Working of Political InstitutionsEfforts by: Aagman Saini

Democracy is not just about people electing their rulers. In a democracy the rulers have to

follow some rules and procedures. They have to work with and within institution.

What are Institutions ?

On August 13,1990, the government of India issued an order. It was called an office

memorandum. The joint secretory, an officer in the department of personnel and training in the ministry of personnel, public grievances

and pensions, signed the order. The order was barely one page in size. It looked like an

ordinary order. But this one was very important and became a source of controversy

for several years.

The Order….

This order announced a major decision. It said that 27% of the vacancies in civil posts and services under the government of India are reserved for the socially and educationally

backward classes (SEBC). Now a third category called SEBC was introduced after ST AND SC. Other people could not compete for the 27%

of the jobs.

What this order said?

Job Reservation

SC 15%ST 7.5%SEBC 27%Other 50.5%

The office memorandum was the culmination of a long chain of events. The government of India had appointed the second backward classes commission in 1979. it was

headed by B.P. Mandal. It was asked to determine the criteria to identify the social and educationally backward classes in India and recommend the steps to be taken for their advancement. The commission gave its report and

made the recommendations.

B.P. Mandal

Decision Makers

To attend to all the tasks, i.e., taking important decisions, collect taxes and spend them in

welfare of people etc. , several arrangements are made in all modern democracies. Such

decisions are called institutions. A democracy works well when these institutions perform the

functions assigned to them.

Why political institutions ?

The Indian Parliament is the supreme legislative body in India. Parliament is composed of:

The President of India Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha The president in his role as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha. However, the president rarely exercises such powers without the advice of the prime minister.

India's government is bicameral; Rajya Sabha is the upper house and Lok Sabha is the lower house. The two houses meet in separate chambers in the Sansad Bhavan. Those elected or nominated (by the President) to either house of Parliament are referred to as members of parliament or MPs. The MPs of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the Indian public and the MPs of Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of the State Legislative Assemblies, in accordance with proportional representation.

Parliament

Parliament is the final authority for making laws in any country.

Parliament in India exercise full and direct control over those who run the government.

Parliament controls all the money that the government has.

Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues.

Why Parliament?

At different levels of any government there are functionaries who take day to day decisions but do not exercise supreme power on behalf on people. All these functionaries are together known as executive. They are called executive because they are in charge of the execution of the policies of the government.

Political Executive

The Indian Judiciary administers a common law system of legal jurisdiction, in which customs, precedents and legislation, all codify the law of the land. The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of its jurisdiction which extends throughout the territory of the country.It has in part, inherited the legacy of the legal system established by the then colonial powers and the princely states since the mid-19th century, and has partly retained characteristics of practices from the ancient and medieval times.There are various levels of judiciary in India – different types of courts, each with varying powers depending on the tier and jurisdiction bestowed upon them. They form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, with the Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with district judges sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge (Junior Division) at the bottom. Courts hear criminal and civil cases, including disputes between individuals and the government. The Indian judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches of government according to the Constitution.

The Judiciary

Judiciary’s decisions are binding on all the courts of India(by supreme court).Courts can take up any dispute between: Citizens of the country, Citizens and government, Two or more state governments(by supreme

court only), Governments at the union and state level(by

supreme court only).

Why Judiciary?

Thank you