Keshavanand Bharati vs. the State of Kerala case (1973):  Popularly known as the Fundamental Rights case, it brought an end to a serious conflict between executive and judiciary. On April 24th, 1973, the 13 judge bench of Supreme Court gave the landmark judgement by 7:6 majority that the Parliament did not have the power to amend the basic structure of the constitution.  Some basic features listed by the judgement are:

1. Supremacy of the Constitution 
2. Unity and sovereignty of India
3. Democratic and republican form of government
4. Federalism 
5. Secularism 
6. Separation of power
7. Individual freedom

Although there is no absolute definition of the “basic structure” and it`s interpretation is left to the wisdom of the SC judges on a case to case basis.

Shankari Prasad vs. Union of India case (1951): It challenged  1st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951 on the ground that it violates the Part-III, Fundamental Rights, of the constitution and thus should be considered invalid. The Supreme Court held that the fundamental rights can be amended under Article 368 by the Parliament.

 Golak Nath vs State of Punjab case (1967): The Supreme Court overruled its earlier decision and held that the Parliament has no power to amend the fundamental rights as they are transcendental and immutable.

Indira Sawhney Vs. Union of India (1992): It examined the scope and extent of Art 16(4) which deals with the reservation in jobs. Also, Rule of law was added to the basic features of constitution in this case.

Cauvery is the longest south Indian river and is also known as Dakshin Ganga. It has been declared a `national asset’ by the Supreme Court of India. It originates in Karnataka, flows through Tamil Nadu, major tributaries coming from Kerala, and drains into Bay of Bengal through Pondicherry. Thus the dispute involves 3 states and 1 UT. The dispute began in 1892 between the Madras Presidency (under British rule) & the princely state of Mysore.

Indira Sawhney v. Union of India 1992 or Mandal case deals with the thorough examination of the scope and extent of Art 16(4) which deals with the reservation in jobs. In the landmark judgement the Supreme Court 

• Recognized the validity of the 27% reservation for OBCs with the exclusion of their ‘creamy layer`. 
• Rejected an additional 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Section of higher caste.
• Put a 50% limit on reservations, with exceptions in extra-ordinary cases.
• Limited the reservation to initial appointments only and not extending to promotions.
• Ruled out that the backward classes under Article 16(4) cannot be identified on the basis of economic criteria alone but the caste system also needs to be considered.

Major Panchayati Raj Committees:-

• Balwant Rai Mehta committee (1957) suggested a three-tier tier Panchayat Raj institutional structure, namely, Grama Panchayats (GPs) at the village level, Panchayat Samiti (PSs) at the block level, and Zilla Parishad (ZPs) at the district level.

• Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) recommended a two-tier PRI institutional structure consisting of Zilla Parishad and Mandal Panchayat. District was suggested as the first point of decentralization below the state level.

• Hanumantha Rao Committee (1983) recommended to take note of the felt needs of population and to mobilise local resources for plan implementation

• G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985) recommended making the “district” as the basic unit of planning and also holding regular elections.

• L.M.Singhvi Committee (1986) recommended providing constitutional status to the panchayats and establishment of Nyaya Panchayats.
• P.K. Thungan Committee (1989) recommended a constitutional amendment to provide for periodic elections, enlistment of appropriate functions and funds to local government institutions.
• Harlal Singh Kharra Committee (1990) was constituted by Rajasthan Government. It recommended all the administrative matters relating to rural needs and facilities should be brought under PRIs.

N. Vohra committee – was set up after the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts to study the problem of criminalisation of politics. It reported that the blast was a result of the nexus among criminal gangs, police, politicians and bureaucrats and the criminal network was virtually running a parallel Government. 

Major Electoral Reforms Committees:-

Jaya Prakash Narayan Committee (1974) suggested

• reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 years
• placing television and radio under an independent corporation.

Tarkunde Committee (1974) recommended

• The election Commission should be a three member body.
• The minimum age for voting should be 18 years.
• The TV and Radio should be placed under the control of autonomous statutory corporation.
• The committee recommended the formation of voter’s council in as many constituencies as possible which can help in free and fair elections.

Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) recommended

• Amendment to the anti-defection law. The question of disqualification of members should not be decided by the speaker or the Chairman of the concerned House.
• No candidates should be allowed to contest an election from more than two constituencies.
• Framing a model code of conduct
• Proxy voting army and para-military personnel, diplomats and others placed outside India. 
• Monitoring of expenses should be undertaken by the Election Commission
• Ensuring speedy trial of election disputes through the help of adhoc judges.

Jeevan Reddy Committee (2005)

• Advocated a total ban on splits and mergers of political parties during the term of the Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly.
• Suggested that a person should be disqualification from contesting elections to the Lok Sabha or an Assembly if a court has ordered framing of charges in respect of offences listed in the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998)

• Only the recognized political parties should be given state support.
• State funding should be in kind i.e. no financial support is to be given to parties.
• Political Parties should compulsory submit their annual accounts to the income tax department.
• Complete account of the election expenditure should be filed by the parties to EC

                                                                              OR

Major Electoral Reforms Committees:-

Jaya Prakash Narayan Committee (1974) suggested reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 years and placing television and radio under an independent corporation.

Tarkunde Committee (1974) reiterated JP Committee`s suggestion. It recommended the formation of voter’s council in as many constituencies as possible which can help in free and fair elections.

Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) recommended that the question of disqualification of members should not be decided by the speaker or the Chairman of the concerned House. . It advocated framing of a model code of conduct and monitoring of election expenses by the Election Commission. It suggested that no candidates should be allowed to contest an election from more than two constituencies. And provision of proxy voting for army and para-military personnel, diplomats and others placed outside India shall be introduced. 

Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) examined the State funding of elections. It recommended that complete account of the election expenditure should be filed by the parties to EC

Jeevan Reddy Committee (2005) advocated a total ban on splits and mergers of political parties during the term of the Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly and recommended reforms to decriminalize political system.

“Dharmshala capitalism” was a term used by Indian economist, Raj Krishna, to denote the Leninist policy of “commanding heights” and a socialistic pattern of society followed by Nehru post independence.

In 1978 he coined the term ‘Hindu rate of growth’ to characterize the slow growth rate. The word “Hindu” was used by some early economists to signify that the Hindu concepts of contentedness and `already written destiny` were responsible for the slow growth. However the later economists saw the socialist policies of that time as the reason.

Statutory bodies are those institutions/bodies which are not mentioned in the constitution. They are created by the Parliament or State legislature through an Act, from where they derive their power. They are usually established to perform some specific functions. NHRC, UIDAI, UGC, Railway Board, Central Vigilance Commission, Central Information Commission, etc. are some important statutory bodies. 

Official Languages Commission was constituted on June 7, 1955 by the President of India through vide a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. It was formed to encourage the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union as envisaged under Art. 344.

The interim government of India was formed on Septembeer 2nd, 1946 under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. It was formed from the Constituent Assembly elected in August 1946. It was formed as a provisional government till independence and was succeeded by the Dominions of India and Pakistan. In the Interim Government, the Viceroy’s Executive Council was equivalent to the position of Council of Ministers which acted as the executive.

COMPOSITION:-

President of the Executive Council (Viceroy and Governor-General of India): Viscount Wavell (till February 1947); Lord Mountbatten (from February 1947)

Commander-in-Chief: Sir Claude Auchinleck

Members from INC –

• Vice President, Also in charge of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations: Jawaharlal Nehru 

• Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 

• Agriculture and Food: Rajendra Prasad 

• Defence: Baldev Singh 

• Education and Arts: C Rajagopalachari 

• Labour: Jagjivan Ram 

• Works, Mines and Power: C H Bhabha

Members from Muslim League –

• Commerce: Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar 

• Finance: Liaquat Ali Khan 

• Health: Ghazanfar Ali Khan 

• Law: Jogendra Nath Mandal 
• Railways and Communications, Post and Air: Abdur Rab Nishtar 

Granville Seward Austin (1927-2014) was an American historian of the Indian Constitution. He wrote 2 books on political histories of the constitution of India, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation and Working a Democratic Constitution: The Indian Experience. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor of the Republic of India, in 2011.

The CPI(M) was formed at the 7th Congress of the CPI held in Calcutta from October 31 to November 7, 1964. The split happened due to the difference in opinion on adaptation to the new situation after 1947. A faction that sought cooperation with the dominant Indian National Congress emerged within CPI. In 1964 the party was finally divided into 2, with the left faction forming the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Rajni Kothari (1928–2015) was an Indian political scientist, political theorist, academic and writer. He established Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in 1963, and Lokayan (Dialogue of the People), a forum for interaction between activists and intellectuals, in 1980. His major works include “Politics in India” and his thesis on politicisation of caste with Dhirubhai Sheth.

Jagdish Natwarlal Bhagwati is an India-born American economist whose work focuses on international trade. He is an advocate of free trade.

Amartya Sen is an Indian economist and philosopher. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 and India’s Bharat Ratna in 1999 for his work in welfare economics. 

Granville Seward Austin (1927-2014) was an American historian of the Indian Constitution. He wrote 2 books on political histories of the constitution of India, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation and Working a Democratic Constitution: The Indian Experience. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor of the Republic of India, in 2011.