Indian Polity is a very diverse subject. It forms part of the GS Paper-II. Moreover, it accounts for the highest number of questions in the exam. When you pick a normal prelims paper you can easily analyze it. You will notice that in recent years, max number of questions are from the Indian Polity. For some of us, the word polity is everyday stuff. However, for some, the term is quite alien. To simplify the context of the subject for you all, we will term it easily. During school, we learned about this subject with history. Simply call it an elaboration of the Civics subject. However, in UPSC the coverage of the subject is wide. It forms an essential part of the Prelims and Mains exam. Today’s article will talk about the popular book ‘Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth’. M Lakshmikant/Laxmikant Polity book is the bible for the polity.
About Indian Polity M Laxmikanth
The subject is wide. Hence, many of us tend to use multiple sources for preparation. However, with the Indian Polity book by M Laxmikanth, this has become easier. You can cover almost all the Polity syllabus using one book. The questions asked in the past years are quite tricky. Moreover, the subject has an overlap in some optional papers as well. If you are planning to opt for the Public Admin optional subject, you must strengthen your polity prep. In short, GS II is dominated by this subject. All the other subjects are recessive. They are somehow related to Polity itself. Hence, for UPSC Prep one needs to strengthen their core base. When you are ready with the base, other additions are easier to read.
Let us now understand what exactly Indian Polity as a subject teaches you. Firstly, the subject talks about some basic Indian History. Hence, it talks about our administration during the freedom struggle. It also covers the political conditions after Independence. Further, M Lakshmikant’s Polity book talks about the basics of our Constitution. Hence, all the important aspects of our Constitution are well defined. However, the book does not cover all the aspects of our Constitutions. Hence, we suggest you refer to a more detailed book. However, you need not know the entire Constitution either.
You must just focus on the vital elements of the book. After talking about the Constitution, the book speaks about our political system. Further, it also talks about our political systems. Moreover, you will also read about legal bodies. In addition to this, you will learn about constitutional bodies too. The book also talks about important govt offices. Hence, you will get an overall intro to the Indian govt system.
Contents of the book ‘Indian Polity By M Laxmikanth’
Let us now take a look at the contents of this book. Currently, M Lakshmikant Polity has written the sixth edition of this book. You can use this book for UPSC CSE. Moreover, you can also use the same book for state CSE. It is published by McGraw Hill publications. The sixth edition has been updated in all its chapters. Moreover, there are six new chapters in this book. This covers the latest topics around current affairs. M Laxmikanth is the former founder and director of his own IAS academy. That is Laxmikanth’s IAS Academy. However, now this academy has closed down. Earlier, it used to function in the state of Hyderabad. Currently, he is a very famous author of many different books around governance and polity. The author has completed his PG in Political Science. He pursued his PG in Osmania University in the year 1989.
The following books are written by the author:
- Governance in India.
- Objective Indian Polity.
- Public Administration.
- Constituion of India.
Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth is one of the masterpieces around governance. The author dedicates this book to his wife, daughters, and his native place. There is a total of XI parts in the book. Firstly, Part I covers the Constitutional Framework. There is a total of eleven chapters in this part. They cover some imp topics like fundamental rights and duties. It also covers topics like citizenship, preamble, and DPSP. Further, the second part covers topics around the system of govt. Firstly, this part covers the parliamentary and federal systems. Moreover, it covers center-state and inter-state relations. Lastly, it covers details on emergency terms as well. Hence, this part contains only five chapters. However, it is one of the most important parts.
Parts of the M Laxmikant Polity Book
Now, moving ahead to the third part, this part talks about the Central Govt. Here, it covers the important central govt offices. For example, President, Vice-President, and PM. Moreover, it also talks about the Central Council of Ministers. Further, it talks about Cabinet committees, Parliament, their committees, forums, groups, etc. In addition to this, this part talks about the Supreme Court, Judicial Review, and Activism. Lastly, it also covers a chapter on PIL. PIL stands for Public Interest Litigation. There is a total of 13 chapters in this part. Hence, it is one of the lengthiest parts in the Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth book. Just like the Central Govt, the next part is Part IV covers topics around the State Govt.
Hence, it talks about State offices, Legislature, HC, and other provisions around the states. Lastly, there comes the latest addition to the book. That is, the Local Govt. This topic is covered in the fifth part of the book. There are only two chapters in the local govt part. Firstly, there is a chapter on Panchayati Raj. Secondly, there is a chapter on the Municipalities. Hence, it covers both rural and urban govt. Furthermore, M Laxmikant Polity’s book has chapters on UTs and Special Areas. This is covered in the sixth part of the book. To buy this book on Amazon: click here.
Chapters from the book and their importance
Further, let us talk about Part VII of the M Laxmikant Polity book. This part contains many chapters. These chapters are all about the imp constitutional bodies. Hence, it covers the election commission, UPSC, SPSC, etc. A new chapter on GST is also found in this part itself. There is a total of 12 chapters in this part. This part also talks about the attorney general of India. Moreover, it also covers an imp office of the CAG. This is the part from where maximum prelim questions are picked up. You must know the composition of these bodies. In addition to this, the part also talks about the National Commission for SC/ST/BC/and other minorities.
The next part in the Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth book is about the Non-Constitutional Bodies. This is better known as part VIII. Hence, the book has clearly defined the nature of these bodies. It talks about NITI Aayog, NHRC, SHRC, CIC, SIC, CVC, etc. In addition to this, you will also read about CBI, NIA, NDMA, and Lokpal, and Lokayuktas. These topics are imp from the current affairs point of view. During your current affairs prep, you will read a lot about the NIA, NDMA, and CBI. Hence, you need to pay careful attention to these chapters. The ninth part of this book talks about the other imp things mentioned in the Constitution. It talks about our official language. Moreover, it also talks about cooperative societies, public services, etc. There is a total of 5 chapters in this part.
Conclusion of the Book
Furthermore, comes the Xth part of this book. This book talks about the Political Dynamics of our country. Hence, it focuses on political parties, their role, election, and laws. This part contains twelve chapters in total. This book contains one small and last part as well. The M Lakshmikant Polity book’s XIth part talks about the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution. Further, the book contains some appendices. It contains important articles from the constitution. Moreover, it revises the important chapters from the book as well. However, the most imp appendix is the past year’s questions section. The book contains Prelims Polity question from 2010 to 2019.
Moreover, it also contains some additional practice questions for prelims. Further, it has UPSC mains 2010-2019 questions for practice. Lastly, it also has some practice mains questions for you. For more such articles: click here.
FAQs
This book is quite thick. The chapters are detailed. Moreover, it depends upon your grasping speed as well. The language of the book is simple. Hence, it might take you around one and a half months to read all the chapters. However, you should read at least 2-3 chapters in a day to maintain your speed.
There are six new chapters in the M laxmikant/lakshmikant polity book. The chapters are as follows:
1. GST.
2. NCBC.
3. NIA.
4. NDMA.
5. Role of Regional Parties.
6. Coalition Govt.
You can purchase the book online or offline. On Amazon, the book is available for around 615 rupees. This is a discounted rate. However, if you buy it offline, the cost of the book might increase.
Editor’s Note | Indian Polity M Laxmikanth
Here we will conclude our article. In today’s article, we talked about the Indian Polity Book by M Laxmikanth. Also spelled as M Lakshmikant Polity book. Thus, we talked about the different chapters in the book. Moreover, we discussed briefly the author. We explored the topics under different parts of the book. We also discussed the cost of the book. Hence, we hope that these useful book insights will help you in your preparation. All the Best.
