A Textbook By Vishal Kashyap

A Textbook By Vishal Kashyap1

Unit I: IndiaBrief History of Indian Constitution:The Constitution of India was drafted by the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly held its first sitting on the 9th December, 1946. It reassembled on the 14th August, 1947, as the sovereign Constituent Assembly for the Dominion of India. The proposed Constitution had been outlined by various committees of the Assembly like: a) Union Constitution Committee b) The Union Powers Committee c) Committee on Fundamental Rights. It was after a general discussion on the reports of these Committees that the Assembly appointed a Drafting Committee on the 29th August, 1947. The Drafting Committee, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Ambedkar, embodied the decision of the Assembly with alternative and additional proposals in the form of a 'Draft Constitution of India which was published in February, 1948. The Constituent Assembly next met in November, 1948, to consider the provisions of the Draft, clause by clause. After several sessions the considerationof the clauses or second reading was completed by the 17th October, 1949. The Constituent Assembly again sat on the 14th November, 1949, for the third reading and finished it on the 26th November, 1949, on which date the Constitution received the signature of the President of the Assembly and was declared as passed. The provisions relating to citizenship, elections, provisional Parliament, temporary and transitional provisions, were given immediate effect, i.e., from November 26, 1949. The rest of the Constitution came into force on the 26th January, 1950, and this date is referred to in the Constitution as the Date of its Commencement.

Framing of the Constitution The Constitution of India was draftedover a period of 2 years, 11 months and 17 days. The members of Constituent Assembly of India met for the first time in the year 1946 on December 9. The next meeting ofthe Assembly took place on August 14th, 1947 for the dominion of India in which the proposal of forming various committees was presented. Such committees include Committee on Fundamental Rights, the Union Powers Committee and Union Constitution Committee. One of the unique factors of this meeting was that the Assembly gathered as the Sovereign Constituent Assembly of India. On 29th August, 1947 a Drafting Committee, with Dr. Ambedkar asthe Chairman, was formed on thebasis of the various reports submitted by the previous committees. It was in the year 1948 that a Draft Constitution including a range of proposals was formed by the concerned committee. The Constituent Assembly of India held two meetings in February 1948 and October 1949 to go through the clauses of the Draft. Finally, from 14th to 26th of November, 1949 the Constituent Assembly analyzed each and every provision of the Draft. The then President of the Constituent Assembly of India signed the Draft on November 26th, 1949. Today, there are 12 Schedules and 395 Articles in the Constitution of India. Amendments have been made to the Constitution time and again as per the need of the hour. Till 2006, there have been 94 Amendments made to the constitution.

Features of the Constitution of IndiaThe main features of Indian Constitution are the following:(i) A written and lengthy constitution: The Constitution of India is a written constitution. It was framed by a Constituent Assembly which was established for the purpose in 1946. It has 395 Articles and 12 Schedules. A number of amendments, (about 96) passed since its enforcementin 1950, have also become a partof the Constitution. The Constitution of India is the lengthiest constitution in the world as no other constitution contains as many articles. The constitution of USA has 7 Articles,of China 138, Japanese 103, and Canadian 107 Articles.(ii) Sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic: The Constitution declares India tobe a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. The words, 'Socialist' and 'secular' were added in the Preamble of the Constitution by 42nd amendmentwhich was passed in 1976. Sovereign means absolutely independent; it is not under the control of any other state. Before 1947, India was not sovereign asit was under the Britishers. Now it can frame its policy without any outside interference. Socialist: Word 'Socialist' was added in thePreamble by 42nd Amendment ofthe Constitution which was passed in 1976. This implies a system which will endeavour to avoid concentration of wealth in a few hands and will assure its equitable distribution. It also implies that India is against exploitation in all forms and believes in economic justice to all its citizens. Secular: The word 'Secular', like Socialist, was also added in the Preamble by 42nd Amendment of the Constitution. There is no state religion in India. Every citizen is free to follow and practise the religion of his/her own choice. The state cannot discriminate among its citizens on the basis ofreligion. Democratic : Means that the power of the government is vested in the hands of the people. People exercise this power through their elected representatives who, in turn, are responsible to them. All the citizens enjoy equal political rights. Republic: Means that the head of the State is not a hereditary monarch but aPresident who is indirectly elected by the people for a definite period.(iii) Federal government: The Constitution provides for a federal form of government. In a federation, there are two governments-at the central level and at the state (province) level. In India, the powers of the government are divided betweenthe central government and stategovernments. There are three different lists of subjects-(i) Union list, (ii) State list and (iii) Concurrent list. The Union list contains 97 subjects of national importance like Defence, Foreign Affairs, Currency, Post and Telegraph, Railways. On these subjects, only central legislature (Parliament) can makelaws. State list contains 66 subjects of local importance. On these subjects, state legislatures make laws. These subjects include agriculture, police, and jails. Concurrent list contains 47 subjects which are of common concern to both the central and state governments. These include marriage, divorce, social security etc. On these subjects, both the parliament andstate legislatures can legislate. However, if there is a conflict between a central law and the state law over a subject given in the concurrent list, the central law will prevail.(iv) Parliamentary government: Indian Constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government. President is nominalhead of the state. In actual practice, the government is run by the Prime Minister and other members of the Council of Minister. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Parliament.(v) Fundamental rights and duties. The Constitution of India guarantees six fundamental rights to every citizen. These are: i. Right to Equality. ii. Right to Freedom. iii. Right against Exploitation. iv. Right to Freedom of Religion. v. Cultural and Educational Rights. Vi. Right to Constitutional Remedies. By 42nd Amendment of the Constitution, ten Fundamental Duties of citizens have also been added.(vi) Directive principles of state policy: The Directive Principles of State Policy are listed in Part Four of the Constitution. The framers of our constitution took the idea of having such principles from the Irish Constitution. These principles are instructions given by the Constitution to government. All the governments-Central, Stateand Local-are expected to frame their policies in accordance with these principles. The aim of theseprinciples is to establish a welfare state in India. They, however, are not binding on the government-they are mere guidelines.

(vii) Partly rigid and partly flexible: The Constitution of India is neither wholly rigid nor wholly flexible. It is partly rigid and partly flexible. It is because of thefact that for the purpose of amendment, our constitution hasbeen divided into three parts:(a) certain provisions of the constitution can be amended by a simple majority in the Parliament. (b) Certain provisions can be amended by a two-third majorityof the Parliament and its ratification by at least fifty percent states. (c) The remaining provisions can be amended by the Parliament bytwo-third majority.(viii) Single citizenship: In federation, normally we have double citizenship. In U.S.A. every citizen besides being a citizen of United States of America is the citizen of the state in which he orshe resides. But the Constitution of India provides for singi' citizenship-every Indian, irrespective of his place of birth or residence, is a citizen of India. There is no citizenship of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana or U.P.(ix) Universal adult franchise: The constitution provides for Universal Adult Franchise. It means that every citizen who is 18 years of age or more is entitled to cast his/her vote irrespective of his caste, creed, sex, religion or place of birth.(x) Language policy: The Constitution has also definedthe language policy. India is a country where different languages are spoken in various parts of the country. Hindi and English have been made official languages of the central government. A state can adopt the language spoken by its people in that state also as its official language. At present, we have 22 languages which have been recognised by the Indian Constitution. These are: Languages Recognised by the Indian Constitution Assamese Gujarati Konkani Marathi Sanskrit Telugu Bengali Hindi Maithili Nepali Santhali Urdu Bodo Kannada Malayalam Oriya Sindhi Dogri Kashmiri Manipuri Punjabi Tamil(xi) Special provisions for scheduled castes and scheduledtribes: The Constitution provides for giving certain special concessions and privileges to themembers of these castes. Seats have been reserved for them in Parliament, State legislature and local bodies, all government services and in all professional colleges. At present these concessions will continue up to the year 2010.(xii) Independent judiciary: The Indian Constitution provides for an independent judiciary. Thejudiciary has been made independent of the Executive as well as the Legislature. The judges give impartial justice.(xiii) A constitution derived frommany sources: The framers of our constitution borrowed many things from the constitutions of various other countries and included them in our constitution. That is why; some writers call Indian Constitution a 'bag of borrowings'.(xiv) One national language: Although India is a multi-lingual state, the constitution provides that Hindi in Devnagri script will be the national language. It shall be the duty of the union to promote and spread Hindi language.(xv) Emergency provisions: The framers of our constitution had realised that there could be certain dangerous situations when government could not be run as in ordinary time. Hence our constitution contains certain emergency provisions. During emergency the fundamental rights of the citizens can be suspended and our government becomes a unitary one.

Fundamental rights: Fundamental rights are those rights which are essential for the well being of a person. Part III of the Indian Constitution contains the list of Fundamental Rights; that guarantees civil liberties to allthe citizens of India to live in peace and harmony without the fear of being suppressed by others. The Indian Judiciary has the discretion to punish those violating these fundamental rightsunder the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. No person can be deprived these rights pertaining to basic liberty in the form of human freedoms. It is thejudiciary that safeguards these rights of the citizens. In some exceptional cases, i.e. during emergencies the State can imposerestrictions on the enjoyment of these fundamental rights. The Constitution provides for the enjoyment of 6 Fundamental rights. They are: 1. Right to Equality (under Article 14 Article 18 ) 2. Right to Freedom (under Article 19 Article 22 ) 3. Right against exploitation ( under Article 23 Article 24 ) 4. Right to Freedom of Religion (under Article 25 Article 28 ) 5. Cultural and Educational rights (under Article 29 Article 30 ) 6. Right to Constitutional remediesFundamental duties: Fundamental Duties are the ones that are recognized as moral obligations the citizens are expected to perform. Article 51A under Part IV A of the Constitutionof India speaks of the Fundamental duties. One cannot enforce these fundamental duties legally. It was through the 42 nd Amendment that these duties were introduced in the Constitution. There are 10 Fundamental duties that the citizens are expected to discharge. They are: 1. The citizens of India are expected to be abide by the Constitution and respect all its ideals. Likewise, the citizens are expected to respect the NationalFlag and the National Anthem. 2. The noble ideals that inspired our freedom struggle have to becherished and followed. 3. The sovereignty, unity and integrity of India needs to be upheld and protected. 4. Citizens should be ready to defend and render national service towards India. 5. The spirits of common brotherhood and harmony haveto be promoted by all the citizens wherein they need to transcend all forms of diversitiespertaining to religion, language and region. All the practices thatare derogatory to the dignity of women have to be renounced. 6. India has a rich, varied and composite culture and one needs to preserve it. 7. Natural environment including the forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife are expected to be preserved by the citizens. 8. People of India are expected to develop within themselves humanism, scientific temperament, and spirits of inquiry and reform. 9. Public property is expected to be safeguarded and violence needs to be avoided. 10. People are expected to strive for the excellence of all the individuals and collective activities to help in the development of the country.Directive Principles of StatesThe Directive Principles of State Policy constitute another important feature of the Indian Constitution. It is an idealistic andphilosophical chapter in the Indian Constitution, which contains various aims and aspirations to be fulfilled by the State in distant future. They provide the much-desired philosophy of the Constitution and give "an Instrument of Instructions" to the Government to follow the specific policies. Underlying idea behind the Directive Principles is that whichever party may possess therein of administration should implement these constitutional ideals. While incorporating the chapter on Directive Principles, the framers of the Constitution were inspired by the Spanish and Irish constitutional practices. While in the Spanish and Irish Constitutions there are brief references to a few of the Directive Principles, the Indian Constitution contains an elaborate and exhaustive list of Directive Principles. A close scrutiny of the Directive Principles in our Constitution reveals that they contain Social, Gandhian, and Liberal ideas. The particular aim of these Directive Principles is to make India a Welfare State by introducing measures of socialism in economic sphere, to provide social security and better standards of sanitation and care for all, to emphasize duty towards women and children and the obligations towards the backward and tribal classes. These principles are, however, not enforceable in any Court nor the Constitution imposes any duty to apply these principles in making laws. While Fundamental Rights are negative in character, the Directive Principles set forth apositive programmed for the State to be implemented at its own convenience. Although they are not enforceable in the Courts, the Constitution solemnly proclaims them to be "fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws". These principles are to serve "as a sign post and guide the State in its entire works."History of Indian National MovementThe East India Company had established its control over almostall parts of India by the middle of the 19th century. There were numerous risings in the first hundred years of British rule in India. They were, however, local and isolated in character. Some of them were led by the nobility whowere refusing to accept the changing patterns of the time andwanted the past to be restored. But the risings developed a tradition of resistance offoreign rule, culminating in the 1857 revolt. The Revolt of 1857, which was called a Sepoy Mutiny by British historians and their imitators in India but described as "the First War of Indian Independence" by many Indian historians, shook theBritish authority in India from its very foundations. The Revolt of 1857, an unsuccessful but heroic effort to eliminate foreign rule, had begun. The capture of Delhi and the proclamation of Bahadurshah as the Emperor of Hindustan are a positive meaning to the Revolt and provided a rallying point for the rebels by recalling the past glory of the imperial city. On May 10, 1857, soldiers at Meerut refused to touch the new Enfield rifle cartridges. The soldiers along with other group of civilians, went on a rampage shouting 'Maro Firangi Ko'. They broke open jails, murdered European men and women, burnt their houses and marched to Delhi. The appearance of the marching soldiers next morning in Delhi was a'signal to the local soldiers, who in turn revolted, seized the city and proclaimed the80-year old Bahadurshah Zafar, asEmperor of India. Within a month of the capture of Delhi, the Revolt spread to the different parts of the country. Kanpur, Lucknow, Benaras, Allahabad, Bareilly, Jagdishpur andJhansi. In the absence of any leader from their own ranks, the insurgents turned to the traditional leaders of Indian society. At Kanpur, NanaSaheb, theadopted son of last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, led the forces. Rani Lakshmi Bai in Jhansi, Begum Hazrat Mahal in Lucknow and.Khan Bahadur in Bareilly were in command. However, apart from a commonly shared hatred for alien rule, the rebels had no political perspective or a definite vision of the future. They were all prisonersof their own past, fighting primarily to regain their lost privileges. Unsurprisingly, they proved incapable of ushering in a new political order. G overnment of India Act 1858 Queen Victoria issued a proclamation on November 1, 1858, placing India under direct government of the Crown, whereby: (a) A viceroy was appointed in India (b) Princes were given the right toadopt a son (abolition of Doctrine of Lapse) (c) Treaties were honoured (d) Religious freedom was restored and equality treatment promised to Indians The Proclamation was called the 'Magna Carta of Indian Liberty'. The British rule in India was strongest between 1858 and 1905. The British also started treating India as its most preciouspossession and their rule over India seemed set to continue for centuries to come. Because of various subjective and objective factors which came into existenceduring this era, the feeling of nationalism in Indians started andgrow.

I ndian National Congress (1885) Although the British succeeded in suppressing the 1857 Revolt, theycould not stop the growth of political awareness in India. The Indian National Congress was founded in December 1885. It was the visible embodiment of the national awakening in the country. Its founder was an Englishman, Allan Octavian Hume, a retired member of the Indian Civil Service. The Indian leaders, who cooperated with Hume in launching the Congress, were patriots of high character. The first President of the Congress was W.C. Bannerjee. The aims of the Congress were: promotion of friendship and cooperation amongst the nationalist political workers from the different parts of the country; the eradication of racial, creed or provincial prejudices and promotion of national unity; formulation of popular demands and their presentation before the Government; and, most important of all, the training and organisation of public opinion in the country.P artition of Bengal (1905) On December 30, 1898, Lord Curzon took over as the new Viceroy of India. The partition of Bengal came into effect on October 16, 1905, through a RoyalProclamation, reducing the old province of Bengal in size by creating a new province of East Bengal, which later on became East Pakistan and present day Bangladesh. The government explained that it was done to stimulate growth of underdeveloped eastern region ofthe Bengal. But, actually, the main objective was to 'Divide and Rule' the most advanced region of the country at that time.M uslim League (1906) In 1906, All India Muslim League was set up under the leadership of Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullab ofDacca and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk. The League supported the partition of Bengal, opposed the Swadeshi Movement, and demanded special safegurds for its community and a separate electorates of Muslims. This led tocommunal differences between Hindus and Muslims.S wadeshi Movement (1905) The Swadeshi movement has its genesis in the anti-partition movement which was started to oppose the British decision to divide Bengal. With the start of theSwadeshi movement at the turn of the century, the Indian NationalMovement took a major leap forward. The Indian National Congress tookup the Swadeshi call in Benaras Session, 1905, presided over by G.K. Gokhale, supported the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement of Bengal, Militant Nationalism spearheaded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala LajpatRai, and Aurobindo Ghosh was, however, in favour of extending the movement of the rest of India and carrying it beyond the programme of just Swadeshi and boycott of goods to full-fledged political mass struggle.Mo rley-Minto Reforms (1909) Morley-Minto Reforms were introduced in 1909 during the period when Lord Minto was the GovernorGeneral of India. The reforms envisaged a separate electorate for Muslims besides other constitutional measures. The government thereby sought to create a rift within the Congress on the one hand by winning the support of the moderates, and on the other, to win favour ofMuslims against Bindus. To achieve the latter objective, the reforms introduced the system of separate electorates under which Muslims could only vote for Muslim candidates. This was doneto encourage the notion that the political, economic and cultural interests of Hindus and Muslims were separate and not common. Indian political leaders were however dissatisfied by these reforms.

L ucknow Pact (1916) An important step forward in achieving Hindu-Muslim unity wasthe Lucknow Pact 1916. AntiBritish feelings were generated among the Muslims following a war between Britain and Turkey which opened way forCongress and Muslim League unity. Both the Congress and the Muslim League held sessions at Lucknow in 1916 and concluded the famous Lucknow Pact. The Congress accepted the separate electorates, and both organizations jointly demanded dominion status for the country. Hindu-Muslim unity weakened the British attitude and forced thegovernment to announce its future policy. In 1916 a British policy was announced whereby association of Indians was increased and there was to be a gradual development of local self-governing institutions.H ome Rule Movement (19151916) Dr. Annie Besant, inspired by the Irish rebellion, started a Home Rule Movement in India in September 1916. The movement spread rapidly and branches of the Rome Rule League were established all over India. Bal Gangadhar Tilak wholeheartedly supported this movement. Rejoined forces with Dr. Besant and persuaded the Muslim Leagueto support this programme.T he Gandhian Era (1918-1947) Mahatma Gandhi dominated the Indian political scene from 19181947. This period of the Indian National Congress is also referred to as the Gandhian Era. It was the most intense and eventfulphase of India's freedom struggle.Mahatma Gandhi provided the leadership of the highest order and his philosophy of non-violent Satyagraha became the most potent weapon to drive out .the British from the Indian soil.K hilafat Movement (1920) The Caliph, Sultan of Turkey, was looked upon by the Muslims as their religious head. During the First World War, when the safety and the welfare of Turkey were threatened by the British thereby weakening the Caliph's position, Indian Muslims adopted an aggressive anti-British attitude. The two brothers, Mohammed Ah and Shaukat Ali launched an antiBritish movement in 1920-the Khilafat Movement for the restoration.Th e Rowlatt Act (1919) While trying to appease Indians, the British Government was following a policy of repression. Throughout the First World War, repression of freedom fighters had continued. The revolutionaries had been hunted down, hanged or imprisoned. The Government now decided to arm itself with more powers in order to suppress the freedom fighters. In March 1919, it passed the Rowlatt Act. This Act authorised the government to detain any person without trial. The Rowlatt Act came like a sudden blow. The Indians had been promised extension of democracy during the war. They felt humiliated and were filled with anger when they found that their civil liberties were going to be curtailed still further. Unrest gripped the country and a powerful agitation against the Actstarted. During this agitation, Gandhiji took command of the nationalist movement. March and April 1919 witnessed a remarkable political awakening in the country. There were hartals, strikes and demonstrations at various places. The slogans of Hindu-Muslim unity filled the air.

J allianwalla Bagh Massacre (1919) The Government was bent on suppressing the mass agitation. In Bombay; Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Delhi and at other places demonstrators were lathi-chargedand fired upon. Gandhiji gave a call for a general hartal on April 6, 1919. The call was responded to with great enthusiasm. The Government decided to resort to repression to suppress the agitation. At this time the British Government committed one of theworst political crimes in modem history. An unarmed but a large crowd had gathered in Jallianwalla Bagh, Amritsar (Punjab) on April, 13, 1919 for a meeting. General Dyer ordered histroops to open fire on them without warning. This massacre of unarmed people (hundreds died and thousands were wounded) in an enclosed place from which there was no exit, was followed by a reign of terror in several districts under martial law.N on-Cooperation Movement (1920) With the Congress support of the Khilafat movement, Hindu-Muslim unity was achieved which encouraged Gandhiji to launch hisnon-violent, non-cooperation movement. At the Calcutta Session in September 1920, the Congress resolved in favour of the non-violent, non-cooperation movement and defined Swaraj as its ultimate aim. The movement envisaged: (i) Surrender of titles and honorary officers; (ii) Resignation from nominated offices and posts in the local bodies; (iii) Refusal to attend government darbars and official functions and boycott of British courts by the lawyers; (iv) Refusal of general public to offer themselves for military and other government jobs, and boycott of foreign goods, etc. The non-cooperation movement also saw picketing of shops selling foreign cloth and boycott of the foreign cloth by the followers of Gandhiji.C hauri Chaura Incident (1922) The Congress session held at Ahmedabad in December 1921 decided to launch a Civil Disobedience Movement while reiterating its stand on the non-violent, noncooperation movement of which Gandhiji was appointed the leader. Before Gandhiji could launch the Civil Disobedience Movement, a mob ofcountrymen at Chauri Chaura, a place near Gorakhpur in D.P., clashed with the police which opened fire. In retaliation the mobburnt the police-station and killed 22 policemen. This compelled Gandhiji to call off the Civil Disobedience Movement on February 12, 1922. Despite this Gandhiji was arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment. The Chauri Chaura incident convinced Gandhiji that the nation was not yet ready for the mass-dis6bedience and he prevailed upon Congress Working Committee in Bardoli on February 12, 1922 to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement.Sw araj Party (1922) Gandhiji's decision to call off the agitation caused frustration among masses. His decision came in for severe criticism from his colleagues like Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das and N.C. Kelkar, who organized the Swaraj Party. The foundations of the 'Swaraj Party' were laid on January 1, 1923, as the 'CongressKhilafat-Swarajya Patty'. It proposed then an alternative programme of diverting the movement from widespread civil disobedience programme to restrictive one which would encourage its member to enter into legislative councils (established under Montford Reforms of 1919) by contesting elections in order to wreck the legislature from within and to use moral pressure to compel the authority to concede to the popular demand for self-government.

Si mon Commission (1927) Under the 1919 Act, a statutory commission was to be appointed by the British Government at the end of ten years from the passing of the Act to inquire into the working of the system of government in the country and to recommend further reforms. Thusthe commission was scheduled tobe appointed in 1929. It was actually appointed two years earlier in 1927. The commission consisted of seven members of the British Parliament. It was headed by Sir John Simon. As all its members were British, the Congress decided to boycott it. The Commission arrived in India in Feb. 1928. It was greeted with black flags and hostile demonstrations everywhere it went. In one such demonstration at Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was seriously injured in a wanton police lathi-charge on the demonstrators. Lalaji died soon after from wounds received during the demonstration.D andi March (1930) Also called the 'Salt Satyagraha'. Toachieve the goal of complete independence, Gandhiji launched another civil disobedience movement. Along with 79 followers, Gandhiji started his famous march from Sabarmati Ashram on March 20,1930, for thesmall village Dandi to break the Salt Law. While Gandhiji was marching to Dandi, Congress leaders and workers had been busy at various levels with the hard organizational tasksof enrolling volunteers and members, forming grassroot Congress Committees, collecting funds, and touring villages and towns to spread nationalist messages. On reaching the seashore on April 6, 1930, he broke the Salt Law by picking up salt from the seashore. By picking a handful of salt, Gandhiji inaugurated the Civil Disobedience Movement, a movement that was to remain unsurpassed in the history of the Indian National Movement for the countrywide mass participation it unleashed. The movement became so powerful that it sparked off partriotism even among the Indian soldiers in the Army. The Garhwal soldiers refused to fire on the people at Peshawar.Ga ndhi-Irwin Pact (1931) Early in 1931 two moderate statesmen, Sapru and Jayakar, initiated efforts to bring about rapprochement between Gandhiji and the government. Six meetingswith Viceroy Lord Irwin finally led to the signing of a pact between the two on March 5, 1931, whereby the Congress called off the movement and agreed to join the Second Round Table Conference. The terms of the agreement included the immediate release of all political prisoners not convicted for violence, the remission of all fines not yet collected, the return of confiscated land not yet sold to third parties, and lenient treatment of all the government officials who had resigned. Gandhiji and other leaders were released from jail as Irwin agreed to release most political prisoners and to return the properties that had been seized by the governments. The government also conceded the right to make the salt for consumption of villages along the coast, and also the right to peaceful and non-aggressive picketing. The Congress on its part, agreed to discontinue the Civil Disobedience Movement and to participate in the next Round Table Conference.

The Government of India Act, 1935 The Simon Commission report submitted in 1930 formed the basis for the Government of India Act 1935. The new Government ofIndia Act received the royal assenton August 4, 1935. The Act continued and extended all the existing features of the Indian constitution. Popular representation, which went back to 1892, dyarchy and ministerial responsibility, which dated from 1921, provincial autonomy, whose chequered history went back to eighteenth century presidencies, communal representation, which first received recognition in 1909, and the safeguards devised in 1919, were all continued and in most cases extended. But in addition there were certain new principles introduced. It provided for a federal type of government. Thus, the act: (a) Introduced provincial autonomy (b) Abolished dyarchy in provincesI (c) Made ministers responsible to the legislative and federation at the centre The Act of 1935 was condemned by nearly all sections of Indian public opinion and was unanimously rejected by the Congress. The Congress demanded instead, the conveningof a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise to frame a constitution for an independent India.Q uit India Movement (1942) On August 8, 1942, the Congress in its meeting at Bombay passed aresolution known as 'Quit India' resolution, whereby Gandhiji asked the British to quit India andgave a call for 'Do or die' to his countrymen. On August 9, 1942, Gandhiji was arrested but the other leaders continued the revolutionary struggle. Violence spread throughout the country, several government officers were destroyed and damaged, telegraph wires were cut and communication paralyzed. The movement was, however, crushedby the government.Ca binet Mission Plan (1946) The struggle for freedom entered a decisive phase in the year 1945-46. The British Prime Minister, Lord Attlee, made a declaration on March 15, 1946, that British Cabinet Mission wouldvisit India to make recommendations regarding constitutional reforms to be introduced in India. The Cabinet Mission which constituted of LordLawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander visited India and met the representatives of different political parties but a satisfactory solution to the constitutional difficulties could not be found. The Mission envisaged the establishment of a Constituent Assembly to frame theConstitution as well as an interim government. The Muslim League accepted the plan on June 6, 1946, while maintaining its rights of striving for a separate Muslim state. The Congress also partially accepted the plan.In terim Government (1946) On September 2, 1946, an interimgovernment was formed. Congress members led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru joined it but the Muslim League did not as it withdrew its earlier acceptance ofthe Cabinet Mission Plan.F ormation of Constituent Assembly (1946) The Constituent Assembly met on December 9, 1946, and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected its President. The Muslim League did not join the Assembly.Mou ntbatten Plan (1947) In March 1947, Lord Mountbatten replaced Lord Wavell. He announced his plan on June 3, 1947. It offered a key to the political and constitutional deadlock created by the refusal of the Muslim League to join the Constituent Assembly formed to frame the Constitution of India. Mountbatten's formula was to divide India but retain maximum unity. The country would be partitioned but so would be Punjab and Bengal, so that the limited Pakistan that emerged would meet both the Congress and the League's position to some extent. The League's position on Pakistan was conceded in that it would be created, but the Congress positionon unity would be taken into account to make Pakistan as smallas possible. He laid down detailed principles for the partition of the country and speedy transfer of political powers in the form of dominion status to the newly formed dominions of India and Pakistan. Its acceptance by the Congress and the Muslim' League resulted in the birth of Pakistan.The I ndian Independence Act, 1947 The Bill containing the provisions of the Mountbatten Plan of June 3,1947, was introduced in the British Parliament and passed as the Indian Independence Act, 1947. The Act laid down detailed measures for the partition of India and speedy transfer of political powers to the new government of India and Pakistan.Pa rtition of India (1947) In accordance with the Indian Independence Act, 1947, India was partitioned on August 15, 1947 into India and Pakistan. The Act made India and Pakistan independent dominions. Bloodshed and violence marked the exodus of refugees. The state of Kashmir acceded to the Indian Union, after the raiders were helped by Pakistan, in October 1947. Lord Mountbatten was appointed the Governor-General of free1ndia and M.A. Jinnah the first Governor-General of Pakistan. Socio Economic Growth after IndependenceBefore independence our country was at the mercy of her foreign rulers. They did whateverthey liked for the good of their own country. After independencemuch has been done to improve the condition of the masses. Some of the important achievements of free India made during the last fifty years are as follows. In the economic field, unprecedented progress has been made. Our five year plans have been successfully completed. Many Multipurpose projects have been taken in hand. Bhakra Nagal, Hirakud and Damodur valley projects have been completed. Many new factories have been started. Sindri Fertilizers Factory, Haldia Fertilizer Complex, Barauni and Guna Fertilizer Factory etc., are producing chemical fertilizers. Important Steel plants are fulfilling our requirements of steel. The per capita income has been raised. Our exports have been increasing in different spheres. The difficult food problem has been solved. To-day there is enough food for all. Power generation has also beenincreased several folds. A net-work of ordinance factories has been established and most sophisticated weapons for the defense of the country are being produced. In 1989, India successfully fired Agni , a long range missile. Since then Akash surface to air long range missile, Trishul, Nag and recently Prithivi surface to surface short range missile have been launched. This shows further advance in the growth of the countrys science and technology.Rapid advances have been made in the field of electronics and comprehensive program of computerization is also under way. Thus gradually, but steadily, we are achieving self-sufficiency and stability in the economic field. Free India has also made rapid advance in the field of science and technology. Atomic energy has been successfully used for power generation. India successfully conducted under ground atomic tests for peaceful purposes. Now India is nuclear power nation. The launching of Aryabhatta , Rohini, Apple INSAT-1 and INSAT-1(D) satellites marks the entry of India in to thespace age. Since then many moremulti-purpose satellites have been sent in to outer space. IndiaSpace Organization had completed four launchers of the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3(SLV-3) for of Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicles (ASLV) and two developmental PSLV. With this India became the fifth nation in the world capable of launching 1000 kg satellite in its intended orbit. Now it is ready to enter theGSLV programme through which India will not only have vastly improved telecommunication capability, but also satellite monitoring capabilities which will be of great value of our security. Revolutionary changes have also been brought about in the political field. Our country is now sovereign Democratic Republic. All citizens have equal rights in the eyes of law, irrespective of their caste, creed, sex and religion. To bring democracy to the villages, Panchayats have been established and Panchayati Raj has become a reality. The launching of the Jawahar Rozgar Yojna is another revolutionary step to improve the conditions ofrural poor. There is a general awakening among the people. They have begun to understand their rights and duties. We may find men in the street discussing various political problems with great interest. Thus, we are enjoying the fruits of freedom. We may hold our heads high dueto the success of foreign policy, which has raised the prestige of the country.

Achievements in the social sphere are also clearly visible. The Zamindari system has been abolished. The tiller of the land is now its owner. Untouchability is a legal offence today. To drive out the demon of drink from society, prohibition has been introduced. Socialistic pattern of society is the aim towards which our country is making rapid progress. To reduce the inequalities in the industrial field many industries have been nationalized. To bring about uniformity in weights and measures, the metric system has been introduced. Prostitution, in any form has been made legal offense. These achievements are of great social significance. Social security schemes have been introduced in some big industrial towns. The government is busy in clearing slums and constructing new houses for the industrial workers and the weaker sections of society. Lakhs of refugees came to India first from Pakistan, then from Bangladesh, and more recently from Ceylon. But India has successfully solved the refugee problem. This is a mighty achievement. So it becomes clear that no aspect of life has been left untouched. India has successfully followed the policy of noon alignment. As a result of Indias efforts, the non-alignment movement has become a force in the world affairs. Indias voice now carries weight in international forums. Important laurel won by India recently is the obtaining of the sole right for the exploration of a very large area of the Indian Ocean for its mineral wealth. Similarly, India has established its base in the Antarctica for exploration and research in the difficult region. But this long list of free Indias achievements should not make us proud. We should not feel satisfied by looking at our achievements. We should keep in mind the problems which are yet to be solved. The masses of country are still poor and backward. Many social evils still prevail. Corruption is widespread. Terrorism is raising its ugly head in several arts of the country. The balance of payment position is difficult and threat sanctions are looming large. To face various economic problems a comprehensive programme of economic reformshas been undertaken. Economic polices have been liberalized, a number of controls have been removed, and multinationals have now been allowed to operate freely in the country. Private enterprise has also been encouraged, and Indian capitalists have been invited on alarge scale to set up industries in various field. Above all the appeal of democracy has depended over the years. This style of governance has neatly fitted the lifestyle of a majority of Indians. Democracy now cuts across the parties, educational levels, classes, castes, religions, and gender and ethnics divisions. Indeed India democracy today despite all its institutional problems is stronger in the minds of people then it ever was.The social and territorial spread of legitimacy has survived even the sharp decline in the peoples trust in politicians in recent years. However with faith in our leadersand our capacity for works, we are sure to overcome our present difficulties. The present difficulties should not discourageus. Free India is destined to become a powerful nation of the world.

Unit II:Society Social GroupA social group is a number of individuals interacting with each other with respect to: 1. Common motives and goals; 2. An accepted division of labor, i.e. roles, 3. Established status (social rank, dominance) relationships; 4. Accepted norms and values with reference to matters relevant to the group; 5. Development of accepted sanctions (praise and punishment) if and when norms short and simple: A group of people who interact with each other and are aware of having something in common.Types of groupsPrimary groupsAccording to Charles Horton Cooley (18641929), a primary group is a small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships. People joined in primary relationships spend a great deal of time together, engage in a wide range of activities, and feel that they know one another well. In short, they show real concern for one another. In every society, the family is the most important primary group. Groups based on lasting friendships are also primary groups. [ 14 ]Secondary groups , in contrast to primary groups, are large groups involving formal and institutional relationships. Secondary relationships involve weak emotional ties and little personal knowledge of one another. Most secondary groups are short term, beginning and ending without particular significance. [ 14 ] They may last for years or may disband after a short time. The formation of primary groups happens within secondary groups.

Individuals almost universally have a bond toward what sociologists call reference groups . A reference group is a social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions. [ 15 ] Some examples of types of groups include the following:Peer groupA peer group is a group with members of approximately the same age, social status, and interests. Generally, people are relatively equal in terms of power when they interact with peers. Clique A group of people that have manyof the same interests & commonlyfound in a High School/College setting; most of the time they have a name & rules for themselves.ClubA club is a group, which usually requires one to apply to become amember. Such clubs may be dedicated to particular activities: sporting clubs, for example. Household All individuals who live in the same home . anglophone culture may include various models of household, including the family , blended families , share housing , and group homes .CommunityA community is a group of peoplewith a commonality or sometimesa complex net of overlapping commonalities, oftenbut not alwaysin proximity with one another with some degree of continuity over time. Franchise An organization which runs several instances of a business in many locations.GangA gang is usually an urban group that gathers in a particular area. Itis a group of people that often hang around each other. They canbe like some clubs, but much less formal. [ 16 ] They are usually known in many countries to cause social unrest and also have negative influence on the members and may be a target for the law enforcers in case of any social vicesMobA mob is usually a group of people that has taken the law intotheir own hands. Mobs are usuallygroups which gather temporarily for a particular reason. Posse A posse was originally found in English common law. It is generally obsolete, and survives only in America, where it is the law enforcement equivalent of summoning the militia for militarypurposes. However, it can also refer to a street group. Squad This is usually a small group, of around 3 to 15 people, who workas a team to accomplish their goals.DyadThis is a social group with two members. Social interaction in a dyad is typically more intense than in larger groups because neither member shares the other's attention with anyone else. [ 17 ]TriadThis is a social group with three members, which contains three relationships, each uniting two of the three people. A triad is more stable than a dyad because one member can act as a mediator should the relationship between the other two become strained. [ 18 ]Team similar to a squad, though a team may contain many more members. A team works in a similar way to a squad. In-group It is a social group toward which a member feels respect and loyalty. [ 17 ] It is a group that an individual identifies in positive direction. If aperson is part of the in-group then they are collectively part of an inner circle of friends. An innercircle may contain sub-groups within the inner circle including the apex (best friends), core (very close friends), outer rim, etc. This group provides a support structure and being exclusive offers protection from anyone in an Out-group (see below.) Out-group It is a social group toward which a person feels a sense of competition or opposition. [ 17 ] It is a group that an individual identifies in negative direction.

SocializationSocialization is refer to the lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms , customs and ideologies , providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within his or her own society. Socialization is thus the means bywhich social and cultural continuity are attained. Theory Socialization is the process by which human infants begin to acquire the skills necessary to perform as a functioning memberof their society, and is the most influential learning process one can experience. [ 9 ] Unlike other living species, whose behavior is biologically set, humans need social experiences to learn their culture and to survive. [ 10 ] Although cultural variability manifests in the actions, customs, and behaviors of whole social groups (societies), the most fundamental expression of culture is found at the individual level. This expression can only occur after an individual has beensocialized by his or her parents, family, extended family, and extended social networks. This reflexive process of both learning and teaching is how cultural and social characteristics attain continuity. Many scientists say socialization essentially represents the whole process of learning throughout the life course and is a central influence on the behaviour, beliefs, and actions of adults as well as of children.Social ControlSocial control means , control of individual behavior by society, and that control of social institutions should be in the interest and welfare of the whole society. Some warnings and directions of prohibited activities,are an example of social control 1- social control is an influence ,which may be exerted through various means of control like public opinion, force, public appeal, social ,religious organizations. 2- This influence should be implemented by society- there are so many groups who exercise this influence, like family,trade union church ,state, school,neighborhood, clubs, religious groups etc. 3- The influence should be exercised for promoting the welfare and interest of the entiregroup. Every society must have harmonyand unity. without it no society actually could remain in existence. To maintain the society effectively ,it needs some rules and regulation. in other words behavior patters for members are essential. To obey and follow these rules and regulation society needs its implementation. There are various ways to implement such things. In other words we can say some special type of behavioris expected from members of society. Such expected or controlled behavior is called social control.

Types of basic forms of social control:Internal Social ControlThe process of internalizing the norms of society and accepting them as valid. It operates through the process of socialization, that is learningand adopting the norms of the society or a particular group orcollectivity within the society.Agents of SocializationEarliest Agent - The Family. Its primary function is to help children internalize the norms of the society in which they live. Failure to socialize, leads to behaviors that society regards as deviant.Later Agents - Schools, Peers and the Mass Media.External Social ControlSociety's effort to bring those who "stepped outside the lines" back into line. It is made up of the system of rewards and punishments, sanctions , that persons, parties, and agents use to induce others to conform to a norm. Thus, a Positive Sanction is a reward and a Negative Sanction is a punishment.Informal Social ControlInterpersonal actions betweenand among people to remind someone that their behavior upsets or pleases them. i.e. frowning, smiling, criticizing, praising, shunning or being warm. *. Informal agents of social control act on their own, in an unofficial capacity.Formal Social ControlAn effort to bring about conformity to the law by agents of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) i.e. police, courts and correctional institutions.Formal Agents of Social ControlAgents who have legitimate power to make people conform to the law.Formal agents occupy a specific status in bureaucratic organization. It is this position which give them the legitimacy to sanction wrongdoers for violating the formal code."Semiformal" Social Controla huge territory of noncriminal,nonpenal bureaucratic social control, administered by the government, which attempts to deal with the troublesome behavior of persons under their authority. *. If a persons behavior becomes extremely troublesome, an array of agencies, bureaucracies, and organizations may step in to handle or control that person, to punish or bring him or her into line with the rules. These employees of these agencies are known as Professional Controllers. i.e. social workers, psychiatrists, truant officers, and representatives, functionaries and officers of mental hospitals, civil courts, social welfare offices, unemployment offices, departments of motor vehicles, and public schools. Professional Controllers *. Do not possess the power of arrest or incarceration, but canmake recommendations to agents in the CJS that may have bering on arrest and incarceration.Social Problems In Contemporary IndiaContemporary India faced the following social problems:OverpopulationIndia suffers from the problem of overpopulation . The population of India is very high at an estimated 1.2 billion. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Though India ranks second in population, it ranks 33 in terms of population density below countries such as The Netherlands , South Korea and Japan . Indira Gandhi , Prime Minister of India , had implemented a forced sterilization programme in the early 1970s but the programme failed. Officially, men with two children or more had to submit tosterilization, but many unmarried young men, political opponents and ignorant, poor men were alsobelieved to have been sterilized. This program is still remembered and criticized in India, and is blamed for creating a public aversion to family planning , which hampered Government programmes for decades.PovertyOne-third of India's population (roughly equivalent to the entire population of the United States) lives below the poverty line and India is home to one-third of the world's poor people. Though the high class has gained from recent positive economic developments , India suffers from substantial poverty . According to the new World Bank's estimates on poverty based on 2005 data, India has 456 million people, 41.6% of its population, living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day. The world Bank further estimates that 33% of the global poor now reside in India. Moreover, India also has 828 million people, or 75.6% of the population living below $2 a day, compared to 72.2% for Sub-Saharan Africa. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Wealth distribution in India is fairly uneven, with the top 10% ofincome groups earning 33% of the income. [ 9 ] Despite significant economic progress, 1/4 of the nation's population earns less than the government-specified poverty threshold of$0.40/day. Official figures estimate that 27.5% [ 10 ] of Indians lived below the national poverty line in 20042005. [ 11 ] A2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) found that 25% of Indians, or 236 million people, lived on less than 20 rupees per day [ 12 ] with most working in"informal labor sector with no jobor social security, living in abject poverty."SanitationLack of proper sanitation is a major concern for India. Statistics conducted by UNICEF have shown that only 31% of Indias population is using improved sanitation facilities as of 2008. [ 14 ] It is estimated that one in every ten deaths in India is linked to poor sanitation and hygiene. Diarrhoea is the single largest killer and accounts for one in every twenty deaths. [ 14 ] Around450,000 deaths were linked to diarrhoea alone in 2006, of which88% were deaths of children below five. [ 14 ] Studies by UNICEFhave also shown that diseases resulting from poor sanitation affects children in their cognitive development.

CorruptionCorruption is widespread in India . India is ranked 95 out of a 179 countries in Transparency International 's Corruption Perceptions Index , although its score has improved consistently from 2.7 in 2002 to 3.1 in 2011. [ 25 ] Corruption has taken the role of a pervasive aspect of Indian politics and bureaucracy. [ 26 ] In India, corruption takes the form of bribes , evasion of tax and exchange controls , embezzlement , etc. A 2005 study done by Transparency International (TI) India found that more than 50% had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office. [ 24 ] The chief economic consequences of corruption are the loss to the exchequer , an unhealthy climate for investment and an increase in the cost of government-subsidised services. The TI India study estimates the monetary value of petty corruption in 11 basic services provided by the government, like education, healthcare, judiciary, police, etc., to be around Rs.21,068 crores . [ 24 ] India still ranks in the bottom quartile of developing nations in terms of the ease of doing business, and compared to China and other lower developed Asian nations, the average time taken tosecure the clearances for a startup or to invoke bankruptcy is much greater.EducationEducation in India and Literacy in India Since the Indian Constitution was finalized in 1949, education has remained one of the priorities of the Indian government. The first education minister Maulana Azad founded a system of education which aimed to provide free education at the primary level. Primary education was made free and compulsory for children from 6-14, and child labour was banned. The government introduced incentives to education and disincentives for not receiving education for instance, the provision of mid-daymeals in schools were introduced.Many similar initiatives echoed, and the largest of such initiatives is Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan , which actively promoted Education for All. In line with this, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) aimed to increase their expenditure on education to 6% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from values fluctuating about 3% through their National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) in 2004. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was also imposed in 2009. Despite these initiatives, education continues to persist as an impediment to development.

VoilanceReligious VoilanceConstitutionally India is a secular state , but large-scale violence have periodically occurred in India since independence. In recent decades, communal tensions and religion-based politics have become more prominent. . [ 37 ] Although India is generally known for religious pluralism , [ 38 ] the Hindutva ideology propagates that India belongs to the Hindus, and the Christians and the Muslims are"aliens", [ 39 ] and many proponents of this ideology portray violence against Muslims and Christians as a form of "self-defence" against "invaders". The Hindutva ideology is at the core of Sangh Parivar politics andits expression in violence against religious minority. [ 39 ] Throughout the history of post-Independence India , many religion and communal violence took place. [ 41 ] As the Hindutva ideology has grown more powerful over the years, many Hindutva activists have partaken in riots against minority communities. [ 42 ] Over the last decade, religious violence in Indiahas increasingly become what academics believe to be organized pogroms to eliminate minority communities. [ 43 ] [ 44 ] [ 45 ] Some state governments in India have been accused of not effectively prosecuting those whoattack religious minorities. [ 46 ] Major religious violent incidents. The regions with long term terrorist activities today are Jammu and Kashmir , Central India ( Naxalism ) and Seven Sister States (independence and autonomy movements). In the past, the Punjab insurgency led to militant activities in the Indian state of Punjab as well as the national capital Delhi (Delhi serial blasts, anti-Sikh riots ). As of 2006,at least 232 of the countrys 608 districts were afflicted, at differing intensities, by various insurgent and terrorist movements. [ 64 ]Terrorism in India has often been alleged to be sponsored by Pakistan. After most acts of terrorism in India, many journalists and politicians accuse Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence of playing a role. Recently, both the US and Afghanistan have accused Pakistan of carrying out terrorist acts in Afghanistan.Naxalism is an informal name given to communist groups that were born out of the Sino-Soviet split in the Indian communist movement. Ideologically they belong to various trends of Maoism . Initially the movement had its centre in West Bengal . In recent years, they have spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh through the activities of underground groups like the Communist Party of India (Maoist) . [ 66 ] The CPI (Maoist) and some other Naxal factions are considered terrorists by the Government of India and various state governments in India.Cast related voilanceOver the years, various incidents of violence against Dalits , such as Kherlanji Massacre have been reported from many parts of India. At the same time, many violent protests by Dalits, such as the 2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra , have been reported as well. The Mandal Commission was established in 1979 to "identify the socially or educationally backward", [ 68 ] and to consider the question of seat reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination. In 1980, the commission's report affirmed the affirmative action practice under Indian law whereby members of lower castes were given exclusiveaccess to a certain portion of government jobs and slots in public universities. When V. P. Singh Government tried to implement the recommendations of Mandal Commission in 1989, massive protests were held in the country. Many alleged that the politicians were trying to cash in on caste-based reservations for purely pragmatic electoral purposes. In 1990s, many parties Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal started claiming that they are representing the backward castes. Many such parties, relying primarily on Backward Classes' support, often in alliance with Dalits and Muslims, rose to power in Indian states. [ 69 ] At the same time, many Dalit leaders and intellectuals started realizing that the main Dalit oppressors were so-called Other Backward Classes , [ 70 ] and formed their own parties, such as the Indian Justice Party . The Congress (I) in Maharashtra long relied on OBCs' backing for its political success. [ 69 ] Bharatiya Janata Party has also showcased its Dalit and OBC leaders to prove that it is not an upper-caste party. Bangaru Laxman , the former BJP president(20012002) was a Dalit . Sanyasin Uma Bharati , former CM of Madhya Pradesh , who belongs to OBC caste, was a former BJP leader. In 2006 Arjun Singh cabinet minister for MHRD of the UPA government was accused of playing caste politics when he introduced reservations for OBCs in educational institutions all around.

Unit III:Fundamental of EconomicsEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production , distribution , and consumption of goods and services . The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek i (oikonomia, "management of a household, administration") from i (oikos, "house") + (nomos, "custom" or"law"), hence "rules of the house(hold)". A social science that studies how individuals, governments, firms and nations make choices on allocating scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants. Economics can generally be broken down into: macroeconomics, which concentrates on the behavior of the aggregate economy; and microeconomics, which focuses on individual consumers.Economics is often referred to as"the dismal science." Economics has prime importance in social sciences. It can be discussed under two heads: i. Theoretical importance ii. Practical importanceTHEORATICAL IMPORTANCE1. Intellectual development: The study of Economics widens the mental horizon of the people because it increases mental capacity to understand various problems of life.2. Spirit of co-operation: The study of Economics realizes us that we are interdependent to meet our economic and social wants. It leads to spirit of co-operation.3. Critical analysis: An economist critically analyses the situation and then draws conclusions which provides a guide - line for successful life.4. Rationality: The study of Economics teaches rationality, i.e. to avail the best possible situation within the given conditions.5. Sense of responsibility: Economics teaches us that we have to meet our unlimited wants with limited resources. It creates a sense of responsibilitywhich in turn makes a person a better citizen.6. Vision about economic system: The study of Economics not onlyenables to understand different economic systems, i.e. capitalism, socialism, Islamic economic system but it also creates a vision to look into the working of a particular economic system.7. Source of unavoidable informations: To understand some problems like inflation, exchange rate, shares, BOP, deficit financing etc. has become unavoidable fora successful life. Economics is the major source of all these inevitable information.

PRACTICAL IMPORTANCE1. To understand other subjects: The study of Economics is very useful to understand other subjects like history, sociology, psychology etc.2. Solution of economic problems: The study of Economics provides the solution of critical economic problems like poverty,inflation, monopolies, unemployment, environmental pollution etc.3. Government: Planning and development strategies, budget, monetary policy, fiscal policy etc. are majorconcerns of the government. Government depends heavily upon economists for policy decision - making.4. Producers: The ultimate objective of a producer is to maximize profit in case of profit and minimize loss in case of loss. It is the study of Economics which provides guideline to hit the target.5. Consumers: Consumers are always in search of maximization of satisfactions.It is Economics which provides basic principles to maximize satisfaction.6. Bankers: Banking is the most challengingart of present era. A successful banking system is based on the knowledge of Economics .7. Speculators: Speculation, i.e. purchase and sale of shares, bonds, certificates etc. is the major feature of present business world. It is Economics which provides outlines for speculation.8. Rulers: Economic tactics are the most effective tactics to win the favour of masses. Hence it is must for a successful ruler to have the awareness of at least basic knowledge of Economics .9. Labour: Labourer enriched with the knowledge of Economics can realize their role and importance to the employer in production process. Hence Economics enables them to enjoy higher wages.10. Citizen: Knowledge of Economics is indispensable for a good citizen. Wooten has rightly remarked that: You cannot be a citizen in real sense unless you are at least in some degree an economist.11. Global supremacy: Global supremacy is possible only on the basis of advanced studies in Economics . For instance G-8 countries are enjoying global supremacy on the basis of literature of Economics .12. Optimum allocation of resources: Optimum allocation of resources is key to economic development and the study of Economics confirms best allocation of resources.13. Equitable distribution of wealth: Inequitable distribution of wealth has been the crucial problem of especially LDCs. It is the study of the Economics which provides guide - line for equitable distribution of wealth.14. Gate-way to economic development: Economic development has been the dream of all nations. It is the knowledge of Economics which serves as a gate-way to economics development.Central Economic ProblemThe economic problem , sometimes called the basic, central or fundamental economic problem, is one of the fundamental economic theories in the operation of any economy . It asserts that there is scarcity , or that the finite resources available are insufficient to satisfyall human wants and needs. The problem then becomes how to determine what is to be produced and how the factors of production (such as capital and labor ) are to be allocated. Economics revolves around methods and possibilities of solving the economic problem. In short, the economic problem isthe choice one must make, arising out of limited means and unlimited wants .Opportunity cost and Production Possibility FrontierThe main theory to decipher what and how to prioritise these wants and needs is to look at theopportunity cost (looks at what good must be prioritised first according to needs and how efficiently that the good can satisfy infinite wants). A good way to look at this is the production possibility frontier (PPF), this isolates two goods in an economy produced at any onegiven time to show the effect of what would happen if one changed according to the other and also the effects of new technology and new resources.NeedsNeeds are material items people need for survival, such as food, clothing, housing and ware. Until the Industrial Revolution , the vast majority of the worlds population struggled for access to basic human needs.WantsWhile the basic needs of survival are important in the function of the economy, wants are the driving force which stimulates demand for goods and services. In order to curb the economic problem, economists must classify the nature and different wants of consumers, as well as prioritize wants and organize production to satisfy as many wants as possible. One assumption often made in mainstream neoclassical economics (and the methods which attempt to solve the economic problem) is that humans inherently pursue their self-interest and the market mechanism best satisfies the various wants different individuals might have. These wants are often classified into individual wants , which depend on the individual's preferences and purchasing power parity , and collective wants , those of entire groups of people.

Things such as food and clothing can be classified as either wants or needs, depending on what type and how often a good is asked for. Wants are effective desires for a particular product, or something which can only be obtained by working for it. Choice The economic problem fundamentally revolves around the idea of choice, which ultimately must answer the problem. Due to the limited resources available, businesses must determine what to producefirst to satisfy demand. Consumers are considered the biggest influences of this choice, and the goods which they want must also fit within their budgets and purchasing power parity . Different economic models place choice in different hands.Positive and Normative ApproachThere are various approaches to studying economics, which deals with how people make choices about scarce resources that have alternative uses. For instance, there is the micro approach to economics, which looks at individual units in the economy, and there is the macro approach, which looks at the overall economy. There is also the normative approach to economics, as opposed to a positive approach.1. Normative Approach *.A normative approach to economics looks at "what ought to be," as the economist Milton Friedman put it, when it comes to decision-making relating to economics. Rather than just objectively studying aneconomic situation and coming up with solutions, normative economics involves coming up with a solution that caters to a certain perspective. It has a moral or ethical component to it, rather than merely a factual orientation, which introduces a subjective orientation to a study.2. Positive Approach *.In contrast, the positive approach to economics is to look at facts objectively and come up with input. In analyzing a situation, positive economics does not involve imposing value judgments on others. Rather, this approach studies things as they are, rather than as they ought to be.Economists in general favor a positive approach to economics, so as to preserve the integrity of economic analysis and decision-making. Apositive approach gives the field more credibility.

Economic SystemAn economic system is a system for producing, distributing and consuming goods and services, including the combination of the various institutions, agencies, consumers, entities (or even sectors as described by some authors) that comprise the economic structure of a given society or community. It also includes how these various agencies and institutions are linked to one another, how information flows between them,and the social relations within the system (including property rights and the structure of management). A related concept is the mode of production . The economic system involves investments , production , the allocation of economic inputs, distribution of economic outputs,land availability, households (earnings and expenditure consumption of goods and services in an economy ), financial institutions and government policies. It involves a set of institutions and their various social relations . Alternatively, it is the set of principles by which problems of economics are addressed, such as the economic problem of scarcity through allocation of finite productive resources. [ 1 ]An economic system is composedof people , institutions , rules, andrelationships. Economic systems can be dividedby the way they allocate economic inputs (the means of production ) and how they make decisions regarding the use of inputs. A common distinction of great importance is that between capitalism (a market economy ) and socialism ( economic planning ).CapitalismIn a capitalist economic system, production is carried out to maximize private profit, decisionsregarding investment and the use of the means of production are determined by competing business owners in the marketplace; production takes place within the process of capital accumulation . The means of production are owned primarily by private enterprises and decisions regarding production and investment determined by private owners in capital markets . Capitalist systems range from laissez-faire, with minimal government regulation and state enterprise, to regulated and social market systems, with the stated aim of ensuring social justice and a more equitable distribution of wealth (see welfare state ) or ameliorating market failures (see economic intervention ).SocialismIn a socialist economic system, production is carried out to directly satisfy economic demandby producing goods and services for use ; decisions regarding the use of the means of production are adjusted to satisfy economic demand, investment (control overthe surplus value) is carried out through a mechanism of inclusive collective decision-making. The means of production are either publicly owned , or are owned by the workers cooperatively . A socialisteconomic system that is based on the process of capital accumulation, but seeks to control or direct that process through state ownership or cooperative control to ensure stability, equality or expand decision-making power, are market socialist systems .

Unit IV: MicroeconomicsMicroeconomicsMicroeconomics (from Greek prefix micro- "" meaning"small" + "economics"-"") is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individual households and firms in making decisions on the allocation of limited resources. [ 1 ] Typically, it applies to markets where goods or services are bought and sold. Microeconomics examines how these decisions and behaviors affect the supply and demand for goods and services, which determines prices, and how prices, in turn, determine the quantity supplied and quantity demanded of goods and services. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] This is in contrast to macroeconomics , which involvesthe "sum total of economic activity, dealing with the issues of growth , inflation , and unemployment ." [ 2 ]Microeconomics also deals with the effects of national economic policies (such as changing taxation levels) on the aforementioned aspects of the economy. [ 4 ] Particularly in the wake of the Lucas critique , muchof modern macroeconomic theory has been built upon ' microfoundations 'i.e. based upon basic assumptions about micro-level behavior. One of the goals of microeconomics is to analyze market mechanisms that establish relative prices amongst goods and services and allocation of limited resources amongst many alternative uses. Microeconomics analyzes market failure , where markets fail to produce efficient results, and describes the theoretical conditions needed for perfect competition . Significant fields of study in microeconomics include general equilibrium , markets under asymmetric information , choice under uncertainty and economic applications of game theory . Also considered is the elasticity of products within the market system.Law of Supply and DemandThe price P of a product is determined by a balance between production at each price (supply S) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand D). The diagram shows a positive shift in demand from D 1 to D 2 , resulting in an increase in price (P) and quantity sold (Q) of the product. In microeconomics , supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market . It concludes that in a competitive market , the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers (at current price) will equal the quantity supplied by producers (at current price), resulting in an economic equilibrium for price and quantity . The four basic laws of supply anddemand are:1. If demand increases and supplyremains unchanged, a shortageoccurs, leading to a higher equilibrium price.2. If demand decreases and supply remains unchanged, a surplus occurs, leading to a lower equilibrium price.3. If demand remains unchanged and supply increases, a surplus occurs, leading to a lower equilibrium price.4. If demand remains unchanged and supply decreases, a shortage occurs, leading to a higher equilibrium price.UtilityApproach In economics ,utility is a representation of preferences over some set of goods and services. Preferences have a utility representation so long as they are transitive, complete, and continuous. Utility is usually applied by economists in such constructs as the indifference curve , which plot the combination of commodities that an individual ora society would accept to maintain a given level of satisfaction. Individual utility and social utility can be construed as the value of a utility function and a social welfare function respectively. When coupled with production or commodity constraints, under some assumptions, these functions canbe used to analyze Pareto efficiency , such as illustrated by Edgeworth boxes in contract curves . Such efficiency is a central concept in welfare economics . In finance , utility is applied to generate an individual's price for an asset called the indifference price . Utility functions are also related to risk measures , with the most common example beingthe entropic risk measure . Quantifying utility It was recognized that utility could not be measured or observed directly, so instead economists devised a way to infer underlying relative utilities from observed choice. These 'revealed preferences', as they were named by Paul Samuelson , were revealed e.g. in people's willingness to pay: Utility is taken to be correlative toDesire or Want. It has been already argued that desires cannot be measured directly, but only indirectly, by the outward phenomena to which they give rise: and that in those cases with which economics is chiefly concerned the measure is found in the price which a person is willing to pay for the fulfilment orsatisfaction of his desire.Cardinal and ordinal utilityEconomists distinguish between cardinal utility and ordinal utility . When cardinal utility is used, the magnitude of utility differences is treated as an ethically or behaviorally significant quantity. On the other hand, ordinal utility captures only ranking and not strength of preferences. Utility functions of both sorts assign a ranking to members of achoice set. For example, suppose a cup of orange juice has utility of 120 utils, a cup of tea has a utility of 80 utils, and a cup of water has a utility of 40 utils. When speaking of cardinal utility, it could be concluded that the cup of orange juice is better than the cup of tea by exactly the same amount by which the cup of tea is better than the cup of water. One is not entitled to conclude, however, that the cup of tea is two thirds as good as the cup of juice, because this conclusion would depend not only on magnitudes of utility differences, but also on the"zero" of utility. It is tempting when dealing with cardinal utility to aggregate utilities across persons. The argument against this is that interpersonal comparisons of utility are meaningless because there is no good way to interprethow different people value consumption bundles. When ordinal utilities are used, differences in utils are treated as ethically or behaviorally meaningless: the utility index encode a full behavioral ordering between members of a choice set, but tells nothing about the related strength of preferences . In the above example, it would only be possible to say that juice is preferred to tea to water, but no more. Neoclassical economics has largely retreated from using cardinal utility functions as the basic objects of economic analysis, in favor of considering agent preferences over choice sets. However, preference relations can often be represented by utility functions satisfying several properties. Ordinal utility functions are unique up to positive monotone transformations, while cardinal utilities are unique up to positive linear transformations.

Utility can be categoriesed by these two categories:Marginal utilityIn economics , the marginal utility of a good or service is the gain (or loss) from an increase (or decrease) in the consumption of that good or service. Economists sometimes speak of a law of diminishing marginal utility , meaning that the first unit of consumption of a good or service yields more utility than the second and subsequent units. [ citation needed ] The marginal decision rule states that a good or service should be consumed at a quantity at which the marginal utility is equal to the marginal cost.Total UtilityThe aggregate level of satisfaction or fulfillment that a consumer receives through the consumption of a specific good or service. Each individual unit of a good or service has its own marginal utility, and the total utility is simply the sum of all the marginal utilities of the individualunits. Classical economic theory suggests that all consumers wantto get the highest possible level of total utility for the money they spend.Law of Diminishing Marginal UtilityDefinition: Consumers will buy as much as pleases them, with their income. "As each additonal unit is purchased, the excess satisfaction gained from each purchase decreases , until it becomes irrational to continue purchasing." For example, one slice of pizza may give you muchsatisfaction, as does the second slice. The third slice makes you extremely full, while the fourth slice makes you nauseous. At this point, it becomes irrational for you to purchase additional slices of pizza.*. "Utility": satisfaction or pleasure one gets from consuming it.*.Utility is subjective, as a specific product can vary from person to person.*. Ex. eyeglasses have utility to someone who has poor eyesight but has no utility witha person with perfect vision.*. Utils - imaginary unit of measurement for utility*. Utility is not the same as"usefulness"*. Total Utility: TU the total amount of satisfaction or pleasure a person derives fromconsuming some specific quantity.Total Utility is equal to all of the marginal utilities added together.*. Marginal Utility: the extra satisfaction a consumer realizes from an additional unitof that product.*. Consumers want to maximize the total utility not marginal utility.Indifference CurvesIn microeconomic theory , an indifference curve is a graph showing different bundles of goods between which a consumer is indifferent. That is, at each point on the curve, the consumer has no preference for one bundle over another. One can equivalently refer to each point on the indifference curve as rendering the same level of utility (satisfaction) for the consumer. Utility is then a device to represent preferences rather than something from which preferences come. [ 1 ]The main use of indifference curves is in the representation of potentially observable demand patterns for individual consumers over commodity bundles. Indifference curves are typically represented to be:1. Defined only in the non-negative quadrant of commodity quantities (i.e. the possibility of having negative quantities of any good is ignored).2. Negatively sloped. That is, as quantity consumed of one good (X) increases, total satisfaction would increase if not offset by a decrease in the quantity consumed of the othergood (Y). Equivalently, satiation , such that more of either good (or both) is equally preferred tono increase, is excluded. (If utility U = f(x, y) , U , in the third dimension, does not have a local maximum for any x and y values.) The negative slope of the indifference curve reflects the assumption of the monotonicity of consumer's preferences, which generates monotonically increasing utility functions, and the assumption of non-satiation (marginal utility for all goods is always positive); an upward sloping indifference curve would imply that a consumer is indifferent between a bundle A and another bundle B because they lay on the same indifference curve, even in the case in whichthe quantity of both goods in bundle B is higher. Because of monotonicity of preferences and non-satiation, a bundle with more of both goods must be preferred to one with less ofboth, thus the first bundle mustyield a higher utility, and lay on a different indifference curve ata higher utility level. The negative slope of the indifference curve implies that the marginal rate of substitution is always negative.ElasticityIn economics , elasticity is the measurement of how changing one economic variable affects others. For example: *. "If I lower the price of my product, how much more will I sell?" *. "If I raise the price, how much less will I sell?" *. "If we learn that a resource is becoming scarce, will people scramble to acquire it?" In more technical terms, it is the ratio of the percentage change inone variable to the percentage change in another variable. It is a tool for measuring the responsiveness of a function to changes in parameters in a unitless way. Frequently used elasticities include price elasticity of demand , price elasticity of supply , income elasticity of demand , elasticity of substitution between factors of production and elasticity of intertemporal substitution .

Elasticities of demandPrice elasticity of demandPrice elasticity of demand measures the percentage changein quantity demanded caused by a percent change in price. As such, it measures the extent of movement along the demand curve. This elasticity is almost always negative and is usually expressed in terms of absolute value (i.e. as positive numbers) since the negative can be assumed. In these terms, then, if the elasticity is greater than 1 demand is said to be elastic; between zero and one demand isinelastic and if it equals one, demand is unit-elastic. A perfectlyelastic demand curve is horizontal (with an elasticity of infinity) whereas a perfectly inelastic demand curve is vertical (with an elasticity of 0). Income elasticity of demand Income elasticity of demand measures the percentage changein demand caused by a percent change in income. A change in income causes the demand curveto shift reflecting the change in demand. IED is a measurement ofhow far the curve shifts horizontally along the X-axis. Income elasticity can be used to classify goods as normal or inferior. With a normal good demand varies in the same direction as income. With an inferior good demand and income move in opposite directions. [ 2 ]Cross price elasticity of demandCross price elasticity of demand measures the percentage change in demand for a particular good caused by a percent change in the price of another good. Goodscan be complements, substitutes or unrelated. A change in the price of a related good causes the demand curve to shift reflecting a change in demand for the original good. Cross price elasticity is a measurement of how far, and in which direction, the curve shifts horizontally alongthe x-axis. A positive cross-price elasticity means that the goods are substitute goods . Cross elasticity of demand between firms Cross elasticity of demand for firms, sometimes referred to as conjectu