[20140709]IF00037_印度的国内政治环境.pdf

July 9, 2014 Indias Domestic Political Setting Overview India, the worlds most populous democracy, is, according to its Constitution, a “sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic” where the bulk of executive power rests with the prime minister and his Council of Ministers (the Indian president is a ceremonial chief of state with limited executive powers). Since its 1947 independence, most of Indias 14 prime ministers have come from the countrys Hindi-speaking northern regions and all but three have been upper-caste Hindus. The 543-seat, Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the locus of national power, with directly elected representatives from each of the countrys 29 states and 7 union territories. The president has the power to dissolve this body. A smaller upper house of a maximum 250 seats, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), may review, but not veto, revenue legislation, and has no power over the prime minister or his/her cabinet. Lok Sabha and state legislators are elected to five-year terms. Rajya Sabha legislators are elected by state legislatures to six-year terms; 12 are appointed by the president. Elections to seat Indias 16th Lok Sabha were held in April-May 201