REPUBLIC A democratic polity can be classified into two cat | UPSC POLITY NOTES
REPUBLIC
A democratic polity can be classified into two categories– monarchy and republic. In a monarchy, the head of the state (usually king or queen) enjoys a hereditary position, that is, he comes into office through succession, e.g., Britain.
In a republic, on the other hand, the head of the state is always elected directly or indirectly for a fixed period, e.g., USA.
Therefore, 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.