■ GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT 1935
#Sourcesofconstitution
◇ Federal Scheme,
◇ Office of governor,
◇ Judiciary,
◇ Public Service Commissions,
◇ Emergency provisions and
◇ Administrative details.
■ BRITISH CONSTITUTION
#Sourcesofconstitutuon
◇ Parliamentary government,
◇ Rule of Law,
◇ Legislative procedure,
◇ Single citizenship,
◇ Cabinet system,
◇ Prerogative writs,
◇ Parliamentary privileges and
◇ Bicameralism.
■ US CONSTUTUTION
#Sourcesofconstitution
◇ Fundamental rights,
◇ Independence of judiciary,
◇ Judicial review,
◇ Impeachment of the president,
◇ Removal of Supreme Court and high court judges and
◇ Post of vice president.
■ IRISH CONSTITUTION
#Sourcesofconstitution
◇ Directive Principles of State Policy,
◇ Nomination of members to Rajya Sabha and
◇ Method of election of president.
■ CANADIAN CONSTITUTION
#Sourcesofconstitution
◇ Federation with a strong Centre,
◇ Vesting of residuary powers in the Centre,
◇ Appointment of state governors by the Centre, and
◇ Advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
📝Sluggish Progress: Views from Within
🔶For the first time member countries at the Thimpu Summit in Bhutan, marking the 25th anniversary, in 2010 expressed their frustration with SAARC’s sluggish progress.
🔶The then Prime Minister of India Manmoha Singh expressed his disappointment by saying that “the glass of regional cooperation, regional development and regional integration is half empty” and emphasized that “the region must be better connected, empowered, fed and educated” to achieve comparable success with other regional organizations.
🔶In 2014 PM Narendra Modi in his speech at the 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu observed that “nowhere in the world are collective efforts more urgent than in South Asia; and, nowhere else is it so modest.”
🔶He also observed that “Each of us (South Asian Countries) has taken our own initiatives.
However, as SAARC we have failed to move with the speed that our people expect and
want”.
📝 India’s Neighbourhood Policy: Neighbourhood First
🔶 When PM Narendra Modi took oath as the 14th Indian Prime Minister in May 2014, he made a significant diplomatic outreach to India’s neighbours by inviting their heads of
government.
🔶 The PM soon made his first foreign visit to Bhutan. Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj too, made her first official foreign visit in the neighbourhood, to Bangladesh. The diplomatic priority that government attached to the neighbourhood is evident from the PM’s visit to all of India’s neighbours, except Maldives, and the numerous leaders hosted in New Delhi and meetings at other multilateral fora.
🔶These developments have gave rise to the term ‘nieghborhood first’ as India’s policy in its periphery.
📝Making SAARC Work
🔶A number of initiatives have been agreed upon by the member countries in the 16th SAARC summit held at Thimpu in 2010 & 17th summit at Addu in 2011.
Following steps have been suggested at the 16th summit-
🔶 It was also realised that effective communication and public diplomacy is essential to reach out to students, youth, private media, think tanks, civil society and institutions for economic development. This would be important to popularize the concept of
regional cooperation and generate an interest among the people of the region on the activities of SAARC. It would essentially build the image of the organization which many consider as a dead horse.
🔶An ambitious vision has been adopted. For example: 2010-2020 has been declared “Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity in SAARC” when member countries themselves are hesitant to provide even bilateral connectivity.
