Profiles of Indian Prime Ministers (Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr. Manmohan Singh)

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About the Author MISS MANISHA (b. 1977) has got her early education in Delhi and stood always first in her class from childhood. She had won several school time awards in competitive programmes and sports. She has obtained Master's degree of Political Science from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. She has presented a number of papers during various seminars and conferences in different parts of the country. Her few articles ranging from creativity in education, environment awareness among children and weekly diary of Indian Political Scenario in a regular column in leading paper have been appreciated among readers. She was a visiting faculty in Lady Irwin College, New Delhi. At present she is actively engaged in a project "Impact of Changing Political Scenes on Development of Society in Urban Cities" entrusted by a Delhi based NGO.

Introduction India is a "sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic." Like the United States, India has a federal form of government. However, the central government in India has greater power in relation to its states, and its central government is patterned after the British parliamentary system. On several occasions, "the Centre", the national government, has dismissed state governments and imposed President's rule on several states.

The government exercises its broad administrative powers in the name of the President, whose duties are largely ceremonial. The president and vice president are elected indirectly for 5-year terms by a special electoral college. Their terms are staggered, and the vice president does not automatically become president following the death or removal from office of the president.

Real national executive power is centered in the Council of Ministers (cabinet), led by the Prime Minister of India. The president appoints the prime minister, who is designated by legislators of the political party or coalition commanding a parliamentary majority. The president then appoints subordinate ministers on the advice of the prime minister.

India's bicameral parliament consists of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha The legislatures of the states and union territories elect 233 members to the Rajya Sabha, and the president appoints another 12, who are experts in science or the arts. The elected members of the Rajya Sabha serve 6-year terms, with one-third up for election every 2 years. The Lok Sabha consists of 545 members, 543 are directly elected to 5-year terms. The other two are appointed by the President if he feels that the Anglo-Indian Community is underrepresented.

India has 28 states and 7 union territories. At the state level, some of the legislatures are bicameral, patterned after the two houses of the national parliament. The states' chief ministers are responsible to the legislatures in the same way the prime minister is responsible to parliament.

Each state also has a presidentially appointed governor who may assume certain broad powers when directed by the central government The central government exerts greater control over the union territories than over the states, although some territories have gained more power to administer their own affairs. Local governments in India have less autonomy than their counterparts in the United States. Some states are trying to revitalize the traditional village councils, or panunayats, which aim to promote popular democratic participation at the village level, where much of the population still lives.

The Prime Minister of India is the Head of the Union (Federal) Government, as distinct from the President of India, who is the Head of State. Since India has adopted the Westminster model of constitutional democracy, it is the Prime Minister who oversees the day-to-day functioning of the Union (Federal) Government of India.

The Prime Minister is assisted in this task by his Council of Ministers, comprising Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State with Independent Charge, Ministers of State who work with Cabinet Ministers, and Deputy Ministers.

The President of India appoints the leader of the party or alliance that enjoys majority support in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) as Prime Minister. In case no single party or alliance has a majority, the leader of the largest single party or alliance is appointed Prime Minister, but he/she has to subsequently secure a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha. The Union Council of Ministers is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister can be a member of either the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) or the Lok Sabha. As Prime Minister, he is the Leader of the House to which he belongs. The Prime Minister is also the Chairman of the Planning Commission of India. As head of the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister oversees the work of all the Ministries. He presides over Cabinet meetings, which are normally held in the Cabinet Room of the Prime Minister's Office.

The Union Cabinet functions on the principle of "collective responsibility”.

There have been twelve people who have served as Prime Minister of India. Jawaharlal Nehru served for four terms (1947-1952, 1952-1957, 1957-1962 and 1962-1964). Indira Gandhi served three terms (1966- 1971, 1971-1977, and 1980-1983) and Atal Bihari Vajpayee served on two separate occasions (1996, 1998-2004). Gulzan Lal Nanda acted Prime Minister during two transition periods, but is generally not counted as a Prime Minister in his own right.

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