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CHAPTER 2 PHILOSOPHICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF GOVERNMENT SALIENT FEATURES AND VALUE PREMISES:
The most significant influence on the nature, structure and functioning of Indian Administration is that of the Indian constitution. The democratic context in which the Indian administrative system functions is closely linked to the constitution. The influence of the constitution on public administration is broadly of two types: The formal influences that prescribe the configuration of the administrative system and The informal which determine the role, responsibility and responsiveness of the administrative system , the character of governance and the behaviour of administrators. Thus constitutional framework of the country shows the authoritative system under which the administrator has to function. It shows what an administrator is intended to be and intended to achieve. And so the philosophy embodied in our constitution deeply influences the administrative system.

The preamble of the Indian constitution provides a framework of ideals and values for the Indian administration. It is expected of the administrative system , which is an integral component of the executive branch of government , to facilitate the application of the ideals of liberty, equality, justice, socialism and secularism in the governance of the country. Not only need the governmental laws and politics reflect these interrelated ideals, but functioning of the administrative system, including the attitudinal orientations and behaviour of administrators, should manifest these ideals and values. The fundamental rightsincorporated in the Indian constitute on prescribe the parameters within which the administrative system is expected to function. The administrative system
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is entrusted with the legal as well as the moral responsibility of protecting and promoting the fundamental rights of the people who are its clientele as well as its ultimate masters. There is need to inculcate the positive values of empathy, sympathy, equity, justice, secularism, rule-orientation, respect for law, etc, among the members of the bureaucracy at all levels. Formal training can play a useful role in this regard.

FEATURES:
The Constitution of India has some distinct and unique features as compared to other constitutions to the world. As Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee puts it, the framers had tried to accumulate and accommodate the best features of other constitutions, keeping in view the peculiar problems and needs of our country

Preamble
The Preamble, the preface to the constitution, describes the source nature, ideology, goals and objectives of the constitution. It describes India as a sovereign socialist, secular, democratic republic and underlines the-national objective of social just: economic justice and political justice as well as fraternity. It emphasises the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. It declares that in India the people sovereign.

Longest written Constitution

Indian Constitution can be called the largest written constitution in the world because of its contents. In its original form, it consisted of 395 Articles and 8 Schedules to which additions have been made through subsequent amendments. At present it contains 450 Articles and 12 Schedules, and more than 94 amendments. Factors responsible The framers of the constitution borrowed provisions form several sources and several other constitutions of the world. They have followed and reproduced the Government of India Act 1935 in providing matters of administrative detail. It was necessary to make provisions for peculiar problems of India like scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward regions. Provisions were made for elaborate centre-state relations in all aspects of their administrative and other activities.
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The size of the constitution became bulky, as provisions regarding the state administration were also included. A detail list of individual rights, directive principles of state policy and the details of administration procedure were laid down to make the Constitution clear and unambiguous for the ordinary citizen.

Establishment of a Welfare State

The Preamble to the Constitution, as modified by the Forty-second Amendment Act, 1976 and the Directive Principles of State Policy aim at the establishment of a Welfare State in India. Keeping in view the inherent spirit of the Constitution, the successive governments at the Centre have been pursuing a policy of democratic socialism. Nationalization of banks and general insurance, fixation of ceiling on urban and rural lands and abolition of privy purses of the rulers of the erstwhile native States, implementation of various poverty alleviation programs are some of the measures which have been taken to remove gross inequalities of wealth and to usher in an era of social and economic equality.

A Democratic Republic
India is a democratic republic. It means that sovereignty rests with the people of India. They govern themselves through their representatives elected on the basis of universal adult franchise. The President of India, the highest official of the state is elected for a fixed term. Although, India is a sovereign republic, yet it continues to be a member of the Commonwealth of Nations with the British Monarch as its head. Her membership of the Commonwealth does not compromise her position as a sovereign republic. The commonwealth is an association of free and independent nations. The British Monarch is only a symbolic head of that association.

Secular State
A secular state is neither religious nor irreligious, or anti-religious. Rather it is quite neutral in matters of religion. India being a land of many religions, the founding fathers of the Constitution thought it proper to make it a secular state. India is a secular state, because it makes no discrimination between individuals on the basis of religion. Neither it encourages nor discourages any religion. On the contrary, right to freedom of religion is
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ensured in the Constitution and people belonging to any religious group have the right to profess, practice or propagate any religion they like.

Popular Sovereignty
The constitution proclaims the sovereignty of the people in its opening words. The preamble begins with the words, we the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic Republic. The idea is reaffirmed in several places in the constitution, particularly in the chapter dealing with elections. Article 326 declares that the election to the House of people and to the Legislative Assembly of every state shall be on the basis of adult suffrage. As a result, Government at the centre and in the states derives their authority from the people who choose their representatives for parliament and the state legislatures of regular intervals. Further, those who wield the executive power of the government are responsible for the legislature and through them to the people. Thus, in the affairs of the state, it is the will of the people that prevails ultimately and this is the principle of popular sovereignty.

Single Citizenship
The Constitution of India recognises only single citizenship. In the United States, there is provision of dual citizenship. In India, we are citizens of India only, not of the respective states to which we belong. This provision would help in promoting unity and integrity of the nation.

Parliamentary System of Government

India has adopted the Parliamentary system as found in Britain. In this system, the executive is responsible to the legislature, and remains in power only as long and it enjoys the confidence of the legislature. The president of India, who remains in office for five years is the nominal, titular or constitutional head. The Union Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head is drawn from the legislature. It is collectively responsible to the House of People (Lok Sabha), and has to resign as soon as it loses the confidence of that house. The President, the nominal executive shall exercise his powers according to the advice of the Union Council of Ministers, the real executive. In the states also, the government is Parliamentary in nature.

Cabinet Government

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The Constitution establishes cabinet type of Government both of the centre and the units. The most distinctive feature of a Cabinet system of government is the complete and continuous responsibility of the executive to the legislature. The cabinet is composed of the Prime Minister, who is the chief of the executive and his senior colleagues who share the responsibility with him for the formulation and execution of the policies of the Government. Under the Cabinet system the Head of the cabinet occupies a position of great dignity, but practically all authority nominally vested in him is exercised by the cabinet. The unitary and collective responsibility of the cabinet is composed of the Prime Minister, who is the keystone of the cabinet arch. The real merit of cabinet system is that the executive being responsible to the legislature is always being watched.

Partly Rigid and Partly Flexible

The Constitution of India is neither purely rigid nor purely flexible. There is a harmonious blend of rigidity and flexibility. Some parts of the Constitution can be amended by the ordinary law-making process by Parliament. Certain provisions can be amended, only when a Bill for that purpose is passed in each house of Parliament by a majority of the total membership of that house and by a majority of not less than two-third of the members of that house present and voting. Then there are certain other provisions which can be amended by the second method described above and are ratified by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the states before being presented to the President for his assent. It must also be noted that the power to initiate bills for amendment lies in Parliament alone, and not in the state legislatures. Pundit Nehru expressed in the Constituent Assembly, "While we want the Constitution to be as solid and permanent as we can make it, there is no permanence in Constitution. There should be certain flexibility. If you make anything rigid and permanent, you stop the nations growth, the growth of a living, vital organic people."

A federal system with unitary Bias

The most remarkable achievement of the Indian constitution is to confer upon a federal system the strength of a unitary Government Though normally the system of
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government is federal the constitution enables the federation to transform into unitary state. The constitution of India establishes a federal polity which has been created by dividing the country into states and allocating them functions as specified in the constitution. India has a written constitution which is rigid to a large extent. There is a dual polity and division of powers between the centre and the states. The Indian constitution has a unitary bias for instance, after distributing the legislative powers in three lists residual subjects are left with the union. Even in matters in the concurrent list, the union Government has the final say Parliament in India has a might to change the boundaries of the state. The centre can at any time declare emergency in the states. The Governors are appointed by the President.

Fundamental Rights
The constitution of India affirms the basic principle that every individual is entitled to enjoy certain basic rights and part III of the Constitution deals with those rights which are known as fundamental rights. Originally there were seven categories of rights, but now they are six in number. They are (i) Right to equality, (ii) Right to freedom, (iii) Right against exploitation, (iv) Right to freedom of Religion, v) Cultural and Educational rights and vi) Right to constitutional remedies. Right to property (Article-31) originally a fundamental right has been omitted by the 44th Amendment Act. 1978. It is now a legal right. These fundamental rights are justiciable and the individual can move the higher judiciary, that is the Supreme Court or the High Courts, if there is an encroachment on any of these rights. The right to move to the Supreme Court straight for the enforcement of fundamental rights has been guaranteed under Article 32 (Right to Constitutional Remedies). However, fundamental rights in India are not absolute. Reasonable restrictions can be imposed keeping in view the security-requirements of the state.

Directive Principles of State Policy

These principles are in the nature of directives to the government to implement them for establishing social and economic democracy in the country. It embodies important principles like adequate means to livelihood, equal pay for both men and women, distribution of wealth so as to subserve the common good, free and compulsory primary education, right to work, public assistance in case of old age,
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unemployment, sickness and disablement, the organisation of village Panchayats, special care to the economically back ward sections of the people etc. Most of these principles could help in making India welfare state. Though not justiciable. These principles have been stated a; "fundamental in the governance of the country".

Fundamental Duties
The 42nd Amendment Act introduced Fundamental duties to circumscribe the fundamental rights even thought the duties as such cannot be judicially enforced. The purpose of incorporating these duties in the Constitution is just to remind the people that while enjoying their right as citizens, should also perform their duties for rights and duties are correlative.

An Independent Judiciary
The judiciary occupies an important place in our Constitution and it is also made independent of the legislature and the executive. The Supreme Court of India stands at the apex of single integrated judicial system. It acts as protector of fundamental rights of Indian citizens and guardian of the Constitution. If any law passed by the legislature or action taken by the executive contravenes the provisions of the Constitution, they can be declared as null and void by the Supreme Court. Thus, it has the power of judicial review. But judicial review in India constitutes a middle path between the American judicial supremacy in one hand and British Parliamentary supremacy in the other.

Universal Franchise without communal Representation

The adoption of universal adult suffrage, without any qualification either of sex, property, taxation or the like, is a bold experiment in India, having regard to the vast extent of the country and its population, with on over whelming illiteracy. The suffrage in India, it should be noted is wider than that in England or the United States.

Compromise between Judicial Review and Parliamentary sovereignty

Parliament in India is not as supreme as the British parliament. At the the same time judiciary in India is not as supreme as in the United States of America which recognize no limit on the scope of Judicial Review. The Indian constitution wonderfully adopts the via media between the American system of judicial supremacy and the English principle of Parliamentary Supremacy, by endowing the judiciary with the power of
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declaring a law as unconstitutional if it is beyond the competence of the legislature according to the distribution of powers provided by the constitution, or if it is in contravention of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, but at the same time depriving the judiciary of any power of judicial review of the wisdom of legislative policy. Thus, it has avoided impressions like due process and made fundamental rights such as that of livery and property subject to regulation by the legislature.

Official Language
In a country like India, with diverse cultural traditions and languages, it is essential to declare one language as the national language, symbolic of the unity of the different regions of the country. The Constitution declares Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the country. Besides, each State is authorised to adopt a regional language for all or some of its official purposes. English has also been allowed to be used along with other languages for official purposes.

Division of Powers
India is a federal state. Therefore, there is division of powers between the Central and State Governments. The Constitution lists 97 subjects in the Union List. 66 subjects are in the State List. 47 subjects are in the Concurrent List.

Special Provisions for Scheduled Castes and Tribes:

The Indian Constitution has some special provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in public appointments and reservation of seats in educational institutions and the Union and State Legislatures. These are meant to ensure the development and welfare of the weaker sections of society and bring them to the Indian mainstream of life.

Self Government
The ideal of organizing village Panchayats as units of self government was provided by the Constitutional makers under Article 40 of Part IV which received constitutional legitimacy or status through the 73rd Amendment Act of Indian Constitution. The other aspect of the Local Self Government is the organization of the three-tier Nagarpalika System, as provided by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of Indian
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Constitution. It provides power to the urban people to manage thier own affairs for better development.

In final analysis, the Constitution of India appears to a unique construct bearing testimony to the pious vision and infallible wisdom of its framers.

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PREAMBLE
Preamble is an introductory statement, stating the aims and objectives of the constitution. Accordingly, the preamble to the Indian constitution spells out the basic philosophy contained in the body of the Indian Constitution. The preamble is as follows: "We the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens JUSTICE; social, economic and political, LIBERTY; of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. EQUALITY of status and of opportunity and to promote among all its citizens; FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. In our Constituent Assembly this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution."

IMPORTANCE OF THE PREAMBLE

The wording of the Preamble highlights some of the fundamental values and guiding principles on which the Constitution of India is based. The Preamble serves as a guiding light for the Constitution and judges interpret the Constitution in its light. In a majority of decisions, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that neither it nor any of its content is legally enforceable. The Preamble plays pivotal role when there is ambiguity in provisions of any Article or interpretation becomes confusing. This is when the spirit of the Preamble becomes the guiding factor. The Preamble is stem, root and source of the constitution The preamble serves the following points:1. It indicates the sources from where the constitution has come viz. the people of India. 2. It contains the enacting clause which brings into force the constitution. 3. It declares the freedoms which the people of India intended to secure it all citizens and the basic type of government and polity which was to be established.

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Explanation of some of the important words in the Preamble

SOVEREIGN
The word sovereign means supreme or independent. India is internally and externally sovereign - externally free from the control of any foreign power and internally, it has a free government which is directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern the people.

DEMOCRATIC
India is a democracy. The people of India elect their governments at all levels (Union, State and local) by a system of universal adult franchise; popularly known as 'One man one vote'. Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above and not otherwise debarred by law, is entitled to vote. Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex, religion or education.

REPUBLIC
As opposed to a monarchy, in which the head of state is appointed on hereditary basis for a lifetime or until he abdicates from the throne, a democratic republic is an entity in which the head of state is elected, directly or indirectly, for a fixed tenure. The President of India is elected by an electoral college for a term of five years. The post of the President of India is not hereditary. Every citizen of India is eligible to become the President of the country.

SOCIALIST
The word socialist was added to the Preamble by the 42nd amendment act of 1976, during the Emergency. It implies social and economic equality. Social equality in this context means the absence of discrimination on the grounds only of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion, or language. Under social equality, everyone has equal status and opportunities. Economic equality in this context means that the government will endeavor to make the distribution of wealth more equal and provide a decent standard of living for all. This is in effect emphasizing a commitment towards the formation of a welfare state. India has adopted a mixed economy and the government has framed many laws to achieve the aim.

SECULAR
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The word secular was inserted into the Preamble by the 42nd amendment act of 1976, during the Emergency. It implies equality of all religions and [religious tolerance]. India therefore does not have an official state religion. Every person has the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion they choose. The government must not favor or discriminate against any religion. It must treat all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of law. No religious instruction is imparted in government or government-aided schools. Nevertheless, general information about all established world religions is imparted as part of the course in Sociology, without giving any importance to any one religion or the others. The content presents the basic/fundamental information with regards to the fundamental beliefs, social values and main practices and festivals of each established world religions. The Supreme Court in S.R Bommai v. Union of India held that secularism was an integral part of the basic structure of the constitution. The Preamble proceeds further to define the objectives of the Indian Republic. These objectives are: 'Justice', 'Liberty', 'Equality' and 'Fraternity'.

JUSTICE
Justice promises to give people what they are entitled to in terms of basic rights to food, clothing, housing, participation in the decision-making and living with dignity as human beings. The Preamble covers all these dimensions of justice social, economic and political. Besides, the granting of political justice in the form of universal adult franchise or the representative form of democracy.

LIBERTY
The term 'liberty' used in the Preamble is not merely a negative, but a positive concept. It signifies not only the absence of any arbitrary restraint on the freedom of individual action but also the creation of conditions which are essential for the development of the personality of the individual.

EQUALITY
'Liberty' and 'Equality' are complementary. Equality does not mean that all human beings are equal mentally and physically. It signifies equality of status, the status of free individuals and availability of opportunity to everyone to develop his potential capacities.

FRATERNITY
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Finally, it is the spirit of brotherhood, that is emphasised by the use of the term "fraternity" in the Preamble. India being a multilingual and multi-religious state, the unity and integrity of the nation can be preserved only through a spirit of brotherhood that pervades the entire country, among all its citizens, irrespective of their differences.

Preamble:-A Part of the Constitution or Not?

The vexed question whether the Preamble is a part of the Constitution or not was dealt with in two leading cases on the subject: 1. Berubari case 2. Kesavananda Bharti case On the answer to the primary question- whether the Preamble is a part of the Constitution, would depend the resolution of the next question, which follows as a corollary- whether the Preamble can be amended, if at all. Berubari case of 1960 was the Presidential Reference Under Art. 143(1) of the Constitution of India on the implementation of the Indo-Pak agreement relating to Berubari union and exchange of enclaves which come up for consideration by a bench consisting of eight judges headed by B.P.Sinha. The holdings in Berubari Case has been succinctly summed up later by Shela and Grover, JJ. as under: 1. A Preamble to the Constitution serves as a key to open the minds of the framers, and shows the general purpose for which they made the several provisions in the Constitution; 2. The Preamble is not a part of our Constitution; 3. It is not a source of the several powers conferred on government under the provisions of the Constitution; 4. Such powers embrace those expressly granted in the body of the Constitution and such as may be implied from those granted; 5. What is true about the powers is equally true about the prohibitions and limitations; 6. The Preamble did not indicate the assumptions that the first part of the Preamble postulates a very serious limitation on one of the very important attributes of sovereignty.
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The motion adopted by the Constituent Assembly stated in so many words that the Preamble stands as a part of the Constitution. The error came to be corrected in Kesavananda Bharti case where the majority specifically ruled that the Preamble was as much a part of the constitution as any other provision therein. Kesavanada Bharati Case vs State of Kerala of 1971 has created a history. For the first time, a bench of 13 Judges assembled and sat in its original jurisdiction hearing the writ petition. 13 Judges placed on record 11 separate opinions. It was held in this case: a. that the Preamble to the Constitution of India is a part of Constitution b. that the Preamble is not a source of power nor a source of limitations c. the Preamble has a significant role to play in the interpretation of statues, also in the interpretation of provisions of the Constitution. Parliament by 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 amended the preamble by introducing the terms Secular, Socialist and also Unity and Integrity of the country Moreover in Bommai case of 1993 regarding the dismissal of three BJP Governments in MP, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, the majority of nine Judges laid down a new application of the Preamble under the Constitution, which is as follows: 1. The Preamble indicates the basic Structure of the Constitution 2. A Proclamation under Article 356(1) is open to judicial review on the ground of violating the basic structure of the Constitution. 3. It follows that a proclamation under Article 356(1), which violates any of the basic features, as summarized in the Preamble of the Constitution is liable to be struck down as unconstitutional. 4. A further extension of this innovation is that a political party, which appeals to religion in its election manifesto, acts in violation of the basic structure, and the President may impose Presidents Rule on a report of the Governor that a party has issued such a manifesto.

The Preamble of the Constitution of India is one of the best of its kind ever drafted. Both in ideas and expression it is an unique one. It embodies the spirit of the constitution to build up an independent nation which will ensure the triumph of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. One of the members of the Constituent Assembly (Pundit Thakur Das Bhargav) rose to poetic heights when he said, "The Preamble is the most precious part
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of the Constitution. It is the soul of the Constitution. It is a key to the Constitution. It is a jewel set in the Constitution."

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
The fundamental rights embodied in part III of the constitution, guarantee to each citizens basic substantive and procedural protections against the state. It has always been baffling problem for the constitution makers as to how to council law and liberty, authority and freedom. If power is necessary for the maintenance of order in society the abuse of power by those in authority is also likely. This likelyhood of misuse of power has been sought to be minimised in modern constitution making by incorporation certain rights as fundamental in the constitution of the country. Enunciation of the Fundamental Rights is not a distinctive feature of the Indian constitution, as these are found many Written constitution of most of the European States formed after World War I. The French Declaration of Rights, the Bill of the right of the U.S. Constitution and the universal Human Rights character, together with the lists of similar rights given in other constitution; provided the necessary guidance to the framers of our constitution in selecting a set of rights which could best suit the political conditions prevalent in India.

FEATURES OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Most elaborate in world: The chapter on Fundamental Rights in the constitution is the most elaborate and detailed one. It not only enumerates the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to the Indian citizen is a comprehensive and detailed treatment of each right and no article included in this chapter is without any elaborate set of limitations and reservations. Integral Part of the Constitutions: Fundamental Rights are an integral part of the constitution and hence cannot be =altered or taken away by ordinary legislation. These rights are fundamental in the sense that any law passed by any legislature in the country would be declared hurt and void if it is derogatory to the rights guaranteed by the constitution.
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Negative and Positive Rights: Fundamental Rights as embodied in our constitution can be divided into two broad categories; Those which impose certain restrictions of negative character on the state without confirming special privileges on the citizens. e.g. Article 14 - 16(2), 18(1), 17, 20, 22(1) There are positive rights which confer privileges on the people, e.g.; Article 16(1), 19, 25, 29 (1), 30 (1), etc All rights are justiciables: Another feature of these rights is that these are justiciable. This means that if any of these rights is violated, the individual affected is entitled to move the Supreme Court or High Court for the protection and enforcement of his rights. The Supreme Court may declare a law passed by Parliament or a state legislature in India or the orders issued by any executive authority as rull and void of these are found to be inconsistent with the rights granted by the constitution. The judiciary is thus the jealous guardian of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the constitution.

Restrictive nature of rights: The Indian constitution does not formulate fundamental rights in absolute terms. Every right is permitted under certain limitations and reasonable restriction can be imposed at any time in the larger interests of the community. In some cases, restrictions can be imposed by the constitution itself. Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens but the state has been empowered to make reservations in appointments in favour of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Article 19, for example, guarantees to all citizens freedom of speech and expression. But while exercising this right, they are not to utter anything which may affect the security of the state, public order or friendly relations with foreign states Suspension of Rights: During the operation of an emergency, the President may suspend to all or any of the fundamental rights and may also suspend the right of the people to move the High Courts and Supreme Court for the enforcement of the fundamental rights. Citizens alone enjoy fundamental rights:
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Another important feature of our fundamental rights is that some of them are only guaranteed to the citizens of India while the rights relating to protection of life, freedom of religion, right against exploitation are guaranteed to every person whether citizen or alien. This means that our constitution draws a distinction between citizens and aliens in the matter of enjoyment of fundamental rights. No natural or unenumerated rights: The chapter and fundamental rights is not based on the theory of natural rights. 'Natural' rights are said to belong to man by 'nature'. It is claimed that man possessed these rights before state itself came existence 'Natural' rights accordingly, do not are their validity to their enumeration in a constitution. In this respect a significant difference may be noticed between the American constitution and the constitution of India. The Indian constitution has left no scope for such unenumerated rights.

Fundamental Rights are amendable: The fundamental rights can be amended but they cannot be abrogated because that will violate the basic structure of the constitution. The most striking feature of the provisions of Part III of our constitution, writes D. D. Basu, is that "they expressly seek to strike a balance between a written guarantee of individual rights and the collective interests of the community".

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DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

Part IV of the constitution (Articles 36-51) provides the Directive principles of state policy. It is an idealistic and philosophical chapter in the Indian Constitution, which contains various aims and aspirations to be fulfilled by the State in distant future. They provide the much-desired philosophy of the Constitution and give "an Instrument of Instructions" to the Government to follow the specific policies. Underlying idea behind the Directive Principles is that whichever party may possess the rein of administration should implement these constitutional ideals. They guide; the path which will lead the people of India to achieve the noble ideals which the preamble of the constitution proclaims : Justice social, economic and political, liberty-Equality and fraternity. While incorporating the chapter on Directive Principles, the framers of the Constitution were inspired by the Spanish and Irish constitutional practices.

CLASSIFICATION POLICY

OF

DIRECTIVE

PRINCIPLES

OF

STATE

Directive principles aiming at the establishment of a welfare state

A large number of Directive principles, however, aim at the establishment of a welfare state in India committed to the realisation of the ideals proclaimed in the preamble of the constitution. Article 38 provides that the state shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting a social order in which justice-social economic and political-shall inform all the institutions of national life. According to Article 39 the state shall direct its policy towards securing : (a) adequate means of livelihood to all citizens; (b) a proper distribution of the material resources of the community for the common good; (c)the prevention of concentration of wealth to the common detriment;
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(d) equal pay for equal work for both man and women; (e) protection of the strength and health of workers and avoiding circumstances which forces citizens to enter evocations unsuited to their age or strength; (f) protection of childhood and youth against exploitation or moral and material abandonment. Article 41 seeks within the limits of economic resources and capacity, to ensure the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment; old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want Article 42 declares that the state shall make provision for securing "just, and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief: According to Article 43 the state shall endeavour to secure to all workers a living wage a decent standard of life, leisure and social and cultural opportunities for people Article 46 lays upon the state the obligation to promote with special cave the educational and economic interests of weaker sections of the people and, in particular, of the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes and to protect them from social in justice and all forms of exploitation. Article 47 declares as a primary duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the improvement of public health.

Directive relating to cultural and educational matters:

Article 45 declares that the state shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of the constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen fears. The protection of monuments and places or objects of artistic or historic interests enumerated as an obligation of the state under Article 49 has also an obvious bearing on culture.

Directive principles aiming to implement Gandhian principles:

(a) State shall organize village panchayats as units of self- Government. (Article 40) (b) State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people. (Article 45). (c) State shall try to promote outage industries (Article 43)
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(d) State shall preserve and improve the breeds and prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other milks and draught cattle (Article 48) (e) State shall try to secure the improvement of public health and the prohibition of intoxicating drinks and drugs. (Article 47)

Directives relating to International peace and security:

Article 51 declares that the state shall, endeavour to (a) promote international peace and security (b) maintain just and honourable relations between nations (c) the settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

Miscellaneous:
(i) To secure a uniform civil code applicable to the entire country (Article 44) (ii) To separate the judiciary from the executive (Article 50) (iii) To organise agricultural and animal husbandry on scientific lines, etc. (Article 48)

The 42nd and 44th Amendment:

By the 42nd Amendment, certain charges have been introduced in part IV adding New Directives, to accentuate the socialistic bias of the constitution; (i) Article 39A has been inserted to enjoin the state to provide 'free legal aid' to the poor and to take other suitable steps to ensure equal justice to all, which is offered by the preamble. (ii) Article 43 A has been inserted in order to direct the state to ensure the participation of workers in the management of industry and other undertakings". This is a positive step in advancement of socialism is the sense of economic justice. (iii) Article 48 A has been inserted in order to direct the state to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country.

Difference between fundamental Rights and Directive Principles

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Negative Injunctions Vs. Positive Directions. Where as the Fundamental rights are the negative obligations of the state and the prohibitive in character, the directive principles are positive commands to the state and to do certain things. The fundamental rights are injunctions to prohibit the Government from doing certain things. The Directive principles are affirmative instructions of the Government to do certain things.

Justiciable Vs. Non-Justiciable: The fundamental rights are mandatory and every state is under an obligation to enforce them: the directive principles are declaratory and the state are not under an obligation to enforce them, if the state do not take any action to executive the directive principles. No legal action can be brought against DPSP in a court of law. But if any law of the state violates the fundamental rights, a legal action can be maintained. In other words, the fundamental rights are enforceable, while the Directive principles are not or it may be said that the Directive principles represent no more than General directions or instructions or recommendations to the legislative and executive authorities.

Fundamental Rights are superior to Directive principles: In other words it means that in case of a conflict between the fundamental rights and Directive principles the former will prevail over the latter. In the case of state of Madras Vs. Champakam Dorairajan, the Supreme Court held that "The Directive Principle of state policy which expressly are made unenforceable by a court cannot override lute provisions of part ill which are expressly made enforceable by appropriate court. It may be said that though the Directive principles are not enforceable, yet they remain fundamental in the governance of country. The creation of Article 31C further raise the Directive principles of state policy above the fundamental Rights.

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FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
A duty is an obligation. A man is said to have a duty is any matter, when he is under an obligation to do or not to do something. What is a right in regard to one's self is a duty in regard to others. They are two aspects of the something. If one looks at them from one's own point, they are rights. If one looks at them from the stand point of others, they are duties. It has been rightly said that 'Duties' and Rights' are the two sides of the same coin. They are co-relative. The two go hand in hand. It is necessary to remember that the individual possesses and is able to exercise his rights only as a member of an organized community.

Relation between rights and duties:

It is the imperative duty of a citizen to use his rights on such a way as contribute to social richness. The enjoyment of his rights by an individual enjoins on him the duty to let others enjoy the same rights. Since the state protects may rights, therefore, it is my duty to perform my obligations towards it.

The constitutions of most western states given prominent place to the rights of the citizen but make no mention of his duties. This, for example, is the case with the constitution of the U S A. Japan is perhaps, the only country which has adopted the western model of liberal democracy and has also included a number of basic duties in its constitution. Following the example set by the U.S.S.R., the constitution of socialist states, on the contrary, give equal importance to the fundamental rights and duties of their citizens. The constitution of India did not incorporate any chapter of fundamental duties. Fundamental Rights which the citizens were given were incorporated in part III of the constitution. It was during the period of internal emergency declared in 1975 that need and necessity of fundamental duties was felt and accordingly a committee under Sardar Swaran Singh was appointed to make recommendations about fundamental duties.
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The committee emphasized the inclusion of a chapter on fundamental duties in the constitution so that the people of India become quit conscious that in addition to rights they also had certain duties to perform as well. The committee had also recommended that duty to pay taxes should also be fundamental duty of the citizens. But these recommendations were not accepted by the Congress Party. As a result of the 42nd amendment carried out in 1976, the Indian constitution has incorporated a set of fundamental duties of citizens in a separate part added to chapter IV (Article 51-A). The fundamental duties are: (1) To abide by the constitution and respect the National flag and the National Anthem; (2) To Cherish and follow the noble ideas which inspired our national struggle for freedom; (3) To protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; (4) To defend the country; (5) To promote the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India; (6) To preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; (7) To protect and improve the natural environment; (8) To develop the scientific temper and spirit of inquiry; (9) To safeguard public property; (10) To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity, so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of Endeavour and achievement. (11) to provide opportunities for education by the parent the guardian, to his child, or a ward between the age of 6-14 years as the case may be. 11th Fundamental duty was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.

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NATURE OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

It has been the matter of debate among the scholars that whether the constitution of India is completely federal or unitary in nature. But actually Indian constitution contains both features of a federal constitution and unitary constitution. The members of the Constituent Assembly closely examined the federal constitution of USA and USSR and the unitary constitution of UK. The distinct features of Federal Constitution and Unitary Constitution are:

FEDERAL CONSTITUTION:
In a federal set up there is a two tier of Government with well assigned powers and functions. In this system the central government and the governments of the units act within a well defined sphere, co-ordinate and at the same time act independently. The federal polity, in other words, provides a constitutional device for bringing unity in diversity and for the achievement of common national goals. A federal government exists when the powers of the government for a community are divided substantially according to a principle that there is a single independent authority for the whole area in respect of some matters and there are independent regional authorities for other matters, each set of authorities being co-ordinate to and subordinate to the others within its own sphere. USA, Switzerland, Australia, Canada etc are federations. A federal constitution has the following features: Constitution should be a written one Rigid procedure of amendment Distribution of powers between state and centre Supremacy of judiciary

UNITARY CONSTITUTION:
A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit, with one constitutionally created legislature, and in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions (sub national units) exercise only powers that the central government chooses to delegate.

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The local governments work as administrative units of the central government. Their powers and roles depend upon the wishes of the central government. The latter has the competence to effect at will any change, territorial or otherwise in the system of local governments. Britain, France, Italy, China, and many other countries are unitary states.

INDIAN CONSTITUTION: FEDERAL OR UNITARY

Indian Constitution is based on the western concept of a federal state. When Dr. Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution to the Constituent Assembly, he described the Constitution proposed to be federal, even though the word used in Article 1 was Union and the word federal was never mentioned in the Preamble or any other provision. There was a fair consensus in the Assembly that in the view of the external conditions as well as the vastness of the country and its diverse elements, a unitary system was not only undesirable but also unworkable. India therefore was going to have a Federal Constitution. This view was carried by the members till the end, notwithstanding further centralizing elements introduced during the proceedings. After the Partition, the necessity of a strong centre was imperative and going back to a unitary system of governance was not an option.

FEDERAL FEATURES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Supremacy of the Constitution: The supremacy of the constitution means that both, the Union and the State Governments, shall operate within the limits set by the Constitution. And both the union government and the central government derive their powers from the constitution. Written Constitution: The Constitution of India is a written constitution and is the most elaborate Constitution of the world. Rigid Constitution: The procedure of amending the Constitution in a federal system is normally rigid. Indian Constitution provides that some amendments require a special majority. Such an amendment has to be passed by majority of total members of each house of the Parliament as well as by two-thirds majority of the members present and voting there in. However, in addition to this process, some amendments must be approved by at least 50% of the states. After this procedure the amendment is signed by the head of the state i.e; the President.
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Since in India important amendments can be amended through this procedure Hence, Indian Constitution has been rightly called a rigid constitution. Division of Powers: In Indian constitution the powers of state and centre are clearly defined and there are very clear limits of both the centre and the state for law making powers. Our constitution enumerates three lists, viz. the Union, the State and the Concurrent List. The Union List consists of 97 subjects of national importance such as Defence, Railways, Post and Telegraph, etc. The State List consists of 66 subjects of local interest such as Public Health, Police etc. The Concurrent List has 47 subjects important to both the Union and the State such as Electricity, Trade Union, Economic and Social Planning, etc. Supremacy of the Judiciary: Supremacy of judiciary is another very important feature of a federal state where there is an independent judiciary to interpret the Constitution and to maintain its sanctity. The Supreme Court of India has the original jurisdiction to settle disputes between the Union and the States. It can declare a law as unconstitutional, if it contravenes any provision of the Constitution.

UNITARY FEATURES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

In spite of the fact that the Indian Constitution establishes a federal structure, it is indeed very difficult to put the Indian Constitution in the category of a true federation. The following provision of Indian constitution makes it unitary Union of States: Article 1 of the Constitution describes India as a Union of States, which implies two things: firstly, it is not the result of an agreement among the States and secondly, the States have no freedom to secede or separate from the Union. Besides, the Constitution of the Union and the States is a single framework from which neither can get out and within which they must function. The federation is a union because it is indestructible and helps to maintain the unity of the country. Appointment of Governor: Art 155 and 156 provide that the Governor, who is the constitutional head of a State, is to be appointed by the President and stays only until the pleasure of the President
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The Centre may take over the administration of the State on the recommendations of the Governor or otherwise. In other words, Governor is the agent of the Centre in the States. The working of Indian federal system clearly reveals that the Governor has acted more as centres representative than as the head of the State. This enables the Union government to exercise control over the State administration. Representation in the Legislature: The equality of units in a federation is best guaranteed by their equal representation in the Uppers House of the federal legislature (Parliament). However, this is not applicable in case of Indian States. They have unequal representation in the Rajya Sabha.

Disturbances in the state: In case of disturbances in any State or part thereof, the Union Government is empowered to depute Central Force in the State or to the disturbed part of the State. Unified Judiciary: The federal principle envisages a dual system of Courts. But, in India, there is unified Judiciary with the Supreme Court at the apex. Power to make laws: The Constitution of India empowered the central government to make laws on the subjects in the state list. It is exercised only on the matters of national importance and that too if the Rajya Sabha agrees with 2/3 majority. The constitution establishes a strong Centre by assigning all-important subjects to the Centre as per the Union List. The State Governments have very limited powers. Power to form new states and to change existing boundaries: Under Art 3, center can change the boundaries of existing states and can carve out new states. This should be seen in the perspective of the historical situation at the time of independence. At that time there were no independent states. There were only provinces that were formed by the British based on administrative convenience. At that time States were artificially created and a provision to alter the boundaries and to create new states was kept so that appropriate changes could be made as per requirement.
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Emergency Provisions: The President of India can declare three different types of emergency under article 352, article 356 and article 360 for an act of foreign aggression or internal armed rebellion, failure of constitutional machinery in a state and financial emergency respectively. During the operation of an emergency, the powers of the State Governments are greatly curtailed and the Union Government becomes all in all. In addition to these, all important appointments such as the Chief Election Commissioner, the Comptroller and Auditor General are made by the Union Government. Besides, there is single citizenship. There is no provision for separate Constitutions for the states. The States cannot propose amendments to, the Constitution. As such amendments can only be made by the Union Parliament. All India Services such as IAS and IPS have been created which are kept under the control of the Union. In financial matters too, the States depend upon the Union to a great extent. The States do not possess adequate financial resources to meet their requirements. During Financial Emergency, the Center exercises full control over the States finances. There is a unique blend of federal and unitary features in the Indian constitution. India is a country with vast cultural, regional, linguistic, religious diversity. For efficient government of such a nation, federation is essential. However, to keep the states together and to protect them during war or any kinds of aggression, there should be a unitary government. Thus these unique needs have been very efficiently met by the Constitution of the Union of India having federal characteristics.

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PARLIAMENTARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT

Governments have been classified on the basis of relationship of the political executive with the legislative branch. If the executive is answerable and responsible to the legislature it is called Cabinet form of Government or Parliamentary form of government. In such a system of government, there exists a very close relationship between the executive and the legislature. England is the traditional home of Parliamentary democracy. India follows the Parliamentary form of Government The word 'Parliament' is derived from the French word, 'Parler' which means 'to talk'. The term connotes a place where people sit and discuss national and international problems and enact legislation for their country.

Characteristics of Parliamentary form of Government

Nominal head of the state : Under this form of government the head of the state is nominal or titular. The person holding the post may have great stature but he does not exercise his power independently although the administration of the state runs in his name and theoretically all the power belong to him under the constitution. His powers are exercised by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. Thus there exists dual executive in this system, the nominal and the real. The President in India or the king in England are the symbols of nominal head of the executive where as the Prime Minister is the real head of the executive. Close collaboration between the Executive and the legislature In this system the executive and the legislature work in close cooperation. The members of the Council of Minister are also members of the legislature. The President Summons the legislature and gives his consent to the bills passed by the legislature to make them Acts. The bills passed by the legislature are in fact drafted and initiated by the Ministers. The President of India promulgates ordinance during the recess of the legislature. The ordinance has all the force and effect of law. Responsibility of the executive The executive in a Parliamentary system is responsible to the legislature for all its actions. The ministers are answerable to the parliament and responsible to the Lok Sabha. The Council of Minister remains in office as long as they enjoy the support and
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confidence of the Lok Sabha. The legislature has the right to seek detailed information about the working of the government from the ministers, which they cannot refuse to provide.

Collective Responsibility The responsibility of the Council of Ministers has to be collective. As a general rule every important piece of departmental policy is taken to commit the whole cabinet. Everyone in the Council of Ministers share the responsibility for the lapses of a single minister. Besides this the principle offers no scope to individual ministers to differ from the decisions taken in the Council of Ministers or cabinet in particular. In other words the minister who does not agree to the decisions of the cabinet must tender his resignation, so that he can oppose that on the floors of the legislature. Political Homogeneity The members of the Council of Ministers should belong to a single political party and remain committed to a definite political ideology, to remain a homogenous body. The presence of different political parties in the cabinet is not conducive to its harmonious working because of conflicting political ideologies and programmes. Leadership of Prime Minister The accepted norm of the parliamentary form of government is the leadership of the Prime Minister. The process of forming the Council of Minister begins with the appointment of the Prime Minister. The President appoints his nominees as ministers and distributes portfolios among them on his recommendation. He can dismiss any minister any time without assigning any reason. His resignation leads to the resignation of the Council of Minister as a whole automatically. After every cabinet meeting he meets the President on behalf of the Council of Ministers to inform him of the decisions taken.

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CONSTITUTIONALISM
Constitutionalism has a variety of meanings. Most generally, it is "a complex of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Constitutionalism is the idea, often associated with the political theories of John Locke and the founders of the American republic and equated with the concept of rule of law that government can and should be legally limited in its powers and that its authority depends on its observing these limitations. Constitutionalism subjects the officials who exercise governmental powers to the limitations of a higher law. It proclaims the desirability of the rule of law as opposed to rule by the arbitrary judgment of public officials. A political organization is constitutional to the extent that it "contain[s] institutionalized mechanisms of power control for the protection of the interests and liberties of the citizenry, including those that may be in the minority" The central element of the concept of constitutionalism is that in political society government officials are not free to do anything they please in any manner they choose; they are bound to observe both the limitations on power and procedures which are set out in the supreme , constitutional law of community. It may therefore be said that the touchstone of constitutionalism is the concept of limited government under the higher law. The act of government and administration has to be performed within the restriction and limitation placed by the constitution. That is government act are determined by the constitutional jurisdiction. The authority of government is derived from and is limited by a body of fundamental law that is constitution. In more positive sense it may mean that the act of government must work to achieve constitutional objectives, values and ideas such as accountability, transparency, responsiveness, decentralization, protection of fundamental right , achieving directive principles etc. Thus it is about working within the framework of constitution and thus aims to establish supremacy of constitution. Constitutionalism is said to enrich the legitimacy of the public service by confirming to constitutional goals.
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India is a democratic country with a written constitution. Rule of law is the basis for governance of the country and all administrative structures are expected to follow it in both letter and spirit. It is expected that constitutionalism is a natural corollary to governance in India.

PRINCIPLE OF CONSTITUTIONALISM:
Constitutionalism recognizes the need government but insists upon limitation being placed upon governmental powers. Limited govt. is the central point of constitutionalism. It is the anti-thesis of arbitrary powers. The underlying difference between the Constitutionalism and Constitution is that a Constitution ought not merely to confer powers on the various organs of the Government but also seek to restrain those powers. The essence of the principle of constitutionalism was explained in the case of S. S. Bola v. B. D. Sardana5 as: A good and virtuous constitutionalism having moral foundation protects not only fundamental freedoms but also creates a bridge between conflicting interests and becomes a harbinger to the social needs and produced good legislators and good citizens. The constitutional Courts as sentinel on the qui vive, therefore, function objectively and dispassionately to correct imbalances and keep check on every wing of the State without trespassing upon the field assigned or powers conferred upon the other wings and at the same time maintain a delicate balance on even keel.

Constitutionalism vs. constitutional questions

The study of constitutions is not necessarily synonymous with the study of constitutionalism. Although frequently conflated, there are crucial differences. A discussion of this difference appears in legal historian Christian G. Fritz's American Sovereigns: The People and America's Constitutional Tradition Before the Civil War,a study of the early history of American constitutionalism. Fritz notes that an analyst could approach the study of historic events focusing on issues that entailed "constitutional questions" and that this differs from a focus that involves "questions of constitutionalism." Constitutional questions involve the analyst in examining how the constitution was interpreted and applied to distribute power and authority as the new nation struggled with problems of war and peace, taxation and representation. However, these political and constitutional controversies also posed questions of constitutionalism how to identify the collective sovereign, what powers the sovereign possessed, and how one recognized when that sovereign acted. Unlike constitutional questions, questions of constitutionalism could not be answered by reference to given constitutional text or even
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judicial opinions. Rather, they were open-ended questions drawing upon competing views Americans developed after Independence about the sovereignty of the people and the ongoing role of the people to monitor the constitutional order that rested on their sovereign authority.

Constitutionalism In India
In an ideal Constitution, the overall social objective is one that allows for state intervention when it produces some net social benefit, without leaving any individuals worse off than they were before the state acted. This social objective is achieved by the limits prescribed on the government implies the principle of constitutionalism meaning limited govt. A written Constitution, independent judiciary with powers of judicial review, the doctrine of rule of law, free elections to legislature, accountable and transparent democratic government, Fundamental Rights of the people, federalism, de-centralization of powers are some of the principles and norms which promote Constitutionalism in a country. Preamble to the Indian Constitution lays down principles for the promotion of constitutionalism. The constitution- makers had decided to incorporate Fundamental Rights in the Constitution because of several reasons, such as, consciousness of the massive minority problem in India, memories of the protracted struggle against the despotic British Rule; acknowledgement of the Gandhian ideals; the climate of international opinion and the American experience. But it can be seen from the past history that inclusion of Fundamental Rights under the Indian Constitution was also a reasonable step towards the natural apprehension of any such autocratic rule and arbitrariness in future and to prevent it. In other words, to limit the government acts. The courts are also playing a crucial role in guaranteeing these rights to the people besides broadening them with changing circumstances and conditions and making them even more efficient for protection against any arbitrary act on the part of the govt. or any individual. This is what the principle of constitutionalism also calls for. Thus, it can very well be said that Fundamental Rights are really an expression of constitutionalism in India.

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Usage
Constitutionalism has prescriptive and descriptive uses. Law professor Gerhard Casper captured this aspect of the term in noting that: "Constitutionalism has both descriptive and prescriptive connotations. Used descriptively, it refers chiefly to the historical struggle for constitutional recognition of the people's right to 'consent' and certain other rights, freedoms, and privileges. Used prescriptively its meaning incorporates those features of government seen as the essential elements of the Constitution." Descriptive use: One example of constitutionalism's descriptive use is law professor Bernard Schwartz's 5 volume compilation of sources seeking to trace the origins of the U.S. Bill of Rights. Beginning with English antecedents going back to the Magna Carta (1215), Schwartz explores the presence and development of ideas of individual freedoms and privileges through colonial charters and legal understandings. Then, in carrying the story forward, he identifies revolutionary declarations and constitutions, documents and judicial decisions of the Confederation period and the formation of the federal Constitution. Finally, he turns to the debates over the federal Constitution's ratification that ultimately provided mounting pressure for a federal bill of rights. While hardly presenting a "straight-line," the account illustrates the historical struggle to recognize and enshrine constitutional rights and principles in a constitutional order. Prescriptive use: In contrast to describing what constitutions are, a prescriptive approach addresses what a constitution should be. As presented by Canadian philosopher Wil Waluchow, constitutionalism embodies "the idea that government can and should be legally limited in its powers, and that its authority depends on its observing these limitations. This idea brings with it a host of vexing questions of interest not only to legal scholars, but to anyone keen to explore the legal and philosophical foundations of the state." One example of this prescriptive approach was the project of the National Municipal League to develop a model state constitution. Authority of government Whether reflecting a descriptive or prescriptive focus, treatments of the concept of constitutionalism all deal with the legitimacy of government. One recent assessment of American constitutionalism, for example, notes that the idea of constitutionalism serves to define what it is that "grants and guides the legitimate exercise of government authority." Similarly, historian Gordon S. Wood described this American constitutionalism as
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"advanced thinking" on the nature of constitutions in which the constitution was conceived to be "a 'set of fundamental rules by which even the supreme power of the state shall be governed.'"Ultimately, American constitutionalism came to rest on the collective sovereignty of the people - the source that legitimized American governments.

Criticism:
Constitutionalism has been the subject of criticism by numerous anarchist thinkers. For example, Murray Rothbard, who coined the term "anarcho-capitalism,"attacked constitutionalism, arguing that constitutions are incapable of restraining governments and do not protect the rights of citizens from their governments. Rothbard wrote that it is true that, in the United States, at least, we have a constitution that imposes strict limits on some powers of government. But, as we have discovered in the past century, no constitution can interpret or enforce itself; it must be interpreted by men. And if the ultimate power to interpret a constitution is given to the governments own Supreme Court, then the inevitable tendency is for the Court to continue to place its imprimatur on ever-broader powers for its own government. Furthermore, the highly touted checks and balances and separation of powers in the American government are flimsy indeed, since in the final analysis all of these divisions are part of the same government and are governed by the same set of rulers.

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POLITICAL CULTURE
Political culture can be defined as the orientation of the citizens of a nation towards politics, and their perceptions of political legitimacy and the traditions of political practice and feeling expressed by individuals in the position of the elected offices that allow for the nurture of a political society. Dennis Kavanagh defines political culture as A shorthand expression to denote the set of values within which the political system operates According to A.R.Ball , apolitical culture is composed of attitude , values , emotions, and belief of society that relate to political system and political issue. Political scientist Sidney Verba , describes political culture as a system of empirical beliefs, expressive symbols, and values, which defines the situation in which political action takes place.

Types of political culture:

According to their level and type of political participation and the nature of people's attitudes toward politics, Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba outlined three pure types of political culture: Parochial - Where citizens are only remotely aware of the presence of central government, and live their lives near enough regardless of the decisions taken by the state. Distant and unaware of political phenomena. He has neither knowledge or interest in politics. In general congruent with a traditional political structure. Subject - Where citizens are aware of central government, and are heavily subjected to its decisions with little scope for dissent. The individual is aware of politics, its actors and institutions. It is affectively oriented towards politics, yet he is on the "downward flow" side of the politics. In general congruent with a centralized authoritarian structure. Participant - Citizens are able to influence the government in various ways and they are affected by it. The individual is oriented toward the system as a whole, to both the political and administrative structures and processes (to both the input and output aspects). In general congruent with a democratic political structure. These three 'pure' types of political culture can combine to create the 'civic culture', which mixes the best elements of each.

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Political culture is an important element of an overall environment in which the political system function, develop and is influenced. Political culture is how we think government should be carried out. It is different from ideology because people can disagree on ideology, but still has a common political culture. Political culture shapes the political orientation, behaviour of people, and peoples attitude. It influences the political action, political process and political development. Political culture is a product of several inter-related factors historical, geographical, socio-economic. For example an educated society is more conscious of its rights and has wider political participation, better evaluation and criticism. Indian political culture is often determined by its character of diversity in all respect of life, different religion, caste, language, culture etc. Caste and religion is an important part of politics in india and these factors to a great extent shape the political culture of our country. In India we see Dominance of traditional values like caste; religion etc leads to politicisation and vote bank politics, Corruption, power politics, criminalization are other features. We also see growing awareness of people of their political rights, increasing role of civil society in making government transparent and accountable. It can be said that Indian political culture has been traditional in some, modern in some and also a hotch potch of two. Peoples attachment with bond s of casteism, communalism , parochialism, linguism, and the like constitutes a clear case of traditionalism in the Indian political culture, while movement for more and more educational and social reforms, for opportunities of employment, and for democratization of the decision making process constitutes instances of the modern political culture.

The new political culture in India:

India perhaps the only nation that attained freedom after World War II and has not fallen a prey so far to military rule or dictatorship. This is so because our founding fathers imbued
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with a spirit of liberal western traditions and incorporated the best of such traditions and conventions in the constitution. The grant of universal suffrage to the millions of our countrymen reflected the faith they had in the electors as well as the elected. Over the years, except for aberrations here or there, Democratic India has stood the test of time. Today ours is the largest functioning democracy in the world and people admire us as well as our leaders for upholding the best traditions of this form of Government which is of the people, for the people and by the people. Democracy often described as rule of the mob or mobocracy, has brought in its wake certain characteristics which are unbecoming of our rulers. Mobs are aroused over triffles in the name of caste, community or religion and riots engineered in various parts of our country.Caste and communal riots are black mark of our democracy. But somehow they have given birth to new political culture in our country. Demonstrations are organised, protests staged and riots engineered in the name of language, caste or religion to build up vote banks for the interested political parties and their leaders. Passions are set aflame over trivial matters and peace endangered frequently in various parts of the country, solely to build up and consolidate these vote banks. Another manifestation of new political culture in India is the interference in the affairs of students, who are weaned away from studies and other constructive activities in the name of electioneering. Students leaders are created and foisted on the innocent community by politicians, who have an axe to grind in such elections .All that these leaders is to confront the authorities over imaginary or real grievances and indulge in anti-social acts all in the name of looking after the welfare of students. Although we talk incessantly of women, children and the weaker sections of society ,in reality the new political culture in India exploits these under-privileged sections the most.Much is made of injustice heaped upon these sections. But all these happens when elections are due. Once the elections are over, all the platitudes are forgotten and these sections of society continue to toil and suffer as before. But people have become wiser now.They have learnt that they cannot be fooled all the time by the exponents of the new political culture in India.They have realised their intrinsic worth and given a befitting reply to such opportunistic politicians time and again.This shift in the perception of the masses certainly raises the hope that, out of the ashes of the present political imbroglio, a new political culture will arise phoenix-like and the country will be proud of its traditions and conventions.

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BUREAUCRACY AND DEMOCRACY:

Bureaucracy and democracy are often considered antithetical properties of political systems. There is a large scholarly and popular literature arguing that bureaucracies are major problems limiting the capacity of democratic political systems to effectively respond to their citizens. In this panel we will be pursuing the contrary argument that the public bureaucracy may be becoming the locus for democratic responsiveness in many political systems. The importance for bureaucracy for democracy in contemporary political systems arises in part from the weaknesses of more conventional institutions of democracy. For example, participation in elections has been falling rapidly in most democratic systems, and membership in political parties in also declining. Parliaments have for some time been argued to be losing power to the executive, and within the executive the collegiality of cabinet is eroding in favor of greater powers for the prime minister. Thus, the usual instrumentalities of political democracy are, if not failing, certainly weakened. There is a more positive case to be made for the linkage of bureaucracy and democracy. First, public bureaucracies are major actors in making and implementing policy and therefore accountability has always been a crucial form of democracy, but it becomes even more crucial when other aspects of democracy are weakened. Further, the majority of contacts between the State and society occur through the public bureaucracy, and these contacts are important for political inputs as well as simply for administration of programs. This importance is especially evident given the development of a range of networked forms of governing within particular policy areas. Programs such as "citizen engagement" and e-government often are largely directed at, and managed by, the public bureaucracy, and provide opportunities for citizens to have more immediate and personalized redress of grievances against government than would traditional forms of accountability. Further, deliberative democracy may be more possible vis-a-vis bureaucracies than with the manifestly political components of government, given that this form of decision-making would not be seen as challenging conventional forms of representation. Although we have made a case for some democratic elements in contemporary public administration, we also need to think carefully about the type of democracy that these contacts between state and society would produce. It would be a localized and sectoriallydefined form of democracy, and might be even more skewed toward the affluent, organized and articulate than are conventional forms of democracy.

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BUREAUCRATS in fiction are usually characterized as schizophrenic, with a manifest fawning nature and piteous soullessness. In contrast, history records the growing prestige of the bureaucrat or general staff in modern times. Even as the efficiency of bureaucracies in terms of sheer span and outreach has been eulogized, their dysfunctions have been attributed to the self-serving nature of bureaucrats, with corruption identified as the main affliction. Surprisingly, the totalitarian streak in all bureaucracies of parties, state, church, multi-nationals is often overlooked. Is the preoccupation with the efficiency of a bureaucracy misplaced? Should we be looking instead at bureaucracy more intently from the point of view of the liberty of the individual citizen and other social values and institutions like equality, fraternity, property and security which are basic democratic concerns? Does this make a difference to how we think about corruption as a derivative of the will to a system which Nietzche regarded as the lack of integrity to the details and human feelings about particular predicaments, rather than as a result of the innate self-serving nature of man? Should we dismantle the mammoth apparatus of the state bureaucracy that we have in India and relate to laws and governance in an atomistic and interactive fashion, much like personal computers have taken over from supercomputers? The origins of bureaucracy, which lie not in the organization of either state or church as one might imagine but in the private commercial organizations called bureaus was noted by the well-known nineteenth century Prussian sociologist, Max Weber. For him, bureaucracy denoted a particular type of structure of authority distinct from traditional or charismatic authority. It consisted of a hierarchically ordered set of offices impersonally held by persons recruited on merit who acted according to explicitly stated rules. Contrary to popular belief about bureaucracy today, Weber regarded it as the most efficient form of large organizations. This type of authority was applied increasingly in organizations like armies, the church, government and political parties and represented a historical movement away from traditional to rational-legal authority.

Politicians and Bureaucracy The question of the relationship between politicians and civil servants does not exist in a vacuum. On the contrary, it is hopelessly entangled with the game of politics and of power as it is played inour country. Let me first of all deal with a few basic concepts. Given the necessity for a state, the bureaucracy is an inescapable concomitant irrespective of the nature of the state. Even states emerging out of vast revolutionary upheavals spawn bureau-cracy. Mao thought that he could alter the sorry scheme of things through cultural revolutions. But his successors
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are settling down, looking for cats, black and white, who will efficiently perform their function of catching mice. So bureaucracythat is, government officials in their collectivetyconstitutes an integral part of any state. The second essential point to note is that the bureau-cracy in any state embodies the urges for the maintenance and continuity of that state and society. That is why conservatism has its natural ally in bureaucracy. But in India conservatism has no meaning. What are we to conserve? The vast poverty? The social structure hag-ridden with caste? Illiteracy? Our incapacity to feed, educate and clothe people? In some other age, we might have frozen all these urges by erecting a rigid law-and-order state. But in these last decades of the twentieth century, the awareness of our people is so heightened that every political party appears with a flaming manifesto promising change. But the art of taking money from the rich and votes from the poor is becoming increasingly difficult to practise. For it is one thing to write a manifesto, it is quite another to put it into effect. Thus verbal radicalism unsupported by a sustained political will and unsustained by political instrumentalities is doomed to failure. Faced with such a situation, the collective unconscious of our politicians mutters: What can we do? Didnt we mean well? Didnt we pas resolutions? Didnt we lay it down in our manifesto? Didnt we adopt decisions in the Cabinet? The failure is due to our bureaucracy! Virginal academics, whose knowledge of the facts of life is minimal, write papers proving that our bureaucracy is dysfunctional vis-a-vis our democratic social order; politicians make speeches urging abolition of the bureaucracy. Periodically, we witness the recrudescence of such ill humour, which brings to my mind the story current in the Nazi era; every Nazi, so the story goes, had a favourite Jew and, when two Nazis quarrelled, they beat each others Jew. Of course, it must be said that the structure of our bureaucracy is not partially suited for transmitting the impulses for change. It has remained virgo intacta since the days of Macaulay. It was designed for the maintenance and continuity of the Empire and since no one thought of changing the design, the laws of inertia prevailed. But then one might legitimately enquire: On whom does the responsibility rest for bringing about the change? And why have all the changes made in response to the needs of development and planning been so ineffective? Someone said that the whole difference between efficient and inefficient administration lies in the creative use of officials by the elected representatives. Our attempt to mould the bureaucratic framework to suit the political processes at the local level took the form of democratic decentralisation and the setting up of Panchayati Raj. But rural society with its segmented structures and primitive institutions exposed to modern democratic experience could not generate a responsive and creative leadership. The traditional order and the new
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political and administrative structure only created tensions. Empirical evidence shows that the conflicts and tensions between the officials and non-officials owe their origin to the prerogatives of power, personality clashes and self-aggrandising tendencies. Two things clearly stand out today in the countryside: (a) emergence of traditional propertied and social elites as an ambitious, avaricious and power-oriented leadership; and (b) the officials general lack of faith in the capabilites of the elected members to sustain and carry forward the key and central goals of society. The politicians are not satisfied with the formulation of policies for which they have little time, but reach out for a hand in their implementation to suit their particular end. On the other hand, officials without any change in their attitude, outlook or methods see in all this a challenge to their own position of power and status. Is then all lost? Not necessarily and inevitably, provided we understand the logic of bureaucracy, even the existing bureaucracy in India, as a system. First of all, politicians as Ministers have a right and duty to enunciate clearly the policies. This right does not belong to MPs and MLAs. Along with policies the bureaucracy, especially that part of it which is directly concerned with developmental processes, should be set concrete tasks and judged by an objective appraisal system. Once this is done, there should be no interference. Appointment, writing of confidential reports, promotions, postings and transfers should be sternly and rigidly objective; only then will the system work, provided Ministers have the skill, the will and sense of direction for riding the bureaucratic horse. This will require not merely ability but character and integrity. So the problem of the relationship between politicians and civil servants is rather complex.

Reinforcing Democracy Any citizen of the Republic of India, reflecting sensitively on the wide range of problems facing our country, cannot but come to the conclusion that there is an urgent need for all of us to under-stand these emerging problems and to seek their solution. The most critical and central problem is the health and vitality of our democracy. As one contemplates the human condition of this Earth today, one cannot but feel a sense of pride that the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru and other great sons and daughters of Mother Earth left us the most precious legacy of political democracy in our country. Everywhere human spirit is in great turmoil and the articulation
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of that turmoil through the democratic process is essential if we are to avoid destructive upheavals. It may be an old cliche that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance but it is a cliche which is eternally true. And the society which does not heed to this, pay a heavy price in terms of human suffering. Viewed in this light, one cannot but express grave concern about several matters affecting the functioning of our democrtic process as well as electoral process through which democracy assumes form and substance. From time to time, voices of concern have been raised about the role of money as the lubricant of our electoral process. And this money is invariably unaccounted. However, the nexus between money and power is becoming increasingly interconnected with mafia-like formations and consequent criminalisation of our electoral and political processes. It has become urgently necessary to focus attention on this problem. Some have argued in favour of proportional representation as a means of ensuring better distribution of power in our society. With the growth of mobilising people on the basis of caste, creed, language, etc., the proportional representation at this juncture of our country will only lead to consolidation and not transcendence of particularism. Also, the narrower the group, the more influential will be the wielders of mafia power. The only corrective to mafia power is to challenge their coercive power. And this can only be done by enlarging effectively the criteria for ascendancy to power. Our people should have the right to reject and say no to all the candidates presenting them-selves at election and such a negative vote should be regarded as a valid vote. At the same time, the criterion for getting elected as a Member of Parliament or a Member of a Legislative Assembly on the basis of a majority of even one vote will have to be jettisoned. Therefore, it is not unrea-sonable to demand that no candidate can be deemed to be elected unless he or she gets a clear majority, that is, 50 per cent of the votes. In the context of our village communities, where from ancient times the proverb, namely, jiski lathi uski bhains has to be challenged, the task of lathi wielding must be made more difficult by challenging him to command the support of more than 60 per cent of the registered voters in the village. I devoutly hope that the sheer anxiety and concern would make us search for a consensus on two immediate issues: 1. that mafia-like formation and the consequent criminalisation is an urgent problem which needs to be tackled; 2. that the way to tackle it is by changing our electoral laws so that a negative vote acquires meaning and that a higher percentage of votes is necessary than the present rule of victory by being the first at the polling booth.

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We are not unconscious of the extremely corrosive influence of bigotry and fanaticism paraded as religion. In the long march of humanity for thousands of years, we are not aware of humanity ever having a monument to hate. All monuments are to love and compassion. Only war-graves are monuments to hatred of one set of humanity against another. Surely, we Indians, holding sacred the creative elements of our civilisation, cannot leave the legacy of hate and feel proud of our cultural and spiritual heritage. However, the battle against hatred, bigotry and fanaticism is to be fought in every heart and mind. And there is no doubt that the mass of our people, if faced with the choice of alternatives, will choose tolerance, love and compassion. In asserting this faith, we should not minimise in any way the urgency of combating the virus of casteism or communalism. The urgent necessity for carrying out this fight should not prevent us from seeing that the fight against criminalisation of politics does require another kind of approach.

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