COUNTRY PERSPECTIVE
The shortest useful version of how power works here.
The prime minister leads a government that must retain the confidence of the directly elected Lok Sabha.
The prime minister leads a government that must retain the confidence of the directly elected Lok Sabha. The president normally acts on ministerial advice.
The Rajya Sabha represents the states, while the Lok Sabha has the decisive role in government confidence and greater authority over money bills.
The Constitution divides powers between the Union and the states but gives the Union important overriding and emergency powers.
The Constitution divides powers between the Union and the states but gives the Union important overriding and emergency powers. The Supreme Court can review laws and protect the Constitution’s basic structure.
Some political words change meaning across countries. These are the distinctions worth knowing first.
Indian secularism does not always mean a strict wall between religion and government.
Indian secularism does not always mean a strict wall between religion and government. It often means equal respect, religious freedom and state intervention to protect rights or reform practices.
Hindu nationalism, economic liberalisation, welfare policy, caste representation and federal autonomy are separate dimensions.
Hindu nationalism, economic liberalisation, welfare policy, caste representation and federal autonomy are separate dimensions. Combining them into a single left–right score would hide important differences.
Enough structure to make the rest of the page intelligible.
Only the events that help explain how today’s system got here.
British rule ended and the subcontinent was partitioned into India and Pakistan amid mass displacement and violence.
India became a republic under a detailed Constitution establishing rights, parliamentary government and federal institutions.
Emergency rule restricted civil liberties and political opposition before elections restored a change of government.
Constitutional amendments gave elected village and urban local bodies a stronger nationwide foundation.
Current-data work still open: Current office holders · Current Parliament, governing coalition and opposition profiles · Latest national election and turnout · Comparable democracy, minority-rights and civic-space measures · Long-term indicator trends