The Constitution and Social Change — Class 12 Sociology

The Indian Constitution is the basic norm from which all laws and authorities derive, and it has the capacity to promote social justice because it rests on norms of fairness. There is a difference between law (whose essence is force backed by the state) and justice (whose essence is fairness), and the Supreme Court, as the ultimate interpreter, has expanded Fundamental Rights — reading the Right to Life (Article 21) to include livelihood, health, shelter, education and dignity, and the Right to Information into the freedom of speech. The chapter studies Panchayati Raj, the system of grassroots democracy. Though local self-government was dear to Gandhi, Ambedkar warned that local elites could dominate it; only the 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992 gave Panchayati Raj Institutions constitutional status, a three-tier structure (Gram Sabha at the base), compulsory five-yearly elections, reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and one-third for women, and control over local resources. The amendments brought hundreds of thousands of women into political processes. Special provisions and traditional institutions exist in tribal areas like Meghalaya. The chapter also examines political parties (organisations seeking governmental power through elections), interest groups and pressure groups (which lobby to influence policy), noting that not all groups have equal access to power, since dominant classes and castes wield disproportionate influence.