Features of Indian democracy - class-X

Telangana was separated from the north-western part of Andhra Pradesh as the newly formed 29th state of India with Hyderabad as its permanent capital on 2nd June, 2014. 

The Concurrent List contains subjects of common interest to both the Union as well as the States. These include education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption, and succession. Both, the Central and the state governments can make laws in the Concurrent List.

The government has three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. Indian President is the head of the state and exercises his or her  power directly or through officers subordinate to him. The power of three branches is well defined in constitution. It believes in Separation of Power for all three branches.

The Constitution has preamble which clearly mentions India to be a Secular nation. The fundamental rights give us various religious freedoms. It makes it clear that the State cannot interfere in the religious affairs of various communities. All these are mentioned in the Indian Constitution.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution and was a staunch advocate for the rights of minorities and marginalized communities.

In line with the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution, Panchayati Raj institutions currently have 33 per cent of all seats reserved for women. The idea is to bring  Empowerment to women by providing reserved seats.

The Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946 with the responsibility of framing India's own Constitution and reviewing of prevailing laws and systems in the transition from British India to Independent India. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the chairman of the Constituent Assembly. J.L. Nehru was the head of a Committee formed under Constituent Assembly and K.M. Munshi was the Member of the Drafting Committee.

Article 24 of the Constitution of India prohibits the child labor and specifically provides that no child below the age of 14 years be employed in any factory or work of hazardous nature.

Sovereign means India is free from foreign interference. India is free to frame her own economic, social and foreign policies. 

Preamble is an introductory statement that states the source of authority, date of adoption, guiding principles, etc. Also, it specifies character and values like sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, justice, liberty, equality, fraternity. The concept of Welfare state is mentioned in Directive Principles of state Policy.

The socialistic government follows the ideology of socialism. Socialism emphasizes on social, economic and political equality. This ideology promotes the removal of class difference in society.

Option B is the correct answer. India is a democratic republic because the Head of the State is elected by the people. A democratic republic is a representative government where the power resides with the people. People choose and majority decides. 

Option D is the correct answer. The provisions of citizens are listed under sections 3, 4, 5(1) and 5(4) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. One of the provisions states that every person born in India on or after 3.12.2004 is a citizen of the country given both his/her parents are Indians or at least one parent is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of birth.

The Parliament fixes the salaries and the allowances of the Speaker of Lok Sabha. The Salary of Members of Parliament is governed by Salary and Allowances and Pension to Members of Parliament Act 1954 and rules framed there. It’s a Central Act and undergoes through the same procedure as any other Central legislation.

The most unique feature of the Indian Constitution is that it is the lengthiest written Constitution of the World. Thus, it is a very comprehensive and detailed document. Originally Constitution contained a Preamble, 395 Articles divided into 22 parts and Eight Schedules. But the Various amendment carried out since it was enacted has increased the number of articles, Schedules, and Parts.

The Preamble declares India a Secular and Socialistic State. India is a Democratic Socialism which involved nationalization of all means of Production and distribution of wealth and equality of opportunity. Directive Principles of State Policy represents the Socialistic feature of India. Secular state means India remains neutral in the affairs of religion and all religions in our country have the same status. Article 25 to 28 (Fundamental Rights) ensures the secular feature of the Nation.

The Preamble, a preface of the Constitution contains the basic philosophy and fundamental values on which the Constitution is based. It reflects the ideology, dreams and grand vision of makers of the Constitution.

The Preamble of the Constitution is the Preface or introduction to the Constitution which contains the summary and essence of the Constitution. It contains the ideals and philosophy of the Constitution and is an integral part of the Constitution.

The Constituent Assembly deliberated over various provisions to be incorporated in Constitution and reached a decision by consensus i.e., unanimity or agreement of all members. The members of Constituent Assembly were very keen in adopting provisions and discussed at great length until the consent of all members is achieved and doubts are extinguished.

The First Prime Minister of Independent India Jawahar Lal Nehru also held the Post of Foreign Minister. He is the longest serving Foreign Minister of India with approximately 17 years of tenure.

The Constitution of India provides for a Secular State meaningly India has no particular religion as the official religion and it remains neutral in the affairs of religion or on other words each and every Religion gets equal status and support from the state. The term "secular" was added to the Preamble by 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976.

The Motilal Nehru Report 1928 was a report by a committee headed by Pt. Motilal Nehru. This committee was created when Lord Birkenhead, Secretary of State of India asked the Indian leaders to draft a constitution for the country.

The Kesavananda Bharati judgment or His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru and Ors. v. State of Kerala and Anr. (case citation: (1973) 4 SCC 225) is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that outlined the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution.

The Constitution of India provides for an independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). Article 148 to Article 151 are the provisions in respect of CAG. He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department. He is the guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both the levels- the Centre and the State. 

The case of D.C. Wadhwa v. the State of Bihar is a fine example of the abuse of Ordinance-making power. In this case, the Bihar Governor promulgated 256 Ordinances and all of them were kept alive for period ranging from 1-14 years by re-promulgation from time to time. Out of 256, 69 were re-promulgated several times with the prior permission of the President. The Court, in this case, held that the colorable re-promulgation of ordinances is unconstitutional, as it amounts to fraud on the Constitution. 

In Keshvananda Bharti's case the Supreme Court explained that Directive Principles and fundamental rights together belonged to the basic structure of the Constitution. However, the Court did not outline the basis of what constituted the basic structure of the Constitution but merely reserved for itself the right to pronounce what constituted the basic structure. Justice Sikri tried to tabulate the basic feature of the Constitution as the supremacy of the Constitution, republican and democratic form of government, secular character, separation of power and federal character.

• The Preamble is an introduction to the Constitution which gives the insight or summary of the Constitution. The Indian judiciary has realised the significance of the preamble and declared it to be an integral part of the constitution. It contains the ideals and philosophy of the constitution.
• The Preamble is like an introduction or preface of a book. As an introduction, it is not a part of the contents but it explains the purposes and objectives with which the document has been written. So is the case with the Preamble to the Indian Constitution. As such the Preamble provides the guidelines of the Constitution.

Preamble is an introductory statement that states the source of authority, date of adoption, guiding principles, etc. Also, it specifies character and values like sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, justice, liberty, equality, Preamble is based on the Objectives resolution drafted and moved by jawaharlal Nehru in 1946. It was originally present in the Constitution and wasn't added through 42nd CAA.