all about political institutions

1. Working of Political Institutions
Efforts by: Aagman Saini

2. Democracy is not just about people electing their rulers. In
a democracy the rulers have to follow some rules and
procedures. They have to work with and within institution.
What are Institutions ?

3. On August 13,1990, the government of India issued an
order. It was called an office memorandum. The joint
secretory, an officer in the department of personnel
and training in the ministry of personnel, public
grievances and pensions, signed the order. The order
was barely one page in size. It looked like an ordinary
order. But this one was very important and became a
source of controversy for several years.
The Order….

4. This order announced a major decision. It said that 27%
of the vacancies in civil posts and services under the
government of India are reserved for the socially and
educationally backward classes (SEBC). Now a third
category called SEBC was introduced after ST AND SC.
Other people could not compete for the 27% of the jobs.
What this order said?
Job Reservation
SC 15%
ST 7.5%
SEBC 27%
Other 50.5%

5. The office memorandum was the culmination of a long chain of
events. The government of India had appointed the second
backward classes commission in 1979. it was headed by B.P.
Mandal. It was asked to determine the criteria to identify the social
and educationally backward classes in India and recommend the
steps to be taken for their advancement. The commission gave its
report and made the recommendations.
B.P. Mandal
Decision Makers

6. To attend to all the tasks, i.e., taking important
decisions, collect taxes and spend them in welfare of
people etc. , several arrangements are made in all
modern democracies. Such decisions are called
institutions. A democracy works well when these
institutions perform the functions assigned to them.
Why political institutions ?

7. The Indian Parliament is the supreme legislative body in India. Parliament is composed of:
 The President of India
 Lok Sabha
 Rajya Sabha
The president in his role as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either
house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha. However, the president rarely exercises such
powers without the advice of the prime minister.
India's government is bicameral; Rajya Sabha is the upper house and Lok Sabha is the lower
house. The two houses meet in separate chambers in the Sansad Bhavan. Those elected or
nominated (by the President) to either house of Parliament are referred to as members of
parliament or MPs. The MPs of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the Indian public and the MPs
of Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of the State Legislative Assemblies, in accordance
with proportional representation.
Parliament

8.  Parliament is the final authority for making laws in any
country.
 Parliament in India exercise full and direct control
over those who run the government.
 Parliament controls all the money that the
government has.
 Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and
debate on public issues.
Why Parliament?

9. At different levels of any government there are
functionaries who take day to day decisions but do not
exercise supreme power on behalf on people. All these
functionaries are together known as executive. They
are called executive because they are in charge of the
execution of the policies of the government.
Political Executive

10. The Indian Judiciary administers a common law system of legal jurisdiction, in which
customs, precedents and legislation, all codify the law of the land. The Constitution of
India is the supreme legal document of its jurisdiction which extends throughout the
territory of the country.
It has in part, inherited the legacy of the legal system established by the then colonial
powers and the princely states since the mid-19th century, and has partly retained
characteristics of practices from the ancient and medieval times.
There are various levels of judiciary in India – different types of courts, each with varying
powers depending on the tier and jurisdiction bestowed upon them. They form a strict
hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, with the
Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with
district judges sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge
(Junior Division) at the bottom. Courts hear criminal and civil cases, including disputes
between individuals and the government. The Indian judiciary is independent of the
executive and legislative branches of government according to the Constitution.
The Judiciary

11. Judiciary’s decisions are binding on all the courts of
India(by supreme court).
Courts can take up any dispute between:
 Citizens of the country,
 Citizens and government,
 Two or more state governments(by supreme court
only),
 Governments at the union and state level(by supreme
court only).
Why Judiciary?