Showing posts with label Politics and government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics and government. Show all posts

Friday, May 18, 2018

Politics and government


A parliamentary joint session being held in the Sansad Bhavan.
India is the world's most populous democracy.[158] A parliamentary republic with a multi-party system,[159] it has seven recognised national parties, including the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and more than 40 regional parties.[160] The Congress is considered centre-left in Indian political culture,[161] and the BJP right-wing.[162][163][164] For most of the period between 1950—when India first became a republic—and the late 1980s, the Congress held a majority in the parliament. Since then, however, it has increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP,[165] as well as with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-party coalitions at the centre.[166]
In the Republic of India's first three general elections, in 1951, 1957, and 1962, the Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri briefly became prime minister; he was succeeded, after his own unexpected death in 1966, by Indira Gandhi, who went on to lead the Congress to election victories in 1967 and 1971. Following public discontent with the state of emergency she declared in 1975, the Congress was voted out of power in 1977; the then-new Janata Party, which had opposed the emergency, was voted in. Its government lasted just over three years. Voted back into power in 1980, the Congress saw a change in leadership in 1984, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated; she was succeeded by her son Rajiv Gandhi, who won an easy victory in the general elections later that year. The Congress was voted out again in 1989 when a National Front coalition, led by the newly formed Janata Dal in alliance with the Left Front, won the elections; that government too proved relatively short-lived, lasting just under two years.[167] Elections were held again in 1991; no party won an absolute majority. The Congress, as the largest single party, was able to form a minority government led by P. V. Narasimha Rao.[168]
The Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official residence of the President of India.
A two-year period of political turmoil followed the general election of 1996. Several short-lived alliances shared power at the centre. The BJP formed a government briefly in 1996; it was followed by two comparatively long-lasting United Front coalitions, which depended on external support. In 1998, the BJP was able to form a successful coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the NDA became the first non-Congress, coalition government to complete a five-year term.[169] In the 2004 Indian general elections, again no party won an absolute majority, but the Congress emerged as the largest single party, forming another successful coalition: the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). It had the support of left-leaning parties and MPs who opposed the BJP. The UPA returned to power in the 2009 general election with increased numbers, and it no longer required external support from India's communist parties.[170] That year, Manmohan Singh became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1957 and 1962 to be re-elected to a consecutive five-year term.[171] In the 2014 general election, the BJP became the first political party since 1984 to win a majority and govern without the support of other parties.[172] The Prime Minister of India is Narendra Modi, who was formerly Chief Minister of Gujarat. On 20 July 2017, Ram Nath Kovind was elected India’s 14th President and took the oath of office on 25 July 2017.[173][174][175]

Government

India is a federation with a parliamentary system governed under the Constitution of India, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, in which "majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law". Federalism in India defines the power distribution between the Union, or Central, government and the states. The government abides by constitutional checks and balances. The Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January 1950,[176] states in its preamble that India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.[177] India's form of government, traditionally described as "quasi-federal" with a strong centre and weak states,[178] has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of political, economic, and social changes.[179][180]
National symbols[1]
FlagTiranga (Tricolour)
EmblemSarnath Lion Capital
LanguageNone[8][9][10]
AnthemJana Gana Mana
SongVande Mataram
Currency (Indian rupee)
CalendarSaka
AnimalTiger (land)
River dolphin (aquatic)
BirdIndian peafowl
FlowerLotus
FruitMango
TreeBanyan
RiverGanga
GameNot declared[181]
The Union government comprises three branches:[182]

Subdivisions

Indian OceanBay of BengalAndaman SeaArabian SeaLaccadive SeaSiachen GlacierAndaman and Nicobar IslandsChandigarhDadra and Nagar HaveliDaman and DiuDelhiLakshadweepPondicherryPondicherryPondicherryArunachal PradeshAssamBiharChhattisgarhGoaGujaratHaryanaHimachal PradeshJammu and KashmirJharkhandKarnatakaKeralaMadhya PradeshMaharashtraManipurMeghalayaMizoramNagalandOdishaPunjabRajasthanSikkimTamil NaduTripuraUttar PradeshUttarakhandWest BengalAfghanistanBangladeshBhutanMyanmarChinaNepalPakistanSri LankaTajikistanDadra and Nagar HaveliDaman and DiuPondicherryPondicherryPondicherryPondicherryGoaGujaratJammu and KashmirKarnatakaKeralaMadhya PradeshMaharashtraRajasthanTamil NaduAssamMeghalayaAndhra PradeshArunachal PradeshNagalandManipurMizoramTelanganaTripuraWest BengalSikkimBhutanBangladeshBiharJharkhandOdishaChhattisgarhUttar PradeshUttarakhandNepalDelhiHaryanaPunjabHimachal PradeshChandigarhPakistanSri LankaSri LankaSri LankaSri LankaSri LankaSri LankaSri LankaSri LankaSri LankaDisputed territory in Jammu and KashmirDisputed territory in Jammu and Kashmir
A clickable map of the 29 states and 7 union territories of India
States (1–29) & Union territories (A-G)
1. Andhra Pradesh19. Nagaland
2. Arunachal Pradesh20. Odisha
3. Assam21. Punjab
4. Bihar22. Rajasthan
5. Chhattisgarh23. Sikkim
6. Goa24. Tamil Nadu
7. Gujarat25. Telangana
8. Haryana26. Tripura
9. Himachal Pradesh27. Uttar Pradesh
10. Jammu and Kashmir28. Uttarakhand
11. Jharkhand29. West Bengal
12. KarnatakaA. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
13. KeralaB. Chandigarh
14. Madhya PradeshC. Dadra and Nagar Haveli
15. MaharashtraD. Daman and Diu
16. ManipurE. Lakshadweep
17. MeghalayaF. National Capital Territory of Delhi
18. MizoramG. Puducherry
India is a federation composed of 29 states and 7 union territories.[197] All states, as well as the union territories of Puducherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, have elected legislatures and governments, both patterned on the Westminster model. The remaining five union territories are directly ruled by the centre through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, states were reorganised on a linguistic basis.[198] Since then, their structure has remained largely unchanged. Each state or union territory is further divided into administrative districts. The districts, in turn, are further divided into tehsils and ultimately into villages