ക്ലാസ്സ്‌ IX

Constitution of India and 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:
    1. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
    2. N. Gopalaswami Ayyar
    3. K.M. Munshi
    4. Syyed Mohd. Saadulla
    5. N.Madhav Rao
    6. D.P.Khaitan (T Krishnamachari, after Kahitan�s 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

The 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.

Following are the borrowed features of constitution from different countries.

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

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
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: 1.President and Vice-President
2.Governor of any state
3.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 President�s Election.
• Takes OATH in presence of Chief Justice of India, or in his absence, senior-most 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 Vice-President 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:- 1. National Emergency (Article 352)
2. State Emergency (President�s Rule) (Article 356)
3. 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

 

NAME TENURE PHOTO
Dr. Rajendra Prasad 26.01.1950 to 13.05.1962 Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Dr. S. Radhakrishan 13.05.1962 to 13.05.1967 Dr. S. Radhakrishan
Dr. Zakhir Hussain 13.05.1967 to 03.05.1969 Dr. Zakhir Hussain
V.V. Giri# 03.05.1969 to 20.07.1969 V.V. Giri
Justice M. Hidayatullah*# 20.07.1969 to 24.08.1969 Justice M. Hidayatullah
V.V. Giri 24.08.1969 to 24.08.1974 V.V. Giri
F. Ali Ahmed 24.08.1974 to 11.02.1977 F. Ali Ahmed
B.D. Jatti# 11.02.1977 to 25.07.1977 B.D. Jatti
N. Sanjiva Reddy 25.07.1977 to 25.07.1982 N. Sanjiva Reddy
Gaini Jail Singh 25.07.1982 to 25.07.1987 Gaini Jail Singh
R. Venkataraman 25.07.1987 to 25.07.1992 R. Venkaaraman
Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma 25.07.1992 to 25.07.1997 Dr. S.D. Sharma
K.R. Narayanan 25.07.1997 to 25.07.2002 K.R. Naryanan
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam 25.07.2002 to 24.07.2007 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Mrs. Pratibha Patil 25.07.2007 to 24.07.2012 Mrs. Pratibha Patil
Mr. Pranab Mukherjee 25.07.2012 to Till date Mrs. Pranab Mukherjee

Delhi North Block
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 President�s Rule in the State or emergency due to financial instability
•Leader of the House

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 President�s Rule in the State or emergency due to financial instability
  • Leader of the House

Official Website of Prime Minister of India

All Prime Minister of India and their Tenure

Jawahar Lal Nehru 15.08.1947 to 27.05.1964 Jawahar Lal Nehru
Gulzari Lal Nanda 27.05.1964 to 09.06.1964 Gulzari Lal Nanda
Lal Bahadur Shastri 09.06.1964 to 11.01.1966 Lal Bahadur Shastri
Gulzai Lal Nanda 11.01.1966 to 24.01.1966 Gulzai Lal Nanda
Indira Gandhi 24.01.1966 to 24.03.1977 Indira Gandhi
Morarji Desai 24.03.1977 to 28.07.1979 Morarji Desai
Charan singh 28.07.1979 to 14.01.1980 Charan singh
Indira Gandhi 14.01.1980 to 31.10.1984 Indira Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi 31.10.1984 to 01.12.1989 Rajiv Gandhi
V.P. Singh 01.12.1989 to 10.11.1990 V.P. Singh
Chandra Shekhar 10.11.1990 to 21.06.1991 Chandra Shekhar
P.V. Narsimha Rao 21.06.1991 to 16.05.1996 P.V. Narsimha Rao
Atal Bihari Vajpayee 16.05.1996 to 01.06.1996 Atal Bihari Vajpayee
H.D. Deve Gowda 01.06.1996 to 21.04.1997 H.D. Deve Gowda
I.K. Gujral 21.04.1997 to 19.03.1998 I.K. Gujral
Atal Bihari Vajpayee 19.03.1998 to 13.10.1999 Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee 13.10.1999 to 22.05.2004 Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Dr. Manmohan Singh 22.05.2004 to 26.-5.2014 Dr. Manmohan Singh
Narendra Modi 26.05.2014 to Till-date Narendra Modi