Indian heritage and culture
India is also known for the highly sophisticated and urbanized culture of the Indus Valley Civilization that thrived in the north-western part of the sub-continent from about 2600 to 2000 BC. From that time it was a virtually self-contained political and cultural arena, strongly influenced by Hinduism. Other religions, notably Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, originated in India, although their presence is quite small in India relative to both Hinduism and Islam. Throughout past centuries it developed a rich and varied culture with intellectual base in mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and architecture.
Indian culture varies in a similar way to its geography. Indians speak more than a dozen nationally recognized and hundreds of regional languages, dress differently in different parts, follow different religions having numerous castes and eat different food, but are of the same temperament. A festival or a celebration involves the whole community. Likewise, an Indian wedding in every religion is a celebration of union, not only of the bride and groom, but also of two families, and sometimes of cultures and religions.
Government
The government of India is framed according to the Constitution. The architects of India’s constitution, though drawing on many external sources, were most heavily influenced by the British model of parliamentary democracy. In addition, a number of principles were adopted from the United States Constitution, including the separation of powers among the major branches of government, the establishment of a supreme court, and albeit in modified form, of a federal structure (a constitutional division of power between the union [central] and state governments). The mechanical details for running the central government, however, were largely carried over from the Government of India Act of 1935, passed by the British Parliament, which served as India’s governing document in the waning days of British colonial rule.
The new constitution took effect on 26 January 1950 and proclaimed India “a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic.” With 444 articles, 12 (later 12) schedules (each clarifying and expanding upon a number of articles), and 97 amendments, it is one of the world's longest and most detailed constitutions. The constitution includes a detailed list of “fundamental rights,” a lengthy list of “directive principles of state policy” (goals that the state is obligated to promote, though with no specified timetable for their accomplishment), and a much shorter list of “fundamental duties” of the citizen.
The constitution of India draws extensively from Western legal traditions in its outline of the principles of liberal democracy. Unlike many Western constitutions, its principles aspire to end the inequities of traditional social relations and enhance social welfare.
The constitution has fostered an increasing concentration of power in the central government—especially the Office of the Prime Minister. This centralization has occurred in the face of the increasing assertiveness of an array of ethnic and caste groups across Indian society. The government has responded to the resulting tensions by exerting authoritarian, albeit constitutional powers. Together with the public's perception of pervasive corruption among India's politicians, the state's centralization of authority and increasing resort to coercive power have eroded its legitimacy.
Law Commission
After independence, the Constitution's Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy gave a new direction to law reform geared to the needs of a democratic legal order in a plural society. Though the Constitution stipulated the continuation of existing Laws pending amendment or repeal, there had been demands in Parliament and outside for establishing a Central Law Commission to recommend updating of the inherited laws to serve the new country. The Government established the First Law Commission of Independent India in 1955. The Ministry of Law reviews the Commission's reports, consulting with the concerned administrative Ministries, submitting them to the Parliament from time to time. They are cited in Courts, in academic and public discourses and are acted upon by concerned Government Departments depending on the Government's recommendations.
The Commission's regular staff consists mostly of research personnel. Priorities are set, topics are identified and preparatory work is assigned to Commission members.
Media
Indian media portray the Indian people and enjoy a monopoly on the people's trust.
Print media originated in 1780. The screening of Auguste and Louis Lumière's films in Bombay in during July, 1895 marked the beginnings of among the oldest and largest film media of the world. Radio broadcasting initiated in 1927. Indian private media has been free and independent throughout most of its history. During the Period of Emergency (1975–1977), declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the media faced potential government control.
India consumed 99 million newspaper copies as of 2007—making it the second largest market in the world for newspapers. By 2008, India had a total of 60,000,000 Internet users—comprising 6.0% of the country's population. 4,010,000 people in India had access to broadband as of 2008, ranking it the 18th largest in the world. In 1997, India ranked 8th worldwide in the number of television broadcast stations.
Factors affecting democracy
The success of democracy in India defies many prevailing theories that stipulate preconditions. Indian democracy is best understood by focusing on how power is distributed.
Religion
Religion is a major cultural influence and also plays an important role in politics. Political party support greatly depends upon religion. The main religions are Hinduism and Islam and many political parties are identified by the religion of their supporters. Many national religious issues are the key points of the success in elections.
Caste
The caste system crosses religious boundaries to infect both Hindu and Islamic peoples. Hindus have four main castes and hundreds of sub-castes. Many political parties draw supporters from specific castes or sub-castes.
Population
India is the second most populous country of the world after China. The one billion-plus population has challenged the country's ability to provide jobs, health care, and education. Slowing population growth has been a major issue for the government.
Development
India is still an emerging country , making the pace and shape of development a major concern. India began as an explicitly socialist nation and continues with a large public sector and many constraints on private enterprise, although recent governments have reduced some of these restrictions. Their reward has been faster economic growth, particularly through the growth of trade-oriented industry. Some recent governments were voted out due to sluggish economic growth.
Regions
India is very densely populated. Some advocate splitting some twenty eight states and seven union territories.
Other factors
Factors such as education, corruption, women's issues, student politics, criminalization of politics, leadership strategies and the design of political institutions affect national and local politics.
