Chapter 11 · Topic 11.2 · Prelims + Mains2 of 3
India and Other Constitutions: The UK and the USA compared
Key points
- Parliamentary because CoM is responsible to the Lok Sabha. Cabinet headed by PM, not the
- UK Parliament sovereign; India's Parliament limited (federalism, rights, basic structure). Art
- USA: presidential, federation by agreement, equal Senate, dual citizenship, due process, rigid
- India: parliamentary, Union of States, unequal Rajya Sabha, single citizenship, procedure
Prelims box: facts and traps
| Supremacy | Parliament is sovereign |
|---|---|
| Judicial review of laws | Courts cannot strike down an Act of Parliament |
| Structure | Unitary (with devolution) |
| Prime Minister | By convention, from the House of Commons |
| Non-member as minister | Not the practice. |
- Convergence: the UK created a separate Supreme Court in 2009, moving final appeals out of the House of Lords.
- Divergence: a UK court can only issue a 'declaration of incompatibility' under the Human Rights Act, 1998, while an Indian court can strike down a law or even an amendment.
- In August 2019 Presidential Orders applied the whole Constitution of India to the State and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 turned it into two Union Territories; the Supreme Court upheld this in December 2023.
- Trap (UPSC Prelims 2021): all the statements are correct.
- Trap (UPSC Prelims 2021): all the statements are correct.
On this page (3 sections)
India and the UK: the Westminster model
Why is India a parliamentary system? Not because the Lok Sabha is elected directly, or because Parliament can amend the Constitution. It is because the Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha: the government holds office only while it has the confidence of the lower House.
There is a Parliamentary System of Government in India because the
- Lok Sabha is elected directly by the people
- Parliament can amend the Constitution
- Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved
- Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha
Show answer
Answer: (d) · UPSC official key
Two principles follow, in India as in the UK. Members of the Cabinet are Members of the Parliament (a minister who is not must become one within six months). Ministers hold office as long as they enjoy the confidence of the House. But the Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister, not by the Head of the State.
In the context of India, which of the following principles is/are implied institutionally in the parliamentary government? 1. Members of the Cabinet are Members of the Parliament. 2. Ministers hold the office till they enjoy confidence in the Parliament. 3. Cabinet is headed by the Head of the State. Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
- 1 and 2 only
- 3 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (a) · UPSC official key
| United Kingdom | India | |
|---|---|---|
| Head of State | Hereditary monarch | Elected President (indirectly, for five years) |
| Constitution | Largely unwritten | Written, the longest in the world |
| Supremacy | Parliament is sovereign | The Constitution is supreme |
| Judicial review of laws | Courts cannot strike down an Act of Parliament | Courts can strike down laws and amendments |
| Structure | Unitary (with devolution) | Federal, with a strong Centre |
| Prime Minister | By convention, from the House of Commons | From either House (several from the Rajya Sabha) |
| Non-member as minister | Not the practice | Allowed for six months (Art 75(5)) |
→ Union Executive How the Westminster model works in India’s executive.
Parliamentary sovereignty: British and Indian
approaches We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but with one big change. As regards legislation, the British Parliament is supreme or sovereign but in India, the power of the Parliament to legislate is limited: by the division of powers with the States, by Fundamental Rights, and by the basic structure.
We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model? 1. As regards legislation, the British Parliament is supreme or sovereign but in India, the power of the Parliament to legislate is limited. 2. In India, matters related to the constitutionality of the Amendment of an Act of the Parliament are referred to the Constitution Bench by the Supreme Court. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: (c) · UPSC official key
Indian courts can test laws and even amendments. Under Art 145(3), any case involving a substantial question of law about the interpretation of the Constitution must be heard by at least five judges. So
matters related to the constitutionality of the Amendment of an Act of the Parliament are referred to the Constitution Bench by the Supreme Court. UPSC marked both statements correct.
We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model? 1. As regards legislation, the British Parliament is supreme or sovereign but in India, the power of the Parliament to legislate is limited. 2. In India, matters related to the constitutionality of the Amendment of an Act of the Parliament are referred to the Constitution Bench by the Supreme Court. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: (c) · UPSC official key
A Mains question asked candidates to compare and contrast the British and Indian approaches to Parliamentary sovereignty. Use the line made famous by A.V. Dicey for the UK: Parliament can make or unmake any law, and no court can set it aside. Then contrast it with India’s written Constitution, federalism, Fundamental Rights and the basic structure doctrine.
Compare and contrast the British and Indian approaches to Parliamentary sovereignty.
The courts are the other comparison UPSC has asked about: the judicial systems in India and UK seem to be converging as well as diverging. Convergence: the UK created a separate Supreme Court in 2009, moving final appeals out of the House of Lords; British courts now review executive action more boldly, as when the UK Supreme Court held the 2019 prorogation of Parliament unlawful (Miller II). Divergence: a UK court can only issue a ‘declaration of incompatibility’ under the Human Rights Act, 1998, while an Indian court can strike down a law or even an amendment; India’s judges are chosen through the collegium, while the UK uses independent selection commissions; and India’s public interest litigation has no real British parallel.
The judicial systems in India and UK seem to be converging as well as diverging in recent times. Highlight the key points of convergence and divergence between the two nations in terms of their judicial practices.
→ Basic Structure Doctrine The deepest limit on India’s Parliament.
India and the USA: federation, president, rights
| United States | India | |
|---|---|---|
| System | Presidential: President is head of State and government, not responsible to Congress | Parliamentary: nominal President; Council of Ministers responsible to the Lok Sabha |
| Federation | Formed by an agreement of independent States | Not the result of an agreement; ‘Union of States’ |
| Upper House | Equal representation: two Senators per State | Unequal representation by population |
| Citizenship | Dual (federal and State) | Single |
| Life and liberty | ‘Due process of law’ | ‘Procedure established by law’ (widened by Maneka Gandhi, 1978) |
| Amendment | Very rigid: three-fourths of States ratify every amendment | Partly rigid, partly flexible |
| Vice-President | Presides over the Senate; becomes President if the office falls vacant | Chairs the Rajya Sabha; only acts as President in a vacancy |
This explains a favourite UPSC question. Indian federalism has an independent judiciary, a division of powers between the Centre and the States, and unequal representation of the States in the Rajya Sabha. The odd one out is this statement: It is the result of an agreement among the federating units. That is the American story, not India’s.
Which one of the following is not a feature of Indian federalism?
- There is an independent judiciary in India.
- Powers have been clearly divided between the Centre and the States.
- The federating units have been given unequal representation in the Rajya Sabha.
- It is the result of an agreement among the federating units.
Show answer
Answer: (d) · UPSC official key
What is the essential feature that marks a federal polity? UPSC’s key chose this one: The independence of judiciary is safeguarded. An independent court is needed to settle disputes between the Centre and the States and to keep each within its sphere.
Which one of the following in Indian polity is an essential feature that indicates that it is federal in character?
- The independence of judiciary is safeguarded.
- The Union Legislature has elected representatives from constituent units.
- The Union Cabinet can have elected representatives from regional parties.
- The Fundamental Rights are enforceable by Courts of Law.
Show answer
Answer: (a) · UPSC official key
→ Features of the federal system Federal and unitary features of the Indian Constitution.
Mains box: analysis and answer points
- Not because the Lok Sabha is elected directly, or because Parliament can amend the Constitution.
- → Basic Structure Doctrine The deepest limit on India's Parliament.
- Members of the Cabinet are Members of the Parliament (a minister who is not must become one within six months).
- Likely next angle: PM from the Rajya Sabha; non-member ministers
- Asked: Mains 2023 (GS Paper II, 10 marks): Compare and contrast the British and Indian approaches to Parliamentary sovereignty.
Practice
Practice MCQs (8)
With reference to the parliamentary form of government, consider the following statements:
1. It is also known as the Westminster model, cabinet government or responsible government.
2. In this system the executive is drawn from and is a part of the legislature.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct. The parliamentary system, named after the Westminster Parliament in London, is also called cabinet government or responsible government, because the executive is answerable to the legislature. Its core is the fusion of executive and legislature: Ministers must be members of Parliament (Article 75(5)) and are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (Article 75(3)).
Consider the following statements:
1. The division of legislative powers between the Union and the States is made through the lists in the Seventh Schedule.
2. Residuary powers of legislation are vested in the States.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statement 1 is correct: under Article 246, the Seventh Schedule divides legislative subjects into the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List. Statement 2 is incorrect: Article 248 and Entry 97 of the Union List give residuary powers to Parliament, following the Canadian model. In the USA and Australia, by contrast, residuary powers rest with the States.
Consider the following statements:
1. In India, a person who is not a member of Parliament may be appointed a Union Minister but must become a member within six months.
2. The Constitution of India adopts a strict separation of powers between the executive and the legislature, as in the USA.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statement 1 is correct: under Article 75(5), a Minister who for six consecutive months is not a member of either House ceases to be a Minister at the end of that period. Ministers must therefore be members of Parliament, which shows the fusion of executive and legislature. Statement 2 is incorrect: India has no strict separation of powers; that is a feature of the US presidential system, where members of the Cabinet cannot sit in Congress.
Consider the following statements:
1. The Constitution of India adopts the parliamentary system only at the Centre, while the States follow a presidential system.
2. In the States, the Governor is the real executive, unlike the President at the Centre.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct. The parliamentary system operates both at the Centre and in the States: Articles 74–75 set it up for the Union and Articles 163–164 for the States. Like the President, the Governor is the nominal executive and acts on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, except where the Constitution requires him to act in his discretion; the Council is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly.
The framers of the Constitution of India preferred the parliamentary system to the presidential system mainly because they valued
Answer (b) & explanation
Explaining the choice in the Constituent Assembly, Dr Ambedkar said that the American presidential system gives more stability but less responsibility, while the British parliamentary system gives more responsibility but less stability. The Drafting Committee preferred responsibility: the executive faces daily scrutiny through questions and debates and periodic assessment through confidence votes and elections. Familiarity with the system since colonial rule and the need to represent India's diversity were further reasons.
A single Constitution for the Union and the States is counted among the unitary features of the Constitution of India. Until 2019, which one of the following States had a separate constitution of its own?
Answer (d) & explanation
Standard texts list a single Constitution for both the Union and the States among the unitary features: the States have no power to frame constitutions of their own. The one exception was Jammu and Kashmir, whose Constituent Assembly adopted a separate constitution that came into force in 1957 under the special status given by Article 370. In August 2019 Presidential Orders applied the whole Constitution of India to the State and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 turned it into two Union Territories; the Supreme Court upheld this in December 2023.
With reference to the Indian and British parliamentary systems, consider the following statements:
1. India, like Britain, has a hereditary head of State.
2. In India, as in Britain, Ministers bear legal responsibility through the countersignature of the acts of the head of State.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct. India is a republic with an elected President (Article 54), while Britain has a hereditary monarch. In Britain, Ministers countersign royal acts and bear legal responsibility for them; in India, Ministers are not required to countersign the President's acts, and under Article 74(2) no court may inquire whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered. So the Indian system has no such legal responsibility of Ministers.
With reference to the Indian and British parliamentary systems, consider the following statements:
1. The shadow cabinet is a formal institution of the Indian parliamentary system.
2. In India the Prime Minister may be a member of either House of Parliament, while in Britain the Prime Minister is by convention a member of the House of Commons.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statement 2 is correct: in India the Prime Minister may belong to either House (Indira Gandhi in 1966 and Manmohan Singh were Rajya Sabha members as Prime Minister), while British convention requires the Prime Minister to sit in the House of Commons. Statement 1 is incorrect: the shadow cabinet, a team of opposition leaders mirroring each Minister, is a British practice, and there is no such institution in India.
0 / 0 correct
Write an answer
In 150 words, explain the significance of India and Other Constitutions with one recent example.
Flashcards (8)
Why is India's government called
parliamentary? Because the Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha.
Is the Cabinet headed by the Head of State
in India? No. By the Prime Minister.
Key difference in legislative power: UK vs
India? UK Parliament is sovereign; Indian Parliament's power is limited by the Constitution.
Which Article requires at least five judges
for constitutional questions? Art 145(3).
Is Indian federalism the result of an
agreement among States? No. That is the US model.
Rajya Sabha vs US Senate: representation?
Rajya Sabha unequal (by population); Senate equal (two per State).
US citizenship vs Indian citizenship?
US dual; India single.
Essential federal feature in UPSC's key
(2021)? Independence of the judiciary is safeguarded.
Read more: related explainers
In the news
Next topic · 11.3 →India and Other Constitutions: Mains comparisons: separation of powers, equality,Syllabus: GS-II · Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.