ABSTRACT
India attained independence from British rule on 15 August 1947 and the Constituent Assembly had begun its deliberations in December 1946 and, for all practical purposes, the chronicle of independent India began from that day. The Constitution declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic. The Indian federal system has the capacity to acquire the strength of a unitary system in case of external aggression, internal insurgency or other extraordinary circumstances. The Indian Parliament has two Houses - the Lower House, Lok Sabha, and the Upper House, Rajya Sabha. During the last 20 years the main aim of political rulers has been to ingratiate themselves in power by manipulating the election process with scant regard to the welfare of the people. The liberalisation of the economy in the 1990s has helped in releasing the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of the people and India is now on a fast track growth path.
