India became free on August 15th, 1947 from British rule. The Constituent Assembly of free India met after independence for 18 months and drafted a new Constitution for the country.
Many prominent politicians, freedom fighters and jurists participated in drafting the Constitution. The Constituent Assembly was presided over by Mr. Sachidanand Sinha. The main principles of the Constitution were proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru who was the greatest politician of those days. The principles suggested by him were based on democratic and secular ideals.
The Constitution resolved to secure for the citizen justice-social, economic and political, freedom of thought and expression, freedom of religion and movement, dignity of the individual and the unity of the national According to the constitution which came into force on January 26th, 1951, India is a secular State. It recognises equality of citizens and disallows discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex. It gives a long list of human rights.
It guarantees to all citizens freedom, equality and other rights relating to property, s culture, education and religion. The Constitution provides a Federal Government at the centre and autonomous States and Union Territories. The Federal structure emphasises the unifying elements in the Indian nation while providing for diverse cultures and tastes of various communities, states and regions.
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The democratic system is provided through the right to vote. The Government is government of the people, for the people and by the people. All adult citizens have the right to vote.
The Constitution provides for the Cabinet form of democracy. At the head of the Union Government is the President indirectly elected for 5 years by an electoral college. This Electoral College consists of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
The Vice President is elected by the members of both Houses of Parliament in a joint meeting. The real power lies in the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers is answerable to the Lok Sabha which is the Lower House of the Parliament.
The Parliament consists of two Houses-the Rajya Sabha (the Council of States) and Lok Sabha (the House of the people). There are over 500 members in the Lok Sabha and about 250 members in the Rajya Sabha. The system of government in the States in similar to that at the Centre.
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In the States the Governor is the constitutional head while a Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister is in charge of the administration. Some States have two legislative bodies while others only one. The Legislative Assembly of a State is elected on the basis of the vote of every adult.
India also has an independent judicial system. At the head is the Supreme Court which has a Chief Justice and 13 Judges. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the country. In the States are located High Courts which are under the administrative control of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the President on the recommendations of the Prime Minister.
The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President after consulting the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the State. Each State is divided into a number of districts, each under a principal civil court presided by a District Judge. District Judges are appointed by the Governor in consultation with the High Court.