Constitution, Secularism, Parliament, Judiciary and Marginalisation (Class VIII Social and Political Life)

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The Indian Constitution

A constitution states a nation's ideals, sets the rules of government, limits the misuse of power and protects minorities from domination by the majority. India's Constituent Assembly of about 300 members drafted it between December 1946 and November 1949, with Dr B.R. Ambedkar as chairman of the Drafting Committee. Its key features are federalism, the parliamentary form of government, the separation of powers, Fundamental Rights and secularism. The Fundamental Rights are equality (Articles 14-18), freedom (19-22), against exploitation (23-24, banning trafficking, forced labour and child labour), freedom of religion (25-28), cultural and educational rights (29-30) and constitutional remedies (32). NCERT calls them the conscience of the Constitution, while the Directive Principles guide governments towards social and economic justice. Article 21A, added by the 86th Amendment in 2002, makes free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 a Fundamental Right.

Understanding secularism

Secularism means separating religion from the State, so that no religious community dominates another, no members dominate others within the same community, and the State neither enforces a religion nor takes away religious freedom. The Indian State has no official religion. It keeps its distance from religion (government schools cannot promote any one religion, and under Article 28 no religious instruction is given in institutions wholly maintained by the State), practises non-interference (Sikhs need not wear helmets, as the turban is central to their faith) and intervenes to end discrimination, as in abolishing untouchability. In the United States, by contrast, religion and the State are kept strictly apart and neither may interfere in the other's affairs. The word secular was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment in 1976.

Parliament and laws

Parliament consists of the President, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha members are elected directly from constituencies, and the party or coalition with a majority forms the government, with its leader as Prime Minister. Parliament selects the national government, controls, guides and informs it, and makes laws; in Question Hour members question ministers, and the Opposition holds the government to account. Most Rajya Sabha members are elected by the elected members of the state legislative assemblies, and 12 are nominated by the President. A bill becomes law when both Houses pass it and the President gives assent. The rule of law means no one is above the law, unlike under the colonial Sedition Act of 1870, which let the British arrest critics without due trial. Citizens shape laws too, as women's groups did for the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.

The judiciary

Courts resolve disputes, carry out judicial review (striking down laws that violate the Constitution) and uphold the law and Fundamental Rights; the separation of powers keeps them independent. The Supreme Court in New Delhi was set up on 26 January 1950, the first High Courts in 1862 at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, and below them are the district courts. Under the appellate system a person can appeal to a higher court: in the Sudha Goel case the High Court acquitted the accused in 1983, but in 1985 the Supreme Court convicted Laxman and his mother. Criminal law deals with offences such as theft or dowry harassment, begins with an FIR and can lead to jail; civil law deals with matters such as land, rent or divorce and begins with a petition. Public Interest Litigation, developed in the early 1980s, lets anyone approach the High Court or Supreme Court for people whose rights are violated, even by letter. Article 22 protects arrested persons, and Article 39A provides free legal aid.

Understanding marginalisation

To be marginalised is to be pushed to the fringes of society because of language, customs, religion, poverty or low social status. Adivasis, literally original inhabitants, were 8.6 per cent of India's population at Census 2011, and many lost lands and forests to mines, dams and forest laws. The Sachar Committee, set up in 2005, found that Muslims lagged behind in literacy, school attendance and public employment. Dalit, meaning broken, is a term that people of castes once treated as untouchable use for themselves. Safeguards include the Fundamental Rights, reservation in education and government jobs, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, the 1993 Act banning the employment of manual scavengers (the Safai Karmachari Andolan filed a PIL in 2003 to enforce it), and the Forest Rights Act 2006.

Public facilities and social justice

Public facilities such as water, sanitation, health care, electricity, public transport and schools must reach everyone; the right to water is recognised as part of the right to life under Article 21. Laws on minimum wages, worker safety and the environment protect people only if they are enforced. On the night of 2-3 December 1984 methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant at Bhopal, and more than 8,000 people died within three days; in 1989 the company settled for 470 million dollars, far less than the 3 billion dollars claimed. Since then courts have held that the right to life includes the right to a pollution-free environment.

Key facts

Fundamental Rights: equality (14-18), freedom (19-22), against exploitation (23-24), freedom of religion (25-28), cultural and educational (29-30), constitutional remedies (32).
Key features of the Constitution: federalism, parliamentary government, separation of powers, Fundamental Rights, secularism; Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee.
Article 21A (86th Amendment, 2002): free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14; Article 24 bans employing children under 14 in factories and mines.
Indian secularism: distance (no religion promoted in government schools, Article 28), non-interference (Sikh helmet exemption), intervention (untouchability abolished); 'secular' added to the Preamble in 1976.
Parliament: President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha; Question Hour lets members question ministers; 12 Rajya Sabha members are nominated by the President.
Judiciary: dispute resolution, judicial review, upholding the law; first High Courts 1862 (Calcutta, Bombay, Madras); Supreme Court from 26 January 1950; PIL from the early 1980s.
Criminal law begins with an FIR and can lead to jail; civil law begins with a petition (land, rent, divorce) and seeks relief such as compensation.
Safeguards against marginalisation: SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, ban on manual scavenging 1993, Forest Rights Act 2006; Sachar Committee (2005) on Muslims.
Bhopal gas tragedy, 2-3 December 1984: methyl isocyanate from the Union Carbide plant; more than 8,000 dead within three days; settlement of 470 million dollars in 1989.
In class: run a mock Parliament with a Question Hour on the school's water supply, then ask students which Fundamental Right each question relates to.

Quick revision

Constituent Assembly 1946-49; key features: federalism, parliamentary form, separation of powers, Fundamental Rights, secularism; Article 21A (2002); Indian secularism: distance, non-interference, intervention; Parliament: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Question Hour; rule of law and the Sedition Act of 1870; judiciary: judicial review, appeals, PIL; marginalisation: Adivasis, Muslims, Dalits; Atrocities Act 1989; Bhopal 1984.

Practise this topic

All 10 lessons on Social Studies and its Pedagogy (Paper II)