Introduction

The Indian Constitution was written by a team of experts led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who is often referred to as the “Father of the Indian Constitution”. The original text of the constitution was handwritten by Prem Behari Narain Raizada, a skilled calligrapher, in a flowing italic style. Later, the original text was decorated and beautified by artists from Shantiniketan, including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nand Lal Bose.Here is introduction of Indian polity

Indian Polity is a discipline that includes a wide range of topics such as the development of the Constitution, Citizenship, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, the Executive, the President, the Prime Minister & Council of Ministers, Judiciary, State Governments, Local Government, Election system, and many more.

Importance of Indian Polity

Civil Services : Indian Polity is an essential subject for the Civil Services Exam. It covers topics such as the Indian Constitution, political ideologies, constitutional bodies, and more.

Public Administration: Indian Polity plays a vital role in public administration. It helps administrators understand the legal framework, governance structures, and decision-making processes.

Political Science: Indian Polity is a core component of political science studies. It explores topics like political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and more.

Key Topics in Indian Polity

Indian Constitution: Understanding the Indian Constitution is crucial to grasp the fundamentals of Indian Polity. It covers topics such as the historical background of the Indian Constitution, list of all articles (1-395) and parts (1-22), schedules of the Indian Constitution, and more.

Three Organs of the State: The three organs of the state – Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary – are essential components of Indian Polity. Understanding their roles and functions is crucial to comprehend how governance works in India.

The Indian Constitution is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions. The Constitution sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens1. It is based on the proposal suggested by M.N. Roy.

The Constitution of India is the longest constitution in the world. It originally consisted of 395 Articles arranged under 22 Parts and 8 Schedules.

The Indian Constitution has 12 schedules that categorize and tabulate bureaucratic activities and policies of the government 12. The schedules were first mentioned in the Government of India Act, 1935, where it included 10 schedules. Later, when the Indian Constitution was adopted in 1949, it consisted of 8 schedules. Today, with the amendments in the Indian Constitution, there are a total of 12 schedules-

Schedule of indian constitution:

Here is a brief description of each schedule:

1. First Schedule: It contains the name of states and union territories. Territorial jurisdiction of states is also included.
2. Second Schedule: It contains the provisions in relation to allowances, privileges, emoluments of the President of India, Governors of Indian States, Speaker of Lok Sabha & Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, Chairman of Rajya Sabha & Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assemblies of Indian States, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Legislative Councils of the Indian States, Supreme Court Judges, High Court Judges, and Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG).
3. Third Schedule: It contains the forms of oath and affirmation for Union Ministers of India, Parliament Election Candidates, Members of Parliament (MPs), Supreme Court Judges, Comptroller and Auditor General, State Ministers, State Legislature Elections’ Candidates, State Legislature Members, and High Court Judges.
4. Fourth Schedule: It contains the provisions in relation to the allocation of seats for States and Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha.
5. Fifth Schedule: It contains provisions in relation to the administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes.
6. Sixth Schedule: It contains provisions in relation to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
7. Seventh Schedule: This schedule deals with the three legislative lists: Union List (for central government), State List (for state government), and Concurrent List (for both central and state governments).
8. Eighth Schedule: It deals with the 22 official languages recognized by the Constitution of India.
9. Ninth Schedule: It deals with state acts and regulations that deal with land reforms and abolition of the zamindari system. It also deals with acts and regulations passed by Parliament dealing with other matters.
10. Tenth Schedule: It deals with anti-defection laws for members elected to either house of Parliament or state legislature.
11. Eleventh Schedule: It deals with powers and responsibilities assigned to Panchayats (local self-governments) under Article 243G.
12. Twelfth Schedule: It deals with powers and responsibilities assigned to Municipalities under Article 243W.

Here are some important amendments to the Indian Constitution:

1. First Amendment Act, 1951: This amendment empowered the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and backward classes. It also added the Ninth Schedule.
2. Fourth Amendment Act, 1955: This amendment included additional acts in the Ninth Schedule.
3. Seventh Amendment Act, 1956: It introduced the provision of having a common High Court for two or more states. It also abolished Class A, B, C, and D states and formed 14 states and 6 union territories.
4. Ninth Amendment Act, 1960: This amendment made adjustments to Indian territory as a result of an agreement with Pakistan.
5. Tenth Amendment Act, 1961: It incorporated Dadra, Nagar, and Haveli into the Union of India as a Union Territory.
6. Twelfth Amendment Act, 1962: This amendment incorporated Goa, Daman, and Diu into the Indian Union as a Union Territory.
7. Thirteenth Amendment Act, 1962: It formed Nagaland with special status under Article 371A.
8. Fourteenth Amendment Act, 1962: This amendment incorporated Pondicherry into the Indian Union and provided legislatures and councils of ministers for Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry.
9. Seventeenth Amendment Act, 1964: It included additional acts in the Ninth Schedule.
10. Twenty-Ninth Amendment Act, 1972: This amendment included two Kerala Acts on land reforms in the Ninth Schedule.
11. Thirty-Fourth Amendment Act, 1974: It included twenty more land tenure and land reforms acts of various states in the Ninth Schedule. It also added three more grounds of restrictions on Article 19 (1).

12. First Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951: This was the first amendment after India became an independent and republican country. It added Article 15 clause 4 and Article 19 clause 6 in Part III of the Constitution.