Challenges of National Integration

National integration has been a very serious and prominent challenge in all the developing countries including India. For a proper analysis of the concept of national integration it is necessary to know the meaning of certain concepts. The first and foremost concept is the term integration itself which may be defined as “a process of becoming whole.”  In other words, “an integrated whole is one in which all structural aspects and parts, fit together with at least some minimal amount of unity or mutual compatibility.”  Furthermore, “integration is the name for the state of relationship between parts of the system.”  It “has to do with the interrelations of units.”  Thus, “an integrated society is one in which established institutions and rights and values associated with them are generally accepted.”  These definitions generally present the static character of integration with its main focus at maintenance of the system. But in reality while concerned with the process of becoming whole, integration is also directed towards an orderly change within the system.

Various Challenges to National Integration are:-

The term national integration tends to be obscure in the light of varying definitions of nation and nationalism. The minimum requisite for nationhood is considered to be the people living in a compact geographical area with general cultural unity. They form a nation by accepting a particular political order and forming a state. Language, race, religion and history are additional factors which generally strengthen the bond of nationhood. According to J. P. Narayan  nationhood is made up of tangible and intangible elements, the latter constituting much the larger part of it.

The most essential tangible elements of nationhood are:

 

  1. A well-defined territory
  2. Political unity represented by a constitution, common citizenship and a government
  3. A workable medium of communication.

The intangible elements are:

  1. An attitude of mind which makes it natural and normal for every citizen to regard loyalty to the nation as being above sectional and group loyalties
  2. An attitude of mind which makes it natural and normal for every group and section of the nation to subordinate its interest to national interests;
  3. An attitude of mind which makes it natural and normal for the nation to think of the interests of every citizen and of every group and section of the nation.

Problem of National Integration in Post-Independence India

 

The main challenges to national integration in post-independence India are

linguism, communalism, casteism and regionalism.

 

  • Language

 

India is a multi-linguistic nation with several well developed languages

which are rich in grammar, expression and literature and have their own distinct

script. Multi-linguism is, therefore, one of the primordial facts of the Indian

polity.

 

Despite the acceptance of Hindi as the official language of the Republic by

the Constituent Assembly of India and its further recognition by the Hindi-

speaking states, the language issue has remained unsettled. In post-independence

India the language issue took a different turn. Now instead of the Hindi-Urdu

conflict what emerged was a conflict between Hindi and English on the one hand

and Hindi and regional languages on the other hand, particularly those spoken in

the South India like Tamil and Telugu. Till 1960, the language issue mainly

revolved round Hindi and English. So long as the memory of the freedom struggle

and its commitments were fresh in the minds of leaders of different parts of India,

there was no sharp public reaction or mass mobilisation against Hindi. The non-

Hindi speaking people were taking interest in Hindi, especially in the Hindustānī

form of Hindi, even in the pre-independence period. The leaders from non-Hindi

areas had been emotionally committed to replacing English by an Indian

language. Moreover, after independence, for three successive elections the

Congress party had won overwhelming majority in most of the states. Congress

leadership convinced the anxious non-Hindi speaking people and their leadership

that the promotion of Hindi would not take place at their cost.

 

 

To make a compromise between the supporters and the opponents of Hindi

the ‘Three Language Formula’ was accepted as a middle path. However, the issue

was finally settled by the Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1967, and it was

decided that English will continue to be the Associate Official Language of the

Union for all the non-Hindi states till the time they themselves opt for Hindi.

 

 

 

 

  • Religion

 

Religion is a very crucial factor as far as the national integration of India is

concerned. There are six major religious communities in India accounting for a

substantial population in the country as a whole.   Historically, religion has never

played a predominant role in the governance of the state in India. Whenever

attempts were made to introduce religion as a principle of administration, it failed.

 

Still, religion directly or indirectly, influences our politics to some extent and in

its accentuated form, it leads to communalism and violence and then poses a

serious threat to national integration.

 

 

 

  • Communalism

 

A sense of blind loyalty towards the community that may go to the extent of subordinating one’s higher loyalty to his or her nation or society as a whole. Instead of having an attitude towards a particular religion enlightened enough so as to circumvent any possible feeling of orthodoxy, it leads to the inculcation of wrong orientations that have their manifestation in the form of fanaticism or religious orthodoxy. As such, communalism refers to the attitude of the people and their groups when they “place their loyalty to the community above loyalty to the body politic to which they belong, or else when they develop active hostility towards communities

living within the same body politic.”

 

 

  • Regionalism

Regionalism is one issue that has apparently caused the greatest threat to

national integration.  Regionalism  is  defined  as  politicisation  of  regional

sentiment. To have a conceptual understanding of the term regionalism, let us first

see the meaning of the term region.

 

Region generally means a large tract of land, a more or less defined portion

of the earth’s surface specifically distinguished by certain natural features and

climatic conditions. The essential point is that a region is characterised, more than

anything else, by a widely shared sentiment of ‘togetherness’ in the people,

In  India the  most  important factor responsible for the  growth of

regionalism has been regional imbalance and regional disparity. The unequal

development of different regions of India owes its genesis to the colonial past.

The British did not have much interest in India’s development, least be said of

equal development of all the regions.

 

internalised from a wide variety of sources  and, what is more, a ‘separateness from others.’ The concept of regionalism draws sustenance from the factors of

geography, topography, religion, language, culture, economic life, customs,

political traditions and shared historical experiences. The term regionalism has its

wider and narrower connotations. In the former sense, it covers the case of a

movement directed against ‘centralism’; in the latter sense, it refers to the

attachment of the people with interests of a local significance and in that respect it

becomes analogous to localism or sectionalism

Judicial Review

The Judiciary plays a very important role as a protector of the constitutional values that the founding fathers have given us. They try to undo the harm that is being done by the legislature and the executive and also they try to provide every citizen what has been promised by the Constitution under the Directive Principles of State Policy. All this is possible thanks to the power of judicial review.

 

All this is not achieved in a day it took 50 long years for where we are right now, if one thinks that it is has been a roller coaster ride without any hindrances they are wrong judiciary has been facing the brunt of many politicians, technocrats, academicians, lawyers etc. Few of them being genuine concerns, and among one of them is the aspect of corruption and power of criminal contempt. In this paper I would try to highlight the ups and downs of this greatest institution in India.

 

 

 

The rule of law is the bedrock of democracy, and the primary responsibility for implementation of the rule of law lies with the judiciary.1 This is now a basic feature of every constitution, which cannot be altered even by the exercise of new powers from parliament. It is the significance of judicial review, to ensure that democracy is inclusive and that there is accountability of everyone who wields or exercises public power. As Edmund Burke said: “all persons in positions of power ought to be strongly and lawfully impressed with an idea that “they act in trust,” and must account for their conduct to one great master, to those in whom the political sovereignty rests, the people”.2

 

 

 

India opted for parliamentary form of democracy, where every section is involved in policy-making, and decision taking, so that every point of view is reflected and there is a fair representation of every section of the people in every such body. In this kind of inclusive democracy, the judiciary has a very important role to play. That is the concept of accountability in any republican democracy, and this basic theme has to be remembered by everybody exercising public power, irrespective of the extra expressed expositions in the constitution.3

 

 

 

The principle of judicial review became an essential feature of written Constitutions of many countries. Seervai in his book Constitutional Law of India noted that the principle of judicial review is a familiar feature of the Constitutions of Canada, Australia and India, though the doctrine of Separation of Powers has no place in strict sense in Indian Constitution, but the functions of different organs of the Government have been sufficiently differentiated, so that one organ of the Government could not usurp the functions of another.4

 

The power of judicial review has in itself the concept of separation of powers an essential component of the rule of law, which is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution. Every State action has to be tested on the anvil of rule of law and that exercise is performed, when occasion arises by the reason of a doubt raised in that behalf, by the courts. The power of Judicial Review is incorporated in Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution insofar as the High Courts are concerned. In regard to the Supreme Court Articles 32 and 136 of the Constitution, the judiciary in India has come to control by judicial review every aspect of governmental and public functions.5

 

 

 

Extent of Judicial Review in India:

 

The initial years of the Supreme Court of India saw the adoption of an approach characterised by caution and circumspection. Being steeped in the British tradition of limited judicial review, the Court generally adopted a pro-legislature stance. This is evident form the rulings such as A.K. Gopalan, but however it did not take long for judges to break their shackles and this led to a series of right to property cases in which the judiciary was loggerhead with the parliament. The nation witnessed a series of events where a decision of the Supreme Court was followed by a legislation nullifying its effect, followed by another decision reaffirming the earlier position, and so on. The struggle between the two wings of government continued on other issues such as the power of amending the Constitution.6 During this era, the Legislature sought to bring forth people-oriented socialist measures which when in conflict with fundamental rights were frustrated on the upholding of the fundamental rights of individuals by the Supreme Court. At the time, an effort was made to project the Supreme Court as being concerned only with the interests of propertied classes and being insensitive to the needs of the masses. Between 1950 and 1975, the Indian Supreme Court had held a mere one hundred Union and State laws, in whole or in part, to be unconstitutional.

 

After the period of emergency the judiciary was on the receiving end for having delivered a series of judgments which were perceived by many as being violative of the basic human rights of Indian citizens 7and changed the way it looked at the constitution. The Supreme Court said that any legislation is amenable to judicial review, be it momentous amendments8 to the Constitution or drawing up of schemes and bye-laws of municipal bodies which affect the life of a citizen9. Judicial review extends to every governmental or executive action – from high policy matters like the President’s power to issue a proclamation on failure of constitutional machinery in the States like in Bommai case, to the highly discretionary exercise of the prerogative of pardon like in Kehar Singh case  or the right to go abroad as in Satwant Singh case.Judicial review knows no bounds except the restraint of the judges themselves regarding justifiability of an issue in a particular case.

 

Judicial Review of Political Questions:

 

In the initial stages of the judicial adjudication Courts have said that where there is a political question involved it is not amenable to judicial review but slowly this changed, in Keshavananda Bharathi’s case,10 the Court held that, “it is difficult to see how the power of judicial review makes the judiciary supreme in any sense of the word. This power is of paramount importance in a federal constitution…. Judicial Review of constitutional amendments may seem involving the Court in political question, but it is the Court alone which can decide such an issue. The function of Interpretation of a Constitution being thus assigned to the judicial power the State, the question whether the subject of law is within the ambit of one or more powers of the legislature conferred by the constitution would always be a question of interpretation of the Constitution.”

 

Than it was in Special Courts Bill, 1978, In re, case where the majority opined that, “The policy of the Bill and the motive of the mover to ensure a speedy trial of persons holding high public or political office who are alleged to have committed certain crimes during the period of emergency may be political, but the question whether the bill or any provisions are constitutionally invalid is a not a question of a political nature and the court should not refrain from answering it.” What this meant was that though there are political questions involved the validity of any action or legislation can be challenged if it would violate the constitution. This position has been reiterated in many other cases11 and in S.R. Bommai’s case the Court held, “though subjective satisfaction of the President cannot be reviewed but the material on which satisfaction is based open to review…” the court further went on to say that, “The opinion which the President would form on the basis of Governor’s report or otherwise would be based on his political judgment and it is difficult to evolve judicially manageable norms for scrutinizing such political decisions. Therefore, by the very nature of things which would govern the decision-making under Article 356, it is difficult to hold that the decision of the president is justiciable. To do so would be entering the political thicker and questioning the political wisdom which the courts of law must avoid. The temptation to delve into the President’s satisfaction may be great but the courts would be well advised to resist the temptation for want of judicially manageable standards. Therefore, the Court cannot interdict the use of the constitutional power conferred on the President under Article 356 unless the same is shown to be male fide.”

 

As Soli Sorabjee points out, “there is genuine concern about misuse by the Centre of Article 356 on the pretext that the State Government is acting in defiance of the essential features of the Constitution. The real safeguard will be full judicial review extending to an inquiry into the truth and correctness of the basic facts relied upon in support of the action under Article 356 as indicated by Justices Sawant and Kuldip Singh. If in certain cases that entails evaluating the sufficiency of the material, so be it.”

 

What this meant was the judiciary was being cautious about the role it has to play while adjudicating matters of such importance and it is showing a path of restraint that has to be used while deciding such matters so that it does not usurp the powers given by the Constitution by way of the power of review at the same it is also minimizing the misusing of the power given under Article 356 to the President.

 

Judicial Review as a part of the Basic Structure:

 

In the celebrated case of Keshavanda Bharathi v. State of Kerela, the Supreme Court of India the propounded the basic structure doctrine according to which it said the legislature can amend the Constitution, but it should not change the basic structure of the Constitution, The Judges made no attempt to define the basic structure of the Constitution in clear terms. S.M. Sikri, C.J mentioned five basic features:

 

  1. Supremacy of the Constitution. 2. Republican and democratic form of Government. 3. Secular character of the Constitution. 4. Separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. 5. Federal character of the Constitution.

He observed that these basic features are easily discernible not only from the Preamble but also from the whole scheme of the Constitution. He added that the structure was built on the basic foundation of dignity and freedom of the individual which could not by any form of amendment be destroyed. It was also observed in that case that the above are only illustrative and not exhaustive of all the limitations on the power of amendment of the Constitution. The Constitutional bench in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975 Supp SCC 1.) held that Judicial Review in election disputes was not a compulsion as it is not a part of basic structure. In S.P. Sampath Kumar v. Union of India((1987) 1 SCC 124 at 128.), P.N. Bhagwati, C.J., relying on Minerva Mills Ltd. ((1980) 3 SCC 625.) declared that it was well settled that judicial review was a basic and essential feature of the Constitution. If the power of judicial review was absolutely taken away, the Constitution would cease to be what it was. In Sampath Kumar the Court further declared that if a law made under Article 323-A(1) were to exclude the jurisdiction of the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 without setting up an effective alternative institutional mechanism or arrangement for judicial review, it would be violative of the basic structure and hence outside the constituent power of Parliament.

 

In Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhur (1992 Supp (2) SCC 651, 715, para 120) another Constitution Bench, while examining the validity of para 7 of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution which excluded judicial review of the decision of the Speaker/Chairman on the question of disqualification of MLAs and MPs, observed that it was unnecessary to pronounce on the contention whether judicial review is a basic feature of the Constitution and para 7 of the Tenth Schedule violated such basic structure.

 

Subsequently, in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India ((1997) 3 SCC 261) a larger Bench of seven Judges unequivocally declared:

 

“that the power of judicial review over legislative action vested in the High Courts under Article 226 and in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution is an integral and essential feature of the Constitution, constituting part of its basic structure”.

 

Though one does not deny that power to review is very important, at the same time one cannot also give an absolute power to review and by recognizing judicial review as a part of basic feature of the constitution Courts in India have given a different meaning to the theory of Check’s and Balances this also meant that it has buried the concept of separation of powers, where the judiciary will give itself an unfettered jurisdiction to review any thing every thing that is done by the legislature.

 

Expansion of Judicial Review through Judicial Activism:

 

After the draconian exposition of power by the Executive and the Legislature during Emergency the expectations of the public soared high and the demands on the courts to improve the administration by giving appropriate directions for ensuring compliance with statutory and constitutional prescriptions. Likewise the judiciary has taken an activist view the Beginning with the Ratlam Municipality case 12the sweep of Social Action Litigation13 had encompassed a variety of causes14.

 

With the interpretation given by it in Menaka Gandhi case the Supreme Court brought the ambit of constitutional provisions to enforce the human rights of citizens and sought to bring the Indian law in conformity with the global trends in human-rights-jurisprudence. This was made possible in India, because of the procedural innovations with a view to making itself more accessible to disadvantaged sections of society giving rise to the phenomenon of Social Action Litigation/Public Interest Litigation15. During the Eighties and the first half of the Nineties, the Court have broken there shackle’s and moved much ahead from being a mere legal institution, its decisions have tremendous social, political and economic ramifications. Time and again, it has sought to interpret constitutional provisions and the objectives sought to be achieved by it and directed the executive to comply with its orders.

 

SAL, a manifestation of judicial activism, has introduced a new dimension regarding judiciary’s involvement in public administration16. The sanctity of locus standi and the procedural complexities are totally side-tracked in the causes brought before the courts through SAL. In the beginning, the application of SAL was confined only to improving the lot of the disadvantaged sections of the society who by reason of their poverty and ignorance were not in a position to seek justice from the courts and, therefore, any member of the public was permitted to maintain an application for appropriate directions17.

 

The new role of the Supreme Court has been criticised in some quarters as being violative of the doctrine of separation of powers; it is claimed that the Apex Court has, by formulating policy and issuing directions in respect of various aspects of the country’s administration, transgressed into the domain of the executive and the legislature. As Justice Cardozo puts it, “A Constitution states or ought to state not rules for the passing hour but principles for an expanding future.”18 It is with this view that innovations in the rules of standing have come into existence.

 

Limitation on the power of review:

 

The expansion of the horizon of judicial review is seen both with reverence and suspicion; reverence in as much as the judicial review is a creative element of interpretation, which serves as an omnipresent and potentially omnipotent check on the legislative and executive branches of government. But at the same time there is a danger that they may trespass into the powers given to the legislature and the executive.

 

One many say that if there is any limitation on judicial review other than constitutional and procedural19 that is a product of judicial self-restraint. As justice Dwivedi empathically observed, “Structural socio-political value choices involve a complex and complicated political process. This court is hardly fitted for performing that function. In the absence of any explicit Constitutional norms and for want of complete evidence, the court’s structural value choices will be largely subjective. Our personal predilections will unavoidably enter into the scale and give colour to our judgment. Subjectivism is calculated to undermine legal certainty, an essential element of rule of law.”20

 

The above observations also reveal another assumption to support an attitude of self-restraint, viz., the element subjectiveness in judicial decision on issues having socio-political significance. When one looks at the decisions of the Supreme Court on certain questions of fundamental issues of constitutional law one can see that there is a sharp division among the judges of the apex court on such basic questions of power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution, federal relations, powers of the President etc. This aptly demonstrates the observation of the judge. This would mean that though there has been expansion of powers of judicial review one cannot also say that this cannot be overturned.

 

Judicial self-restrain in relation to legislative power manifests itself in the form the there is a presumption of constitutionality when the validity of the statute is challenged. In the words of Fazl Ali, “…the presumption is always in favour of the constitutionality of an enactment, and the burden is upon him who attacks it to show that there has been a clear transgression of the constitutional principles”21

 

In applying the presumption of constitutionality the Courts sometimes apply an interpretational device called ‘reading down’. The essence of the device is that “if certain provisions of law construed in one way would make them consistent with the constitution, and another interpretation would render them unconstitutional, the court would lean in favour of the former construction.”22 But all this depends on the outlook and values of the judge.23

 

When it come judicial review of administrative action though the presumption of validity is not so strong in the case of administrative action as in the case of statutes. Still, when the legislature expressly leaves a matter to the discretion of an administrative authority the courts have adopted an attitude of restraint. They have said we cannot the question the legality of the exercise of discretionary power unless and until it is an abuse of discretionary power (which includes mala fide exercise of power, exercising the power for an improper motive, decision based on irrelevant considerations or in disregard of relevant consideration, and in some cases unreasonable exercise of power) and non-exercise of discretion ( which come when power is exercised without proper delegation and when it is acted under dictation).

 

The relevant considerations which should make the judicial choice in favour of activism or restraint are the policy and scheme of the statute, the object of conferring discretionary powers, the nature and scope of the discretion, and finally, the nature of the right and interests affected by the decision. Any impulsive move to activism without a serious consideration of these factors may only be viewed as undesirable. Judicial activism, being an exception, not the general rule, in relation to the control of discretionary power, needs strong reasons to justify it. In the absence of such strong support of reasons the interventionist strategy may provoke the other branches of Government may retaliate and impose further limitations on the scope of judicial review.

 

Conclusion:

 

Accountability is an essential part of the rule of law. It is essential for another reason, as in the earlier editions of Dicey,24 of course modified in later editions, referring to John Wilkes’s case,25 that “conferment of any discretion tends to arbitrariness and therefore there is something inconsistent with the rule of law.” But then, as time passed, it was realized that conferment of some discretion for the purpose of application to the facts of a given case is something you cannot do away with. The area of discretion should be the minimum possible, and set norms, standards or guidelines should regulate it, so that it does not tend to become arbitrary. Therefore, the rule of non-arbitrariness is something to be tested by the judiciary whenever the occasion arises.26

 

The growth of judicial review is the inevitable response of the judiciary to ensure proper check on the exercise of public power. Growing awareness of the rights in the people; the trend of judicial scrutiny of every significant governmental action and the readiness even of the executive to seek judicial determination of debatable or controversial issues, at times, may be, to avoid its accountability for the decision, have all resulted in the increasing significance of the role of the judiciary. There is a general perception that the judiciary in this country has been active in expansion of the field of judicial review into non-traditional areas, which earlier were considered beyond judicial purview.

 

The Judges have a duty to perform, which is even more onerous to keep the judicial ship afloat on even keel. It must avoid making any ad hoc decision without the foundation of a juristic principle, particularly, when the decision appears to break new grounds. The judgments must be logical, precise, clear, and sober, rendered with restraint in speech avoiding saying more than that, which is necessary in the case.27

 

It must always be remembered that a step taken in a new direction is fraught with the danger of being a likely step in a wrong direction. In order to be a path-breaking trend it must be a sure step in the right direction. Any step satisfying these requirements and setting a new trend to achieve justice can alone be a New Dimension of Justice and a true contribution to the growth and development of law meant to achieve the ideal of justice.

Federal Dynamics.

Federalism is a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government. Generally, an overarching national government governs issues that affect the entire country, and smaller subdivisions govern issues of local concern. Both the national government and the smaller political subdivisions have the power to make laws and both have a certain level of autonomy from each other.

 

A federation is traditionally constituted when two or more independent neighboring states forge a Union for defined purposes of common interest by divesting themselves of a measure of sovereignty which is vested with the federal government. “The urge for union comes from the need for collective security against aggression and economic co-ordination for protection and expansion of trade and commerce. The federation is given only enumerated powers, the sovereignty of the states in the Union remains otherwise unimpaired”.

 

“A Federation in USA is of this type. Alternatively, a federation is formed when a sovereign authority creates autonomous units and combines them in a Union.” Once constituted, the national and state governments possess co-ordinate authority derived from the several constitutions and enjoy supremacy in their respective spheres of authority and jurisdiction. Canadian federation belongs to this category. However, the differences between the two lie in the degree and extent of emphasis on unitary features.

 

Characteristic Features of Federalism are:-

 

(i) Supremacy of Constitution:-Supremacy of the Constitution is a doctrine where by the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and all the State organs including Parliament and State Legislatures are bound by it. They must act within the limits laid down by the Constitution. They owe their existence and powers to the Constitution and, therefore, their every action must have its support in the Constitution.

 

(ii) The distribution among bodies with limited and co-ordinate authority, of different powers of government;

 

(iii) The authority of the courts as interpreters of the Constitution;

 

(iv) Double citizenship is another characteristic of some of the Federation.

 

 

 

A unitary system on the other hand has the highest degree of centralization. In a unitary state, the central government holds all the power. Lower-level governments, if they exist at all, do nothing but implement the policies of the national government. In a purely unitary state, the same set of laws applies throughout the nation, without variation. Unitary states create national policy, which is then applied uniformly. This uniformity sometimes serves as an advantage because people and businesses know exactly what to expect from the laws, regardless of geographical location. At the same time, to maintain its uniformity, a unitary government must overlook local differences that might call for different rules or policies.

 

Example: Most absolute monarchies and tyrannies operate under unitary systems. But democratic unitary states exist as well. In France, for example, the central government makes virtually all of the decisions.

 

The Indian Federation is a federation of its own type. It does not fall into either of the two conventional categories. The British provinces though largely autonomous after the attainment of independence in 1947 did not possess the attributes of sovereignty. Their position was just like Canadian provinces. They could not therefore form a compact of their own for common purposes of supra-provincial importance.

 

Moreover, the Union was not brought into existence by the British before they relinquished power. The representatives of the Indian people assembled in a Constituent Assembly and decided on the structure of the Union. Hence, they provided for the distribution of authority and functions between the national and regional governments.

 

The Indian Constitution, no doubt, fulfills some conditions of a federation, but it leans towards a strong Centre, it is a stable union of states and provinces (now termed as states) which have neither lost their entities nor claim complete autonomy. Evidently it does not violate the essentials of a federal polity. However, our federal system has been adjusted to the needs of our country, which has been falling prey to the foreign invaders on account of it being a house divided against itself.

 

Unitary nature of Indian constitution:

 

On the other hand the Indian constitution also incorporates many features of a unitary state. The unitary features of Indian constitution is given below:

 

  • It provides for single citizenship an integrated judiciary, dominance of bureaucracy, uniformity at the top levels, and above all gives greater powers to the union Government.
  • The Indian constitution sets up a very powerful union Government. A review of the division of powers in the Indian constitution clearly shows strong bias in favor of the union Government and several limitations on the autonomy of state Governments. For example, during the proclamation of a national emergency the union government can legislate on the subjects in the state list and can control the executive powers of the state government.
  • It is not only during an emergency that the Indian constitution becomes unitary in character. Even in its normal working, the union Parliament can reorganize the states or alter the boundaries by a simple majority vote, even without the consent of the legislature of the state so affected.
  • In case there is a conflict between a union law and a state law, the union law will prevail.
  • The state governors are appointed by the President.
  • State governments don’t have separate constitution of their own. They derive their powers from the same constitution, i.e., the Constitution of India.
  • There is a single judicial system in India. The highest judicial forum is the Supreme Court. The high courts and other lower courts are sub-ordinate to Supreme Court.

Parliamentary Form of Government

Parliamentary form of Government is the system of government in which there exists an intimate and harmonious relationship between the executive and the legislative departments, and the stability and efficacy of the executive department depend on the legislature.Its a system of government in which the power to make and execute laws is held by a parliament.

Although the parliamentary government is broadly defined in the above way, in such a system the supremacy of the legislature has now been replaced by the supremacy of the Cabinet. Hence, such form of government is also called Cabinet Government.

In a Parliamentary form of government, the head of the state is usually a different person than the head of the government. A Monarch or a President is usually the head of the state. However, he or she is the head of state, but not the head of government. The functions of the head of the state is chiefly formal or ceremonial. The council of ministers or the cabinet exercises the real executive powers and authority to run the Government. In many countries, the Prime Minister is the the head of the council of ministers.

The Parliamentary or the Cabinet system originated in England. This form of government exists in countries like Britain, India and Canada. This Parliamentary form of government is also called Responsible government.

Features

 

The features of Parliamentary form of Government has been discussed below:

 

  1. Existence of a Titular or Constitutional Ruler: The first characteristic feature of the parliamentary system is the existence of a Titular of Constitutional Ruler. Legally the administration of all the affairs of the state is conducted by the head of the state. In reality, however, the administration is carried by the Council of Ministers. The Monarch or the President, as the case may be, is the head of the state, but not the head of the government.

 

  1. Absence of Separation of Powers: In the parliamentary system the principle of separation of powers is not adopted. Here the three departments of government work in close, intimate contact, sharing some of the powers and functions of one another.

 

  1. Main Role of the Lower House in Ministry-formation: In the parliamentary government the lower house of the legislature, i.e., the popular chamber plays a vital role in the formation of the ministry. The leader of the party or alliance which wins the majority in this house is appointed the Prime Minister or Chancellor. The constitutional ruler appoints the other members of the ministry on his advice.

 

  1. Responsibility to the Legislature: In such a system the Cabinet or Ministry has to remain responsible to the legislature for all its activities and policies. In countries having bi-cameral legislatures, the Cabinet remains responsible to the lower house composed of the people’s representatives.

 

  1. Collective Responsibility: The ministerial responsibility to the legislature may again be of two kinds:

 

Individual responsibility, andCollective responsibility.

Individual responsibility means that the minister in charge of a department must be answerable for the activities of his department. But when the ministers remain jointly or collectively responsible to the legislature for the policies and activities of the government, it is called ‘collective responsibility’. Since no individual minister can unilaterally perform any business of government without the consent of the Cabinet, the entire Ministry or Cabinet has to remain accountable for the errors of the minister concerned.

 

  1. Intimate relationship between the Legislature and the Executive: In the parliamentary system an intimate relationship exists between the executive and the legislative departments. So they can easily control each other. The leaders of the majority party or alliance in the legislature become the members of the Cabinet or Ministry. Naturally, the ministers can easily extend their influence on the legislature. Consequently, the programs and policies of the Cabinet are backed by a majority inside the legislature.

 

  1. Leadership of the Prime Minister: The leadership of the Prime Minister is another major feature of the parliamentary system. The leader of the majority party in the legislature becomes the Prime Minister. Though, in theory, he is ‘primus inter pares’, i.e. ‘first among equals’, in reality, he possesses much greater power and status than the other ministers. As the undisputed leader of the majority party or alliance in the legislature he plays the most vital role in the determination and execution of government policies. Indeed, the success of parliamentary democracy depends, to a great extent, on the personality, efficiency and charisma of the Prime Minister.

 

  1. Existence of a Strong Opposition: The existence of one or more strong and well-organized opposition party or parties is the hall-mark of the parliamentary system. By criticizing the errors of the government, the opposition can compel it to adopt welfare measures and prevent it from becoming despotic. Judged from this angle, the opposition can be called the life-force of parliamentary democracy.

 

  1. Cabinet Dictatorship: In the parliamentary system of government the cabinet has to perform manifold functions.

 

It is the Cabinet which:

 

formulates well-considered policies of the Government after reviewing both the national and international issues,takes necessary, arrangements for passing laws to implement the policies formulated by it,determines the matters to be included in the agenda of the central legislature,controls and directs the administrative departments so that laws, Government orders, etc. are to be implemented properly,co-ordinates the activities of different departments of the Government,prepares the draft budget in consultation with the Prime Minister and takes necessary initiative to get it passed in the legislature,formulates economic policies and takes necessary steps for implementing the same,advice’s the constitutional head to take necessary action during emergency or unforeseen situation, etc.In this way the Cabinet acts as ‘the keystone of the political arch’ or has become the ‘steering wheel of the ship of the state’. In fact, in the parliamentary system of government as the cabinet members are the leaders of the majoity party or alliance in the legislature. Some critics think that the Parliament is controlled by the Cabinet under the leadership of the Prime Minister giving rise to some sort of “Cabinet dictatorship”.

 

Advantages :

 

The Parliamentary form of Government offers a lot of: advantages. The close cooperation between the executive and the legislative organs leades to smooth functioning of government and avoids unnecessary confrontation between them. These two organs work as mutually complementary to each other.

 

The responsibility of the government ensures an open administration. The executive, conscious of its responsibility to remain responsible for all its actions and to answer the question of the legislature relating to administration to their satisfaction always tries to remain alert, because this influences its electoral prospects. The more the mistake the less the chance of popular support in the election.

 

The system is flexible. Flexibility is an asset in any system as it provides room for adjustment. The parliamentary form of government is highly adaptive to changing situation. For example in times of grave emergency the leadership can be changed without any hassles, to tackle the situations as it happened during II World War in England. Mr. Chamberlain made way for Mr. Winston Churchil to handle the war. Even the election can be deferred till normalcy is restored. Such flexibility in the system does not exist in Presidential form of government which is highly rigid.

 

Under this system it is easier to locate responsibility for the lapses in administration. There is a vast body of civil servants who constitute the permanent executive. In fact they help the political masters to formulate policies of administration and their implementation. But it is the political leadership or the cabinet who takes the responsibility for everything in administration. Therefore it is said that the bureaucracy thrives under the cloak of ministerial responsibility.

 

A great merit of the system, as painted by Lord Bryce, if its swiftness in decision making. The executive can take any decision and quickly implement that without any hindrance. Since the party in power enjoys majority support in the legislature it can act freely without the fear of being let down.

 

Disadvantages:

 

However no system is completely foolproof. Advantages and disadvantages are part of any system irrespective of its soundness. Under this system the liberty of the people are at a stake as the executive and legislative organs of the government work in close collaboration. This greatly affects the principle of separation of powers. In view of the legislative support and the formidable power at its disposal the cabinet virtually becomes dictatorial. It becomes whimsical in exercising its power without caring for liberty of the people.

 

Politicization of administration is another demerit of the system. Political consideration in policy formulation and implementation outweigh popular interest. In other words people’s interest suffers at the cost of political considerations. The leadership of the party by virtue of powers it enjoys mobilizes the administration to strengthen the party prospects in the election.

 

The same can be said of the opposition parties who oppose the party in power for political considerations. They hardly show interest in the activities of the government and offer constructive criticism.

 

Prof. Dicey points out another serious lacuna in the system. According to him the executive under a parliamentary system fails to take quick decision at the time of any crisis or war. The members of the cabinet always are not unanimous on all problems. The Prime Minister discusses with his colleagues in the cabinet and ultimately prevails over them to take unanimous decision. This is different from the Presidential system where he takes the decision himself and implements that.

 

This system is unsuitable in countries with more than two parties. Usually in a multi party system the electorate fail to support a particular party in the election as a result of that there is hardly any party which gets majority votes. This leads to instability, chaos and confusion in selecting a party or a leader to form the government. As we observe the large number of political parties in India have contributed to political instability. Countries like Great Britain do not demonstrate such state of affairs as dual party system is the true basis of parliamentary democracy.

 

A criticism leveled against the Parliamentary system is that the government is run by the novice, ‘without any administrative training, skill or background. They are elected from social field and therefore depend heavily on the civil servants for formulation and implementation of policies. The bureaucrats under the system assume greater authority and consolidate their own position to use their political masters as mere tools.

Our constitution provides for parliamentary form of government. We have borrowed the constitutional features of several democratic countries. But our parliamentary model is predominantly based on the British system. The Head of Government in our system, the Prime Minister, can hold office only so long as he commands the confidence  of  the  Lok  Sabha.  Confidence  of  the  House  is  reflected  in existence/continuance of majority support – whether it be of a single party or of a coalition of parties. This feature can, and does, cause instability in governance. In Presidential democracies, the Head of Government, the President is directly elected by the people and cannot be removed from office except in circumstances of high crimes  and  misdemeanour  established  through  impeachment  process.  Hence, Presidential democracies provide stable governance. In our parliamentary system, we have had changes of government through mid term elections or political realignments. Changes in government undoubtedly bring about disruptions in implementation of policies, development programmes and schemes.

 

 

Determinants and Nature of Indian Politics, Election and Voting Behavior, Coalition Governments.

Determinants and Nature of Indian Politics

In a multilingual,multi cultural democratic set up like India,voting behaviour is dictated by a plethora of complex issues.From time and again it has been proved that political parties in India can not rely upon any particular factor to win the trust and confidence of the voters.Such is the complex nature of the voting behavior that even the best of the psephologists or social scientists or even genius politicians failed to read public psychology on numerous occasions.

determinants of the voting behaviour in India:

 

  • Race: Sometimes and in some regions, yet race plays a role like in North Eastern states, it will be very tough to get elected by any south Indian and so is the case with south India also.
  • Religion: It is as fact that religion plays a important role especially where both the followers Hindus and Muslims are situated in a constituency. This gave a support to Religion based parties. Though in a secular state like India, it must not be used.
  • Casteism : This is the biggest determinants of the voting behaviour for the past five decades in India. This is the most ancient and widely used factor. Parties give tickets to the candidate of a caste which has the majority in the constituencies.
  • Regionalism: After 1990s it is getting more and more importance. Demanding separate region, promoting region specific interest, claiming representation to end exploitation etc. are the main emerging causes from regionalism.
  • Language: Language does not play a big role but at national level but it is deciding factor at state level politics
  • Charismatic Leaders: Leaders like J. L. Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jai Prakash Narayan, attract a number of voters due to their personal influence of behaviour, look, style, and ideology.
  • Ideology: Some political ideologies play a deciding factor like democrats, socialism and communism.
  • Development: Development factor is practised in developed democracy. It is a sign of old and smooth running democratic system. It is expected that this is the main and desirable factor that should play a big role in determining the voting behaviour.
  • Incidences: Some important and sudden events and incidences can change the equations in politics.
  • Cadre: Some of the voters are emotionally attached to the political parties and they vote in the name of the party only.
  • Individuals: The ability and speciality and of course popularity of the individuals as the candidate also influence the voters.

Election System

Introduction

 

India is a constitutional democracy with a parliamentary system of government, and at the heart of the system is a commitment to hold regular, free and fair elections. These elections determine the composition of the government, the membership of the two houses of parliament, the state and union territory legislative assemblies, and the Presidency and vice-presidency.

 

Elections are conducted according to the constitutional provisions, supplemented by laws made by Parliament. The major laws are Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mainly deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which deals, in detail, with all aspects of conduct of elections and post election disputes. The Supreme Court of India has held that where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provision to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the residuary powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner.

 

Indian Elections -Scale of Operation

 

Elections in India are events involving political mobilisation and organisational complexity on an amazing scale. In the 2004 election to Lok Sabha there were 1351 candidates from 6 National parties, 801 candidates from 36 State parties, 898 candidates fromofficially recognised parties and 2385 Independent candidates. A total number of 38,99,48,330 people voted out of total electorate size of 67,14,87,930. The Election Commission employed almost 4 million people to run the election. A vast number of civilian police and security forces were deployed to ensure that the elections were carried out peacefully.

 

Conduct of General Elections in India for electing a new Lower House of Parliament (Lok Sabha) involves management of the largest event in the world. The electorate exceeds 670 million electors in about 700000 polling stations spread across widely varying geographic and climatic zones. Polling stations are located in the snow-clad mountains in the Himalayas, the deserts of the Rajasthan and in sparsely populated islands in the Indian Ocean.

 

Constituencies & Reservation of Seats

 

The country has been divided into 543 Parliamentary Constituencies, each of which returns one MP to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament. The size and shape of the parliamentary constituencies are determined by an independent Delimitation Commission, which aims to create constituencies which have roughly the same population, subject to geographical considerations and the boundaries of the states and administrative areas.

 

 

 

How Constituency Boundaries are drawn up

 

Delimitation is the redrawing of the boundaries of parliamentary or assembly constituencies to make sure that there are, as near as practicable, the same number of people in each constituency. In India boundaries are meant to be examined after the ten-yearly census to reflect changes in population, for which Parliament by law establishes an independent Delimitation Commission, made up of the Chief Election Commissioner and two judges or ex-judges from the Supreme Court or High Court. However, under a constitutional amendment of 1976, delimitation was suspended until after the census of 2001, ostensibly so that states’ family-planning programs would not affect their political representation in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas. This has led to wide discrepancies in the size of constituencies, with the largest having over 25,00,000 electors, and the smallest less than 50,000.Delimitation exercise, with 2001 census data released on 31st December 2003, is now under process.

 

Reservation of Seats

 

The Constitution puts a limit on the size of the Lok Sabha of 550 elected members, apart from two members who can be nominated by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian community. There are also provisions to ensure the representation of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, with reserved constituencies where only candidates from these communities can stand for election.

 

System of Election

 

Elections to the Lok Sabha are carried out using a first-past-the-post electoral system. The country is split up into separate geographical areas, known as constituencies, and the electors can cast one vote each for a candidate (although most candidates stand as independents, most successful candidates stand as members of political parties), the winner being the candidate who gets the maximum votes.

 

 

 

Parliament

 

The Parliament of the Union consists of the President, the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The President is the head of state, and he appoints the Prime Minister, who runs the government, according to the political composition of the Lok Sabha. Although the government is headed by a Prime Minister, the Cabinet is the central decision making body of the government. Members of more than one party can make up a government, and although the governing parties may be a minority in the Lok Sabha, they can only govern as long as they have the confidence of a majority of MPs, the members of the Lok Sabha. As well as being the body, which determines whom, makes up the government, the Lok Sabha is the main legislative body, along with the Rajya Sabha.

 

Rajya Sabha – The Council of States

 

The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly, rather than by the citizens at large. Rajya Sabha members are elected by each state Vidhan Sabha using the single transferable vote system. Unlike most federal systems, the number of members returned by each state is roughly in proportion to their population. At present there are 233 members of the Rajya Sabha elected by the Vidhan Sabhas, and there are also twelve members nominated by the President as representatives of literature, science, art and social services. Rajya Sabha members can serve for six years, and elections are staggered, with one third of the assembly being elected every 2 years.

 

Nominated members

 

The president can nominate 2 members of the Lok Sabha if it is felt that the representation of the Anglo-Indian community is inadequate, and 12 members of the Rajya Sabha, to represent literature, science, art and the social services.

 

 

 

State Assemblies

 

India is a federal country, and the Constitution gives the states and union territories significant control over their own government. The Vidhan Sabhas (legislative assemblies) are directly elected bodies set up to carrying out the administration of the government in the 28 States of India. In some states there is a bicameral organisation of legislatures, with both an upper and Lower House. Two of the seven Union Territories viz., the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Pondicherry, have also legislative assemblies.

 

Elections to the Vidhan Sabhas are carried out in the same manner as for the Lok Sabha election, with the states and union territories divided into single-member constituencies, and the first-past-the-post electoral system used. The assemblies range in size, according to population. The largest Vidhan Sabha is for Uttar Pradesh, with 403 members; the smallest Pondicherry, with 30 members.

 

 

 

President and Vice-President

 

The President is elected by the elected members of the Vidhan Sabhas, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha, and serves for a period of 5 years (although they can stand for re-election). A formula is used to allocate votes so there is a balance between the population of each state and the number of votes assembly members from a state can cast, and to give an equal balance between State Assembly members and National Parliament members. If no candidate receives a majority of votes there is a system by which losing candidates are eliminated from the contest and votes for them transferred to other candidates, until one gain a majority. The Vice President is elected by a direct vote of all members elected and nominated, of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

 

Who can vote?

 

The democratic system in India is based on the principle of universal adult suffrage; that any citizen over the age of 18 can vote in an election (before 1989 the age limit was 21). The right to vote is irrespective of caste, creed, religion or gender. Those who are deemed unsound of mind, and people convicted of certain criminal offences are not allowed to vote.

 

The Electoral Roll

 

The electoral roll is a list of all people in the constituency who are registered to vote in Indian Elections. Only those people with their names on the electoral roll are allowed to vote. The electoral roll is normally revised every year to add the names of those who are to turn 18 on the 1st January of that year or have moved into a constituency and to remove the names of those who have died or moved out of a constituency. If you are eligible to vote and are not on the electoral roll, you can apply to the Electoral Registration Officer of the constituency, who will update the register. The updating of the Electoral Roll only stops during an election campaign, after the nominations for candidates have closed.

 

Computerisation of Rolls

 

In 1998 the Commission took a historic decision to computerise the entire electoral rolls of 620 million voters. This work has been completed and now well printed electoral rolls are available. The photo identity card number of the voter has also been printed in the electoral rolls, for cross linking. The printed electoral rolls as well as CDs containing these rolls are available for sale to general public. National and State parties are provided these free of cost after every revision of electoral rolls. Entire country’s rolls are also available on this website.

 

Electors’ Photo Identity Cards (EPIC)

 

In an attempt to improve the accuracy of the electoral roll and prevent electoral fraud, the Election Commission ordered the making ofphoto identity cards for allvoters in the country in Aug, 1993. To take advantage of latest technological innovations, the Commission issued revised guidelines for EPIC Program in May 2000. More than 450 million Identity cards has been distributed till now.

 

Voter Education

 

Voters’ Participation in the democratic and electoral processes is integral to the successful running of any democracy and the very basis of wholesome democratic elections. Recognising this, Election Commission of India, in 2009, formally adopted Voter Education and Electoral participation as an integral part of its election management.

 

 

 

When do elections take place?

 

Elections for the Lok Sabha and every State Legislative Assembly have to take place every five years, unless called earlier. The President can dissolve Lok Sabha and call a general election before five years is up, if the government can no longer command the confidence of the Lok Sabha, and if there is no alternative government available to take over.

 

Governments have found it increasingly difficult to stay in power for the full term of a Lok Sabha in recent times, and so elections have often been held before the five-year limit has been reached. A constitutional amendment passed in 1975, as part of the government declared emergency, postponed the election due to be held in 1976. This amendment was later rescinded, and regular elections resumed in 1977.

 

Holding of regular elections can only be stopped by means of a constitutional amendment and in consultation with the Election Commission, and it is recognised that interruptions of regular elections are acceptable only in extraordinary circumstances.

 

Scheduling the Elections

 

When the five-year limit is up, or the legislature has been dissolved and new elections have been called, the Election Commission puts into effect the machinery for holding an election. The constitution states that there can be no longer than 6 months between the last session of the dissolved Lok Sabha and the recalling of the new House, so elections have to be concluded before then.

 

In a country as huge and diverse as India, finding a period when elections can be held throughout the country is not simple. The Election Commission, which decides the schedule for elections, has to take account of the weather – during winter constituencies may be snow-bound, and during the monsoon access to remote areas restricted -, the agricultural cycle – so that the planting or harvesting of crops is not disrupted, exam schedules – as schools are used as polling stations and teachers employed as election officials, and religious festivals and public holidays. On top of this there are the logistical difficulties that go with holding an election – sending out ballot boxes or EVMs, setting up polling booths, recruiting officials to oversee the elections.

 

The Commission normally announces the schedule of elections in a major Press Conference a few weeks before the formal process is set in motion. The Model Code of Conduct for guidance of candidates and Political Parties immediately comes into effect after such announcement. The formal process for the elections starts with the Notification or Notifications calling upon the electorate to elect Members of a House. As soon as Notifications are issued, Candidates can start filing their nominations in the constituencies from where they wish to contest. These are scrutinised by the Returning Officer of the constituency concerned after the last date for the same is over after about a week. The validly nominated candidates can withdraw from the contest within two days from the date of scrutiny. Contesting candidates get at least two weeks for political campaign before the actual date of poll. On account of the vast magnitude of operations and the massive size of the electorate, polling is held at least on three days for the national elections. A separate date for counting is fixed and the results declared for each constituency by the concerned Returning Officer. The Commission compiles the complete list of Members elected and issues an appropriate Notification for the due Constitution of the House. With this, the process of elections is complete and the President, in case of the Lok Sabha, and the Governors of the concerned States, in case of State Legislatures, can then convene their respective Houses to hold their sessions. The entire process takes between 5 to 8 weeks for the national elections, 4 to 5 weeks for separate elections only for Legislative Assemblies.

 

Who can stand for Election

 

Any Indian citizen who is registered as a voter and is over 25 years of age is allowed to contest elections to the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assemblies. For the Rajya Sabha the age limit is 30 years.

 

very candidate has to make a deposit of Rs. 10,000/- for Lok Sabha election and 5,000/- for Rajya Sabha or Vidhan Sabha elections, except for candidates from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who pay half of these amounts. The deposit is returned if the candidate receives more than one-sixth of the total number of valid votes polled in the constituency. Nominations must be supported at least by one registered elector of the constituency, in the case of a candidate sponsored by a registered Party and by ten registered electors from the constituency in the case of other candidates. Returning Officers, appointed by the Election Commission, are put in charge to receive nominations of candidates in each constituency, and oversee the formalities of the election.

 

In a number of seats in the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha, the candidates can only be from either one of the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes. The number of these reserved seats is meant to be approximately in proportion to the number of people from scheduled castes or scheduled tribes in each state. There are currently 79 seats reserved for the scheduled castes and 41 reserved for the scheduled tribes in the Lok Sabha.

 

 

 

Number of Candidates

 

The number of candidates contesting each election steadily increased. In the general election of 1952 the average number of candidates in each constituency was 3.8; by 1991 it had risen to 16.3, and in 1996 stood at 25.6. As it was far too easy for ‘frivolous’ candidates to stand for election, certain remedial measures were taken in August 1996, which included increasing the size of the deposit and making the number of people who have to nominate a candidate larger. The impact of such measures was quite considerable at the elections which were subsequently held.As a result, in 1998 Lok Sabha elections, the number of candidates came down to an average of 8.74 per constituency. In 1999 Lok Sabha elections, it was 8.6, and in 2004 it was 10.

 

Campaign

 

The campaign is the period when the political parties put forward their candidates and arguments with which they hope to persuade people to vote for their candidates and parties. Candidates are given a week to put forward their nominations. These are scrutinised by the Returning Officers and if not found to be in order can be rejected after a summary hearing. Validly nominated candidates can withdraw within two days after nominations have been scrutinised. The official campaign lasts at least two weeks from the drawing up of the list of nominated candidates, and officially ends 48 hours before polling closes.

 

During the election campaign the political parties and contesting candidates are expected to abide by a Model Code of Conduct evolved by the Election Commission on the basis of a consensus among political parties. The model Code lays down broad guidelines as to how the political parties and candidates should conduct themselves during the election campaign. It is intended to maintain the election campaign on healthy lines, avoid clashes and conflicts between political parties or their supporters and to ensure peace and order during the campaign period and thereafter, until the results are declared. The model code also prescribes guidelines for the ruling party either at the Centre or in the State to ensure that a level field in maintained and that no cause is given for any complaint that the ruling party has used its official position for the purposes of its election campaign.

 

Once an election has been called, parties issue manifestos detailing the programmes they wish to implement if elected to government, the strengths of their leaders, and the failures of opposing parties and their leaders. Slogans are used to popularise and identify parties and issues, and pamphlets and posters distributed to the electorate. Rallies and meetings where the candidates try to persuade, cajole and enthuse supporters, and denigrate opponents, are held throughout the constituencies. Personal appeals and promises of reform are made, with candidates travelling the length and breadth of the constituency to try to influence as many potential supporters as possible. Party symbols abound, printed on posters and placards.

 

Polling Days

 

Polling is normally held on a number of different days in different constituencies, to enable the security forces and those monitoring the election to keep law and order and ensure that voting during the election is fair.

 

 

 

Ballot Papers & Symbols

 

After nomination of candidates is complete, a list of competing candidates is prepared by the Returning Officer, and ballot papers are printed. Ballot papers are printed with the names of the candidates (in languages set by the Election Commission) and the symbols allotted to each of the candidates. Candidates of recognised Parties are allotted their Party symbols.

 

How the voting takes place

 

Voting is by secret ballot. Polling stations are usually set up in public institutions, such as schools and community halls. To enable as many electors as possible to vote, the officials of the Election Commission try to ensure that there is a polling station within 2km of every voter, and that no polling stations should have to deal with more than 1500 voters. Each polling station is open for at least 8 hours on the day of the election.

 

On entering the polling station, the elector is checked against the Electoral Roll, and allocated a ballot paper. The elector votes by marking the ballot paper with a rubber stamp on or near the symbol of the candidate of his choice, inside a screened compartment in the polling station. The voter then folds the ballot paper and inserts it in a common ballot box which is kept in full view of the Presiding Officer and polling agents of the candidates. This marking system eliminates the possibility of ballot papers being surreptitiously taken out of the polling station or not being put in the ballot box.

 

Since 1998, the Commission has increasingly used Electronic Voting Machines instead of ballot boxes. In 2003, all state elections and bye elections were held using EVMs. Encouraged by this the Commission took a historic decision to use only EVMs for the Lok Sabha election due in 2004. More than 1 million EVMs were used in this election.

 

Political Parties and Elections

 

Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections usually stand as members of political parties, and opinion polls suggest that people tend to vote for a party rather than a particular candidate. Parties offer candidates organisational support, and by offering a broader election campaign, looking at the record of government and putting forward alternative proposals for government, help voters make a choice about how the government is run.

 

 

 

Registration with Election Commission

 

Political parties have to be registered with the Election Commission. The Commission determines whether the party is structured and committed to principles of democracy, secularism and socialism in accordance with the Indian Constitution and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Parties are expected to hold organisational elections and have a written constitution.

 

Recognition and Reservation of Symbols

 

According to certain criteria, set by the Election Commission regarding the length of political activity and success in elections, parties are categorised by the Commission as National or State parties, or simply declared registered-unrecognised parties. How a party is classified determines a party’s right to certain privileges, such as access to electoral rolls and provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television and radio stations – All India Radio and Doordarshan – and also the important question of the allocation of the party symbol. Party symbols enable illiterate voters to identify the candidate of the party they wish to vote for. National parties are given a symbol that is for their use only, throughout the country. State parties have the sole use of a symbol in the state in which they are recognised as such Registered-unrecognised parties can choose a symbol from a selection of ‘free’ symbols.

 

Limit on poll expenses

 

There are tight legal limits on the amount of money a candidate can spend during the election campaign. Since December 1997, in most Lok Sabha constituencies the limit was Rs 15,00,000/-, although in some States the limit is Rs 6,00,000/- (for Vidhan Sabha elections the highest limit is Rs 6,00,000/-, the lowest Rs 3,00,000/-). Recent amendment in October 2003 has increased these limits. For Lok Sabha seats in bigger states, it is now Rs 25,00,000. In other states and Union Territories, it varies between Rs 10,00,000 to Rs 25,00,000. Similarly, for Assembly seats, in bigger states, it is now Rs 10,00,000, while in other states and Union Territories, it varies between Rs 5,00,000 to Rs 10,00,000. Although supporters of a candidate can spend as much as they like to help out with a campaign, they have to get written permission of the candidate, and whilst parties are allowed to spend as much money on campaigns as they want, recent Supreme Court judgments have said that, unless a political party can specifically account for money spent during the campaign, it will consider any activities as being funded by the candidates and counting towards their election expenses. The accountability imposed on the candidates and parties has curtailed some of the more extravagant campaigning that was previously a part of Indian elections.

 

Free Campaign time on state owned electronic media

 

By Election Commission, all recognised National and State parties have been allowed free access to the state owned electronic media-AIR and Doordarshan- on an extensive scale for their campaigns during elections. The total free time allocated extends over 122 hours on the state owned Television and Radio channels. This is allocated equitably by combining a base limit and additional time linked to poll performance of the party in recent election.

 

 

 

Splits and mergers and anti-defection law

 

Splits, mergers and alliances have frequently disrupted the compositions of political parties. This has led to a number of disputes over which section of a divided party gets to keep the party symbol, and how to classify the resulting parties in terms of national and state parties. The Election Commission has to resolve these disputes, although its decisions can be challenged in the courts.

 

Election Petitions

 

Any elector or candidate can file an election petition if he or she thinks there has been malpractice during the election. An election petition is not an ordinary civil suit, but treated as a contest in which the whole constituency is involved. Election petitions are tried by the High Court of the State involved, and if upheld can even lead to the restaging of the election in that constituency.

 

Supervising Elections, Election Observers

 

The Election Commission appoints a large number of Observers to ensure that the campaign is conducted fairly, and that people are free to vote as they choose. Election expenditure Observers keeps a check on the amount that each candidate and party spends on the election.

 

Counting of Votes

 

After the polling has finished, the votes are counted under the supervision of Returning Officers and Observers appointed by the Election Commission. After the counting of votes is over, the Returning Officer declares the name of the candidate to whom the largest number of votes have been given as the winner, and as having been returned by the constituency to the concerned house.

 

Media Coverage

 

In order to bring as much transparency as possible to the electoral process, the media are encouraged and provided with facilities to cover the election, although subject to maintaining the secrecy of the vote. Media persons are given special passes to enter polling stations to cover the poll process and the counting halls during the actual counting of votes.

Voting Behaviour

Voting is one of the most commonly used terms in contemporary age of democratic politics. The ever increasing popularity of democratic theory and practices has even made this term a household name. In democratic systems, and their number is quite large and ever increasing, each adult citizen uses ‘voting’ as a means for expressing his approval or disapproval of governmental decisions, policies and programmers of various political parties and the qualities of the candidates who are engaged in the struggle to get the status of being the representatives of the people. The study of determinants of electoral behaviour constitutes a very significant area of empirical investigation. Man is a rational creature in the philosophical sense of term; he is not so rational in the realms of his economic or political behaviour. An empirical study of the determinants of electoral behaviour displays the astounding fact that the behaviour of man is influenced by several irrational factors and pressure groups in invoking religius and communal factors, influence of money or charismatic personality of a leader and host of other irrational forces have their definite influence on the minds of the voters. The main purpose of the present study is to focus attention on voting behaviour in India and to highlight the factors that determine the voting behaviour in India.

In India, studies on voting behaviour had been mainly undertaken under the auspices of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). Nowadays, however, such studies are done by many governmental institutions (e.g., Institutes of Developmental Studies) and private agencies such as ORG, Chanakya, etc.

It is generally held that in national/state elections only nearly half of the electorate bothers to vote. A large segment of voters do not vote. This fact is often noted and lamented. But there are social scientists like E.M. Lipset (1960) who argue that a low turnout of voters aids the democratic process.

It indicates that there is a general argument on social matters and that people are confident that the outcome of an election will not disturb. A high turnout (as in the case of elections held after emergency), in contrast, is viewed as indicating a high level of conflict that threatens social stability and a possible breakdown of the democratic process.

But other social scientists view this differently. They see the alienated voters as apathetic who do not find elections a solution to the problems that most concern them. For them the present party system offers too little choice, too little change from the status quo.

They feel that almost all parties are guided by their self-interests and not by the interests of common man. People, who are apathetic towards voting, feel they are without power. Directly or indirectly, this feeling is responsible for the low or decreased participation of the citizens in the elections.

The important determinants of voting are social class, occupation, race, ethnicity, age, gender etc. But, in India, generally, voters cast their vote on religion, caste or party lines. Party loyalty is based primarily on emotional basis.

Most people are not well informed about political issues and do not choose a party on the basis of political opinions. Rather they support a party for traditional or emotional reasons—perhaps because their families have always supported that party—and they are then guided by the party’s stand on the issues. In other words, voters are socialized by the political parties to view political issues in a certain way.

Since independence, not only the level of political awareness is constantly rising among all segments of population, the level of identification with political parties or leaders is also increasing. The other factors that play an important part in deciding voting behaviour in India are community, religion and money.

Coalition Government in India

Coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. Coalition governments are usually formed as no party can individually achieve a majority in the parliament. However, a coalition government may also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis. If a coalition collapses, a confidence vote is held or a motion of no confidence is taken.

The 1967 elections also initiated the dual era of short-lived coalition govemments and politics of defection. However, the elections broke Congress’s monopoly of power in the states. Congress was replaced not by a single party in any of the states but by a multiplicity of parties and groups and independents. Coalition governments were formed in all opposition-ruled states except in Tamil Nadu. In Punjab, Bihar and U.P., opposition governments included Swatantra, Jan Sangh, BKD, Socialists and CPI. Though CPM did not join these governments, it, too, actively supported them.

Congress too formed coalition governments in some of the states where it had been reduced to a minority, allying with independents and breakaway groups from the opposition parties. Except the DMK government in Tamil Naau and the Swatantra-led government in Orissa, the coalition governments in all the other states, whether formed by Congress or the opposition, proved to be highly unstable and could not stay in power for long. All the coalition governments suffered from constant tensions and internal strains because of the heterogeneity of the partners. These governments would get formed, break up as a result of changing loyalties of MLAs and then are re-formed again.

Parties, including Congress, would topple existing governments, change partners and form new governments. In between governments, a state would sometimes undergo a period of President’s Rule or even mid-term polls, which seldom changed the pattern of seats in the assembly. Thus, from the 1967 general elections to the end of 1970, Bihar had seven governments, U.P. four, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal three each and Kerala two governmental changes, with a total of eight spells of President’s Rule in the seven states.

The other important feature of the coalition governments of the period was the beginning of the politics of defection. Many of the governmental changes in the northern states were the result of defections or floor crossings by individual legislators, both party members and independents. Corrupt legislators indulged in horse-trading and freely changed sides, attracted mainly by lure of office or money. In Haryana, where the defection phenomenon was first initiated, defecting legislators began to be called Ay a Ram and Goya Ram (in-coming Ram and out-going Ram). Consequently, except in the case of the two Communist parties and Jan Sangh, party discipline tended to break down. Between 1967 and 1970, nearly 800 assembly members crossed the floor, and nearly 155 of them were rewarded with ministerial offices.

 

 

Significant Provisions

 

Emergency Provisions in the Constitution of India

The Emergency Provisions are mentioned from Article 352 to Article 360.

?      Article 352: Proclamation of Emergency – due to external intrusion or war the President of India can declare a state of emergency through a Proclamation. This Article suggests that such a Proclamation can be revoked or a varied Proclamation can also be issued. However, the decision of the Cabinet ministers to issue such a proclamation must be sent to the President in written form prior to his issuance of the same. According to the Article, all such Proclamations should be presented to both the Houses of the Parliament. The Proclamations, if not accepted by a resolution, will be counted as ineffective after one month. If the Proclamation is not accepted after the passing of a second resolution, then it will become ineffective after the expiry of 6 months of the second resolution. It is also mentioned in the Article that not less than two-thirds of the members of any of the Parliamentary Houses should be required to pass a resolution. There are certain rules specified in this Article regarding the President revoking or issuing a varied Proclamation during Emergency.

?      Article 353: Effect of Proclamation of Emergency – this Article states that the Proclamation of Emergency includes extending the executive power of the union to the states in the form of directions. The Parliament, as per this Article, can confer the power to make laws, upon the officers or authorities of the Union.

?      Article 354: Application of provisions relating to distribution of revenues while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation – provisions made under Articles 268 to 279 can be modified or exceptions can be made by the President of India by an Order while the Proclamation period of emergency is going on. Information about all such Orders must be conveyed to both the Houses of Parliament.

?      Article 355: Duty of the Union to protect States against external aggression and internal disturbance – this Article states the fact that the Union or Center is solely responsible for defending the various states from all types of violence and aggressions erupting from outside and disturbances occurring within the nation’s territory.

?      Article 356: Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in States – the President of India can take charge of a state if the reports submitted to him by the Governor suggest that the government of the state has become incapable of exercising the Constitutional powers. The President is also subjected to exercise the powers of the government of such state by Proclamation. The Proclamation issued under such circumstances become ineffective after 6 months from the date of issuance, if not revoked during this time period. All such Proclamations have to be presented to both the Houses of Indian Parliament and will expire after two months. The Legislative powers of such state shall also be exercised by the Parliament. In the Houses of Parliament there are certain rules and regulations regarding the expiry of the Proclamation and the time period normally depends upon the fact whether it has been revoked earlier or not.

?      Article 357: Exercise of legislative powers under Proclamation issued under article 356 – the powers of the Legislature shall be exercised by the Parliament during emergency. The Parliament has the right to delegate Legislative powers to the President of India or any such authority. The President of India, after the Proclamation of Article 356, can make laws and shall have access to the consolidated fund during the time period when the House of the People is not in operation.

?      Article 358: Suspension of provisions of article 19 during emergencies – any provision under Article 19 will not be effective during emergency and the states can make law and undertake executive action. However, only those laws and executive actions containing recital related to emergency during the Proclamation of Emergency are effective as per the Article.

?      Article 359: Suspension of the enforcement of the rights conferred by Part III during emergencies – the President of India can suspend all ongoing proceedings in any court of the nation during emergencies by an Order. The President can also call upon all pending court proceedings in case of emergencies. All such orders declaring the suspension of court proceedings have to be submitted to both the Houses of Parliament.

?      Article 360: Provisions as to financial emergency – a declaration shall be made by the President of India through a Proclamation regarding the financial crisis of the nation if such situation arises. Such a Proclamation can be revoked and has to be presented in both the Houses of the Parliament. The Proclamation thus issued will become null and void after two months if the same is not approved through a resolution passed by the Houses of Parliament. In case the Houses are not in session the Article suggests certain specific guidelines regarding the Proclamation. This Article also includes provisions relating to the salary and allowance reduction of those who are employed with Union and state departments. A provision relating to money bills and other financial bills passed by the state Legislature is mentioned in the Article. This provision states that all such bills have to be considered by the President during financial instability.

 

Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes

The Constitution of India has listed the special provisions relating to certain classes in Part XVI. From Article 330 to Article 342.

?      Article 330: Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People – this Article states that a certain number of seats should be reserved in the House of the People for both the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. However, clause b of the Article includes Schedule Tribes excluding those who live in the autonomous districts of Assam. Clause c of the Article includes the Schedule Tribes belonging to the autonomous Assam districts. It is also mentioned in this Article that the total number of such seats assigned to the Schedule Tribes of autonomous Assam districts should match the total number of seats allotted in the House of the People. The seats alloted to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes of a particular state or Union Territory should be proportional to the total number of seats reserved for such state or Union Territory in the house of the People.

?      Article 331: Representation of the Anglo-Indian Community in the House of the People – it is specified in this Article of the Indian Constitution that the President of India has the sole right to elect a maximum of 2 members belonging to the Anglo-Indian section to represent the entire community.

?      Article 332: Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the States – This Article of the Constitution states that a definite number of seats in every state’s Legislative Assembly should be alloted to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. The Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes of the autonomous districts of Assam are also given seats in the Legislative Assembly. It is also specified that a person not belonging to the Schedule Tribes category of Assam state cannot contest the Legislation Assembly election from any of the constituencies of the districts of the state. Also, all areas outside the periphery of the districts of Assam should not hold any constituency of the Legislative Assembly of the Assam state. The total seats alloted to the state Legislative Assembly of Assam should be in proportion of the total population and the share of the SC/ST in such population.

 

As per Article332, the number of seats alloted to the SC/STs of a state should follow a proportion to the total number of seats assigned in the Assembly as the total population of the SC/STs in that state with respect to the total state population.

In case of such states as Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, as per the Constitution Act 1987, if all the seats of the Legislative Assembly after the first census of 2000, belong to the Schedule Tribes, then only one seat shall be alloted to other communities. Also, the total number of seats alloted to the Schedule Tribes shall not be less than the existing number of seats in the Assembly of the state.

The Article suggests that the the total number of seats of Schedule Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of Tripura state should be proportional to the total number of existing seats in the Assembly. As per the Constitution Act 1992, the number of the Schedule Tribe members in the Legislative Assembly of Tripura shall not be less than the total number of seats already available in the Assembly.

 

?      Article 333: Representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the Legislative Assemblies of the States – according to this Article of the Constitution of India if the Governor of any state thinks it necessary to elect one representative of the Anglo-Indian community for the Legislative Assembly of that state then he can do the same. Also, if the governor feels that Anglo-Indian community does not have sufficient representation in the state Legislative Assembly then also he can elect one member of that community for the Assembly.

?      Article 334: Reservation of seats and special representation to cease after 289A – This Article holds the fact that after 60 years of the enactment of the Indian Constitution, certain provisions shall become ineffective. However, it is also specified that the Article will not be applied until and unless the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly gets dissolved because of some significant reason. The Provisions with which this Article deals with include reserving seats for Anglo-Indian community, Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in the House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly.

?      Article 335: Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts – The Article states that the various claims of the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes shall be regarded accordingly. Relaxation of age, lower cut off marks and easier parameters of evaluation for the purpose of selecting SC/ST candidates to different posts and services will remain intact irrespective of the provisions mentioned in this Article.

?      Article 336: Special provision for Anglo-Indian community in certain services – as per this Article, for such posts of Union as postal and telegraph, customs and railway, the members of the Anglo-Indian community will be selected, for the first two years of the initiation of the Constitution, following the rules prevailing before 15th August, 1947. It is also specified that in every two years the total number of seats allotted to the Anglo-Indian community in different services and posts will go down by 10%. The Article states that these provisions will become ineffective after 10 years of the enactment of the Indian Constitution. However, clause 2 of this Article clearly mentions that if a candidate of the concerned community is eligible for any post other than the ones mentioned above then he will be selected with immediate effect.

?      Article 337: Special provision with respect to educational grants for the benefit of Anglo-Indian community – the provisions of this Article deal with the fact that grants to the Anglo-Indian community shall be offered in the first three years of the enactment of the Constitution following the same rules made on 31st March 1948. It is also stated that the amount of such grants will reduce by 10% in every three succeeding years. It is mentioned that after 10 years of the initiation of the Constitution of India all such grants will cease to exist. Moreover, the Article states that only when at least 40% of the admissions in educational units belong to communities other than Anglo-Indians, such grants will be offered to the said community.

?      Article 338: National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes – This Article covers the issues to be dealt with by the said Commission exclusively made for the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. As per the Constitution of India, the Article holds that the Commission should include a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other members all of whom are elected by the President of India. The Commission, according to the Article, has the power to investigate all matters that are related to the safeguard of the Sc/STs. The commission can also exercise its power by summoning any person from any part of the nation to interrogate him regarding a particular issue of the SC/STs. The Commission shall also take necessary measures to improve the socio-economic status of the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. A report specifying whether the safeguards of the ST/SCs are maintained properly shall be submitted to the President of India every year by the Commission.

?      Article 339: Control of the Union over the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled Tribes – the Article suggests that a Commission specifying the administration of Scheduled Areas and Welfare of Scheduled Tribes shall be formed by Order of the President after 10 years of the Indian Constitution’s enactment. The various procedures and powers of the commission are to be included in the said Order. Planning and execution of various schemes pertaining to the development of the Schedule Tribes included in the executive power of the Union is also mentioned in the Article.

?      Article 340: Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes – this Article specifies that the President of India can form a Commission by Order that will look into the overall condition of the people belonging to the backward classes. This Commission is also supposed to recommend any state or union the necessary steps through which the underprivileged classes can improve their social and economic status. On the basis of the investigation done, the Commission shall submit a report to the President of India. The President, in turn, shall present such report with a memorandum to both of the Houses of the Indian Parliament and will prescribe the necessary steps to be taken to develop the condition of the backward classes.

?      Article 341: Scheduled Castes – this Article states that the President of India after taking the advice of the Governor of any state or Union Territory, has the right to demarcate tribes, races or castes or a part of any group as Scheduled Castes, in accordance with the law of the Constitution. The president can do the same by issuing a public notification. However, the Parliament of India can, by law, accept or reject the list containing the Scheduled Caste groups.

?      Article 342: Scheduled Tribe – a group belonging to a tribe or an entire tribal community of a state or an Union Territory can be declared as Scheduled Tribe by the President of India through issuing a public notice. The President consults with the Governor of the concerned state or Union Territory before specifying a tribe as Scheduled Tribe. The Parliament of India can decide upon canceling or keeping the particular ST in the list of Scheduled Tribes. However, the public notification issued for declaration of the Scheduled Tribe can be saved by the Parliament.

 

Other provisions

 

Article 369 {Temporary power to Parliament to make laws with respect to certain matters in the State List as if they were matters in the Concurrent List}

Article 370 {Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir}

Article 371 {Special provision with respect to the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat}

Article 371A {Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland}

Article 371B {Special provision with respect to the State of Assam}

Article 371C {Special provision with respect to the State of Manipur}

Article 371D {Special provisions with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh}

Article 371E {Establishment of Central University in Andhra Pradesh}

Article 371F {Special provisions with respect to the State of Sikkim}

Article 371G {Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram}

Article 371H {Special provision with respect to the State of Arunachal Pradesh}

Article 371I {Special provision with respect to the State of Goa}

Article 372 {Continuance in force of existing laws and their adaptation}

Article 372A {Power of the President to adapt laws}

Article 373 {Power of President to make order in respect of persons under preventive detention in certain cases}

Article 374 {Provisions as to Judges of the Federal Court and proceedings pending in the Federal Court or before His Majesty in Council}

Article 375 {Courts, authorities and officers to continue to function subject to the provisions of the Constitution}

Article 376 {Provisions as to Judges of High Courts}

Article 377 {Provisions as to Comptroller and Auditor-General of India}

Article 378 {Provisions as to Public Commissions}

Article 378A {Special provisions as to duration of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly}

Basic Structure

 

 

 

 

 

The basic structure doctrine is an Indian judicial principle that the Constitution of India has certain basic features that cannot be altered or destroyed through amendments by the parliament. Key among these “basic features”, are the fundamental rights granted to individuals by the constitution. The doctrine thus forms the basis of a limited power of the Indian Supreme Court to review and strike down constitutional amendments enacted by the parliament which conflict with or seek to alter this “basic structure” of the constitution.

In 1965, The “basic features” principle was first expounded by Justice J.R. Mudholkar in his dissent in the case of Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan.

In 1973, the basic structure doctrine triumphed in Justice Hans Raj Khanna’s judgment in the landmark decision of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala. Previously, the Supreme Court had held that the power of parliament to amend the constitution was unfettered. However, in this landmark ruling, the court adjudicated that while parliament has “wide” powers, it did not have the power to destroy or emasculate the basic elements or fundamental features of the constitution.

In 1975, Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain, a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court used the basic structure doctrine to strike down the 39th amendment and paved the way for restoration of Indian democracy.

In 1980, The Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act had been enacted by the government of Indira Gandhi in response to the Kesavananda judgment in an effort to reduce the power of the judicial review of constitutional amendments by the Supreme Court. In the Minerva Mills case, Nani Palkhivala successfully moved the Supreme Court to declare sections 4 & 55 of the 42nd amendment as unconstitutional. Chief Justice Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud explained in the Minerva Mills judgment that since the power of Parliament to amend the constitution was limited, as had been previously held through the basic structure doctrine in the Kesavananda case, the parliament could not by amending the constitution convert this limited power into an unlimited power (as it had purported to do by the 42nd amendment). In addition, the court also ruled that the parliament’s “power to amend is not a power to destroy”.

The basic structure doctrine applies only to constitutional amendments. It does not apply to ordinary acts of parliament, which must itself be in conformity with the constitution.

In Kesavananda there were differing opinions even among the majority for what the “basic structure” of the constitution comprised.

Chief Justice Sikri, writing for the majority, indicated that the basic structure consists of the following:

  • The supremacy of the constitution.
  • A republican and democratic form of government.
  • The secular character of the Constitution.
  • Maintenance of the separation of powers.
  • The federal character of the Constitution.

Justices Shelat and Grover in their opinion added three features to the Chief Justice’s list:

  • The mandate to build a welfare state contained in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
  • Maintenance of the unity and integrity of India.
  • The sovereignty of the country.

Justices Hegde and Mukherjea, in their opinion, provided a separate and shorter list:

  • The sovereignty of India.
  • The democratic character of the polity.
  • The unity of the country.
  • Essential features of individual freedoms.
  • The mandate to build a welfare state.

Justice Jaganmohan Reddy preferred to look at the preamble, stating that the basic features of the constitution were laid out by that part of the document, and thus could be represented by:

  • A sovereign democratic republic.
  • The provision of social, economic and political justice.
  • Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.
  • Equality of status and opportunity.

The interpretation of the basic structure has since evolved in numerous other court rulings since theKesavananda judgment.

 

Citizenship

Part II of the Indian Constitution consists of the following articles:

  • Article 5. Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution.
  • Article 6. Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan.
  • Article 7. Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan.
  • Article 8. Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India.
  • Article 9. Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens.
  • Article 10. Continuance of the rights of citizenship.
  • Article 11. Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law.

Citizen is a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community. The citizenship is a state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, or national community. The major issues in Constituent assembly on citizenship For the constitution assembly, to arrive at a final draft for Citizenship was one of the most arduous tasks while framing the constitution.

The problem was partition of India on one hand and India being recreated by uniting the princely states on the other. India’s partition into India and Pakistan caused millions of people cross the border. Partition on the basis of religion forced  The Hindus and Sikhs who were born in Pakistan side came to India and Muslims who were born in India migrated to Pakistan. Apart from that, there were people who had left their homeland India and started living abroad and now wanted to come back as the country was a free nation.

Constitution as Part II. The problem of citizenship was basically as follows: The people who were born and living in Pakistan and migrated to India were to be provided Indian Citizenship. The people who were born and living in India and migrated to Pakistan were to be excluded and debarred from Indian Citizenship. People who migrated to Pakistan in 1947 but returned back to live in India permanently had to be provided Citizenship. The people who were born in India, but living abroad but came back, had to be provided citizenship.

Article 5 : Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution. At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile in the territory of India and- who was born in the territory of India; or either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India. Article5 refers to the Citizenship on January 26, 1950. This article provided that the ordinary resident in the territory of India since or before January 26, 1945 were deemed to be Indian Citizens

Article 6. Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan. Notwithstanding anything in article 5, a person who has migrated to the territory of India from the territory now included in Pakistan shall be deemed to be a citizen of India at the commencement of this Constitution if- he or either of his parents or any of his grand-parents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted); and (i) in the case where such person has so migrated before the nineteenth day of July, 1948, he has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India since the date of his migration, or (ii) in the case where such person has so migrated on or after the nineteenth day of July, 1948, he has been registered as a citizen of India by an officer appointed in that behalf by the Government of the Dominion of India on an application made by him there for to such officer before the commencement of this Constitution in the form and manner prescribed by that Government: Provided that no person shall be so registered unless he has been resident in the territory of India for at least six months immediately preceding the date of his application. Article 6 deals with those persons who migrated to India from Pakistan. India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 means undivided India.

These persons were divided into two categories.

Category 1: Those who came before July 19, 1948

Category 2: Those who came after July 19, 1948

Those who came from Pakistan to India before July 19, 1948 would automatically become Indian Citizens. Those who came after July 19, 1948 would become Indian Citizens provided they had been registered in the form and manner as prescribed by the Government of India.

Article 7: Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan. Notwithstanding anything in articles 5 and 6, a person who has after the first day of March, 1947, migrated from the territory of India to the territory now included in Pakistan shall not be deemed to be a citizen of India: Provided that nothing in this article shall apply to a person who, after having so migrated to the territory now included in Pakistan, has returned to the territory of India under a permit for resettlement or permanent return issued by or under the authority of any law and every such person shall for the purposes of clause (b) of article 6 be deemed to have migrated to the territory of India after the nineteenth day of July, 1948. Article 7 deals with those persons who had migrated to Pakistan but returned to India from Pakistan with intention to live here permanently. Please note that this article deals with the “permit system”. The permit system was introduced in July 19, 1948. This system provided that a person who is desiring to return back to India with an intention to permanently reside was required to get a separate permit

Article 8: Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India. Notwithstanding anything in article 5, any person who or either of whose parents or any of whose grand-parents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted), and who is ordinarily residing in any country outside India as so defined shall be deemed to be a citizen of India if he has been registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the country where he is for the time being residing on an application made by him therefor to such diplomatic or consular representative, whether before or after the commencement of this Constitution, in the form and manner prescribed by the Government of the Dominion of India or the Government of India. Article 8 deals with those persons who were living abroad. The article provides that any person who was born or his parents /grandparents were born in undivided India but living abroad and wants to return to India would need to be registered at the as Citizen of India by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in that country.

Article 9: Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens. No person shall be a citizen of India by virtue of article 5, or be deemed to be a citizen of India by virtue of article 6 or article 8, if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign State. Under article 9 of the constitution, any person who has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign country, even if qualified for Indian Citizenship under any of the provisions of the constitution will not be a Citizen of India.

Article 10: Continuance of the rights of citizenship. Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India under any of the foregoing provisions of this Part shall, subject to the provisions of any law that may be made by Parliament, continue to be such citizen.

Article 11: Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law. Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part shall derogate from the power of Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship. The nature of provisions from Article 5 to 9 show that the objective of the constituent assembly was not to make a permanent law for citizenship. Ours is a Republic Country and various offices are to be occupied by the persons who are elected by the citizens. So, keeping this in view, it was necessary for the Constituent Assembly to make some provisions which could precisely determine that who is a Citizen of Independent Indian Dominion and who is not, at the time of the commencement of the constitution. Further, the constituent also gave plenary power to the parliament of India to deal with the question of nationality. Article 10 and more precisely Article 11 give the power to the parliament to make law in this connection as and when it suits to the demands of the circumstances. The power in parliament vested by Article 11 embraced not only acquisition but also the termination or any other matter related to Citizenship. Using the power vested in parliament by Article 11 of the Constitution of India, a comprehensive law “The Citizenship Act, 1955” was passed by the parliament. This act has been amended from time to time to make space for provisions as and when required.

OCI

An Overseas Citizen of India is a lifetime visa status. It is the closest thing to dual citizenship that India offers.

Who can be an OCI?

(This list was expanded as of 9 January 2015)

  1. A person who used to be an Indian citizen
  2. A person with at least one parent, grandparent,or great-grandparent who is/was an Indian citizen
  3. A person married to an Indian citizen or an existing OCI for at least two continuous years

The following groups of people cannot have OCI status:

  • Anyone who was ever a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh
  • Anyone whose parents or grandparents were citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, or Sri Lanka
  • Anyone who served in a foreign military or worked in a foreign defense department

What are the benefits of being an OCI?

  • Lifelong multiple entry visa to India
  • You never have to report to the FRRO regardless of the length of your stay
  • You can eventually become a citizen of India if you remain an OCI for 5 years and live in India for at least 1 year(short breaks are now allowed)
  • You can use special counters during immigration
  • You don’t need a student visa to study in India
  • You don’t need an employment visa to get a job
  • You can open a special bank account in India, just like an NRI
  • You can make investments in India
  • You can buy non-farm property and exercise property ownership rights
  • Your can use your OCI card to apply for a driver’s license, open a bank account, or get a PAN card
  • You get the same economic, financial, and education benefits as NRIs (e.g. reserved admission quotas), and you can adopt children like an NRI
  • You pay the Indian resident fee when visiting a national parks, monuments, museums or wildlife sanctuary (of course it is ultimately up to the discretion of the man issuing tickets)

What are the drawbacks?

  • You may not purchase agricultural land or farm houses
  • You may not vote
  • You may not hold a government job
  • You may not be elected to a political position
  • You may not travel to restricted areas without permission

How do you become an OCI?

You can apply through the Indian embassy in your country of residence or within India at the local FRRO.

Here is a sample of documentation you will need (see your local consulate for a specific list):

  • Proof of present citizenship
  • Proof of former Indian citizenship (for you or your relative)
  • Proof of renunciation of Indian citizenship (if applicable)
  • Proof of relationship to an Indian citizen

The entire process can take several months in some cases. Fees vary from nationality to nationality. If you apply in India, the fee is Rs. 15,000 for an adult or Rs. 8,000 for a minor. You can convert a PIO card to an OCI card if you qualify, and the fees are very nominal.

PIO (Person of Indian Origin) used to be a 15 year visa for non-Indian citizens, but it has since been removed.

Fundamental Rights

The Constitution of India guarantees certain Fundamental Rights to the Citizens of India.

The Indian constitution contains a chapter on fundamental rights. Part III (Art. 12-35) contains fundamental rights of Indian citizens. The fundamental rights are called fundamental because they are basic to the development of human personality.

The Indian fundamental rights, contrasted with such rights contained in the U. S. bill of rights, present several peculiarities. First, the fundamental rights in India are far more elaborate than in the U. S. A. Thus, for example, the U. S. bill of rights (first ten amendments) only names some rights. The Supreme Court, through the process of judicial review decides the limitations on these rights. In India, determination of limitations on fundamental rights is not left to judicial interpretation. The constitution itself contains (clauses 2-6 in Art. 19) such limitations. The limitations contemplated by the constitution are-

  • public order,
  • security of the state and
  • sovereignty and integrity of India.

In the face of these limitations, the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution cannot be said to be absolute.

However, whenever the state restricts fundamental rights by legislation, the courts have the right to examine whether the limitations imposed are “reasonable or not.” The courts are free to strike down any law imposing unreasonable restriction on the enjoyment of fundamental rights. The courts in India enjoy a limited degree of judicial review with respect to fundamental rights.

Yet, in view of these limitations, some critics argue that the Indian constitution gives fundamental rights with one hand and takes them away with the other. It should also be pointed out that provision of preventive detention under Art. 22 is a gross violation of the individual liberty under Art. 21. The power of the state to detain persons without trial is not to be found in any other democratic country like the U. S. A. Further, in case of proclamation of emergency under Art. 352, fundamental rights guaranteed under Art. 19 remain suspended by virtue of Arts 358 and 359.

Again, the Indian constitution is based on the theory of Parliamentary sovereignty and not constitutional sovereignty, as is the case in the U. S. A. Consequently, the Parliament may easily tamper with Indian fundamental rights. The capacity of the judiciary to afford protection to the fundamental rights is very limited. The Supreme Court verdict that the fundamental rights are not amendable was subsequently reversed. In the Keshavanand Bharati case, Supreme Court held that the Parliament may amend the entire constitution. It cannot only alter any basic feature of the constitution.

The processes of amendment given in Art 368 are far easier than the one given in Art 5 of the U.S. constitution. Consequently, the Union Parliament with a qualified majority may now easily amend any fundamental right contained in Part III of the constitution.

Kinds of fundamental rights

The Indian constitution originally provided 7 categories of fundamental rights. But one fundamental right, that to property was removed from the list of fundamental rights by 44th amendment. Right to property now is an ordinary legal right. Thus there are now 6 categories of fundamental rights. These are:

 (1) Right to equality (Arts. 14-18).

In this category there are five rights

  • Equality Before Law:- Equality before law is well defined under the Article 14 of the Constitution which ensures that every citizen shall be likewise protected by the laws of the country. It means that the State will not distinguish any of the Indian citizens on the basis of their gender, caste, creed, religion or even the place of birth. The state cannot refuse equality before the law and equal defense of the law to any person within the territory of India. In other words, this means that no person or groups of people can demand for any special privileges. This right not only applies to the citizens of India but also to all the people within the territory of India. Equality means that equals should be treated equally.
  • Abolition Of Discrimination On Grounds Of Caste, Race, Sex Or Religion:- The right of Social Equality and Equal Access to Public Areas is clearly mentioned under the Article 15 of the Constitution of India stating that no person shall be shown favoritism on the basis of color, caste, creed language, etc. Every person shall have equal admittance to public places like public wells, bathing ghats, museums, temples etc. However, the State has the right to make any special arrangement for women and children or for the development of any socially or educationally backward class or scheduled castes or scheduled tribes. This article applies only to citizens of India.
  • Equality in public employment, Article 16 of the Constitution of India clearly mentions that the State shall treat everyone equally in the matters of employment. No citizen shall be discriminated on the basis of race, caste, religion, creed, descent or place of birth in respect of any employment or office under the State. Every citizen of India can apply for government jobs. However, there are some exceptions to this right. The Parliament may pass a law mentioning that specific jobs can only be filled by candidates who are residing in a particular area. This requirement is mainly for those posts that necessitate the knowledge of the locality and language of the area. Apart from this, the State may also set aside some posts for members of backward classes, scheduled castes or scheduled tribes which are not properly represented in the services under the State to uplift the weaker sections of the society. Also, a law may be passed which may entail that the holder of an office of any religious institution shall also be a person professing that specific religion. Though, this right shall not be granted to the overseas citizens of India as directed by the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2003.
  • Abolition of untouchability, Article 17 of the Constitution of India abolishes the practice of untouchability in India. Practice of untouchability is declared as a crime and anyone doing so is punishable by law. The Untouchability Offences Act of 1955 (and now Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976) states punishments for not allowing a person to enter a place of worship or from taking water from a well or tank.
  • Abolition of titles. Article 18 of the Constitution of India prohibits the State from granting any titles. Citizens of India are not allowed to accept titles from a foreign State. Titles like Rai Bahadurs and Khan Bahadurs given by the British government have also been abolished. Nevertheless, academic and military distinctions can be conferred upon the citizens of India. The awards of ‘Bharat Ratna’ and ‘Padma Vibhushan’ cannot be used by the beneficiary as a title and is not prohibited by the Constitution of India. From 15 December 1995, the Supreme Court has sustained the validity of such awards

 (2) Rights to freedom.

(Arts. 19-22) these now include six freedoms-

  • Freedoms of speech and expression,
  • Freedom of assembly without arms of association,
  • Freedom of movement,
  • Freedom of residence and
  • Freedom of profession oroccupation.

Each one of these six freedoms is subject to some restrictions. For rights can never be absolute. Individual rights must be reconciled with the interests of the community. It is logical that equal rights for all must mean limited rights for any. Hence, the state may impose ‘reasonable restrictions’ upon the exercise of any of these rights.

Restrictions

Firstly, the state may impose restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression on eight grounds. These are:

  1. defamation,
  2. contempt of court,
  3. decency or morality,
  4. security of the state,
  5. friendly relations with other states,
  6. incitement of offence and,
  7. sovereignty and
  8. integrity of India.

Secondly, the freedom to assemble is subject to two restrictions. The assembly must be peaceable and the members of assembly must not bear arms. However the Sikhs are allowed to carry ‘Kirpan’ as part of their religious creed. In the U.S.A. right to bear arms is fundamental right. In India, this right is denied in the interest of public order.

Thirdly, the right to form associations or unions does not entitle persons to enter into criminal conspiracy either against individuals, groups or against the state.

Fourthly, the right to move freely or to reside and settle in any part of India, does not cover trespass into homes or restricted areas. State also may restrict this freedom to protect the aboriginal tribes.

Finally, the right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business are also subject to reasonable restrictions. Thus professions or, trade or, business must not be harmful to the interest of the community. The state may also prescribe qualifications for particular profession or, technical occupation. The state may itself carry on trade or business to the exclusion of citizens.

Power of Courts to enforce freedom of citizens of India

Every Indian citizen has the power to move the High Court or the Supreme Court for protecting and securing his personal freedom. The Courts are empowered to issue writs in the nature of habeas corpus. The courts can order the presence of detained or imprisoned person and set him free in case there is no legal justification for his detainment or imprisonment.

Rights to Freedom during National Emergency

The rights to freedom under Article 19 of Indian constitution are suspended during the period of National Emergency declared by the President of India.

Further, during the period when the National emergency is in operation, the President is empowered to suspend the right of citizens to move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of their personal freedom.

Conclusion

Each one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the constitution of India is hedged by many restrictions. They are not absolute. This led to the criticism that Indian freedom is a myth and not reality for what has been given with one hand has been taken away with the other.

This criticism is unfair. For fundamental rights can nowhere be absolute. For logically, one can be absolutely free only when all others are absolute, slaves Individual freedom to be real must be social and hence must be limited.

There is a difference in the scheme of limitations on fundamental rights in the U.S. constitution and in the constitution of India. In the U.S.A. the restrictions are not mentioned in the constitution itself. This is left to judicial interpretations. In India on the other hand, the restrictions are mentioned in the constitution itself. It is not left to the vagaries of judicial interpretation.

On the whole fundamental rights everywhere are restricted or, limited. As Mr. Justice Mukherji observed in A. K. Gopalan vs. State of Madras case” There cannot be any such thing as absolute or uncontrolled liberty wholly freed from restraints.”

 

These freedoms are however not without limitations.

(3) Rights against exploitation (Arts. 24 and 25)

Include prohibition of traffic in human beings and prohibition of child labour.

(4)  Rights to freedom of religion (Arts. 25-28)

Include  freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. Citizens are free to profess and practice any religion. These provisions make India a secular state.

 (5) Cultural and Educational rights (Arts. 29-30)

Include right to protection of language, script and culture given to the minorities. The minorities are also given the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their own.

(6)   Right to constitutional remedies (Arts. 32-35)

Provides for enforcement of fundamental rights through the judicial process.Dr BR Ambedkar  expressed it to be the heart and soal of Indian constitution.

Thus the constitution contains an elaborate scheme of fundamental rights. But the fundamental rights in India are not absolute. They are hedged by many limitations. Indeed, fundamental rights cannot be absolute anywhere in the world. Countries differ only in their degree of limitations on fundamental rights.

Preamble

The Constitution of India begins with a Preamble which describes the nature of the Indian State and the objectives it is committed to secure. K.M. Munshi describes the Preamble as the political horoscope of the constitution. Thakur Dass Bhargawa says Preamble is the most precious part and the soul of the constitution.

The Preamble reads:

We, the People of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic and to secure to all its citizens;

Justice, social, economic, political;

Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

Equality of status and opportunity; and to promote among them all;

Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the 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 this Constitution.

The words ‘Socialist ‘Secular” and ‘Integrity were initially not there in the Preamble. These were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) of the Constitution.

Preamble: Features:

I. The Source of Authority:

Popular Sovereignty:

The Preamble categorically accepts the principle of Popular Sovereignty. It begins with the words: ‘We the people of India’. These words testify to the fact that the people of India are’ the ultimate source of all authority. The Government derives its power from them.

II. Nature of State:

The Preamble describes five cardinal features of the Indian state:

(1) India is a Sovereign State:

The Preamble proclaims that India is a sovereign state. Such a proclamation denotes the end of rule over India. It testifies to the fact that India is no longer a dependency or colony or possession of British Crown. As a sovereign independent state, India is free both internally and externally to take her own decisions and implement these for her people and territories.

(2) India is a Socialist State:

In 1976, the Preamble was amended to include the word ‘Socialism’. It is now regarded as a prime feature of the State. It reflects the fact that India is committed to secure social, economic and political justice for all its people. India stands for ending all forms of exploitation as well as for securing equitable distribution of income, resources and wealth. This has to be secured by peaceful, constitutional and democratic means. The term ‘India is a Socialist state’ really means, ‘India is a democratic socialist state.’

(3) India is a Secular State:

By the 42nd Amendment, the term ‘Secular’ was incorporated in the Preamble. Its inclusion simply made the secular nature of the Indian Constitution more explicit. As a state India gives special status to no religion. There is no such thing as a state religion of India. India guarantees equal freedom to all religions. All religions enjoy equality of status and respect.

(4) India is a Democratic State:

The Preamble declares India to be a Democratic State. The Constitution of India provides for a democratic system. The authority of the government rests upon the sovereignty of the people. The people enjoy equal political rights. The people freely participate in the democratic process of self rule.

They elect their government. For all its acts, the government is responsible before the people. The people can change their government through elections. The government enjoys limited powers. It always acts under the Constitution which represents the supreme will of the people.

(5) India is a Republic:

The Preamble declares India to be a Republic. Negatively, this means that India is not ruled by a monarch or a nominated head of state. Positively, it means that India has an elected head of state who wields power for a fixed term. President of India is the elected sovereign head of the state. He holds a tenure of 5 years. Any Indian citizen can get elected as the President of India.

III. Four Objectives of the Indian State:

The Preamble lists four cardinal objectives which are to be “secured by the state for all its citizens”.

These are:

(1) Justice:

India seeks to secure social, economic and political justice for its people.

(i) Social Justice:

Social Justice means the absence of socially privileged classes in the society and no discrimination against any citizen on grounds of caste, creed, colour, religion, sex or place of birth. India stands for eliminating all forms of exploitations from the society.

(ii) Economic Justice:

Economic Justice means no discrimination between man and man on the basis of income, wealth and economic status. It stands for equitable distribution of wealth, economic equality, end of monopolistic control over means of production and distribution, decentralisation of economic resources, and securing of adequate opportunities to all for earning their livelihoods.

(iii) Political Justice:

Political Justice means equal, free and fair opportunities to the people for participation in the political process. It stands for the grant of equal political rights to all the people without any discrimination. The Constitution of India provides for a liberal democracy in which all the people have the right and freedom to participate.

(2) Liberty:

The Preamble declares liberty to be the second cardinal objective to be secured. It includes liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. The grant of Fundamental Rights (Part III) including the right to freedom is designed to secure this objective. Liberty of faith and worship is designed to strengthen the spirit of secularism.

(3) Equality:

The Preamble declares Equality as the third objective of the Constitution. Equality means two basic things:

(i) Equality of status i.e. natural equality of all persons as equal and free citizens of India enjoying equality before law.

(ii) Equality of opportunity i.e. adequate opportunities for all to develop. For securing the equality of status and opportunity, the Constitution of India grants and guarantees the fundamental Right to Equality.

(4) Fraternity:

Promotion of Fraternity among the people is the fourth objective is to promote Fraternity among all the people. Fraternity means the inculcation of a strong feeling of spiritual and psychological unity among the people. It is designed to secure dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of the nation.

IV. Date of Adoption and Enactment:

In its final paragraph, the Preamble specifies the important historical fact that the Constitution was adopted on 26 November, 1949. It was on this day that the Constitution received the signatures of the President of the Constituent Assembly and was declared passed.

V. Self-made Constitution:

The Constitution of India is an adopted, enacted and self-made constitution. It was adopted and enacted by the Constituent Assembly acting as the elected representative body of the people of India. The Preamble states the philosophical foundations of the Constitution India and enumerates its objectives.

It constitutes a Key for the interpretation of the Constitution. It is a part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. Through, it’s Preamble, the Constitution a commits itself to Democracy, Republicanism, Socialism, Secularism, Liberalism and Welfare State. The Preamble states the objectives which the Constitution is committed to secure for all the people of India.

 

 

Part IV-A was added by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. It encompasses Part IV, Article 51A enu­merating Ten Fundamental Duties of the Citizens of India.

There is no provision in the Constitution for direct enforcement of any of these Duties nor for any sanction to prevent their violation.But it may be expected that in determining the Consti­tutionality of any law, if a Court finds that it seeks to give effect to any of these duties, it may consider such law to ‘be reasonable’ in relation to Article 14 or 19, and thus save such law from unconstitutionality.

Directive Principles Of State Policy

An important feature of the constitution is the Directive Principles of State Policy. Although the Directive Principles are asserted to be “fundamental in the governance of the country,” they are not legally enforceable. Instead, they are guidelines for creating a social order characterized by social, economic, and political justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity as enunciated in the constitution’s preamble.

Article 37 of the Constitution declares that the DPSP “shall not be enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws.” It is not a mere coincidence that the apparent distinction that is drawn by scholars between the ICCPR rights and ESC rights holds good for the distinction that is drawn in the Indian context between fundamental rights and DPSP. Thus the bar to justiciability of the DPSP is spelled out in some sense in the Constitution itself.

 

Determinants and Nature of Indian Politics, Election and Voting Behavior, Coalition Governments.

 

 

 

 

Amendments to the Constitution

 

Amendments to the Constitution are made by the Parliament, the procedure for which is laid out in Article 368. An amendment bill must be passed by both the Houses of the Parliament by a tw

o-thirds majority and voting. In addition to this, certain amendments which pertain to the federal nature of the Constitution must be ratified by a majority of state legislatures. As of June 2013 there have been 118 amendment bills presented in the Parliament, out of which 98 have been passed to become Amendment Acts.

 

Amendments of constitution                 

 

  1. 1951 To fully secure the constitutional validity of zamindari abolition laws and to place reasonable restriction on freedom of speech. A new constitutional device, called Schedule 9 introduced to protect laws that are contrary to the Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. These laws encroach upon property rights, freedom of speech and equality before law.
  2. 1953 A technical amendment to fix the size of each parliamentary constituency between 650,000 and 850,000 voters.
  3. 1955 LS limit of 500 members, one member of a constituency represents between 500000 and 750000 people.
  4. 1955 Restrictions on property rights and inclusion of related bills in Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  5. 1955 Provides for a consultation mechanism with concerned states in matters relating to the amendments to the territorial matters and in the re-naming of the state.
  6. 1956 Amend the Union and State Lists with respect to raising of taxes.
  7. 1956 Reorganization of states on linguistic lines, abolition of Class A, B, C, D states and introduction of Union Territories.
  8. 1960 Clarify state’s power of compulsory acquisition and requisitioning of private property and include Zamindari abolition laws in Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  9. 1960 Minor adjustments to territory of Indian Union consequent to agreement with Pakistan for settlement of disputes by demarcation of border villages, etc.
  10. 1961 Incorporation of Dadra, Nagar and Haveli as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal.
  11. 1961 Election of Vice President by Electoral College consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament, instead of election by a Joint Sitting of Parliament.

Indemnify the President and Vice President Election procedure from challenge on grounds of existence of any vacancies in the electoral college.

  1. 1961 Incorporation of Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal.
  2. 1963 Formation of State of Nagaland, with special protection under Article 371A.
  3. 1962 Incorporation of Pondicherry into the Union of India and creation of Legislative Assemblies for Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Goa.
  4. 1963 Raise retirement age of judges from 60 to 62 and other minor amendments for rationalizing interpretation of rules regarding judges etc.,
  5. 1963 Make it obligatory for seekers of public office to swear their allegiance to the Indian Republic and prescribe the various obligatory templates.
  6. 1964 To secure the constitutional validity of acquisition of Estates and place land acquisition laws in Schedule 9 of the constitution
  7. 1966 Technical Amendment to include Union Territories in Article 3 and hence permit reorganisation of Union Territories.
  8. 1966 Abolish Election Tribunals and enable trial of election petitions by regular High Courts.
  9. 1966 Indemnify & validate judgments, decrees, orders and sentences passed by judges and to validate the appointment, posting, promotion and transfer of judges barring a few who were not eligible for appointment under article 233. Amendment needed to overcome the effect of judgement invalidating appointments of certain judges in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
  10. 1967 Include Sindhi as an Official Language.
  11. 1969

Provision to form Autonomous states within the State of Assam.

 

  1. 1970 Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 1980.
  2. 1971 Enable parliament to dilute fundamental rights through amendments to the constitution.
  3. 1972 Restrict property rights and compensation in case the state takes over private property.
  4. 1971 Abolition of privy purse paid to former rulers of princely states which were incorporated into the Indian Republic.
  5. 1972 Reorganization of Mizoram into a Union Territory with a legislature and council of ministers.
  6. 1972 Rationalize Civil Service rules to make it uniform across those appointed prior to Independence and post independence.
  7. 1972 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  8. 1973 Change the basis for appeals in Supreme Court of India in case of Civil Suits from value criteria to one involving substantial question of law.
  9. 1973 Increase size of Parliament from 525 to 545 seats. Increased seats going to the new states formed in North East India and minor adjustment consequent to 1971 Delimitation exercise.
  10. 1974 Protection of regional rights in Telengana and Andhra regions of State of Andhra Pradesh.
  11. 1974 Prescribes procedure for resignation by members of parliament and state legislatures and the procedure for verification and acceptance of resignation by house speaker.
  12. 1974 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  13. 1975 Terms and Conditions for the Incorporation of Sikkim into the Union of India.
  14. 1975 Formation of Sikkim as a State within the Indian Union.
  15. 1975 Formation of Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly.
  16. 1975 Enhances the powers of President and Governors to pass ordinances
  17. 1975 Amendment designed to negate the judgement of Allahabad High Court invalidating Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s election to parliament. Amendment placed restrictions on judicial scrutiny of post of President, vice-president and Prime Minister.
  18. 1976 Enable Parliament to make laws with respect to Exclusive Economic Zone and vest the mineral wealth with Union of India

Place land reform & other acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.

 

  1. 1976 Raise Retirement Age Limit of Chairmen and Members of Union and State Public Commissions from 60 to 62.
  2. 1977 Amendment passed during internal emergency by Indira Gandhi. Provides for curtailment of fundamental rights, imposes fundamental duties and changes to the basic structure of the constitution by making India a “Socialist Secular” Republic.
  3. 1978 Amendment passed after revocation of internal emergency in the Country. Repeals some of the more ‘Anti-Freedom’ amendments enacted through Amendment Bill 42.
  4. 1979 Amendment passed after revocation of internal emergency in the Country. Provides for human rights safeguards and mechanisms to prevent abuse of executive and legislative authority. Annuls some Amendments enacted in Amendment Bill 42.
  5. 1980 Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 1990.
  6. 1983 Amendment to negate judicial pronouncements on scope and applicability on Sales Tax.
  7. 1984 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  8. 1985 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to two years in the state of Punjab.
  9. 1984 Recognize Tripura as a Tribal State and enable the creation of a Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
  10. 1984 Technical Amendment to curtailment of Fundamental Rights as per Part III as prescribed in Article 33 to cover Security Personnel protecting property and communication infrastructure.
  11. 1986 Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies.
  12. 1985 Anti Defection Law – Provide disqualification of members from parliament and assembly in case of defection from one party to other.
  13. 1987 Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram.
  14. 1986 Increase the salary of Chief Justice of India & other Judges and to provide for determining future increases without the need for constitutional amendment.
  15. 1987 Special powers to Governor consequent to formation of state of Arunachal Pradesh.
  16. 1987 Transition provision to enable formation of state of Goa.
  17. 1987 Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies.
  18. 1987 Provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of constitution as on date and provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of future amendments.
  19. 1988 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to three years in the state of Punjab, Articles 352 and Article 359A amended to permit imposing emergency in state of Punjab or in specific districts of the state of Punjab.
  20. 1988 Profession Tax increased from a maximum of Rs. 250/- to a maximum of Rs. 2500/-.
  21. 1989 Reduce age for voting rights from 21 to 18.
  22. 1989 Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 2000.
  23. 1990 Emergency powers applicable to State of Punjab, accorded in Article 359A as per amendment 59 repealed.
  24. 1990 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to three years and six months in the state of Punjab.
  25. 1990 National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes formed and its stututory powers specifed in The Constitution.
  26. 1990 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  27. 1990 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to four years in the state of Punjab.
  28. 1991 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to five years in the state of Punjab.
  29. 1992 To provide for a legislative assembly and council of ministers for Federal National Capital of Delhi. Delhi continues to be a Union Territory.
  30. 1991 Include National Capital of Delhi and Union Territory of Pondicherry in electoral college for Presidential Election.
  31. 1992 Include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali as Official Languages.
  32. 1992 Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Tripura State Legislative Assembly.
  33. 1993 Statutory provisions for Panchyat Raj as third level of administration in villages.
  34. 1993 Statutory provisions for Local Administrative bodies as third level of administration in urban areas such as towns and cities. (Municipalities)
  35. 1994 Provisions for setting up Rent Control Tribunals.
  36. 1994 Enable continuance of 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu by including the relevant Tamil Nadu Act under 9th Schedule of the constitution.
  37. 1995 A technical amendment to protect reservation to SC/ST Employees in promotions.
  38. 1995 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  39. 2000 Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 2010.
  40. 2000 Implement Tenth Finance Commission recommendation to simplify the tax structures by pooling and sharing all taxes between states and The Centre.
  41. 2000 Protect SC / ST reservation in filling backlog of vacancies.
  42. 2000 Permit relaxation of qualifying marks and other criteria in reservation in promotion for SC / ST candidates.
  43. 2000 Exempt Arunachal Pradesh from reservation for Scheduled Castes in Panchayati Raj institutions.
  44. 2002 Extend the usage of 1991 national census population figures for statewise distribution of parliamentary seats.
  45. 2002 A technical amendment to protect seniority in case of promotions of SC/ST Employees.
  46. 2002 Provides Right to Education until the age of fourteen and Early childhood care until the age of six.
  47. 2003 Extend the usage of 2001 national census population figures for statewise distribution of parliamentary seats.
  48. 2004 To extend statutory cover for levy and utilization of Service Tax.
  49. 2003 The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was bifurcated into The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
  50. 2003 Reservation in Assam Assembly relating to Bodoland Territory Area.
  51. 2004 Restrict the size of council of ministers to 15 % of legislative members & to strengthen Anti Defection laws.
  52. 2004 Enable Levy of Service Tax. Include Bodo, Dogri, Santali and Maithili as National Languages.
  53. 2006 Reservation for OBCs in government as well as private educational institutions
  54. 2006 To provide for a Minister of Tribal Welfare in newly created Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh States.
  55. 2010 Extended the reservation of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for SCs and STs from sixty to seventy years.
  56. 2011 Changed “Oriya” in the Eighth Schedule to “Odia.
  57. 2012, Jan 12 Right to form unions or co-operative societies. (19(1)C)

Promotion of Co-operative Societies. (43B)

 

The Co-operative Societies. (Part 9B)

 

  1. 2013, Jan 2 To empower the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.

(To insert Article 371J in the Constitution)

Historical Underpinning and Evolution

 

Evolution of Indian Constitution

Although the systems of ancient India do have their reflections in the Constitutions of India, the direct sources of the Constitution lie in the administrative and legislative developments of the British period.

 

Regulating Act of 1773

  • This Act was based on the report of a committee headed by the British Prime Minister Lord North.
  • Governance of the East India Company was put under the British Parliamentary control.
  • The Governor of Bengal was nominated as Governor General for all the three Presidencies of Calcutta Bombay and Madras. Warren Hastings was the first such Governor General.
  • A Supreme Court was established in Calcutta (now Kolkata)
  • Governor General was empowered to make laws, regulations and ordinances with the consent of the Supreme Court.

 

Pitts India Act of 1784

  • It was enacted to improve upon the provisions of Regulating Act of 1773 to bring about better discipline in the Company’s system of administration.
  • A 6 member Board of Coordinators was set up which was headed by a minister of the British Government. All political responsibilities were given to this board.
  • Trade and commerce related issues were under the purview of the Court of the Directors of the company.
  • Provinces had to follow the instructions of the Central Government and Governor General was empowered to dismiss the failing provincial government.

 

Charter Act of 1793

  • Main provisions of the previous Acts were consolidated in this Act.
  • Provided for the payment of salaries of the members of the Board of Controllers from Indian revenue.
  • Courts were given the power to interpret rules and regulations

 

Charter Act of 1813

  • Trade monopoly of the East India Company came to an end.
  • Powers of the three Councils of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were enlarged; they were also subjected to greater control of the British Parliament.
  • The Christian Missionaries were allowed to spread their religion in India.
  • Local autonomous bodies were empowered to levy taxes.

 

Charter Act of 1833

  • The Governor General and his Council were given vast powers. This Council could legislate for the whole of India subject to the approval of the Board of Controllers.
  • The Council got full powers regarding revenue, and a single budget for the country was prepared by the Governor General.
  • The East India Company was reduced to an administrative and political entity and several Lords and Ministers were nominated as ex-officio members of the Board of Controllers.
  • For the first time the Governor-General’s Government was known as the ‘Government of India’ and his Council as the ‘Indian Council’.

 

Charter Act of 1853

  • This was the last of the Charter Acts and it made important changes in the system of Indian legislation.
  • This Act followed a report of then Governor General Dalhousie for improving the administration of the company.
  • A separate Governor for Bengal was to be appointed.
  • Legislative and administrative functions of the Council were separately identified.
  • Recruitment of the Company’s employees was to be done through competitive exams.
  • British Parliament was empowered to put Company’s governance of India to an end at any suitable time.

 

Government of India Act, 1858

  • British Crown decided to assume sovereignty over India from the East India Company in an apparent consequence of the Revolt of 1857, described as an armed sepoy mutiny by the British historians and remembered as the First War of Independence by the Indians.
  • The first statute for the governance of India, under the direct rule of the British Government, was the Government of India Act, 1858.
  • It Provide for absolute (British) imperial control over India without any popular participation in the administration of the country.
  • The powers of the crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India, assisted by a council of fifteen members, known as the Council of India.
  • The country was divided into provinces headed by a Governor or Lieutenant-Governor aided by his Executive Council.
  • The Provincial Governments had to function under the superintendence, direction and control of the Governor- General in all matters.
  • All authority for the governance of India was vested in the Governor- General in Council who was responsible to the Secretary of State.
  • The Secretary of State was ultimately responsible to the British Parliament.

 

Indian Councils Act, 1861

  • This is an important landmark in the constitutional history of India. By this Act, the powers of the Crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India, assisted by a council of fifteen members (known as the Council of India). The Secretary of State, who was responsible to the British Parliament, governed India through the Governor General, assisted by an Executive council.
  • This Act enabled the Governor General to associate representatives of the Indian people with the work of legislation by nominating them to his expanded council.
  • This Act provided that the Governor General’s Executive Council should include certain additional non-official members also while transacting legislative business as a Legislative Council. But this Legislative Council was neither representative nor deliberative in any sense.
  • It decentralized the legislative powers of the Governor General’s Council and vested them in the Governments of Bombay and Madras.

 

Indian Councils Act, 1892

  • The non-official members of the Indian Legislative Council were to be nominated by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Provincial Legislatives Council while the non-official members of the Provincial Councils were to be nominated by certain local bodies such as universities, districts boards, municipalities, zamindars etc.
  • The Councils were to have the power of discussing the Budget and addressing questions to the Executive.

 

Morley-Minto Reforms and the Indian Councils Act, 1909

  • Reforms recommended by the then Secretary of States for India (Lord Morley) and the Viceroy (Lord Minto) were implemented by the Indian Councils Act, 1909.
  • The maximum number of additional members of the Indian Legislative Council (Governor- General’s Council) was raised from 16 (under the Act of 1892) to 60 (excluding the Executive Councilors).
  • The size of Provincial Legislative Councils was enlarged by including elected non-official members so that the official majority was gone.
  • An element of election was introduced in the Legislative Council at the centre also but here the official majority was maintained.
  • The Legislative Councils were empowered to move resolutions on the Budget, and on any matter of public interest except certain specified subjects such as the Armed forces, Foreign Affairs and the Indian States.
  • It provided, for the first time, for separate representation of the Muslim community and thus sowed the seeds of separatism.

 

The Government of India Act, 1915

  • This act was passed to consolidate the provisions of the preceding Government of India Acts.

 

Montague-Chelmsford Report and the Government of India Act, 1919

  • The then Secretary of State for India Mr. E.S. Montague and the Governor General Lord Chelmsford formulated proposals for the Government of India Act, 1919.
  • Responsible Government in the Provinces was to be introduced, without impairing the responsibility of the Governor (through Governor General), for the administration of the province, by resorting to device known as ‘Diarchy’ or dual government.
  • The subjects of administration were to be divided into two categories Central and Provincial.
  • Central subjects were those which were exclusively kept under the control of the Central Government.
  • The provincial subjects were sub-divided into ‘transferred’ and ‘reserved’ subjects.
  • The ‘transferred subjects’ were to be administered by the Governor with the aid of Ministers responsible to the Legislative Council in which the proportion of elected members was raised to 70 percent.
  • The ‘ reserved subjects’ were to be administered by the Governor and his Executive Council with no responsibility to the Legislature.
  • The previous Central control over the provinces in the administrative, legislative and financial matters was relaxed. Sources of revenue were divided into two categories so that the provinces could run the administration with the revenue raised y the provinces themselves.
  • The provincial budget was separated from the central budget.
  • The provincial legislature was empowered to present its own budget and levy its own taxes relating to the provincial sources of revenue.
  • The Central Legislature, retained power to legislate for the whole country on any subject.
  • The control of the Governor General over provincial legislature was retained by providing that a Provincial Bill, even though assented to by the Governor, would become law only when assented to also by the Governor General.
  • The Governor was empowered to reserve a Bill for the consideration of the Governor General if it was related to some specified matters.
  • The Governor General in Council continued to remain responsible to the British Parliament through the Secretary of State for India.
  • The Indian Legislature was made more representative and, for the first time ‘bi-cameral.’
  • The Upper House was named the Council of State. This composed of 60 members of whom 34 were elected.
  • The Lower House was named the Legislative Assembly. This was composed of about 144 members of whom 104 were elected.
  • The electorates were arranged on a communal and sectional basis, developing the Morley-Minto device further.
  • The Governor General’s overriding powers in respect of Central legislation were retained as follows:
  • His prior sanction was required to introduce Bills relating to certain matters;
  • He had the power to veto or reserve for consideration of the Crown any Bill passed by the Indian Legislature;
  • He had the converse power of certifying Bill or any grant refused by the Legislature;
  • He could make Ordinances, in case of emergency.

 

Simon Commission

  • This commission, headed by Sir John Simon, constituted in 1927 to inquire into the working of the Act of 1919, placed its report in 1930. The report was examined by the British Parliament and the Government of India Bill was drafted accordingly.

 

The Government of India Act, 1935

  • The Act of 1935 prescribed a federation, taking the Provinces and the Indian States (native states) as units.
  • It was optional for the Indian States to join the Federation, and since they never joined, the Federation never came into being.
  • The Act divided legislative powers between the Centre and Provinces.
  • The executive authority of a Province was also exercised by a Governor on the behalf of the Crown and not as a subordinate of the Governor General.
  • The Governor was required to act with the advice of Ministers responsible to the legislature.
  • In certain matters, the Governor was required to act ‘in his discretion’ without ministerial advice and under the control and directions of the Governor General, and, through him, of the Secretary of State.
  • The executive authority of the Centre was vested in the Governor General (on behalf of the Crown).
  • The councilors of Council of Ministers responsible to the Legislature were not appointed although such provisions existed in the Act of 1935.
  • The Central Legislature was bi-cameral, comprising a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council. In other provinces, the Legislature was uni-cameral.
  • Apart from the Governor General’s power of veto, a Bill passed by the Central Legislature was also subject to veto by the Crown.
  • The Governor General could prevent discussion in the Legislature and suspend the proceedings on any Bill if he was satisfied that it would affect the discharge of his special responsibilities.
  • The Governor General had independent powers of legislatures, concurrently with those of the Legislature.
  • On some subjects no bill or amendment could be introduced in the Legislature without the Governor General’s previous sanction.
  • A three-fold division in the Act of 1935 –There was Federal List over which the Federal Legislature had exclusive jurisdiction. There was a Concurrent List also over which both the Federal and the Provincial had competence.
  • The Governor General was empowered to authorize either the Federal or the Provincial Legislature to enact a law with respect to any matter which was not enumerated in the above noted Legislative Lists.
  • Dominion Status, which was promised by the Simon Commission in 1929, was not conferred by the Government of India Act, 1935.

 

Cripps Mission

  • In March, 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the British cabinet came with a draft declaration on the proposals of the British Government.
  • These proposals were to be adopted at the end of the Second World War, provided Congress and the Muslim League could accept them.
  • According to the proposals-
  • The Constitution of India was to be framed by an elected Constituent Assembly by the Indian people.
  • The Constitution should give India Dominion Status.
  • There should be one Indian Union comprising all the Provinces and Indian States.
  • Any Province (or Indian State) not accepting the Constitution would be free to retain its constitutional position existing at that time and with such non-acceding Province British Government could enter into separate Constitutional arrangements.

 

Cabinet Mission

  • In March 1946, Lord Attlee sent a Cabinet Mission to India consisting of three Cabinet Ministers, namely Lord Pethick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and Mr. A.V. Alexander.
  • The object of Cabinet Mission was to help India achieve its independence as early as possible, and to set up a Constitutional Assembly.
  • The Cabinet Mission rejected the claim for a separate Constituent Assembly and a Separate for the Muslim.
  • According to Cabinet Mission Plan there was to be a Union of India, comprising both British India and the States, having jurisdiction over the subjects of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Communication. All residuary powers were to be vested in the Provinces and the States.
  • The Union was to have an Executive and a Legislature consisting of representatives of the Provinces and the States.
  • Any decision involving a major communal issue in the legislature was to require a majority support of representatives of each of the two major communities present and voting.
  • The provinces could form groups with executives and legislatures, and each group could be competent to determine the provincial subjects.

 

The Mountbatten Plan

  • The plan for transfer of power to the Indians and partition of the country was laid down in the Mountbatten Plan.
  • It was given a formal shape by a statement made by the British Government on 3rd June, 1947.

 

The Indian Independence Act, 1947 of the British Parliament

  • In pursuance of this Act, the Government of India Act, 1935 was amended by the Adaptation Orders, both in India and Pakistan, for setting up an interim Constituent Assembly to draw up future Constitution of the country.
  • From the 15th August 1947 India ceased to be a Dependency, and the suzerainty of the British Crown over the Indian States and the treaty relations with Tribal Areas lapsed from that date.
  • The office of the Secretary of State for India was abolished.
  • The Governor General and the Governors lost extraordinary powers of legislations to compete with the legislature.
  • The Central Legislature Of India, composed of the Legislative Assembly and the Council of States, ceased to exist on August 14, 1947.
  • The Constituent Assembly itself was to function as the Central Legislature with complete sovereignty.

 

Making of the constitution

  • 1934: Idea of constituent assembly put forward by M N Roy
  • 1935: INC officially demands constituent assembly
  • 1938: JL Nehru’s declaration on the constitution of India
  • 1940: Nehru’s demand accepted in the form of August Offer
  • August Offer
    • PM: Winston Churchill
    • While rejecting INCs demand for independence of India after the war on the ground that INC is not representative of the minorities, three offers were made
    • Expansion of Viceroy’s executive council with the inclusion of Indian representatives
    • An advisory body with the members from British India and Indian princely states which were supposed to meet at consequent intervals was established
    • Two practical steps were decided to be taken in which it was to come at an agreement with the Indians on the form which the post representatives body should take and the methods by which it should come to a conclusion.
    • It further planned to draw out the principles and outlines of the Constitution itself
    • Congress rejected the offer
  • 1942: Cripps Mission
    • PM: Winston Churchill Sec of State: Leo Amery                                Viceroy: Linlithgow
    • On the framing of an independent constitution to be adopted after the WW II
    • Cripps proposals rejected by the ML which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states
  • 1946: Cabinet Mission
    • PM: Clement Attlee Viceroy: Lord Wavell
    • Members: Pethick Lawrence (sec of state for India), Stafford Cripps, A V Alexander
    • Simla Conference
    • May 16 plan
      • United dominion of india would be given independence
      • Muslim majority and Hindu majority provinces to be grouped
      • Central government to run foreign affairs, defence and communications while rest of the responsibility would belong to the provinces, coordinated by the two groups
    • Interim cabinet was formed. ML joined the cabinet but decided to boycott the constituent assembly
  • 1946, Nov: Constituent Assembly formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan
  • First meeting of CA on December 9, 1946. Sacchidanada Sinha was elected the temporary Presidetn
  • Dec 11, 1946: Rajendra Prasad and H C Mukharjee elected as the President and VP of the assembly respectively.
  • BN Rao was the constitutional advisor to the assembly
  • Dec 13, 1946: Objectives Resolution moved by JL Nehru
  • Jan 22, 1947: Objectives resolution adopted
  • June 3, 1947: Mountbatten plan. Partition of the country announced.
  • Jan 24, 1950: Final session of the CA. It however continued as a provisional body from Jan 26, 1950 till the formation of the new Parliament after the first general elections in 1951-52

Major Committees of CA

Committee Chairman
Union Powers Committee JL Nehru
Union Constitution Committee JL Nehru
Committee for Negotiating with States JL Nehru
Steering Committee Rajendra Prasad
Rules of Procedure Committee Rajendra Prasad
Provincial Constitution Committee Sardar Patel
Committee on Fundamental Rights and  Minorities.

Two sub committees ( FR , Minorities)

Sardar Patel

(J B Kriplani, H C Mukharjee)

Drafting Committee B R Ambedkar
  • Drafting Committee was setup on Aug 29, 1947. It had seven members
    • B R Ambedkar
    • Alladi Krisnaswamy Ayyer
    • N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
    • K M Munshi
    • TT Krishnamchari
    • N Madhava Rau
    • Syed Mohammad Saadullah
  • Nov 26, 1949: Constitution was adopted
  • The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was already enacted
Features
  • Lengthiest written Constitution: Originally our constitution contained 395 articles divided in 22 parts and 8 schedules. Constitution has been amended 98 times. Currently there are 25 Parts, 12 Schedules, and 448 Articles. These figures show our constitution as the most comprehensive constitution in the world. (British have no written constitution and Constitution of USA had originally only 7 articles)
  • Starts with a Preamble: It gives an insight into the Philosophy of the Constitution.
  • Drawn from different sources: fundamental rights from USA, bicameralism from UK, Fundamental duties from USSR etc,
  • Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility: making Law is quite flexible and easy in comparison to amending a law.
  • Sovereignty of the Country: managing internal and external affairs freely without any external forces.
  • Democratic state: governing power is derived from the people by means of elected representatives of the people.
  • Republic: India does not have a hereditary post of Head of the State. The Head of the state in India is President and he / she is elected.
  • Socialist State: Indian socialism is democratic socialism. The goals of the socialism are to be realized through democratic means.
  • Secular state: India is secular country. Here No religion is a state religion. The constitution provides equal treatment to all religions.
  • Parliamentary Form of Government: Westminster model of government. Presence of nominal and real executives, majority party rule, collective responsibility of executive to legislature, dissolution of lower house, prime minister has crucial and important role.
  • A blend of Federal and Unitary System: there are separate governments in the Union and States and there is division of power. Unitary features: Strong centre. Single Citizenship, single constitution for both the centre and states, emergency provisions, all India services. India is also quasi-federal as constitution describes India as union of states. States cannot unjoin as well as there is no agreement by states. We have union as well as state lists.
  • Integrated and independent Judiciary: The states have high courts but the verdicts of these courts are subject to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Constitution has made the High Courts subordinate to the Supreme Court.
  • Universal Adult Franchise: Every citizen who is above 18 years has a Voting Right without any discrimination.
  • Three tier government structure: union, state and panchayats.
  • Synthesis of parliamentary sovereignty and judicial supremacy: judicial review of Supreme Court by procedure established by law. Also, parliament can amend major portion of constitution.
  • Fundamental rights: to promote political democracy. Enforceable by courts for violation. They are Justiciable in nature.
  • Fundamental duties: to respect constitution; to promote national unity, integrity, sovereignty; to preserve rich cultural heritage and promote common brotherhood. They are not justiciable in nature.
  • Directive principles of state policy: socialistic, liberal and gandhian meant for promoting ideal social and economic democracy. To establish welfare state. It is the duty of state to apply these in governance. They are not justiciable.
  • Independent bodies: constitution not only provides legislative, executive and judicial organs of government (state and centre) but also has independent election commission, CAG, UPSC, SPSC with security of tenure, service conditions.

 

Synopsis of NCERTS

 

Introduction

  • Indian national movement: One of the biggest. Inspired many others.
  • Gandhian Political Strategy very important.
  • Elements of Gandhian Strategy can be seen in the Solidarity Movement in Poland by Lech Walesa

WHY IS THE INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT UNIQUE

  • In the Indian national movement, the Gramscian perspective of war of position was successfully practiced.
  • It provides the only historical example of a semi-democratic or democratic type of political structure being successfully replaced or transformed.
  • State power was not seized in a moment of revolution, but through prolonged popular struggle on moral, political and ideological reserves.
  • It is also an example of how the constitutional space offered by the existing structure could be used without getting coopted by it.
  • Diverse perspectives and ideologies

WHY STUDY NATIONAL MOVEMENT?

  • The path that India has followed since 1947 has deep roots in the struggle for independence.

OUTSTANDING FEATURES OF THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE

  • Values and modern ideals on which it was based
  • Vision of the leaders: democratic, civil libertarian and secular India, based on a self-reliant, egalitarian social order and an independent foreign policy
  • The movement popularized democratic ideas and institutions in India
  • The strong civil libertarian and democratic tradition of the national movement was reflected in the constitution of independent India.
  • Pro-poor orientation
  • Secular
  • A non-racist, anti-imperialist outlook which continues to characterize Indian foreign policy was the part of the legacy of the anti-imperialist struggle.
  • India’s freedom struggle was basically the result of fundamental contradiction between the interests of the Indian people and that of British colonialism.

 

 Revolt of 1857

  • During the Governor-General Lord Canning
  • May 11, 1857. The Meerut incident. Capture of Delhi. Proclaiming B S Jazar as the emperor.
  • Almost half the Company’s sepoy strength of 232224 opted out of their loyalty to their regimental colours.
  • Kanpur: Nana Saheb; Lucknow: Begum Hazrat Mahal; Bareilly: Khan Bahadur; Jagdishpur (Ara): Kunwar Singh; Jhansi: Rani Lakshmi Bai
  • Only the Madras army remained totally loyal. Sikh regiment as well remained largely loyal.

Causes for the revolt

The revolt was a result of the accumulated grievances of the people against Company’s administration and a loathing for the character and policies of the colonial rule. The causes can be classified as social, economic, religious and military. <In class notes>

WHY DID THE SEPOYS REVOLT?

  • The conditions of service in the Company’s army and cantonments increasingly came into conflict with the religious beliefs and prejudices of the sepoys.
  • The unhappiness of the sepoys first surfaced in 1824 when the 47th Regiment of Barrackpur was ordered to go to Burma. To the religious Hindu, crossing the sea meant loss of caste. The sepoys refused. The regiment was disbanded and those who led the opposition were hanged.
  • The rumors about the Government’s secret designs to promote conversions to Christianity further exasperated the sepoys.
  • The greased cartridges
  • They were also unhappy with the emoluments
  • Discrimination and racism
  • Misery brought to the peasants by the British rule. E.g. the land revenue system imposed in Oudh, where about 75000 sepoys came from, was very harsh.
  • The civilians also participated
  • After the capture of Delhi, a letter was issued to the neighboring states asking for support.
  • A court of administrators was established in Delhi
  • Ill-equipped, the rebels carried on the struggle for about a year
  • The country as a whole was not behind them. The merchants, intelligentsia and Indian rulers not only kept aloof but actively supported the British.
  • Almost half the Indian soldiers not only did not revolt but fought against their own countrymen.
  • Apart from a commonly shared hatred for alien rule, the rebels had no political perspective or definite vision of the future
  • Delhi fell on September 20, 1857.
  • Rani of Jhansi died fighting on June 17, 1858
  • Nana Saheb escaped to Nepal hoping to revive the struggle.
  • Kunwar Singh died on May 9, 1958
  • Tantia tope carried on guerrilla warfare until April 1959 after which he was betrayed by a zamindar, captured and put to death.

Important Persons relating to the Revolt

 

Bahadur Shah Zafar: BSZ was the last Mughal emperor of India.

 

Nana Saheb

 

Rani Lakshmi Bai

 

Kunwar Singh

 

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah

 

Birjis Qadr: The son of Wajid Ali Shah and the leader of the revolt in Lucknow.

 

Shah Mal: He belonged  to a clan of Jat cultivators in parganan Barout in UP. During the revolt, he mobilized the headmen and cultivators of chaurasee des (84 villages: his kinship area), moving at night from village to village, urging people to rebel against the British.

 

Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah: Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah was one of the many maulvis who played an

important part in the revolt of 1857. 1856, he was seen moving from village to village preaching jehad (religious war) against the British and urging people to rebel. he was elected by the mutinous 22nd Native Infantry as their leader. He fought in the famous Battle of Chinhat in which the British forces under Henry Lawrence were defeated.

 

Begum Hazrat Mahal:

 

Chapter 2: Civil Rebellions and Tribal Uprisings

  • The backbone of the rebellions, their mass base and striking power came from the rack-rented peasants, ruined artisans and demobilized soldiers

CAUSES

  • The major cause of the civil rebellions was the rapid changes the British introduced in the economy, administration and land revenue system.
  • The revenues were enhanced by increasing taxes.
  • Thousands of zamindars and poligars lost control over their land and its revenue either due to the extinction of their rights by the colonial state or by the forced sale of their rights over land because of their inability to meet the exorbitant land revenue demanded.
  • The economic decline of the peasantry was reflected in twelve major and numerous minor famines from 1770 to 1857
  • The new courts and legal system gave a further fillip to the dispossessors of land and encouraged the rich to oppress the poor.
  • The police looted, oppressed and tortured the common people at will.
  • The ruin of Indian handicraft industries pauperized millions of artisans
  • The scholarly and priestly classes were also active in inciting hatred and rebellion against foreign rule.
  • Very foreign character of the British rule

REBELLIONS

  • From 1763 to 1856, there were more than forty major rebellions apart from hundreds of minor ones.
  • Sanyasi Rebellion: (1763-1800)
  • Chuar uprising (1766-1772 & 1795-1816); Rangpur and Dinajpur (1783); Bishnupur and Birbhum (1799); Orissa zamindars (1804-17) and Sambalpur (1827-40) and many others

WHY FAILED?

  • These rebellions were local in their spread and were isolated from each other.
  • They were the result of local causes and grievances, and were also localized in their effects.
  • Socially, economically and politically, the semi-feudal leaders of these rebellions were backward looking and traditional in outlook.
  • The suppression of the civil rebellions was a major reason why the revolt of 1857 did not spread to South India and most of Eastern and Western India.

TRIBAL  UPRISINGS: CAUSES

  • The colonial administrators ended their relative isolation and brought them fully within the ambit of colonialism.
  • Introduced new system of land revenue and taxation of tribal products
  • Influx of Christian missionaries into the tribal areas
  • They could no longer practice shifting agriculture
  • Oppression and extortion by police officials
  • The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities provided the common factor for all the tribal uprisings

UPRISINGS

  • Santhals
  • Kols of Chhotanagpur (1820-37)
  • Birsa Munda (1899-1900)

 

 

CHAPTER 3: Peasant Uprisings

  • Many dispossessed peasants took to robbery and dacoity.
  • Indigo Revolt of 1859-60
  • By the end of 1860 indigo cultivation was virtually wiped out from the districts of Bengal
  • A major reason for the success of the Indigo revolt was the tremendous initiative, cooperation, organization and discipline of the ryots.
  • Another was the complete unity among Hindu and Muslim peasants
  • Another significant feature was the role of intelligentsia of Bengal which organized a powerful campaign in support of the rebellious peasantry.
  • The government’s response to the revolt was rather restrained and not as harsh as in the case of civil rebellions and tribal uprisings.
  • The government appointed the Indigo Commission to enquire into the problems of indigo cultivation. The report of the commission exposed the coercion and corruption in indigo cultivation
  • The government issued a notification in November 1960 that ryots could not be compelled to sow indigo and all disputes were to be settled by legal means.

 

CHAPTER 4 & 5

 

Why did national movement arise?

  • Indian nationalism rose to meet the challenges of foreign domination
  • The British rule and its direct and indirect consequences provided the material and the moral and intellectual conditions for the development of a national movement in India.
  • Clash of interest between the interests of the Indian people with British interests in India
  • Increasingly, the British rule became the major cause of India’s economic backwardness
  • Every class gradually discovered that their interests were suffering at the hands of the British
    • Peasant: Govt took a large part of produce away as land revenue. Laws favoured the Zamindars
    • Artisans: Foreign competition ruined the industry
    • Workers: The government sided with the capitalists
    • Intelligentsia: They found that the British policies were guided by the interests of British capitalists and were keeping the country economically backward. Politically, the British had no commitment of guiding India towards self-government.
    • Indian capitalists: the growth of Indian industries was constrained by the unfavourable trade, tariff, taxation and transport policies of the government.
    • Zamindars, landlords and princes were the only ones whose interests coincided with those of the British. Hence they remained loyal to them.
  • Hence, it was the intrinsic nature of foreign imperialism and its harmful effect on the lives of the Indian people that led to the rise of the national movement. This movement could be called the national movement because it united people from different parts of the country as never before for a single cause.

 

What factors strengthened and facilitated the national movement?

  • Administration and Economic Unification of the country
    • Introduction of modern trade and industries on all-India scale had increasingly made India’s economic life a single whole and interlinked the economic fate of people living in different parts of the country.
    • Introduction of railways, telegraph and unified postal system brought together different parts of the country and promoted contact among people like never before.
    • This unification led to the emergence of the Indian nation
  • Western Thought and Education
    • A large number of Indians imbibed a modern rational, secular, democratic and nationalist political outlook
    • They began to study, admire and emulate the contemporary nationalist movements of European nations
    • The western education per se did not create the national movement. It only enabled the educated Indians to imbibe western thought and thus to assume the leadership of the national movement and to give it a democratic and modern direction
    • Modern education created a certain uniformity and community of outlook and interests among the education Indians.
  • Role of Press and Literature
    • Large number of nationalist newspapers appeared in the second half of the 19th century
    • They criticized the policies of the British government and put forth the Indian point of view
    • National literature in form of essays, novels and poetry also played an important role. Bamkin Chandra, Tagore: Bengali; Bhartendu Harishchandra: Hindi; Lakshmikanth Bezbarua: Assamese; Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar: Marathi; Subramanya Bharti: Tamil; Altaf Husain Hali: Urdu
  • Rediscovery of India’s past
    • The British had lowered the self confidence of the Indian through the propaganda that Indians are incapable of self-government
    • Nationalist leaders referred to the cultural heritage of India to counter this propaganda. They referred to political achievements of rulers like Ashoka, Chandragupta Vikramaditya and Akbar.
    • However, some nationalists went to the extent of glorifying the past uncritically. They emphasized on the achievements of ancient India and not medieval India. This encouraged the growth of communal sentiments.
  • Racial arrogance of the rulers
    • Englishmen adopted a tone of racial superiority in their dealings with the Indians
    • Failure of justice whenever an Englishman was involved in a dispute with an Indian.
    • Indians kept out of European clubs and often were not permitted to travel in same compartment as Englishmen

 

Rise of Indian National Congress

 

Predecessors of INC

  • East India Association
    • By Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866 in London
    • To discuss the Indian question and to influence the British public men to discuss Indian welfare
    • Branches of the association in prominent Indian cities
  • Indian Association
    • Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose in 1876, Calcutta
    • The aim of creating strong public opinion in the country on political questions and the unification of the Indian people on a common political programme
  • Poona Sarvajanik Sabha
    • Justice Ranade, 1870
  • Madras Mahajan Sabha
    • Viraraghavachari, Anand Charloo, G Subramanian Aiyer, 1884
  • Bombay Presidency Association
    • Pherozshah Mehta, K T Telang, Badruddin Tyabji, 1885
  • These organizations were narrow in their scope and functioning. They dealt mostly with local questions and their membership were confined to a few people belonging to a single city or province

 

Indian National Congress

  • Indian National Congress was founded on 28 December 1885 by 72 political workers. A O Hume was the first secretary and was instrumental in establishing the Congress
  • First session in Bombay. President: W C Bonnerjee
  • With the formation of INC, the Indian National Movement was launched in a small but organized manner
  • The Congress itself was to serve not as a party but as a movement
  • Congress was democratic. The delegates to INC were elected by different local organizations and groups
  • Sovereignty of the people
  • In 1890, Kadambini Ganguli, the first woman graduate of Calcutta University addressed the Congress session
  • Safety Valve Theory
    • The INC was started under the official direction, guidance and advice of Lord Dufferin, the Viceroy, to provide a safe, mild, peaceful and constitutional outlet or safety valve for the rising discontent among the masses, which was inevitably leading towards a popular and violent revolution.

Does the safety valve theory explain the formation of Congress?

  • The safety valve theory is inadequate and misleading
  • INC represented the urge of the Indian educated class to set up a national organization to work for their political and economic development
  • A number of organizations, as mentioned above, had already been started by the Indians towards that end
  • Hume’s presence in Congress was used to allay official suspicions

 

 

Why was there a need for an All-India organization?

  • Vernacular Press Act, 1878
  • Ilbert Bill (1883) which would allow Indian judges to try Europeans was opposed by the European community and was finally enacted in a highly compromised state in 1884.
  • The Indians realized that they could not get the Ilbert bill passed because they were not united on all India level. Hence need for INC was felt.
  • In order to give birth to the national movement
    • Creation of national leadership was important
    • Collective identification was created

 

Aims of INC

  • Promotion of friendly relations between nationalist political workers from different parts of the country
  • Development and consolidation of the feeling of national unity irrespective of caste, religion or province
  • Formulation of popular demands and their presentation before the government
  • Training and organization of public opinion in the country

 

  • The first major objective of the Indian national movement was to promote weld Indians into a nation, to create an  Indian identity
  • Fuller development and consolidation of sentiments of national unity
    • Efforts for unity: In an effort to reach all regions, it was decided to rotate the congress session among different parts of the country. The President was to belong to a region other than where the congress session was being held.
    • To reach out to the followers of all religions and to remove the fears of the minorities, a rule was made at the 1888 session that no resolution was to be passed to which an overwhelming majority of Hindu or Muslim delegates objected.
    • In 1889, a minority clause was adopted in the resolution demanding reform of legislative councils. According to the clause, wherever Parsis, Christians, Muslims or Hindus were a minority their number elected to the councils would not be less than their proportion in the population.
    • To build a secular nation, the congress itself had to be intensely secular
  • The second major objective of the early congress was to create a common political platform or programme around which political workers in different parts of the country could gather and conduct their political activities.
    • Due to its focus solely on political issues congress did not take up the question of social reform.
  • Since this form of political participation was new to India, the arousal, training, organization and consolidation of public opinion was seen as a major task by the congress leaders.
    • Going beyond the redressal of immediate grievances and organize sustained political activity.

Contribution of early nationalists

  • Early nationalists believed that a direct struggle for the political emancipation of the country was not yet on the agenda of history. On agenda was:
    • Creation of public interest in political questions and the organization of public opinion
    • Popular demands had to be formulated on a country-wide basis
    • National unity had to be created. Indian nationhood had to be carefully promoted.
  • Early national leaders did not organize mass movement against the British. But they did carry out an ideological struggle against them. (Important from a Gramscian perspective)
  • Economic critique of imperialism
    • Economic critique of imperialism was the most important contribution of the early nationalists
    • They recognized that the essence of British economic imperialism lay in the subordination of the Indian economy to the British economy
    • They complained of India’s growing poverty and economic backwardness and the failure of modern industry and agriculture to grow
    • They wanted the government to promote modern industries through tariff protection and direct government aid
    • Popularized the idea of swadeshi and the boycott of British goods
    • They propounded the ‘drain of wealth’ theory and demanded that this drain be stopped
    • Demanded reduction of taxes and land revenue
    • Condemned the high military expenditure
  • Constitutional reforms
    • They were extremely cautious. From 1885 to 1892 they demanded the expansion and reform of the Legislative Councils
    • Due to their demands, the British passed the Indian Councils Act of 1892
    • They failed to broaden the base of their democratic demands. Did not demand the right to vote for the masses or for women
  • Administrative and other reforms
    • They demanded Indianisation of the higher grades of the administrative services.
    • They had economic political reasons for this. Economically, appointment of British only to ICS made Indian administration costly because they were paid very high. Politically, appointment of Indians would make the administration more responsive to Indian needs
    • Demanded separation of the judicial from executive powers so that the people might get some protection from the arbitrary acts of the police and the bureaucracy.
    • Urged the government to undertake and develop welfare activities and education
  • Defense of Civil Rights

Methods of work of early nationalists

  • Dominated by moderates till 1905
  • Method of moderates: Constitutional agitation within the four walls of the law, and slow, orderly political progress. Their work had two pronged direction:
    • To build a strong public opinion in India to arouse the political consciousness and national spirit of the people, and to educate and unite them on political questions
    • They wanted to persuade the British government and British public opinion to introduce reforms along directions laid down by the nationalists.
  • In 1889, a British Committee of the INC was founded. In 1890 this committee started a journal called India.

What about the role of the masses?

  • The basic weakness of the early national movement lay in its narrow social base.
  • The leaders lacked political faith in the masses.
  • Hence, masses were assigned a passive role in the early phase of the national movement.

Evaluation

  • The basic objectives of the early nationalist leaders were to lay the foundations of a secular and democratic national movement, to politicize and politically educate the people, to form the headquarters of the movement, that is, to form an all-India leadership group, and to develop and propagate an anti-colonial nationalist ideology.
  • Very few of the reforms for which the nationalists agitated were introduced by the government
  • It succeeded in creating a wide national awakening and arousing the feeling of nationhood. It made the people conscious of the bonds of common political, economic and social interests and the existence of a common enemy in imperialism
  • They exposed the true character of the British rule through their economic critique.
  • All this was to become a base for the national movement in the later period.

 

WHY HUME?

  • The leaders assumed that the rulers would be less suspicious and less likely to attack a potentially subversive organization if its chief organizer was a retired British civil servant.
  • Gokhale himself stated explicitly in 1913 that if any Indian had started such a movement the officials wouldn’t have let it happen.

 

CHAPTER 6: Socio-religious reforms

  • The socio-religious reforms are also referred to as the Indian renaissance
  • The socio-cultural regeneration in nineteenth century India was occasioned by the colonial presence, but not created by it.
  • Formation of the Brahmo Samaj in 1828.
  • Paramhansa Mandali, Prathna Samaj, Arya Samaj, Kayasth Sabha: UP, Sarin Sabha: Punjab, Satya Sodhak Samaj: Maharashtra, Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Sabha: Kerala
  • Ahmadiya and Aligarh Movements: Muslims, Singh Sabha: Sikhs, Rehnumai Mazdeyasan Sabha: Parsees
  • Their attention was focused on worldly existence.
  • The idea of otherworldliness and salvation were not a part of their agenda.
  • At that time the influence of religion and superstition was overwhelming. Position of priests strong; that of women weak.
  • Caste was another debilitating factor
  • Neither a revival of the past nor a total break with tradition was contemplated.
  • Rationalism and religious universalism influenced the reform movement.
  • Development of universalistic perspective on religion
  • Lex Loci Act propsed in 1845 and passed in 1850 provided the right to inherit ancestral property to Hindu converts to Christianity.
  • The culture faced a threat from the colonial rule.

CHAPTER 7

  • First, the Indian intellectuals co-operated with the British in the hope that British would help modernize India.
  • However, the reality of social development in India failed to conform to their hopes.
  • Three people who carried out the economic analysis of British India:
    • Dadabhai Naoroji: the grand old man of India. Born in 1825, he became a successful businessman but devoted his entire life and wealth to the creation of national movement in India
    • Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade: He taught an entire generation of Indians the value of modern industrial development.
    • Romesh Chandra Dutt: a retired ICS officer, published The Economic History of India at the beginning of the 20th century in which he examined in minute detail the entire economic record of colonial rule since 1757.
  • They concluded that colonialism was the main obstacle to India’s economic development.
  • Three aspects of domination of British: trade, industry, finance
  • The problem of poverty was seen as a problem of national development. This approach made poverty a broad national issue and helped to unite, instead of divide, different regions and sections of Indian society.
  • The early nationalists accepted that the complete economic transformation of the country on the basis of modern technology and capitalist enterprise was the primary goal of their economic policies.
  • Because their whole-ted devotion to the cause of industrialization, the early nationalists looked upon all other issues such as foreign trade, railways, tariffs, finance and labour legislations in relation to this paramount aspect. (and hence the obsession of Nehru with industrialization)
  • However great the need of India for industrialization, it had to be based on Indian capital and not foreign capital.
  • The early nationalists saw foreign capital as an unmitigated evil which did not develop a country but exploited and impoverished it.
  • Expenditure on railways could be seen as Indian subsidy to British industries.
  • A major obstacle in the process of industrial development was the policy of free trade
  • High expenditure on the army
  • Drain theory was the focal point of nationalist critique of colonialism.
    • A large part of India’a capital and wealth was being transferred or drained to Britain in the form of salaries and pensions of British civil and military officials working in India, interest on loans taken by the Indian government, profits of British capitalists in India, and the Home Charges or expenses of the Indian Government in Britain.
    • This drain amounted to one-half of government revenues, more than the entire land revenue collection, and over one-third of India’s total savings.
    • The Drain theory was put forward by Dadabhai Naoroji. He declared that the drain was the basic cause of India’s poverty.
    • Through the drain theory, the exploitative character of the British rule was made visible.
    • The drain theory possessed the merit of being easily grasped and understood by a nation of peasants. No idea could arouse people more than the thought that they were being taxed so that others in far off lands might live in comfort.
    • This agitation on economic issues contributed to the undermining of the ideological hegemony of the alien rulers over Indian minds.
    • The nationalist economic agitation undermined the moral foundations inculcated by the British that foreign rule is beneficial for India.

CHAPTER 8: Freedom of Press

  • On 29th January 1780, the Hickey’s Bengal Gazette or the Calcutta General Advertizer was published. It was the first English newspaper to be printed in the Indian sub-continent.
  • The press was the chief instrument of forming a nationalist ideology

 

  • The resolutions and proceedings of the Congress were propagated through press. Trivia: nearly one third of the founding fathers of congress in 1885 were journalists.

 

  • Main news papers and editors

 

    • The Hindu and Swadesamitran: G Subramaniya Iyer
    • Kesari and Mahratta: BG Tilak
    • Bengalee: S N Banerjea
    • Amrita Bazar Patrika: Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh
    • Sudharak: GK Gokhale
    • Indian Mirror: N N Sen
    • Voice of India: Dadabhai Naoroji
    • Hindustani and Advocate: GP Varma
    • Tribune and Akhbar-i-Am in Punjab
    • Indu Prakash, Dnyan Prakahs, Kal and Gujarati in Bombay
    • Som Prakash, Banganivasi and Sadharani in Bengal

 

  • Newspaper was not confined to the literates. It would reach the villages and would be read by a reader to tens of others.
  • Reading and discussing newspaper became a form of political participation.
  • Nearly all the major political controversies of the day were conducted through the Press.
  • ‘Oppose, oppose, oppose’ was the motto of the Indian press.
  • The section 124A of the IPC was such as to punish a person who evoked feelings of disaffection to the government.
  • The Indian journalists remained outside 124A by adopting methods such as quoting the socialist and anti-imperialist newspapers of England or letters from radical British citizens
  • The increasing influence of the newspapers led the government to pass the Vernacular Press Act of 1978, directed only against Indian language newspapers.
    • It was passed very secretively
    • The act provided for the confiscation of the printing press, paper and other materials of a newspaper if the government believed that it was publishing seditious materials and had flouted an official warning.
    • Due to the agitations, it was repealed in 1881 by Lord Ripon.
  • SN Banerjee was the first Indian to go to jail in performance of his duty as a journalist.

 

B G Tilak

 

  • The man who is most frequently associated with the struggle for the freedom of Press during the nationalist movement is Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
  • In 1881, along with G G Agarkar, he founded the newspapers Kesari and Mahratta.
  • In 1893, he started the practice of using the traditional religious Ganapati festival to propagate nationalist ideas through patriotic songs and speeches.
  • In 1896, he started the Shivaji festival to stimulate nationalism among young Maharashtrians.
  • He brought peasants and farmers into the national movement.
  • He organized a no-tax campaign in Maharashtra in 1896-97
  • Plague in Poona in 1897.
  • Popular resentment against the official plague measures resulted in the assassination of Rand, the Chairman of the Plague Committee in Poona, and Lt. Ayerst by the Chaphekar brothers on 27 June 1898.
  • Since 1894, anger had been rising against the government due to the tariff, currency and famine policy.
  • Tilak was arrested and sentenced to 18 month rigorous imprisonment in 1897. This led to country wide protests and Tilak was given the title of Lokmanya.
  • Tilak was again arrested and tried on 24 June 1908 on the charge of sedition under article 124A. He was sentenced to 6 years of transportation. This led to nationwide protests and closing down of markets for a week. Later, in 1922 Gandhi was tried on the same act and he said that he is proud to be associated with Tilak’s name.

 

CHAPER 9

 

  • The Indian Councils Act of 1861 enlarged the Governor-General’s Executive Council for the purpose of making laws.
  • The GG could add 6-12 members to the Executive Council. This came to be known as the Imperial Legislative Council. It didn’t have any powers.
  • ‘Despotism controlled from home’ was the fundamental feature of British rule in India.
  • The Indians nominated to the council were not representative of the nationalist movement.
  • Despite the early nationalists believing that India should eventually become self-governing, they moved very cautiously in putting forward political demands regarding the structure of the state, for they were afraid of the Government declaring their activities seditious and disloyal and suppressing them.
  • Till 1892, they only demanded reforms in the council.

 

 

CHAPTER 10: The Swadeshi Movement: 1903-1908

Nationalist Movement 1905-1918

Reasons for the growth of militant nationalism (this is different from revolutionary terrorism)

 

Disillusionment of the nationalists with moderate policies

  • The moderates thought that the British could be reformed from within
  • Politically conscious Indians were convinced that the purpose of the British rule was to exploit India economically
  • The nationalists realized that Indian industries could not flourish except under an Indian government
  • Disastrous famines from 1896 to 1900 took a toll of over 90 lakh lives
  • The Indian Councils Act of 1892 was a disappointment
  • The Natu brothers were deported in 1897 without trial
  • In 1897 B G Tilak was sentenced to long term imprisonment for arousing the people against the government
  • In 1904, the Indian Official Secrets Act was passed restricting the freedom of the Press
  • Primary and technical education was not making any progress
  • Thus, increasing number of Indians were getting convinced that self-government was essential for the sake of economic, political and cultural progress of the country

 

Growth of Self-respect and  self-confidence

  • Tilak, Aurobindo and Pal preached the message of self-respect
  • They said to the people that remedy to their condition lay in their own hand and they should therefore become strong
  • Swami Vivekananda’s messages

 

Growth of education and unemployment

 

International Influences

  • Rise of modern Japan after 1868
  • Defeat of the Italian army by the Ethiopians in 1896 and of Russia by Japan in 1905 exploded the myth of European superiority

Existence of a Militant Nationalist School of Thought

 

Partition of Bengal

 

  • With the partition of Bengal, Indian National Movement entered its second stage
  • On 20 July, 1905, Lord Curzon issued an order dividing the province of Bengal into two parts: Eastern Bengal and Assam with a population of 31 mn and the rest of Bengal with a population of 54 mn.
  • Reason given: the existing province of Bengal was too big to be efficiently administered by a single provincial government
  • The partition expected to weaken the nerve centre of Indian Nationalism, Bengal.
  • The partition of the state intended to curb Bengali influence by not only placing Bengalis under two administrations but by reducing them to a minority in Bengal itself as in the new proposed Bengal proper was to have seventeen million Bengali and thirty seven million Oriya and Hindi speaking people.
  • The partition was also meant to foster division on the basis of religion.
  • Risley, Home Secretary to the GoI, said on December 6, 1904 – ‘one of our main objects is to split up and thereby weaken a solid body of opponents to our rule.’
  • the nationalists saw it as a deliberate attempt to divide the Bengalis territorially and on religious grounds

 

The Swadeshi Movement

  • The Swadeshi movement had its genesis in the anti-partition movement which was started to oppose the British decision to partition Bengal.
  • Mass protests were organized in opposition to the proposed partition.
  • Despite the protests, the decision to partition Bengal was announced on July 19, 1905
  • It became obvious to the nationalists that their moderate methods were not working and that a different kind of strategy was needed.
  • Several meetings were held in towns such as Dinajpur Pabna, Faridpur etc. It was in these meetings that the pledge to boycott foreign goods was first taken.
  • The formal proclamation of the Swadeshi movement was made on 7 August 1905 in a meeting held in the Calcutta town hall. The famous boycott resolution was passed.
  • The leaders like SN Banerjee toured the country urging the boycott of Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt.
  • The value of British cloth sold in some of the districts fell by five to fifteen times between September 1904 and September 1905.
  • The day the partition took effect – 16 October 1905 – was declared a day of mourning throughout Bengal.
  • The movement soon spread to the entire country.
  • Militant nationalists
    • The extremists were in favor of extending the movement to the rest of India and carrying it beyond the programme of just Swadeshi and boycott to a full fledged political mass struggle. The moderates were not as willing to go that far.
    • The differences between the extremists and moderates came to had in 1907 Surat session where the party split with serious consequences for the Swadeshi Movement.
    • In Bengal, the extremists acquired a dominant influence over the Swadeshi movement.
    • They proposed the technique of extended boycott which included, apart from boycott of foreign goods, boycott of government schools and colleges, courts, titles and government services and even the organization of strikes.
    • Aurobindo Ghose: Political freedom is the lifebreath of a nation.
    • Boycott and public burning foreign cloth, picketing of shops selling foreign goods, became common in remote corners of Bengal as well as in many towns across the country.
    • The militant nationslists, however, failed to give a positive leadership to the people. They also failed to reach the real masses of the country, the peasants.
  • The movement also innovated with considerable success different forms of mass mobilization such as public meetings, processions and corps of volunteers.
  • The Swadesh Bandhab Samiti set up by Ashwini Kumar Dutt, a school teacher, in Barisal was the most well known volunteer organization.
  • During the Swadeshi period, traditional festivals were used to reach out to the masses. The Ganapati and Shivaji festivals were popularized by Tilak. Traditional folk theatres such as jatras were also used.
  • Another important aspect was the great emphasis given to self-reliance or Atmasakti as a necessary part of the struggle against the government.
  • Self-reliance was the keyword. Campaigns for social reforms were carried out.
  • In 1906, the National Council for Education was setup to organize the education system.
  • Self-reliance also meant an effort to set up Swadeshi or indigenous enterprises.
  • Marked impact in the cultural sphere
    • The songs composed by Rabindranath Tago, Mukunda Das and others became the moving spirit for nationalists.
    • Rabindranath’s ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’, written at that time, was to later inspire the liberation struggle of Bangladesh and was adopted as the national anthem of the country in 1971.
    • Nandalal Bose, who left a major imprint on Indian art, was the first recipient of a scholarship offered by the Indian Society of Oriental Art founded in 1907.
  • The social base of the national movement was now extened to include certain zamindari section, lower middle class and school and college students. Women also participated in large numbers.
  • Drawback: Was not able to garner the support of the mass of Muslims, especially the muslim peasantry. The British policy of communalism responsible for this.
  • By mid-1908, the movement was almost over. The main reasons were:
    • The government, seeing the revolutionary potential of the movement, came down with a heavy hand.
    • The split of the congress in 1907 had weakened the movement.
    • The movement lacked an effective organization and party structure.
    • The movement decline dpartially because of the logic of the mass movements itself – they cannot be endlessly sustained at the same pitch of militancy and self-sacrifice.
  • The anti-partition movement, however, marked a great revolutionary leap forward for Indian nationalism.
  • The decline of Swadeshi engendered the rise of revolutionary terrorism.
  • Assessing the movement
    • Cultural impact
    • Social Impact
    • Economic impact
    • Role of students and  Women
    • All India aspect of the movement
    • From passive protest to active boycott

Revolutionary Terrorism

  • Revolutionary young men did not try to generate a mass revolution. Instead they followed the strategy of assassinating unpopular officials
  • 1904: VD Savarkar organized Abhinav Bharat
  • Newspapers like The Sandhya and Yugaantar in Bengal and the Kal in Maharashtra advocated revolutionary ideology
  • Kingsford Incident: In 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki threw bomb at a carriage they believed was carrying Kingsford, the unpopular judge of Muzaffarpur.
  • Anushilan Samiti threw a bomb at the Viceroy Lord Hardinge
  • Centres abroad
    • In London: led by VD Savarkar, Shyamaji Krishnavarma and Har Dayal
    • In Europe: Madam Cama and Ajit Singh
  • They gradually petered out. It did not have any base among the people

 

CHAPTER 11: The Split in the Congress

  • Moderates were successful to some extent.
  • Moderates failed in many aspects. Why?
    • They could not acquire any roots among common people.
    • They believed that they could persuade the rulers to change their policies. However, their achievement in this regard was meager.
    • They could not keep pace with the events. They failed to meet the demands of the new stage of the national movement.
  • The British were keen on finishing the Congress because:
    • However moderate the leaders were, they were still nationalists and propagators of anti-colonialist ideas.
    • The British felt that moderates led congress could be finished off easily because it did not have a popular base
  • In the swadeshi movement, all sections of INC united in opposing the Partition
    • However, there was much difference between the moderates and the extremists about the methods and scope of the movement
    • The extremists wanted to extend the Swadeshi and Boycott movement from Bengal to the rest of the country and to boycott every form of association with the colonial government
    • The moderates wanted to confine the boycott movement to Bengal and even there to limit it to the boycott of foreign goods
  • After the Swadeshi movement the British adopted a three pronged approach to deal with congress. Repression-conciliation-suppression.
    • The extremists were reppressed
    • The moderates were conciliated thus giving them an impression that their further demands would be met if they disassociated from the extremists. The idea was to isolate the extremists.
    • Once the moderates and extremists were separate the extremists could be suppressed through the use of state force while the moderates could later be ignored.
  • The congress session was held on December 26, 1907 at Surat, on the banks of the river Tapti.
    • The extremists wanted a guarantee that the four Calcutta resolutions will be passed.
    • They objected to the duly elected president of the year, Rash Behari Ghose.
    • There was a confrontation with hurling of chairs and shoes.
  • The government launched a massive attack on the extremists. Newspapers were suppressed. Tilak was sent to Mandalay jail for six years.
  • The extremists were not able to organize an effective alternative party or to sustain the movement.
  • After 1908 the national movement as a whole declined.
  • The moderates and the country as a whole were disappointed by the 1909 Minto-Morley reforms
    • The number of indirectly elected members of the Imperial and provincial legislative councils was increased.
    • Separate electorates for Muslims were introduced.
  • With the split of Congress revolutionary terrorism rose.
  • In 1904 V D Savarkar organized Abhinav Bharat as a secret society of revolutionaries
  • In April 1908, Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose threw a bomb at a carriage which they believed was occupied by Kingsford the unpopular judge at Muzzafarpur.
  • Anushilan Samity and Jugantar were two most important revolutionary groups.
  • An assessment of the split
    • The split did not prove useful to either party
    • The British played the game of divide and rule
    • To placate the moderates they announced the Morley-Minto reforms which did not satisfy the demands of the nationalists. They also annulled the partition of Bengal in 1911.

Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909

  • Increased the number of elected members in the Imperial Legislative Council and the provincial council
  • However, most of the elected members were elected indirectly
  • The reformed councils still enjoyed no real power, being merely advisory bodies.
  • Introduced separate electorates under which all Muslims were grouped in separate constituencies from which Muslims alone could be elected. This was aimed at dividing the Hindus and Muslims. It was based on the notion that the political and economic interests of Hindus and Muslims were separate.
    • This later became a potent factor in the growth of communalism
    • It isolated the Muslims from the Nationalist Movement and encouraged separatist tendencies
  • The real purpose of the reforms was to confuse the moderate nationalists, to divide nationalist ranks and to check the growth of unity among Indians
  • Response of Moderates
    • They realized that the reforms had not granted much
    • However, they decided to cooperate with the government in working the reforms
    • This led to their loss of respect among the nationalists and masses

Growth of Communalism

  • Definition
    • Communalism is the belief that because a group of people follow a particular religion they have, as a result, common secular, that is, social, political and economic interests.
    • Second stage: Secular interests of followers of one religion are dissimilar and divergent from the interests of the followers of another religion
    • Third stage: The interests of the followers of different religions or of different religious communities are seen to be mutually incompatible, antagonistic and hostile.
  • Communalism is not a remnant of the medieval period. It has its roots in the modern colonial socio-economic political structure.
  • Divide and Rule
    • After 1857, British initially suppressed Indian muslims. However, after the publishing of Hunter’s book ‘The Indian Mussalman’ they actively followed the policy of divide and rule and hence started supporting the Muslims.
    • They promoted provincialism by talking of Bengal domination
    • Tired to use the caste structure to turn the non-brahmins against Brahmins and the lower caste against the higher castes.
    • It readily accepted communal leaders as authentic representatives of all their co-religionists.
  • Reasons for growth of communal tendencies in Muslims
    • Relative backwardness: educationally and economically <incomplete>

Muslim League

  • 1906 by Aga Khan, the Nawab of Dhaka, and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk
  • It made no critique of colonialism, supported the partition of Bengal and demanded special safeguards for the Muslims in government services.
  • ML’s political activities were directed not against the foreign rulers but against the Hindus and the INC.
  • Their activities were not supported by all Muslims
    • Arhar movement was founded at this time under the leadership of Maulana Mohamed Ali, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasan Imam, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, and Mazhar-ul-Haq. They advocated participation in the militant nationalist movement.

Muslim Nationalists

  • The war between Ottoman Empire and Italy created a wave of sympathy for Turkey
  • During the war between Ottoman empire and Italy, India sent a medical mission headed by MA Ansari to help Turkey.
  • As the British were not sympathetic to Turkey, the pro-Caliph sentiments in India became anti-British
  • However, the militant nationalists among muslims did not accept an entirely secular approach to politics
  • The most important issue they took up was not political independence but protection of the Turkish empire.
  • This approach did not immediately clash with Indian nationalism. However, in the long run it proved harmful as it encouraged the habit of looking at political questions from a religious view point.

Hindu Communalism

  • Some Hindus accepted the colonial view of Indian history and talked about the tyrannical Muslim rule in the medieval period
  • Over language they said that Hindi was the language of Hindus and Urdu that of Muslims.
  • Punjab Hindu Sabha was founded in 1909. Its leaders attached the INC for trying to unite Indians into a single nation.
  • The first session of the All India Hindu Mahasabha was held in April 1915 under the presidentship of the Maharaja of Kasim Bazar.
  • It however remained a weak organization because the colonial government gave it few concessions and little support.

 

CHAPTER 12: World War I and Indian Nationalism

  • Increasing number of Indians from Punjab were emigrating to North America.
  • The British government thought that these emigrants would be affected by the idea of liberty. Hence, they tried to restrict emigration.
  • Tarak Nath Das, an Indian student in Canada, started a paper called Free Hindustan.
  • The Hindi Association was setup in Portland in May 1913.
  • Under the leadership of Lala Har Dayal, a weekly paper, The Ghadar was started and a headquarters called Yugantar Ashram was set up in San Fransisco.
  • On November 1, 1913, the first issue of Ghadar was published in Urdu and on December 9, the Gurumukhi edition.
  • In 1914, three events influenced the course of the Ghadar movement:
    • The arrest and escape of Har Dayal
    • The Komagata Maru incident
    • Outbreak of the first world war
  • Gharadites came to India and made several attempts to instill the Indian population to revolt. However, this was of no avail.
  • The Ghadar movement was very secular in nature.
  • Ghadar militants were distinguished by their secular, egalitarian, democratic and non-chauvinistic internationalist outlook.
  • The major weakness of the Ghadar leaders was that they completely under-estimated the extent and amount of preparation at every level – organizational, ideological, strategic, tactical, financial – that was necessary before an attempt at an armed revolt could be organized.
  • It also failed to generate an effective and sustained leadership that was capable of integrating the various aspects of the movement.
  • Another weakness was its almost non-existent organizational structure.
  • Some important leaders: Baba Gurmukh Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Rahmat Ali Shah, Bhai Parmanand and Mohammad Barkatullah.
  • Inspired by the Ghadar Party, 700 soldiers at Singapore revolted under the leadership of Jamadar Chisti Khan and Subedar Dundey Khan. The rebellion was crushed.
  • Other revolutionaries: Jatin Mukharjee, Rash Bihari Bose, Raja Mahendra Pratab, Lala Hardayal, Abdul Rahim, Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi, Champakaraman Pillai, Sardar Singh Rana and Madame Cama

 

CHAPTER 13: The Home Rule Movement

  • After being released in 1914, Tilak sought re-entry into Congress. Annie Besant and Gokhale supported. But finally Pherozshah Mehta won and Tilak was not admitted.
  • Tilak and Besant decided to start the home rule movement on their own.
  • In early 1915, Annie Besant (and S Subramaniya Iyer) launched a campaign through her two newspapers, New India and Commonweal, and organized public meetings and conferences to demand that India be granted self-government on the lines of the White colonies after the War. From April 1915, her tone became more peremptory and her stance more aggressive.
  • At the annual session of the Congress in December 1915 it was decided that the extremists be allowed to rejoin the Congress. The opposition from the Bombay group has been greatly weakened by the death of Pherozshah Mehta.
  • Tilak and Annie Besant set up two different home rule leagues.
  • Tilak’s league was to work in Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, the central provinces and Berar and Annie Besant’s league was given the charged of the rest of India.
  • Tilak was totally secular in nature. There was no trace of religious appeal. The demand for Home Rule was made on a wholly secular basis.
    • “Home rule is my birthright, and I will have it”
  • The British were aliens not because they belonged to another religion but because they did not act in the Indian interest
  • Tilak’s league was organized into six branches, one each in Central Maharashtrra, Bombay city, Karnataka, and Central Provinces, and two in Berar.
  • On 23rd July 1916, on Tilak’s sixtieth birthday the government sent a notice asking him to show cause why he should not be bound over for good behavior for a period of one year and demanding securities of Rs 60000
  • Tilak was defended by a team of lawyers led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He won. Tilak used the opportunity to further the Home Rule movement.
  • In Besant’s league, the main thrust of activity was directed towards building up an agitation around the demand for Home Rule. This was to be achieved by promoting political education and discussion.
  • Lucknow Pact: 1916 in the Congress Session at Lucknow. Also known as Congress League Pact. Extremists were accepted back in congress. An agreement was reached between Muslim League and Congress.
  • The turning point in the movement came with the arrest of Annie Besant in June 1917
  • There was wide agitation and many leaders joined the league.
  • The government agreed to grant self rule but the timing for such a change was to be decided by the government alone.
  • After the great advance in 1917, the movement gradually dissolved.
    • The moderates were pacified by the government’s assurance of reforms after Besant’s release.
    • The publication of scheme of government reforms in July 1918 further created divisions. Many rejected it while others were for giving it a trial.
    • Later, Tilak went to England to fight a case. With Besant unable to give a firm lead, and Tilak away in England, the movement was left leaderless.
  • Achievements of the movement
    • The achievement of the Home Rule movement was that it created a generation of ardent nationalists who formed the backbone of the national movement in the coming years.
    • The Home rule leagues also created organizational links between town and country which were to prove invaluable in later years.
    • By popularizing the idea of self-government, it generated a widespread pro-nationalist atmosphere in the country.
    • The movement set the right mood for the entry of Mahatma Gandhi and take the leadership.

Lucknow Pact (1916)

  • Nationalists saw that their disunity was affecting their cause
  • Two important developments at the Lucknow Session of Congress
    • The two wings of the Congress were again united
    • The Congress and the Muslim League sank their old differences and put up common political demands before the government.
  • INC and ML passed the same resolutions at their sessions, put forward a joint scheme of political reforms based on separate electorates, and demanded that the British Government should make a declaration that it would confer self-government on India at an early date.
  • The pact accepted the principle of separate electorates
  • Main clauses of the pact
  • There shall be self-government in India.
  • Muslims should be given one-third representation in the central government.
  • There should be separate electorates for all the communities until a community demanded joint electorates.
  • A system of weightage should be adopted.
  • The number of the members of Central Legislative Council should be increased to 150.
  • At the provincial level, four-fifth of the members of the Legislative Councils should be elected and one-fifth should be nominated.
  • The size of provincial legislatures should not be less than 125 in the major provinces and from 50 to 75 in the minor provinces.
  • All members, except those nominated, should be elected directly on the basis of adult franchise.
  • No bill concerning a community should be passed if the bill is opposed by three-fourth of the members of that community in the Legislative Council.
  • The term of the Legislative Council should be five years.
  • Members of Legislative Council should themselves elect their president.
  • Half of the members of Imperial Legislative Council should be Indians.
  • The Indian Council must be abolished.
  • The salaries of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs should be paid by the British government and not from Indian funds.
  • Of the two Under Secretaries, one should be Indian.
  • The Executive should be separated from the Judiciary.
  • Evaluation
    • As an immediate effect, the unity between the two factions of the congress and between INC and ML aroused great political enthusiasm in the country
    • However, it did not involve Hindu and Muslim masses  and was based on the notion of bringing together the educated Hindus and Muslims as separate political entities without secularization of their political outlook
    • The pact therefore left the way open to the future resurgence of communalism in Indian politics.
  • Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
    • Provincial LC enlarged. More elected members
    • Dyarchy
      • Some subjects were reserved and remained under the direct control of the Governor; others such as education, public health and local self-government were called transferred subjects and were to be controlled by the ministers responsible to the legislature.
    • At the centre, there were two houses of legislature.
    • Response of nationalists
      • INC condemned the reforms as disappointing and unsatisfactory
      • Some others , led by Surendranath Banerjea, were in favour of accepting the government proposals. They left the Congress at this time and founded the Indian Liberal Federation
    • Evaluation
      • The  governor could overrule the ministers on any grounds that he considered special
      • The legislature had virtually no control over the Governor-General and his Executive Council.
      • The central government had unrestricted control over the provincial governments

 

Rowlatt Act

  • March 1919
  • It authorized the Government to imprison any person without trial and conviction in a court of law.

 

CHAPTER 14: Gandhi’s early career and activism

  • Gandhi was the first Indian barrister to have come to South Africa.
  • He was faced with various racial discriminations within days of his arrival in SA.
  • He led the Indian struggle in SA.
  • The first phase of Gandhi’s political activities from 1894-1906 may be classified as the ‘moderate’ phase.
  • He set up the Natal Indian Congress and started a paper called Indian Opinion.
  • By 1906, Gandhiji, having fully tried the ‘Moderate’ methods of struggle, was becoming convinced that these would not lead anywhere.
  • The second phase, begun in 1906, was characterized by the use of passive resistance, Satyagraha. There was no fear of jails.
  • South Africa prepared Gandhiji for leadership of the Indian national struggle:
    • He had the invaluable experience of leading poor Indian labourers.
    • SA built up his faith in the capacity of the Indian masses to participate in and sacrifice for a cause that moved them.
    • Gandhiji also had the opportunity of leading Indians belonging to different religions.
  • South Africa provided Gandhiji with an opportunity for evolving his own style of politics and leadership.
  • Gandhi returned to India on January 9, 1915
  • He founded the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad in 1916
  • Initially he was politically idle. He spent his time studying the situation of the country.
  • He was deeply convinced that the only viable method of political struggle was satyagraha.
  • During the course of 1917 and early 1918, he was involved in three significant struggles – in Champaran in Bihar, in Ahmedabad and in Kheda in Gujarat. The common feature of these struggles was that they related to specific local issues and that they were fought for the economic demands of the masses.
  • Champaran Satyagraha (1917)
    • Peasantry on the indigo plantations in Champaran, Bihar was excessively oppressed by the Eurpoean planters.
    • On the invitation of the peasants he went to Champaran and began to conduct a detailed inquiry into the condition of the peasantry
    • The government was forced to set up a committee with Gandhi as one of the members. The sufferings of the peasants was reduced.
    • Others in this movement: Rajendra Prasad, Mazhar-ul-Haq, J B Kriplani, Narhari Parekh and Mahadev Desai.
  • Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918)
    • Dispute between workers and mill owners
    • Gandhi advised workers to go on a non-violent strike. He himself took to fast
    • Owners yielded and gave a 35 percent increase in wages to the workers
  • Kheda Satyagraha (1918)
    • Despite crop failure in Kheda the government insisted on full land revenue
    • Gandhi advised the peasants to withhold payment.
    • Govt issued instructions that revenue should be collected from only those farmers who could afford to pay
    • Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played a major role in this satyagraha.
  • Impact of these early experiences
    • Brought Gandhiji in close contact with the masses
    • He identified his life and manner of living with the life of the common people
  • He had three main aims
    • Hindu-Muslim Unity
    • Fight against untouchability
    • Raising the social status of the women
  • Gandhiji’s first major nation-wide protest was against the Rowlatt Bills in 1919. He formed the Satyagraha Sabha whose members took a pledge to disobey the Act and thus to court arrest and imprisonment.
  • Satyagraha was launched. The form of protest finally decided was the observance of a nation-wide hartal accompanied by fasting and prayer.
  • However, protests were generally accompanied by violence and disorder.
  • In Punjab, the situation was particularly violent. Genral Dyer was called to control the situation. On 13 April, Baisakhi Day, General Dyer ordered to open fire on unarmed crowd in Jallianwala Bagh. The government estimate was 379 dead, other estimates were considerably higher.
  • Gandhiji, overwhelmed by the total atmosphere of violence, withdrew the movement on 18 April.
  • Difference between earlier methods of struggle and satyagraha
    • Earlier, the movement had confined its struggle to agitation. They used to hold meetings, demonstrate, boycott etc
    • Through Satyagraha they could act now.
    • The new movement relied increasingly on the political support of the peasants, artisans and urban poor.
    • Gandhiji increasingly turned the face of nationalism towards the common man
  • Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
    • On April 13, 1919 a large crowd had gathered in Amritsar to protest against the arrest of their leaders, Dr. Saifudding Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal
    • General Dyer opened fire
    • Widespread criticism. Tagore returned his knighthood.

 

 

CHAPTER 15: Non Co-operation Movement

  • Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms 1919: Dyarchy
  • In a system called “dyarchy,” the nation-building departments of government — agriculture, education, public works, and the like — were placed under ministers who were individually responsible to the legislature. The departments that made up the “steel frame” of British rule — finance, revenue, and home affairs — were retained by executive councillors who were nominated by the Governor.
  • The Hunter Committee report praised the actions of general Dyer.
  • Khilafat Movement
    • For support of Turkey
    • Khilafat Committee formed under the leadership of Ali Brothers, Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani
    • The promises made to the Khilafat Committee were not kept after the World War.
    • The All-India Khilafat Conference held at Delhi in November 1919 decided to withdraw all cooperation from the government if their demands were not met.
    • On June 9 1920, the Khilafat Committee at Allahabad unanimously accepted the suggestion of non-cooperation and asked Gandhiji to lead the movement.
  • Khilafat movement cemented Hindu-Muslim unity
    • Gandhiji looked upon the Khilafat agitation as “an opportunity of uniting Hindus and Mohammedans as would not arise in a hundred years”
  • The non-cooperation movement was launched on August 1, 1920. Lokmanya Tilak passed away on the same day.
  • People countrywide observed hartal and took out processions.
  • The congress met in September at Calcutta and accepted non-co-operation as its own.
  • The programme of non-cooperation included:
    • Surrender of titles and honors
    • Boycott of government affiliated schools and colleges, law courts, foreign cloth and could be extended to resignation from government services.
    • Mass civil disobedience including the non-payment of taxes.
    • National schools and colleges were to be set up
    • Panchayats were to be established to settle disputes
    • Hand-spinning and weaving was encouraged
    • People were asked to maintain Hindu-Muslim unity, give up untouchability and observe strict non-violence.
  • Changes in Congress to attain the new objective:
    • At the Nagpur session in 1920 changes in the Constitution of Congress were made.
    • The goal of congress was changed from the attainment of self-government by constitutional and legal means to the attainment of Swaraj by peaceful and legitimate means.
    • The Congress now had a Working Committee of fifteen members to look after its day to day affairs.
    • Provincial congress committees were now organized on a linguistic basis.
    • Mahalla and ward committees were formed.
    • The membership fee was reduced to 4 annas a years to enable poor to become members.
    • This was not without opposition however. Some members still believed in the traditional methods. Leaders like Jinnah, GS Khaparde, Bipin Chandra Pal and Annie Besant left congress during this time.
  • Gandhiji, along with the Ali brother, undertook a nationwide tour to address people.
  • Thousands of students left government schools and joined national schools.
  • The most successful item of the programme was the boycott of foreign cloth.
  • Picketing of toddy shops was also very popular.
  • Students let government schools and colleges. IT was during this time that Jamia Milia Islamia of Aligarh, the Bihar Vidyapith, the Kashi Vidyapith and the Gujarat Vidyapith came into existence.
  • Lawyers such as  Deshbandhu CR Das, Motilal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Saifudiin Kitchlew, C Rajagopalachari, Sardar Patel, T Prakasam and Asaf Ali gave up their legal practice.
  • Tilak Swarajya Fund was started to finance the NCM.
  • In 1921, Khilafat Committee issued a resolution that no muslim should serve in the British Indian army.
  • The visit of the Prince of Wales on 17th November 1921 was observed as a day of hartal all over the country.
  • The Congress Volunteer Corps emerged as a powerful parallel police.
  • By December 1921, the government felt that things were going too far and announced a change of policy by declaring the volunteer corps illegal and arresting all those who claimed to be its members.
  • Thousands of peasants and tenants participated in the movement.
  • In Punjab, the Akali movement to remove corrupt mahants from the Gurudwaras was started.
  • Assam: Tea plantation workers went on strike. Midnapore: peasants refused to pay Union Board taxes.                 Guntur (Chirala): Agitation led by Duggirala Gopalakrishayya                       Malabar: Mohlahs (muslim peasants) created a powerful anti-zamindari movement.
  • As the government refused to yield, Gandhiji announced that mass civil disobedience would begin in Bardoli taluqa of Surat.
  • However, in Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur on 5 February 1922 crowd set fire on a police station and killed some policemen. On hearing this, Gandhiji decided to withdraw the movement.
  • The congress working committee ratified his decision. Thus, on February 12, 1922, the non-cooperation movement came to an end.
  • Assessing the Withdrawal:
    • Some scholars say that Gandhiji withdrew the movement because he wanted to protect the interests of the propertied class.
    • Some argue that there was no logic why a small incident should lead to withdrawal of the movement itself.
    • However, government could use Chauri Chaura to justify its repression of the movement.
    • If movement was started at that time, it would have been defeated due to the repression of the government.
    • Gandhiji was protecting the movement from likely repression, and the people from demoralization.
    • Mass movements tend to ebb in some time. Hence, withdrawal is a part of the strategy of mass movements.
  • Gandhiji was tried in 1922 and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.
    • He invited the court to award him “the highest penalty that can be inflicted upon me for what in law is a deliberate crime, and what appears to be the highest duty of a citizen”.
  • Positives out of the non-cooperation movement:
    • Congress started commanding the support and sympathy of vast sections of the Indian people.
    • Millions of Indians became politically involved. Women were drawn into the movement.
    • Muslims participated heavily and communal unity was maintained.
    • Strengthened the national movement. Nationalist sentiments and the national movement had reached the remotest corners of the land.
    • People gained tremendous self-confidence and self-esteem.

 

CHAPTER 16: Peasant Movements

  • Three important peasant movements of the early twentieth century:
    • Kisan Sabha and Eka movements in Avadh in UP
    • Mappila rebellion in Malabar
    • Bardoli Satyagrah in Gujarat
  • The UP Kisan Sabha was set up in February 1918 through the efforts of Gauri Shankar Mishra and Indra Narain Dwivedi with the support of Madan Mohan Malviya.
  • By June 1919, it had established about 450 branches in 173 tehsils of the province.
  • In August 1921, Mappila (Muslim) tenants rebelled. Their grievances related to lack of any security of tenure, renewal fees, high rents and other oppressive labndlord exactions.
  • The no-tax movement was launched in Bardoli taluq of Surat district in Gujarat in 1928.

 

CHAPTER 17: The Working Class Movements

  • There were some working class movements in second half of 19th century. However, they were impulsive and not very well organized.
  • The early nationalists had a lukewarm attitude towards the question of workers. This war because initially Congress wanted to focus on issues which were of common concern to all the people of India.
  • There was a difference in attitude of the nationalists towards workers in indigenous and European enterprises.
  • The most important feature of the labour movement during the Swadeshi days was the shift from agitation and struggles on purely economic questions to the involvement of the worker with the wider political issues of the day.
  • The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was founded in 1920.
  • IN 1918 Gandhi founded the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association.
  • The AITUC in November 1927 took a decision to boycott the Simon Commission and many workers participated in the massive Simon boycott demonstrations.
  • Alarmed by worker’s movement, the government enacted repressive laws like the Public Safety Act and Trade Disputes Acts and arrested the entire radical leadership of the labour movement and launched the Meerut Conspiracy Case against them.
  • The labour movement suffered a major setback partially due to this government offensive and partially due to a shift in stance of the communist led wing of the movement.
  • From the end of 1928, the communists stopped aligning them with the national movement.
  • Communists got isolated within the AITUC and were thrown out in the split of 1931.
  • BY 1934, the communists re-entered the mainstream nationalist politics.
  • The working class of Bombay held an anti-war strike on 2 October, 1939.
  • With the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, the communists changed their policy and asked the people to support the allied forces instead of holding anti-war strikes.
  • The communists dissociated themselves from the Quit India movement launched in 1942.
  • The last years of colonial rule also saw a remarkably sharp increase in strikes on economic issues all over the country – the all India strike of the post and telegraph department employees being the most well known among them.

 

CHAPTER 18: Struggles for Gurudwara Reform and Temple Entry

 

  • The Akali movement
  • The movement arose with the objective of freeing the Gurudwaras from the control of ignorant and corrupt priests (mahants).
  • Apart from the mahants, after the British annexation of Punjab in 1849, some control over the Gurudwaras was exercised by Government-nominated managers and custodians, who often collaborated with mahants.
  • The government gave full support to the mahants. It used them to preach loyalism to the Sikhs and to keep them away from the rising nationalist movement.
  • The agitation for the reform of Gurudwaras developed during 1920 when the reformers organized groups of volunteers known as jathas to compel the mahants and the government appointed managers to hand over control of the Gurudwaras to the local devotees.
  • Tens of Gurudwaras were liberated within an year.
  • To manage the control of Golden Temple and othe rGurudwaras the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee was formed in November 1920.
  • Feeling the need to give the reform movement a structure, the Shiromani Akali Dal was established in December 1920.
  • The SGPC and Akali Dal accepted complete non-violence as their creed.
  • There was a clash between the mahant and the Akalis over surrendering the gurudwara at Nanakana. This led to killing of about 100 akalis.
  •  The Nankana tragedy led to the involvement of Sikhs on a large scale in the national movement.
  • Keys Affair: In October 1921, the government refused to surrender the possession fo the keys of the Toshakhana of the golden temple of the Akalis. This led to protests. Leaders like Baba Kharak Singh and Master Tara Singh were arrested. Later, the government surrendered the keys to keep the Sikhs from revolting.
  • Guru ka Bagh gurudwara in Ghokewala was under dispute as the mahant there claimed that the land attached to it was his personal possession. When few akalis cut down a tree on that land they were arrested on the complain of the mahant. Seeing this thousands of akalis came and started cutting down the trees. About 4000 akalis were arrested. Later, the government didn’t arrest but started beating them up severly. But the alakis kept turning up. Ultimately the government had to surrender.
  • The akali movement made a huge contribution to the national awakening of Punjab.
  • However, the movement encouraged a certain religiosity which would be later utilized by communalism.
  • In 1923, the Congress decided to take active steps towards the eradication of untouchability.
  • The basic strategy it adopted was to educate and mobilize opinion among caste hindus.
  • Immediately after the Kakinada session, the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee (KPCC) took up the eradication of untouchability as an urgent issue.
  • KPCC adeiced to organize an procession on the temple roads in Vaikom, a village in Travancore, on 30 March 1924.
  • During the processions, the satyagrahis were arrested and sentenced to imprisonment.
  • On the death of Maharaja in August 1924, the Maharani released the Satyagrahis.
  • Gandhiji visited Kerala to discuss the opening of temple with Maharani. A compromise was reached whereby all roads except for the ones in the Sankethan of the temple were opened to the harijans.
  • In his Kerala tour, Gandhi didn’t visit a single temple because avarnas were kept out of them.
  • The weakness of the anti-caste movement was that through it aroused people against untouchability it lacked a strategy of ending the caste system itself.

 

CHAPTER 19: The years of Stagnation

 

  • Gandhiji was arrested in 1922 and sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment. The result was the spread of disintegration, disorganization and demoralization in the nationalist ranks.
  • After a defeat of their resolution of ‘either mending or ending’ in the Congress, CR Das and Motilal Nehru resigned and formed the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party in December 1922.
    • It was to function as a group within the congress
  • How to carry on political work in the movements’ non-active phases.  The swarajists said that work in the council was necessary to fill the temporary political void. The no-changers believed otherwise.
  • Major no-changers: Sardar Patel, Dr Ansari, Rajendra Prasad
  • The no-changers opposed council-entry mainly on the ground that parliamentary work would lead to the neglect of constructive and other work among the masses , the loss of revolutionary zeal and political corruption.
  • Despite the differences, he two groups had a lot in common.
    • The need for unity was very strongly felt by all the Congressmen after the 1907 debacle.
    • Both realized that the real sanctions which would compel the government to accept the national demands would be forged only by a mass movement.
    • Both groups fully accepted the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
  • In the session held in 1923, the congressmen were permitted to stand as candidates and exercise their franchise in the forthcoming elections.
  • Gandhiji was released on February 5, 1924. He did not agree with the Swarajists. However, slowly he moved towards an accommodation with the swarajists.
  • On 6 November 1924, Gandhiji brought the strife between the Swarajists and no-changers to an end, by signing a joint statement with Das and Motilal that the Swarajists Party would carry on work in the legislatures on behalf of the Congress and as an integral part of the Congress. This decision was endorsed in Belgaum.
  • The Swarajists did well in the elections and won 42 out of 101 seats in the Central Legislative Assembly.
  • In March 1925, Vithalbhai J Patel was elected as he President (speaker) of the Central Legislative Assembly.
  • The achievement of the Swarajists lay in filling the political void at a time when the national movement was recouping its strength.
    • They also exposed the hollowness of the reforms of 1919
  • After the petering out of the NCM communalism took stronghold
    • Even within the Congress, a group known as  ‘responsivists’, including Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai and NC Kelkar, offered cooperation to the government so that the so-called Hindu interests might be safeguarded.

 

CHAPTER 20: Bhagat Singh

 

  • The sudden suspension of the non-cooperation movement led many young people to question the very basis strategy of non-violence and began to look for alternatives.
  • All the major new revolutionary leaders had been enthusiastic participants in the non-violent non-cooperation movement.
  • Two separate strands of revolutionary terrorism developed – one in Punjab, UP and Bihar and the other in Bengal.
  • Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chatterjea and Sachindranath Sanyal met in Kanpur in October 1924 and founded the Hindustan Republican Association to organize armed revolution.
  • In order to carry out their activities the HRA required funding. The most important action of the HRA was the Kakori Robbery.
  • On August 9, 1925, ten men held up the 8-Down train from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow at Kakori and looted its official railway cash.
  • The government arrested a large number of young men and tried them in the Kakori Conspiracy Case.
  • Ashfaqulla Khan, Ramprasadn Bismil, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were hanged, four others were sent to Andaman while seventeen others were sentenced to long term imprisonment.
  • New revolutionaries joined the HRA. They met at Ferozshah Kotla Ground at Delhi on 9 and 10 September 1928, created a new collective leadership, adopted socialism as their official goal and changed the name of the party to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
  • Lala Lajpat Rai dies in a lathi-charge when he was laeding an anti-Simon Commission demonstration at Lahore on 30 October 1928.
  •  On 17 December 1928, Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru assassinated, at Lahore, Saunders, a police official involved in the lathi-charge on Lala Lajpat Rai.
  • In order to let the people know about HSRA’s changed objectives Bhagat Singh and BK Dutt were asked to throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on 8 April 1929 against the passage of the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill.
  • He aim was not to kill but to let people know of their objectives through the leaflet they threw.
  • They were later arrested and tried.
  • The country was also stirred by the hunger strike the revolutionaries took as a protest against the horrible conditions in jails.
  • On 13th September, the 64th day of the epic fast, Jatin Das died.
  • Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were sentenced to be hanged. He sentence was carried out on 23 March, 1931.
  • Bhagat Singh was fully secular.
    • The Punjab Naujawan Bharat Sabha organized by him acted on secular lines.
  • In Bengal, after the death of C R Das, the Congress leadership in Bengal got divided into two wings: one led by S C Bose and the other by J M Sengupta. The Yugantar group joined forces with the first while the Anushilan with the second.
  • Surya Sen had actively participated in the non-cooperation movement. He gathered around him a large band of revolutionary youth including Anant Singh, Ganesh Ghosh and Lokenath Baul.
  • Chittagong Armoury Raid

 

NCERT Chapter 13

 

  • Emergence of socialism in the 1920s in the nationalist ranks
    • JL Nehru and SC Bose
    • Raised the question of internal class oppression by capitalists and landlords
    • MN  Roy became the first Indian to be elected to the leadership of the Communist International
    • Muzaffer Ahmed and SA Dange were tried in the Kanpur Conspiracy Case
    • 1925: Communist Party of India was formed
    • All India Trade Union Congress
    • Various Strikes: Bombay textile mills, Jamshedpur, Kharagpur
  • Bardoli Satyagraha (1928)
    • Peasants under the leadership of Sardar Patel organized no tax campaign
  • Indian Youth were becoming active
    • First All Bengal Conference of Students  held in 1928 presided by JL Nehru
  • Hindustan Republican Association: 1924
    • Kakori Conspiracy Case (1925)
    • Four, including Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla Khan were hanged.
  • Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (1928)
    • On 17th December 1928, Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru assassinated Saunders
    • Bhagat Singh and BK Dutt threw bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on 8 April 1929 to let the people know of their changed political objectives
  • Chittagong Armoury Raid: 1030, Surya Sen
    • Participation of young women

 

Simon Commission (1927)

  • Indian Statutory Commission chaired by Simon to go into the question of further constitutional reform
  • All its seven members were Englishmen. Clement Attlee was one of the members.
  • Lord Birkinhead was the secretary of state at that time
  • At its Madras session in 1927 INC decided to boycott the commission “at every stage and in every form”
    • ML and Hindu Mahasabha supported Congress
  • Nehru Report, 1928
    • Dominion status
    • Contained Bill of Rights
    • No state religion
    • Federal form
    • Linguistically determined provinces
    • No separate electorates
    • All Party Convention, held at Calcutta in 1928, failed to pass the report
    • Muslim league rejected the proposals of the report
    • Jinnah drafted his fourteen points
    • Hindu Mahasabha and Sikh League also objected
  • Poorna Swaraj
    • Resolution passed at the Lahore session in 1929
    • On 31 December 1929, the tri-color was hoisted
    • On 26 January 1930, Independence Day was celebrated

 

Civil Disobedience Movement

  • Started by Gandhi on 12th March 1930 with the Dandi March. Reached Dandi on April 6.
  • Defiance of forest laws in Maharashtra, Central Province and Karnataka. Refusal to pay chaukidari tax in Eastern India.
  • Wide participation of women
  • Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan organized Khudai Khidmatgars (aka Red Shirts)
  • Nagaland: Rani Gaidilieu
  • First RTC, 1930
    • Congress boycotted
  • Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 1931
    • Government agreed to release the political prisoners who had remained non-violent
    • Right to make salt for consumption
    • Right to peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops
    • Congress suspended the Civil Disobedience Movement
    • Agreed to take part in the second RTC

 

 

Social and Cultural Awakening

 

Raja Rammohan Roy:

RRM Roy was a social reformer and intellectual in the early nineteenth century Bengal. He is most widely known for founding the Brahmo Samaj and his relentless campaign against the practice of Sati and child marriage.

Debendranath Tagore:

Brahmo Samaj:

BS was founded in 1828 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy with the purpose of purifying Hinduism and to preach monotheism or belief in one God.