NCERT NOTES

FOR POLITY
9th Standard
CONTENTS
What is Democracy? Why Democracy? .................................................................................. 1 - 3

Constitutional Design .................................................................................................................... 4 - 9

Electoral Politics ......................................................................................................................... 10 - 18

Working of Institutions ............................................................................................................... 19 - 24

Democratic Rights ..................................................................................................................... 25 - 31

 WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?
1 WHY DEMOCRACY?
Democracy is the most prevalent form of government in the world today and it is expanding to more
countries. It has many features which makes it better than other forms of government.

Democracy:
● Democracy comes from a Greek word 'Demokratia'. In Greek, 'demos' means people and 'kratia'
means rule. So, democracy is rule by the people.
● Democracy in simple words, is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.
● This definition allows us to separate democracy from forms of government that are clearly not
democratic. For example, the army rulers of Myanmar were not elected by the people, Dictators like
Pinochet (Chile) are not elected by the people.

Features of Democracy:
● Major decisions by elected leaders:
⮚ The final decision-making power must rest with those elected by the people.

Case study of Pakistan:

In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999 and overthrew a
democratically elected government. Later he made various changes to the Constitution.
The final power rested with military officers and General Musharraf himself. So, it can't be called
as a truly democratic government.

● Free and fair electoral competition:

⮚ A democracy must be based on a free and fair election where those currently in power have a fair
chance of losing.
● One person, one vote, one value:
WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? WHY DEMOCRACY?

⮚ Democracy is based on a fundamental principle of political equality. Each adult citizen must have
one vote and each vote must have one value.
⮚ The choice and opportunity to choose rulers is available to all the people on an equal basis.

Some instances of denial of equal right to vote:

Until 2015, in Saudi Arabia women did not have the right to vote.
Estonia's citizenship rules make it difficult for Russian minority to get the right to vote.

● Rule of law and respect for rights:

⮚ Democratic government rules within limits set by constitutional law and citizens' rights.
⮚ Respecting some basic rules: It has to respect some guarantees to the minorities and every major
decision has to go through a series of consultations. Every office bearer has certain rights and
responsibilities assigned by the constitution and the law.

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 ⮚ Accountability: Each of the elected person is accountable not only to the people but also to other
independent officials.
⮚ Sufficient room for normal political activity before elections: As Popular governments can be
undemocratic and Popular leaders can be autocratic.
⮚ The rights of people must be protected by an independent judiciary whose orders are obeyed by
everyone.

Need of the Democracy

Arguments against Democracy:
● Instability: Leaders keep changing in a democracy.
● Low scope of morality: Democracy is all about political competition and power play.
● Delays in decision making: So many people have to be consulted in a democracy.
● Bad decisions: Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people.
● Corruption: It is based on electoral competition.
● Ordinary people don't know what is good for them; they should not decide anything.

Arguments for Democracy:

● It is a more accountable form of government.
⮚ Democracy responds to the needs of the people: A non-democratic government may and can
respond to the people's needs, but it all depends on the wishes of the rulers.
⮚ A democracy requires that the rulers have to attend to the needs of the people.
● Improves the quality of decision-making:
⮚ Based on consultation and discussion: A democratic decision always involves many persons,
discussions and meetings. When a number of people put their heads together, it reduces the
chances of rash or irresponsible decisions.

WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? WHY DEMOCRACY?

● Provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts:
⮚ Resolving conflicts: The difference of opinions between people are particularly sharp in a country
like ours which has an amazing social diversity.
⮚ It provides the only peaceful solution as no one is a permanent winner or a loser.
● Enhances the dignity of citizens:
⮚ It is based on the principle of political equality, on recognising that the poorest and the least
educated has the same status as the rich and the educated.
⮚ People are not subjects of a ruler, they are the rulers themselves.
⮚ Even when they make mistakes, they are responsible for their conduct.
● It allows us to correct people's own mistakes:
⮚ Mistakes cannot be hidden for long: There is a space for public discussion on mistakes and there is
a room for correction.
⮚ Either the rulers have to change their decisions, or the rulers can be changed.

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 Representative Democracy:
● Democracy doesn't mean that all the people rule: A majority is allowed to take decisions on behalf of
all the people. The majority does not rule directly but rule through their elected representatives.
● Reasons for representative democracy:
⮚ Modern democracies involve such a large number of people that it is physically impossible for them
to sit together and take a collective decision.
⮚ Even if they could, the citizen does not have the time, the desire or the skills to take part in all the
decisions.

Interesting points
● Syria is a small west Asian country. The ruling Ba'ath Party and some of its small allies are the only
parties allowed in that country.
● In China, country's parliament is called Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (National People's
Congress).
WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? WHY DEMOCRACY?

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 2 CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN
There are certain basic rules that the citizens and the government have to follow. All such rules together are
called constitution. Constitution is the supreme law that determines the rights of citizens, the powers of the
government and how the government should function.

Functions of the Constitution:

● It generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live
together.
● It specifies how the government will be constituted and who will have power to take which decisions.
● It lays down limits on the powers of the government and gives the rights of the citizens.
● It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.

History of other countries Constitution:

● After the War of Independence against Great Britain, the Americans gave themselves a constitution.
● After the Revolution, the French people approved a democratic constitution. Since then it has
become a practice in all democracies to have a written constitution.

Making of Indian Constitution: A Difficult Task

● Difficult circumstances: Constitution making for a huge and diverse country like India was not an easy
affair as people of India were emerging from the status of subjects to that of citizens.
● Painful partition: The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences. At
least ten lakh people were killed on both sides of the border in partition related violence.
● Issues in merging of Princely States: The British had left it to the rulers of the princely states to
decide whether they wanted to merge with India or with Pakistan or remain independent. The
merger of these princely states was a difficult and uncertain task.

The path to Constitution:

● Consensus: Much of the consensus about democratic India had evolved during the freedom struggle.
Some basic ideas accepted by almost everyone during national movement:
⮚ As far back as in 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a Constitution for
India.
⮚ In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

independent India's constitution should look like.

⮚ Both these documents were committed to the inclusion of universal adult franchise, right to
freedom and equality and to protecting the rights of minorities in the Constitution of independent
India.
● Familiarity with political institutions of colonial rule:
⮚ It also helped develop an agreement over the institutional design. Though their institutional design
was not fully democratic in 1937 elections, but the experience gained by Indians in the working of
the legislative institutions proved to be very useful for the country in setting up its own institutions

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 and working in them. That is why the Indian Constitution adopted many institutional details and
procedures from colonial laws like the Government of India Act, 1935.
● Our leaders gained confidence to learn from other countries, but on our own terms:
⮚ Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of French Revolution, the practice of parliamentary
democracy in Britain and the Bill of Rights in the US.
⮚ The socialist revolution in Russia had inspired many Indians to think of shaping a system based on
social and economic equality.

The Constituent Assembly:

● The drafting of the document called the Constitution was done by an assembly of elected
representatives called the Constituent Assembly.
● Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946. Its first meeting was held in December
1946.
● It was elected mainly by the members of the existing Provincial Legislatures.
● After partition of India:
⮚ The country was divided into India and Pakistan. The Constituent Assembly was also divided into
the Constituent Assembly of India and that of Pakistan.
⮚ The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian constitution had 299 members.
⮚ The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, but it came into effect on 26
January 1950.

Reasons for acceptance of the Constitution:

● Broad consensus:
The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone but expresses a broad consensus of its time.
● Constituent Assembly - Represented the people of India:
⮚ Fair geographical share from all regions of country: Though, there was no universal adult
franchise at that time, but the Constituent Assembly was elected mainly by the members of the
existing Provincial Legislatures.
⮚ The Assembly was dominated by the Indian National Congress, the party that led India's freedom
struggle. But the Congress itself included a variety of political groups and opinions. The Assembly
also had many members who did not agree with the Congress.
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

⮚ In social terms: The Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes,
classes, religions and occupations.
● Manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity to the Constitution:
⮚ The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner.
⮚ First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon. Then a Drafting Committee chaired by
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar prepared a draft constitution for discussion.
⮚ Deliberation:
o Several rounds of thorough discussion took place on the Draft Constitution, clause by clause.

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 o More than two thousand amendments were considered.
o The members deliberated for 114 days spread over three years. Every document presented and
every word spoken in the Constituent Assembly has been recorded and preserved. These are
called 'Constituent Assembly Debates'. These debates provide the rationale behind every
provision of the Constitution. These are used to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.

Guiding values of the Indian Constitution

Philosophy of the Constitution:
● Values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle and were in turn nurtured by it, formed the
foundation for India's democracy. These values are embedded in the Preamble of the Indian
Constitution.
● They guide all the 28 Articles of the Indian Constitution.

Preamble:

CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

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 Institutional Design:
● A constitution is not merely a statement of values and philosophy but about embodying these values
into institutional arrangements. Much of the document called the Constitution of India is about these
arrangements.
● Constitutional Amendment:
⮚ The Constitution is a very long and detailed document. Therefore, it needs to be amended quite
regularly to keep it updated.
⮚ The Constitution makers felt that it has to be in accordance with people's aspirations and changes in
society.
⮚ They did not see it as a sacred, static and unalterable law. So, they made provisions to incorporate
changes from time to time. These changes are called constitutional amendments.

Some Great Personalities and their Contribution:

Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel Born: Gujarat. Minister of Home, Information and Broadcasting in
(1875-1950) the Interim Government. Lawyer and leader of Bardoli Peasant
Satyagraha. Played a decisive role in the integration of the Indian
princely states. Later: Deputy Prime Minister

Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958) Born: Saudi Arabia. Educationist, author and theologian; scholar of
Arabic. Congress leader, active in the national movement. Opposed
Muslim separatist politics. Later: Education Minister in the first
union cabinet.

T. T. Krishnamachari (1899- Born: Tamil Nadu. Member, Drafting Committee. Entrepreneur and
1974) Congress leader. Later: Finance Minister in the Union Cabinet.

Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963) Born: Bihar. President of the Constituent Assembly. Lawyer,
known for his role in the Champaran satyagraha. Three times the
President of Congress. Later: the first President of India.

Jaipal Singh (1903-1970) Born: Jharkhand A sportsman and educationist. Captain of the first
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

national Hockey team. Founder President of Adivasi Maha Sabha.

Later: founder of Jharkhand Party.

H. C. Mookherjee (1887-1956) Born: Bengal. Vice-Chairman of the Constituent Assembly.

Reputed author and educationist. Congress leader. Member of All
India Christian Council and Bengal Legislative Assembly. Later:
Governor of West Bengal.

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G. Durgabai Deshmukh (1909- Born: Andhra Pradesh. Advocate and public activist for women's
1981) emancipation. Founder of Andhra Mahila Sabha. Congress leader.
Later: Founder Chairperson of Central Social Welfare Board.

Baldev Singh (1901-1961) Born: Haryana. A successful entrepreneur and leader of the Panthic
Akali Party in the Punjab Assembly. A nominee of the Congress in
the Constituent Assembly. Later: Defence Minister in the Union
Cabinet.

Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi Born: Gujarat. Advocate, historian and linguist. Congress leader and
(1887-1971) Gandhian. Later: Minister in the Union Cabinet. Founder of the
Swatantra Party.

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Born: Madhya Pradesh. Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
(1891-1956) Social revolutionary thinker and agitator against caste divisions and
caste-based inequalities. Later: Law Minister in the first cabinet of
post-independence India. Founder of Republican Party of India.

S h ya m a Pr a s a d M u k h e r j e e Born: West Bengal. Minister for Industry and Supply in the Interim
(1901-1953) Government. Educationist and lawyer. Active in Hindu Mahasabha.
Later: Founder President of Bharatiya Jansangh.

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) Born: Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister of the interim government.
Lawyer and Congress leader. Advocate of socialism, democracy and
anti-imperialism. Later: First Prime Minister of India.
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) Born: Andhra Pradesh. Poet, writer and political activist. Among the
foremost women leaders in the Congress. Later: Governor of Uttar
Pradesh.

Somnath Lahiri (1901-1984) Born: West Bengal. Writer and editor. Leader of the Communist
Party of India. Later: Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

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 Interesting points
● Nelson Mandela:
⮚ He was tried for treason by the white South African government and sentenced to life
imprisonment in 1964 for daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.
⮚ He spent the next 28 years in South Africa's most dreaded prison, Robben Island.
⮚ He was the first President of new South Africa.
⮚ At the midnight of 26 April 1994, the new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was
unfurled.
● Apartheid: It was the name of a system of racial discrimination unique to South Africa. The
African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organisation that led the struggle against it.
● Mahatma Gandhi was not a member of the Constituent Assembly. His magazine was Young
India.
● Preamble: The Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values.
● Most countries have chosen to begin their Constitution by taking inspiration from American
model. decision has to go through a series of consultations. Every office bearer has certain rights
and responsibilities assigned by the constitution and the law.
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

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 3 ELECTORAL POLITICS
In a democracy it is neither possible nor necessary for people to govern directly. The most common form of
democracy in our times is for the people to govern through their representatives. To elect the
representatives, elections are necessary and useful in a democracy.
Elections: People can choose their representatives at regular intervals and change them if they wish to do so.
This mechanism is called election.

Need of Elections:
● To establish rule of law: A rule of the people is possible without elections if all the people can sit
together everyday and take all the decisions but this is neither possible in any large community nor is it
possible for everyone to have the time and knowledge to take decisions on all matters.
● To give voters various choices such as:
⮚ Choosing who will make laws for them.
⮚ Choosing who will form the government and take major decisions.
⮚ Choosing the party whose policies will guide the government and law making.

Minimum conditions of a Democratic election:

● Everyone should be able to choose: Everyone should have one vote and every vote should have equal
value.
● Real choices: Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and should offer some real
choice to the voters.
● Choice should be offered at regular intervals: Elections must be held regularly after every few years.
● The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
● Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people can choose freely.
Elections are mostly all about political competition which takes various forms. The most obvious form is the
competition among political parties. At the constituency level, it takes the form of competition among several
candidates.

Demerits of electoral competition:

● It creates a sense of disunity and 'factionalism' in every locality.
● Party-politics: Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks to win elections.
● Unhealthy competition: Pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long-term policies to
be formulated. Some good people do not like the idea of being dragged into unhealthy competition.
ELECTORAL POLITICS

Reasons for choosing free competition in elections:

● Political leaders all over the world, like all other professionals, are motivated by a desire to advance their
political careers. They want to remain in power or get power and positions for themselves.
● It is important to set up a system where political leaders are rewarded for serving the people and
punished for not doing so by the people. That's why free competition in elections was chosen.
● It works better in long run.

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 System of Elections in India:
● Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) elections are held regularly after every five years.
● After five years, the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end. The Lok Sabha or Vidhan
Sabha stands 'dissolved'.
● Elections are held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few days.
This is called a general election.
● Sometimes election is held only for one constitutency to fill the vacancy caused by death or resignation
of a member. This is called a by-election.

Electoral Constituencies:
● Area based system of representation: The country is divided into different areas for purposes of
elections. These areas are called electoral constituencies. The voters who live in an area elect one
representative.
● For Lok Sabha elections:
⮚ The country is divided into 543 constituencies. The representative elected from each constituency
is called a Member of Parliament or an MP.
⮚ Every vote should have equal value: Our Constitution requires that each constituency should have
a roughly equal population living within it.
● For States:
⮚ Each state is divided into a specific number of Assembly constituencies. In this case, the elected
representative is called the Member of Legislative Assembly or an MLA.
⮚ Each Parliamentary constituency has within it several assembly constituencies.
● For Panchayat and Municipal elections:
⮚ Each village or town is divided into several 'wards' that are like constituencies.
⮚ Each ward elects one member of the village or the urban local body. Sometimes these
constituencies are counted as 'seats', for each constituency represents one seat in the assembly.

Reserved Constituencies:
● Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and
Scheduled Tribes (ST). In a SC reserved constituency only someone who belongs to the Scheduled
Castes can stand for election.
● Currently, in the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 for the Scheduled
ELECTORAL POLITICS

Tribes (as on 26 January 2019). This number is in proportion to their share in the total population.
● This system of reservation was extended to other weaker sections at the district and local level.
● In many states, seats in rural (panchayat) and urban (municipalities and corporations) local bodies are
now reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) also. However, the proportion of seats reserved
varies from state to state.
● For women: One-third of the seats are reserved in rural and urban local bodies for them.

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Reasons for Reserved Constituencies:
● In an open electoral competition, certain weaker sections may not stand a good chance to get elected
to the Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assemblies.
● Weaker section may not have the required resources, education and contacts to contest and win
elections against others.

Voters List:
In a democratic election, the list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much before the election and
given to everyone. This list is officially called the Electoral Roll and is commonly known as the Voters' List.

Importance of Voters list:

● Everyone should get an equal opportunity to choose representatives.
● Everyone should have one vote and each vote should have equal value.
● No one should be denied the right to vote without a good reason.
● Equal say in decisions: Different citizens differ from one another in many ways in terms of caste,
religion, economic background etc. but all of them are human beings with their own needs and views.

Voter List in India:

● All the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote in an election.
● Every citizen has the right to vote, regardless of his or her caste, religion or gender.
● Only in rare situations, some criminals and persons with unsound mind can be denied the right to
vote.
● It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all the eligible voters put on the voters'
list.
● As new persons attain voting age, names are added to the voters' list. Names of those who move out of
a place or those who are dead are deleted.
● A complete revision of the list takes place every five years to ensure that it remains up to date.
● In the last few years, a new system of Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) has been introduced.
● The card is not yet compulsory for voting. For voting, the voters can show many other proofs of
identity like the ration card or the driving licence.

Nomination of Candidates:
ELECTORAL POLITICS

● Anyone who can be a voter can also become a candidate in elections. The only difference is that the
minimum age for candidate is 25 years, while it is only 18 years for being a voter.
● There are some other restrictions on criminals etc. but these apply in very extreme cases.
● Political parties nominate their candidates who get the party symbol and support. Party's nomination
is often called party 'ticket'.
● Security deposit: Every person who wishes to contest an election has to fill a 'nomination form' and
give some money as 'security deposit'.

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 ● Recently, a new system of declaration has been introduced on direction from the Supreme Court. Every
candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving full details of:
⮚ Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate.
⮚ Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family.
⮚ Educational qualifications of the candidate.
This information has to be made public as it provides an opportunity to the voters to make their decision on
the basis of the information provided by the candidates.

Educational qualifications for candidates:

There is no educational qualification for holding such an important position because of following
reasons:
Educational qualifications are not relevant to all kinds of jobs. The relevant qualification for
being an MLA or an MP is the ability to understand people's concerns, problems and to
represent their interests which is examined by voters after every five years.
Even if education was relevant, it should be left to the people to decide how much importance
they give to educational qualifications.
In our country putting an educational qualification would go against the spirit of democracy for
yet another reason. It would mean depriving a majority of the country's citizens the right to
contest elections. For example, if a graduate degree was made compulsory for candidates, more
than 90 per cent of the citizens will become ineligible to contest elections.

Election Campaign:
● The main purpose of election is to give people a chance to choose the representatives, the
government and the policies they prefer. For this, free and open discussions happen during election
campaigns.
● In India, such campaigns take place for a two-week period between the announcement of the final list
of candidates and the date of polling.
● During this period the candidates contact their voters, political leaders address election meetings and
political parties mobilise their supporters.
● Election campaign not limited to these two weeks only: As political parties start preparing for
elections months before they actually take place.
ELECTORAL POLITICS

● Necessary to regulate campaigns: To ensure that every political party and candidate gets a fair and
equal chance to compete.

According to our election law, no party or candidate can:

● Bribe or threaten voters.
● Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion.
● Use government resources for election campaign.

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 ● Spend more than Rs 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election or Rs 10 lakh in a constituency in
an Assembly election.
If they do so, their election can be rejected by the court even after they have been declared elected.

Model Code of Conduct:

In addition to the laws, all the political parties in the country have agreed to it for election campaigns.
According to this, no party or candidate can:
● Use any place of worship for election propaganda.
● Use government vehicles, aircrafts and officials for elections.
● Once elections are announced, Ministers shall not lay foundation stones of any projects, take any big
policy decisions or make any promises of providing public facilities.

Polling and Counting of votes:

● The final stage of an election is the day when the voters cast or 'poll' their vote. That day is usually called
the election day.
● Once the voter goes inside the booth, the election officials identify her, put a mark on her finger and
allow her to cast her vote.
● An agent of each candidate is allowed to sit inside the polling booth and ensure that the voting takes
place in a fair way.
● Voting procedure:
⮚ Earlier the voters used to indicate who they wanted to vote for by putting a stamp on the ballot
paper.
⮚ Now a days electronic voting machines (EVM) are used to record votes which shows the names of
the candidates and the party symbols.
⮚ Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a secure place.
⮚ The agents of all candidates are present during counting of votes to ensure that the counting is done
properly.
⮚ The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared elected.

Electoral malpractices:
● Inclusion of false names and exclusion of genuine names in the voters' list.
● Misuse of government facilities and officials by the ruling party.
ELECTORAL POLITICS

● Excessive use of money by rich candidates and big parties.

● Intimidation of voters and rigging on the polling day.

Factors responsible for making Elections Democratic in India

Independent Election Commission (EC):
● In our country elections are conducted by an independent and very powerful Election Commission
(EC).

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 ● It enjoys the same kind of independence that the judiciary enjoys.
● The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is appointed by the President of India.
● But once appointed, the Chief Election Commissioner is not answerable to the President or the
government.
● Even if the ruling party or the government does not like what the Commission does, it is virtually
impossible for it to remove the CEC.

Wide ranging powers of Election Commission of India:

● EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of
elections to the declaration of results.
● It implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates it.
● During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines, to prevent
use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections, or to transfer some
government officials.
● When on election duty, government officers work under the control of the EC and not the
government.
● When election officials come to the opinion that polling was not fair in some booths or even an entire
constituency, they order a repoll.

Popular Participation:
Another way of checking the quality of the election process is to see whether people participate in it with
enthusiasm or not.

Some facts about participation in India:

● People's participation in election is usually measured by voter turnout figures. Turnout indicates the
per cent of eligible voters who actually cast their vote. Over the last fifty years, the turnout in Europe
and North America has declined. In India, the turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up.
ELECTORAL POLITICS

Fig. 3.1: Voter Turnout in India and the UK

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● In India the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the
rich and privileged sections. This is in contrast to western democracies. For example, in the United
States of America, poor people, African Americans and Hispanics vote much less than the rich and the
white people.

Source: Figures of India from National Election Study 2004, CSDS. Figures for US from 2004, University of Michigan.
ELECTORAL POLITICS

● Common people in India attach a lot of importance to elections and feel that through elections they can
bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programmes favourable to them.
● The interest of voters in election related activities has been increasing over the years. During the
2004 elections, more than one third voters took part in a campaign related activities. More than half of
the people identified themselves as being close to one or the other political party. One out of every
seven voters is a member of a political party.

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 Acceptance of election outcome:
One final test of the free and fairness of election has in the outcome itself. If elections are not free or fair, the
outcome always favours the powerful.
The outcome of India's elections speaks for itself:
● The ruling parties routinely lose elections in India both at the national and state level. Infact, the ruling
party lost in every two out of the three elections held in the last 25 years.
ELECTORAL POLITICS

● In the US, an incumbent or 'sitting' elected representative rarely loses an election. In India about half of
the sitting MPs or MLAs lose elections.
● Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of money on 'buying votes' and those with known
criminal connections often lose elections.
● Barring very few disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as 'people's verdict'
by the defeated party.

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Challenges to free and fair elections:
● Money power: Candidates and parties with a lot of money may not be sure of their victory but they do
enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties and independents.
● Criminal background: In some parts of the country, candidates with criminal connection have been
able to push others out of the electoral race and to secure a 'ticket' from major parties.
● Family politics: Some families tend to dominate political parties and tickets are distributed to relatives
from these families.
● Lack of choice: Very often elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens as the major parties are quite
similar to each other in terms of policies and practice.
● Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage compared to bigger parties.

Interesting points
● Chaudhary Devi Lal led a movement called 'Nyaya Yudh' (Struggle for Justice) and formed a new
party, Lok Dal.
● There are more than one hundred countries in the world in which elections take place to choose
people's representatives.
● Currently, in the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 for the
Scheduled Tribes (as on 26 January 2019).
● Some of the successful slogans given by different political parties in various elections:

Slogan Given by

Garibi Hatao (Remove poverty) The Congress party led by Indira Gandhi in the Lok
Sabha elections of 1971.

Save Democracy Janata Party under the leadership of Jayaprakash

Narayan, in the Lok Sabha election held in 1977.

Land to the Tiller The Left Front in the West Bengal Assembly elections
held in 1977.

'Protect the Self-Respect of the Telugus' N. T. Rama Rao, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party
ELECTORAL POLITICS

in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in 1983.

● A ballot paper is a sheet of paper on which the names of the contesting candidates along with
party name and symbols are listed.

18
 WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS
4
In a democracy, the government has to work with and within institutions which play an important role in
major decisions being taken and implemented in a country. In this process, we come across three
institutions that play a key role in major decisions – legislature, executive and judiciary. These three
institutions together carry on the work of government.

The Decision Makers in India

Major decision involves major functionaries in our country:
● President is the head of the state and is the highest formal authority in the country.
● Prime Minister is the head of the government and actually exercises all governmental powers.
● Parliament consists of the President and two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
● The Prime Minister must have the support of a majority of Lok Sabha members.

Need for Political Institutions:

Political Institution: It is a set of procedures for regulating the conduct of government and political life in the
country.
Several institutions at work in India:
● Important decisions taken by: The Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
● Implementation by: The Civil Servants.
● Disputes resolved by: Supreme Court where disputes between citizens and the government are finally
settled.

Negative implication of Institutions Positive implication of Institutions

Institutions involve rules and regulations which Wide consultation: Some of the delays and
can bind the hands of leaders. complications introduced by institutions are very
useful. They provide an opportunity for a wider
set of people to be consulted in any decision.

Institutions involve meetings, committees and They make it difficult to rush through a bad
routines which leads to delays and complications. decision.
WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS

Parliament:
● In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercises supreme political authority on
behalf of the people. At the state level, this is called Legislature or Legislative Assembly.
● The task of law making or legislation is so crucial that these assemblies are called legislatures.

Need of Parliament:
● To make laws: Parliaments can make new laws, change existing laws, or abolish existing laws and
make new ones in their place.
● To exercise some control over those who run the government: In some countries like India this control

19
 is direct and full. Those who run the government can take decisions only so long as they enjoy support
of Parliament.
● To control money of the government: In most countries the public money can be spent only when
Parliament sanctions it.
● To provide a forum for discussion and debate on public issues and national policy.

Two Houses of Parliament:

● Since Parliament plays a central role in modern democracies, most large countries divide the role and
powers of Parliament in two parts. They are called Chambers or Houses.
● One House is usually directly elected by the people and exercises the real power on behalf of the
people while the second House is usually elected indirectly and performs some special functions.
● In India, Parliament consists of two Houses:
⮚ Council of States (Rajya Sabha).
⮚ House of the People (Lok Sabha).
⮚ The President of India is a part of Parliament, although s/he is not a member of either House and
all laws made in the Houses come into force only after they receive the assent of the President.

Difference of Powers between two Houses:

● Though Rajya Sabha is called the 'Upper Chamber' and the Lok Sabha the 'Lower Chamber' but this
is just an old style of speaking and not the language used in our Constitution.
● Our Constitution does give the Rajya Sabha some special powers over the states.
● But on most matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power:
⮚ View of Lok Sabha prevails: Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the Houses but if there is
a difference between the two Houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session in which members
of both the Houses sit together. As the Lok Sabha has the larger number of members, the view of the
Lok Sabha is likely to prevail.
⮚ Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters: Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the
government or any other money related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it. The Rajya Sabha can
only delay it by 14 days or suggest changes in it. The Lok Sabha may or may not accept these changes.
⮚ The Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers: Only a person who enjoys the support of the
WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS
majority of the members in the Lok Sabha is appointed the Prime Minister. If the majority of the Lok
Sabha members say they have 'no confidence' in the Council of Ministers, all ministers including the
Prime Minister, have to quit. The Rajya Sabha does not have this power.

Political Executive
Executive:
● At different levels of any government, there are functionaries who take day-to-day decisions but do
not exercise supreme power on behalf of the people. All those functionaries are collectively known as
the executive.

20
 ● They are called executive because they are in charge of the 'execution' of the policies of the
government.
In a democracy, two categories make up the executive:
● Political Executive: They are elected by the people for a specific period and includes Political leaders
who take the big decisions.
● Permanent Executive or Civil servants: People are appointed on a long-term basis. Persons working
in civil services are called civil servants. They remain in office even when the ruling party changes.
These officers work under political executive and assist them in carrying out the day-to-day
administration.

Reasons for Political Executive having more power than Permanent Executive:
● In a democracy, the will of the people is supreme. The minister is an elected representative of the
people and thus empowered to exercise the will of the people on their behalf.
● Answerable to the people for all the consequences of her decision: This is the reason the minister
takes all the final decisions.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

Their Appointment:
● No direct election to post of PM: The President appoints the leader of the majority party or the
coalition of parties that commands a majority in the Lok Sabha, as Prime Minister.
● In case no single party or alliance gets a majority, the President appoints the person most likely to
secure a majority support.
● The Prime Minister does not have a fixed tenure. He continues in power so long as he remains the
leader of the majority party or coalition.
● After the appointment of the Prime Minister, the President appoints other Ministers on the advice of
the Prime Minister.
● The Prime Minister is free to choose Ministers, as long as they are members of Parliament.
Sometimes, a person who is not a member of Parliament can also become a Minister. But such a
person has to get elected to one of the Houses of Parliament within six months of appointment as
Minister.
WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS

Council of Ministers: It is the official name for the body that includes all the Ministers.
● It usually has 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks.
⮚ Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge of the
major ministries. Usually, the Cabinet Ministers meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of
Ministers. Cabinet is thus the inner ring of the Council of Ministers.
⮚ Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in-charge of smaller Ministries. They
participate in the Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.
⮚ Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers.

21
 ● Parliamentary democracy is often known as the Cabinet form of government: Since it is not practical
for all ministers to meet regularly and discuss everything, the decisions are taken in Cabinet meetings.
● The Cabinet works as a team: The ministers may have different views and opinion, but everyone has
to own up to every decision of the Cabinet. No minister can openly criticize any decision of the
government, even if it is about another Ministry or Department.

Cabinet Secretariat:
● Every ministry has secretaries, who are civil servants. The secretaries provide the necessary
background information to the ministers to take decisions.
● The Cabinet as a team is assisted by the Cabinet Secretariat. This includes many senior civil servants
who try to coordinate the working of different ministries.
Powers of the Prime Minister: The Constitution does not say very much about the powers of the Prime
Minister or the ministers or their relationship with each other. But as head of the government, the Prime
Minister has wide ranging powers such as:
● He chairs Cabinet meetings and coordinates the work of different Departments.
● His decisions are final in case disagreements arise between Departments.
● He exercises general supervision of different ministries.
● All ministers work under his leadership.
● The Prime Minister distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.
● He also has the power to dismiss ministers.
● When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.
The powers of the Prime Minister in all parliamentary democracies of the world have increased so much in
recent decades that parliamentary democracies are sometimes seen as Prime Ministerial form of
government.

The President
● The President is the head of the State which exercises only nominal powers.
● The President of India is like the Queen of Britain whose functions are to a large extent ceremonial.
● The President supervises the overall functioning of all the political institutions in the country so that
they operate in harmony to achieve the objectives of the State.
WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS

Election of President:
● The President is not elected directly by the people. The elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and the
elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) elect her.
● A candidate standing for President's post has to get a majority of votes to win the election. This
ensures that the President can be seen to represent the entire nation.
● At the same time, the President can never claim the kind of direct popular mandate that the Prime
Minister can. This ensures that she remains only a nominal executive.

22
 Powers of the President:
● All governmental activities take place in the name of the President:
⮚ All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in her name.
⮚ All major appointments like CJI, the Governors of the states etc. are made in the name of the
President.
⮚ All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.
⮚ The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.
● Exercises all these powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers:
⮚ The President can ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice but if the same advice is given
again, she is bound to act according to it.
⮚ Similarly, a bill passed by the Parliament becomes a law only after the President gives assent to it. If
the President wants, she can delay this for some time and send the bill back to Parliament for
reconsideration. But if Parliament passes the bill again, she has to sign it.
● Appoint the Prime Minister:
⮚ When a party or coalition of parties secures a clear majority in the elections, the President, has to
appoint the leader of the majority party or the coalition that enjoys majority support in the Lok
Sabha.
⮚ When no party or coalition gets a majority in the Lok Sabha, the President exercises her
discretion. The President appoints a leader who in her opinion can muster majority support in the
Lok Sabha. In such a case, the President can ask the newly appointed Prime Minister to prove
majority support in the Lok Sabha within a specified time.

The Judiciary
● All the courts at different levels in a country put together are called the judiciary.
● The Indian judiciary consists of:
⮚ Supreme Court for the entire nation.
⮚ High Courts in the states.
⮚ District Courts and the courts at local level.
● India has an integrated judiciary. Supreme Court controls the judicial administration in the country. Its
decisions are binding on all other courts of the country.
⮚ It can take up any dispute
WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS

o Between citizens of the country.

o Between citizens and government.
o Between two or more state governments.
o Between governments at the union and state level.
⮚ It is the highest court of appeal in civil and criminal cases.
⮚ It can hear appeals against the decisions of the High Courts.

Independence of the Judiciary:

● Not under the control of the legislature or the executive: The judges do not act on the direction of the

23
 government or according to the wishes of the party in power.
● Less interference by Political executive: The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are
appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and in consultation with the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court.
● The senior most judge of the Supreme Court is usually appointed as the Chief Justice.
● Removal of judge: Once a person is appointed as judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court it is
nearly impossible to remove him or her from that position. A judge can be removed only by an
impeachment motion passed separately by two-thirds members of the two Houses of the
Parliament. It has never happened in the history of Indian democracy.

Powers of the Judiciary:

● The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution: They can
declare invalid any law of the legislature or the actions of the executive, whether at the Union level or at
the state level, if they find such a law or action is against the Constitution.
● Power of Judicial review: They can determine the Constitutional validity of any legislation or action of
the executive in the country, when it is challenged before them.
● The Supreme Court of India has also ruled that the core or basic principles of the Constitution cannot
be changed by the Parliament.
● The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of the
Fundamental Rights.

Interesting points
● Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC): It is another name for all those people who
belong to castes that are considered backward by the government. Only persons who belong to
backward classes were eligible for the quota of 27 per cent jobs.
● Mandal Commission: The Government of India had appointed the Second Backward Classes
Commission in 1979 headed by B.P. Mandal. Hence it was popularly called the Mandal
Commission. It was asked to determine the criteria to identify the socially and educationally
backward classes in India. The Commission gave its Report in 1980 and made many
recommendations. One of these was that 27 per cent of government jobs be reserved for the WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS
socially and educationally backward classes.
● The order to give 27 percent reservation was challenged in court. This case was known as the
'Indira Sawhney and others Vs Union of India case'. By a majority, the Eleven-member bench of
Supreme Court judges in 1992 declared that this order is valid but it said that well-to do persons
among the backward classes should be excluded from getting the benefit of reservation.
● The Presidential System: When the President is both the head of the state and the head of the
government. For example- The President of the United States of America who is directly elected
by the people and personally chooses and appoints all Ministers.

24
 DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS
5
Elections and institutions need to be combined with a third element – enjoyment of rights – to make a
government democratic. Even the most properly elected rulers working through the established institutional
process must learn not to cross some limits. Citizens' democratic rights set those limits in a democracy.

Rights in a Democracy
Rights:
● Rights are claims of a person over other fellow beings, over the society and over the government.
● A right is possible when a person make a claim that is equally possible for others. A person cannot have
a right that harms or hurts others.
● These claims should be reasonable. Thus, a right comes with an obligation to respect other rights.
● Rights acquire meaning only in society. Every society makes certain rules to regulate our conduct.
What is recognised by the society as rightful becomes the basis of rights.
● When the socially recognised claims are written into law they acquire real force. Otherwise they
remain merely as natural or moral rights.

Rights are reasonable claims of persons recognised by society and sanctioned by law.
Need of Rights in a Democracy:
● Necessary for the very sustenance of a democracy.
● Protection of Minorities from the oppression of majority.
● Protection from other citizens: Things may go wrong when some citizens may wish to take away the
rights of others.
● Protection from government: Sometimes elected governments may not protect or may even attack
the rights of their own citizens. Some rights need to be placed higher than the government, so that the
government cannot violate them.

Rights in the Indian Constitution:

● In India, the basic rights of the citizens are written down in the Constitution. Some rights which are
fundamental to our life are given a special status. They are called Fundamental Rights.
● Preamble to our Constitution talks about securing for all its citizens equality, liberty and justice.
Fundamental Rights put this promise into effect.
● Our Constitution provides for six Fundamental Rights.
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

Fig. 5.1: Types of Fundamental Rights

25
Right to Equality:
● Rule of law: The Constitution says that the government shall not deny to any person in India equality
before the law or the equal protection of the laws. It means that the laws apply in the same manner to
all, regardless of a person's status.
● Rule of law means that no person is above the law. There cannot be any distinction between a
political leader, government official and an ordinary citizen.
● No person can legally claim any special treatment or privilege just because he or she happens to be
an important person.

Implications of the Right to Equality:

● The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex
or place of birth.
● Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels, and cinema halls.
● Similarly, there shall be no restriction with regard to the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads,
playgrounds and places of public resorts maintained by government or dedicated to the use of general
public.
● Same principle applies to public jobs: All citizens have equality of opportunity in matters relating to
employment or appointment to any position in the government. No citizen shall be discriminated
against or made ineligible for employment on the grounds mentioned above.
● Extension of principle of non-discrimination to social life: The Constitution mentions one extreme
form of social discrimination, the practice of untouchability, and clearly directs the government to put
an end to it. The practice of untouchability has been forbidden in any form.

Untouchability: It refers to any belief or social practice which looks down upon people on account of their
birth with certain caste labels. Constitution made untouchability a punishable offence.

Reservations are not against Right to Equality:

● Equality means giving everyone an equal opportunity to achieve their capability.
● Sometimes it is necessary to give special treatment to someone in order to ensure equal opportunity.
● The Constitution says that reservations of this kind are not a violation of the Right to Equality.

Right to Freedom:
Freedom means absence of constraints. In practical life, it means absence of interference in our affairs by
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

others – be it other individuals or the government.

Scope of Right to Freedom:

● Every citizen has the right to all these freedoms: One cannot exercise his freedom in such a manner
that violates others' right to freedom or cause public nuisance or disorder.
● Freedom is not unlimited licence to do anything: Accordingly, the government can impose certain
reasonable restrictions on our freedoms in the larger interests of the society.

26
 Constitution grants all citizens the right to:
● Freedom of speech and expression:
⮚ Essential features of any democracy: Our ideas and personality develop only when we are able to
freely communicate with others.
⮚ Accepting Disagreements: One may disagree with a policy of government or activities of an
association. That person is free to criticise the government or the activities of the association. One
may publicise his views through a pamphlet, magazine or newspaper, through paintings, poetry or
songs.
⮚ Limit:
o This freedom cannot be used to instigate violence against others or to incite people to rebel
against government.
o It can't be used to defame others by saying false and mean things that cause damage to a
person's reputation.
● Assembly in a peaceful manner:
⮚ Citizens have the freedom to hold meetings, processions, rallies and demonstrations on any
issue.
⮚ Limit: Such meetings have to be peaceful and should not lead to public disorder or breach of peace
in society. Those who participate in these activities and meetings should not carry weapons with
them.
● Form associations and unions:
⮚ Citizens also can form associations. For example- workers in a factory can form a workers' union to
promote their interests.
● Move freely throughout the country.
● Reside in any part of the country:
⮚ Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
● Practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business:
⮚ No one can force a person to do or not to do a certain job. Women cannot be told that some kinds of
occupations are not for them.
⮚ People from deprived castes cannot be kept to their traditional occupations.
● No person can be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established
by law:
⮚ No person can be killed unless the court has ordered a death sentence.
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

⮚ A government or police officer cannot arrest or detain any citizen unless he has proper legal
justification. Even when they do, they have to follow some procedures:
o A person who is arrested and detained in custody will have to be informed of the reasons for
such arrest and detention.
o A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within
a period of 24 hours of arrest.
o Such a person has the right to consult a lawyer or engage a lawyer for his defence.

27
Right against Exploitation:
The Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares these illegal:
● Prohibits 'traffic in human beings': Traffic here means selling and buying of human beings, usually
women, for immoral purposes.
● Prohibits forced labour or begar in any form: Begar is a practice where the worker is forced to render
service to the 'master' free of charge or at a nominal remuneration. When this practice takes place on a
life-long basis, it is called the practice of bonded labour.
● Prohibits child labour: No one can employ a child below the age of fourteen to work in any factory or
mine or in any other hazardous work, such as railways and ports.

Right to Freedom of Religion:

● Right to freedom includes right to freedom of religion also.
● India is a secular state: It does not establish any one religion as official religion. Indian secularism
practices an attitude of a principled and equal distance from all religions. The state has to be neutral
and impartial in dealing with all religions.
● Every person has a right to profess, practice and propagate any religion.
● Every religious group or sect is free to manage its religious affairs.
● A person is free to change religion on his or her own will but a person can't compel another person to
convert into his religion by means of force, fraud, inducement or allurement. Of course,
● Freedom to practice religion does not mean that a person can do whatever he wants in the name of
religion. For example, one cannot sacrifice animals or human beings as offerings to supernatural forces
or gods.
● India does not confer any privilege or favour on any particular religion. It does not punish or
discriminate against people on the basis of religion they follow. So, the government cannot compel any
person to pay any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious
institution.
● There shall be no religious instruction in the government educational institutions.
● In educational institutions managed by private bodies no person shall be compelled to take part in
any religious instruction or to attend any religious worship.

Cultural and Educational Rights:

Need: Democracy gives power to the majority. So, language, culture and religion of minorities needs
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

special protection. Otherwise, they may get neglected or undermined under the impact of the language,
religion and culture of the majority.

Constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities:

● Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture have a right to conserve it.
● Admission to any educational institution maintained by government or receiving government aid
cannot be denied to any citizen on the ground of religion or language.

28
 ● All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Meaning of Minority:
● Here minority does not mean only religious minority at the national level.
● In some places, people speaking a particular language are in majority and people speaking a different
language are in a minority. For example, Telugu speaking people form a majority in Andhra Pradesh.
But they are a minority in the neighboring State of Karnataka.

Right to Constitutional Remedies:

● Constitution has a right to seek the enforcement of the other rights. This is called the Right to
Constitutional Remedies. This itself is a Fundamental Right.
● This right makes other rights effective: When any of rights are violated, a person can seek remedy
through courts. If it is a Fundamental Right, s/he can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High
Court of a state. (That is why Dr. Ambedkar called the Right to Constitutional Remedies, 'the heart and
soul' of our Constitution)
● Fundamental Rights are guaranteed against the actions of the Legislatures, the Executive and any
other authorities instituted by the government. There can be no law or action that violates the
Fundamental Rights. If any act of the Legislature or the Executive takes away or limits any of the
Fundamental Rights then it will be invalid.
● Courts also enforce the Fundamental Rights against private individuals and bodies.
● The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue directions, orders or writs for the
enforcement of the Fundamental Rights. They can also award compensation to the victims and
punishment to the violators.

Expanding scope of rights over the years:

Sometimes expansion leads to expansion in the legal rights that the citizen can enjoy. From time to time, the
courts gave judgments to expand the scope of rights.
● While Fundamental Rights are the source of all rights, our Constitution and law offers a wider range of
rights.
● Certain rights like right to freedom of press, right to information, and right to education are derived
from the Fundamental Rights. For example- Now school education has become a right for Indian
citizens. The governments are responsible for providing free and compulsory education to all
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

children up to the age of 14 years.

● Constitution provides many more rights, which may not be Fundamental Rights. For example- the
right to property is not a Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right. Right to vote in elections is
an important constitutional right.
● Some international covenants have also contributed to the expansion of rights.

29
 Interesting points

● Prison in Guantanamo Bay:

⮚ About 600 people were secretly picked up by the US forces from all over the world and put in a
prison in Guantanamo Bay, an area near Cuba controlled by Amercian Navy.
⮚ The US government said that they were enemies of the US and linked to the attack on New
York on 11 September 2001.
● Amnesty International: An international organisation of volunteers who campaign for human
rights.
● Writ: A formal document containing an order of the court to the government issued only by High
Court or the Supreme Court.
● Human rights: These are universal moral claims that may or may not have been recognised by
law.
● National Human Rights Commission (NHRC):
⮚ It is an independent commission set up by law in 1993.
⮚ Like judiciary, the Commission is independent of the government.
⮚ Th e Commission is appointed by the President and includes retired judges, officers and
eminent citizens.
⮚ No burden of deciding court cases: It focus on helping the victims secure their human rights.
o These include all the rights granted to the citizens by the Constitution.
o They also include the rights mentioned in the UN sponsored international treaties that
India has signed.
⮚ No power to punish the guilty: That is the responsibility of courts. The NHRC is there to make
independent and credible inquiry into any case of violation of human rights.
⮚ It also inquires into any case of abetment of such violation or negligence in controlling it by any
government officer and takes other general steps to promote human rights in the country.
⮚ The Commission presents its findings and recommendations to the government or intervene
in the court on behalf of the victims.
⮚ Like any court, it can summon witnesses, question any government official, demand any official
paper, visit any prison for inspection or send its own team for on-the-spot inquiry.
⮚ Any citizen of India can write a letter to their address to complain against the violation of human
rights.
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

⮚ There is no fee or any formal procedure to approach the NHRC.

⮚ Like NHRC, there are State Human Rights Commissions in 26 states of the country (as on 10
December 2018).
● International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights:
⮚ This has not yet become an international treaty.

30
 ⮚ These include:
o Right to work: Opportunity to everyone to earn livelihood by working.
o Right to safe and healthy working conditions, fair wages that can provide decent standard
of living for the workers and their families.
o Right to adequate standard of living including adequate food, clothing and housing.
o Right to social security and insurance.
o Right to health: Medical care during illness, special care for women during childbirth and
prevention of epidemics.
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

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