Indian Government & Politics Trivia Quiz

Answer: Parliamentary Government

The union of India operates under the parliamentary democracy based on the fusion of powers of the executive and legislative organs. It implies that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet form part of the parliament and are directly responsible to them. The parliamentary government also implies a separation of executive power in the sense that the Prime Minister is the head of government and enjoys real executive power while the President is the head of state and is devoid of political power.

He enjoys only nominal power and acts as a ceremonial figurehead.

Answer: Federal

India is a federal state. Federalism implies two levels of government. It is a system which most large states adopt. It breaks power into central and local units of government so that there is a division of power legally outlined in the Constitution. Each local units (in the case of India, they are states), have some autonomy.

Answer: Directly by the people

The Prime Minister is elected by the people of India for a period of five years. It is the President of the USA who is elected by an electoral college.

Answer: Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha

A bicameral legislature means that the legislative organ has two houses - a lower and an upper house. The lower house is the Lok Sabha, which is also known as the House of the People, and which consists of India's representatives who are directly elected by the Indians. The upper house, Rajya Sabha, is also known as the Council of States, and consists of representatives of states.

Answer: Lok Sabha

As there is a fusion of power, the Prime Minister and his cabinet, being members of parliament, are directly and collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister is also the leader of the house, he commands the majority. This majority gives him an advantage when passing laws but he is accountable to the house.

It implies that he must answer to all questions of the house and if he fails, they have the power to remove him from office by passing a vote of no confidence.

Answer: Prime Ministerial Government

India's Prime Minister is often considered as the most powerful Prime Minister. He retains the full support of his party, his cabinet and the members of parliament. His position has become so eminent that India is referred to as a "Prime Ministerial" Government due to his influence and supremacy. Cabinet dictatorship is the system operating in Britain as the cabinet together with the Prime Minister rule.

Answer: Yes

This power is called judicial review and it is vested to the Supreme Court by the Constitution. It means the judiciary is entitled to review the laws of the Lok Sabha and if these laws violate or clash with the Constitution, the court can declare this law null and void. Also, judicial review acts as a check and balances the legislature.

Answer: Jawaharlal Nehru

After the creation of the Prime Minister's office, the Governor General appointed Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India, in which role he served until 27 May 1964. Gulzarilal Nanda was the acting Prime Minister after the death of Jawarharlal Nehru as the latter died in office. So Gulzarilal Nanda served until the next election which saw the election of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second Prime Minister of India. Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, was the sixth Prime Minister.

Answer: Rajendra Prasad

In 1950, Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India and also the first to serve the presidential office for two terms. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was Prasad's Vice President until he himself became President in 1962 with Zakir Hussain as Vice President.

Answer: The Constitution

The Supreme Court of India stated that the Indian Constitution is the supreme law of the land and cannot be violated. It is from the Constitution that India draws all its laws and regulations as well as dictating how the government functions. Violation of the Constitution can lead to imprisonment.