Recent Developments in Indian Politics 

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 1980s witnessed five developments that left a long-lasting impact on our politics. These were:

(i). The defeat of the Congress party in the elections held in 1989.

(ii). Rise of the ‘Mandal Issue’ - Reservation for OBCs in central jobs (Mandal commission)

(iii). The economic policy (also known as new economic reforms) followed by various governments which were initiated by Rajiv Gandhi.

(iv). A number of events culminated in the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya (known as Babri Masjid) in December, 1992. The developments are associated with the rise of BJP and the politics of ‘Hindutva’.

(v). The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 led to a change in leadership of the Congress party. 

Era of Coalition

Elections in 1989 led to the defeat of the Congress party but did not result in a majority for any other party. The National Front received support from two diametrically opposite political groups: the BJP and the Left Front. On this basis, the National Front formed a coalition government, but the BJP and the Left Front did not join in this government. 

Decline of Congress

The defeat of the Congress party marked the end of Congress dominance over the Indian party system. During the 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 in politics. The nineties saw yet another challenge to the predominant position of the Congress. It did not, however, mean the emergence of any other single party to fill in its place. Thus , began a Multi Party System.

After the elections in 1989, political development in India initiated an era of coalition governments at the Centre, in which regional parties played a crucial role in forming ruling alliances.

Alliance Politics

The nineties also saw the emergence of powerful parties and movements that represented the Dalit and backward castes (Other Backward Classes or OBC).

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. It emerged as the largest party in the 1996 election and was invited to form the government.

It finally came to power by leading a coalition government from May 1998 to June 1999 and was re-elected in October 1999. Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister during both these NDA governments and his government formed in 1999 completed its full term.

With the elections of 1989, a long phase of coalition politics began in India. Since then, there have been nine governments at the Centre, all of which have either been coalition governments or minority governments supported by other parties.

Central government since 1989:

(i). V P Singh(december1989-november1990)- National Front with support of LF and BJP. 

(ii). Chandrashekar(november1990- june 1991)-Section of NF led by SJP & supported by Congress.

(iii). Narasimha Rao(june1991-may 1996)- Congress supported by AIADMK & regional parties.

(iv). A B Vajpayee(May1996-june1996) -BJP minority government.

(v) H D Deve Gowda(june1996-april1997)- UF with support of congress.

(vi). I K Gujral(april1997 to march-1998) - UF with support of congress.

(vii). A B Vajpayee(march 1998- october 1999 & october 1999 -may 2004) NDA led by BJP.

(viii). Manmohan Singh( may 2004-may 2009 & may 2009 -may 2014) UPA led by congress.

(ix). Narendra Modi( may 2014 -may 2019 & may 2019 onwards) NDA led by BJP.

Political Rise of Other Backward Classes

These are communities other than SC and ST who suffer from educational and social backwardness. These are also referred to as ‘backward castes’.

With 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 Bharatiya Kranti Dal and the Samyukta Socialist Party, had a powerful rural base among some sections of the OBC.

Mandal Implemented

The decision of the National Front government to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission further helped in shaping the politics of ‘Other Backward Classes’.

Thus, it helped those who wanted to mobilise these groups in politics. This period 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.

Political Fallouts

The 1980s also saw the rise of political organisation of the Dalits. In 1978 the Backward and Minority Classes Employees Federation (BAMCEF) was formed. It took strong support position in favour of political power to the Bahujan- the SC, ST, OBC and minorities. It was out of this that the subsequent Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti and later BSP( Bahujan Samaj Party) emerged under the leadership of Kanshi Ram. In many parts of india, dalit politics and OBC politics have developed independently and often competition with eachother. 

Mandal Commission:

Reservations for the OBC were in existence in southern States since the 1960s, During the tenure of Janata Party government in 1977-79 the demand for reservations for backward castes in north India and at the national level was strongly raised. The central government appointed a Commission in 1978 to look into and recommend ways to improve the conditions of the backward classes. The Mandal Commission was set up to investigate the extent of educational and social backwardness among various sections of Indian society and recommend ways of identifying these ‘backward classes’. The Commission gave its recommendations in 1980. By then the Janata government had fallen. The Commission advised that ‘backward classes’ should be understood to mean ‘backward castes’, since many castes, other than the Scheduled Castes, were also treated as low in the caste hierarchy. It recommended reserving 27 % of seats in educational institutions and government jobs for these groups. The Mandal Commission also made many other recommendations, like land reform, to improve the conditions of the OBCs. The decision was also challenged in the Supreme Court as the ‘Indira Sawhney case’. In November 1992, the Supreme Court gave a ruling upholding the decision of the government. 

Communalism, Secularism, Democracy

During this period was the rise of politics based on religious identity, leading to a debate about secularism and democracy.

After shah bano case in 1985 and a muslim women filed a case for maintainence from her husband, these two cases around 1986 became central to the politics and BJP emerged as a Hindutva Party.

Ayodhya Dispute

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 in what is believed to be his birthplace.

The dispute took the form of a court case and has continued for many decades. In the late 1940s the mosque was locked up as the matter was with the court. Suddenly this local dispute became a major national question and led to communal tensions. The BJP, in order to generate public support, took out a massive march called the Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in UP. 

Demolition and After

However, thousands of people gathered from all over the country at Ayodhya on 6 December 1992 and demolished the mosque. This news led to clashes between the Hindus and Muslims in many parts of the country.

The central government appointed a commission to investigate into the circumstances leading to the demolition of the mosque. The demolition was against the principles of secularism viewed by most political parties.

Anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat

In February-March 2002, large-scale violence against Muslims took place in Gujarat. The immediate provocation for this violence was an incident that took place at a station called Godhra.

The National Human Rights Commission criticised the Gujarat government’s role in failing to control violence, provide relief to the victims and prosecute the perpetrators of this violence. The Election Commission of India ordered the assembly elections to be postponed.

Emergence of a New Consensus

The period after 1989 is seen sometimes as the period of decline of Congress and rise of BJP. Since the 1989 elections, the vote polled by the two parties , Congress and the BJP do not add up to more than 50%.

The political competition during the 90s is divided between the coalition led by BJP and the coalition led by the Congress.

Lok Sabha Elections 2004

In the elections of 2004, the Congress party too entered into coalitions in a big way. The NDA was defeated and a new coalition government led by the Congress, known as the United Progressive Alliance came to power.

Growing Consensus

A consensus appears to have emerged among most parties. This consensus consists of four elements:

(i). Agreement on new economic policies. 

(ii). Acceptance of the political and social claims of the backward classes- in education and employment. 

(iii). The role of state level parties in governance of the country.

(iv). Emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideological positions and political alliance without ideological agreement.

Even the political parties act within the sphere of consensus issues like poverty, displacement, minimum wages, livelihood and social security are being put on the political agenda by peoples’ movements, reminding the state of its responsibility. Similarly, issues of justice and democracy are being voiced by the people in terms of class, caste, gender and regions. 

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