The Constitution of India, the political and social characteristics of the Republic is out lined --- detailing, among other things, the fundamental Rights and Duties of its citizens, identifications and responsibilities of government institutions and officials, the roles and jurisdiction of parliament and state legislatures, the composition and status of each state in the union and so on. In short, the Constitution is the document that defines the Republic of India in its totality.
The Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949 and came into effect on January 26, 1950, replacing the Government of India Act (1935), which was the country’s fundamental ruling document under British rule. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Constitution’s Drafting Committee, is known as “The Father of the Indian Constitution”
The First Citizen:
The President of India is the head of the three branches of the Republic of India --- Legislature, Executive and Judiciary.The President of India is known as the ‘first citizen’.He/she is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces. He/she appoints the heads of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. The three heads are not allowed to meet under any circumstances, without the presence of the President. The President appoints a number of important heads in government like the Chief Election Commissioner, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Governors of states. He/she may pass laws through provisions known as ‘ordinances’ and launch a ‘National Emergency’ under desperate national circumstances. The President’s post, though important and respected is mainly a ceremonial post. The main executive functions lie with the union Government, headed by the Prime Minister. The President is elected through a special procedure that includes participation of both State legislatures and Union Parliament. The tenure of the offices of the President lasts five years.
The Role of the Parliament and State Legislatures:
The Role of Parliament and state legislatures is to create, pass and improve upon laws in the country, reflect the aspirations of the people in policy-making and to debate and discuss issues of national importance. India follows a bi-cameral legislative system. That means, in addition to the Lower-House of union parliament (Lok Sabha), there is an Upper-House called the Rajya Sabha, However, as far as the state legislatures are concerned, only six states in the Union (Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Utter Pradesh) possess Upper Houses or Legislative Councils (also called Vidhan Parishads) in addition to their Vidhan Sabhas (Lower-House of State Legislature).
Members to the Upper-House are not directly elected by the people to the legislature as is the case with the Lower-House. The respective legislative assemblies of various states nominate members to the Rajya Sabha. The number of candidates from each state in the Rajya Sabha is determined based on the population of the state. A greater population results in a larger number of seats in the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha is also known as the Council of States (and the Lok Sabha is known as the House of the People). Members of the Legislative Council) are elected by, in varied proportions, by several public bodies that include the Legislative Assembly, Zilla Parishads, Municipal Corporations, etc. The Governor of the State nominates one-sixth of MLCs based on their contribution to art, literature, Science, Social Service, etc.
The terms of the Lok Sabhas and Vidhan Parishads last a total of five years and each members of the Upper-House enjoys a term of six years each.
How we vote:
Elections to the Lok Sabha (or ‘House of the People’, Lower-House of Union Parliament) or the Vidhana Sabha (Lower-House of a state legislatures) are by using a ‘first-past-the-post’ electoral systems. This means that the country is split into separate geographical areas, known as ‘constituencies’, and the voters (or ‘electors’) can cast one vote each for a candidate. The sizes of constituencies vary between — Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. Lok Sabha constituencies are called ‘Parliamentary Constituencies’ and Vidhan Sabha constituencies are called ‘Assembly Constituencies’. Each constituency reflects a seat in Parliament or State Legislature.
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