102 Constitutional Government and Democracy in India

Course Name: Constitutional Government and Democracy in India

About the Course:

Course objective:

This course acquaints students with the constitutional design of state structures and institutions, and their actual working overtime. The Indian Constitution accommodates conflicting impulses (of liberty and justice, territorial decentralization and a strong union, for instance) within itself. The course traces the embodiment of some of these conflicts in constitutional provisions, and shows how these have played out in political practice. It further encourages a study of state institutions in their mutual interaction, and in interaction with the larger extra-constitutional environment.

Course Outcome:

• To acquaint students with constitutional design of state structures and institutions

• To understand the conflicts in constitutional provisions

• To make them comprehend the state institutions in relation to extra-constitutional environment.

Course Plan: Constitutional Government and Democracy in India

Session Plan:

Unit I. The Constituent Assembly and the Constitution

a. Philosophy of the Constitution, the Preamble, and Features of the Constitution

b. Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles

Unit: II. Organs of Government

a. The Legislature: Parliament

b. The Executive: President and Prime Minister

c. The Judiciary: Supreme Court

READING LIST I.

The Constituent Assembly and the Constitution

a. Philosophy of the Constitution, the Preamble, and Features of the Constitution

Essential Readings:

• G. Austin, (2010) ‘The Constituent Assembly: Microcosm in Action’, in The IndianConstitution: Cornerstone of a Nation, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 15th print, pp.1-25.

• R. Bhargava, (2008) ‘Introduction: Outline of a Political Theory of the Indian Constitution’, in R. Bhargava (ed.) Politics and Ethics of the Indian Constitution, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 1-40.

Additional Reading:

• D. Basu, (2012) Introduction to the Constitution of India, New Delhi: Lexis Nexis.

• S. Chaube, (2009) The Making and Working of the Indian Constitution, Delhi: National Book Trust.

• Chakrabarty, Bidyut. (2017), Indian Costitution: Text, Context and Interpretation, New Delhi, Sage Publications

• Mellalli, Praveenkumar (2015), Constitution of India, Professional Ethics and Human Rights, New Delhi, Sage Publications

b. Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles

Essential Readings:

• G. Austin, (2000) ‘The Social Revolution and the First Amendment’, in Working a Democratic Constitution, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 69-98.

• A .Sibal, (2010) ‘From Niti to Nyaya,’ Seminar, Issue 615, pp 28-34.

• Chakrabarty, Bidyut. (2017), Indian Costitution: Text, Context and Interpretation, New Delhi, Sage Publications

• Mellalli, Praveenkumar (2015), Constitution of India, Professional Ethics and Human Rights, New Delhi, Sage Publications

Additional Reading:

• The Constitution of India: Bare Act with Short Notes, (2011) New Delhi: Universal, pp. 4-16.

II. Organs of Government

a. The Legislature: Parliament

Essential Readings:

B. Shankar and V. Rodrigues, (2011) ‘The Changing Conception of Representation: Issues, Concerns and Institutions’, in The Indian Parliament: A Democracy at Work, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 105-173.

V. Hewitt and S. Rai, (2010) ‘Parliament’, in P. Mehta and N. Jayal (eds.) The OxfordCompanion to Politics in India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 28-42.

b. The Executive: President and Prime Minister

Essential Readings:

J. Manor, (2005) ‘The Presidency’, in D. Kapur and P. Mehta P. (eds.) Public Institutions in India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.105-127.

J. Manor, (1994) ‘The Prime Minister and the President’, in B. Dua and J. Manor (eds.) Nehru to the Nineties: The Changing Office of the Prime Minister in India, Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, pp. 20-47.

H. Khare, (2003) ‘Prime Minister and the Parliament: Redefining Accountability in the Age of Coalition Government’, in A. Mehra and G. Kueck (eds.) The Indian Parliament: AComparative Perspective, New Delhi: Konark, pp. 350-368.