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STATE IN POST -INDEPENDENCE INDIA
Objectives :
After studying this chapter the learners will be able to :
lUnderstand the continuity and changes after Independence
lLearn about concept of welfare state adopted by India post Independence
lUnderstand the era of Populist politics
lUnderstand the causes and impact of National Emergency in India
lUnderstand the process and a daptation of Globalisation and Liberalisation in India.
Chapter Scheme
1.1 Nehruvian Era- Welfar e state.
1.1.1 Introduction
1.1.2 State Reorganization
1.1.3 Mixed Economic Model
1.1.4 Social and legal reforms
1.1.4. i. Policy of Reservation
1.1.4. ii. Language Policy
1.1.4. iii. Foreign Policy
1.1.4. iv . Agriculture Policy
1.1.4. v . Education Policy
1.1.4. vi. Hindu Marriage law
1.1.5 Conclusion
1.1.6 Question for Practice
1.2 Populist Era, Emergency and Decentralization
1.2.1. Introduction
1.2.2 Populist Policies
2.2.1. i Green Revolution
2.2.1. ii Bank Nationalisation
2.2.1. iii Gareebi Hatao
2.2.2 Emergency
2.2.3. 73rd and 74th Amendments
2.2.4 Conclusion
2.2.5 Question for Practice
1.3 Natur e of S tate under Globalization and Liberalization
1.3.1. Introduction
1.3.2. India on the door of liberalisation
1.3.3. NEP and NIP
1.3.4. Impact on Social and Political Scenario
1.3.5 Conclusion
1.3.6 Questions for Practicemunotes.in
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2Indian Government And Politics
1.1 Nehruvian Era-W elfar e state
1.1.1 Introduction
According to Bhikhu Parekh, Nehru can be regarded as the founder of the
modern Indian state. Parekh attributes this to the national philosophy for India that
Nehru formulated. For Nehru, modernization was the national philosophy , with seven
goals: national unity , parliamentary democracy , industrialization, socialism, development
of the scientific temper , and non-alignment. In Parekh's opinion, the philosophy and
the policies that resulted from that benefited a large section of society such as the
public sector workers, industrial houses, middle and upper peasantry . It failed, however ,
to benefit the urban and rural poor , the unemployed and the Hindu fundamentalists.
After the fall of Bose from the mainstream of Indian politics (because of his support of
violence in driving the British out of India) the power struggle between the socialists
and conservatives balanced out. However , Sardar Patel died in 1950, leaving Nehru
as the sole remaining iconic national leader , and soon the situation became such that
Nehru was able to implement many of his basic policies without hindrance. Nehru's
daughter , Indira Gandhi, during the state of emer gency she imposed, was able to fulfill
her father's dream by the 42nd amendment (1976) of the Indian constitution by which
India officially became "socialist" and "secular
1.1.2. State Reorganization
The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26th January 1950,
made India a sovereign democratic republic. The new republic was declared to be a
"Union of States". The constitution of 1950 distinguished between three main
types of states:
A. Part A states, which were the former governors' provinces of British India, were
ruled by an elected governor and state legislature.
B. The Part B states were former princely states or groups of princely states,
governed by a rajpramukh who was usually the ruler of a constituent state, and an
elected legislature. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India.
C. The Part C states included both the former chief commissioners' provinces and
some princely states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by
the President of India. The sole
D. Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by
a lieutenant governor appointed by the central governmentmunotes.in
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3However , considering the rising demands of formation of new states, JVP
(Jawaharlal, Vallabhbhai and Pattabhi) committee was appointed in 1949. This
committee warned against formation of states on the basis of language. Later on Justice
Fazal Ali commission was also formed which submitted its report in 1955. Fazal Ali
commission also disagreed with the linguistic states. However , mounting political
pressure and violence across the country , Nehru government agreed to allow formation
of state on the basis of language.
1.1.3 Mixed Economic Model
After independence India was reluctant to become a puppet state in the hands
of USSR led communist or USA led capitalist blocks. Hence, India adhered the Non-
Alignment Movement (NAM). Subsequently , India adopted a mixed economic model
wherein equal focus was laid on capitalist and communist economic principles. Nehru
implemented policies based on import substitution industrialization and advocated a
mixed economy where the government controlled public sector would co-exist with
the private sector . He believed that the establishment of basic and heavy industry was
fundamental to the development and modernization of the Indian economy . The
government, therefore, directed investment primarily into key public sector Industries-
steel, iron, coal, and power-promoting their development with subsidies and
protectionist policies.
The policy of non-alignment during the cold war meant that Nehru received
financial and technical support from both power blocs in building India's industrial
base from scratch. Steel Mill complexes were built at Bokaro and Rourkela with
assistance from the soviet union and West Germany . There was substantial industrial
development Industry grew 7.0% annually between 1950 and 1965-almost trebling
industrial output and making India the world's seventh lar gest industrial country . Nehru's
critics, however , contended that India's import substitution industrialisation, which
was continued long after the Nehru era, weakened the international competitiveness
of its manufacturing industries. Nehru's preference for big state controlled enterprises
created a complex system of quantitative regulations, quotas and tariffs, industrial
licenses and a host of other controls. This system, known in India as Permit Raj, was
responsible for economic inefficiencies that stifled entrepreneurship and checked
economic growth for decades until the liberalization policies initiated by Congress
government in 1991 under PV Narsimha Rao.Chapter 1 : State in Post-Independence India
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4Indian Government And Politics
1.1.4 Social and legal reforms
The Speci al Marriage Act allowed Muslims to marry under it and thereby
retain the protections, generally beneficial to Muslim women, that could not be found
in the personal law . Under the act polygamy was illegal, and inheritance and succession
would be governed by the Indian Succession Act, rather than the respective Muslim
personal law . Divorce also would be governed by the secular law , and maintenance of
a divorced wife would be along the lines set down in the civil law . Along with this
Hindu Marriage and Succession Act. 1955 was also formed. These were progressive
laws to set a tone of social and legal reform in a newly emerging nation India.
1.1.4. i. Reservations for socially-oppressed communities
A system of reservations in government services and educational institutions
was created to eradicate the social inequalities and disadvantages faced by peoples
of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Nehru also championed secularism and
religious harmony , increasing the representation of minorities in government. Art. 15
and 16 of the constitution provided reservation to Scheduled Castes (SC) and
Scheduled Tribe (ST) right from the beginning to enhance the opportunities for the
progress of the socially and economically distressed classes in India.
1.1.4. ii Language policy
Nehru led the faction of the Congress party which promoted Hindi as the
lingua franca of the Indian nation .After an exhaustive and divisive debate with the
non-Hindi speakers, Hindi was adopted as the official language of India in 1950 with
English continuing as an associate official language for a period of 15 years, after
which Hindi would become the sole official language. Efforts by the Indian Government
to make Hindi the sole official language after 1965 were not acceptable to many non-
Hindi Indian states, who wanted the continued use of English. The Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK), a descendant of Dravidar Kazhagam led the opposition to Hindi.
To allay their fears, Nehru enacted the of ficial languages Act in 1963 to ensure the
continuing use of English beyond 1965. The text of the Act did not satisfy the DMK
and increased their scepticism that his assurances might not be honoured by future
administrations. Three language formula was adopted. The Of ficial Languages Act
was eventually amended in 1967 by the Congress Government headed by to guarantee
Indira Gandhi the indefinite use of Hindi and English as official languages. This effectively
ensured the current "virtual indefini te policy of bilingualism of the Indian Republic.munotes.in
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51.1.4.iii Forei gn Policy
Preservation of newly gained independence and creating its own image in
International arena was the biggest challenge before India in 1947. The Cold War had
created a sharp division and polarization of states. Both the Communist and Capitalist
blocks were pressurizing, persuading or penalizing the newly formed nations to their
side. Therefore, India decided to remain neutral fence sitter , as it wanted to get
cooperation and help from both the blocks for its economic and political development.
India successfully led the third world countries and created the platform of NAM. It
also campaigned for disarmament, demilitarization and nuclear weapon free world.
Under the able leadership of Nehru, India was able to give Buddhist and Gandhian
values in foreign policy .
1.1.4. iv Agricultur e policies
Under Nehru's leadership, the government attempted to develop India quickly
by embarking on agrarian reform and rapid industrialization . A successful land reforms
was introduced that abolished giant landholdings, but efforts to redistribute land by
placing limits on land ownership failed. Attempts to introduce lar ge-scale cooperative
farming were frustrated by landowning rural elites, who formed the core of the powerful
right-wing of the Congress and had considerable political support in opposing the
efforts of Nehru. Agricultural production expanded until the early 1960s, as additional
land was brought under cultivation and some irrigation projects began to have an
effect. The establishment of agricultural universities, modeled after land-grant colleges
in the United States, contributed to the development of the economy These universities
worked with high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, initially developed in Mexico
and the Philippines, that in the 1960s began the Green Revolution , an effort to
diversify and increase crop production. At the same time a series of failed monsoons
would cause serious food shortages despite the steady progress and increase in
agricultural production.
1.1.4.v Education
Nehru was a passionate advocate of education for India's children and youth,
believing it essential for India's future progress. His government oversaw the
establishment of many institutions of higher learning, including the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences the Indian Institutes of Technology , the Indian Institutes of
Management and the National Institutes of Technology . Nehru also outlined a
commitment in his five year plans to guarantee free and compulsory primary education
to all of India's children. For this purpose, Nehru oversaw the creation of mass village
enrollment programs and the construction of thousands of schools. Nehru also launched
initiatives such as the provision of free milk and meals to children to fight malnutrition
. Adult education centers, vocational and technical schools were also or ganised for
adults, especially in the r ural areas.Chapter 1 : State in Post-Independence India
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6Indian Government And Politics
1.1.4. vi Hindu Marriage law:
Under Nehru, the Indian Parliament enacted many changes to Hindu Law to
criminalize caste discrimination and increase the legal rights and social freedoms of
women. Nehru specifically wrote Article 44 of the Indian constitution under the
Directive principles of state Policy which states: The article has formed the basis of
secularism in India However , Nehru has been criticized for the inconsistent application
of the law . Most notably , Nehru allowed Muslims to keep their personal law in matters
relating to marriage and inheritance. Also in the small state of Goa, a civil code based
on the old Portuguese Family Laws was allowed to continue, and Muslim personal
law was prohibited by Nehru. This was the result of the annexation of Goa in 1961
by India, when Nehru promised the people that their laws would be left intact. This
has led to accusations of selective secularism.
While Nehru exempted Muslim law from legislation and they remained
unreformed, he did pass the Special marriage act in 1954. The idea behind this act
was to give everyone in India the ability to marry outside the personal law under a civil
marriage. As usual the law applied to all of India, except Jammu and Kashmir (again
leading to accusations of selective secularism). In many respects, the act was almost
identical to the Hindi Marriage Act, 1955, which gives some idea as to how secularism
the law regarding Hindus had become.
1.1.5 Conclusion
Thus after independence India found itself competently devastated and looted
by earstwhile rules and invaders. Therefore, a new beginning required India to work
hard on all the socio- economic and political frontiers. That is why Indian state has
adopted a balanced or mid path in each and every aspect of its life. As a result,
democracy and economic development could be set in the right direction. India became
a successful functional democracy due to the strong foundations laid after its
independence.
1.1.6 Questions for Exercise
1. Discuss the process of making of India after Independence.
2. Critically examine the formation of states in India.
3. What is mixed economic model ?munotes.in
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71.2 Populist Era, Emergency and Decentralization:
1.2.1 Introduction
Mrs Indira Gandhi and Emergency:
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (19 November 1917 - 31 October 1984) was an
Indian politician and a central figure of the India National Congress.. She was the first
and, to date, only female Prime Minister of India. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. She served as prime minister from
January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in
October 1984 , making her the second longest serving Indian prime minister after her
father .
1.2.1 Populist Policies
1.2.1 i Green Revolution:
The Green Revolution, or the Third Agricultural Revolution, is the set of research
technology transfer initiatives occurring between 1950 and the late 1960s that increased
agricultural production in parts of the world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s.
The initiatives resulted in the adoption of new technologies, including high-yielding
varieties (HYVs) of cereals, especially dwarf wheat and rice. It was associated with
chemical fertilizers, agrochemicals, and controlled water-supply (usually involving
irrigation) and newer methods of cultivation, including mechanization. All of these
together were seen as a 'package of practices' to supersede 'traditional' technology
and to be adopted as a whole. The key elements of the revolution include: 1) Use of
the latest technological and capital inputs, 2) adoption of modern scientific methods
of farming, 3) use of high yielding varieties of seeds, 4) proper use of chemical fertilizers,
5) consolidation of land holdings.
1.2.2 ii Bank Nationalisation :
Nationalisation in 1969:
Despite the provisions, control and regulations of the Reserve Bank of India,
banks in India except the (SBI), remain owned and operated by private persons. By
the 1960s, the Indian banking industry had become an important tool to facilitate the
development of the Indian economy . At the same time, it had emer ged as a lar ge
employer , and a debate had ensued about the nationalization of the banking industry .
Indira Gandhi , the then Prime Minister of India, expressed the intention of the
Government of India in the annual conference of the All India Congress Meeting in a
paper entitled Stray thoughts on Bank Nationalization.Chapter 1 : State in Post-Independence India
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8Indian Government And Politics
Thereafter , the Government of India issued the Banking Companies (Acquisition
and Transfer of Undertakings) Ordinance, 1969 and nationalised the 14 lar gest
commercial banks with effect from the midnight of 19 July 1969. These banks contained
85 percent of bank deposits in the country . Within two weeks of the issue of the
ordinance, the Parliament passed the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer
of Undertaking) Bill, and it received Presidential approval on 9 August 1969.
The following banks were nationalized in 1969:
lAllahabad Bank (now Indian Bank)
lBank of Baroda
lBank of India
lBank of Maharashtra
lCentral Bank of India
lCanara Bank
lDena Bank (now Bank of Baroda)
lIndian Bank
lIndian Overseas Bank
lPunjab National Bank
lSyndicate Bank (now Canara Bank)
lUCO Bank
lUnion Bank of India
lUnited Bank of India( now Punjab National Bank)
Nationalisation in 1980 :
A second round of nationalizations of six more commercial banks followed in
1980. The stated reason for the nationalization was to give the government more
control of credit delivery . With the second round of nationalizations, the Government
of India controlled around 91% of the banking business of India.
The following banks were nationalized in 1980:
lPunjab and Sind Bank
lVijaya Bank (Now Bank of Baroda)
lOriental Bank of India (now Punjab National Bank)
lCorporation Bank (now Union Bank of India)
lAndhra Bank (now Union Bank of India)
1.2.1 iii Garibi Hatao
("Remove poverty") was the theme and slogan of Indira Gandhi's 1971 election
campaign. The slogan and the proposed anti-poverty programs that came with it were
designed to give Gandhi an independent national support, based on rural and urban
poor, which would allow her to by-pass the dominant rural castes both in and out ofmunotes.in
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9state and local government; likewise the urban commercial class. And, for their part,
the previously voiceless poor particularly Dalits and Adivasis would at last gain both
political worth and political weight.
The programs created through garibi hatao, though carried out locally , were funded,
developed, supervised, and staffed by Government officials in New Delhi and Congress
party of ficials. It was part of the 5th Five Year Plan.
1.2.2 M rs Indira Gandhi and Emergency :
In India, "The Emergency" refers to a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977
when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the
country . Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of
the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was
in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977. The order
bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections
to be cancelled and civil liberties to be suspended. For much of the Emer gency , most
of Indira Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored.
Several other human rights violations were reported from the time, including a mass
forced sterilization campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi, the Prime Minister's
son. The Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India's
history .
The final decision to impose an emergency was proposed by Indira Gandhi,
agreed upon by the president of India , and thereafter ratified by the cabinet and the
parliament (from July to August 1975), based on the rationale that there were imminent
internal and external threats to the Indian state.
1.2.2 Political unrest
This led some Congress party leaders to demand a move towards a presidential
system emergency declaration with a more powerful directly elected executive. The
most significant of the initial such movement was the Nav Nirman movement in Gujarat,
between December 1973 and March 1974. Student unrest against the state's education
minister ultimately forced the central government to dissolve the state legislature, leading
to the resignation of the chief minister , Chimanbhai Patel, and the imposition of
Presidential rule. Meanwhile, there were assassination attempts on public leaders as
well as the assassination of the railway minister Lalit Narayan Mishra by a bomb. All
of these indicated a growing law and order problem in the entire country , which Mrs
Gandhi's advisors warned her of for months.
In March-April 1974, a student agitation by the Bihar Chatra Sangharsh Samiti
received the support of Gandhian socialist Jayaprakash Narayan, referred to as JP ,
against the Bihar government. In April 1974, in Patna, JP called for "total revolution,"Chapter 1 : State in Post-Independence India
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10Indian Government And Politics
asking students, peasants, and labour unions to non-violently transform Indian society .
He also demanded the dissolution of the state government, but this was not accepted
by the centre. A month later , the railway-employees union, the lar gest union in the
country , went on a nationwide railways strike. This strike which was led by the firebrand
trade union leader Geor ge Fernandes who was the President of the All India
Railwaymen's Federation. He was also the President of the Socialist Party . The strike
was brutally suppressed by the Indira Gandhi government, which arrested thousands
of employees and drove their families out of their quarters.
1.2.2 Proclamation of the Emergency
The Government cited threats to national security , as a war with Pakistan had
recently been concluded. Due to the war and additional challenges of drought and the
1973 oil crisis, the economy was in poor condition. The Government claimed that the
strikes and protests had paralysed the government and hurt the economy of the country
greatly . In the face of massive political opposition, desertion and disorder across the
country and the party , Gandhi stuck to the advice of a few loyalists and her younger
son Sanjay Gandhi, whose own power had grown considerably over the last few
years to become an "extra-constitutional authority". After a quick question regarding
a procedural matter , President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a state of integral
emergency upon the prime minister's advice on the night of 25 June 1975, just a few
minutes before the clock struck midnight.
As the constitution requires, Mrs Gandhi advised and President Ahmed
approved the continuation of Emergency over every six months until she decided to
hold elections in 1977.
1.2.3 73rd and 74th Amendment :
A multi- faceted approach was adopted, with particular emphasis being laid
on the implementation of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992,
which gave Constitutional status to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local
bodies (ULBs) respectively , in both letter and spirit in order to bring about ...
Like the 73rd amendment, the 74th amendment lays down the structure of
Urban Local bodies; It provides for their regular , free and fair elections, makes
provisions for reservation of seats for SC, ST and OBCs, fixes their term to five
years, protects them against arbitrary dissolution, specifies their powers and …munotes.in
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111.2.4 Conclusion :
The advent of Mrs Indira Gandhi can be perceived in both the positive as well
as negative ways. Positive as her policies were more for the upliftment of the poor
and downtrodden community . But in a negative sense it was somewhat a dictator kind
of a regime were it was one woman's rule who would use any method whether
Democratic or Dictatorship to achieve the political goals.
1.2.5 Questions for Exercise
1. Describe the key features of Emer gency .
2. What is the Importance of 73rd and 74th Amendment
3. What were the Populist measures adopted by the Congress Government .
1.3 Natur e of S tate under Globalisation and Liberalisation:
1.3.1 Introduction
Liberalization or Liberalisation British Englis is the precondition for privatization
and globalization. Liberalization is a broad term that usually refers to fewer government
regulations and restrictions, mainly on economic activities. Liberalization is a change
in the economic philosophy of a state. In a broader sense, liberalization refers to a
change in policy which allows more freedom in laws, systems, or opinions.
1.3.2 India on the Door of Liberalisation:
In the early 1990s, the then government embarked on a policy of liberalisation
licensing a small number of private banks. These came to be known as New Generation
tech-savvy banks , and included Global Trust Bank (the first of such new generation
banks to be set up), which later amalgamated with Oriental Bank of Commerce,
Indusind Bank,UTI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank. . This move, along with the
rapid growth in the economy of India , revitalised the banking sector in India, which
has seen rapid growth with strong contribution from all the three sectors of banks,
namely , government banks, private banks and foreign banks.
lThe next stage for the Indian banking has been set up, with proposed relaxation
of norms for foreign direct investment. All foreign investors in banks may be given
voting rights that could exceed the present cap of 10% at present. In 2019, Bandhan
bank specifically , increased the foreign investment percentage limit to 49%. It has
gone up to 74% with some restrictions.Chapter 1 : State in Post-Independence India
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12Indian Government And Politics
lThe new policy shook the Banking sector in India completely . Bankers, till
this time, were used to the 4–6–4 method (borrow at 4%; lend at 6%; go home at 4)
of functioning. The new wave ushered in a modern outlook and tech-savvy methods
of working for traditional banks. All this led to the retail boom in India. P
1.3.3 Nep and Nip
The economic liberalisation in India refers to the economic liberalization of the
country’ s economic policies with the goal of making the economy more market and
service-oriented and expanding the role of private and foreign investment. Although
unsuccessful attempts at liberalization were made in 1966 and the early 1980s, a
more thorough liberalization was initiated in 1991. The reform was prompted by a
balance of payments crisis that had led to a severe recession.
Indian economic policy after independence was influenced by the colonial
experience (which was exploitative in nature) and by those leaders’ exposure to Fabian
socialism . Policy tended towards protectionism, with a strong emphasis on import
substitution industrialization under state monitoring, state intervention at the micro level
in all businesses especially in labour and financial markets, a lar ge public sector , business
regulation, and central planning . Five year plans of India resembled central planning
in the Soviet Union. Under the Industrial Development Regulation Act of 1951, steel,
mining, machine tools, water , telecommunications, insurance, and electrical plants,
among other industries, were effectively nationalised. Elaborate licences, regulations
and the accompany fringred tape , commonly referred to as License Raj were required
to set up business in India between 1947 and 1990.The Indian economy of this period
is characterized as Dirigisme.
Before the process of reform began in 1991, the government attempted to
close the Indian economy to the outside world. The Indian currency , the rupee, was
inconvertible and high tariffs and import licensing prevented foreign goods reaching
the market. India also operated a system of central planning for the economy , in which
firms required licences to invest and develop. The labyrinthine bureaucracy often led
to absurd restrictions—up to 80 agencies had to be satisfied before a firm could be
granted a licence to produce and the state would decide what was produced, how
much, at what price and what sources of capital were used. The government also
prevented firms from laying off workers or closing factories. The central pillar of the
policy was import substitution , the belief that India needed to rely on internal markets
for development, not international trade—a belief generated by a mixture of socialism
and the experience of colonial exploitation. Planning and the state, rather than markets,
would determine how much investment was needed in which sectors.munotes.in
Page 13
13Licence Raj established an “irresponsible, self-perpetuating bureaucracy and
corruption flourished under this system. Only four or five licences would be given for
steel, electrical power and communications, allowing licence owners to build huge
and powerful empires without competition. A huge public sector emerged, allowing
state-owned enterprises to record huge losses without being shut down.Controls on
business creation also led to poor infrastructure development.
Reforms Before 1991
1966 Liberalization Attempt
In 1966, due to rapid inflation caused by an increasing budget deficit
accompanying the sino-indian war and severe drought, the Indian government was
forced to seek monetary aid from the International Monetary Fund and W orld Bank
.Pressure from aid donors caused a shift towards economic liberalization, wherein
the rupee was devalued to combat inflation and cheapen exports and the former system
of tarif fs and export subsidies was abolished. However , a second poor harvest and
subsequent industrial recession helped fuel political backlash against liberalization,
characterized by resentment at foreign involvement in the Indian economy and fear
that it might signal a broader shift away from socialist policies. As a result, trade
restrictions were reintroduced and the Foreign Investments Board was established in
1968 to scrutinize companies investing in India with more than 40% foreign
equity participation.
World Bank loans continued to be taken for agricultural projects since 1972,
and these continued as international seed companies that were able to enter Indian
markets after the 1991 liberalization
Economic Reforms During 1980
As it became evident that the Indian economy was lagging behind its East and
Southeast Asian neighbors, the governments of Indira Gandhi and subsequently Rajiv
Gandhi began pursuing economic liberalization.The governments loosened restrictions
on business creation and import controls while also promoting the growth of the
telecommunications and software industries.Reforms under lead to an increase in the
average GDP growth rate from 2.9 percent in the 1970s to 5.6 percent, although they
failed to fix systemic issues with the Licence Raj.Despite Rajiv Gandhi’ s dream for
more systemic reforms, the Bofors scandal tarnished his government’ s reputation and
impeded his liberalization efforts.Chapter 1 : State in Post-Independence India
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14Indian Government And Politics
Economic liberalisation in India
The economic liberalisation in India refers to the economic liberalization of the
country’ s economic policies with the goal of making the economy more market and
service-oriented and expanding the role of private and foreign investment. Although
unsuccessful attempts at liberalization were made in 1966 and the early 1980s, a
more thorough liberalization was initiated in 1991. The reform was prompted by a
balance of payments crisis that had led to a severe recession.
Indian economic policy after independence was influenced by the colonial
experience (which was exploitative in nature) and by those leaders’ exposure to
Fabian socialism . Policy tended towards protectionism, with a strong emphasis on
import substitution industrialization under state monitoring, state intervention at the
micro level in all businesses especially in labour and financial markets, a large public
sector , business regulation, and central planning . Five year plans of India resembled
central planning in the Soviet Union. Under the Industrial Development Regulation
Act of 1951, steel, mining, machine tools, water , telecommunications, insurance,
and electrical plants, among other industries, were effectively nationalised. Elaborate
licences, regulations and the accompany fringred tape , commonly referred to
as License Raj were required to set up business in India between 1947 and 1990.The
Indian economy of this period is characterized as Dirigisme.
Before the process of reform began in 1991, the government attempted to
close the Indian economy to the outside world. The Indian currency , the rupee, was
inconvertible and high tariffs and import licensing prevented foreign goods reaching
the market. India also operated a system of central planning for the economy , in which
firms required licences to invest and develop. The labyrinthine bureaucracy often led
to absurd restrictions—up to 80 agencies had to be satisfied before a firm could be
granted a licence to produce and the state would decide what was produced, how
much, at what price and what sources of capital were used. The government also
prevented firms from laying off workers or closing factories. The central pillar of the
policy was import substitution , the belief that India needed to rely on internal markets
for development, not international trade—a belief generated by a mixture of socialism
and the experience of colonial exploitation. Planning and the state, rather than markets,
would determine how much investment was needed in which sectors.
Licence Raj established an “irresponsible, self-perpetuating bureaucracy and
corruption flourished under this system. Only four or five licences would be given for
steel, electrical power and communications, allowing licence owners to build huge
and powerful empires without competition. A huge public sector emerged, allowing
state-owned enterprises to record huge losses without being shut down.Controls on
business creation also led to poor infrastructure development.munotes.in
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15Liberalization of 1991 .
The collapse of the Chandra Shekhar government in the midst of the crisis
and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi led to the election of a new Congress government
led by PV Narasimha Rao .He selected Amar Nath Verma to be his Principal Secretary
and Manmohan Singh to be finance minister and gave them complete support in doing
whatever they thought was necessary to solve the crisis.V erma helped draft the New
Industrial Policy alongside Chief Economic Advisor Rakesh Mohan , and it laid out a
plan to foster Indian industry in five points.Firstly , it abolished the License Raj by
removing licensing restrictions for all industries except for 18 that “related to security
and strategic concerns, social reasons, problems related to safety and overriding
environmental issues.T o incentivize foreign investment, it laid out a plan to pre-approve
all investment up to 51% foreign equity participation, allowing foreign companies to
bring modern technology and industrial development.To further incentivize technological
advancement, the old policy of government approval for foreign technology agreements
was scrapped. The fourth point proposed to dismantle public monopolies by floating
shares of public sector companies and limiting public sector growth to essential
infrastructure, goods and services, mineral
exploration, and defense manufacturing.Finally the concept of an MR TP company ,
where companies whose assets surpassed a certain value were placed under government
supervision, was scrapped.
Meanwhile, Manmohan Singh worked on a new budget that would come to
be known as the Epochal Budget. The primary concern was getting the fiscal deficit
under control, and he sought to do this by curbing government expenses. Part of this
was the disinvestment in public sector companies, but accompanying this was a
reduction in subsidies for fertilizer and abolition of
1.3.4 Impact on Social and Political scenario :
Attempts at liberalization in trade could lead to an increase in imports in the
short run and this could cause both trade and current account deficits in countries that
adopt rapid liberalization. Liberalization could increase growth rates in the short run
and this also could result in higher imports than exports.W ith liberalization , the list of
reserved items was substantially curtailed and many new sectors were thrown open to
big companies. Small scale industry exists and still remains the strength of Indian
Economy . It contributes to a major portion of exports and private sector employment.
Liberalization is a broad term that usually refers to fewer government regulations
and restrictions, mainly on economic activities. Liberalization is a change in the economicChapter 1 : State in Post-Independence India
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16Indian Government And Politics
philosophy of a state. In a broader sense, liberalization refers to a change in policy
which allows more freedom in laws, systems, or opinions.
Economic liberalization (or economic liberalisation ) is the lessening of
government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater
participation by private entities. ... The task of modern governments is to ensure that
our countries can rise to this challenge.
1.3.5 C onclusion :
Liberalisation seems to be a very attractive star and in fact it is very beneficial
as well but with benefits comes the loss. Policy of Liberalisation can be far seen as a
step towards success specially for economies which are at the verge of destruction.
1.3.6 Questions for Exercise :
1. Describe Liberalisation
2. How India benefited from Liberalisation
3. Describe NEP and NIP .
References :
lModern Indian Political Thought, V.P.Varma
lHistory of India ,Roshen Dalal
lRaj to Swaraj, Ram Chandra Pradhan
lOur Constitution, Subhash C Kashyap
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17 2
PARTY AND P ARTY POLITICS IN INDIA
1.0. Objectives:
ÿTo understand the concept of the political party in democracies
ÿTo understand the role of political parties in Indian democracy
ÿTo understand the rules and provision of regulation and registration of parties
ÿTo understand the conditions of recognition of national, regional and registered
political parties.
1.1 Introduction :
“Party Politics in India displays numerous paradoxical features, which reveals
the blending of western and modern forms of bureaucratic organization participatory
politics with indigenous practices and institutions. India’ s leading political party , the
Indian National Congress, is one of the oldest in the world, yet it has not succeeded in
providing the nucleus for an institutionalized party system which can be fitted easily
into any one of the conventional categories of party systems known in the West”
(363-80, 2001) Thus Political parties are the voluntary organizations of the people
belief in same ideology , programme and agenda for politics of the country . Together ,
they try to mobile the masses and capture political power . The party system in India
started its evolution in 1885 with the establishment of the India National Congress by
A. O. Hume. However , during its initial phase, India’ s independence was not on its
agenda. Later on Gradual entry of nationalist leaders like G .K. Gokhale, Dadabhai
Naoroji, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak have infused the agenda of nationalism in
INC programmes.
Thus INC remained the single largest party in India during the freedom
movement. Later on Communist Party of India (1925), Hindu Mahasabha (1915),
Shiromani Akali Dal (1920) Muslim League (1906) were also established as political
parties in pre-independence India. After Independence Indian S tate has adopter the
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18Indian Government And Politics
for the representat ion of the people. According to M. Laxmikanth, ‘There are four
types of political parties in the Modern Democratic States:
(i) Reactionary parties which cling to the old socio-economic and political
institutions,
(ii) Conservative parties which believed in maintaining the status-quo,
(iii) Liberal parties which aim at reforming the existing institutions, and
(iv) Radical parties aim at establishing a new order by overthrowing the existing
institutions.
Ideological Orientations of Political Parties:
Political parties often claim to adhere to some or another ideology . It helps
them to make their agenda and programme appeal the masses for support. Thus,
ideology works as one of the strongest tools of political mobilization around a political
party . There are dif ferent types of political ideologies, namely Nationalism, Communist,
Capitalism, Fascism etc. They play important role in the shaping of political views of
the citizens. In adherence to the above ideologies, the political parties can be classified as:
a.Left-W ing Political Party: Champions the cause of socialism and communism.
i.e. Communist Party of India (CPI), CPM, CPML, Forward Block
b.Right-wing political party: Nationalism, cultural and traditional, racial, and other
identity-based orientations, BJP , Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, SP , BSP etc.
c.Centrist Political party: Has liberal and inclusive orientation. Indian National
Congress, NCP , JD (U), DMK, AIADMK etc
The political parties in India emanate and adhere to different political ideologies
as per their convenience. Attaining power and implementation of this manifesto can be
said to be the main goals of political parties in India.
Evolution of Party System in India :
India is a multi-party democracy . Though our constitution is silent about the
nature and structure of the political parties, there are rules and procedures made
through the People’ s Representation Act. 1951, guidelines of Election Commission of
India for the registration of Political parties, Anti- Defection Act. 1985 and guidelines
of the Supreme Court of India, provides for the nature, quality and character of the
political parties.munotes.in
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19The seeds of political parties in India were shown by the formation of the
Indian National Congress in 1985 by A. O. Hume as its founder and Womesh Chunder
Bonnerjee (or Umesh Chandra Banerjee) as its first president at Mumbai. The main
objective of this organization was to act as an intermediary between the Indian and
the British Empire. Initially , it was not against colonial rule in India. Indian leaders like
Pherozeshah Mehta, Baduruddin Tayyabji, Madam Cama, Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
Dada Bhai Naoroji, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpatrai became
very critical of the British policies in India. Thus Congress started raising the voice for
swaraj or self-rule. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, INC was instrumental
in gaining freedom for the nation. After independence, the Indian National Congress
was the main political party , with other parties like Jan Sangh (1954), Communist
Party , Hindu Mahasabha etc. Article 19 of the Indian constitution provides under Art.
19 (1) freedom to form and join any union or association of their choice. Thus, every
Indian is free to found a political party or join any political party of their choice.
The election commission of India provides detailed guidelines for the registration
of any political outfit as a political party . After registration as a political party , they can
contest election as a political party . However , they do not get a common symbol until
they contest all the seats in a particular election. Therefore, the election commission
has set of following guidelines for the political parties to get them of their status of a
national, regional or registered political party . Following are the criteria to get the
status of National, Regional or registered party .
To form a political party in India, one must fulfil the following conditions:
lIt must consist only of Indian citizens
lIt must call itself a political party set up to contest elections to the Parliament,
State Legislatures or Local body elections and for no other purpose.
lIt must have at least 100 registered electors as its member
Eligibility of National Political Party
To be eligible for a ‘ National Political Par ty of India ,’ the Election
Commission has set the following criteria –
lIt secures at least six percent of the valid votes polled in any four or more
states, at a general election to the House of the People or , to the S tate
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20Indian Government And Politics
lIn addition, it wins at least four seats in the House of the People from any
State or States.
OR
lIt wins at least two percent seats in the House of the People (i.e., 1 1 seats in
the existing House having 543 members), and these members are elected
from at least three different States.
Eligibility of S tate Political Par ty
To be eligible for a ‘S tate Political Party ,’ the Election Commission has set the
following criteria
•It secures at least six percent of the valid votes polled in the State at a general
election, either to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly of
the State concerned; and
•In addition, it wins at least two seats in the Legislative Assembly of the S tate
concerned.
OR
•It wins at least three percent (3%) of the total number of seats in the Legislative
Assembly of the S tate, or at least three seats in the Assembly , whichever is
more.
Registered Party
The political party which fulfils all the guidelines of ECI gets recognition as a
registered party . They do not get a permanent symbol until they secure the required
vote percentage in an election at the state or national level. However , they are allowed
to contest elections as a political party .
Features of Party System in India
Section 29 A of the Representation of the People Act. 1951 and Article 19 of
the India Constitution sets certain conditions for a political party to get registered with
the Election Commission of India (ECI) (V ikaspedia). The salient features of Indian
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211. Multi-Party System
Though the Indian constitution is salient about the nature, number and type of political
parties in India. Therefore, this subject remained open for the people and politicians
to decide. Thus, India continued to be a multi-party system. Thus, any Indian citizen
can form and register a political party by completing legal formalities with ECI. at
present there are more than 2293 political parties registered in India by March-2019.
This includes seven recognized national-level parties, 59 recognized state-level party
and the remaining are just registered political parties. The parties, that are recognized
get a symbol with which it is registered and remaining parties are required to choose
from the list of ‘free symbols’. Thus, India has a multi-party democratic system. It
also happens due to the vast size of the country with the social, cultural, political and
ideological gambit of India.
2. One Party Dominant System (OPDS)
Before Independence, the Indian National Congress (INC), along with other small
parties like the Communist Party , Hindu Mahasabha, revolutionary parties like HSRA
of Shaheed Bhagat Singh were the main political parties, that worked for the cause of
freedom of the nation. However , the INC was leading the freedom movement. After
Independence also, INC under the leadership of Pt, Jawaharlal Nehru emerged as
the predominant political party . All the parties were negligent. In an essay written in
1964 Professor Rajani Kothari, called it a ‘Congress system’. which meant a political
culture evolving from congress and influencing other political parties as well. This era
(1947 - 1967 ) is regarded as the era of the One Party Dominant System (OPDS).
The dominant system started declining after the death of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur
Shastri and the rise of Indira Gandhi to power . A lot of regional political parties and
leaders have started to rise. For Example Shive Sena in Maharashtra, DMK in Tamil
Nadu etc.
One Party Dominant system (OPDS):
A one-party state , single-party state , one-party system , or single-party
system is a type of unitary state in which one political party has the right to form the
government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties are either
outlawed or allowed to take only a limited and controlled participation in elections .
Sometimes the term de facto one-party state is used to describe a dominant-party
system that, unlike the one-party state, allows (at least nominally) democratic multiparty
elections, but the existing practices or balance of political power effectively prevent
the opposition from winning the game.
One-party states explain themselves through various methods. Most often, proponents
of a one-party state argue that the existence of separate parties runs counter to nationalChapter 2 : Party and Party Politics in India
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22Indian Government And Politics
unity . Others ar gue that the one party is the vanguard of the people, and therefore its
right to rule cannot be legitimately questioned. The Soviet government argued that
multiple parties represented the class struggle and because of this the soviet union legally
authorized and recognized a single party leading the proletariat, namely the communist
party of the soviet union . Some one-party states only outlaw opposition parties, while
allowing allied parties to exist as part of a permanent coalition such as a popular front.
However , these parties are lar gely or completely subservient to the ruling party and
must accept the ruling party’ s monopoly of power as a condition of their existence.
Most one-party states have been ruled by parties forming in one of the following three
circumstances:
1.an ideology of Marxism Leninism and international solidarity (such as the
Soviet Union for most of its existence)
2.some type of nationalist or fascist ideology (such as the kingdom of Italy under
the National fascist party that came to power in the wake of independence
from colonial rule . One-party systems often arise from decolonization because
a single party gains an overwhelmingly dominant role in liberation or
independence struggles.
One-party states are usually considered to be authoritarian, to the extent that they are
occasionally totalitarian . On the other hand, not all authoritarian or totalitarian states
operate upon one-party rule. Some, especially amongst absolute monarchies and
military dictatorships , do not need a ruling party , and therefore make all political
parties illegal.
The term “ communist state “ is sometimes used in the West to describe states in
which the ruling party subscribes to a form of Marxism–Leninism. However , such
states may not use that term themselves, seeing communism as a phase to develop
after the full maturation of socialism.
3. Absence of Ideological Clarity :
It is noticed that all the political parties in India, claim to be aligned with some or
another political ideology . However , none of them is clear about their stand. It happens
because of vote bank politics. In a diverse country , like India there is opposition and
contradiction to every political ideology . Thus to woo the voters and supporters political
parties dilute their ideological rigidity . Hence, it can be said that theoretically every
party follows some or other political ideology , but it is not seen in their or ganisational
or electoral politics. The quest to get power makes them allies
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234. Personality Cult:
More than a political party , it is the influence of a leader that wins the election. Right
from the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi (INC), Atal Vihari
Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, Narendra Modi (BJP), the cult of personality plays a prominent
role to attract workers and voters in their fold. National parties except Communist
parties have seen the role of personalities. Leaders like Balasaheb Thackrey (SS), M.
Karunanidhi (DMK), J. Jayalalitha (AIADMK), Prakash Singh Badal (Akali dal),
Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD), Mayawati (BSP), Mulayam Singh (SP), Chandrababu Naidu
(TDP), K. Chandrashekhara Rao (TRS), Navin Patnaik (BJD) etc. Are the founders
and supreme leaders of their political parties. They are the main face of the party , who
can attract the workers, pull the votes and gather the required finance for the
organization.
5. The Emergence of Regional Parties:
During the first few decades of Independence INC remained a predominant political
party . It was an ‘Umbrella or ganisation’. But after 1965 lot of political parties were
formed in dif ferent parts of the country . A lot of powerful leaders of congress party
have started defecting from INC and floating their political parties. Thus, the INC has
started to become a ‘Banyan’ tree, which emanated leaders and parties from within it.
Secondly , the regional political parties have raised the issue of ‘sons of soil’ cultural,
linguistic and demographic desires of the people also pave the ways for regional political
parties.
6. Lack of Effective Opposition:
The opposition plays very important role in a democratic polity . It has to keep a
check on the day to day functioning of the ruling government. It can always check the
anti-constitutional and anti-people policies and create awareness and mass movement.
However , the political culture of Indian political parties is such that, they do not remain
active after losing the elections or power . As soon as the party is defeated the leaders,
develop apathy towards the public and their issues. Therefore, in Parliaments and
State Assemblies politicians are often found ignoring the interest of the people.
National Political Parties in India :
National Parties in India are the political parties are that are eligible to participate
in the elections in India. Some of the national parties are formed even before the
independence of India. For example, the Indian National Congress (INC) is the
oldest national party in India that was formed in 1885 . After India got freedom,
the British Govt. handed over the administration of India to the leaders of the IndianChapter 2 : Party and Party Politics in India
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24Indian Government And Politics
National Congress. As of now , there are eight national parties in India . A national
party is a registered party that can have a reserved party symbol, free broadcast time
on state-run television and radio related to the party activities or in favour of the party .
The list of National Parties of India:
1.BHARA TIYA JANT A PARTY
2.INDIAN NA TIONAL CONGRESS
3.COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA
4.BAHUJAN SAMAJ P ARTY
5.NATIONALIST CONGRESS P ARTY
6.COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (M)
7.ALL INDIA TRINAMOOL CONGRESS
8.NATIONAL PEOPLES P ARTY
1.Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a national political party founded in 1980 . It
originated from Bharatiya Jana Sangh that was formed in 1951 by Syama Prasad
Mookerjee. After the emer gency of I977 , the Bharatiya Jana Sangh was mer ged with
other parties to form the Janata Party . It remained in power for three years thereafter
the Janata Party was dissolved in 1980 to create the BJP with the members of
the erstwhile Jana Sangh party .
In the first election contested by BJP , its performance was not satisfactory , it managed
to win only 2 Lok Sabha seats. In the next Lok Sabha elections of 1998 , the BJP-led
coalition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is an alliance of centre-right
and right-wing political parties, won the election and formed government for 18
months under Prime Minister Atal Bihari V ajpayee . Again after the fresh
elections in 1999 NDA government came in power headed with Atal Bihari
Vajpayee as Prime Minister who completed the full term of five years . However ,
it remained as the main opposition party for the next ten years. Thereafter , it won the
general elections in 2014 and came in power with Narendra Modi as 15th Prime
Minister of India on 26 May 2014 . The popularity of Narendra Modi increased
tremendously during his tenure and again he was able to become the prime minister of
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25The Election symbol of BJ P and its Significance:
The election symbol of BJP is the Lotus that is approved by the Election
Commission of India. It has many representations such as it indicates a national identity
uphold by the BJP , cultural unity of India, etc. BJP’ s political ideology is defined as
cultural nationalism which means it is adherent to the cultural values of India.
2.The Indian National Congress (INC)
Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 with the support and
guidance of Allan Oct avian Hume , a British civil servant. It is the oldest and first
national party in India that was formed even before India got independence. After
India became a free country in 1947, the British Govt. handed over the administration
of India to Indian National Congress’ s leaders. Its first session was held in Bombay
in 1885 with 72 delegates. After the partition of India, the congress was the lar gest
party to govern India under the leadership of Nehru. After the demise of Nehru, the
party faced some challenges. Nehru’ s daughter Indira Gandhi became the prime
minister of India in 1966 . She didn’t get support from the powerful right-wing
group within the congress. So, in 1969 , the party split into two groups; one was with
Morarji Desai, and the other was with Indira Gandhi.
Congress under the leadership of Indira Gandhi won two elections 1971 national
elections and 1972 state elections but lost the election of 1977 due to her emergency
rule. Thereafter , it returned to power in 1980. Later , after her demise, her son Rajiv
Gandhi held the reins of Congress. After a few years, after the demise of Rajiv Gandhi,
her wife Sonia Gandhi, was elected as head of Congress. Thereafter Congress returned
to power in 2004 with Manmohan Singh of their party as the prime minister of India.
However , in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress suf fered a landslide loss. After a
few years, Rahul Gandhi (son of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi) was elected as party leader .
Election symbol of Indian National Congress (INC) and its
Significance:
The election symbol of INC as approved by the Election Commission of India
is the ’Right Hand’ with the palm facing front . The fingers in the Hand are joined
or touch each other without leaving any gap in between. This symbol was selected by
the Indira Gandhi-led Congress. The previous symbol of the Congress when it
was founded in 1885 was ‘two bullocks with plough’ . The hand symbol was
selected when Indira Gandhi split from the old group to create New Congress. The
symbol of Congress represent s strength, unity and energy .
3.Communist Party of India (CPI)
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is one of the national parties in India.
It follows communist ideology . It is the oldest party in India that began the communist
movement in India that was inspired by the Great October Socialist Revolution in
Russia in 1917 . The youth of CPI wanted to follow the ideal of Marxism for theChapter 2 : Party and Party Politics in India
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26Indian Government And Politics
Indian anti-imperialist struggles and thus to improve the dismal conditions of the
working-class of the country . There is dif ferent information available about its formation.
As per the CPI, their party is founded on 26 December 1925 at the first conference
of the party held in Kanpur . Cawnpore. S.V . Ghate was the first General Secretary
of CPI. However , it started functioning legally in 1942. It addresses the issues of the
workers with the support of trade unions in the country .
Election Symbol of CPI and its Significance:
The symbol of CPI as approved by the election commission of India is ears
of corn and a sickle . The symbol is mostly displayed on a red-coloured flag. The
red colour represents the struggle that symbolizes the communist party . The corn’ s
ears and a sickle shows that the CPI is a party of farmers, labourers, who
work in the fields to earn their living . So, it is linked with the conditions of the
working class, poor , and oppressed in society .
4.Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
Bahujan Samaj Party , which is also known as the BSP , is one of the national or
political parties in India. It was founded by Kanshi Ram in 1984 who was a member
of the Dalit community . The meaning of the word Bahujan is ‘the majority of the
people’ and the meaning of samaj is ‘society’. The ideology of BSP is ’Social
Transformation and Economic Emancipation’ of the Bahujan Samaj that mainly
represents the oppressed sections of the country such as the scheduled tribes, scheduled
castes, other backward classes and religious minorities. Kanshi Ram was inspired by
the ideology and teachings of B.R. Ambedkar . So, it strongly opposed the ‘Manuwadi’
social system practised by upper-caste Hindu communities such as the Brahmins and
the wealthiest sections of the society . In 1993, Mayawati succeeded Kanshi Ram
and became BSP’ s president. Mayawati became the chief minister of UP four times
before losing the seat to the Samajwadi party in 2012.
Election Symbol of BSP and its Significance:
The election symbol of BSP as approved by the Election Commission of India
is an Elephant that faces left. The significance of this symbol is that it represents
will power and physical strength . This animal is also very peaceful. The symbol
tells that the lower-caste and minorities in society are also very large in number and
have the physical and mental strength to fight and struggle against upper-caste and
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275.Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
Nationalist Congress Party was founded on 25th May 1999 . The founding
members of NCP include Sharad Pawar , P.A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar . These three
politicians were expelled from the Indian National Congress after they strongly opposed
the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi from becoming the leader of the INC. Sharad Pawar ,
P.A. Sangma and T ariq Anwar came together to form a new party under the name
of Nationalist Congress Party or NCP . They and their supports joined hands together
and met at Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Road, New Delhi to form NCP . This event is
known as the Red Letter Day of the country . In this meeting, Sharad Pawar was
elected as the President of the NCP and the other two leaders Tariq Anwar and P .A.
Sangma became the General Secretaries. Thereafter , the Election Commission of India
recognized the NCP as a National Party . NCP believes that for the integrity of India
federalism should be strengthened and power should be dispersed up to the village
level to empower the weaker sections of the society . It believes that economic
development should lead to non-discrimination and social justice. Besides this, NCP
also opposes the authorit arian type of functioning of the parties . Although it is
mainly based in Maharashtra, it has also gained importance in the states of Gujarat,
Bihar , Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, etc.
Election Symbol of NCP and its Significance:
The election symbol of NCP is an analogue clock which of blue colour
and reads 10:10 . It has an alarm button and two legs. It is drawn on a tri-colour
Indian flag. The symbol of NCP indicates that the party always keep fighting for its
principles and will always speak on behalf of the common men of India. So, its symbol
adheres to the values of great Indian leaders who fought for the freedom of India.
6. Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is a national party in India. It was
founded in 1964 . The founding members of CPI (M) include M.N. Roy , Evelyn
Trent Roy , Abani Mukherjee, Mohammad Siddiqui and Mohammad Ali. It is popularly
known as CPIM . It is formed when a group of members of the Communist Party of
India (CPI) left the CPI to form CPIM. It is a left-wing political party that follows
communist political ideology as well as is inspired by the writings of Marx and
Lenin and supports and promotes social justice, classless society , and social equality .
As per the claims of this party , it is a national or political party of the working classes
of India that stands and fights for the welfare and issues of workers, farmers, agriculture,
etc. The mass base of the party comes mainly from T ripura, West Bengal and
Kerala . CPIM leads the Left Front alliance and works on the principles ofChapter 2 : Party and Party Politics in India
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28Indian Government And Politics
‘Democratic Centralism’ . It follows a pyramidal hierarchical structure that is headed
by the Polit Bureau, which takes all major decisions. It is not easy to become a member
of the CPIM. To become it s ground-level member , one has to t ake the regular
classes about the teachings of Marx and Lenin of fered by the party .
The election symbol of CPIM and its significance:
The election symbol of CPIM as approved by the Election Commission of
India is a hammer and a sickle that intersect each other . It is usually shown on a
red-coloured flag as a background. Red colour indicates the struggle. The intersecting
tools show that it is a party of the peasants, labourers who earn their living by
working in fields . It also represents the struggle against the exploitation of oppressed
sections of the societies by the upper classes of the society .
7. All India Trinamool Congr ess (AITC)
All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) is a national political party in India founded
in 1988 by Mamat a Banerjee . It is popularly known as the Trinamool Congress or
AITMC. It came into power when it defeated the Communist Party of India
(Marxist) or CPIM in the 201 1 Vidhan Sabha elections held in West Bengal,
India . AITC is the creation of Mamata Banerjee. It originated from Indian National
Congress when Mamata Banerjee left the Congress after being its member for almost
20 years. She left Congress and formed her party in 1998 . In 1999, AITMC went
into an alliance with the BJP in the NDA alliance at the Centre. In the general elections
of 2009, the AITMC went into alliance with Congress in the UP A union. Later due to
differences with Congress-led UP A, it joined hands with the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government in Sept. 2012. As of now , the AITC is one of the lar gest political
party in the Lok Sabha with nineteen seats. It has a strong presence not only in the
state of West Bengal but also in other states like Manipur , Tripura, and Arunachal
Pradesh. In these states, it has a significant number of seats in the Vidhan Sabha of
these states.
Election Symbol of AITC and its Significance:
The election symbol of AITMC as approved by the Election Commission of
India is the ’twin flowers in the grass. ’ There is a popular term in West Bengal for
this symbol which is Jora Ghas Phul which means grass and two flowers. The symbol
has three colours same as the tricolour Indian flag. The slogan of the party ‘Ma
Maati Manush’ (Mother Motherland and People) also shows the significance of the
party symbol. The flowers in the symbol represent the support of the party for the
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298. National People’ s Par ty
National People’ s Party is a national political party in India. However , it has a
strong presence mainly in the state of Meghalaya. It was founded by P A Sangma in
2013 after he was expelled from the NCP in 2012. It was accorded the status of a
national party on 07 June 2019 after it was recognized as a state party in the
states of Manipur , Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. It is also the first
party from North-eastern India that became a national political party . After founding
the National People’ s Party , P. A. Sangma declared that this party will be the part of
the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under the leadership of Bharatiya Janta Party .
It comprises political parties of the northeast that supported the NDA. In December
2013, NPP participated in the assembly election of Rajasthan led by Kirodi Lal
Meena a former BJP MP and won 4 seats. However , when NPP was not able to
provide its expenditure during Lok Sabha Elections, it was suspended by the election
commission in 2015.
Election Symbol of NPP and its Significance:
The election symbol of NPP as approved by the election commission is a book .
It signifies that the weaker sections of the societies can be empowered only through
education and literacy .
Role of Regional party:
In India, regional parties have been coming up at regular intervals playing
different roles in the country’ s parliamentary democracy . Some parties like the
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference were
even founded before the country gained independence in 1947. But most other parties
came into existence after the country attained freedom.
The growth of state parties, which fall broadly under the rubric of regional
parties, picked up particularly after 1967 when the hold of the Indian National
Congress, which had spearheaded the freedom struggle, over the country’ s electorate
began to weaken.There are about four dozen recognised state parties and about two
dozen more which are not yet recognised by the Election Commission of India. At
present, some of them are ruling in their respective states and others are waiting for
their turn to come to power .
Regional parties have challenged the national parties, gathering popular electoral
support, exploiting the national parties’ neglect of the political and economic interests
of the region or even the state. One of the oldest regional parties, the Shiromani Akali
Dal was established in 1920 by the religious organisation Shiromani GurudwaraChapter 2 : Party and Party Politics in India
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30Indian Government And Politics
Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) to be the principal representative of Sikhs in undivided
Punjab during the British rule.
At present, regional parties are ruling, either on their own or in alliance with a
national party or with other parties, in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar , Delhi, Jammu
& Kashmir , Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkam, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh
and West Bengal. A major trait of all these parties is that they are controlled and
driven by one leader whose writ runs large in party affairs and whose command cannot
be challenged. In short, they are controlled by a single leader and his or her confidantes.
Immediate family members and relatives invariably wield considerable clout in these
parties. Even parties, which justified their respective existence on some ideological
grounds, have been converted into individual fiefdoms or self-interest preserving outfits
with the passage of times. Therefore, the longevity of such parties, under normal
circumstances, should be closely linked with the life span of their respective leaders.
Another dimension of the regional outfits is that family members, close relatives and
friends run the affairs of the party and one of them inherits the legacy of that leader
either in his or her times or after he or she passes away .
Recently , the Samajwadi Party (SP) has been in news because of a long
simmering feud between the supreme leader and his son which broke-out into open.
Therefore, it is interesting to study closely the SP to understand the trajectory of the
regional parties and their future. The SP has been ruling the biggest state of the Indian
Union since 2012 and had-been in power in the state for about a decade since it was
founded in 1992. It had also shared power at the Centre. The party was founded by
the three times Uttar Pradesh chief minister and former Defence Minister in the
government of India, Mulayam Singh Yadav, after he broke away from the Janata Dal.
Mulayam’ s political clout phenomenally grew after the acceptance and implementation
of the Mandal Commission report in the early nineties of the last century which overtly
strengthened the role of identity politics in north India.
Coalition Government :
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties
cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no
single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election. A coalition government
might also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis (for example, during
wartime or economic crisis) to, give a government the high degree of perceived political
legitimacy or collective identity , it can also play a role in diminishing internal political
strife. In such times, parties have formed all-party coalitions ( national unity
governments , grand coalitions ). If a coalition collapses, a confidence vote is held or
a motion of no confidence is taken.munotes.in
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31When a general elec tion does not produce a clear majority for a single party ,
parties either form coalition cabinets, supported by a parliamentary majority , or minority
cabinets which may consist of one or more parties. Cabinets based on a group of
parties that command a majority in parliament tend to be more stable and long-lived
than minority cabinets. While the former is prone to internal struggles, they have less
reason to fear votes of no confidence. Majority governments based on a single party
are typically even more stable, as long as their majority can be maintained.
Electoral Process :
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative
democracy has operated since the 17th century . Elections may fill of fices in
the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary , and for regional and local
government regional and local government. This process is also used in many other
private and business organizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and
corporations. The universal use of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in
modern representative democracies is in contrast with the practice in the democratic
archetype , ancient Athens , where the Elections were not used were considered an
oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled using sortition, also known
as allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot.
Electoral reforms describe the process of introducing fair electoral systems
where they are not in place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing
systems. Psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections
(especially to predic future results). The Election is the fact of electing or being elected.
Conclusion :
Many political parties function in a democracy . The aim and functions of the
party are to grab the political power . They try to implement their ideology or agenda
while ruling the government. India is a multi party democracy , where political parties
have evolved in a lar ge number . However , due to a lack of sincerity and honesty from
the political parties, the people and government face a tough time. Sometimes these
leaders get elected on one parties ticket they change the side and join the other party .
This is dishonesty with the electorate. However , the democratic roots in India have
been nurtured by the same p olitical parties.Chapter 2 : Party and Party Politics in India
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32Indian Government And Politics
Questions for Exercise
1. What is the meaning and role of a party in democracy?
2. Explain the ideological orientations of political parties.
3. What are the main characteristic of parties in India ?
References :
l Bille, Lars. ‘Democratizing a Democratic Procedures: Myth or Reality’, Party
Politics, 7 (3): 363-80. 2001.
l Brass, P . ‘Ethnic Conflict in Multi-ethnic Societies: The convocational Solution
and its Critics’, in P .Brass, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Theory and Comparison.
l Kothari, Rajani (1964) : Congress System in India, Asian Survey , Vl. 4, no. 12
(Dec. 1964), pp 1-18.
l Late Gokhale, Political Science, Himalaya Publishing House
Myron Weiner , Party-Building in a New Nation: Indian National
Congr ess (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967).
l Paul R. Brass, The Politics of India since Independence (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1994).
l Paul R. Brass, “Democracy and Political Participation in India,” in Myron L.
Cohen, ed., Asia: Case S tudies in the Social Sciences: A Guide for T eaching (New
York: M.E. Sharpe, 1992).
l Ram Chandra Pradhan, Raj to Swaraj, MacMillan
l Roshen Dalal, History of India, Puffin Books.
l Utpal Roy: Introduction to Politics, Calcutta Book House
l Vikaspedia : Law for Political Parties, www .vikaspedia.in accessed on 4/9/2019
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333
CLASS, CASTE, TRIBE AND GENDER
THE CHANGING CLASS RELA TIONS
Objectives
Study of this unit enables you to:
lExplain the meaning, nature and definition of the class system in India
lUnderstand the historical background and growth of the class system
lDiscuss classes in rural and urban India in detail.
lExplain the changing dimension of the class system in India
Chapter Scheme
1. Introduction
2. Historical Evolution of Class
3. Meaning and Definition of Class
4. Social Classes in India
4.1. Caste as Class
4.2. Socio-Cultural Class
4.3. Globalisation and Class
5. Conclusion
Introduction
‘These ar e times of most extraor dinar y inequalities. Extr eme wealth and
power ar e concentrated in the hands of capitalist or ganisations and
individuals like Bill Gates, whose “net worth” of $50 billion in 2009 was
greater than the GDP o f 1 4 0 c o u n t r i e s ( B l a n k f e l d , 2 0 0 9 ) , w h i l e –
accor ding to the (now former) UN Special Rappor teur on the Right to
Food, Jean Ziegler (Ziegler , 2007) – 36 million people died fr om hunger
and malnutrition in 2006 alone! This radical injustice magnifies the same
fundamental, global capitalist class dynamics which operate in Britain’
(Jakopovich: 2, 2014).munotes.in
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34Indian Government And Politics
The concept of class connotes the status of an individual or group in a given
social, cultural or economic life. The power relations in society are largely determined
by the class of a person or group belongs to. Thus, the sense of belonging germinates,
strengthens and expands the class based feelings of the people. The class factor mainly ,
decides the allocations of values, goods and fortunes in the society . Though, class is a
western concept, that indicating the division of society on the grounds of wealth (rich
and poor). The major question that, this chapter deals with is, ‘can political equality
meaningfully exist and survive, bereft of economic equality?’.
According to Aristotle, ‘the majority of citizens should be of “middling
wealth”, so that political equality could not be undermined by economic in
equality .’ (Robinson: 25, 2003). But, it is dif ficult to be in agreement with the class
character of the Greek city state, wherein Aristotle had justified the slavery by calling
it a ‘natural trait of human society’. the modern political philosophy does not endorse
Aristotle’ s views. Class is not or ganic. It is artificial because, it is born and grows on
the lines of control over wealth, power and position in human society . Which is nurtured
by immoral value judgments. Thus the question arises, ‘Can human nature be
‘value-free?’. Greek Sophist Glaucon’ s views of society lead towards creation of
institutions that recognizes the class character of the society . According to Glaucon,
‘societies exist only because human behaviour has always to be restrained by law .’
(Robinson: 14, 2003). Plato was a communitarian and his ideal society is like a
harmonious beehive in which everybody knows their role, and this is what ‘justice’ or
‘behaving as you should; is all about. This view though allows the class division to
exist but imposes genuine restrictions on human action towards others. Thus class
factor also raises questions on wealth, ‘Is property a prime cause of injustice in society?’
I.Historical Evolution
The term class become popular in 19th century , as a representation of rank
and order to describe the hierarchical groupings in society . Its roots go back as far as
in ancient Greek civilization. Greek philosopher Plato had explained the idea of
communism in his book ‘Republic’ (360 B.C.). During the medieval era the Utopian
ideas of Thomas More (16th century) drew attentions as they imagined. More in his
‘Utopia’ talked bout an imaginary island where money has been abolished and people
live and work communally . It was a dream of a classless society . It emer ged as a
reflection of changing social and economic structure in the Industrial capitalist model
of economy . During 18th century , the scientific inventions led industrial progress has
changed the pattern of production and engagement of people in economic activities.
The feudal society that was divided into lord and subjects, got restructured into capitalist
and workers classes.
The term class first came into wide use in the early 19th century , replacing
such terms as rank and order as descriptions of the major hierarchical groupings in
society . This usage reflected changes in the structure of western European societies
after the industrial and political revolutions of the late the 18th century . Feudalmunotes.in
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35distinctions of rank were declining in importance, and the new social groups that were
developing-the commercial and industrial capitalists and the urban working class in
the new factories-were defined mainly in economic terms, either by the ownership of
capital or , conversely , by dependence on wages. Although the term class has been
applied to social groups in a wide range of societies, including ancient city-states,
early empires, and caste or feudal societies, it is most usefully confined to the social
divisions in modern societies, particularly industrialized ones. Social classes must be
distinguished from status groups; the former is based primarily upon economic interests,
while the latter are constituted by evaluations of the honour or prestige of an occupation,
cultural position, or family descent (Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia : 2019).
II. Meaning and Evolution
Class in human society are gradual formations. As per natural rights theories,
Mixing one’ s labour with land gives the right to own it. But in most of the human
society , landless majority rare those who mix their labour with land an remain landless
class. It happens because, the clever men in the ‘state of nature’ had purposely instigated
fear, violence and chaos to germinate a sense of obedience and legitimize the class
character of the society . Class theory can be understood with aforesaid definitions.
‘The clash between those who claim class is still important and those who
claim it is decreasing in importance is sometimes actually a result of strongly differing
definitions of what the term “class” is supposed to denote. Although various fashionable
newer theorists (Beck, 1992; Casey , 1995; Pakulski and Waters, 1996 etc.), as well
as some post- and neo-Marxists – notably E.P . Thompson (Thompson, 1966) –
analyse (or even define) ‘’class’ ’ as essentially subjective identification and action, or
deny that there is any validity in methodologies which distinguish between structure
and action (Poulantzas, 1978), , and a class conscious, organized “class for itself”.
This distinction between class membership vs. class awareness and class-based
collective organization, or (to put it differently) between structural “class determination”
and politicoideological, subjective “class position”, also accepted by many non-Marxists
including Max Weber (Giddens, 1973) and C.W . Mills (Mills, 1962), seems necessary
if the objective, non-voluntarily approach to social theory is to be preserved.’
(Jakopovich, Daniel : 8, ý2014)
Marx in The Poverty of Philosophy ([1847] 1955), distinguish between a “class
in itself”, the objectively existing mass that is “already a class in opposition to capital”
(Marx, 1955, 195). Marx’ s definition of class is also problematic about its relation to
the state, fragmentary and confused. It’ s not always clear if the state arse because is
of class division or is the cause of it. Not everyone can be neatly catalogued as a
member of one specific class, and not all classes are always economically and politically
unequal. Because a stateless and classless society is not possible to run.Chapter 3 : Class, Caste, Tribe and Gender the changing class relations
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III. Social Classes in India
India is a multicultural society . The diversity of all kind existing across the
world finds a place in this civilization. It is not easy to pin pointedly make distinctions
of class-based identities because they are multi-layered. Also, one type of class identity
easily overlaps or transcends the other . Besides, we need to keep in mind the fact
that, Indian social classes are not identical to those of western class structure, which
is largely influenced by economic factors. Thus, the class structure, its hierarchy and
patterns of stratification are inspired by a mixture of factors. For example, it is very
easy to say that, people belonging to the upper caste may be easily located in the
upper economic class as well. But similar generalization is not possible with the lower
caste or the dalits. Because the socio-cultural identity plays important role in the
economic progress of an individual or community .
That is why caste-based backwardness, is easily identified with the economic
status of the person. Even, there is no unanimity among sociologists regarding the
classification of the class system in India. Sorokin (1927) has given a three-fold
classification of classes, such as social division based on economic, political and
occupational criteria. Warner and Lunt (1959) have given a six-fold classification
comprising. T.B. Bottomore has advanced a four -fold division of social classes, such
as the upper class, the middle class, the working class and the peasantry .
1.Caste as Class:
Indian society is a blend of all four classes. It has a caste based-class being
four-fold system, which is termed as Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. Besides,
there was a category that lived under financial, social and political mar ginality . The
caste hierarchy would by and large, determine the class of a person. The wealth and
land would be primarily owned by the upper castes. The so called lower castes and
Dalits would be engaged workers (sometimes under forced labour). Thus, the rich
owner and poor labour relation were caste laden. According to Professor Gopal
Guru, ‘...in times of globalisation, categories such as caste and class ar e
under going radical change both in terms of their essence and existence. …For
example, working classes ar e now described as working masses and labour is
referred to as footloose labour or labouring poor (Guru, Gopal: 2016). ’
2.Socio-Cultural S tatus as Class:
Bourdieu’ s theory of ‘Social Class’ can be understood as the attempt to avoid
the short circuit of economic conditions and utilitarian rationality (Joppke: 1986). The
cultural distinctions in society lead to ‘symbolic struggle’ to prevail upon other social
groups and culture. Indian diversity presents a distinct class system that is deeply
rooted in cultural life. When this cultural identity is under the influence of a sense of
superiority upon others, it leads to direct conflict, exclusion and discrimination. The
competitive nature of culture leads to the formation of ghettos in society . For example,
many housing societies and areas do not welcome the members of ‘other ’ culture,
language, religion or food practices. Though, it is constitutionally prohibited but practisedmunotes.in
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37unofficially and diligently . It creates a class apart in society . The members of such a
community feel proud to exclude ‘others’.
3. Economic S tatus as Class:
Karl Marx’ s classification of society in two clear groups was ‘have’ and ‘have
not’ was a revolutionary analysis of the widening gap between the rich and poor in the
society . The economic classes in the society are primarily based upon the control over
natural resources like land, water , forest and man-made wealth like industry and
services. Due to this control, a handful of people live in affluence, while plenty of poor
toils and suf fer. In an article published in Hindustan Times in 2019, Swati Ramanathan
and Ramesh Ramanathan gave a detailed analysis and presented facts of the Indian
class system based on economic status.
‘Ther e are five middle classes in India: Rural Middle Class, Public Sector
Middle Class, Urban Private Sector Middle Class, T rader Middle Class and Rising
Middle Class. This may sound technical, but in the r eal world, the differ ence
between a mid-level bur eaucrat and a senior manager in a private firm, is all
too obvious. How big ar e these middle classes? Accor ding to our calculations,
they accounted for ar ound 33% of India’ s population in 2014 (we used the
National Electoral Survey (NES) conducted by CSDS/Lokniti for the years 1999,
2004, 2009 and 2014, summarized in T able 2).
Given that the pr opor tion is up fr om 1 1.7% in 1999, the cur rent size of
India’ s middle classes could be 40% of the population. Inter estingly , contrar y to
the per ception that India’ s middle class is primarily urban, the Rural Middle
Class at 13.7%, is the single lar gest categor y. Adding T rader middle class- Rural,
and Rising middle class – Rural, the overall size of Rural middle classes is 2/3r d
of India’ s total middle class. Essentially , ther e is no differ ence between the Rural-
Urban distribution of India’ s middle class and the r ural-urban distribution of
the overall population. Rural India’ s economic demographic is no differ ent fr om
Urban India’ s’
4. Impact of Globalization and Class:
Globalization is a process, that brought the world together . It has connected the
goods, services, cultures, people more ef fectively . It has significantly altered or
completely changed the class structure in India. The economic liberalization has paved
the ways for multinational corporations (MNCs), International NGOs (INGOs) like
Rotary , Lions club, Criminal syndicates like Terrorism, Narcotics, human traf ficking
gangs etc. It has brought in changes in lifestyle, fashion, food and ideas. The information
and communication technology (ICT) driven people to people connectivity has been
making physical distance and borders irrelevant. Therefore, technology is creating a
new class in Indian society , which can be divided as ‘Those having access to
technology’ and ‘those who do not’. It is also important to understand that forces of
globalisation have diluted the class and caste character of Indian society . Increasing
privatisation has reduced government employment opportunities, which is creating aChapter 3 : Class, Caste, Tribe and Gender the changing class relations
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38Indian Government And Politics
new class. The privatisation in health and education sectors, reducing land share due
to multiple divisions has no doubt promoted democratisation and open competition.
But it is also promoting economic inequality .
Conclusion :
To conclude, the discussion we can say that the class character and structure
of Indian society is complex. It does not reflect the western notion of class as it is.
Therefore, while understanding the class factor in Indian society we need to be very
careful about its multiple layers and stratification emerging from caste, religion, region,
language, culture, tradition, economic status, employment patterns, ownership of
wealth etc.
Also, we need to understand the impact of external invaders from the Islamic
and Christian worlds, who brought a different set of the idea, pattern, culture and way
of life. It had added several new dimensions to the class system in India. During
British Rule Class Formation in India was largely based on ‘economic condition’.
however , in post-independent India, the class system has grown in the form of
Rich- Middle Class-Lower class, Urban-Rural, Educated-Illiterate, Elites and
non-elites.
Questions for Exercise
1. Explain the concept and nature the Class system in Indian society?
2. What are the main types of class system?
3. Elaborate on the Indian class system?
References
lBritannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Social class”. Encyclopedia
Britannica, 20 Sep. 2019, https://www .britannica.com/topic/social-class.
Accessed 2 February 2021.
lDave, Robinson (2003): Introducing Political Philosophy , Icon books UK.
Giddens, A., The Class S tructure of the Advanced Societies, Hutchinson, London,
1973
lGuru, Gopal (2016) Caste and Class, Economic and Political Weekly , Vol. 51,
Issue No. 47, 19 Nov , 2016
lGlenn Kessler , “What is socialism?” Washington Post , March 5, 2019.
lHistory .com Editors (2019) Socialism, HIST ORY https://www .history .com/
topics/industrial-revolution/socialism , A&E Television Networks, last updated,
October 17, 2019, Original Published Date, October 10, 2019, Access Date,
February 2, 2021,munotes.in
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39lJakopovich, Daniel (2014): ‘The Concept of Class’ Cambridge Studies in Social,
p. 2, Research No. 14, SSRG Publications, 2014.
l Joppke, C. (1986). The Cultural Dimensions Of Class Formation And Class
Struggle: On The Social Theory Of Pierre Bourdieu. Berkeley Journal of
Sociology , 31, 53-78. Retrieved February 6, 2021, from http://www .jstor .org/
stable/41035374 Marx, K. (1847): , The Poverty of Philosophy , Progress
Publishing, Moscow , [1847] 1955, p 195.
lPablo Gilabert and Martin O’Neill, “Socialism.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy . Fall 2019 Edition, Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
lPakulski, J. and Waters, M., The Death of Class, Sage, London, 1996
lPeter Lamb, Historical Dictionary of Socialism (Rowman and Littlefield,2016)
lPoulantzas, N., Classes in Contemporary Capitalism, Verso, London, 1978
lSorokin, P . (1927) Social Mobility , New York: Harper & Brothers.
lSwati Ramanathan and Ramesh Ramanathan (2019) Many Layers Within India’ s
Middle Class’ Story published in Hindustan Times, New Delhi Updated on Apr
16, 2019 08:55 AM IST , Accessed on February 6, 2021, 1 1:32am14.W arner ,
W. L. and Lunt, P . (1959a) [1941] The Social Life of a Modern Community ,
New Haven: Yale University Press.
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4
CASTE AND POLITICS: UPPER CAST ,
DALIT AND OBC
Objectives
After studying this chapter the learners should be able to:
lUnderstand the origin and evolution of the caste system
lExplain the role of caste in Indian politics at various levels
lCaste groups as a source of assertion and aggregation of political demands
lDescribe the concerns and demands of upper caste, the dalit and OBC
communities
lShould be able to understand the idea and provisions of Reservation
lUnderstand the role of caste in Indian politics.
Chapter Scheme
I.Introduction
II. Meaning and Definition
III. Nature
IV.Theories of Evolution of Caste system
V. Characteristics of the Caste system
VI. Caste based reservation and Constitution
VII. Role of Caste in Indian Politics
VIII. Conclusion
I.Introduction
The post –V edic Indian social and cultural system was predominantly described,
justified and criticized in Aryans and non- Aryans debate. It provided an ill-conceived
social order in the Hindu society divided into the lines of Chaturvarna (four castes)munotes.in
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41system, namely Brahmins, Kshatriyas, V aishyas and Shudras with the untouchables
who were completely denied of any social or cultural space. It is said that Aryans who
came from outside India, were responsible for this. Eminent sociologist G .S. Ghurey
wrote, “They do, however , contain the first mention and a continuous histor y of
the factors that make up the caste system” (Ghurye: 1969, 162-63).Though, earlier ,
it was the division of labour , where one’ s skills and ef fort would determine, one’ s
status in the society . The contemporary nature of caste is more implied to notion;
attitudes, practices, relations and system build around otherisation.
Caste plays a very important role in Indian politics. Caste based voting pattern causes
political parties to maintain a balance in representation of castes at various levels.
Like party posts and positions, distributions of tickets and formation of ministries are
done keeping caste equations in mind. The Caste based voting is one of the most
effective patterns in Assembly (V idhansabha) and local (Panchayat and Municipal)
elections. Nevertheless, it is significant in general elections (Lok Sabha) as well. In
modern times the caste factor has become a very hot currency as well as a sensitive
matter to handle. Because, caste-based discrimination, conflict, atrocities,
backwardness still exists in society . Indian constitution provides for detailed provisions
of reservation to the socio-educationally backward sections of the society . It also
provides the reservation to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities.
In the recent past, the country has seen a rise of caste based assertion with of dominant
castes, including Jat, Gujjar , Lingayats, Reddy , Thakur and Maratha demanding
reservation. This has started a new debate on the need and criterion of award of
caste-based reservation. Because of this nationwide development, the Union
Government in 2019 made the law giving 10 % reservation to the economically
backward section of citizens.
II. Meaning and Definition
Meaning:
The word caste comes from ‘Casta’ a Portuguese word, which means a difference in
birth or race. It is based on ‘V arna system. It was indicative of a group of people or
clan living together , sharing cultural values and mostly pursuing the same occupation in
the society . This system was completely free of social hierarchy because social relations
were not tied up with profession, though the cultural hierarchy did exist. But, as the
society evolved, and the accumulation of sources of production and wealth started
gaining importance in the society , the ‘noble beast’ of Rousseau, turned into a selfish,Chapter 4 : Caste and Politics :Upper Caste, Dalit and OBC
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42Indian Government And Politics
greedy and cunning human being. Thus caste in India has become a medium to
determine once place and status in the society by birth. Therefore, the idea of caste
and casteism cannot be dissociated. Because it helps monopolisation and
hegemonisation over power and resources, what Balmurali suggests is an outcome of
heterophobia and heterophilia. (Natrajan: 2012, xviii)
Noted scholar Balmurali Natrajan as: heter ophobia- a psycho-social fear of
differ ences- which in turn could take on differ ent forms such as seeking the
annihilation of the bodies that embody the differ ences. It could also be a form of
heter ophilia-a pr eference or Bour dieuian “taste” for differ ences; an acquir ed
disposition to differ entiate and appr eciate…[that] ensur es recognition without
implying knowledge of distinctive featur es which define it.” (Natrajan: 2012, xvi)
Definition :
Mazumdar & Madan – ‘Caste is a closed class’ i.e. class refers to people based on
property , business, occupation i.e. one can’ t change his own caste system but can
change the class system and can be a member of many classes at the same time’.
Merriam Webster Dictionar y, ‘One of the hereditary social classes in Hinduism
that restrict the occupation of their members and their association with the members
of other castes’.
Herbert Kisley – “Caste is a collection of families or group of families bearing a
common name which usually denotes or is associated with specific occupation, claiming
descent from a mythical ancestor , human or divine, professing to follow the same
heredity callings & regarded by those who are competent to give an opinion as forming
a single homogeneous community .”
Charles Coole, ‘When a class is somewhat strictly hereditary , we may call it a caste’.
Ketkar , in his book “History of caste in India’ ‘Caste is a social group having two
characteristics (a) membership is confined to those who are born of members &
includes all persons no born (b) the members are forbidden by an inexorable social
law to marry outside the group.’
E. Blunt, ‘ Caste is an endogamous group bearing a common name, membership of
which is hereditary , imposing on its members certain restrictions in the matter of social
intercourse, either following a common traditional occupation a claiming a common
origin & generally regarded as forming a single homogeneous community’.
M N Srinivas, first defined the term ‘dominant caste’ to refer to the caste in the village
which is numerically strong and also wields the greatest economic and political power .munotes.in
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43III. Nature of Caste System :
This system was completely free of social hierarchy because social relations
were not tied up with one’ s profession, though the cultural hierarchy did exist. But, as
the society evolved, and the accumulation of sources of production and wealth started
gaining importance in the society , the ‘noble beast’ of Rousseau, turned into a selfish,
greedy and cunning human being. Thus caste in India has become a medium to
determine once place and status in the society by birth. Therefore, the idea of caste
and casteism cannot be dissociated. Because it helps monopolisation and
hegemonisation over power and resources, what Balmurali suggests as an outcome of
heterophobia and heterophilia (Natrajan: 2012, xviii).
But such a pattern of socio- economic determination can be called a breach of
‘social contract’. As the ‘theory of social contract’ propagated by Hobbes, Locke
and Rousseau is based upon the circumstances created by ‘human nature’ that resulted
into, ‘end of solitar y’ life and formation of the community , the S tate and the Laws to
provide equal protection and happiness. It is aptly explained by Amartya Sen, while
quoting the Aristotelian idea of ‘life’ and Adam smith’ s notion of ‘deprivation’ in his
seminal work on ‘Social Exclusion’.
IV.Origin and Development
The caste system is one of the oldest social systems in India. Various theories
have been advanced to explain its origin and development in the various stages of
human society . We can understand the origin and development of the caste system in
India with the help of the following theories:
1. Traditional Theor y :
Vedas, mainly Rig Veda’s Purusha Sukta , Mahabharat, Bhagvat Geeta,
Upanishad, Manu Smniti are the oldest available literary sources, in which reference
to chatur varna (four castes) system finds mention. According to this theory lord
Bramha created the four castes from parts of his body (though it is highly contested
and criticized). The socio-cultural statu s and position were fixed accordingly . Birth
and Karma (deeds) were considered as the factor to divide the society .
The occupational division was also determined on the grounds of birth in a particular
caste group.Chapter 4 : Caste and Politics :Upper Caste, Dalit and OBC
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2. Religious theory :
According to this theory the caste system originated and developed due to the
wanting of religious mandates. In ancient India religion played a very important role in
the life of individual and society . The right and wrong, just and unjust were decided
based religious vir tues and morality . The Brahmins were entrusted with the job of
learning the scriptures, performing the rituals and leading the community in religious
spiritual matters. Kshatriyas were given the responsibility of protecting and administering
the clan. Managing the distribution of resources. Vaishyas would look after the
agriculture, animal husbandry , trade and commerce in the clan. Whereas, shudras
were given the responsibility of serving through their Manuel labour . Lord Krishna
speaks to Arjuna as he clarifies the origin and purpose of the caste system in sanatana
dharma: (Bhagavad
Gita, Chapter 4, Shloka 13). I created mankind in four classes, differ ent in their
qualities and actions; though unchanging, I am the agent of this, the actor who
never acts. He emphasis on guna (aptitude) and karma (function) and not on
jati (birth).
The varna or the order to which we belong is independent of sex, birth or
breeding. Varna is determined by temperament and vocation - not by bir th or
heredity . According to the Mahabharata, the whole world was original of one class
but later it became divided into four divisions on account of the specific duties.
Even the distinction between caste and outcaste is artificial and unspiritual. An
ancient verse points out that the Brahmin and the outcaste are blood brothers.
In the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira says that it is dif ficult to find out the cast of
persons on account of the mixture of castes. Men beget offspring in all sorts of women.
So conduct is the only determining feature of caste. It finds mention in the words
of sages. It was depended upon their requisite qualifications and ability . This content
can be proved by the following verse of the Rig Veda: ‘I am a poet, my father is a
physician and my mother grinds corn on stone. Being engaged in different
occupations, we seek wealth and happiness as cows seek food in different
pastures’ (Sharma: 1996, 99).
However , with the changing time and need of the society , the selfish and cunning
people made birth as the basis to determine once caste and status, that paved the
ways for enormous cruelty upon innocent shudra caste. They were denied of basic
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453. Political theory:
As per Abbe Dubois, originated due to the supremacy of Brahmins-the
Brahmanism, theory . To maintain their superiority dif ferent castes & sub-castes came
into being. Famous Indian sociologist Dr . G. S. Ghuray says, ‘Caste is the Brahmin
child of the Indo-Ar yan cultur e, cradled in the Ganges & Y amuna & then
transfer red in other par ts of the countr y’. (Ghurey: 1969). The rigidity of caste
system helped the privileged classes especially Brahmins, Khatriyas and Vaishyas to
control the political and economic power and its sources. However , the numerical
strength of Shudra and untouchables has always been greater than, upper castes. In
that case, the caste system would be manipulated to deny the sudras from political
power or become ak ruling class.
4. Occupational Theory:
According to M. N. Srinivas, ‘Caste is nothing more than ‘systematization of
occupational differentiation’. The hierarchy was internalised according to occupation.
As the children of a priest would be a priest, son of the king would be the king, son of
goldsmith would be a goldsmith so on and so forth. It is also noteworthy that the
society was patriarchal, hence women were denied rights into public life and wealth.
The higher the occupation, the higher the position and status of a person or group in
the society . The idea of dignity was closely attached with the occupation of the person.
However , in modern times, the forces of globalisation and privatisation have broken
this taboo away . Now anyone can pursue a career of their choice, a business they
interest in, an occupation they want to and a skill they wish to acquire. This has diluted
the occupational effects of the caste to a great extent. The public life is mostly becoming
free of caste effects.
V. Characteristics of the Caste System
There is no unanimity about origin, effects and current role of caste in Indian
society . However , to do away with the negative ef fects of caste, it is necessary to
understand the basic characteristics of the caste system. The system of caste
exists across South Asia. Indian, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka as
a part of society . It is based on birth, hence all form social mobility was denied. As Dr .
B. R. Amebedkar regarded it to be, ‘ a multi storied building without a stair case.’
it is not possible for anyone to change the caste they are born in. Thus, social
stratification is very rigid. The following characteristics helps us to understand it:Chapter 4 : Caste and Politics :Upper Caste, Dalit and OBC
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1. Endogamy & exogamy:
Endogamy means ‘marrying within their caste fold’ and Exogamy refers to
‘marrying outside caste fold’. It is shielding the caste system. People still prefer marrying
within own caste fold only . Inter caste marriages are not encouraged. Even sometimes
the inter caste marriage is opposed very strongly . The reports of killing and torture of
couples of inter - caste marriage appear frequently in media. Therefore, any reform or
destruction of caste system is not possible, till inter -caste marriage is not accepted by
society . According to Westermarck, ‘ Restriction on mar riage Endogamy &
Exogamy ar e the essence of the caste system. ‘Endogamy their one’ s own caste
or sub-caste. Exogamy –same caste but not same clean i.e. Gotra’ . sometimes,
inter- caste marriages results into honour killing as well. For Example Khap Panchayats
prohibition on marriage within clan or gotra.
2. Social Hierarchy:
The caste system is based upon graded social hierarchy . It is divided into four
caste fold system, termed as Brahmins, Kshatriyas, V aishyas and Shudras . Whereas
the Brahmins are place at the tip of pyramid, followed by Kshatiyas and Vaishyas.
The Shudras and Dalits were placed at the bottom of the pyramid. The effort of
upward mobility is regarded as ‘ sanskritaisation’ . Wherein, the people at the lower
rank of the society would follow or imitate the culture, language, life-style, celebration
and rituals to gain psychological advantage against the members of their own community .
It also gives them the satisfaction of being associated with elite culture. However ,
same behaviour of upper castes are seen when they imitate westernization.
3. Occupational restriction & hereditary occupation:
In the caste system traditionally a person caste would determine by their
occupation. The Brahmins were to pursue knowledge and perform rituals, Kshatiyas
were to rule, administer and fight, Vashyas would do agriculture, trade and commerce.
However , shudras and untouchables were forced to serve above three castes as a
labour . For example - a black smith son will always be a black smith. But, these social
restriction are done away with implementation of Indian constitution in 1950. Also,
the forces of globalization are making this ritual laden and rigid irrational caste system
and reward or punishment based of birth as irrelevant.
4. Economic disparity:
The economic condition and caste system operate very closely . People in upper
rank of the society were first to get access to education and wealth, hence they prosperedmunotes.in
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47first. The people of lower caste rank were denied education, wealth and just pay for
their work, therefore, they remained economically backward. The fruits of development
and progress reach very late to socially weaker groups like SC and ST .
According to Prof. Ghuray , ‘Segmental division of society i.e. society is
divided into differ ent castes. Earlier ther e wer e 4 castes existed but now mor e
than 3000 sub castes exist’ (Ghurey: 1969). Every caste has a moral obligation. All
people are morally obliged to their castes and sub-castes i.e. there are certain rules
and regulations.
VI. Caste based Reservation and the Constitution of India
Reservation is an affirmative policy action taken by the state for the welfare of
the weaker sections of the society . Most of the liberal democracies across the world
have similar policies to bring the disadvantaged section of the society into mainstream
of development. In simple terms we can call it affirmative action or positive
discrimination. It also aims at reaching the fruits of development till every section of
the society . Indian Constitution also provides for the reservation. It is given to the
citizens belonging to Schedule Caste (SC), Schedule Tribe (ST), Other Backward
Caste (OBC) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) groups. Besides, caste
based reservation, there are provisions for reservation of jobs and seats in educational
institutions for the Women, dif ferently able (divyang), minorities, Armed forces etc.
The socio- economic conditions continue to exist since ages are responsible
for the origination of the reservation system in the country . It is a way to provide an
opportunity for upliftment to the backward and weaker section of the society . It is
implemented through earmarking of seats in employment, education and other public
benefit schemes.
A. Historical Background of Reservation:
William Hunter and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule in 1882 originally conceived the
idea of the caste-based reservation system. But the real system of reservation was
introduced in 1933, when British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald presented the
‘Communal Award’. This policy made the provision for a separate electorate for
Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians, Europeans and Dalits. It was an
attempt by the British Government to divide the Indians fighting for independence. It
was also thought that by giving this award, the anger and unrest against British, which
emerged after hanging of shaleed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru was done byChapter 4 : Caste and Politics :Upper Caste, Dalit and OBC
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them. Mahatma Gandhi disagreed with the policy of communal award and went on
fast unto death in Yerwada Jail of Poona. After long negotiations, Gandhi and Ambedkar
signed the ‘Poona Pact’, where it was decided that there would be a single Hindu
electorate with certain reservations in it.
After independence, the constitution-makers wanted to create a society of
equals. Therefore, the SCs and ST s community were given reservation. Initially for a
period of 10 years. However , there was a demand by the educationally and
economically backward class of citizens. The other backward (intermediary) castes
were recommended reservation by Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1954). Again, in 1978
Janata Party government appointed Mandal Commission.
1. Mandal Commission
The commission was appointed as per provisions of Article 340 of the
Constitution. The President appointed a backward class commission in December
1978 under the chairmanship of B. P . Mandal. The commission was formed to determine
the criteria for defining India’ s “socially and educationally backward classes” and to
recommend steps to be taken for the advancement of those classes. The Mandal
Commission concluded that India’ s population consisted of approximately 52 percent
OBCs, therefore 27% government jobs should be reserved for them. However , L.R.
Naik, who was an ex MP and lone member from Dalit community submitted his dissent
note (Mandal: 1980). Apart from identifying backward classes among Hindus, the
Commission has also identified backward classes among non-Hindus (e.g., Muslims,
Sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists.
B. Constitutional Provisions Governing Reservation in India
1.Reservation in Employment and Promotion:
Part XVI of the Indian Constitution deals with the reservation of SC and ST
community in Central and S tate legislatures. Article 15 (4) and 16 (4) of the contitution
provides for reservation of seats in government employment. The Constitutional
Amendment (77th Amendment) Act. 1995 inserted sub class 4A in Art. 16 provided
for reservation in promotion. Class 4A was further modified through Constitution (85th
Amendment) Act. 2001. It provided consequential seniority to SC and ST in promotion.
Constitutional (81st) Amendment Act, 2000 inserted Article 16 (4 B) which enables
the state to fill the unfilled vacancies of a year which are reserved for SCs/ST s in themunotes.in
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49succeeding year , thereby nullifying the ceiling of fifty percent reservation on the total
number of vacancies of that year .
2. Reservation in Political Institutions:
Article 330 and 332 provides for specific representation through the reservation
of seats for SCs (84) and ST s (47) in the Parliament (Lok Sabha) and in the S tate
Legislative Assemblies respectively . Article 243D provides reservation of seats for
SCs and ST s in every Panchayat. Article 233T provides reservation of seats for SCs
and ST s in every Municipality . Article 335 of the constitution says that the claims of
STs and ST s shall be taken into consideration constituent with the maintenance of
efficacy of the administration.
3. Reservation to Economically Weaker C l a s s e s :
Recently , the Constitutional ( 103rd Amendment) Act of 2019 has pr ovided
10% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the “economically
backward ” in the unreserved category . It states that, ‘ At pr esent, the economically
weaker sections of citizens have lar gely r emained excluded fr om attending the
higher educational institutions and public employment on account of their
financial incapacity to compete with the person who is economically mor e
privileged. Hence, the bill pr oposes to amend the Constitution to ensur e that the
poor ‘get a fair chance’ in life (103 Amendment Bill 2019). Art. 15 and 16 or the
constitution were amended to provide 10 % reservation to the Economically weaker
sections of society .
4. Landmark Cases and Judicial Scrutiny:
The State of Madras v . Smt. Champakam Dorairajan (1951) case was the
first major verdict of the Supreme Court on the issue of Reservation.The case led to
the First Amendment in the constitution. The Supreme Court in the case pointed out
that while in the case of employment under the State, Article 16(4) provides for
reservations in favour of the backward class of citizens, no such provision was made
in Article 15. According to the Supreme Court’ s order in the case the Parliament
amended Article 15 by inserting Clause (4).
In The Indra Sawhney v . Union of India (1992) case the court examined the
scope and extent of Article 16(4). The Court has said that the creamy layer of OBCs
should be excluded from the list of beneficiaries of reservation, there should not be
reservation in promotions; and the total reserved quota should not exceed 50%. The
Parliament responded by enacting 77th Constitutional Amendment Act whichChapter 4 : Caste and Politics :Upper Caste, Dalit and OBC
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introduced Article 16(4A). The article confers power on the state to reserve seats in
favour of SC and ST in promotions in Public Services, if the communities are not
adequately represented in public employment.
The Supr eme Cour t in M. Nagaraj v . Union Of India 2006 case while
upholding the constitutional validity of Art 16(4A) held that any such reservation policy
in order to be constitutionally valid shall satisfy the following three constitutional
requirements: The SC and ST community should be socially and educationally
backward. The SC and ST communities are not adequately represented in Public
employment. Such reservation policy shall not affect the overall efficiency of the
administration.
In Jarnail Singh vs Lachhmi Narain Gupta case of 2018, Supreme Court
holds that reservation in promotions does not require the state to collect quantifiable
data on the backwardness of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
The Court held that creamy layer exclusion extends to SC/ST s and, hence the S tate
cannot grant reservations in promotion to SC/ST individuals who belong to the creamy
layer of their community . In May 2019 the Supreme Court upheld the Karnataka
law that allows reservations in promotions for SCs and ST s with consequential seniority .
Therefore, reservation is one of the strongest method of social and economic
empowerment. In the words of professor Zoya Hassan: Thus, the Caste status and
reservation developed as a focus of political expr ession among both the
untouchable and the Shudra poor in the towns. Ther e wer e differ ences in the
social movements of the two gr oups, arising primarily fr om their specific
occupational and social positions in towns, and their differ ential r esponse to
completion and conflict in r ural and urban society . …Government favour ed a
policy of pr otective discrimination which entailed r eservation of government
jobs, seats in legislatur es and universities for members of the Scheduled Castes,
but not for the OBCs. (Hassan: 1998, 129).
VII. Role of Caste in Indian Politics
i Role of caste in politics:
Caste politics is said to have “signify a wide range of political activity and
theorizing founded in the shar ed experience of injustice to a member of cer tain
social gr oups. ” (MN Srinivas). Therefore, the impact of caste varies at dif ferent levels
i.e. Local, Assembly and National level. The role of caste in the Indian Political
System can be discussed as follow:munotes.in
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51ii Caste factor in political mobilization and leadership
recruitment:
In India, caste plays an important role in mobilizing people during elections. It is
easier to earn votes from people by playing a caste card during election. Caste interest
influence the voters to vote for the candidate belonging to their own caste. The Majority
of the time caste has been a matter of pride and thus in the process of choosing the
leader or inclination towards any political parties, the leader ’s belief or parties’ approach
towards a particular caste also plays a crucial role.
iii Propagation of Casteism during election:
The political behaviour of the member of different political parties is caste oriented.
The values and principles of different political parties are also caste based. The
propaganda should be based on caste or not during the election depends on the
population of a particular caste in a particular region. The selection of the candidates
for a constituency is based on whether he will be able to get the support of a particular
caste or castes. Even the caste of those recommending a candidate plays an important
role. When a single caste is not likely to be effective alliance are formed on caste basis
by the candidates or by the voters: Even the office bearers of party are appointed on
the basis of caste to please a caste group in the party and the constituency . The
present political system encourages the use of caste as a means of mustering support
as well as a means to enable the illiterate and politically ignorant masses of India to
participate in the modern democratic process.
iv Caste factor in local self-government:
Caste plays a crucial role in the functioning of Panchayati Raj institutions. Caste
based division in the rural parts of India has been the biggest hindering factor in the
effective functioning of Panchayati Raj institution. Caste also functions, as a pressure
group in politics. Political bargaining is also done on the caste lines. Caste organizations
have emer ged to or ganize caste members for collective bar gaining with each other .
v Caste as a dividing and uniting force of Indian Politics:
The present political system encourages the use of caste as a means of mustering
support as well as a means to enable the illiterate and politically ignorant masses of
India to participate in the modern democratic process. But at the same time it leads to
an unhealthy struggle for power and acts as a dividing force.Chapter 4 : Caste and Politics :Upper Caste, Dalit and OBC
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Conclusion :
Reservation is fair , as far as it provides appropriate positive discrimination for
the benefit of the downtrodden and economically backward sections of the society .
But when it tends to harm the society and ensures privileges to some at the cost of
others for narrow political ends, it should be done away with, as soon as possible.
The communities excluded from reservations harbour animosity and prejudice against
the castes included in the reservation category . When more people aspire for
backwardness rather than of forwardness, the country itself stagnates. Meritocracy
should not be polluted by injecting relaxation of entry barriers, rather than it should be
encouraged by of fering financial aid to the underprivileged. A strong political will is
indispensable to find an equilibrium between justice to the backwards, equity for the
forwards and efficiency for the entire system. Even the true picture of the heartless
mechanism of the Indian Caste system can be traced from the following poem of the
Black poet Patrick Tamers:
“Step into my shoes, wear my skin,
See what I see, feel what I feel
And then you shall know ,
Who I am, what I am and why I am. “ (Coleman: 1976, 633)
Questions for Exercise
1. Explain the meaning and nature of caste
2. Examine the definition and various theories of the evolution of caste.
3. What are the main characteristic of Caste?
4. Critically examine the constitutional provisions of reservation and jucial
commentaries on it.
5. Elaborate the role of caste at various level of Indian politics.
End Notes:
The Idea
The idea of ‘Marxism- Phule- Ambedkarism emer ged amongst the scholars and activists
as synthesis of Communist, Reformist and Radical ideas put together for a formidable
action to fight against and hegemony of upper castes and class in Indian context.munotes.in
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53Social Exclusion
The term ‘Social Exclusion was first used by René Lenoir , as Secrétaire d’Etat a
l’Action Sociale of the French Government. It was further elaborated with a larger
expression by Silver (1995) who notes, the list of the following: “a livelihood; secure,
permanent employment; earnings; property , credit, or land; housing; minimal or
prevailing consumption levels; education, skills, and cultural capital; the welfare state;
citizenship and legal equality; democratic participation; public goods; the nation or the
dominant race; family and sociability; humanity , respect, fulfillment and understanding.”
Poona Pact
Poona Pact, (Sept. 24, 1932), agreement between Hindu leaders in India granting
new rights to untouchables (low-caste Hindu groups). The pact, signed at Poona
(now Pune, Maharashtra), resulted from the communal award of Aug. 4, 1932, made
by the British government. Mahatma Gandhi objected to the provision of separate
electorates for the Scheduled (formerly “untouchable”) Castes, which in his view
separated them from the whole Hindu community . Though in prison, Gandhi announced
a fast unto death, which he began on September 18. B. R. Ambedkar ,
the untouchable leader , who felt that his group’ s special interests might be advanced
by the government’ s system, resisted concessions until Gandhi was near death. He
and the Hindu leaders then agreed to the pact, which withdrew separate electorates
but gave increased representation to the Scheduled Castes for 10-year period.
Ambedkar complained of blackmail, but the pact marked the start of movement against
untouchability within the Indian nationalist movement. Source: http://
www .britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469892/Poona-Pact , accessed on 6 May 6,
2014, 3:00 pm IST .
References
lBourdieu, Pierr e (1999): The weight of the World: Social Suf fereing in
Contemporary Society , Translated by Priscilla Parkhurst Fer guson (S tanford:
Stanford University Press)
lColeman, James C. (1976) : Abnormal Psychology and Modem Life, 1976,
Bombay , pp. 633.Chapter 4 : Caste and Politics :Upper Caste, Dalit and OBC
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54Indian Government And Politics
lD. Ross (1980): Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, section 7; in the
translation of , p. 12-14.
lGlimpses of Divinity , Bhagavad Gita - The Caste System, available on
https://www .eaglespace.com/spirit/gita_castesystem.php , accessed on 7
February 2021, 3:46pm
lMartha Nussbaum (1988) has illuminatingly analyzed the reach and relevance
of the Aristotelian approach.
lDumont, Louis (1970): Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and its
Implications, University of Chicago Press.
lMerriam, Webster Dictionar y
https://www .merriam-webster .com/dictionar y/caste
lMandal Commission Repor t (1980), Available on http://
www .ncbc.nic.in/User_Panel/UserV iew.aspx?T ypeID=1 161 , accessed
on 8 Februar y 2021, 1 1:52am
lNatrajan, Balmurali (2012): The Culturalisation of Caste in India: identity
and Inequality in a multicultural age (Oxen, New York: Routledge, Oxon)
lGhur ye, G . S.( 1969): Caste and Race in India (Bombay: Popular Prakashan)
lHassan, Joya (1998): Ayodhya Movement and the Politics of Communal
Compromise: the struggle to control Uttar Pradesh in “Quest for Power:
oppositional Movements and Post-Congress Politics in Uttar Pradesh” New
Delhi: Oxford University Press)
lOmvedt, Gail (2012): ‘Dalit Visions: Tracts for the times, First published in
1995, reprinted in 2012 (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan)
lRajras (2019): M. N. Srinivas on Caste, available at https://www .rajras.in/m-
n-srinivas-on-caste/ , accessed on 7 February 2021, 4.58pm.
lScott, James (1979): The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and
Subsistence in Southeast Asia, Yale University Press.
lSen, Amr tya (2006): Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny , book
review in EPW August 19, 2006, pp xx to 215, page 3586. (New Delhi:
Penguin Books India)
lSmith (1776): Vol. II, Book V, Chapter 2; in the edition by R.H. Campbell
and A.S. Skinner (1976), p. 469.munotes.in
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55lSrinivas, MN (1987) ,The Dominant Caste and Other Essays, Oxford
University Press.
lSharma, S.P (1996): History of Ancient India, Mohit Publications, New Delhi,
p.99.
lShukla, Ravi R. (2017): Dalit Politics in Uttar Pradesh: A Study of Bahujan
Samaj Party , pp. 17 -19, Aradhna Brothers Pub., Kanpur , UP.
* * * * *Chapter 4 : Caste and Politics :Upper Caste, Dalit and OBC
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5
TRIBAL COMMUNITY AND POLITICS
Objectives
Study of this unit enables you to:
lExplain the meaning and nature of Tribal communities in India
lUnderstand the historical background and politics
lDiscuss main characteristics and political orientation
lUnderstand the problems and solutions of tribal politics
I.Introduction
India is a heterogeneous and diverse society . The most indigenous and old
communities are recognized as the ‘tribes’. In India, the local equivalent of the
term ‘tribe’ is often assumed to be ‘jana’ or ‘communities of people’ based on
the usage of the term in ancient Buddhist and puranic texts. In this conception,
the term jana was used in opposition to the term jati to indicate that these
communities wer e outside the jati or hierar chical caste system of social
organisation (Xaxa: 2014, 51). It has the second lar gest population of tribal
communities in the world after Africa. The categor y of ‘tribe’ entails a social and
cultural dimension but the Scheduled T ribe categor y has politico-administrative
implications ( xaxa: 2013). The tribal population in India accounts for around 8.6
per cent. They represent the wide ranging diversity of groups. ‘Ther e is a huge diversity
within the tribal community also. They var y among themselves in r espect of
language and linguistic traits, ecological settings in which they live, physical
featur es, size of the population, the extent of acculturation, dominant modes of
making a livelihood, level of development and social stratification (Xaxa,
Virginus) . Although tribal groups are unique they share some of the common issues
such as lack of adequate political representation, economic deprivation and cultural
discrimination. Especially , the political voice of the tribes has remained on the mar gins.munotes.in
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57They face two major difficulties, one is the distinction between caste and tribal identity
and the second is the distinction between peasants and tribes. Nevertheless,
the non-tribal groups can learn a lot from them about respect of protection of the
environment, ecology , culture and methods to gain life skills.
II. Definition :
According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, a tribe is a collection of families
bearing a common name, speaking a common dialect, occupying or professing to
occupy a common territory and is not usually endogamous though originally it might
have been so.
According to the Oxford Dictionary ”A tribe is a group of people in a primitive
or barbarous stage of development acknowledging the authority of a chief and usually
regarding themselves as having a common ancestor .
D.N Majumdar defines a tribe as a social group with territorial affiliation,
endogamous with no specialization of functions ruled by tribal officers hereditary
or otherwise, united in language or dialect recognizing social distance with other
tribes or castes.
T.B Naik has given the following featur es of tribes in the Indian context :
•A tribe s hould have the least functional interdependence within the community .
•It should be economically backward (i.e. primitive means of exploiting natural
resources, the tribal economy should be at an underdeveloped stage and it
should have multifarious economic pursuits).
•There should be comparative geographical isolation of its people.
•They should have a common dialect.
•Tribes should be politically or ganized and community panchayat should be
influential.
•A tribe should have customary laws.
Naik argues that for a community to be a tribe it should possess all the above-mentioned
characteristics and a very high level of acculturation with outside society debars it
from being a tribe. Thus term usually denotes a social group bound together by kin
and duty and associated with a p articular territory (Naik: 1968, 269).Chapter 5 : Tribal Community and Politics
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III. Characteristics of Tribals :
The tribal communities in India have lived glorious times. Gondwana empire is
a testimony of it. But during the British regime they suffered a lot of persecution,
oppression, exploitation and criminalisation. Regulation XIII of 1833 created Non-
Regulatory Provinces for civil and criminal justice, collection of land revenue etc. The
British government had declared some of the tribal communities as ‘criminal tribes’,
which is a gross violation and abuse of human rights to dignity .
After independence, the Indian constitution made special provisions under
Article 342 of the constitution for the SC and ST groups in 1950. 5th schedule of the
constitution provides that, area ‘such areas as the President may by order declare to
be Scheduled Areas. At present 10 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Gujrat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha,
Rajasthan and Telangana are notified under the 5th schedule area. Parliament and
state legislatures are also empowered to create tribal autonomous regions out of the
ambit of 5th & 6th Schedules. For example – Leh Autonomous Hill Development
Council, Kar gil Autonomous Hill Development Council, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.
1. Geography and Demography :
The ‘tribal’ or ‘Adivasis’ of India, accounts for 8.6 per cent of the country’ s
population consisting of 10,42,81,034 persons. Draft National Tribal Policy , 2006
records 698 Scheduled Tribes in India. As per the Census of India 201 1, the number
of individual groups notified as Scheduled Tribes is 705 (Census: 201 1).
A. Demographic Composition:
It is spread across the states of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West
Bengal. Approx 12 per cent inhabit the North-Eastern region, 5 per cent in the Southern
region and 3 per cent in Northern states. While the Bhils and Gond tribe are found in
MP, Maharashtra and parts of Rajasthan regions, the Mundas, Oraons and Santhals
are predominant in Jharkhand and West Bengal. The southern part inhabits Chenchus,munotes.in
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59Todas, and Kurumbas, and very small endangered communities in the Andamans, like
the Jarawas, Onge, and Sentinelese. The North-East region of India has a strong
presence of Naga and Kuki tribes (Nagaland, Manipur), Khasis (Meghalaya, Assam),
Garos (Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya), Mizos (Mizoram), Bodos (Assam), Chakmas
(Mizoram- Bangladesh) and many other small subtribes. Though, all the tribes have
unique characteristics, unfortunately they are measures with one single yard-stick in
respect of policy making and representation.
B. Geography :
The five broad regional groupings of tribes:
Himalayan Region (a) North-eastern Himalayan region, (b) Central Himalayan region,
and (c) North-W estern Himalayan region).
Middle Region (Bihar , Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and
Chhattisgarh where more than 55 per cent of tribal people of India live).
Western Region (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli).
Southern r egion (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala).
Island Region (Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the
Arabian Sea).
Viginus Xaxa committee in its report submitted to Prime Minister in 2014 has cited
the following districts of dif ferent states with a substantial presence of Tribal population
in the states other than Northeast regions :Chapter 5 : Tribal Community and Politics
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State Areas
Andhra Pradesh Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Adilabad,
Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Mahboobnagar , Prakasam (only
some mandals/villages are scheduled mandals)
Jharkhand Dumka, Godda, Devgarh, Sahabgunj, Pakur , Ranchi,
Singhbhum (East&W est), Gumla, Simdega, Lohardaga,
Palamu, Garwa, (some districts are only partly tribal blocks)
Chhattisgarh Sarbhuja, Bastar , Raigad, Raipur , Rajnandgaon, Dur g,
Bilaspur , Sehdol, Chindwada, Kanke
Himachal Lahaul and Spiti districts, Kinnaur , Pangi tehsil and Bharmour
sub-tehsil in Chamba district
Madhya Pradesh Jhabua, Mandla, Dhar , Khar gone, East Nimar (khandwa),
Sailana tehsil in Ratlam district, Betul, Seoni, Balaghat,
Morena
Gujarat Surat, Bharauch, Dangs, Valsad, Panchmahl, Sadodara,
Sabarkanta (parts of these districts only)
Maharashtra Thane, Nasik, Dhule, Ahmednagar , Pune, Nanded, Amravati,
Yavatmal, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur (parts of these districts only)
Odisha Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada,
Narayanpur (full), Raigada, Keonjhar , Sambalpur ,Kondmals,
Ganjam, Kalahandi, Bolangir , Balasor (some blocks)
Rajasthan Banswara, Dungarpur (fully tribal districts), Udaipur ,
Chittaurgarh, Siroi (some areas)
The list above only serves as a broad outline of the Scheduled Areas and
does not constitute an exhaustive and detailed catalogue of areas under the
Fifth Schedule. (As given in Xaxa committee report, p. 61).
Northeast is often viewed as a singular and homogeneous entity , the region is highly
diverse with over 200 tribes and sub-tribes, each of which has their languages, culture
and political structures. Northeast differs from tribes in other parts of India, particularly
in terms of their (Xaxa: 2014, 34-35)munotes.in
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612. Lnaguages :
The Islands are administered as a Union Territory under the Central Government
and are home to some of the smallest tribes such as the Great Andamanese, Onge,
Jarawa and the Sentinelese.
Indo-European -only a little over one per cent of the tribal population speak languages
of this family , the Bhil and Halbi tribes being the two main groups among them.
Dravidian family languages are spoken by tribes such as the Gond, Khond, Koya,
Oraon, and Toda.
Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken by the tribes of the Himalayas and Northeast
India.
Austro-Asiatic family of languages is spoken only by tribals in the country like the
Santhal, Munda, and Ho. (Xaxa: 2014,
3.Tribals and Natural Resour ces:
More than 50 per cent of country’ s natural resources and minerals are found in
Tribal populated districts. But it is seldom used for the economic upliftment of the tribals.
The states like Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have sizeable presence of mineral
reserves. For example- Coal - 70 %, Iron ore- 80 %, Bauxite - 60 %, Chromites
near 100 %. According to Centre for Science and Environment, ‘about half of the
mineral- pr oducing district ar e tribal district.’
IV.Provisions of Autonomous Hill Councils
India has more than 100 million tribal population. The constitution has made
provisions for them in the Fifth and Sixth Schedule in 1949 itself. The fifth schedule is
effective in those states, that has a overwhelming tribal population and the sixth schedule
covers the north-eastern regions along the borders of China and Myanmar . Assam,
Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram regions are placed under Article 244 of the
6th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Article 280 has been amended in 2019 to give
increase the financial resources, powers and autonomy of the hill councils in Assam,
Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura This schedule empowers the District and Regional
Hill Councils to make laws on various subjects, receive grants - in - aid from the
Consolidated find of India for the developmental schemes and projects such as
education, health care, roads, agriculture, community welfare etc. It is a fact thatChapter 5 : Tribal Community and Politics
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tribal communities are one of the most vulnerable groups in the country . They still live
in isolation from mainstream development. Though the British authorities inflicted
enormous atrocities against them, they also made separate administrative arrangements.
The Adivisis have continuously rebelled against British atrocities. Satal Hul of 1855 -
1856, the Birsa Ulgulan of 1895 - 1900, the Tana Bhagat Movement of 1914 - 1920
and Bastar bhumkal of 1910 were major Adivasi rebellions against the British.
The District hill councils play a very effective role in the centralization of
administration and protect the customs, culture, ethnic - linguistic identity of the tribal
community . However , the break down of law and order , inter - state conflicts, ethnic
conflicts often make these hill councils remain helpless spectator . Also, lack of own
financial resources put a greater challenge before them. The 6th schedule remains
under the executive authority of the state but the legislative and Parliamentary acts do
not apply to them or applied with modifications and exception. They have been
conferred upon limited Civil and Criminal judicial power , like establishing village courts
for small causes. However , their jurisdiction is subject to the jurisdiction of the high
court of respective state/s. There are 13 autonomous district councils in 6 major
states of north-east. They are as following:
Sr. No. State Name/s of the Hill Councils
1 Assam 1.Bodoland Territorial Council, 2. Karbi Anglong
Autonomous Council and 3. Dima Hasao
Autonomous District Council.
2 Meghalaya 4.Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, 5.Jaintia
Hills Autonomous District Council and 6. Khasi Hills
Autonomous District Council.
3 Tripura 7.Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
4 Mizoram 8.Chakma Autonomous District Council, 9. Lai
Autonomous District Council, 10. Mara Autonomous
District Council.
5 Jammu & 11. Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council,
Kashmir 12.Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council,
6 West Bengal 13.Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Governm ent of India.munotes.in
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63V.Constitutional and Policy Pr ovisions for Tribes :
The 73rd Amendment Act of the Constitution (1993) made it mandatory for
every state to constitute panchayats, or councils, at the village, intermediate, and district
levels. experience with elected panchayats that supplanted traditional tribal systems,
however , led to a legal challenge by Adivasi groups, and in 1995 the Andhra
Pradesh High Court ruled that a separate act was needed for scheduled areas.
Accordingly , in December 1996, Parliament passed the Provisions of the Panchayats
(Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA). This act applies to Fifth Schedule
areas since the Sixth Schedule already contains many of its provisions regarding
customary law . In fact PESA explicitly aspires to implement Sixth Schedule–like
arrangements in Fifth Schedule areas. PESA several mandates that any “State legislation
on the Panchayats . . . shall align with the customary law , social and religious practices
and traditional management practices of community resources” and that “every Gram
sabha [village assembly] shall be competent to safeguard and preserve the traditions
and customs of the people, their cultural identity , community resources and the
customary mode of dispute resolution.” However , most states have not passed
appropriate legislation to implement the act, and there is widespread and often
purposeful ignorance of its provisions on the part of officials.
In addition to the Fifth and Sixth Schedules and PESA, a number of
constitutional provisions are addressed to Adivasis as individual citizens. These include
Article 15 (4), which enables special provisions for the advancement of socially and
educationally backward classes; Article 16 (4a), which enables reservations in
government services; Article 275 (1), which relates to central grants-in-aid to states
for the specific purpose of scheduled tribe welfare; Articles 330, 332, and 335, which
stipulate seats for scheduled tribes in the Parliament, state assemblies, and services;
and Article 339, which mandates the setting up of a commission to report on the
administration and welfare of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes. Successive five-
year plans have also created special plans for tribal development, in the shape of
multipurpose tribal blocks (second plan), tribal development agencies (fourth plan),
and tribal subplan s (fifth plan).Chapter 5 : Tribal Community and Politics
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V. Problems of Tribals
1. Land and Displacement:
Development with a human face is the core philosophy of ‘sustainable
development. However , the tribal people always face the problem of displacement
due to projects like highways, bridges, dams, factory , mining, hydroelectric projects
etc. Lack of proper planning and adequate rehabilitation policy , the tribals are displaced
and thrown out of their place. For example Bailadilla iron mine in Bastar , Hirakund
and Upper Indravati hydroelectric projects in Orissa, Sardar Sar ovar dam project,
POSCO steel plant in Odisha are some of the live examples. Apart from displacement,
the two other axes of tribal politics are struggles over the forest and everyday encounters
with the police. About 40 per cent of those displaced by dam-building belong to
the Scheduled T ribes (Xaxa: 2014) . Scheduled Tribes constitute about eight per cent
of the country’ s population; they are disproportionately represented in the number of
displaced persons.
The tribal people have been living in their place for many centuries. They are
natural inhabitants of their place. However , neither the British. nor the governments in
independent India cared about issuing land ownership documents to the tribals living
in their place. The government often gives excuses of development or the forest rules
or environmental regulations to evict the innocent tribes from the place.
2. Socio-Cultural Marginalization:
The popular culture and mainstream media often present the tribals and their
culture as backward and inferior . The rapid westernization has attacked Indian culture
especially indigenous communities, which has increased the marginalisation of tribal
communities. On the other hand, the culture, tradition and customs are facing decline
or extinction. Their festival, arts, handicraft, languages, dialects and scripts need a lot
of protection, encouragement and global exposure to survive.
3. Granting Special protection:
The tribal groups need special provision to protect their minority interest. many
tribal groups follow dif ferent religions like Christianity , Islam or worship nature. Duemunotes.in
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65to this intra-group conflict within tribal groups is on the rise. They become victims of
communalism and religious conversion creates insecurity of their lives and rights. The
tribals are mostly worshiper of nature, but the competitive nature of various religious
groups to bring them or retain them in their fold is a major problem for the tribals.
4. Economic Backwardness:
The Economic disparity of tribals is a major problem. Due to the deprivation of
natural and forest resources, unemployment and exploitation make their life worse.
They live under acute poverty . The level of nourishment among women and children
of tribal groups is the highest in the country . This leads to a lot of health problems.
Their development is hindered by poverty . Many of them are not able to get the
benefit of welfare schemes such as health, food, education and employment launched
by the governments because they do not have enough documents. There exists a huge
gap between the approved budget and the funds received from the State Government
which has had a direct impact on the development of these tribal communities. They
are also dependent upon state governments for decisions regarding the undertaking of
developmental activities in their region. Due to the extensive corruption, development
in these regions is seen to be a non-existing phenomenan. Lack of coordination between
the S tates governments and Department of Planning and Development, Hill Areas
Department and the Autonomous councils has resulted in the lackadaisical
implementation of the development work.
5. Illiteracy
The literacy rate as per Census 201 1 is 73 % but for ST s is 59 % only . However ,
the rate of literacy varies from state to state. As per Census 201 1, the rate of literacy
in India is 72.99% whereas that of it in scheduled tribes is 59%. State-wise, the rate
of literacy in scheduled tribes is highest in Mizoram (91.7%) and lowest in Andhra
Pradesh (49.2%). Among union territories, the highest rate of literacy in scheduled
tribes is in Lakshadweep (91.7%).
The census 201 1 data also indicate that some states with a higher concentration
of tribal population have been doing extremelywell. They are Mizoram(91.5%),
Nagaland(80.0%), Manipur(77.4%) and Meghalaya (74.5%). Whereas some statesChapter 5 : Tribal Community and Politics
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with more number of tribal habitations continue to perform very low . They are Jharkhand
(57.1%),Madhya Pradesh(50.6%),Orissa(52.2%),Rajasthan(52.2%) and Andhra
Pradesh (49.2%). The overall literacy rate of the Schedule Tribe in Odisha increased
from 23.4% in 2001 to 41.2% in 201 1. Despite this improvement it remained lower
than the national average which stood at 47.1 per cent ( Source: Data highlights:
the scheduled tribes Census of India 201 1).
6. Health, hygiene and Superstition:
The Tribals worship nature and community deity . In case of illness or health
problems, they prefer herbal treatment and/or worshiping the god. There is a
wide-spread of witchcraft and superstition as well. Due to ignorance and negligence,
many of them end up suffering a lot of health hazards. They are exploited by tantriks
in the name of performing rituals and witchcraft. Along with this their lifestyle such
that, they are forced to live unhygienic life. Particularly , the tribal women suf fer a lot of
gynacological problems. Moreover , the tribal community easily gets trapped into
alcohol, tobacco and other forms of substance abuse, which makes them a victims of
major diseases. Thus men, women and children face a lot of health issues, which is
detrimental to their development.
7. Naxalite Movement:
Tribals are the worst victims of the Naxal violence. The armed conflict between
Naxals and Security forces result into the killing and injury of innocent tribes living in
those regions. The state of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar , Odisha and West Bengal among others where tribals
face double jeopardy . The counter -insur gency operation known as the Salwa Judum
in Chhattisgarh has resulted in rapes, murders, arson, looting and intimidation in the
name of defeating the Maoists.
A study conducted by research scholar Dr . Varnika Sharma revealed that “92
per cent of r ebels had joined the movement because of their attraction towar ds
the ‘Army-like’ green uniform, guns, Maoist influence among villagers, besides
obsession for dance, sloganeering and other activities of Chetna Natya Manch
(a cultural outfit of Maoists).” However , it is an oversimplification of the causesmunotes.in
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67that leads the tribals in the network of Naxalites. Amongst other prominent causes are
poverty , unemployment, personal/ ancestral enmity are also the reasons highlighted
by rebels for joining the movement, she said.
Surprisingly , the same study suggests that “none of them wer e influenced by
the Maoist ideology to enter into guer rilla warfar e.” The r esear ch also r eveals
that maximum cadr es (about 33 per cent) deser ted the movement after being
impr essed with the government’ s sur render policy , while ar ound 25 per cent of
them left the outfit due to illness, Ms. Sharma said. Besides, 17 per cent of the
Naxals dissociated with the movement due to internal rift and differ ences among
top Naxal leaders while about 13 per cent quit the movement due to exploitation
by senior cadr es (The Hindu: 2015).
They are constantly intimidated by the Naxals for resources, money , food and
shelter and tortured by the police for alleged helping the Naxals. Therefore, they have
no way left to live a peaceful life.
8. Vicious Nexus of Politics- Market - Mafia:
The tribals are a victim of politicians, market and criminal elements. When they
join hands together , they make the life of tribals very dif ficult. Corrupt and selfish
politicians often join hands with business interests, contractor and industrialist, who
come to their areas seeking land and forest resources. The local leaders also found
hands in globes with the smugglers, poachers and criminals who indulge illegal mining,
cutting of woods, killing animals or encroaching upon forest lands. Due to this, they
are subjected to bonded labour or forced labour . They are made to dangerous work
without adequate safety measures. It is often brought to notice that the tribal women
are physically abused by these elements.
VI. Conclusion :
Tribals are a distinct community . They are very close to mother nature. They
suffer a lot due to inter as well as external factors like superstition, substance abuse,
illiteracy and exploitation by market forces, criminal elements as well as politicians.Chapter 5 : Tribal Community and Politics
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Thus, the national commission for tribals needs to address their issues more aggressively
to protect the identity , culture, language and customs of the tribals across the country .
They also need to be included in the mainstream of national development through
education, health, technology . The potential of more than 10% population of the
nation should be developed and utilized to make India a better nation for all.
Questions for Exercise
1. What is the meaning and characteristics of Tribals in India?
2. Critically examine the status of Tribals in India.
3. What is the role of Autonomous Hill Councils?
4. What are the main problems of Tribals in India?
Reference
lBaruah, Sanjib (1999): India against Itself: Politics of Nationality in Assam.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
lBeteille, André (1974): Six Essays in Comparative Sociology . New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
lFurer -Haimendorf, Christoph von (1982): T ribes of India: The S truggle for
Survival. Berkeley: University of California Press.
lGadgil, Madhav , and Ramachandra Guha (1992): This Fissured Land: An
Ecological History of India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
lGhurye, G . S. (1963): The Scheduled Tribes. Mumbai: Popular Press.
lGuha, Ranajit (1983): Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insur gency in Colonial
India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.munotes.in
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69lGuha, Sumit (1999): Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991. Cambridge,
U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
lJaiswal, A. (2019): “Naxalism and Tribes in India”. Indialogs, Vol. 7, Dec.
2019, pp. 81-91, doi:10.5565/rev/indialogs.153.
lMohapatra, Jyotirmayee (2020): Literacy among tribal Girls and women- “an
overview”. By India Education Diary Bureau Admin -August 14, 2020.
Retrieved February 21, 2021, 4.27pm. https://indiaeducationdiary .in/literacy-
among-tribal-girls-and-women-an-overview/
lSharma, B. D. (1988): Report of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes: 28th Report, 1986–87. Delhi: Government of India.
lTribal Politics .” Encyclopedia of India. Retrieved February 18, 2021 from
Encyclopedia.com: https://www .encyclopedia.com/international/
encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/tribal-politics.
lThe Hindu :(2015): What attracts tribal youth to join the Naxals? Study
report headed by Dr . Girish Kant Pandey , Head of the Department of
Defence S tudies in Government Science College PTI, Raipur , September 19,
2015 00:00 IST , Updated: August 30, 2016 17:20 IST , Retrieved February
21, 2021, 4.46pm. From : https://www .thehindu.com/news/national/other -
states/what-attracts-tribal-youth-to-join-the-naxals/article7666367.ece
lReport of Xaxa Committee on Tribal Communities of India, Prime Minister ’s
Office constituted a High-Level Committee (HLC) in 2013, under chairmanship
of Prof. Virginius Xaxa. It submitted the report in May , 2014, pp. 34-35.
Retrieved February 21, 2021, 6.15pm from:
https://cjp.or g.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2014-Xaxa-T ribal-Committee-
Report.pdf
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6
WOMEN AND POLITICS
Objectives
After studying this material the students would be able to:
lRole and status of women in Indian patriarchy
lSocio- Economic and Cultural forces of patriarchy
lWomen’ s participation in politics
lCauses of under- representation
lSome remedial steps for women empowerment
Chapter Scheme
I. Introduction
II. Women and Politics in India
III. Status of Women’ s Repr esentation
1. History of Role of Women in Politics
2. Role of Women During Freedom movement
3. Women in Indian Politics after Independence
4. Current Situation and Women’ s Participation
5. Women’ s Reservation bill: a long wait
IV.Causes of low Participation of women in politics
1. Domestic Factors
2. Lack of Family Support
3. Social Attitudes
4. Financial Dependence
5. Role of Political Parties
V. Possible remedies/Solution
1. Global Lessons for India
2. Women’ s Reservation
3. Change in Social Attitude
4. Awareness and Education
VI. Conclusion
Question for Practice
Referencesmunotes.in
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71I.Introduction
In a patriarchal society rights are enjoyed by men and duties are enforced
upon women. The condition further deteriorates when it comes to sharing the political
and decision-making power with the women. Thus, most of the modern democracies
have remained patrilineal. The constitutions adopted by them reflect the power of the
patriarch. For example women’ s reservation bill in India. According to UNICEF
observations, ‘In all South Asian countries, patriar chal values and social norms
keep gender inequalities alive. Discriminator y practices begin even befor e bir th
and affect ever y aspect of a child’ s futur e’ (UNICEF). Women account for around
half of the population in every society . But their representation in social life and political
institutions is always disproportional to this number . The issue of gender equality and
women’ s representation is a very old demand. Wh French Declaration of Right of
Man and citizen 1789 was made, it was offensive to the women. They also organized
a conference and made a parallel declaration on ‘Rights of Women and Citizen. Also,
women were denied decisive positions in society and polity . For example the US got
independence in 1776 and proclaimed the Bill of Rights in 1791 but the women were
made to wait till 1920 to get the right to vote, a fundamental political right and values
in a democracy . Similarly , UK the mother of democracies also accepted women’ s
right to vote in 1928 only . France gave universal suf frage to women in 1944. It indicates
the reluctant patriarchal nature of European and American society and polity . Although
women’ s representation in politics of South Asian nations is low but they gave universal
adult suffrage to men and women right from day one.
Title page of the 1792 American edition of Mar y Wollstonecraft’ s ‘A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With S trictur es on Political and Moral
Subjects’ . ‘It was one the most r evolutionar y book that str engthens the feminist
movement during 19th centur y. In late 14th- and early 15th-centur y France, the
first feminist philosopher , Christine de Pisan, challenged pr evailing attitudes
towar d women with a bold call for female education. Her mantle was taken up
later in the centur y by Laura Cer eta, a 15th-centur y Venetian woman who
published Epistolae familiares (1488; “Personal Letters” ; Eng. trans. Collected
Letters of a Renaissance Feminist), a volume of letters dealing with a panoply
of women’ s complaints, fr om denial of education and marital oppr ession to the
frivolity of women’ s attir e’ (Brunell, L. and Burkett, . Elinor (2020). In India also
Raja Mohan Roy , Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Savitribai Phule did a remarkable job in
the field of women empowerment.
India ranks 153 out of 190 nations in the percentage of women in the lower
house of world parliaments. According to a list compiled by the Inter -Parliamentary
Union, Rwanda ranks first with 61% of its lower house representatives being women.Chapter 6 : Women and Politics
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Globally the average of women’ s representation is roughly 22%. It is further very low
in India with around 14.44% of MPs are women (as per 2019 data). Condition in
other South Asia countries is better than India. It is falling behind Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. the Aforesaid facts present a disappointing picture
of Women’ s participation in South Asian politics. As a region, Nordic countries (relating
to Scandinavia, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands) are leaders with an average
of about 40%. The UK and the US are relative laggards with 32% and 23%,
respectively . The United S tates’ current tally , though still moderate, is upheld by a
very strong showing by women in the recent congressional elections. 1/4 Even Pakistan
with 20% participation from women is ahead of India.
Women serve as Heads of S tate or Government in only 21 countries, and 1 19
countries have never had a woman leader . At the current rate, parity in the highest
decisions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. Just 10 countries have
a woman Head of State, and 13 countries have a woman Head of Government. Only
21 per cent of government ministers were women, with only 14 countries having
achieved 50 per cent or more women in cabinets. With an annual increase of just 0.52
percentage points, gender parity in ministerial positions will not be achieved before
2077. The five most commonly held portfolios by women ministers are: Family/children/
youth/elderly/disabled; followed by Social affairs; Environment/natural resources/
energy; Employment/labour/vocational training, and Women af fairs/gender equality
(UN Women: 2021).
As far as Indian conditions are concerned, it is not satisfactory . Though, the
Indian Constitution secured equal rights, including the right to vote, contest elections,
hold public offices and form or join union and association, but their representation in
elected bodies remains low . According to an ADR report in 2019, ‘The representation
of women is even less in Assemblies compared to Parliament. There are only around
9% of women MLAs in the Assemblies of our states’. The Women’ s Reservation Bill
or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 2008, which aimed to provide one-third
reservation of seats in Lok Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies, has lapsed.
As far as their social life is concerned around 50% of them are victims of
child marriage. 1 of every 2 girls is married before they reach 18 years of age.
In India, it is 47%, Bangladesh with highest cases 52%, Nepal 37%, Afghanistan
33% (UNICEF report on Gender ). The patriarchal social structure and preference
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73II. Women and Politics in India
India had 65 women out of 545 members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the
16th and 78 in the 17th Lok Sabha. The percentage of women in Lok Sabha in 2014
was 12%, which increased to 14.22 per cent in 2019. The concept of electoral
representation is based upon the population. Thus a state like Uttar Pradesh with a
population of over 210 million people has 80 MPs (14 women - 17.5 %), Bihar (3
women 7.9 %) with 120 million population has 40 seats and Maharashtra 6 women -
12.5%) with 120 million population has 48 seats. In the current Maharashtra Assembly
only 24 % of women could get elected. The scenario for women Members of Legislative
Assemblies (MLAs) across all state assemblies in India is even worse, with the national
average being a pitiable 9%. The best among them, Bihar , Rajasthan, and Haryana
which have 14% representation while the worst states are Puducherry and Nagaland,
which have no women MLAs at all.
III. Status of Women’ s Repr esentation in Indian Politics :
1. Histor y of Role of Women in Politics:
Though, India has a very inspiring history of women playing an active role as a
ruler or politicians. Razia Sultana (1205–1240) became the only woman monarch
to have ever ruled Delhi. The Gond Rani Durgavati (1524–1564) ruled for fifteen
years before losing her life in a battle with Mughal emperor Akbar ’s general Asaf
Khan in 1564. Chand Bibi defended Ahmednagar against the powerful Mughal forces
of Akbar in the 1590s. Rudrama Devi was a monarch of the Kakatiya dynasty in the
Deccan Plateau with capital at Warangal of present-day Telangana from 1263 until
her death. Rani Padmavati (1303), Rani Karmavari (1537), Tarabai Bhonsale
(1700 - 1708), Rani Velu Nachiyar was a queen of Sivaganga estate from c. 1780–
1790. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company in
India. Rani Abbakka Chowta was the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal who ruled over
parts of coastal Karnataka (T ulu Nadu), India. She fought the Portuguese in the latter
half of the 16th century . Kittur Chennamma (23 October 1778 – 21 February 1829)
was the Indian queen (rani) of Kittur , a princely state in present-day Karnataka. Keladi
Chennamma was the queen of the Keladi Kingdom in Karnataka. Lakshmibai, the
Rani of Jhansi (19 November 1828 – 18 June 1858), Mai Sukhan Dhillon (1824)
was a powerful Sikh ruler of the Majha region, which gained her recognition throughout
Punjab to name a few . Women ruled their kingdom ef fectively and fought dreadfully
against the enemy forces.
During the British Raj, many reformers such as Ram Mohan Roy , Dayanand
Saraswati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Jyotirao Phule fought for the betterment
of women. Peary Charan Sarkar , a former student of Hindu College, Calcutta and aChapter 6 : Women and Politics
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74Indian Government And Politics
member of “Y oung Bengal”, set up the first free school for girls in India in 1847 in
Barasat, a suburb of Calcutta (later the school was named Kalikrishna Girls’ High
School). (W ikipedia: 2021). Therefore, it would be wrong to believe, that women
were completely denied any role in active politics in ancient, medieval or modern
India. However , it was the women from influential elite sections of the society who
rose to positions.
2. Role of Women During Fr eedom Movement:
During India’ s freedom struggle women participated actively . Bhima Bai Holkar
fought bravely against the British colonel Malcolm guerrilla warfare. Rani Begam Hazrat
Mahal of Avadh also fought against the British. Women were equally active in the
Non- cooperation movement (1920) launched by Gandhi Ji. Leaders and activists
including Kasturba Gandhi, Sarla Devi, Sarojini Naidu, Muthulaxmi Reddy , Susheela
Nair, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur , Sucheta Kriplani, Kamla Nehru, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
and Swarup Rani displayed courage and persistence in the fight for the nation.
Women were also active in Civil Disobedience and Dandi March (1930)
movement. They raised the voice to gain liberty by breaking draconian British rule.
The women organised and participated in ‘Prabhat Pheris’ ‘processions’ ‘picketing’
etc. Saorjini Naidu was nominated by Gandhiji to initiate a raid upon Dharasana
Salt-works in May 1930. During the movement, Kamla Devi addressed meetings,
prepared salt and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Nari Satyagraha Committee,
Mahila Rashtriya Sangha, and Ladies Picketing Board played an important role during
the period.
Along with active participation in non-violent movements, the women were
participating in revolutionary activities also, particularly in Dhaka, Comilla, Chittagong
and Punjab regions. Samiti and Suniti, Bina Das, Kalpana Dutta, Preetilatha Waddedar
and Durga Bhabhi etc. The British were frighten by the activities of these women
revolutionaries.
3. Women in Indian politics after Independence:
After independence women participated in Indian politics as a member of the
constituent assembly and then in first elected parliament. It was for the first time the
women had got a right to vote of their free will.
In the first Parliament, 29 women got elected. Subsequently , the increase in
literacy rate of women from 8.86 (Census 1951) to 65.46 (Census 201 1) but the
national average of women’ s in lower house of the Parliament remained steady from 5
per cent (22 MPs) in 1951 to 14.39 per cent (78 MPs) in 2019. It reflects a serious
gender imbalance of representation in Parliament (Source: ECI Website).munotes.in
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754. Curr ent Situation and Par ticipation of Women in Politics:
As per the data from ECI, out of the total 4896 MPs/MLAs across the country ,
only 418 or 9% are women. Among MPs, Lok Sabha has 59 (1 1% of 543 MPs in
2014) and Rajya Sabha has 10% or 23 (10% of 233MPs) women MPs. Among
State assemblies, West Bengal 34 (out of 294 MLAs), Bihar 34 (out of 243 MLAs)
and Andhra Pradesh 34 (out of 294 MLAs) have the maximum no of women MLAs
followed by Uttar Pradesh with 32 women out of 403 MLAs and Rajasthan with 28
women out of 200 MLAs In terms of percentage, among state assemblies, the highest
percentage of Women MLAs is from Bihar with 14% (34 out of 243 MLAs) followed
by Rajasthan with 14% (28 out of 200 MLAs) women votes and West Bengal with
12% (34 out of 294 MLAs).
The state of Nagaland and Puducherry have NIL representation of the women
in their assembly , which is a serious matter of concern on political empowerment of
women. However , the rate of female literacy in Nagaland increased from 10.52 per
cent (1951) to 80.1 1 per cent (201 1). in Puducherry , the current rate of literacy in
1961 was 43.65 per cent (Economic Survey Data) is 86.55 per cent (201 1). Thus, it
would be wrong to compare the increase in female literacy did not guaranted the rise
in women’ s representation in politics.
5. Women’ s Reservation Bill: A long wait:
If the society is not ready to give the space to Indian women in Parliament, what
they deserve the most, then the only way is to reserve 33 per cent seats in Lok Sabha.
This argument stems from the fact that the reservation of seats in Panchayats, Local
Municipal bodies and state assembly . Though the patriarchy is at work in that as well
sooner or later , the women will assume their position as real representatives. The
notion of patriarch backed women leader is fading very fast. The original idea for this
bill originated from a constitutional amendment that was passed back in 1993. The
Women’ s Reservation Bill was launched as a long term plan to extend this reservation
to Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. The people who opposed this bill
considered this as preferential treatment towards women of India.
The bill for women’ s reservation was introduced in Lok Sabha in 1996, 1998
and 1999. But it lapsed on each occasion due to a lack of consensus amongst the
political parties. The bill was once again introduced in Lok Sabha in 2008. It had the
following features:
i.It reserves one-third of all seats in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies within
each state for women.
ii.There is quota-within-quota for SCs, ST s and Anglo-Indians.
iii.The reserved seats will be rotated after each general elections – thus after a cycle
of three elections, all constituencies would have been reserved once.Chapter 6 : Women and Politics
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This reservation will be operational for 15 years. This Bill has had a
chequered history . A Joint Parliamentary Committee chaired by Geeta Mukherjee
examined the 1996 Bill and made seven recommendations. Five of these have been
included in the latest 2008 Bill. These are (i) reservation for a period of 15 years; (ii)
including sub-reservation for Anglo Indians; (iii) including reservation in cases where
the state has less than three seats in Lok Sabha (or less than three seats for SCs/ST s);
(iv) including reservation for the Delhi assembly; and (v) changing “not less than one-
third” to “as nearly as may be, one-third”. Two of the recommendations are not
incorporated in the 2008 Bill (Madhvan: 2010).
The first is for reserving seats in Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils. The
second is for sub-reservation for OBC women after the Constitution extends reservation
to OBCs.Article 80of the Constitution specifies that members of state assemblies will
elect Rajya Sabha MPs through a single transferable vote. This implies that the votes
are first allocated to the most preferred candidate, and then to the next preferred
candidate, and so on. This system cannot accommodate the principle of reserving a
certain number of seats for a particular group. Currently , Rajya Sabha does not have
reservation for SCs and ST s. Therefore, any system that provides a reservation in
Rajya Sabha implies that the Constitution must be amended to jettison the Single
Transferable Vote system (Madhvan: 2010). Currently , the bill is still pending in the
Lower House of Parliament, which is Lok Sabha. The bill will only be passed if the
ruling government supports the bill with full force, as they have the majority in
Lok Sabha.
IV.Causes of Low Par ticipation of Women in Politics
To understand the ratio of women’ s participation in Indian politics, we need to
understand the socio-cultural, economic, educational and psychological factors.
It prepares the ground for encouraging women’ s participation of women. Women in
executive government positions. Therefore, the causes of low participation of women
in Indian politics can be examined as followings:
1. Domestic Factors:
Domestic responsibilities are thrust upon women. In a patriarchal set u, the women
are expected to perform are the duties within the household. She has to work, care
and give birth. It reduces her chance to take an active part in social or political life.
It keeps the role of women apolitical. It leads to male members making political
decisions like whom to vote, which party to join, contesting elections, after getting
elected to any public office her decisions and functions are managed by the male
members of the family behind the curtains. There is also a view prevalent that politicsmunotes.in
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77would require compromising on principles and ethics. Thus her duties in family as
daughter , sister , wife, mother etc. becomes a ground of depriving her the political
opportunities.
2. Lack of support from family:
Family play a great role in the success of any person. Women are an integral
part of any family . They have a lot of responsibilities to look after . Even the family that
supports women’ s participation in politics, expects them to manage it along with
domestic responsibilities like cooking, cleaning, taking care of children etc. Thus,
joining politics becomes an additional burden on her . Sometimes, the family connects
the honours and dignity factor with the life-style of the women. Therefore, the cultural
and family impediments have so far discouraged women from taking an active part in
politics.
3. Social Attitude:
Indian society is a victim of patrilineal dominance. The attitude of the patriarch
is predominant in all family matters. Therefore, women are considered as non- decision
making persons in socio-political matters. Also, the perception of society towards
women in politics is discouraging. The women who take an active part in movements,
revolutions, protest, party meetings or other political activities are not appreciated.
The ethics and moral bearings are always put under suspicion. It becomesquit
discouraging for the family and disheartening for the women to adjust such a negative
attitude. The patriarchal thought process and the orthodox view of women restrict
their opportunities.
4. Financial Dependence:
Due to patrilineal character of society , most of the resources are under the control
of men. Right from ownership of property , family business, land title, house to cash
income of the family are under the control of men. Therefore, the women can not take
any decision which includes expenditures, investments, donation or contribution social
or political activities. Even, women who have their earnings/income have very small
control over it. It is controlled and used by the male members of society . The economic
class of the women also matter . The women belonging to upper economic strata, can
hire domestic help and other services for pay . It saves them time and ener gy to think
and participate in political activities. On the other hand the women belonging to lower
economic strata are busy with household work, hence do not get time to think and
participate in politics. Although, the law now provides for an equal share of women in
the parental property and wealth the social and emotional mindset is still not very
encouraging in sharing the wealth with women. This is one of the most desired areas
of empowerment we need in Indian society .Chapter 6 : Women and Politics
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5. Role of Politi cal Parties:
Germany and France have a unique way of reservation of seats for women. It is
done at the party level itself. 33 per cent of party tickets and positions are reserved
for women. This ensures a fair representation of women. Indian political parties have
failed at this frontier as well. There are many parties like Indian National Congress
(INC)- led by Ms. Sonia Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) - led by Mayawati,
AIADMK - led by late J. Jayalalitha, Trinamool Congress (TMC)- led by Ms. Mamta
Banarjee but these parties couldn’t provide adequate positions and party tickets to
the women. They also followed the male dominant political narratives. There is no
system to ensure women’ s representation in political parties. The leadership of the
parties are under the control of males, who come from the same traditional
social-cultural background where the role of women is minimal.
However , the country can boast of having had, in the past a woman prime minister
(Indira Gandhi), and several chief ministers (Sucheta Kripalani, Nandini Satpathy , J.
Jayalalitha, Rabri Devi, Vasundhara Raje for example) Sharma.
V. Possible Solutions :
1. Global Lessons for India:
While women dominate Rwanda’ s national legislature (thanks to the thirty
per cent quota for women in parliament and government), a 2014 electoral law in
Bolivia required 50 per cent of each political party’ s list to be women. Similarly
countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, South Africa etc., to have legislated
quotas that women are elected in their respective parliaments (D’Cruz: 2020). There
are many democracies in the world that has satisfactory representation of women in
highest representative body . Counties like Bangladesh and Pakistan are ahead of India.
Thus, India need to learn a lesson from these countiers and create ways for women to
participate in politics.
2. Women’ s Reservation:
The reservation of 33 per cent seats for the women at Panchayat, Municipal,
State Assembly and Parliament is the need of he day . The women’ s reservation billmunotes.in
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79has been pending in parliament since 1996. after 24 years also, the governments and
political parties could not reach any consensus on this matter . But it’ s high time that
the bill is passed. Whatever , apprehensions and concerns are adjoined with the bill
must be brought in public for a deliberation. The main concerns about an ethnic and
castebased reservation for women also need academic and technical deliberation.
3. Change of Socio-Cultural Attitude:
The mind set of Indian patrilineal society needs a radical reform. The social
prejudices like women are for bearing and rearing the child should change. As it was
projected by the feminist movement, that, ‘personal is political’. The personal is
political, also called the private is political, political slogan expressing a common belief
among feminists that the personal experiences of women are rooted in their political
situation and gender inequality . Although the origin of the phrase “the personal is
political” is uncertain, it became popular following the publication in 1970 of an essay
of the same name by American feminist Carol Hanisch, who ar gued that many personal
experiences (particularly those of women) can be traced to one’ s location within a
system of power relationships (Kelly : 2017).
As Amaritya Sen also said in ‘Social Exclusion’ that the women rights should be
treated as a matter of ‘entitlement’ not as compassion or mercy . Society must check
and remove the impediments, which exist as a result of its own conservative and
narrow attitude and culture. The women will be able to lead their own way of
development and empowerment.
4. Awareness and Education:
Low political participation is a general trend in India. People have a very negative
approach towards politics and politicians. When it comes to women, the situation
further deteriorates. Therefore, we need extensive political awareness, political
education in formal as well as in formal ways. There is a need to teach the lessons on
positive and good citizenship and politics. the politicians and parties should also consider
it as their responsibility to ensure the equality and fair representation of women in
decision making and elected of fices. This will certainly increase women’ s participation
in politics.Chapter 6 : Women and Politics
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Conclusion :
Despite enormous difficulties, women have certainly made a long way in Indian
politics. Due to the increase in literacy and opportunities the role and impact of women
have been increasing. But it would be wrong to conclude that the political isolation of
women is over . A lot needs to be done. The government and society should work
together to empower women through equal opportunity and participation. It is possible
through education, awareness, making of laws, reservation of seats for women.
Questions for Exercise
1. Examine the causes of the low representation of women in India.
2. What are the ways to increase women’ s participation in politics?
3. Write a note on role of women in society and politics since ancient times.
4. Comment o n the current status of women in Indian politics.
References
lAssociation for Democratic Reforms (2019): Women and politics: The Rise
and Fall’ based on report published in Indian Express on 23 Jan 2019 https:/
/adrindia.org/content/women-and-politics-rise-and-fall
Accessed on 8 February 2021, 9.40pm.
lAsia and the Pacific, UN Women.
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/countries/india/leadership-and-participation/
fact-and-
figures#:~:text=In%20South%20Asia%20only%207%20percent%20women%20are%20members%20of%20political%20parties. ,
Accessedd 8 February , 2021, 4:00pm
lBrunell, Laura and Burkett, Elinor (2020): “Feminism”. Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Sep. 2020, https://www .britannica.com/topic/feminism. Accessed 9 February
2021, 8:44pm.
lD’Cruz, Nancy (2020): Women Politics Beyond Reservation. Feminism In
India. Retrieved 10.25, February 19, 2021.
https://feminisminindia.com/2020/01/30/women-politics-beyond-reservations/munotes.in
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81lElection Commission of India (2021): Retrieved 2.19pm, February 18, 2021
from https://eci.gov .in/files/file/10947-24-participation-of-women-candidates-
in-poll/
lMadhavan, M. R. (2010): Update on the Women’ s Reservation Bill,
Legislation Summary by PRS legislative. Retrieved at 5.30pm, on February
18, 2021 from: https://www .prsindia.or g/theprsblog/update-
women%E2%80%99s-reservation-bill
lKelly , C. J. (2017, May 1). The personal is political. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Retrieved 1 1.23am, February 19, 2021 from : https://www .britannica.com/topic/
the-personal-is-political
lUN Women (2021): Facts and figures: Women’ s leadership and political
participation, The UN Women. Retrieved on February 18, 2021, 5.15pm
from: https://www .unwomen.or g/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-
participation/facts-and-figures
lUNICEF : Tag line, available on https://www .unicef.or g/rosa/what-we-do/
gender -equality , Accessed on 8 February 2021, 9:41pm.
lWikipedia contributors. (2020, October 5). History of women in the Indian
subcontinent. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:16,
February 18, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/
index.php?title=History_of_women_in_the_Indian_subcontinent&oldid=981954789
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7
RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES AND
SECULAR POLITICS
Objectives
After studying this chapter , the learners will be able to:
lTo gain knowledge about multi- r eligious Indian Society
lUnderstand the Constitutional freedom of religion
lTo be able to explain the concept of secularism and secular politics
lUnderstand and causes and remedial steps on communal politics
I.Introduction
India is a land of every faith and religions in the world. Hinduism is the main
religion of this country . Besides, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism are also born in this land
and spread across the world. Christianity , Zoroastrianism, Islam and Judaism came to
India after the 7th century AD. It came with the invaders and missionaries. The enormous
diversity of India is flexible to accommodate everything into it. Also, the religions in
India have always coexisted with political authorities. They enjoyed royal patronage
and protection. In return the religious heads would guide and help the state to practice
‘just’ and ‘unjust’. Right and wrong. They would also act as a mechanism to convince
the people about the decisions made by the state. As per the census 201 1 data, the
population ratio of various religious communities is as following:
Religion Percent Estimated State/UT
Majority
Hindu 79.80 % 96.62 Crores 28
Muslim 14.23 % 17.22 Crores 2
Christian 2.30 % 2.78 Crores 4
Sikh 1.72 % 2.08 Crores 1
Buddhist 0.70 % 84.43 Lakhs -
Jain 0.37 % 44.52 Lakhs -
Other Religion 0.66 % 79.38 Lakhs -
Not Stated 0.24 % 28.67 Lakhs -
Source: Census of India, 201 1, https://www .census201 1.co.in/religion.php . retrievedmunotes.in
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83II. The Concept of Secularism :
The term “Secular” means being ‘separate’ from religion, or having no religious
basis. A secular person is one who does not owe his moral values to any religion. His
values are the product of his rational and scientific thinking. Secularism means separation
of religion from political, economic, social and cultural aspects of life, religion is treated
as a purely personal matter . It emphasized dissociation of the state from religion and
full freedom to all religions and tolerance of all religions. It also stands for equal
opportunities for followers of all religions, and no discrimination and partiality on
grounds of religion. In 1945 Pandit Nehru wrote, ‘I am convinced that the futur e
government of fr ee India must be secular in the sense that government will not
associate itself dir ectly with any r eligious faith but will give fr eedom to all r eligious
functions’ (Rajshekharaiah, A: 1987).
III. Value Dimensions of Secularism in India
The basic principle of a secular state is that religion and state must be separated.
It was Italian thinker Machiavelli who for the first time suggested separation of ‘religion
and state’. Former President of India, Dr . S. Radhakrishanan in his book ‘The r ecover y
of faith’ said ‘ the r eligious impar tiality of Indian state is not to be confused with
atheism. Secularism is defined in accor dance with ancient r eligious traditions. It
tries to build-up a fellowship of believers, not by subor dinating individual qualities
to the gr oup mind but by bringing them to harmony with each other (President
Radhakrishnan: 1956).
1. Secularism as a Civic Value
The ‘civic’ life of the Indian state are based upon ‘secular ’ values. Citizenship
and rights are enjoyed by the people on secular criteria. Secularism is the basis for
civic equality in India. As Hoveyda and Kumar said in Political Theor y ‘civic equality
also implies equality of all citizens to have their conscience. This means equality
of religious rights such as the right to believe and pr ofess a r eligion’ (Hoveyda &
Kumar: 2012, 333). Thus the civic value of secularism also provides the right to every
citizen to have a conscience and scientific temperament. Thus every Indian citizen has
the freedom to have religion or not to have a religion. The secular values of Indian
state treats religion and conscience as personal and private matter of an individual.
Hence, the public or social value of secularism in India means adherence to the ‘civic’
life of the nation, without bringing personal likes- dislikes or bias and prejudices intoChapter 7 : Religious Communities and Secular Politics
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public life. Everyone is free to follow the religion or faith of their choice, but no one
can pressurize, punish or force others for the same.
2. Secularism as a Constitutional Value
The right to freedom of religion is an important value of modern liberal democracy .
Right to freedom of speech and expression, union and association implies the right to
freedom of religion and form and join religious union or associations. The freedom of
religion is provided in Article 25 to 28 of Part III (Fundamental Rights) of Indian
constitution. The preamble of the constitution aims at making India a ‘secular ’ republic.
The ‘liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship’ is loudly declared in the
preamble. Art. 25 to 28 ensures a fine balance between private conscience and
public morality as far as religion is concerned.
Article 25 : Freedom of Conscience, Profess, Practice and Propagate Religion.
Article 26: Freedom to manage religious affairs.
Article 27: Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular
religion.
Article 28: Fr eedom Against r eligious instructions.
However , these freedoms are subject to public health and morality and laws
of the land. No one while adhering to their religious values or practices should heart,
degrade, defame the similar values of other person/s. Also, the S tate and its or gans
(Government departments) are prohibited from directly or indirectly endorse any
religion, faith or other such values. The institutions fully or partially receiving grant,
aid, the contribution from the government can not indulge in any religious practices.
But at the same time it will not create any impediments in the way of religious freedom.
Thus Indian constitution is neutral and equal towards all the religions and faith within
its territory . Therefore the Indian constitution provides for ‘neither religious nor against
it but it is a-religious (neutral) state’.
In S.R. Bommai vs. UOI, It was held that ‘ Religious tolerance and equal
treatment of all r eligious gr oup and pr otection of their life and pr oper ty and the
places of their worship ar e an essential par t of secularism enshrined in our
constitution. while the citizen of this countr y is fr ee to pr ofess, practice and
propagate such r eligion, faith or belief as they choose, so for as the state is
concerned i.e. fr om the point of view of the state, the r eligion, faith or belief of
a person is immaterial to it, all ar e equal and all ar e entitled to be tr eated equally .
(Bommai Vs. UoI: 1994).munotes.in
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853. Secularism as a Political Values
The constitution of India provides for a secular state. There is no official scope
to use or involve religion in political activities. It is established through the procedure
laid down in the procedure of registration of political parties, associations, membership
of the or ganisation, electoral campaigning, political literature etc. As per the People’ s
Representation Act. 1951, it is mandatory for the political parties to adhere to the
values of secularism and forbade use of religion in party constitution, symbols, electoral
manifestos, campaigning etc. Section 123 (2 - b) of PRA 1951 and sub ‘ clause.
6[(3), prohibits, ‘The appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any other person
with the consent of a candidates or his election agent to vote or r efrain fr om
voting for any person on the gr ound of his r eligion, race, caste, community or
language or the use of, or appeal to r eligious symbols or the use of, or appeal to,
national symbols, such as the national flag or the national emblem, for the
furtherance of the pr ospects of the election of that candidate or for pr ejudicially
affecting the election of any candidate’ (PRA 1951).
Thus, Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as amended
in 1961, gave rise to this doubt. The Supreme Court by a four -three majority , a seven-
member Bench has ruled that it is a general prohibition on the use of religion or any
other communal or sectarian value in the electoral arena. The political parties are
often found flaunting the norms for an electoral gain during the elections.
4. Secularism as a Human Rights Values
‘Secularism is vital for the implementation of human rights’ (Bennoune: 2007). It
is highly difficult to champion the cause of secularism without making grounds for
Human Rights to be enjoyed by every person in society .
Article 18 of UDHR (1948) considers freedom of religion as the utmost priority
for a democratic society . According to this, ‘Ever yone has the right to fr eedom of
thought, conscience and r eligion; this right includes fr eedom to change his r eligion
or belief, and fr eedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or
private, to manifest his r eligion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and
observance’ (UNO- UDHR: 1948). The Success of any democracy lies in securing
rights of the citizens. Secularism is a novel value, that strengthens the state and society .
Like Human rights, secularism is also a universal value endorsed by most of the
democracies on the earth. However , sometimes the fundamentalist forces try to oppress
the secular character of the state, like Turkey . Indian has always endorsed values ofChapter 7 : Religious Communities and Secular Politics
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secularism and human rights. Right since ancient times this land gave the philosophy of
‘sarve bhavantu sukhinah’ (may all be happy). Indian constitution also protects
the right to religion of every person. It has also endorsed the human rights charter and
established National Commission for Human Rights.
IV.Communalism as a Threat to Secular Politics
Communalism represents a strong feeling of attachment to one’ s own community .
It is opposite to secular values. It is a feeling of orthodox individuals and community .
It is a cause of intolerance and hatred towards other religion and faiths. Though,
coming together with any community with a constructive approach is not bad. It might
help in social-economic upliftment of the people within the community . But when it is
used with negative intentions, it creates ideological and identity based rifts in society .
It leads to the feeling of we and them.
India has experienced the worst communalism of its kind. On the eve of
independence, the nation got divided on communal lines. Muslim league under he
leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah gave the call for ‘direct action’, which resulted
into massacres across the subcontinent. Bengal, Bihar , Sind, Karachi were worst
affected areas. Since then the politics has taken a communal colour . Especially the
politics of minority appeasement and aggressive majority behaviour has left inedible
marks on secular fabric of the nation. The first communal riot took place during the
time of Aurangzeb against his discriminatory religious policy in 1671-81 at Narnaul,
Benaras. Hindus and Muslims destroyed temples and mosques and killed each other .
Interestingly Bombay Dog Riots took place in 1832 (6 to 7 June) in South
Mumbai area. Pars is were protesting against the British government’ s killing of stray
dogs. During the 19th century AD a lot of Parsi- Muslim riots took place. But after
British came to India, the Hindu Muslim conflict become the worst place for communal
riots. There has also been other than the Hindu - Muslim riots, like 1991 anti-T amil
violence in Karnataka where Tensions between Kannadi gas and T amils after the
Cauvery river dispute turned into violence. Hindu- Buddhist Riots, Maharashtra (1974),
Sikh Riots (1984), Ethnic Riots in North- East (Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur , Mizoram,
Assam) against migrant workers were amongst others in India. Therefore, the
involvement of religion in politics in neither new , nor the politicians hesitate to resort to
the use of religion during elections or for political gain. However , communalism has
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87V.Causes of Communalism
Every socio-political strife finds its base in a range of social, cultural, economic,
ideological, political and other significant behavioural factors. It can be understood
that, ‘the peak of politics of secularism, creates room for communalism’. The Illogical
practice of secularism, leads to resentment and a sense of competitive gain of one
community over the other . In a multi-faith diverse society like India, it is more likely to
happen. Because secularism is often misused by the ruling class or party as a tool of
promoting the politics of appeasement. India has better experience of such kind of
divisive politics, right from the British colonial era. British policy of ‘divide and rule’
from time to time resulted in communal riots too. Be it partition of Bengal (1905),
Communal Award (1909), encouraging Muslim league and Jinnah or provoking
communal leaders, they did not leave any stone unturned in setting Hindus and Muslims
against each other . Therefore, the main causes of communalism can be elaborated as
follows :-
1. Legacy of the past.
India suffered the worst kind of communal riots born out of the ‘call for direct
action’ by Jinnah and his two-nation theory . It has created a permanent sense of mutual
suspicion and rift between the Hindu and Muslim communities. The political parties
always tried to encash this feeling. Despite adhering to the concept of secularism, the
ghost of the past always appears in its present and threatens the future as well.
2. Roll of Communal Leaders.
Gone are the days when politicians like Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi would risk
his life to stop communal riots. nowadays the power seeking leaders manipulate public
opinion against each other . Sometimes they are instrumental in engineering hatred and
communalism through their speeches, writings, actions etc. They promote their political
agenda and electoral gain by making communities fight against each other .
3. Role of Communal Parties and Organization.
Religion is an important agency of political mobilization in India. It is a very soft
emotional matter for the public. This sentiment is exploited by politically motivated
and affiliated religious organisations in favour of parties to make them strong. They
give calls, diktats, fatwa during elections. Organisations like Muslim League, Jamaat
Islami, Hindu Mahasabha, Akali Dal, V ishwa Hindu Parishad and AIMIM ar eChapter 7 : Religious Communities and Secular Politics
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directly or indir ectly r esponsible for the emer gence of communalism ( Nitisha:
2014). The so called secular parties also indulge in politics of appeasement, which
disturbs the secular environment in India.
4. Minority Appr oach:
The minority community’ s assimilation with the mainstream politics and society
has been driven by sectarian approach. This leads to the birth of majority communalism.
The widening distance and communication gap between minorities and the majority
often escalates communal emotions. This emotion is occasionally provoked by religious
and community leaders which results in communal riots. Sometimes misleading messages
or rumour leads to mistrust, which culminates into communalism.
5. Overemphasis on Distinct Identity
In a multicultural and heterogeneous society like India, acceptance of others
identity and choice is essential. Sometimes, members of minority community
over-emphasis on the public manifestation of their identity and rituals. Intentionally or
unintentionally it hurts the majority sentiments. Similar , practices are seen in majority
community . Such feelings lead to the rejection of values of secularism within the
community . Also, when the majority community attempt to ignore, overpower or
discourage the minority community to enjoy their distinct identity it creates communal
problems. In India public manifestation of celebration of festivals and rituals are leading
causes of communal problems.
6. Illiteracy and Poverty
Illiteracy leads to unemployment and poverty . Due to illiteracy people are easily
manipulated and made to believe in false information or partial truths. The unemployed
youth false prey at the hand of communal miscreants, who misuse their time, energy
and minds by filing it with hatred and criminal intentions towards other communities.
Thus, people trapped in mass poverty and ignorance, are likely to indulge more in
communal violence than on educated and employed person. The week economic
condition and social backwardness breed a sense of rebellion and hatred.
7. Vote Bank Politics
Indian politics is heavily engrossed in religion. Religious polarization is an easy
tool to play vote bank politics. Sometimes, the politicians themselves are at the
forefront of communal riots. This is a prevalent nature in pre and post independent
India. During the British period Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha emerged as themunotes.in
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89main political fronts. Similarly , leaders in post independent India resort to communal
politics. We should also understand that majority and minority community political
leaders are equally responsible for communal rifts for vote banks politics.
8. Hands of Foreign Elements
Along with the domestic factors, cross border forces, terrorist or ganisations,
criminal gangs also keep on attempting to create a communal rift in the society . So
that they can achieve their goals by dividing people into communal lines. The Hindu-
Sikh communalism was supported by sympathisers of banned terrorist organisation
Babar Khalsa. The Hindu- Muslim terrorism is often engineered by Pakistan based
terrorist outfits or its intelligence agency ISI. Likewise, anti - India forces keep on
tapping anti- national forces within the country to create communal tension.
9. Misuse of Media and Social Media
Sometimes, the news or any small incident appearing in print, electronic, internet
or social media results in communal tension. Mass media is a major source of knowledge
and information for the common people in India. People forward and share unauthentic
and non verified news, views, rumour on social media like Whatsapp, Facebook etc
which leads to communal violence. The outreach of digital and internet media is wide
and deep. When it is misused by the communal and anti social elements, it promotes
tension between the community . In India people have a tendency for believing without
verifying, which makes them a prey of false news and information.
VI. Conclusion
The pattern of communalism and riots in recent times have marked serious
threats to secular values in Indian society . Sudha Pai writes, ‘ our model of
‘institutionalization of ever yday communalism’ suggests that the r elationship
between communalism and riots has under gone pr ofound change: it is not riots
that pr omote communalism; rather it is the steady and long-term work at the
grass r oots… (Pai & Kumar: 2018). Thus, divisive communal past, economic
backwardness, pervasive social inequalities, continuing conservative outlook and
entrenched caste/communal identities, have contributed to the growth of communalism
that impacts the democratic fabric and constitutional framework of our country seriously .Chapter 7 : Religious Communities and Secular Politics
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Question for Practice
1. Define the term Secularism and discuss various dimensions to it.
2. What are the main causes of Communal riots in India?
3. Examine the role of religious communalism in Indian politics.
4. Give a brief account of Constitutional provisions relating to religion and
secularism.
References
lBennoune, Karima (2007): Secularism and Human Rights: A Contextual
Analysis of Headscarves, Religious Expression, and Women’ s Equality Under
International Law . Columbia Journal of Transnational Law , Vol. 45, No. 2,
Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=989066, retrieved on March 3,
2021.
lBommai, S. R. Vs. Union of India case, Judgment on 1 1/03/1994.
lNitisha (2014 ): 9 Major Causes of Communalism in India, retrieved from:
https://www .yourarticlelibrary .com/communalism-2/9-major -causes-of
communalism-in-india/471 13 , on 5th March 2021, 12.09pm
lPai, S., & Kumar , S. (2018): Conclusion. In Everyday Communalism: Riots in
Contemporary Uttar Pradesh. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 5 Mar . 2021,
from https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/
9780199466290.001.0001/oso-9780199466290-chapter-7.
lRadhakrishnan, S. (1956): ‘Recovery of Faith’, World Perspective, Vol. IV ,
New York, Harper & Bros pages, vii + 205 (former President of India).
lUNO (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, retrieved from https://
www .un.or g/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ on March 4, 2021,
4.49pm
lRAJASEKHARIAH, A. (1987). JA WAHARLAL N E H R U ’ S
CONTRIBUTION TO SECULARISM IN INDIA-AN ESTIMA TE. The Indian
Journal of Political Science, 48(2), 212-224. Retrieved March 6, 2021, from
http://www .jstor .org/stable/41855300
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918
POLITICS OF LANGUAGE AND
REGIONALISM
Objectives
After studying this chapter , the learners will be able to:
lUnderstand the meaning and concept of regionalism
lCauses of rising of regionalism in India
lConstitutional provisions about languages
lPositive and Negative aspects of Linguistic sub nationalism
lSecessionist movements and future of regionalism
Chapter Scheme
I. Introduction
II. Historical Background
III. Causes Of Regionalism
IV. Language And Politics
V. Linguistics Conflicts
VI. Constitutional Provisions On Languages
VII. Conclusion
I. Introduction
Regionalism stands for the expression of linguistic, territorial, demographic
and cultural attachment of people in a specific area. It motivates people’ s sense of
belonging, fraternity and togetherness. However , its negative approach leads to the
perpetuation of hatred -xenophobia, and ultimately a threat to the ‘unity and integrity’
of the nation. The movements advocating regionalism and linguistic sub - nationalism
emerged after the 1960s. It was seen as a result of the declining of the Congress party
and the rise of regional kshatraps (leaders) in various part of the country . Another
type of regional movements emerged as a backlash of theory of ‘sons of soil’ acrossmunotes.in
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the country . Especially in Maharashtra, Punjab and North- Eastern part of the country .
The third type of regionalism was the secessionist movement in nature, which advanced
the demand for separate ‘nationhood’ i.e. Khalistan Movement in Punjab, Naga
movement in Nagaland and Separatist Movements in Jammu and Kashmir . Apart from
this, linguistic sub - nationalism like anti Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu, Shiv Sena’ s
Movement for the Marathi language in Maharashtra etc. are some of the leading
instances of politics and language and regionalism.
Regionalism could exist as an emotion, ideology , programme or process of
mobilising and uniting people under a certain banner . If it has a positive motive, it will
result in social, educational, economic integration, empowerment and development of
the region. Also, creative regionalism never perpetuates any kind of hatred towards
migrants. When it acquires a negative mood and agenda, it results in violence, hatred,
backwardness and disruptive politics in the region.
II. Historical Backgr ound of Reorganization of S tate :
The British government in India gave differential treatment to presidencies,
princely states, and other tribal regions. It led to the birth of feelings of regionalism.
The social and economic conditions in different regions were already imbalanced and
suffered disparities. The independence movement worked as a source of uniting Indians
and accepting the plurality . However , the demand for separate Bihar (1915) the Dravida
movement in Madras (1940), Demand for Separate Andhra Pradesh (1953), Sanyukta
Maharashtra movement (1956) and secessionist movements in North East India
promoted the tendencies of regionalism in India.
After independence the country underwent the process of reorganization of
more than 500 princely states. S. K. Dhar Commission (1948) and JVP committee
(1949) (named after Jawaharlal Nehr u, Vallabhbhai Patel, Pattabhi Sitharamaiyah
as members) advocated reorganisation of state on the administrative convenience,
geographical contiguity , financial self reliance and potential for development. However ,
the demand for a separate state on linguistic basis had become violent in Andhra and
Maharashtra. Potti Srirammalu, a veteran Gandhian leader went on fast unto death
and he passed away after 53 days of fasting. The situation in Andhra and Maharashtra
become very volatile. Hence, State Reorganisation Committee (SRC) was set up
under Justice Fazal Ali (1953) to look into the possibility of creation of states onmunotes.in
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93linguistic basis. Nevertheless, none of the above three commissions was in favour of
the creation of the state on a linguistic basis. However , the increasing political pressure
led to enactment of the S tate Reor ganisation Act. 1956.
However , the North-East part of India faced a lot of insur gency during 1970s
and 1980s. Union government passed the North-Eastern state Reor ganization Act.
1971. As a result of this union territory Tripura and Manipur (1972) and Sub-Sate of
Meghalaya become full state. Mizoram and Arunanchal (tribal district to Union)
became states in 1987. However , the demand for a separate state based on linguistic,
ethnic or other kept growing. From 2000 till now , the S tates of Chhattisgarh (2000)
out of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand (2000) out of Bihar , Uttarakhand (2000) out of
Uttar Pradesh and Telangana (2014) out of Andhra Pradesh have come into existence.
III. Causes of Regionalism:
The feeling of regionalism or sub-nationalism in India exists and grows due to
several reasons. There are multiple factors behind the germination and growth of
regionalism in India. It can be broadly categorised under political, economic and
constitutional heads. Following are the main causes of regionalism in India:
1. Constitutional or Federal Arrangements
India is a union of states. The constitution of India has divided the legislative,
executive and financial powers between the centre and the states, which gives the
constitution a federal character whereas judiciary is integrated into a hierarchical
structure (Jagran Josh 2021). The centre-state relations are divided into three parts,
which are mentioned below:
(A) Legislative Relations (Article 245-255)
(B) Administrative Relations (Article 256-263)
(C) Financial Relations (Article 268-293)
Articles 245 to 255 in Part XI of the Constitution deal with the legislative
relations between the Centre and the State. The legislative powers are divided in to
three lists namely a. Union List (100 items), State list (61 items) Concurrent List
(52 items) and residuary power in Art. 249. However , the in case of any conflict
between the union and state on any law , the union law prevails. The concurrent list
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2. Economic backwardness
The state and dif ferent regions in India have developed in an imbalanced manner .
Therefore, some of the regions express their discontent over centre governments biased
attitude towards their development. The provisions for centre - state financial relations
are provided in Article 268 - 293 of Part XII of the Indian constitution. The Constitution
has provided independent sources of revenue to Union and States. The Union and
States have exclusive power to levy taxes on the subjects mentioned in their legislative
list. But Union has an upper hand on taxation over subjects in the concurrent and
residuary lists. This uneven model of development resulted in enormous variations.
On the one hand state like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana
are developed owing it to their the industrialisation, one the other hand Bihar , Odisha,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, UP are still lagging. This results into strengthening of the
feeling of regionalism in developed as well as backward states.
3. Electoral politics
Initially , Indian National Congress was a nationwide predominant party . It leads
to centralisation of the party and government. After 1960s many leaders defected the
Congress to form a regional political party or join an existing one. After formation of
the party , the regional leaders raised the issues of development, ethnic pride, sons of
soil etc to mobilise the vote bank. Thus the compulsions of electoral success intensified
the emotions of regionalism.
4. Sharing of resources
The Union and State, State and States have been fighting over securing or
protecting their claim over natural resources. For example disputes over water exists
in almost every states. Cauvery , Krishna, Narmada water disputes have resulted in
great violence. Similarly , the employment opportunities, industrial projects also nurture
the feelings of regionalism in India. Recently , the Haryana government passed a law
reserving 75 per cent of jobs in the private sector for the local people.
5. Ethnic or racial pride
Diversity is the strength of India. But sometimes, its negative promotion creates
identity-based rifts in society . The political leaders and regional parties often appeal
to people in the name of racial, linguistic or ethnic identities. They give the call in the
name of ‘sons of soil v/s outsiders’.munotes.in
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956.Linguistic identity
Language has worked as one of the biggest factors of regionalism. Since the
states in India are created on the lines of language, therefore, every linguistic group or
community takes pride in their language. It also paves ways to hatred towards people
speaking other languages. Like Belgavi dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka.
7. Leadership
This is one of the most influential factors behind regionalism in India. The leaders
with substantial influence in a certain region, try to assert themselves before the union
government or national level political parties. It helps them to widen their base on their
home turf. Therefore, they provoke, motivate and sometimes lead to parochial
regionalism.
IV.Languages and Politics :
India is a multi-linguistic country . It works as an important source of gaining
knowledge and civilizations. The language has a direct connection with the regionalism.
The constituent assembly has adopted Hindi as a national language. But, non- Hindi
regions especially , South and North Eastern have opposed it strongly . The anti- Hindi
agitations in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal become very violent in 1965. Prime Minister
Lal Bahadur Shastri’ s government introduced a three language formula to handle the
situation.
1. Three-language formula
The main aim is to promote national unity and integrity . It also helps to get exposure
to rich literature and ideas available in other languages.
First language: Mother tongue of the region shall be the first language or regional
language for official and general purposes.
Second language: Hindi is the second language in non- Hindi speaking states and other
modern Indian languages, including English is second language in Hindi speaking areas.
Third Language: English or any modern Indian language is adopted as the third
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V.Linguistics Conflicts :
Initially the states like Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Puducherry were not ready to
teach Hindi, on the other hand the states in the Hindi belt did not include any South
Indian language in the curriculum. Thus, there is an unending debate about the linguistic
unification of India. The states keep on complaining about the inadequacy of resources
to follow three language pattern. Because, it requires a huge amount of resources for
teaching, translation, publication and scope of employment in that language. The
linguistic issue often results in conflict and hatred. It is a pan Indian phenomenon.
Thus, linguistic formation of states in India, led to dividing than uniting the people. It is
also associated with pride and ego. Therefore, it becomes really difficult to
accommodate all the languages. The political leadership has also used language as a
tool of dividing the people to promote their vote bank politics. The founding father ’s
of the nation considered language to play the role of a bridge between ideas, cultures
and knowledge, but the politics and regionalism and linguistic sub-nationalism have
rather created walls.
VI. Constitutional Provisions on Languages :
Indian Constitution is committed to protecting the interest of citizens, especially
the minorities. Part III of the constitution provides fundamental rights ensuring the
interests of minorities. VIII schedule of the constitution has 22 languages as the official
language of India. Official Languages The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists
of the following 22 languages: (1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5)
Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi,
(11) Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17)
Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri. Of these,
14 were initially included in the Constitution. The Sindhi language was added by the
21st Amendment Act of 1967. Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included by the
71st Amendment Act of 1992. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by
92nd Amendment Act of 2003.
Article 29 : This article provides that ‘any section of the citizens, having a distinct
language, script or cultur e of its own shall have the right to conser ve the same.’munotes.in
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97Article 343: It provides for the provisions of the official language of the Union of
India. It says, ‘the official language of the Union of India, is to be Hindi in
Devnagari script and numerals should follow the international form of Indian
numerals’. further , this article states that English will continue to be used as an of ficial
language for 15 years from the commencement of the constitution.
Article 346: This Article provides for the ‘authorised’ language of communication
between the Union and States. If two or more states agree, Hindi could be adopted
as a medium of communication.
Article 347:
This Article gives the President power to recognise a language as an of ficial language
of a given state, provided that the President is satisfied that a substantial proportion of
that state desires that the language be recognize. Such recognised can be effective in
part or the whole state.
Article 350A and 350B : Article 350A provides the option to impart primary education
and instructions in the mother - tongue of the region. Whereas, Article 350B provides
for the appointment of a Special Officer for linguistic minorities. Such an officer shall
be appointed by the President of India and it will have the power to investigate in
matters relating to the safeguards for linguistic minorities. It submits the report directly
to the President of India, who may cause it to be placed before Parliament. If the
matter is concerning to any particular state, it can be sent to them as well.
Article 351: This article provides the power to the Union government to issue
directives regarding efforts to be made for the development of the Hindi language.
VII. Conclusion
Regionalism and linguistic sub nationalism areone of the greatest threat to the
unity and integrity of India as a nation. Its positive manifestation results in development,
fair representation, enrichment of language and culture. But, its negative implication
has tools to divide the communities and nation. Nevertheless, the genuine problems of
states and regions must be resolved at the earliest. Decentralisation of power , fair
sharing and transfer of economic resources, fulfilment of union govt. Commitments
and avoiding the misuse of constitutional powers under emer gency like Art. 356 will
certainly control regionalism.Chapter 8 : Politics of Language and Regionalism
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Questions for Practice
1.What do you mean by regionalism? Illustrate with suitable example in India.
2.What are the main causes of regionalism in the India?
3.What are the provision for languages in Indian constitution?
4.How the language and politics works as a source of unity and conflict in India.
References :
lJAGRAN JOSH
https://www .jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/unionstate-relations-
centrestate-relations-1438065901-1 , Created On: Jul 28, 2015 12:15 IST ,
Modified On: Sep 21, 2015 1 1:36 IST
lDrishti Notes on regionalism
https://www .drishtiias.com/to-the-points/paper1/regionalism-in-india-
upsc#:~:text=Parochial%20regionalism%20poses%20a%20threat,prime%20
example%20of%20negative%20regionalism.
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ETHNICITY
Objectives
After learning this chapter the learning will be able to:
lUnderstand the meaning and concept of Ethnicity
lUnderstand the Ethnic demography in India
lUnderstand their basic characteristic
lUnderstand the problems of Ethnic communities
Chapter Scheme
I.Introduction
II. Ethnicity : Meaning and Definition
III. Basic Characteristics of Ethnicity
IV.Deprivation, Disparity and the S tate’s Response
V.Conclusion
I. Introduction
While reading about the human society we come across the terms such as
‘Ethnicity or Ethnic’. The term Ethnicity loosely refers to race. India is a home to
various Ethnic groups. The history of its diversity goes back to the post- Vedic era
when Aryans arrived in India from central Asian roots. Thus during the ancient and
medieval era a lot of invaders came to India from different parts of the world. Such as
European, Mangol’ s, Central Asian, Shaka’ s, Hun’ s etc. That is why India has become
a land of diverse racial groups. Hence, India got multiple levels of social diversity . A
community may be distinguished with its culture, language, religion or a combination
of all these factors. Ethnicity and nation building have been one of the leading problems
in India. When Ethnicity gets political backing it leads to conflicts.
In several newly formed nations after 1950s, a lot of bloodsheds took place
on ethnic lines. Like Pakistan, Nigeria, Canada and Belgium. The question of national
unity suf fered, ethnic conflicts. With a population of 1,210,193,422 as accounted bymunotes.in
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the March 1, 201 1 population census, India is a colourful canvas portraying unique
assimilation of ethnic groups displaying varied cultures and religions. This uniqueness
in the ethnicity of the country is the factor that makes it different from other nations.
Moreover , the vastness of India’ s nationalism, accounting for plethora of cultural
extravaganza, religions, etc. is the reason that the country is seen more as a seat for a
major world civilization than a mere nation-state.
II. Meaning and Definition
The Ethnic group is a subgroup of a population with a set of shared social, cultural
and historical experience. It has distinct beliefs, values and behaviours and often nurtures
a strong sense of belonging. Thus, it has biological, cultural and historical connotations for
identification as on Ethnic group. ‘ India as we know has cultural economic and social
heter ogeneity . The complex ethnic plurality of our nation is a known fact. The ethnic
groups var y in size, cultur e, the consciousness of gr oup identity etc. and ver y often
clear boundaries can be demar cated between the gr oup. The system on the whole is
highly segmented and heter ogeneous’ (e-gyankosh).
According to Britannica a Encyclopedia, ‘Ethnicity r efers to the identification
of a gr oup based on a per ceived cultural distinctiveness that makes the gr oup into a
“people.” This distinctiveness is believed to be expr essed in language, music, values,
art, styles, literatur e, family life, r eligion, ritual, food,…’ (Encyclopedia,
Britannica, 2021).
III. Characteristics
Since ancient times, the spiritual land of India has displayed varied hues of
culture, religion, race, language, and so on. This variety in race, culture, religion, etc.
accounts for the existence of different ethnic groups who, although, live within the
sanctums of one single nation, profess different social habits and characteristics (Know
India: 2021). Ethnic communities are different in terms of culture, custom, usages,
rituals and lifestyles. They are different in terms of geographical and demographic
locations also. The occupation, habitat, natural surroundings influence their Ethnic
characteristics. The main characteristics of Indian Ethnic groups are as follows :-
1. Territorial Identity:
Different Ethnic groups spread across India. In North, the Aryan race is
predominant, in South the Davidian race, while in North - East the Mongolian Racemunotes.in
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101exists. It is carefully noteworthy , that the above classification is made on the racial
ground, not on the grounds of national identity or citizenship. Regional territories in
India play an important role in differentiating these ethnic groups, from their own social
and cultural identities.
2. Religious Identity:
The religions that are prevalent in the country are Hinduism, Christianity , Islam,
Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, with the freedom for citizens to practice any religion
they want to.
3. Regional Identity :
India is a huge country . With the governance of 35 dif ferent states and union
territories in the country , there has originated a sense of regionalism and sub-nationalism
amongst the various parts, with different states displaying different cultures, which
although eventually fuse through a common bond to showcase a national cultural identity .
4. Linguistic Identity:
The Constitution of India has recognised 22 different languages that are prevalent
in the country , out of which, Hindi is the of ficial language and is spoken in most of the
urban cities of India. Other than these 22 languages, hundreds of dialects add to the
multilingual nature of the country (Know India: 2021). There are probably hundreds
of major and minor languages and many hundreds of recognized dialects in India,
whose languages belong to four different language families: Indo-Iranian (a subfamily
of the Indo-European language family), Dravidian, Austroasiatic, and Tibeto-Burman
(a subfamily of Sino-T ibetan). There are also several isolated languages, such as Nahali,
which is spoken in a small area of Madhya Pradesh state. The overwhelming majority
of Indians speak Indo-Iranian or Dravidian languages (Encyclopedia Britannica: 2021).
5. Lifestyle based Identity:
Ethnicity in India originates from identities like Caste, Language, Religion and
Regional factors. Different Ethnic groups are culturally and socially distinct. The
tradition, customs and rituals of each ethnic community are different. Their food, dress
and social interaction are different. The vested political interest has often marginalized
the Ethnic communities. Therefore, they remain politically marginalized and socially
excluded. That is why they often fight for their economic resources.Chapter 9 : Ethnicity
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102Indian Government And Politics
Conclusion :
Therefore, it can be said that ethnically , India has many nations within one nation.
The enormous diversity based on ethnicity makes it a vibrant land of opportunities to learn
from each other . However , sometimes its politicisation, results into ethnic conflicts, especially
in North East. The communal conflicts in the name of religion or language are also a kind
of ethnic clash. Nevertheless, ethnic diversity is the reality of the modern world. As Will
Kymlicka has also emphasized on the concept of ‘multiculturalism’ rather than monolithic
society . Cultural diversity has become a central feature of contemporary society , and seems
likely to become more so in the immediate future. Increasing contact among societies as a
result of improved communication and transportation has made for population movements
and population change. Increased diversity in Canada is the result of changing patterns of
immigration, with many more people of colour immigrating to Canada. Ethnocultural
conflicts have become the main type of political violence around the world - Yugoslavia,
Rwanda, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Middle East, etc.
Questions for Exercise
1.Explain the concept of Ethnicity in India.
2.What are the main characteristics of Ethnic communities in India?
3.Write a note on the Ethnic diversity and problems therein.
References
l Encyclopedia Britannica (2021)
https://www .britannica.com/topic/ethnicity , accessed on 14.03.2021, 7:00pm
l Glazer , N., Gr eeley , A., Patterson, O., & Moynihan , D. (1974). What Is Ethnicity?
Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 27(8), 16-35. doi:10.2307/
3822652
l Know India (2021): Ethnicity of India
https://knowindia.gov .in/culture-and-heritage/ethnicity-of-india.php , accessed on
14.03.2021, at 7.13pm
l Kymlicka, Will (1995): Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights
review entitled Introduction to Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship (Clarendon Press,
Oxford), retrieved from http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/k1.htm on 14/03/2021.
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