NCERT Polity & Governance notes

Polity & Governance glossary A–Z

2,022 terms explained, 654 in depth.

Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features — Government of India Acts (1919, 1935) - Constituent Assembly (December 1946 - November 1949) - in force 26 January 1950
Preamble and the Philosophy of the Constitution — Objectives Resolution (1946) - Preamble (1950) - 42nd Amendment (1976)
Citizenship: Idea and Indian Law — Part II (Arts. 5-11, 1950) - Citizenship Act 1955 - Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (rules 2024)
Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Remedies — Part III (Arts. 12-35), 1950 - landmark cases to the present
Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties — Irish model (1937) - Part IV (1950) - 42nd (1976) and 86th (2002) Amendments
Amendment of the Constitution and the Basic Structure — Art. 368 (1950) - Kesavananda Bharati (1973) - 106 amendments by 2023 (verify current)

State, Government and Governance: Organs, Levels and the Citizen — concepts; present-day India
Democracy: Forms of Government, Principles and Outcomes — early republics (ganas, Uttaramerur inscriptions) - modern democracies
Power-sharing: Majoritarianism versus Accommodation — Belgium (reforms 1970-1993) and Sri Lanka (Sinhala Only Act 1956 - civil war 1983-2009); India
Federalism and Centre-State Relations — Government of India Act 1935 - Constitution 1950 - linguistic states (1956) - NITI Aayog and cooperative federalism (2015)
Emergency Provisions and President's Rule — Part XVIII (Arts. 352-360) - emergencies of 1962, 1971 and 1975 - 44th Amendment (1978) - S.R. Bommai (1994)

Union Executive: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers — Constitution 1950 - present (Arts. 52-78)
Parliament: Composition, Powers and Law-making — Parliament since 1952; new Parliament building (2023)
Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges — Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha; departmentally related standing committees since 1993
Judiciary: Independence, Structure, Judicial Review and Activism — Federal Court (1937) - Supreme Court (28 January 1950) - collegium (1993) - NJAC struck down (2015) - present
State Government: Governor, Chief Minister, State Legislature and Union Territories — Arts. 152-237 and 239-241 (1950) - Sarkaria (1988) and Punchhi (2010) - Supreme Court rulings on Governors and Delhi (2018-2025; verify current)
Justice Delivery: Subordinate Courts, Tribunals, Legal Aid and Judicial Reforms — Arts. 233-237; Arts. 323A-B (42nd Amendment 1976) - Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 - new criminal laws (1 July 2024)
Panchayati Raj: Rural Local Government — Balwantrai Mehta (1957) - Ashok Mehta (1978) - 73rd Amendment (1992, in force 24 April 1993) - present
Urban Local Government: Municipalities and Cities — Madras Corporation (1687) - Ripon's resolution (1882) - 74th Amendment (1992, in force 1 June 1993) - urban missions (2015)
Special Provisions, Scheduled and Tribal Areas — Fifth and Sixth Schedules (1950) - Art. 371 series (1956-2012) - PESA 1996 - Art. 370 abrogated (2019)

Constitutional Bodies: UPSC, CAG, Finance Commission and Others — Constitution 1950 - NCST (89th Amendment 2003) - GST Council (2016) - NCBC made constitutional (102nd Amendment 2018)
Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies — CBI (1963) - NHRC (1993) - Central Information Commission (2005) - Lokpal (Act 2013; working since 2019)
Civil Services: Role, Accountability and Reforms — Indian Civil Service (1858-1947) - All India Services (Art. 312) - 2nd ARC (2005-09) - Mission Karmayogi (2020)
Transparency, Accountability and e-Governance — MKSS right-to-information movement (1990s) - RTI Act (2005) - Digital India (2015) - DPDP Act (2023)
Safeguards for Vulnerable Sections: SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, Women and Children — Constitution 1950 - Indra Sawhney (1992) - EWS quota (103rd Amendment 2019) - SC sub-classification (2024)

Elections and the Electoral System — first general election (1951-52) - EVMs nationwide (2004), VVPAT and NOTA (2013) - present
Electoral Reforms: Money, Criminalisation and Simultaneous Elections — Goswami Committee (1990) - Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) - electoral bonds (2018-2024) - simultaneous elections bill (2024; verify current)
Political Parties, Party Systems and Anti-defection — Indian National Congress (1885) - multi-party system - Tenth Schedule (1985, amended 2003) - present
Civil Society, Pressure Groups, NGOs and Self-help Groups — cooperative movement (1904) - NGOs and SHGs (1990s) - 97th Amendment (2011) - FCRA amendment (2020)
Gender, Religion and Caste in Politics — women's franchise (1950) - 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) - Women's Reservation Act (106th Amendment, 2023) - caste enumeration in the 2027 census (verify current)

Political Theory: Freedom and Rights — concepts (Mill, Berlin, Kant) and Indian thinkers (Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose)
Equality and Social Justice — concepts (liberalism, Marxism, socialism, feminism, Rawls); Indian affirmative action
Nationalism and National Self-determination — 19th-20th century nation-states; Indian nationalism; Tagore's critique
Secularism: Western and Indian Models — concepts; 'secular' added to the Preamble (42nd Amendment 1976); S.R. Bommai (1994)