Introduction to the Constitution of India provides an in-depth look at the intricacies of the Indian Constitution, the longest written constitution of any sovereign state in the world. The Indian Constitution came into play on January 26, 1950, and has undergone several amendments since its enactment. It has an English version and an official Hindi translation. The original version is hand-written and has beautiful calligraphy. Durga Das Basu has attempted to decipher its individual articles for the benefit of the layman. His book, Introduction to the Constitution of India, aims to take the reader through every detail of the Indian Constitution. The book is divided into eight sections. The sequence of chapters more or less matches the sequence of the corresponding parts in the written Constitution. The first section introduces the Indian Constitution, and delves into its historical background, creation, philosophy, and outstanding features. It acquaints the reader with the Fundamental Rights and Duties, and the Directive Principles of State Policy as written in the Constitution. It also covers the possibilities and procedures of amendment. The remaining sections include information about the government of the Union, the government of the States, and the administration of Union Territories. The special case of the governance of Jammu & Kashmir is presented in a separate chapter. The functioning of local governments through panchayats, municipalities, and planning committees is also covered. A separate section is dedicated to the judicial system, including the Supreme Court and High Courts. The last chapter of the book is devoted to the study of the federal system. It includes topics like the Emergency provisions, inter-state relations, elections, languages, and minorities. The book is considered to be very informative and helpful to every citizen of India, more so for students of Political Science. top Table of Contents Part 1: Nature of the constitution 1. The Historical background 2. The making of the constitution 3. The philosophy of the constitution 4. Outstanding features of our constitution 5. Nature of the federal system 6. Territory of the Union 7. Citizenship 8. Fundamental rights and fundamental Duties 9. Directive Principles of state Policy 10. Procedure for amendment Part II: Government of the union 11. The Union Executive 1. The president and the Vice President 2. Powers and Duties of the president 3. The Council of ministers 4. The President in relation to his council or ministers 5. The Attorney general for India 6. The Comptroller and Auditor general of India 12. The Union Legislature Part III: Government of the States 13. The State Executive 1. The General structure 2. Governor 3. The Council of ministers 4. Advocate General 14. The State Legislature 15. The State of Jammu & Kashmird Part IV: Administration of Union Territories 16. Administration of Union Territories and Acquired Part V: Local Government 17. The new system of Panchayats and municipalities 18. Panchayats 19. Municipalities and Planning Committees Part VI: Administration of Special areas 20. Administration of scheduled and Tribal Areas Part VII: The Judicature 21. Organization of the Judiciary in general 22. The Supreme Court 23. The High Court Part VIII: The Federal system 24. Distribution of legislative and executive powers 25. Distribution of financial powers 26. Administrative Relations between the Union and the states 27. Inter state Relations 28. Emergency Provisions Part IX: Miscellaneous 29. Rights and liabilities of the Government and Public servants 30. The services and Public service Commissions 31. Elections 32. Minorities, Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes 33. Languages 34. How the Constitution has worked Tables Index top Specifications of Introduction to the Constitution of India 20th Edition (Paperback) BOOK DETAILS Publisher Lexisnexis Publication Year 2012 ISBN-13 9788180385599 ISBN-10 8180385590 Language English Edition 20th Edition Type Reprint Binding Paperback Number of Pages 509 Pages Book Type Study Book