What Does the Word ‘Sovereignty’ Mean?

 What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Sovereignty
• What does the word ‘sovereignty’ mean?
• Word ‘sovereignty’ in India’s Constitution
• How does the Constitution use the word ‘sovereignty’?
• What is the relationship of the Indian states with the sovereign Union?
• What provisions of the Constitution attest to the superior position of the Centre?

 

Why in news?

• A massive political storm broke out over sovereignty remarks in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly election 2023.
• The twitter handle of a prominent political party of India mentioned that it will not allow anyone to pose a threat to Karnataka's reputation, sovereignty or integrity.
• The other political party claimed that any call to protect the sovereignty of a member state of the Union of India amounts to a call for secession.
  • It has filed a complain against this statement to the Election Commission of India.
  • In its complaint, this political party invokes section 29A (5) of the Representation of People Act 1951.
  • This section states that an association or body registered under the Act shall adhere to the Constitution and uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
    • All registered political parties have to comply with these conditions.

 

What does the word ‘sovereignty’ mean?

• Sovereignty is simply the idea of having supreme authority over a defined territory. It means the country has its own independent authority and is not under control of any external entity.
• Western philosophers used the concept to describe the supremacy of the state — along with its institutions such as the government, the judiciary, and parliament — over the people being governed.
• E.g., English philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that in exchange for the protection offered by the government to its people, and its role in keeping society cohesive and at peace through its control over law and order, the state had a legitimate claim to sovereignty.

 

Word ‘sovereignty’ in India’s Constitution

• The word sovereignty appears in the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of India, as the first attribute of the independent republic of India.
• Its placement as the first among the core principles of the republic underlines its importance in the Constitution.
  • Dr B R Ambedkar meant for the word to reaffirm the role that the people of India had played in the drafting of their Constitution.

 

How does the Constitution use the word ‘sovereignty’?

• The word ‘sovereignty’ is invoked in the Indian Constitution to declare the ultimate sovereignty of the people of India and that the Constitution rests on their authority.
• This is illustrated in the fact that India was totally independent on January 26, 1950, while Pakistan continued to be a British Dominion in 1956, meaning it still had the British monarch as the Head of State.
• Sovereignty is mentioned in the Constitution under Fundamental Duties.
  • Article 51A(c) states that it is the duty of all citizens to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
• It is also mentioned in the oaths for positions like the Chief Justices, Union Ministers and Members of Parliament under the Third schedule.

 

What is the relationship of the Indian states with the sovereign Union?

• Article 1(1) of the Constitution sets out the fundamental relationship between the states and the Centre: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
• Dr Ambedkar explained this to mean that:
  • The Indian federation is not a result of an agreement by the units, and
  • The component units have no freedom to secede or break away from it.
• In its structural composition, the Indian political system is described as “quasi-federal”.
  • The political theorist K C Wheare described it as “a Unitary State with subsidiary federal features rather than a Federal State with subsidiary unitary features.”
• The choice of a unitary bias that the Constitution makers made was possibly rooted in the turmoil of the Partition, and the difficulty in getting around 600 princely states to accede to India.

 

What provisions of the Constitution attest to the superior position of the Centre?

• As per political experts, except in a few specified matters affecting the federal structure, the States need not even be consulted in the matter of amendment to the bulk of the Constitution.
• The Governors in states, seen as representatives of the Union in the States, are appointed “during the pleasure” of the President.
• The right to alter the boundaries of states and to create new states lies with Parliament alone.
  • The Constitution offers no guarantee to the States against their territorial integrity without their consent since it was not a result of an ‘agreement’ between the States.

 

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Q1) What is Federalism?

Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units, such as states or provinces. In a federal system, the central government and the constituent units each have their own set of powers and responsibilities, which are established by a constitution or other governing document.

 

Q2) What is the Third schedule of Indian constitution?

The Third Schedule of the Indian Constitution contains the oaths and affirmations that are required to be taken by various public officials, including elected officials and judges.

 

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Source: Sonia Gandhi row: What does the Constitution say about the sovereignty of India? | Indian Express | First Post | The Wire