HISTORY
The
earliest known rule of government in India was by the early settlers, the
Aryans who conquered and ruled the Ganges region of India. In the
centuries to come India went through many stages of rulers including the
Maurya dynasty, the Guptas, the Ephthalites. and the Rajput clan. From
the eight to eighteenth century, the Arab, Turk, and Afghan Muslims ruled
successsively and had a tremendous amount of impact on India's culture.
These were just some of the early rulers of India, but the government that
has influenced modern India the most, especially the government, began
in the 18th century, when India began under British rule.
British
rule
By
the mid eighteenth century India was a chaotic battleground where the British
fought each other, and where Indian princes quarreled for control.
Under the leadership of Robert Clive, British forces defeated the French  and
overcame the ruler of Bengal. For the next 100 years Britain steadily
extended its influences, and by the middle of the nineteenth century had
firm control over India. In 1858 India began to show rebellion against
British rule, and this rebellion continued for many years. During WW1,
when Britain declared India was at war with Germany, a large number of
Indian troops were sent to serve over seas. Following the conclusion
of the war, when India thought they were going to be free, the British
passed a legislation claiming that they had the right to contain the activity
of all India's people. In 1930, at the Round Table Conferences in London,
they adopted a  resolution
calling for complete independence from British rule. Five years later the
Government of India Act was passed, trying to satisfy the peoples' desire
for self-rule. This held its power until the breakout of WWII. Gandhi,
the president of the Indian National Congress wanted to preserve Indian
unity, and led a nationalist's movement, advocating civil disobedience
and passive resistance in campaign to gain autonomy from Great Britain.
His goal was realized in August 15,1947 when India was granted independence.
India's constitution was composed on January 25,1950. The Republic of India
integrates the United Kingdom's constitutional system.
CURRENT
GOVERNMENT
The
government of India is a federal republic. India is divided into political
subdivisions; 26 states and 6 union territories. The government's power
is split into 3 branches, the judicial branch, the executive branch, and
the legislative branch.
1.
The Judicial Branch
The judicial branch is independent of the executive branch. At the
apex of the entire Judiciary
system exists the Supreme Court of India, below which are the High Courts
in each State or
group of States. Below the High Courts lies a hierarchy of Subordinate
Courts. Panchayat courts
also function in some states to decided petty and local law breaking. Each
State is divided into
judicial districts presided over by a District and Sessions Judge, which
is the principal civil court
of original jurisdiction and can try all offenses including those punishable
with death. The
judges are elected by the president and may serve until the age of 65.
2. The Executive Branch
The executive branch includes the president, vice president, and prime
minister. The prime
minister is the head of the government, while the president has mostly
ceremonial duties. The
president is the head of the state. On the other hand, the vice president
is in charge of the
parliament and conducts most of the meetings. The president acts
on the advice on the prime
minister. Even though the prime minister has large control over India,
at any time of emergency
the president can act as both the prime minister and the president. The
executive power is
exercised by the appointed council of ministers, or cabinet, under the
leadership of the prime minister.
Elections
In India, a president is elected by an electoral college consisting of
elected members of both
houses of the Parliament and the Legislative of State. He serves a five
year term. The vice
president is also elected by an electoral college by both houses of Parliament
to serve a five
year term. Parliamentary members of the majority party, following legislative
elections, select a
prime minister.
3.
Legislative Branch
The legislative branch consists of the bicameral parliament, which is divided
into two parts;
the Lok Sahba and the Rajya Sahba. The more powerful of the two is the
Lok Sahba, which is
ruled by the prime minister.
Lok Sahba
The maximum number of members in the Lok Sahba is 552; up to 530 to represent
the states,
20 to represent the Union Territories, and no more than 2 Anglo-Indian
Community to be
elected by the president if he feels the community is not well represented.
To become a
member who must be at 25 years of age. Lok Sahba, unless sooner dissolved,
continues for
five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and the expiration
of the period of five
years operates as dissolution of the House. The present Lok Sahba
has 545 members, which
were elected by the people including the speaker. The speaker is
the presiding officer of the
Lok Sahba, who is assisted by a deputy speaker.
Rajya Sahba
233 members of the Rajya Sahba are elected by the members of the Assemblies
of the State.
The Rajya Sahba can only have 250 members elected by the legislatures of
each state. The
Rajya Sahba is not subject to dissolution, but about 1/3 of its members
retire every second
year. The terms are 6 years long
Present
Leadership
The president of India at this time is Shri Kicheril Raman Narayan, who
has mostly ceremonial
duties, and is elected by the Parliament and State Assemblies. Narayanan
was s member of
Parliament (Lok Sahba) from 1985 to 1992. Shri Narayanan was elected Vice
President of India
and served in this position from 21st August, 1992 until he assumed the
office of the President
of India on July 25, 1997 The vice president is is Shri Krishnan Kant,
who was elected on
August 21, 1997. Shri Krishnan Kant has been consistently striving to build
up a national
consensus on major national and international issues. Some of his contributions
while in office
include stressing the importance of water and water management, advocating
radical election
reforms since 1971 to reshape the electoral process to make a healthy democracy
in the
country, and has been a strong protagonist of India going nuclear. Prime
minister, Shri Atal
Behari Vajpayee has been involved with many things during his term such
as International
affairs and has been fighting to uplift the scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes. He is also
trying to improve the conditions of woman and child welfare. He has been
prime minister since
March 19, 1998.
Military
The
military of India consists of the Navy, Army, and the air force. These
are basically used for protecting the country, while the Indian police
help to control the people. India has a strong military system, and its
air force is the world's fourth largest well- equipped and professionally
trained smartly efficient air force. An emerging regional power, the Indian
Navy is also seen as a stabilizing force in the Indian Ocean.
Bibliography
http://bharat-rakshak.com/
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/
http://alfa.nic.in/govt.htm
http://alfa.nic.in/
http://yahooligans.com/reference/factbook/in/govern.html
www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm
|
