Notes-Class 10-Political Science-Chapter-1-Working of the Constitution-Maharashtra Board

The basic structure of Constitution :

• Republican and democratic form of government.
• Federal structure of the Constitution.
• Promotion of unity and integrity of the nation.
• Secularism and supremacy of the Constitution.

Some Amendments to the Constitution of India :

• Twenty-sixth amendment (1971) : Abolished titles and special privileges given to the royal families. All allowances paid to the royal families were stopped by the Central government.
• Thirty-sixth amendment (1975): Sikkim included as an Indian state.
• Sixty first Amendment (1989) : reduced voting age from 21 to 18 years.
• Seventy-third Amendment (1993) : Constitutional Status was provided to Panchayati Raj.

Right to Vote :

• The democratic system in India is based on the principle of adult suffrage.
• The voting right is given equally to men and women, both.
• Earlier the age to vote was 21 years. Later it was reduced to 18 years.
• As the age limit was reduced from 21 to 18, it provided the unrepresented youth of the country an opportunity to become part of political process.
• It increased the scope of democracy by including the youth of the country, thus making India the largest democracy in the world.
• The change which came in with largest number of voters is quantitative as well as qualitative.
• The political parties emerge with active support of new young voters representing different expectations of the people and also leading to competition in the political sphere.

Right to Information (R.T.I. 2005) :  In order to bring transparency in the administration and make it accountable, Indian citizens are given Right to Information.

• It is important to empower citizens in democracy.
• Citizens should get more opportunities to interact with government.
• Right to information helps in Promoting harmony between the government and people.
• It brought transparency in administration, made the government realise that they are answerable to people.
• It has helped to reduce the element of secrecy which surrounded the functioning of the government. It made the government open and transparent.
• After the year 2000, the whole approach towards democratic reforms has changed, the citizens of India have got Right to Information, Right to Education and Right to Food Security.

Decentralisation of Democracy : Division of power within a country is known as Decentralisation. Under dictatorship and military rule, the power is centred around one person or a group of individuals. But in democracy the power is divided among Centre, State and Local Self-govermning institutions. Decentralisation is the core of democracy.

• Indian Constitution divided the power between the centre, state and local self-governing bodies. It is called decentralisation of power.
• The provision for decentralisation is embedded in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
• It helps in curbing misuse of power and allows common people's participation.
• The guidelines about empowering the local self-governing bodies are given in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
• 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution have given constitutional status to the local self-governing bodies and increased their powers.

Policy of Reservation of Seats : Some sections of Indian society were denied social justice. They were deprived of educational and employment opportunities. It was essential to bring them in the main stream of society.

• The policy was adopted to give reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in educational institutions and public employment.
• Seats were also reserved for Other Backward Classes.
• Reservation policy gave the deprived classes justice and opportunities for development.

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes Act (Prevention of Atrocities Act) :

• Prevention of Atrocities Act was passed to establish a society based on social justice and equality.
• This act prevents any injustice done to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
• Anyone found guilty of committing any act is liable for punishment.

Provisions for Minorities :

• The government adopted various policies for the minorities in education and employment.
• The Constitution has prohibited any form of discrimination on the basis of caste, race, religion, language and region.
• For the protection of the rights of Minorities, the Constitution has adopted various measures like equality, freedom, right against exploitation, cultural as well as educational rights.

Laws for women :

Several policies have been adopted in the post-independence period for empowering women. Provisions were made in the Constitution to provide opportunities for progress. Many laws were passed to empower them.

They are :

• Right to equal share in the Property of father and husband.
• Dowry Prohibition Act.
• Act against sexual harassment.
• Domestic Violence Prohibition Act.

The apex court has given several judgments which have helped in protection of honour and prestige of women.

• Court gave judgment on Right to alimony as well as Right to equal remuneration.
• Women have an equal share in the property of husband and father. This gave them financial security. Dowry prohibition Act was a measure for women empowerment.
• The Act against sexual harassment, Domestic Violence Prohibition Act are also very important in the direction of women empowerment.
• All these acts emphasised the need to protect women and protect their self-esteem and dignity rejecting the traditional forms of domination and authoritarianism.

Representation of Women :

• The 73^rd and and 74^th constitutional amendment reserved 33% seats for women in local self- governing bodies.
• This reservation has been increased to 50% in Maharashtra and many other states.
• For mitigating injustice meted out to women, National Commission for Women has been established. Similarly commissions were set up at the state level also.
• The Domestic Violence Prohibition Act underlined the need to protect the prestige and self-esteem of women.
• It rejected any form of dominance and authoritarianism.
• Inhuman practices were banned by law and traditional dominance was refuted which gave momentum to the women liberation movement.

Significant decisions of the Judiciary :

• Safeguarding rights of children
• Protection of human rights
• Protection of the honour and dignity of women
• Individual freedom
• Tribal empowerment

These verdicts have helped Indian democracy and political process to become mature.