Q. India is described as a Republic because:
1. political sovereignty of India is vested in the people of the country.
2. India has accepted the British Crown as the head of the Commonwealth.
3. head of the state is always an elected individual.
4. Indian Constitution provides for only a single citizenship.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer.
A democratic polity can be classified into two categories— monarchy and republic. In a monarchy, the head of the state enjoys a hereditary position and in a republic the head of the state is always elected directly or indirectly for a fixed period.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct: India has a republican system in place of British monarchical system. A republic means two things: one, vesting of political sovereignty in the people and not in a single individual like a king; second, the absence of any privileged class and hence all public offices being opened to every citizen without any discrimination. The term ‘republic’ in our Preamble indicates that India has an elected head called the President. He is elected indirectly for a fixed period of five years.
Statements 2 and 4 are factually correct but does not justify the republican character of Indian Polity.
