garh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*,
Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala,
Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

_#_Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)

_#_Constitution: 26 January 1950

_#_Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review
of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations

_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic,
26 January (1950)

_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, prime minister,
Council of Ministers

_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an
upper house or Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or
House of the People (Lok Sabha)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--President Ramaswamy Iyer VENKATARAMAN (since 25
July 1987); Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 3 September
1987);

Head of Government--Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since
21 June 1991)

_#_Political parties and leaders:
Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president;
Bharatiya Janata Party, L. K. ADVANI;
Janata Dal Party, V. P. SINGH;
Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. NAMBOODIRIPAD;
Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara RAO;
Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), N. T. Rama RAO;
All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a regional party
in Tamil Nadu), JAYALALITHA;
Samajwadi Janata Party, CHANDRA SHEKHAR;
Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY;
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY;
Bahujana Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM;
Congress (S) Party, leader NA;
Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan SINGH;
Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu),
M. KARUNANIDHI;
Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab;
National Conference (NC; a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir), Farooq
ABDULLAH;
Asom Gana Parishad (a regional party in Assam), Prafulla MAHANTA

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18

_#_Elections:

People's Assembly--last held 21 May, 12 and 15 June
1991 (next to be held by November 1996);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(545 total), 509 elected--Congress (I) Party 225,
Bharatiya Janata Party 117,