
13. Inter­state dispute
14. Lack of healthy work culture
15. Terrorism
16. Illiteracy, ignorance and poverty
17. The unhealthy and biotic role of political parties
18. The existence of factionalism and personality cult

All these are the major hindrances of the nation building. The need of the hour is to
fight these pron and corns with all effort and challenge.

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1.8: United Nations: The role of Nation Building

The United Nations Organization (UNO) has created after the Second World War on 24th
October, 1945. The motto behind the UNO is to prevent war and maintain peace and security
all over the world. It is ultimately spreading the message of Nation Building, National
integration, nationalism and nationality.

Taking an example of the United States of America, one may focus on the George Bush’s,
former American president, administration. The Policy of the United States , ever since
September 11, 2001 and the subsequent war on terrorism which promoting democracy has
reimbursed forcefully to the foreign policy agenda of the United States. Although bringing
about democratic change has been a foreign policy goal ever since President Wilson, and has
been employed during the Cold War by different presidents with different emphases, one
official reason for its renewed rise to prominence is the belief that a lack of democracy is
conducive to the growth of Islamic extremism and the rise of terrorist networks threatening
the United States. Before taking office as Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice set out the
foreign policy program following from these convictions: “In these momentous times,
American diplomacy has three great tasks. First, we will unite the community of democracies
in building an international system that is based on our shared values and the rule of law.
Second, we will strengthen the community of democracies to fight the threats to our common
security and alleviate the hopelessness that feeds terror. And third, we will spread freedom
and democracy throughout the globe. That is the mission that President Bush has set for
America in the world – and the great mission of American diplomacy today.

This approach is imbued by a specific perspective on nation­building and state­building

shared by many US policy makers and analysts. In his influential work on state­building, for
example, Francis Fukuyama points out that the process of nation­building in the American
understanding reflects their own ‘National Experience’ in which the United States

35
constitution is seen as the starting point and frame of reference of a national history and
common identity. Accordingly, many Americans see their state and their nation as essentially
coterminous and both originating from the Declaration of Independence and the 1787
constitution. Applying these findings to foreign policy, he continues: “for Americans, their
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are not just the basis of a legal­political
order on the North American continent; they are the embodiment of universal values and
have significance for humankind that goes well beyond the borders of the United States. It is
a belief in democracy, liberty, dignity of every life and the rights of every individual uniting
Americans of all backgrounds, all faiths, and all colors. They provide us a common cause in
all times, a rallying point in difficult times, and a source of hope to men and women across
the globe who cherish freedom and work to advance freedom cause. And in these extra­
ordinary times, it is the duty of all of legislatures, diplomats, civil servants and citizens to
uphold and advance the values that are the core of the American identity, and that have lifted
the lives of millions around the world.” What is remarkable here is the democracy as form of
government, as a value­system and, therefore, as an identity. By promoting democracy in this
fashion, the distinction between state­building and nation­building is largely ignored. It also
becomes apparent that this approach rests on the assumption that erecting democratic
institutions in the course of a state­building process leading to a democratic society united by
a democratic collective identity.

Given the nature of the US involvement in establishing democratic institutions and Nation
Building process in Iraq, however, the question arises whether and in which guise democracy
can be a reasonable as a foreign policy goal. Especially, when a truly democratic process
may produce results bottomless to the other foreign policy interests of the United States.
There is the danger that trying to harmonize divergent policy aims might lead to ‘Semantic
Democracy’, leading not only to renewed mid­term instability but damaging and de­
legitimizing the concept of modern democracy it­self. Considering the current policy of the
United States the shady sides of the “failed states”­ doctrine become apparent. As already
mentioned the doctrine is susceptible to an instrumentalization for hegemonic power politics,

36
disguised as the propagation of democracy and liberal values and legitimated with reference
to a sloppy rhetoric of “failed states”. To assume such an instrumentalization is not only
influenced by the vagueness of the criteria of the doctrine, but is also a result of the fact that,
until now, there is little work on the genealogy of this oratory. Its origins as well as the
underlying political and historical aspects are anything but clear. The questions how it is
linked to the promotion of the last superpower’s interests and what are the reasons for the
emergence of this doctrine in the political and legal discourse still remain largely unanswered
when the question of Nation Building arises. The role of UNO still revolves around this
question. An analysis of the question in which the doctrine is used can at least ascertain that
there is a predominance of western authors in defining the content of the “failed states and
Nation Building” doctrine. It is true that the term is used in non­western countries, too, but
“the term, insofar as used in the Southern Tier, seems to imply a wider legal and von Bog
dandy et al., State­Building, Nation­Building moral responsibility on the governing bodies of
the Northern Tier for colonialism’s consequences: it is becoming a rallying call for African
action. The Policy of the United Nations, a much more cautious approach is pursued by the
United Nations with regard to the promotion of democracy and Nation Building. It still
appears to be common sense that the specific role of the United Nations as a universal
institution and as global institution prevents political or ideological partiality. Given that the
United Nations are primarily meant to safeguard international peace and security, this
approach was carefully adhered to until the end of the cold war. The United Nations were
meant to stay impartial precisely to ensure the neutrality of a forum for the major
challengers. Yet, with the end of the major east­west conflict, North­ South dialogue and
establishment of hegemonic power by the super powers, some tendencies seem to point at
notwithstanding restrained adjustment of this policy towards the promotion of democracy,
nationalism and nation Building. This does not mean that the United Nations policy has
loosened to only the promotion of democracy and nation building as a new primary goal, the
question rather seems to be, how this orientation towards nation building and
democratization can be incorporated in the overall framework of United Nations policies.

37
1.9: Summary

 Nation­ building refers to the building or constituting a national identity of the

state. Nation Power is main motivating force behind it.

 Nation building can incorporate the use of information or major infrastructure

development to substitute social coordination, co­operation and financial
growth.

 The academic debate on nations and nationalism continues to this date from
Ernest Renan’s famous question ‘What is the nation?’ in his lecture at Sorbonne
in 1887.

 Nation building is an architectural metaphor.

 A nation is consisted of various attributes. The attributes are important for the
construction of a good nation.

 Nationhood is very important for the nation. It is the basic idea on which a
nation persists

 Rajni Kothari describes a nature of nation building process in free India as “the
center periphery model”. By this statement he tried to describe the socio,
economic, political development and modernization process in India

 Nation Building is one of highest aspirations, if not the highest of the Indian
people to become an integrated and strong nation
 The ingredients of Nation Building are Well defined and well­functioning
constitution, Achievements of National goals and objectives, Capability to bring

38
 peaceful and constitutional means of political change, unity and diversity,
Communication and Infrastructure, development of economy, Safeguards to the
minorities and weaker sections of the society, settlement of crisis.

 A nation might have its state and well­defined territory and yet lack the
substance of nationality.

 Successful nations are defined as democratically constitute nations.

 Indian nationalism grew up as reaction to aggressive British nationalism.

 Nation building is a process of constituting the unity and strength of a nation. Its
starts after the nation have earned independence.

 Nation Building is a process of State Building, People Building, Democracy

Building, Citizen Building, Economy Building, Social Building, and
Government Building.

 Nation­building is one of the important aspect of a Nation. It is a process of

uniting the people of the state into a well­functioning, good governing, well­
dignified and unified nation. It builds in the state through the state of power with
the political, social, economic, and cultural institutions.

 Nation Building inculcates the emotional unity of the people. It creates an

enthusiasm among the people to participate in the process of modernization,
development and socio­economic reconstruction of a nation.

 Nation Building creates a spirit of nationalism among the people of a nation. It

always tries to unite the free people to give their efforts to develop a new
39
 egalitarian society with the high altitude of social, economic, political and
emotional development in the era of Modernization, Liberalization, Privatization
and Globalization.

 Nation Building is a great challenge before each Nation to build the nation on
the basis of identity, formation, culture etc. Nation Building refers the phase that
is ‘How to construct and restructure the identity of a Nation by using the power
of the state’.

 Nation Building binds all the people in the single thread not only to form a state
but also to find the process by which the nation states came into existence.

 Nation builders are those members of a state who take the initiative to develop
the national community through government programmes, including military
conscription and national content mass schooling.

 Nation­building can involve the use of propaganda or major infrastructure

development to foster social harmony and economic growth.

 Nation Building and Nation formation is the broad process through which
Nations come into being. Nation­building wishes at the association of the
people within the state and tries to bring a politically stable and practicable state
with a long existence.

 Nation Building and Legitimate authority in modern national states are

connected to popular rule, to majorities. Nation­building is the process through
which these majorities are constructed.

 Nation Building is broad spectrum and wide ranging process, which begins after
the creation of a nation state so as to make it viable, cohesive, and well­
40
 organized, authomous and widely acceptable entity.

 A nation is not defined by its borders or the boundaries of its land mass Rather, a
nation is defined by adverse people who have been unified by a cause and a
value system and who are committed to a vision for the type of society they wish
to live in and give to the future generations to come.

 A nation that craves for development and a stronger union should carry
everyone along irrespective of language, colour, race, creed, ethnic diversity,
religion, cultural values or sexual orientation. In essence, the country in question
should practice an equitable distribution of wealth, equal opportunities and
procrustean development where every individual will see each other as equal
more so where no ethnic, race or group of persons should see the country as
patrimony or 'born to rule syndrome.

 No nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along
with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by
side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other
is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a
third power stronger than both, that of the women.

 And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their
only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are
the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I
tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot
sleep forever.

41
  The motto behind the UNO is to prevent war and maintain peace and security all
over the world. It is ultimately spreading the message of Nation Building,
National integration, nationalism and nationality

 American diplomacy has three great tasks. First, we will unite the community
of democracies in building an international system that is based on our shared
values and the rule of law. Second, we will strengthen the community of
democracies to fight the threats to our common security and alleviate the
hopelessness that feeds terror. And third, we will spread freedom and democracy
throughout the globe.

1.10: Possible Questions

1. What was the modernist concept of Nation?

2. What are factors responsible for Nation Building?
3. Define Nation Building and its various ingredients.
4. What is Nation Building? What are its causes of failure?
5. Critically examine the process of Nation Building in India.
6. Define Nation Building and discuss its hindrances.
7. Explain the concept of Nation Building. Discuss its Historical and cultural
perspective.
8. ‘Nation Building is broad spectrum and wide ranging process’:­ Explain
9. ‘Nation Building binds all the people in the single thread’:­ critically examine
10. ‘Nation Building is a great challenge before India’:­ Explain
11. ‘Successful nations are defined as democratically constitute nations’:­Examine
12. Give a historical prospective to Nation Building in India.
13. Discuss the concept of Nation Building as discuss by the imaginist, modernist and
nationalist school of thought.
14. What does the theory of Nation Building imply?
15. What are the characteristics of Nation building?

42
 16. Define Nation and State.
17. Define Nation and Nationhood.
18. What is Nation Building, Nationalism, Nationhood and Nationality?
19. Discuss the role of UNO in Nation Building.

1.11: Further Readings

 Ghai. K.K. (2003) ‘Indian Government and Politics’, Kalyani Publisher, New Delhi.
 Yogesh, Atal (1981) ‘Building a Nation(essays on India)’, Abhinav Publisher, New
Delhi
 Kumar Anand. (1999) ‘Nation Building in India : Culture, Power and Society’,
Radiant Publisher, Hyderabad
 Narayan, Jayprakash (1975) ‘Nation Building in India’ , Navachetan Prakashan,
Varanasi
 Chandra Dutt Rabindra (1987) ‘Nation Building in India: Socio Economic Factors’,
Lancer International in association with India international centre.

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 Unit-II

2.0: Objectives

2.1: Introduction

2.2: Historical Background of the Indian Constitution

2.2.1: Regulating Act of 1773

2.2.2: Pitt’s India Acts of 1784

2.2.3: The Charter Act of 1833

2.2.4: Charter Act of 1853

2.2.5: Government of India Act 1858

2.2.6: Indian Council Act 1861

2.2.7: Indian Council Act, 1892

2.2.8: India Council Act, 1909 or Morley ­Minto Reform 1909

2.2.9: August Declaration or Montague Declaration of 1917

2.2.10: Government of India Act, 1919

2.2.11: Government of India act 1935

2.2.12: Cripps Mission 1942

2.2.13: Cabinet Mission 1945

2.2.14: Mount Batten Plan

2.2.15: Indian Independence Act, 1947

2.3: Introduction to the Constituent Assembly

2.3.1: Composition of the constituent Assembly

44
2.3.2: Committees to Draft a Constitution

2.3.3: Functioning of the Constituent Assembly

2.3.3.1: The Objective Resolution (The ideological content)

2.4: Ideological sources of the Constitution

2.4.1: Preamble of the constitution of India

2.4.1.1: The salient features of the preamble

2.4.2: Salient features of the constitution of India

2.5: Fundamental Rights

2.6: Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)

2.7: Difference between the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles

2.8: Summary

2.9: Possible Question

2.10: Further Reading

45
 MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

“This cannot be done by the wisest of lawyers sitting together in conclave; it cannot be done
by small committees trying to balance interest and calling that constitution making; it can
never be done under the shadow of an external authority. It can only be done effectively
when the political and psychological conditions are present and the urge and sanctions come
from the masses.”

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru

2.0: Objectives

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

 Explain the historical growth of the constitution of India

 Describe the philosophical and ideological basis of the Indian constitution
 Discuss the evolution, development and framework of the Constitution of India
 Explain the objective and principles of the Preamble of the constitution of India
 Discuss the Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP)
 Explain the silent features of the Constitution of India

2.1: Introduction

In 1600 A.D. the British came to India to trade in the country. It was in the form of East
India Company (EIC) under a charter granted by Queen Elizbeth­I. Consequently, the
company started capturing the rights over revenue and civil justice i.e. Diwani of Bengal,
Bihar and Odisha to the end of 1765. In 1858, the wake up Sepoy mutiny or the First war of
Indian Independence transferred the direct responsibility of governance of India to the British
crown. The British Crown govern directly from Britain. One can trace the history of
constitutional development in India from 1773 which brought the Regulating Act passed by

46
the British parliament to framework the rules of EIC in India. The British parliament passed
several charter acts to amend the company’s rule in India. These amendments provided a sort
of historical growth of the constitution of India and also paved the way for the development
of Constituent assembly in India. The creation of the constitution of India was in progress
even before the time of Independence. These creations had brought the birth of nationalism
in India towards the later part of 19th century. The Nationalist leaders of India demanded
many reforms in constitutional arrangements during the colonial rule. For this purpose the
British parliament passed the ‘Act for the better government of India in 1858’ and later on
three more acts i.e., in 1861, 1892, 1909. These acts were enacted to amend and reform the
constitutional system of India. The main objective behind these was to decentralize and
streamline British administration India. By passing the act of 1909 (Morley Minto Reforms),
it stated that there was no question of introducing a responsible government in India’s
However, within these years, the British government, under the pressure of First World War
and the condition generated by the Indian national movements had to declare that the final
goal of British policy in India was the realization of the self­government. Drafting
Committee played a very vital role for the making of the Constitution of India. The
Committee was constituted on 29 August, 1947, with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as its chairman.
The Committee submitted its report to the Constituent Assembly on 21st February, 1948. On
the basis of this report, a new draft was prepared by the Drafting Committee and submitted to
the Assembly on 4th November, 1948. From 14th November, 1949 to 26 November, 1949, the
final debate was held on the draft.

The Constitution is a legally sanctified document consisting of the basic governing

principles of the states. It establishes the framework as well as the primary objectives for the
various organs of the government. The Constitution of a country is the basic structure of the
political system that governs people. It establishes a governmental structure that exercises
power, and at the same time ensures individual freedom and liberty. Further, it recommends
a method for the settlement of the power of the state through the principles of state
organization. Besides, the Constitution is also responsible for defining the powers of the
main elements of the states, segregating their responsibilities as well as regulating their
relationships amongst each other and with the people. In a nutshell, the constitution serves as
47
the ‘fundamental law’ of a country. Any other laws made in the country must be in
conformity with the constitution in order to be legal.

2.2: Historical Background of the Indian Constitution

After that the British government passed two acts that is 1919 and 1935 to introduce some
sort of democratic, limited and responsible government. Finally in August 15, 1947 the
British parliament passed the Indian Independence Act which marked the end of British rule
in India embarking upon a new era of hopes and aspirations, peace and prosperity, planning
with plenty, unity in diversity etc. Let’s discuss these Acts briefly starting from the
Regulating Act of 1773.

2.2.1: Regulating Act of 1773

The Regulating Act of 1773 was the first and notable attempt made by the parliament of
Britain to regulate and control the affairs of the East India Company in India. This Act was
an important landmark in the growth of the Indian administration under the British rule.
There was no dominant authority before 1773 in India. The EIC was extensively ruling over
Bombay, Bengal and Madras presidencies by the headship of Governor in Council
responsible to the Court of Directors in England. This act recognized the political and
administrative functions of the company for the first time. This act was also laid the
foundation of central administration in India.

The features of this Act are as follows:

1. It appointed a governor general and four counselors for the presidency of Fort
Williams in Bengal
2. It designated the governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor­General of Bengal’ and created
an Executive Council of four members to assist him. The first such Governor General
was Lord Warren Hastings.

48
 3. This act gave the right to vote to the shareholders of the EIC for the election of the
Directors of the company holding stock worth 1000 for 12 months preceding the date
of elections.
4. This act made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the
governor­n in general of Bengal, unlike earlier, when the three presidencies were
independent of one another.
5. It provided for the establishment of a supreme Court at Calcutta in 1774 having one
chief Justice and three other judges
6. This act prohibited the servants of the company from engaging in any private trade or
accepting presents or bribes from the natives.
7. This act strengthened the control of the British Government over the company by
requiring the court of Directors to report to the revenue, civil, and military affairs in
India.
8. This act also made the Governor General in Council strong to make rules and
regulations, for the good order and the civil government of the Company’s territories
in India.
9. No British Subject was to charge interest at rate higher than 12 percent.

2.2.2: Pitt’s India Acts of 1784

In order to rectify the defects of the Regulating act of 1773 the British parliament passed the
amending act 1781. It also known as Act of Settlement. This act further changed as the Pitt’s
India act in 1784. This act strengthened the position of the Governor General in Council Vis­
Vis the Supreme Court. In company’s administration was changed by this act. The features
of this Act were as follows

1­ It distinguishes between commercial and political functions of the company.

2­ This act established a Board of six commissioners for the affairs of India known as
Board of Control (BOC).
3­ The BOC was vested the power of appointing any of the company’s servants.

49
4­ The Court of directors were to be bound by all orders of the Board touching the civil
and military government and the revenues of India.
5­ This act reduce the numbers of members from four to three in Governor generals
executive council.
6­ The Board of Control was empowered to send secret orders and directions regarding
secret matters such as declaring of war, making of peace or negotiating with any of
the native princess or states in India, to the secret committee of the court of directors.
7­ The appointment of the governor general was made by the directors with the approval
of the crown. Such approval was not needed whenever the governors and members of
the executive council were appointed.
8­ Governor General and the council were empowered to superintend, direct and control
the several presidencies and governments in matters of war and peace.

However, this act was very significant as for the first time the company’s territory in
India was called British possession in India and the British government was given the
supreme control over company’s affairs and its administration in the country.

2.2.3: The Charter Act of 1833

This act was focused towards the legislative centralization in India. The features of
this act were given below
1­ The act abolished the company’s trading monopoly completely.
2­ This act introduced financial centralization.
3­ This act was an attempt to introduce a system of open competition for selection of
civil servants, and stated that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any
place, office and employment under the company.
4­ This act deprived the governor of Bombay and Madras of their legislative powers.
5­ The laws made under the previous acts were known as regulations but by this laws
it became act.

50
 6­ This act recommended the appointment of a law commission under the presidency
of the law member.
7­ For helping the executive council in the process of law making a law member was
added.
8­ This act extended the jurisdiction of the governor general in council.

2.2.4: Charter Act of 1853

Under the Charter act of 1853 the road to the final surrender of authority by the EIC
was opened. This act allowed the company to govern only until parliament shall
otherwise provide. This act was a significant constitutional land mark in India. The
features of this act were given below.

1­ This act for the first time separated the legislative and executive functions of the
governor general are council.
2­ This act provided for addition of six new members declared as Legislative
councilors.
3­ By this act the legislative wing of the council worked as a mini parliament.
4­ This act introduces an open competition system of selection and recruitment of
civil servants.
5­ This act extended the company’s role and allowed it to continue in India under
the trust of the British Crown.
6­ By this act local representatives in the India legislative council were introduced.

The Crown Rule 1858 to 1947

The historical development of the Constitution of India was divided into two parts.

(1) From 1773 to 1858 (As discussed above)

(2) From 1858 to 1947(As discussed under)

2.2.5: Government of India Act 1858

The government of India Act, 1858, ended the company rule and transferred the government
of the country directly to the British crown. The company rule was, thus, ended and the

51
administration was carried out in the name of the crown thought the secretary of the state.
The secretary assumed the powers of the company’s Board of Directors (BOD) as well as the
Board of Control (BOC) . The Secretary of State, accountable to the British parliament
required to be supported by the Council of India comprising of fifteen members. The crown
was required to appoint eight members for the Council, while the Board of Directors was to
elect the remaining seven. The main features of this Act were as follows:

1­ It made the administration of the country unitary as well as rigidly centralized.

Though the territory was divided into provinces with a Governor or Lieutenant
Governor headed by his executive council, yet the provincial governments were mere
against of the government. They had to function under the superintendence, direction
and control of the governor general in all matters related to the governors of the
province.

2­ It made no provision for separation of function. The entire authority for the
governance of India like civil, military, executive and legislative was handed over to
the governor of the council, who was accountable to the secretary of the state.

3­ The secretary of the state had complete control over the Indian administration.
4­ The entire apparatus of administration was made bureaucratic.
5­ The Board of Control and the Court of Director’s were abolished and their powers
were transferred to the secretary of the state of India and the Indian Council.
6­ Secretary of state was to sit in the British parliament was to be assisted by a
parliamentary undersecretary. He was to be a cabinet minister of England but his
salary and that of his establishment was to be paid out of the revenue of India.
7­ The secretary of state for India was to be the president of India council. He was a
given a vote and a casting vote in the case of tie.
8­ The act clears an India council of 15 members. Seven of them were to be elected by
the court of directors and the remaining 8 were to be appointed by the crown.

52
 9­ The act of 1858 transferred the Government of India to the hands of British
Parliament and the latters acquired full, formal and legal control over Indian affairs.
10­ Every year, the secretary of state was to present to the Commons a report on the
moral and material progress in India.
11­ The secretary of State in council was too laid down certain directions for the guidance
of the government of Indian in its dealings with England.
12­ Control over the civil and military servants of the crown was given to the Indian
council.

However, the Act of 1858 was introduced for ‘the better Government of India’. Thus, it
introduced many significant changes in the Home Government. However, these changes
were not related to the administrative set­up of India. Foremost changes were made in the
Constitution of India after the severe crisis of 1857­58 Sepoy mutiny (Sipahi Bidrohia).
There were many reasons behind the introduction of these changes. All legislative
procedures were centralized by the Charter Act of 1833. The sole authority for legislating
and passing decrees, while implementing them for the economy, rested with the Legislative
council i.e. centre. Though the functioning of the Legislative Council was set up by the
Charter Acts of 1833, the Act was not followed appropriately. The council resulted into a
debating society or a parliament on a smaller scale, claiming all privileges and functions of
the representative body. While acting as an independent legislator, the council did not
function well with the home government. As a result, the first council act was passed in 1861
after holding discussion between the home governments in India. This act became very
significant but did not grant any political rights to the Indians, so it could not fulfill the
aspirations of the Indians.

2.2.6: Indian Council Act 1861

The Indian council act 1861 made various contributions to the process of making of the
constitution of India. It introduced a representative institution in India for the first time. As
per this act, the executive council of the governor general was to comprise some Indians as
non­official members for the connection of legislative business. It has initiated the process of
decentralization by restoring the legislative powers to the Mumbai and Madras presidency.

53
Another feature of the act was its statutory recognition of the portfolio system. Looking to its
depth, the Indian council act was a part of legislation that was passed by the parliament of
Great Britain in 1861, which converted the executive council of the viceroy of the India into
a Cabinet on the portfolio system. This cabinet has six ordinary members, each of whom was
in charge of an independent department in the Calcutta government. Comprising,
government, revenue, law and finance, and public works (post 1874). The military
commander in chief worked with the council as a special member. Under the provision of the
act, the viceroy was allowed to overrule to the council when he deemed it unnecessary.

The act offered many privileges to the members of the legislative council. They could
discuss legislation and give their inputs or suggestions. This legislative power that was taken
away by the Charter of 1833, was restored those Act. On the other hand, there were some
drawbacks of the Act as well. The members of the council were not allowed to implement
any legislation on their own. The features of the Act are as follows:

1. The Act added a fifth member to the executive council of the Viceroy. The member
was assumed to be a gentleman of legal professional service and a jurist. The Act
further gave powers to the Governor­General to enact rules for convenient business
transactions in the Council. Lord Canning used the power to pioneer the portfolio
system in the Government of India. Until then, the Government’s rules administered
the executive council as a whole due to which all official documents were brought
under the notice of the council members.

2. Before the Act, Canning divided the government amongst the council members. With
this, the foundation of the cabinet government was formed in India. The Act further
declared that each administrative branch would have its own spokesman and Head in
the Government, who would be responsible for the entire administration and
defiance. The new system witnessed the daily administrative matters taken care by
the member­ in­charge. In important case, the concerned member used to present the
matters before the Governor­General and consult him before taking any decision.

54
 The decentralization of business brought in some efficiency in the system; however,
it could not be accomplished thoroughly.

3. The Governor General was given the power to create new provinces for legislative
purposes and to appoint Lt. Governors for these provinces.

4. This Act introduced a number of legislative reforms in the country. The number of
members in the Viceroy’s executive council was increased, wherein; it was declared
that additional members should be six to the minimum and twelve to the maximum.
These were directly nominated by the Governor­General for two years. Not less than
50 per cent of the members were non­official members. The Act did not make any
statutory provisions for admitting Indians. However, a few non­official seats of high
rank were offered to Indians. The Council’s functions were strictly confined to the
legislative affairs. It did not have any control over the administration, finance and the
right of interpellation.

5. Every bill passed by the provincial council required not only the ascent of the
governor but also the governor general.

6. The Act reestablished the legislative powers of implementing and amending laws to
the provinces of Madras and Bombay. Nonetheless, the provincial councils could not
pass any laws until they had the consent of the Governor­General. Besides, in few
matters, the prior approval of the governor­General was made compulsory. After the
Act, the legislative councils were formed in Bengal, Punjab and the north­western
provinces during the period from 1862 to 1889.

7. This Act considerably positioned down the mechanical set­up of the government.
There were three independent presidencies formed into a common system. The
legislative and the administrative authority of the Governor­General­in Council was
established over different provinces. Further, the Act also gave legislative authority

55
 to the governments of Bombay and Madras. It laid many requirements for creating
identical legislative councils in other provinces. This led to the decentralization of
legislative powers which culminated in autonomy grants to the provinces under the
Government of India Act, 1935.

8. The council was expanded by not less than four and not more than eight members, out
of whom half were to be nonofficial and consistently Indians.

9. The governor General was empowered the right to create similar other bodies for
north western provinces and Punjab.

However, in the act, there was no endeavor to make under the Council Act of 1861, to
discriminate the jurisdiction of the Central Legislature from the Local Legislature in the
federal constitution. The main functions of the Legislative Councils, as established under the
Act, were not carried out properly. The Councils could not perform in conformity to the Act.
The Act could not establish representative government in India on the basis of the England
government. It declared that the colonial representative assemblies would largely discuss
financial matters and taxation. This Act paved the path for extensive anxiety and public
estrangement. This Act was the first milestone leading to the responsible government.

2.2.7: Indian Council Act, 1892

The Indian Council Act of 1892 was the first result of the India National Congress (INC)
which came in 1885. It is important to understand the evolution of this Act. The legislative
reforms introduced under the Acts of 1861 failed miserably in meeting the demands and
aspirations of the people of India. The small elements of non­officials, which mainly
comprised big zamindars, Indian princes or retired officials, were entirely unaware of the
problems of the common man. Thus, the people of India were not happy. Notwithstanding

56
with this, in 1892, the British parliament decided to enlarge the legislative councils working
in India by increasing the number of additional members. The most important system, that is
the electoral system, was introduced in India by this act 1892. The other features of this Act
are given below:

1. This Act emerged the nationalist spirit among Indian in the late 19th century. The
universities were established of in the presidencies leading to educational
developments in the country. The gulf between in the British and the Indian in the
field of Civil Services was not liked by the Indians. The Acts enacted by Lord Ripon,
that is, the Vernacular press Act and the Indian Arms Act of 1878, infuriated Indian to
a great extent.

2. This Act provided a controversy between the two governments over the expulsion of
5 per cent cotton duties made Indians aware of the injustice of the British
government. This gave rise to the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885.
The main aim of the Congress was to organize public options in India, the grievances
public and demand reforms from the British government.

3. In the beginning, the approach of the British government towards the Indian National
Congress was good but it transformed when Lord Dufferin criticized the Congress
from the front. He tried to be little the significance of the Congress leaders and
ignored the importance of the movement launched by the Congress. He secretly sent
proposals to England to liberalize the councils and appoint a committee which plan
the enlargement of the provincial councils. As a result, a Committee report was sent
to the Home authorities in England to make changes in the Councils’ composition and
functions. The report was aimed at giving Indians a wider share in the administration.
In 1890, the Conservative Ministry introduced a bill in the House of Lords in England
based on these proposals. The House of Lord took two years to adopt measures in the
form of the Indian Council Act of 1892.

57
4. This Act was known to have allocated entirely with the powers, functions and
composition of the legislative council in India. In respect of the central legislature, the
act ensured that the number of additional members should only be between six and
twelve. An increase in the members was regarded worthless. Lord Curzon supported
it saying that the efficiency of the body had no relation with the numerical strength of
its members.

5. This Act acknowledged that the two­fifth of the total members in the council should
be non­officials. Some of them were to be nominated and others are elected. The
election principle was compromised to some extent. According to act the members of
the legislature were given equal rights to express themselves in financial issues. It was
decided that all financial affairs, statements would be prepared in the legislation.
However, the members are not allowed to either move resolution or divide the houses
as per financial concerns. The members could only put questions limited to the
governmental matters of interests on 6 days’ notice.
6. This Act had conveyed many rules and regulations. The significant feature of the act
was the introduction of the election procedure as stated above. The term election was
carefully used in the act. In addition to the elected official’s members, the act
pronounced that there should be five non­official members. It further said that these
members should elected by the official members of the provincial legislatures of
Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, the north­western province and the Calcutta chamber of
commerce. The Governor General had the authority to nominate the five non­official
members. The bodies were allowed to elect the members of District Boards,
Municipalities, universities and the Chambers of Commerce but the election methods
were not clearly mentioned. The elected members were officially regarded as
‘nominated’ inspire of the fact that recommendations of each legislative body was
taken into consideration for the selection of these members. According to this Act, the
members were allowed to make observations on the bought and give their suggestions
on how revenue can be increased and expenditure can be reduced. The principal of

58
 election, as introduced by the Acts of 1892, was used in the formation of the
Constitution as well.

7. This Act gave more functions to the legislative body. The members of the legislative
councils were given the right of putting questions to the executive councilors.

8. This act authorized the council to discuss the annual financial statement.
9. This act laid down the foundations of a representative government.

Valentine Chirol said “The Indian Council Act 1892 was the first approach to the
admission of the elective principles in the representation of Indian unofficial opinion in the
Viceroys legislative council but on a minor scale and in a roundabout way”. However, there
were numerous faults and drawbacks in the Acts of 1892 because of which the Act could not
satisfy the needs of the Indian nationalist and more particularly the INC. It was criticized in
various sessions of the Indian National Congress. The Critics did not like the election
procedure mentioned in the Act. Finally, it can be said that this Act made a limited and
indirect provision for the use of election in filling up some of the non­official seats both in
the central and provincial legislative councils.

2.2.8: India Council Act, 1909 or Morley -Minto Reform 1909

Indian council Act was also known as or Morley ­Minto Reform 1909. This act was passed
after seventeen years after passing the Indian council Act of 1892. It was the next step of the
constitutional reform in India by the British Government. In 1909 the Indian Council Act or
the Morley­ Minto Reform was passed. Lord Morley, the Secretary of state for India Affairs,
announced that his government wished to create new reforms for Indian, wherein the locals
would be granted more powers in legislative affairs. Both Lord Morley and Lord Minto
believed that terrorism in Bengal needed to be countered. The committee submitted the
report and the reforms mentioned in the report were agreed upon by Lord Minto and Lord

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Morley. Thus, the Act of 1909 was passed by the British Parliament, also referred as the
Minto­Morley Reforms. This Act changed the name of the Central Legislative Council to the
Imperial Legislative Council. The size of the Councils of provinces was enlarged by
including non­officials members. The functions the legislative councils were increased by
this Act. However, the real perseverance of the act was, to pursue the divide and rule in India
and in the process to introduce some developmental charges with a view to placate the
growing demands of the Indian moderates. The features of the Act are given below.

1. This Act simplified elections of India’s in legislative councils. Prior to this, some
Indians were appointed at legislative councils, majority of which remained under the
appointments of the British governments of the British government.
2. This Act introduced the electoral principle discussing the framework for a
parliamentary system.
3. This Act increased number of members of the Legislative Council at the Centre from
sixteen to sixty.
4. This Act granted the Muslims and the right of a separate electorate.
5. This Act made the Official members with a majority rule. However, in provinces,
non­official members formed the majority.
6. This Act introduced the two Indians were to be nominated in the Council of the
Secretary of state for Indian Affairs.
7. This Act initiated the power of nominating one Indian member to the executive
council was with the Governor­General.

8. This Act made the provision for concessions under a constant source of strife among
the Hindu and Muslim population from 1990 to 1947. British statement generally
considered reserved seats as regrettable as it encouraged communal extremism. The
Hindu politicians tried to eliminate reserved seats as they considered them to be
autocratic. They also believed that the reserved seats would hinder the development
of a shared Indian national feeling among Hindus and Muslims.

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9. This Act provided for the association of Indians with the executive Councils of the
Viceroy and governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian to Join the
Viceroys Executive Councils. He was appointed as the law member.

10. This Act expanded the central imperial legislative council. The strength of the
additional member was raised from 16 to 60. There were 37 official and 32 non­
officials. Out of the 37 officials 9 were ex­ official Governor General executive
councilors and 28 were nominated by the Governor General. Out of the 32 non­
official, there are 5 nominated and 27 elected non­ officials. Out of the 9 were ex­
official Governor General executive councilors, there were one Governor General, 6
ordinary members and 2 extra­ordinary members. Out of the 27 elected non­ officials
13 are general electorates, 12 class electorates and special electorates. Out of the 12
class electorates there were 6 Muslims constituencies and 6 land lords’ constitutions.

11. This Act provided provincial legislative council were also expanded and their
strength were to be Bengal(52), 47 members from Madras, Bombay and United
Provinces , 41 seats from east Bengal, 41 members from Assam, 25 members from
Punjab and 16 from Burma.

12. This Act introduced Communal Electorates covering all the people, landlords,
Muslims and covering special institutions like chambers of commerce.

13. This Act imposed disqualifications on the political offenders. The political offenders
had no right to offer themselves for contesting in the elections.

14. This Act also embraced the rules for the general public interest by discussing these
matters with the members of the legislative councilors.

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However, by criticizing this act, K.M. Munsi said “The rising democracy having been
stabbed, Minto promised separate electorates in to the Muslims, in the proposed Reforms. A
religious minority, at the behest of the British authorities was accorded a political existence
as a make weight against the growing nationalism in the country, while the councils
established under the Minto­Morly Reforms of course remained ‘guided shams’ with
magnified non­entities whose constituency was the Government House.” Coupland also
criticized these reforms by observing that “Non­official minorities were allowed in the
provinces but there were serious limitations. Since the ultimate responsibility for the good
government of India was still vested in the British parliament, which meant, the British India
Government, the maintenance of the central Government with a wide measure of Control
over provincial Governments, the Councils field of action, both in admi9nidtratiive and
legislative matters……their proceedings an air of unreality. ” Dr. Keith, also criticized the
Act by saying that “The Reform of 1909 was failed because of the propagation of self­
Government,”

2.2.9: August Declaration or Montague Declaration of 1917

In 1917, Montagu Declaration came in order to realize the self­government in India. This Act
was the announcement of the government of the British in order to gain support from the
Indians. As, during that time there were the unity of the congress and Muslim league in
Lucknow pact in 1916, the unity of the moderates and the extremists, beginning of the Home
Rule movement of India, so the British government tried to take a chance of choice. Out of
this chance and choice the August Declaration came into existence. To maintain a
responsible government in India was the ultimate goal of the declaration. This declaration
was announced on 20th August, 1917. Under this provision, lord Montague declared “The
policy of His Majesty’s government with which the government of India are in full accord, is
that of increasing association of the Indians in every branch of administration and the gradual
development of self­government institutions with a view to the progressive realization of
responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire. They have decided
that substantial steps in this direction should be taken as soon as possible and that it is of the
highest importance as a preliminary to considering what these steps should be that there

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should be a free and informal exchange. It is because of opinion between those in authority
at home and in India. His Majesty” s Government have accordingly decided with His
Majesty’s approval that I should accept the Viceroy’s invitation to proceed the Indian to
discuss this matters with the viceroy and Government of India to consider with the viceroy
the views of the local government and the receive with him suggestion of representative
bodies and other.

2.2.10: Government of India Act, 1919

The British Government, on 20 August 1917, proclaimed various objectives in order to

introduce the responsible government in India. For this the British parliament enacted the
Government of India Act 1919 which came into force in 1921. This Act was an Act of the
parliament passed by the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of the
natives in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the joint
report Sir Edwin Montagu and Lord Chelmsford. The retraction of British imperialism was a
result of India’s enthusiastic participation in World War I. The Act broadly emphasized on
the dual form of government, called diarchy, for major provinces. It also affirmed that a High
Commissioner residing in London would represent India in Great Britain. The Government
of India Act was enacted for ten long years, i.e. from 1919 to 1929. The measure features of
this act were given below:

1. This Act gave emphasis on responsibility of the viceroys for controlling various areas
such as defence, communications and foreign affairs etc. The Government was
responsible to take care of the matters related to health and education. Moreover,
there was a bicameral legislature sited at the Center, comprising legislative assembly
with 144 members, out of which 41 were nominated.

2. This Act also emphasized on the membership of the Council of States in the structure
of the council. There are 34 elected members and 26 nominated members in the

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 council. The responsibility of keeping control over political parties was handed over
by the princely States. The Indian National Congress was a special session held in
Bombay, where reforms were disintegrated. However, these reforms were also
appreciated by the leaders like Surendranath Banerjee.

3. This Act introduced important changes in the Home Government, at the Centre, as
well as the Provinces. System of diarchy in the provinces: According to this system,
the subjects of administration were to be divided into two categories: central and
provincial, the central subjects were exclusively kept under the control of the central
government. On the other hand, the provincial subjects were sub­divided into
‘transferred’ and ‘reserved’ subjects.
4. This Act inducted the Central control over the provinces. Under this provision,
subjects of all­India importance were brought under the category ‘central’, while
matters primarily relating to the administration of the provinces were put under
‘provincial’ subjects. This meant a relaxation of the previous central control over the
provinces not only in administrative but also in legislative and financial matters. The
forgoing provincial budgets were removed by the government of India and the
provincial legislatures were empowered to present their own budgets and levy taxes
according to the provincial sources of revenue.
5. This Act made Indian legislature more representative. It made the Indian legislature
bi­cameral, consisting of the upper house named the Council of States and the lower
house named the Legislative Assembly. The Council of states had 60 members of
which 34 were elected. The Legislative Assembly had 144 members out of which
104 were elected. However, the Centre did not introduce any responsibility and the
Governor­General in Council remained accountable to the British parliament. The
governor generals overriding powers in respect of the central legislation were
retained in many forms.

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6. This Act created new office of the high commissioner for India in London and
transferred to him some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of state
for India.

7. This Act emphasized on the establishment of a public service commission. Hence, a

central public service commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants.

8. This Act separated provincial budgets from the central budget and authorized the
provincial legislators to enact their budgets.

9. This Act made certain changes in the central government. The central Legislative
Assembly was called “Federal Assembly” which was constituted on the basis of the
representation of the provinces and other areas in British India, in proportion to their
populations. The members who were representing Governor’s provinces should be
elected by provincial councils by method of promotion proportionate representation
so as to ensure adequate representation of minorities. The members from North West
Frontier province and other areas outside the provinces, should be returned by
methods appropriate to each other.

However, in 1927, the British Government appointed a statutory commission, known

as Simon Commission, as envisaged by the Government of India Act 1919 to make
an enquiry in the functioning of the act and to announce that the domination status
was the goal of Indian political developments. Sir John Simon was the chairman of
the commission. The committee landed on Bombay in 1927 which gave its final
report in 1930. This report was given consideration at a Round table conference that
created a white paper. The white paper was examined by joint select committee of
the British parliament. Lord Linlithgow was appointed the president of the joint
Select Committee. The committee presented a draft bill on 5th February 1935. The
bill was discussed for 43 days in the House of Commons and foe 13th days in the

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 House of Lords. After the signatures of the king the bill was enforced in July 1935 as
the Government of India act 1935. In August 1932, Ramsay McDonald, the British
Prime­minister, announced a scheme of representation of the minorities, which came
to be known as the communal Award. The award not only continued separate
electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and Europeans
but also extended it to the depressed classes. Gandhi was distressed over this
extension of the principle of the communal representation to the depressed classes
and undertook fast unto death in Yeraveda jail at Poona to get the award modified.
Lastly, there was an agreement between the leaders of the congress and the
depressed classes. This agreement is known as Poona Pact. This agreement reserved
the joint electorate and gave earmarked places to the depressed classes in India.

2.2.11: Government of India act 1935

The Government of India act 1935 noticeable another landmark to a completely responsible
government in India. It was a lengthy and detailed document having 321 sections and 10
schedules. In 1930, discussions over the Simon commissions report in 1930, in the three
Round Table Conferences in1930, 1931 and 1932 respectively. In these conferences all the
disputes regarding various matters were settled. Ramsay MacDonald’s Communal Award
amended by Gandhi­Irwin Pact. The British government issued a white paper on the
proposals for constitutional reforms in India. The Government of India Act 1935 was passed
on the basis of the recommendations. There were many changes in the Indian constitutional
system. The features of the Act are as follows.

1. Establishment of Federal features with provincial autonomy: - This Act provided

for the establishment of an all­India Federation comprising the provinces and princely
states as units into three lists, i.e., the Federal List, the Provincial List and the
Concurrent List. Though the Act advocated the use of the provinces and the Indian
states as units in a federation, it was optional for the Indian state accepted this
provision and hence the federation envisaged by the Act was not operational.

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2. Introduction of Dyarchy at the centre and provincial autonomy in provinces: -
This act provided provincial autonomy which was introduced in April 1937. Within
its well­defined sphere, the provinces were no longer delegates of the central
government but were autonomous units of the administration. The executive authority
of a province was to be exercised by a Governor on behalf of the Crown and not as a
subordinate of the Governor­General. The Governor acted in consultation with the
ministers who were liable to the legislature. However, the Governor was given some
supplementary powers which could be exercised by him at his ‘discretion’ or in the
exercise of his ‘individual decision in certain matters without taking advice from the
ministers. By this act the dyarchy was introduced at the centre, though dyarchy in the
provinces was abolished and provincial autonomy was introduced. The governors
were given special responsibilities to act in their individual judgement and assume all
powers in the case of a breakdown of constitutional machinery.

3. Abolished dyarchy in the provinces: - The Act abolished dyarchy in the provinces
and continued the system of dyarchy at the centre. According to this system, the
administration of defence, external affairs, ecclesiastical affairs, and of tribal areas,
was to be made by the Governor­General in his discretion with the help of
‘counsellors’ appointed by him. These counsellors were not responsible to the
legislature. With regards to matters other than the above reserved subjects, the
Governor General was to act on the advice of a council of minister who was
responsible to the legislator. However, in regard to the governor generals ‘special
responsibility’, he could act contrary to the advice given by the ministers.

4. Introduction of Bi-cameralism: - The central legislator was made bi­cameral which

comprised of the federal assembly and council of state. It also introduced
bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces, and these provinces were Assam,
Bombay, Bengal, Madras and the United Province. The members of each legislature
were increased. The Federal legislator comprises two houses i.e. the council of states
and the Federal assembly. A council of state was required to have 260 members, out

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 of which 156 needed to be elected from the British India and 104 to be nominated by
the princely states. The federal was required to include 375 members, out of which
250 members were required to be elected by the legislative assembly of the British
Indian provinces and 125 to be nominated by the princely states. The membership of
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) was to be the smallest that was only of 50. In
this way the Government of India Act 1935 established a Bi­cameral and enlarged
legislation.

5. Distribution of powers between Centre and Provinces: ­ The legislative powers

were divided between the Provinces and the Centre into three lists. These are the
Federal list, the Provincial list and the Concurrent List. There was a facility for
Residuary Subjects also. The federal list for the centre consisted of fifty­nine items
such as external affairs; currency and coinage; naval, military and air forces; and
census, etc. The Provincial List consisted of fifty­four items which dealt with subjects
such as police, Provincial public services and education, etc. The concurrent list
comprised thirty­six items dealing with subjects like criminal law and procedure, civil
procedure, marriage and divorces, and abortion, etc. The Residuary powers were
given to the Governor­General. He was empowered to authorize the Federal or the
Provincial Legislature to ratify a law for any matter if not listed in any of the
Legislative Lists. The provinces were, however, given autonomy with respect to
subjects delegated to them.
6. Replacement of Indian Council: ­ This act replaced the India council by advisers.
The Home government was also changed and the Indian council was dissolved. Its
place was taken by a group of advisers to the Secretary of State for India whose
number was fixed between 3 to 6. The Secretary of State had the right to consult these
advisers individually or collectively. Thus, the Indian Council was removed. In its
place, few advisors were nominated to assist the Secretary of States of India.

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7. The enlarged electorate: ­ This act lowered the franchise qualification by enlarging
the electorate system. Around ten percent of the population got the right to vote for
the provincial legislatures. The communal electorate was also extended according to
population. In 1919 the electorates were broken into ten parts which was extended
into seventeen unequal bits later.
8. Establishment of a Federal Court: ­ This act established a Federal court with both
original and appellate jurisdiction. By this act the provinces got the power to decide
disputes between the federating units.

9. Establishment of Reserve Bank: ­ This Act established a Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) in 1935. There was a Governor and fifteen Directors to control the financial
condition and stability of the country.

10. Provincial Autonomy: ­ The unique feature of this Act was the establishment of
autonomy in the provinces. The long­standing system of Dyarchy in the provinces
was abolished. It also eradicated the distinction between the transferred subjects and
the reserved subjects. The whole administration of the provinces was under the
charge of the ministers and they were appointed by the governor among the
members of provincial legislator. They were collectively responsible to the
legislator. The Central Legislature was empowered to pass any Bill though the Bill
required the Governor­General’s approval before it became Law. The Governor­
General too had the power to pass ordinances. Thus, this Act abolished dyarchy in
the provinces by establishing the provincial autonomy.

11. Changes in territorial administration: - This Act brought changes in the territorial
administration of the provinces. By this Act, Burma was separated from India and
got transferred under the control of colonial administration. This transfer was
affected on 1st April, 1937. Aden was also taken away from India and instituted in to
a crown colony. Sind and Odisha were created as two new provinces.

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 12. The Provisions of Safeguards: - The safeguards were the very vital features of the
Act. They are the bulwark against the undesirable tendencies which the
constitutional pandits want to avoid. The safeguards were governed by the objectives
through which they were given and taken away with the other. The Governor
General and Governors were vested with special responsibilities such as prevention
of grave threat to the peace and security of India or in a province; the protection of
legitimate interest of the minorities; safeguarding of the rights of services; protecting
the rights of Indian states and the dignity of the Indian rulers and the prevention of
discrimination against the British goods. However, the most important safeguards
are as follows
a­ Defence and external affairs were kept firmly in the British clutch.
b­ Special responsibilities in governor and governor general.
c­ The safeguard relating to finance was created contempt of transferring its
control to the popular ministers.
d­ Governors power to declare the constitution of a province have been
broken down was like a ‘Damocles’ showed hanging on the ministers head.
e­ He has also the capabilities to amend the constitution of India for the
popular aspirations for independence.

The Indian National Congress as well as the Muslim League was strictly against the Act but
they participated in the provincial elections of 1936­37, which were held under stipulations
of the Act. At the time of independence, the two dominions of India and Pakistan accepted
the Act of 1935, with few amendments, as their provisional constitution. By commenting the
act Maulana Azad said “The Government of Indi Act 1935 provided for provincial autonomy
but there was a fly in the ointment. Special powers were reserved to the governors to declare
a state of emergency and once a governor did so he could suspend the constitution and
assume all powers to himself. Democracy in the provinces, therefore function only so long as
the governors permitted it. The position was even worse so far as a central government was
concerned….”
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2.2.12: Cripps Mission 1942

The Cripps mission was appointed by the British government under the chairmanship of Sir
Stafford Cripps. This mission was landed in India on 22nd March, 1942. This mission aimed
to control the political crisis in India during that period. This committee came to India to
discuss with the Governor General, the Executive councilor and the Indian leaders belonging
to all the political parties. The mission set different types of proposal to solve the political
crisis. The mission’s proposals were given below

1­ The proposal for an elected body to charge with the task of framing a new
constitution for India.
2­ The proposal for the participation of India states in the constitution making body.
3­ By this proposal, the government undertakes to accept and implement the following.
(a) The right to any province of British India that is not prepared to accept the new
constitution to retain its present constitution positions; provision being made for
its subsequent accession if it so decides.
(b) The signing of the treaty which shall be negotiated between His Majesty’s
Government and constitution making body. The treaty will cover all necessary
matters arising out of the complete transfer of responsibility from British to Indian
hands …..Common Wealth
(c) “Whether or not an Indian State elects to adhere to the constitution, it will be
necessary to negotiate a revision of its treaty arrangements so far as this may be
required in a new situation”.

4. Indian states shall be invited to appoint representatives in the same portion to their total
population as in the case of representatives in the same proportion to their total population as
in the case of representatives of British India as a whole.

2.2.13: Cabinet Mission 1945

With the defeat of Germany the 2nd World war ended. The Conservative party was defeated
in England and Labour party came to power. Clement Attle became the Prime Minister of
Britain. In a mission to view the sympathy for Indians he took the initiative in sending a

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high power Cabinet mission, constituted by Lord Pethic Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and
Mr. A.V. Alexander. The committee came to India and discussed with the Viceroy and the
Indian leaders to formulate the principles for the new constitution of India. This mission
reached Delhi on 24th March 1946. After that a new plan was set up. The objective of this
cabinet mission plan is given below

1­ This mission planned to have a Union of India with British India and the States,
dealing with subjects like foreign affairs, defence, communication, etc.
2­ This mission planned to have an Executive and Legislature from British India and
state representatives.
3­ This mission planned to have the vast province with union subjects and residuary
powers.
4­ This mission retained all subjects and powers other than those relinquished to the
union of the states.
5­ This mission planned to free all provinces to form groups with executives and
legislatures giving each group a common determination.
6­ This mission planned to setup the provincial constitution for the particular provinces.
7­ This mission planned to have a constitution of a union and of the groups containing a
provision that any province could by majority vote of its legislative assembly can call
for a reconsideration of the constitution after an initial period of ten years.
8­ This mission recommended the summoning of a constituent assembly to draft the
constitution.
9­ This mission planned to have an interim government for India with several provisions
such as scheme for making India a federation; proposal for the setting up a constituent
assembly in India for making the constitution; ending the British supremacy over
India states; rejection of demand for creation of Pakistan; setting up interim National
government etc.
10­ The interim government took over power in India in June 1946. The constituent
assembly came into existence in December 1946.

2.2.14: Mount Batten Plan

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 On 24th March 1947 Lord Mount Batten assumed the office of the new Viceroy in India.
He was appointed by the Prime Minister of Britain, Mr. Clement Attle, in order to issue
of transfer of power to the Indians. While transferring he faced a great problem by the
Muslim League, who demanded a separate of Pakistan. After that he realized that the best
alternative for the country was to follow the principle of “Divide and Rule”. On the basis
of that policy and to maintain peace and security he formulated a plan by consultations
with the British government. The major features of the plan were as follows

1­ Immediate necessity was to divide India and to create a separate state of ‘Pakistan’.
2­ The Muslim majority districts and the rest of the provinces would meet separately in
the legislative assembly and decide by a simple majority votes for their respective
provinces was to be divided or not.
3­ After the division the provinces had an option to whether to join the existing
constituent assembly in Delhi or to create a new constituent assembly.
4­ A referendum was also held in ‘Sylhet’ a Muslim dominated district in Assam.
5­ In the case of North­West Frontier Province (NWFP), a referendum was initiated
whether to join Delhi or the New State.
6­ The question of British Baluchistan was under processing.

However, both the Congress and the Muslim League accepted the proposal given by
Mountbatten Plan. On the basis of the recommendation of the Mountbatten Plan, the
British parliament passed the Indian Independence Act of 1947. This Act provided for
the freedom of India by dividing it into two parts, i.e., West Pakistan and East­
Pakistan. In 1971, the East­Pakistan again liberated itself from Pakistan and became a
separate country known as Bangladesh.

2.2.15: Indian Independence Act, 1947

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The British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, on 20th February, 1947 officially declared that
the British rule in India would end by June 30, 1948. The power of British Government
would transfer from the British Government to the responsible Indian hands. The Indian
Independence Act, 1947, was ratified and passed by the British Parliament that officially
announced the Independence of India and the partition of India. An agreement was passed
among the Indian Political Parties, the Indian National Congress (INC), the Muslim League
and the Sikh community regarding the transfer of power from the British Government to the
independent Indian Government, with the partition of India. The main provisions of the
Indian Independent Act were given below.

1­ On 20th February 1947, the prime Minister of UK, Clement Attlee announced that by
June 1948, the British Government would endow absolute self­government to British
India and after deciding the final transfer date, the future of princely states would be
decided.
2­ The Indian Independence Act 1947 came into commencement from the 3rd June plan.
On 3rd June 1947, a plan was proposed by the British government that outlined the
following principals; the principle of partition of India was agreed upon by the British
Government and the successive governments were allotted dominion status.
3­ Two separate dominions of India and Pakistan came into existence on15th August
1947.
4­ Territories for the two dominions were defined and they were vested to include and
exclude their territory.
5­ There was one Governor General for each domain.
6­ The constituent assemblies of the two domains were to work both a constitution
making body and legislative body.
7­ On 15th August 1947 all laws came into force.
8­ Members of service would enjoy their power, privileges and rights until they have
continuity in service.
9­ Special powers for the Governor General were abolished.
10­ The states were free to join either dominions or remain independent.
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 11­ It dropped the title of Emperor of India from the royal titles of the King of England.
12­ It discontinued the appointment of Civil Service and reservation of post by the
Secretary of state for India.
13­ The Office of Secretary of State was ended by the Secretary of Commonwealth
Affairs.

With this the rule of British in India came to an end. The Indian Independence Act of 1947
ended the era of constitutional development under the British. Thereafter, an era of self­rule
and the theme of self­effort of constitutional development began with a new light and new
aspiration. Finally on 26th January 1950, India was declared as a Sovereign, Democratic,
Republic with her Self­made constitution. Therefore, it is pertinent to discuss the
composition, function and role of the ‘Constituent Assembly’ of India in making a Self­made
constitution, which is discussed as under.

2.3: Introduction to the Constituent Assembly

The Constitution of India was outlined by the Constituent Assembly. The idea of making the
Constitution cannot be attributed to the Constituent Assembly alone. In 1934, the idea of the
Constituent Assembly for India was put forwarded for the first time by M.N.Roy. He was the
pioneer of the communist movement in India. He was also an advocate of Radical
Democratism. In 1935 the Indian National Congress (INC) officially demanded for setting of
a constituent assembly to frame the constitution of India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, in1938,
on behalf of INC demanded that the Constitution of free India must be a necessity, without
any outside intervention; the Constituent Assembly must be elected on the basis of adult
franchise. It was also wished to be seen in the evolutionary perspective. The adoption of the
famous Motilal Nehru Resolution in 1924 and 1925, on the national demand, was a historic
event. It is because the Center Legislature had, for the first time, lent its support to the
growing demand of the future constitution of India. It also agreed to the opinion that the
Constitution of India should be framed by Indians themselves. In November 1927, the Simon
Commission was appointed without any Indians represented in it. Therefore, all­party
meetings, held at Allahabad, voiced the demand for the right to participate in the making of
the Constitution of their country The Assembly was constituted in 1946. The members of the

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Constituent Assembly were indirectly elected by the members of the existing Provincial
Assemblies. In addition, there were members nominated by the rulers of the Princely States.
With Independence of India, the Constituent Assembly became a fully sovereign body. The
Constituent Assembly, following the partition of the country in 1947, comprised of 299
members as on 31st December 1947. Of these 229 members were elected by the provincial
assemblies and the rest were nominated by the rulers of the princely states. Majority of the
members in the Constituent Assembly belonged to the Congress party. All prominent leaders
of the freedom movement were members of the Assembly

At the Bombay session of the Congress earlier on 17 May 1927, a resolution was passed by
Motilal Nehru. The resolution called upon the Congress, Working Committee to frame the
Constitution for Indian in Consultation with the elected members of the central and
provincial legislatures, and the leaders of political parties. Implemented by an overpowering
majority with amendments, it was this resolution on the Swaraj Constitution which was later
restated by Jawaharlal Nehru in a resolution passed by the Madras Session of the Congress
on 28 December 1927.

A committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Motilal Nehru in the all party
conference of Bombay on May 1929. The committee established the principle of the
constitution of India. On 10th August 1928 the committee submitted its report which was
later became famous as the Nehru Report. This was the beginning of the process of making
of the Constituent Assembly in India to frame the constitution for their country.

There was the perception of the modern nationalists in the report. It also provided a
framework of the constitution of India. The outline was based on the principle of dominion
status and it suggested that the government should be made on the parliamentary pattern. The
report proclaimed the principle that sovereignty belongs to Indians. It laid down a set of
Fundamental Rights (FR), which was the basic necessity of the citizen of India, and provided
for a federal system with maximum autonomy granted to the units. The residuary powers
were specified to the central government.

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There was a chapter on justifiable fundamental rights and rights of minorities envisioned in
the Nehru Report in 1928, which fundamentally personified the constitution of the Sovereign
India.

In the Third Round Table Conference (TRTC) a white paper issued with an outline of
reforming the constitution of India by the British. However, the joint Parliamentary
committees which examines this proposal, observed that ‘A specific grant of constituent
power to authorities in India is not at the moment a practicable proposition,’ in its regard, the
congress working committee in June 1934 declared that the only adequate substitute to the
white paper was that the constitution be drawn out by the constituent Assembly. They
demanded that the members of the constituent assembly be elect on the basis of adult
suffrage. Significantly, this was the first time that a definite demand for a constituent
assembly was formally put progressed. The failure of the Simon Commission and the Round
Table Conference gave rise to the rectification of the Government of India Act 1935. The
congress in its Lucknow Session in April 1936 adopted a resolution in which it declared that
no constitution imposed by outside authority shall be acceptable to India. The resolution
asserted that it has to be framed by Indian constituent assembly elected by the people of India
on the basis of Adult Franchise. On 18th March 1937, the congress adopted another resolution
in Delhi which asserted these demands.

In 1939, after the outbreak of the Second World War, the demand of the constituent
Assembly was reiterated in the long statement issued by the Congress Working Committee
(CWC) on 14th September 1939. In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi wrote an article in the
‘Harijan’ 19th November 1939. There, he has expressed the view that the constituent
assembly along can produce a constitution for the country which truly an and completely
represents the will of Indians. It declared that the constituent assembly was the only way out
arrive at the solution of communal and other problems of the country. The demand was
partially considered by the British government in the, August offer of 1940. In March 1942,
the British Government sent the Cripps Mission to India with a draft declaration which
needed to be implemented at the end of the Second World War. The main proposals of the
Mission were (i) the Constitution of India was to be framed by an elected Constituent

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Assembly of the Indian people; (ii) the Constitution should give dominion status to India,
i.e., equal partnership of the British Commonwealth of Nations; (iii) there should be an
Indian union, comprising all the province an India states; and (iv) any province or Indian
state, which was not prepared to accept the constitution would be free to retrain its
constitutional position existing at that time with such province, the British government would
enter into separate constitutional arrangement. However, the Cripps mission was a failure
and no steps were taken for the formation of the constituent assembly, until the world war in
Europe came to an end in May 1945, in July, when the new Labor government came to the
power in England, Lord Wavell affirmed that his majesty’s intention was to convene a
constitutional making body as soon as possible. In 1946, the British cabinet sends three
members, including Cripps to make another serious attempt to solve the problem. However,
the cabinet delegation rejects the claim for a separate constituent assembly and a separate
state for the Muslim’s. It forwarded that there would be a union of India comprising both
British India and states, and having jurisdiction over the subjects of foreign affairs, defence
and communication. All residuary powers would belong to the provinces and the states and
the union should comprise an executive and a legislature having representatives from the
provinces and states. In order to explain the actual meaning of the clauses of the proposals of
the Cabinet Mission, the British Government published the following statement; on 6th
December 1946 ‘should a constitution come framed by the constituent assembly in which
large section of the Indian population had not been represented? ’ his Majesty government
would not consider imposing such a constitution upon any restrictive part of the country.

However, the British government for the first time pondered over the likelihood
forming two constituent assembly and two states. The cabinet mission recommended a basic
framework for the constitution and laid down a detailed procedure to be followed by the
constitution making body. The election for the 296 seats, the congress won 208 seats
including all the general seats except 9. The Muslim League won 73 seats. With the partition
and independence of the country on 14th and 15th August 1947, the constituent assembly of
India was said to have become free from the fitters of the cabinet mission plan. Following the
acceptance of the plan of 3rd June, the member of the Muslim League from the India
dominion also took their seats in the assembly. The representatives of some of the Indians
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states had already entered the assembly on 28th April 1947. By 15th August 1947, most of the
states were represented in the assembly and the remaining states also send their
representatives in due course. The constituent assembly, thus, became a body fully
representative of the states and provinces in India, free from external authority. It could
change any law made by the British Parliament.

2.3.1: Composition of the constituent Assembly

The Constitution Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the Scheme formulated
by the Cabinet Mission Plan. The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was first held on
9th December, 1946. It included provinces comprising Pakistan and Bangladesh of today and
represented the princely states of India as well. Further, the delegations from provinces of
Sind, East Bengal, West Punjab, Baluchistan and the North­West Frontier provinces in June
1947 formed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in Karachi. Mr. B N Rao was the
Constitutional Advisor of the Assembly. After India became independent, the Constituent
Assembly became the parliament of India. The Constituent Assembly was indirectly elected
by the Provincial Legislative Assembly members (Lower House only), as per the scheme of
Cabinet delegations. The key features of the scheme are as under:

1. Each Indian state or group of states and the province were allotted a specific number
of seats relative to their populations respectively. Due to this, the provinces were
needed to elect 292 members and the Indian states were assigned a minimum number
of 93 seats. To these were to be added a representative each from the four chief
Commissioners provinces of Delhi, Ajmer­Marwar, Coorg and British Baluchistan.
2. All provincial seats were disseminated amongst three major communities like,
Muslims, Sikh and General, which was proportionate to their respective provinces
populations.
3. Each community member, within the provincial Legislative Assembly, elected his
own representatives through proportional reorientation with single transferable vote
system.
4. Indian state representatives were selected by the method of consultation.

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5. The representatives of princely states were to be nominated by the heads of the
princely states.
6. The Elections to the Constituent Assembly for 296 seats allocated to the British
Indian Provinces were held in July­August 1946. The results were as Indian National
Congress ­ 208 Seats; Muslim League ­ 73 Seats; Small Group and Independents ­
15 Seats; Princely States ­ Election for 93 Seats was to be done but the seats were not
filled as they decided to stay away from the Constituent Assembly.
7. Each Province and each Indian state or Group of States were allotted the total
number of seats proportional to their respective population roughly in the ratio of one
to a million. Seats allocated to each British Province were to be decided among the
three principal communities ­ Muslims, Sikhs and General in proportion to their
population.
8. The Assembly included all the important personalities of India at that time, with the
exception of Mahatma Gandhi and M.A. Jinnah.
9. The Constituent Assembly elected for undivided India which had met for the first
time on 9th December 1946 was convened to meet on 14th August 1947 and the
became the Sovereign Constituent Assembly for the Dominion of India. The Muslim
League had joined the Interim Government but abstained from sending its
representatives to the Constituent Assembly which was an integral part of the Cabinet
Plan.

However, the Constituent Assembly was a partially elected and partially nominated
body. Moreover, the Constituent Assembly was to have 389 members but Muslim
League boycotted the Assembly. Only 211 members attended its first meeting on 9
December 1946. Apart from that, the partition plan of 3 June 1947 gave rise to the
setting up a separate Constituent Assembly for Pakistan. The representatives of
Bengal, Punjab, Sind, North­western Frontier Province, Baluchistan, and the Sylhet
district of Assam had to join Pakistan. Due to this, on 31 October 1947, when the
Constituent Assembly reassembled, the House membership was lessened to 299. Of

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these, 284 members were actually present on 26 November 1949 and signed the
Constitution to regard it as finally passed.

2.3.2: Committees to Draft a Constitution

There are various committees of the Assembly. These committees are discussed
under the two heads.
(A)Committees on technical affairs.
(1) The Steering Committee (Headed by : K.M Munsii)
(2) The rules of procedure committee (Headed by : Rajendra Prasad )
(3) The House committee
(4) The Hindi translation Committee
(5) The Urdu translation Committee
(6) The finance and staff committee
(7) The press gallery committee
(8) The committee based on the Indian independence Act of 1947
(9) The order of business committee
(10) The credential committee
(B) Committees on Significant affairs
1. The drafting committee (Headed by :B.R. Ambedkar)
2. The committee of negotiating with state (Headed by :Rajendra Prasad)
3. The union constituent committee (Headed by :Jawaharlal Nehru)
4. The provincial constitution committee (Headed by :Sardar Patel)
5. A special Committee to examine the draft constitution (Headed by
:A.K.Iyer)
6. The union powers Committee (Headed by : Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru)
7. The Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities (Headed by :
Sardar Vallabhav Bhai Patel)
8. The Committee on Chief Commissioners Provinces
9. The Commission of Linguistic Provinces
10. An Expert Committee on Financial Provisions

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 11. Ad­hoc Committee on National Flag
12. Ad­hoc Committee on the Supreme Court

There were 11 sessions during its entire sitting of the Constituent Assembly. The Assembly
was actually working for 165 days. Finally, after three years of great efforts, the historical
manuscript, i.e., the Constitution of the free India was enacted and adopted by the Assembly
on 26 November 1949. The constitution of India Came into force from 26 January 1950.
There were 315 Articles and twelve Schedules of the draft Constitution. This shows that the
original draft had undergone considerable changes. Subsequently, there were over 7000
amendments, which were proposed to be made in the Draft Constitution. Out of these
amendments, 2473 were actually moved, debated and predisposed of. It was indeed a great
democratic exercise as discussion, debates and deliberation were encouraged. There was also
a great tolerance of criticism. It was truly a full­fledged democratic procedure which helped
in the making of the Constitution.

2.3.3: Functioning of the Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly has a long tradition. The British legal system does no mention any
where the concept of a constituent Assembly. Towards the last decade of the 18th century, the
idea of Constituent Assembly emerged in America and France after the democratic
revolutions. In India, a Constituent Assembly was demanded by Indian nationalists. The
British set it up according to the Cabinet Mission plan under the Governor General of India,
Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten was replaced by an Indian Governor General, C.
Rajagopalachari, in March 1948. After that the Constituent Assembly of India worked
practically as a sovereign body. The Constituent Assembly had been elected by the
provincial legislative assemblies, which had been elected by a restricted electorate in January
1946. It was dominated by the Congress party. The second biggest party was the Muslim
League. Most of these League members left India and joined the Pakistan Constituent
Assembly. That strengthened the Congress further in the Constituent Assembly in India. But
there remained in the Assembly independent representatives of the princely states. Even the

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Congress party had nominated members of other political parties of India except the
Communist party. Thus, the Constituent Assembly represented a broad consensus of Indian
opinion.

In this regard, the Constituent Assembly appointed several Committees for effectively
organizing the opinions on different aspects of the Constitution. Finally, drafting committee
was set up under the chairmanship of B.R Ambedkar. A number of officials of highest rank
worked for the Constituent Assembly. Advices were received from non­member Indian
leaders like Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Shri Jia Prakash Narayan. Sri B. N. Rau,
constitutional advisor to the Constituent Assembly, collected data on the working of
constitutional systems of major democracies. He visited a number of countries including the
USA and Ireland. Inputs from such countries were also made use of. As a result India
produced the world’s lengthiest Constitution but detailing legislative measures to address
several problems of India.

2.3.3.1: The Objective Resolution (The ideological content)

On December 13, 1946, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru moved the objective resolution of the India
constitution which depicted its ideology. With full discussion and debate the Constituent
Assembly passed the objectives Resolution on 22nd January, 1947. The Objective Resolution
has laid down the ideological foundations and values of the constitution of India and guided
the work of the Assembly. Let us discuss this resolution:

1. This constituent assembly declares its firm and solemn resolved to proclaim India as
an independent, sovereign, republic and to draw up a constitution for her future
governance;
2. Where in the territories that now comprise British India the territories that now
formed the Indian states and such others parts of India as are outside British India and
the state as well as such other territories as are willing to be constituted into the
independent sovereign India, shall be a union of them all; and
3. Where in the said territories, whether with their present boundaries or with such other
as may be determined by the constituent assembly and there after according to the law

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 of the constitution, shall possess and retain the status of autonomous unit, together
with residuary powers and exercise all powers and function of government and
administration, save and except such powers and functions as are vested in all
assigned to the union, or as are inhere tent or implied into the union or resulting
therefrom; and
4. Where in all power and authority of the sovereign independent India its constituent
parts and organs of government, are derived from the people; and
5. Where in shall be guarantee and secured to all the people of Indian justice, social,
economic and political; equality of status , of opportunity and before the law; freedom
of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject
to law and public morality; and
6. Where in adequate safeguard shall be provided for minorities, background and tribal
areas, and depressed and other backward classes; and
7. Where by shall be main tenanted the integrity of the territory of the republic and its
sovereign rights on land, sea and air according to justice and the of civilized nation;
and
8. The ancient attains its rightful and honored placed in the world and make its full and
willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.

However, the Objective Resolution was designed to declare the resolve to make India a
sovereign, independent, Republic to secure to all its citizens, fundamental rights justice,
secularism, and welfare state as well as to preserve the unity and integrity of India. This
resolution was consistently adopted by the constituent assembly on 22nd January 1947. On
29th August 1947, the constituent assembly set up a Drafting committee under the
chairmanship of B R Ambedkar to prepare a draft constitution of India. While deliberating
upon the draft constitution, the assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2473
amendments out of a total 7635 tabled. Subsequently, the constitution of India was adopted
on 26th November 1949 and the members appended there signature to it on 24th January
1950. In all, 284 members actually signed the constitution. The constitution of India came

84
into force on 26th January 1950. On that day, the assembly ceased to exist transforming itself
into the provisional parliament of India until a new parliament was constituted in 1952.

2.4: Ideological sources of the Constitution

The ideological, philosophical and socio­economic dimension of the governance of India is

embodied with the preamble of the constitution of India, Fundamental Rights (FR) and the
Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP) protected in it. The preamble articulates the great
objectives, such as making India a socialist, secular, democratic and republic. The
ideological goals such as providing social, economic and political justice to the citizens of
India, equality in the society, equal pay for equal work etc. The preamble is the key features
of the constitution. The objectives can be explained in ways such as In the way of the
structure of the governance and the other is about the ideas to be achieved in independence
India. The preamble embodies a distinct philosophy which regards the state as on organ to
secure good and welfare of the people. This concept of state is further strengthened by the
Directive Principle of State policy which set put the economy, social and political goals of
Indian constitutional system. The DPSP imitates certain non­justiciable rights on the people,
and placed the government under an obligation to achieved and maximize social welfare and
basic social values of life education, employment, health, etc. In concerns with the modern
beliefs of men, the India constitution sets up machinery to achieve the goal of economic,
democracy along with political democracy. There are different ideological sources of the
constitution of India such as Values of National Liberation Movement, Foreign
Constitutions, the Government of India Act 1935, the Constituent Assembly, objective
resolutions, reports of the constitutional Committee, debate of the constituent Assembly, the
draft constitution, constitutional amendments, parliamentary status, judicial decisions,
conventions, constitutional jurists and experts, fundamental rights, DPSP etc. Let us discuss
the preamble, Fundamental rights and Directive Principles of State Policy.

2.4.1: Preamble of the constitution of India

The preamble to the constitution of India was formulated in the nimble of the theme of the
phase “Objective Resolution”. It was moved by pt. Jawaharlal Nehru on 13th December 1946

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and almost universally enacted and adopted on 22nd January, 1947. It was specified and
committed towards its objectives. It is described in various ways. K.M. Munsi describes the
preamble as the political horoscope of the constitution which lists the basic features of the
constitution, its basic philosophy and the nature of Indian state. Pt. Thakur dash Bhargawa
said “The preamble is the most precious part of the constitution. It is the soul of the
constitution, it is the key to the constitution. It is the key to open the mind of the makers of
the constitution, it is the jewel set in the constitution, it is a superb prose poem, nay, and it is
perfection in itself. It is a proper yardstick with which one can measure the worth of the
constitution.” Thus, the Preamble stands as the important part of the constitution’. The
preamble to the constitution of India reads:

We, the people of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign,
Socialist, Secular, Democratic, 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 Constituent Assembly, this twenty-sixth day of November 1949 do here by Adopt,
Enact and Give to ourselves this constitution.

The word ‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’, and ‘integrity’ were initially not there in the preamble and
were added to, it by the 42nd Amendment 1976 to the constitution of India. In the Section 2
of the Constitution (forty­second Amendment Act, 1976), two amendments were made in the
Preamble. They are instead of ‘Sovereign Democratic Republic’, India was declared
‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’ and for the words ‘Unity of Nation’, the
words ‘Unity and Integrity of the Nation’ were introduced.

The aims of the Indian state were to achieve the basic proceeds which the Constitution
makers envisaged for the Indian state were to achieve the goals of justice, liberty, equality

86
and fraternity. These objectives help us interpret the messages and mandates of our
Constitution in terms of our contemporary needs and futuristic perspectives.

2.4.1.1: The salient features of the preamble

The salient features of the preamble have been described under the following heads.

1. Source of Authority: ­ The preamble is the source of Authority. It is accepted the

principle of popular sovereignty. The first and the words of the preamble, i.e., ‘we,
the people of India……..adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution ‘convey
that the source of the Constitution is the people of India. This represents that the
people are the ultimate source of authority in India. There is a similarity in the
preamble of the USA constitution and the charter of the United Nations. However, the
two persons, like H.V.Kamath and Mollana Hazrat Mohani, were objected over the
issue of ‘we the people of India’. They were saying that it should begin with the phase
‘in the Name of God’.
2. Five Cardinal principles of the nature of the state: - The preamble of the
constitution of India declares India as Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic,
Republic.
(I) India is a sovereign state. Sovereignty is one of the foremost elements of any
independent State. It means absolute independence, i.e., a government which is
not controlled by any other power: internal or external. A country cannot have its
own constitution without being sovereign. India is free from external control. It
can frame its policies. India is free to formulate its own foreign policy.
(II) India is a socialist state. The word ‘socialist’ was added to the constitution of
India by forty­second amendment Act in 1976. This principle in India provides
commitment to the Indian citizens to secure justice – social, economic and
political to all. It is also trying to equitable distribution of income, resource and
wealth.
(III) The word socialist was not there in the Preamble of the Constitution in its original
form. In the 42nd Amendment of 1976, the Constitution of India introduced

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 ‘Socialist ‘and ‘Secular’ in the Preamble. The word ‘Socialism’ had been used in
the perspective of economic planning. It signifies major role in the economy. It
also means commitment to attain ideals like removal of inequalities, provision of
minimum basic necessities to all, equal pay for equal work, equal pay for both
men and women, equality of opportunity in matters of public employment etc. The
Directive Principles of the State Policy explains the ideals in the Constitution.
(IV) India is secular state. India is said that ‘India is neither religious, nor irreligious
nor anti­religious. This implies that in India there will be no ‘State’ religion. The
‘State’ will not support any particular religion out of public fund. In this regard,
there are two consequences such as a) every individual is free to believe in, and
practice, any religion he or she belongs to, and, b) State will not discriminate
against any individual or group on the basis of religion. There will be equal
treatment of all religions and will get equal justice.
(V) India is Democratic State. The phase “we the people of India” denotes that the people
are the real source of authority in the country and the Constitution belongs to the
people of India. The last line of the Preamble says ‘…. Hereby Adopt, Enact and
Give To Ourselves This Constitution’. In fact the Democratic principles of the
country flow from this memorable last line of the Preamble. Democracy is
generally known as government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Democracy means a successful Government that is elected by the people. The
government is responsible and accountable to the people. The democratic
principles are highlighted with the provisions of universal adult franchise,
elections, fundamental rights, and responsible government. The Preamble also
declares India as a Republic. It means that the head of the State is elected either
directly or indirectly. The President of India is indirectly elected and he is not a
hereditary ruler as in case of the British Monarch. Madison observed ‘Republic is
a government which derives its power directly or indirectly from the great body of
people, and is administrated by persons holding their office during the pleasure of
the people, for limited period or during good behaviour ’. However, India is a
sovereign republic.

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3. Four Cardinal Principles the objectives of the state
In order to secure all its citizens of India, the preambles of the constitution of India
declares four cardinal principles. They are (a) Justice; (b) Liberty; (c) Equality; (d)
Fraternity
(a) Justice:-The constitution of India tries to secure justice­social, economic, and
political, for all the citizens of India. End of foreign dominance and to secure a
new social order based on social, economic and political justice. The term
‘justice’ implies a harmonious reconciliation of individual conduct with the
general welfare of the society. In the light of ‘Objectives Resolution’ and the
Preamble, the idea of socio­economic justice signifies three things such as social,
economic and political. Social justice means the absence of socially privileged
classes in the society without any discrimination against any citizen on grounds
of caste, creed, color, religion sex or place of birth. The constitution of India
stands for eliminating social exploitation in the name of caste or creed. Economic
justice means on the basis of income, wealth and economic values, all are equal
irrespective of men and women. Economic justice involves with the concepts like
economic equality, end of monopolistic control over means of production and
distribution, decentralization of economic resources, adequate opportunity to all
the citizen to earn their live and livelihood, etc. Political justice means equality,
freedom and fair opportunities to the people for participation in the political
process. Political justice grants each and every man his due in political field such
as equal political right to all the people without any discrimination on the basis of
caste, colour, creed, religion, sex or place of birth. In this way, the major
objectives of justice in the constitution of India describe socio­economic and
political status of the citizen of India.

(b) Liberty: The preamble of the India constitution declares that liberty of thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship. In this regard the constitution of India has
designed the grant of fundamental rights i.e. right to freedom to secure the
objectives of liberty in India. The term ‘liberty’ is used in the Preamble both in

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 the positive and negative sense. In the positive sense, it means the formation of
conditions that provide the essential constituents necessary for the complete
development of the personality of the individual in the society by providing
liberty of through, expression, belief, faith and worship. In the negative sense, it
refers to the absence of any arbitrary restraint on the freedom of the individual
action. There is no state intervention in the action of individual liberty. Right to
religious freedom is also a fundamental right in India.
(c) Equality: Liberty and equality are interrelated. Equality is the third major
objective of the constitution of India. Liberty cannot exist without equality. Both
liberty and equality are complementary to each other. Here, the concept of
equality means that all human beings are equal in the eyes of the Law irrespective
of their cast, creed, religion and language. Equality of status and equality of
opportunity were the major objectives of the principle of equality in the preamble
of constitution of India. However, the constitution of India grants and guarantees
the Fundamental Right of equality to all the citizen of India.
(d) Fraternity: Finally, the Preamble underlines the objective of fraternity in order to
ensure both the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.
‘Fraternity’ refers to establishment of the spirit of brotherhood, the promotion of
love and peace, propagating the message of universal truth and oneness of which
is poised of people of many races and religion. It is a word of moral and spiritual
importance and imposes a moral obligation on the part of the Union to respect the
personality of the citizen and to create conditions of work which will ensure self­
respect, brotherhood and unity and diversity among the people of the nation. The
words ‘unity and integrity’ have been made to prevent tendencies of regionalism,
provincialism, linguism, communalism and any of the enlightened secularism is
achieved.

4. Adoption and Enactment of the Constitution of India: The Preamble of the

constitution of India was adopted on 26th November 1949. It was adopted and enacted
with the signature of the then president of India.

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 5. The constitution of India is enacted, adopted and self-made one. It was adopted
and enacted by the constituent Assembly.

2.4.2: Salient features of the constitution of India

After discussing the historical development of the constitution of India, in this paragraph we
have discussed its salient features in a vivid manner. The salient features of the Indian
Constitution directly and indirectly flows from the Preamble, representing the faith of
framers or the constitutional makers in the ideals, objectives and goals as mentioned in the
Constitution of India. The features of the constitution are:

1. A Written and a Detailed Constitution - The Constitution of India is a written one. It is

framed at a given time and came into force or is adopted on a fixed date as a document. It
was framed over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days; it was adopted on 26th
November, 1949 and prescribed on January 26, 1950. There were various resolutions and
conventions, slowly evolved over a period of time which has demonstrated useful in the
working of the constitution. The British Constitution is an example of an unwritten
constitution. It is to be noted though, that a written constitution is ‘mainly’ an enacted
document, there could be bodies or institutions which may not be included in the
constitution but form an important part of governance. In Indian context one can mention
the Planning Commission. It is very important body for country’s planning and
development. The planning commission was set up in March 1950, not by an Act of
Parliament, nor as a Part of the Constitution of India. It was set up by a cabinet
resolution. The Indian constitution is the lengthiest in the world. The original
constitution had 395 Articles and 8 Schedules, while, the constitution of USA has only 7
Articles.

The constitutional makers did not want to leave anything to chance because they were
conscious of the socio­economic­political problems faced by the country. The
integration of several important features like the Directive Principle of State Policy
(DPSP), emergency provision, language provision, protection of the interest of
Schedule caste and Schedule Tribe, Other Backward Classes (OBC), the Election

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 Commission, The UPSC and the State Public Service Commission, etc. are made the
constitution very lengthy and a bulky one. More important thing is that the common
constitution for both at the Centre and the State make it more large and vast. Apart
from these, the constitutional makers also made decision to include other provisions
like the Fundamental Rights (FR), The Centre State relation, Schedule of the
constitution, and some other provisions which further enlarged the constitution of
India.
2. Partly Rigidity and partly Flexibility

The Indian Constitution is a unique example of rigidity with flexibility. The amendment
procedure of a constitution makes it rigid or flexible. In a rigid constitution, amending the
constitution is not so easy. For example, the Constitutions of USA, Switzerland and Australia
are considered as rigid constitutions. Against this background, the amendment procedure is
very easy in a flexible constitution. For example, the British Constitution is reflected as
flexible. However, the Constitution of India provides for three types of amendments, such as,
amendment done by the two houses of Parliament with simple majority of the members
present and voting before sending it for the Presidential approval; amendments with a
special majority, such an amendment is passed by each House of Parliament by a majority of
the total members of that House as well as by the 2/3rd majority of the members present and
voting in each house of Parliament and send to the President for his assent which cannot be
denied; and besides the special majority mentioned in the above type, the same has to be
approved also by at least 50% of the State legislatures. Therefore, it is found that the Indian
constitution provides for the type of amendments extending from simple to most difficult
procedure depending on the nature of the amendment. The flexibility features of the
constitution of India is found, in the Article 249 and Article 312, which declares and places
the state subjects as the process of national importance and makes laws by the union
parliament; establish and abolition of All Indian Service (AIS) respectively.

3. A Sovereign, Socialistic, Secular, Democratic, Republic Constitution- The preamble

of the constitution of India reads India as a Sovereign, Socialistic, Secular, Democratic,
Republic Constitution. The constriction of India declares that, India is a sovereign state. It

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 means India is no longer under any foreign rule. It is both internally and externally free to
conduct its own internal and external affairs. As a socialistic state, the constitution of
India promotes the social, economic and political justice for all its citizens. As a secular
state, India gives special status to no state religion. There is religious toleration within
the territory of India. This refers that, nobody can find, there is a state religion in India.
Within the territory of India, each and every people can profess, propagate and practice
any religion without any state hindrances. As a democratic state, India gives much
importance to the ‘Voice of the People’. It is based on the famous quote ‘Vox Populi Vox
Dei’. It is also based on the views of Abraham Lincolns view on democracy i.e. ‘The
Government is, of the people, by the people and for the people. The citizen are enjoying
equal political rights, universal adult franchise, right to contest elections, right to hold
public office, right to form associations, and right to oppose the policies of the
government. As a republic state, the head of the state is elected by the people. The
nominal head is the president of India and the real head is the prime minister of India.
India is not ruled by the monarch or nominated Head. Thus, India is a republic state.

4. Federal in form and unitary in spirit

India has implemented a federal structure. In a federation there are two distinct levels of
governments. There is one government for the whole country which is called the Union or
Central Government. There is government for each Unit or State. The United States of
America is a federation whereas the United Kingdom or Great Britain has a unitary form of
government. In a unitary structure there is only one government for the whole country and
the power is centralized. However, the Constitution of India does not use the term ‘federal
state’. It says that India is a ‘Union of States’. Article 1 of the constitution of India defines
that ‘India that is Bharat, shall be a union of states ’. There is a distribution of powers
between the Union or Central Government and the State Governments. Since India is a
federation, such distribution of functions becomes necessary. There are three lists of powers
such as Union List, State List and the Concurrent List. On the basic of this distribution, India
may be called a federal system.

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 The supremacy of the judiciary is an essential feature of a federation so that the
constitution could be interpreted impartially. In India, the Supreme Court has been
established to guard the constitution. However, in case of Indian federalism, more powers
have been given to the Union Government in administrative, legislative, financial and
judicial matters. In fact, The Indian federal set up stands out with certain distinctive unitary
features. The makers of our constitution while providing for two sets of government at the
centre and in the states provided for division of powers favoring the Central Government,
appointment of the Head of the State government by the Central Government, single unified
judiciary , single citizenship indicate the unitary nature of our federalism. Professor K.C.
Wheare said ‘India is a quasi­federal state’ or a federation with a unitary bias or ever as a
Unitarian federation.

5. Self-made and Enacted Constitution

The constitution of India is regarded as a self­made constitution, because the people
of the country are directly or indirectly responsible for its creation, organization and
function. It is also a constitution made by the people of India acting through their
duly elected and representative body I.e. the Constituent Assembly that came into
existence in December 1946. Accordingly, its first session was held on 9th
December, 1946, where the Objectives Resolution was passed on 22 January, 1947.
Afterwards, it commenced the process of constitution­making. This was finally
passed, adopted and enacted to the constitution of India, on 26th November, 1949.
The constitution became fully operational with effect from 26th January 1950. As a
result of which, Indians celebrate this day as Republic Day. Therefore, the
Constitution of India is declared as a self­made and duly enacted one.
6. Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties

Rights are those privileges by which an individual will be the best self. It helps an individual
to develop his personality. Every human being is entitled to enjoy certain rights which ensure
good living. In a democracy all citizens enjoy equal rights. The Constitution of India
guarantees those rights in the form of Fundamental Rights. Fundamental Rights are one of
the important features of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution provides for six

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Fundamental Rights. Fundamental Rights are justiciable and are protected by the court of
law. In case of violation of any of these rights one can move to the court of law for their
protection. The constitution of India, under part­III, from Article 12­35, grants and
guarantees six fundamental Rights such as Right to equality (Article 14­18); Right to
Freedom (Article 19­22); Right against exploitation (Article 23­24), Right to Freedom of
Religion (Article 25­28); Cultural and educational Rights (Article 29­30); Right to
Constitutional Remedies (Article 32), which will be discussed in the subsequent points.

The constitution of India also has incorporated 10 Fundamental Duties. However, the
Fundamental Duties were added to our Constitution by the 42nd Amendment act 1976. While
the rights are given as guarantees to the people, the duties are obligations which every citizen
is expected to perform. The Fundamental Duties are as follows.

(1) To abide by the constitution, respect the constitution, the National flag, and the
National Anthem.
(2) To Cherish and follow the noble ideals of the freedom struggle.
(3) To Upload and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.
(4) To defend the country and render national service.
(5) To promote the common brotherhood of all the people of India and renounce any
practice derogatory to the dignity of women.
(6) To preserve the rich heritage of the Nation’s composite culture.
(7) To protect the natural environment and have composition for living creatures.
(8) To develop scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry and reform.
(9) To safeguard the public property and abjure violence.
(10) To strive for excellence in all individual and collective activity.

However, after the 86th constitutional amendment 2002, it has become a fundamental duty of
the parents to provide education to their children.

7. Bi-Cameral Union Parliament

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 The Constitution provides for a Bicameral Legislature at the Union level. It is named
as the Union Parliament of India. It has two Houses. They are the Lok Sabha (The
Lower House) and the Rajya Sabha (The Upper House). The Lok Sabha is the popular
house where the members are directly elected by the people. The Lok Sabha consists
of 550 members. At present, Lok Sabha has 545 members. The people of each state
elect representatives in proportion to their population. Orissa has 21 seats out of
which some seats are reserved for the people belonging to SCs and STs. The members
of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people of India. The tenure of the Lok
Sabha is 5 years. But the President acting under the advice of Prime Minister can
dissolve it earlier.

The members of Rajya Sabha are indirectly elected. It is the second chamber of
Parliament. It represents the states of the Indian union. Its maximum strength is 250.
Presently, the Rajya Sabha has 245 members. Out of these 233 members are elected
by all the State Legislative Assemblies and 12 are nominated by the President from
amongst eminent persons from the fields of Art, Science and Literature. Rajya Sabha
is a quasi­permanent house. Its one­third members retire after every two years. Each
member has tenure of six years. Orissa has 10 seats in the Rajya Sabha. However, the
Lok Sabha is a more powerful than Rajya Sabha. It is because the money bill can only
be introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Union Council of Ministers is collectively
responsible before the Lok Sabha.

8. Parliamentary Democracy

India has a parliamentary form of democracy. This has been adopted from the British
system. In a parliamentary democracy there is a close relationship between the legislature
and the executive. The Cabinet is selected from among the members of legislature. The
cabinet is responsible to the parliament. The Cabinet holds office so long as it enjoys the
confidence of the legislature. In this form of democracy, the Head of the state is nominal. In
India, the President is the Head of the State. Constitutionally the President enjoys numerous
powers but in practice the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, which really

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exercises these powers. The President acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and the
Council of Ministers. The prime minister is the real head of the Indian legislature and the
president is the titular executive.

9. Directive Principles of State Policy

The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) of the constitution of India have been
adopted from the Irish and Spanish Constitution. It is another unique feature of the
Constitution of India. The Directive Principles were included in our Constitution in order to
provide social and economic justice to our people. Directive Principles aim at establishing a
welfare state in India where there will be no concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.
Part­IV of the constitution of India deals with the principles of DPSP. In this regard,
J.N.Joshi said that these principles a very comprehensive political, social, and economic
programmes for the modern democratic state. The DPSP aims to direct the Indian states to
ensure for the people adequate means of livelihood, equal distribution of wealth, equal pay
for equal work, protection of children, women, Labour and youth, old age pension etc.

10. Single and Integrated Judicial System

India has a single integrated judicial system. The Supreme Court stands as the highest court
of Justice in the judicial system of India. The High Court comes under the Supreme Court.
The High Court controls and supervises the lower courts. The Indian judiciary, thus, stands
like a pyramid with the lower courts as the base, High Courts in the middle and the Supreme
Court at the apex. Independence of Judiciary Indian judiciary is independent an impartial.
The Indian judiciary is free from the influence of the executive and the legislature. The
judges are appointed on the basis of their qualifications and cannot be removed easily. In a
federal state usually the citizens enjoys double citizenship as is the case in the USA. In India
there is only single citizenship. It means that every Indian is a citizen of India, irrespective of
the place of his/her residence or place of birth. He/she is not a citizen of the Constituent State
like Jharkhand, Uttaranchal or Chhattisgarh to which he/she may belong to but remains a
citizen of India. All the citizens of India can secure employment anywhere in the country
and enjoy all the rights equally in all the parts of India.

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11. Independence of the judiciary System

The constitution of India provides an independent and impartial judiciary. It is

because the judges of the court are appointed by the president; high legal qualified
and experienced persons are appointed as judges; they are getting the salary from the
consolidated fund of India so on and so forth, the constitution of India is an
independent and impartial one.

12. Judicial Review and judicial Activism

The constitution of India is the supreme law of the land. The supreme courts act as the
guardian protector and interpreter of the constitution. It is also the guardian of the
fundamental rights of the people. For this purpose it exercises the power of judicial
review. By the process of judicial review, the Supreme Court determines the
constitutional validity of all acts of the legislatures and the executive. Taking an
example of this process, since last decades, the cases like Golak Nath Case,
Kesavananda Bharati Case, Minarava Mills Case, Gopalan Case etc. have become the
example of the judicial review process in India.

13. Universal Adult Franchise

Universal means applicable for all, Adult means those who have completed the age of 18 and
the Franchise means the voting system. Thus, the Universal Adult Franchise means each
person after or on the age of 18 has the right to caste his or her vote. Indian democracy
functions on the basis of ‘one person one vote’. Every citizen of India who is 18 years of age
or above is entitled to vote in the elections irrespective of caste, sex, race, religion or status.
The Indian Constitution establishes political equality in India through the method of
universal adult franchise.

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14. Emergency Provisions

Following the provisions of the Weimer Constitution of Germany, the constitutional maker
of India adopted the emergency provisions of the constitution of India. The Constitution
makers also foresaw that there could be situations when the government could not be run as
in ordinary times. To cope with such situations, the Constitution elaborates on emergency
provisions. There are three types of emergency; a) National Emergency (Article­ 352) which
is caused by war, external aggression or armed rebellion; b) The state emergency (Article­
356), arising out of the failure of constitutional machinery in states; and c) Financial
emergency (Article­ 360), which is declared at the time of threat of financial stability and
crisis.

15. Special Provisions for the scheduled castes and schedule Tribes of India

The Fifth and Sixth Schedule, of the constitution of India, deals with the Special
Provisions for the scheduled castes and schedule Tribes. The part XVI of the constitution
of India specifies certain special provisions for the scheduled castes and schedule Tribes.
Article 30 of the constitution of India also provides for reservation of seats for scheduled
castes and scheduled Tribes. Articles 331, 332 of the Constitution of India also have
provisions for the reservations of the seats for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled
Tribes (ST) and Anglo­Indian Community in the state legislatures respectively.

16. Provisions regarding Language

Language plays very vital role in the constitution of India. The Constitution provides some
special provisions and amendments and also establishes various committees for signifying
the Language of the Union, states and Region. It states that the official language of the
Union shall be Hindi and be in Devnagri script. It also affords for the perpetuation of English
language for smooth running of the administration in the country. A state legislature can
adopt the language of the province as its official language. English continues to be the
language of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. The Constitution gives a directive to the
Union to develop Hindi and popularize its use. In its Eighth Schedule of the constitution of

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India, it distinguishes 22 modern Indian Languages. They are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati,
Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani,
Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telgu, Urdu, Bodo, Dogri, Maithli and Santhali.

17. Three tier Government

In the beginning, the Indian Constitution provided for a dual polity and contained
provisions with regard to the organization and power of the centre and the states.
Later, in the 73rd and 74th amendment Act 1992 have added a three tier of
government. The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the
Panchayat that is the rural local governments. This also added a new part that is part
IX and a new schedule 11 to the constitution of India. The 74th constitutional
amendment Act 1992 of the constitution of India also added, a new part IX­A, a new
Schedule12 I.e. Panchayat raj in the urban local areas to the constitution of India.

18. A Constitution of many sources

Indian constitution is regarded as a borrowed constitution. In articulating the Constitution of

India, the founding fathers of the constitution have made it more attractive and workable,
drawn several elements from various sources of different constitution of the world. The
ethics, values, principles, tenants and ideals of the numerous national movements channeled
their path towards making the constitution. Certain provisions of Government of India Act
1935 were used by them and several features of foreign constitutions influenced them, and
were adopted by them. The adoption of parliamentary system of government and
bicameralism was borrowed from the constitution of Britain. The system of republicanism,
independence of judiciary, judicial review and bill of rights was influenced by the
constitution of America. The development of the former USSR after the 1917 Socialist
Revolution influenced them to adopt socialism as a goal. Subsequently, the constitution also
influenced by the constitutions of Canada, Australia, Weimar Republic (Germany) and
Ireland. The rudimentary and elementary edifice of the Constitution i.e. its most essential
features can be described as: Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles,
Secularism, Federalism, Republicanism, Independence of Judiciary, Rule of Law, and

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Liberal Democracy which makes it more vibrant and active. The Indian Constitution is a
constitution, best suited to the Indian environment and administration, with all these features.
However, the following table gives the details of the borrowed features of the Constitution of
India.

Sl.No Borrowed features Sources

1 Federal features, office of the Governor, judiciary, Government of India Act­
Public Service Commission, Emergency provision 1935
and administrative details.
2 Parliamentary government, rule of law, legislative British constitution
procedure, single citizenship, cabinet system, writs
of the constitution, bi­cameralism,
3 Fundamental rights, independence of judiciary, U.S.A. constitution
judicial review, impeachment of the president,
removal of the judges of the High court and
supreme court, post of vice­president.
4 Directive Principle of State Policy, nomination of Irish constitution
members to Rajya Sabha and method of election of
president.
5 Federation with strong centre, residuary power at Canadian constitution
the centre, the advisory jurisdiction of the supreme
court, appointment of state governors by the centre.
6 Concurrent list, freedom of trade, commerce and Australian constitution
intercourse and joint sitting of the two houses of the
parliament.
7 Suspension of Fundamental rights during Weimar constitution of
emergency. Germany
8 Fundamental duties, the Idea of justice in the Soviet constitution

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 preamble.
9 Republic and ideals of liberty, equality and French constitution
fraternity in the preamble.
10 Procedure for amendment of the constitution and South African constitution
election of members of Rajya Sabha.
11 Procedure established by law Japanese constitution

Constitution of India is unique in itself. Many features of our constitution are borrowed from
various sources around the world. For this, it is criticized as a “borrowed constitution”.
Moreover, it is not true. Though our constitutional makers have borrowed many features, but
they have used it after necessary change and modification.

2.5: Fundamental Rights

Part­III of the constitution of India, from Article 12 to 35, deals with the Fundamental Rights
(FR) of the constitution of India. The FR in the constitution of India is derived from the
constitution of USA. The part­III is known as the ‘Magna Carta’ of India. In England Magna
Carta was passed in the English parliament in 1215 as a set of laws, regulations, bills,
conventions etc. The constitution of India contains a very long and comprehensive list of
justiciable fundamental of rights. Before going to understand Fundamental Rights, we must
understand rights. Rights are those privileges, essential for the existence and development of
individuals. In that sense there will a long list of rights. Whereas all these are recognized by
the society, some of the most important rights are recognized by the State and enshrined in
the Constitution. Such rights are called fundamental rights. These rights are fundamental
because of two reasons. First, these are mentioned in the Constitution which guarantees them
and the second, these are justiciable, i.e. enforceable through courts. Being justiciable means
; that in case of their violation, the individual can approach courts for their protection. If a
government enacts a law that restricts any of these rights, it will be declared invalid by
courts. Such rights are provided in Part III of the Indian Constitution. The fundamental

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Rights are meant for promoting the ideals of political democracy. They prevent the
establishment of an authoritarian and despotic rule in the country. They also protect the
liberties and freedoms of the people against the invasion by the state. They aim at
establishing a government of laws and not of men. The Fundamental Rights are named so
because they are guaranteed and protected by the constitution of India. They are fundamental
law of the land.

There were seven Fundamental Rights in the beginning of the constitution. Presently, the
Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights to Indian citizens which are discussed as
under:

I. Right to equality (Article 14­18)

II. Right to freedom (Article 19­22)
III. Right against exploitation (Article 23­24)
IV. Right to freedom of religion (Articles 25­28)
V. Cultural & educational rights (Articles 29­30)
VI. Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32).

The Right to property (Art­31) was removed from the list of the Fundamental Rights by the
44th Constitution amendment Act, 1978 and after amendment; it was made legal right under
article 300­A in part­12 of the constitution of India. Let us discuss the rights one by one.

(i) Right to Equality (Article 14 - 18)

A­ Article 14 (Equality before law):

Article 14 says that state shall not deny to any person equality before the law or
the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. It is available to any
person including legal person’s viz. statutory corporation, companies, etc. It is
also taken from the concept of equal protection of laws has been taken from the
constitution of USA. The concept of rule of law is a negative concept while the
concept of equal protection of laws is a positive concept. The concept of equality
before law is equivalent to the second element of the concept of the ‘rule of law’

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propounded by A.V. Dicey, the British jurist. But certain exceptions to it are, the
president of India, state governors, Public servants, Judges, Foreign diplomats,
etc., who enjoy immunities, protections and special privileges.

B­ Article 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste,

sex or place of birth):
Article 15 says that the state shall not discriminate against any religion, race, sex,
and place of birth or any of them. Under article 15 (3) and (4), government can
make special provisions for women and children and for group of citizens who are
economically and socially backward section of the society.

C­ Article 16 (Equality of opportunities in matters of public employment):

Article 16 says that there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters
relating to employment or appointment to any office under the state. The State
cannot discriminate against anyone in the matter of public employment. All
citizens can apply and become employees of the State. Merits and qualifications
will be the basis of employment. However, there are some exceptions to this right.
There is a special provision for the reservation of posts for citizens belonging to
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

D­ Article 17 (Abolition of Untouchability)

Article 17 says that Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is
forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability
shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. Practicing
untouchability in any form has been made a punishable offence under the law.
This provision is an effort to uplift the social status of millions of Indians who
had been looked down upon and kept at a distance because of either their caste

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 or the nature of their profession. It is really very unfortunate that despite
constitutional provisions, this social evil continues even today.

E­ Article 18 (Abolition of Untouchability)

Article 18 says that no title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall
be conferred by the State. No citizen of India shall accept any title from any
foreign state. All the British titles like Sir (Knighthood) or Rai Bahadur which
were given to the British loyalists during the British rule, have been abolished
because they created distinctions of artificial nature. However, the President of
India can confer civil and military awards to those who have rendered
meritorious service to the nation in different fields. The awards, Bharat Ratna,
Padma Vibhuhan, Padma Bhusan and Padma Shri called as the national
Awards would not amount to title within the meaning of Article 18(i).
(ii) Right to Freedom (Article 19-22)

Freedom is the most cherished desire of every living being. Human beings definitely want
and need freedom. The Constitution of India provides Right to Freedom to all its citizens.
This Right is stipulated under Articles 19­22.

A­ Article 19 (Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.)

Article 19 says that all citizens shall have the right

I. To freedom of speech and expression.

II. To assemble peacefully and without arms.
III. To form associations or unions.
IV. To move freely throughout the territory of India.
V. To practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

There is certain purpose to provide freedoms and to build and maintain an

environment for proper functioning of democracy. However, the Constitution has
authorized the State to impose certain reasonable restrictions on each of them:

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 1. Restrictions may be put on the Right to Freedom of speech and expression in the
interests of the sovereignty, integrity and security of India, friendly relations with
foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court,
defamation or incitement to an offence.
2. Right to assemble peacefully and without arms may be restricted in the interests of
the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order.
3. Right to form associations or unions may have restrictions in the interests of the
sovereignty and integrity of India, public order or morality.
4. Right to move freely throughout the territory of India and to reside and settle in any
part of India may also be restricted in the interest of the general public or for the
protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribe.
5. Right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business
may have restrictions in the interests of the general public. The State is also permitted
to lay down the professional or technical qualifications necessary for practicing any
profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business. However, the following
table finds the reasonable restrictions as under. The reasonable restrictions are given
in the following Table:

Freedom Reasonable Restrictions

Freedom of speech and expression Restriction on the movement of a Person or group of to
prevent spread of Violence.

Freedom to form Associations and Unions Not allowed to run trades like gambling, prostitution,
selling of Narcotic drugs.

Freedom to assemble peacefully and Not allowed to reside too close to aerodrome.
without arms,
Freedom to move freely throughout the Restriction on the use of that may instigate people for
territory of India communal violence

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Free to reside and settle in any part of India Not allowed to form an association to help terrorist
activities

Freedom to practice or to carry on any Should be peaceful and participants should not carry
occupation, trade or business any weapon.

B- Article 20 (Protection in respect of conviction for offences)

Article 20 says that state can impose reasonable restrictions on the groups of security of the
state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency, morality, contempt of
court, defamation etc.

C. Article21 deals with Protection of life and personal liberty.

Article 21A states that that state shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of 6­14 years. This article was added to the constitution on 2 April 2010,
India joined a group of few countries in the world, with a historic law making education a
fundamental right of every child coming into force by making elementary education an
entitlement for children in the 6–14 age groups. The then Prime Minister India, Dr.
Manmohan Singh announced the operationalization of the Act. Children, who had either
dropped out of schools or never been to any educational institution, will get elementary
education as it will be binding on the part of the local and State governments to ensure that
all children in the 6–14 age group get schooling. As per the Act, private educational
institutions should reserve 25 per cent seats for children from the weaker sections of society.
The Centre and the States have agreed to share the financial burden in the ratio of 55:45,
while the Finance Commission has given Rs.250 billion to the States for implementing the
Act. The Centre has approved an outlay of Rs.150 billion for 2010–2011. The school
management committee or the local authority will identify the drop­outs or out­of­school
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children aged above six and admit them in classes appropriate to their age after giving
special training. The Constitution of India is a unique constitution. It is the largest written
liberal democratic constitution of the world. It provides for a mixture of federalism and
Unitarianism, and flexibility and with rigidity. Since its inauguration on 26th January 1950,
the Constitution India has been successfully guiding the path and progress of India. This is
also called Right to Education (RTE) Act.

D. Article 22 deals with protection against arrest and detention in certain cases.

Article 22 provides that whenever a person is arrested, he or she should be

informed, as soon as it is possible, of the grounds for arrest and should be allowed
to consult and to be defended by a legal practitioner of his or her choice.
Moreover, the arrested person must be produced before the nearest magistrate
within 24 hours of such an arrest excepting a person who has been arrested under
preventive detention law. The case of the person arrested under preventive
detention law has also to be referred to an Advisory Board within a period of three
months of his or her arrest.

(iii) Right against Exploitation (Article 23 and 24)

Conventionally, Indian society has been marked by exploitation in many ways. This has also
influenced the Constitutional makers to make provisions against exploitation. The citizens
have been guaranteed the right against exploitation through Articles 23 and 24 of the
Constitution. These two provisions are:

A- Article-23 (Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour)

Article­23 refers to the Traffic in human beings and beggar and other similar
forms of forced labour are prohibited and any breach of this provision shall be an
offence punishable in accordance with law.

B. Article-24 (Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.)

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 Article­24 prohibits the child below the age of fourteen years to be employed to
work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. This
right aims at eliminating one of the most serious problems, child labour, that India
has been facing since ages. Children are assets of the society. It is their basic right
to enjoy a happy childhood and get education. But as shown in the illustration and
as you also may have observed, in spite of this constitutional provision, the
problem of child labour is still continuing at many places. This malice can be
eliminated by creating public opinion against it.
(iv) Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25 to 28)

The Preamble declares the constitution of India “to secure to all its citizens liberty of belief,
faith and worship”. Since India is a multi­religion country, where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs,
Christians and many other communities live together, the Constitution declares India as a
‘secular state’. It means that Indian State has no religion of its own. But it allows full
freedom to all the citizens to have faith in any religion and to worship, the way they like. But
this should not interfere with the religious beliefs and ways of worship of other fellow
beings. This freedom is available to the foreigners as well.

A- Article 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation

of religion)
Article 25 deals with freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and
propagation of religion. All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience
and the right to profess, practice and propagate religion freely. However, it does
not mean that one can force another person to convert his/her religion by force or
allurement. Also, certain inhuman, illegal and superstitious practices have been
banned. Religious practices like sacrificing animals or human beings, for offering
to gods and goddesses or to some supernatural forces are not­permissible.
Similarly, the law does not permit a widow to get cremated live with her dead
Husband (voluntarily or forcibly) in the name of Sati Pratha. Forcing the widowed
woman not to marry for a second time or to shave her head or to make her wear
white clothes are some other social evils being practiced in the name of religion.

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 Besides the above stated restrictions, the State also has the power to regulate any
economic, financial, political or other secular activities related to religion. The
State can also impose restrictions on this right on the grounds of public order,
morality and health.

B. Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs)

Article 26 deals with freedom to manage religious affairs, subject to public order,
morality and health, every religious group or any section thereof shall have the right
(a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes; (b) to
manage its own affairs in matters of religion; (c) to own and acquire movable and
immovable property; and (d) to administer such property in accordance with law.

C. Article 27 (Freedom as to the payment of taxes for promotion of any particular

religion)

Article 27 deals with freedom as to payment to taxes for promotion of any particular
religion. No person shall be compelled to pay any tax, the proceeds of which are
specifically used in payment of expenses the incurred on the promotion or
maintenance of any particular religion or religious sects etc.

D. Article 28 (Freedom as to attendance in religious function)

Article 28 deals with freedom as to attendance at religious instructions or religious

worship in certain educational institutions. It prohibits the imparting of religious
instruction in any educational institution, which are entirely maintained and upheld
out of the state funds or aid getting from the state. However, this provision does not

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 apply to an educational institution. No religious instruction shall be provided in any
educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds. However, it will not
apply to an educational institution which is administered by the State but has been
established under any trust which requires that religious instruction shall be imparted
in such an institution. But no person attending such an institution shall be compelled
to take part in any religious instruction that may be imparted there or attend any
religious worship that may be conducted there. In case of a minor, the consent of
his/her guardian is essential for attending such activities.

(v) Cultural and Educational Rights (Article- 29 and 30)

India is the largest democracy in the world. It is having a diversity of culture, scripts,
languages and religions. In a democracy, the minorities are also equally important for
its successful and effective working. Consequently, protection of language, culture
and religion of the minorities becomes essential. Simultaneously, the minorities may
not feel neglected or undermined under the influence of the majority rule. In Articles
29­30 two major provisions have been made.
A. Article-29 (Protection of interests of minorities)

Article­29 refers that any minority group having a distinct language, script or
culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. No citizen shall be
denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or
receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language
or any of them.

B. Article-29 ( Right of minorities to establish and administer educational

institutions)

Article­29 refers that all Minorities, whether based on religion or language, have the
right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. In making

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 any law providing for the compulsory acquisition of any property of an educational
institution established and administered by a minority, the State shall ensure that the
amount Cultural and Educational Rights fixed by or determined under such law for
the acquisition of such property would not restrict or abrogate the right guaranteed
under that clause. The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions,
discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the
management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.

(vi) Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article-32)

Article­32 refers to the Right to constitutional remedies. Since Fundamental Rights

are justiciable, they are just like guarantees. They are enforceable, as every individual
has the right to seek the help from courts, if they are violated. In reality it is not like
that. Encroachment or violation of Fundamental Right in the day to day life is a
matter of great concern. Our Constitution does not permit the legislature and the
executive to curb these rights. It provides legal remedies for the protection of our
Fundamental Rights. This is called the Right to Constitutional Remedies. When any
of the fundamental right is violated, one can seek justice through courts. This article
deals with the right to move to the Supreme Court for the enforcement of
Fundamental Rights including the Writs of (i) Habeas corpus, (ii) Mandamus, (iii)
Prohibition, (iv) Certiorari and (iv) Quo warranto. Let us discuss these writs one by
one.
I- Habeas Corpus
Habeas Corpus literally means ‘to have the body of’. Through this writ, the court can
cause any person who has been detained or imprisoned to be physically brought
before the court. The court then examines the reason of his detention and if there is no
legal justification of his detention, he can be set free. Such a writ can be issued in
following example cases: When the person is detained and not produced before the
magistrate within 24 hours, when the person is arrested without any violation of a
law, when a person is arrested under a law which is unconstitutional, when detention

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 is done to harm the person or is malafide. Thus, Habeas corpus writ is called bulwark
of individual liberty against arbitrary detention. A general rule of filing the petition is
that a person whose right has been trespassed must file a petition. Nevertheless,
Habeas corpus is an exception and anybody on behalf of the detainee can file a
petition. This writ is applicable to preventive detention also. This writ can be issued
against both public authorities as well as individuals.
II- Mandamus

Mandamus means “we command or we order”. This writ is a command issued by court to a
public official, public body, corporation, inferior court, tribunal or government asking them
to perform their duties which they have refused to perform. Due to this, Mandamus is called
a “wakening call” and it awakes the sleeping or snoozing authorities to perform their duty.
Mandamus thus demands an activity and sets the authority in action. Mandamus cannot be
issued against the following circumstances: a private individual or private body, if the duty in
question is discretionary and not mandatory, against president or governors of state, against a
working chief justice to enforce some kind of private contract. A petition for writ of
mandamus can be filed by any person who seeks a legal duty to be performed by a person or
a body. Such a filing person must have real or special interest in the subject matter and must
have legal or lawful right to do so.

III- Prohibition

The writ of prohibition means that the Supreme Court and High Courts may prohibit the
lower courts such as special tribunals, magistrates, commissions, and other judiciary officers
who are doing something which exceeds to their jurisdiction or acting contrary to the rule of
natural justice. For example if a judicial officer has personal interest in a case, it may hamper
the decision and the course of natural justice. Difference between Mandamus and Prohibition
is while Mandamus directs activity, Prohibition directs inactivity. While Mandamus can be
issued against any public official, public body, corporation, inferior court, tribunal or

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government; prohibition can be issued only against judicial and quasi­judicial authorities and
not against administrative authorities, legislative bodies.

IV- Certiorari

Certiorari means “to certify”. It is a writ that orders to move a suit from an inferior court to
superior court. It is issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal either to transfer a
case pending with that to itself or squash its order. This is generally done because superior
court believes that either the inferior court had no jurisdiction or committed an error of law.
Thus, certiorari is a kind of curative writ.

V- Quo warranto

Quo warranto means “by what warrant?”. This writ is issued to enquire into legality of the
claim of a person or public office. It restrains the person or authority to act in an office which
he or she is not entitled to; and thus stops usurpation of public office by anyone. This writ is
applicable to the public offices only and not to private offices.

2.6: Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)

Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are in the form of instructions or guidelines to
the governments at the center as well as states. These principles are non­justiciable by
nature. They are fundamental in the governance of the country. These principles are
included in part IV of Constitution in order to understand the high ideals of justice, liberty,
equality and fraternity, cherished the preamble to the Constitution. These principles reflect
Gandhi’s constructive programme for socio­economic welfare of the people of India. These
constitute an instrument of instructions to the legislatures and the executives at all levels as

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to how they should exercise their respective powers, and aims at attaining the economic,
educational and social welfare of the people.

The idea of Directive Principles of State Policy has been taken from the Irish Republic. They
were incorporated in our Constitution in order to provide economic justice and to avoid
concentration of wealth in the hands of a few people. Hence, no government can afford to
ignore them. They are in fact, the directives to the future governments to incorporate them in
the decisions and policies to be formulated by them Directive Principles of State Policy have
been grouped into four categories. These are: (1) the economic and social principles, (2) the
Gandhian principles, (3) Principles and Policies relating to international peace and security
and (4) miscellaneous

1-The economic and social Principles

 The state shall endeavour to achieve Social and Economic welfare of the people by:
 Providing adequate means of livelihood for both men and women.
 Reorganizing the economic system in a way to avoid concentration of wealth in few
hands.
 Securing equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
 securing suitable employment and healthy working conditions for men, women and
Children.
 Guarding the children against exploitation and moral degradation.
 Making effective provisions for securing the right to work, education and public
assistance in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement.
 Making provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity
relief.
 Taking steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of
undertakings etc.
 promoting education and economic interests of working sections of the people
especially the SCs and STs

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  Securing for all the workers reasonable leisure and cultural opportunities.
 Making efforts to raise the standard of living and public health.
 providing early childhood care and education to all children until they complete the
age of 6 years

2-The Gandhian Principles

There are certain principles, based on the ideals advocated by Mahatma Gandhi. These
Principles are as follows: ­

 To organize village Panchayat.

 To promote cottage industries in rural areas.
 To promote educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the society.
 To prohibit intoxicating drinks and drugs that is injurious to health.
 To preserve and improve the breeds of the cattle and prohibit slaughter of cows,
calves and other milch and drought animals Directive Principles of State Policy
Relating
 To organize agriculture and animal husbandry.

3-Principle of International Peace and Security (Liberal principles)

India should render active cooperation for world peace and security and for that the state
shall endeavour to: ­

 promote international peace and security

 Maintain just and honorable relations between nations.
 Foster respect for international laws and treaty obligations.
 Encourage settlements of international disputes by mutual agreement.
 To secure for all Indians a uniform civil code.
 To provide free legal aid to the poor, so that justice is not denied.
 Separation of judiciary from executive (Art­50)
 To provide free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14 years.

4-Miscellaneous
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The Directive Principles in this category call upon the state: ­

 To protect historical monuments.

 To save environment from pollution and protect wild life.
 To make arrangements for disbursement of free legal justice through suitable
legislation
 To maintain just and honourable relations between nations
 To foster international law and treaty obligation.
 To encourage a settlement of international disputes through arbitration.

While incorporating most of these principles, the framers of the Constitution were primarily
influenced by the identical provisions in the Irish and Spanish Constitution. They were also
influenced by the Character of the United Nations and the Charter of Human Rights. They
are also being the constitutions of socialist democracies of USSR.

The Directive Principles of state policy, as included in part IV of the Constitution, have
been enumerated under Articles 36 to 51. They are discussed as under:

 Article 36 defines the term state and declares that it has the same meaning in part IV
as it has in part III. This means that the Constitution directs not only the legislatures
and executives of the Union and the states but also the local authorities, likes district
boards and village Panchayat, to implement these principles through their laws,
policies and programmes.
 Article 37 describes the nature of these principles as follows:
 That these principles shall not be enforceable by any laws
 That these principles shall be fundamental in the governance of the country
 That it shall be duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws
 Article 38 declares ‘The state shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by
securing and protecting, as effectively as it may, a social order in which justice,
social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life’.

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  Article 39 describes that the state is directed to ensure various economic rights to the
citizens. In the first place, it is to ensure that the citizens, both men and women,
should have the right to an adequate of livelihood.
 Article 39(A) has been inserted to enjoin the state to provide ‘free’ aid to the poor and
to take other steps to ensure equal justice to all, which is offered by the preamble.
 Article 40 directs the state to organize village Panchayats and to vest them with such
powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self­
Government. For the implementation of the provisions of this Article, Seventy­Third
Amendment Act was passed vesting various degrees of power of self­Government
and civil and criminal justice in the hands of the panchayats. Owing to the lack of
proper education, narrow­mindedness and local politics, the system of Panchayat
administration has not been a big success.
 Article 41 deals with the economic and educational rights of the citizens. It directs the
state to ensure them the right to work, the right to education and the right to public
assistance in case of unemployment, old­age, sickness or disablement.
 Article 42 directs the state to make provisions for securing just and human conditions
of work, and for maternity relief. Adequate provision has been made by the state
through Labour Laws and Factions Acts and the rules of service for the employees of
the Unoin and the states.
 Article 43 also deals with the rights of the citizens. It directs the state to ensure all
workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise the following rights: Right to work
,Right to a living wage, Right to such conditions of work ensures a decent standard of
life and full enjoyment of leisure, and social and cultural opportunities
 Article 44 directs the state to endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform code
throughout the territory of India. The purpose of this Article is to enable the
legislature to make an attempt to unity the ‘personal law’ of the country.

Under Eighty-Sixth Amendment Act 2002, Article 45 was amended to provide early
childhood care education to children below the age of 6 years.

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 Article 46 directs the state to promote the educational and economic interests of the
scheduled Castes, scheduled Tribes and other weaker section. It also directs the state
to protect these people from social injustice and from all forms of exploitation. For
this purpose, seats have been reserved for them in all educational institutions, and
fairly wide range of scholarships has also been provided for them.
 Article 47 can be split into two parts: Direction to the state to raise to the level of
nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of their health;
Direction to the state to bring about prohibition of intoxicating drinks and drugs,
which are injurious to health, except for medical purposes;
 The subject matter of Article 48 centers round the preservation and improvement of
cattle and the prohibition of cow slaughter. The protection conferred by this Article
extends only to cows, calves and the other animals which are capable of yielding milk
or being used for some work.
 Article 48(a) has been inserted, through Forty­second Amendment, in order to direct
the state to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and
wildlife of the country.
 Article 49 directs the state to protect, preserve and maintain monuments, places or
objects of artistic or historic interest or of national importance. The state is to ensure
that these monuments and objects are not spoiled, disfigured, destroyed, removed or
exported. The aim of this Article is to preserve the nation’s cultural heritage.
 Article 50 directs the state to take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in
public services of the state. The separation of judiciary from the executive would
eliminate many evils, which follow from the combination of two positions in the same
person.
 Article 51 directs the state to shape its foreign policy in such a manner that attains the
following objectives: Promotions of international peace and security; Maintenance of
just and honorable relations between nations; Settlement of international disputes by
arbitration.

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2.7: Difference between the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles

Parts III and IV of the constitution of India deal with the Fundamental Rights and Directive
Principles of State Policy respectively. They together constitute the “conscience” of the
Indian constitution. There exist differences. The differences between them are discussed
below

 Firstly, the fundamental rights constitute a set of negative injunctions. The state is
restrained from doing something. The directives on the other hand are a set of positive
directions. The state is urged to do something to transform India into a social and
economic democracy. As Gladhill observes, Fundamental Rights are injunctions to
prohibit the government from doing certain things, the Directive principles are
affirmative instructions to the government to do certain things.
 Secondly, the Directives are non­justiciable. Courts do not enforce them. A directive
may be made enforceable by the courts only when there is a lam on it. Fundamental
rights, on the other hand are justiciable. They impose legal obligations on the state as
well as on individuals. Courts enforce them. If a law violates a fundamental right, the
law in question will be declared void. But no law will be declared unconstitutional on
the ground that it violates a directive principle against violation of a fundamental
right, constitutional remedy under Art. 32 are available which not the case is when a
directive is violated either by the state or, by individual. For this reason Prof K. T.
Shah deprecates the Directive Principles as “Pious wishes” or a mere window
dressing for the social revolution of the country.

Whenever conflicts arise between fundamental rights and directive principles, fundamental
rights prevail over the directive principles because, in terms of Arts. 32 and 226, fundamental
rights are enforceable by the courts. If a law is in conflict with a fundamental right, it is
declared void by the Supreme Court. But no law can be declared void on the ground that it is
violated the directive principle. In 1951, in Champakam Dorairajan vs. the state of Madras,
the Supreme Court held “The chapter on Fundamental Rights is sacrosanct and not liable to

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be abridged by any legislative or executive act. The Directive Principles of State Policy have
to conform and are subsidiary to the chapter on Fundamental Rights.”

2.8: Summary

 The Constitution is a legally sanctified document consisting of the basic governing

principles of the states. It establishes the framework as well as the primary objectives
for the various organs of the government.
 The Regulating Act of 1773 was the first and notable attempt made by the parliament
of Britain to regulate and control the affairs of the East India Company in India.
 Under the Charter act of 1853 the road to the final surrender of authority by the EIC
was opened. This act allowed the company to govern only until parliament shall
otherwise provide. This act was a significant constitutional land mark in India.
 The government of India Act, 1858, ended the company rule and transferred the
government of the country directly to the British crown. The company rule was, thus,
ended and the administration was carried out in the name of the crown thought the
secretary of the state.
 The Indian council act 1861 made various contributions to the process of making of
the constitution of India. It introduced a representative institution in India for the first
time. As per this act, the executive council of the governor general was to comprise
some Indians as non­official members for the connection of legislative business.
 The Indian Council Act of 1892 was the first result of the India National Congress
(INC) which came in 1885. It is important to understand the evolution of this Act.
The legislative reforms introduced under the Acts of 1861 failed miserably in meeting
the demands and aspirations of the people of India. The small elements of non­
officials, which mainly comprised big zamindars, Indian princes or retired officials,
were entirely unaware of the problems of the common man.
 A Constitution symbolizes independence of a country. Framework and structure for
the governance of a free country are provided in the Constitution. The Constituent
Assembly prepared the draft of the Constitution by keeping the ‘Objectives
Resolution’ as the backdrop which reflected the aspirations of the people of India.
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 The framing of the Constitution was completed on November 26, 1949 when the
Constituent Assembly formally adopted the new Constitution. The Constitution came
into force with effect from January 26, 1950.
 The Constitution begins with a Preamble which declares India to be a Sovereign,
Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. The Preamble also mentions the goals of
securing justice, liberty and equality for all its citizens and promotion of national
unity and integrity on the basis of fraternity among the people assuring dignity of the
individual.
 The Constitution of India has several distinctive features. It is the lengthiest
Constitution in the world and it is a combination of rigidity and flexibility. The
Constitution provides for a quasi­federal set up with a strong centre. There is a clear
division of powers between the Centre and the States. The Supreme Court of India, is
the apex court of India which will resolve the disputes between the centre and state or
between the states.
 India has a parliamentary democracy. The Council of Ministers headed by the Prime
Minister enjoys the real powers and is responsible to the Parliament.
 The Indian Constitution provides for Fundamental Rights which are justiciable. Ten,
Fundamental Duties have also been added to the Constitution. The Directive
Principles of State Policy give a concrete shape to the welfare concept.
 Indian council Act was also known as or Morley ­Minto Reform 1909. This act was
passed after seventeen years after passing the Indian council Act of 1892. It was the
next step of the constitutional reform in India by the British Government.
 In 1917, Montagu Declaration came in order to realize the self­government in India.
This Act was the announcement of the government of the British in order to gain
support from the Indians.
 The British Government, on 20 August 1917, proclaimed various objectives in order
to introduce the responsible government in India. For this the British parliament
enacted the Government of India Act 1919 which came into force in 1921.

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  The Government of India act 1935 noticeable another landmark to a completely
responsible government in India. It was a lengthy and detailed document having 321
sections and 10 schedules.
 The Cripps mission was appointed by the British government under the chairmanship
of Sir Stafford Cripps. This mission was landed in India on 22nd March, 1942. This
mission aimed to control the political crisis in India during that period.
 On 24th March 1947 Lord Mount Batten assumed the office of the new Viceroy in
India. He was appointed by the Prime Minister of Britain, Mr. Clement Attle, in order
to issue of transfer of power to the Indians.
 The British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, on 20th February, 1947 officially
declared that the British rule in India would end by June 30, 1948. The power of
British Government would transfer from the British Government to the responsible
Indian hands. The Indian Independence Act, 1947, was ratified and passed by the
British Parliament that officially announced the Independence of India and the
partition of India.
 On December 13, 1946, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru moved the objective resolution of the
India constitution which depicted its ideology. With full discussion and debate the
Constituent Assembly passed the objectives Resolution on 22nd January, 1947.

2.9: Possible Question

1. What is the importance of the Preamble to the Constitution?

2. Discuss the salient features of the Indian Council Act of 1909

3. What does the Government of India Act 1919 state? Explain

4. Discuss the main features of the Government of India Act 1935.

5. Explain the meaning and relevance of Secularism in Indian context.

6. What is the philosophy of the Indian Constitution?

7. Analyses the impotant features of the constitution of India.

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8. Discuss Fundamental Rights and Duties of the constitution of India.

9. Discuss the Directive Principle of State Policy of Indian constitution.

10. Define briefly the feature of Directive Principle of State Policy.

11. India constitution is “Federal in form and Unitary in spirit” critically examine?

12. Discuss in brief the Historical development of the constitution of India.

13. India is a “Quasi­Federal” state­Explain.

14. Explain the significance of a written Constitution.

15. Distinguish between a rigid and flexible constitution.

16. Explain briefly India as a federal state.

17. Write brief notes on:

a) Independence of Judiciary

b) Integrated judicial system single integrated judicial system

c) Universal Adult Franchise

d) Nehru Report 1928

e) Simon Commission Report 1930

f) Cabinet Mission Plan 1945

g) Mount Batten Plan 1947

h) Indian Independence Act of 1947

18. Do you think that reservation of posts for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other
Backward Classes is proper?

19. Do you think that the people still avoid drinking water given by an individual of

Scheduled Caste?

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20. Do you agree that there is equality before law for all the citizens in the real sense of the
term?

21. What do you mean by rights and duties? How are they interrelated?

22. What is the relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principle of State
Policy.

23. What is the difference between the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles?

24. Discuss the composition and function of Constituent Assembly of India.

25. List the Fundamental Duties of the Constitution of India.

26. Trace the history of Constitutional development from 1773 to 1857.

2.10: Further Reading

 Ghai, K.K. (2003) “Indian Government and Politics”, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi.
 Hidayatullah, M, “Democracy in India and Judicial Process”, page­51,
 Laxmikanth, M, (2015) “Indian Polity”, McGraw Hill Education (India) Pvt. Ltd.
 Khanna, H.R. (2008) “Making of India’s Constitution”, Eastern Book Company, New
Delhi.
 Austin, G. (1999) “Working a Democratic Constitution: The India Experience”,
Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
 Wheare, K.C. (1966) “Modern Constitutions”, p­ 43
 Kashyap, S.C. (1999) “Our Parliament”, National Book trust.

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 UNIT-III

3.0: Objectives

3.1: Introduction

3.2: Meaning of Secularism

3.3: Origin of Secularism

3.3.1: Secularism in India­ A Historical overview

3.3.2: Constitution of India and Secularism

3.3.3: Distinctiveness of Indian Secularism

3.3.3.1: Features of Indian Secularism

3.3.3.2: Significance of Indian Secularism:

3.3.3.3: Secularism and its Practice in India

3.3.3.4: Challenges of Secularism in India

3.3.3.5: Gandhi and Secularism in India

3.4: Constitution as an instrument of Social change

3.4.1: The Provision of Popular Sovereignty

3.4.2: The Provision of Parliamentary Democracy

3.4.3: The Principle of Representative Democracy

3.4.4: Democratic Decentralization

3.4.5: Freedom of the Individuals

3.4.6: Freedom of the Press
3.4.7: The concept of social justice
3.4.8: The concept of Equality

3.4.9: The concept of Universal Suffrage and Universal Adult Suffrage

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 3.4.10: The concept of Fraternity and National Identity

3.4.11: The concept of Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)

3.5: The provision of Constitutional Amendments

3.5.1: Types of Amendment in India

3.5.2: Important Amendments

3.5.3: Criticisms

3.6: Summary
3.7: Possible Questions

3.8: Further Study

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 INDIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

3.0: Objectives

The unit is based on the following objectives:

 To define secularism and its relation to Indian political system.

 To explain secularism in India and its distinctiveness with regard to the society and
Polity of India.
 To estimate the role and functions of the Constitution of India as a tool of social
change
 To discuss the amendment Procedure of the Constitution of India.

3.1: Introduction

Man is a social animal. He always try to live with peace and harmony with his fellow human
beings in the society. For this the human society has created the state in order to maintain
public order, defend boundaries, and ensure good will, harmony and cooperation among
individuals and groups. After centuries of struggle, only in the modern era has it generally
come to be accepted that the state cannot be controlled by divine right or brute power.
Neither hereditary succession nor authoritarianism are acceptable as arbiters of political
power in a civilized society. Throughout most of our ancient and medieval history, there is
no clear evidence of a theory of state at work. As several scholars have pointed out,
personalized despotism was the norm of governance in our society. However, there was a
saving grace. While the absolute power of the despotic monarchy was accepted, the relative
autonomy of individuals and groups from state power was recognized and respected in large
spheres of human endeavour. It is this strength and vitality of institutions other than state that
helped to nurture and sustain Indian society over the centuries of turbulence and seeming
anarchy. Matters relating to religion and Dharma have always been beyond there aim of the

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state. Even justice as understood in ancient and medieval times was to a large extent left to
various social groups beyond the light of the state.
India is a secular State. The preamble of the constitution of India declares that India is a
Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic and Republic state. India is a land of religions,
languages and customs. Many religions are flourishing here since long back, which have
their own traditions and beliefs. Therefore India is a multi­religious and multi­cultural
country from its known history. It was never mono­ religious or mono­cultural. The
number of invasions and incursions from Aryans to Mughals added to religious,
cultural and linguistic pluralism. British colonialism also contributed to its cultural and
religious multiplicity. Thus with every invasion and incursion Indian society became more
and more complex and rich. Perhaps no other society of the world is as multi­cultural and
multi­religious as Indian society. It is rightly said that the Aryans, the non­Aryans, the
Dravidians and the Chinese, the tribes of Scythians and Huns, the Afghans and the
Muguls have all agreed into one body’. Indian society is like a mighty river fed with
many tributaries and the main stream flows on and on. Hence, Indian society is very rich,
and well known for wisdom and great thoughts. Secularism is an important aspect of Indian
society, for which it is also well­known in the world.

3.2: Meaning of Secularism

In a scientific outlook, a secular state is defined as a state which recognizes every citizen as
equal and does not recognize any social or religious stratification for any political benefit.
The secular principle, in the Constitution of India, is the significant features of liberal and
non­religious outlook towards governance. It is one of the most important tools to achieve
national integration. Despite a few points of crises in the post­Independence period years, the
people of this country have demonstrated a great sense of unity and togetherness. Religious
tolerance and absence of a state religion have contributed greatly towards this unity. It is
generally projected as secularism is tolerance of all religions with special emphasis on
the protection of minorities and preservation of communal harmony. In the words of Rizvi
the essence of secularism rests on two basic principles. They are (i) Separation of religion

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from politics, (ii) Acceptance of religion as purely and strictly private affairs of individuals
having nothing to do with the state.

Sometimes, the word secular is used as contrast with the word religious, which lead
people to believe that secularism is opposed to religion. In reality rather than remaining
opposed to religion, secularism takes it as a passionate view in running the affairs of the
state. In the context of India, it basically connotes treatment of all religions on a footing
of equality and ruling out any discrimination. Hence, secularism means separation of
the state, politics and non­religious areas of life from religions and religions being
treated as a purely personal matter . So, when India is said to be a secular state, it only
means that the state will not identify itself with any particular religious faith and that
no person shall suffer any disability or discrimination on the basis of religion.

3.3: Origin of Secularism

The origin of the idea of secularism has a long process of which can be outlined to the
Western part of the world. The word ‘secular’ is derived from the Latin word ‘sacularis’
which meant, among other things, ‘that which belongs to this world, non­spiritual, temporal
as opposed to spiritual or ecclesiastical thing’. It is a form applied in general to the separation
of state politics or administration from religious matters, and ‘secular education’ is a system
of training from which religious teaching is definitely excluded. Philosophically, the term
reveals the influence of positivism and utilitarianism. The principle of secularism was to
pursue all the developmental measurements of human improvement by material means alone,
these being considered as adequate to secure the desired end. Its principles could be
sustained by intellect and were equally applicable to all humanity. Morality was seen as
being based on reason and as seeking to establish the common welfare. Reason had to be
freed from religious considerations.

3.3.1: Secularism in India- A Historical overview

Secular traditions are very deep rooted in the history of India. Indian culture is a composite
one. It is based on the blending of various spiritual traditions and social movements. In

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ancient India, the Santam Dharma (Hinduism)was basically allowed to develop as a
holistic religion by welcoming different spiritual traditions and trying to integrate them into
a common main stream. The development of four Vedas and the various interpretations
of the Upanishads and the Puranas clearly highlights the religious plurality of Hinduism.
Emperor Ashoka was the first great emperor to announce, as early as third century
B.C. that, the state would not prosecute any religious sect. In his 12th Rock Edit, Ashoka
made an appeal not only for the toleration of all religion sects but also to develop a spirit of
great respect toward hem. He pleaded for restrain of criticism of other religious sects. He
asked people to become perfect in the scriptures of other religions. Their religious tolerance
expressed by Ashoka more than 2,300 years ago has been one of the cherished Indian
Social Value. Ashoka’s secular outlook is one of the landmarks not only of Indian
civilisation but also of the human civilization itself . Even after the advent of
Jainism, Buddhism and later slam and Christianity into the Indian soil, the quest for
religious toleration and co­existence of different faiths continued.

During the period of medieval India, the Sufi and Bhakti movements united the
people of various communities together with love, peace, sympathy and tranquility. The
pioneers of these movements were Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, Baba Farid, Sant Kabir Das,
Guru Nanak ev, saint Tukaram and Mira Bai. They contributed to the development of a
composite culture in such a manner that nobody dares to challenge them. Guru Nanak,
preached that ‘There is no Hindu and no Musalman, as there is no distinction between man
and man’. This thought gave support to the roots of Secularism in India.

The Mughal emperor, the great Akbar promoted the policy of toleration of
different religions. His propagation of Din­e­Illahi (Divine faith) and Sulh­e­kul (Peace
with all) were highly inspired by the spirit of secularism. Most of the Mugal kings were
tolerant and liberal in their approach. Man Singh a Hindu was the commander of Akbar’s
Army. There were forty thousand soldiers and more than five hundred were Hindu Sardar.
During the period of Shahjahan 2.4 percent were Hindu Sardar. In Aurangazeb’s regime,
31.6 percent were Hindu Sardar. He appointed Raja Jaswant Singh (Rajput) as a head of
Afghanistan. The spirit of secularism was strengthened and enriched through the Indian

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freedom movement too. In the initial part of the Indian freedom movement, the liberals
like Feroz Shah Mehta, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishn Gokhale by and
large pursued a secular approach to politics. The Brahma Samaj started by, Sri Raja
Ram Mohan Roy and the Arya Samaj led by Swami Dayanand Sarswati, never treated other
religious faiths with any antipathy.

At the same time, they also tried to purify the wrong traditions which had gradually
appeared in the vitality of Hindu religion. The constitution drafted by Pandit Motilal
Nehru, as the chairman of the historic Nehru Committee, in 1928, had the following
provision on secularism.

 There shall be no state religion for the commonwealth of India or for any province
in the commonwealth, nor shall the state, either directly or indirectly, endow
any religion any preference or impose any disability on account of religious
beliefs or religious status.
 The principal advocates of secular ideology in modern India were Mahatma
Gandhi , Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru.
 Gandhiji’s secularism was based on a commitment to the brotherhood of religious
communities based on the principle of nonviolence and truth.
 Pandit J. L. Nehru’s secularism was based on a commitment to scientific humanism,
rationality with a progressive view of historical development and change. Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru has been a leading supporter of the concept of the secular state.
The creation of India as a secular state has been accepted as one of his greatest
achievements. Moreover he was especially concerned with transforming India
from a ‘caste ridden society’ in which communalism constitutes a major menace to
all the values that he cherished to a ‘national state’ which includes people of all
religions and shades of opinion and is essentially secular as a state.
 presently, in the context of Indians , the separation of religion from the state
constitutes the core of the philosophy of secularism. The expression ‘secular’ has

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 also a special significance in the context of the historical development of Indian
polity.
 It is of pivotal importance in the context of political realities on the ground as they
exist now.
 In India, the word secular is identified with tolerance among the different religions. In
a secular state, no one enjoys any special privilege in national life or in any type of
conduct for international relations. No group of citizens arrogates to itself the rights
and privileges which it denies to others. No person suffers from any form of
disability and discrimination because of his religion but all alike to be free to share
the fullest degree of freedom in his common life.
 Explaining the notion of secularism in India, Das and E. Smith, write that, ‘The
secular state guarantees individual and corporate freedom of religion, deals with the
individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion. It is not constitutionally connected
to a particular religion nor does it seek to either promote or interfere with any
religion’.

 A close analysis of the secular state in India, involves three distinct but inter­related
sets of relationships concerning the state, religion and individual. These are (i)
Religion and the individual, (ii) The state and the individual, and (iii) The
state and religion.

 In a secular state, the relationship between religion and individual is an independent

variable in the sense that each and every citizen is free to choose his or her own
religion or even refuse to adhere any one of them.

 The state has no business to disturb in the right to conscience of the citizens. The
relationship between the state and the individual is also another independent variable
in the sense that it is dispassionately decided under some constitutional guidelines.

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 Thus religion has practically no role to intervene in such a social relationship.
The state and religion both are independent to decide their course of action about
their own norms, traditions and customs.

 Indian constitution arranges that both keep a respectable distance between each other.
In case of any clash of interests among different religions, the state has every right to
arbitrate and even regulate their activities.

3.3.2: Constitution of India and Secularism

Guided by the fact of pluralist character of Indian society, and disturbed by the
alarming and dangerous forces of communalism, the constituent assembly of India
adopted the principle of secularism as a key objective of the Indian polity. The
constitution of India adopted the principle of ‘socialist, secular and integrity’ by the
42nd amendment Act of 1976. The constitution of India has adopted a system of
political philosophy that all forms of religious faith and worship are of equal
status and has accepted the view that public education and other matters of
public policy should be conducted without the introduction of religious sentiments.
Indian constitution has elaborated the principle of secularism in great detail. It
specifies that the state should abstain from either penalizing or favouring any of its
people on religious considerations.

In fact, India adopted secularism to facilitate the promotion of religious tolerance

and cultural co­existence. It is true that the word ‘secular’ did not first occurs either
in Article 25 or 26 or in any other article of Preamble of the constitution. The
constitution says that, there shall be no ‘state religion’ in India. The State will neither
establish a religion of its own nor confer any special patronage upon any particular
religion. It follows from this that; The state will not compel any citizen to pay
any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious
institution (Article 27). No religious instruction shall be provided in any
educational institution wholly provided by state funds Article 28(1).

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Article 28 provides that every person is guaranteed the freedom of conscience and
the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his own religion, subject only (a) to
restrictions imposed by the state in the interests of public order, morality and health,
(b) to regulations or restrictions made by state relating to any economic, financial,
political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice, but
do not really belong to the freedom of conscience, (c) to measure the social
reform and for throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character
to all classes and sections of Hindus.
Subject to above limitations, a person in India shall have the right not only to
entertain any religious belief but also to practice the observances dictated by such
belief. (Article 25)
3.3.3: Distinctiveness of Indian Secularism

There is a crucial relationship exists among man, state and religion. This constitute a
vital factor in the distinctiveness of India’s secularist character. Thus, secularism is
not just a word or concept but it is an ideology itself. It was advocated by the
founding fathers of independent India and the architects of India’s Constitution. It
refers to a number of norms and values regarding the way a plural society and its
state should be organized. The basic idea is that the state and its laws should not
associate with the realm of religion. Instead, each religion should offer useful
anchorage to the government’s secular attempts to turn out Indians into decent and
truthful inhabitants. For India, secularism is not a simple point of view; it is a
question of survival and existence; a safeguard of peace, order and rationality in the
society. Hindus, Muslims, Christians and several other groups were quite successful
in living together in relative peace for a long period of time in India and nobody had
heard of the word “Secularism”. Therefore, the task ahead is to examine the ways of
living together by making adjustments, within the bounds of their religious beliefs.
Internal pluralism exists within every religion and their traditions. Thus, the
distinctiveness of Indian secularism denotes under the following heads.

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 3.3.3.1: Features of Indian Secularism

The Features of Indian Secularism are as follows

A- The Preamble of the constitution of India- The preamble is the source of Authority.
It is accepted the principle of popular sovereignty. The first and the words of the
preamble, i.e., ‘we, the people of India……..adopt, enact and give to ourselves this
constitution ‘convey that the source of the Constitution is the people of India. This
represents that the people are the ultimate source of authority in India. Its objective is
to secure the justice, liberty, equality and fraternity for the people of India.

B­ Equal citizenship and equal fundamental rights- Without any discrimination on the
grounds of religion, caste, colour, creed, sex, place of birth, equal citizenship has been
conferred upon all the citizen of the country. All are legally and politically equal in
the eyes of the constitution. The citizen also enjoys the fundamental rights protected
by the supreme court of India.

C- Right to equality- Article 14 of the constitution of India provides equality to all

citizens before law. Art­15 states that the state shall not discriminate against any
citizen on grounds of religion, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them. These
provides a unique feature of secularism in India.

D- Right to freedom of Religion- The constitution of India under Art­25 to 28 provides

the Right to Freedom of Religion. It guarantees freedom of conscience and free
profession, practice and propagation of religion.

E- Cultural and educational rights of minorities- The constitution seeks to protect the
interests of all sections of society. Art­ 29 holds “Any section of the citizens residing
in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script, or

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 culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. Further, no citizen can be
denied admission into any educational institution on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, language or any of them. ” Art­30 grants to the minorities the right to establish
and administer their educational institution. The state cannot discriminate against any
of these institution in granting aid to the educational institution.
F- Joint Electorate­ The constitution has abolished communal electorate and in its place
Joint electorate has been created. However, for protecting the interest of people
belonging to Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribe, provision for the reservation of
seats has been incorporated within the system of joint electorate.

G­ Universal Adult Franchise- Further, the constitution confers Universal Adult

Franchise under which all citizens of 18 years or above the right to vote in election.
Anyone can hold any public office under these conditions.

H- Merit system of Recruitment- all recruitments to Civil service which includes All
India, Central and State are made on the basis of merit, which judge through the
holding of Comparative examination and interview.
I­ Protective Discrimination- the state gives special protection to the people belonging
to Schedule caste and Schedule tribes, tribals, women, children and Other Backward
Classes. It is provides for reservation in job people belonging to SC, ST and OBC.

With these major secular features along with the absence of a state and official religion, India
qualifies to be a secular state. In this regard, D.D. Basu writes ‘The Sum total of the above
provisions makes our state more secular than even the United States of America’

3.3.3.2: Significance of Indian Secularism:

In India, the importance of secularism emerges as an overemphasis phenomena. The

people of India are very personal and emotional in relation to religion. It is a danger
to the society, if the religion has been politicized. Thus in India the politics should be
free from religion. Otherwise there will be a revolution in the country. India is a

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 country of multi­lingual, multi­religious and multi region. Such a country is very
difficult to maintain peace and order in the country. In order to avoid such
circumstances, the constitutional makers of the constitution of India have advocated
the secularist principles in India. The preamble of the constitution declares it as a
secular state. India as a secular state neither compels the citizen of India to accept,
profess, propagate and practice any religion nor support to any specific religious
procedures. In India the citizen are free to declare himself as a Hindu or Muslim or
Christian etc. for this reason India is known as a unique type of secularism.
However, In 1976 the 42nd Amendment added the ‘secular’ to the goals of the
Constitution of India. In fact, secularism was enshrined in the Constitution right at its
beginning. The Constitution of India, in Article 25, grants freedom of religion to all
persons. By Article 26 the Constitution allows different religious denominations or
sections thereof the right to establish their own religious institutions and manage their
affairs. Article 27 grants every person the freedom as to the payment of taxes for
promotion of any particular religion. Article 25 also provides that the state can control
the secular affairs of religious institutions like their finance. Here is a clear distinction
between the secular and the sacred domain.

3.3.3.3: Secularism and its Practice in India

India got independent status after a long struggle against British colonial rule. Then it
became a pluralistic nation and welcomed religious and cultural diversity. According to
Ram babu, (2006) at the time of the partition it was estimated that there were 361
million people living within India's borders; of these people 315 million were Hindus,
32 million Muslims, 7 million Christians, 6 million Sikhs, one million Buddhists,100,000
Persians and a small minority of Jews. Therefore it was the need of the hour to save this
multi­ethnicity of India, for which later on our constitution have opted the way of
secularism. In real practice too, the governments in India always tried to follow a secular
path, although it had some setbacks from time to time.

In our country, we had as many as four on Hindu Presidents, three Muslims namely,
Dr. Zakir Husain, Fakhruddin Ali hmed, Dr. A. P. J. Kalam and a Sikh, Giyani Zail Singh.

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Supreme Court of India as had Muslims as Chief Justices, one of them M. Hidayatullah, was
also Vice­President for a term. Presently Dr. Hamid Ansari, a Muslim is at the position
of vice President of India. . Several others have reached very high positions. There have
been invariably more than one Muslim minister at the centre and in most of the
states. Similarly governors, vice­chancellors, leaders in the field of science and
technology, and a number of ambassadors are from different religious communities.
Therefore, in general the Indian government has not been indifferent to religion but
has attempt to treat and foster each religion in the country equally. The minority
communities in India are well represented in the top cadres of the armed forces.
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and the other minorities have given the country some
outstanding civil servants, artists and sports persons in sixty seven years since
independence. The general non­discriminatory climate in the country ensures that ability
and performance should be given due weightage and nobody should be held back because of
his or her religion.

3.3.3.4: Challenges of Secularism in India

Indian is a country of verities of religion and languages. These are the measure sources of
cultural heterogeneity in India. Hindus constitute the majority, while the Muslims constitute
the largest inferiority. India is a secular state, but the Indian society is hardly secularized.
The Indian Constitution makes the State to observe Dharma ­ Nirapekshata. But, our society
is steeped in religion. Religious feelings govern our mode of thinking and observance of
religious festivals and rituals is part of our day to day life. Thus there is a clear contradiction
between the basic tenets of the Constitution and the character of our society. For secularism
to survive, it is not enough if the State declares itself to be secular, but the society should also
be secular. If not, the society’s religiousness gets reflected in politics and public
administration, which often work in a manner contrary to what is envisaged in the
Constitution.“Secularists” contend that Indian secularism has suffered damage following the
rise of Hindu Nationalism in the form of the Sangh Parivar. Stating that the BJP’s ideology
was based on Gandhian Socialism, Vajpayee presented the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a

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modernizing and scientifically oriented political party. The BJP adopted what it called
positive secularism, an ambiguous concept ultimately based on the Hindutva (Hinduism)
view that Hinduism was not a religion and could not be other than secular. Vajpayee said that
Dharma nirapekshata (Secular), the indifference of state to religion, was neither secularism
nor a reflection of the dominant (Hindutva) ethos of India. Hence, positive secularism could
seemingly incorporate both the existing conception of sarva dharma samabhava (the view
that the orientation of the state should conceive of all India’s religions differently though
‘special privileges’ or ‘concessions’ would advantage them in comparison with Hindus”. The
BJP and the Sangh Parivar could mobilize support for its activities by presenting itself as a
disciplined party, with its members subject to the aims and values of Hindutva. This position
became increasingly stronger, as Congress continued to garment because of its inability to
define what it stood for. One of the arguments in the political discourse in India is that India
is secular because Hinduism is tolerant and non­violent; that such tolerance nurtured a
diversity of faiths, religion, and cultures in India. In plain terms, the message that is sought to
be concretized is that India can afford to be secular only because of Hinduism. From the
above it can be said that the followings are the problems of the secularism in India.

A. Communalism
B. Casteism.
C. Regionalism
D. Religion.
E. Racialism
F. Ideological difference
G. Collectivism
H. Conservatism
I. Ethnicity

3.3.3.5: Gandhi and Secularism in India

Mahatma Gandhi was a profound scholar of all religions. Apart from his study of Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism, he was a passionate reader of Christian and Islamic scriptures as
well. All forms of religion attracted Gandhi enormously, and through his thorough

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understanding of all, he successfully arrived at a complex understanding of religion and God
as a whole. In his secular theories, he took a special significance in the particular context of
the Indian national movement. Indian society has been traditionally plagued by the evils of
caste and creed based discrimination. The caste oriented stratification of the Indian society
has hindered all chances of national unification from the early days of Indian society. The
situation was complicated by the presence of various religious groups within the country,
who were not ready to compromise any ground to reach a platform of commonality. The
traditional rhetoric of the religious and the self­styled spiritual preachers fuelled these
divisions more often than not. It was a great pain for Gandhi that India's age old tradition of
religious tolerance was not being maintained when it was more needed. What particularly
disturbed him was the realization that it would be impossible to organize any countrywide
movement against the common opposition of the British oppressors, if society continues to
remain divided on religious grounds. Secularism for Gandhi was an absolute necessity to
bring about any form of constructive and all­encompassing political movement.

Mahatma Gandhi preached his ideals of secularism and religious tolerance across the
country. He showed his consolidation to the Muslim leaders through the support that
Congress extended to the Khilafat movement. Thus he wrote extensively on the need of
secularism in India, and made speeches to the same effect all over the country. It was not the
easiest of tasks for Gandhi. The British were bent upon implementing the policy of divide
and rule, and it took its worst form after the declaration of separate elections for the different
communities in the declaration of the Government of India Act in 1935. Indian National
movement has always been plagued by communal tensions, and haunted it till the very end.
Gandhi's monumental efforts at bringing together the various communities in India were not
fully realized. The British policy of 'divide and rule' had its effects, and the demand for a
separate Muslim nation was fast gaining currency. Gandhi was hurt, but he realized his
helplessness. Even at the intense riots on the eve of Indian independence, Gandhi was on the
roads trying to unite the warring communal factions. Even his death can in many ways be
related to his life­long commitment to secular principles.

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3.4: Constitution as an instrument of Social change

Constitution is a set of rules and regulations. These set of the rules are provided under a
country’s legal system. The constitution governs as the framework for the government of the
country. The aim of the constitution should be to endure a comprehensive and peaceable
social system. Constitution of India has served as an instrument of social change under different
circumstances. Constitution of India tries to emphasize the original Constitution adopted on 26
November 1949 along with successive amendments of the constitutional provisions. Article
368(1) says, “Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may in exercise of its
constituent power amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of this
Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this article.” All the constitutional
amendments in India are trying to meet the demands of the situations and conditions of the
country. The parliament of India supplements and complements the acts for the proper grasping
of the constitutions of India. In this regard Heywood has put it, one of the functions or purposes
of the Constitution is that, “in addition to laying down a framework for government,
constitutions invariably embody a broader set of political values, ideals and goals. This is why
constitutions cannot be neutral; they are always entangled, more or less explicitly, with
ideological priorities. The creators of constitutions therefore seek to invest their regime with a set
of unifying values, a sense of ideological purpose, and a vocabulary that can be used in the
conduct of politics. In many cases, these aims are accomplished explicitly in preambles to
constitutional documents which often function as statements of national ideals.” In that sense the
preamble of Indian Constitution represents the nature of the state and the objectives or values
before its future governments to be achieved.

However, at the time of crisis, the constitution should be able to peacefully transform its
economic and social order. Basically, it is aimed at establishing a sovereign, socialist,
secular, democratic, republic and at the same time it promises to provide justice, liberty,
equality and fraternity to all its citizens. The most important thing is that it is based on the
principle of ‘Unity of Diversity’.

3.4.1: The Provision of Popular Sovereignty

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Before going to explain the popular Sovereignty, let us try to understand the concept of
Sovereign. Sovereign means free from the control of any foreign power and internally have a
free government which is directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern the
people. Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy
of the state is created by the will or consent of its people. The people are the source of all
political power. It is closely associated to the social contractualists like Thomas Hobbes,
John Locke and Jean­Jacques Rousseau. This sovereignty expresses a concept and does not
necessarily reflect or describe a political reality. It is often contrasted with the concept of
parliamentary sovereignty, and with individual sovereignty. The Popular sovereignty is also
one of the basic structures of constitution of India.

The preamble of India starts from ‘We the people of India’. This states that the people of
India are the real source of authority. The real power lies with the hands of the people.
Moreover, it is stated that India is a Sovereign Socialist, secular, Democratic and Republic
state. The beginning words of the preamble of the Constitution emphasize the ultimate
authority of the people of India from whose determination the Constitution developed. The
preamble proclaims the intense perseverance of the people to constitute India into a
sovereign, democratic republic. The principle of popular sovereignty implies firstly, that
the ultimate authority of all governmental agencies springs from the will of the people as
expressed in the Constitution and secondly, that the authority is renewed from time to time
through popular elections at regular intervals. Further, under our Constitution those who
wield the executive power of the government are responsible to the legislatures and through
them to the people. Thus, in the affairs of the state, it is the will of the people that prevails
ultimately, and not the will of a few individuals, however, important or powerful.

The principle of popular sovereignty is endorsed in several places of the Constitution of

India. It is more found particularly in the chapter links with election procedure and sovereign
votes. The election to the House of Representative (Lok Sabha) and the Legislative
Assembly of every state have to be held on the basis of adult suffrage. Further, such elections
should take place at least once every five years. The Constitution also ensures the democratic

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ideal of ‘one man, one vote, one value,’ irrespective of his wealth, education, social status or
importance otherwise. The concept of sovereign votes gains a very important aspect. This is
the power of the citizen of India. Citizens of India enjoy sovereign power to elect their
representatives in elections held for parliament, state legislature and local bodies as well.
People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters. No
external power can dictate the government of India. India’s membership of the
commonwealth or of the United Nations does not impose any external limit on her
sovereignty. Thus, the sovereignty empowers India to either acquire a foreign territory or
relinquish a part of its territory in favour of a foreign state.

The founding fathers of our Constitution had taken most fundamental and far­reaching
decision. It was indeed an act of faith, a homage to the people of India and implicit in the
liberal outlook of India’s freedom struggle. They have made India as the largest
parliamentary democracy in the world. In 1951, in the first poll of the number of eligible
voters was around 160 million. In 1999, for the thirteenth general elections, the number was
as large as about 650 million. The farmers of the Constitution were not satisfied by merely
providing for universal adult suffrage. They wanted also to ensure free elections by creating
an independent constitutional authority­the Election Commission of India­to be in­change of
everything connected with the elections. Thus, the systems like Universal Adult suffrage, one
man one vote, political participation, election procedure etc. makes the constitution of India
as a sovereign state. The sovereignty lies in the hands of the people.

3.4.2: The Provision of Parliamentary Democracy

Before going to understand parliamentary democracy in India one must understand the
concept of Parliamentary system. A parliamentary system is a system of democratic
governance of a state where the executive branch derives its democratic legitimacy from
legislature (parliament) and is also held accountable to that legislature. In a parliamentary
system, the head of state is normally a different person from the head of government. This is
in contrast to a presidential system in a democracy, where the head of state often is also the

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head of government, and most important thing is that the executive branch does not derive its
democratic legitimacy from the legislature. The countries with parliamentary systems may be
constitutional monarchies, where a monarch is the head of state while the head of
government is almost always a member of the legislature such as the United Kingdom,
Sweden and Japan. In parliamentary republics, the ceremonial president is the head of state
while the head of government is regularly from the legislature such as Ireland, Germany,
India and Italy. In a few parliamentary republics, such as Botswana, South Africa and
Suriname, as well as German states, the head of government is also head of state, but is
elected by and is answerable to the legislature.

For example, the British government introduced the parliamentary system in India. Whether
it was a conscious decision on their part is contentious, as some feel that were not completely
familiar with the system themselves. Many of the modern thinkers have even gone to the
extent of saying that the system was introduced by the British government in a state of
‘absent­mindedness’. The real intentions behind the mindset of the British rulers cannot be
traced down completely.

However, there are certain basic values of democracy which are applicable to all democratic
nations around the world and also to India. They are;

• Freedom of the people

• Equality for the people
• Political participation and political culture
• Fraternity assuring the dignity of the Individual
• Fundamental rights and Fundamental Duties
• Social equality and social justice
• Independent and integrated of judiciary
• Unity and integrity of the nation
• Popular sovereignty
• Public opinion

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 • Political parties
However, Parliamentary democracy in India refers to the following points.
• Equal opportunity for all
• distributed and shared Responsibilities
• Respect for the opinion of the others
• Resolution of the majority and opinion of majority
• Popular participation should be guaranteed and safeguarded
• The citizen should wait for their opportunity

However, Parliamentary Democracy in India has become an embarrassment. It needs a

strong policies for the smooth and proper working. It is not only the duty of the leaders but
also the responsibility of the citizens to make conscious about their rights and their duties to
make the parliamentary democracy a successful one. Democracy itself will not be stable. It
is the public opinion that makes it stable. In a parliamentary democracy, the Council of
Ministers are responsible to the Parliament and take into consideration the voice of the
people. However, the government will be dictatorial, if it ignores the need of people. In a
Parliamentary democracy, somewhat uncorrupted is that, the ruling party is not prepared to
dictate its terms to the opposition and other sections of the people. The spirit of democracy
demands that there should be 'give and take'.

In fact the political consciousness among the people has not gone deep and so
opposition party has not been able to become strong in the Parliament. We are hero
worshippers by nature and so they respect the time­honored walls. This conservative nature
has made them to elect the same political party to power. When the people become
politically awake and organize themselves this will not happen. So we can say that at present
parliamentary democracy has not acquired its true character. It needs some more measures to
become proper type of parliamentary democracy.

3.4.3: The Principle of Representative Democracy

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India has been following the system of representative democracy since Independence.
Representative democracy is also known as indirect democracy or representative republic is a
variety of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of
people, as opposed to direct democracy. For example, the United Kingdom is a crowned
republic and Ireland is a parliamentary republic. There are various types of principles of
Representative Democracy. They are

1. It is the rule by the representative of the people

2. It needs the definite representative mechanism
3. It is based on the period of elections
4. It is process through which political parties compete for political authority
5. It is based on the principle of existence of interest and pressure groups
6. It is system of election through the process of Universal Adult Franchise
7. It is based on public opinion and political majority
8. It is often presented as the only form of democracy possible in mass societies.
9. It arguably allows for efficient ruling by a sufficiently small number of people
on behalf of the larger number.
10. It has been conceptually associated with and historically instantiated by the
political system known as representative government.
11. It is a system in which people elect their lawmakers, who are then held
accountable to them for their activity within government.
12. It is an element of both the parliamentary system and presidential system of
government and is typically used in a lower chamber such as the House of
Commons in UK or Dáil Éireann in Ireland, and may be curtailed by
constitutional constraints such as an upper chamber.
13. It has been described by some political theorists including Robert A Dahl,
Gregory Houston and Ian Liebenberg as oligarchy. In it the power is in the
hands of the elected representatives who are elected by the people in
elections
14. Representatives are elected by the public, as in national elections for the
national legislature. Elected representatives may hold the power to select
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 other representatives, presidents, or other officers of the government or of
the legislature, as the Prime Minister in the latter case.
15. The power of representatives is usually curtailed by a constitution as in a
constitutional democracy or a constitutional monarchy or other measures to
balance representative power.
16. It possess an independent judiciary, which may have the power to declare
legislative acts unconstitutional. For example constitutional court, Supreme
Court.
17. In this type of government, the constitution may also provide for some
deliberative democracy, I.e. Royal Commissions or direct popular
measures e.g., initiative, referendum, recall elections. However, these are
not always binding and usually require some legislative action legal power
usually remains firmly with representatives.
18. In some cases, a bicameral legislature may have an upper house that is not
directly elected, such as the Canadian Senate, which was in turn modeled
on the British House of Lords. Theorists such as Edmund Burke believe
that part of the duty of a representative was not simply to communicate the
wishes of the electorate but also to use their own judgement in the exercise
of their powers, even if their views are not reflective of those of a majority
of voters.
19. It is based on the voting behaviour of the people. Voting rights and the manner
in which the whole system of voting works is different in all countries. For
example, in British women were not allowed to vote but got the right to
franchise in 1918. In our system today we follow ‘Universal Adult
Franchise’ and our elections for Lok Sabha, State Legislature and the
Three­tier gram Panchayat, are held through this ‘universal adult
franchisee’ only. Although every adult citizen in the country is bestowed
with voting rights, there are a few exceptions. Someone who is found
culpable of election offence, someone who is punished and people who are
not mentally sound are not allowed to vote.

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20. It is based on the rule of Political parties A democratic system of any from,
especially parliamentary democracy, cannot be through off without the
presence of the party system. Political parties are essential for the
representation and protection of the masses, and are the backbone of
representative democracy. The common particulars of the are: they have
common objectives; based on the activity of the fundamentals of ideas and
principles; based on the organizational structure; based on stability; it acts
as the general objective of attaining the governmental power etc.
21. There are different political parties in the country. They are single­party
system; bi­party system and multi­party system. However, in India we
have a multi­party system. The major of the political parties are the
National Party; State Party and Local Party.
22. The bases of Democracy are Equality in voting, Effective participation,
Enlightened understanding and Citizen control of the agenda
23. The Election Commission:­ the election commission was set up in order to
conduct the elections in free and fair means. In a representative democracy,
the role of the election commission is very vital. It takes all the
responsibility to build the nation and have a strong public opinion. The
commission is composed of the chief election commissioner, and other
commissioners decided by the president of India. The responsibilities iof
the commission is given as under.
A. The commission prepares the list of the voters for the election
B. The commission renewals the list before each election
C. The commission declares the time of the elections
D. The commission fixes the date for the scrutiny and the dates for the
nomination of the election
E. The commission fixes the dates of the counting of the votes
F. The commission prepares and implements the code of conduct which
is compulsory for all the political parties
G. The commission settles all the dispute regarding the elections

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 H. The commission declares the result of the election
I. The commission scrutinizes the expenses the election of the candidates

However, there are basic features which influences the party system such as;

A. Co­existence of the political parties

B. Principle and ideological political parties;
C. Elements of caste, colour, creed and race;
D. Party coalition and party defection etc.
E. In order to be a national party, one party has to complete at least five years in
service to political activities along with securing a minimum of four percent of
the total number of votes in previous elements to state legislature.

3.4.4: Democratic Decentralization

Democratic Decentralization in India emphasizes on the decentralization of power. For

example in India, the Panchayat Raj system acts as the greatest idea of democratic
decentralization. The concept of Panchayat Raj is also known as the ‘Grass Root’ level of
democracy, which was envisaged by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. According
to him it brings transparency and accountability in the governance of the country. The 73rd
and 74th constitutional amendment of India added the Panchayat raj system in rural areas of
the country and urban areas respectively. The features of these amendments are given below

 Elections are compulsory at local administrative level.

 A structural consistency of local self­government throughout the country.
 State election commission got responsibility of conducting elections for panchayats.
 The people’s participation becomes more in this process of development.
 Greater powers are restored on the local bodies.
 Greater development at the gross root level i.e. the village level.
 Larger participation because of greater political consciousness among the people.

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 However, there are many challenges in the path of Democratic decentralization. The
challenges are

 Poverty
 Illiteracy
 Unemployment
 Underemployment
 Unsettling propensities
 Favoritism and Nepotism
 Parochialism and Narrow­mindedness
 Corruption
 Terrorism
 Political defection
 Political instability
 Political apathy and indulgence
 Lack of developmental mechanisms
 Lack of infrastructure
 Lack of interest of the Individuals towards the political system

3.4.5: Freedom of the Individuals

Freedom is the most important strength behind all individuals’ development and progress.
Individual can be the best self through the rights provided by the constitution of India. In
India, part­III of the constitution deals with the Fundamental Rights of the constitution.
Article 19 to 22 of the constitution of India deals with the right to Freedom. Art­19 is
regarded as the most significant and essential article, which provides ‘Six fundamental
Freedoms’ to the citizen of the country. This article is also viewed as the ‘Key’ to the
constitution of India. The six Fundamental Rights constitutes the

1­ Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression;

2­ Right to Freedom to assemble peacefully without arms;
3­ Right to Freedom of Association;

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 4­ Right to move freely throughout the territory of India;
5­ Right to reside and resettle in any part of the territory of
India;
6­ Right to practice and profession, or to carry out any
occupation, trade or business;

Therefore, the Right to Freedom is considered to be the most vital factor of development of
democracy and progress of the individual of the country. Individual and freedom are two
important element of a particular government; it is also a yardstick for measurement of
democracy. These freedoms, as a whole, constitute the liberty of the individual. So the
preamble of the Indian Constitution proclaims that one of its objective is to secure Liberty
i.e. Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.
3.4.6: Freedom of the Press
The Constitution of India constitutes four important pillars and they are: The Executive, The
Legislature, The Judiciary and the fourth and central pillar is the Press or Mass Media. The
Constituent Assembly of India faced much criticism, of the omission of a specific reference
to Freedom of the Press and the failure to guarantee it along with the freedom of speech.
However, the Drafting Committee of the constitution of India, did not think it essential to
include a separate right in the chapter of Fundamental Rights. Freedom of the press is also
known as the freedom of the media. It is the freedom of communication and expression
which includes various electronic media and published materials. While such freedom mostly
implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state, its preservation may be
sought through constitutional or other legal protections.

Regarding this, the Father of the Drafting Committee, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar viewed
that ‘The press has no special rights which are not to be given or which are not to be
exercised by the citizen in his individual capacity. The editor of a press or the Manager of a
press are all citizens and, therefore, when they choose to write in newspapers, they are
merely exercising their right of expression and in my judgement, therefore, no special
mentions is necessary of the freedom of the press at all.’ With respect to governmental
information, it is the government who decides which matter will be publicized and which

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will be protected from disclosure to the public based on classification of information as
sensitive, classified or secret. This information will be secured from disclosure due to
relevance of the information to protecting the national interest. Many governments are also
subject to sunshine laws or freedom of information legislation that are used to define the
ambit of national interest. For example, the United Nations' in 1948 Universal Declaration
of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this
right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and
ideas through any media regardless of frontiers"

This philosophy is usually accompanied by legislation ensuring various degrees of freedom

of scientific research (known as scientific freedom), publishing, press and printing the depth
to which these laws are entrenched in a country's legal system can go as far down as its
constitution. The concept of freedom of speech is often covered by the same laws as freedom
of the press, thereby giving equal treatment to spoken and published expression. The
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) uses the tools of journalism to help journalists by
tracking press freedom issues through independent research, fact­finding missions, and first
hand contacts in the field, including local working journalists in countries around the world.
CPJ shares information on breaking cases with other press freedom organizations worldwide
through the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a global e­mail network. CPJ
also tracks journalist deaths and detentions. CPJ staff applies strict criteria for each case;
researchers independently investigate and verify the circumstances behind each death or
imprisonment. Freedom of expression enables one to express one’s own voices as well as
those of others. But freedom of the press must be subject to those restrictions which apply to
the freedom of speech and expression. The restrictions mentioned in Article 19 are
defamation, contempt of court, decency or morality, security of the state, friendly relations
with other states, incitement to an offence, public order and maintenance of the sovereignty
and integrity of India. In this way, freedom of press constitutes the instrument of social
change.

3.4.7: The concept of social justice

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The term Social justice refers to the rational and fair relation between the individual and
society. This is dignified by the unambiguous and implicit terms for the distribution of
wealth, opportunities for personal activity and social privileges. In Western as well as in
older Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often denoted to the development of
certifying that individuals fulfill their societal relations and obtain their due from society.
Presently, in the era of globalization, the concept of social justice receives more importance
for providing safety nets, social security and economic justice to the individuals of the
country. In the current global grassroots movements for social justice, the emphasis has been
on the infringement of blockades for social flexibility and social elasticity. It empowers
people to receive the basic benefits and burdens of cooperation from the society. These
includes taxation, social insurance, public health, public school, public services, labour law,
regulation of markets, to ensure fair distribution of wealth, equal opportunity, equality of
outcome, etc.

The concept of “Social justice” traced back its origin in 1840, from the theology of
Augustine of Hippo and the philosophy of Thomas Paine. However, the term was developed
in a more towards the late of industrial revolution, progressive American legal scholars
began to use the term more, particularly Louis Brandeis and Roscoe Pound. From the early
20th century it was also surrounded in international law and international institutions. The
preamble to inaugurate the International Labour Organization (ILO) elicited that "universal
and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice." During the latter
part of 20th century, social justice was made dominant feature in the philosophy of the social
contract, and predominantly by John Rawls in his book ‘A Theory of Justice’ (1971). During
the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action indulgences social justice is pillar of human
rights education and development. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in India
is responsible for welfare, social justice, and empowerment of disadvantaged and
marginalized sections of society, including scheduled castes (SC), Other Backward Classes
(OBC), the disabled, the elderly, and the victims of drug abuse. The Ministry of Tribal
Affairs is also responsible for the welfare of scheduled tribes (ST).

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The preamble of the Constitution of India, in its ‘Objective Resolution’, said that there are
three principles for the establishment of socio­economic justice in our country. These are

1. socio­ economic justice in a country like India can be treated as valid, only it provides the
positive aids such as material and substantive aids to the working section. Socio ­ economic
justice in the negative sense implies that individual functions with restriction.

2. Political justice is less important than socio – economic justice. Socio­economic justice is
qualitatively more important.

3. The stability of the ruling authority is relative to its ability to promote the cause of socio­
economic justice for the general public. Simultaneously, universal adult franchise must be
the cardinal principle of political election. Political justice would lose its consequence if
socio­economic justice is not impending.

The purposes to secure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to the individuals of the
country, which is reflecting in the Part­III and Part­IV of the Indian constitution, namely
Fundamental Rights (FR) and Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP) respectively.

 Liberty: The preamble of the India constitution declares that liberty of thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship. In this regard the constitution of India has
designed the grant of fundamental rights i.e. right to freedom to secure the objectives
of liberty in India. The term ‘liberty’ is used in the Preamble both in the positive and
negative sense. In the positive sense, it means the formation of conditions that provide
the essential constituents necessary for the complete development of the personality
of the individual in the society by providing liberty of through, expression, belief,
faith and worship. In the negative sense, it refers to the absence of any arbitrary
restraint on the freedom of the individual action. There is no state intervention in the
action of individual liberty. Right to religious freedom is also a fundamental right in
India.
 Equality: liberty cannot exist without equality; both are complementary and
supplementary to each other. Liberty and equality are interrelated. Equality is the
third major objective of the constitution of India. Liberty cannot exist without

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 equality. Both liberty and equality are complementary to each other. Here, the
concept of equality means that all human beings are equal in the eyes of the Law
irrespective of their cast, creed, religion and language. Equality of status and equality
of opportunity were the major objectives of the principle of equality in the preamble
of constitution of India. However, the constitution of India grants and guarantees the
Fundamental Right of equality to all the citizen of India.
 Fraternity: The Preamble underlines the objective of fraternity in order to ensure
both the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. ‘Fraternity’
refers to establishment of the spirit of brotherhood, the promotion of love and peace,
propagating the message of universal truth and oneness of which is poised of people
of many races and religion. It is a word of moral and spiritual importance and imposes
a moral obligation on the part of the Union to respect the personality of the citizen
and to create conditions of work which will ensure self­respect, brotherhood and unity
and diversity among the people of the nation. The words ‘unity and integrity’ have
been made to prevent tendencies of regionalism, provincialism, linguism,
communalism and any of the enlightened secularism is achieved.
 Dignity and Self Respect: Dignity and self­respect is a moral obligation and
compulsion, which imposes spiritual, moral, ethical and honourable to the Union and
state government to respect the personality of the citizens of the country. It is also the
responsibility of the government to generate conditions and circumstances of work
which will ensure self­respect.

3.4.8: The concept of Equality

Article 14 of the constitution of India , states that state shall not deny to any person equality
before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. It is available
to any person including legal person’s viz. statutory corporation, companies, etc. It is also
taken from the concept of equal protection of laws has been taken from the constitution of
USA. The concept of rule of law is a negative concept while the concept of equal protection
of laws is a positive concept. The concept of equality before law is equivalent to the second
element of the concept of the ‘rule of law’ propounded by A.V. Dicey, the British jurist. But

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certain exceptions to it are, the president of India, state governors, Public servants, Judges,
Foreign diplomats, etc., who enjoy immunities, protections and special privileges. Thus
Article­14 stands for the establishment of a circumstance under which there is fully absence
of arbitrary discrimination by the laws themselves or in their administration.

Article 15 of the constitution of India, states that the state shall not discriminate against any
religion, race, sex, and place of birth or any of them. Under article 15 (3) and (4),
government can make special provisions for women and children and for group of citizens
who are economically and socially backward section of the society.

National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) highlighted the following

discriminations being practiced against Dalits in India.

 Prohibited from eating with other caste members

 Prohibited from marrying with other caste members
 Separate glasses for Dalit’s in village tea stalls
 Discriminatory seating arrangements and separate utensils in restaurants
 Segregation in seating and food arrangements in village functions and festivals
 Prohibited from entering into village temples
 Prohibited from wearing sandals or holding umbrellas in front of dominant caste
members
 Prohibited from using common village pat
 Separate burial grounds
 No access to village’s common or public properties and resources wells, ponds,
temples, etc.
 Segregation of Dalit children in schools
 Bonded Labor
 Face social boycotts by dominant castes for refusing to perform their “duties”

Article 16 of the constitution of India, states that there shall be equality of opportunity for all
citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the state. The
State cannot discriminate against anyone in the matter of public employment. All citizens can

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apply and become employees of the State. Merits and qualifications will be the basis of
employment. However, there are some exceptions to this right. There is a special provision
for the reservation of posts for citizens belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Article 16(1) and 16(2) emphasizes on some general about equality of opportunity. It states
that there shall be equal opportunity for all citizens and thus emphasizes on universality of
Indian Citizenship.

Article 16(3) states that ‘Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament from making any
law prescribing, in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office,
I.e. under the Government of, or any local or other authority within, a State or Union
territory, any requirement as to residence within that State or Union territory, prior to such
employment or appointment. As per this article residence qualifications may be made
necessary in the case of appointments under the state for particular positions, thus making the
domicile provisions stronger, however, the power is not vested in the states but in Parliament
to prescribe the requirement as to residence in the state. This emphasizes on making the
qualifying test uniform throughout the country.

Equality of opportunity states the idea that everyone has an equal chance to achieve wealth,
social prestige, and power because the rules of the game, so to speak, are the same for
everyone. It signifies that, for any social equality and stability dealing with wealth, social
prestige, power, influence, authority or any of that sorts, the equality of opportunity standard
can preserve the idea that everyone in the society had occupied the same and equal position
in the societal hierarchy. The standard of equality of opportunity eliminates inequality and
disparity, because the rules of the competitions in society are still fair and just and it is same
for all in the society. Lesley A. Jacobs, the author of Pursuing Equal Opportunities said that
‘The Theory and Practice of Egalitarian Justice, talks about equality of opportunity and its
importance relating to egalitarian justice.’ This concept of equality, deals with the factors
like race, gender, class, colour, creed, etc. that should not be considered while speaking about
equality through this conception. In the words of Conley, this standard of equality is at the

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heart of a bourgeois society, such as a modern capitalist society, or “a society of commerce
in which the maximization of profit is the primary business incentive.”

Thus, the equality conceptualize different type as under

 Economic equality, a form of social justice

 Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people, also known as
Equality
 Equal opportunity, a stipulation that all people should be treated similarly
 Equality before the law, the principle under which all people are subject to the same
laws
 Equality of outcome, in which the general economic conditions of people's lives are
similar
 Gender equality
 Racial equality

Article 17 of the constitution of India states that Untouchability is abolished and its practice
in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability
shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. Practicing untouchability in any form
has been made a punishable offence under the law. This provision is an effort to uplift the
social status of millions of Indians who had been looked down upon and kept at a distance
because of either their caste or the nature of their profession. It is really very unfortunate that
despite constitutional provisions, this social evil continues even today.

To make untouchability law further strong, parliament of India passed Untouchability Act in
1955 which came into force 1st June, 1955. This act was further amended and renamed in
1976 as Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. This act lays down that whatever is open to
general public should be open to the members of the scheduled castes.

Article 18 of the constitution of India, states that no title, not being a military or academic
distinction, shall be conferred by the State. No citizen of India shall accept any title from any
foreign state. All the British titles like Sir (Knighthood) or Rai Bahadur which were given to
the British loyalists during the British rule, have been abolished because they created

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distinctions of artificial nature. However, the President of India can confer civil and military
awards to those who have rendered meritorious service to the nation in different fields. The
awards, Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhuhan, Padma Bhusan and Padma Shri called as the
national Awards would not amount to title within the meaning of Article 18(i). Article 18(1)
states that ‘No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the
State’. Article 18 (2) states that ‘No citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign
State’. Article 18(3) states that ‘No person who is not a citizen of India shall, while he holds
any office of profit or trust under the State, accept without the consent of the President any
title from any foreign State’. Article 18(4) states that ‘No person holding any office of profit
or trust under the State shall, without the consent of the President, accept any present,
emolument, or office of any kind from or under any foreign State’. Article 18 also precludes
the state from confirming any title except military and academic distinction. It also prohibits
the Indian citizens from receiving titles from any foreign state. The foreign nationals holding
the office of profit under the state may accept titles from the foreign government with the
consent of President. In a true democracy, there is no space for artificial distinctions among
the same society. Titles such as Rai Bahadur, Sawai, Rai Sahab, Zamindar, taluqdar etc were
prevalent in medieval and British India.

However, the following titles are abolished by article 18 of the constitution of India.

 No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State.
 No citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign State.
 No person who is not a citizen of India shall, while he holds any office of profit or
trust under the State, accept without the consent of the President any title from any
foreign State.
 No person holding any office of profit or trust under the State shall, without the
consent of the President, accept any present, emolument, or office of any kind from or
under any foreign State.

3.4.9: The concept of Universal Suffrage and Universal Adult Suffrage

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The concept of universal adult suffrage along with free and fair voting are looked upon as
the “guarantors of minority rights.” It also had a trickle down impact on poverty alleviation.
By allowing voting rights to all citizens, the poor found an opportunity to choose the political
administrators and increase the scope of governance at a local level. The direct outcome is
prosperity at grassroots level and development of infrastructure.

Universal suffrage is known as the general suffrage or common suffrage. It consists of

the extension of the right to vote to all citizens. It excludes the grant of the right to minors or
non­citizens. However, suffrage has two necessary components, the right to vote and
opportunities to vote, the term universal suffrage is associated only with the right to vote and
ignores the frequency that an incumbent government consults the electorate. Where universal
suffrage exists, the right to vote is not restricted by race, sex, belief, wealth, or social status.
Historically, the First French Republic was the second nation that adopted universal male
suffrage, doing so in 1792. It was one of the first national system that abolished all property
requirements as a prerequisite for allowing men to register and vote. Greece recognized full
male suffrage in 1830 and France and Switzerland have continuously done so since the 1848.
Upon independence in the 19th century, several Latin American countries and Liberia in
Africa initially extended suffrage to all adult males, but subsequently restricted it based on
property requirements. The German Empire implemented full male suffrage in 1871. The
United States hypothetically adopted full male suffrage with the Fifteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution in 1870, but this was not practically implemented in the South
until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 came into existence.

In 1893 New Zealand became the first nation in the world to grant universal, male and
female adult suffrage. In most countries, full universal suffrage followed about a generation
after full male suffrage. Notable exceptions in Europe were France, where women could not
vote until 1944, that is in Greece (1952) and Switzerland (1971), in federal elections and
1990 in all cantonal elections. It is worth noting that countries that took a long time to adopt
women's suffrage were often actually pioneers in granting universal male suffrage.
However, in the first modern democracies, governments restricted the vote to those with
property and wealth, which almost always meant a minority of the male population. In some

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jurisdictions, other restrictions existed, such as requiring voters to practice a given religion.
In all modern democracies, the number of people who could vote has increased progressively
with time. In the 19th century in Europe, Great Britain and North America, there were
movements advocating "universal male suffrage". The democratic movement of the late 19th
century, unifying liberals and social democrats, particularly in northern Europe, used the
slogan Equal and Common Suffrage. The first movements in the Western world toward
universal suffrage occurred in the early 19th century, and focused on removing property
requirements for voting. In the United States following the American Civil War, slaves were
freed and granted rights of citizens, including suffrage for adult males although states
established restrictions later in the century. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the focus
of the universal suffrage movement was the extension of the right to vote to women.

However, in India, Article 326 of the Constitution grants universal adult suffrage to every
citizen of India. As a result of which, every adult citizen is entitled to cast his or her vote in
all state elections unless that citizen is “convicted of certain criminal offences” or “deemed
unsound of mind.” As per this concept, the right to vote is not restricted by caste, race, sex,
religion or financial status. During the pre­independence era, only 13 per cent of Indian
citizens used to enjoy the right to vote. The demand for universal adult suffrage had been
gaining momentum few decades prior to the independence. The Motilal Nehru report was
among the first proponent of “unlimited adult franchise and equal rights for women.”

In 1928, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar appeared before the Simon Commission and insisted on
incorporating universal adult franchise in the Constitution of India. According to him,
elections were “a weapon in the hands of the most oppressed sections of society” and voting
rights will give them the politico legal equality. In 1931, the Indian National Congress called
for political equality at the Karachi session. The party argued that it would be one of the
crucial strides towards making the electoral process more participatory and inclusive. There
were doubts in the minds of our constitution makers and the issue of adult franchise was
debated in the Constituent Assembly by many senior leaders before it abolished all the
previous restrictions and provided for universal adult suffrage.

3.4.10: The concept of Fraternity and National Identity

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National identity denotes to the sense of belongingness to a state or a nation. It is a sense of
solidarity feeling with a particular group without regard to one's actual citizenship status.
This is not a trait with which people are born, rather, experiences from the common way
stations of people's lives build their sense of national identity. Different factors like language,
national colors, national symbols, and the history of the nation, blood connections, culture,
cuisine, music and others play a part of it. Positively, national identity refers to ‘patriotism’
but if one views this negatively, it is also known as chauvinism.it also requires the process of
self­categorization and it involves both the identification of in­group i.e. identifying with
one's nation, and differentiation of out­groups other nations. By recognizing commonalities
such as having common descent and common destiny, people identify with a nation and form
an in­group, and at the same time they view people that identify with a different nation as
out­groups. National identity is a collective product. It is a process of socialization, a system
of beliefs, values, assumptions and expectations is transmitted to group members. The
collective elements of national identity may include national symbols, traditions, and
memories of national experiences and achievements. These collective elements are rooted in
the nation's history. Depending on how much the individual is exposed to the socialization of
this system, people incorporate national identity to their personal identity to different degrees
and in different ways, and the collective elements of national identity may become important
parts of individual's definition of the self and how they view the world and their own place in
it.

However, in India there is a strong faith of national Identity. It is because India is a

land of immense diversities. It believes on the principles of unity and diversity. The preamble
of the constitution of India enumerates ‘….unity and integrity of the nation’. This shows that
there is a strong national identity in India.

3.4.11: The concept of Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)

Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) is described in the Part IV of the constitution of
India under Article 51 (A). The Directive Principles of State Policy are the guidelines or
principles given to the central and state governments of India. The states have to keep these
directives in mind while framing laws and policies. These principles are not enforceable by

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any court, but the principles laid down therein are considered fundamental in the governance
of the country. Thus, it is the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws to
establish a just and fair society in the country. The principles have been inspired by the
Directive Principles, given in the Constitution of Ireland and Spain, relate to social justice,
economic welfare, foreign policy, and legal and administrative matters. Under the
constitution of India, Directive Principles are based on the following features

 Economic and socialistic, political and administrative, justice and legal,

environmental, protection of monuments and peace and security.
 The concept of Directive Principles of State Policy was borrowed from the Irish
Constitution.
 It represents the features of Irish nationalist movement.
 The idea of such policies is based on “can be traced to the Declaration of the Rights
of Man proclaimed by Revolutionary France and the Declaration of Independence by
the American Colonies.
 The Indian constitution was also influenced by the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

Article­39 of the constitution of India laid down the following principles to make the
Constitution of India as an instrument of social change. They are

 The citizens both men and women have equal right to life and livelihood.
 The ownership and control of the material resources are distributed as based to
perceive the common good.
 The operation of the economic and financial system does not result in concentration
of wealth and means of production and distribution to the common impairment.
 There is existence of equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
 The health and strength of workers, men and women and the tender age of children
are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter
avocations unsuited to their age or strength.

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 Childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and
material abandonment.
Art-40 of the Constitution of India emphasizes that the state shall take step to
organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may
be necessary to enable them to function as unit of self­government.
Article-41 of the Constitution laid down that the state was directed, within the limits
of its economic capacity and development, to make effective provision for securing
the Right to work, to education and to public assistance in case of unemployment, old
age, sickness and disablement, and in other causes of undeserved want.
Article-42 of the Indian constitution laid down that the state shall make provisions
for securing just and human conditions of work and for maternity relief.
Article-43 of the Constitution of India explains that the state shall endeavour to
secure, by suitable legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all
workers such as agricultural, industrial or otherwise work, a living wage, conditions
of work, ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social
and cultural opportunities.

Article-44 of the Indian constitution laid down the state endeavour to secure for the
citizens a uniform civil code through the territory of India.
Article-45 of the Indian constitution laid down the state shall endeavour to provide
within a period, often years, form the commencement of the constitution, for free and
compulsory education for all citizen until they complete the age 14 years.
Article-47 of the Indian constitution highlights that the state was entrusted the
responsibility of raising the level of nutrition of the people and the improvement of
their health, and to this end, it was to bring about prohibition of the consumption of
intoxicating drinks and drugs.
Article-48 of the Indian constitution laid down the states to organize agriculture and
animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines.

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 Article-51 of the Indian constitution states that the states are directed to promote
international peace and security, to maintain just and honourable relations between
nations, to foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealing of
organized people with one another and to encourage settlement of international
disputes by arbitration.

From the above, the founding fathers of the India Republic directed the state to
preserve, protect each and every monument or place or object of artistic, etc., in order
to protect the cultural heritage of India. In the process of Nation building and Nation
making, these provisions of the constitution of India (As stated above) are mainly
responsible to make the constitution as an instrument of Social change in India.

3.5: The provision of Constitutional Amendments

Amendment means change or alteration. In order to meet the changing situations, the
constituent makers have adopted the amendment process in the country. The Constitution of
India provides for a distinctive amending process when compared to the Constitutions of
other nations. It can be described as partly flexible and partly rigid. In the constituent
assembly Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru stated that ‘While we want this constitution to be solid and
permanent as we can make it, there is no permanence in a constitution. There should be
certain flexibility. If you make everything rigid and permanent you stop a nation’s growth,
the growth of a living, vital and organic people.’

The Constitution provides for a variety in the amending process. This feature of the
constitution of India has been borrowed from the Australian constitution. An amendment of
the Constitution can be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill in either House of
Parliament. The Bill must then be passed in each House by a majority of the total
membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two­thirds of the members of
that House present and voting. There is no provision for a joint sitting in case of
disagreement between the two Houses. The Bill, passed by the required majority, is then
presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill. If the amendment seeks to

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make any change in any of the provisions mentioned in the provision to article 368, it must
be ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one­half of the States. Finally, the bill gets
president’s approval for its recognition.

3.5.1: Types of Amendment in India

The original constitution provided for three categories of amendments. They are

A. Amendment by simple Majority of Votes in both the house of the parliament.

B. Amendment by 2/3rd majority of the parliament
C. Amendment by 2/3rd majority of the parliament cum ratification by at least half of the
state legislatures.

A. Amendment by simple Majority of Votes in both the house of the parliament-

The constitution of India empowers the parliaments to amend some specific
constitutional provisions. The parliament can change these provisions by ordinary law
making and can be effected by a simple majority such as that required for the passing
of any ordinary law. The amendments under this category are specifically excluded
from the purview of article 368 which is the specific provision in the Constitution
dealing with the power and the procedure for the amendment of the Constitution. For
amending the provision under this category, first the bill will be introduced in the
legislature in either house. Then the bill asks for the majority in the houses. It
becomes a law when passed by both the houses individually by simple majority of
their members present and voting. Finally, the bill gets president’s approval for its
recognition. The provisions which can be amended by the simple majority are given
as under
 Article 2, 3 and 4 provides for the admission or establishment of new states,
formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing
States) effecting amendments in the First Schedule or the Fourth Schedule and
supplemental, incidental and consequential matters, shall not be deemed to be
amendments of the Constitution for the purposes of article 368, by formulating and
altering the boundaries.

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  Article 5,6,7,8,9,10 and 11 dealing with the citizen of India
 Article 81 dealing with the delimitations of the constituencies
 Article 100 relating to quorum of the parliament etc.

B. Amendment by 2/3rd majority of the parliament

This category of amendment includes amendments that can be effected by the 2/3rd
majority of the parliament. Article 368 of the constitution of India stated that ‘An
amendment to the constitution of India may be initiated only by the introduction of a bill
for the purpose in either house of the parliament or when the bill is passed in each house
by a majority of total membership of that house and by a majority of not less than two­
third of the members of the house present and voting, it shall be presented before the
president who shall give his ascent to the bill and thereupon the constitution shall stand
amended in accordance with terms of the bill’.

C. Amendment by 2/3rd majority of the parliament cum ratification by at least half

of the state legislatures
In some of the key features of the constitution, a rigid method of amendment has been
prescribed. By this amendment there are two steps. Firstly, the passing of the
amendment bill by both the house of parliament by a majority of total membership
present and voting in each house. Secondly, the amendment bill as passed by the
parliament becomes an Act only after it secures ratification at least half of the several
states Legislatures and the ascent of the president. The provisions relating to Article
54 and 55, i.e. the election of the president of India; Article­73 i.e. executive power of
the union; Article 162 i.e. the provision regarding the high court in Union Territories
etc., are coming under this category of Amendment of the constitution of India.

3.5.2: Important Amendments

The important amendment of the constitution is as follows.

 24th Amendment Act, 1971­ Under this Amendment the Constitution It affirmed the
power of the Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution. After this amendment,

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 the President is bound to assent to Constitution Amendment Bill. Education was
transferred to the Concurrent List by this amendment.

 31st Amendment Act, 1973 ­ This amendment increased the elective strength of the
Lok Sabha from 525 to 545. Under the Act, the upper limit of representatives of the
States goes up from 500 to 525 and that of the Union Territories decreases from 25 to
20.
 36th Amendment Act, 1975­ This amendment made Sikkim as the 22nd State of the
Indian Union.
 37th Amendment Act, 1975 ­ This amendment was passed by Parliament on April
26, 1975, to provide for a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers to
Arunachal Pradesh, the country’s north­easternmost Union Territory.
 39th Amendment Act, 1975­ This amendment was passed by the Lok Sabha on
August 7 and received Presidential assent on August 9, 1975. The Act places beyond
challenge in courts the election to Parliament of a person holding the office of Prime
Minister or Speaker and the election of President and Vice­President.
 40th Amendment Act, 1976­ This Amendment had a three­fold objective: (1) It places
beyond challenge in courts some major Central laws; (2) It gives similar protection to
several State enactments, mostly relating to land legislation, by including them in the
Ninth Schedule of the Constitution; and (3) It provides that the limits of the territorial
waters, the Continental Shelf, the Exclusive Economic Zone and the maritime zones
of India shall be specified from time to time by law made by Parliament.

 42nd Amendment Act, 1976­ This Amendment was enacted during the period of
internal emergency. It was passed by Parliament on November 11, 1976 and received
Presidential assent on December 18, 1976. The Amendment was established beyond
doubt the supremacy of Parliament over the other wings of Government; gave the
Directive Principles precedence over the Fundamental Rights; enumerated for the

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 first time a set of ten Fundamental Duties. It further imposed limits on the power and
jurisdiction of the judiciary; raised the term of the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha
from five to six years; authorized the use of Central armed forces in any State to deal
with law and order problems, made the President bound by the advice of the Council
of Ministers and envisaged the establishment of administrative tribunals for service
matters of Government employees and also other tribunals for economic offences.
The Act also clearly laid down that no Constitutional Amendment could be
questioned in any court of law.
 43rd Amendment Act, 1978­ This Amendment received the Presidential assent on
April 13, 1978. This Act repeals the obnoxious provisions of the Constitution (42nd
Amendment) Act passed during the Emergency. It restores civil liberties by deleting
Article 3I D which gave powers to Parliament to curtail even legitimate trade union
activity under the guise of legislation for the prevention of anti­national activities.
The new law, which was ratified by more than half of the States in accordance with
the Constitution, also restores legislative powers to the States to make appropriate
provision for anti­national activities consistent with the Fundamental Rights. Under
the Act, the judiciary has also been restored to its rightful place. The Supreme Court
will now have power to invalidate State laws, a power taken away by the 42nd
Amendment Act. The High Courts will also be able to go into the question of
constitutional validity of Central laws thereby enabling persons living in distant
places to obtain speedy justice without having to come to the Supreme Court.

 44th Amendment Act, 1978­ This Amendment came into force on April 30, 1979,
after the President’s assent. The Act removes major distortions in the Constitution
introduced during the Emergency. The duration of the Lok Sabha and State
Legislative Assemblies has been reduced from six to five years—the normal term
which was extended during the Emergency under the 42nd Amendment to achieve
some political purposes. The Right to Property ceases to be a Fundamental Right and
becomes only a legal right according to the Constitution 44th Amendment. The Act

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 also extends, for the first time since independence, constitutional protection for
publication of the proceedings of Parliament and State Legislatures, except in cases
where it is proved to be “malicious”. Another important feature of the Act is that any
proclamation of Emergency need henceforward, be issued by the President only after
receiving the advice of the Cabinet as a whole in writing. The President will not be
called upon to act on the basis of advice by the Prime Minister on his own without
consulting his Cabinet. Other safeguards provide that the proclamation will have to
be adopted by a two­thirds majority of the members of both Houses of Parliament
within a month. The 44th Amendment provides safeguards against future subversion
of the Constitution for establishing an authoritarian regime. It contains provisions
which are designed to make it impossible to impose the kind of emergency the
country had experienced for 19 months.
 45th Amendment Act, 1980­ This Act extended reservation of seats for the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in Parliament and the State Assemblies and the
representation of Anglo­Indians by nomination for a further period of 10 years.
 46th Amendment Bill, 1982­ This Amendment seeks to authorize the government to
prepare an authoritative text of the Constitution, in Hindi.
 52nd Amendment Act, 1985­ This Act has made defection to another party, after
elections illegal. Any member defecting to another party after elections will be
disqualified from being Member of Parliament or State Legislature.
 53rd Amendment Act, 1986­ This Act confers Statehood on Mizoram and ensures
against unnecessary interference by the Central Government with the laws relating to
spheres of social relationship and community conduct applicable to Mizoram.
 54th Amendment Act, 1986­ This amendment enhances the salaries of Judges of High
Courts and Supreme Court of India. The salary of Chief Justice of India will be Rs
10,000; Chief Justice of High Courts Rs 9000; Judges of Supreme Court Rs 9000;
and Judges of High Courts Rs 8000.
 55th Amendment Act, 1987­ This amendment grants Statehood to Arunachal Pradesh
which consequently became the 24th State of the Indian Union.

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 56th Amendment Act, 1987­ This Act confers Statehood on Goa and forms a new
Union Territory of Daman and Diu. Goa thus became the 25th State of the Indian
Republic.
 57th Amendment Act, 1987­ This Act made a special provision for the setting up of
the new State of Goa. Consequently Daman and Diu were separated from the former
to form a Union Territory.
 58th Amendment Act, 1988­ This Act provides for special arrangements with regard
to reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the States of Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya. By amending Article 322 the adjustment of
seats has been frozen until 2000 A.D.
 59th Amendment Act, 1988 ­ This Act empowered the Central Government to impose
Emergency in Punjab when deemed necessary. Under the amendment, President’s
rule can be extended up to three years. Earlier maximum period was two years.
 61st Amendment Act, 1989­ This Act lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
 62nd Amendment Act, 1989­ This Act provided for the extension by another 10 years
of reservation of seats in the Parliament and State Assemblies for the Scheduled
Castes and Tribes and reservation for Anglo Indian community by nomination.
 63rd Amendment Act, 1989 ­ This Act repealed Amendment 59 which empowered
the government to impose emergency in Punjab.
 64th Amendment Act, 1990­ This Act extended the President’s rule in Punjab by six
months.
 66th Amendment Act, 1990­ This Act brings land reforms within the purview of 9th
Schedule of the Constitution.
 69th Amendment Act, 1991­ This Act Delhi made National Capital Region. The Act
also made provision for Legislative assembly and a council of ministers for Delhi.
 70th Amendment Act, 1992­ This Act made article 54 relating to the election of the
President provided for an electoral college consisting only of the elected members of
Parliament as well as the legislative assemblies of the States. The amendment
provide for inclusion of members of legislature of Pondicherry and Delhi.

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 71st Amendment Act, 1992­ This Act amends the 8th Schedule to the Constitution to
include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali Languages in the 8th Schedule of the
Constitution.
 72nd Amendment Act, 1992­ This Act made temporary provision for the
determination of the number of seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the State
assembly of Tripura, until the re­adjustment of seats is made on the basis of the first
census after the year 2000 under article 170 of the Constitution.
 73rd Amendment Act, 1992­ This Act ensures direct election to all seats in
Panchayats; to reserve seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their population; and
for reservation of not less than one third of the seats in Panchayats for women.
 74th Amendment Act, 1992­ This Act was made to ensure direct election to all seats
in Nagarpalikas and Municipalities.
 75th Amendment Act 1994­ This Act provided for setting up of State­level Rent
Tribunals to exclude the jurisdiction of all courts, except that of the Supreme Court,
under Article 136 of the Constitution.
 76th Amendment Act, 1994­ This Act relates to the Reservation of Seats in
Educational Institutes and of appointments or posts in the Services under a State, for
Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Supreme Court had
ruled on November 16, 1992, that the total reservations under Article 16(40) of the
Constitution should not exceed 50 per cent.
 81st Amendment Act, 2000­ This Act provides that the unfilled vacancies of a year
reserved for SC/ST kept for being filled up in a year as per Article 16, shall be
considered separately for filling vacancies in the succeeding year and the previous
list will not be considered for filling the 50% quota of the respective year.
 82nd Amendment Act, 2000­ This Act provides that nothing in the Article 355 shall
prevent the State from making any provisions in favour of the members of SC/ST for
relaxation in qualifying marks with respect to examination/job/promotion.
 83rd Amendment Act, 2000­ This Act amended Article 243 M to provide that no
reservation in Panchayats be made in favour of SC/ST in Arunachal Pradesh where
the whole population is tribal.
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  83rd Amendment Act 2002 ­ This Act extended the usage of 1971 national census
population figures for statewide distribution of parliamentary seats
 92nd Amendment 2004 ­ This Act Included Bodo, Dogri, Santali and Maithali as
official languages in the eight schedule of the constitution
 99th Amendment 2015­ The amendment provided for the formation of a National
Judicial Appointments Commission. 16 State assemblies out of 29 States including
Goa, Rajasthan, Tripura, Gujarat and Telangana ratified the Central Legislation,
enabling the President of India to give assent to the bill. The amendment is in to
quash by Supreme Court on 16 October 2015.
 100th Amendment 2015 – This Act exchanged certain enclave territories with
Bangladesh and conferment of citizenship rights to residents of enclave’s consequent
to signing of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Treaty between India and
Bangladesh.

3.5.2: Criticisms

The method of the amendment of the constitution of India has been criticized as under

 Undemocratic in its Nature

 Very Rigid and Very Flexible
 Lack of procedure for resolving deadlocks over amendment bill
 Less importance to the states
 No time limit for ratifications by the states
 Consent of the president t is an unnecessary process
 The provision of judicial review over amendment
 Too many amendments.

3.6: Summary
 Secularism is not just a word; it is an idea; that was espoused by the founding fathers
of independent India and the architects of India’s Constitution. It refers to a number
of norms and values regarding the way a plural society and its state should be

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 organized. The basic idea is that the state and its laws should not mingle with the
realm of religion. Instead, each religion should offer useful anchorage to the
government’s secular attempts to turn out Indians into good and honest citizens.
 It is unreasonable to expect the minorities to lose their religious identities. It is the
responsibility of an elected government to do “justice to all”. It is the responsibility of
the government to protect the reasonable interests and aspirations of adherents of
other religions within the limitations and provisions of the constitution by extending
necessary concessions.
 Secularism implies absence of religion or religious beliefs from the process of
legislation.
 Pandit J. L. Nehru’s secularism was based on a commitment to scientific humanism,
rationality with a progressive view of historical development and change.
 The constitution of India adopted the principle of ‘socialist, secular and integrity’ by
the 42nd amendment Act of 1976.
 There is a crucial relationship exists among man, state and religion. This constitutes a
vital factor in the distinctiveness of India’s secularist character. Thus, secularism is
not just a word or concept but it is an ideology itself. It was advocated by the
founding fathers of independent India and the architects of India’s Constitution.
 The constitution of India should be able to sustain a sound and peaceful social system.
 Political parties are essential for the representation and for the protection of the
masses and are the backbone of the representative democracy.
 The party system of any country is decided upon by the existing political culture of
that country like India.
 The election commission was established to conduct elections smoothly. It is headed
by a chief election commissioner and other commissioners appointed by the president.
 The term liberty positively means creation of conditions that provides the essential
ingredients necessary for the fullest development of the personality of the individual
by providing liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.

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 The term liberty negatively means absence of any arbitrary restraint on the freedom of
individual action.
 Right to Equality refers protection not only against discriminatory laws passed by the
legislature but also presents arbitrary discretion of being vested in the executive.
 An amendment in the India constitution may be initiated by the introduction of a bill
for the purpose in either house of parliament.

3.7: Possible Questions

1. Write a note on the origin and growth of secularism.
2. Discuss the relationship to the secularism to religion.
3. Explain Parliamentary democracy in India.
4. State the relationship between Parliamentary democracy and Representative
democracy.
5. Discuss the amendmental procedure to the constitution of India.
6. What are the functions and responsibilities of the Election Commission of India?
7. What do you understand by Equality before law?
8. Discuss Directive Principle of State Policy in the constitution of India.
9. Write­down the limitations imposed on the amending power of the constitution of
India.
10. Describe the significance of social justice in India.
11. What are the important amendments in the constitution of India?
12. What is Decentralization? Discuss its challenges in India.
13. Write a note on Popular Sovereignty in India.
14. State the Distinctiveness of Indian Secularism.
15. Write short notes on
A­ Gandhian theory of Secularism
B­ Popular sovereignty
C­ Representative democracy
D­ Parliamentary democracy
E­ Freedom of Press

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 F­ Abolition of Untouchability
G­ Universal Adult Franchise
H­ Right to Equality
I­ Directive Principles of State Policy
J­ Responsibilities of Election Commission
K­ Political parties
L­ Procedure of Amendment

3.8: Further Study

 Austin, Granville (1999) Working a Democratic constitution: The Indian Experience,

New Delhi, Oxford University Press.
 Narayan Jayprakash (1975) Nation Building in India, Varanasi, Navachetan
Prakashan
 Chandra, B. (2008). Communalism: A primer. New Delhi: National Book Trust.
 Das, H. H. (1991). India: Democratic government and politics. Delhi: Himalaya
Publishing House.
 Gahrana, G. K. (1998). Secularism and the Indian Society. In Pachauri. V. K (Ed).
Social
 Juergensmeyer, M. (1994). Religious Nationalism: Confronts the Secular State.
Delhi: Oxford University Press
 Kar, P. K. (1998). Indian Society. New Delhi: Kalyan Publication.
 Sharma, R. N. (2000). Textbook of Educational Philosophy. New Delhi: Kanishka
Publishers and Distributers.
 Talesra, H. (2002). Sociological Foundation of Education. New Delhi: Kenosha
Publishers Distributors
 Tara, S. (1991). Secular India. New Delhi: Anmol Publication.

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 UNIT-IV

4.0: Objectives

4.1: Introduction

4.2: Federalism in India

4.2.1: Phase of Development

4.2.2: Working of Federalism in India
4.2.3: Features of Indian Federalism
4.2.4: Centre­ States Relations in India

4.2.4.1: Major Tension Areas of Centre­ States Relations in India

4.2.5: Separatist movement in India

4.3: Summary

4.4: Possible Questions

4.5: Further Reading

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 STATE STRUCTURE

4.0: Objectives

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

 Recall the nature of federalism

 Recognize the federal features of the Indian Constitution
 Recall the unitary features of the Indian federation
 Explain why India adopted a federal set up
 Justify the reason for a strong centre in India
 Explain the various dimensions centre­state relations
 Evaluate the peculiar features of party system in India
 Describe the concept of politics of regional move
 Assess the recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission and the need for co­
operation

4.1: Introduction

Federalism is a form of government in which the sovereign authority of political

power is divided between the various units. This form of government is also called a
‘federation’ or a ‘federal state’ in the common parlance. These units are Centre, state
and Panchayat or the municipalities. The centre also is called union. Framed by the
constitution of 1950, Indian federalism serves the second largest population in the
world, comprising an unparalleled multiplicity of cultures, religions, languages, and
ethnicities. The original federal design of 1950 drew its structure from the British
Government of India Act, 1935, and its inspiration from the idea of centralized
planned development. Federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution of India in
which the Union of India is permanent and indestructible. Both the Centre and the
States are co­operating and coordinating institutions having independence and ought
to exercise their respective powers with mutual adjustment, respect, understanding

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and accommodation. Tension and conflict of the interests of the Centre and the
respective units is an integral part of federalism. Prevention as well as amelioration of
conflicts is necessary. Thus, the Indian federalism was devised with a strong Centre.
Federalism with strong Centre was inevitable as the framers of the Indian Constitution
were aware that there were economic disparities as several areas of India were
economically as well as industrially far behind in comparison to others. The nation
was committed to a socio economic revolution not only to secure the basic needs of
the common man and economic unity of the country but also to bring about a
fundamental change in the structure of Indian society in accordance with the
egalitarian principles. With these considerations in mind the Constitutional makers
devised the Indian federation with a strong Union.

Article 1 of the constitution declares that ‘India, that is Bharat, shall be a

Union of States’. Part XI of the Indian constitution defines the power distribution
between the federal governments i.e. the Centre or union and the States in India. This
part is divided between legislative, administrative and executive powers. The
legislative section is divided into three lists: Union list, States list and Concurrent list.
Unlike the federal governments of the United States, Switzerland or Australia,
residual powers remain with the Centre, as with the Canadian federal government.
Thus, the very first article describes India as a Union of States. It provides for
distribution of powers between the Union and the states. It enumerates the powers of
the Parliament and state legislatures in different subjects like national defence, foreign
policy, and issuance of currency are reserved to the Union list. Public order, local
governments, and certain taxes are the examples of subjects of the State list.
Education, transportation, criminal law is a few subjects of the Concurrent list, where
both the state legislature and the Parliament have powers to enact laws. The residuary
powers are vested with the Union. Thus, our Constitution, based on the principle of
federalism with a strong and indestructible Union, has a scheme of distribution of
legislative, executive and financial powers. A distinguishing aspect of Indian
federalism is that unlike many other forms of federalism, it is asymmetric. Article 370

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makes special provisions for the state of jammu and Kashmir as per its instrument of
accession. Article 371 makes special provisions for the states of Andhra Pradesh,
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Sikkim as per
their accession or state­hood deals. Also one more aspect of India federalism is
system of president’s rule in which the central government (through its appointed
governor) takes control of state’s administration for certain months when no party
can form a government in the state or there is violent disturbance in the state.

4.2: Federalism in India

4.2.1: Phase of Development

The framers of the Indian Constitution were keen in federalism as a functional

instrument for the creation of an Indian nation and a strong, cohesive state. The
leading politicians of the immediate post­Independence state were overwhelmed by
threats to India’s security both from outside and inside, and faced the challenge of
development through having perceived and chosen centralized economic planning as
an optimal method by which to reach that objective. Thus, both for constitutional and
political reasons, the institutionalization of a strong federalism in the Indian system
appear to have been seriously compromised from the outset. Nonetheless, the political
process has been able to adapt to this design and in many, though not all, cases
mollify it then necessary to safeguard regional interests.

I. The First phase of federalization - The first phase of federalization of the political
process in India extended from the time of Independence to the mid­1960s. At that
time Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru took democracy seriously enough to face the
enormously expanded in an electorate. In 1951, the first general election held both to
the national parliament and the provincial assemblies, providing for full and free
participation of all in the election. The Indian National Congress (INC), had already
embraced the federal principle back in the 1920s by organizing itself on the basis of
Provincial congress committees based on linguistic regions, institutionalized the

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principle of consultation, accommodation and consensus through a delicate balancing
of the factions with the ‘Congress System’. It also practiced the cooptation of local
and regional leaders in the national power structure, and the system of sending out
Congress observers from the Centre to mediate between warring factions in the
provinces, thus simultaneously ensuring the legitimacy of the provincial power
structure in running its own affairs as well as the role of Central mediation.

II. The Second phase - The second phase of the development of Indian federalism
began with the fourth general elections in 1967. This phase drastically reduced the
overwhelming strength of the congress party in the national Parliament to a simple
majority and saw nearly half the states moving out of Congress control and into the
hands of opposition parties or coalition. This had led to a radical change in the nature
of centre­state relations in India. No longer could an imperious Congress Prime
Minister afford to dictate benevolently to a loyal Congress Chief Minister. However,
even as the tone became more contentious, the essential principles of accommodation
and consultation held between the crucial 1967­69 periods of transition. The congress
dominated Centre began cohabiting with opposition parties at the regional level. The
balance was lost once the Congress party split in 1969, and Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi took to the strategy of radical grandiloquence and strong centralized personal
leadership. In consequence, the regional accommodation, which had been possible by
way of the internal federalization of the Congress Party, was subsequently eroded.
However, after the authoritarian interlude of 1975­77, which, in both law and fact,
reduced India’s federal system to pretty much a unitary state, the system reverted to
the earlier stage of tenuous cooperation between the Centre and the state.

III. The Third phase ­ The third phase in the federalization of India politics began at
the end of the 1980s with the prolonged period of coalition governments at the
Centre, and Regional parties, such as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of
Tamil Nadu or the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Bihar. These parties have asserted
their interests more openly over the past one and a half decades of coalition and

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minority governments. This increased assertion on the part of regional parties at the
Central level had forced even the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party. This led
the ruling coalition in the thirteenth Lok Sabha until 2004. This phase was a
symbolic, adherence to the norms of centre­state relations established by its
predecessors, including such hallowed principles of the Indian Union as the three
language formula, in spite of its advocacy of Hindi as India’s national language
during its long years in the opposition.

4.2.2: Working of Federalism in India

The constitution of India has a federal set up. There is a two tier of Government with
well assigned powers and functions in India. In India, there is a system the central
government and the governments of the units act within a well­defined sphere, co­
ordinate and at the same time act independently. The federal polity, in other words,
provides a constitutional device for bringing unity in diversity and for the
achievement of common national goals. In its federal polity, India has the Union at
the centre and the states at the periphery. The Union and the states have powers, as
mentioned in the Constitution, which they can exercise in the area assigned to them.
The clear cut division of powers between the Union and the states is one of the salient
features of our Constitution. The basic principle of the federation is that the legislative
executive and financial authority is divided between the Centre and the states not by
any law passed by the Centre, but by the Constitution itself. Part XI and part XII of
the Constitution (Article 245 to 263) explain the relation between the Union and the
states. Part XI discusses the legislative and administrative relations between the
Union and the states, while part XII explains the financial relations between them.

4.2.3: Features of Indian Federalism

The Constitution of India has adopted federal features. It has not claimed that it
establishes a federation. The Federalism in India is dynamic theory of the nation and

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state building. It is primarily a theory about institutionalized political cooperation and
collective co­ existence in India. In other words, India has a federalism in a grand
design of living together and unity of polity and plurality of society in India. As a
theory of nation­ building, federalism in India always try to seek the state­society
relationships and the autonomy of identity of social groups to flourish in the
constitutionally secured and mandated institutional and political space in India. The
constitution India recognizes the special cultural rights of the people, especially the
minorities. In this sense, it is very close to the theory of multiculturalism. As a state­
building theory, federalism in India has the following essential components: (i)
formation of states and territorialisation of federal­local administration in such a
manner as to promote closer contact between people and government i.e, the creation
of the institutions of ‘self­rule’ in the Country at the macro and macro level (ii)
distribution of federal powers on a non­centralized basis i.e, the division of federal
powers and functions on a relatively autonomous basis, where each unit has sufficient
legislative competence, executive; and (iii) creation of the institutions of shared rule.
However, India is a huge country. It is considered as a multi­cultural, multi­regional,
and multi­linguistic and ruled from a single centre. From the very beginning, through
India was not a federal state, its various regions enjoyed adequate autonomy from
central rule. These are the vital factors which our constitutional makers have kept in
their mind and chosen for the federal form of government. There are various features
of the federation of India. They are given as under:
A. A Written Constitution - India has a written Constitution. It is one of the
important features of Indian federation. It is a written document and is the most
elaborate Constitution of the world. It establishes supremacy of the Constitution
because both the union and the states are given powers by the Constitution as to
be independent in their spheres of governance.
B. A Rigid Constitution
Rigidity and flexibility of a constitution depends on the amendment procedure of the
constitution. In India it is having a rigid amendment procedure. Indian Constitution
provides that some amendments require a special majority. Such an amendment has to

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be passed by majority of total members of each house of the Parliament as well as by
two­thirds majority of the members present and voting there in. However, in addition
to this process, some amendments must be approved by at least 50% of the states.
After this procedure the amendment is signed by the head of the state i.e.; the
President. Since then in India important amendments can be amended through this
procedure. Therefore, Indian Constitution is a rigid one.
C. Division of Powers
In the Constitution of India, there is a clear division of powers, so that the States and
the Centre are required to enact and legislate within their sphere of activity and none
violates its limits and tries to encroach upon the functions of the other. For this, the
constitution of India enumerates three lists, viz. the Union, the State and the
Concurrent List. The Union List consists of 97 subjects of national importance such
as Defence, Railways, Post and Telegraph, etc., the State List consists of 66 subjects
of local interest such as Public Health, Police etc., the Concurrent List has 47 subjects
important to both the Union and the State. Such as Electricity, Trade Union,
Economic and Social Planning, etc.
D. Supremacy of the Judiciary
The constitution of India enumerates an integrated and independent Judiciary. The
judiciary is there to interpret the Constitution and to maintain its sanctity. The
Supreme Court of India is the highest court of justice. It has the original jurisdiction
to settle disputes between the Union and the States. It can declare a law as null or void
or unconstitutional, if it violates any provision of the Constitution of India.

4.2.4: Centre- States Relations in India

The Constitution of India provides for a federal system, both the Union and the State,
are created by the Constitution and derive their respective authority from it. Yet there
is a criticism that India is a federal State but with unitary features. In order to
understand this, it is desirable to study the relationship between the Union and the
States. The relations between the Centre and the states which constitute the core of
federalism have been enumerated in Parts XI and XII of the Constitution of India.

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 These are headed under the three points, Such as legislative, administrative and
financial relations.

A. Legislative Relations

Following the Canadian model of Federation, the legislative relations in the constitution of
India enumerates threefold division of powers in the chapter I of part XI of it. This deals with
legislative relations I.e. distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
There are two lists of legislative powers, one for the Centre and the other for the State,
known as the Union List and the State List, respectively. The third list is called the
Concurrent List. The Union List which consists of 97 subjects of national interest. It is the
largest of the three lists. Defence, Railways, Post and Telegraph, Income Tax, Custom
Duties, etc. are some of the important subjects included in this list. Under this list the
Parliament has the exclusive power to enact laws on the subjects included in the Union List
for the whole country. The State List consists of 66 items of local interest. Trade and
Commerce within the State, Police, Fisheries, Forests, Industries, etc., are some of the
important subjects Included in this List. The State Legislatures have been empowered to
make laws on the subjects included in the State List. The Concurrent List consists of 47
subjects of common interest to both the Union and the States. Stamp Duties, Drugs and
Poison, Electricity, Newspapers etc., are some of the subjects included in this list. Under this
list, both the Parliament and the State Legislatures can make laws on the subjects.
Subsequently, in case of a conflict between the Union and the State law relating to the same
subject, the Union law prevails over the State law. However, the parliament of India has the
power to legislate on all subjects which are not included in any of the three lists. Under
certain circumstances, the Parliament can legislate on the subjects mentioned in the State
List.

Further, the constitution of India also vests the residuary powers with the Centre. The
residuary power is mentioned in Article 248 of the Constitution, which is given to the Union

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Legislature. The Parliament has the power to make laws with respect to matters which are
enumerated in the Concurrent List or the State List. The Constitution seems to favour the
Union in many ways. It is evident from same provisions, such as:

 The Union List consists of subjects which are of national and paramount importance.
 The Union Laws have primacy over the State Laws with respect to the concurrent
subjects.
 The residuary powers are with the Union Parliament.
 In certain circumstances, the Union Parliament gas the rights to make laws related to
the subjects which are given in the State List link:
 Superior status is given to the Union Laws in case of conflict between the Union Law
and the State Law.
 The Parliament has the power to establish or abolish the State Legislative Councils.
 The Parliament has the power to determine or change the boundaries of the state.
 The Parliament has the power to legislate for the Union Territories.

B. Executive or Administrative Relations

The Constitution of India in Chapter II of part XI from article 256 to 263 deals with the
administrative relations between the Union and the states. In the sphere of administrative
relations as well, the Constitution shows a distinct leaning in favour of the Union. The
framers of the Indian Constitution never intended to create administrative co­operation and
co­ordination between the centre and states. The executive power of the State is to be
exercised in such a way as to ensure compliance with the laws made by the Parliament.
Further, the Union Executive is empowered to give directions to a State, if necessary, for the
requisite purpose. The Union Government can issue directions to the States to ensure
compliance with the laws of the Parliament for construction and maintenance of means of
communications, declared to be of national and military importance, and also on the
measures for the protection of Railways. In addition to all this, the Parliament can alone
adjudicate on inter­state river disputes. Also, a provision has been made for constituting an
Inter­ State Council to advise the president on inter­state disputes. Even the State

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governments may delegate some of its administrative functions relating to the State subjects,
to Union Government for a specified period. The Constitution of India has certain special
provisions to ensure uniformity of the administrative system. These include the creation of
All India Services such as IAS and IPS and placing members of these services in key
administrative positions in the states. The presence of All India Service Officers further
paves way for the Central Government to exercise its authority and control over the states.
The members of these services are recruited by the Centre but are appointed in the States. No
disciplinary action can be taken against them by the State Governments without the
permission of the Centre. The Constitution also makes provision for the creation of new All
India Service by the Parliament on the recommendation of the Rajya Sabha. The President
also puts the entire control of the state administrative machinery under the control of the
Union which you will study in details while going through the lesson on emergency
provisions.

Moreover, the Indian Constitution is based on the principle that the executive power
is co­extensive with legislative power, which means that the Union executive/the state
executive can deal with all matters on which Parliament or state legislature can legislate. The
executive power over subjects in the Concurrent list is also exercised by the states unless the
Union government decides to do so. The Centre can issue directives to the state to ensure
compliance with the laws made by Parliament for construction and maintenance of the means
of communications declared to be of national or military importance, on the measures to be
adopted for protection of the railways, for the welfare of the scheduled tribes and for
providing facilities for instruction in mother tongue at primary stage to linguistic minorities.
The Centre acquires control over states through All India Services, grants­ in­ aid and the
fact that the Parliament can alone adjudicate in inter­ state river disputes. During a
proclamation of national emergency as well as emergency due to the failure of constitutional
machinery in a state the Union government assumes all the executive powers of the state.
Thus the principal features of administrative relations between the Center and the states in
India are as under:

 Distribution of Executive Powers

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  Obligation of the states and the centre
 Mutual Delegation in functions in regards to centers direction to the states
 Cooperation between the centre and the states
 Article 256 of the Constitution states that the executive powers of the state should be
exercised in such a manner that it does not impede the executive power of the Union.
 If the state does not comply with the directives of the Centre, the latter may, under
Article 356, take over the administration of the state I.e. President Rule.
 Under Article 258(2), the Parliament is given the power to use the state machinery to
enforce the Union laws.
 The centre can deploy military and paramilitary forces in a state even against the
wishes of the government of that state.

C. Financial Relations

The Constitution of India in its part XII, Chapter I, from article 268 to 293, explains the
financial relations between the Union and the states. The constitution India provides the
taxing power between the centre and the state. The Parliament can levy taxes on the subjects
included in the Union List. The States can levy taxes on the subjects in the State List. The
state legislatures have exclusive powers to levy taxes on subjects enumerated in the state list.
Both the parliament and the state legislature can levy taxes on subjects enumerated in the
concurrent list. The residuary powers of taxation are vested in the parliament. In India, the
distribution of financial resources is especially critical in determining the nature of the
State’s relationship with the Centre. Both the Union and the State have been provided with
independent sources of revenue by the Constitution.

The Union List consists of items of taxation which are (i) Taxes levied by the Union but
collected and appropriated by the State such as stamp duties and duties of excise on
medicinal and toilet preparations etc.; (ii) Taxes levied and collected by the Union but
assigned to the States viz. railways, sea or air etc.; (iii) Taxes levied and collected by the
Central and may be distributed between the Central and the states if the Parliament by law so
provides, such as union excise duties, excise on toilet preparations etc., (iv) T axes levied and

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collected and retained by the Centre such as customs, surcharge on income tax etc., (v) Taxes
levied and collected by the Centre and distributed between the union and the states such as
taxes other than agriculture etc.

In the financial sphere, the Centre is better furnished in India. The Centre exercises control
over the state finances and grants­in­aid both general and special to meet the expenditure on
developmental schemes. During financial emergency, the President has the power to suspend
the provisions regarding division of taxes between the Centre and the State. He can also
impose other restrictions on the expenses of the State. State plans are framed within the
priorities of the central plan and they are executed with the approval of the Planning
Commission. Further, the States have to carry out the centre subsidized schemes for which
the Centre gives grants and the conditions under which these are to be made. The Planning
Commission has created an over consolidated planning system. No initiative is left to the
states and the centrally formulated schemes have been inappropriately and unimaginatively
imposed upon them. However, some of financial relations are as given under:

 Article 268 of the constitution of India states that the taxes levied by the centre but
collected and appropriated by the states
 Article 268 A of the constitution of India states that service tax levied by the centre
but collected and appropriated by the centre and the states
 Article 269 of the constitution of India states taxes levied and collected by the centre
but assigned to the states
 Article 270 of the constitution of India states that taxes levied and collected by the
centre but distribution between the centre and the states
 Article 271 of the constitution of India st6ates that surcharge on certain taxes and
duties for the purpose of thee centre
 The Constitution of India exclusively assigns certain items of revenues to the Union.
Taxes on any item covered in the Union List such as customs and export duties,
income tax, excise duties on tobacco and jute are assigned to the Union.

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  There are certain items of revenue which fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the
state. These are land revenue, stamp duty except on documents included in the Union
List, succession duty, and estate duty in respect of agricultural land and others.
 Taxes on railway frights and fares, terminal taxes, and estate duty in respect of
property other than agricultural land are collected by the Union but are given to the
states.
 Under Article 275, the Centre needs to provide grants­in­aid to the states.
 The states of the Union cannot raise foreign loan without the consent of the Union
 Under Article 370, the Centre can declare financial emergency. After this, the
President can suspend the provisions which are related to the division of revenue
between the Union and the states. He/ She can also suspend grant­in­aid to the states.
 Under Article 280, the President can appoint a Finance Commission which makes
recommendations for the distribution of income (from taxes) between the Union and
the states. The finance commission is a quasi­judicial body. It is constituted by the
president every five year or even earlier.
 The Centre has control over the states due to the system of centralized planning
mentioned in the Constitution.

D. Political Relations

Political Relation deals with the balance of power between the centre and the states.
Notwithstanding with the division of powers between the Centre and the states, the states are
dissatisfied because they feel that the balance of powers is heavily in favour of the Centre.
They also feel that Centre uses its powers in such a way that there is no autonomy left to
them even in matters mentioned in the State List. There is a tendency in our country to view
political thought the legal mechanism of the constitution. Thus, political parties are to
suggested amendments to resolve political problems. The constitutional framework is stable
while the political contest keeps changing. The four aspects of political dimensions of the
Centre­State relations are follows:

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1­ Dynamics of political parties: As long as the same political party was ruling over the
centre and the states, only intra party factors were important, in determining the centre­state
relations. However, in a emerging malty party system at least a few of the state government
are under parties which are different from the party ruling at the catered. Thus, inter party
factors determine the centre state relation. In such a case the state governments can be
diverted into 3 types, from the view point of the central government:

 Identical i.e. of the same party

 Congenial i.e. Where ideological and interest gap is low.
 Hostile i.e. for the party in power at the state level is radically different in its
ideological orientation, e.g. Congress and BJP in case when the state government is
identical or congenial, the conflicts can be resolved with the help of some discussion.
2­ Politics of coalition: The India part system has had a considerable experience of
the coalition government. If the ruling party of the state level and central level is
same, the relation between state and central governments are friendly. The central
government may even tolerate the decision taken by the state government. For instant,
the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government did not make any move to
impose president’s rule in Gujarat. at the time of Godhar (Gujarat) riots, when the
Modi government showed toll tax of interest in curbing the riots. On the other hand,
if the ruling party at the state is different from the party ruling at the cenere the state
government may be consider hostile. In this situation, the ceneral government woulod
like to use its power to undermine the state government. For finance, the BJP led
coalition NDA government dismisses Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Government in
Bihar led by Rabridevi in 1999 in the wake of the caste class violence but did not take
any strong action during the Godhra riots etc.
3. President’s rule article-356: one of the widely used instruments used by the centre
over the state is the provision for President’s rule article­356. This was meant as a
‘Safety valve’ in the [political system to prevent and authority vacuum in case of
breakdown of the constitutional machinery in a particular state. However, in practice,
this article has been use so frequently that it has become a poison for our political

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 system. President’s rule can be imposed either on the recommendation of the
Governor or if the President deems it necessary. From 1952 to 1989, there were 79
presidential central interventions in the state. Most of these emergencies were
declared during the Congress rules under Indira Gandhi and during the reign of the
Janata party. The dissolution of nine state assemblies and proclamation of President’s
rule in 1977 and 1980 was a blow to the federal democratic structure of the country.

The use of the Article 356 declined in the 1990s. it was in 1997 that for the first time,
the president openly asked the Prime Minister and Cabinet to reconsider the proposal
for the dismissal of U.P. state government before signing the proclamation.
4. Integrity of the States - one of the states of a federal system is that the federating
units have distinct territorial identity and their integrity is maintained. In this respect,
the states in the Indian political system are severely handicapped.

4.2.4.1: Major Tension Areas of Centre- States Relations in India

The major areas of tension of Centre­ State relation in India are as follows:

 Demand for state autonomy­ The states demand more autonomy. Some of the
regional political parties like Siromani Akali Dal in Punjab, DMK (Dravuida Munidra
Kazhagam), in Tamil Nadu, National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir (J and K),
Assam Gana Parishad (AGP), in Assam and the Left parties have gone to the extent of
demanding the limiting of the powers of the union to four key subjects including
defence, foreign affairs, currency and coinage. They want that all the powers should
powers should be transfer to the state. In July 2000, J& K Assembly passed the
autonomy resolution. Some other states demanded additional financial resources and
powers for formulating and implementing developmental plans. The need to have
strong states as part of the Indian Union is advocated as the necessary vision of the
contemporary times. In 1947, the partition of the country compelled the adoption of
strong centre in a Federal structure. Now, when the time has changed, there is a need
to revise the model. The Rajamannar Report 1972; the Annand Saheeb Resolution of

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 the Akali dal; the West Bengal Government Memoranda of 1980;, 1981,1983 1nd
1988; and the leaders of regional political parties and several state chief ministers
have advocated a case for more autonomy to the states. The Sarkaria Commission
favours the strong centre, which also demanded the State autonomy.
 Land Revenue resources of the state and financial relation between the Union and the
states in India.
 Mode of appointment and dismissal of Governor in different states of India.
 Discriminatory and partisan role of Governors.
 Imposition of President’s rule for partisan interests under Art­356 of the constitution
of India.
 Concentration of amending powers in the hands of the Union.
 Disposition of central forces in the states in order to sustain law and order situation in
the areas.
 Reservation of sate bills for the approval of the President.
 Operation of Union laws by the states.
 Discrimination against the states.
 Issue related to mass­media.
 Role of planning Commission in approving state projects.
 Matters related to All India Services.
 Dissolution of state assemblies.

However, the above issues have been continuing since the 1960s. As a Federal state, India
tries to maintain cooperative relationship in the country through various developmental
Committees and Commissions. Some of them are discussed below.

A. The recommendation of Administrative Reform Commission (ARC)

A six member committee was appointed by the Central Government in 1966 under the
Chairmanship of Morarji Desai to review the Centre state relationship in India. Morarji Desai
was followed by K. Hanumanthayya. This committee was popularly known as
Administrative Reform Commission (ARC). The ARC constituted a study team under M.C.

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Setalvad. The Commission submitted its reports in 20 parts containing 537 major
recommendations. The 13th report of the Commission covered the issues of Centre­State
relations. With regard to Inter­State Council the Commission made the following
recommendations. The important recommendations are

 Establishment of an Inter­State Council under Article 263 (b) and (c) of the
Constitution which would discuss all issues of national importance in which
the States are interested.
 Saddling the Council with functions under article 263 (a) to inquire into and
advise upon disputes between the States would prevent it from giving full
attention to the various problems of national concern which it ought to
consider.
 This committee should replace the National Development Council (NDC), the
Chief Minister's Conference, the Finance Minister's Conference, the Food
Minister’s Conference and the National Integration Council (INC).
 The Council will be wide­embracing and will provide standing machinery for
effecting consultations between the centre and the states. Only issues of real
and national importance need be taken up there. Others should be settled by
conferences convened by the ministries concerned, at a lower, preferably
official level.
 The Council should have an appropriate secretariat. The Secretary of the
Council should be an officer having the knowledge, experience and status that
will enable him to work effectively.

Mandate of ARC

The ARC was instructed to give consideration to the need for ensuring the highest standards
of efficiency and integrity in the public services, and for making public administration a fit
instrument for carrying out the social and economic policies of the Government and
achieving social and economic goals of development, as also one which is responsive to the
people. Predominantly, the Commission is to consider the following.

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  The machinery of the Government of India and its procedures of work
 The machinery for planning at all levels
 Center­State relationships
 Financial administration
 Personnel administration
 Economic administration
 Administration at the State level
 District administration
 Agricultural administration
 Problems of redress of citizens grievances

B. Rajmannar Committee- The Government of Tamil Nadu on 2 September, 1969

under the Chairmanship of Dr. P.V. Rajamanar set up an Inquiry Committee on the
centre­ state relations in India. The other two members of the Committee were Dr. A.
Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar and Mr. P. Chandra Reddy. The Committee submitted its
report in 1971 and made the following recommendations:

a) The Inter­State Council should be constituted immediately. The proposed Council may
consist of the Chief Ministers or their nominees, all the States having equal representation,
with the Prime Minister as the Chairman. No other Minister of the Union Cabinet should be a
member of the Council.

b) Every Bill of national importance or which is likely to affect the interests of one or more
States should, before its introduction in Parliament, be referred to the Inter­State Council and
its views thereon should be submitted to Parliament at the time of introduction of the Bill.

c) No decision of national importance or which may affect one or more States should be
taken by the Union Government except after consultation with the Inter­State Council.
Exception may be made to subjects like defence and foreign relations. But even on such
matters the decision of the Central Government should be placed before the Inter­State
Council subsequently without any avoidable delay.

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d) If the Inter­State Council is to be really effective, its recommendations should be made
ordinarily binding on both the Centre and the States. If for any reason, any recommendation
of the Inter­State Council is rejected by the Central Government; such recommendation
together with reasons for its rejection should be laid before Parliament and State Legislature

C. Sarkaria Commission- Sarkaria Commission was set up in June 1983 by the central
government of India. The Commission's charter was to examine the relationship and balance
of power between state and central governments in the country and suggest changes within
the framework of Constitution of India. The Commission was so named as it was headed by
Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. The other two
members of the committee were Shri B. Sivaraman and Dr S.R. Sen. The commission made
247 recommendations, in the year 1988, to improve centre­state relations in India. The
recommendations of the committee are given as under

 Under article 263 a permanent Inter­ State Council known as Inter Governmental
Council was established.
 Article 356 i.e. the president’s rule should be used when there is the failure of all the
measures.
 The institution of All India Services should be further strengthened and some more
such services should be created.
 The residuary powers of taxation should be kept under the parliament of India. other
powers shall be vested in the concurrent list
 If the president withholds the bill then the message should be reported to the states
with the reasons.
 The National Development Council (NDC) should be renamed reconstituted as the
national Economic and development Council (NEDC).
 The Zonal Council should be constituted anew and reenergized to endorse the spirit of
Federalism.
 The centre should have powers to deploy its armed forces, even without the consent
of the states.

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  The centre should consult the states before making a law on the subject of the
concurrent list.
 The procedure of consulting the chief minister in the appointment of the state
governor should be prescribed in the constitution itself.
 The net proceeds of the corporation tax may be made permissibly by sharable with the
states.
 The governor cannot dismiss the council of ministers so long as it commands a
majority in the assembly.
 The Governors term of five years in a state should not be disturbed except person
extremely compelling reasons.
 No commission of enquiry should be set up against the state minister unless a demand
is made by the parliament.
 The surcharge on income tax should not be levied by the Centre except for a specific
purpose and for a strictly limited period.
 The present division of function between the finance commission and the planning
commission.
 Each reasonable and should continue.
 Steps would be taken to unfirmly implement the three language formula in its true
spirit.
 No autonomy for radio and television but decentralization in their operation.
 No change in the role of Rajya Sabha and centre power to recognize the sates.
 The commissioner for linguistic minority should be activated.

D.Punchhi Commission- Government of India set up the second commission on centre­state

relations in India, under the chairmanship of Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi, former Chief
Justice of India, on 27th April 2007. The committee looked into the new issues of Centre­
State relations keeping in view the changes that have been taken place in the polity and
economy of India since the time of Sarkaria Commission. The commission submitted its
report to the government of India in April 2010 finalizing the 1456 page report. In this report

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over 310 recommendations are covering several important areas of the centre state relations
in India. Some of them are given as under

 On Appointment and Removal of Governors the committee recommended the

guidelines of the Sarkaria Commission. They are (1) He should be eminent in some
walk of life (2) He should be a person from outside the State (3) He should be a
detached figure and not too intimately connected with the local politics of the States
and (4) He should be a person who has not taken too great a part in politics generally
and particularly in the recent past.
 Article 163 does not give the Governor a general discretionary power to act against or
without the advice of his Council of Ministers. In fact, the area for the exercise of
discretion is limited and even in this limited area; his choice of action should not be
nor appear to be arbitrary or fanciful. It must be a choice dictated by reason, activated
by good faith and tempered by caution.
 In respect of Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly of a State, the Governor is
expected to declare that he assents to the Bill or that he withholds assent therefrom or
that he reserves the Bill for the consideration of the President.
 On the question of Governor's role in appointment of Chief Minister in the case of a
hung assembly there have been judicial opinions and recommendations of expert
commissions in the past. Having examined those materials and having taken
cognizance of the changing political scenario in the country, the Commission is of the
view that it is necessary to lay down certain clear guidelines to be followed as
Constitutional conventions in this regard. These guidelines may be as follows: (I) the
party or combination of parties which commands the widest support in the Legislative
Assembly should be called upon to form the Government. (II) If there is a pre­poll
alliance or coalition, it should be treated as one political party and if such coalition
obtains a majority, the leader of such coalition shall be called by the Governor to form
the Government. (III) In case no party or pre­poll coalition has a clear majority, the
Governor should select the Chief Minister in the order of preference indicated below:
(a) the group of parties which had pre­poll alliance commanding the largest number.

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 (b)The largest single party staking a claim to form the government with the support of
others.(c) A post­electoral coalition with all partners joining the government (d) A
post­electoral alliance with some parties joining the government and the remaining
including independents supporting the government from outside.
 On the question of dismissal of a Chief Minister, the Governor should invariably
insist on the Chief Minister proving his majority on the floor of the House for which
he should prescribe a time limit.
 On the question of granting sanction for prosecution of a State Minister in situations
where the Council of Ministers advised to the contrary, the Commission would
endorse the interpretation given by the Supreme Court to the effect that "if the
Cabinet decision appears to the Governor to be motivated by bias in the face of
overwhelming material, the Governor would be within his rights to disregard the
advice and grant sanction for prosecution". The Commission recommends that
Section 197 Criminal Procedure Code may be suitably amended to reflect the position
of law in this regard.
 Given the strict parameters now set for invoking the emergency provisions under
Articles 352 and 356 to be used only as a measure of "last resort", and the duty of the
Union to protect States under Article 355, it is necessary to provide a Constitutional
or legal framework to deal with situations which require Central intervention but do
not warrant invoking the extreme steps under Articles 352 and 356. Providing the
framework for "localized emergency" would ensure that the State Government can
continue to function and the Assembly would not have to be dissolved while
providing a mechanism to let the Central Government respond to the issue
specifically and locally. The imposition of local emergency, it is submitted, is fully
justified under the mandate of Article 355 read with Entry 2A of List I and Entry 1 of
List II of the Seventh Schedule.
 Under the States Re­organization Act, 1956 five Zonal Councils were created
ostensibly for curbing the rising regional and sectarian feelings and to promote co­
operation in resolving regional disputes. Later the North Eastern Council was created
under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971. In each of these Zonal Councils, Union

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 Home Minister is the Chairman and the Chief Ministers of the States in the Zones
concerned are members. The Commission is of the view that the Zonal Councils
should meet at least twice a year with an agenda proposed by States concerned to
maximize coordination and promote harmonization of policies and action having
inter­state ramification. The Secretariat of a strengthened Inter­State Council can
function as the Secretariat of the Zonal Councils as well.
 The Constitution of All India Services is a unique feature of the Indian Constitution.
The broad objectives in setting up All India Services relate to facilitating liaison
between the Union and States, promote uniform standards of administration, enabling
the administrative officers of the Union to be in touch with field realities, helping the
State administrative machinery to obtain the best available talent with wider outlook
and broader perspectives and reduce political influence in recruitment, discipline and
control in administration. Considering the importance of these objectives, the
Commission strongly recommends the constitution of few other All India Services in
sectors like Health, Education, Engineering and Judiciary. They existed prior to
Independence which contributed significantly to the quality of administration.
 The Commission is of the view that the scope of devolution of powers to local bodies
to act as institutions of self­government should be constitutionally defined through
appropriate amendments, lest decentralized governance should elude realization
indefinitely. The approach should be on the principle of "subsidiarity" which is
implicit in the scheme of Constitutional Amendment and letting the State Government
confine itself only to matters of policy that cut across the entire domain of local
governments. Articles 246(3) and 162 have to be read down in the light of the
Amendment giving meaning and content to the expression "as may be necessary to
enable them (Panchayats and Municipalities) to function as institutions of self­
government.

4.2.5: Separatist movement in India

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Separation movement in India characteristically refers to the separation of states in
India. Literally it refers to the secession or withdrawal of one or more states from the
undivided Union of India. Some of the states claimed for their secession as a natural
right of revolution. Some state movements seek secession from India itself and the
establishment of a new nation from one or more states. Their fundamental sources are
consistently found in political, social, economic, religious spheres and their nature,
environment and opportunity depending upon the nature of the grievances,
motivations and demands of the people in general.

However, since 1947, an estimated 30 armed rebellion are all­encompassing

across India. These rebellions reflect an acute sense of unfriendliness on the part of
the people involved in India. These can be divided as:
• Movements for political rights which includes Assam, Kashmir and Khalistan.
• Movements for social and economic justice which includes Maoist, Naxalite
and north­eastern states
• Movements on Religious grounds which includes Laddakh.

Firstly, The Khalistan movement in Punjab was active in the 1980s and the 1990s is
now considered dead within India. Smaller­scale insurgency has occurred in North­
East India, in the states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and
Nagaland. This movement aimed to create a separate Sikh country. The territorial
definition of the proposed country ranges from the Punjab state of India to the greater
Punjab region, including the Indian Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Northern
Districts of Rajasthan such as Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh. After the partition
of India, the majority of the Sikhs migrated from the Pakistani part to the Indian
province of Punjab, which then included the parts of the present­day Haryana and
Himachal Pradesh. Following India's independence in 1947, The Punjabi Suba
Movement led by the Sikh political party Akali Dal led to the trifurcation of the
Punjab state. The remnant Punjab state became Sikh­majority and Punjabi­majority.
Subsequently, a section of the Sikh leaders started demanding more autonomy for the

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states, alleging that the Central government was discriminating against Punjab. The
Akali Dal explicitly opposed the demand for an independent Sikh country. The issues
raised by it were used as a premise for the creation of a separate country by the
proponents of Khalistan. The Indian government of Indira Gandhi was instructed by
the Soviets to attack the Golden Temple as the communists thought they could get a
stranglehold on India. The Soviets were in Afghanistan and thought to win over
India, Bengal and Punjab needed to be targeted.

North East Regions of India (Secondly)

(I) Assam
The militant organization i.e. United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) demands a
separate country for the people of Assam. The Government of India had banned the
ULFA in 1990 and has officially labelled it as a terrorist group, whereas the US State
Department lists it under "Other groups of concern". Military operations against it by
the Indian Army that began in 1990 continue until present. In the past two decades
some 10,000 people have died in the clash between the rebels and the government of
Assam. The Assamese secessionists have protested against the illegal migration from
the neighboring regions. Since the mid­20th century, people from present­day
Bangladesh previously known as East Pakistan have been migrating to Assam.
In 1996, the Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA) was established.
The MULTA encouraged a separate country for the Muslims of the region. The
United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) demands a sovereign nation for the
Karbi people. It was formed in March 1999 with the merger of two militant outfits in
Assam's Karbi Anglong district, the Karbi National Volunteers (KNV) and Karbi
People’s Front (KPF). The United People's Democratic Solidarity signed a cease­fire
agreement for one year with the Union Government on 23 May 2002. However, this
led to a split in the UPDS with one faction deciding to continue with its subversive
activities while the other commenced negotiations with the Government.

(II) Nagaland

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The Nagalim is a proposed independent country for the Naga people. In the 1950s, the
Naga National Council led a violent unsuccessful insurgency against the Government
of India. They demanded a separate country for the Nagas. The secessionist violence
decreased considerably after the formation of the Naga­majority, Nagaland state, and
more militants surrendered after the Shillong Accord of 1975. However, the majority
of Nagas, operating under the various factions of National Socialist Council of
Nagaland, continue to demand a separate country.

(III) Tripura

The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) is a Tripuri nationalist organization.

It seeks for Tripura to separate from India and establish an independent Tripuri state.
It has actively participated in the Tripura Rebellion (TR). The NLFT manifesto says
that they want to expand what they describe as the Kingdom of God and Christ in
Tripura. The Tripura National Volunteers was founded in 1978 with assistance from
the Mizo National Front. However, it is perceived by Indian Government that
separatist movement lacked people's support as 2014 General elections in India
recorded more than 84% voters turnout in Tripura which was one of highest in India.

(IV) Manipur

Militant organizations: Hmar People's Convention–Democrat, Manipur People’s

Liberation Front, People's Liberation Army of Manipur, United National Liberation
Front, Revolutionary People's Front of Manipur, People's People's Revolutionary
Party of Kangleipak are the different insurgent groups in Manipur. These Insurgent
groups in Manipur may be broadly classified into hill­based and valley based. While
the hill­based demanded for tribal state to preserve their tribal cultures from outside
influence, the valley based their demands for independence from historical
perspective. It claimed that Manipur a Princely state with its geographical area

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 extending to as far as the disputed Kabaw Valley of modern Myanmar during the
British colonialism, was never a part of India. They say that Manipur should not be a
part of the modern nation of India as well. About 90% of the hill­based insurgents and
a few of the valley­based insurgents have now entered what is called Suspension of
Operation. The People’s Liberation Army is a leftist organization formed in 1978
with the aim of liberating Manipur from India.
(VI) Mizoram
The Militant organizations like Zomi Revolutionary Organization, Mizoram Farmers
Liberation Force are the different tension giving organizations in Mizoram.
Mizoram's tensions are largely due to the simmering Assamese domination and the
neglect of the Mizo people. In 1986, the Mizo accord ended the main secessionist
movement led by the Mizo National Front, bringing peace to the region. Insurgency
status is classified as partially active, due to secessionist/autonomy demands by the
Hmars, chakmas, Brus, Pawis, Lais and the Reangs.

(VII) Tamil Nadu

The Dravistian Movement was started for creating a sovereign country for Dravidian
speaking people in South India. This movement failed to find support from outside
because it was guided by the Tamil hegemony. The state reorganization Act, 1956
created linguistic States.

(VIII) Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir has following regions
 The Kashmir Valley inhabited with Muslim Population
 Jammu region with majority Hindu regions.
 Ladakh with a majority of Buddhist population
The overall majority of population is the Muslims in the state. In 1947 they wanted to
live with India. Pakistan refused to acknowledge it and attacked from the north. As a
result of which till date Jammu and Kashmir has become a controversial issue.

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 Finally, India has introduced several Armed Forces Special Powers Acts (AFSPA) to
put down separatist movements in certain parts of the country. The law was first
enforced in Manipur and later enforced in other insurgency­ridden north­eastern
states. It was extended to most parts of Indian­occupied Kashmir (IOK) in 1990 after
the outbreak of armed insurgency in 1989. Each Act gives soldiers immunity in
specified regions against prosecution unless the Indian government gives prior
sanction for such prosecution. The government maintains that the AFSPA is
necessary to restore normalcy in regions like Kashmir and Manipur. Before the
Partition of British India, Jammu and Kashmir was an independent Princely state
ruled by Sikh Doghra rulers. According to the 2011 census, Islam is practiced by
about 68.3% of the state population; while 28.4% follow Hinduism and small
minorities follow Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.9%) and Christianity (0.3%). During
the process of Indian independence (and the Partition), regions of British India with
Muslim majority populations become part of the Muslim majority state of Pakistan.
Hari Singh, the Ruler of Kashmir at that time, chose to retain Kashmir's Independent
status ­ a sentiment apparently shared by the general populace. However, immediately
after the Partition of British India the tribesmen from Gilgit revolted against the
Hindu Maharaja, allegedly backed and later joined by Pakistan in an attempt to
assimilate Kashmir as part of the Pakistani state, looting rich markets, raping women
and killing civilians in Baramulla and many other places. The Maharaja of Kashmir
asked India for military help for which Nehru, the Prime Minister of India then, laid
down a condition that Kashmir has to become part Indian state. When Pakistan's army
came deep into Kashmir, the Maharaja agreed to Nehru's condition. Over the course
of the conflict, Pakistan gained control over Gilgit and some parts of Kashmir and
eventually created a state called Azad Kashmir; India gained control of the rest of
Kashmir, creating the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This would eventually result in
the ongoing conflict between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir Valley.

4.3: Summary

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  India is a federal state. As a federation it has distribution of powers, written
constitution, independent and integrated judiciary, etc.
 The Constitution of India has divided the legislative, administrative, political and
financial powers between the centre and the states.
 The Constitution of India has consisted three lists. They are the Union list (100
items), State list (66 items) and Concurrent list (47 items).
 There is strong centre in India. In case of any conflict between the centre and state,
the central laws remain final. The centre also declares president’s rule in case of any
constitutional breakdown in the states.
 The working of the Indian Federation shows that the central government has at times,
misused its strong position for bringing some states under its influence.
 India has had coalition governments in the past and is expected to have such
government even the future, therefore it is in the best interest for all the parties to
develop a sense of understanding and not play power games.
 Existence of ‘Plural’ society and diversity of India are the factors that have the task of
national integration.
 Communalism, Regionalism, and Linguism are the hindrances in the way of national
integration of the country.

4.4: Possible Questions

 Define Federalism. Discuss its different functions.

 What are the aspects of political dimensions of centre state relations in India?
 What is Federalism? Discuss its Working in India.
 Discuss briefly the Legislative relation of the centre and state.
 Discuss briefly the administrative and financial relations between the centre and state.
 What are separatist movements?
 Write a note on the separatist movements in India.
 What are the various committed constituted regarding Centre – State relation in India.

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  Discuss the recommendations of Sarkaria Commission regarding Centre – State
relation in India.
 Discuss the recommendations of Punchhi Commission regarding Centre – State
relation in India.
 Discuss the recommendations of Rajamannar Committee report on Centre – State
relation in India.
Write Short on
1­ Federalism in India
2­ Features of federalism
3­ Centre – State Legislative relation
4­ Centre – State Financial relation
5­ Centre – State Administrative relation
6­ President’s rule in India
7­ Demand for statehood
8­ Issue of Jammu Kashmir
9­ Issue of Khalistan (Punjab)
10­ Issue of Manipur
11­ Sarkaria Commission
12­ Punchhi Commission
13­ Rajmannar Committee Report

4.5: Further Reading

 Austin, Granville. (1999). ‘Working a Democratic Constitution: The Indian

Experience’, New Delhi: Oxford university Press.
 Chandra, B. (2008). ‘Communalism: A primer’, New Delhi: National Book Trust.
 .Das, H. H. (1991). ‘India: Democratic government and politics’, Delhi: Himalaya
Publishing House.

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 Juergensmeyer, M. (1994). ‘Religious Nationalism: Confronts the Secular State’.
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
 Kar, P. K. (1998). ‘Indian Society’, New Delhi: Kalyan Publication.
 Pant, A. D. And Gupta, S. K. (Ed.). ‘Multy Ethnicity and National Integration: A
Political Anthropological View’. Allahabad: Vohra Publication and Distributors.
 Sharma, R. N. (2000). ‘Textbook of Educational Philosophy’. New Delhi: Kanishka
Publishers and Distributers.
 Tara, S. (1991). ‘Secular India’. New Delhi: Anmol Publication.
 Yerankar, S. (2006). ‘Secularism in India: Theory and Practice’. Delhi: Dhyayan
Publisher & Distributors.

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 UNIT-V

5.0: Objectives

5.1: Introduction

5.2: Executive and Central Administration in India

5.2.1 President

5.2.1.1: Qualification of the President of India

5.2.1.2: Election procedure, Oath and conditions of the President of India

5.2.1.3: Power and Function of the President of India

5.2.1.4: Position of the President of India.

5.2.2: The Prime Minister of India

5.2.2.1: The Power and Functions

5.2.2.2: Role and position of the Prime Minister

5.2.3: The Council of Ministers

5.2.3.1: Functions of the Council of Ministers

5.2.3.2: Role of Union Council of Ministers of India

5.3: The Union Territories

5.4: Summary

5.5: Possible Questions

5.6: Further Reading

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 ADMINISTRATIVE ROLES

5.0: Objectives

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

 Explain the powers and functions of the president of India

 State the role and position of the president of India in the Union Executive
 Estimate the power and functions of the prime minister of India
 Explain the importance of the Council of Ministers in India
 Explain the Administration of the Union Territories in India

5.1: Introduction

The preamble of the constitution of India states that ‘India is a sovereign, socialist, secular,
democratic and republic. These are the basic objectives of the constitution of India. In order
to fulfill these objectives, it provides an indirect elected head of the state, i.e., the President
of India and the direct elected head of the government, i.e., the Prime­Minister of India.
From the above, the constitution of India has made the President as the nominal head of the
state, and the Prime Minister as the real head of the government. The Prime Minister is the
defecto authority holder and the President is the dejure authority. The constitution of India
provides a parliamentary form of government with the prime minister, headed by the council
of ministers, as its head to aid advice the president. Article 52 of the constitution of India
reads ‘There shall be a president of India as the head of the state executive’. The president of
India is the constitutional head of the state as well as the head of the country. Article 74, of
the constitution of India states that ‘there is a council of ministers headed by the Prime
Minister in order to act and advice the Prime Minister. Article 74 and 75 , of the constitution
deals with the parliamentary system at the centre and article 163 and 164 in the states. Let us
discuss the role of the executive and administrative systems of the central administration.

5.2: Executive and Central Administration in India

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In this context we will briefly discuss the executive head of the state and the executive head
of the government. The executive head in the constitution of India includes the President,
Vice President and the executive head of the government includes the Council of Ministers
headed by the Prime Minister of India. Let us discuss then one by one.

5.2.1 President

Article 52 to 78, of the constitution of India under Part­ V deals with the Union executive.
The Union executive consists of the President, the Vice­ President, the Council of Minister
headed by the Prime Minister and the Attorney General of India. The President is the head of
the Indian states. He is the symbol of unity, integrity and solidarity of the nation. He is the
first citizen of India. The President of India is the Head of state of the Indian Republic. He
exercises his power directly or through his subordinates. He is the formal head of the
legislature, executive and judiciary branches of Indian democracy. He is the commander­in­
chief of the Indian Armed Forces.

5.2.1.1: Qualification of the President of India

The constitution of India lays down the following qualification for a candidate seeking
election to the office of the President.

 He should be a citizen of India

 He should have completed the age of 35 years.
 He should be qualified for election as a member of the House of the People.
 He should hold any Office of Profit.
 He should not be a member of either house of the parliament or of a house of a state
legislature. If a member of either house of parliament or state legislature gets elected
as president, he shall be deemed to have vacated his sit in that house on the date on
which he enters upon the office as President.

5.2.1.2: Election procedure, Oath and conditions of the President of India

The president of India is elected not directly by the people but by the members of an
electoral college consisting of the following;

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A­ The elected members of both houses of Parliament (M.P.s),
B­ The elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabha) of all
States.
C­ The elected members of the legislative assemblies (M.L.A.s) of two Union Territories
(i.e., National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and Union Territory of Puduchery).

From the above it is clear that, the nominated members of the both the houses of the
Parliament, the nominated members of the state legislative assemblies, the members of
the state legislative councils, and the nominated members of the legislative assemblies of
Delhi and Puduchery are not coming within the electoral college of the president of India.
The nomination of a candidate for election to the office of the President must be
subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders. Each
candidate has to make a security deposit of ₹15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India. The
security deposit is liable to be surrendered in case the candidate fails to secure one­sixth
of the votes polled. The election is held in accordance to the system of Proportional
representation by means of the Single transferable vote method. The voting takes place
by secret ballot system. Article 55 of the Constitution deals with the manner of election
of President of India. Each elector casts a different number of votes. The general
principle is that the total number of votes cast by Members of Parliament equals the total
number of votes cast by State Legislators. Also, legislators from larger states cast more
votes than those from smaller states. Finally, the number of legislators in a state matters;
if a state has few legislators, then each legislator has more votes; if a state has many
legislators, then each legislator has fewer votes. The actual calculation for votes cast by a
particular state is calculated by dividing the state's population by 1000, which is divided
again by the number of legislators from the State voting in the Electoral College. This
number is the number of votes per legislator in a given state. Every elected member of
the parliament enjoys the same number of votes, which may be obtained by dividing the
total number of votes assigned to the members of legislative assemblies by the total
number of elected representatives of the parliament. The Basic Formula behind the value
of the votes is given as under;

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 A­ Value of the vote of an M.L.A= Total Population of the state / Total No. of Elected
members in the state x 1/1000
B­ Value of the vote of an M.P= Total Value of the Votes of all M.L. As of All states/
Total Number of elected members of the parliament
C­ Electoral Quota = Total Number of Valid Votes Polled / 1+1=(2) + 1

Oath and Affirmations

The President of India takes the oath of office in the presence of the Chief Justice of India.
The day the term of the previous president expires, the oath taking of the new president takes
place. In the absence of the chief justice, he / she have to take his oath at the senior­most
Judge of the Supreme Court, before entering into his office. The oath of the president of
India has been given in the Article 60 of the constitution of India. In his / her oath he
reads…

‘I, ­­­­­­­­­­­­­ (Name), do swear in the name of God or solemnly affirm that I will faithfully
execute the office of President or discharge the functions of the President of the Republic of
India, and will to the best of my ability to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and
the law, and that I will devote myself to the service and well­being of the people of the
Republic of India’.

Conditions of the office of the president of India

The office of the President of India is virtually corresponding to that of the British monarchy.
Constitution of India has established it in keeping the spirit of the parliamentary executive in
the country. As the formal head of state, the office of the President is a dignified one, with
enormous prestige, authority, grace, dignity, respect and adoration, but it acts with slow and
less function. The executive power of the Union is based on the assumption of the President
being a rubber stamp of the government in order to authenticate the decisions made by the
council of ministers, barring a few cases ordained by circumstances. The President and the
Vice­President are the formal executive heads of the Union, while the actual executive is the
Union Council of Ministers, with Prime Minister as its Chairman.

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  The Constitution of India provides conditions of his office. These conditions are The
President should not be a member of either House of the Parliament or a House of the
State legislature.
 The President should not hold any other office of profit.
 The President is entitled, without payment of rent, to the use of his official residence
i.e. the Rastrapathi Bhavan.
 The President is entitled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as may be
determined by parliament.
 The president’s emoluments and allowances cannot be dismissed during his term of
office.

The President of India is indirectly elected through an electoral college. The Electoral
College comprises the elected members of both the houses of Parliament and the elected
members of the state legislative assemblies, but the nominated members are not participated
in this process. The term of the President is for five years from the date on which he enters
upon his office. He also resigns from his office at any time by addressing his resignation
letter to the Vice­President of India. However, he is also eligible for re­election (Art­57). He
may be elected for any numbers of terms. Rajendra Prasad was the only President who was
re­elected for the second time. Dr. Zakir Hussain and Sh. F.A. Ahmed died in office and
could not complete even one term. The President may be removed from the office by the
process of impeachment, which is a cumbersome one, on the grounds of violation of the
Constitution of India. The salary and allowances of the President of India are charged under
the Consolidated Fund of India and these cannot be reduced during his tenure.

Vacancy in the office of President

 The vacancy in the office of President happens due to the following reasons.
 On the expiry of his tenure
 By his resignation
 Due to his removal

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  Due to his sudden death in the office
 When he becomes disqualified to hold his office or his election is declared void

5.2.1.3: Power and Function of the President of India

The powers enjoyed and the functions performed by the president can be studied as under the
following points

A­ Executive Powers
B­ Legislative Powers
C­ Financial powers
D­ Judicial Powers
E­ Diplomatic Powers
F­ Military Powers
G­ Emergency Powers
H­ Pardoning Powers

A. Executive powers

The president of India is the executive head of the Indian Union. Thus, the executive powers
of the central government have been vested in the President. The powers are to be exercised
by him either directly or through officers subordinates to him, in accordance with the Article
53 of the Constitution. The president of India enjoys a position of a very significant
institution which functions either directly or indirectly connected to him. He is the head of
the country. Article 74 (2), the council of ministers or Prime Minister are not accountable
legally to the advice tendered to the President but it is the sole responsibility of the President
to ensure compliance with the constitution in performing his duties. Let us discuss the
executive powers of the President

 The President is invested with powers of making and unmaking executive

appointments. In the first place, he appoints the Prime Minister and on the latter’s
advice, the other members of the Union Council of Ministers, to aid and advise him in
the exercise of his functions. The President is also authorized to receive and accept

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 their resignations and also to dismiss then individually or collectively as they all hold
office during his pleasure.
 He/she further appoints the Attorney­General of India. He can appoint any person as
the Attorney­General who is qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme
Court.
 He/she has the authority to appoint the Comptroller and Auditor­General of India,
provided the candidate to be appointed is qualified to be a judge of the Supreme
Court.
 She/ He appoints the Governors of states. These appointments are done in
consultation with the Prime Minister.
 She/he alone can receive the Governor’s resignation or dismiss him, as the latter holds
his office during the pleasure of the President.
 The President also appoints the administrations of Union­Territories and determines
the designations to be held by them. They are variously known as Lt. Governors,
chief­commissioners or administrators.
 She/He is competent to appoint an inter­state council to exercise the following
functions: (a) advising upon the disputes between the states; (b) investigate and
discuss matters of common interest between the Union and the state or amongst the
states themselves.
 The President appoints chairmen and members of the Union public service
Commission and the Joint Public Service Commissions.
 He nominates the Chief Election Commissioner and the Deputy Chief Election
Commission.
 He chooses commissioner to report to him on the administration of the ‘scheduled
areas’ and the welfare of scheduled tribes. He also appoints another commissioner to
investigate the conditions of the backward classes in the states.
 He decides on an Official Language Commission to recommend to him the ways
through which Hindi can be progressively used in place of English for the official

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 purpose of the Union. He also appoints a special officer for all matters relating to the
safeguards provided for linguistics minorities under the Constitution.
 The President has also been empowered to entrust to the states, or to its officer with
the exercise of executive power of the Union, provided that the state or the officers
concerned, consent to do so.
 He/she has the power to administer Union Territories either directly or through
officers or administrators of his choice. The executive power or the Union with
respect to the Union Territories extends to all subjects.
 The President has the power to receive reports of the Comptroller and Auditor­
General of India, Union Public Service Commissioners for scheduled areas and
backward classes, and the special officers for scheduled castes and tribes, and for the
linguistic minorities.
 He can appoint a commission to investigate into the conditions of SCs, STs and other
backward classes.

B. Legislative powers

The president of India is an integral part of the constitution. The legislative powers of the
President are given as under:

 Article 78, Article 86 of the constitution of India states that Legislative power is
constitutionally vested by the Parliament of India of which the president is the head,
to facilitate the law making process per the constitution. The President summons both
the Houses of the Parliament and prorogues them. He can dissolve the Lok Sabha.
Article 74, the President shall abide by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers
headed by the Prime Minister, provided the given advice is in accordance with the
constitution. Article 143 gave power to the president to consult the Supreme Court
about the constitutional validity of any issue.
 The President inaugurates Parliament by addressing it after the general elections and
also at the beginning of the first session each year; this is mentioned in Article 87.

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 The Presidential address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new
policies of the government.
 All bills passed by the Parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of
the President. After a bill is presented to him, the President shall declare either that he
assents to the Bill, or that he withholds his assent from it. As a third option, he can
return a bill to Parliament, if it is not a money bill or a constitutional amendment bill,
for reconsideration. When, after reconsideration, the bill is passed and presented to
the President, with or without amendments, the President cannot withhold his assent
from it. The President can also withhold his assent to a bill when it is initially
presented to him thereby exercising a pocket veto.
 The President is an integral part of the Parliament in as much as the Union
Parliament, which consists of the President and two Houses known respectively as
only be approved by the two houses of Parliament but must also be assented to the
President.
 The President has the power to nominate a maximum of twelve members to the Rajya
Sabha on the ground that they posses special knowledge or practical experience in the
fields of art, science, literature and social service. Article 331 empowers him to
nominate not more than two members belonging to the Anglo­Indian community to
Lok Sabha. The President appoints acting Speaker or the Lok Sabha in case both, the
Speaker and Deputy Speaker are not available. Similarly, he appoints the acting­
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in case both the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are not
available.
 The President administers the oath of office to the members of both houses of
Parliament.
 He/she decides the final authority, after consultations with the Election Commission,
as to whether any Member of Parliament (MP) has become ineligible to hold his
office as an MP.
 The President has the power to specify the period within which a person who has
been elected a member both to Parliament and to a state legislature must resign from
either of his seats.

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 He or she has the power to summon, from time to time, each house of the Parliament
in such a manner that six months do not intervene in between the session. He or she
has the power to prorogue either or both the houses. He is also empowered to
summon the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament in case of deadlocks over
non­money bills passed by one houses and either rejected or delayed for more than 6
months by the other house.
 The President inaugurates the first session of parliament after each general election to
the Lok Sabha, and delivers his inaugural address to the two houses sitting together in
a joint session.
 Article 123 authorizes the President to promulgate ordinances duering the recess of
parliament.
 All bills passed by the Parliament are sent to him for his consideration. He may assent
to the bill. And only upon his assent, the bill becomes a LAW. If, however, he wants
the Parliament to modify or amend the bill, he is free to return it for their
reconsideration, with or without his recommendations.
 He also has the power to recommend to the parliament to formulate laws to form new
states or to alter areas, boundaries, or names of the existing states.
 The President has been authorized by Article 370 extend the various provisions of the
Constitution to the states of Jammu and Kashmir, with the concurrence of its
government.
 He/she has also been authorized to consider and approve state laws and ordinances
which under various provisions of this Constitution are reserved by state Governors
for his assent. Finally, he has the power to make regulations for the peace, progress,
and good government of the Union Territories, excepting Chandigarh and Delhi.
 When either of the two Houses of the Parliament of India is not in session, and if the
government feels the need for an immediate procedure, the President can promulgate
ordinances which have the same force and effect as laws passed by Parliament. These
are in the nature of interim or temporary legislation and their continuance is subject to
parliamentary approval. Ordinances remain valid for no more than six weeks from the
date the Parliament is convened unless approved by it earlier.
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 C. Financial powers

The President of India enjoys the following financial powers:

 A money bill can be introduced in the Parliament only with the President’s
recommendation.
 The President lays the Annual Financial Statement, i.e. the Union budget,
before the Parliament.
 The President can take advances out of the Contingency Fund of India to meet
unforeseen expenses.
 The President constitutes a Finance commission after every five years to
recommend the distribution of the taxes between the centre and the States.
 The President has control over the finance of the nation. It is President who
causes the national budget to be laid before each House of Parliament.
 He or she has been authorized by Article 280 to appoint a Finance
Commission consisting of a chairman and other members every fifth year, or
earlier if necessary.
 The President has also been given control over the Contingency Fund of India.
He can advance money from this fund to the Government of India for meeting
unexpected expenditures.
 Certain money bills (Article 110) and bills affecting the taxation in which
states are interested (Article 274) are to be reserved by the state Governors for
the approval by the President.
D. Judicial powers
The President of India enjoys the following judicial powers
 The President appoints the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme
Court of India in constitution with the former. He or she may dismiss the
judges if and only if the Houses of Parliament pass resolutions to that
effect by two­third majority of the members present.

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  He appoints the judges of the state high courts, in consultation with the
Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the concerned state.
 The President can transfer judges from one high court to another in
consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
 Article 143 empowers the President to consult the Supreme Court. If the
President considers a question of law or a matter of National importance
has arisen, he can ask for the advisory opinion of the Supreme Court.
 The President also exercises the power of pardon. He may grant pardon,
suspend or commute the sentence of any person.
 The President has the right to be represented and appear at the
investigation of charges against him by either house of Parliament on a
resolution of impeachment.

E. Diplomatic Powers
The President of India enjoys the following diplomatic powers

 All international treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of
the President. However, in practice, such negotiations are usually carried out by the
Prime Minister along with his Cabinet. Also, such treaties are subject to the approval
of the Parliament. The President represents India in international forums and affairs
where such a function is chiefly ceremonial. The President may also send and receive
diplomats, i.e. the officers from the Indian Foreign Service. The President is the first
citizen of the country.
 The President represents India in international affairs. He appoints and recalls India’s
Ambassadors, High Commissioners and other diplomatic envoys to the foreign states,
the United Nations and its specialist agencies. He receives the credentials of the
Ambassadors, High Commissioners, and other diplomatic envoys accredited to India
by the United Nations and the foreign States.
 All international treaties and agreements to which India is a party are concluded on
his behalf and are finally signed by him.
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F. Military powers
The President of India enjoys the following Military powers

 Article 53 makes the President the Supreme Commander of the defence forces of the
Union. The exercise of the military power by him is not discretionary. It is regulated
according to the law passed by Parliament. In the exercise of his military powers, the
President nominates and appoints the Chiefs of the Staff of Army, Navy and Air
Force.
 He is the Chairman of the Defence Council which consists, besides him, the Prime
Minister, the Defence Minister, and the three Chiefs of Staff.
 With the concurrence of the Parliament, the President can declare war and conclude
treaties of peace with foreign states.
G. Pardoning Powers

Article 72 of the Constitution of India states that the President is empowered with the
powers to grant Pardons, Commutation, Remission, Respite and Reprieve, in the
following situations

 Punishment is for an offence against Union Law

 Punishment is by a Military Court
 Sentence is that of death
 The decisions involving pardoning and other rights by the President are independent
of the opinion of the Prime Minister or the Lok Sabha majority. In most cases,
however, the President exercises his executive powers on the advice of the Prime
Minister and the cabinet.
H. Emergency powers

The constitution of India under the Part XVIII is authorized the Emergency Provisions. It
deals with the circumstances in which a state of emergency can be proclaimed by the
President and the steps he may take to cope with it. The purpose is to restore the normal

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functions of the government at the earliest opportunity. The framers of the Constitution
have provided for three types of emergencies, namely; Emergency caused by war,
external aggression or internal revolt; Emergency caused by the breakdown of the
Constitutional machinery in the states; and Emergency caused by the threat to financial
stability or credit of India, or of any part of the territory thereof. The President can
declare three types of emergencies: national, state and financial, under articles 352, 356
and 360 respectively in addition to promulgating ordinances under article 123. Let us
discuss the emergency powers of the President of India.

 National emergency (Article 352) – National emergency is caused by war, external

aggression or internal revolt. It can be declared in the whole of India or a part of its
territory for causes of war or armed rebellion or an external aggression. Such an
emergency was declared in India in 1962, 1971 and 1975 to 1977. Under Article 352
of the India Constitution, the President can declare National Emergency only on the
basis of a written request by the Cabinet Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
Such a proclamation must be approved by the Parliament within one month. Such an
emergency can be imposed for six months. It can be extended by six months by
repeated parliamentary approval. However, there is no maximum duration of it. In
such an emergency, Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens can be suspended. The six
freedoms under Right to Freedom are automatically suspended. However, the Right to
Life and Personal Liberty cannot be suspended (Article 21). The President can make
laws on the 66 subjects of the State List. Also, all money bills are referred to the
President for approval. The term of the Lok Sabha can be extended by a period of up
to one year, but not so as to extend the term of Parliament beyond six months after the
end of the declared emergency. National Emergency has only been proclaimed in
India twice till date. It was declared first in 1962 by President Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan, during the Sino­Indian War. The second emergency in India was
from 1975­77 proclaimed by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, with Indira Gandhi as
Prime Minister.

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 State emergency (Article -356)- Article 356 of the constitution of India gives to the
president the power to declare an emergency in a state or states in order to meet the
failure of the constitutional machinery in the state or states. In this case if the
President is fully satisfied, on the basis of the report of the Governor of the concerned
state or from other sources that the governance in a state cannot be carried out
according to the provisions in the Constitution, he can proclaim a state of emergency
in the state. Such an emergency must be approved by the Parliament within a period
of 2 months. Under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, it can be imposed from six
months to a maximum period of three years with repeated parliamentary approval
every six months. If the emergency needs to be extended for more than three years,
this can be achieved by a constitutional amendment, as has happened in Punjab and
Jammu and Kashmir. During such an emergency, the President can take over the
entire work of the executive, and the Governor administers the state in the name of
the President. The Legislative Assembly can be dissolved or may remain in
suspended animation. The Parliament makes laws on the 66 subjects of the state list.
This type of emergency needs the approval of the parliament within 2 months. It can
last up to a maximum of three years via extensions after each 6­month period.
However, after one year it can be extended only if a state of National Emergency has
been declared in the country or in the particular state. The Election Commission finds
it difficult to organize an election in that state. The Sarkaria Commission held that
presidents have unconstitutionally misused the provision of Article 356 many times
for achieving political motives, by dismissing the state governments although there
was no constitutional break down in the states. During 2005, President's rule was
imposed in Bihar state, misusing Article 356 unconstitutionally to prevent the
democratically elected state legislators to form a government after the state elections.
In this provision, there is no provision in the constitution to re­promulgate president's
rule in a state when the earlier promulgation ceased to operate for want of
parliament’s approval within two months duration. During 2014 in Andhra Pradesh,
president's rule was first imposed on March 1, 2014 and it ceased to operate on April
30, 2014. President's rule was promulgated after being fully aware that the earliest

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 parliament session is feasible in the end of May, 2014 after the general elections. It
was imposed again unconstitutionally on April 28, 2014 by the president.

 Financial emergency (Article-360) - Article 282 of the constitution of India accords

financial autonomy in spending the financial resources available with the states for
public purpose. Article 293 gives liberty to states to borrow without any limit to its
ability for its requirements within the territory of India without any consent from the
union government. However union government can insist for compliance of its loan
terms when a state has outstanding loan charged to the consolidated fund of India or
an outstanding loan in respect of which a guarantee has been given by the
Government of India under the liability of consolidated fund of India. Under article
360 of the constitution, President can proclaim a financial emergency when the
financial stability or credit of the nation or of any part of its territory is threatened.
However, until now no guidelines defining the situation of financial emergency in the
entire country or a state or a union territory or a Panchayat or a municipality or a
corporation have been framed either by the finance commission or by the central
government. A state of financial emergency remains in force indefinitely until
revoked by the President. With this emergency, the President can reduce the salaries
of all government officials, including judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts,
in cases of a financial emergency. All money bills passed by the State legislatures are
submitted to the President for approval. He can direct the state to observe certain
principles (economy measures) relating to financial matters. However, 38th
Amendment Act of 1975 made the satisfaction of the President in declaring a
Financial emergency final and conclusive and not questionable in any court on any
ground. Subsequently this provision was deleted by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978
implying that the satisfaction of the President is not beyond judicial review.

5.2.1.4: Position of the President of India.

A- Constitutional position

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There are two opinions regarding the actual or real position of the President of India, which
is discussed below: Firstly, President is a nominal head of the state; Secondly, President is
not a nominal head of the state.

1. President is a nominal head

India have adopted a parliamentary system of government in which the President can only be
a nominal head. The actual powers lie with the Prime Minister and his council of Ministers.
Article 74 of the constitution of India states that there shall be a Council of Minister headed
Prime Ministers. As the head of the Government, the Prime Minister has to aid and advice
the President. Article 78, which enumerates the duties and responsibilities of the Prime
Minister in relation to President of India. The 42nd amendment act of the constitution of India
has clearly laid down that the President is bound to accept the advice of the Prime Minister
and the Council of Ministers. Even in the exercise of his emergency powers, the president
depends upon the advice of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The position of
the President of India, like the position of the British Queen, is one of the office of highest
honour, respect and prestige but lacking of real executive authority.

2. President is not a nominal head

Despite the factors described above, the president of India is not a figure head or
rubberstamp in the hands of the ministry. This has been more or less a legalist view, which
was more relevant before the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act. The Amendment Act
provided that the President would act according to the advice tendered by the Council of
Ministers. But still there are certain arguments which believe that at least the Constitution did
not provide for Nominal Head. After the 44th Amendment Act, 1978 the president can
require the council of ministers to reconsider any advice given to him either general or
otherwise. This act on the part of the president has a great significance. Under this the
president can act of reconsideration for both a means of polite advice and or a warning. The
president enjoys sovereign status as the head of the state. As a base of this he can assume and
play a meaningful role in the working of the Indian Political system. Moreover, before
assuming his office, the President takes an oath to faithfully execute the office of the

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President of India and to preserve, protect and defined the Constitution and the Law and that
he will devote himself to the service and well­being to the people of India. For the purpose of
following his oath, he acts independently if he feels that the Cabinet advice is contrary to the
oath he has undertaken. Further as per the Article 53, he has to exercise the executive powers
of the Union, either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the
Constitution. This also leaves certain undefined powers with the President.

3. Role of the President in India

The President of India is vested with the role ‘to advise, to encourage and to warn’, which
lends the office of the President much authority and influence. In spite of the finality of the
issue that he or she is merely a figurehead without any real powers, circumstantial dynamics
may probably afford him few, if not many occasions to use his discretion in making
decisions. There are three important circumstances, which can be discussed as under:

 Firstly, when after a fresh general elections, no party is able to command a majority in
the Lok Sabha; the President is unintentionally put in a situation to apply his wisdom,
without any aid and advice from a Council of Ministers.
 Secondly, if an obligatory government loses its majority in the Lok Sabha and the
Council of Ministers recommends the dissolution of the House, the President might
be in a position to use his mind to find out whether a reasonably stable government
can be formed and the country saved from another general election, thereby acquiring
a discretionary power to accept or the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
 Lastly, due to the lack of time­frame, the President must assent to a bill, he may, in
his discretion, use the pocket veto to kill a bill.

However, the Constitution of India under Article 53 (1) confers that in the President ‘the
executive power of the Union’ that is to be ‘exercised by him either directly or through
officers subordinate to him’ in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. However,
the Constitution also states that the Council of Ministers, headed by the prime minister, is to
‘aid and advice the President, who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance

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with such advice’. However, the Article 74(2) bars all courts completely from assuming even
an existence of such an advice. Therefore from the courts’ point of view, the real executive
power lives with the President. As far as president’s decision and action are concerned no
with the advice tendered by the ministers or that it is based on no advice. Let us now study in
details, the various powers of the President.

5.2.2: The Prime Minister of India

The Prime Minister of India holds the pivotal position in the cabinet of India. He is more
powerful than the President. The office of the Prime Minister first originated in England and
was borrowed by the framers of the constitution. India has a parliamentary Democracy,
where the Prime Minister of India is the head of government and has the responsibility for
executive power. The constitution of India expressly states that the Prime Minister shall be
at the head of the council of ministers. Hence, the other ministers cannot function without the
Prime Minister. The Prime Minister of India is described variously by the under concerns.

Lord Morley described the Prime Minister of India as primes inter pares (first among
equals).

Sir William Vernon called the Prime Minister of India as ‘inter stellas luna minores (moon
among the stars).

Harold Laski called the Prime Minister of India as “The pivot of the whole system of
Government".

Ivor Jennings called the Prime Minister of India as "The sun round which the planets
revolve".

Nehiir said “The Prime Minister is the Linch­Pin of the Government"

Ramsay Muir said ‘The Prime­Minister of India is the steering wheel of the ship of the
state’.

The Prime Minister of India is the heart of the Cabinet. He is the focal point of the political
system. He is the real executive of the country. Despite the constitutional provisions of the
west minister model of cabinet Government in India, the Prime Minister has emerged as the
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undisputed chief of the executive. The personality of the Prime Minister determines the
nature of the authority that he or she is likely to exercise. Hypothetically, the Prime Minister
is selected by the President of India. In reality, the President invites the leader of the majority
party in Parliament to form the council of ministers. It is the political parties go to the
parliamentary polls with a clear choice of their leaders. Generally the leader of the majority
party becomes the Prime Minister. However, the President can exercise some discretion in
the selection of the Prime Minister when no party commands a clear majority in the lower
house of parliament. In such circumstances, the President may request the single largest party
to form Government or alternatively, he may allow a coalition Government to be formed.
When a party leader has a clear majority support in the lower house of parliament, the
President has no choice but to call upon him to form the council of ministers.

The Constitution of India envisions a scheme of affairs in which the President of India is the
head of the executive. The following articles of the constitution of India are given as under.

Article 53 reads that the office of the prime minister headed by the Council of Ministers to
assist and advise the president in the discharge of the executive power.

Article 53(i) states that he executive powers of the Union shall be vested in the president and
shall be exercised either directly or through subordinate officers, in accordance with the
Constitution.

Article 74(1) of the Constitution of India states that 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.

Article 75(1) of the Constitution of India states that the Prime Minister shall be appointed
by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of
the Prime Minister.

5.2.2.1: The Power and Functions

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The Constitution of India vests executive powers of the Union in the hands of the Prime
Minister headed by the council of ministers. As the head of the state and government, the
Prime Minister enjoys the following powers.

A. Formation of the Council-of Ministers- The Prime Minister of India holds the task
of formation of the ministry. It begins with the appointment of the Prime Minister by
the President. After the appointment of Prime Minister, the President appoints all
other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The PM determines the strength
of his ministry and selects his team of ministers. However, this number cannot be
more than 15% of the total membership of the Lok Sabha. Generally, most of the
ministers are drawn from Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister decides who amongst them
shall be the Cabinet Minister and who will be Minister of State or a Deputy Minister.

B. Allocation of Portfolios- The Prime Minister of India allocates portfolios to his

ministers under an undisputed privilege. It is the Prime Minister who decides the
particular department is to be given to which minister. Any minister objecting to such
an allotment invites the wrath of the Prime Minister and can get completely ignored
from the ministry.

C. Change of Portfolios- The Prime Minister of India has the power to change the
departments or portfolios of the ministers at any time. It is his privilege to shuffle and
reshuffle his ministry any time and as many times as he may like.

D. Chairman of the Cabinet- The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the Cabinet.
He presides over its meetings. He decides the agenda of its meetings. All the matters
in the Cabinet are decided with the approval and consent of the Prime Minister. It is
up to him to accept or reject proposals for discussions in the Cabinet. All ministers
conform to his views and policies. There is scope for deliberations and discussions
but not for opposition. Thus, the Prime Minister is the chairman of the cabinet.

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E. Removal of Ministers­ The Prime Minister of India can demand resignation from
any minister at any time, and the latter has to accept the wishes of the former.
However, if any minister may fail to resign, the Prime Minister can get him dismissed
from the President. In April 2010 Mr. Shashi Throor had to submit his resignation
because Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had asked him to do so. Thus, the
council of Ministers is appointed by the president and can also be removed by the
Prime Ministers of India.

F. Chief Link between the President and the Cabinet- The Prime Minister of India
works as the main channel of communication between the President and the Cabinet.
He communicates to the President all decisions of the Cabinet, and puts before the
Cabinet the views of the President. This is the sole privilege of the Prime Minister and
no other minister can, of his own convey the decisions or reveal to the President the
nature or summary of the issues discussed in the Cabinet. Thus, the Prime Minister of
India is the chief Link between the President and the Cabinet.

G. Chief Coordinator- The Prime Minister of acts as the general manager of the state.
He is the chief coordinator between the council of Ministers and the president. It is
the responsibility of the Prime Minister of India to co­ordinate the activities of all the
departments and to secure co­operation amongst all government departments. He
resolves all differences, among the ministers. As a chief coordinator he does all sorts
of acts of omission and commission of the cabinet.

H. Leader of the Parliament- The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in
the Lok Sabha. He is also the leader of the Parliament. The Prime Minister, in this
capacity, consultation with the Speaker of this Lok Sabha, decides the complete
agenda of the House. The summoning and the proroguing of Parliament is in fact
decided by him and the President only acts upon his advice. Besides this the major

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 policies of the nations are announced by him on the floor of the parliament. He can
address each house of the parliament but can vote only in the house to which he
belongs.

I. Power to get the Parliament dissolved­ The Prime Minister of India has the power
to advise the President in favour of dissolution of the Lok Sabha. This power of
dissolution really means that the members hold their seats in the House at the mercy
of the Prime Minister. No member likes to contest frequent elections as these involve
huge expenditures and uncertainties. It has been rightly remarked that this is such an
important weapon in the hands of the Prime Minister that it binds his party men, and
even the members of opposition.
J. Director of Foreign Affairs- The Prime Minister always plays an important role in
determining Indian foreign policy and relations with other countries of the world. He
may or may not hold the portfolio of foreign affairs but he always influences all
foreign policy decisions.
K. Role as the Leader of the Nation

Prime Minister is also the leader of the nation. General elections in India are fought in his
name. We know that it was the charismatic and charming personality of Pt. Nehru that used
to sweep popular votes in favour of the Congress party. The personality of the Prime
Minister and the respect and love, that he commands act as a source of strength for his party
as well as the nation. He leads the nation both in times of peace and war.

L. Power of Patronage

All important appointments are really made by the Prime Minister of India. These
appointments include Governors, Attorney­General, Auditor General, Members and
Chairman of Public Service Commission, Ambassadors, Consular etc. All high ranking
appointments and promotions are made by the President with the advice of the Prime
Minister.

M. Role of Prime Minister during an Emergency

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The emergency powers of the President are in reality the powers of the Prime Minister. The
President declares an emergency only under the advice of the Cabinet, which in reality
means the advice of the Prime Minister. All decisions taken to meet an emergency are really
the decisions of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can get the imposition of President’s
rule in a State. The Presidential decision in favour of imposing an emergency in a state is
always governed by the decision of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.

5.2.2.2: Role and position of the Prime Minister

The Constitution of India vests executive powers of the Union in the hands of the Prime
Minister and his team. The prime minister’s role include the followings

• The power to advise the President about the appointment of other ministers to
constitute the Union Council of Ministers. He has a free choice in selecting his colleagues.
The only thing which he has to keep in mind, while preparing the list of ministers, is that he
has given representation to various groups in his party and that ministers are drawn from
different states.

• The political life and death of ministers also depends upon the prime minister. He
assigns to them various ministers and departments. He may change their portfolios or may
even advise the President to dismiss them.

• The prime minister influences to a great extent every other appointment made by the
President. The President appoints Chief Justices and Judges of the Supreme Court and the
High Courts, Comptroller and Auditor­General, Attorney General, Election Commissioners,
Chiefs of Staff of Army, Navy and Air Force, State Governors, Ambassadors and High
Commissioners and many other State officers. All these appointments are essentially the
choice of the prime minister.

• The Parliament is summoned and prorogued by the President on the advice of the
prime minister. The prime minister also advises the President about the dissolution of the
Lok Sabha.

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• The Prime Minister is the channel of communication between the President and the
Council of Ministers.

• As Chairman of the Union Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister summons

meetings of the Council of Ministers and presides over them.

• The Prime Minister, being the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, not only
supervises the departments under his personal change but also co­ordinates and supervises
the work of all other departments and ministers.

• The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This they can
do only if their leader shields and defends them and their actions both in and out of the
Parliament. They must speak with one voice.

• Important Policy matters are initiated by the prime minister in both the Houses of
Parliament. It is he who gives his opening speech on important policy matters and informs
the Houses of the purpose the government wants to achieve.

• It has been prerogative of the prime minister to take a direct and keen interest in
India’s international relations.

• The prime minister, being the leader of the majority party, has to take the whole party
into confidence, so that he continues to command the confidence and support of his party.

5.2.3: The Council of Ministers

As the constitution of India provides for a Parliamentary system of government, modeled on

the British system and the council of ministers headed by the prime minister is the real
executive authority. These principles of parliamentary system are not detailed in the Indian
constitution. However, the two Articles i.e. 74 and 75 deals with them in a broad manner.

Article 74(1) entails the President to have a Council of Ministers with the Prime
Minister at the head to “aid and advice” him in the exercise of his power. The Prime
Minister is appointed by the President and all other ministers are appointed by the President
on the advice of the Prime Minister. India has a three­tier ministry consisting of cabinet
ministers, ministers of state and the deputy ministers. The term cabinet is absent in the
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constitution. Usually senior ministers with independent charge of ministries constitute a body
that the Prime Minister consults in arriving at policy decisions, constitute the cabinet. The
cabinet thus is the policy making part of the ministry. It is an informal body and its members
are chosen by the Prime Minister himself.

Article 75 makes the Council of Minister responsible to the House of People. This
obliges the President to appoint the leader of the majority party as the Prime Minister and to
appoint other ministers on his advice. Thus the Prime Minister is not the President’s nominee
but the nation’s choice. The Prime Minister and the members of the council of ministers
serve legally “during the pleasure of the President.” But the President’s pleasure is not
personal but political. So long the Prime Minister retains his support in the House of People;
the President cannot withdraw pleasure from the Prime Minister and the Council of
Ministers. However, all the Council of Ministers do not belong to the same rank. They are
classified under three ranks: (a) Cabinet Minister or ‘Members of the Cabinet’; (b) Minister
of State; and (c) Deputy Ministers. The Cabinet rank ministers are the heads of their
departments. The Ministers of State are formally of Cabinet status and are paid the same
salary as the Cabinet Ministers and they may hold independent charge of their department.
The Deputy Ministers are paid lesser salary than the Cabinet rank ministers and have no
separate change of a department. Theoretically, the complete body of executives comprises
the Council of Ministers, with the cabinet being but one of its three components. In reality,
the Cabinet is more important, influential and powerful than the members of the cabinet. The
Cabinet consists of a few important senior ministers who are in charge of departments like
Finance, Defense, etc. It is described as ‘a wheel within a wheel’ and is thus the nucleus of
the Council of Ministers. According to the 91st Constitutional Amendment (2003) ‘the total
number of ministers, including the prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not
exceed fifteen per cent of the total number of members of the House of the People’.

Another important feature about the Council of Ministers is the notion of collective
responsibility. All members of the Cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions
made in Cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them. This is because the
Constitution states that the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

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This means that they can stay in office only so long as they enjoy the confidence or pleasure
of the Parliament. They are collectively responsible; they sink and swim together.
Accordingly, if even one member of the Council of Ministers loses the confidence of the Lok
Sabha, either by a vote of no­confidence, rejection of budgetary demands or defeat on any
major matter, the entire council of ministers are voted out.

5.2.3.1: Functions of the Council of Ministers

As the nation’s chief executive body, the Council of Ministers performs the following
principal functions.

A. Legislative Power­ The Parliament of India is the supreme law making body. The
Prime Minister and the cabinet have a firm control over the Parliamentary majority.
Thus, the law making powers of the Parliament is also the powers of the Cabinet. The
Council of Ministers has a big role to play in the making of the law of the state.
Ministers are taken from among the members of the Legislature. They participate in
the meeting of the Legislature. They introduce Bills, participate in the discussion and
cast their vote. The meeting of the Legislature are summoned and adjourned on the
advice of the cabinet. The inaugural address of the president is also prepared by the
Council of Ministers. Most of the Bills are rejected and passed accordingly to the will
of the Council of Ministers. Council of Ministers has the support of the party in
majority in the parliament and this party is always at the beck and call of the cabinet.
All the legislative bills are prepared and submitted by the Council of Ministers.
B. Executive Power­ The ministry exercises all the executive powers of the president.
All the departments of the Government are under the control of the Ministers and it is
their responsibility to run the administration smoothly. The Council of Ministers lays
down the policy of Government and in the light of that the department work is carried
out. The Council of Ministers executes the decision taken by the Cabinet. They
maintain order and peace in the state. All the big and important appointments are
made on the advice of the Council of Ministers. It is in charge of administering all the
subjects commended to the national government by the union list. Principal among
these functions are providing for security and defence of the country, maintaining and

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 conducting the nation’s foreign affairs, maintaining the system of communication
within the country, keeping the national economy in good health, preserving and
improving inter­state relations and a host of other things. Ministers are put in charge
of administrative departments.

C. Financial Power­ The budget of the states is prepared by the Council of Ministers.
The Money Bills can only be introduced by theory ministers. There are the ministers
who propose imposition of taxes or suggest reduction or abolition of taxes. The Prime
Minister and the Cabinet also have an absolute control over the nation’s finances. The
annual budget is prepared at the instance of the cabinet. The proposals for taxes and
expenditures are really made by the Cabinet, and only formally approved by the
Parliament.
D. Judicial Powers – The constitution of India is based on the model of Parliamentary
sovereignty. The sovereignty of the Parliament derives the sovereignty of the cabinet.
The judiciary is not beyond cabinet control. Judges of the Supreme Court and the
High Courts are appointed and transferred by the President on Cabinet advice.
Similarly the President’s rights to grant pardon or reprieve or remission of sentences
are also the powers of the Cabinet. Thus, the Indian Cabinet, like its British
counterpart enjoys powers of dictatorial dimensions.
E. Emergency Powers - The President exercises vast emergency powers. The three
kinds of emergency such as National, State and financial emergency. In actual
practice, all these powers are exercised by the Cabinet in the name of the President.

5.2.3.2: Role of Union Council of Ministers of India

The above mentioned powers of the Council of Ministers clearly indicate that the ministry is
the real ruler of the state. It prevails in the making of laws enforcing them in and the running
of the administration of the state. However, during the time of emergency, the Cabinet loses
its importance. When the proclamation of emergency is issued the President can take the
administration into his own hands and in this situation the Governor acts as the agent of the
President of India.

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The union council of ministers is the central executive body of the government. They enjoy
wide ranging functions which make their role critical and decisive. The entire administration
and even the Parliament rotate around it and seek its leadership in resolving conflicts and
managing the affairs of government. This role can be enumerated as follows:

 Formulation, execution, evaluation and revision of public policy in various spheres

which the party in power seeks to progress and practice.
 Coordination among various ministries and other organs of the government which
might indulge in conflicts, wastefulness, duplication of functions and empire building.
 Preparation and monitoring of the legislative agenda which translated the policies of
the government in action through statutory enactments.
 Executive control over administration through appointments, rule­making powers and
handling of crises and disasters – natural as well as political.
 Financial management through fiscal control and operation of funds like Consolidated
Fund and Contingency Funds of India.
 Review the work of planning and Planning Commission.
 As a policy­formulating body the cabinet makes all kinds of policies, national,
internal, external and international are thrashed out in the cabinet.
 A cabinet minister is in­charge of a specific ministry or department and it is his duty
to administer the subjects included in his portfolio. In addition, he also shares a
collective responsibility with other members of the cabinet for the overall policy for
anything of high importance that is done in every branch of public business besides
his own.
 The Parliament is the repository of legislative authority and can enact repeal and
amend legislation but in reality, it is the cabinet which takes initiative in legislative
matters and directs Parliament. It is the cabinet which prepares the legislative
measures, introduces them and pilots them through the two houses of Parliament.
 The annual budget is prepared by the cabinet which determines what taxes are to be
imposed and how the public revenues are to be spent. Administrative Functions:

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  All major appointments reserved for action by the President under the Constitution,
e.g., Attorney­General, members of the Union Public Service Commission, Chief
Election Commissioner, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Governors of
states, etc., are made by him on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and in
consultation with the minister of the department concerned.
 The Secretary is responsible for carrying out the policies laid down by the cabinet and
approved by the Parliament. He can instruct the departmental functionaries and
supervise their working. A minister is expected to face questions in the Parliament.
He may or may not abide by the advice of his civil servants but he should see to it that
the civil servant’s freedom to advise is not curtailed.

5.3: The Union Territories

India is a federal union. It comprises twenty­nine states and seven union territories. They are
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu,
Lakshadweep, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Puducherry. Out of the above seven
Union territories, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry have legislatures,
Council of Ministers and Consolidated Funds. The rest of the Union territories are without
legislature. The total area covered by the seven Union territories is 10,973 sq. km.

Schedule I Part II of the Constitution of India deals with the Union Territories of India.
These territories are administered in accordance with the provisions of Article 239 to 241 of
the Constitution of India. Under the Government of India Rules 1961, Ministry of Home
Affairs is the nodal ministry for all matters of Union territories relating to Legislation,
Finance and Budget, Services and appointment of Lt. Governors and Administrators. Every
Union territory is administered by an Administrator appointed by the President under Article
239 of the Constitution of India. In Delhi, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the
Lt. Governors are designated as Administrators. The Governor of Punjab is appointed as the
Administrator of Chandigarh. In the other Union territories, senior IAS officers of the
Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union territories (AGMUT) cadre are appointed as

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Administrators. However, the union territories of India have special rights and status due to
their constitutional formation and development. The status of "Union Territory" may be
assigned to an Indian sub­jurisdiction for reasons such as safeguarding the rights of
indigenous cultures, averting political turmoil related to matters of governance, and so on.
These union territories could be changed to states in the future for more efficient
administrative control.

5.4: Summary

 The president is the head of the union executive. He is also the head of the union
Executive. He exercises his power through direct or indirect means by his
subordinates.
 The president is the titular head of the legislative, executive and judiciary in India. He
is the chief commander of the Indian Army.
 The Prime Minister of India is the head of the government. He is the leader of the
majority party. He is the head of the council of Ministers. He is also the chief advisor
of the Indian President.
 As a ceremonial head, the president of India enjoys a prestigious position in India.
However, during the emergency, he enjoys the real authority.
 The president of India is elected by the Electoral College consisting of M.L.As, M.Ps
and the members of the state legislative Assemblies by the method of proportional
representation of single and transferable voting system.
 The President of India may be removed by impeachment motion if he is in charged
with the violation of the constitutional provisions.
 Article 72 of the Constitution of India states that the President is empowered with the
powers to grant Pardons, Commutation, Remission, Respite and Reprieve, in the
situations like Punishment is for an offence against Union Law; Punishment is by a
Military Court; Sentence is that of death. However, the decisions involving pardoning
and other rights by the President are independent of the opinion of the Prime Minister

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 or the Lok Sabha majority. In most cases, however, the President exercises his
executive powers on the advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet.
 Article 74 of the constitution of India entails the President to have a Council of
Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to “aid and advice” him in the exercise
of his power. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and all other ministers
are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
 The president of India appoints the chief justice and the other judges of the supreme
court of India. However, he may consult with the former judges.
 The council of ministers are classified under three ranks such as (a) Cabinet Minister
or ‘Members of the Cabinet’; (b) Minister of State; and (c) Deputy Ministers.
 The prime minister is the chairman of the council of Ministers. He presides over the
meeting of the cabinet.
 There are seven islands in India. They are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh,
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, National Capital Territory
of Delhi, Puducherry.
 Lord Morley described the Prime Minister of India as primes inter pares (first among
equals).
 Sir William Vernon called the Prime Minister of India as ‘inter stellas luna minores
(moon among the stars).
 Harold Laski called the Prime Minister of India as “The pivot of the whole system of
Government".
 Ivor Jennings called the Prime Minister of India as "The sun round which the
planets revolve".
 Nehiir said “The Prime Minister is the Linch­Pin of the Government"
 Ramsay Muir said ‘The Prime­Minister of India is the steering wheel of the ship of
the state’.

5.5: Possible Questions

1. Discuss the power and function of the President of India.

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2. Discuss the role and position of the President of India.

3. Discuss the executive power of the President of India.

3. The President of India is a ceremonial head­ Explain.

4. Discuss the emergency power of the President of India.

5. Discuss the power and function of the Prime Minister of India.

6. The Prime Minister is the key stone of cabinet arch­ explain.

7. Discuss the Legislative and executive powers of the Prime Minister of India.

8. Discuss the power and functions of the Council of Minister in India.

10. What are Union territories in India?

11. Write short notes on

A­ Cabinet

B­ Council of Ministers
C­ Emergency power of the President of India
D­ Judicial power of the President of India
E­ What is minister of States
F­ Position of the President of India

5.6: Further Reading

 Narayan Jayaprakash (1975) ‘Nation Building in India’, Varanasi, Navachetan

Prakashan.
 S.C. Kashyap (1999) (Eds,) ‘ our Parliament’ , National Book trust
 Khanna H. R (2008)’Making of Indian Constitution ’, New Delhi, Easton Book
Company.
 Sharma, R. N. (2000). Textbook of Educational Philosophy. New Delhi: Kanishka
Publishers and Distributers.

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 Talesra, H. (2002). Sociological Foundation of Education. New Delhi: Kenosha
Publishers Distributors
 Ghai. K.K. (2003) ‘Indian Government and Politics’, Kalyani Publisher, New Delhi.
 Yogesh, Atal (1981) ‘Building a Nation(essays on India)’, Abhinav Publisher, New
Delhi

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