India’s Founding Moment

India’s Founding Moment
Author: Madhav Khosla
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2020-02-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0674980875

An Economist Best Book of the Year How India’s Constitution came into being and instituted democracy after independence from British rule. Britain’s justification for colonial rule in India stressed the impossibility of Indian self-government. And the empire did its best to ensure this was the case, impoverishing Indian subjects and doing little to improve their socioeconomic reality. So when independence came, the cultivation of democratic citizenship was a foremost challenge. Madhav Khosla explores the means India’s founders used to foster a democratic ethos. They knew the people would need to learn ways of citizenship, but the path to education did not lie in rule by a superior class of men, as the British insisted. Rather, it rested on the creation of a self-sustaining politics. The makers of the Indian Constitution instituted universal suffrage amid poverty, illiteracy, social heterogeneity, and centuries of tradition. They crafted a constitutional system that could respond to the problem of democratization under the most inhospitable conditions. On January 26, 1950, the Indian Constitution—the longest in the world—came into effect. More than half of the world’s constitutions have been written in the past three decades. Unlike the constitutional revolutions of the late eighteenth century, these contemporary revolutions have occurred in countries characterized by low levels of economic growth and education, where voting populations are deeply divided by race, religion, and ethnicity. And these countries have democratized at once, not gradually. The events and ideas of India’s Founding Moment offer a natural reference point for these nations where democracy and constitutionalism have arrived simultaneously, and they remind us of the promise and challenge of self-rule today.

A People's Constitution

A People's Constitution
Author: Rohit De
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0691210381

It has long been contended that the Indian Constitution of 1950, a document in English created by elite consensus, has had little influence on India’s greater population. Drawing upon the previously unexplored records of the Supreme Court of India, A People’s Constitution upends this narrative and shows how the Constitution actually transformed the daily lives of citizens in profound and lasting ways. This remarkable legal process was led by individuals on the margins of society, and Rohit De looks at how drinkers, smugglers, petty vendors, butchers, and prostitutes—all despised minorities—shaped the constitutional culture. The Constitution came alive in the popular imagination so much that ordinary people attributed meaning to its existence, took recourse to it, and argued with it. Focusing on the use of constitutional remedies by citizens against new state regulations seeking to reshape the society and economy, De illustrates how laws and policies were frequently undone or renegotiated from below using the state’s own procedures. De examines four important cases that set legal precedents: a Parsi journalist’s contestation of new alcohol prohibition laws, Marwari petty traders’ challenge to the system of commodity control, Muslim butchers’ petition against cow protection laws, and sex workers’ battle to protect their right to practice prostitution. Exploring how the Indian Constitution of 1950 enfranchised the largest population in the world, A People’s Constitution considers the ways that ordinary citizens produced, through litigation, alternative ethical models of citizenship.

The Constitution of India

The Constitution of India
Author: Arun K Thiruvengadam
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2017-12-28
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1849468702

This book provides an overview of the content and functioning of the Indian Constitution, with an emphasis on the broader socio-political context. It focuses on the overarching principles and the main institutions of constitutional governance that the world's longest written constitution inaugurated in 1950. The nine chapters of the book deal with specific aspects of the Indian constitutional tradition as it has evolved across seven decades of India's existence as an independent nation. Beginning with the pre-history of the Constitution and its making, the book moves onto an examination of the structural features and actual operation of the Constitution's principal governance institutions. These include the executive and the parliament, the institutions of federalism and local government, and the judiciary. An unusual feature of Indian constitutionalism that is highlighted here is the role played by technocratic institutions such as the Election Commission, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and a set of new regulatory institutions, most of which were created during the 1990s. A considerable portion of the book evaluates issues relating to constitutional rights, directive principles and the constitutional regulation of multiple forms of identity in India. The important issue of constitutional change in India is approached from an atypical perspective. The book employs a narrative form to describe the twists, turns and challenges confronted across nearly seven decades of the working of the constitutional order. It departs from conventional Indian constitutional scholarship in placing less emphasis on constitutional doctrine (as evolved in judicial decisions delivered by the High Courts and the Supreme Court). Instead, the book turns the spotlight on the political bargains and extra-legal developments that have influenced constitutional evolution. Written in accessible prose that avoids undue legal jargon, the book aims at a general audience that is interested in understanding the complex yet fascinating challenges posed by constitutionalism in India. Its unconventional approach to some classic issues will stimulate the more seasoned student of constitutional law and politics.

The Indian Constitution: People, Politics And Government

The Indian Constitution: People, Politics And Government
Author: Dr Rajni Kumari
Publisher: AG Publishing House
Total Pages: 213
Release:
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN: 8119338057

India, also known as Bharat, is a confederation of independent states. There is a parliamentary form ofgovernment in place for this Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic. The Constitution of India, which was approved by Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949 and took effect on January 26, 1950, is the supreme law of the Republic. The Indian judicial system is well established and longstanding. Its judicial and legal systems date back centuries and represent a living heritage that has developed alongside and reflected the experiences of its many citizens. The Constitution of India, which established India as a "Sovereign Democratic Republic", lays out the basis for the country's respect for the rule of law. It establishes a federal system alongside a parliamentary system of government for both the Union and the States, as well as an independent judiciary, fundamental rights, as well as directive principles for state policy. Parliamentary system of government with certain unitary characteristics is established by the Constitution. The President is the constitutional leader of the Union's executive branch. Article 79 of the Indian Constitution establishes the President and the two Houses, Council of States (Rajya Sabha) as well as House of the People (Lok Sabha), as the Parliament of the Union. According to Article 74(1) of Constitution, the President shall be assisted and advised by a Council of Ministers, which shall have the Prime Minister as its head. Therefore, the Council of Ministers, with Prime Minister at its helm, is the true seat of executive authority.

Indian Politics Vs. Indian Constitution

Indian Politics Vs. Indian Constitution
Author: Hari Babu E.
Publisher: Notion Press
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2021-01-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1637453337

Is there any authority in India, who is elected, other than the President of India? None. All ministers are appointed people. They need not even be members of a house when appointed as ministers. Ours is not parliamentary democracy. It is Republican Democracy under which, there would be only one government in India which is of the President, with Governors as his subordinates in states. 30 mutually conflicting governments and perennial elections to them cannot make India one country; much less a “Sovereign Democratic Republic”. How, India is federal if Ambedkar refused to add “Federal” in the preamble? 42nd amendment of 1976 too added only “Socialist and Secular”. Constitution is ignored, President is made ineffective, people are divided on caste lines and religious lines, regional parties are formed to rake up regional issues, press became pure business, courts turned late comers, corruption and immorality in politics reached its peak. External commercial aggression is on the rise. How long India can stay independent and united?

Indian Constitution: People, Politics And Government

Indian Constitution: People, Politics And Government
Author: Dr. Shailja Vasudeva
Publisher: AG PUBLISHING HOUSE (AGPH Books)
Total Pages: 294
Release:
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN: 8119152638

The Constitution establishes a collection of fundamental principles and fundamental norms that define and identify the many laws and rules that apply to the general public and that govern various facets of state and national organization. The country's constitution serves a distinct fiction, it's founded on values that motivate the population to stay put. There is a wide variety of cultures and religions represented among the people of India. A constitution lays up a framework of laws and values that all residents must uphold. This is the foundation upon which the government of a nation can rule its people. The Indian constitution upholds all the democratic qualities that a contemporary person may hope for People of all faiths are given the freedom to practice their religions of choice. Since it is a secular state. Indian law does not prohibit its citizens from practising any religion of their choosing. Citizens of India have the right to freedom of expression and all religions are respected. They have no restrictions on their travel and may go wherever in the nation. Since they were elected by and served the people, democratic governments provide them with every resource they could need. This book covers the main topics in the field of the Indian Constitution-People, Politics and Government, including comprehending the Indian government and its political aspects, local government in India, and contemporary India with its economy, society, and politics. The further book discusses the Indian reservation policy and other crucial aspects of public policymaking in India.

The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address
Author: Abraham Lincoln
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 9
Release: 2022-11-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1504080246

The complete text of one of the most important speeches in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln arrived at the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to remember not only the grim bloodshed that had just occurred there, but also to remember the American ideals that were being put to the ultimate test by the Civil War. A rousing appeal to the nation’s better angels, The Gettysburg Address remains an inspiring vision of the United States as a country “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Constituent Assemblies

Constituent Assemblies
Author: Jon Elster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2018-06-21
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1108427529

Since 1787, constituent assemblies have shaped politics. This book provides a comparative, theoretical framework for understanding them.

Politics and Ethics of the Indian Constitution

Politics and Ethics of the Indian Constitution
Author: Rajeev Bhargava
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2008
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

Much of the germinal work on the Indian Constitution has been done by legal experts and historians. The distinctiveness of this collection of essays is its focus on the Indian Constitution from the perspective of political theory. Contributors to this volume view the Constitution either as a political or as an ethical document, reflecting configurations of powr and interests or articulating a moral vision. Critically analysing the various aspects of the constitution, the essays discuss equality, freedom, citizenship, minority rights, democracy, rights, property and welfare.