The Indian System of Government

Here is a list of words and expressions that you will find in the text below. Go through the list together with a partner and explain what the terms mean. If you are unsure of any of the words, look them up.

Today, India stands out as one of the most diverse countries in the world. The country is divided into 28 states, and has over 700 different tribes and more than 3000 different castes. India is home to more than a hundred languages and to every major religion. The country has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, but it is also one of the most unequal countries. In India, you will find some of the world’s largest and busiest cities but also remote regions where there are very few people. Let's take a look at how this diverse and pluralistic society is governed.

The parliamentary system of government in India is largely based on the British parliamentary system. However, it is not a mirror image of the British system; there are some important differences.

The legislative branch

The legislative branch and Parliament in India consists of two houses: The Lok Sabha (the House of the People or the Lower House) and the Rajya Sabha (the Council of States, or the Upper House). They are both legislative bodies of Parliament that pass or make laws, and the prime minister and his cabinet bring proposals to both houses.

Lok Sabha – the House of the People

Members of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) are directly elected by the people of India on the basis of universal suffrage. Lok Sabha has many things in common with the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. The members must be over 25 years of age, and they serve a fixed term of five years. At present, there are 543 parliamentary seats in the House, and the representatives are elected through the first-past-the-post system, an electoral system that is also used in Britain. The largest political party appoints the prime minister, who again forms the government.

The Rajya Sabha – the Council of States

The Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, is the upper house of India’s bicameral legislature. This chamber represents the interests of states and union territories and was designed to check the power of the Lok Sabha. The 250 representatives are elected by the legislative assemblies of each state or territory. Each representative is elected for a six-year term, and one-third of the house’s membership expires every two years. In this respect, the Council of States has a closer resemblance to the American Senate than the British House of Lords. Laws must be approved by both houses, but the Rajya Sabha cannot introduce, reject, or amend revenue bills, or issue a vote of confidence in the government.

The executive branch: the Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is the highest executive body of India, and it consists of the prime minister and the cabinet ministers. They are responsible for enforcing and carrying out laws. The prime minister is chosen by the majority party or coalition in the Lok Sabha and is formally appointed by the president.

Head of state: the president of India

The president of India is the head of state and is elected by the members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The president is the leader of the legislative branch. The primary duty of the president is to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and the law of India, and his powers are largely nominal and ceremonial. The president is bound by the constitution to act on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet as long as the advice does not violate the Constitution.

The president is also the commander in chief of the Indian armed forces. This means that the president has the power to declare war or conclude peace with any country, but only on the advice of a council of ministers headed by the prime minister.

The judicial branch

The Supreme Court is comprised of the chief justice of India and thirty other judges. Like the Supreme Court in the United States, the president has the power to appoint Supreme Court judges. The appointments are made on the advice of the Collegium, a closed group that includes the chief justice and other senior justices. Unlike the United States, the set term length for Indian supreme justices is until the age of 65; it is not an appointment for life.

General elections in India are held once every five years. India uses the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, where the candidate with the highest number of votes in a constituency is declared the winner. For the Lok Sabha election, India is divided into 543 constituencies, resulting in 543 representatives in the Lok Sabha. The representative elected from each constituency is called a member of Parliament or an MP.

An election in India is a humongous task, and it takes place over the course of more than a month. In the 2019 election, there were around 912 million eligible voters. This is more than the combined populations of the United States and the European Union. The voters speak dozens of languages, and they live in some of the world’s most chaotic urban centres or some of the most isolated villages. During the 2019 election, almost one million polling stations were spread across the country, from remote corners of the Himalayas to the coastline in Kerala. In order to carry out the election, nearly 11 million government officials and security forces were deployed. This was necessary to make sure that nobody in this diverse society was left out.

The 2019 national election had the highest turnout ever, with 67%. Also, for the first time in history, more women than men voted. Since the last election, the Election Commission of India has taken many steps to encourage more women to come to the polling stations. Some of the adjustments that have been made are setting up all-women-managed polling stations, using more women as polling booth officials, and arranging child-care facilities at the locations.

India has a multi-party system. Altogether, there are eight national parties and more than fifty recognised state parties. The two dominating parties in India are the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds the majority of seats in Lok Sabha and the prime minister seat. This party is known to be a right-wing Hindu nationalist party. The Indian National Congress (INC or Congress), on the other hand, is the second-largest party and is described as a centre-left party. Out of the 73 years of India’s independence, India has been ruled by the INC for 53 years. However, the INC has in recent years lost much of its standing.

Every political party must be registered with and recognised by the Election Committee in India. A recognised party will enjoy certain privileges, such as free broadcast time on state-run television and radio, as well as being consulted on the setting of election dates. Every party also has to have a party symbol that is easily recognisable to everyone. Party symbols are used to identify political parties in part so that illiterate people can vote by recognising the party symbols.

How much do you remember?