Recent Developments in Indian Politics Notes in English Class 12 Political Science Chapter-8 Book-POLITICS IN INDIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE

 Chapter - 8 

indian politics new changes 

Major changes in the 1990s  

• The 1980s saw many important political changes . 

1. End of Congress dominance

• Whereas the Congress Party had won 415 Lok Sabha seats in  1984 , it could win only 197 seats in 1989   .

• The ' Congress System ' prevailing in the Congress Party has come to an end  ।

• The dominance of the one-party system of the Congress is no longer as it was in the earlier days  ।

2. Rise of the ' Mandal issue '

• ' Mandal issue ' started in national politics।

• In 1990 , the National Front government implemented the Mandal Commission's recommendations for reservation for ' Other Backward Classes ' in central government jobs.  ।

• Violent anti-Mandal protests were seen across the country between supporters and opponents of reservation।

3. Introduction of new economic policies 

• New economic policies were introduced in 1991 under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi's government ।

• All the governments formed during this period continued to implement the new economic policy. 

4. Ayodhya dispute 

• The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, a disputed structure between Hindus and Muslims, was demolished in 1992।

• This incident created an atmosphere of debate on Indian nationalism and secularism and led to many changes in politics .

• At this time, the rise of BJP and the politics of Hindutva began .

5. Change in the leadership of the Congress Party

• In May 1991 , Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by Sri Lankan Tamils ​​affiliated with LTTE while he was on an election campaign tour to Tamil Nadu  ।

• Due to this, a change was seen in the leadership of the Congress Party .   

• The Congress Party won the 1991 elections and Narasimha Rao was elected Prime Minister .

The era of coalitions 

1. Coalition Government from 1989 to 1998 

1. 1989 Ninth Lok Sabha Election Result

1. Congress – 197

2. Janata Dal – 143

3. BJP – 85

4. CPI Marxist – 33

5. CPI – 12

2. Coalition Government , National Front

• Support- Left Front and Bharatiya Janata Party .

• The National Front was supported by both the right wing and the left wing .

• V. P Singh was a Congress leader .

• But he exposed the Bofors scam .

• He opposed the Congress .

• He was also the Defence Minister in Rajiv Gandhi's government .

• Later he opened a front against Rajiv Gandhi .

3. Some major events during V.P Singh's tenure

• Implemented the recommendations of Mandal Commission .

• Under which OBC category got 27% reservation .

• There was nationwide protest against this .

• Ram Rath Yatra (by LK Advani)

• Ayodhya movement .

 2.  Chandrashekhar ( 10 November 1990 - June 1991)  

• Left Janata Dal and formed Samajwadi Janata Dal .

• He had the support of 64 MPs and Congress supported him from outside and thus formed the government .

• Later Congress withdrew its support due to which his government fell . 

Some important events of Chandrashekhar's tenure

• Some important events of Chandrashekhar's tenure।

1. Economic crisis in 1991 .

2. Inflation rate increased .

3. Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) fell।

4. Their policies were not correct which increased the crisis on the economy ।

3. P.V. Narasimha Rao ( 21 June 1991 - 16 May 1996)

• Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991 , after which elections were held .

• 1991 10th Lok Sabha election results .

1. CONGRESS - 244

2. BJP - 120

• Congress made P.V. Narasimha Rao the next Prime Minister 21 June 1991 - 16 May 1996
  

• New economic policy was adopted. Finance Minister- Manmohan Singh took loan  from IMF .

Issues in dispute

• At this time there was a BJP government in UP.

• Chief Minister- Kalyan Singh.

• Babri Masjid was demolished on 6 December 1992 .

• Many ministers in Narasimha Rao's government were accused of corruption.

4. 1996 elections 

• 1996 Eleventh Lok Sabha Election Results.

• BJP emerged as the largest party.

• BJP - 161 seats.

• Congress - 140 seats.

• Elections were held in 1996 .

5. United Front

• External support from Congress and CPI and support from other regional parties

• Congress was not happy with A.D Deve Gowda.

• Congress said that Deve Gowda takes decisions without asking Congress.

• That's why Congress withdrew its support.

• Congress was not happy with A.D Deve Gowda.

• Congress said that Deve Gowda takes decisions without asking Congress.

• That's why Congress withdrew its support.

6. N.D.A

National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance.

1) NDA is a political group.

2) This is a coalition of many parties.

3) The biggest party in this is BJP.

4) NDA was established in 1998 .

5) At the time of its establishment it included 13 parties.

6) NDA – I government lasted from 1998 to 1999 .

7) NDA - II government lasted from 1999 - 2004 .

• Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government fell in 1999 .

• In April 1999 , AIADMK 's Jayalalitha withdrew her support.

• Due to which Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government fell in just 13 months.

• The Kargil war took place with Pakistan from May to July 1999 .

• In such a situation, Operation Vijay was launched in which Pakistan was defeated.

• This once again benefited Vajpayee ji politically.

7. Results of 13th Lok Sabha elections in 1999

1. BJP – 182 NDA – 269

2. Congress - 114.

This time Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government completed its term

 NDA Coalition  - I & II  

1. Foreign investment was encouraged

2. LPG policy was taken forward

3. Get national highways constructed

4. Golden Quadrilateral Scheme

5. Talks with Pakistan 

6. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

7. Improve relations with America

8.  Attack on Parliament in 2001

9. Riots in Gujarat in 2002

Other Backward Classes politics 

• This is a different category from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in which educationally and socially backward people are included.

• Many communities of backward castes were getting distanced from Congress due to its policies and thus non-Congress parties got their support.

• Bharatiya Kranti Dal and Samyukta Socialist Party had a significant support base among the Other Backward Classes at the rural level.

1. ' Mandal ' Commission and Other Backward Classes

• In the National Front government, a commission was formed to improve the condition of other backward classes, whose chairman was Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal .

• This commission was called Mandal Commission. It presented its recommendations in 1980 , and the National Front government implemented these recommendations. 

• The Janata Dal united the OBCs in the 1980s and during this period many other parties also came forward which raised the demand for better opportunities for the OBCs .

2. Political consequences

• Political organisations related to Dalit castes emerged in the 1980s . 

• Organisations like ' BAMCEF ' ( Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation) talked about the development and welfare of the ' Bahujan ' i.e. Scheduled Castes , Scheduled Tribes , Other Backward Classes and Minorities.

• ' BAMCEF ' later became ' Dalit-Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti ' and then later established itself as the Bahujan Samaj Party. 

• Kanshi Ram organised the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and it gained the support of Dalit voters of Punjab , Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. 

• This party achieved success in the politics of Uttar Pradesh in the elections of 1989 and 1991 and formed the government here more than once.

•  This party got maximum support from Dalit voters. 

 

Communalism , Secularism and Democracy 

1. The rise of politics based on religious identity

• After the Emergency , the Bharatiya Jana Sangh merged with the Janata Party, but after the end of the Janata Party, the supporters of Jana Sangh formed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980 . 

•  The BJP initially proceeded from the ideology of ' Gandhian Socialism ' , but did not achieve much success in the elections of 1980 and 1984 . 

• The BJP emphasised Hindu nationalism and ' Hindutva ' politics after 1986 and mobilised Hindus. 

2. Politics of Hindutva 

• The term ' Hindutva ' was coined by V.D. Savarkar and he said that it is the foundation of the Indian nation.

• Savarkar said that only he can be a citizen of India who accepts it not only as his ' fatherland ' but also as his ' holy land ' . 

• Savarkar believed that a strong nation can only have a unified national culture and its foundation is only Hindu culture.

3. BJP as a Hindutva party

In 1986 , two things happened which brought about significant changes in the politics of BJP.

1. Shah Bano case

• In 1985 , a 62 -year-old divorced Muslim woman filed a petition in the court to get maintenance from her former husband and the Supreme Court gave the decision in favor of Shahbano. Orthodox Muslims considered this against their ' personal law ' .   

• On the demand of Muslim leaders, the government passed the Muslim Women Act  (1986) and repealed the Supreme Court decision.

• This decision of the government was opposed by women's organizations , Muslim women's group and most of the intellectuals.

• The BJP raised the issue strongly and termed it as an unnecessary concession and ' appeasement ' given to the minority community .   

2. Ayodhya dispute

• There has always been a controversy over the Babri Mosque located in Ayodhya. It was built by Mir Baqi in the 16th century. According to Hindu belief, the mosque was built after demolishing the Ram Temple. 

• This dispute continued in the court for years and in the 1940s it was locked. 

• The controversy further escalated when the Faizabad District Court ruled in February 1986 that the lock should be opened so that Hindus could perform prayers there.

• As soon as the lock of the premises of Babri Masjid was opened , Hindu and Muslim organizations started mobilizing their respective communities on this issue and the atmosphere became tense throughout the country. 

4. Babri Masjid demolition and aftermath

• Organizations supporting the construction of Ram Temple organized a ' Kar Seva ' in December 1992 and called upon Ram devotees to donate their labor for the construction of ' Ram Temple ' .

• To garner public support, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh , Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP organised a big ' Rath Yatra ' from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.  

• On 6 December 1992 , people from different parts of the country gathered and demolished the mosque even though the Supreme Court had ordered the state government to protect it.

• After the news of demolition of the mosque, clashes broke out between Hindus and Muslims in many parts of the country and many states were affected by it. 

• Communal violence broke out in Uttar Pradesh , Mumbai and Gujarat in which hundreds of people were killed.

5. Debate on secularism 

• The Ayodhya incident brought about many political changes . The Centre dismissed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and President's rule was imposed in all the states where the BJP was in power.     

• BJP officially expressed regret over the Ayodhya incident.

• A contempt of court case was filed against the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for failing to protect the ' disputed site ' despite the Supreme Court order .    

• A serious debate on secularism began in India as to whether the majority religious community would dominate the minorities or whether all religions would be given equal protection of law and equal civil rights in India.   

6. Friendly acceptance of legal proceedings

• It is important to understand that disputes are bound to happen in any society.

• But in a multi-religious and multi-cultural democratic society these disputes are generally resolved through due process of law.

• Through a variety of democratic and legal processes, including court hearings, mediation efforts, and mass movements

• Ultimately, on 9 November 2019, the Ayodhya dispute was resolved as a result of the 5-0 decision of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court.

• This decision harmoniously resolved the conflicting interests of various stakeholders involved in this dispute.

• The decision allotted the disputed site to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the construction of a Ram temple and ordered the relevant government to allot suitable land to the Sunni Central Waqf Board for the construction of a mosque.

Results of 14th Lok Sabha Elections in 2004

Congress - 145 BJP – 138.

 UPA Coalition   - I & II 

• In the 2004 elections, Congress also joined the alliance with full force.

• The NDA was defeated and the Left Front supported the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)

• The 2004 elections also saw a revival of the Congress to some extent.

• This time, after 1991 , the number of seats won by the party was again larger ; in the 2004 elections, the difference between the total votes polled by the NDA and UPA was much less.

• In this way the party system has completely changed compared to the seventies.

2004 – 2009 - (UPA-I & UPA-II)

• The UPA was born after the 2004 elections

• UPA was a coalition of Congress and several other parties.

• Many Congressmen wanted Sonia Gandhi to become PM but many opposition parties were against it

• After this the problem was solved and Manmohan Singh was made the Prime Minister

• Manmohan Singh is a renowned economist. 

• He has been Prime Minister  twice 

• He has also been the Finance Minister 

• 2004 – 2009 - (UPA-I)

The reformer of Indian economy has been Prime Minister twice 

2004 – 2009 - (UPA-I)

2009 – 2014 - (UPA-II)

2004 – 2009 - (UPA-I & UPA-II)

• Aadhaar Card Project 

• National Rural Health Mission

• MNREGA Project

• right to Information 

• Right to education   

• improving relations with the US , 

• Increase in trade , agreements on nuclear deal

• Inflation increased

• GDP started falling 

• Many scams came to light

• Anna Hazare Movement

⊗ N.D.A 

NDA Coalition   - III & IV

• The election results of 2014 were historic because after 30 years a party got absolute majority.

• This time BJP was able to form the government on its own because BJP had got 282 seats.

• But BJP formed its government with NDA alliance.

• The NDA alliance had got 336 seats.

1. Results of 16th Lok Sabha Elections in 2014 

1. BJP – 282.

2. NDA – 336.

3. Congress - 44.

2. Results of 17th Lok Sabha election in 2019

1. BJP – 303.

2. NDA – 353.

3. Congress - 52.

3. The slogan of 'Sabka Vikas Saath' was given ( NDA-III)

The government implemented several schemes

• Ujjwala scheme.

• Public wealth scheme.

• Make in India , Self-reliant India.

• Ayushman Scheme.

• Mudra scheme.

• Abolish Planning Commission and bring in Niti Aayog.

• Abolition of Article 370 .

• Educate daughters, save daughters.

• Farmer's crop insurance.

• Clean India campaign

Growing consensus 

There was broad agreement among most parties on many important issues; four such issues were prominent

first issue 

• The new economic policy will make the country prosperous

• India is the economic power of the world

Second issue 

• Political and social claims of the backward classes

• Rise of Other Backward Classes

Third issue 

• Role of provincial parties in the governance of the country

• The importance of regional parties will increase

Fourth issue 

• Emphasis on accomplishment of work instead of ideology

• BJP's Hindutva ideology