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Democracy is the form of government in which the ruling power is largely vested not in any particular class or classes but in the members of the community as a whole.

A constitution which is not written down but has grown during various centuries is called unwritten constitution.

According to A.V. Dicey a rigid constitution is one which certain laws generally are known as constitutional or fundamental laws cannot be changed in the same maimer as the ordinary laws.

America is having rigid constitution.

A constitution which cannot be amended easily is called rigid constitution.

According to Gamer the flexible constitution places constitutional law and ordinary law on the same footing.

A constitution which can be amended easily is called flexible constitution.

England is having flexible constitution.

England having un-written constitution.

America, India having written constitution.

According to Sir Ivor Jennings – “An unwritten constitution consists of institutions and not paper documents. It is not made but has grow n from time to time by a process of evolution”.

The features of the flexible constitution are explained as below :

1. In the flexible constitution, there is no difference between constitutional law and ordinary law. 

2. In this system constitutional law and ordinary law are framed by the parliament of the country. 

3. Constitutional law can be amended as in the form of amendment of ordinary law. 

4. In the flexible constitution the powers and functions of the government are assumable by the parliament. 

5. In this system judiciary does not exercise its power of judicial review. 

6. All the power of the organization of government are defined by the parliament.

The features of rigid constitution are explained below. 

1. In the rigid constitution there is a difference between constitutional law and ordinary law. 

2. Here constitutional law is superior to ordinary law. 

3. To ammend the constitutional law, there is a need to follow the special amendment procedure. 

4. In this system the powers of government should be with the framework of constitution.

5. The powers and functions of government are clearly mentioned in this system. 

6. Judiciary has a special power to safeguard and protect the constitution.

According to C.F. Strong “A written constitution is in the form of a document which has a special sanctity”.

The features of written constitution are explained below. 

1. A written constitution is written in the document by the constituent assembly. 

2. It is deliberately framed by the constitutional experts. 

3. It came in to effect from a particular date. 

4. In the written form of constitution, all the provisions relating to the organization of the government, rights, and duties of the citizens are clearly mentioned.

5. In this system the amendment procedure is very difficult and rigid. 

6. Written constitution provides the provisions of independence of judiciary. 

7. In the written constitution all provisions are clearly mentioned and the contents are in precise.

A government which functions in accordance with defined rule as laid down in constitution is known as constitutional government. In short constitutional government means limited government.

A government that is run strictly in accordance with provisions of the constitution is called a constitutional government. Constitutional governments It strives for the welfare of the whole society rather than any perceived vested interest. These governments are a creation of the people and therefore obedience and allegiance to it are natural. The use of force in running a government does not find a place in a constitutional government. Constitutional government is also called “limited government” or “controlled government”.

The Characteristics of constitutional government are as below: 

1. Supremacy of the constitution : In this system all the powers of government are laid down in accordance with the provisions of constitution. Government should function with in the frame work of the constitution.

2. Equality before law : Here law will apply to all the people equally. The benefits of law can be enjoyed all the citizens irrespective of caste, creed, religion, social and economic status. 

3. Individual liberty : In the constitutional government all the citizens are enjoying the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitutions. So constitution provides the rights to all the people and ensures protection. 

4. Protects public interest : All people in the country should be lived under the purview of constitution. Violation of the provisions of constitution invites severe punishment. So constitution safeguards the interests of the people by protecting them from all the outside aggression.

The ordinary law is not fundamental law. It is subordinate to the constitutional law.

Government which functions on the basis of the law laid down by constitution is constitutional government.

Burgess describes an ideal constitution as one which contains the principle of liberty, government and sovereignty.

It is the power of the legislature to remove the ministry from office.

It means the cabinet and council of ministers individually and collectively responsible to the parliament:”

There is a difference between real and nominal executive head on whom all powers are concentrated, but these powers are exercised by the cabinet. In this system, cabinet is responsible to the parliament for all their actions. There is individual and collective responsibility of ministers. There is a close relationship between the cabinet and the council of ministers.

i. England

ii. Dr. Rajendra Prasad

iii. Mahatma Gandhi

iv. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar

In this system, the legislature and executive are separate and independent. The term of office of the president is fixed and goes by calender.

In this system, the chief executive is directly elected by the people. It is not the part of the legislature.

The distinction between parliamentary and presidential executive is based on the relationship between the legislature and executive. If the executive depends on legislature for its survival it is a parliamentary government and if the executive is independent of legislative it is presidential executive.

Democratic government :

1. Democracy is based on freedom and openness; 

2. Democracy thrives on majority opinion; 

3. Democracy upholds individual dignity; 

4. Democracy is open to criticism and correction and 

5. Popular Sovereignty is the basis of democracy expressed through universal adult franchise.

Dictatorial government: Dictatorship is a form of government where all the powers of the state are concentrated in one man or in one party or in one group. Dictatorship is classified as traditional and modem, old and new, leftisit fascist, communist, and military. The old type of dictatorship existed in ancient Greece and Rome; they are temporary and appointed during crisis. Modem dictatorship is of new type and permanent. Modem dictatorship has taken three forms;

1. Fascist or Nazi dictatorship as it existed in Italy, Germany, Spain, and Portugal. 

2. Party Dictatorship as was found in U.S.S.R. and found at present in china 

3. Military Dictatorships as found in Pakistan and some African and Latin American countries.

America is an example for federal government.

The word constitution was used by Henry II of England.

England is an example for unitary government.

A government where the powers are concentrated in union is called unitary government.

A parliamentary form of government is characterized by the direct responsibility of the executive to the legislature which lasts as long as it enjoys the confidence of the legislature. The parliamentary government system which first began in England (Great Britain) is also called as ‘Cabinet government’ and ‘Responsible government’.

1. Nominal Executive: The presence of a nominal executive is a primary feature of parliamentary government. Though all powers of the state are vested in his name by the constitution, it is in fact exercised by the real executive consisting of Prime minister and council of ministers. For example, the Queen of England and the President of India are the nominal executives.

2. Collective responsibility: A parliamentary government is directly responsible to the legislature and stays in office as long as it enjoys the confidence of the lower house. A decision taken by cabinet is binding on ministers and they should defend it in and out of parliament. Together we sink or sail” is the key statement of parliamentary government.

3. Individual Responsibility: Each minister will be in charge of a ministry and is wholly responsible for all decisions of the ministry to the legislature. Parliamentary government and individual responsibility go hand in hand.

4. Political Homogeneity: In a parliamentary government, all ministers belong to the same party or alliance having common policies, programmes, values and beliefs and work under a common minimum programme (CMP). As a result, it is not difficult to secure co¬operation and co-ordination.

In case, a government consists of divergent policies and beliefs, frequent quarrels, squabbling, and infighting brings down the government. It defeats the very purpose of government formation.

5. Membership of parliament: In a parliamentary government, a minister must be a member of either house of parliament. On becoming a minister he must become a member of either house within 180 days. Otherwise, he will have to step down from office. This is to ensure individual responsibility to the parliament.

6. Oath of Secrecy: It is the responsibility as well as the duty of the cabinet to protect official secrets. Cabinet decision should not become public without the authorization from cabinet decisions. The purpose is to avoid any person or a group taking undue advantage of the leaked information.

7. Leadership of the Prime Minister: In parliamentary government, Prime Minister is the backbone of the cabinet. He acts as the spokesperson of the government by defending it in and out of the government. He acts as the advisor to the president in summoning, proroguing and dissolving the parliament. The Prime minister exercises independence in appointing ministers, expanding the ministry and allocation of portfolios.

8. Effective opposition: Opposition party is called “the government in waiting”. In parliamentary government, opposition parties follow the day-today administration and bring before the people the failures of the government from time to time. During elections, they seek a mandate on the basis of the failures of the government. Thus, opposition acts as a watchdog of the government.

In fact, in Britain, the shadow cabinet functions just like the government but without powers.

They too have separate departments to monitor developments in respective areas.

Presidential Government: In the Presidential government, the Executive is not responsible to the legislature. It is based on the principle of ‘Separation of powers’. It is known as a non-responsible system or fixed executive system. E.g. USA.

1. Separation of powers: The Presidential government is based on Montesquieu concept of “separation of powers”. The concept of separation powers contend that the legislature, executive and judiciary must be independent of each other and function independently. Legislature performs the task of law-making, executive law implementation and judiciary interpretation of laws.

2. Checks and Balances: The presidential government is based on checks and balances. Though the legislature, executive and judiciary function independently, complete separation is not only desirable but also impractical. To maintain the exercise of power balanced, controlled and widespread each organ is given a fair degree of power in one another’s the functional area. ,

3. Executive is not responsible to the legislature: The president in U S A is directly elected by the people and hence is not responsible to the legislature. The president can’t participate in the proceedings of the congress. He can neither initiate a bill nor pilots it. The President is not accountable to anyone but the constitution and the people.

4. Real Executive: In the presidential government, the president is directly elected by the people. The president is not only the real executive but also the head of government. He is directly responsible for all happenings in the country.

5. Secretaries directly responsible to the president: The secretaries known as presidents ‘Brain Trust’ are appointed by the president and stay in office as long as they enjoy the confidence of the president. The President may remove any secretary without assigning any reason. Secretaries are neither responsible to congress nor to the people but to the president. The President can hire or fire secretaries.

6. Fixed Tenure: The President does not depend on congress for his survival. He is directly elected for a period of 4 years and lasts his full term. He cannot be removed from office except on grounds of inefficiency and proven misbehavior through an impeachment motion.

Features of Unitary Government: 

1. Concentration of Power: A Unitary government is characterized by the presence of a single centre, which is omnipotent and omnipresent all over the territory. All decisions of the state flow from one single centre.

2. No Provincial Autonomy: The provinces or local units in a unitary system are created by the centre for the sake of administrative convenience. It carries out the orders of the centre without having any powers to make decisions. Thus, the local units only act as subordinate agents of the centre without any authority or autonomy.

3. Single legislature: In a Unitary system of government there will be only one single supreme legislative assembly which makes laws for the whole country and are faithfully implemented by the local units.

4. Constitution may be written or unwritten: The constitution, in a unitary government, may be written or unwritten as there is one single central authority wielding power all over the state without any other centres of power.

There are two kinds of Democracy

1. Direct democracy and 

2. Indirect Democracy.

1. Direct Democracy: Direct democracy is a kind of governance where the people directly ’’ take part in electing their government and also have a share in the exercise of real power. For example, the ancient Greek and Roman city-states had direct democracy where people directly participated to elect their representatives and take necessary measures.

In modem times, the direct democracy is still in practice in some of the cantons of Switzerland, where the voters meet in ‘ open-air parliament’. However, direct democracy . is best suited to only countries small in area and a population small enough to directly take part in the affairs.

1. Direct Democracy functions through constitutional devices like referendum, initiative, and recall. 

2. Referendum means referring a bill or proposal for amendment of the constitution to the people to know their opinion. 

3. Initiative provides the people a right to petition or request the parliament to enact a certain type of law. 

4. Recall is a method by which the people may compel an elected representative to either resign or to submit to reelection before his term of office is over.

2. Indirect Democracy: Under this system, the people participate in the affairs of the state through their representatives. Though popular sovereignty rests in the hands of the people, it is actually exercised by their representatives and they are in turn responsible to the people. If the representatives fail to stand up to the aims and aspirations of the people, they may be changed in the next election.

Unitary government:

1. The authority of the central government is supreme and all the organs of government are integral parts of one single administrative machinery. 

2. Units are the creation of the central government. The powers given to them can be increased or decreased or cancelled. 

3. Single citizenship right prevails.

Federal government:

1. The powers of the nation be divided between central and state governments. These are two administrative machineries. 

2. The powers are divided and distributed to the state and central government by constitution. 

3. Dual citizenship right enjoyed by citizen.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

(i) The process of the making of the Indian Constitution started in 1946.

(ii) The leaders of the freedom movement insisted that independent India will be governed not by the laws made by the British, but by laws made by Indians themselves.

(iii) A Committee was established to prepare the Constitution of Independent India and it came to be known as Constituent Assembly.

Princely states.

i. rules

ii. Constitution

iii. strengthened

iv. 1946

v. Constituent Assembly

vi. 299

vii. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar

viii. Architect

ix. 26^th November

x. Republic

xi. written

i. India

ii. The Constituent Assembly enacted the Constitution and adopted it on 26th November 1949. However the country began to be actually governed according to the provisions of the Constitution only from 26th January 1950.

iii. (a) The lengthiest Constitution in the world: The Indian Constitution is the lengthiest and the most detailed of all the written Constitutions of the world containing 449 articles in 25 parts, 12 schedules, 5 appendices and 101 Amendments.

(b) Parliamentary form of Government: The constitution of India establishes a parliamentary form of a government both at the Centre and the State. The essence of the parliamentary government is its responsibility to the Legislature. The President is the constitutional head of the State but the real executive power is vested in the council of ministers whose head is the Prime Minister.

Yes. 

All the rules mentioned in the Constitution are binding on every citizen of the country.

The Constituent Assembly enacted the Constitution and adopted it on 26^th November, 1949. Therefore, 26^th November is observed as ‘Constitution Day’ in India.

These rules are made by the Constituent Assembly which consist of the representatives of the states and provinces and the leaders of that country.

The rules according to which the administration of the country is carried out are found mentioned in a country’s constitution.

The rules and provisions in the Constitution are the basic or fundamental law of the land.

The book in which all the provisions related to the administration of the country are mentioned together in a systemic way is called Constitution.

(i) The draft of the Constitution was prepared by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and presented to the Constituent Assembly after an in-depth contemplation and study of the Constitution of different countries of the world.

(ii) It was discussed Article by Article. Many amendments were suggested by different members.

(iii) Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar would present the draft, answer the various questions raised on them and make changes in the draft as per the suggestions of the Constituent Assembly in order to make every provision of the Constitution flawless..

(iv) Due to his contribution towards the making of the Constitution, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is called the ‘Architect of the Indian Constitution’.

Confederation is an association of state founded on the basis of common interests. The member states, retain their original sovereignty and independence.

Federation is permanents established through a constitution. Constitution units do not possess the right to withdraw from a federation.