PSEB SS Political Science cheat sheet

The Preamble declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic and lists justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as its objectives; it is not enforceable in courts but is used to interpret the Constitution.

Fundamental Rights (Articles 12–35) are justiciable and enforceable through writs under Article 32 (Supreme Court) and Article 226 (High Courts); the Right to Property was removed as a fundamental right by the 44th Amendment (1978) and became Article 300A.

Directive Principles of State Policy (Articles 36–51) are non-justiciable but fundamental in governance; Article 37 states they shall not be enforceable by any court yet are fundamental in the governance of the country.

Fundamental Duties were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation; Article 51A originally listed ten duties and the 86th Amendment (2002) added the eleventh (education of children aged 6–14).

The Union executive: the President is elected indirectly by an electoral college under Article 54, holds office for five years, and acts on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers (Article 74, made binding by the 42nd Amendment and affirmed in Shamsher Singh).

Parliament consists of the President, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha (Article 79); money bills can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha with the President's prior recommendation (Article 110, 117), and the Rajya Sabha can retain a money bill for at most 14 days.

The Supreme Court's jurisdiction includes original (Article 131), appellate (Articles 132–134), advisory (Article 143) and writ jurisdiction (Article 32); judicial review flows from Articles 13, 32, 131–136 and 226.

Basic structure doctrine: Parliament cannot amend the Constitution so as to destroy its essential features (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973); the 24th Amendment had earlier made amendments immune from Article 13 challenge.

Federal features coexist with unitary bias: single citizenship, All-India Services, emergency provisions (Articles 352, 356, 360), and the Governor's appointment by the President illustrate the strong-centre design.

Elections: the Election Commission of India (Article 324) conducts elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President; the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 by the 61st Amendment (1988).

Anti-defection: the Tenth Schedule (52nd Amendment, 1985) disqualifies a legislator who voluntarily gives up party membership or votes against the party whip; the 91st Amendment (2003) removed the one-third split exemption and capped Council of Ministers size.

Panchayati Raj: the 73rd Amendment (1992) added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects); the 74th Amendment added Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule (18 subjects); both mandate three-tier structures and reservation for women.

Emergency: a National Emergency (Article 352) may be proclaimed on grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion; a State Emergency (Article 356) follows failure of constitutional machinery; a Financial Emergency (Article 360) has never been used.

Political theory concepts: liberty is not licence but action within law; equality means equal treatment and equality of opportunity; justice involves distributive fairness; rights imply correlative duties.

Key thinkers: Plato's philosopher-king and theory of ideas; Aristotle's classification of constitutions and rule of the middle class; Hobbes's social contract and absolute sovereignty; Locke's natural rights and consent; Rousseau's general will and popular sovereignty; Mill on liberty and representative government.

Indian political thought: Kautilya's Arthashastra on statecraft and the saptanga theory of state; Gandhi's satyagraha, swaraj and trusteeship; Ambedkar's critique of caste and advocacy of constitutional morality; Nehru's democratic socialism and non-alignment.

Public administration basics: bureaucracy's neutrality and anonymity; the distinction between policy formulation and implementation; the role of civil society and pressure groups in a plural democracy.

International relations basics: sovereignty and non-interference; the UN Charter's principles of sovereign equality and collective security; India's non-alignment and later strategic autonomy; regional organisations such as SAARC and ASEAN.