INDIAN ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

• Subject code : 18MPA12C

• Prepared By : DR. P.MAGUDAPATHY

Asst.professor

• Department : PG & Research Department of Public

• Contact No. : 9994672379

Administration

The content is prepared according to the text book and reference book

given in the syllabus.

Year Subject Title Sem. Sub Code

2018 -19 Core 2: Indian Administrative System I 18MPA12C

Onwards

UNIT – I: EVOLUTION OF INDIAN ADMINISTRATION

Administration in Pre- colonial, Colonial and Post- colonial era- welfare state- Salient

features of Indian Constitution- Fundamental Rights – Directive Principles of State Policy.

UNIT – II: UNION ADMINISTRATION

President- Prime Minister- Council of Ministers- Cabinet Secretariat- Cabinet Committees-

Prime Minister’s Office- Central Secretariat- Ministries and Departments.

UNIT – III: CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITIES

Finance Commission – Union Public Service Commission – Election Commission –

National Commission for SCs & STs – Attorney General of India – Comptroller and Auditor

General of India

UNIT – IV: STATE ADMINISTRATION

Governor – Chief Minister, – Cabinet – State Secretariat – Departments – Directorate –

Collectorate-State Public Service Commission.

UNIT – V: ISSUES IN INDIAN ADMINISTRATION

Minister – Civil Servant Relation – Generalist Vs. Specialists – Union- State

Relations(Administrative and Financial) – Planning Commission- National Development

Council- Corruption- Administrative Reforms Impact of Information Technology on Indian

Administration – Globalization and Indian Administration

Reference Books

1. ArunShourie,The Parliamentary System In India,Rupa,Newdelhi,2007.

2. J.C.Johari ,Indian Parliament: A Critical Study of Its Evolution, Composition And

Working,Metropolitant Book, New Delhi,2006.

3. Shukla.V.N. Constitution Of India,Eastern Book Company,Lucknow,2013.

INDIAN ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

Degree: I M.A.

Semester: I Subject Code: 18MPA12C

UNIT – I

EVOLUTION OF INDIAN ADMINISTRATION

Indian 'Administration' traces its earliest known form to the tribal system which

later emerges as a monarchical system. We gain a lot of knowledge about ancient

Indian Administration from ancient religious and political treatises. In the early

Vedic period there were many tribes who elected their own chiefs and he handled all

their responsibilities and the administration of the tribes and the Sabha (Assembly of

elders) and Samiti (Assembly of people) were the tribal assemblies. The chief

protected the tribe but had no revenue system or hold over land thus wars were

resorted to and the booty shared among the tribes.

The first form of the 'State' in India can be traced back to the times of

Manu(original name Satyagraha the first King and progenitor of mankind according

to Hinduism.People were fed up with anarchy as there was no neutral

judge/arbitrator in between to solve issues of society, and so they appointed Manu

as King and paid service fees as taxes for looking after them and ensuring mutual

benefit and justice to everyone in society owing to his wisdom and philosophical

attitude & the King was divine and regarded as descended from God.

As per the Ramayana and Mahabharata/Later Vedic times it goes to portray

the role of the King as the whole and sole of administration being helped by his

principal officers who were the Purohit and Senani where the Purohit

(Priest) wielded much more authority than the kshatriya (Warrior clan) kings. Other

figures of administration were Treasurer, Steward,Spies and Messengers,

Charioteer,Superintendent of Dices. This is also mentioned in the Manu Smriti and

Sukra Niti.

No legal institutions were there and the custom of the country prevailed as the law

and capital punishment was not practiced but trials took place where justice was

delivered by the King in consultancy with the Priest and Elders at times. By the time

Kautilya wrote the ArthaShastra the Indian Administrative system was well

developed and the treatise of Kautilya gives a very first detailed account of the

same. We will discuss that below.

KAUTILYA'S ARTHASHASTRA:

The Mauryan period was the era of major development in Indian

Administration. Decentralisation was prevalent as the village units played a very

important role as the base of administration since ancient times.Empires were

divided into provinces,provinces into districts,districts into rural and urban centres

for efficient administration.

Kautilya's ArthaShastra is a work on Varta ( Science Of Economics) &

Dandaniti(statecraft/Management Of State Administration) existing in the Mauryan

rule. It was written sometime between 321 and 300 BC. It was retrieved in 1904 AD

and published in 1909 AD by R. Shamasastry. It touches upon topics like functions

of the chief

executive,

hierarchy,

bureaucracy,

corruption,

local administration,

supervisory

management,

motivation,

morale and job description.

The most noticeable aspect of the Arthashastra is its emphasis on Public Welfare

even in an autocratic agrarian State. That is where its timelessness lies.

It is composed in the form of brief statements called Sutras and is compiled in 15

books(Adhikarnas),150 sections,180 chapters(prakarnas),6000 verses(sutras).

1) Personnel Administration:

A system of recruitment was there and job description as well. Salaries were

clearly spelled out of ministers and government officials. It also stated a view of job

permanency and increment in salary/position(promotion) if the official concerned

provided extraordinary service. Personnel were to be transferred from time to time

as per Kautilya because it would avoid corruption and misappropriation of

government funds.

Removal and tenure of officials and ministers were at the pleasure of the King just

like the Governor and Attorney General. hold office at a term that specifies '

pleasure of the President'.

2) Public Administration:

The King is the sole source of authority and appoints and dismisses personnel

and divides the work of govt. into different ministries under several ministers and

officials. Kautilya stresses on the need for specialist and generalist personnel at

different levels of administration with full accountability to the King,thus talks

about division of labour and coordination between them for efficient

administration. As discussed above there was a clear system of recruitment,pay,and

terms and conditions of service very much resembling the modern State.

Modern state is more concerned about development whereas the Kautilyan model

talks about collecting revenue and employing activities to help in expediting and

ensuring revenue,so it talks mainly of control instead of development.

It talks about local self government that very much resembles a precursor to the

Modern State local self government model.

Kautilya's Arthashastra is more about political science that is how to conduct State

affairs rather than focusing on the philosophy that underlies it. He is very practical

in his approach with a strict focus on amorality(no moral principles or religious

diktat) so that the King's rule & administration are neutral without offending

anyone, and also on rationality and an organised as well as efficient way of running

a system with a greate deal of focus on accountability and honesty and vigilance

ADMINISTRATION IN PRE-COLONIAL, COLONIAL, AND POST-

COLONIAL ERA:

Pre-Colonial:

Before the advent of colonial rule, India was a self-sufficient and flourishing

economy. Evidently, our country was popularly known as the golden eagle.

India had already established itself on the world map with a decent amount

of exports. Although primarily it was an agrarian economy, many

manufacturing activities were budding in the pre-colonial India.

Indian craftsmanship was widely popular around the world and garnered huge

demands. The economy was well-known for its handicraft industries in the fields of

cotton and silk textiles, metal and precious stone works etc. Such developments

lured the British to paralyze our state and use it for their home country’s benefits.

According to Angus Maddison, one hundred and fifty years ago, the gap in mean

per capita share of gross domestic product between the richest and the poorest

global regions, namely Western Europe and Africa, was probably three to one.

Today the difference in income per head between the richest industrial nation, say

Switzerland, and the poorest nonindustrial country, Mozambique, is a mind-

boggling 400 to 11 What has brought this incredible state of affairs about Clearly, a

key factor at work has been the tremendous acceleration in the rate of growth of

gross national product in most economies of the west as a direct consequence of the

forces unleashed by the Industrial Revolution that got under way in the second half

of the eighteenth century and continued through the nineteenth. Over the same

period of time, most of the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America not only did

not experience similar major growth but in some cases were even characterized by

no or even negative growth in the major economic indices. The inevitable outcome

was the enormous widening of the gap in the level of economic achievement

between the two sets of countries. An important element at work in the emergence

of the above scenario was the rise in the course of the nineteenth century of a world

economy characterized by significant movements of goods, capital and men across

national boundaries in a number of continents. This phenomenon owed a great deal

to the Industrial Revolution in Britain in the latter part.

Eighteenth and the early years of the nineteenth century. In turn, it conditioned in a

significant way the spread of the Industrial Revolution in the rest of Europe and the

United States during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Perhaps more

importantly, it also played a major role in determining the path of economic change

– or the lack of it – in the greater part of the world today described as the Third

World. Growing foreign trade enabled Britain both to dispose of her fast increasing

industrial output in the world market as well as to obtain raw materials for her

industry and food for her population. Large capital movements enabled her to get rid

of excess capital and ensured that the domestic rate of return did not register a

disturbing decline. The industrializing countries of Western Europe benefited from

the larger international availability of capital and technological know-how. The

countries in the so-called Regions of Recent Settlement (Australia, New Zealand,

Canada, etc.) also benefited by and large from the growing interaction with Europe

in terms of the larger availability of both capital and manpower as well as a market

for their agricultural and other produce. The picture, however, is much more

complicated with respect to the second set of colonies that the western powers had

come to have in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The principal use of these colonies

was to serve as sources of raw materials and as absorbers of finished goods such as

textiles and other consumer goods. This fact significantly affected the potentiality of

their economic growth and in fact became a major factor in explaining their

continued backwardness.Where does India fit into this scheme of things At the

outset it might be useful to note that in many ways India in the nineteenth and the

first half of the twentieth century was not a typical colonial economy. While

obviously aligned to and serving the interests of metropolitan Britain in an

important way, India nevertheless was somewhat atypical in so far as its

dependence.

on the foreign sector was at no point in time overwhelming. It was not a one or two

products exporting economy – either agricultural or mineral - the way many Asian

economies were. Partly because of its size and partly because of its variegated

economic structure, both the exports from and the imports into India were quite

diversified, although over a period of time there indeed was a distinct trend towards

the emergence of a structure of the so-called colonial pattern of trade. Also, from the

second half of the nineteenth century onward, there was the rise of a modern

industrial sector in India in a manner which had few parallels in other colonial

economies in Asia. Euro-Asian commercial contacts.

The early period The body that was instrumental in the establishment of a formal

colonial relationship between Britain and India in the second half of the eighteenth

century was the English East India Company chartered by Queen Elizabeth I on the

last day of the year1600. Along with its rival organization in the Netherlands, the

Dutch East India Company chartered in 1602, the English East India Company

stood out as the most remarkable contemporary edifice of commercial capitalism.

The process which had culminated in the establishment of these two organizations

that dominated trade between Asia and Europe during the seventeenth and the

eighteenth centuries had indeed started with the discovery by the Portuguese at the

end of the fifteenth century of the all-water route to the East Indies via the Cape of

Good Hope. Among the historic consequences of the discovery was the overcoming

of the transport-technology barrier to the growth of trade between Asia and Europe.

The volume of this trade was no longer subject to the capacity constraint imposed

by the availability of pack-animals and river boats in the Middle East. Both the old

and the new routes were in use

throughout the sixteenth century, but by the early years of the seventeenth, when the

English and the Dutch companies had successfully challenged the Portuguese

monopoly of the all-water route, the new route had almost completely taken over in

the transportation of goods between the two continents. In addition to their

transportation, the procurement of the Asian goods also was organized from the

sixteenth century onward by the Europeans themselves, who had arrived in the East

in any significant number for the first time. The goods procured had to be paid for

overwhelmingly in precious metals. This was an outcome essentially of the inability

of Europe to supply goods which could be sold in Asia in reasonably large

quantities at competitive terms. The new vistas of the growth of trade between the

two continents opened up by the overcoming of the transport-technology barrier

could have been frustrated by the shortage of silver for export to Asia that the

declining, or at best stagnant, European output of this metal might have occasioned.

But fortunately, the discovery of the Cape route had coined.

The English East India CompanyBetween 1601 and 1612, the twelve voyages

organized by the English East India Company to the East were on separate and

terminable account. The period between 1613 and 1642 witnessed the operation of

three successive joint stocks. In the meantime, in 1637, Charles I had granted a

patent to the so-called Courteen’s Association to trade to those parts of the East

Indies where the Company had not established a factory. But the Association turned

out to be a dismal failure and constituted no real threat to the monopoly of the

Company. The outbreak of the civil war in the 1640s caused a certain amount of

dislocation for the Company’s trade but matters improved considerably after the

charter of 1657 which provided for a permanent joint stock.

The monopoly privileges of the Company were threatened yet again in July

1698 when a rival body – usually described asthe New English East India Company

- received a charter from the Crown. But in April 1702, the two companies agreed to

have a joint Board of Directors. The final amalgamation came in 1709 under an

award by the Earl of Godolphin. From this point on there was no further challenge

to the Company's monopoly until 1813, when the new charter legalized the entry of

private traders into the East Indian trade. Twenty years later, the Company ceased to

be a trading body and was entrusted solely with the running of the colonial

administration of India, a process that had started in 1765 with the Company

wresting from the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam the diwani(revenue collection)

rights in the province of Bengal.

The Company was liquidated in 1858 following the assumption by the

British Crown of direct responsibility for Indian affairs. Like other Europeans, the

principal interest of the English in the East, initially at least, was in the procurement

of pepper and other spices for the European market. The first two voyages were

directed at Bantam in Java where a factory was established in 1602. From 1613,

Sumatra became the chief supplier of pepper to the Company. The crucial

importance of the Coromandel textiles in facilitating this trade and making it more

profitable had also been brought home to the Company quite early. A factory was

established at Masulipatnam in 1611, though the first Company voyage to the

Coromandel coast was organized only in 1614. In the meantime, given the Dutch

monopsonistic designs in the Indonesian archipelago in the matter of the

procurement of spices such as cloves, nutmeg and mace, a situation of armed

conflict with the VOC was becoming inevitable.

The hostilities erupted in 1618, and the English emerged distinctly the worse

of the two. The London agreement of 1619 provided for an English share of one-

third in the trade of the Spice Islands, and of one half in the pepper trade of Java

subject to the English contributing one-third of the cost of maintaining the Dutch

garrisons in the area. The English headquarters in the region were moved to Batavia

in 1620 and the two companies shared garrisons in Banda, Moluccas and Amboyna.

But due both to Dutch hostility as well as the shortage of resources with the English,

the arrangement did not quite work. The 1623 incident at Amboyna led to a recall of

the English factors from the shared centres in the archipelago to Batavia and

hastened the process of the English withdrawal from the Spice Islands. While the

English had come to Coromandel in quest of textiles for the south-east Asian

markets, their attempts to penetrate the Gujarat trade were linked directly to their

Euro-Asian trade.

Because of the possibility of a military engagement with the Portuguese

and/or the Dutch, each of the English voyages to the East consisted of a certain

minimum number of ships. But on the return voyage, a cargo consisting of pepper

and other spices alone would fill perhaps only one of these ships. Hence the urgent

need to diversify the return cargo by including in it items such as Indian textiles and

indigo. Gujarat textiles could, of course, also be used for the south-east Asian trade

to the extent necessary. The third voyage sent out in 1607, therefore, carried

instructions to explore the commercial possibilities.

the western coast of India. William Hawkins reached Surat in 1608 and went

on to Agra the following year but was unable to obtain formal trading rights.

Henry Middleton, the Commander of the sixth voyage, was also refuse

permission to trade at Surat. Thomas Best, the Commander of the tenth voyage,

who reached Surat in September 1612, however, finally managed to obtain an

imperial edict conferring formal trading rights on the Company. A factory was

established at Surat in 1613 and regular trade started there and at Ahmedabad,

Burhanpur and Agra. A ship was sent back directly from Surat for the first time in

1615. Between 1616 and 1617, while only four small ships were dispatched

directly to Bantam from London, nine ships of large tonnage were sent to Surat.

The President at Surat was also placed in charge of the Company’s trade in

Persia. The Crown leased Bombay to the Company in 1668, and in 1687 Bombay

superseded Surat as the headquarters of the Company in western India. In the

meantime, the Company’s trade had extended into Bengal in the early 1650s with

the establishment of a factory at Hughli2. Though items such as indigo and

saltpetre figured in the Company’s exports from India, the most important

commodity the Company procured there was textiles. Initially, a part of these

textiles was carried to the Indonesian archipelago to pay for the pepper and spices

bought there. After 1624 when the Company’s procurement of cloves smuggled

by Asian merchants into Makassar became important, the volume of Coromandel

textiles carried to Makassar via Batavia and later Bantam became fairly large. But

this trade declined rather sharply as of 1643 as Dutch efforts to plug the

smuggling into Makassar became increasingly more successful.

The only other Asian market to which the Company carried Coromandel

textiles was Persia, but the quantities involved were never large. In view of the

continuing poor performance in this area, the Company decided in 1661 to

withdraw from participation in intra-Asian trade and concentrate its energies and

resourced on Euro-Asian trade.

Colonial:

The Provinces of India, earlier Presidencies of British India and still earlier,

Presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in

India. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or

another, they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into

three historical periods:

Between 1612 and 1757 the East India Company set up in several

locations, mostly in coastal India, with the consent of the Mughal emperors,

Maratha empire or local rulers.

During the period of Company rule in India, 1757–1858, the Company gradually

acquired sovereignty over large parts of India, now called "Presidencies".Following

the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the company's remaining powers were transferred to

the Crown. Under the British Raj (1858–1947), administrative boundaries were

extended to include a few other British administered regions.

Also, in so far as the relationship between the English East India Company on

the one hand and the Indian intermediary merchants and producers on the other was

no longer governed by the market but was dictated by the Company, a good part of

the legitimate share of the producers and the merchants in the total output was now

appropriated by the Company. The full-fledged impact of the colonial relationship

between Britain and India came into play only in the nineteenth and the first half of

the twentieth century. The subcontinent witnessed only a limited amount of

economic growth during this period. To what extent colonial rule was directly

responsible for this is a matter which is very difficult to find an easy answer to. It

need hardly be stressed that colonial rule is designed to promote the interests of the

metropolitan (mother) country, if necessary at the expense of those of the colony.

But within that overall context, the extent to which a colonial government can

impede growth can vary enormously from case to case. Given the reasonably

resilient internal dynamics of the Indian economy, the colonial period was not

altogether devoid of all growth though one could legitimately take the position that

almost certainly things would have been distinctly better if the colonial episode had

never happened.

This project is based on the goal of explaining an event in the relatively recent

past by working progressively further into the past to uncover more and more

information that seems to bear on the issues. Even though the effort to create Biafra

came out of the context of the challenges of independent Nigeria, don't historians

need to look further back to see what happened in the (earlier) colonial and

precolonial eras to learn more about the world from which Nigeria was created? Of

course we do. After all, this is a history course.

Before going further, we need to be aware of the flow of events. For the purposes of

this project the "colonial" period is essentially the period between World War I and

World War II while the precolonial material presented here covers the 19th century

up to World War I. During the precolonial period there is already direct contact with

Europeans who operate in port cities such as Bonny as well as indirect contact

though the purchase of European goods through trade as well as the production of

products intended to be sent to port cities. This commerce of course was added onto

the slave trading networks which had existed since around 1500. As a result of a

meeting of European powers in Berlin in 1884, the interior of Africa was divided

into colonial possessions of European countries. The English move into the land of

the Igbo followed shortly thereafter, covering the period from 1889-1914. And, in

1914, northern and southern Nigeria were united for administrative purposes into a

single British colony.

World War I was truly a world war with participants drawn from five continents and

military actions spread around the globe. There were some specific outcomes and

impacts for Africans as a result of WWI. These include the fact that military

conscription (draft) of numerous African colonial subjects into European armies

generated great amounts of anger. But the war had more concrete consequences.

Africans who fought alongside European whites found out that these "masters" were

ordinary people, not supermen. Furthermore Africans expected to be rewarded for

their service to their colonial masters with social and constitutional changes as well

as economic concessions in ways that would improve their living conditions at

home. The educated elites followed up on President Woodrow Wilson’s (United

States) call to reorganize governments on the basis of national self-determination.

The term means that people should be independent and live within political

boundaries that corresponded to where they lived.

Rather than relaxing colonial strictures in gratitude after the war, the European

presence in Africa intensified. "The period 1919-1935 was colonial imperialism’s

last territorial drive in Africa. By 1935, all those areas that were still holding out

against the imperialists and clinging to their sovereignty ... were all brought under

effective occupation and put under the colonial system. This meant that more

Africans were feeling the pinch of colonialism by the 1920s than were by the 1910s.

One would therefore expect to see a corresponding change in the scale of anti-

colonialist or nationalist activities. Moreover, the new administrative measures and

ordinances that were introduced during this period to underpin the colonial

system—this was the heyday of the British system of ‘indirect rule’—gave more

and more powers to the traditional rulers and the newly created chiefs to the

exclusion of the educated elite. Frustration and disappointment therefore grew

among the educated elite, and since their number increased during the period, their

became reactions not only intensified and anti-colonial but anti-traditional rulers as

well." (Boahen, African Perspectives on Colonialism, 76-77)

And economic conditions changed. The 1920s and 1930s saw worldwide economic

crises which caused the price for those things produced in African countries—raw

materials and cash crops—to drop sharply (remember that this is the period of the

Great Depression and the events leading into it). At the same time the prices of

goods imported from Europe skyrocketed.

Furthermore, this period saw the rise of efforts by African Americans and others of

African descent outside of Africa to link the condition of colonized Africans to

universal concepts of justice, natural rights, and human rights with the goal of

eliminating colonialism by promoitng independence. This Pan-African movement

attempted to gain a hearing immediately after World War I by issuing a manifesto

that called for ... well, why not read some excerpts yourself.

In the midst of these events the British inaugurated a system of "indirect rule" as the

most effective way to manage their colonies. This system represented the backdrop

to the post-World War II move to create an independent Nigeria and represented the

framework for relationships between all Nigerians and the "mother country." Before

looking at more evidence, we need to look a little more fully into the ways colonies

were ruled by looking at material on Indirect Rule.

Post-Colonial:

From 1947 to the 1980s, it was a post-colonial country, cast in the mould

thoughtfully crafted by Jawaharlal Nehru and set on its way, though in slow

motion. Today, India is a post-post-colonial country. Post-colonialism, the

historical period or state of affairs representing the aftermath of Western

colonialism; the term can also be used to describe the

concurrent project to reclaim and rethink the history and agency of people

subordinated under various forms of imperialism. Independent India also

inherited British parliamentary democracy and became the largest democracy in

the history of the world. It also created idealized notions of the British

themselves. Moreover, it raised the concept of Empire beyond trade and

conquest to a realm of adventure, chivalric duty and sacrifice. The culture of

imperialism promoted 'Britishness' but also embraced aspects of the civilizations

it came across.

Indian industrialization began in earnest in the 1950s after India got its

independence from Britain. Like Brazil, India followed a strategy of import

substituting industrialization for the first three decades of the post-War period

and just like Brazil, India developed a formidable economic base in this period.

Under a protectionist cover and with the help of an activist state, domestic

technological capabilities improved and there was significant structural change

away from sectors producing “traditional” goods towards those sectors involved

in the production of sophisticated goods.

In comparative terms, industrial growth in India paled in comparison with Brazil.

The average growth of Indian industries was 4% for the 1966–1980 period.

Brazilian industrial growth on the other hand averaged 9.7% in the same period.

Thus, by the 1980s whereas the manufacturing subsector contributed to over 20% of

GDP in Brazil, in India its share was 14.3%. The reasons for these differences are

complex. Partly the modest growth rates of Indian industries stem from its highly

disadvantaged “initial conditions”, but they are also related to the policies adopted

by the state. The plan of this chapter is to dwell on some of these issues and bring

out the central features of Indian industrialization from a comparative perspective.

The following sections seek to understand the evolution of the Indian economy from

its colonial days to the post-independence period of state-led industrialization. After

surveying the economic conditions in the colonial period, the chapter will look at

the patterns of post-War policy making. Several detailed studies of India’s economy

during this period already exist. The plan therefore is not so much to report the

findings of attention.

The decisive transition India embarked upon nearly two decades ago has

developed through an interplay of perceptions that has created the intellectual

conditions needed, both in India and abroad, for change to materialize. At the end of

the 1980s, India was stuck in a paradox. On the one hand, it was the direct heir of a

brilliant civilization anchored in 3,000 years of intellectual and material

accomplishments, and it was also on the verge of becoming, after China, the second

country on Earth whose population exceeded 1 billion – which occurred in 2000. On

the other hand, its historical depth and demographic expanse were not matched by

the country’s economic and diplomatic status. Though it had 15% of the world’s

population, India was contributing less than 1% of global trade. And on the

geopolitical front, the glory days of the Non-Aligned Movement were over. India

was not seated at the high table of global politics, alongside the five permanent

members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

And its relative contribution to global trade has increased only marginally. Yet

India’s perception of itself has changed dramatically, as has its image of the world

and, just as important, the new image the world has of India. “India Everywhere”

was the motto chosen by the large Indian delegation to the Davos Summit of 2006.

Matters of concern, old and new, remain to be addressed, but India has clearly

entered a new historical phase. From 1947 to the

previous literature but to eke out, through a comparative analysis, those aspects

of Indian industrialization that generally do not receive as much Matters of concern,

old and new, remain to be addressed, but India has clearly entered a new historical

phase. From 1947 to the 1980s, it was a post-colonial country, cast in the mould

thoughtfully crafted by Jawaharlal Nehru and set on its way, though in slow motion.

Today, India is a post-post-colonial country, whose decision-makers believe that

the Nehruvian paradigm has to be adjusted to new realities. They have not forgotten

the past or its legacy, but they have begun to look with a renewed confidence to the

future of a “resurgent India.” They believe that globalization is more of an

opportunity than a challenge.

However, India’s status today is ambiguous. It is, by all accounts, the dominant

power in South Asia, but it has been unable to achieve fully normalized relations

with its largest neighbors, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Indian media and noted

analysts celebrate Indian Unbound (Das, 2002), and publish volumes entitled India

Empowered.

This article examines the memoirs of Indian Civil Service officers as they continued

to work in what became the Indian Administrative Service after independence.

Rather than being understood solely as historical archives, these texts constitute a

genre that can be called the ‘bureaucratic memoir’ which reveals masculinities that

are both colonial and post-colonial. These memoirs, and their publication decades

after independence reveal attempts by elites to preserve the power of the

bureaucracy into subsequent decades. The texts hope to disavow but instead also

reveal the patriarchal intimacies of these elites, even as these were challenged by

charges of corruption and failure which emerged almost from the first moments of

independence.

Colonialism was presented as "the extension of civilization," which ideologically

justified the self-ascribed racial and cultural superiority of the Western world over

the non-Western world. This concept was espoused by Joseph-Ernest Renan in La

Réforme intellectuelle et morale (1871), whereby imperial stewardship was thought

to affect the intellectual and moral reformation of the coloured peoples of the lesser

cultures of the world. That such a divinely established, natural harmony among the

human races of the world would be possible, because everyone has an

assigned cultural identity, a social place, and an economic role within an imperial

colony.

The regeneration of the inferior or degenerate races, by the superior races is part of

the providential order of things for humanity.... Regere imperio populos is our

vocation. Pour forth this all-consuming activity onto countries, which, like China,

are crying aloud for foreign conquest. Turn the adventurers who disturb European

society into a ver sacrum, a horde like those of the Franks, the Lombards, or the

Normans, and every man will be in his right role. Nature has made a race of

workers, the Chinese race, who have wonderful manual dexterity, and almost no

sense of honour; govern them with justice, levying from them, in return for the

blessing of such a government, an ample allowance for the conquering race, and

they will be satisfied; a race of tillers of the soil, the Negro; treat him with kindness

and humanity, and all will be as it should; a race of masters and soldiers, the

European race.... Let each do what he is made for, and all will be well.

From the mid- to the late-nineteenth century, such racialist group-identity language

was the cultural common-currency justifying geopolitical competition amongst the

European and American empires and meant to protect their over-extended

economies. Especially in the colonization of the Far East and in the late-nineteenth

century Scramble for Africa, the representation of a homogeneous European identity

justified colonization. Hence, Belgium and Britain, and France and Germany

proffered theories of national superiority that justified colonialism as delivering the

light of civilization to unenlightened peoples. Notably, la mission civilisatrice, the

self-ascribed 'civilizing mission' of the French Empire, proposed that some races

and cultures have a higher purpose in life, whereby the more powerful, more

developed, and more civilized races have the right to colonize other peoples, in

service to the noble idea of "civilization" and its economic benefits.

Postcolonial identity

Postcolonial theory holds that decolonized people develop a postcolonial identity

that is based on cultural interactions between different identities (cultural, national,

and ethnic as well as gender and class based) which are assigned varying degrees of

social power by the colonial society.[citation needed] In postcolonial literature, the anti-

conquest narrative analyzes the identity politics that are the social and cultural

perspectives of the subaltern colonial subjects—their creative resistance to

the culture of the colonizer; how such cultural resistance complicated the

establishment of a colonial society; how the colonizers developed their postcolonial

identity; and how neocolonialism actively employs the 'us-and-them' binary social

relation to view the non-Western world as inhabited by 'the other'. According to

Indian academic Jaydeep Sarangi, one of the profound practices of postcolonial

discourse is the celebration of 'the local'. Arguing in favour of voicing the

margin/periphery (dalits), in the introduction to his book, Presentations of

Postcolonialism in English: New Orientations, he gives reference to Maoris and

Aborigines.

The neocolonial discourse of geopolitical homogeneity relegating the decolonized

peoples, their cultures, and their countries, to an imaginary place, such as "the Third

World," an over-inclusive term that usually comprises continents and seas, i.e.

Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. The postcolonial critique analyzes the

self-justifying discourse of neocolonialism and the functions (philosophic and

political) of its over-inclusive terms, to establish the factual and cultural inaccuracy

of homogeneous concepts, such as the "Arabs," the "First World," "Christendom,"

and the "Ummah," actually comprise heterogeneous peoples, cultures, and

geography, and that accurate descriptions of the world's peoples, places, and things

require nuanced and accurate terms.[7]

Difficulty of definition

As a term in contemporary history, postcolonialism occasionally is applied,

temporally, to denote the immediate time after the period during which imperial

powers retreated from their colonial territories. Such is believed to be a problematic

application of the term, as the immediate, historical, political time is not included in

the categories of critical identity-discourse, which deals with over-inclusive terms of

cultural representation, which are abrogated and replaced by postcolonial criticism.

As such, the terms postcolonial and postcolonialism denote aspects of the subject

matter that indicate that the decolonized world is an intellectual space "of

contradictions, of half-finished processes, of confusions, of hybridity, and of

liminalities."[8] As in most critical theory-based research, the lack of clarity in the

definition of the subject matter coupled with an open claim to normativity makes

criticism of postcolonial discourse problematic, reasserting its dogmatic or

ideological status.[9]

In Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics (1996), Helen Gilbert and

Joanne Tompkins clarify the denotational functions, among which:[10]

The term post-colonialism—according to a too-rigid etymology—is frequently

misunderstood as a temporal concept, meaning the time after colonialism has

ceased, or the time following the politically determined Independence Day on which

a country breaks away from its governance by another state. Not a

naïve teleological sequence, which supersedes colonialism, post-colonialism is,

rather, an engagement with, and contestation of, colonialism's discourses, power

structures, and social hierarchies... A theory of post-colonialism must, then, respond

to more than the merely chronological construction of post-independence, and to

more than just the discursive experience of imperialism.

The term post-colonialism is also applied to denote the Mother

Country's neocolonial control of the decolonized country, affected by

the legalistic continuation of the economic, cultural, and linguistic power

relationships that controlled the colonial politics of knowledge (i.e., the generation,

production, and distribution of knowledge) about the colonized peoples of the non-

Western world. [8][11] The cultural and religious assumptions of colonialist logic

remain active practices in contemporary society and are the basis of the Mother

Country's neocolonial attitude towards her former colonial subjects—an economical

source of labour and raw materials.[12]

Frantz Fanon and subjugatio

In The Wretched of the Earth (1961), psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz

Fanon analyzes and medically describes the nature of colonialism as essentially

destructive. Its societal effects—the imposition of a subjugating colonial identity—

is harmful to the mental health of the native peoples who were subjugated into

colonies. Fanon writes that the ideological essence of colonialism is the systematic

denial of "all attributes of humanity" of the colonized people.

Such dehumanization is achieved with physical and mental violence, by which the

colonist means to inculcate a servile mentality upon the natives.

For Fanon, the natives must violently resist colonial subjugation.[13] Hence, Fanon

describes violent resistance to colonialism as a mentally cathartic practise, which

purges colonial servility from the native psyche, and restores self-respect to the

subjugated. Thus, Fanon actively supported and participated in the Algerian

Revolution (1954–62) for independence from France as a member and

representative of the Front de Libération Nationale.[14]

As postcolonial praxis, Fanon's mental-health analyses of colonialism and

imperialism, and the supporting economic theories, were partly derived from the

essay "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism" (1916), wherein Vladimir

Lenin described colonial imperialism as an advanced form of capitalism, desperate

for growth at all costs, and so requires more and more human exploitation to ensure

continually consistent profit-for-investment.[15]

Another key book that predates postcolonial theories is Fanon's Black Skins, White

Masks. In this book, Fanon discusses the logic of colonial rule from the perspective

of the existential experience of racialized subjectivity. Fanon treats colonialism as

a total project which rules every aspect of colonized peoples and their reality. Fanon

reflects on colonialism, language, and racism and asserts that to speak a language is

to adopt a civilization and to participate in the world of that language. His ideas

show the influence of French and German philosophy, since existentialism,

phenomenology, and hermeneutics claim that language, subjectivity, and reality are

interrelated. However, the colonial situation presents a paradox: when colonial

beings are forced to adopt and speak an imposed language which is not their own,

they adopt and participate in the world and civilization of the colonized. This

language results from centuries of colonial domination which is aimed at

eliminating other expressive forms in order to reflect the world of the colonizer. As

a consequence, when colonial beings speak as the colonized, they participate in their

own oppression and the very structures of alienation are reflected in all aspects of

their adopted language.[16]

Edward Said and orientalism

Cultural critic Edward Said is considered by E. San Juan, Jr. as "the originator and

inspiring patron-saint of postcolonial theory and discourse" due to his interpretation

of the theory of orientalism explained in his 1978 book, Orientalism.[17] To describe

the us-and-them "binary social relation" with which Western Europe intellectually

divided the world—into the "Occident" and the "Orient"—Said developed the

denotations and connotations of the term orientalism (an art-history term for

Western depictions and the study of the Orient). Said's concept (which he also

termed "orientalism") is that the cultural representations generated with the us-and-

them binary relation are social constructs, which are mutually constitutive and

cannot exist independent of each other, because each exists on account of and for

the other.

Notably, "the West" created the cultural concept of "the East," which according to

Said allowed the Europeans to suppress the peoples of the Middle East, the Indian

Subcontinent, and of Asia in general, from expressing and representing themselves

as discrete peoples and cultures. Orientalism thus conflated and reduced the non-

Western world into the homogeneous cultural entity known as "the East." Therefore,

in service to the colonial type of imperialism, the us-and-them Orientalist paradigm

allowed European scholars to represent the Oriental World as inferior and

backward, irrational and wild, as opposed to a Western Europe that was superior

and progressive, rational and civil—the opposite of the Oriental Other.

Reviewing Said's Orientalism (1978), A. Madhavan (1993) says that "Said's

passionate thesis in that book, now an 'almost canonical study', represented

Orientalism as a 'style of thought' based on the antinomy of East and West in their

world-views, and also as a 'corporate institution' for dealing with the Orient."

In concordance with philosopher Michel Foucault, Said established that power and

knowledge are the inseparable components of the intellectual binary relationship

with which Occidentals claim "knowledge of the Orient." That the applied power of

such cultural knowledge allowed Europeans to rename, re-define, and thereby

control Oriental peoples, places, and things, into imperial coloniesThe power-

knowledge binary relation is conceptually essential to identify and understand

colonialism in general, and European colonialism in particular. Hence,

To the extent that Western scholars were aware of contemporary Orientals or

Oriental movements of thought and culture, these were perceived either as silent

shadows to be animated by the Orientalist, brought into reality by them or as a kind

of cultural and international proletariat useful for the Orientalist's grander

interpretive activity.

Nonetheless, critics of the homogeneous "Occident–Orient" binary social relation,

say that Orientalism is of limited descriptive capability and practical application,

and propose instead that there are variants of Orientalism that apply to Africa and to

Latin America. Said response was that the European West applied Orientalism as

a homogeneous form of The Other, in order to facilitate the formation of the

cohesive, collective European cultural identity denoted by the term "The West."[21]

With this described binary logic, the West generally constructs the Orient

subconsciously as its alter ego. Therefore, descriptions of the Orient by the Occident

lack material attributes, grounded within the land. This inventive or imaginative

interpretation subscribes female characteristics to the Orient and plays into fantasies

that are inherent within the West's alter ego. It should be understood that this

process draws creativity, amounting an entire domain and discourse.

In Orientalism (p. 6), Said mentions the production of "philology [the study of the

history of languages], lexicography [dictionary making], history, biology, political

and economic theory, novel-writing and lyric poetry." Therefore, there is an entire

industry that exploits the Orient for its own subjective purposes that lack a native

and intimate understanding. Such industries become institutionalized and eventually

become a resource for manifest Orientalism or a compilation of misinformation

about the Orient.

The ideology of Empire was hardly ever a brute jingoism; rather, it made subtle use

of reason and recruited science and history to serve its ends.

These subjective fields of academia now synthesize the political resources and

think-tanks that are so common in the West today. Orientalism is self-perpetuating

to the extent that it becomes normalized within common discourse, making people

say things that are latent, impulsive, or not fully conscious of its own sel

WELFARE STATE:

Government pays for health care and other social benefits for its citizens, or a nation

that operates under this system. A welfare state is based on the principles of equality

of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those

unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions of a good life. The goals of

welfare vary, as it looks to promote the pursuance of work, education or, in some

instances, a better standard of living. While the welfare state has played an integral

role in reducing socio-economic inequalities and protecting people from various

forms of hardship, it has also proven to be an important catalyst for economic

prosperity.

In early times, social welfare functions were performed by a few individuals or

groups of individuals motivated by compassion and concern for the poor, the needy

and the destitute. These people were laymen, embodied with the qualities of

humanism and selfless service to the community. But in modern times, most of the

countries have adopted the concept of a welfare state instead of a police state. The

Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences describes a welfare state as a state which takes up

the responsibility to provide a minimum standard of subsistence to its citizens. Prof.

Kent remarked that by a welfare state we mean a state which provides extensive

services to the people. Thus, in a welfare state, the administration enters into

economic, political, social and educational life of individuals. And it provides

services to individuals, right from an individual’s birth to death.The state is to serve

the old, sick, orphans, widows, helpless, oppressed and the disabled people when

ever they are in need of services. In the context of the present day social problems,

the size of welfare services provided by an increasing lylarge number of

organisations make administration very important. Social welfare services, schemes,

projects and programmes, are becoming increasing complex. Since it is no longer

accepted that any normally intelligent person with good intentions can Dr. Ramesh

Bharadwaj, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra

Administration Before discussing the meaning of social welfare administration, it is

necessary to know the meaning of the term administration. Administration is a co-

operative human effort towards achieving some common goals. Thus every group

activity involves administration, whether in a family, factory, hospital, university, or

a government department. Whenever two or more people cooperate in view of doing

a thing that cannot be taken up alone, the concept of administration appear.The

word administration has been derived from the Latin words ‘ad’ and ‘ministrate’

which means to serve. In simple language, it means the ‘management of affairs’ or

‘looking after the people’. To administer is to manage, direct and serve.L.D. White

(1948) views that “the art of administration is the direction, coordination and control

of many persons to achieve some purpose or objective.”E.A. Nigro (1951) defines

“administration as the organisation and use of men and materials to accomplish a

purpose.”According to Herbert A. Simon (1960) “In its broadestsense,

administration can be defined as the activities of groups co-operative to accomplish

common goals.” 106Social Work Intervention with Communities and Institutions

fiffner defin es “administration as the organisation and direction of human and

material resources to achieve desired ends.”Thus, it is clear from above definitions

that administration is concerned with proper organisation of men and material to

achieve desired ends. It consists of doing the work or getting the work done by

others. Social Administration To achieve the aims and objectives of social welfare,

the government formulates social policies and programmes and in pursuance thereof

enacts sociallegislation, allocates financial assistance and provides organisational

and administrative linkages in the form of ministries and departments. It also seeks

the partnership of non-governmental organisations for the effective implementation

of various social welfare programmes. Administration of all these activities being

undertaken in the sphere of social services and social welfare is considered as

falling in the realm of social welfare administration. According to Richard

M.Titmus, 1948, “Social administration may broadly be defined as the study of

social services whose object is the improvement of conditions of life of the

individual in the setting of family and group relations.”D.V. Donnison, 1961 defines

social administration “as the study of development, structure and practices of social

services.”According to For oder (1974) “Social administration is concerned with

study of the welfare system, and particularly the government sponsored social

services”.Thus, social administration is concerned with the study of welfare system

of government’s sponsored social services.

Social Welfare Administration: Concept, Nature and Scope definitional Issues:

Social Welfare and Its Related Concepts A number of terms are used in social

welfare with subtle differences in their meanings. Some of the important terms are

explained as follows. Social Service: ‘Helping the helpless’ is social service.It is

service rendered to any person on the basis of desire to serve which is inspired by

the feeling of helping others. Thus the term ‘social service’ isused to denote help

given by a volunteer to an individual or group at the time of need or to enhancethe

welfare of individual or the community through personal efforts or by collective

action. Social service does not require training in social work or skill inprofessional

techniques.In the Indian context social services are those services,which are

provided on an extensive scale to the needy population; they serve to meet the basic

needs of the people and include such services as health,education, housing etc.

Providing drinking water duringsummer, helping the blind to cross a road,

rescuingpeople from a house under fire, donate blood etc.are some of the examples

of social service.Social Welfare Services: Thus social services arethe services,

meant for the normal population.Whereas, social welfare services are designed

forthe weaker sections of society or services for particulargroups of people. The aim

of social services on the other hand is to enhance human quality of resourcesin

general. Social welfare services are also enabling services provided to the weaker

sections of the community so as to help them to reach the mainstream of society.

Thus both these services aresupplementary and complementary to each other.Social

Security: Social security is the security thatsociety furnishes through provision of

appropriate

Social Work Intervention with Communities and Institutions services against

violation of certain rights to which its members are exposed. These risks are

essentially contingencies of life which the individuals of small means cannot

effectively provide for by their ownability or foresight alone or even with the helps

of their fellow human beings.Thus, social security is an effort on the part of the state

or the employer or any other related agency,to provide an individual all possible

help during periods of physical distress or illness or injuryand also at the time of

economic distress caused due to reduction or loss of earning on account of sickness,

disablement, maternity, unemployment, old age or death of the employee.The work

of social security is done through social assistance, social insurance, health and

social welfare services etc. Thus social security is a wider concept of social welfare.

Social Work: ‘Help the helpless to help themselves’.Social work is a method or

process based on scientific knowledge and skill to assist the individuals, group and

communities, with the view to enhance their social functioning to grow in

accordance with their knowledge, capacities and capabilities. Therefore,social

welfare has been used as an end and socialwork, as a means for the provision of

social welfare.Social Welfare: Social welfare is an organised systemof social

services and institutions, designed to aid individuals and groups, to attain satisfying

standardsof life and health. Social welfare therefore, aimsat providing services to

weaker sections of thepopulation who because of various handicaps suchas physical,

mental, economic and social, are unableto make use of social services provided by

societyor have been traditionally deprived of these services.

Social Welfare Administration: Concept, Nature and Scope109According to Wayne

Vasey (1958) social welfareincluded two main characteristics:The utilisation of

welfare measures to supportor strengthen the family as a basic social

institutionthrough which needs are met; andThe intent to strengthen the individuals’

capacityto cope with their life situation.The provision of social welfare includes

services forchildren, youth, women, aged, scheduled castes,scheduled tribes, other

backward classes, minorities,disabled, drug addicts, and economically under-

privileged such as destitute and unemployed. Socialwelfare programmes are,

therefore, directed toameliorate their conditions. Therefore, it requiresproper

administration.Social Welfare AdministrationSocial welfare administration is a

process throughwhich social policy is transformed into social services.It involves

the administration of public and privateagencies. The following definitions are

given toelaborate the meaning of social welfare administration.John C. Kidneigh

(1950) defines social welfareadministration as the “process of transforming

socialpolicy into social services... a two way process: (i)...transforming policy into

concrete social services and(ii) the use of experience in recommending

modificationof policy. This definition, of course, encompassesthe idea that

administration is the process oftransforming policies into action

programmes.According to Walter A. Friedlander (1958)‘administration of social

agencies translates theprovisions of social legislation of social agenciesand the aims

of private philanthropy and religiouscharities into the dynamics of services and

benefitsfor humanity.

Social Work Intervention with Communities and InstitutionsAccording to

Arthur Dunham (1962), “administrationis the process of supporting or facilitating

activitieswhich are necessary and incidental to services bya social agency.

Administrative activities range fromthe determination of function and policies,

andexecutive leadership to routine operations such askeeping records and accounts

and carrying onmaintenance of services.Harleigh Tracker (1971) interprets social

welfareadministration as a “process of working with peoplein ways that release and

relate their energies sothat they use all available resources to accomplishthe purpose

of providing needed community servicesand programmes.”The American Council

of Social Work Education inits curriculum study, has given a

comprehensivedefinition of social welfare administration. It

contains,“Administration is the process of transformingcommunity resources into a

programme of communityservice, in accordance with goals, policies andstandards

which has been agreed by those involved in the enterprise. It is creative in that it

structures roles and relationships in such a way as to alterand enhance the total

product. It involves the problem solving process of study, diagnosis and treatment”.

Therefore, on the basis of above definitions, we findthat it is a process which

includes definite knowledge, understanding, principles and ways of interaction.Its

main focus is on the suitability and accessibilityof social services to the needy.

Social work enablesthe process of administration through guidance, planning,

stimulation, organisation, creating structure, coordinating and research. To fulfil the

well defined main objectives of administration, policies are suitably amended;

programmes are formulated and budget,finance, personnel and selection procedures

are made:

Social Welfare Administration: Concept, Nature and Scope111Rosemary Sarri

(1971) has outlined the activitiesof social welfare administration as follows:

i)Translation of social mandates into operational policies and goals to guide

organisational behaviour;

ii) Design of organisational structures and processesthrough which the goals can be

achieved

iii)Securing of resources in the form of materials, staff, clients and societal

legitimation necessary for goal attainment and organisational survival

iv) Selection and engineering of the necessary technology;v) Optimizing

organisational behaviour directed towards increased effectiveness and efficiency

and

vi) Evaluation of organisational performance to facilitate systematic and continuous

solution of problems.

Features of Social WelfareAdministration

Although the concept of administration is applicablein a broader sense to areas

including social welfare,business and government, there are certain

distinctivefeatures of social welfare administration. A summaryof features

highlighting distinctiveness of social welfareadministration is given below:It is

concerned with social agencies and helpsthem to achieve their objectives within

targetcommunity. It is specifically concerned withidentification of social objectives

and formulation/implementation of programmes.From functional point of view, it

encompassesthree facets of social problems:

(i) Restoration impaired social functioning

(ii) Provision ofresources, social and individual, for more effectivesocial

functioning; (iii) Prevention of socialdysfunction.Despite variations in size, scope,

structure andtype of programmes, every agency has a governingboard as an apex

body for final decision making.The board is generally represented by thecommunity

it intends to serve.Social welfare administration requires optimumutilization of its

available resources together withactive community participation, so that the

ultimategoal of programmes can be achieved properly.Social welfare agencies have

to earmark certainportion of their resources for survival. But thisshould not limit

their capacity to achieve inquantitative and qualitative terms.Social welfare agencies

generally function in aco-operative manner and ensure participation ofall the

members in administration of theiractivities.There is a growing trend in these

agencies torecruit professionally qualified manpower. It has helped in introducing

professional approach in their functioning

History of Social Welfare Administration In India

Mutual aid has been part of every society. The desire to help one’s

fellowmen has been in existence from time immemorial but the forms and methods

of helphave been varying from society to society, dependingupon the social,

economic and political factors.Indian traditional view of social welfare is basedon

daya, dana, dakshina, bhiksha, samya-bhava, swadharma and tyaga, the essence of

which are self-discipline, self-sacrifice and consideration for others.Well-being of

all depend on these values upheld by people individually and through community

action.All the religions enjoined upon their devotees to put aside a portion of their

income to be utilised for charitable purposes as that would grant them happiness in

this world and salvation in the next world. The rulers of those days extended help

tothe afflicted part of the population during emergencies like floods, earthquakes,

fires, droughts and other natural calamities etc. From the administrative angle, in

India, the reigns of king Ashoka, Harsha, Chandra Gupta Maurya,Akbar, Sher Shah

Suri and Feroze Tuglak, are the landmarks of administration who took care of the

social needs of the people. The British Government also established an

administrative set-up intended mainly for maintaining law and order. Some social

reform measures were taken up by banning Satiand permitting widow remarriage by

Acts passed in1829 and 1856 respectively .After independence, the old

administrative pattern was more or less continued with necessary changes to suit the

social, political and economic set-up evolved. In the field of social welfare, during

the First Five Year Plan, government of India created a unique administrative

machinery consisting of an autonomous board named CSWB (Central Social

Welfare Board)in August 1953. Similarly, Social Welfare AdvisoryBoards were

established at state level. The main purpose of the Board (CSWB) has been to

provide financial and technical assistance to voluntary organisations working in the

field of social welfare. If we look at the history of administrative organisation,we

find that before 1964 social welfare programmes were being managed by different

ministries

education, home, industries, health, labour etc. The Renuka Ray Committee in its

report submitted in 1960, recommended the establishment of the Department of

Social Security. Under the Prime Ministership of Lal Bahadur Shastri, a Social

Security Department was established and located in the Ministry of Law on 14th

June 1964. Subjects, namely, social security, social welfare, backward classes and

khadiand handicrafts were allocated to the Department of Social Security. In 1966,

it was renamed as Social Welfare Department. It was located in the Ministry of

Education and Social Welfare created in 1971.Its status was raised to a ministry in

the year 1979.Its name was further changed to the Ministry of Social and Women

Welfare in 1984. With the creation of a separate Department of Women and Child

Development in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, it was reorganised

and its no men cloture was changed to the Ministry of Welfare in 1985 and

subsequently it was renamed as the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Thus, the Central government has set up a full-fledged ministry and organisations

subordinate toit, like National Commission for Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Minorities

Commission, National Institute of Social Defence, National Institute for the

Handicapped, Department of Women and Child Development, Central Social

Welfare Board, National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child Development

etc. under its administrative control. Besides the execution of social welfare

projects, schemes and programmes sponsored and financed wholly or partly by the

Central government; the state governments and union territory administrations

formulate and implement welfare service programmes on their own in their

respective jurisdictions. The state government/union territories administrations carry

out their welfare obligations and programmes

mainly through their Department of Social Welfare and voluntary organisations.

In most of the states there is now either a full-time Secretary for social welfare or it

is one of the main portfolios of a secretary. Thus social welfare schemes are still

spread over more than one department/directorate. The pattern of implementation of

some of the schemes, like old age pension, widow pension, and supplementary

nutrition programmes also varies from state to state. Though most of the states now

have district social welfare officers, there is no social welfare functionary at block

level.

SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

(1) Written and Detailed Constitution.

(2) Self-made and Enacted Constitution.

(3) Preamble of the Constitution.

(4) India is a Democratic Socialist State.

(5) India is a Secular State.

(6) India is a Democratic State.

(7) India is a Republic.

(8) India is a Union of States.

(9) Mixture of Federalism and Unitarianism.

10) Mixture of Rigidity and Flexibility.

(11) Fundamental Rights.

12) National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and State Human Rights

Commission and Protection of Human Rights.

13) Fundamental Duties of the Citizens.

14) Directive Principles of State Policy.

15) Bi-Cameral Union Parliament.

16) Parliamentary System.

17) Adult-Suffrage.

18) Single integrated State with Single Citizenship.

19) Single Integrated Judiciary.

20) Independence of Judiciary.

21) Judicial Review.

22) Judicial Activism.

23) Emergency Provisions.

24) Special Provisions relating to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

25) Provisions regarding Language.

The Lengthiest Constitution of the World

The Indian Constitution is one of the lengthiest constitutions in the world and it is

also very detailed. There are 12 schedules and 448 articles in our Constitution.

The Indian Constitution has incorporated various articles by taking inspiration

from the various constitutions around the world. As we all know, India is a very

diverse country and it was necessary to draft a long Constitution incorporating

various provisions in order to accommodate various differences. The parent

document for drafting the Indian Constitution was the Government of India Act

1935, and that document itself was very lengthy. The Constitution makers found it

necessary to incorporate various provisions to provide special attention to States

like Assam, Mizoram, and Nagaland. Various provisions were also incorporated

to uplift the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Establishment of a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic

The Preamble of our Constitution provides India to be a Sovereign, Socialist,

Secular, Democratic and Republic Country. There are also various other terms in the

Preamble which ensure equality and protect people. The various other terms are

Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.

SOVEREIGNTY

The term Sovereignty was incorporated in the Preamble to provide supreme power

to the Government. The term Sovereignty is the backbone of our Indian Constitution

that protects the authority of the people. Sovereignty is an essential factor of every

State. The term “sovereignty” as applied to states implies ‘Supreme, absolute, and

uncontrollable power by which any state is governed, and which resides within

itself, whether residing in a single individual or a number of individuals, or in the

whole body of the people’. The Sovereignty in India is of two types:

• Internal Sovereignty- The States have the power to govern themselves and

make laws in certain matters.

• External Sovereignty- The Government is the supreme authority and can

acquire or cede any part of the territory for proper reasons.

SECULARISM

It is mandatory to incorporate this term to promote peace between various

communities in our country. Secularism promotes the development and unity of

various religions. The term “Secular” was added by the 42nd amendment in the

Preamble. In the case of it was held that “in matters of State, religion has no place”

and also said that secularism is one of the basic features of the Constitution. In the

famous casheld that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the

grounds of religion.

DEMOCRACY

Democracy is an ancient concept that is followed by many south Indian rulers from

time immemorial. Democracy provides people with the power to govern. The

representative form of the Government is suitable for governing our country due to

the huge population. In the case of Mohan Lal Tripathi vs District Magistrate, the

meaning of the term “Democracy” was discussed and according to the case it was

held that “Democracy is a concept, a political philosophy an ideal which is practised

by many nations that is culturally advanced and politically mature via resorting to

governance by representatives of the people elected directly or indirectly”. The main

reason for incorporating democracy is to provide freedom to the people to choose

their own representatives and to save them from the tyrant leaders.

SOCIALIST

The system of socialism promotes equality among people and ensures the welfare of

people. The term “Socialist” was incorporated by the 42nd amendment. The term

Socialist was discussed in and according to the case,” the term socialist is used to

lessen the inequalities in income and status and to provide equality of opportunity

and facilities”. Many leaders were interested in the concept of socialism, especially

Jawaharlal Nehru was very much interested in this concept as he was inspired by the

Russian Revolution. There were also other famous leaders like Jay Prakash Narayan

who helped in the development of this concept. The concept of Socialism expels

capitalism which is considered a threat to the economy. There were developments in

economic policies to promote the concepts of Socialism.

REPUBLIC

The concept of “Republic” was borrowed from the Constitution of France. The term

republic provides the people power to elect their own representatives. The term

republic is the basis of our constitution as it ensures there would be no hereditary

rulers and also ensures that the election would be happening in our country. The

President of India is an elected head of the State for a fixed tenure.

JUSTICE

The Preamble of the Constitution of India guarantees three types of justice to its

citizens like:

• Social Justice- The concept of social justice promotes equal treatment of

citizens and promotes the rule of law. This term ensures that there would be

no discrimination among the citizens on different grounds. The fundamental

rights also provided in Part 3 of our Constitution also ensures social justice.

• Economic Justice- The concept of economic justice avoids discrimination

between genders, provides equal opportunity to work, and ensures the equal

distribution of wealth.

• Political Justice- This term provides all citizens to participate in the political

proceedings.

LIBERTY AND FRATERNITY

The term Liberty and Fraternity is provided in the Preamble of the Indian

Constitution. The term liberty and fraternity was used in the French revolution.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS:

The Fundamental Rights, embodied in Part III of the Constitution, guarantee

civil rights to all Indians, and prevent the State from encroaching an individual's

liberty while simultaneously placing upon it an obligation to protect the citizens'

rights from encroachment by society.

Seven fundamental rights were originally provided by the Constitution – the

right to equality, right to freedom, right against exploitation, right to freedom of

religion, cultural and educational rights, right to property and right to

constitutional remedies. However, the right to property was removed from Part

III of the Constitution by the 44th Amendment in 1978.

The purpose of the Fundamental Rights is to preserve individual liberty and

democratic principles based on equality of all members of society. Dr. Ambedkar

said that the responsibility of the legislature is not just to provide fundamental rights

but also and rather, more importantly, to safeguard them.

Fundamental rights are those rights which are essential for intellectual, moral and

spiritual development of citizens of India. As these rights are fundamental or

essential for existence and all-round development of individuals, they are called

'Fundamental rights'. These are enshrined in Part III (Articles 12 to 35) of

the Constitution of India.

These include individual rights common to most, such as equality before the law,

freedom of speech and freedom of expression, religious and cultural freedom,

Freedom of assembly (peaceful assembly), freedom of religion (freedom to practice

religion), right to constitutional remedies[1] for the protection of civil rights by

means of writs such as Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Writ of

Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto.

Fundamental rights apply universally to all citizens, irrespective of race, birthplace,

religion, caste, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity. The Indian Penal

Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and other laws prescribe punishments for the

violation of these rights, subject to the discretion of the judiciary. Though the rights

conferred by the constitution other than fundamental rights are also valid rights

protected by the judiciary, in case of fundamental rights violations, the Supreme

Court of India can be approached directly for ultimate justice as per Article 32. The

Rights have their origins in many sources, including England's Bill of Rights,

the United States Bill of Rights and France's Declaration of the Rights of Man.

There are six fundamental rights recognised by the Indian constitution

1. Right to equality (Articles. 14-18)

2. Right to Freedom (Articles. 19-22)

3. Right Against Exploitation (Articles. 23-24)

4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles. 25-28)

5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles. 29-30), and

6. Right to Constitutional remedies (Articles. 32)

1. The right to equality includes equality before the law, the prohibition of

discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sexual orientation, gender or

gender identity and/or place of birth, equality of opportunity in matters of

employment, the abolition of untouchability and abolition of titles.

2. The right to freedom includes freedom of speech and expression, assembly,

association or union or cooperatives, movement, residence, and right to practice any

profession or occupation.

3. The right against exploitation prohibits all forms of forced labour, child labour

and trafficking of human beings. Children under age of 14 are not allowed to work.

4. The right to freedom of religion includes freedom of conscience and free

profession, practice, and propagation of religion, freedom to manage religious

affairs, freedom from certain taxes and freedom from religious instructions in

certain educational institutes.

5. The Cultural and educational Rights preserve the right of any section of

citizens to conserve their culture, language or script, and right of minorities to

establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

6. The right to constitutional remedies is present for enforcement of fundamental

rights.

The right to privacy is an intrinsic part of Article 21 (the Right to Freedom) that

protects the life and liberty of the citizens.

The right to privacy is the newest right assured by the Supreme Court of India. It

assures the people's data and personal security.

Fundamental rights for Indians have also been aimed at overturning the inequalities

of pre-independence social practices. Specifically, they have also been used to

abolish untouchability and thus prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion,

race, caste, sex, or place of birth. They also forbid trafficking of human beings and

forced labour (a crime). They also protect cultural and educational rights of

religious establishments. Right to property was changed from fundamental right to l

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY:

The Directive Principles of State Policy of India are the guidelines or 15

principles given to the federal institutes governing the State of India, to be kept

in citation while framing laws and policies. These provisions, contained in Part

IV of the Constitution of India, are not enforceable by any court, but the

principles laid down there in are considered in the governance of the country,

making it the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws to

establish a just society in the country. The principles have been inspired by the

Directive Principles given in the Constitution of Ireland which are related to

social justice, economic welfare, foreign policy, and legal and administrative

matters. Directive Principles are classified under the following categories:

economic and socialistic, political and administrative, justice and legal,

environmental, protection of monuments, peace and security.

Now-a-days, terms like ‘right to education’, ‘right to information’ and ‘right to

protest peacefully’ are being used quite frequently. Many a time, you also feel that

you have certain rights. Simultaneously, you may have been told by some one, may

be your teacher, that you have certain duties towards other individuals, society,

nation or the humanity. But do you think that every human being enjoys the rights

or everyone performs the duties? Perhaps not. But everyone will agree that there are

certain rights that must be enjoyed by individuals. Particularly, in a democratic

country like ours, there are rights that must be guaranteed to every citizen. Similarly

there are certain duties that must be performed by democratic citizens. Which is

why, the Constitution of India guarantees some rights to its citizens. They are

known as Fundamental Rights. Besides, the Indian Constitution also enlists certain

core duties that every citizen is expected to perform. These are known as

Fundamental Duties. This lesson aims at discussing the details about the

Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties.

OBJECTIVES

After completing this lesson, you will be able to explain the meaning of rights and

duties and critically evaluate their need and importance in our day to day life assess

the importance of Fundamental Rights given in the Constitution of India and analyse

their exceptions and restrictions appreciate the implications of recently added Right

to Education compare between Fundamental Rights and Human Rights understand

the process of seeking justice through constitutional means in case of violation of

Fundamental Rights; and appreciate the importance of Fundamental Duties and the

need to perform them as a good and law-abiding citizen of India.

The Sapru Committee in 1945 suggested two categories of individual rights. One

being justiciable and the other being non-justiciable rights. The justiciable rights, as

we know, are the Fundamental rights, whereas the non-justiciable ones are the

Directive Principles of State Policy.

DPSP are ideals which are meant to be kept in mind by the state when it formulates

policies and enacts laws. There are various definitions to Directive Principles of

State which are given below:

• They are an ‘instrument of instructions’ which are enumerated in the

Government of India Act, 1935.

• They seek to establish economic and social democracy in the country.

• DPSPs are ideals which are not legally enforceable by the courts for their

violation.

Directive Principles of State Policy – Classification

Indian Constitution has not originally classified DPSPs but on the basis of their

content and direction, they are usually classified into three types-

• Socialistic Principles,

• Gandhian Principles and,

Liberal-Intellectual Principles.

Criticism of Directive Principles of State Policy

As a point of debate, the following reasons are stated for the criticism of Directive

Principles of State Policy:

1. It has no legal force

2. It is illogically arranged

3. It is conservative in nature

4. It may produce constitutional conflict between centre and state

What is the conflict between Fundamental Rights and DPSPs

With the help of four court cases given below, candidates can understand the

relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy:

Champakam Dorairajan Case (1951)

Supreme Court ruled that in any case of conflict between Fundamental Rights and

DPSPs, the provisions of the former would prevail. DPSPs were regarded to run as a

subsidiary to Fundamental Rights. SC also ruled that Parliament can amend

Fundamental Rights through constitutional amendment act to implement DPSPs.

Result: Parliament made the First Amendment Act (1951), the Fourth Amendment

Act (1955) and the Seventeenth Amendment Act (1964) to implement some of the

Directives.

Golaknath Case (1967)

Supreme Court ruled that Parliament cannot amend Fundamental Rights to

implement Directive Principles of State Policy.

Result: Parliament enacted the 24th Amendment Act 1971 & 25th Amendment Act

1971 declaring that it has the power to abridge or take away any of the Fundamental

Rights by enacting Constitutional Amendment Acts. 25th Amendment Act inserted

a new Article 31C containing two provisions:

•

o No law which seeks to implement the socialistic Directive Principles

specified in Article 39 (b)22 and (c)23 shall be void on the ground of

contravention of the Fundamental Rights conferred by Article 14

(equality before law and equal protection of laws), Article 19

(protection of six rights in respect of speech, assembly, movement, etc)

or Article 31 (right to property).

o No law containing a declaration for giving effect to such policy shall be

questioned in any court on the ground that it does not give effect to

such a policy.

Kesavananda Bharti Case (1973)

Supreme Court ruled out the second provision of Article 31C added by the 25th

Amendment Act during Golaknath Case of 1967. It termed the provision

‘unconstitutional.’ However, it held the first provision of Article 31C constitutional

and valid.

Result: Through the 42nd amendment act, Parliament extended the scope of the

first provision of Article 31C. It accorded the position of legal primacy and

supremacy to the Directive Principles over the Fundamental Rights conferred by

Articles 14, 19 and 31.

Minerva Mills Case (1980)

Supreme Court held the extension of Article 31C made by the 42nd amendment act

unconstitutional and invalid. It made DPSP subordinate to Fundamental Rights.

Supreme Court also held that ‘the Indian Constitution is founded on the bedrock

of the balance between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles.’

Supreme Court’s rulings following the case were:

• Fundamental Rights and DPSPs constitute the core of the commitment to

social revolution.

• The harmony and balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive

Principles of State Policy is an essential feature of the basic structure of the

Constitution.

• The goals set out by the Directive Principles have to be achieved without the

abrogation of the means provided by the Fundamental Rights.

Conclusion: Today, Fundamental Rights enjoy supremacy over the Directive

Principles. Yet, Directive Principles can be implemented. The Parliament can

amend the Fundamental Rights for implementing the Directive Principles, so long as

the amendment does not damage or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.