Need for Political Institutions
We have seen one example of how
the government works. Governing a
country involves various such
activities. For example, the
government is responsible for
ensuring security to the citizens and
providing facilities for education and
health to all. It collects taxes and
spends the money thus raised on
administration, defence and
development programmes. It
formulates and implements several
welfare schemes. Some persons
have to take decisions on how to go
about these activities. Others have
to implement these decisions. If
disputes arise on these decisions or
in their implementation, there
should be some one to determine
what is right and what is wrong. It
is important that everyone should
know who is responsible for doing
what. It is also important that these
activities keep taking place even if
the persons in key positions change.
So, to attend to all these tasks,
several arrangements are made in
all modern democracies. Such
arrangements are called institutions.
A democracy works well when
these institutions perform functions
assigned to them. The Constitution
of any country lays down basic
rules on the powers and functions
of each institution. In the example
above we saw several such institutions
at work.
The Prime Minister and the
Cabinet are institutions that take
all important policy decisions.
The Civil Servants, working
together, are responsible for taking
steps to implement the ministers’
decisions.
Supreme Court is an institution
where disputes between citizens
and the government are finally
settled.
Can you think of some other institutions
in this example? What is
their role?
Working with institutions is not
easy. Institutions involve rules and
regulations. This can bind the hands
of leaders. Institutions involve
meetings, committees and routines.
This often leads to delays and
complications. Therefore dealing
with institutions can be frustrating.
One might feel that it is much better
to have one person take all decisions
without any rules, procedures and
meetings. But that is not the spirit
of democracy. Some of the delays
and complications introduced by
institutions are very useful. They
provide an opportunity for a wider
set of people to be consulted in any
decision. Institutions make it
Supreme Court
Cabinet
President
Government Officials
83
difficult to have a good decision
taken very quickly. But they also
make it equally difficult to rush
class and try to imagine what the
Parliament could have done if it did
not approve of the Cabinet’s
decision.
Why do we need a
Parliament?
In all democracies, an assembly of
elected representatives exercises
supreme political authority on
behalf of the people. In India such a
national assembly of elected
representatives is called Parliament.
At the state level this is called
Legislature or Legislative Assembly.
The name may vary in different
countries, but such an assembly
exists in every democracy. It
exercises political authority on
behalf of the people in many ways:
1 Parliament is the final authority for
making laws in any country. This
task of law making or legislation
is so crucial that these assemblies
are called legislatures. Parliaments
all over the world can make new
laws, change existing laws, or
abolish existing laws and make
new ones in their place.
2 Parliaments all over the world
exercise some control over those
who run the government. In some
countries like India this control is
direct and full. Those who run the
government can take decisions
only so long as they enjoy support
of the Parliament.
3 Parliaments control all the money
that governments have. In most
countries any the public money
can be spent only when the
Parliament sanctions it.
through a bad decision. That is why
democratic governments insist on
institutions.
