CIVICS By Prateek Srivastava and Vishal Dhende in UPSCguide Group Study (Files) Edit Doc Constitution of India and

d Polity

The present constitution of India was framed by the Constitution Assembly of India setup under Cabinet Mission Plan of May 16, 1946. Composition of Constituent Assembly:The Constituent Assembly consisted of 385 members, of which 292 were elected by he elected members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies while 93 members were nominated by the Princely States. To these were to be added a representative each from the four Chief Commissioners Provinces of Delhi, Ajmer-Marwar, Coorg and British Baluchistan. Each Province and each Indian State or group of States were allotted the total number of seas proportional to their respective population roughly in the ration of one to a million. B N Rao was appointed the Constitutional Advisor of the Assembly. The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place of Dec 9, 1946 with Dr. Sachidanand Sinha as its interim President. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as its President n Dec 11, 1947. The Assembly framing the Constitution.had 13 Committees. The all-important Drafting Committee, which bore the responsibility of drafting the Constitutional document during the recess of the Constitutent Assembly, from July 1947 to September 1948, was formed on August 29, 1947. Its members were: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Ayyangar N. Gopalaswami Ayyar K.M. Munshi Syyed Mohd. Saadulla N.Madhav Rao D.P.Khaitan (T Krishnamachari, after Kahitans Death in 1948)

It was finally passed and accepted on Nov 26, 1949. The session of the Assembly was held on Jan 24, 1950, which unanimously elected Dr, Rajendra Prasad as the President of India. In all the 284 members of the Assembly signed the official copies of the Indian Constitution which came into effect on Jan 26, 1950, known and celebrated as the Republic Day of India.

PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION.

he Indian Constitution starts with the preamble which outlines the main objectives of the Constitution. It reads: " WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC and to secure 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 unity and integrity of the nation. IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY, this twenty sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, "ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES HIS CONSTITUTION ". Idea of preamble borrowed from Constitution of US. The words SOCIALIST, SECULAR and UNITY & INTEGRITY were added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. Preamble is not justifiable.

BORROWED FEATURES OF CONSTITUTION.

From U.K. Nominal Head President (like Queen)

Cabinet System of Ministers Post of PM Parliamentary Type of Govt. Bicameral Parliament Lower House more powerful Council of Ministers responsible to Lowe House Speaker in Lok Sabha From U.S. Written Constitution Executive head of state known as President and his being the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Vice- President as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha Fundamental Rights Supreme Court Provision of States Independence of Judiciary and judicial review Preamble Removal of Supreme court and High court Judges From USSR Fundamental Duties Five year Plan From AUSTRALIA Concurrent list Language of the preamble Provision regarding trade, commerce and intercourse From JAPAN Law on which the Supreme Court function

From WEIMAR

CONSTITUION OF GERMANY

Suspension of Fundamental Rights during the emergency From CANADA Scheme of federation with a strong centre Distribution of powers between centre and the states and placing. Residuary Powers with the centre From IRELAND Concept of Directive Principles of States Policy(Ireland borrowed it from SPAIN) Method of election of President Nomination of members in the Rajya Sabha by the President SCHEDULES IN CONSTITUTION

First Schedule List of States & Union Territories Second Schedule Salary of President, Governors, Chief Judges, Judges of High Court and Supreme court, Comptroller and Auditor General Third Schedule Forms of Oaths and affirmations Fourth Schedule Allocate seats for each state of India in Rajya Sabha Fifth Schedule Administration and control of scheduled areas and tribes Sixth Schedule Provisions for administration of Tribal Area in Asom, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram & Arunachal Pradesh Seventh Schedule

Gives allocation of powers and functions between Union & States. It contains 3 lists Union List (For central Govt) 99 Subjects. States List (Powers of State Govt) 66 subjects Concurrent List (Both Union & States) 46 subjects. Eighth Schedule List of 22 languages of India recognized by Constitution 1. Assamese 2. Bengali 3. Gujarati 4. Hindi 5. Kannada 6. Kashmiri 7. Manipuri 8. Malayalam 9. Konkani 10. Marathi 11. Nepali 12. Oriya 13. Punjabi 14. Sanskrit 15. Sindhi 16. Tamil 17. Telegu 18. Urdu 19. Santhali 20. Bodo

21. Maithili 22. Dogri Sindhi was added in 1967 by 21 Amendment Konkani, Manipuri ad Nepali were added in 1992 by 71 amendment Santhali, Maithili, Bodo and Dogri were added in 2003 by 92 amendment Ninth Schedule Added by Ist amendment in 1951. Contains acts & orders related to land tenure, land tax, railways, industries.{Right of property not a fundamental right now} Tenth Schedule Added by 52nd amendment in 1985. Contains provisions of disqualification of grounds of defection Eleventh Schedule By 73rd amendment in 1992. Contains provisions of Panchayati Raj. Twelfth Schedule By 74thamendment in 1992. Contains provisions of Municipal Corporation.

NEW STATES IN INDIA CREATED AFTER 1950

Andhra Pradesh Created by the State of Andhra Pradesh Act 1953 by carving our some areas from the State of Chennai Gujarat and Maharashtra The State of Mumbai was divided into two States i.e. Maharashtra and Gujarat by the Mumbai (Reorganisation) Act 1960 Kerala Created by the State Reorganisation Act, 1956. It comprised Travancor and Cochin areas

Karnataka Created from the Princely State of Mysuru by the State Reorganisation Act, 1956. It was renamed Karnataka in 1973 Nagaland It was carved out from the State of Asom by the State of Nagaland Act, 1952 Haryana It was carved out from the State of Punjab by the Punjab (Reorganisation) Act, 1966 Himachal Pradesh The Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh was elevated to the status of State by the State of Himachal Pradesh Act, 1970 Meghalaya First carved out as a sub-State within the State of Asom by 23 Constitutional Amendment Act, 1969. Later in 1971, it received the status of a full-fledged State by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act 1971 Manipura and Tripura Both these States were elevated from the status of Union-Territories by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act 1971 Sikkim Sikkim was first given the Status of Associate State by the 35th Constitutional Amendment Act 1974. It got the status of a full State in 1975 by the 36th Amendment Act, 1975 Mizoram It was elevated to the status of a full State by the State of Mizoram Act, 1986 Arunachal Pradesh It received the status of a full state by the State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1896 Goa Goa was separated from the Union-Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu and was made a full-fledged State of Goa, Daman and Diu Reorganisation Act 1987.

But Daman and Diu remained as Union Territory Chhattisgarh Formed by the Constitutional Amendment Act, 2000 by dividing Madhya Pradesh on November 1, 2000 Uttarakhand Formed by the Constitutional Amendment Act, 2000 by dividing Uttar Pradesh on November 9, 2000 Jharkhand Formed by the Constitutional Amendment Act, 2000 by dividing Bihar on November 15, 2000

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN INDIA

The Fundamental Rights in Indian constitution acts as a guarantee that all Indian citizens can and will live their lifes in peace as long as they live in Indian democracy. They include individual rigts common to most liberal democracies, such as equality before the law, freddom of speech and expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of religion, and the right to constitutional remedies for the protection of civil right. Originally, the right to property was also included in the Fundamental Rights, however, the Forty-Fourth Amendment, passed in 1978, revised the status of property rights by stating that "No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law." Following are the Fudamental Rights in India Right to Equality Article 14 :- Equality before law and equal protection of law Article 15 :- Prohibition of discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 16 :- Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment Article 17 :- End of untouchability

Article 18 :- Abolition of titles, Military and academic distinctions are, however, exempted Right to Freedom Article 19 :- It guarantees the citizens of India the following six fundamentals freedoms:Freedom of Speech and Expression Freedom of Assembly Freedom of form Associations Freedom of Movement Freedom of Residence and Settlement Freedom of Profession, Occupation, Trade and Bussiness Article 20 :- Protection in respect of conviction for offences Article 21 :- Protection of life and personal liberty Article 22 :- Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases Right Against Exploitation Article 23 :- Traffic in human beings prohibited Article 24 :- No child below the age of 14 can be employed Right to freedom of Religion Article 25 :- Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion Article 26 :- Freedom to manage religious affairs Article 27 :- Prohibits taxes on religious grounds Article 28 :- Freedom as to attendance at religious ceremonies in certain educational institutions Cultural and Educational Rights Article 29 :- Protection of interests of minorities Article 30 :- Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions

Article 31 :- Omitted by the 44th Amendment Act Right to Constitutional Remedies Article 32 :- The right to move the Supreme Court in case of their violation (called Soul and heart of the Constitution by BR Ambedkar) Forms of Writ check Habeas Corpus :- Equality before law and equal protection of law

President of India

President of India is the head of the Union Executive. A Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister aids and advises the President in the excersie of his function.

President of India is also Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces. Office of President of India ==> Rashtrapati Bhavan

Qualification Must be a citizen of India Completed 35 years of age Eligible to be a member of Lok Sabha Must not hold any government post. Exceptions are: President and Vice-President Governor of any state Minister of Union State Election

Indirectly elected through Electoral College consisting of Elected members of both the Houses of Parliament & Elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States. (No nominated members) Security deposit of Rs 15,000/Supreme court inquires all disputes regarding Presidents Election. Takes OATH in presence of Chief Justice of India, or in his absence, seniormost Judge of Supreme Court Terms and Emoluments 5 year term Article 57 says that there is no upper limit on the number of times a person can become President Can give resignation to Vice-President before full-term Present Salary- Rs. 1,00,000/month (including allowances & emoluments) Impeachment Quasi-judicial procedure Can be impeached only on the ground of violation of constitution The impeachment procedure can be initiated in either House of the Parliament Vacancy In case of office falls vacant due to death, resignation or removal, the VicePresident act as President. It he is not available then Chief Justice, it not then senior-most Judge of the Supreme court shall act as the President of India The election is to be held within 6 months of the vacancy Powers Appoints PM, Ministers, Chief Justice & judge of Supreme Court & High Court, Chairman & members of UPSC, Comptroller and Auditor General, Attorney General, Chief Election Commissioner and other members of Election Commission of India, Governors, Members of Finance Commission, Ambassadors, etc Can summon & prorogue the sessions of the 2 houses & can dissolve Lok Sabha

Appoints Finance Commission (after every 5 years) that recommends distribution of taxes between Union & State governments The President can promulgate 3 types of Emergencies:National Emergency (Article 352) State Emergency (Presidents Rule) (Article 356) Financial Emergency (Article 360) He is the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces of India President appoints Chief of Army, Navy and Air force Declares wars & concludes peace subject to the approval of the Parliament No money bill or demand for grant can be introduced or moved in Parliament unless it has been recommended by the President He has the power to grant pardon, reprieve or remit of punishment or commute death sentences All Presidents of India and their Tenure

NAME TENURE Dr. Rajendra Prasad 26.01.1950 to 13.05.1962 Dr. S. Radhakrishan 13.05.1962 to 13.05.1967 Dr. Zakhir Hussain 13.05.1967 to 03.05.1969 V.V. Giri# 03.05.1969 to 20.07.1969 Justice M. Hidayatullah*# 20.07.1969 to 24.08.1969

V.V. Giri 24.08.1969 to 24.08.1974 F. Ali Ahmed 24.08.1974 to 11.02.1977 B.D. Jatti# 11.02.1977 to 25.07.1977 N. Sanjiva Reddy 25.07.1977 to 25.07.1982 Gaini Jail Singh 25.07.1982 to 25.07.1987 R. Venkataraman 25.07.1987 to 25.07.1992 Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma 25.07.1992 to 25.07.1997 K.R. Narayanan 25.07.1997 to 25.07.2002 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam 25.07.2002 to 24.07.2007 Mrs. Pratibha Patil 25.07.2007 to Till date #ACTING;*First Chief just appointed President

VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA

Following is the information about Vice President of India Election

Elected by both the houses (Electoral College) in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote and the vote being secret. Nominated members also participate in his election The Supreme court has the final and exclusive jurisdiction for resolving disputes and doubts relating to the election of the Vice President of India Criteria Citizen of India More that 35 years of Age Posses the qualification of membership of Rajya Sabha Not hold any office of profit under union, state of local authority. However, for this purpose, the President, Vice-President, Governor of a State and a Minister of the Union or a State, are not held to be holding an office of profit Other Points Holds office for 5 years. Can be re-elected Term can be cut short if he resigns or by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha and agreed to by the Lok Sabha He is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Since he is not a member of Rajya Sabha, he has no right to vote Being the Vice-President of India, he is not entitled for any salary, but he is entitled to the salary and allowances payable to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha All bills, resolution, motion can be taken in Rajya Sabha after his consent Can discharge the function of the President, the Vice-President shall not perform the duties of the office of the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and shall not be entitled to receive the salary of the Chairman. During this period, he is entitled for the salary and privileges of the President of India Present salary is Rs. 85,000/month

All Vice Presidents of India and their Tenure.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 13.5.1952 to 12.5.1957 Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 13.5.1957 to 12.5.1962 Dr. Zakhir Hussain 13.5.1962 to 12.5.1967 V. V. Giri 13.5.1957 to 3.5.1969 Bal Swarup Pathak 31.8.1969 to 30.8.1974 Shri Basappa Danappa Jatti 31.8.1974 to 30.8.1979 Justice Mohd. Hidayatullah 31.8.1979 to 30.8.1984 Shri R Venkataraman 31.8.1984 to 24.7.1987 Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma 3.9.1987 to 24.7.1992 K.R.Narayanan 21.8.1992 to 24.7.1997 Shri Krishan Kant 21.8.1997 to 27.7.2002 Bhairon Singh Shekhawat 19.8.2002 to 21.7.2007

Hamid Ansari 21.7.2007 till date Prime Minister of India Powers of Prime Minister of India:Real excutive authority He is the ex-officio Chairman of the Planning Commission, National Development Council, National Integration Council and Inter state Council The President convenes and prorogues all sessions of Parliament in Consultation with him Can recommend the dissolution of Lok Sabha before expiry Appoints the council of ministers Allocates portfolios. Can ask a minister to resign & can get him dismissed by President Can recommend to the President to declare emergency on grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion Advises President about Presidents Rule in the State or emergency due to financial instability Leader of the House All Prime Minister of India and their Tenure Jawahar Lal Nehru 15.08.1947 to 27.05.1964 Gulzari Lal Nanda 27.05.1964 to 09.06.1964 Lal Bahadur Shastri 09.06.1964 to 11.01.1966 Gulzai Lal Nanda 11.01.1966 to 24.01.1966 Indira Gandhi

24.01.1966 to 24.03.1977 Morarji Desai 24.03.1977 to 28.07.1979 Charan singh 28.07.1979 to 14.01.1980 Indira Gandhi 14.01.1980 to 31.10.1984 Rajiv Gandhi 31.10.1984 to 01.12.1989 V.P. Singh 01.12.1989 to 10.11.1990 Chandra Shekhar 10.11.1990 to 21.06.1991 P.V. Narsimha Rao 21.06.1991 to 16.05.1996 Atal Bihari Vajpayee 16.05.1996 to 01.06.1996 H.D. Deve Gowda 01.06.1996 to 21.04.1997 I.K. Gujral 21.04.1997 to 19.03.1998 Atal Bihari Vajpayee 19.03.1998 to 13.10.1999 Atal Bihari Vajpayee 13.10.1999 to 22.05.2004 Dr. Manmohan Singh

22.05.2004 Till-date