Topics
The Union Parliament
- Concept of Federalism
- Federal Setup in the Indian Constitution
- The Union Parliament
- Lok Sabha
- Parliamentary Procedures of Lok Sabha
- Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- Role and Functions of the Speaker
- Rajya Sabha
- Powers and Functions of Union Parliament
- Relationship Between the Two Houses of the Parliament – Differences
The Indian National Movement (1857 – 1917)
The First War of Independence, 1857
- The Freedom Struggle of 1857
- Causes of First War of Independence, 1857
- Political Cause of 1857 Indian Uprising
- Socio-Religious Causes of 1857 Indian Uprising
- Economic Causes of 1857 Indian Uprising
- Military Causes of 1857 Indian Uprising
- Immediate Cause of 1857 Indian Uprising
- Beginning of 1857 Indian Uprising
- Main Events of 1857 Indian Uprising
- Consequences of the First War of Independence, 1857
- Drawbacks of the First War of Independence
- Nature of 1857 Indian Uprising
Mass Phase of the National Movement (1915 – 1947)
The President and The Vice-President
- The President of India
- Qualifications for Election as President
- Composition of the Electoral College to Elect the Indian President
- Manner of Presidential Election
- Why President of India Elected Indirectly?
- Oath of Office for Indian President
- Term of President's Office
- Procedure for Impeachment of the President
- Powers of the President of India
- The Vice-President
- Powers and Functions of the Vice-President of India
Growth of Nationalism
- Growth of Nationalism
- Factors Leading to the Growth of Nationalism
- Economic Exploitation
- Repressive Colonial Policies
- Socio-Religious Reform Movements
- Role of the Press
- Precursors of the Indian National Congress
- Formation of the Indian National Congress
- Objectives of the Indian National Congress
- Sessions of the Indian National Congress
First Phase of the Indian National Movement
- The Early Nationalists
- Demands of the Early Nationalists
- Methods of the Early Nationalists
- Achievements of the Early Nationalists
- Criticism of the Early Nationalists
- Official Attitude Towards the Congress
- Prominent Early Nationalist Leaders
Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
- Prime Minister
- Council of Ministers and the Cabinet
- Distinction Between Council of Ministers and the Cabinet
- Powers and Functions of the Cabinet
- Position and Powers of the Prime Minister
- Collective Responsibility of the Members of the Cabinet
- Individual Responsibility of the Members of the Cabinet
The Contemporary World
Second Phase of the Indian National Movement
- Partition of Bengal
- Causes of the Partition of Bengal
- The Anti Partition Movement
- Surat Split of 1907
- The Assertive Nationalists
- Methods of the Assertive Nationalists
- Achievements of Assertive Nationalists
- Leaders of Assertive Nationalism
- Comparison Between Early Nationalists and Assertive Nationalists
The Supreme Court
- The Judiciary
- The Supreme Court
- Independence of Judiciary from the Control of Executive and Legislature
- Jurisdiction and Powers of the Supreme Court
- Functions of the Supreme Court
The Union Legislature
The High Courts and Subordinate Courts
- High Court
- Powers and Jurisdiction of High Court
- Functions of the High Court
- Independence of the High Court
- Subordinate Court
- Civil Courts
- Criminal Courts
- Courts of Revenue
- Lok Adalats
- Differences Between Court of the District Judge and Sessions Court
The Muslim League
- Growth of Communalism (Hindu and Muslim)
- Factors Leading to the Formation of the Muslim League
- Events Leading to the Formation of the Muslim League
- Establishment of Muslim League
- Aims and Objectives of the Muslim League
- Impact of the Muslim League on the National Movement
- Lucknow Pact
- Terms of the Lucknow Pact
- Significance of the Lucknow Pact - 1916
- Drawbacks of the Lucknow Pact
The Union Executive
The Judiciary
Mahatma Gandhi and the National Movement
- Early Life of Mahatma Gandhi
- Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-1922)
- Causes of Non-Cooperation Movement
- Objectives of the Non-Cooperation Movement
- Programmes of Non-Cooperation Movement
- Activities During Non-Cooperation Movement
- Repression of Non-Cooperation Movement by the Government
- Suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement
- Impact of the Non-Cooperation Movement
- Factors Leading Upto Civil Disobedience Movement
- Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934)
- Round Table Conference
- Impact of the Civil Disobedience Movement
Quit India Movement
- Events Leading to Quit India Movement
- Quit India Resolution
Forward Bloc and The INA
- Early Life of Subhas Chandra Bose
- Subhas Chandra Bose and the Congress
- Forward Bloc
- Indian National Army (Azad Hind Sena)
- Contribution of Subhas Chandra Bose
- Achievements of Indian National Army
- Fate of the Indian National Army and Netaji
- Impact of Indian National Army
Independence and Partition of India
- Events that Led to the Cabinet Mission
- Cabinet Mission in India
- Clauses of Cabinet Mission Plan
- Rejection of the Demand for Pakistan
- Reaction to the Cabinet Mission Plan
- Conflict Between Congress and Muslim League
- Mountbatten Plan (Clauses and Its Acceptance)
- Indian Independence Act of 1947
- Independence by an Act of Legislation
The First World War
- Concept on First World War
- Causes of the First World War
- Events of the World War
- End of the First World War
- Results of First World War
- Aims and Objectives of the League of Nations
Rise of Dictatorships
- Fascism
- Causes for the Rise of Fascism
- Aims of Fascism
- Fascism in Italy
- Impact of Fascism
- Nazi Dictatorship in Germany
- Causes for the Rise of Nazism
- Aims of Nazism
- Impact of Nazism
- Similarity Between the Causes of Fascism and Nazism
- Similarity Between the Ideologies of Fascism and Nazism
The Second World War
- Causes of Second World War
- Events of the War
- Consequences of the Second World War
United Nations
- The United Nations (UN)
- Reasons for the Establishment of the United Nations
- Origin of the United Nations
- Objectives of the United Nations
- Structure of the United Nations
- United Nations: General Assembly
- United Nations: Security Council
- United Nations: International Court of Justice
- United Nations: Economic and social council (ECOSOC)
- United Nations: Trusteeship Council
- United Nations: Secretariat
Major Agencies of the United Nations
- Major Agencies of the United Nations
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
- World Health Organisation (WHO)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO)
Non-Aligned Movement
- Meaning of Non-Aligned Movement
- Factors Responsible for Non-Alignment
- Panchsheel
- Architects of NAM
- Objectives of the Non-Aligned Movement
- Role of Jawaharlal Nehru
- Achievements of Non-Alignment Movement
- Future of Non-Aligned Movement
- Boycott programmes
- Swadeshi programmes
Notes
Programmes aimed at bringing Good Governance:
1) Lokpal and Lokayukta:
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 came into force in 2014. The Act provides for the establishment of a body of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for States. This office would inquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries. It shows the Government’s commitment to clean and responsive governance.
The concept of Lokpal has been taken from Sweden where the office is called the Ombudsman. The typical duties of an ombudsman are to investigate complaints against government officials and attempt to resolve them.
The State of Maharashtra was the first and pioneer State in India to introduce the concept of Lokayukta. The Maharashtra Lokayukta Institution came into being in 1972. The Lokayukta can investigate allegations or grievances arising out of the conduct of public servants including political executives, legislators, officers of the State Government, local bodies, public enterprises and other instrumentalities of Government. A member of the public can file specific allegations with the Lokayukta against any public servant for enquiry. The Lokayukta can also initiate suo-moto inquiry into the conduct of public servants. The Government of India appointed Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the first Lokpal in 2019.
A Suo Moto cognizance is a Latin term which means an action taken by a government agency, court or other central authority on their own apprehension. A court takes a Suo Moto Cognizance of a legal matter when it receives information about the violation of rights or breach of duty through media or a third party’s notification. In India, Article 32 of the Indian Constitution and Article 226 of the Indian Constitution lay down the provisions for filing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in India in Supreme Court and High Courts respectively. This has given rise to the court's’ power to initiate legal action on their cognizance of a matter. Suo Moto’s actions by Indian courts are a reflection of activism by the judiciary and captivated the general public with the speedy delivery of justice by the courts. Suo Moto cases in India are generally taken up by the Supreme Court. The Indian Judiciary has been undoubtedly holding the baton for democracy for the past few years. In numerous instances, different High Courts and the Supreme Court have risen to the occasion by taking cognizance of a legal issue on their own and provided swift justice. Various courts in India have initiated legal proceedings on their own based on media reports, telegrams and letters received by aggrieved people, taking a Suo Moto cognizance of the issue. Suo Moto action is when a High Court or Supreme Court on its own take control over the matter or the case.
2) Citizens’ Charters:
Citizens’ Charter is based on the premise that the Citizen is “King” and government organisations exist to serve the citizens. In order to ensure that both, the service providers as well as citizens realise that public agencies are meant to provide service, each organisation should spell out the services it has to perform and then specify the standards/norms for these services. Once this is done then the organisation can be held accountable if the service standards are not met. Government of India commenced the exercise to formulate Citizens’ Charters in 1996.
3) E-Governance:
Revolution in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has the potential of elevating the governance process to new levels. That is the reason why countries around the world are increasingly opting for ‘e-Governance’. Governance has become more complex and varied in the last few decades. Citizens’ expectations from government have also increased manifold. ICT facilitates efficient storing and retrieval of data, instantaneous transmission of information, processing information and data faster than the earlier manual systems. This helps in speeding up governmental processes, taking decisions expeditiously and judiciously, increasing transparency and enforcing accountability. It also helps in increasing the reach of government – both geographically and demographically.
Over the years, a large number of initiatives have been undertaken by various State Governments and Central Ministries to bring in an era of e-Government. Efforts have been made at various levels to improve the delivery of public services and simplify the process of accessing them. e-Governance in India has evolved from computerisation of Government Departments to such initiatives in Governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency.
The objective of the National e-Governance Plan of the Government of India is to bring public services closer home to citizens. This is to be achieved by building a countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages and large-scale digitisation of records to enable easy, reliable access over the internet. Today application for a birth certificate, death certificate, PAN card or even a Passport can be done online. This has brought administration closer to people.
4) Right to Information:
Right to information is one of the most important aspects of good governance. It provides access to information about public policies and actions. It is the key to strengthening participatory democracy and ushering in people centred governance. Transparency in government organisations makes them function more objectively, predictably and also enables citizens to participate in the governance process effectively. In a fundamental sense, right to information is a basic necessity of good governance. The Right to Information Act, 2005 has enabled citizens to seek important public information from the government.
5) Citizen participation:
Citizen participation in governance is seen as contributing to a healthy democracy. It enhances and improves upon the traditional form of representative democracy to transform it into more responsive and thus a participative democracy.
All the above programmes ensure citizens participation in governance. Citizens are not to be considered as recipients of development but as participants in the development process. It is essentially a ‘bottom- up’ approach and not a ‘top- down’ approach. It refers to the modalities by which citizens can influence and take control over resources and decision making about development. It accepts that the citizens have a legitimate right in making decisions about their future.
Notes
Programmes aimed at bringing Good Governance:
1) Lokpal and Lokayukta:
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 came into force in 2014. The Act provides for the establishment of a body of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for States. This office would inquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries. It shows the Government’s commitment to clean and responsive governance.
The concept of Lokpal has been taken from Sweden where the office is called the Ombudsman. The typical duties of an ombudsman are to investigate complaints against government officials and attempt to resolve them.
The State of Maharashtra was the first and pioneer State in India to introduce the concept of Lokayukta. The Maharashtra Lokayukta Institution came into being in 1972. The Lokayukta can investigate allegations or grievances arising out of the conduct of public servants including political executives, legislators, officers of the State Government, local bodies, public enterprises and other instrumentalities of Government. A member of the public can file specific allegations with the Lokayukta against any public servant for enquiry. The Lokayukta can also initiate suo-moto inquiry into the conduct of public servants. The Government of India appointed Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the first Lokpal in 2019.
A Suo Moto cognizance is a Latin term which means an action taken by a government agency, court or other central authority on their own apprehension. A court takes a Suo Moto Cognizance of a legal matter when it receives information about the violation of rights or breach of duty through media or a third party’s notification. In India, Article 32 of the Indian Constitution and Article 226 of the Indian Constitution lay down the provisions for filing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in India in Supreme Court and High Courts respectively. This has given rise to the court's’ power to initiate legal action on their cognizance of a matter. Suo Moto’s actions by Indian courts are a reflection of activism by the judiciary and captivated the general public with the speedy delivery of justice by the courts. Suo Moto cases in India are generally taken up by the Supreme Court. The Indian Judiciary has been undoubtedly holding the baton for democracy for the past few years. In numerous instances, different High Courts and the Supreme Court have risen to the occasion by taking cognizance of a legal issue on their own and provided swift justice. Various courts in India have initiated legal proceedings on their own based on media reports, telegrams and letters received by aggrieved people, taking a Suo Moto cognizance of the issue. Suo Moto action is when a High Court or Supreme Court on its own take control over the matter or the case.
2) Citizens’ Charters:
Citizens’ Charter is based on the premise that the Citizen is “King” and government organisations exist to serve the citizens. In order to ensure that both, the service providers as well as citizens realise that public agencies are meant to provide service, each organisation should spell out the services it has to perform and then specify the standards/norms for these services. Once this is done then the organisation can be held accountable if the service standards are not met. Government of India commenced the exercise to formulate Citizens’ Charters in 1996.
3) E-Governance:
Revolution in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has the potential of elevating the governance process to new levels. That is the reason why countries around the world are increasingly opting for ‘e-Governance’. Governance has become more complex and varied in the last few decades. Citizens’ expectations from government have also increased manifold. ICT facilitates efficient storing and retrieval of data, instantaneous transmission of information, processing information and data faster than the earlier manual systems. This helps in speeding up governmental processes, taking decisions expeditiously and judiciously, increasing transparency and enforcing accountability. It also helps in increasing the reach of government – both geographically and demographically.
Over the years, a large number of initiatives have been undertaken by various State Governments and Central Ministries to bring in an era of e-Government. Efforts have been made at various levels to improve the delivery of public services and simplify the process of accessing them. e-Governance in India has evolved from computerisation of Government Departments to such initiatives in Governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency.
The objective of the National e-Governance Plan of the Government of India is to bring public services closer home to citizens. This is to be achieved by building a countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages and large-scale digitisation of records to enable easy, reliable access over the internet. Today application for a birth certificate, death certificate, PAN card or even a Passport can be done online. This has brought administration closer to people.
4) Right to Information:
Right to information is one of the most important aspects of good governance. It provides access to information about public policies and actions. It is the key to strengthening participatory democracy and ushering in people centred governance. Transparency in government organisations makes them function more objectively, predictably and also enables citizens to participate in the governance process effectively. In a fundamental sense, right to information is a basic necessity of good governance. The Right to Information Act, 2005 has enabled citizens to seek important public information from the government.
5) Citizen participation:
Citizen participation in governance is seen as contributing to a healthy democracy. It enhances and improves upon the traditional form of representative democracy to transform it into more responsive and thus a participative democracy.
All the above programmes ensure citizens participation in governance. Citizens are not to be considered as recipients of development but as participants in the development process. It is essentially a ‘bottom- up’ approach and not a ‘top- down’ approach. It refers to the modalities by which citizens can influence and take control over resources and decision making about development. It accepts that the citizens have a legitimate right in making decisions about their future.
