KSEAB SSLC Political Science flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Constituent Assembly

The body that drafted the Indian Constitution. It first met on 9 December 1946, adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, and included members elected by provincial assemblies.

Preamble

The introductory statement of the Constitution declaring India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic and listing justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as its objectives.

Basic structure doctrine

The principle from Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution in a way that destroys its essential features.

Article 368

The provision describing the procedure for amending the Constitution, requiring a special majority and, for federal provisions, ratification by at least half the State legislatures.

Article 14

Guarantees equality before the law and the equal protection of the laws to all persons within the territory of India, permitting reasonable classification but forbidding arbitrariness.

Article 21

Protects the right to life and personal liberty, interpreted after Maneka Gandhi (1978) to require any depriving procedure to be fair, just and reasonable.

Habeas corpus

A writ ordering that a detained person be produced before a court so that the legality of detention can be examined; available under Articles 32 and 226.

Article 32

The right to move the Supreme Court directly for enforcement of Fundamental Rights, described by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as the heart and soul of the Constitution.

Article 51A

Lists the Fundamental Duties of citizens, inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976; they are non-justiciable moral obligations, with the eleventh duty added in 2002.

Article 40

A Directive Principle directing the State to organise village panchayats and endow them with powers and authority to function as units of self-government.

Article 44

A Directive Principle directing the State to endeavour to secure a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.

Article 37

States that Directive Principles are not enforceable in any court, yet are fundamental in the governance of the country and must guide law-making.

Money Bill

A bill dealing only with taxation, borrowing or expenditure from the Consolidated Fund; introduced only in the Lok Sabha, it can be delayed by the Rajya Sabha for at most 14 days.

Collective responsibility

The constitutional convention under Article 75 that the Council of Ministers is jointly answerable to the Lok Sabha and must resign if it loses its confidence.

Judicial review

The power of courts to examine laws and executive actions and declare them unconstitutional if they violate the Constitution or Fundamental Rights.

Article 143

Gives the President power to refer a question of law or fact of public importance to the Supreme Court for its advisory opinion.

Seventh Schedule

Contains the Union List, State List and Concurrent List that distribute legislative powers between Parliament and State legislatures under the federal scheme.

Article 356

Allows the President to assume the functions of a State government when the constitutional machinery in that State has failed, commonly called President's Rule.

73rd Amendment Act

The 1992 amendment that gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions through Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule listing 29 subjects.

Finance Commission

A constitutional body under Article 280, constituted every five years, that recommends how net tax proceeds should be shared between the Union and the States.

Election Commission of India

A constitutional body under Article 324 that conducts elections to Parliament, State legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President and enforces the Model Code of Conduct.

First-Past-The-Post

The electoral system used for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in which the candidate with the highest number of valid votes wins, even without a majority.

Anti-defection law

The Tenth Schedule provision that disqualifies legislators who voluntarily leave their party or defy a party whip on a vote, with the Speaker deciding such cases.

Model Code of Conduct

A set of Election Commission guidelines that regulates campaigning, government announcements and expenditure from the announcement of elections until results are declared.

Pressure groups

Organised groups such as trade unions and business associations that seek to influence public policy through lobbying, strikes and campaigns without contesting elections.

Chipko movement

A forest protection movement in the Himalayan region, especially Uttarakhand in the 1970s, in which villagers hugged trees to prevent felling.

Public opinion

The aggregate of citizen views on public issues, shaped by family, education, media, political parties, community organisations and opinion leaders.

Non-Alignment

India's Cold War policy of not joining either superpower bloc, associated with Nehru and the Non-Aligned Movement founded in Belgrade in 1961.

Panchsheel

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence signed by India and China in 1954, covering sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and peaceful coexistence.

UN Security Council

The principal UN organ for international peace and security, with five permanent veto-holding members and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act

The 2013 law creating an ombudsman at the Union level and in each State to investigate allegations of corruption against public functionaries.

Karnataka Legislative Council

The upper House of Karnataka's legislature with 75 members: 25 elected by MLAs, 25 by local bodies, 7 by graduates, 7 by teachers and 11 nominated.