User talk:Ch.sivamohan123/sandbox

Democracy in India

India is the seventh largest (by area) and the second most populous country in the world, with roughly one-sixth of its population, of about a billion and a quarter. India is one of the world's oldest civilizations, yet a very young nation. Under Mughal and Rajput control for much of its history until its colonisation by European powers in the mid-eighteenth century. The world's largest democracy by electorate was created after independence in 1947 under the leadership of its nationalist movement, the Indian National Congress.[1] Elections to its Parliament are held once every 5 years. Currently, Prime minister Narendra Modi is the head of the government, enjoying a majority in the Parliament, while President Pranab Mukherjee, is the head of state. India is a constitutional republic governed under the world's longest written constitution, federally consisting of 29 states and seven centrally administered union territories, with New Delhi as the nation's capital. The country has six main national parties: the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and National Congress Party (NCP). At the level of its states, many regional parties stand for elections to state legislatures, every five years. The Rajya Sabha elections are held every 6 years. Contents •	1 Democratic Principles •	2 Factors affecting democracy •	3 See also •	4 References •	5 Further reading Democratic Principles India is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. Sovereign means an independent nation. Socialist implies social and economic equality for all Indian citizens. This guarantees equal opportunity and equal social status. The government attempts to reduce economic inequality by reducing concentration of wealth. Secular implies freedom to choose your religion. The state gives every citizen the right to practice and propagate a religion of his choice, and also right to reject all religions. The state treats all religions as equal and there is no official state religion. Democratic means the government is a democratically elected, head of the government(Prime Minister) is elected by the people. Republic means head of the state(President) is not hereditary King or Queen but indirectly elected by the people.[2] Factors affecting democracy Factors such as education, corruption, women's issues, student politics, leadership strategies and the design of political institutions affect national and local politics.[3] Some other factors such as the caste issue, environment policy, new long-term investment in the economy by foreigners etc., also have a bearing.[4]

Politics of India
Republic of India This article is part of a series on the politics and government of India Union Government[show] Elections[show] Political parties[show] State and Local gov.[show] •	Other countries •	Atlas Government of India portal

Politics in India take place within the framework of its constitution, as India is a federal parliamentary democratic republic in which the President of India is the head of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. India follows the dual polity system, i.e. a double government which consists of the central authority at the centre and states at the periphery. The constitution defines the organization, powers and limitations of both central and state governments, and it is well-recognized, rigid and considered supreme; i.e. laws of the nation must conform to it. There is a provision for a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper House, i.e. Rajya Sabha, which represents the states of the Indian federation and a lower house i.e. Lok Sabha, which represents the people of India as a whole. The Indian constitution provides for an independent Judiciary which is headed by the Supreme Court. The court's mandate is to protect the constitution, to settle disputes between the central government and the states, inter-state disputes, and nullify any central or state laws that go against the constitution.[1] The governments, union or state, are formed through elections held every five years (unless otherwise specified), by parties that claim a majority of members in their respective lower houses (Lok Sabha in centre and Vidhan Sabha in states). India had its first general election in 1951, which was won by the Indian National Congress, a political party that went on to dominate the successive elections up until 1977, when the first non-Congress government was formed for the first time in independent India. The 1990s saw the end of single party domination and rise of coalition governments. The elections for the 16th Lok Sabha, held from April 2014 to May 2014, once again brought back single-party rule in the country, with the Bharatiya Janata Party being able to claim a majority in the Lok Sabha.[2] Contents •	1 Political parties and alliances o	1.1 Features of political parties in India o	1.2 Types of political parties o	1.3 Alliances •	2 Local governance •	3 Role of political parties •	4 Political issues o	4.1 Social issues o	4.2 Economic issues o	4.3 Law and order •	5 See also •	6 References •	7 Further reading •	8 External links Political parties and alliances For other political parties see List of political parties in India. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in India. Main articles: Indian general election, 2009 and Indian general election, 2014 Features of political parties in India Compared to other democratic countries, India has a large number of political parties. It has been estimated that over 200 parties were formed after India became independent in 1947.[3] Some features of the political parties in India are that the parties are generally woven around their leaders, the leaders actively playing a dominant role, and that the role of leadership can be transferred, thus tending to take a dynastic route. Such parties include both national and regional parties, such as the Indian National Congress (INC), which has been led by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty since independence, beginning with Jawaharlal Nehru who dominated the INC and led it to victory in three consecutive elections, and continuing with, after a brief interlude of the prime ministership of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi. After the split in the Congress party in 1969 she formed her own Indian National Congress faction called the Indian National Congress (Ruling). After a further split, she formed the Congress (Indira) or Congress(I). Indira remained the leader of the party until her death in 1984, handing power to her son Rajiv Gandhi, who, after his death, his widow Sonia Gandhi, the current leader of INC, took command.[4] As a result of such dominance, the leaders of political parties of the country tend to take an autocratic tone. A notable feature of the political parties in India is that, except for the major political parties, most others lack an ideological basis. Instead political parties in India are formed on the basis of religion, language, or Caste factors. This is the reason for the large number of political parties in the country.[3] Parliament of India. Types of political parties Main article: List of recognised political parties in India There are two types of political parties in India - National Party and Regional/State party. Every political party must bear a symbol and must be registered with the Election Commission of India. Symbols are used in Indian political system so that illiterate people can also vote by recognizing symbols of party. In the current amendment to the Symbols Order, the Commission, has infused the following five principles, which, in its view, should govern the polity in the country, situate as it is in its present state:[5] 1.	Legislative presence is a must for recognition as a National or State party. 2.	For a National party, it must be the legislative presence in the Lok Sabha and for a State party, the legislative presence must be reflected in the State Assembly. 3.	In any election, a party can set up a candidate only from amongst its own members. 4.	A party, that loses its recognition, shall not lose its symbol immediately, but shall be given the facility to use that symbol for some time to try and retrieve its status. [However, the grant of such facility to the party to use its symbol will not mean the extension of other facilities to it, as are available to recognised parties, like, free time on Doordarshan/AIR, free supply of copies of electoral rolls, etc.] 5.	Recognition should be given to a party only on the basis of its own performance in elections and not because it is a splinter group of some other recognised party. Criteria[5] - •	A political party shall be eligible to be recognised as a National party if :- 1.	it secures at least six percent(6%) of the valid votes polled in any four or more states, at a general election to the House of the People or, to the State Legislative Assembly; and 2.	in addition, it wins at least four seats in the House of the People from any State or States. OR it wins at least two percent (2%) seats in the House of the People (i.e., 11 seats in the existing House having 543 members), and these members are elected from at least three different States. •	Likewise, a political party shall be entitled to be recognised as a State party, if :- 1.	it secures at least six percent (6%) of the valid votes polled in the State at a general election, either to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned; and 2.	in addition, it wins at least two seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned. OR it wins at least three percent (3%) of the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State, or at least three seats in the Assembly, whichever is more. At present there are 3 national parties and 57 state parties. Alliances India has a history of alliances and breakdown of alliances. However, there are three alliances on a national level in India, competing with each other for the position of Government. The member parties work in harmony for gratifying national interests, although a party can jump ships whenever it may deem fit. The three alliances - •	National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - Centre-Right coalition led by BJP was formed in 1998 after the elections, NDA formed the government although the government didn't last long as AIADMK withdrew support from it resulting in 1999 general elections, in which NDA won and resumed power. The coalition government went on to complete the full five years term, becoming the first non-Congress government to do so. In the 2014 General Elections NDA once again returned to power for the second time, with a historic mandate of 336 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats. BJP itself won 282 seats thereby electing Narendra Modi as the head of the government. •	United Progressive Alliance (UPA) - Centre-Left coalition led by INC, this alliance was created after the 2004 General Elections, with the alliance forming the Government. The alliance even after losing some of its members, was reelected in 2009 General Elections with Manmohan Singh as head of the government. •	Third front - The coalition of parties which do not belong to any of the above camps due to certain issues. They are not bound together due to any ideological similarities but primarily due to their stand of maintaining distance with both major parties. One of the party in the alliance CPI(M), prior to 2009 General Elections was a member party of the UPA. The alliance has no official leading party and generally smaller parties keep coming and leaving the alliance as per political convenience. Many of these parties ally at national level but contest against each other at state level. Local governance Main article: Panchayati Raj Panchayati Raj Institutions or Local self-government bodies play a crucial role in Indian Politics, as it focuses on grass-level administration in India. On April 24, 1993, the Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 came into force to provide constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions. This Act was extended to Panchayats in the tribal areas of eight States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan from 24 December 1996. The Act aims to provide 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 2 million, to hold Panchayat elections regularly every 5 years, to provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women, to appoint State Finance Commission to make recommendations as regards the financial powers of the Panchayats and to constitute District Planning Committee to prepare draft development plan for the district. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ch.sivamohan123 (talk • contribs) 04:20, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Party politics
Political spectrum o	Post-left o	Ultra-left o	Far-left o	Left-wing •	Centre-left o	Centre/Radical centre •	Centre-right o	Right-wing o	Far-right/Radical right: United States - Europe

Party platform

•	o	Extremist o	Radical •	Reformist o	Moderate •	Syncretic •	o	Conservative o	Reactionary •	o	Fundamentalist

Party system

•	o	Non-partisan o	Single-party •	o	Dominant-party o	Two-party o	Multi-party

Coalition

•	Hung parliament •	Confidence and supply •	Minority government •	Rainbow coalition •	Grand coalition •	Full coalition •	National Unity government •	Majority government

Lists •	Political parties by country •	Political parties by UN geoscheme •	Political ideologies

Politics portal For other political parties see List of political parties in India. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in India. As with any other democracy, political parties represent different sections among the Indian society and regions, and their core values play a major role in the politics of India. Both the executive branch and the legislative branch of the government are run by the representatives of the political parties who have been elected through the elections. Through the electoral process, the people of India choose which representative and which political party should run the government. Through the elections any party may gain simple majority in the lower house. Coalitions are formed by the political parties, in case no single party gains a simple majority in the lower house. Unless a party or a coalition have a majority in the lower house, a government cannot be formed by that party or the coalition. Indian state governments led by various political parties as of March 2014. India has a multi-party system, where there are a number of national as well as regional parties. A regional party may gain a majority and rule a particular state. If a party is represented in more than 4 states, it would be labelled a national party. Out of the 66 years of India's independence, India has been ruled by the Indian National Congress (INC) for 53 of those years. The party enjoyed a parliamentary majority save for two brief periods during the 1970s and late 1980s. This rule was interrupted between 1977 to 1980, when the Janata Party coalition won the election owing to public discontent with the controversial state of emergency declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Janata Dal won elections in 1989, but its government managed to hold on to power for only two years. Between 1996 and 1998, there was a period of political flux with the government being formed first by the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed by a left-leaning United Front coalition. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance with smaller regional parties, and became the first non-INC and coalition government to complete a full five-year term. The 2004 Indian elections saw the INC winning the largest number of seats to form a government leading the United Progressive Alliance, and supported by left-parties and those opposed to the BJP. On 22 May 2004, Manmohan Singh [6] was appointed the Prime Minister of India following the victory of the INC & the left front in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. The UPA ruled India without the support of the left front. Previously, Atal Bihari Vajpayee [7] had taken office in October 1999 after a general election in which a BJP-led coalition of 13 parties called the National Democratic Alliance emerged with a majority. In May 2014, Narendra Modi of BJP was elected as Prime Minister of India. Formation of coalition governments reflects the transition in Indian politics away from the national parties toward smaller, more narrowly based regional parties. Some regional parties, especially in South India, are deeply aligned to the ideologies of the region unlike the national parties and thus the relationship between the central government and the state government in various states has not always been free of rancor. Disparity between the ideologies of the political parties ruling the centre and the state leads to severely skewed allocation of resources between the states. Political issues Main article: Socio-economic issues in India See also: Corruption in India Social issues The lack of homogeneity in the Indian population causes division between different sections of the people based on religion, region, language, caste and race. This has led to the rise of political parties with agendas catering to one or a mix of these groups. Some parties openly profess their focus on a particular group; for example, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's focus on the Dravidian population, and the Shiv Sena's pro-Marathi agenda. Some other parties claim to be universal in nature, but tend to draw support from particular sections of the population. For example, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (translated as National People's Party) has a vote bank among the Yadav and Muslim population of Bihar and the All India Trinamool Congress does not have any significant support outside West Bengal. The narrow focus and votebank politics of most parties, even in the central government and central legislature, sidelines national issues such as economic welfare and national security. Moreover, internal security is also threatened as incidences of political parties instigating and leading violence between two opposing groups of people is a frequent occurrence. Economic issues Economic issues like poverty, unemployment, development are main issues that influence politics. Garibi hatao (eradicate poverty) has been a slogan of the Indian National Congress for a long time. The well known Bharatiya Janata Party encourages a free market economy. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) vehemently supports left-wing politics like land-for-all, right to work and strongly opposes neo-liberal policies such as globalization, capitalism and privatization. Law and order Terrorism, Naxalism, religious violence and caste-related violence are important issues that affect the political environment of the Indian nation. Stringent anti-terror legislation such as TADA, POTA and MCOCA have received much political attention, both in favour and opposed. Terrorism had effected politics India since its conception, be it the terrorism supported from Pakistan or the internal guerrilla groups such as Naxalites. In 1991 the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during an election campaign.[8] The suicide bomber was later linked to the Sri Lankan terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as it was later revealed the killing was an act of vengeance for Rajiv Gandhi sending troops in Sri Lanka against them in 1987.[8] The Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992 by Hindu Karsevaks resulted in nationwide communal riots in two months, with worst occurring in Mumbai with at least 900 dead.[8][9] The riots were followed by 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts, which resulted in more deaths. Law and order issues, such as action against organised crime are issues which do not affect the outcomes of elections. On the other hand, there is a criminal–politician nexus. Many elected legislators have criminal cases against them. In July 2008, the Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, "including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder".[10]

Constitution of India Preamble Parts[show] Schedules[show] Appendices[show] Amendments[show] Related topics[show] The original text of the Preamble and artwork of Beohar Rammanohar Sinha, before the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It is a living document, the permanent instrument which makes the government system work.[1] It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles and the duties of citizens. It is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world.[Note 1][2] Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is regarded as the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, but it was the Constituent Assembly that worked under Dr Ambedkar and his team that drafted the final copy of the Indian Constitution. Jawaharlal Nehru signing the Constitution The constitution of India imparts constitutional supremacy and not parliamentary supremacy as it is not created by the Parliament but created by a constituent assembly and adopted by its people with a declaration in the preamble to the constitution.[3] Parliament cannot override the constitution. The Constitution was adopted by the India Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950.[4] The date of 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930. With its adoption, the Union of India officially became the modern and contemporary Republic of India and it replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. To ensure constitutional autochthony, the framers of constitution inserted Article 395 in the constitution and by this Article, the Government of India Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act, 1947 were repealed.[5] India celebrates the coming into force of the constitution on 26 January each year as Republic Day.[6] The Constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular,[7] democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavors to promote fraternity among them.[8] Contents •	1 Background •	2 Previous legislation used as sources •	3 Constituent assembly o	3.1 Drafting o	3.2 Influence of other constitutions •	4 Structure o	4.1 Parts o	4.2 Schedules o	4.3 Appendices •	5 The constitution and the government •	6 The constitution and the legislature o	6.1 Amendment o	6.2 Limitations •	7 The constitution and the judiciary o	7.1 Judicial review •	8 The constitution - a living document •	9 See also •	10 Notes o	10.1 Notes on Article 21 •	11 References •	12 Bibliography •	13 External links Background Dr. Ambedkar is hailed as the prime architect of the Indian Constitution The major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1857 to 1947. When the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, it repealed the Indian Independence Act. India ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown and became a sovereign democratic republic. Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392, 393 and 394 came into force on 26 Nov 1949 and remaining articles on 26 Jan 1950.[9] Previous legislation used as sources The Constitution of India is drawn from many sources. Keeping in mind the needs and conditions of India the framers of the Constitution of India borrowed different features freely from previous legislation viz. Government of India Act 1858, Indian Councils Act 1861, Indian Councils Act 1892, Indian Councils Act 1909, Government of India Act 1919, Government of India Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act 1947. The last legislation which led to the creation of the two independent nations of India and Pakistan provided for the division of the erstwhile Constituent Assembly into two, with each new assembly having sovereign powers transferred to it, to enable each to draft and enact a new constitution, for the separate states.

Constituent assembly
Constituent assembly Main article: Constituent Assembly of India The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by the elected members of the provincial assemblies.[10] The 389 member Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days to be precise) to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India. During this period, it held eleven sessions covering a total of 165 days. Of these, 114 days were spent on the consideration of the Draft Constitution. On 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India. While deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the Assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled.[11] Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Kanaiyalal Munshi, Purushottam Mavalankar, Sandipkumar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Nalini Ranjan Ghosh, and Balwantrai Mehta were some important figures in the Assembly. There were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. Frank Anthony represented the Anglo-Indian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P. Modi. The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Ari Bahadur Gururng represented the Gorkha Community. Prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Benegal Narsing Rau and K. M. Munshi, Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Vijayalakshmi Pandit were important women members. The first temporary 2-day president of the Constituent Assembly was Dr Sachchidananda Sinha. Later, Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly.[10] The members of the Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946.[10] Drafting On the 14 August 1947 meeting of the Assembly, a proposal for forming various committees was presented.[10] Such committees included a Committee on Fundamental Rights, the Union Powers Committee and Union Constitution Committee. On 29 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed, with Dr B. R. Ambedkar as the Chairman along with six other members assisted by a constitutional advisor. These members were Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (K M Munshi, Ex- Home Minister, Bombay), Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer (Ex- Advocate General, Madras State), N Gopalaswami Ayengar (Ex-Prime Minister, J&K and later member of Nehru Cabinet), B L Mitter (Ex-Advocate General, India), Md. Saadullah (Ex- Chief Minister of Assam, Muslim League member) and D P Khaitan (Scion of Khaitan Business family and a renowned lawyer). The constitutional advisor was Sir Benegal Narsing Rau (who became First Indian Judge in International Court of Justice, 1950–54). Later B L Mitter resigned and was replaced by Madhav Rao (Legal Advisor of Maharaja of Vadodara). Owing to death of D P Khaitan, T T Krishnamachari was chosen to be included in the drafting committee. A Draft Constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947. Draft constitution was debated and over 2000 amendments were moved over a period of two years. Finally on 26 November 1949, the process was completed and Constituent assembly adopted the constitution. 284 members signed the document and the process of constitution making was complete.[12] This day is now celebrated as National Law Day. The Assembly met in sessions open to the public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 January 1950. The original Constitution of India is hand-written with beautiful calligraphy, each page beautified and decorated by artists from Shantiniketan including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose. Two days later, on 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India became the law of all the States and territories of India.[13] Rs.1,00,00,000 was official estimate of expenditure on constituent assembly. The Constitution has undergone many amendments since its enactment.[14] The constitution and the legislature Main article: Amendment of the Constitution of India See also: List of amendments of the Constitution of India Amendment The process of addition, variation or repeal of any part of the constitution by the Parliament under its constituent powers, is called amendment of the constitution.[39] The procedure is laid out in Article 368. An amendment bill must be passed by each House of the Parliament by a majority of the total membership of that House when at least two-thirds members are present and voted. In addition to this, certain amendments which pertain to the federal nature of the Constitution must be ratified by a majority of state legislatures. Unlike the ordinary bills under legislative powers of Parliament as per Article 245 (with exception to money bills), there is no provision for joint sitting of the two houses of the parliament to pass a constitutional amendment bill. During recess of Parliament, President can not promulgate ordinances under his legislative powers as per Article 123, Chapter III which needs constitutional amendment. Deemed amendments to the constitution which can be passed under Article 245, are no more valid after the addition of Article 368 (1) by Twenty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of India.[39] As of September 2015 there have been 120 amendment bills presented in the Parliament, out of which 100 have been passed to become Amendment Acts.[40] Most of these amendments address issues dealt with by statute in other democracies. However, the Constitution is so specific in spelling out government powers that many of these issues must be addressed by constitutional amendment. As a result, the document is amended roughly twice a year. In 2000 the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) was set up to look into updating the constitution.[41] Limitations Main article: Basic structure doctrine The Supreme Court has ruled in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala case that an amendment cannot destroy what it seeks to modify, which means while amending anything, it cannot tinker with the "basic structure" or framework of the constitution, which is immutable. Such an amendment will be declared invalid even though no part of the constitution is explicitly prevented from being amended, nor does the Basic Structure Doctrine protect any single provision of the Constitution. Yet, this "Doctrine of Basic Features" lays down that, the Constitution when "read as a whole", that what comes to be understood as its basic features cannot be abridged, deleted or abrogated. What these "basic features" are, have not been defined exhaustively anywhere, and whether a particular provision of the Constitution of India is a "basic feature" is decided as and when an issue is raised before a court in an instant case.[42] In the Golak Nath v. State of Punjab case of 1967, the Supreme Court ruled that the State of Punjab could not restrict any of the Fundamental rights protected by the basic structure doctrine.[43] Extent of land ownership and practice of profession, in this case, were held to be a fundamental right.[44] The ruling of the Golak Nath v. State of Punjab case was eventually overturned with the ratification of the 24th Amendment in 1971.[44] The constitution and the judiciary The Judiciary interprets the Constitution as its final arbiter.[45] It is its duty as mandated by the Constitution, to be its watchdog, by calling for scrutiny any act of the legislature or the executive, who otherwise, are free to enact or implement these, from overstepping bounds set for them by the Constitution.[46] It acts like a guardian in protecting the fundamental rights of the people, as enshrined in the Constitution, from infringement by any organ of the state. It also balances the conflicting exercise of power between the centre and a state or among states, as assigned to them by the Constitution. While pronouncing decisions under its constitutional mandate, it is expected to remain unaffected by pulls and pressures exerted by other branches of the state, citizens or interest groups. And crucially, independence of the judiciary has been held to be a basic feature of the Constitution,[47][48] and which being inalienable, has come to mean - that which cannot be taken away from it by any act or amendment by the legislature or the executive.[49]

Judicial review
Judicial review Judicial review is adopted in the Constitution of India from judicial review in the United States (see[50]). In the Indian constitution, Judicial review is dealt with under Article 43. Judicial Review refers that the Constitution is the supreme power of the nation and all laws are under its supremacy. Article 43 states that: 1.	All pre-constitutional laws, if in part or completely in conflict with the Constitution, shall have all conflicting provisions deemed ineffective until an amendment to the Constitution ends the conflict. In such situation the provision of that law will again come into force, if it is compatible with the constitution as amended. This is called the Doctrine of Eclipse.[51] 2.	In a similar manner, laws made after adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly must be compatible with the constitution, otherwise the laws and amendments will be deemed to be void ab initio. 3.	In such situations, the Supreme Court or High Court interprets the laws to decide if they are in conformity with the Constitution. If such an interpretation is not possible because of inconsistency, and where a separation is possible, the provision that is inconsistent with constitution is considered to be void. In addition to article 13, articles 32, 226 and 227 provide a constitutional basis to judicial review in India.[52] Due to the adoption of the thirty-eighth amendment, the Indian Supreme Court was not allowed to preside over any laws adopted during a state of emergency that infringes upon fundamental rights under article 32 i.e. Right to Constitutional Remedies.[53] Later with the Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India, article 31 C was widened and article 368(4) and 368(5) were added, which stated that any law passed by the parliament can't be challenged in the court on any ground. The Supreme court in the Minerva Mills v. Union of India case said that Judicial Review is one of the basic character of the constitution and therefore can't be taken away quashing Article 368(4)&(5) as well as 31 C. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ch.sivamohan123 (talk • contribs) 04:25, 17 November 2015 (UTC)