PSEB SS Political Science flashcards

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

Sovereignty

The supreme and final authority of a state to make and enforce laws within its territory without external interference. In a democracy, popular sovereignty locates this authority in the people.

Preamble

The introductory statement of the Indian Constitution declaring its source of authority (the people) and its objectives: justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. It is not enforceable but guides interpretation.

Fundamental Rights

Justiciable rights in Part III (Articles 12–35) protecting individuals against state action. They can be enforced through writs in the Supreme Court (Article 32) and High Courts (Article 226).

Directive Principles

Non-justiciable guidelines in Part IV (Articles 36–51) directing the state toward social and economic democracy. Article 37 makes them fundamental in governance though not enforceable in courts.

Fundamental Duties

Eleven duties of citizens listed in Article 51A, added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) and expanded by the 86th Amendment (2002). They are non-justiciable moral and constitutional obligations.

Basic Structure Doctrine

The principle from Kesavananda Bharati (1973) that Parliament may amend the Constitution but cannot destroy its essential features, such as supremacy of the Constitution, secularism and judicial review.

Judicial Review

The power of courts to examine laws and executive actions for conformity with the Constitution and to declare them void if inconsistent, derived from Articles 13, 32, 226 and related provisions.

Writ Jurisdiction

The power to issue writs such as habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari. Article 32 empowers the Supreme Court and Article 226 the High Courts.

Money Bill

A bill dealing only with taxation, borrowing, the Consolidated Fund and related financial matters, certified by the Speaker under Article 110. It is introduced only in the Lok Sabha.

Rajya Sabha

The Council of States, the upper house of Parliament representing states and union territories. Members are elected indirectly and serve six-year terms, with one-third retiring every two years.

Lok Sabha

The House of the People, the directly elected lower house of Parliament. Its members serve five-year terms unless dissolved earlier, and it controls the Council of Ministers through confidence.

President of India

The constitutional head of state elected indirectly by an electoral college for five years. The President acts on ministerial advice under Article 74 and holds mostly formal and ceremonial powers.

Council of Ministers

The body headed by the Prime Minister that aids and advises the President under Article 74. It is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha and forms the real executive of the Union.

Collective Responsibility

The principle that the Council of Ministers is jointly answerable to the Lok Sabha. Loss of a confidence vote requires the entire ministry to resign, ensuring executive accountability to the legislature.

Federalism

A system dividing powers between a central government and constituent units, each supreme in its sphere. India's federalism has a strong unitary bias, seen in emergency provisions and single citizenship.

Anti-Defection Law

The Tenth Schedule (52nd Amendment, 1985) disqualifies legislators who voluntarily leave their party or defy its whip. The 91st Amendment (2003) removed the one-third split exemption.

Election Commission

A constitutional body under Article 324 that superintends elections to Parliament, State Legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President, ensuring free and fair electoral processes.

Panchayati Raj

The three-tier rural local government system mandated by the 73rd Amendment (1992), with gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zila parishad, and the Eleventh Schedule's 29 subjects.

National Emergency

A proclamation under Article 352 on grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion. It may suspend fundamental rights and alter centre-state relations, subject to parliamentary approval.

State Emergency

A proclamation under Article 356 when constitutional machinery fails in a state. The President assumes state functions, and Parliament must approve it within two months.

Social Contract

The idea that political authority arises from an agreement among people. Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau used it to explain sovereignty, natural rights and the general will respectively.

General Will

Rousseau's concept of the collective will of citizens directed toward the common good. It differs from the sum of individual wills and grounds his theory of popular sovereignty.

Satyagraha

Gandhi's method of non-violent resistance based on truth and moral force. It seeks to convert the opponent through self-suffering rather than coercion or violence.

Constitutional Morality

Ambedkar's idea that constitutional forms must be upheld by a spirit of loyalty to constitutional values such as justice, liberty and equality, not merely by legal text or procedure.

Kautilya

Author of the Arthashastra, an ancient treatise on statecraft. He described the saptanga theory of the state and emphasised diplomacy, intelligence and the welfare of subjects.

Pressure Groups

Organised groups that seek to influence public policy without contesting elections, such as trade unions and business associations. They supplement electoral representation in a plural democracy.

Bureaucracy

The permanent, salaried administrative apparatus that implements policy. In a democracy it is expected to be politically neutral and anonymous, serving the government of the day.

Sovereign Equality

A founding principle of the UN Charter under which all states, regardless of size or power, have equal legal status and independence in international relations.

Non-Alignment

India's Cold War policy of avoiding military blocs while pursuing independent foreign policy, later reframed as strategic autonomy in a multipolar world.

Liberty

The freedom to act and choose within limits set by law so that others' freedom is preserved. It is not licence, since unrestrained action destroys the freedom of others.

Equality

The principle that all persons have equal moral worth and equal treatment before the law. It includes equality of opportunity and is linked to the abolition of discrimination.

Justice

The fair distribution of benefits and burdens in society, including legal, political and social justice. In the Indian Preamble it covers social, economic and political dimensions.