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Indian Political SystemInspired by Mahatma Gandhi and his Satyagraha, a unique non-violentcampaign, India threw off the yoke of British rule on August 15, 1947.

Free India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, described themoment as a "tryst with destiny". In less than three years of attainingfreedom, India had framed a Constitution and declared itself a Republicon January 26, 1950. The Constitution was given shape by some of thefinest minds of the country who ensured the trinity of justice, liberty andequality, for the citizens of India. The Constitution was made flexible

enough to adjust to the demands of social and economic changes within ademocratic framework. Adopting the path of democracy, the country heldits first general elections in 1952. Elections to the Lower House ofParliament, Lok Sabha, have been held regularly every five years.

The Republic of India integrates the United Kingdom's (as well as other

democratic countries, such as the United States) constitutional systemand has a constitution which governs it.The government's power can be divided into three branches i.e. executive,judiciary and parliament. As with the United States, India is comprised ofindividual states, India's central government has authority over thesestates and even has the authority to change the boundaries of the states.

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Federal System

India, a union of states, is a Sovereign, Secular, DemocraticRepublic with a Parliamentary system of Government. The

Indian polity is governed in terms of the Constitution, which wasadopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 andcame into force on 26 January, 1950.The President is the constitutional head of Executive of theUnion. Real executive power vests in a Council of Ministers withthe Prime Minister as head. Article 74(1) of the Constitution

provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers headed by thePrime Minister to aid and advise the President who shall, inexercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the LokSabha, the House of the People.In the states, the Governor, as the representative of the President, is

the head of Executive, but real executive power rests with the ChiefMinister who heads the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers ofa state is collectively responsible to the elected legislative assembly ofthe state. The Constitution governs the sharing of legislative powerbetween Parliament and the State Legislatures, and provides for thevesting of residual powers in Parliament. The power to amend the

Constitution also vests in Parliament.

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Rajya Sabha: The Rajya Sabha consists of 245members. Of these, 233 represent states and union

territories and 12 members are nominated by thePresident. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect;members are elected by the elected members ofLegislative Assemblies of the concerned states. TheRajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution, one third ofits members retire every second year.

Lok Sabha: The Lok Sabha is composed of representativesof the people chosen by direct election on the basis of

universal adult suffrage. As of today, the Lok Sabhaconsists of 545 members with two members nominated bythe President to represent the Anglo-Indian Community.Unless dissolved under unusual circumstances, the term ofthe Lok Sabha is five years.

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Political System:A recognised political party has been classified as aNational Party or a State Party. If a political party is recognised in fouror more states, it is considered as a National Party.The Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal, Communist Party of

India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) are the prominentNational Parties in the Country. Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh,Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Bihar,Maharashtrwad Gomantak Party in Goa, National Conference in Jammuand Kashmir, Muslim League in Kerala, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, AkaliDal in Punjab, All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and DravidaMunnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, Bahujan Samaj Party andSamajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and All-India Forward Block in WestBengal are the prominent state parties.Eleven Lok Sabhas have been constituted so far. Except for the short-lived Sixth and Ninth Lok Sabha, the Congress Party ruled the country.The Sixth Lok Sabha functioned for about two years and four monthsand the Ninth Lok Sabha functioned for one year and two months.

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Judicial System:The Supreme Court is the apex court in the country.The High Court stands at the head of the state's judicial administration.Each state is divided into judicial districts presided over by a districtand sessions judge, who is the highest judicial authority in a district.Below him, there are courts of civil jurisdiction, known in different

states as munsifs, sub-judges, civil judges and the like. Similarly,criminal judiciary comprises chief judicial magistrate and judicialmagistrates of first and second class.

The Supreme Court: It has original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction.Its exclusive original jurisdiction extends to all disputes between theUnion and one or more states or between two or more states. The

Constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the SupremeCourt to enforce Fundamental Rights.Appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be invoked by acertificate of the High Court concerned or by special leave granted bythe Supreme Court in respect of any judgement, decree or final orderof a High Court in cases both civil and criminal, involving substantialquestions of law as to the interpretation of the constitution. ThePresident may consult the Supreme Court on any question of fact orlaw of public importance.The Supreme Court of India comprises of the Chief Justice and notmore than 25 other Judges appointed by the President. Judges holdoffice till 65 years of age.

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High Courts:There are 18 High Courts in the country, three havingjurisdiction over more than one state. Bombay High Court has thejurisdiction over Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli andDaman and Diu. Guwahati High Court, which was earlier known asAssam High Court, has the jurisdiction over Assam, Manipur,

Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.Punjab and Haryana High Court has the jurisdiction over Punjab,Haryana and Chandigarh.

Among the Union Territories, Delhi alone has had a High Court of itsown. The other six Union Territories come under jurisdiction ofdifferent state High Courts.

The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President inconsultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of thestate. Each High Court has powers of superintendence over all courtswithin its jurisdiction. High Court judges retire at the age of 62.The jurisdiction as well as the laws administered by a High Court canbe altered both by the Union and State Legislatures. Certain High

Courts, like those at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, have original andappellate jurisdictions. Under the original jurisdiction suits, where thesubject matter is valued at Rs.25,000 or more, can be filed directly inthe High Court. Most High Courts have only appellate jurisdiction.

Lok Adalatsare voluntary agencies for resolution of disputes throughconciliatory method.

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Legislative Relations Between the Unionand States

Under the Constitution, Parliament has the power to make laws for thewhole of or any part of the territory of India. The State Legislatureshave the power to make laws for the States. The subjects on whichlegislation can be enacted are specified in the Seventh Schedule of theConstitution.Parliament has the exclusive right to legislate in respect of itemsappearing in List I, called the Union List. This list includes area such as

defense, foreign affairs, currency, income tax, excise duty, railways,shipping, posts and telegraphs, etc.State Legislatures have the exclusive power to make laws in relation toitems appearing in List II called the State List. This includes items likepublic order, police, public health, communications, agriculture,lotteries, taxes on entertainment and wealth, sales tax and octroi, etc.

Both Parliament and the State Legislatures have the power to legislatein items appearing in List III of the Constitution which is known asConcurrent List. This list includes items like electricity, newspapers,criminal law, marriage and divorce, stamp duties, trade unions, pricecontrols, etc.

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Politico-legal environment

Forms of govt

Ideology of ruling party

Strength of opposition

Role and responsibility of bureaucracy

Political stability

Govt plans

Socio-economic legislation

Institutions