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India

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Sovereigns and Surrogates

Part of the book series: Cambridge Commonwealth Series ((CAMCOM))

Abstract

Two contrasting comments are needed as preface to any balanced discussion of the role of the Indian Head of State. India has been more successful than have most Asian and African nations at maintaining the strength of political institutions, and its capacity for political regeneration — the rebuilding of weakened institutions and the creation of new institutions and accommodations1 — is probably unmatched in the Third World. Nevertheless, the predominant theme in Indian politics since the early 1970s has been political decay, a decline in the capacity of political institutions to respond creatively or even adequately to pressures from society. This chapter will often dwell on the second of these points, but it should not be taken to imply that the first is invalid.

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Notes

  1. See J. Manor, ‘Politics: Ambiguity, Disillusionment and Ferment’ in M.M. Bouton and P. Oldenburg (eds.) India Briefing, 1988, New York, 1988, pp. 25–26 and J. Manor, ‘The State of Governance’ in S. Roy (ed.), The Political Economy of India, forthcoming.

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  2. P.L. Mathur, Role of Governor in Non-Congress States, Jaipur, 1988, chapter 5.

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  3. D.C. Wadhwa, Repromulgation of Ordinances, Pune, 1983.

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  4. See for example, the case of B.K. Nehru, Governor of Kashmir, who was emboldened to resist pressure to dismiss the state government because of his close family ties to Mrs. Gandhi. He was eventually transferred to another state, and a replacement was found who performed the deed. I. Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography, London, 1989, pp. 294–96.

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  5. D.A. Low, ‘Emergencies and Elections in India’ in G. Martell (ed.), Studies in British Imperial History, London, 1986.

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  6. See especially, B.D. Dua, Presidential Rule in India, 1950–1974, New Delhi, 1979, and B.D. Dua, ‘India: A Study in the Pathology of a Federal System’, Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, November, 1981, pp. 257–75. See also, Mathur, Role of Governor…; D.V. Verney, ‘The Limits of Political Manipulation: The Role of the Governors in India’s ‘Administrative Federalism’, 1950–1984’, Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, July, 1986, pp. 169–96; D.V. Verney, The Double Role of the Indian Governors:Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh, 1983–84 in Low (ed.), Constitutional Heads, pp. 198–217; B.D. Dua, ‘Federalism or Patrimonialism: The Making and Unmaking of Chief Ministers in India’, Asian Survey, August, 1985, pp. 793–804;

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  7. and A. Ray, Federal Politics and Government, Delhi, 1979.

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  8. H.M. Seervai, Constitutional Law of India, volume 2, 3rd ed., Bombay, 1984, p. 2720.

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  9. S. Gopal, Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography, Volume Two, 1947–1956, London, 1979, pp. 77 and 94. The quotation is from p. 77.

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  10. S. Gopal, Radhakrishnan: A Biography, Delhi, 1989, p.356.

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  11. N.S. Reddy, Without Fear or Favour, New Delhi, 1989, chapter 5.

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  12. W.H. Morris-Jones, The Government and Politics of India, London and New Delhi, 1971, pp. 119–20.

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  13. See also M. Brecher, Succession in India: A Study in Decision-Making, London, 1966, chapters 3, 6 and 8.

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  14. For the Supreme Court ruling, see K.B. Nambyar (ed.) Supplementary Supreme Court Reports, 1971, Delhi, 1971, p. 46. I am grateful to K.N. Bhat, senior Supreme Court advocate, for this information — interview, New Delhi, 27 November 1989.

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  15. I. Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography, London, 1989, p. 169.

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  16. S. Gopal, Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography, Volume Two, 1947–1956, London, 1979, p. 77.

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  17. See for example, Mathur, Role of Governor, pp. 177–82 and, in a slightly different but relevant context, A.G. Noorani, The Presidential System: An Indian Debate, New Delhi, 1989.

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  18. G. Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation, Oxford, 1966,

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  19. and R.H. Retzlaff, ‘The Constituent Assembly of India and the Problem of Indian Unity’, Cornell University Ph.D. thesis, 1960.

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Authors
  1. James Manor
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nuffield College, Oxford, UK

    David Butler (Fellow) (Fellow)

  2. University of Cambridge, UK

    D. A. Low (Smuts Professor of the History of the British Commonwealth) (Smuts Professor of the History of the British Commonwealth)

Copyright information

© 1991 David Butler and D. A. Low

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Cite this chapter

Manor, J. (1991). India. In: Butler, D., Low, D.A. (eds) Sovereigns and Surrogates. Cambridge Commonwealth Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11565-5_6

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