Salient Features of the Indian Constitution

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Unique blend of rigidity and flexibility : It has been the nature of the amending process itself in federations which had led political scientists to classify federal Constitution as rigid.

4. Fundamental Rights : The incorporation of a formal declaration of Fundamental Rights in part III of the Constitution is deemed to be a distinguishing feature of a democratic State. These rights are prohibitions against the State. The State cannot make a law which takes away or abridges any of the rights of the citizens guaranteed in part III of Constitution.

5. Directive Principles of State policy (DPSP) : The Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Part IV of the Constitution, it set out the aims and objectives to be taken up by the States in the governance of the country.

Parliament is the most powerful organ so far information about the functioning of the government is concerned. The information provided in the Houses is authoritative and Ministers are bound to provide information on matters of government when so desired by the members.

The concept of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was introduced in 1980s under the aegis of Justice P.N.Bhaghawati in an attempt to increase access to justice.It allowed any individual or organisation to file a PIL in the High Court or the Supreme Court on behalf of those whose rights were being violated. The legal process was greatly simplified and even a telegram addressed to the Supreme Court or the High Court could be treated as a PIL. It gave the necessary teeth for the common man to get justice and enhanced the role of NGOs who actively started using the channel of PIL to get justice.

Marginalization is the social process of being confined to a lower social standing. Marginalization involves people being denied their fundamental rights which results in lowering their economic and social status.  In the social environment , groups of people or communities may have the experience of being excluded.  Their marginalisation can be because they speak a different language, follow different customs or belong to a different religious group from the majority community.

Water is imisuse and overuse reduction in the rainfall also has led to scarcity. The main reason for scarcity of water is its misuse and overuse. reduction in the rainfall also has led to scarcity.Water pollution has made the available water unfit for drinking. 

On 23^rd June 1757,armies of Siraj-ud-Daulah and English East India Company met at Plassey.The British forces were led byRobert Clive.Mir Jafar,the Commander in chief of the nawab and the large section of the Nawab's army loyal to Mir Jafar did not take part in the battle.Siraj-ud-Daulah was defeated,imprisoned and later killed.The British made Mir Jafar the nawab of Bengal.

The Battle of Plassey was fought between the forces of the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daulah and the English East India Company, led by Robert Clive. It was fought on 23 June 1757 at Plassey near Murshidabad. A major portion of the 50,000 strong army of the Nawab was controlled by Mir Jafar who was hand in gloves with the British. His men did not join the battle at a crucial time. As a result, the Nawab’s men suffered heavy casualties and he himself left the battlefield after the death of his commander Mir Madan. This was a major blow to the Nawab’s army which was, as a result, easily defeated by the British. Later, the Nawab himself was caught and killed, and Mir Jafar was instituted as the new Nawab of Bengal.

Principal of sustainable development lays emphasis on the development that takes place without harming the environment and the some quantity of resources conserved for the future.
Three important principles of sustainable development are

1. To carefully utilise the resources. 
2. Conserve the resources so that they also meet the needs of the future generations. 
3. Minimizing the depletion of natural resources.

On 10 April 1919, two nationalist leaders- Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal were arrested in Punjab. To protest against these arrests on 13 April 1919, people gathered in a park at Amritsar, called the Jalllianwala Bagh. Many men, women and children were attended. General O Dyer, a British military officer, without warning ordered his soldiers to fire from the only entrance of the park. The firing lasted for ten minutes, more than a thousand people were killed and over twice that number wounded. General Dyer said that he had ordered his troops to fire to teach the Indians a lesson. All nationalist leaders condemned this shameful act.  

Lok Sabha:

1. Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Indian parliament. It is the house of the people. The members of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people.
2. Lok Sabha can have a maximum of 552 members.
3. The minimum age to be an elected member of Lok Sabha is 25.
4. The Speaker presides the sittings of the Lok Sabha.
5. Lok Sabha has a term of five years. President can dissolve the Lok Sabha every five years or even before.

Rajya Sabha:

1. Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Indian parliament. It is the federal chamber, a house elected by the elected members of Assemblies of the States and two Union Territories.
2. The Rajya Sabha can have 250 members.
3. The minimum age to be an elected member of Rajya Sabha is 30.
4. The Vice-President of India ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha presides over Rajya Sabha sittings.
5. Rajya Sabha is a permanent body that cannot be dissolved, but the term of a member in the Rajya Sabha is 6 years.

The rule of the law means that all laws apply equally to all citizens of the country, and nobody is above the law. Every citizen is equal before the law; irrespective of religion, caste, gender, economic status or political power. Even the President of India has to obey the rule of law.

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a great social and religious reformer. He undertook several social reforms to change the society and worked to uplift the status of women in India. He started the Brahmo Samaj. The Brahmo Samaj believed in the worship of one God. Raja Ram Mohan Roy advocated Western learnings and Sciences. 
• He was against the caste system. He worked emphatically for improving the condition of women in the Indian society. It was largely due to his efforts that the practise of 'Sati' was made a crime punishable by law. He criticised the 'purdah system', polygamy, discouraged child marriages and advocated the rights of widows to remarry. 
• It was because of the efforts made by him to eradicate the social evils in the society, that Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known as 'Father of the Indian Renaissance'.

The Indian Parliament is an expression of the faith that the people of India have in principles of democracy. These are participation by people in the decision making process and government by consent. The Parliament in our system has immense powers because it is the representative of the people. Elections to the Parliament are held in a similar manner as they are for the state legislature. The Lok Sabha is usually elected once every five years. The country is divided into numerous constituencies. Each of these constituencies elects one person to the Parliament. The candidates who contest elections usually belong to different political parties. Once elected, these candidates become Members of Parliament or MPs. These MPs together make up the Parliament.

                 Evergreen Forests                                                               Decidous Forests

1)Found in the equatorial regions                                         Found in the monsoon region.

2)Region here is hot and wet throughout the year.              Region has a distinct dry season.

3)Have a large variety of tree spiecies.                               The number of spiecies are less but have a dense undergrowth.

4)Trees are green throughout the year.                               The trees shed their leaves during dry season.

5)Example ebony,mahogony,rosewood,rubber,etc.              Example teak,sal,sheesham,sandalwood,bamboo,etc.