119-685: The Anti-Defection law , or the 52nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution . Is a constitutional amendment limiting the ability of politicians to switch parties in parliament. The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. Before the introduction of the anti-defection law, the election of both the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers of some of its states and territories had experienced instances of perceived uncertainty resulting from legislators changing their political allegiance. It may be noted that
238-495: A National Policy on Education to modernise and expand higher education programs across India. In 1986, he founded the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya System, which is a Central government-based education institution that provides rural populations with free residential education from grades six to twelve. His efforts created MTNL in 1986, and his public call offices—better known as PCOs—helped develop
357-514: A dominion of the British Crown and became a sovereign, democratic republic with the constitution. Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392, 393, and 394 of the constitution came into force on 26 November 1949, and the remaining articles became effective on 26 January 1950 which is celebrated every year in India as Republic Day . The constitution was drawn from
476-465: A governor or (in union territories) a lieutenant governor and a chief minister . Article 356 permits the president to dismiss a state government and assume direct authority if a situation arises in which state government cannot be conducted in accordance with constitution. This power, known as president's rule , was abused as state governments came to be dismissed on flimsy grounds for political reasons. After S. R. Bommai v. Union of India , such
595-601: A split , granted in paragraph three of the Schedule, was being grossly exploited, causing multiple divisions in various political parties. Further, the committee observed, the lure of personal gain played a significant aspect in defections and resulted in political horse-trading. The bill was passed in one day by the Lok Sabha on 16 December 2003, and similarly passed by the Rajya Sabha on 18 December. Presidential consent
714-456: A Joint Select Committee; it did not emerge from committee before all other legislative proposals were voided by subsequent elections. 1977–79 was one of the crucial periods in Indian politics when the first-ever national non-Congress administration, led by Morarji Desai , was driven out of power due to the defection of 76 parliamentarians. This caused political uncertainty until 1979, when Gandhi
833-651: A college classmate of Gandhi's father Feroze, recommended that Gandhi should read engineering, and met with Mark Pryor , the Senior Tutor at Trinity College, Cambridge . Pryor arranged for Gandhi's conditional admission to Trinity, contingent on his passing the Mechanical Sciences Qualifying (MSQ) Examination with acceptable marks. After studying for his A-levels at the sixth form college of Davies, Laing & Dick in London, Gandhi sat
952-428: A course of action is more difficult since the courts have asserted their right of review. The 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts introduced the system of panchayati raj in rural areas and Nagar Palikas in urban areas. Article 370 gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir . Article 368 dictates the procedure for constitutional amendments . Amendments are additions, variations or repeal of any part of
1071-480: A degree, though he kept in touch with his former mentor in his retirement. In 1966 he began a course in mechanical engineering at Imperial College London , but also failed to complete it. Gandhi really was not studious enough, as he went on to admit later. Gandhi returned to India in 1966, the year his mother became prime minister . He went to Delhi and became a member of the Flying Club , where he trained as
1190-402: A domestic life with their children Rahul and Priyanka . For much of the 1970s, his mother was prime minister and his younger brother Sanjay an MP ; despite this, Gandhi remained apolitical. After Sanjay died in a plane crash in 1980, Gandhi reluctantly entered politics at the behest of his mother. The following year he won his brother's Parliamentary seat of Amethi and became a member of
1309-431: A few days it seemed that India had been shaken. But, when a mighty tree falls, it is only natural that the earth around it does shake a little". According to Verinder Grover, the statement made by Gandhi was a "virtual justification" of the riots. Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar wrote, "Did it constitute an incitement to mass murder?" He also criticised Gandhi for his reluctance to bring the army from Meerut to handle
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#17327729814901428-611: A general perception of being free of a background in corrupt politics. Gandhi took his oath on 31 December 1984; at 40, he was the youngest prime minister of India. Historian Meena Agarwal writes that even after taking the Prime Ministerial oath, he was a relatively unknown figure, "novice in politics" as he assumed the post after being an MP for three years. After his swearing-in as prime minister, Gandhi appointed his fourteen-member cabinet. He said he would monitor their performance and would "fire ministers who do not come to
1547-540: A meeting of the All India Congress Committee . Vasantdada Patil proposed Rajiv as a candidate for the Amethi constituency , which was accepted by all members at the meeting. A week later, the party officially announced his candidacy for the constituency. He then paid the party membership fees of the party and flew to Sultanpur to file his nomination papers and completed other formalities. He won
1666-596: A member of either House of Parliament ) As an example, in 1967 a legislator Gaya Lal changed his allegiance three times in a single day, and gave rise to the infamous expression Aaya Ram Gaya Ram ("Ram has come, Ram has gone"). Between 1957 and 1967, the Congress (I) party emerged as the sole beneficiary of defections. It lost 98 of its legislators but gained 419, whilst those who left other parties and who did not then join Congress (I) formed separate new parties with
1785-692: A number of sources. Mindful of India's needs and conditions, its framers borrowed features of previous legislation such as the Government of India Act 1858 , the Indian Councils Acts of 1861 , 1892 and 1909 , the Government of India Acts 1919 and 1935 , and the Indian Independence Act 1947 . The latter, which led to the creation of Pakistan , divided the former Constituent Assembly in two. The Amendment act of 1935
1904-418: A pilot. In 1970, he was employed as a pilot by Indian Airlines ; unlike Sanjay, he did not exhibit any interest of joining politics. In 1968, after three years of courtship, he married Edvige Antonia Albina Màino , who changed her name to Sonia Gandhi and made India her home. Their first child, a son, Rahul was born in 1970. In 1972, the couple had a daughter, Priyanka , who married Robert Vadra . Gandhi
2023-477: A preamble and 470 articles, which are grouped into 25 parts. With 12 schedules and five appendices, it has been amended 105 times ; the latest amendment became effective on 15 August 2021. The constitution's articles are grouped into the following parts: Schedules are lists in the constitution which categorise and tabulate bureaucratic activity and government policy. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government receive their power from
2142-534: A process of judicial review be made available to the members by empowering a judicial tribunal for dealing with such cases. To make the existing law more effective in dealing with the frequent defections, an amendment was proposed to the Tenth Schedule in 2003. A committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee proposed the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Bill, noting that the exception provided by allowing
2261-406: A promise of executive office, should not only be removed from parliament but also barred from contesting elections for a specified time. The anti-defection law enshrined through the introduction of the Tenth Schedule in the Constitution of India comprises 8 paragraphs. The following is a brief summary of the contents of the law: After enactment , some legislators and parties exploited loopholes in
2380-484: A single constitution, single citizenship , an integrated judiciary, a flexible constitution, a strong central government , appointment of state governors by the central government, All India Services (the IAS , IFS and IPS ), and emergency provisions . This unique combination makes it quasi-federal in form. Each state and union territory has its own government. Analogous to the president and prime minister, each has
2499-776: A suicide bomber from the LTTE. In 1991, the Indian government posthumously awarded Gandhi the Bharat Ratna , the country's highest civilian award. At the India Leadership Conclave in 2009, the Revolutionary Leader of Modern India award was conferred posthumously on Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was born in Bombay (Mumbai) on 20 August 1944 to Indira and Feroze Gandhi . In 1951, Rajiv and his younger brother Sanjay were admitted to Shiv Niketan school, where
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#17327729814902618-683: A telegram from the Indian ambassador in Germany, stating that an Indian agents had received commissions in the HDW submarine deal. He told Rajiv Gandhi about this and instituted an enquiry. This led to differences and V. P. Singh resigned from the cabinet. In his book, Unknown Facets of Rajiv Gandhi, Jyoti Basu and Indrajit Gupta , released in November 2013, former CBI director Dr. A P Mukherjee wrote that Gandhi wanted commission paid by defence suppliers to be used exclusively for meeting running expenses of
2737-460: A thing for the use of the rich, but credit goes to Rajiv Gandhi for taking them to the rural masses". Pitroda also said their plan to expand India's telephone network succeeded because of Gandhi's political support. According to Pitroda, by 2007 they were "adding six million phones every month". Gandhi's government also allowed the import of fully assembled motherboards, which led to the price of computers being reduced. According to some commentators,
2856-412: Is a basic characteristic of the constitution, overturning Articles 368(4), 368(5) and 31C. Rajiv Gandhi [REDACTED] Rajiv Gandhi ( / ˈ r ɑː dʒ iː v ˈ ɡ ɑː n d iː / ; Hindi pronunciation: [raːdʒiːʋ ɡaːndʱiː] ; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who was the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after
2975-581: Is a national endeavour. Chanderasekar withdrew the IPKF in 1989. On 30 July 1987, a day after Gandhi went to Sri Lanka and signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, an honour guard named Vijitha Rohana hit him on his shoulder with his rifle; Gandhi's quick reflexes saved him from injury. The guard was then dragged off by his security personnel. The guard said his intention was to kill Gandhi because of "the damage he had caused" to Sri Lanka. Wijemuni
3094-498: Is also a very important step for making the constitution for two new born countries. Each new assembly had sovereign power to draft and enact a new constitution for the separate states. The constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly , which was elected by elected members of the provincial assemblies . The 389-member assembly (reduced to 299 after the partition of India ) took almost three years to draft
3213-676: Is given to me does not really belong to me. It belongs partly to Sir B.N. Rau the Constitutional Advisor to the Constituent Assembly who prepared a rough draft of the Constitution for the consideration of Drafting Committee. A part of the credit must go to the members of the Drafting Committee who, as I have said, have sat for 141 days and without whose ingenuity to devise new formulae and capacity to tolerate and to accommodate different points of view,
3332-597: Is hand-written, with each page decorated by artists from Shantiniketan including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose . Its calligrapher was Prem Behari Narain Raizada . The constitution was published in Dehradun and photolithographed by the Survey of India . Production of the original constitution took nearly five years. Two days later, on 26 January 1950, it became the law of India . The estimated cost of
3451-479: Is no provision for a joint session of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to pass a constitutional amendment. During a parliamentary recess, the president cannot promulgate ordinances under his legislative powers under Article 123, Chapter III . Despite the supermajority requirement for amendments to pass, the Indian constitution is the world's most frequently-amended national governing document. The constitution
3570-827: Is preserved in a helium -filled case at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi . In 1928, the All Parties Conference convened a committee in Lucknow to prepare the Constitution of India, which was known as the Nehru Report . With the exception of scattered French and Portuguese exclaves, India was under the British rule from 1858 to 1947. From 1947 to 1950, the same legislation continued to be implemented as India
3689-632: Is so specific in spelling out government powers that many amendments address issues dealt with by statute in other democracies. In 2000, the Justice Manepalli Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah Commission was formed to examine a constitutional update. The commission submitted its report on 31 March 2002. However, the recommendations of this report have not been accepted by the consecutive governments. The government of India establishes term-based law commissions to recommend legal reforms, facilitating
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3808-618: Is the very condition of human survival in our age. The foiled bid of India recently to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group , echoed his policy of non-proliferation to be linked to universal disarmament, which the World Nuclear Association refuses to recognise; non-proliferation being seen by India as essentially a weapon of the arms control regime, of the big nuclear powers as United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and China. In February 1987,
3927-602: The Constitution of India was passed by the Parliament of India to achieve this, which resulted in the introduction of the new word 'Political Party' in the Constitution of India . Thus, political parties got recognition in the Constitution. Following recommendations from many constitutional bodies, Parliament in 2003 passed the Ninety-first Amendment to the Constitution of India. This strengthened
4046-727: The Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document, and the Dominion of India became the Republic of India . To ensure constitutional autochthony , its framers repealed prior acts of the British parliament in Article 395. India celebrates its constitution on 26 January as Republic Day . The constitution declares India a sovereign , socialist , secular , and democratic republic , assures its citizens justice , equality , and liberty , and endeavours to promote fraternity . The original 1950 constitution
4165-673: The Indian National Congress party. For much of his childhood, his maternal grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister. Gandhi attended The Doon School , an elite boarding institution, and then the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He returned to India in 1966 and became a professional pilot for the state-owned Indian Airlines . In 1968, he married Sonia Maino ; the couple settled in Delhi for
4284-605: The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in July 1987. The accord "envisaged a devolution of power to the Tamil-majority areas", dissolved the LTTE, and designated Tamil as an official language of Sri Lanka. Gandhi said: The Government of India believe that, despite some problems and delays, many of which were foreseen but unavoidable in the resolution of an issue of this magnitude and complexity, this Agreement represents
4403-599: The Janata Dal . Singh led the National Front coalition to victory in 1989 elections and he was sworn in as prime minister. Though the coalition won 143 seats compared to Congress's 197, it gained majority in the lower house of the parliament through outside support from the Bharatiya Janta Party under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani and the left parties such as
4522-492: The Lok Sabha , the lower house of India's Parliament . As part of his political grooming, Rajiv was made general secretary of the Congress party and given significant responsibility in organising the 1982 Asian Games . On the morning of 31 October 1984, his mother (the then prime minister) was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star , an Indian military action to remove Sikh separatist activists from
4641-864: The Operation Black Thunder to clear the Golden Temple in Amritsar of arms and gunmen. Two groups called National Security Guard and Special Action Group were created; they surrounded the temple in a 10-day siege during which the extremists' weapons were confiscated. Congress leader Anand Sharma said, "Operation Black Thunder effectively demonstrated the will of Rajiv Gandhi's government to take firm action to bring peace to Punjab". Gandhi's prime-ministership marked an increase of insurgency in northeast India . Mizo National Front demanded independence for Mizoram . In 1987, Gandhi addressed this problem; Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh were given
4760-656: The President's approval on 15 February 1985 and the act came into effect on 18 March 1985. The law laid out the process for disqualifying an elected member for the remaining term, who either resigned from, voted against the will of the belonging party or remained absent during voting on a crucial bill. However, the law allowed mergers and splits of political parties, allowing splits in the party by one-third of its members and merger (joining another party) by two-thirds of other party members. Experts believed defections should not be viewed in terms of numbers alone and should be seen in
4879-535: The Rajiv-Longowal Accord with Akali leader HS Longowal. Punjab's state assembly election was scheduled in September 1985, but Longowal died and was replaced by Surjit Singh Barnala , who formed the government. After two years, in 1987, Barnala resigned his office because of a breakdown of law and order, leading to the implementation of President's rule in the state. In May 1988, Gandhi launched
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4998-572: The assassination of his mother, then–prime minister Indira Gandhi , to become at the age of 40 the youngest Indian prime minister. He served until his defeat at the 1989 election , and then became Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha , resigning in December 1990, six months before his own assassination . Gandhi was not related to Mahatma Gandhi . Instead, he was from the politically powerful Nehru–Gandhi family , which had been associated with
5117-528: The coup in Maldives , antagonising militant Tamil groups such as PLOTE , intervening and then sending peacekeeping troops to Sri Lanka in 1987, leading to open conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). His party was defeated in the 1989 election . Gandhi remained Congress president until the elections in 1991 . While campaigning for the elections, he was assassinated by
5236-544: The "whole gamut" of Rajiv Gandhi's foreign policy was "geared towards" making India "strong, independent, self-reliant and in the front rank of the nations of the world." According to Laskar , Rajiv Gandhi's diplomacy was "properly calibrated" so as to be "conciliatory and accommodating when required" and "assertive when the occasion demanded." In 1986, by request of the president of Seychelles France-Albert René , Gandhi sent India's navy to Seychelles to oppose an attempted coup against René. The intervention of India averted
5355-418: The ' political party ' was not a recognised word in the Constitution of India at that time. By one estimate, almost 50 percent of the 4,000 legislators elected to central and federal parliaments in the 1967 and 1971 general elections subsequently defected, leading to political turmoil in the country. The law was sought to limit such defections in India. In 1985, the Tenth Schedule of the 52nd Amendment to
5474-586: The Code. Indian magazine Business and Economics called it a minority appeasement by Gandhi. Lawyer and former Law Minister of India, Ram Jethmalani , called the Act "retrogressive obscurantism for short-term minority populism". Gandhi's colleague Arif Mohammad Khan , who was then a Member of Parliament, resigned in protest. In his election manifesto for the 1984 general election , he did not mention any economic reforms, but after assuming office he tried to liberalise
5593-618: The Congress party joined opposition parties. Rajiv Gandhi had announced 'Sandesh Yatra' at the plenary session of AICC in Mumbai in 1985. The All India Congress Seva Dal ran it across the country. Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) and party leaders made four simultaneous trips from Mumbai, Kashmir, Kanyakumari and the Northeast. The yatra, which lasted for more than three months, concluded at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan. In 1990, Rajiv Gandhi undertook Bharat Yatra through different modes – padyatra,
5712-466: The Congress party signed a proposal and went to Indira, urging Rajiv to enter politics. Indira told them it was Rajiv's decision whether to enter politics. When he was questioned about it, he replied, "If my mother gets help from it, then I will enter politics". Rajiv entered politics on 16 February 1981, when he addressed a national farmers' rally in Delhi. During this time, he was still an employee of Air India. On 4 May 1981, Indira Gandhi presided over
5831-405: The Congress party. Mukherjee said Gandhi explained his position in a meeting between the two at the prime minister's residence on 19 June 1989. In May 2015, Indian president Pranab Mukherjee said the scandal was a "media trial" as "no Indian court has as yet established it as a scandal". Opposition parties Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Socialist) and Jan Morcha united under Singh to form
5950-416: The Constituent Assembly was ₹ 6.3 crore . The constitution has had more than 100 amendments since it was enacted. The Indian constitution is the world's longest for a sovereign nation. At its enactment, it had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules. At about 145,000 words, it is the second-longest active constitution—after the Constitution of Alabama —in the world. The amended constitution has
6069-423: The Constitution. I must not omit to mention the members of the staff working under Mr. Mukherjee. For, I known how hard they worked and how long they have toiled sometimes even beyond midnight. I want to thank them all for their effort and their co-operation. While deliberating the revised draft constitution, the assembly moved, discussed and disposed off 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635. G. V. Mavlankar
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#17327729814906188-523: The Gandhi period saw the disruptive politics of defection become rampant in India. With rising public opinion for an anti-defection law, immediately after securing a clear majority in 1984, Rajiv Gandhi proposed the new anti-defection bill in the Parliament. After marathon debates, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha unanimously approved the bill on 30 and 31 January 1985, respectively. The bill received
6307-623: The Golden Temple of the Harmandir Sahib . Later that day, Gandhi was appointed prime minister. His leadership was tested over the next few days as organised mobs rioted against the Sikh community , resulting in anti-Sikh massacres in Delhi. That December, the Congress party won the largest Lok Sabha majority to date, 414 seats out of 541 . Gandhi's period in office was mired in controversies such as Bhopal disaster , Bofors scandal and Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum . In 1988, he reversed
6426-890: The MSQ Examination in March 1962 but was unsuccessful. He passed on his second attempt in June, and was admitted to Trinity on 4 September 1962, joining the college in October. While at Trinity, he joined the Cambridge University Boat Club . During Gandhi's time at Cambridge, his mother and D'Rozario remained concerned about his well-being. D'Rozario, who along with his wife Sophy often hosted Gandhi at their Finchley home, took Gandhi to task for his inattention towards his studies. Despite his support, Gandhi failed end-of-year exams and left Trinity in 1965 without
6545-499: The Pakistani president Zia-ul-Haq visited Delhi, where he met Gandhi to discuss "routine military exercises of the Indian army" on the borders of Rajasthan and Punjab . Gandhi reciprocated, in December 1988, by visiting Islamabad and meeting the new prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto , to reaffirm the 1972 Shimla agreement . The Sri Lankan Civil War broke out with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which
6664-529: The Parliament of India passed The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 , which nullified the Supreme Court's judgment in the Shah Bano case. The Act diluted the Supreme Court judgment and allowed maintenance payments to divorced women only during the period of Iddah , or until 90 days after the divorce, according to the provisions of Islamic law. This was in contrast to Section 125 of
6783-523: The Swedish arms company Bofors through Italian businessman and Gandhi family associate Ottavio Quattrocchi , in return for Indian contracts. Upon discovering the scandal, Singh was dismissed from office and later resigned his Congress membership. Gandhi was later personally implicated in the scandal when the investigation was continued by Narasimhan Ram and Chitra Subramaniam of The Hindu newspaper, damaging his image as an honest politician. In 2004, he
6902-465: The act by adding provisions for the disqualification of defectors and banning them from being appointed as ministers for a period of time. Beginning in the 1960s, the rise of coalition politics increased the incidence of defections as elected representatives sought to occupy a berth in the cabinet of ministers. (It may be noted that in many countries, including the UK, a Government minister does not have to be
7021-479: The aim of exerting power on administration in the future through coalition government , rather than supporting established administration. This situation gave Congress (I) a strong hold of power on the administration. In the 1967 elections, approximately 3,500 members were elected to legislative assemblies of various states and union territories; out of those elected representatives, around 550 subsequently defected from their parent parties, and some legislatives crossed
7140-628: The anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi said, "When a giant tree falls, the earth below shakes"; a statement for which he was widely criticised. Many Congress politicians were accused of orchestrating the violence. Indian politics got the youngest ever Prime minister in Rajiv Gandhi. This phenomenon attracted attention the world over. . . his winsome smile, charm and decency were his valuable personal assets. . . A senior opposition member, while talking to me, conceded that . . . he could not conceal his feeling that Rajiv Gandhi would be invincible for
7259-671: The assembly, which had over 30 representatives of the scheduled classes . Frank Anthony represented the Anglo-Indian community , and the Parsis were represented by H. P. Modi. Harendra Coomar Mookerjee , a Christian assembly vice-president, chaired the minorities committee and represented non-Anglo-Indian Christians. Ari Bahadur Gurung represented the Gorkha community. Judges, such as Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer , Benegal Narsing Rau , K. M. Munshi and Ganesh Mavlankar were members of
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#17327729814907378-427: The assembly, committees were proposed. Rau's draft was considered, debated and amended by the seven-member drafting committee, which was appointed on 29 August 1947 with B. R. Ambedkar as chair. A revised draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the assembly on 4 November 1947. Before adopting the constitution, the assembly held eleven sessions in 165 days. On 26 November 1949, it adopted
7497-425: The assembly. Female members included Sarojini Naidu , Hansa Mehta , Durgabai Deshmukh , Amrit Kaur and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit . The first, two-day president of the assembly was Sachchidananda Sinha ; Rajendra Prasad was later elected president. It met for the first time on 9 December 1946. Sir B. N. Rau , a civil servant who became the first Indian judge in the International Court of Justice and
7616-456: The basic structure doctrine. The extent of land ownership and practice of a profession, in this case, were considered fundamental rights. The ruling was overturned with the ratification of the 24th Amendment in 1971. The judiciary is the final arbiter of the constitution. Its duty (mandated by the constitution) is to act as a watchdog, preventing any legislative or executive act from overstepping constitutional bounds. The judiciary protects
7735-406: The clock" on the 1982 Asian Games . He was one of 33 members of the Indian parliament who were part of the Games' organising committee; sports historian Boria Majumdar writes that being "son of the prime minister he had a moral and unofficial authority" over the others. The report submitted by the Asian Games committee mentions Gandhi's "drive, zeal and initiative" for the "outstanding success" of
7854-531: The constitution and are bound by it. With the aid of its constitution, India is governed by a parliamentary system of government with the executive directly accountable to the legislature . The constitution is considered federal in nature, and unitary in spirit. It has features of a federation, including a codified , supreme constitution; a three-tier governmental structure (central, state and local); division of powers ; bicameralism ; and an independent judiciary . It also possesses unitary features such as
7973-406: The constitution by Parliament. An amendment bill must be passed by each house of Parliament by a two-thirds majority of its total membership when at least two-thirds are present and vote. Certain amendments pertaining to the constitution's federal nature must also be ratified by a majority of state legislatures. Unlike ordinary bills in accordance with Article 245 (except for money bills ), there
8092-450: The constitution holding eleven sessions over a 165-day period. In the constitution assembly, a member of the drafting committee, T. T. Krishnamachari said: Mr. President, Sir, I am one of those in the House who have listened to Dr. Ambedkar very carefully. I am aware of the amount of work and enthusiasm that he has brought to bear on the work of drafting this Constitution. At the same time, I do realise that that amount of attention that
8211-433: The constitution to the limit of its basic structure. The Supreme Court or a high court may declare the amendment null and void if this is violated, after a judicial review . This is typical of parliamentary governments, where the judiciary checks parliamentary power. In its 1967 Golak Nath v. State of Punjab decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Punjab could not restrict any fundamental rights protected by
8330-422: The constitution, which was signed by 284 members. The day is celebrated as National Law Day, or Constitution Day . The day was chosen to spread the importance of the constitution and to spread thoughts and ideas of Ambedkar. The assembly's final session convened on 24 January 1950. Each member signed two copies of the constitution, one in Hindi and the other in English. The original constitution
8449-441: The constitution. According to the doctrine, the constitution's basic features (when "read as a whole") cannot be abridged or abolished. These "basic features" have not been fully defined, and whether a particular provision of the constitution is a "basic feature" is decided by the courts. The Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala decision laid down the constitution's basic structure: This implies that Parliament can only amend
8568-479: The context of how such political defections damage the people's mandate. But Ashoke Kumar Sen justified the act of allowing mass defections by terming it as freeing the legislators from "chains of obscurantism and orthodox politics". Recently, Sachin Pilot and his MLAs (from Congress' Rajasthan constituency) moved to the high court and challenged the anti-defection law; stating that the provision should not jeopardize
8687-744: The country's economy. He sought to liberalise India's trade policies but faced stiff opposition to the proposed reforms. He did so by providing incentives to make private production profitable. Subsidies were given to corporate companies to increase industrial production, especially of durable goods . It was hoped this would increase economic growth and improve the quality of investment. Rural and tribal people protested because they saw them as "pro-rich" and "pro-city" reforms. Gandhi increased government support for science, technology and associated industries, and reduced import quotas, taxes and tariffs on technology-based industries, especially computers, airlines, defence and telecommunications. In 1986, he announced
8806-551: The coup. This mission was codenamed as Operation Flowers are Blooming . In 1987, India re-occupied the Quaid Post in the disputed Siachen region of the Indo-Pakistani border after winning what was termed Operation Rajiv . In the 1988 Maldives coup d'état , the Maldives president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom asked for help from Gandhi. He dispatched 1500 soldiers and the coup was suppressed. On Thursday, 9 June 1988, at
8925-520: The defecting members of the breakaway faction of Janata Dal to explain their point of view. Another aspect of the law which was criticised was the role of the Speaker in deciding the cases arising out of political defections. The impartiality of the Speakers of various houses was questioned in regard to granting official recognition to different factions of political parties. Questions were raised about
9044-521: The defections arising out of splits. The amended act also stipulated that the number of ministers in states and union territories should not exceed fifteen percent of the total number of members in the respective house. Reforms suggested by various bodies—including the Law Commission, Election Commission, National Constitution Review Commission, Dinesh Goswami Committee on electoral reforms, and Halim Committee on anti-defection law—can be read under
9163-510: The existing convention against the military use of biological weapons. The ambit of our concern must extend to all means of mass annihilation . This was based on his prior historic speech before the Japanese National Diet on 29 November 1985, in which he said: Let us remove the mental partitions which obstruct the ennobling vision of the human family linked together in peace and prosperity. The Buddha's message of compassion
9282-485: The fallen dignity of the Speaker and of the House, the Prime Minister discharged the defecting members from their ministerial posts. Some legal luminaries of the time suggested that a legitimate remedy be made accessible to legislators to seek protection from the Speaker's decision. They further proposed that the Speaker's decision pertaining to disqualification on grounds of defection should not be final, and recommended that
9401-567: The fifteenth special session of the United Nations General Assembly , held at Headquarters, New York, Gandhi made vocal his views on a world free of nuclear weapons, to be realised through an, 'Action Plan for Ushering in a Nuclear-Weapon Free and Non-Violent World Order.' He said: Alas, nuclear weapons are not the only weapons of mass destruction. New knowledge is being generated in the life sciences. Military applications of these developments could rapidly undermine
9520-432: The floor more than once. To tackle the scourge of political party defection, during the fourth Lok Sabha in 1967 a committee was formed under the chairmanship of Y. B. Chavan . This committee submitted a report in 1968 which led to a first attempt to submit an anti-defection bill in Parliament. Although the opposition was supportive of the bill, the Government, then led by Indira Gandhi , referred it for consideration by
9639-414: The following heads. Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India . The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, 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 national constitution in
9758-448: The fundamental freedom of speech and expression of a member of the house. They have also demanded the clause 2(1)(a), to be declared ultra vires (outside the scope) of the basic structure of the Constitution, and the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a). The primary intentions of the law were: The Chavan committee suggested that a member who changes party allegiance for monetary benefit or other forms of greed, such as
9877-444: The fundamental rights of the people (enshrined in the constitution) from infringement by any state body, and balances the conflicting exercise of power between the central government and a state (or states). The courts are expected to remain unaffected by pressure exerted by other branches of the state, citizens or interest groups. An independent judiciary has been held as a basic feature of the constitution, which cannot be changed by
9996-433: The games. On 31 October 1984, the prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi's mother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, which led to violent riots against Sikhs. Sources estimate the number of Sikh deaths to be between 8,000 and 17,000. At a Boat Club rally 19 days after the assassination, Gandhi said, "Some riots took place in the country following the murder of Indiraji. We know the people were very angry and for
10115-403: The law. There was evidence that the law did not fulfill the purpose of bringing a halt to political defection, and in fact legitimised mass defection by exempting from its provisions acts that it termed splits . For example, in 1990, Chandra Shekhar and 61 other parliamentarians did not receive penalties when they simultaneously changed allegiance. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha did not allow
10234-570: The leaders of the Akali Dal who had been imprisoned since 1984's Operation Blue Star during Indira Gandhi's prime ministership. He lifted the ban on All India Sikh Students Federation and filed an inquiry into the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots . He also held a closed-door meeting with senior Akali Dal leaders to find a solution to the Punjab problem. Despite Akali opposition, in January 1985, Gandhi signed
10353-519: The legislature or the executive. Article 50 of the Constitution provides that the state must take measures to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services. Judicial review was adopted by the constitution of India from judicial review in the United States . In the Indian constitution, judicial review is dealt with in Article 13 . The constitution is the supreme power of
10472-607: The mark". From the Third Indira Gandhi ministry , he removed two powerful figures; Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Railway Minister A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury . Mohsina Kidwai became the Minister of Railways; she was the only female figure in the cabinet. Former Home Minister PV Narasimha Rao was put in charge of defence . V. P. Singh , who was initially appointed as the Finance Minister ,
10591-566: The media for appointing many old boys to his administration. His inner circle was labelled a "Doon Cabinet" or "Dosco Mafia", and Washington Post reported, "The catch phrase around Delhi these days is that the 'Doon School runs India,' but that is too simple an analysis for a complex, chaotic country with so many competing spheres of influence." Gandhi's reliance on Doon alumni for political advice later led Prime Minister Morarji Desai to remark, "If I had anything to do with this place, I'd close it down". Gandhi's first action as prime minister
10710-538: The mob. Rajiv Gandhi was in West Bengal on 31 October 1984 when his mother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh , to avenge the military attack on the Golden Temple during Operation Blue Star . Sardar Buta Singh and President Zail Singh pressed Rajiv to succeed his mother as prime minister within hours of her murder. Commenting on
10829-688: The nation, and governs all laws. According to Article 13 : Due to the adoption of the Thirty-eighth Amendment , the Supreme Court was not allowed to preside over any laws adopted during a state of emergency which infringe fundamental rights under article 32 (the right to constitutional remedies). The Forty-second Amendment widened Article 31C and added Articles 368(4) and 368(5), stating that any law passed by Parliament could not be challenged in court. The Supreme Court ruled in Minerva Mills v. Union of India that judicial review
10948-508: The nonpartisan role of the Speaker due to his/her political background with the party from which he/she was elected as the Speaker. In 1991, Janata Dal (S) was accused of undermining the spirit of the anti-defection law by keeping defecting members in ministerial posts. Later, all the opposition members of the house submitted an affidavit to the President of India, appealing to him to dismiss the ministers. Finally, responding to pressure to save
11067-646: The only way of safeguarding legitimate Tamil interests and ensuring a durable peace in Sri Lanka. Some have chosen to criticise the Agreement. None has shown a better way of meeting the legitimate aspirations of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, restoring peace in that country and of meeting our own security concern in the region. We have accepted a role which is difficult, but which is in our national interests to discharge. We shall not shrink our obligations and commitments. This
11186-512: The opposition. — Satyendra Narayan Sinha Soon after assuming office, Gandhi asked President Singh to dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections, as the Lok Sabha had completed its five-year term. Gandhi officially became the president of the Congress party, which won a landslide victory with the largest majority in history of the Indian Parliament, giving Gandhi absolute control of government. He benefited from his youth and
11305-483: The rule of law. In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala , the Supreme Court ruled that an amendment cannot destroy what it seeks to modify; it cannot tinker with the constitution's basic structure or framework, which are immutable. Such an amendment will be declared invalid, although no part of the constitution is protected from amendment; the basic structure doctrine does not protect any one provision of
11424-513: The seat, defeating Lok Dal candidate Sharad Yadav by a margin of 237,000 votes. He took his oath on 17 August as Member of Parliament . Rajiv Gandhi's first political tour was to England, where he attended the wedding ceremony of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981. In December the same year, he was put in charge of the Indian Youth Congress . He first showed his organisational ability by "working round
11543-630: The second class carriage of an ordinary passenger train. He chose Champaran as the starting point for his 'Bharat Yatra'. Rajiv Gandhi started the Sadbhavna Yatra from Charminar in Hyderabad on 19 October 1990. In 1985, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favour of Muslim divorcee Shah Bano , declaring that her husband should give her alimony . Some Indian Muslims treated it as an encroachment upon Muslim Personal Law and protested against it. Gandhi agreed to their demands. In 1986,
11662-552: The seed for the information technology (IT) revolution was also planted during Rajiv Gandhi's time. Rajiv Gandhi's finance minister, V. P. Singh , uncovered compromising details about government and political corruption, to the consternation of Congress leaders. Transferred to the Defence Ministry, Singh uncovered what became known as the Bofors scandal, which involved millions of US dollars and concerned alleged payoffs by
11781-689: The state between 1951 and 1961 were given full citizenship but those who arrived there between 1961 and 1971 did not get right to vote for the next ten years. Gandhi employed former Rockwell International executive Sam Pitroda as his adviser on public information infrastructure and innovation. During Gandhi's time in office, public sector telecom companies MTNL and VSNL was developed. According to Pitroda, Gandhi's ability to resist pressure from multi-national companies to abandon his plan to spread telecommunication services has been an important factor in India's development. According to news website Oneindia , "About 20 years ago telephones were considered to be
11900-585: The status of states that were earlier union territories. Gandhi also ended the Assam Movement , which was launched by Assamese people to protest against the alleged illegal migration of Bangladeshi Muslims and immigration of other Bengalis to their state, which had reduced the Assamese to a minority there. He signed the Assam Accord on 15 August 1985. According to the accord, foreigners who came to
12019-579: The task of framing the Constitution could not have come to so successful a conclusion. Much greater share of the credit must go to Mr. S. N. Mukherjee , the Chief Draftsman of the Constitution. His ability to put the most intricate proposals in the simplest and clearest legal form can rarely be equalled, nor his capacity for hard work. He has been an acquisition to the Assembly. Without his help this Assembly would have taken many more years to finalise
12138-479: The teachers said Gandhi was shy and introverted, and "greatly enjoyed painting and drawing". He then studied at the St. Columba's School, Delhi . Thereafter, he was admitted to the preparatory Welham Boys' School and then moved to The Doon School , Dehradun in 1954, where Sanjay joined him two years later. At Doon, Gandhi's senior was Mani Shankar Aiyar , who later became a prominent member in his inner circle. Gandhi
12257-524: The telephone network in rural areas. He introduced measures to significantly reduce the Licence Raj after 1990, allowing businesses and individuals to purchase capital, consumer goods and import without bureaucratic restrictions. According to Rejaul Karim Laskar , a scholar of Indian foreign policy and an ideologue of Congress party , Rajiv Gandhi's vision for a new world order was premised on India's place in its front rank. According to Laskar ,
12376-419: The world. It imparts constitutional supremacy (not parliamentary supremacy , since it was created by a constituent assembly rather than Parliament ) and was adopted by its people with a declaration in its preamble . Parliament cannot override the constitution . It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950. The constitution replaced
12495-552: Was president of the United Nations Security Council , was appointed as the assembly's constitutional adviser in 1946. Responsible for the constitution's general structure, Rau prepared its initial draft in February 1948. The draft of B.N. Rau consisted of 243 articles and 13 schedules which came to 395 articles and 8 schedules after discussions, debates and amendments. At 14 August 1947 meeting of
12614-524: Was a dominion of United Kingdom for these three years, as each princely state was convinced by Sardar Patel and V. P. Menon to sign the articles of integration with India, and the British Government continued to be responsible for the external security of the country. Thus, the constitution of India repealed the Indian Independence Act 1947 and Government of India Act 1935 when it became effective on 26 January 1950. India ceased to be
12733-490: Was a friend of Amitabh Bachchan , and was familiar with Bachchan even before he launched his acting career. Rajiv, Sanjay and Bachchan spent time together when Bachchan was student in Delhi University and a resident of New Delhi . In the 1980s, Bachchan entered politics to support Gandhi. On 23 June 1980, Rajiv's younger brother Sanjay Gandhi died unexpectedly in an aeroplane crash. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi
12852-468: Was a void to that extent. One or two people were far away from Delhi and perhaps reasons of health did not permit them to attend. So it happened ultimately that the burden of drafting this constitution fell on Dr. Ambedkar and I have no doubt that we are grateful to him for having achieved this task in a manner which is undoubtedly commendable. B. R. Ambedkar in his concluding speech in constituent assembly on 25 November 1949 stated that: The credit that
12971-702: Was also educated at the Ecole d'Humanité , an international boarding school in Switzerland. He left the Doon School in 1961 with a second-class certificate, having performed well in his final subjects apart from a pass mark in chemistry. During Gandhi's final year at Doon, his mother and Albert D'Rozario, the scientific attaché at the Indian High Commission in London , arranged his application to Cambridge University . D'Rozario, who had been
13090-746: Was demanding an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka. Gandhi discussed the matter with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa at the SAARC meeting in 1986. In that year, the Sri Lankan army blockaded the Tamil majority district of Jaffna ; Gandhi ordered relief supplies to be dropped into the area by parachute because the Sri Lankan navy did not allow the Indian Navy to enter. Gandhi signed
13209-405: Was elected by a clear majority. There was a definite trend in the political landscape of India during the 1970-80s. Whenever there was a Congress-led administration at the center, the regional administrations fell due to the defection of non-Congress elected representatives. Then Chief Minister of Karnataka , Virendra Patil , called this trend a "goldrush". Though corruption was a global phenomenon,
13328-627: Was given the Defence Ministry in 1987. During his tenure as prime minister, Gandhi frequently shuffled his cabinet ministers, drawing criticism from the magazine India Today , which called it a "wheel of confusion". The West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu said, "The Cabinet change reflects the instability of the Congress (I) Government at the Centre". He also administered and created the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change . Gandhi, an alumnus of The Doon School , drew criticism from
13447-420: Was imprisoned for 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years for the assault. Gandhi later said about the incident: When I was inspecting the guard of honour and as I walked past one person, I saw through the corner of my eye some movement. I ducked down a little bit in a reflex action. By my ducking, he missed my head and the brunt of the blow came on my shoulder below the left ear. Soon after assuming office, Gandhi released
13566-404: Was in London as part of his foreign tour. Hearing the news, he returned to Delhi and cremated Sanjay's body. As per Agarwal, in the week following Sanjay's death, Shankaracharya Swami Shri Swaroopanand, a saint from Badrinath , visited the family's house to offer his condolences. He advised Rajiv not to fly aeroplanes and instead "dedicate himself to the service of the nation". Seventy members of
13685-516: Was necessary for the purpose of drafting a constitution so important to us at this moment has not been given to it by the Drafting Committee. The House is perhaps aware that of the seven members nominated by you, one had resigned from the House and was replaced. One died and was not replaced. One was away in America and his place was not filled up and another person was engaged in State affairs, and there
13804-486: Was obtained on 1 January 2004 and the Constitution (Ninety-First Amendment) Act – 2003 was notified in the Gazette of India on 2 January 2004. The amended act maintained that a member disqualified due to defection should not hold any ministerial post or any other remunerative political post until the term of his office as a member expired. The 2003 amended act excluded the provisions from the Tenth Schedule for authorizing
13923-414: Was passing the anti-defection law in January 1985. According to this law, an elected Member of Parliament or legislative assembly could not join an opposition party until the next election. Historian Manish Telikicherla Chary calls it a measure of curbing corruption and bribery of ministers by switching parties so they could gain majority. Many such defections occurred during the 1980s as elected leaders of
14042-607: Was posthumously cleared of this allegation. In an interview in July 2005, V. P. Singh explained that his fall out with Rajiv Gandhi was not due to the Bofors deal, but rather due to the HDW deal . Courtesy a contract signed with the German company HDW in 1981, the Indian government had agreed to purchase two ready submarines built in Germany by HDW and two submarines in CKD form to be assembled in Mazagaon docks. V. P. Singh had received
14161-419: Was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) after India turned into a republic. B. R. Ambedkar , Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru , C. Rajagopalachari , Rajendra Prasad , Vallabhbhai Patel , Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi , Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar , Sandipkumar Patel, Abul Kalam Azad , Shyama Prasad Mukherjee , Nalini Ranjan Ghosh , and Balwantrai Mehta were key figures in
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