Governance
The Constitution *
India, a Union of States, is a Sovereign Socialist
Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary democratic system of
government. The Republic is bound by a Constitution, which was adopted by the
Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into force on 26 January
1950.
The Constitution which envisages a parliamentary form
of government is federal in structure with unitary features. The President of
India is the constitutional head of the executive wing of the Union. Article
74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers
with the Prime Minister as head who would aid and advise the President who
shall, in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. Real
executive power thus vests in the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister
as the head. The Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the House
of the People.
The Constitution of India provides for a single and
uniform citizenship for the whole of India.
The Constitution offers all citizens, individually and
collectively, some basic freedoms. These are guaranteed in the Constitution in
the form of six broad categories of Fundamental Rights
which are justiciable and are protected by the Supreme Court of India.
The Constitution also lays down certain Directive Principles of State Policy which, though not
justiciable, are ‘fundamental in governance of the country’ and it is ‘the duty
of the State to apply these principles in making laws’.
Fundamental Rights
Articles 12 to 35 contained in Part III of the
Constitution deal with Fundamental Rights. These are: (i) right to equality
including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of
religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and equality of opportunity in
matters of employment; (ii) right to freedom of speech and expression;
assembly; association or union; movement; residence; and right to practise any
profession or occupation (some of these rights are subject to security of the
State, relations with foreign countries, public order, decency or morality);
(iii) right against exploitation, prohibiting all forms of forced labour, child
labour and traffic in human beings; (iv) right to freedom of conscience and
free profession, practice and propagation of religion; (v) right of any section
of citizens to conserve their culture, language or script and right of
minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their
choice, and (vi) right to constitutional remedies for enforcement of
Fundamental Rights.
Directive Principles
These lay down that the State shall strive to promote
the welfare of the people, by securing and protecting as effectively as it may,
a social order in which justice – social, economic and political, shall inform
all institutions of national life.