India consists of 28 States and 9 union territories. Together they make up the Indian Union. The Indian Union has a government at the center and one in each state.
The government at the center is known as Central Government and those in the states are known as State Governments.
This has been provided by the Constitution to govern the country properly.
The Constitution contains everything, the powers of the state and Union government, the form of government, the position and power of President and the Prime Minister of India
For example, during the war it is the duty of Central Government to protect and defend the borders. In case of certain matters, eg law and order or education within a state,the State Government shoulders the responsibility. The Central Government helps the state if the state faces problem like flood, femine or terrorist attacks.
The Indian Constitution came into effect on 26th January 1950. It is the longest written constitution in the world.
Our country is like a big family, wherein State Government has the powers of our Mummy and Daddy. If the family faces bigger problem then, grandparents steps into advice. Similarly, at the state level, if the problems are two big,then the Central Government steps into help, advice and control.
What is Government?
Government is the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit, the ruling power in political society, and operators through which governing body function and exercise authority.
Government protect people’s freedom and their rights, maintain law, order and provide security. It also runs schools, colleges, hospitals and public transport. In addition to this, government helps the poor in different ways by providing equal opportunities for all.
Levels of Government
India is a representative democracy where people are eligible to vote, elect representatives and participate in the decision making process.
The government works at different levels:
- National level
- State level
- Local level
National Level:
It refers to the area of the government which is concerned with national issues such as taxation, defence, international relations and trade.
State Level:
Each of the State Governments has its own police force, education system and road laws.
Local Level:
The local governments are known as Panchayats in rural areas and Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats in urban areas.
Types of Government
Government can be classified into several types. Some of the most common types of governments are democracy, monarchy, etc.
Democracy
It is a form of government run by elected representatives who hold the decision making power. The world democracy originate from the Greek word ‘demos’and ‘krotos’, meaning “rule of the people.” It can be classified into direct and indirect democracy.
Monarchy
A monarchy refers to the rule by a king or queen. Sometimes, a king is called an “emperor.” It is a government with a hereditary head of the state. It can be classified into two types, that is absolute and constitutional monarchy.
Representative Democracy
The type of democracy in which the citizens delegate authority to the elected representatives.
Who Makes Laws in Our Country?
The Parliament or Union Legislature has 2 houses - The Lok Sabha and The Rajya Sabha. The Parliament consists of the President, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha is the highest law making body of the country.
It is also called the House of People or Lower House because its members are elected directly by the people.
When elections take place, the Speaker of Lok Sabha is elected by its members.His responsibility is to guide the proceeding of Lok Sabha and even to maintain discipline among the members.
Any Indian citizen who is 18 years or above, enjoys the right to vote for a candidate of his choice.
An Indian citizen who is more than 25 years of age can contest election to the Lower House or the Lok Sabha.
Our country is divided into smaller units of constituencies. The candidate who get the highest number of votes in the constituency is declared the winner. He became the member of Lok Sabha.
A Lok Sabha can have maximum of 552 members.
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of Parliament. The Vice President of India is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
The Rajya Sabha is different from the Lok Sabha. Its members are not directly elected by the people.Members of the state legislative assemblies elect them.
There are maximum of 250 members out of which, 238 are elected ones and 12 are nominated by the President of India.
The members of Rajya Sabha are elected for a period of six years.
One-third of its member retire every two years and then new members came in their place.Rajya Sabha is the permanent body that cannot be dissolved.
The President
The president is the head of the country.
The elected members of Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies form an Electoral College to elect the president.
The President is elected for a period of five years.
Forming The Government
Our country is a democratic country.
Democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people.
The citizens of India contest or fight elections as independent candidates or by forming political parties.
The party which gets the maximum seats forms the government. Sometimes when no single party gets a majority then many parties came together and form the government. This is called the Coalition Government. The majority party elects its leader, who is appointed as Prime Minister by the President of India. He/She then forms the Cabinet and Council of Minister. The ministers are either from Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. The leader of party that has the second largest number of members in Parliament is chosen as the leader of theOpposition.
State Government
Every state has legislative assembly called the Vidhan Sabha.
It makes laws for the state. The member of Legislative Assembly(MLA) are elected for a term of five years.
A direct election takes place in the state. This means that, they are directly elected by the people who are Indian citizens above 18 years of age. A state is also divided into constituencies. From each constituency the candidates who gets maximum number of votes is declared elected.When they Assembly election results are declared, the party that gets the maximum seat in the Legislative Assembly forms the Government. Governor who is the head of the state invites the leader of majority party to form the government. Now the leader of majority party becomes the Chief Minister of the state.
Governer is the head of the state here. He/She is appointed by the President of India for the term of five years.
The Judiciary
Judiciary is an important organ of the state.
The Constitution of India provides for an independent judiciary. The Supreme Court is the apex court in India.
Based in New Delhi the Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in our country. The Chief Justice of India heads the Supreme Court. There are many other judges in the Supreme Court. All are appointed by President of India. At the state level, the High Court is at the head of the judicial administration.
The head is the Chief Justice of the state. Each state consists of districts. Each district has the District and Session Court headed by a judge known as the District and Session Judge respectively.