Recent Developments in Indian Politics PDF

In this chapter…                           ...

In this chapter…                                                                                                                                    2022-23  chapter 9 recent Developments in inDian politics Context of the 1990s You have read in the last chapter that Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. He led the Congress to a massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections held immediately thereafter in 1984. As the decade of the eighties came to a close, the country witnessed five developments that were to make a long-lasting impact on our politics. F irst the most crucial development of this period was the defeat of the Congress party in the elections held in 1989. The party that had won as many as 415 seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 was reduced to only 197 in this election. The Congress improved its performance and came back to power soon after the mid-term elections held in 1991. But the elections of 1989 marked the end of what political scientists have called the ‘Congress system’. To be sure, the Congress remained an important party and ruled the country more than any other party even in this period since 1989. But it lost the kind of centrality it earlier enjoyed in the party system. I wish to find out if the Congress can still bounce back to its old glory. Congress leader Sitaram Kesri withdrew the crutches of support from Deve Gowda’s United Front Government. S econd development was the rise of the ‘Mandal issue’ in national politics. This followed the decision by the new National Front government in 1990, to implement the recommendation of the Mandal Commission that jobs in central government should be reserved for the Other Backward Classes. This led to violent ‘anti- Mandal’ protests in different parts of the country. This dispute between the supporters and opponents of OBC reservations was known as the ‘Mandal issue’ and was to play an important role in shaping politics since 1989. 2022-23  174 Politics in India since Independence                                                                  2022-23 Recent Developments in Indian Politics 175                                                                           2022-23  176 Politics in India since Independence Era of Coalitions                                                              2022-23 Recent Developments in Indian Politics 177 Thus, began an era of multi-party system. To be sure, a large number of political parties always contested elections in our country. Our Parliament always had representatives from several political parties. What happened after 1989 was the emergence of several parties in such a way that one or two parties did not get most of the votes or seats. This also meant that no single party secured a clear majority of seats in any Lok Sabha election held since 1989 till 2014. This development initiated an era of coalition governments at the Centre, in which regional parties played a crucial role in forming ruling alliances but in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP got clear majority on its own. Let’s re-search Talk to your parents about their memories of the events happening since the 1990s. Ask them what they felt were the most significant events of the period. Sit together in groups and draw a comprehensive list of the events reported by your parents, see which events get cited most, and compare them with what the chapter suggests were the most significant. You can also discuss why some events are more important for some and not for others. Alliance politics The nineties also saw the emergence of powerful parties and movements that represented the Dalit and backward castes (Other Backward Classes or OBCs). Many of these parties represented powerful regional assertion as well. These parties played an important role in the United Front government that came to power in 1996. The United Front was similar to the National Front of 1989 for it included Janata Dal and several regional parties. This time the BJP did not support the government. The United Front government was supported by the Congress. This shows how unstable the political equations were. In 1989, both the Left and the BJP supported the National Front Government because they wanted to keep the Congress out of power. In 1996, the Left continued to support the non-Congress government but this time the Congress, supported it, as both the Congress and the Left wanted to keep the BJP out of power. They did not succeed for long, as the BJP continued to consolidate its position in the elections of 1991 and 1996. It emerged as the largest party in the 1996 election and was invited to form the government. But most other parties were opposed to its policies and therefore, the BJP government could not secure a majority in the Lok Sabha. It finally came to power by leading 2022-23 178 Politics in India since Independence                                                                                  2022-23 Recent Developments in Indian Politics 179      2022-23 180 Politics in India since Independence                                       Political Rise of Other Backward Classes                                                                                                    2022-23 Recent Developments in Indian Politics 181                                          2022-23 182 Politics in India since Independence                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       2022-23 Recent Developments in Indian Politics 183                                                                                                                                                          2022-23 184 Politics in India since Independence Communalism, Secularism, Democracy                                                                                                                                          2022-23 Recent Developments in Indian Politics 185                                                                                                                       2022-23  186 Politics in India since Independence                                                                                                                                                                   2022-23 Recent Developments in Indian Politics 187              These proceedings have the echo of the disastrous event that ended in the demolition on the 6th December, 1992 of the disputed structure of ‘Ram Janam Bhoomi-Babri Masjid’ in Ayodhya. Thousands of innocent lives of land was impaired in the international scene.  citizens were lost, extensive damage to property caused and more than all a damage to the image of this great land as one fostering great traditions of tolerance, faith, brotherhood amongst the various communities inhabiting the It is unhappy that a leader of a political party and the Chief Minister has to be convicted of an offence of Contempt of Court. But it has to be done to uphold the majesty of law. We convict him of the offence of contempt of Court. Since the contempt raises larger issues which affect the very foundation of the secular fabric of our nation, we also sentence him to a token imprisonment of one day.                                                                                                                           2022-23  188 Politics in India since Independence  On 27 February1947, at the very first meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Constituent Assembly on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribals and Excluded Areas, Sardar Patel asserted: “It is for us to prove that it is a bogus claim, a false claim, and that nobody can be more interested than us, in India, in the protection of our minorities. Our mission is to satisfy every one of them. Let us prove we can rule ourselves and we have no ambition to rule others”. “The tragic events in Gujarat, starting with the Godhra incident and continuing with the violence that rocked the state for over two months, have greatly saddened the nation. There is no doubt, in the opinion of the Commission, that there was a comprehensive failure on the part of the state government to control the persistent violation of the rights to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the people of the state. It is, of course, essential to heal the  wounds and to look to a future of peace and harmony. But the pursuit of these high objectives must be based on justice and upholding of the values of the constitution of the republic and          the laws of the land.           2022-23  Recent Developments in Indian Politics 189 “ Gujarat riots show that the governmental machinery also becomes susceptible to sectarian passions. Instances, like in Gujarat, alert My one message to the Chief Minister [of us to the dangers involved in using religious sentiments for political purposes. This poses a threat to democratic politics. Emergence of a new consensus Gujarat] is that he should follow ‘raj dharma’. A ruler should not make any discrimination between his The period after 1989 is seen sometimes as the period of decline of subjects on the basis of caste, “ Congress and rise of BJP. If you want to understand the complex creed and religion. nature of political competition in this period, you have to compare the electoral performances of the Congress and the BJP. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Ahmedabad, Party Position (Number of seats won) in Lok Sabha 4 April 2002. Vote Share per cent of vote share Now let us try to understand the meaning of the information given in the figure. You will notice that BJP and Congress were engaged in a tough competition in this period. What is the difference between 2022-23 190 Politics in India since Independence                                                                                                                                                   2022-23 Recent Developments in Indian Politics 191                                                         2022-23 192 Politics in India since Independence                                                                                                                           