India

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of India Image File history File links Emblem_of_India. ... Politics of India takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of India is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ...

Union Government The Government of India (Hindi: भारत सरकार Bhārat Sarkār), officially referred to as the Union Government, and commonly as Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a federal union of 28 states and 7 union territories, collectively called the Republic of India. ...

Constitution Constitution of India Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties

Executive This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Preamble of the Constitution of India — Indias fundamental and supreme law The Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties are sections of the Constitution of India that prescribe the fundamental obligations of the State to its citizens and the duties of the citizens to the... Government Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Ministers

Legislative The Prime Minister of India is, in practice, the most powerful person in the government of India. ... Dr. Manmohan Singh (Punjabi: , Hindi: , literal translation: Charming) is the 17th and current Prime Minister of India. ... List of Indian ministers in the current government elected in 2004: Names in italics are women ministers. ... A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... Parliament President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Lok Sabha Speaker of Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee Rajya Sabha Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Elections in India Sansad Bhavan, The Parliament of India The Parliament of India (or Sansad) is bicameral. ... The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India and the Supreme Commander of the Indian armed forces. ... Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Tamil: அ.ப.ஜ. அப்துல் கலாம்; Hindi: अवुल पकिर जैनुलाअबदीन अब्दुल कलाम; Urdu: ابو الفقیر زین العبدین عبدل کلام), born October 15, 1931, Tamil Nadu, India, usually referred to as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is the President of India. ... The Vice-President of India is the second-highest ranking government official in the executive branch of the Government of India after the President. ... Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (born October 23, 1923) is the Vice-President of India. ... Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India. ... The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer of the lower house of parliament in India. ... Somnath Chatterjee (born July 25, 1929 in Tezpur, Assam) is a politician in India. ... Executive President Vice-President Prime Minister Dy. ... The Vice-President of India is the second-highest ranking government official in the executive branch of the Government of India after the President. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... 2004 General election State Assembly elections Political parties

Judiciary This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The State Assembly elections in India are the elections in which the Indian electorate choose the members of the Vidhan Sabha (or Legislative/State Assembly). ... Political parties in India lists political parties in India. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      In law, the judiciary or judicial is the system of courts which administer justice in the name of the sovereign or state, a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. ... Supreme Court Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan High Courts District Courts

States and territories Districts Human rights Political scandals Foreign relations

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The situation of human rights in India is a complex one, as a result of the country's large size and tremendous diversity, its status as a developing country, and its history as a former colonial territory. It is often held, particularly by Indian human rights groups and activists, that members of the Dalit or Untouchable caste have suffered and continue to suffer substantial discrimination. Although human rights problems do exist in India, the country is generally not regarded as a human rights concern, unlike other countries in South Asia^[1]. India also has an influential, independent and vibrant media which has played a crucial role in upholding human rights in India. The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. ... The Chief Justice of India is the highest position obtainable by a judge in India. ... Justice K.G. Balakrishnan; First Dalit cheif justice of India Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan aka Justice K G Balakrishnan, an Indian Judge and member of the Indian Supreme Court, has been appointed as the next Chief Justice of India. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Composition and Jurisdiction of District Courts In India : administration of justice at district level is done through law courts which are presided over by a judge. ... India is subdivided into twenty-eight states and seven union territories; the states and territories are themselves further subdivided. ... The divisions of a district. ... An Indian political scandal commonly refers to some action by a politician deemed unacceptable in law or by custom, or which is held to be morally unacceptable to the politicians peers or the electorate. ... The Republic of India, the second most populous country and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, is considered as a major power and a potential superpower. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The term non-governmental organization (NGO) is used in a variety of ways all over the world and, depending on the context in which it is used, can refer to many different types of organizations. ... In South Asias caste system, a Dalit; often called an untouchable; is a person of shudra; the lowest of the four castes. ... The Indian caste system is the traditional system of social division in the Indian Subcontinent, in which social classes are defined by a number of endogamous groups often termed as jātis. ...

Chronology of human rights in India

• 1829 - The practice of sati was formally abolished in British India after years of campaigning by Ram Mohan Roy against this Hindu funeral custom of self-immolation of widows after the death of their husbands.
• 1929 - Child Marriage Restraint Act, prohibiting marriage of minors is passed.
• 1947 - India achieves political independence.
• 1950 - Constitution of India establishes a democratic republic with universal adult franchise. Part 3 of the Constitution contains a Bill of Fundamental Rights enforceable by the Supreme Court and the High Courts. It also provides for reservations for previously disadvantaged sections in education, employment and political representation.
• 1955 - Reform of family law concerning Hindus gives more rights to Hindu women.
• 1973 - Supreme Court of India rules in Kesavananda Bharati that the basic structure of the Constitution (including many fundamental rights) is unalterable by a constitutional amendment.
• 1975-77 - State of Emergency in India - extensive rights violations take place.
• 1978 - SC rules in Menaka Gandhi v. Union of India that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be suspended even in an emergency.
• 1985-6 - The Shah Bano case, where the Supreme Court recognised the Muslim woman's right to maintenance upon divorce, sparks protests from Muslim clergy.
• 1989 - Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is passed.
• 1989-present - Kashmiri insurgency sees increasing violence between militants and security forces, resulting in heavy loss of lives.
• 1992 - A constitutional amendment establishes Local Self-Government (Panchayati Raj) as a third tier of governance at the village level, with one-third of the seats reserved for women. Reservations were provided for scheduled castes and tribes as well.
• 1992 - Babri Masjid demolished by Hindu mobs, resulting in riots across the country.
• 1993 - National Human Rights Commission is established under the Protection of Human Rights Act.
• 2001 - Supreme Court passes extensive orders to implement the right to food.^[2]
• 2002 - Violence in Gujarat, chiefly targetting its Muslim minority, claims many lives.
• 2005 - A powerful Right to Information Act is passed to give citizen's access to information held by public authorities.^[3]
• 2005 - National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) guarantees universal right to employment.
• 2006 - Supreme Court orders police reforms in response to the poor human rights record of Indian police.^[4]

India has a strong and vibrant media which does not allow any atrocity to go totally unnoticed. The Indian media has, if not helped the cause of propagating human rights, at least created channels to let human rights violations come to the notice of the public consciousness. // Ceremony of Burning a Hindu Widow with the Body of her Late Husband, from Pictorial History of China and India, 1851. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Indian Emergency of 1975–1977 was an 18-month period, when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil... The Shah Bano case is infamous in India and has generated political controversy in the country; it is seen as an example of appeasement of the vote bank for political gains. ... In 1989, the Government of India enacted the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in order to prevent atrocities against SC/STs. ... Jammu and Kashmir has been the target of a campaign of terrorism and other propagated against India, Muslims and Hindus (see Kashmiri Pandits) by all sides of the conflict. ... // The Panchayat (पंचायत in Devanagiri) is an Indian political system that groups five villages in a quincunx (four peripheral villages around a central one were laid out as the 5 side of a die). ... A view of the Babri Mosque, circa pre-1992. ... The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous commission constituted by the Government of India to protect human rights in India under the Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993. ... The Right to Information Act 2005 (Act No. ... Indias United Progressive Alliance Government enacted the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to provide a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to every rural household with an adult member willing to do unskilled manual work. ...

References

1. ^ India, a Country Study,United States Library of Congress
2. ^ The Right to Food
3. ^ Right to Information
4. ^ Police Reforms ordered by Supreme Court

See also

• Mohandas Gandhi
• Homosexuality in India
• Prostitution in India
• Human rights in Russia
• Human rights in China
• Human rights in the United States
• Human rights in Europe
• Censorship in India
• Vigil India Movement
• Indian Emergency (1975 - 77)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी), called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of Indias independence from British colonial rule to... LGBT rights Around the world · By country History · Groups · Activists Declaration of Montreal Same-sex relationships Marriage · Adoption Opposition · Persecution Violence This box:      Homosexuality in India, despite having an ancient history, is still considered a taboo subject, by both Indian civil society and the government of India. ... Prostitution is currently an issue in India. ... According to the current Ombudsman of Russia, Vladimir Lukin,[1] despite certain positive changes, the situation with human rights in Russia in 2005 remained unsatisfactory. ... The situation of human rights in the Peoples Republic of China has been criticized by various sources, including other nations - particularly Western democracies - as well as international organizations, as being poor in many respects. ... The human rights record of the United States of America has featured an avowed commitment to the protection of specific personal political, religious and other freedoms. ... The current human rights situation in Europe on the whole is good, although there are several human rights problems ranging from the treatment of asylum seekers and the Roma to reports of police brutality. ... Censorship in India mainly targets religious issues. ... Vigil India Movement (Vigil India) is a non-governmental organization based in Bangalore that aims to protect and promote human rights in India. ... The Indian Emergency of (1975 - 77) is a 18-month period between 1975 and 1977, when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing her the power to rule by decree, suspending...

External links

• Dalit Human Rights (DHR)
• Freedom of Expression in India - IFEX
• Street Children
• Human Rights Law in India