The Correct answer is Both a and b. Important Notes: • India is a democratic republic country. India is democratic in nature as well as a republic in which the head of State is elected by people by indirect election. • Other examples are Iceland, Ireland, Egypt, France etc. • U.S.A is the best example of the second type. In the USA there is a Presidential system in which people elect President directly but the USA is also a democratic country. Hence option a and b are correct. Democratic- • A democratic polity is based on the doctrine of popular sovereignty, that is, possession of supreme power by the people. • Democracy is of two types direct and indirect. • In a direct democracy, the people exercise their supreme power directly as is the case in Switzerland. There are four devices of direct democracy, namely, Referendum, Initiative, Recall and Plebiscite. • In an indirect democracy, on the other hand, the representatives elected by the people exercise the supreme power and thus carry on the government and make the laws. This type of democracy, also known as representative democracy, is of two kinds parliamentary and presidential. • The Indian Constitution provides for representative parliamentary democracy under which the executive is responsible to the legislature for all its policies and actions. • The universal adult franchise, periodic elections, rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and absence of discrimination on certain grounds are the manifestations of the democratic character of the Indian polity. 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, eg, Britain. In a republic, on the other hand, the head of the state is always elected directly or indirectly for a fixed period, eg, 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. • A republic also means two more things: one, vesting of political sovereignty in the people and not in a single individual like a king; second, the absence of any privileged class and hence all public offices being opened to every citizen without any discrimination