Context of the 1990s
- After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister and he led the Congress to a massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections held in 1984.
- The decade of the eighties witnessed five developments that left a long-lasting impact on our politics. These were:
- The defeat of the Congress party in the elections held in 1989.
- Rise of the ‘Mandal Issue’ in national politics.
- The economic policy (also known as new economic policy) followed by various governments.
- A number of events culminated in the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya (known as Babri Masjid) in December, 1992.
- The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 led to a change in leadership of the Congress party.
Decline of Congress
- During late sixties, the dominance of the Congress party was challenged, but the Congress under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, managed to re-establish its predominant position.
- After elections of 1989 political development in India initiated an era of coalition governments at the center in which regional parties played a crucial role in forming ruling alliances.
Alliance Politics
- Elections in 1989 led to the new development in Indian politics and era of coalition government started.
- Regional parties played an important role in the United Front government that came to power in 1996.
- The BJP continued to consolidate its position in the elections of 1991 and 1996 and it emerged as the largest party in the 1996 election and was invited to form government.
- With the elections of 1989, a long phase of coalition politics began in India.
Political Rise of Other Backward Classes
- When the support for the Congress among many sections of the ‘backward castes’ had declined, this created a space for non-Congress parties to get their support.
- Many of the constituents of the Janata party, like the Bhartiya Kranti Dal and the Samyukta party, had a powerful rural base among some sections of the OBC.
Mandal Implemented
- The period of 1980s-90s saw the emergence of many parties that sought better opportunities for OBCs in education and employment and also raised the question of the share of power enjoyed by the OBCs.
- The mandal commission was set-up to investigate the extent of educational and social backwardness among various sections of Indian society.
- After investigation the commission recommended reserving 27 per cent of seats in educational institutions and government jobs for these groups.
- In August 1990, the national front government implemented the recommendations of the commission.
Political Fallouts
1980 onwards the caste-based politics dominated Indian politics. In 1989 and 1991, this was the first time in independent India that a political party (BSP) supported by Dalit voters had achieved a landmark political success.
In Many Parts of India, Dalit politics and OBC politics have developed independently and often in competition with each other.
Communalism, Secularism, Democracy
- During 1990s the politics based on religious identity emerged in India and debate about secularism and democracy came in currency. After Shah Bano case of 1985 BJP emerged as a ‘Hindutva Party’.
- The Babri Masjid was a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya and was built by Mir Baqi-Mughal emperor Babur’s General.
- Some Hindus believe that it was built after demolishing a temple for Lord Rama.
- The dispute took the form of a court case and has continued for many decades.
- The Babri Masjid was demolished on 6th December,
1992. After demolition, the news led to clashes between the Hindus and Muslims in many parts of the country. - In February-March, 2002, large-scale violence against Muslims took place in Gujarat. The violence began from Godhra.
- This incident alert us to the dangers involved in using religious sentiments for political purposes.
Emergence of a New Consensus
- Analysis shows that since 1989 election, the votes polled by the two parties-Congress and BJP do not add up to more than 50 per cent.
- The political competition during the nineties is divided between the coalition led by BJP and the coalition led by the Congress.
Lok Sabha Elections 2004
In 2004 elections, the coalition led by BJP National Democratic Alliance was defeated and new coalition led by the Congress, known as the United Progressive Alliance came to power.
Growing Consensus
After 1990 a consensus appears to have emerged among most parties which consists of following elements: –
- Agreement on new economic policies.
- Acceptance of the political and social claims of the backward castes.
- Acceptance of the role of state level parties in governance of the country.
- Emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideological positions and political alliances without ideological agreement.
- They also work as a pressure groups in Indian politics. Sometimes regional parties influence the Central Government to divert more annual budget funds to their states at the expense of other states.
NDA III & IV
- The Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi got an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections held in May 2014 and after nearly 30 years in Indian politics, a strong government with an absolute majority was established at the Centre.
- Though called NDA III, the BJP-led coalition of 2014 was largely different its predecessor coalition governments. Where the previous coalitions were led by one of the national parties.
- NDA III coalition was not only steered by a national party, i.e., BJP it was also dominated by BJP with an absolute majority of its own in Lok Sabha. It was also called a ‘surplus majority coalition’.
- In that sense a major transformation could be seen in the nature of coalition politics which could be seen from one party led coalition to one party dominated coalition.
- The 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the 17th since independence, once again brought back BJP led NDA [NDA IV] to the center of power by winning more than 350 seats out of 543.
- The BJP on its own won 303 seats in Lok Sabha, the biggest number any single party has won in the lower house since 1984 when Congress swept the elections in the aftermath of Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
- Based on the tumultuous success of the BJP in 2019, Social Scientists have started equating the contemporary party system with the ‘BJP System’ where an era of one-party dominance, like the ‘Congress System’ has once again started appearing on the democratic politics of India.
Issues of Development and Governance
- A major change in Indian politics after 2014 is the shift from caste and religion-based politics to development and governance-oriented politics.
- With its pre-intended goal Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, the NDA III Government started several socio-economic welfare schemes to make development and governance accessible to the masses such as –
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Jan-Dhan Yojana, Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Kisan Fasal Bima Yojna, Beti Padhao Desh Badhao, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, etc.
- All these schemes intended to take administration to the doorstep of the common man by making the rural households, particularly the women, real beneficiaries of the Central Government schemes.
- The success of these schemes could be seen from the results of 2019 Lok Sabha elections where the voters across states – castes, classes, communities, gender and regions brought back the issues of development and governance to the center stage under the BJP led NDA Government characterizing the current change with ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas’.
WORDS THAT MATTER
- OBC: It signifies other Backward classes other than SC, ST to be suffered from educational, social and economic backwardness.
- BAMCEF: It refers to Backward and Minority Classes’ Employees Federation to be formed in 1978 to mark the rise of political organisation of Dalits.
- Karseva: Voluntary service by devotees for building Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
- Mandal Commission: It was set up in 1978 to investigate the extent of educational and social backwardness among various section of society and recommend various ways to identify these backward classes.
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