Polity - XI

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Chapter 01 – Constitution: Why and How

1. A constitution is a written set of laws and fundamental principles to

develop a relationship between the people and the government which
comprises a numberof articles about the state.
2. We need a constitution\Fuctions of Indian Constitution:
a. To provide a set of basic rules to allow for minimal coordination
amongst themembers of a society.
b. To specify how the government would be constituted and who has
power to makedecisions in the society.
c. To lay some limitations on government's power by guaranteeing rights to the
citizens.
d. To enable the government to fulfill aspirations of a society and create
conditions for ajust society.
e. To express the fundamental identity of people.
3. The Constitution of India was framed by the Constituent Assembly between
December 1946 and November 1949.
4. Constitution are often subverted ,not by the people, but by small groups, who
wish to enhance their own power. Well crafted constitutions fragment power
in society intelligently so that no single group can subvert the constitution. The
Indian constitution horizontally, Executive and the Judiciary and even
independent statutory bodies like the Election Commission. An intelligent
system of checks and balance has facilitated the success of the Indian
Constitution.
5. The Constituent Assembly spent 2 years 11 months and 18 days to prepare
the constitution to be adopted on November 26, 1949 and came into force
on 26 January,1950.
6. The Constitutional Assembly had eight major Committees on different
subjects. Usually, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajender Parsad ,Sardar Patel or 3

B.R Ambedkar chaired these Committees. Each Committee usually PDF

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subjected to debate by the entire Assembly.

7. The Constitution of India is the Supreme Law to be accepted and
respected by all thecitizens as well as institutions of the country.
8. Only one provision of the constitution was passed without virtually any
debate : the introduction of universal suffrage(meaning that all citizen
reaching a certain age,would be entitled to be voters irrespective of
religion,caste,education,gender or income).
9. The Constitution of India is a blend of flexibility and rigidity as it is federal in
form butunitary in spirit.
10. The main federal features of the Indian Constitution are written and flexible
constitution, distribution of powers between the centre and the states,
supremacy of judiciary and existence of bi-cameral legislature.
11. The framers of Indian Constitution have borrowed a number of provisions as
per the suitability of the nation from different countries, ilrb the British
Constitution, the American Constitution, the Constitution of Canada, the
Constitution of Ireland, the French Constitution, etc. along with the
Government of India Act, 1935.

Chapter 02 – Rights in the Indian Constitution

1. The Constitution is a document that sets limits on the powers of the

government andensures a democratic system in which all persons enjoy
certain rights.
2. Rights are the favourable conditions and guarantees to be provided by a
state to itscitizens to live up a dignified life.
3. A democracy must ensure that individuals have certain rights and that the
government will always recognise these rights.
4. These rights can be categorised as Social Rights, Political Rights and
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Fundamental Rightsto procure equality, liberty and social justice into society.
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5. Fundamental Rights are specially protected to ensure that they are not
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violated even bythe government. Because these are protected by the

constitution of the country.
6. There are 6 Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Indian Constitution to its citizens:
a. Right to Equality
b. Right to Freedom
c. Right to Freedom of Religion
d. Right against Exploitation
e. Cultural and Educational Rights
f. Right to Constitutional Remedies
7. Right to equality tries to do away with such and other discriminations.it
provides for equal access to public places like shops,hotels,places of
entertainment,wells,bathing ghats and places of worship.There cannot be any
discrimination.
8. Preventive detention looks like an effective tool in the hands of the
government to deal with anti-social elements or subversives.
9. Fundamental Rights except the Right to Life and personal liberty may be
suspended onlyduring the emergencies like foreign attacks or internal
disturbances.
10. South African Constitution grants most extensive range of rights to its citizens
including even right to dignity, privacy, fair labour practices, healthy
environment, adequate housing, information, etc. Indian Constitution
contains Directive Principles of State Policy also to establish a welfare state
alongwith the Fundamental Rights.
11. The judiciary has the power to enforce the Fundamental Rights but the
Directive Principles of State are not enforceable by law.Fundamental Rights
mainly protect the rights of individuals while directive principles ensure the
well-being of the entire society.
12. In 1978,the 44th amandment to the constitution removed the right to 5

property from the list of Fundamental rights and converted it into a simple PDF
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13. By the 42nd amendment, in 1976, the Fundamental Duties have also been
inserted whichare ten in numbers to defend our country, promote harmony
and protect the environment.
14. The inclusion offundamental duties has not changed the status of our
fundamentalrights.

Chapter 03 – Election and Representation

1. The modern period is considered as the age of democracy where participation

of people is ensured at every level of government. In the words of Abraham
Lincoln. "Democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the
people".
2. Elections have today become the most visiable symbol of the democratic
process.
3. The method followed to choose these repersentatives is referred to as an
election.thus,thecitizens have a limited role in taking major decisions and in
running the administration.
4. Democracy can be classified into 2 types, i.e. Direct Democracy and Indirect
Democracy.
5. In ancient times, the direct democracy was prominent due to small sizes of
kingdoms butnow the states are vast along with higher population.
6. In an indirect democracy, the people do not participate directly but they
participate indirectly through their elected representatives who act in
accordance with the wishes ofthe people.
7. In a democratic election,people vote and their preference decides who
will win thecontest/election.
8. Indian Electoral System experiences some unique features as Universal Adult
Franchise,Joint Electorate, Combination of direct and indirect elections, secret
Ballot system, Election petition, etc. 6

9. In the lok sabha elections of 1984,the congress party came to power winning PDF
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415 of the543 lok sabha seats more than 80% of the seats.
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10. By Universal Adult Franchise, we mean every person above the age of maturity
(18 years and above) is entitled to enjoy the right to vote in elections
irrespective of caste, creed, colour, race, language, religion, etc.
11. The age of attaining maturity is fixed by the state. In India, England and
Russia, it is 18years, in Switzerland 20 years and in America 21 years and in
Norway it is 23 years.
12. In India ,we have adopted PR system on a limited scale for indirect
elections.The Constitution prescribes a third and complex variation of the PR
system for the election ofPresident , Vice President , and for the election to
the Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishads.
13. Adult franchise has many merits. It provides political training and education as
well as creates the feelings of self-respect among the people. It ensures
participation of people ingovernance.
14. The FPTP system generally gives the largest party or coalition some extra
bonus seats,more than their share of votes would allow.Thus this system
makes it possible forparliamentary government to function smoothly and
effectively by facilitating the formation of a stable government.
15. The FPTP system has proved to be simple and familiar to ordinary voters.It
has helped large parties to win clear majorities at the center and the State
level.The system has alsodiscouraged political parties that get all their votes
only from one caste or community.
16. The constitution of India appoints our Election Commission also to
perform electionrelated activities, i.e. to prepare voters' list, provide
recognition to political parties, declares constituencies and control over
the machinery of election.
17. The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and
works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.It is appointed
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for the purpose ofdrawing up the boundaries of constituencies all over the
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18. The Constitution provides for reservation of seat in the Lok Sabha and State
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LegislativeAssemblies for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

19. The election process begins with the election notification issued by the
president undersection 14 of the People's Representation Act, 1951, which is
followed by the announcement of election dates by the Election Commission.
20. Though Election Commission performs its duties very well, despite the
followingdiscrepancies have been observed during elections:
a. Use of money and use of power by candidates has become dominant.
b. n actual, voters do not create much interest in the elections.
c. Misuse of public funds and facilities.
d. Even the candidate less than majority of votes becomes victorious.
21. The following suggestions might be there to remove the drawbacks mentioned
above:
a. To control money and muscle power
b. The participation of women should be encouraged.
c. The persons from criminal background should be prohibited.
d. During election campaign, the candidates should not use words related
to any caste,religion, language, etc.

Chapter 04 – Executive

1. The legislature and the executive are interdependent in a parliamentary system.

2. In a democracy, the Government is divided into three organs:(a) The
Legislative(b) TheExecutive(c) The Judiciary
3. The word executive means a body of persons that looks after the
implementation of rulesand regulations in actual practice.In the case of Indian
government,one body may take policy decisions and decide about rules and
regulations,while the other one would be in charge of implementaling those
rules.The organ of government that primarily looks after the fuction of
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implementation and administration is called the Executive.
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4. The legislature frames the laws and the executive enforces
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them to run theadministration.

5. In a persidential system ,the president is the Head of state as well as head of
government.In this system the office of president is very powerful,both in
theory and practice.Countries with such a system include the United
States,Brazil and most nationsin Latin America.
6. In such a manner, the legislature controls the executive and in turn it is
controlled by theexecutive.
7. Different types of executives are Parliamentary, Semi-Presidential,
Presidential,Monarchical or Ceremonial, etc.
8. A distinction can be made between the parliamentary and the presidential
executives.Ina parliamentary system, the real head of executive is the Prime
Minister and the President is the nominal head.
9. The Prime Minister is assisted by the Council of Ministers and advises the
President.
10. Parliamentary form has many mechanism that ensure that the
executive will beanswerable to and controlled by the legislature or
people's representatives.So the Constitution adopted the parliamentary
system of executive for the government bothat the national and state level.

11. The President enjoys the right to be informed of all important matters and
functioning of the council of ministers

12. The President has veto power by which he can withhold or refuse to give
assent to Bills passed by the Parliament. Every bill passed by the Parliament
goes to the Persident for hisassent before it becomes a law.
13. The Vice President is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha and acts for the
President when the office of the President falls vacant.
14. The council of minister is responsible collectively to the house of the people
and it shallnot exceed 15% of total number of members of the house of the
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people.
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15. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.This
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provision means that a Minmisyry which loses confidenceof the Lok Sabha is
obliged to resign.
16. The President appoints the Prime Minister who is the leader of the majority
party in the Lok Sabha.The Prime Minister acts as a link between the Council of
Ministers on the one hand and the President as well as the Parliament on the
other.
17. The executive, thus, includes the Prime Minister, the ministers and large
administrative machinery.
18. The bureaucrats implement the decisions of ministers.
19. These bureaucrats are skilled and trained officers who work as a permanent
employeesof the government and assist the government in formulating and
implementing the policies.

Chapter 05 – Legislature

1. In India, the parliamentary form of government is adopted at the centre

by adoptingbicameral legislature.
2. Legislatures are elected by the peopleand work on behalf of the people.The
legislature isthe center af the democratic political process.It is packed with
action:walkouts,protests,demonstration,unanimity,concern and co-operation.
3. The legislature helps people in holding the representatives accountable.
4. In India, there are two houses of parliament-Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
5. The Rajya Sabha represents the states of India.It is an indirectly elected
body.The electedmembers of States Legislative Assembly in turn elect the
members of Rajya Sabha.Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected for a
term of six years.They can get re- elected.The Rajya Sabha is never fully
dissolved.
6. The Lower House of Parliament is called the Lok Sabha which consists of 545 10
members.
7. The members of the Lok Sabha are called Members of Parliament (MPs), who PDF
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are electedon the basis of universal adult franchise.The Lok Sabha is elected
for a period of five years.
8. Two Anglo-Indians are nominated by the president ifhe feels that Anglo-
Indians have not been represented suitably in the parliament.
9. The Lok Sabha has a speaker who presides over its session.
10. The Upper House of Parliament is called the Rajya Sabha having 250 members
out of which 238 are elected by State Legislative Assemblies and 12 members
are nominated bythe President.
11. The Legislature is to make laws for its people.A definite procedure is
followed in theprocess of making low.
12. The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
13. The Lok Sabha enjoys the powers of making laws, to enact Money or non-
Money Bills,approves taxation, budgets and annual financial statement,
amends constitution, etc.

14. Rajya Sabha enjoys the powers to suggest amendments to Money Bills,
exercise control over executives and can give power to make laws on
matters included in the state list.

15. The Rajya Sabha can approve the bill or suggest changes but cannot reject it.If
it takes noaction within 14 days the bill is deemed to have been passed.
16. The Parliament uses the various devices to have a parliamentary control over
its executives as financial control, deliberation and discussion, approval or
refusal of laws and no confidence motion, etc.

Chapter 06 – Judiciary

1. Judiciary is an independent body to settle down the disputes arisen

between the individuals or groups or government on the basis of the rule
of law.And judiciary is apart of the democratic political structure of the 11

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2. The rule of laws ensures supremacy of law which safeguards the rights of
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individuals,settles disputes and ensures that democracy does not give way
to individual or group dictatorship.
3. A judiciary should be independent means executive or legislature should
not interfereeither in the functioning or decisions of the judiciary as well as
judges could perform their duties without any fear or favour.
4. The constitution of India has the provision for single integrated judicial
system.Right from 1950 the Judiciary has played an important role in
interpreting the Constitution.
5. The Supreme Court of India is one of the very powerful courts in the
wolrd.The provisions for Supreme Court of India have been made consisting
a Chief Justice and 25other judges.
6. The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President after
consultation with such of judges of the Supreme Court and of the high courts
in the states as the President may deem necessary for the purpose.
7. The judges of the Supreme Court holds the office till the age of 65 years.
8. The judges' salaries (Supreme Court) are determined by the Parliament by law,
which arespecified in the second schedule.
9. A judge of the Supreme Court or the high court can be removed only on the
ground of misbehaviour or incapacity. If some charges are imposed against
the judges, it must beapproved by special majority in both the houses.
10. When the office of Chief Justice falls vacant, the duties may be performed
by the otherjudge of the same category to whom the President may
appoint for the same purpose.
11. Supreme Court exercises its jurisdiction in the form of Original, Writ,
Appellate, Advisory and Special Powers.
a. Original: To settle disputes between the union and the states and among
states.
b. Writ: Can issue constitutional writs to protect fundamental rights of the 12
people.
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c. Appellate: Tries appeals in civil, criminal and constitutional cases.
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d. Advisory: Advises the President on the matters of public importance and law.
e. Special powers: Can grant special leave to an appeal from any
judgement or matterpassed by any court in the territory of India.
12. The decisions of Supreme Court are binding on all courts. It can transfer the
judges of high courts, can move cases from any court to itself or can transfer
cases from one highcourt to another.
13. High court hears appeals from lower courts, can issue writs to resort
fundamental rights,can deal with the cases within jurisdiction of the states and
exercise control and superintendence over its subordinate courts.
14. District court deals with the cases arising in the district, consider Appeals on
decisions given by lower courts and decides cases involving serious criminal
offences.
15. Subordinate courts to Supreme Court and high courts consider cases of civic
and criminal nature.
16. The Supreme Court is considered as the guardian of the constitution.
17. Judicial review stands for the power of the Supreme Court to
examine theconstitutionality of any law.
Public Interest Litigation or Social Action Litigation is to hear cases where
case is not filedby aggrieved person but by others on their behalf or
consideration of an issue of public interest.

Chapter 07 – Federalism

1. Federalism is a distribution or share of power or an institutional mechanism

to accommodate two sets of politics-one at the regional level and the other
at the nationallevel.and federalism as a principle of government has
envolved differently in different situtions.
2. A culture of trust, cooperation, mutual respect and restraint helps federation
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to functionsmoothly.
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3. India is a land of continental proportions and immense diversities.There are
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more than 20 major languages and several hundred minor ones.it is the
home of several major religions.India as a country where there is unity in
diversity.
4. The most important feature of the federal system adopted by the Indian
Consititution isthe principle that relations between the states and the center
would be based on cooperation.
5. The one government is created for the entire nation, i.e. national
government and otherfor each unit known as the state government.
6. The federal features of constitution are written constitution, partly rigid and
partly flexible, Division of powers between the central and state
governments and BicameralLegislature.
7. The constitution of India has provided the division of power on the basis of
matters andlists of the subjects, i.e. the union list, the state list and the
concurrent list.
8. On the subjects of union list, the central government enjoys the power to
pass the lawsand the subjects are of national importance, i.e. defence of
the country, foreign affair, currency, etc.
9. The constitution has certain very powerful emergency provision ,which
can turn ourfederal polity into a highly centralised system once emergencr
is declared.
10. One of the controversial artiles in the constitution is Article 356,which
provides for President's rule in any State.This provision is to be
applied,when 'a situation has arisen inwhich the Government of the State
cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this
Constitution.President's rule can be extended till three years.The Governor
has the power to recommend the dismissal of the State Government and
suspension or dissolution of State assembly.
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11. The state government can legislate the laws on the subjects in the state
list which areimportant for a state, i.e. police, local government, to PDF
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12. On concurrent list, both the central and state· governments can legislate
laws whichinclude education, marriage, divorce, economic planning, etc.
13. Relationship between the centre and state can be classified into the
legislative,administrative and financial relation.
14. The finance commission of lndia is an independent commission created by the
constitution of India, to make recommendations on the distribution of
finances between the centre and the states.
15. The most extra-ordinary feature of federal arrangements created in India is
that manystates get a differential treatment, i.e. J ammu and Kashmir
where the central government enjoys only limited powers and other powers
listed in the union list and concurrent list can be used only with the consent
of state government. (Art. 370)
16. Division of powers in, the constitution oflndia has been referred as follows:
a. Union list-Defence, Atomic Energy, Foreign Affairs, War and Peace,
Banking, Railways, Post and Telegraph, Airways, Ports, Foreign Trade,
Currency and Coinage tobe made laws by union legislature only.
b. State list-Agriculture, Police, Prison, Local Government, Public health,
Land, Liquor, Trade and Commerce, Livestock and Animal Husbandry,
State public services to be made laws by the State legislature.
c. Concurrent list-Education, Transfer of property other than Agricultural
land, Forests, Trade unions, Adulteration, Adoption and succession to be
made laws by both the union and State legislature.
d. Residuary powers include all other matters not mentioned in any of the
lists, i.e. Cyber law, hence, union legislature alone has power to legislate
laws on such matters.
17. The Indian constitution has created a strong central government to handle
the socio-economic problems of the counting in cooperation with the
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state governments.
18. Many states as well as the political parties have demanded that states should PDF
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19. The role of governor has always been a controversial issue between the central
and state governments especially when two different parties are in power at the
centre and the state, his role becomes more controversial.

20. There are the disputes when states demand more autonomy from the centre
and on the issues like share in revenue resources as well as disputes have been
arisen between two states and among more than two states.
21. The constitution has some special provisions for some states given their
peculiar social and historical circumstances, i.e. the eastern states like
Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, etc.

Chapter 08 – Local Government

1. Local government is the government at the village and district level involving
the day-to-day life and problems of ordinary citizens.The advantage of local
government is that it is so near the people.
2. Local government ensures people's participation in the meaningful manner
to run theadministration.
3. The development at any place can be done through the cooperation of the
people living atthat particular place only.
4. Earlier the self-governing village communities existed in the form of 'Sabhas'
(Village assemblies) and later on it was converted into 'Village Panchayat' (an
assembly of fivemembers).
5. Under the Government of India Act 1979, Village Panchayats were
established in anumber of provinces and continued after the
Government of India Act, 1935.
6. During India's freedom movement, Mahatma Gandhi strongly pleaded for
decentralisation of economic and political power to ensure local
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involvement to besuccessful.
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people in such alarge country, hence the involvement of local authorities was
felt to sort out the local problems known as local self-government.
8. Local self-government manages the local affairs by the representatives who
knows thebest about local needs and aspiration of people.
9. In the big cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, the Municipal Corporation look
after the interests of the people and in small cities, Municipal Committees look
after the interest ofthe people.
10. In 1882, the Viceroy of India, Lord Ripon, created the local boards in the
form of local government.
11. In 1992, the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were passed by the
parliament.These amendments aimed at strengthening local governments and
ensuring an element of uniformity in their structure and functioning across the
country.

12. The 73rd amendment is about rural local governments known as

Panchayati Raj institutions, it demarcated the levels of Panchayati Raj in
Gram Panchayat the base,Mandal (Block) intermediary and the Zila
Panchayat apex.
13. The 73rd amendment included the three tier structure (mentioned above),
elections at every regular interval of five years, reservations for SCs, STs and
OBCs and 29 subjectsfrom state list in eleventh schedule of constitution were
transferred to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI).
14. The 74th Amendment dealt with the Urban local bodies or
Nagarpalikas. This is arepetition of the 73rd amendment except that it
applies to the Urban areas only.
15. A Gram panchayat covers a village or group of villages.The intermediary
level is the Mandal or Taluka Panchayat.
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16. All the three levels of Panchayati Raj institutionms are elected directly by the
people.Theterm of each Panchayati body is five years. PDF
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17. Sometimes, the formation of the local bodies is criticized on the ground not to
change the way in which decisions are taken at the central and state level and
the people at the local level do not enjoy much power of choosing allocation of
resources.
18. The idea behind this act 73rd is that local traditions of self government should
be protected while introducing modern elected bodies.This is only consistent
with the spiritof diversity and decenterlisation.
19. The State Government is aslo required to appoint a State Finance commission
once in fiveyear.This Commission would examine the Financial position of the
local governments in the State.
20. The provision for reservation for women at the Panchayats and
Nagarpalikas has ensured the presence of a significant number of
women in local bodies.
21. The dependance of local bodies on the state governments and Central
Government forfinancial support has greatly eroded their capacity to operate
effectively.

Chapter 09 – Constitution as a Living Document

1. The Constitution of India was adopted on November 26, 1949 and its
implementationstarted from January 26, 1950.
2. Since 1950, the same constitution has been continuing to function under the
frameworkto be operated in the country.
3. The Indian Constitution is a combination of both the approaches mentioned
above:thstthe constitution is a sacred document and that it is an instrument
that may require change from time to time.
4. The basic structure of our constitution cannot be changed and has been made
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as per thesuitability of the country.the indian constitution combines both
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5. Article 368 states that parliament may in exercise of its constituent power
amend by wayof addition, variation or repeal any provision of this constitution
in accordance with the procedure laid down in this article.
6. The Constitution of India is partially rigid and partially flexible because some
amendments can be made by a simple majority of Parliament and some
require at least2/3 majority of parliament with ratification by the legislatures
of at least one half of the states. Some amendments require a special
majority of Parliament in both the houses separately.
7. Apart from the anti-defection amendments(52nd and 91st),these amendments
include the 61st amendment bringing down the minimum age for voting from
21 to 18 years,the 73rd and the 74th amendments etc.
8. A living constitution refers to the amendments made without changing
the basic structure of the constitution, which has been resulted due to
judicial interpretation.
9. As a 'Living Constitution', it responds to the experiences arisen in different
situationsfrom time to time. For example, the Supreme Court held in the
case of reservations, which cannot exceed 50% of total seats in jobs and
educational institutions.
10. This was the only decision of the Supreme Court to emerge creamy layer
who were not entitled to be benefitted under reservations.

11. The supreme court even gave the Keshavanand ruling in 1973. In the past
three decades,this ruling has governed all interpretations of the constitution
and all institutions in the country have accepted the theory of the basic
structure.
12. Even after so many changes in the society,the Constituion continues to work
effectivelybecause os this ability to be dynamic,to be open to interpretations
and the ability to respond to the changing situation.This is a hallmark of a
19
democratic Constitution.
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13. On 26 January, 2014, the constitution oflndia completed 64 years and
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it has beenamended a number of times, but its basic structure has

not been changed, only explanations took place.

Chapter 10 – The Philosophy of the Constitution

1. The laws and moral values are interrelated with each other.The Indian
Constitution was designed to break the shackles of traditional social
hierarchies and to usher in a new eraof freedom,equality and justice.
2. The Constitution as a document that is based on a certain moral vision. Hence,
the Constitution of lndia is democratic, secular, federal, liberal, egalitarian,
open to community values as well as sensitive towards the needs and
aspirations of the peoples tomaintain integrity of the county.
3. The philosophy of the constitution does not contain only moral content
but mediatebetween the various interpretations of the core value
oflndian polity.
4. The Indian Constitution also provide peaceful,democratic means to bring
about social transformation.Moreover,for a hitherto colonised
people,constitutions announce and embody the first real exercise of
political self-determination.
5. The Constitution oflndia has made the arrangements to protect the rights and
interests ofSCs, STs, Minorities by providing the reservation of seats in the
legislatures for them.
6. The same reservations have been made for them even in government jobs
also to securetheir interest.
7. The Constitution oflndia is a supreme law to be respected and accepted by the
institutionsand citizens both because only this protects the fundamentalities of
citizens and country.
8. Classical liberalism always privilages rights of the individuals over demands 20
of social justice and community values.
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distributes thepowers between the central government and its constituent

units, it is a written document, it is partially flexible and partially rigid.
10. The judiciary of India is supreme, and the bi-camera! legislature exists in India.
11. 'Mutual Exclusion' term means that both religion and state must stay away
from the internal affairs of one another. The State must not intervene in the
domain of religion; religion likewise should not dictate state policy or
influence the conduct of the state.

12. The constitution has a centralized idea of national unity as its preamble
outlines the objectives of constitution by providing justice, equality,
fraternity, liberty and unity and integrity of the country.
13. The philosophy of the constitution can be approached by getting the concept
of constitution in a clear manner, grasping or analysing the set of ideals in
constitution as well as a detailed justification for the same.
14. The philosophy of the constitution mainly emphasizes on peaceful and
democratic measures to develop a democratic transformations in the form of
equality, freedom andnational unity and integrity.

Chapter 11 – Political Theory: An Introduction

1. Political theory has been made one of the subfields with the rise of political
science as asubject.Political is an important and integral part of any society.
2. Political theory is the study of the state from the philosophical and empirical
point of view.And a political theory can be referred to as a combination of
thoughts, philosophies and sciences or arts.
3. Political theory deals with the ideas and principles that shape
constitutions,governments,and social life in a systematic manner.It clarifies
the meaning of concepts such as
freedom,equality,justice,democracy,seculariesm and so on. 21
4. Politics is referred to struggle for power to maintain relationship between
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5. Political theory deals with how the present has come and on what
assumptions, it maystay and in future, what it will lead.
6. India is a free country where issues concerning freedom, equality and
democracy arisefrom time to time and implemented also by the intervention
of the state.
7. As freedom has been guaranteed by the constitution, still many discriminatory
issues areraised and encountered with the interpretations of the state.
8. Along with the changes in time and periods, people's aspirations and
needs are also changed and new dimensions are discovered as well.
9. Political theories debate and examine the diverse meaning and opinions in a
systematic manner and easily to be understood by the ordinary peoples.
10. The laws and moral values are interrelated with each other.
11. Hence, the Constitution of India is democratic, secular, federal, liberal,
egalitarian, open to community values as well as sensitive towards the needs
and aspirations of the peoplesto maintain integrity of the county.
12. The philosophy of the constitution does not contain only moral content
but mediatebetween the various interpretations of the core value of
Indian polity.
13. The Constitution of India has made the arrangements to protect the
rights and interests of SCs, STs, Minorities by providing the reservation of
seats in the legislatures for them. The same reservations have been made
for them even in government jobs also to secure their interest.
14. The Indian Constitution guarantees the right to primary education for
all,this rightremains formal.
15. The Constitution of India is a supreme law to be respected and accepted by
the institutions and citizens both because only this protects the
fundamentalities of citizensand country.
22
16. The Constitution of India experiences the federal character because it
distributes thepowers between the central government and its constituent PDF
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17. Political theory exposes us to systematic thinking on justice or equality so

that we canpolish our opinions and argue in an informed manner and for
the sake of common interests.
18. The constitution has a centralized idea of national unity as its preamble
outlines the objectives of constitution by providing justice, equality,
fraternity, liberty and unity and integrity of the country.
19. The philosophy of the constitution can be approached by getting the concept
of constitution in a clear manner, grasping or analysing the set of ideals in
constitution as well as a detailed justification for the same.
20. The philosophy of the constitution mainly emphasises on peaceful and
democratic measures to develop a democratic transformations in the
form of equality, freedom andnational unity and integrity.

Chapter 12 – Freedom

1. Freedom is a liberty to do whatever a person likes to do or a positive power of

doing andenjoying the worth of work.
2. Freedom has the two aspects, i.e. positive and negative. Positive freedom
refers to thoserights which do not reach any harm to others if enjoyed as
well essential for an individual's development. Negative freedom implies
the absence of any restraints on freedom.
3. Freedom is considered valuable because it allows us to make choices and to
exercise ourjudgement. It permits the exercise of the individual's powers of
reason and judgement.
4. Freedom can be classified as natural freedom, civil freedom, political
freedom, economicfreedom, religious freedom, individual freedom, etc.
5. Restrictions on the freedom of individuals may come from domination and
external controls. Such restrictions may be imposed by force or they may 23
be imposed by a government through laws which embody the power of
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6. The 'Harm Caues' must be 'serious'. For minor harm,Mill recommends only
social disapproval and not the force of low. For example the playing of loud
music in an apartment building should bring only social disapproval from the
other residents of the building. They should not involve the police.
7. the existence of the 'minimum area of non-interference that human nature
and humandignity need an area where the person can act unobstructed by
others.
8. Various safeguards have been provided for freedom, i.e. democratic setup,
equal rights for all, economic security constitutional provisions, etc.
9. Freedom of expression require non-interference or should not be restricted
because it isa fundamental value to be possessed by the people.
10. Though, a number of times, the demands have been raised to ban books,
films, articles,journals, etc.
11. Banning is an easy solution for the short term to meet the immediate demand
but it is very harmful for long term prospects of freedom in a society because
once one begins to ban then one develops a habit of banning.

12. Constraints of different kind thus exist and we are subject to them in different
situations.while reflecting on such situations we need to realise that when
constraints are backed by organised social-religious or cultural-authority or by
the might of the state, they restrict our freedom in ways that are difficult to fight
against.

Chapter 13 – Equality

1. Equality refers that all human beings are equal in all aspects because they
are equal by birth as a human being. And everybody should be equally
educated, wealthy, and equalstatus in the society.
2. But this is a negative aspect of equality because every person cannot be
equal in all thespheres as human beings are created even equal by God.
24
3. The human beings differ from each other in intelligence, height and physique
also. PDF
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one's ownpotentialities and to abolish special privileges to be given to some

sections of society.
5. The concept of equality implies that all people,as human beings,are entitled to
the same rights and opportunities to develop their skill and talents,and to
pursue their goals and ambitions.This means that in a society people may
differ with regard to their choices andprefernces.
6. Natural inequalities are considered to be thev result of the different
characteristics and abilities with which people are born.It is generally
assumed that natural difference cannot be altered.social inequalities on the
other hand are those created by society.They may treat differently people of
different rade,colour,gender,or caste.
7. Equality can be classified as natural, social, civil, economic and political.
8. Three main dimensions of equality namely,political,social and economic.
9. Feminism is a political doctrine of equal rights for women and
men.According to feminists,inequality between men and women in
society is the result of patriatchy.
10. Article 14 of the constitution of India guarantees equality to all the citizens
before lawand equal protection within India.
11. Freedom and equality are closely interrelated with each other and work
as a basis ofdemocratic set up.
12. Equality refers to be eligible to enjoy various opportunities provided by the
state.

13. Affirmative action is based on the idea that it is not sufficient to establish formal
equality bt law.most policies of affirmativeaction are thus designed to correct
the cumulative effect of past inequalities.
14. Some inequalities existing in country are: (a) Disparity of income (b) Gender
inequality issociety (c) Existing slums (d) Inequality among educational
institutions.
25

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1. In ancient Indian society, justice was associated with 'dharma' and

maintaining dharma or a just social order, was considered to be a primary
duty of kings.
2. The Greek philosopher Plato interprets justice in his book 'The Republic'
as a life ofpeople conforming to the rules of functional specialization.
3. Justice has been defined in a various ways, i.e. at sometimes it believed "As
you sow, so shall you reap", and sometimes considered the result of actions
in previous birth or the will of God.Justice requires that we give due and
equal consideration to all individuals.
4. According to Prof. Belmond justice is a means to distribute the due share to
every bodywhile Marxist considers from each according to his ability to each
according to his needs".
5. Justice requires that we give due and equal consideration to all
individuals.The idea that justice involves giving each person his due continues
to be an important part of our present day understanding of justice.
6. John Rawls describes justice as thinking under a 'veil of ignorance' where
position andstatus in society, everybody would decide as per one's own
interests.
7. If in a society deep and persistent divisions exist between those who enjoy
greater wealthand property, and the power which goes with such ownership,
and those who are excluded and deprived, we would say that social justice is
lacking there.
8. The fundamental elements of justice are equality before law, respect for the
necessities ofnature, truth and freedom, etc.
9. Justice exercises four dimensions, i.e. political, legal, social and economic.
10. A just society should provide people with the basic minimum conditions to
enable them to live healthy and secure lives and develop their talents as well 26

as equal opportunities topursue their chosen goals in society. PDF

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11. Supporters of the free market believe that if markets are left free of state
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interference the sum of market transactions would ensure overall a just

distribution of benefits and duties in society.
12. Social justice refers to equal treatment to each and everybody in the society
without anydiscrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour, race, religion,
etc.
13. Justice and liberty and justice and equality are closely related to each other.

Chapter 15 – Rights

1. Rights are primarily those claims which are necessary for leading a life of
respect anddignity.
2. Rights are those conditions or guarantees which the state provides to
every citizen inorder to attain best self in the society.
3. One of the rights granted to citizens in our country, and in many others, is
freedom of movement. This right is of particular importance for workers.
Labour tends to migrate in search of jobs when opportunities are not available
near their homes.
4. The legal rights are given by the government to its citizens which are
classified as socialrights, political rights and fundamental rights.
5. Duty is an obligation by which, we are bound to do something which can be
classified asfundamental duties, legal duties and moral duties.
6. A bill of rights is enshrined in the constitution to be given a primary
importance, knownas fundamental rights.
7. Political rights give to the citizens the right to equality and to participate
in political processes.
8. A basic principle of democracy is that such disputes should be settled by
negotiation anddiscussion rather than force. This is one of the obligations of 27
citizenship.
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livelihood tofulfil their basic needs.

10. But rights can be enjoyed only, if a person is committed towards the duties also.
11. The issue of whether full and equal membership means that all citizens, rich or
poor, should be guaranteed certain basic rights and a minimum standard of
living by the state.
12. The key concept in Marshall’s idea of citizenship is that of ‘equality’. This
implies twothings: first, that quality of the given rights and duties
improves. Second, that the quantity of people upon whom they are
bestowed grows.
13. Marshall sees citizenship as involving three kinds of rights: civil, political
and social. Civilrights protect the individual’s life, liberty and property.
Political rights enable the individual to participate in the process of
governance. Social rights give the individual access to education and
employment.
14. Moral duties include duties towards self, family, society, neighbours, humanity,
etc.
15. The concept of equal citizenship would mean that providing equal rights and
protectionto all citizens should be one of the guiding principles of
government policies.
16. Legal duties include obedience of law, payment of taxes, to participate
in militaryservices if required as well as to cooperate with government
employees.
17. The concept of national citizenship assumes that our state can provide
us with theprotection and rights which we need to live with dignity in
the world today.
18. On 10th of December 1948, the General Assembly of the UN adopted and
proclaimed theuniversal declaration of Human Rights as a common standard
of achievement for 28
all peoples and all nations. PDF
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Chapter 16 – Citizenship

1. Citizenship refers to the collective political identity of individuals of the state

who enjoy some certain rights also.
2. A citizen is entitled to abide by the laws of a particular country in which one
enjoys therights as a citizen.
3. Equality of rights and status is one of the basic rights of citizenship.
4. An ideal citizen can be referred to possess the qualities to be educated,
aware of rights and duties, to have a high gravity in character as well as to be
loyal to the country.
5. In a democratic setup, the citizens enjoy the political rights also, i.e. right
to vote, tocontest elections, to form political parties and to hold public
offices, etc.
6. The women’s movement and the dalit movement was held in our country
and their purpose is to change public opinion by drawing attention to
their needs as well as toinfluence government policy to ensure them
equal rights and opportunities.
7. Every citizen is entitled to perform some certain duties also associated with the
rights, i.e.obedience of law, loyalty towards the state, cooperation with the
public servants and payment of taxes, etc.
8. A natural born citizen is the one who either born in the country or if one's
parents are thecitizens of a particular country.
9. One of the rights granted to citizens in our country, and in many others, is
freedom of movement. This right is of particular importance for workers.
Labour tends to migrate in search of jobs when opportunities are not available
near their homes.
10. The citizenship of a country can be acquired by marriages, appointment as a
29
government official, acquisition of a territory and purchases of immovable
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11. The right to protest is an aspect of the freedom of expression guaranteed to

citizens in our Constitution, provided protest does not harm the life or property
of other people or the State. Citizens are free to try and influence public
opinion and government policy byforming groups, holding demonstrations,
using the media, appealing to political parties, or by approaching the courts.
12. A basic principle of democracy is that such disputes should be settled by
negotiation anddiscussion rather than force. This is one of the obligations of
citizenship.
13. Awareness about the condition of the urban poor is growing among
governments, N.G.O’s and other agencies, and among the slum-dwellers
themselves. For instance, a national policy on urban street vendors was framed
in January 2004.
14. The rights and obligations of citizens are listed in the Constitution.
There is also a provision that the state should not discriminate against
citizens on the grounds ofrace/caste/sex/place of birth, or any of them.
The rights of religious and linguistic minorities are also protected.
15. A good citizenship may be hindered by in differences, poverty, narrow
growing and lackof education, etc.
16. Global citizenship makes the work easier to deal with the problems to
extend acrossnational boundaries and to need cooperative actions of the
states on the issues of migrants, stateless people as well as to ensure
basic rights and protection, etc.

Chapter 17 – Nationalism

1. The nationalism is a sense of an independent nation that is combined

together for theachievement of common goal.
2. The persons of a nation are known citizens of a country to enjoy political and 30
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of one's ownrights and duties having staunch loyalty to the country and
with lofty character.
4. The Republic Day parade in Delhi is a striking symbol of Indian nationalism and
it brings out the sense of power, strength, as well as diversity which many
associate with the Indian nation.
5. Nationalism refers to the right of self-determination to imply that every
nation in theworld should exercise a right to determine its destiny in all
walks of life without interference of other states in the world.
6. Every nationalist is supposed to perform some duties, i.e. obedience oflaw,
payment oftaxes, cooperation with public servants and loyalty with the
state, etc.
7. Nations are constituted by a group who share certain features such as
descent, or language, or religion or ethnicity. But there is in fact no
common set of characteristicswhich is present in all nations.
8. A nation is to a great extent an ‘imagined’ community, held together by the
collective beliefs, aspirations and imaginations of its members. It is based on
certain assumptions which people make about the collective whole with
which they identify.
9. The Indian nation identifies with the rivers, mountains and regions of
the Indiansubcontinent.
10. State and society are distinguished from each other, i.e. a society has been
originated before state and does not enjoy any sovereignty whereas a state
has fixed territory andpossess sovereignty also.
11. State and nation enjoy some distinctions, i.e. state has four essential
elements but nation has none. Out of these sovereignty and definite
territory are essential for a state.
12. A nation-state which does not respect the rights Nationalism and cultural
31
identity ofminorities within the state would find it difficult to gain the
loyalty of its members. PDF
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of religious, linguistic and cultural minorities.

14. That is, in ensuring that people with different cultural and ethnic identities live
and co- exist as partners and equal citizens within the country. This may be
essential not only for resolving problems arising from new claims for self-
determination but also for building a strong and united state.
15. State and government are also distinguished, i.e. government is an essential
element ofstate.
16. Where a state is exclusively composed of one nationality, it is a nation state.
But where we have a state to consist of more than one nationality or where a
nationality is spread over several states, the state and nation do not coincide.
17. Nation refers to be a self-governing nationality.

Chapter 18 – Secularism

1. The word 'Dharma' has been derived from Sanskrit refer to adopt
alongwith the basicprinciple to do welfare of all.
2. Secularism refers equal respect for all religions, i.e. the state does not profess
any religionand treats all the religions at par.
3. Originally, India was not declared a secular state, the word secular was
added by the42nd Amendment Act.
4. The Indian Constitution declares that every Indian citizen has a right to live
with freedomand dignity in any part of the country.
5. Secularism refers that political system and administration should be based
upon a secular ideology to leave the task of coordination among the different
religions and bring unity among them through voluntary social organisation.
6. Religion and beliefs are considered as a personal matter, hence, state
should have nointerference in it.
7. India is a secular state because India is impartial in religious matters, all
32
citizens enjoy freedom to adopt any religion as per choice, no discrimination
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separate from politics, etc.

8. India used to believe since ancient times the nation of "Sarva Dharm Sam
Bhava" becauseIndia respects all religions equally.
9. Hence, secular states are neither theocratic nor establish any religion.
10. Education is one way of helping to change the mindset of people. Individual
examples ofsharing and mutual help can also contribute towards reducing
prejudice and suspicion between communities.

11. A state governed directly by a priestly order is called theocratic. Theocratic

states, such asthe Papal states of Europe in medieval times or in recent times
the Taliban-controlled states, lacking separation between religious and
political institutions, are known for their hierarchies, and oppressions, and
reluctance to allow freedom of religion to members of other religious groups.
12. A secular state must be committed to principles and goals which are at least
partly derived from non-religious sources. These ends should include peace,
religious freedom,freedom from religiously grounded oppressions,
discrimination and exclusions, as also inter-religious and intra-religious
equality.
13. The state cannot aid any religious institution. It cannot give financial
support toeducational institutions run by religious communities.
14. Indian secularism is fundamentally different from Western secularism.
15. Indian secularism deals not only with religious freedom of individuals but
also with religious freedom of minority communities. Within it, an
individual has the right to profess the religion of his or her choice.
16. The Indian Constitution grants all religious minorities the right to establish and
maintain their own educational institutions which may receive assistance from
the state. All these complex strategies can be adopted by the state to promote
the values of peace, freedom and equality.
33
17. Indian secularism allows for principled state intervention in all religions. Such
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religiouslysanctioned caste-hierarchies are not acceptable within Indian

secularism.
18. Indian secularism can be criticised on the grounds of being anti-religions,
imported from western culture, charge of minoritism, interventionist based on
vote bank politics and it is considered to be an impossible project.

Chapter 19 – Peace

1. Peace is often defined as an absence of war and nations establish the relations
with each other in a peaceful and harmonious way to achieve progress in the
world. And other one,Peace would be to see it as absence of violent conflict of
all kinds including war, riot, massacre, assassination, or simply physical attack.
2. Terrorism is a hindrance in the peace of some nations to be violent and
unlawful toachieve the desired goals by terrorists.
3. To maintain peace, some nations have adopted disarmament as a policy
to stop themanufacturing and storage of deadly war weapons.
4. India has followed the policy of non-alignment and settled international
disputes through peaceful methods and cooperation.
5. The 19th century German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche did not value
peace becausehe believed that only conflict could facilitate growth of
civilisation.
6. The non-violence refers not to injure anything on the earth in thought, word
or deed butsometimes it is necessary to use the force to maintain peace but
war should be the last resort only.
7. Patriarchy entails a form of social organisation that results in the systematic
subordination of, and discrimination against, women. Its manifestations
34
include selective abortion of female foetuses, denial of adequate nourishment
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and education to the girl- child, child-marriage, wife battering, dowry-related
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crimes, sexual harassment at the workplace, rape, and honour killing.

8. Pacifism covers a spectrum of views to preach opposition to war or violence
as a meansto settle disputes.
9. The United Nations organisation is an international organisation, founded on
24 October 1945 after the Second World War come to an end.
10. The UNO established international peace and security to promote social,
economic,cultural and human relationship at international level.
11. For the establishment of peace, various approaches have been
developed, i.e. to respect sovereignty and treat competition, to grant
deep rooted nature of inter state rivalry and envisages the emergence of
supranational order, etc.
12. The rise of terrorism is partly a response to the self-serving and ham-handed
conduct of the aggressive states. Terrorists currently pose a great threat to
peace through an adroit and ruthless use of modern weapons and advanced
technology more generally.
13. The Peace movement is sustained by people from diverse walks of life and
includes workers, writers, scientists, teachers, media persons, priests and
statesmen. It has expanded and achieved depth by forging mutually
beneficial linkages with other movements such as those championing the
empowerment of women and protection ofthe environment.

Chapter 20 – Development

1. The idea of development became a main concern after the industrial revolution.
2. Development refers to the achievement of social and economic progress by
transformingconditions of underdevelopment as low productivity, stagnation
and poverty.
3. In the broadest sense of the term, development conveys the ideas of 35
improvement, progress, well-being and an aspiration for a better life
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4. Development cannot be understood as only in economic terms but it can Create
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place also insocial and political terms.

5. Development bears the different approaches also like psychological,
human needs development, dependency, Gandhian and market-friendly
approaches, etc.
6. In India a series of Five Year Plans for development were made starting from
the 1950s, and these included a number of mega projects such as the Bhakra
Nangal Dam, setting upsteel plants in different parts of the country, mining,
fertilizer production and improving agricultural techniques.
7. Sustainable development makes the efforts to meet the well being needs of
present andfuture generations.
8. Gandhiji viewed development to be different from Western model of
development andmade a distinction between economic and real
development.
9. This concept gained importance after the second half of 20th century
when manycountries from Asia and Africa attained political
independence.
10. criticism has taken place that development projects to be proven
very costly fordeveloping countries.
11. The development pays a high social cost also because displacement has
led to manystruggles in the countries.
12. Development should not be measured only in the terms of materials only but
it can also be measured in terms of happiness, harmony and satisfaction of
essential needs.
13. Today, the environmental movement has become a world-wide
phenomenon withthousands of non-governmental groups and even
some ‘green’ political parties.
14. The Human Development Report which is annually brought out by the
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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This report ranks
countries on the basis of their performance in social indicators like literacy PDF
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and education levels, life expectancy and maternal mortality rates. This
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measure is called the Human Development Index.

15. In democratic countries the right of people to participate in
decision making isemphasised.
16. A decentralised approach to development makes it possible to use
various kinds oftechnologies — traditional and modern — in a creative
manner.
17. An alternative model of development would also try to move away
from the high cost, ecologically wasteful, technology driven notion of
development.
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