Political Science

Political Theory

Political theory is concerned mainly with the foundations of political community and institutions. It focuses on human nature and the moral purposes of political association. To clarify these concepts, political theorists draw on enduring political writings from ancient Greece to the present and on various writings by moral philosophers. Political theory also focuses on empirical research into the way political institutions function in practice. Here political theorists subject beliefs about political life found in important political writings to re-examination in the light of ongoing human behavior. In either case, political theory seeks to ultimately deepen political thinking and to spur citizens to responsible and creative political action.

POL S 201, Introduction to Political Theory, provides students with an overview of the main lines of thought in political theory. Advanced courses focus on given concepts, topics, and thought in political theorizing.

Comparative Politics

Comparative politics is a broad field with a variety of approaches and goals. Some scholars and researchers compare contemporary political systems in order to judge which types best provide particular values: order, equality, freedom, or economic security and well-being for their citizens. Others suggest that the main purpose of comparative politics is to provide an understanding of how and why different societies develop different kinds of political institutions. Still others use comparative politics as a way of discovering general laws and theories that will explain human political behavior and its variability.

Comparative politics courses are of two basic types. One offers comparisons of a particular set of problems or institutions in a number of different countries. The second type offers in-depth analyses of the basic political institutions and processes of a single country or group of countries in a world region.

Most students will want to begin their study of comparative politics with the Introduction to Comparative Politics (POL S 204), which combines the two main approaches by including comparative discussions of particular problems, issues, processes, and institutions in a wide variety of political settings as well as in-depth readings and lectures on some of the major countries in the contemporary world.

Political economy is the study of production and trade and their relations with law, custom and government; and with the distribution of national income and wealth. As a discipline, political economy originated in moral philosophy, in the 18th century, to explore the administration of states' wealth, with "political" signifying the Greek word polity and "economy" signifying the Greek word "okonomie" (household management). The earliest works of political economy are usually attributed to the British scholars Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, and David Ricardo, although they were preceded by the work of the French physiocrats, such as François Quesnay (1694–1774) and Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (1727–1781).^[1]

Public administration is the implementation of government policy and also an academic discipline that studies this implementation and prepares civil servants for working in the public service.^[1] As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" whose fundamental goal is to "advance management and policies so that government can function".^[2] Some of the various definitions which have been offered for the term are: "the management of public programs";^[3] the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day";^[4] and "the study of government decision making, the analysis of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have produced them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies."^[5]

Public administration is "centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programs as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct".^[6] Many non-elected public servants can be considered to be public administrators, including heads of city, county, regional, state and federal departments such as municipal budget directors, human resources (HR) administrators, city managers, census managers, state mental health directors, and cabinet secretaries.^[4] Public administrators are public servants working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government.

International Relations

The field of international relations is concerned with developing an understanding of why states and non-state international actors, like the United Nations and multinational corporations, interact as they do. International relations is a diverse field both in terms of what kinds of behavior are studied and how they are studied. International conflict, particularly war, continues to be an important focus of the field. Why do wars start? Who wins and why? How can wars be prevented? What is the role of international law and organizations? As the world has become more interdependent, scholars have become more aware of the importance of international economic activity. As a result, scholars are analyzing world trade, communications, development, foreign investment, and international finance. How states make foreign policy decisions is another important area of study. National security policy, nuclear deterrence, arms control and defense spending decisions are typical examples of foreign policy decisions. POL S 203, International Relations, introduces the student to International politics. This is the foundation for a wide variety of offerings at the 300 and 400 levels, such as American foreign policy, global environmental politics, international political economy, and international conflict.

The Nature Of Political Science Definition,Theory, And Scope

Meaning

Man is a social animal. He cannot live in isolation, because he is not self sufficient and the natural instinct to survive compels him to live a collective life. According to Aristotle, this collective life necessitates a political mechanism of rules, regulations and leadership. An organized society needs some system to make and enforce rules for orderly behavior in society. This led to the evolution of a political system with elaborate governmental institutions & procedures in each society. Therefore, man is also a political animal. Political science is one of the oldest subjects of study of this political life of man.

Nature

Politics is not only a mere institution of governance but also a mechanism for achieving societal goals. Nature of Political Science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It includes matters concerning the allocation and transfer of power in decision making, the roles and systems of governance including governments and international organizations, political behavior and public policies. Political science is thus a study of the state in the past, present and future of political organization, political processes and political functions of political institutions and political theories.

Political science has several sub fields, including: political theory, public policy, national politics, international relations, human rights, environment politics and comparative politics.

Origin

The antecedents of Western politics can trace their roots back to Greek thinkers Socrates, Plato (427–347 BC) and Aristotle (384–322 BC). The studies were philosophy oriented. Plato wrote The Republic and Aristotle wrote the Politics. Aristotle is known as the Father of Political Science. He is famous for his statement “Man is a political animal”. The word ‘ politics ‘ is derived from the Greek word ‘polis’, which means a city state.

Nature Of Political Science During the height of the Roman Empire, famous historians documented the rise of the Roman Republic, and the organization and histories of other nations, while statesmen like Julius Caesar, Cicero and others provided us with examples of the politics of the republic and Rome’s empire and wars. The study of politics during this age was oriented toward understanding history, understanding methods of governing, and describing the operation of governments. During the Middle Ages, the study of politics was widespread in the churches and courts. Saint Thomas Aquinas was an important political thinker of this period.

During the Italian Renaissance, Niccolo Machiavelli established the emphasis of modern political science on direct empirical observation of political institutions and actors. His famous book, “The Prince” is a guide to modern realist politics. Other famous men of this period were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke & Rousseau (Social contract theory). Important figures in American politics of this period were Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

In ancient India, the antecedents of politics can be traced back to the Rig Veda, Samhitas, Brahmanas, the Mahabharata and Buddhist Pali Canon. Chanakya (c.350-275 BC) was a political thinker in Takshashila. He wrote the Arthashastra, a treatise on political thought, economics and social order, which can be considered a precursor to Machiavelli’s The Prince. It discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in detail, among other topics. Manusmriti, dated to about two centuries after the time of Chanakya is another important political treatise of ancient India.

Stages of Evolution

(1) philosophical: concerned with ends and purposes.

(2) institutional: concerned with political organization.

(3) behavioral: concerned with motivations and mechanism of human behavior.

(4) pluralistic: concerned with the interaction among groups and organizations.

(5) structural: concerned with the connection between the individual and the community.

(6) developmental: concerned with the process of growth, industrialization and change and the impact on government forms and policies.

Importance of the study of political science (Scope)

The study of politics is both humanistic and scientific, and is centuries old. Aristotle called it the “queen of the sciences”. Today’s political research involves highly scientific and rigorous attempts to understand human behavior and world events. Political scientists provide the frameworks from which journalists, special interest groups, politicians, and the electorate analyze issues.

Political science as a discipline deals with various aspects like:

a. Study of state and government it deals with the nature and formation of the State and tries to understand various forms and functions of the government.

b. Study of associations and institutions in organized way the fundamental problems of political science include, first, an investigation of the origin and the nature of the state, second an inquiry into the nature, history and forms of political institutions and third, deduction, therefore, so far as possible of laws of political growth and development.

c. Study of national and international problems modern demands of defense of territory, representative government and national unity have made political science not only the science of political independence but that of state sovereignty also.

d. Study of political behavior of man it may be said that the character of political science in all its parts is determined by its basic per supposition regarding man.

e. Study of the past, present and future of development political science attempts to explain the meaning and the essential nature of the state and deals with the laws of its progress and development within itself and in relation to international organizations and other states.

f. Study of the concepts of power, authority & influence with the behavioral revolution the central topic for study has become the study of power. Consequently the scope has widened to include new aspects like political socialization, political culture, political development and informal structures like interest and pressure groups.

Definitions

1. From the traditional point of view we may define political science as “the study of the state and government in all their manifestations, aspects and relationships”. In this sense, politics can be domestic, national, federal, municipal or international.

These early definitions of political science dealt generally with state and government.

a. J.W. Garner: “Political Science begins and ends with the state”, “Politics is the study of State & Government”.

b. R.G. Gettel: “Political Science is the historical investigation of what the state has been, an analytical study of what the state is and a political, ethical discussion of what the state ought to be”.

c. Leacock: “Political science deals with government only”.

d. Paul Janet: “Political science is that part of the social science which treats the foundations of the state and the principles of government”.

2. In the beginning of the 20th century there developed a new way of looking at political science. This new approach is known as behavioral approach. The main thrust of the new view is the treatment of politics as an activity and a process. In this context, new definitions emerged.

e. Harold Laswell: “Politics is the study of influence and the influential” or “the study of the shaping and sharing of power.”

f. David Easton: “Politics is the authoritative allocation of values.”

g. Catlin: “Political Science is the study of the act of human and social control”.

h. Andrew Heywood: “Politics can be defined as an activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live.”

Modern political scientists consider politics as a process centering around power and influence. They are concerned with not just the state and the government, but also the study and evaluation of political activities, political power, processes and non governmental institutions.

Perspectives on politics

Politics as a human (social) activity Simple things like our opinions, perceptions of rights & wrongs, competing needs, conflicting interests ultimately leads to a system of rules for conflict resolution and cooperation. The inescapable presence of diversity and scarcity ensures that politics is an inevitable feature of human condition. Adrian Leftwich (What is Politics?) finds politics is the heart of all collective social activity, formal and informal, public and private, in all human groups, institutions and societies.

Andrew Heywood (Politics 2007) sees Politics as follows:

(1) Politics as art of government: Here politics is the classic activity of making and enforcement of collective decisions. The state as the central concept of politics has a long history. The state has several specialized structures, institutions, officer and roles. It has the monopoly of coercive power. In these circumstances, it was natural to understand politics as the study of the state. Until the Second World War, the state served as the chief organizing idea of politics.

(2) Politics as public affairs: The meaning of politics can be stretched beyond the narrow realm of government to a broader conception of public life or public affairs, because of its ‘public’ character. Aristotle said man is a political animal. Rousseau and JS mill supported this outlook.

(3) Politics as compromise & consensus (study of interaction among interest groups): According to this, politics has a wider scope. Politics is seen as an act of conflict and cooperation among individuals and various groups in the society to secure values like liberty, equality, justice, welfare etc, and to organize and use a public power for this purpose (Bernard Crick). Politics is thus an interaction between man & society resolving conflicts through conciliation and negotiation instead of violence. Both the liberal and Marxist views of politics study it as a part of this social process. As a result of this, non formal institutions like pressure groups, public opinion, interest groups, political parties etc became the subjects of politics.

Thus, within its fold, there are discussions on theories of state origin, functions, sovereignty, liberty, rights forms and organs of government, representation, political parties, pressure groups, public opinion, ideologies, and international relations and institutions.

(4) Politics as the study of power: After rejecting politics as the study of state as insufficient, modern thinkers tried to find the axis of politics and they found it in the concept of power. The new understanding of politics was that it is a struggle to share or influence the distribution of power, whether between states or among the groups within the state. There are two advantages to study politics from the point of view of power firstly, it focuses attention on process rather than on legal abstractions of the state. Secondly, this approach pays greater attention to man as the basic unit of analysis. Politics became directly concerned with the needs, interests and goals of men that give rise to power relationship among them and ultimately lead to a public policy.

In short there are three forms of power: political, economic and ideological. Political power s concerned with the maintenance of law and order and dispensing justice through reward and punishment.

Politics as the study of power (in details)

Though identifiable with terms like influence, coercion, force, domination, authority, control and the like, the term power has its own meaning. Power is a relation. While power is coercive, influence is persuasive authority is the legitimate aspect or power and force is manifested power.

Power is “the ability to determine the behavior of others in accord with one’s own wishes”. The power theory of politics is as old as the Greeks, though it has assumed much importance in recent times. Power consists fundamentally of relationships, of subordination, of dominance and submission, of the governors and the governed and the study of politics involves the study of these relationships.

In other words, the study of politics is concerned with the description and analysis of the manner in which power is obtained, exercised and controlled, and the purpose for which it is used, the manner in which decisions are made, the factors which influence the making of these decisions and the context in which these decisions are made.

Power can be exhibited in three dimensions: political, economic and ideological.

Political power: it belongs to the state and is manifested through the organs of the government like legislature, executive, military, judiciary, police, bureaucracy etc. Power is shared by political parties, pressure groups, elites, factions, leaders etc. Power exists in all political processes, however democratic they may be.

Liberals say that power is dispersed in society and that it changes hands often. Marxists hold a different viewpoint. According to them power is concentrated in a class and only revolution can make it to change hands.

Economic power: finds its place in the form of ownership and control of national wealth, as well as means of production and distribution. Economic power and political power are mutually complementary.

Liberals say that it is diffused and hard work determines the degree of economic power one can gain. Marxists again hold the view that economic power is also concentrated in the hands of a few and they manipulate it to gain political power.

Ideological power: resides in the prevailing ideas acceptable to the people. Ideology literally means a set of ideas in which people have unquestionable faith and they also strive to put them into action. The dominant class will also try to propagate and implement ideas that are congenial to their interests, whether economic or political. They may use all available media, elites, intellectuals, religious institutions, educational systems, associations and institutions to achieve this while oppressing counter ideologies.

Authority: Power with legitimacy. Max Weber classifies it into three: traditional, charismatic & legal rational or bureaucratic.

FROM THE LESSON – INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

( refer to the note sent earlier)

Answer the following questions

1. What is the traditional meaning of Political Science?

2. What are the differences between politics and Political science?( any four)

3.Politics is the study of power. Explain

4. What are the three dimensions of power?

5. Name the 5 sub- disciplines that fall under Political Science.

Date of submission -10 th MAY.

ASSIGNMENT 1.

Students will watch the film and learn the answer written in class on the differences between authoritarian state and totalitarian state.rewrite the answer and mail .

Date of submission- 22nd March

ASSIGNMENT 2.

GO THRU THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PARLIAMENTARY AND PRESIDENTIAL STATES and answer the questions in the assignment list sent.

Date of submission- 27th March

CH : THE PREAMBLE.

1.What is the date of adoption and enactment of the Indian Constitution?

2. When did it come into force?

3. What are the opening words of the Preamble ? State its objectives and significance.

4. Discuss in brief the nature of state as laid down in the Preamble.

5. What are the principles enshrined in our Preamble? Explain each term in brief.

CH : THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION.

Q1.Discuss the features of Indian Federation and show how a Unitarian bias works in our constitutional practice.

Q2. Bring out the importance of Fundamental Rights in ensuring social equality.

Q3. Discuss the role of conventions giving suitable examples.

Q4. Is the Indian Constitution more flexible than rigid ? Show by giving examples.

Q5. How does representative democracy function in India?

Q6. How has the need for unity and integrity been enshrined in our constitution?

Q7. Show the peculiarities of the Indian Federation as compared with the American.

Q8. What is judicial activism and judicial review?

Q9. What is meant by single integrated judicial system?

Q10. How has the independence of the judiciary been provided by our constitution?

CH: FORMS OF GOVT.

1. COMPARE the Parliamentary features of the British system with the Presidential features prevailing in the USA. ( 6 features each)

2.Discuss the ‘ wheels within wheel ‘ concept

3. Differentiate between POLITICAL HOMOGENEITY and POLITICAL HETEROGENEITY.

4. How does ministerial responsibility differ from one form to another?

5. what are the peculiarities of Cabinet in the two different forms of govt?

CH : TOTALITARIAN AND AUTHORITARIAN STATES

1. Compare the features of these two kinds of states to show that they are differences in degree rather than of kind.

THE ANSWER OF THIS QUESTION WAS DICTATED TO THE STUDENTS IN THE CLASS ON 12^TH MARCH. They Should prepare and learn the answer by heart.

WATCH THE FILM ON THE KIM DYNASTY OF NORTH KOREA TO

GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF TOTALITARIAN STATES.

Quasi-Federal Nature of Indian Constitution

It has been the matter of debate among the scholars that whether the Constitution of India is completely federal or unitary in nature. But actually Indian constitution contains both features of a federal constitution and unitary constitution. But for the very clear picture of this conclusion first of all we have to know that what is the federal constitution and what is unitary constitution. What feature of Indian constitution makes it federal or what features makes it unitary.

In a federal set up there is a two tier of Government with well assigned powers and functions. The Central and the State governments work in coordination and at the same time act independently. The federal polity, in other words, provides a constitutional device for bringing unity in diversity and for the achievement of common national goals.

Prevention as well as amelioration of conflict of the interests of the Centre and the States is an integral part of federalism. This is the reason why the Indian federalism was devised with a strong Centre. The Constitution of India has adopted federal features; though it does not, in fact, claim that it establishes a federation. The question whether the Indian Constitution could be called a federal constitution troubled the minds of the members of the Constituent Assembly. This question cannot be answered without going into the meaning of federalism and the essential features that are evident in federal state.

Federal Features of the Indian Constitution

Constitution is suprema lex. Constitution is the supreme law of land in India, law wherein involves rules, regulations, bylaws, notifications, orders, ordinances and even the customs having a force of law. A federal state derives its existence from the Constitution. Every type of power; be it legislative, administrative or judicial, irrespective of it being at the centre or the state level is controlled by and subordinated to, the Constitution. Article 13(2) states that the State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges any of the rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution and to the extent of such contravention, the law being void. Therefore, though in India, the Constitution is considered as supreme but the principle of supremacy of the Constitution is not something to practice or abide by only in theory.

Our Constitution contains an inspiring Preamble reflecting the hopes and aspirations of the Indian people, a chapter on Directive Principles of State Policy, indicating the manner in which the people’s objectives can be attained by legislative action, with due respect for Fundamental Rights of the citizens, the enforcement of which should only be suspended under compelling necessities. A democratic system such as ours, depends for its success upon a government under the Constitution in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Constitution and as expressed in the laws which must prevail amongst the law abiding people and be enforced, in cases of their infringement by courts armed with adequate power and authority and given the respect due to those through whom the Constitution and the laws speak. This in practice would be the true meaning of the ‘Supremacy of the Constitution’.

Federal system cannot exist without a written constitution. UK does not have a written constitution and so it is not a federal country. The States in a federal setup, come together and enter into a treaty and the terms of the treaty are required to be reduced into writing in the form of a written constitution. There is no denying fact that a written Constitution rings stability in the overall governance of the country. If there were no written Constitution defining the scope of the powers of Centre and the States, there will be chaos, misunderstandings and conflicts between the Centre and the States who would seek to cross over each other’s line of authority.

Ours being a rigid Constitution, it cannot be amended by the national legislature unilaterally without the participation of the states. In United States, which is a perfect example of classical federalism, no part of the constitution can be amended without the ratification of at least 3/4th of the individual States. Another example, in Switzerland, no amendment can be brought into force unless it is ratified by a popular vote i.e. referendum as took place recently when the Switzerland decided to hold a referendum to separate from the Britain and people voted NO. Also, in Germany, the states do have a play in the amendment of the constitution but even the German parliament cannot amend so far as the federal features are concerned like division of federation into States or the participation of the States in making amendments in the legislature, these features are exclusively made unamendable because Germany is also a federal country. The examples justify that a rigid constitution is a primary feature of any federal form of government and the same has been incorporated in India too. In India, federal provisions i.e. the provisions which deal with the centre-state relations cannot be amended without it being ratified by at least ½ of the states. For example – When the 121st Constitution Amendment which created the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) was passed by both the houses of the Parliament with 2/3rd (special) majority, it was subsequently sent to the states for ratification after 16 states approved the amendment, it was finally sent to the President for his assent. But before the amendment could become fully effective, it was declared to be unconstitutional by the SC as it violated the independence of judiciary as a basic structure in the Supreme Advocates on Record Association & Anr. V Union of India, also known as the 4th Judge’s Case. Another example is that of Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachilhu & Ors where the court invalidated insertion of Para 7 in the 10th Schedule by way of 52nd Constitutional Amendment because Para 7 affected the jurisdiction of state high courts and the amendment was passed simply by both the houses of the parliament and was not sent for the approval of the states, so there was a procedural ultra vires and the SC declared the 52nd Amendment and the 10th Schedule to be unconstitutional to this extent as void. Doctrine of Severability was applied and only Para 7 was severed and remaining were held to be valid.

Division of governmental powers into national and regional governments by the way of 3 lists – the Union, State and the Concurrent lists is provided in the 7th Schedule to the Constitution. Only the Centre deals with the issues mentioned in the Union List, States on the areas mentioned in the State List while the Concurrent List contains areas where both the Center and the State can legislate. This concept of 3 Lists has been adopted from the Canadian Constitution. However, there are certain powers which do not find mention in any of the three lists. These are called residuary powers and lie primarily with the Centre as per Entry 97 of Article 248. The rationale behind the residual power is to enable Parliament to legislate on any subject which is not recognizable at present. Thus, the principle of division of powers which this concept imbibes highlights the federal structure of the Indian Constitution.

Independent Tribunal which is authorized to resolve disputes between the Centre and the States. As regards India, Supreme Court is the federal tribunal which can dissolve all the disputes between the Centre and the States under Article 131 except the Inter – State Water Disputes for which the parliament is supposed to create an ad-hoc Tribunal to resolve a specific water dispute between 2 states, such as the Kauveri Water Disputes Tribunal which is handling the water dispute between Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This power given to the Central Government to create a separate tribunal is a small but significant unitary feature. Currently there is a Bedgaon Border dispute case pending in SC. It is between Maharashtra and Karnataka wherein Maharashtra claims that the majority of the people in that region are Marathi speaking so the region belongs to Maharashtra while the Karnataka’s stand is otherwise. Thus, an independent judicial court is an essential federal feature of the Constitution.

Unitary Features of Indian Constitution

Indian Constitution lays down a dual polity where the Central Government is neither merely the league of States and the States nor the States are the administrative units or agencies of the Central Government because they have their own Constitutional identity. However, there are some strong centralizing tendencies present in the Indian Constitution which confer maximum power to the Central Government. There are historical reasons for this centralization – when the Constitution was made, it was made at the time of partition of the India, so the framers thought that if the Central government was not strong, then India would get fragmented. The Philadelphia Convention which gave rise to the formation of the US Constitution also mentioned the expression Union, which was deliberately mentioned there in order to make it a more perfect Union. Maybe the intention of the Constituent Assembly behind adding the expression Union was that they wanted to give an impression that it was an indestructible Union. They must have feared the Balkanization of the Indian Union. The policy thus adopted by the Constitutient Assembly was to have an inbuilt bias in the favor of Centralization i.e. a unitary in spirit.

A typical unitary system is governed constitutionally as one single unit, with one constitutionally created legislature. All power is top down. A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions (sub national units) exercise only powers that the central government chooses to delegate. These are some unitary features also present in the Indian Constitution which make it ultimately Quasi-Federal in nature –

Article 1 which provides that India i.e. Bharat, shall be a Union of States. It is to be pondered here that the use of the word ‘Union’ was deliberate or not. Because the word ‘Federation’ is nowhere to been mentioned in the Constitution. It was there in the draft Constitution but was subsequently dropped and it was deliberate omission on the part of the drafting committee. The Chairman Dr. Ambedkar, justified this deletion by saying that the addition of the word Federation was not done after the ratification of the States.

Article 2 and 3 of the Constitution, give the power to the Parliament to redraw the political map of India; to create and abolish the states, change the boundaries of the States or even change their names and this can be achieved by simple legislation by way of simple majority in the Parliament and the Constitution only provides for consultation by the Centre of the concerned State. For eg – when Andhra Pradesh was divided recently into Telangana, Andhra Pradesh Assembly had passed a resolution opposing the step irrespective of that the Central Government went on with the separation. So, what the provision provides is consultation of the State Assemblies and not concurrence and the President can only prescribe a time frame within which the State Assembly has to take a call on the proposal of separation of the State or to merge 2 or more State. Also are the examples of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. In 2007 also, the name of Uttranchal was changed to Uttarakhand. And this was achieved without amending the Constitution. So, the Central government has upper hand so far as the creation or abolition of the States concerned.

Appointment of the Governors of various States is done by the Centre. Governor is the constitutional head of the State and at the same time he is also the representative of the Centre. Central government is duty bound under Article 355 to ensure that there is no failure of constitutional machinery in the State and the states are protected from internal disturbance and external aggression and war. So, in order to enforce that duty, the Central government has power under Article 356 to impose Presidential rule and it is the duty of the governor who has to make a report to the Centre about the failure of constitutional machinery of the State for political or any other reasons. Governor unlike President enjoys some discretionary powers i.e. he can withhold a bill for the consideration of the President. Governor is supposed to be apolitical but is ironically removed on political grounds. The Sarkaria Commission which studied the Centre-State Relations made certain recommendations because there was no effective consultation with the central government with the Chief Ministers of the States when the Governors are appointed, so it was recommended that the Governors should be some eminent person from some walk of life.

In Rameshwar Prasad v Union of India, popularly known as Bihar Assembly Dissolution Case where SC raised questions as to the impartiality of the Governor Bhuta Singh because there was a President’s Rule imposed in Bihar after the elections because no political party was in the position to form the government but when there was a possibility of formation of government led by JDU led by Nitish Kumar, the Governor sent a report to the Centre that the Assembly should be dissolved. The centre did not apply its mind to the recommendation and it was hurriedly accepted and the Assembly was declared as dissolved the very other day and the SC said that the Governor did not act as per his duties. So, the Governor is not supposed to be an agent of the ruling party in the Centre. SC declared the dissolution of the Assembly as unconstitutional.

In B.P. Singhal v Union of India, SC held that a Governor cannot be removed by the Central government on the grounds that he is not in sync with the policies of the Central government or the ideology of ruling party. This cannot be the reason behind the Central government to sack the Governor and would be considered as arbitrary or mala fide.

Thus, this power to appoint Governors who would be the head of the respective States, is an important unitary feature of the Indian Constitution.

The Constitution of India has established a Single and Uniform Citizenship for the whole of the country. In a federal State like the United States of America there is dual citizenship where a citizen firstly owes allegiance to the States and secondly to the union. But in case of India though it is a Federal State there is single citizenship. It implies that all Indian citizens owe allegiance to the Indian Union. Any citizen, irrespective of his birth or residence, is entitled to enjoy civil and political rights throughout India in all States and Union Territories. The Indian Constitution does not recognize State citizenship and as such there is no distinction between the citizens of two or more States, the only exception being the State of Jammu and Kashmir. No one other than a permanent resident of Kashmir can acquire landed property in Kashmir; but it is a purely temporary provision to be abolished when Kashmir is fully integrated to the Indian Union. The claim of Fundamental Rights is common to all citizens.

In India we have Unified Judiciary with the Supreme Court at the apexIn India we have Unified Judiciary with the Supreme Court at the apex as opposed to the federal system having a dual system of courts. The Supreme Court occupies the highest place in our unitary judicial system. Attempt has been made, as far as possible, to ensure its independence and achieve the goal of ensuring justice. By virtue of its place at the apex of the judicial pyramid, the Supreme Court acts as a great unifying force. We have seen that its decisions and verdicts are binding on any court in India. As a result, there is a good possibility of integration, consistency and cohesion in the entire judicial system of the country.

Appointment on Key Positions such as the Chief Election Commissioner, the Comptroller and Auditor General are made by the Union Government and All India Services such as IAS and IPS have been created which are kept under the control of the Union.

Representation in the Legislature, which is equal in case of a true federation such as United States, is not applicable in case of Indian States. States in India have unequal representation in the Rajya Sabha. Representation of States in Rajya Sabha is not equal. According to Schedule 4, the representation of the States ranges from 2 to 31. The largest representation is that of UP i.e. 31 whereas many North-Eastern States have only one representation. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the provincial/State legislatures. Even the value of the vote casted by the members in the Presidential Elections changes from State to State and is based on the population. The representation of the States in Rajya Sabha is not equal and depends from State to State, regulated by the Centre which is basically a unitary feature.

Entry IIA in List 1 inserted by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 calls for deployment of the armed forces of the Union in the aid of the civil powers of the State. Under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which is currently active in the states of Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, when the Centre declares a specified area as a ‘disturbed area’, then martial law can be declared in that area, so the members of the armed forces of the Union can be deployed in aid of the civil power without the consent of the State. The Armed forces can fire upon and use force even to the extent of causing death, if there is a breach of prohibitory order. The actions of the armed forces of the Union are completely indemnified i.e. no suit or criminal proceeding can be filed against the armed forces without the prior sanction of the Central Government. For example, in the aftermath of the infamous Manorama Rape Case by the Assam Rifles, the elderly women of Assam had staged a naked march in front of the headquarters of the Assam Rifles and they were holding placards saying ‘Indian Army Rape Us’. This is an example how the power can be misused in the name of welfare.

The Centre has the power to make laws under the State List under in certain cases. Under Article 249 which says that if Rajya Sabha passes a resolution with 2/3rd majority that the Parliament should make law with respect to a particular entry in List II with respect to a particular State. Then the Parliament makes law and that law remains in force for 1 and 1/2 years i.e. the law will cease to have affect 6 months after the resolution comes to an end because the resolution remains in force for 1 year. The Centre can also make law if there is a request or consent by 2 or 3 States and such law can be subsequently adopted by other States.When the national emergency is declared, the Central government the Union Parliament gets concurrent legislative power to make certain laws under List II and if there is a conflict between the two, the central law prevails.

Under Article 356, if the President is satisfied that the government of the State cannot be carried out in accordance with the provisions with the provisions of the Constitution, the proclamation can be made and once such proclamation is made, the State government can be either dismissed or the Assembly can be kept in suspended animation. Although during the formation of the Constitution, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, Dr. Ambedkar said that power vested under Article 356 would rarely be used. But this was not the case. Until the Supreme Court judgment of S.R. Bommai v Union of India, the power under Article 356 had been invoked 90 times. Supreme Court in this case restored the federalism by saying that if the decision is mala fide, then the court can reinstate the government dismissed or if the Assembly is dissolved, the court can revive and restore the dissolved Assembly. Now SC has said that once the president rule is imposed, the Assembly should be immediately dissolved. It should be kept in suspended animation until the proclamation is approved by both the houses of the parliament. Both Article 352 and 356 have been borrowed from the Weimer Constitution of Germany.

Residuary Power i.e. the power to legislate on the areas which do not find mention in any of the three lists under Schedule 7 lies with the Centre. For example, the laws like POTA, TADA which are now included in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, National Investigation Agency Act under which NIA was set up on the lines of FBI in US, to investigate federal crimes like terrorism is a trans-border phenomenon, so although public order is a state entry, terrorism is a problem which has a magnitude beyond public order, it concerns more with the security of India. When the Lokpal Bill was passed by the Parliament, the States opposed, they said that in one legislation you cannot provide both Lokpal and Lokayukta so now the Lokayukta part is removed and there is one provision which states that the States are supposed to make Lokayuktas within 2 years of passage of this Bill because Central Legislation creating Lokayuktas for the States would not have been consistent with the federal policy.

In past, several states have demanded that the residuary powers, including those of taxation should be vested with the States. In the defense of this demand, the Centre has time and again pointed to a strong unitary bias of the country’s federal structure. The Sarkaria Commission, which submitted its report in 1988 also justified the transfer of the residuary powers to the Concurrent List because it felt, the exercise of such powers by the States would ultimately be subject to the rules of the Union Supremacy which would be in consonance with the Unitary spirit of the Indian Constitution, particularly Articles 256 and 254.

CONCLUSION

“It doesn’t really matter whether the Constitution is in consonance with the textbook rules of federalism as long as it serves the purpose” that is what Supreme Court said in Kuldip Nair v Union of India, in that case the issue was that in Rajya Sabha elections earlier there was a domicile requirement which was removed by an amendment in 2003 and then it was argued that the amendment violated federal spirit. SC said that a particular kind of federalism or a US type of model may not be part of the basic structure of Indian Constitution. The Indian Federalism is unique in nature and is tailored according to the specific needs of the country. Federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution of India in which the Union of India is permanent and indestructible.

According to KC Wheare, in practice, the Constitution of India is quasi-federal in nature and not strictly federal. In words of D.D. Basu, the Constitution of India is neither purely federal nor unitary, but it is a combination of both. Throughout the Constitution, emphasis is laid on the fact that India is a single united nation. India is described as a Union of States constituted into sovereign, secular, socialist and democratic republic. In State of West Bengal v Union of India, the apex court held that decentralization of authority in India was primarily to facilitate smooth governance of a large nation and therefore, it contains many centralizing features also. Indian Constitution is not a ‘traditional federal constitution.’ In S.R. Bommai v Union of India, Justice Ahmadi opined that the essence of federation is the existence of distribution of power between the Union and the States. However, the absence of the terms ‘federal’ or ‘federation’ and the presence of unitary features such as residuary powers, single citizenship, integrated judiciary, etc can help us conclude that the Constitution of India is more ‘quasi federal’ than ‘federal’ or ‘unitary’. Similar was held in the case of Sat Pal v State of Punjab.

The Chairman of Drafting Committee, Dr. Ambedkar had thus rightly said that, “Our Constitution would be both unitary as well as federal according to the requirements of time and circumstances”. The Drafting Committee wanted to clarify that though India was a federation, it was not the result of any voluntary agreement between the States. Though the country is divided into many States, it is basically for administrative purposes which do not in any way affect its functioning as an integrated unit.

Finally, on a careful analysis of the federal and unitary features of the constitution, this aspect is not hard to miss that in every federal feature, there was an ultimate centralizing force which is existing. Therefore, it would not be wrong to conclude that the Constitution of India is federal in structure and unitary in spirit i.e. it is quasi- federal in nature. as opposed to the federal system having a dual.

PARLIAMENTARY AND PRESIDENTIAL FORMS OF GOVERNMENT.

1.After watching the two videos and consulting your text book identify 6 features of each of the

two forms of government discussed.( not to be written down in the copy) .this is to be discussed

in our subsequent Google classroom.

2. Read the study material on federal states and unitary states.( answer from the material

provided)

Answer the following questions-written work

i. Why is India not a true federation? Justify citing four points .

ii. Enumerate four reasons why USA is cited an as an example of classic federation.

iii. Give four examples of federal states . In which category does India fall?

iv. Cite an example of a Federal Republic, a Federal Commonwealth and a Federal kingdom

from the list provided.

Assignment to be submitted on 8 th April.last date 10 th APRIL.

Watch the SAMVIDHAAN documentary and write a synopsis on THE DEBATES going on in

the episode.

Date of submission- 15 th April.

ASSIGNMENT

WATCH THE RAJYA SABHA TV VIDEO.

QUESTION 1. DISCUSS THE THREE TYPES OF EMERGENCY PROVISIONS IN THE

INDIAN CONSTITUTION.

ASSIGNMENT- WRITE A CASE STUDY ON THE AUTHORITARIAN STEP TAKEN IN

1975 as shown in the video.this carries 20 marks.( word limit -2000 words)

ASSIGNMENT: CH 1.LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC STATES

1. Liberal democracy is the best way of life. Discuss why.(2)

2. what do you mean by political checks and balances? (4)

3.In what sense is a liberal democracy limited? (2)

4. How does the direct democracy in Switzerland operate? (4)

5. DESCRIBE 6 FEATURES OF A LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC STATE.{6}

6. what do u mean by social checks and balances?[2]

7. are there any drawbacks of this form of government?[2]

DATE OF SUBMISSION- 13 TH MAY

MARKS INDICATE THE NUMBER OF POINTS TO WRITE