RBSE VU Political Science flashcards

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

Constituent Assembly

Body formed under Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 to draft the Indian Constitution; first met 9 December 1946; Dr Rajendra Prasad was President and Dr B.R. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee.

Objectives Resolution

Resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946, adopted 22 January 1947, outlining the ideals and philosophy of the Constitution; it formed the basis of the Preamble.

42nd Amendment

Enacted in 1976 during Emergency; added 'socialist', 'secular', 'integrity' to Preamble, added Fundamental Duties, and gave primacy to Directive Principles; called 'mini-Constitution'.

Article 32

Right to Constitutional Remedies; empowers Supreme Court to issue writs (habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, quo warranto) for enforcement of Fundamental Rights; called 'heart and soul' by Ambedkar.

Article 21

Protection of life and personal liberty; expanded by courts to include right to privacy, clean environment, speedy trial, livelihood, and education (21A); cannot be suspended during emergency.

Doctrine of Basic Structure

Judicial principle from Kesavananda Bharati (1973) that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution's basic features such as supremacy of Constitution, secularism, federalism, judicial review, and fundamental rights.

Directive Principles

Part IV (Articles 36-51) guidelines for state policy, borrowed from Ireland; non-justiciable but fundamental in governance; aim at social and economic democracy.

Article 44

Directive Principle directing the State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code throughout India; controversial due to personal laws; not yet implemented.

Fundamental Duties

Part IVA (Article 51A), added by 42nd Amendment 1976 on Swaran Singh Committee recommendation; eleven duties for citizens; non-justiciable but enforceable by law.

Money Bill

Defined in Article 110; deals with taxation, borrowing, Consolidated Fund; introduced only in Lok Sabha with President's recommendation; Rajya Sabha can only recommend within 14 days; Speaker certifies.

Article 356

President's Rule; allows President to assume state administration on failure of constitutional machinery; must be approved by Parliament within two months; maximum three years with conditions.

Collegium System

Judicial appointment mechanism evolved through Second and Third Judges Cases (1993, 1998); Chief Justice and senior judges recommend appointments; executive has limited role; criticised for opacity.

Seventh Schedule

Lists Union (97), State (66), and Concurrent (47) legislative subjects; residuary powers with Union; basis of Indian federal division of powers.

Article 249

Allows Parliament to legislate on a State List subject if Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by two-thirds majority, declaring it necessary in national interest; valid for one year.

Finance Commission

Constitutional body under Article 280; constituted every five years; recommends distribution of taxes between Union and states and grants-in-aid; chairman and four members.

73rd Amendment

1992 amendment adding Part IX and Eleventh Schedule; gave constitutional status to panchayats; three-tier system, reservations for SC/ST and women, State Election Commission and Finance Commission.

Gram Sabha

Article 243A; consists of all persons registered in electoral rolls of a village; exercises powers and functions at village level; foundation of participatory democracy.

PESA Act 1996

Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act; extends 73rd Amendment provisions to Fifth Schedule areas; gives special powers to Gram Sabha, including control over minor minerals and land.

Election Commission

Article 324; constitutional body conducting elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and offices of President and Vice-President; Chief Election Commissioner and two Commissioners; independent of executive.

Anti-Defection Law

Tenth Schedule, added by 52nd Amendment 1985; disqualifies legislators who voluntarily give up party membership or vote against party whip; Speaker decides; 91st Amendment 2003 strengthened it.

NOTA

None of the Above option on EVMs since 2013; allows voters to reject all candidates; does not lead to re-election; symbolic protest vote; Supreme Court mandated.

Sovereignty

Supreme and final authority of the state; internal (over citizens) and external (independent of other states); monistic view (Austin) vs pluralist view (Laski); popular sovereignty rests with people.

Positive Liberty

Concept of liberty as capacity to act and self-realisation; freedom to fulfil potential; associated with Isaiah Berlin's 'two concepts of liberty'; contrasted with negative liberty (absence of restraint).

Rawls's Justice

John Rawls's theory in 'A Theory of Justice'; justice as fairness; veil of ignorance; two principles: equal basic liberties and difference principle allowing inequalities if they benefit the least advantaged.

Plato's Philosopher King

Plato's ideal ruler in 'Republic'; philosopher with knowledge of Forms, especially the idea of good; rule by wisdom, not opinion; guardian class; justice as harmony of parts.

Hobbes's Social Contract

Thomas Hobbes's theory in 'Leviathan'; state of nature as war of all against all; people surrender rights to absolute sovereign for security; sovereignty indivisible and unlimited.

Rousseau's General Will

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's concept in 'The Social Contract'; collective will of citizens aimed at common good; distinct from will of all; basis of popular sovereignty and direct democracy.

Kautilya's Arthashastra

Ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economics, and military strategy; attributed to Kautilya (Chanakya); covers saptanga theory, diplomacy, taxation, espionage; realist approach.

Gandhi's Satyagraha

Method of non-violent resistance based on truth and ahimsa; used in Indian freedom struggle; includes non-cooperation, civil disobedience, fasting; moral force against injustice.

Ambedkar's Social Justice

B.R. Ambedkar's vision of annihilation of caste, constitutional morality, and political democracy accompanied by social democracy; championed rights of Dalits; drafted Constitution.

Non-Alignment

India's Cold War foreign policy of not joining US or Soviet blocs; founded NAM 1961 with Nehru, Nasser, Tito; emphasised strategic autonomy, anti-colonialism, and peaceful coexistence.

Panchsheel

Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence signed in India-China Agreement 1954; mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality, peaceful coexistence; basis of India's foreign policy.

Article 370

Special autonomous status for Jammu and Kashmir; abrogated in August 2019; state reorganised into two Union Territories; Supreme Court upheld abrogation in 2023.

Citizenship Amendment Act

2019 law granting fast-track citizenship to persecuted minorities (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, Christian) from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan who arrived before 31 December 2014; excludes Muslims; challenged in courts.