Democracy in India Nios

DEMOCRACY IN INDIAISSUES AND CHALLENGES

for Class XII

Textbook in Political Science

Author

A.S. Narang

EditorNalini Pant

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION : DEMOCRACY IN INDIA 1-5

Unit I : Elections in India 7-47

1. Adult Franchise and Electoral Participation 9

2. Election Commission and Election Procedure 21

3. Election Reforms 33

Unit II : Party System, Public Opinion and Interest Groups 49-95

4. Political Parties and Party System 51

5. National and State Parties 64

6. Formation of Public Opinion 79

7. Interest Groups and Pressure Groups 86

Unit III : Development and Democracy 97-138

8. Socio-Economic Development and Planning in India 99

9. Multi Level Planning and Role of District Development 112

Agencies10. Development of Weaker Sections : Scheduled Castes, 120

Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes11. Development of Weaker Sections : Women 131

Unit IV : Challenges and Responses 139-185

to Indian Democracy

12. Inequality : Social and Economic 141

13. Education and Illiteracy 152

14. Regional Imbalances : Regionalism, Linguism and Separatism 161

15. Communalism, Casteism and Political Violence 173

Unit V : India and the World 187-283

16. Foreign Policy of India : Determinants and Basic Principles 189

17. India and Her Neighbours : Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, 203

Bangladesh and Pakistan18. India’s Relations with USA and Russia 226

19. India and the United Nations 238

20. India and South Asian Association of 248

Regional Cooperation (SAARC)21. India’s Role in Non-Aligned Movement 258

22. India’s Approach to Major World Issues: Disarmament, 269

Human Rights and Globalisation

GLOSSARY 284-287

(viii)

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Introduction : Democracy in India

THE beginning of India’sindependence on 15th of August

1947 was a great day in the long andeventful history of this ancient country.The attainment of independence,however, was not an end in itself. Itwas not only political freedom thatthe leaders of the freedom strugglewere fighting for, but also forthe establishment of a new order ofsociety. The leaders had a vision forminimisation of economic and socialinequalities, removal of mass poverty,unemployment and underemployment,restoration of human dignity,guarantee of civil rights, restoration ofcommunal harmony and justice for all.These hopes and expressions wereembodied in the Constitution of Indiawhich was adopted on 26th January,1950. The visions were largelyreflected through the Preamble to theConstitution and the parts dealingwith Fundamental Rights andDirective Principles of State Policy. Toachieve the prescribed goals, theframers of the Indian Consti-tution relied completely on the normsof democracy.

You might have already studied thatframers of the Indian Constitution

provided for a representative democracyin a liberal framework. The maincharacteristics of liberal democracy are:• The government is formed by

elected representatives of citizensand is accountable and responsi-ble to them.

• More than one political parties com-pete for political power.

• The competition for power is openand not secretive. It is through openelections.

• There are periodic elections basedon universal adult franchise.

• Pressure and other organised andunorganised groups are alsoallowed to operate in the system.They are also able to influencegovernment decisions.

• Civil liberties, such as freedom ofspeech, religion and association,etc. are guaranteed.

• There is separation of powers andcheck by one over the other, e.g. controlover the executive by legislature.The above characteristics primarily

refer to the aspects of a democratic formof government. Most political thinkersof the present age, however, agree that

2 DEMOCRACY IN INDIA : ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

democracy does not mean merely aform of government. In a broader andmoral sense, it means a way of life, anorder of society, a way of social andeconomic relations, and above all a beliefsystem. Such a political and socio-economic system is based on the idealsof dignity and equality of citizens,principles of equality, liberty, fraternity,and justice and norms of governmentresponsible and accountable to people.These ideals, principles and norms tobe implemented require certainconditions, which we may call asprerequisites of democracy. Theseprerequisites are required in everysphere — social, economic and political.The social conditions require: socialequality of status, equality beforelaw and equality of opportunity;educationally and culturally developedcitizenry; absence of all kinds ofdiscrimination; and equal opportunitiesto participate in social, cultural, andeducational processes. Economicconditions mean: absence ofwidespread inequalities; fulfilmentof minimum material needs for adignified human existence; justifiabledistribution of resources; equalopportunities for gainful employment,equal pay for equal work andprotection against exploitation: Politicalconditions include: rule of law; equalityof citizens and equal opportunities forparticipation in political affairs;guaranteed and protected rights —particularly freedom of thought, beliefand expression. It also include freedomof participation in civil and political

processes; government by the people ortheir representatives free and fairelections and respect for dissentand opposition.

Many political thinkers andobservers believe that without socialand economic prerequisites, politicalconditions of democracy cannot beachieved. They, therefore, suggest thatbefore a society or state decides tobe governed democratically, it isessential for it to have a minimum levelof social and economic development.Many others, however, believe thatdemocracy itself provides a better andsuccessful means for attainment ofsocial and economic development. Theframers of Indian Constitution werefully committed to this view. In fact,their faith in democracy was so deepthat soon after independence they madeprovisions for the universal adultsuffrage, i.e. right to vote to every adultcitizen without any discrimination.

Even in developed countries likethe UK and USA, this right was grantedto all citizens gradually by stages.Therefore, it can be said thatintroduction of democracy in India, inthe — then prevailing conditions, wasa revolutionary act. Establishmentof parliamentary democracy anduniversal adult franchise, gave theIndian masses a sense of identity andalso raised at new hopes.

The very first General Election of1952 under the new Constitution washailed an epic achievement of a countryof millions of illiterates. Thereafter,scholars and observers from all

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over the world have been attractedby the successful working of asystem of popular democraticgovernment based on adult franchise,guaranteed fundamental rights andan independent judicial system.Successive general elections atscheduled intervals and the peacefuland relatively efficient manner in whichthey have been conducted, havedemonstrated that in spite of theirpoverty and widespread illiteracy, thepeople in general have proved theframers of the Constitution right. Withevery election, the base of democracyin India has got widened. This isparticularly important in view of thefact that in most of the countries whichattained independence after the SecondWorld War, democracy has beenreplaced by military dictatorship orone party system. In India, it hasnot only worked but has alsoprovided a considerable amount ofpolitical stability.

In social and economic fields also, thecountry has made great strides. Fiftyyears ago, the life expectancy for theaverage Indian was 27 years. It is now63 years. The literacy level at the dawnof independence was much less thanwhat it is today. Agriculturalbreakthrough of the early seventies hasnot only made India self-sufficient in foodbut we now produce surplus. Milkproduction has gone up significantly. Atthe time of independence, countryproduced just 1362 MW of electricity;which is now over 10,000 MW. Industrialproduction also has greatly diversified.

There is also a considerable futuristiceuphoria about the prospects ofindustrial, economic and technologicalprogress. It is expected that by 2020,India would be amongst the first 10countries in terms of per capita income.It is also predicted that India would bethe largest software developer in theworld and its advances in spacetechnology would greatly enhance itspotential for education, meteorologyand disaster management, etc. India isalso playing an important role inworld affairs.

However, Indian democracy isflawed in many respects. India has notbeen able to acquire a stable nationalunity and the political system has notbeen able to fulfil the aspirations of allgroups, sections, and classes. A vastmajority of the Indian people are caughtin the situation of abject poverty,illiteracy, and unemployment. Morethan 60 per cent of the Indianpopulation does not have access tobasic sanitation. There is almost acollapse of public health. Thepopulation has increased more thanthree times since independence. Ofcourse, the Gross National Product(GDP) has increased four fold and in thelast decade alone per capita GDP hasdoubled. But in view of increase inpopulation and concentration of benefitsin few hands this increase remainsinsufficient. Result is about 50 per centof all children below 5 years of age areunder weight and malnourished.

The reality of Indian society is thefact that economic development has not

INTRODUCTION : DEMOCRACY IN INDIA


been accompanied by institutionalchanges that could have moved it in anegalitarian direction. It could notabolish mass poverty and was not ableto secure a minimum level of living andopportunities for all its citizens. Therichest 20 per cent have taken awayabout 50 per cent of the gains and thepoorest 20 per cent are left with onlyabout 8 per cent. Almost 35 per centof the population is below theofficial poverty line. In human develop-ment, India ranks 128th amongst173 countries as per the UNHuman Development Report 2002.Representation of women at all the levelsof government is not even 6 per cent.Relentless pursuit of power and wealthhas been the dominant preoccupationof many in public life. Consequently,the ideals and aspirations which hadinspired the millions to participate in thestruggle, still have remained to a largeextent unrealised.

There is thus a peculiar situation.The very fact of political independence,establishment of Parliamentarygovernment and grant of universal adultfranchise, has given the common peopleof India a sense of identity as well as aconscious recognition of their positionof exploitation and discrimination.Politicians wanting their votes haveplayed up this feeling but have takenno concrete action to see that theweaker sections were given aparticipatory and effective role in thesocio-economic development of thecountry. Consequently, people aregetting alienated from the system and

losing faith in the electoral system. Tokeep them in the game of elections,ambitious individuals have startedcounting on caste base, communal,linguistic and regional loyalties.Elections, as such, have become endsin themselves, instruments of the statusquo and of self promotion rather thanof change. With this another seriousfactor has emerged; it is politicisationof crime, and criminalisation of politics.

Altogether, Indian society todaypresents a picture which is far frombeing in line with the lofty doctrines ofliberty, equality, fraternity, socialjustice, secularism, fair play andabove all rule of law enshrined inour Constitution. Instead of nationalintegration, we now have growthof divisive forces and separatistelements and groups. Communalism,regionalism and casteism are becomingconspicuously visible forces that areweakening, if not actually negating theattempts to build solidarity intoIndian society.

During the last 55 years of India’sindependence, India has witnessed bothsuccesses and failures in running thedemocratic processes. Our country hasachieved success in many fields. It hasevolved a lasting Constitution, a viablepolitical system, a functional federalpolity and strong democratic traditions.It has achieved a relatively self-relianteconomy. Quality of life has improved.India has achieved breakthrough inscience and technological research.Diverse races and ethno-lingualgroups have been unified without

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destroying their identities. Above all,a vast multi religious, multi ethnicand multi cultural country has beenkept united.

These achievements, however, arefacing serious challenges from thenegative trends that have crept in overthe years. There has been of latestagnancy and decay in the politicalfield. Economic development remainsdissatisfactory. India is still far behindthe developed countries. Caste,communal and linguistic tensions aregrowing in such proportion that theunity of the country appears to bethreatened. Society is looking towardsyounger generation with hope. Theyhave to understand that democracycannot be frozen into a static mouldadopted at one time. It has to adapt,

adjust and evolve itself to conti-nuously changing situations andcircumstances. For that, it isimportant to understand the existingnature of system — how it has beenworking, why and what aberrationsand problems have crept in, whatlessons can be learnt from the pastexperiences and what needs to bedone? The purpose of this book onIndian democracy is to make youaware of all these and to prepare youparticipate in the system as a proudcitizen of a great ancient country andcontribute effectively in the task ofmaking corrections, and improvement.There is no doubt that with the effortsof younger generation Indiacan look forward to emerging as agreat nation.

INTRODUCTION : DEMOCRACY IN INDIA

UNIT I

ELECTIONS IN INDIA

9

L IKE other democracies of thepresent day world India, also is a

representative democracy. It means itis a system of government in whichpolitical decision making is done by theelected representatives of the people.For choosing representatives the mostcommon method is elections and voting.Elections may not in themselves be asufficient condition for politicalrepresentation, but there is little doubtthat they are a necessary condition.In fact elections are the very heart ofdemocracy. It is through free and fairelections, the rulers are called toaccount and if necessary replaced.Apart from giving an opportunity tocitizens to participate in choosing theirrepresentatives, elections are alsoimportant instruments for politicaleducation, informing the people aboutnational problems and placing beforecitizens various alternatives of policies.Thus, there can be little doubt thatelections are a vital part of anydemocratic process by which peopleexercise their political choice and theirright as citizens. Therefore, right to voteis provided to make electionsmeaningful and representative.

Adult Franchise andElectoral Participation

UNIVERSAL ADULT FRANCHISE

While importance and significance ofelections in a democracy has beenuniversally accepted, there has been adebate about who can vote. Conditionsattached to such right to vote havevaried both over time and withincountries. For example, in UnitedKingdom, to begin with, right to votewas given only to men with property.It was gradually extended during thenineteenth century. Until 1918 all mencould vote but only some womenobtained this right. Women weregranted right to vote only in 1928. Nowin almost all democratic countries adultcitizens irrespective of property,education, race, religion, gender orother differences have been given rightto vote which is popularly known asUniversal Adult Franchise/Suffrage.Which offices or posts are subject toelective principle depend onconstitutional and governmentalsystems of each country. In somecountries, large number of officesincluding those of Judiciary are electedones whereas in some these areprimarily for legislative bodies. But in

CHAPTER 1


general democratic principle acceptsthat at least those responsible formaking laws and imposing taxes mustbe elected. Another important aspectof elections in democracies is thatthese are held periodically. That isrepresentatives are elected for a fixedtenure and they have to seek freshmandate at the end of tenure. Forconducting elections there are variousmethods as also rules and regulationsframed by each country. These set ofmethods and rules is called electoralsystem. We will discuss later some typeof prevailing electoral system. But youcan keep in mind that an electoralsystem is essentially a method ofconverting votes cast by electors to seatsin the elected bodies. The central factor,which distinguishes one electoralsystem from another, is the method bywhich it allocates seats. There arebroadly three ways in which this canbe done: seats can be allocated tocandidate obtaining plurality of votes(that is maximum among thecontesting candidates), or candidatesobtaining a majority of the votes (morethan 50 per cent), or to political partiesin proportion to percentage of votespolled by each of them. Accordingly,there are three systems: pluralitysystem, majority system; andproportional system. In India we haveall these three systems for elections tovarious bodies and offices.

The plurality system which is alsoknown as the first past the post systemhas been adopted for elections to theHouse of People (Lok Sabha) and StateLegislative Assemblies (Vidhan

Sabhas); the majority system forelections to the offices of President andVice-President; and proportionalrepresentation for Council of States(Rajya Sabha) and Legislative Councils(Vidhan Parishads). Details of theseand procedures associated with themwill be discussed in the next chapter.In this chapter let us first look at theelectoral politics in India in general inthe context of working of democracy.

ADULT FRANCHISE IN INDIA

India is a Parliamentary democracy.Therefore, its governance draws itsultimate legitimacy from the will of thepeople which they exercise byparticipating in elections at regularintervals. Citizens’ right to vote,therefore is crucial in sustaining India’sdemocracy. This right has been givento the citizens by the Constitution ofIndia. Article 326 of the Constitutionprovides that the Election to the Houseof People and to the LegislativeAssembly of every State shall be on thebasis of adult suffrage; that is to say,every person who is a citizen of Indiaand who is not less than 18 years ofage (earlier up to 1989 it was 21 years)“on such date as may be fixed in thatbehalf by or under law made by theappropriate legislature and is nototherwise disqualified under thisConstitution”, has right to vote.

It is thus clear that every citizen ofIndia irrespective of caste, creed,religion, sex, place of birth, social oreconomic status etc. has an equal rightto vote. In other words, irrespective of

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educational or economic status eachcitizen’s value of vote is equal.Constitution, however, prescribescertain conditions under which a citizenbecomes disqualified to be a voter. Acitizen having an unsound mind orhaving been punished for electionrelated offences comes underthis category.

The extension of political power(right to vote) to the common man ofIndia, is no doubt an importantinstrument of social justice. It may bementioned here that while even in manydeveloped (Western) countries universaladult franchise developed in steps; inIndia, it was introduced right in thebeginning. Right to vote in Indiawas considered not only as anessential mechanism for working ofParliamentary democracy but alsoas an instrument for achievingsocio-economic justice throughpeoples’ participation, accountableand responsible government andmobilisation of citizens’ participationin political process. It should also bekept in mind that apart from Lok Sabhaand State Legislative Assemblieselections are also held for local selfgovernance bodies like MunicipalCommittees and Corporations andPanchayati Raj Institutions, thus givingopportunity to voters to exercise theircontrol and choice at different levels.Elections are also held for the offices ofPresident and Vice-President of India;but in these citizens do not participatedirectly, it is their representatives inParliament and Legislative Assemblieswho vote in these elections. As a whole,

elections have become one of the mostcentral political processes in India.They are keenly contested andparticipated. During last 52 years ofthe adoption of the Constitution, Indiahas had thirteen general elections to theLok Sabha and various to the StateLegislative Assemblies. There had beendemocratic changes of governments,both at the Centre and in States, severaltimes through the electoral process.Though, during elections a number ofaberrations and malpractices have creptin, elections more or less have beeninstrumental for peaceful change ofgovernments and expression of people’saspirations and protests.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

First general election was held in India in1951-52 on the basis of adult suffrage.This was a simultaneous election both forthe Lok Sabha and all State LegislativeAssemblies. Second general election heldin 1957 was also a simultaneous election.In third general election in 1962, electionsfor two State Assemblies i.e Keralaand Orissa could not be heldsimultaneously with general election.Similarly, in 1967, simultaneous electionscould not be held in Nagaland andPondichery along with fourth generalelection to the Lok Sabha. After 1967,election to most of the assemblies had tobe held separately from that of LokSabha. Fifth general election for LokSabha was held in 1971 and thereaftergeneral elections were held in 1977,1980, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998and 1999.

ADULT FRANCHISE AND ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION


In terms of participation inelections, there has been a steadyincrease in percentage of voting turnout (although, there have been somefluctuations here and there) (see Table1.1). Further, studies show that theincrease has been both in urban andrural areas. Similarly participation bywomen has also increased with each

election, although the level of turn outfor women is lower in some ruralconstituencies.

It clearly shows that the right tovote and system of free elections hasdrawn millions of very differentlysituated people into the politicalprocess, opening up opportunities forthem in sharing and controlling power

Year Elective Candidate Electorate Voter Turnout PollingSeats (in per cent) Stations

1952 489 1,864 173,213,635 61.2 196,084

1957 494 1,591 193,652,069 62.2 220,478

1962 494 1,985 216,372,215 55.0 238,244

1967 520 2,369 249,003,334 61.3 267,555

1971 518 2,784 274,094,493 55.3 342,944

1977 542 2,439 321,174,327 60.5 358,208

1980 542 4,620 355,590,700 56.9 358,208

1984 542 5,481 399,816,294 64.0 434,442

1989 543 6,160 498,906,429 62.0 505,751

1991 543 8,699 514,126,390* 61.0 594,797*

1996 543 13,952 592,572,288 57.9 767,462

1998 543 4,750 605,884,103 62.0 773,494

1999 543 4648 619,559,944 59.9 774,607

* Excluding Jammu and Kashmir

Sources : PIB, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Election Commission of India.

Table 1.1: General Elections at a Glance

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and in claiming a share in the benefits.At the same time, it is also true thatthe act of voting itself is not evidenceof political awareness or involvement.Many a times voters are just pushedinto and coerced to vote in favour ofcandidates either under emotionalpressures of caste, religion orcommunity or under threat fromeconomically and socially powerful.Voting by such uninformed anddisinterested voters obviously isqualitatively different from voting byone who is politically conscious.Results of various elections and trendsof voting also suggest that votingbehaviour of Indian voter is notdetermined by any single factor. Theseinclude social, political and economicfactors. Let us look at how variousfactors determine voter’s participationand behaviour.

DETERMINANTS OF ELECTORALPARTICIPATION AND BEHAVIOUR

As has already been mentioned,elections provide the people withopportunity to influence the politicalprocess, and also help directly orindirectly, to determine who will holdgovernment power. Elections are alsoa visible manifestation of public interest.The reason to vote and vote in favour ofa candidate, therefore, is determined byboth individual’s own reasons andperceptions as also by her/his being apart of a collectivity or group. At thesame time the voting behavior is shapedboth by short term and long terminfluences.

SHORT TERM INFLUENCES

Short term influences are specific to aparticular election and therefore do notdetermine the voting patterns ingeneral. An important short term factoris the state of economy at the time ofelection. This includes situation ofunemployment, inflation, availabilityor non-availability of essentialcommodities, etc. We have cases inIndia when main issue of electioncampaign had been the price ofcommodities like onion or governmentsinability to control inflation. Localconditions of life, like water and powersupply, road conditions, law and ordersituation have also determined votingbehavior either in general or inparticular constituencies. Anothershort term influence on voting is thepersonality and public standing ofparty leaders. In 1971, charismaticleadership of Indira Gandhi and herpopularity won a number of votes forher party. In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi’syouthful and honest image influencedvarious sections of voters. Again in1989 V.P. Singh’s growing popularlymade many people to vote for him andhis allies. Similarly in 1999 elections,Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s charismaticpersonality brought quite a few votesfor his alliance. Let it be clear that imageand popularity of leaders by itself is onlyone of the factors to influence votingbehavior and it may not remain for long.

Specific and significant eventspreceding an election also influence theoutcome of elections. India’s victory inIndo-Pak war over Bangladesh in



1971 brought large number of votes forCongress (I) in State Assembly electionsin 1972; but in 1977 in the wake ofProclamation of Emergency Congresslost votes both in Lok Sabha and StateAssembly elections. In 1985, militancyin Punjab and some other parts of Indiafollowed by the assassination of PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi broughtsympathy votes to Congress (I) butagain exposure of corruption tookpeople away from Congress (I) in thenext election in 1989. In 1996 election,events — related to Ram Janma Bhumibrought gains for BJP and it emergedas the largest single party in Lok Sabhafor the first time. Again in 1999elections for thirteenth Lok Sabha,events like testing of nuclear bomb andKargil war did influence voting behaviorof certain sections in favour of BJP andits allies.

Another short term influence thathas become particularly important inrecent years is that of media. Patternsof media coverage of issues, projectionof leaders in good or bad light, conductof opinion polls, etc. do influence votingbehavior of a number of voters. But ashas already been mentioned, all thesefactors have short term influences onvoters. These may make some votersvote in a particular way in a particularelection. Of course a little shift in votingbehavior even of a section of voters cansome time significantly change the finalresults. Nevertheless major influenceson voters come from social, economicand ideological factors and these arelong term influences.

LONG TERM INFLUENCES

Social

Among the social factors influencingelectoral behavior can be age, sex,education, inhabitation (rural orurban), caste, community, religion, etc.Various election studies have showndifferences in voting turn out and votingbehaviour of voters on these grounds.For instance, it has been found thatyounger people participate less. Votingpercentage is the highest between theage-group of 30 to 50 years andintermediate in the persons crossing 50years. Similarly, it has been found thatin Indian situation women, ascompared to men, tend to be lesspolitically efficacious, less politicallyinterested and less informed.Particularly, in rural areas they eitherdon’t vote or vote according to thedesires of men folk in the family. Higherlevel of education in general isconsidered a critical norm for rationaldecision making. Many studies,however, show that in terms ofparticipation percentage illiterates orpersons with low education outnumberthe higher educated persons. Of coursein choosing the candidate the two maybe acting differently.

In terms of inhabitation, earlierIndia’s urban constituencies wereelectorally more politicised but latelyrural voters have started participatingin elections in a significant way anddetermining the election outcomes.There are, however, substantialvariations from one election to another

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and among the different States. Thevoting pattern of the two differs onissues as well as on caste loyalties.Rural voters are influenced more bycaste considerations, while in urbanareas issues are considered important.

Caste

In India, it has become a very importantfactor to influence electoral behaviour.People, particularly in rural areas aremotivated to vote because of casteloyalties. There are direct and indirectappeals by contestants on caste andsub-caste lines. Earlier it was highercastes that used to mobilise theirsupport base. During last two decadesScheduled Castes and Other BackwardCastes have been significantlymobilised on caste basis. There hadalso been reports of higher castesintimidating or coercing lower castes tovote according to their directions. Inrecent years, lower castes have becomeparticularly active to react against suchintimidation and consolidate andmobilise themselves to vote inaccordance with their own choices. Inthis context an important developmentis that leaders of all major parties andformations agree that the crucial dalitvote can make or break their fortunes.Some observers find a very positiveaspect of introduction of use of caste inelections in India. This, they find isthe transfer of authority from the higherto the middle castes and also a movetowards empowerment of lower castes.The other view is that the AdultFranchise and elected Panchayati Raj

Institutions have in fact helped existingruling classes in consolidating andlegitimising their power by using castein electoral politics. We will study in asubsequent chapter various aspects ofcasteism in politics . Here, it is importantto note that in Indian electoralbehaviour, particularly in rural areas,caste has become an importantinstrument of mobilisation, a channelof communication, representationand leadership.

Religion

Like caste another factor that has beenused to mobilise voters has beenreligion. In a country like India wherepeople are deeply religious minded,leaders find it quite useful to identifythemselves with the people on the basisof their religious sentiments — both innegative and positive terms and askvotes for them. In early years ofindependence, some parties exploitedthe apprehensions of minorities abouttheir safety and place in India in postpartition conditions. Minorities,therefore, chose parties keeping in viewsecurity of their religious identity andsafety. These came to be known ascommunal vote banks.

Economic Factors

In terms of economic factors, it isexpected that people with higher, middleand lower income groups votedifferently. Higher and middle incomegroups are more concerned with theproblems of the society, are morepolitically aware and conscious of the



effects of governmental policies on theirlong term interests. The poorer sectionsof the society, on the other hand, areconcerned with their personal economicproblems. Their main worry is makingboth ends meet, holding on to their jobsor finding one. They therefore, vote todeal with the most immediate andpressing livelihood problems. They mayalso be coerced to vote according to thedirections of their employers or maliksor to sell their votes.

Fact of the situation is that it is themajority of population living below andjust above the poverty line which hasthe major share of votes. Poor, illiterate,superstitious with a sense of belongingonly to the caste or religion and withno access to proper communication thisenormous wave is driven to the pollingstations. Many studies have pointedout that voting by poor in the villagesoften follows the lines of what the maliksays: whether they are labourers orshare croppers, dalits or next highercaste, the land owner dictates to themthe party/candidate they have to votefor. Of course, lot of awareness is comingin these sections, but as yet their votingbehavior is not determined accordingto their interests and choices.

There is also difference in votingbehaviour on class and professional/vocational basis. Choice of partiesby propertied and labour classes,industrialists and farmers, businessmen and professionals mostly dependson class lines, though other factors ofcaste, religion, etc. also play their rolein that.

While socio-economic factors arevery important in influencingindividual’s and group’s votingbehaviour, some political factors alsoplay a significant role in its long termdetermination. Important factors areideology, family and party association.In every society quite a number ofpeople are committed to certainideologies and values like capitalist,socialist, conservative, liberal, secular,fundamentalist, etc. Their votingbehavior obviously is determinedprimarily by these commitments ratherthan short term influences or theirsocial status. In most cases ideologicalcommitment itself is determined byone’s social status; for instance,working class people tend to be tiltedtowards socialist and communistideologies. Similarly, industrialists andbusiness people have a naturaltendency to favour capitalist values.

Political family background is alsoan important determinant. Earlypolitical socialisation in politically activefamilies has direct and indirectinfluence on children. In fact, parentswho are active or interested in politicsencourage their young children toparticipate in elections according tofamily traditions and associations. Itis not necessary that children alwaysfollow their parental loyalties, but earlysocialisation remains an importantdeterminant.

An important determinant in votingbehavior has been party identificationin the sense of psychologicalattachment to parties. There are peoplewho are either formal members of

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political parties or identify themselveswith a party. They are thus long termsupporters of parties and vote for them.In such cases voting is a manifestationof partnership, not a result ofcalculation influenced by factors suchas policies, personalities, campaigningand media coverage. Party identificationin voting behavior was very strong inthe initial years of independencebecause of people’s involvement infreedom struggle and visions for a newIndia. Now it is not that strong. Voters,by and large prefer to vote on the basisof their evaluation of parties fromelection to election as also on the basisof other influences. Some long termassociations are still visible onideological, traditional and caste orcommunal basis. Political parties,however, are unable to depend onthese firm commitments. Most ofthem, therefore, try to attract generalvoters using various techniquesmentioned above.

ELECTORAL BEHAVIOUR

PATTERNS AND TRENDS

From the above discussion of thedeterminants of voting behaviour, itbecomes clear that voter’s decision doesnot depend on any one factor. It isinfluenced by the social group she/hebelongs to, her/his long termassociation with political parties,understanding of issues involved in anelection, state of economy, prevailingsocial conditions, types of leadersleading the party, the party image,election campaign, etc. In addition,

media has also started playing a veryeffective role in influencing voter’schoice. It is, therefore, very difficult todescribe the voting behaviour of asociety in general. However, there aresome visible trends which pointtowards the voting behaviour, of thesociety in general and that of certaingroups and individual voters inparticular. Some of the importantpatterns and trends in voting behaviourare as given below:

Voting for Parties

During the last thirteen GeneralElections it has emerged quite clearlythat in general, Indian voters vote forthe party rather than the individualcandidates. One result of this is that inspite of close social relations andinfluences, independent candidates aregenerally not able to perform. With thetime, fortune of independent candidateshave been fading significantly.

It is observed that though the votersvote for the party and not thecandidates, yet they are influenced bythe personality and popularity of theleader of the party. In this respectindividual remains important. This, ofcourse, is true in several cases and it isbecause of this that most parties doproject the heroic images of theirsupreme leaders. A consequence of thisis that parties become dependent onthe image of leaders rather than theirprogrammes and ideologies.

Social Loyalties

While people in general vote for partiesrather than individuals, it is found thatit is not only due to psychological or



ideological attachment to a party. Infact they vote more as an expression ofloyalty to a social group, like caste,religion, region, ethnicity, and class. Animportant outcome of this is growth andsuccess of caste and religionbased parties. This is contrary to thebelief that with modernisation anddevelopment, traditional ties of casteand religion will get weakened. This ofcourse does not mean that individualsdo not focus on their personal self-interest. In fact, as a result of variousdevelopments, particularly due to thefailure of economic developmentprocess, individual’s self-interest inmany cases has converged with socialgroup interest. Popularity of BahujanSamaj Party among Scheduled Castes,consolidation of Other Backward Castesin Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, mushroomgrowth of caste associations everywhere, growth and success of regionalparties, and use of religious events andissues in elections are manifestationsof these.

NATIONAL AND LOCAL ISSUES

It is true that masses in hundreds andthousands of Indian villages and inurban slums are unable to make adistinction between myth and realityand are prone to emotionalmobilisation. Still their voting act is notisolated from their evaluation of theperformance of governments or issuesat stake. In fact, various electionresults prove that people have not onlyunderstood the importance of elections

but have also developed a spirit ofrebellion to be expressed in ademocratic manner. By rejectingparties in power, in spite of allegedmisuse of official machinery andrigging, both at the Centre and inall the States, more than once peoplehave shown that they are capableof using election as a veryeffective instrument to throw out non-performing governments. Clearexample of this was rejection ofProclamation of Emergency in 1977elections.

MALE DOMINATION

Another trend in Indian electionscontinuing from the very beginningis that of neglect of women’srepresentation. It is interesting to notethat during last two decades almost allpolitical parties have been talking atgreat length about empowerment ofwomen and have even promised33 per cent reservation for them inlegislatures, but when question offielding candidates come most of themneglect women candidates.

MONEY, MEDIA AND MUSCLE

POWER

Another disturbing trend that hasemerged in Indian elections is the useof powers of money, media and muscle.Unfortunately, during last threedecades or so political power in Indiahas become important in itself. It isbeing used as an instrument for

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privileges, status quo and self-interestrather than for change. Elections havebecome ends in themselves. Thesemust be won at all costs. As a result,our electoral processes have beenconsiderably polluted. To win electionsboth candidates and parties apart fromappealing to caste and religioussentiments are using money power topurchase votes and finance high pitchedcampaigns. They are relying oncriminals and mafias (muscle power) tocoerce voters, capture booths andthreaten opposition campaign. Servicesof media to build a leader’s image,project party’s popularity throughmanipulated reports or opinion polls,report events in distorted ways that mayinfluence voter’s mind in favour of oragainst a party, etc. are being used.All parties are compelled to put upcandidates who can muster theseresources in abundance, in orderto have a realistic chance of success.There is no doubt, that willinglyor unwillingly, consciously orunconsciously voting behavior ofpeople is getting influenced bythese powers.

We have discussed above thatelections lie at the heart of a democraticprocess. It is through the instrumentof elections that notions of consentand representation are translated intoreality by conversions of votes intoseats in legislatures. Elections securepeople’s participation in public affairs,ensure orderly transfer of power andprovide the authority of governmentlegitimacy. Elections thus, not only

sustain democracy but enliven it aswell. It is in this background thatframers of Indian Constitution wiselyput their trust in people and decidedto have universal suffrage on the basisof equality of all citizens. They did it inspite of reservations expressed by somethat in a country like India universalsuffrage would not work, because thepeople were not educated, they werebackward and all that. In general,people in India have proved framers ofIndian Constitution right. In spite ofcomplexities of social structure in adeveloping society people in India havenot only understood the importance ofelections but have also used them forrejecting non-performing governmentsand expressing their desire for change.

Of course this does not mean thatvoters behavior in India had beenalways rational and informed. In fact,electoral behavior in India is verycomplex. On the one hand, it showsthat people have the capacity to rejectthe party in power and expressresentment on the exercise of power.On the other hand, they prefer caste,sub-caste, community and regionrather than national groupings. Inother words, when we examine a wholeState or Country, the electoral verdictdoes broadly reflect public opinion ofanger and frustration. But when we goto the constituency level, we find thatcaste or sub-caste, religion, money andmuscle power have mainly become thedeterminants of political power. Localissues, caste, dissatisfaction with thegeneral performance of the party in



power, role of charismatic leaders andlocal equations, all combined in manyways determine the voting behavior. Atthe same time most people have showedtheir ability to shift their attention andpassions from one loyalty to another.So, they may vote in one election oncaste basis but very soon in anotherelection at another level on class or issuebasis. One thing, thus, is clear thatpeople have developed a stake in thedemocratic system.

However, it is a matter of concernthat value system is declining and thereis a growing apathy towards the systemamong the educated. In response todemands from hitherto deprivedgroups who have become conscious oftheir rights and power politicallyambitious individuals and rulingclasses have started using ethnic andcaste loyalties and money and musclepower to remain in power.

While such decline in values is amatter of concern, it does not mean acollapse of the system or failure ofdemocracy. In India democracy withall its mechanism — party system,periodic election, institutionalisedprocedure for transfer of power,system of rights, etc. is operating well.No doubt, certain aberrations haveemerged in the system that need to becorrected.Since,politics is concernedwith the promotion of happiness andpublic good, it is required that moreandmore democratic minded peopleintervene in politics. We, therefore,have to make collective efforts forrestoration of the health and vitalityof various institutions of democraticpolity, including that of elections. Atthe same time, we have to keep in mindthatdemocracy is not just the election;it is much more than that:rule of law and good governance.

EXERCISES

1. What do you understand by Universal Adult Franchise? Explain its importancein a democracy.

2. Explain the short term and long term factors which influence electoralparticipation and behaviour.

3. What patterns and trends have emerged in voter’s behaviour in India over thelast thirteen General Elections?

4. Write short notes on :

(i) Adult Franchise in India;(ii) Party identification;

(iii) Use of Money and Muscle Power;(iv) Male Domination.

21

YOU have already read that one ofthe basic concepts of democracy is

free and fair elections conducted atperiodic intervals. It means thatelections are held in an atmosphere andin a way in which citizens are enabledto make a rational choice. An essentialcomponent of this is that elections areconducted efficiently and objectively bycompetent and honest administratorsfree from political bias. Lack ofconfidence in the verdict of the ballotbox not only destroys the faith of thepublic in the democratic process butalso discredits the electoraladministration. The framers of theConstitution of India were quite awareof the necessity of an independentelection machinery. This they providedin the form of Election Commissionwhich has not only been insulated fromthe interference of the executive but oflegislatures also.

THE ELECTION COMMISSION

For superintendence, direction andcontrol of preparation of electoral rollsand the conduct of elections to the office

Election Commissionand Election Procedure

of President and Vice-President ofIndia, the House of the People (LokSabha), the Council of States (RajyaSabha) and Legislative Assemblies inStates and Legislative Councils inStates (where these exist), theConstitution provides for an ElectionCommission. The Constitution providesthat “the Election Commission shallconsist of the Chief ElectionCommissioner and such number ofother Election Commissioners, if any,the President may from time to time fixand the appointment of the ChiefElection Commissioner and otherElection Commissioners shall, subjectto the provisions of any law made in thatbehalf by parliament, be made bythe President.”

The above provision simply providesfor the appointment of the ElectionCommissioners by the President,without prescribing any qualificationsfor eligibility to the post or theprocedure of its filling. Pendingenactment of law by the Parliament,these matters have been left to bedetermined by rules framed by thePresident. In the Parliamentary form of

CHAPTER 2


government appointment by Presidentamounts to entrusting the power ofappointment to the government of theday. In the Constituent Assemblysome members expressed the opinionthat an appointment to the post ofChief Election Commissioner madeexclusively on ministerial advice maymake room for the exercise of politicalinfluence. The apprehensions of theseepage of political influence in theappointment of Chief ElectionCommissioner have so far been beliedin practice. The President has, on theadvice of the Prime Minister, so farappointed tried and trustedadministrators of unquestionableintegrity and not politicians or non-officials to this office.

INDEPENDENCE AND FUNCTIONING

The independence of the Commissionis ensured by an express provision inthe Constitution that the Chief ElectionCommissioner (CEC) shall not beremoved from his office except in likemanner, and on the like grounds, as aJudge of the Supreme Court and theconditions of service of the Chief ElectionCommissioner shall not be varied to hisdisadvantage after his appointment.The Chief Election Commissioner andElection Commissioners are entitled tothe same salary and other facilities, likerent free accommodation, as areprovided to a judge of the SupremeCourt. The term of office of the ChiefElection Commissioner and otherElection Commissioners is six years

from the date she/he assumes office ortill the day one attains the age of 65years whichever is earlier. The ElectionCommission is independent of theExecutive.

There is an apprehension amongsome observers with regard to thepersonnel working for conduct ofelections. For conduct of its functionsthe Election Commission has noseparate field staff of its own. It has todepend upon the staff of the Centraland State Governments. By Article324(6) of the Constitution, thePresident and Governors of States havebeen enjoined to make available toCommission such staff as may benecessary for the discharge of itsfunctions.

The dependence of Commission onthe Central/State administration in thedischarge of its obligations sometimescreates problems in its quick andefficient functioning. However, themaintenance of a huge staff with theCommission for the conduct of periodicelections is likely to be too expensive.Despite limitations, so far, theGovernment officers, except with someaberrations in some areas, haveconducted themselves with fairnessand impartiality. For making thesystem further fault free, anamendment in Representation of thePeople’s Act made in 1988, says thatthe officers and staff shall be deemedto be on deputation to the Commissionwhen deployed in connection withrevision of rolls and the conduct ofelections. As such they are now

23

directly answerable to the Commissionfor any act of commission or omissionwhile deployed for election duty.

The Constitution also makesprovision for Regional Commissionersto assist the Election Commissionin States. The President may appoint,after consultation with theElection Commission, such RegionalCommissioners as he may considernecessary to assist the ElectionCommission in the performance of thefunctions conferred on it.

In addition, in the preparation andrevision of rolls and the conduct ofelection Commission is assisted by aChief Electoral Officer who hadno statutory recognition till 1956. Hewas given statutory recognition by anamendment of the Representation of thePeople’s Act, 1951. The organisation andadministrative structure of the office ofChief Electoral Officer varies from Stateto State depending upon the size of theState and the volume of the workinvolved. Needless to say that keepingin view the size and population as alsodiversity of India, to conduct free andfair election in an efficient manner is anenormous task.

MULTI MEMBER COMMISSION

It has been mentioned above that theConstitution provides that the ElectionCommission shall consist of theChief Election Commissioner andsuch number of other ElectionCommissioners, if any. It means thatthe Commission can consist either only

of Chief Election commissioner or haveother members too. Since its inceptionin 1950 and till October 1989, theCommission functioned as a singlemember body consisting of the ChiefElection Commissioner. On 16October, 1989 the President appointedtwo more Election Commissioners onthe eve of the General Election to LokSabha held in November-December1989. However, the said twoCommissioners ceased to hold office on1 January, 1990 when those two postsof Election Commissioners wereabolished. Again on 1 October,1993 the President appointed twomore Election Commissioners.Simultaneously, law was also amendedto provide that the Chief ElectionCommissioner and other ElectionCommissioners will enjoy equal powersand will receive same salary,allowances and other perquisites. Thelaw further provided that in case ofdifference of opinion amongst the ChiefElection Commissioner and two otherElection Commissioners, the matterwill be decided by the Commission bymajority. The validity of that law waschallenged before the Supreme Court.The Constitution Bench of theSupreme Court consisting of fivejudges, however, dismissed thepetitions and fully upheld theprovisions of the above law by aunanimous judgement on 14 July,1995. At present the ElectionCommission consists of Chief ElectionCommissioner and two other electionCommissioners. Can you name them?

ELECTION COMMISSION AND ELECTION PROCEDURE


POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE

ELECTION COMMISSION

The Election Commission of India hasbeen given wide powers and functions.These include the following mainfunctions:

(i) to prepare, revise, update andmaintain the list of voters forelection to the Parliament, StateLegislatures, Local Bodies and tothe Office of the President and theVice-President of India;

(ii) to conduct and supervise electionsand bye-elections to theParliament, State Legislature, andto the Office of the President andthe Vice-President of India;

(iii) to delimit constituencies forelection to the Parliament and tothe State Legislatures, and to allotthe number of seats to each ofthem;

(iv) to fix the election programme,including dates for nominationand scrutiny of candidates,and date of elections; makearrangements for setting upnecessary number of pollingbooths, lay down procedurefor the exercise of secretballot, appoint adequate numberof returning officers, and declareresults after the propercounting and scrutiny of votes,countermand elections in aconstituency where necessary.

(v) to advise the President orthe Governor of the concernedState, as the case may be,

regarding all electoral matters,including questions relating todisqualification of members;

(vi) to prepare guidelines for a codeof conduct for political parties,candidates and voters;

(vii) to fix the limit of election expensesand to examine the accounts ofelectoral expenditure submittedby the candidates;

(viii) to determine criteria forrecognising political parties, andthen recognise them and decidetheir election symbols andallocate time to them for the useof radio and television in order tohelp them reach out to the peopleon election issues;

(ix) to prepare a list of ‘free symbols’for allotment to independentcandidates;

(x) to settle election disputes andpetitions, referred to it by thePresident or the Governor of a State.

THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM

You have read in the last chapter thatin India the plurality system or the firstpast the post system has been adoptedfor elections to the Lok Sabha and StateLegislative Assemblies, and that ofproportional representation by meansof the single transferable vote forelections to the offices of President,Vice-President and to the Council ofStates and Legislative Councils. Youwill surely like to know what thesesystems are. Given below is a briefdescription of these.

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Plurality System (First Past the Post)

In this system country is divided intosingle member territorial consti-tuencies, usually of equal size. Votersselect a single candidate, usuallymarking against the candidates’ name.A candidate who receives the highestnumber of votes, may be less than evenhalf the votes polled, is declared thewinner. This system is easy to operateand establishes a clear link betweenrepresentatives and constituencies. Italso allows governments to be formedthat have a clear mandate from theelectorate, of course, on the basis ofplurality of support amongst theelectorate. However, a number ofshortcomings are pointed out in thissystem. The system wastes manyvotes, those cast for losing candidates.It undermines the legitimacy ofgovernment in so far as governmentsoften enjoy only minority support. Inthis system some social groups likeminorities may remain under-represented. In spite of these limitationsthis system is quite popular in a numberof countries including the UK and India.

The Majority System (SecondBallot and Alternative VoteSystems)

The majority system requires that aperson declared winner in a singlemember constituency wins by a clearmajority that is getting more than 50per cent votes. This can be obtainedby two methods:

(i) Second Ballot System: In thissystem there are single candidateconstituencies and single choice voting,as in the first past the post system. Towin on the first ballot, a candidate needsan overall majority of the votes cast. Ifno candidate gains a first ballotmajority, a second run off ballot is heldbetween the leading two candidates.This system is popular in France

(ii) Alternative Vote System: In thissystem there are single memberconstituencies. There is preferentialvoting. Voters rank the candidates inorder of preference i.e. 1 for their firstpreference, 2 for their secondpreference, and so on. Winningcandidates must gain minimum 50 percent of all the votes cast. Votes arecounted according to the firstpreference. If no candidate secures 50per cent in first preference, the candidatewith least number of votes is eliminatedand that candidates’ votes areredistributed according to the second(or subsequent) preferences. Thiscontinues until one candidate has amajority. This method is used inAustralia and some other countriesand for elections of President andVice-President in India.

The Proportional RepresentationSystem

The term proportional representation isused to designate various electoraldevices based on the principle thatparties should be represented in anAssembly or Parliament in directproportion to their overall electoral



strength, their percentage of seatsequalling their percentage of votes. Itis claimed that under this system anyparty, interest or group would securerepresentation in proportion to thesupport, it has among the electors. Thisis achieved by two systems:

(i) Single Transferable Vote System:In this system there are multi memberconstituencies. Parties may put forwardas many candidates as there are seatsto fill in each constituency. Electorsvote preferentially, as in the alternativevote system. Candidates are elected ifthey achieve a quota. This is theminimum number of votes needed toelect, the stipulated number ofcandidates, calculated according to thefollowing formula as explained below:

The votes are counted according tofirst preference. If not all the seats arefilled, the candidate securing leastnumber of votes is eliminatedand the votes are redistributedaccording to second preference, and soon, until all the seats have been filled.This system is used to elect membersof Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councilsin India.

For example, if 1,00000 votes are cast in aconstituency that elects four members, the quota

is calculate like this :

Quota = 114

00000,1 ++

15

1,00000+=

= 20,000+1=20,001

11up filled be toSeats ofNumber Total

Polled Votes ofNumber Total ++

Quota =

(ii) Party List system: In thissystem either the entire country istreated as a single constituency, or, itis divided into a number of largemultimember constituencies. Partiescompile lists of candidates indescending order of preference and thelist is presented to voters. Electors votefor parties, not for candidates. Partiesare allocated seats in direct proportionto the votes they gain in the election.They fill these seats from the party list.A minimum percentage (for example 5per cent fixed in Germany) can be fixedto exclude small parties. This is theonly potentially pure system ofproportional representation, and istherefore, fair to all parties. However,its operation in big countries is verydifficult.

Above mentioned are some of theprevalent systems in differentcountries. Adoption of a particularsystem by a country depends onvarious factors including historicalevolution, size, type of voters,considerations of stability, nature ofpopulation, etc. In India, since framersof the Constitution in general followedthe British model, they preferred theplurality or first past the post systemfor elections to both Lok Sabha andState Legislative Assemblies. To makethe office of President a realrepresentative of national opinionmajority system with transferable votewas adopted. As the Rajya Sabha wasmeant to be a representative House ofStates and not of people orconstituencies, system of proportionalrepresentation was favoured.

27

While in general, these systemshave been working well, there areviews that first past the post systemhas shortcomings which need to belooked into. It is pointed out that inIndia not only various parties andgroups either remain unrepresentedor under -represented in spite ofsignificant support among voters asa whole but also parties getting just30 per cent or so of the polled votesare able to emerge as majorityparties and form government. We willdiscuss this issue in next chapter onelectoral reforms.

THE ELECTION LAWS

In India elections are held for Houseof People (Lok Sabha), Council ofStates (Rajya Sabha), State LegislativeAssemblies (Vidhan Sabhas), StateLegislative Councils (VidhanParishads) in the States, where theseexist, Local Self Government bodiesincluding Municipalities andPanchayati Raj bodies and offices ofPresident and Vice-President.Election Commission is responsiblefor conduct of elections to Parliament,State Legislatures and elections to theoffices of President and Vice-President. Plenary powers ofsuperintendence, direction andcontrol, the preparation of electoralrolls and the conduct of elections,vested in the Election Commission aresupplemented further by Acts ofParliament. These are Presidential andVice-Presidential Election Act, 1952, the

Representation of the Peoples Act,1950, and Representation of thePeople Act, 1951, the governmentof Union Territories Act 1963,supplemented by Registration ofElectors Rules 1960, and conduct ofElection rules 1961.

The Election Commission, also, inexercise of its legislative powers, hasissued the Election Symbols(Reservation and Allotment) Order,1968, besides a large number ofinstructions for the guidance ofelectoral machinery and theelectorate.

Representation of the People Acts,1950 and 1951, have made elaborateprovisions for the creations of electionmachinery at the State, district andconstituency level for the preparationand revision of rolls and conduct ofelections. The Representation of thePeople Act, 1950 basically deals withthe preparation of electoral rollswhereas, the Act of 1951, provideslegal sanction for actual conduct ofelections making specific provisions tomaintain peace and order duringelection to ensure dignity or fairnessof electioneering and to enforceneutrality of civil service. The ElectionSymbols Order is concerned with theregistration, recognition of politicalparties, allotment of symbols andsettlement of disputes among them.Elections to Municipalities andPanchayati Raj Bodies are conductedby State Election Commissions. Lawsand rules for the same are formulatedby various states.



CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS

As already mentioned elections to theLok Sabha and Legislative Assembliesare held on the basis of plurality or FirstPast the Post System. The Constitutionof India prescribes the membershipstrength of the Lok Sabha andvarious State Legislative Assembliesrespectively and lay down that themembers of the Lok Sabha and thoseof the various Legislative Assemblieswould be elected by direct election fromterritorial constituencies. Accordingly,number of seats and constituencies isdetermined by the Constitution andlaws enacted under these provisionsprovide the tasks of preparationand revision of electoral rolls andconduct of actual elections to beperformed by the Election Commission.Determination and allocation of seatsand marking of territories is calledDelimitation of Constituencies.

DELIMITATION OF CONSTITUENCIES

The Constitution provides for thenumber of seats for Lok Sabha, whichat present has been prescribed notmore than 500 and 30 from States andnot more than 20 members from UnionTerritories. The seats are allotted toeach State in accordance with thepopulation. Each State or UnionTerritory is divided into that number ofconstituencies in such manner that theproportion between the population ofeach constituency and the number ofseats allotted to it is, so far aspracticable, the same throughout the

State. The Constitution makes thesimilar provision for allocation of seatsand demarcation of constituencies withrespect to Legislative Assemblies of theStates. This process of allocation ofnumber of seats and their demarcationinto territories is known as process ofDelimitation of Constituencies. TheConstitution also provides that theallocation of seats in the Lok Sabha tothe States and the division of each Stateinto territorial constituencies shall bere-adjusted after the completion of eachcensus so that the population seat ratiois maintained within the State andthroughout the Union.

For the first General Elections toLok Sabha and Legislative Assembliesin 1951-52 the Election Commissiondivided the entire country into viableterritorial divisions of Parliamentaryand Assembly constituencies. At thattime Constitution had fixed thenumber of seats to Lok Sabha asnot more than 500. Thereafter, thetask of delimitation, was assignedto an independent DelimitationCommission. Accordingly, separateDelimitation Commissions were set upunder specific statutes after therelevant population figures ofdecennial census in 1951, 1961 and1971. The last commission was setup in 1972, which completed its workin 1975. The Constitution 42ndAmendment (1976) had put a banon any further delimitation ofconstituencies till 2000 and the totalnumber of seats in the Lok Sabha andthe Assemblies had remained the

29

same till then. This was done to checkthe growth of population. It was fearedthat some States, to get more seatson the basis of large population mightnot take the task of family planningseriously. 91st Amendment of theConstitution passed in 2002 hasextended this freeze of seats up to2026. The year 2026 has been chosen,because the population plannershave projected that by that year thepopulation of India would stabiliseand the country could hope tohave zero growth rate ofpopulation thereafter. Accordingly,next allocation of seats will be carriedout on the basis of the population ofthe country after 2026. Hence, thenumber of seats in the Lok Sabhawould not change till then. Thisamendment, however, has madeprovisions of setting up of aDelimitation Commission to readjustthe constituencies. This is primarilydue to change in population patternsand migrations etc., constituencieshave become quite unbalanced.For, example, in some of theconstituencies number of voters hasreached more than 25 lac, whereas insome others it is less than one lac.Another proposal before theDelimitation Commission is forrotation of reserved seats. As youknow Constitution provides forreservation of seats for ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes. Theconstituencies reserved for ScheduledCasts and Scheduled Tribes have

remained unchanged since 1971. Itis felt that reserved constituenciesshould keep on rotating to give wideroption to both SCs/STs and generalcategory candidates. It is hoped thatbefore next General Electionsconstituencies will be redrawn and wewill have some balance in them.

SYSTEM IN OPERATION

It has already been explained thattwo major tasks in electoral processare: (i) preparation and revision ofelectoral rolls; and (ii) conduct ofelections. The work of preparationof electoral roll is done by aStatutory Officer designated asElectoral Registeration Officer underthe supervision and control ofElection Commission. The ElectoralOfficer for the Assembly constituencyis designated by the Commission inconsultation with the Government ofthe State concerned. The ElectoralOfficer is assisted by one or moreAssistant Electoral RegisterationOfficers. They are assisted by someofficers at tehsil level. These officersattend to the task of revision of the rollsin addition to their administrative duties.The revisions are undertaken as andwhen felt necessary. Any citizen whoattains the age of 18 years, or whosename for some reason is not there in theelectoral roll can apply for inclusion ofher/his name any time in theprescribed form for this purpose.The updating of the Electoral Roll



remains closed during an electioncampaign after the nominations ofcandidates.

CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS

As you know, elections for the LokSabha and every State LegislativeAssembly have to take place every fiveyears, unless called earlier. ThePresident can dissolve Lok Sabha andcall for General Elections before fiveyears. So can Governors in States forVidhan Sabha. When the new electionsare called, the Election Commissionputs into effect the machinery forholding an election. The Constitutionstates that there cannot be more than6 months gap between the two sessionsof Lok Sabha/State Assembly. Soelections have to be conducted keepingthis in view.

RETURNING OFFICER

Election work in every constituency issupervised by an officer designated asReturning Officer who is nominated bythe Commission in consultation withthe State Government concerned. Anofficer can be nominated as ReturningOfficer for more than one constituency.The Returning Officer is assisted byone or more Assistant ReturningOfficers. The Assistant ReturningOfficer is empowered to perform all thefunctions of the Returning Officerunder the supervision of the latterexcept the scrutiny of nominationpapers. Even this function of scrutiny

can be performed by the AssistantReturning Officer, if the ReturningOfficer, is unavoidably prevented fromperforming her/his duty.

WHO CAN CONTEST ELECTION?

An Indian citizen who is registered asa voter and is above 25 years of age isallowed to contest elections to the LokSabha or State Legislative Assembly.For the Rajya Sabha the age limit is30 years. Candidate for the RajyaSabha and Vidhan Sabha should be aresident of the State from which she/he is contesting election. A person whohas been convicted for an offence underelectoral laws or some criminaloffences cannot contest election for aperiod of 6 years from the date ofconviction.

Every candidate desirous ofcontesting election has to make adeposit of Rs 10,000 for Lok Sabhaelection and Rs 5,000 for Rajya Sabhaor Vidhan Sabha elections, except forcandidates from Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes who pay half of theseamount. The deposit is returned if thecandidate receives more than one-sixthof the total number of valid votespolled in the constituency.Nominations must be supported atleast by one registered elector of theconstituency in the case of a candidatesponsored by a registered party andby ten registered electors from theconstituency in the case of othercandidates. As already mentioned inreserved constituencies, the candidate

31

can only be from either one of theScheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribesas the case may be.

POLLING

After the process of nomination ofcandidates is complete, a list ofcontesting candidates is prepared bythe Returning Officer and ballot paperscontaining names of candidates andtheir symbols. Voting is held on thedays announced by the ElectionCommission. Voting is by secret ballot.Election Commission tries to ensurethat there is a polling station within2 km of every voter, and no pollingstation should have to deal with morethan 1,200 voters. Some electors,including members of the armed forcesor government of India on duty can voteby post also.

After the polling is over, thevotes are counted under thesupervision of Returning Officers andObservers appointed by the ElectionCommission. After the counting ofvotes is over the Returning Officerdeclares the names of the candidateswho have received the highest numberof votes as elected.

ELECTION PETITION

If any elector or candidate feels thatthere has been malpractice during theelection, she/he can file an electionpetition. Election petitions are tried bythe High Court of the State involved,and if upheld, election of a candidatecan be declared void, new elections

might be ordered, results can becountermanded or other appropriatedecision delivered. Appeals can bemade in the Supreme Court.

Candidates thus elected constitutethe Lok Sabha or State LegislativeAssemblies as the case may be. Theanti-defection law, passed in 1985,prevents MPs or MLAs elected ascandidates from one party forming orjoining a new party, unless theycomprise more than one-third of theoriginal party in the legislature. If amember leaves her/his party or joinsother party she/he ceases to be themember of the legislature.

India is a parliamentary democracy.The main process to run the democracyis election. To be meaningful, electionshave to be regular, free and fair. TheConstitution of India on the one hand,recognises the principle of universaladult suffrage, i.e. any citizen of or overthe age of 18 can vote; and on the other,makes the Election Commission,independent of Executive andLegislature to conduct and superviseelections. Elections in India are eventsinvolving political mobilisation andorganisational complexity of anamazing scale; yet the record ofconducting free, fair and peacefulelections has so far been remarkable.However, in spite of reasonably highcredibility of election process, thepresent system has developed somedefects which need to be correctedthrough reforms. This we will discussin the next chapter.



EXERCISES

1. How is independence of Election Commission of India ensured?2. Describe the composition, powers and functions of the Election Commission of

India.3. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of the plurality and proportional

representation systems of elections.4. Describe the procedure followed for conduct of elections in India.5. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Multi Member Commission;(ii) Party List System;

(iii) Delimination of Constituencies;(iv) Returning Officer;(v) Election Petitions.

33

IN the last two chapters you havestudied that election is a corner stone

of any democratic system. It givespeople an opportunity to elect their owngovernment which can preserve andprotect their rights and liberty, fulfiltheir aspirations and create anenvironment in which they can developtheir overall personality. However, it isessential that elections are conductedin a free and fair manner, peacefully andwith dignity. As a representativeparliamentary democracy, India has awell established system of elections.The Constitution of India has vested inthe Election Commission, anindependent constitutional body, thepowers of superintendence, directionand control of the entire process ofelections. Over the last five decades,thirteen General Elections to the LokSabha and nearly three hundredGeneral Elections to State LegislativeAssemblies have not only proved thatdemocracy has taken deep roots buthave also earned world wideappreciation about their fairness.

While conduct and outcome ofelections in general have been hailed asa unique democratic experience during

Election Reforms

CHAPTER 3

all these years there also have emergedshortcomings in the system. Theseshortcomings are: difficulties inconduct of free and fair elections,apprehensions about their credibility inthe future and various aberrations thathave crept in the system and machineryof election. It is, therefore, now widelyrecognised that in order to preserve andstrengthen the democratic setup theelectoral system needs to be kept undercareful watch and need to be reformed.At present, the question of reformingour electoral system is engaging allconcerned politicians, media,citizens, political observers, and aboveall those connected with the conduct ofelections. Let us first of all look whatshortcomings, problems and aberrationsthe system is facing.

SHORTCOMINGS, DEFECTS AND

ABERRATIONS IN THE SYSTEM

Non-Representative

One shortcoming that is pointed out inthe present system is that plural or firstpast the post system does not providea correspondence between the numberof votes polled and number of seats


won. Election results, most of the time,have shown that there has been animbalance between the percentage ofvotes polled and the number of seatswon. It has been pointed out that inalmost all Lok Sabhas, the ruling partyor ruling coalition had not secured even50 per cent of the votes polled. Anyparty securing about 30-35 per centof votes forms the government. Itmeans that the government, in fact, isformed with 18-21 per cent of votersupport. In earlier years even thoughopposition parties between themselves,represented a major section of publicopinion, the composition of legislaturesremained a single party dominated one.

Small parties in particular remainunder-represented. For the same reasonvarious social groups, for exampleminorities, do not get representationproportionate to their population.Another aspect of this is that since, it isthe individual who has to win, morestress is laid on aspects like caste, etc., inthe selection of candidates by the parties.Merit is largely a causality in the selectionof candidates.

Multiplicity of Parties andCandidates

There is no comprehensive law governingpolitical parties as such. Any party evenand with concentration in limitedgeographic area in plural system canhave chance of winning some seats. Asa result one of the problem country isfacing is steady and haphazard growthof political parties. It is estimated thatmore than 700 parties are operating in

the country. The multiplicity of partieshas been not only creating confusionamong the electorate, but alsoadministrative problems duringelections because of large number ofcandidates. Added to this is, entry oflarge number of independentcandidates in the fray because of limitedchecks and restrictions on nominations.Such unprincipled, personality-oriented proliferation of parties and ofindependents contribute to post-electoral opportunistic coalitions andunstable governments.

Escalating Costs andMoney Powers

Elections in India are a very costly affairfor both who contest and who conduct.In view of large size of constituencies,large number of candidates contestingelections, behavior of political partiesand candidates, and such other factors,the State has to spend enormous moneyto conduct elections in a peaceful andorderly manner.

In the thirteenth General Elections,government had to spend more thanRs 850 crore only on Parliamentaryelections. With unstable governments,elections to Lok Sabha is no morelimited to once in five years. Similarly,a huge expenditure is incurred onAssembly elections in States.

More serious question is cost ofelections for the candidates. Even if wedo not take into account the misuse ofmoney power, a candidate or a partyto campaign in a constituency, spreadover a large geographical area and

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having more than 10 lac voters, has tospend enormous money just to reach thevoters. Added to that is the phenomenonof black money available with a largesection of population. It was openly saidduring the 1999 General Election thatRs 50 lac to one crore had to be spent bya candidate standing for Parliamentaryelection. There is a law placing amaximum limit on expenditure. But ithas become meaningless. The hugeexpenditure incurred by candidates andpolitical parties have no relationship tothe ceiling prescribed under the law. Thehard reality is that huge unaccountedfunds may easily be used for politicalactivity, party organisation and electioncampaigning. Such a money is given inthe hope of high returns. No body canpay hard earned, tax-paid money forpolitical purposes. The candidates andpolitical parties look to big money bagsfor their funds to contest elections. Thisin course of time triggers a chain reaction,leading to corruption at various levels.It, therefore, becomes difficult for men ofintegrity and commitment to publicservice to contest elections. A carefulanalysis shows that heredity and familyconnections are the commonest cause forentry into politics. This is closely followedby those who have large inherited oracquired wealth and who believe thatinvestment in politics is a good business.Money spent on elections is sought to berecovered through misuse of government— machinery, bribes, scams, etc. Thevicious role played by money power indeciding elections, thus, is one of themost critical problems facing theelection system.

Violence and Muscle Power

Since winning of election has becomean end in itself, in addition to moneypower, muscle power has also becomean important factor. Muscle power i.e.engaging criminals, violence andcoercion, is used to force the voters tovote for particular candidates, or notallowing the voters to vote, and forcapturing the booth and casting bogusvotes. Reports of booth capturing,rigging and gun battles between rivalgangs working on behalf of thecandidates are now common.

Criminalisation of Politics

The most significant outcome of the useof muscle power in election has beenthat many local muscle men, andcriminals, whose services were earliersought for extortion or vote-gathering,are now directly entering the fray andare elected in the process. FormerElection Commissioner G.V.G.Krishnamurthy in 1997, released asample profile of criminalisation ofpolitics as shown by the 1996 LokSabha elections. He found that nearly1,500 of the 13,952 candidates for theLok Sabha had a criminal record, whichincluded cases of murder, dacoity, rape,theft and extortion. He also revealedthat 40 such candidates had won theelections. On the basis of informationreceived from district administrationsthe country, Krishnamurthy claimedthat nearly 700 of the 4,072 membersof the legislatures of 25 States and twoUnion Territories were involved incriminal cases and their trial was

ELECTION REFORMS


pending. Speaking on the occasion ofgolden jubilee celebrations of theElection Commission on 17 January,2001, President K.R. Narayananquoting Election Commission, statedthat between 500 and 800elected representatives had criminalantecedents.

Here, it may be pointed out thataccording to section 8A of theRepresentation of the People Act 1951,a person who has been convicted incertain offences, she/he cannot be acandidate. But there is no bar on thosewho are not convicted at the time ofelection. We thus, come across personsagainst whom cases have beenregistered, but at the time of contestingelections, they had not been convicted.Political clout for such elementsobviously jeopardises the smoothfunctioning of the administration andthe safety of life and property of thecommon people.

Incitement to Caste andCommunal Prejudices

Another aberration that has emergedin our election system is increasing useof caste, communal and other suchfactors. Of course appealing to casteand communal prejudices at the timeof elections is nothing new and notlimited to elections. However, in recentyears these have emerged as the mostviable rallying points. Almost allparties, while selecting candidates, firstof all take into consideration caste andcommunity factors outweighing allother considerations. Section 123(3) (A)

of the Representation of the People Actdebars candidates from seeking voteson the ground of religion. But inpractice not only candidates appeal inthe name of religion openly but alsopolitical parties have been formed oncaste and religious identities. In thissituation, the vote, instead of being anunifying, cleansing and equalising tool,becomes a divisive force. We will studylater more about the role of caste andreligion in politics. Here, it is sufficientto say that exploiting caste andcommunal sentiments is againstdemocratic norms.

NEED FOR REFORMS

In short, it can be said that the trustreposed in the people by the framers ofthe Constitution by granting themuniversal adult suffrage has beengenerally justified by the voters. But,in the recent past there have emergedsome disturbing factors in the system.Electoral processes have beenconsiderably polluted by the use ofmoney and muscle power, violence,multiplicity of candidates in the electionarena, want of electoral ethics onthe part of the participants andtheir supporters and insufficientrepresentation of various sections ofsociety like minorities and women.Observers and all those who areconcerned with the future of democracyare of the firm opinion that in order toconsolidate the gains of democracy,restore the gravity of process and arrestthe growing trend of peoples’withdrawal from electoral process, we

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need electoral reforms urgently. In fact,the need for electoral reforms has beenthe subject of wide ranging debate rightfrom the First General Elections.Practically, every report of the ElectionCommission has contained reformproposals. Some reforms have beenintroduced also. These, however, havebeen found quite insufficient. It is beingfelt that if electoral reforms are to bemeaningful, they should be allencompassing covering the fullspectrum. Ad hoc or piecemeal reformsare not the right way of resolving theproblem. Before, discussing thevarious proposals and suggestions forreforms, let us have a look at the historyof electoral reforms and the changesmade so far.

HISTORY OF ELECTORAL REFORMS

Most of the earlier suggestions forreforms, mainly related to changesin electoral procedure, were foundnecessary after the experienceof each general election. Suchrecommendations were made by theElection Commission through itsreports on general elections, broughtout after the completion of each generalelection. From the time of FourthGeneral Election in 1967, seriousdeterioration in the standard electoralnorms became visible. Since then wesee on the one hand growing maturityof the electorate, growth of viablepolitical parties, greater consciousnessamong candidates and citizens abouttheir rights and a just change in socialand economic order; and on the other

hand there is deterioration in the valuesystem, decline of political institutionsand emergence of a new brand ofpoliticians resulting in disturbingfactors and aberrations as discussedabove. Against this background theissue of electoral reforms received animportant place on national agenda.

In 1970, the Election Commissionsent comprehensive proposals to theMinistry of Law on electoral reforms,along with a draft bill to give effect tothose proposals. Thereafter, the CentralGovernment prepared a Bill to amendthe Representation of the People’sActs, 1950 and 1951. It wasintroduced in the Lok Sabha inDecember, 1973. When the House wasdissolved in January 1977, the Billlapsed. It is noteworthy that this billdid not incorporate many of theimportant amendments suggested bythe Commission.

In 1974, Jayaprakash Narayan hadlaunched a movement which later oncame to be known as “A movement forTotal Revolution”. One of the mainplanks of this movement was electoralreform. On behalf of Citizens forDemocracy, Jayaprakash Narayanset up a committee under theChairmanship of V.M. Tarkunde, aformer judge of Bombay High Court.This committee after holdingdiscussions with representatives of anumber of organisations in February1975 produced a comprehensive set ofrecommendations. Thereafter politicalparties, the media, concerned citizens,academicians and above all the ElectionCommission had taken up the issue

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continuously. In November 1983, atthe meeting of representatives of politicalparties with the Election Commission,consensus was arrived at on somematters. Important of these were thefollowing:

(i) Lowering of the age for candidatescontesting elections.

(ii) Restriction on contesting electionfrom more than one constituency.

(iii) Increase in requirement ofminimum number of votes polledto save security deposit.

(iv) Compulsory registration of partiesand maintenance of accounts.

(v) Rotation of reserved seats.(vi) State funding of elections.(vii) Change of present electoral

system to majoritarian system orlist system.

(viii) Empowering Election Commissionto countermand election on reportfrom election observer.

(ix) Empowering Election Commissionto withhold the candidature of aperson guilty of corrupt practices.

(x) Mode of appointment of ChiefElection Commissioner and otherElection Commissioners.

(xi) Statutory code of conduct.These proposals, however, remained

only on paper. In December 1988,considering the recommendations of theElection Commission, Parliamentamended the law to prescribe penaltyfor persons accused of booth capturing.Further, the Commission wasempowered to countermand theelection in the entire constituency, if itwas satisfied that in view of the largenumber of polling stations involved in

booth capturing, the result of theelection was likely to be affected. In1988 the age of voting was reduced to18 years from 21.

1996 Reforms

In 1989 the National Front governmenttook initiatives to bring certain reforms.To achieve a consensus for that, itappointed an All Party Committee in1990 under the Chairmanship of thethen Minister of Law and JusticeShri Dinesh Goswami. The committeein May 1990 presented an almostunanimous report recommendingimportant reforms. But no follow-upaction could be taken up as theNational Front Government itselfcollapsed. Since then, consultationshad continued among political partiesand Election Commission had beenmaking its own suggestions. In 1996some important changes were made inthe Representation of the People’s Act.These include (i) Person convicted forinsulting the National Flag, the NationalAnthem or the Constitution of Indiastands debarred from contestingelections for six years from the date ofsuch conviction as in the case of otheroffences; (ii) To check the multiplicityof non-serious candidates the amountof security deposit has been increasedfrom Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 for generalcandidates and from Rs 250 toRs 5,000 for Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes candidates. Forelections to State Assemblies this hasbeen increased to Rs 5,000 fromRs 250 and Rs 2,500 from Rs 125 forgeneral and SCs/STs candidates

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respectively. It has also been providedthat the nomination of a candidatein a Parliamentary or Assemblyconstituency should be proposed by10 electors of the constituency, if thecandidate has not been set by arecognised National or State Party.Minimum interval between the last datefor withdrawal and date of poll has beenreduced to 14 days instead of 20 days;(iii) A candidate cannot contest electionfrom more than two Parliamentaryor Assembly Constituencies;(iv) Previously, the election in theconstituency was countermanded onthe death of a candidate; now theelection will not be countermanded. Ifthe deceased candidate, however, wassetup by a recognised National or StateParty, the party concerned will be givenan option to nominate anothercandidate; (v) Going to a polling boothor near a polling booth with any kindof arms is now a cognizable offencepunishable with imprisonment up totwo years or with fine or with both;(vi) All registered electors who areemployed in any business, trade,industrial undertaking or any otherestablishment will be entitled to a paidholiday on the day of poll; (vii) No liquoror other intoxicants shall be sold, givenor distributed at any shop, eatingplace, hotel or any other place within apolling area during the period of 48hours ending with the hour fixed for theconclusion of poll ; and (viii) By-elections to any House of Parliament ora State Legislature will now be heldwithin six months of occurrence of thevacancy except in case where the

remaining term of House is less thanone year.

Another change was made in 1997in the law for Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections. According to this,number of proposers and seconders forcontesting election to the office of thePresident has been increased to fiftyeach in place of ten; number of electorsas proposers and seconders forcontesting Vice-Presidential electionhas been increased to 20 each in placeof 5. The amount of security deposit hasbeen increased to Rs 15,000 in place ofRs 2,500 for both these offices.

By another amendment in electorallaw, provision has been made for votingby certain class of persons through postalballot. The provision has been madeprimarily to facilitate exercise of right offranchise by migrants from Kashmir.

SUGGESTIONS

From the above description of historyof electoral reforms, it comes out thatvarious reports of committees onElectoral Reforms, particularly theGoswami Committee Report of 1990and the Tarkunde Committee Report of1975 have so far not led to substantialchanges in electoral system and law. Itseems that political parties areindifferent to electoral reforms. Theyhold periodic meetings to discuss theissue, come up with some suggestionsbut end up with bringing in Parliamentsome minor or ad hoc changes. In fact,in some cases parties in the name ofelectoral reforms have tried to

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neutralise the steps taken by theElection Commission or Judiciary tobring in some desired changes. Thelatest example in this regard isconsensus among all parties in theirJuly 2002 meeting to water down thedirectives given by Supreme Court andfollowed by the Election Commission todebar criminals from contestingelections and candidates to provideinformation about their assets,qualifications, etc. Nevertheless, it isnow widely recognised that in order topreserve and strengthen the democraticset up a comprehensive agenda ofreforms is necessary. Electoral reformsinclude reforms in the system,structure and processes. These arerequired to: (i) check criminalisation ofpolitics; (ii) curb in the use of moneypower in elections; (iii) regulatethe functioning of political parties;(iv) provide reasonable representationto various sections of society,including women, in Parliamentand State Legislatures; (v) ensure voterparticipation and voter awareness; and(vi) make the election machineryeffective and credible. To achieve thesegoals various suggestions have beenmade by the Tarkunde Committee, theGoswami Committee, the ElectionCommission, and by various seminars,political parties and political observers.Some of the important suggestions areas follows:

Restructuring of Electoral System

As has been mentioned above, there isa view that under the existing electoralsystem political parties do not getrepresentation, in terms of seats in

proportion to their electoral support.Also various sections of society remainunder-represented. There is a view thatin order to enable political parties to getrepresentation in proportion to votespolled by them, the existing system ofrepresentation be substituted by a formof proportional representation, like listsystem. Several scholars have arguedin favour of it on the grounds that itwill promote fair elections and willenable parties to nominate honest andcapable candidates. Such a list systemwill certainly reduce the role of moneyin elections and minimise electoralmalpractices. Most parties are in favourof this system since, it will give partyleadership a decisive power.

The counter view to this suggestionis that the list system has its owndisadvantages. This system, it isargued: (i) leads to multiplicity ofpolitical parties and fragmentation ofeven the established political parties;(ii) undue increase in the power ofparty bosses; (iii) multi memberlarge sized constituencies; (iv) nomajority party and consequentlyemergence of coalition governments;(v) disappearance of direct relationbetween individual candidate and thevoters. Another argument is that thelist system will further accentuatedivisions in society. Every caste orgroup will have its own party torepresent its interests. Further it ispointed out that this system is toocomplex, and the voters in India, a largepercentage of whom is still illiterate,might find it difficult to correctly indicatetheir choice on the ballot paper. This

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would be more so because of proliferationof political parties in the country.

In view of these problems asuggestion has been made that, as inGermany, we may have direct electionsto 50 per cent of the seats fromterritorial constituencies, while theremaining 50 per cent seats may befilled in by list system. It has also beensuggested that the discrepancy betweenthe electoral support and legislativeseats can partly be corrected byintroduction of majority system, i.e. bythe stipulation that if no candidate in agiven constituency obtains 50 per centof the valid votes, there should be animmediate repolling between the toptwo. The final winner will represent atleast 50 per cent of the active electorate.This has the additional advantage thatlarger social coalitions shall replace thenarrow ones and contribute to theprocess of social and politicalintegration. Repolling will also have theadded advantage of reducing theincidence of booth capturing becausethe candidates will realise their inabilityto influence the final outcome whichrequires a minimum of 50 per cent ofthe votes polled.

There are those who still think thatthe First Past the Post System is the bestas it is simple, maintains direct relationbetween voter and the legislator andhelps in providing stability. The onlything required is a movement towardsa two party system as in such systemthe winner candidate will get, if not, atleast near to 50 per cent.

Needless to say, each system hasits plus and minus points. What is being

suggested is that some way out needsto be found in which there is somecoloration between votes polledand seats won as also justice ensuredto various sections of societyby securing their participation indecision making.

Curbing the Role of Money Powerand State Funding

It has already been mentioned that thevicious role played by money power indeciding elections is one of the mostcritical problems facing the electionsystem. The result is that contestingelections has become a costly affair,forcing common people to stay awayfrom the field. To improve the situationthree main proposals have been made.

First, is with regard to control overpolitical parties. For this, it is suggestedthat the expenditure incurred bypolitical parties should be broughtwithin the ceiling of election expenses.Only the expenditure of the parties onpolitical education, without reference toany particular constituency, should beexempted. Political parties mustfunction according to norms specified bythe Election Commission. They shouldmaintain detailed accounts in whicheach item of receipt of money by way ofsubscription, donations, subsidy, etc.,and each item of expenditure should berecorded. The accounts must be gotaudited by agencies specified by thecommission and made public. TheElection Commission should beempowered to examine the electionreturns on merit to satisfy itself that theyare accurate and correct in all respects.

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Second, suggestion is that theceiling on election expenses should berealistic and not just a ritual. Theceiling should be reviewed from time totime in relation to size of constituencies,number of voters, inflation and otherfactors and be fixed accordingly. Itshould not remain a mere eye wash, butbe controlled as mentioned above.Related to this aspect is the need tomake contributions and donations topolitical parties legal. Observers pointout that, it is an accepted fact that indemocratic set up political parties haveto spend considerable sums of money,and that large sums are required forelections. If there is a ban on companiesand business on donation to politicalparties, the possibility of depending onillegal contributions is obvious. It istherefore, necessary that efforts shouldbe made to create an atmosphere wherethere is more transparency in financialdealings rather than taking extrememeasures which would only drive theseactivities underground and away fromthe public gaze. Legalisation ofdonations and contributions, as such,is suggested strongly.

Third, suggestion with regard toputting curb on money power is that ofState funding. This practice of Statefunding for political parties is prevalentin some countries like Germany,France, Israel, Canada, Japan, USA,etc. In this system political partiespolling a minimum percentage of votesare entitled to subsidy by the State. InIndia various committees, ElectionCommission as also all party meetings

have recommended that reasonablegrants in aid should be given by thegovernment to recognised parties andsuitable criteria should be evolved forrecognition of parties for this purpose.In this regard some suggest that if notmonetary assistance, parties andcandidates can be given materialassistance in the form of free petrol ordiesel for vehicles, paper for printing ofelection literature, supply of copies ofelectoral rolls free of charge, identityslips for distribution to voters, postalstamps of a specific amount,refreshment packets to polling agentson the day of election, etc.

It is suggested that while Statefunding of political parties is nomagic wand with which corruptioncan be washed away, but to the extentthe State would meet the requirementof political parties for funds, theirneed to raise money by dubiousmeans would be reduced. Also ifscheme of election grants isintroduced, then stringent curbs canalso be imposed on parties includingcompulsory auditing, publication ofaccounts, putting statutory limit onidentifiable expenditure like numberof posters, advertisements innewspapers, etc. Governmentalfunding can also be so designed thatit helps serious candidates anddiscourages frivolous ones. Anotherbenefit of State funding is creatingsomewhat level playing field forpolitical parties where on the basisof fixed criteria they will have equalfunds to fight elections.

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Regulating the Functioningof Political Parties

Political parties are an established partof modern mass democracy. In Indiaalso the conduct of election is largelydependent on the behavior of politicalparties. Unfortunately, situation todayis that political parties make strongdemands for the conduct of free and fairelections, but choose to ignore theapplication of the same principle whenit comes to the functioning of their ownparty organs. It has been revealed onvarious occasions that the politicalparties do not follow their ownconstitutions. They hold no partyelections and continue to function foryears on an ad hoc basis. Sometimesthere has been tyranny of the minorityon the majority because ofundemocratic functioning. A fewpersons occupying a vantage positionin the apex body, quite oftenstrangulate the democratic functioningand aspirations of the members of theparty at the grass roots. It goes withoutsaying that undemocratic politicalparties cannot nurture, sustain orstrengthen a democratic society.Therefore, one of the most critical needof the time is to reform political partiesand make them open, democratic andaccountable.

The necessary reforms suggested inthe functioning of political parties are:Basic democratic principles of electedrepresentatives from lower tier electingleadership at higher levels; openmembership rolls; fair and freeelections; no absolute power to central

party over regional and local units;effective check on office bearers; norecourse to expulsion or removal ofpotential rivals; and, no nominatedoffice holders at any level.

At present, it is not expected thatparty leaders themselves will initiate aprocess of reforms in parties. It istherefore, suggested that this has to bebrought in by law. The law apart frommaking it obligatory for parties to haveinternal democracy and work in anaccountable manner should empowerthe Election Commission to makeregulations for:(i) Compulsory registration of

political parties;(ii) Compulsory maintenance, auditing

and publication of accounts;(iii) Submission of reports to the

Commission; and(iv) Mandatory publication of

membership rolls, election of officebearers at every level by secretballot, and restrictions onexpulsion of members.

Curbing Criminalisation of Politics

It has been mentioned above that oneissue that has engaged a large sectionof the country today is the criminalelements entering the electoral field andsucceeding in winning elections.

At present Section 8 of theRepresentation of People’s Act 1951,provides for disqualification of personsconvicted by a Court of Law fromcontesting elections. In case of certainoffences, disqualification arises only ifconviction is accompanied by sentence

ELECTION REFORMS


of imprisonment for prescribed period.This period in general is 2 years ormore. This obviously is quite liberal arestriction, particularly in view of thefact that in India cases take years to besettled, evidence against influentialpeople is difficult to get them convictedand courts while awarding punishmentgenerally take a lenient view. Therefore,as already mentioned, today we havein Parliament and State LegislativeAssemblies’ persons accused ofcommitting heinous crimes, but notconvicted yet.

In view of this, Election Commissionfrom time to time has beenrecommending amending of the law. Ithas suggested that law should make itmandatory for a person convicted by acourt of law and sentenced toimprisonment for six months or moreto be debarred from contesting pollsfor a period of the sentence imposedand an additional six years. TheCommission has also suggested thatany person who is accused of anyoffence punishable with imprisonmentfor five years or more should bedisqualified, even when her/his trial ispending, provided that the competentcourt of law has taken cognizance ofthe offence and framed the chargesagainst her/him.

Not seeing an amendment comingsoon, the Election Commission with aview to create public opinion and bringtransparency about criminals enteringthe fray, in August 1997 issued anorder. This order made it mandatoryfor every candidate to file affidavitabout her/his convictions in cases

covered by law. The Commission alsoclarified that the conviction by TrialCourt itself is sufficient to attractdisqualification and even those who arereleased on bail during the pendencyof their appeals against their convictionare disqualified for contesting elections.The Election Commission’s position wasfurther strengthened by a judgementof the Supreme Court delivered on2 May, 2002 asking the governmentto amend the rules to make it obligatoryfor candidates for elections to the LokSabha and the State Assemblies, to giveinformation about their assets andliabilities, qualifications and criminalantecedents if any. The ElectionCommission by an order of 14 May,2002 implemented Supreme Court’sdirectives. Political Parties, however,have not felt comfortable with this andfavoured disqualifications only in caseof conviction and that too for heinousoffences. With regard to orders ofElection Commission about filingaffidavit political parties so far areambiguous. How they would react toit, will be known during the generalelection only.

In addition to above efforts andsuggestions to check entry of criminalsin politics, Election Commission hastaken some more steps to control theuse of muscle power. This includeordering fresh poll in case ofdestruction of ballot papers, and ballotboxes in polling booths and coercion,intimidation and impersonation atpolling stations; withholding the result,pending investigation by theCommission on complaints of booth

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capturing and recommending actionsagainst officers for neglect of duties.Certain electoral offences, like carryingarms near election booths, have beenmade cognizable. However, muchneeds to be done in the direction ofcleaning the political process of crime,mafia and violence.

Representation of Women

Another deficiency of the system is thatof inadequate representation of womenin legislatures. In recent years, thisissue has become important and therehas emerged a demand for assuredrepresentation. 73rd and 74thamendments of the Constitution hasprovided for 33 per cent reservation ofseats for women in Panchayati RajInstitutions and Municipalities. A moveis afoot to amend the Constitutionto provide such reservation inParliament and State legislatures.However, there are some differencesamong political parties with regard tothe accommodation of SCs/STsand OBCs.

In Election Commission’s view,while it is necessary to substantiallyincrease the representation of womenin Parliament and State Assemblies, theissue needs to be looked at from awider perspective. The objective mustremain, to have a much greaterpresence of women, without in anyway diminishing the vibrancy ofIndian political system, and theresultant effectiveness of Parliamentaryinstitutions. The aim is to achieve agenuinely active participation of womenin the political process, and their

adequate representation in decisionmaking bodies at all levels of our system.Therefore, the need is to create, suchconditions as may give them increasedopportunities of organic and harmoniousgrowth in the Indian polity.

The Commission has, therefore, putforward a suggestion that instead offollowing the reservation rule, with thepossibility of further internalreservation within reservation, it maybe more desirable to insist on allrecognised political parties, givingadequate space to women in thepolitical process. This can be easilyachieved by a simple legal provision,which will require all recognisedpolitical parties, to set up a specifiedpercentage of women candidates, in allState and Parliamentary elections, thatthey may take part in. While the politicalparties will get the requisite flexibility,to choose the constituencies and thewomen candidates, that may be mostappropriate in their judgment, womenpolitical workers will also have toquickly come forward for effective workin the Indian political arena. Thecurrent representation of women inParliament is about 8 per cent only.This proposal envisages that the partieswill so fix a percentage for womencandidates, that the accepted successrate is enough to ensure a sizeableincrease in the presence of women inthe Parliament and State Assemblies.If this idea is taken up, the controversyof further internal reservation also willbecome unnecessary. It will be open topolitical parties, to give as many ticketsas they please out of the percentage

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fixed to candidates from the lessfortunate sections. The Commissionhas observed that this mechanism ofensuring a minimum percentage ofwomen candidates has apparentlyworked well in the Northern Europeancountries. The suggestion has the meritof not requiring Constitutionalamendment, eliminating currentcontroversies, and going forwardwith a simple amendment in theRepresentation of People’s Act. It willbe for the political parties to decide thepercentage to be fixed.

Election Machinery andManagement of Elections

Apart from correcting the aberrationsthat have come to light or emerged inthe system it is also equally importantthat independence and credibility of theelection machinery to conduct free andfair elections may not only bemaintained but also be consolidated.For that purpose, suggestions havebeen made to assure the independenceof the Commission and empower itfurther to function as a meaningfulbody. Election Commission itself hasurged to amend the Constitution to limitthe strength of the Commission to threemembers including the Chief ElectionCommissioner. It is pointed out thatany further increase in the size of theexisting three member body wouldmake it unwieldy and hamperexpeditious decision making for freeand fair elections. It has also beensuggested that the two ElectionCommissioners should be provided

with the same immunity andprotections as was available to the ChiefElection Commissioner under theConstitution. In addition theCommission has asked for anindependent secretariat on the lines ofLok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat.It has been suggested that theadministrative expenditure of theCommission and its secretariat shouldbe charged from the consolidated fundof India, similar to the lines of UnionPublic Service Commission (UPSC) andComptroller and Auditor General (CAG).It is pointed out that a fine tunedElection Commission, supported byadequate and appropriate legislativeand administrative measures alone cantackle the problems the system is facing.

In addition to strengthening of theElection Commission, the othermeasures suggested include regularand efficient preparation of Electoralrolls so that all eligible citizens areenrolled; issue of identity cards to votersto check impersonation and rigging,use of electronic voting machines tocheck bogus voting and achieveefficiency; compulsory voting to bringvoters out of cynicism, rotation ofreserved seats to provide opportunitiesto both general and SCs/STscandidates to contest elections fromother constituencies, etc. There arevarious proposals on issues ofprocedures and management. Thepurpose as a whole is to make electionsa process of electing people’srepresentatives in a genuine democratic,transparent and meaningful way.

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The health of a democracy dependson the choice of representatives andleaders, which in turn is directly linkedto the way elections are conducted. Wehave seen that the Constitution of Indiahas not only given to its citizensuniversal suffrage but also provided foran independent statutory body toconduct and supervise elections in areasonably creditable manner. Thoughparties in power are prone to abusingauthority for electoral gains, there hasnever been any serious state sponsoredrigging in most of India. However,conduct of elections all these years hasalso brought to light the actual and

potential deficiencies, flaws andloopholes in the existing system as alsothe aberrations that have crept in. Needfor reforms now is felt at all levels ofopinion. Various bodies, experts, andElection Commission have exhaustivelyanalysed, identified and prescribedvarious reforms. However, at politicallevel there is as yet lack of consensusand sense of expediency. Neverthelesspressure is on. What is important tounderstand, however, is that ultimatelyit is public awareness and interventionthat brings the results. Therefore , whatis needed is a rejuvenated publicparticipation in political process.

EXERCISES

1. Describe the main shortcomings of the present election system in India.2. Why electoral reforms are necessary in India?3. Explain the steps taken, so far, in respect of election reforms.4. Examine the major suggestions for electoral reforms.5. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Restructuring of electoral system;(ii) Criminalisation of politics;

(iii) State funding of elections;(iv) Representation of women;(v) Regulating Political Parties.

ELECTION REFORMS

UNIT II

PARTY SYSTEM, PUBLIC OPINION AND

INTEREST GROUPS

IN the present day political systems,democratic or otherwise, political

parties are considered as indispensablepart of political process. The only partsof the world in which they do not existare those where they are suppressed bydictatorship or military rule. Inrepresentative democracies they are themajor tools of the functioning of thesystem. At the same time, they are alsooften crucial for the success of non-democratic systems, as for instance inCommunist regimes or in Facist andNazi regimes. Of course, the nature ofparty system and their role in the two,i.e. democratic and non-democraticregimes, are different. Before we discussthe nature and role of party system itwill be proper to have a properunderstanding of the definition andmeaning of political parties.

POLITICAL PARTIES

In general terms, a political party maybe defined as an organised group ofpeople sharing common policypreferences and programmes, for thepurpose of acquiring and retaining

Political Partiesand Party System

CHAPTER 4

government power by electoral or othermeans. A political party, therefore,possesses features like an organisation,definite views on political issues, a well-formulated line of action, a will and desireto acquire political power and the desireto implement the proclaimed polices. Inthis sense with the aim of acquiring andretaining political power the party as anorganisation is different from othergroups, social or even political.

The capture of political power canbe achieved within existing politicalstructures either through elections indemocracies, or by revolutions orcoups. As is generally, understood theword ‘party’ is used by groups seekingpolitical power. In this sense we cansay that four characteristics defineparties and distinguish them fromother groups:(i) Parties aim to exercise government

power by winning or capturingpolitical office.

(ii) Parties are organised bodies with aformal membership. Thisdistinguishes them from broader andmore diffused political movements.


(iii) Parties focus on broad issues,addressing each of the major areasof the government policy.

(iv) The parties are united by sharedpolitical preferences and a generalideological identity, to varyingdegrees.

From the above, it is clear thatthough, in general, parties are knownfor contesting elections, revolutionaryparties are not organised or intendedto fight elections. The aim of all however,is to seek power, though by differentmeans. The task, of capturing andretaining political power with a desireto achieve common goals, involvesvarious related functions.

FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Since parties are primary organisationsto attain and exercise power, they arean integral part of the political system.One of the most important functions ofpolitical parties is that of unifying,simplifying and stabilising the politicalprocess. To attain political power,parties have to unite various segmentsor groups including religions, caste,class and ethnic groups. Thus, in mostpolitical systems parties can bringtogether sectional interests, overcomegeographical distances and providecoherence sometimes to divisive socialstructures. They seek to broaden therange of interests they represent andharmonies these interests with eachother. The major exception to this is thebehaviour of sectional or ethnic partiesthat might lose support from their mainbase if they were to be more inclusive.

Perhaps the most importantfunction of political parties, particularlyin democracies is representation. Inthis, political parties place beforecitizens different programmes andpolicies, field candidates in elections,and formulate and implement theirpolicies when called to form government.The parties also provide link betweenthe citizens and the government,between the electorate and therepresentative institutions. Partiespresent different choices to electorateand articulate alternative goals forthe society. In fact, parties haveemerged as one of the most importantmeans through which societies setcollective goals.

Linked with the function ofrepresentation is that of providingpolitical leaders. Parties provide atraining ground for politicians, equipthem with skills, knowledge andexperience and bring them in public lifeas leaders. In political systems wherepolitical parties are absent or weak,political leaders and elites are generallyrecruited from traditional elites, suchas hereditary ruling families, or throughreligious or military organisations.Parties create political opportunity andhelp political system by providing awider choice of leaders.

Another function that partiesperform is to educate, instruct andactivate the electorate. In language ofpolitical science this is also calledfunction of interest articulation andaggregation. In the process ofdeveloping collective goals parties oftendevelop as vehicles through which

53

business, labour, religious, ethnic orother groups advance or defend theirinterests. The fact is that nationalparties articulate the demands ofvarious groups, forces them toaggregate these interests by drawingthem together into a coherent whole.

Parties also mobilise citizens toparticipate in politics. This functionis known as socialisation andmobilisation. These activities may berestricted to election periods. Thesemay also extend beyond elections andparties may continue to consolidate andincrease their support through variousways like organising rallies, meetingsand discussions. It may be mentionedhere that in one party system thisrole is primarily concerned withpropagation of the official ideology. Indemocratic regimes while partiesmobilise people for their own support,this also helps encouraging people toplay an active role in democratic game,thereby strengthening the democraticsystems themselves.

Finally, as a logical consequence ofthe task of capturing power politicalparties have very important function offorming government. In Parliamentarydemocracies this role is so importantthat government is known by the nameof the Party i.e. Congress government,NDA government etc. In parliamentarydemocracies where it is necessary forthe government to have support ofmajority of legislators, it is only partiesthat can give a degree of stability andcoherence. If a single party winsmajority in the election, members of thegovernment are drawn from that party

and are therefore united by commonprogramme. Even governments that areformed by a coalition of parties are morelikely to foster unity and agreementthan ones that consist of separateindividuals. Additionally, in the processof seeking power, parties formulateprogrammes of government with a viewto attracting popular support.

It may be mentioned here that theabove description of political parties isgeneral in nature. Importance of thiswould also depend on the type andnature of government, social, economicand cultural environment of the societyand prevailing political culture. Thesefactors along with historical traditionsset what is known as the type of partysystem as also establishment anddevelopment of types of parties.

PARTY SYSTEMS AND TYPES

OF PARTIES

As mentioned above depending onthe historical roots, type of governmentor regime and socio-economicenvironment in any country, thereemerge different number and type ofparties. There is no general theory orprinciple to classify party systems ortypes of parties. In general there is apractice to classify party systems on thebasis of number of parties in a countryand on the relative strength of the parties.The nature of a party is generallydetermined by the ideological orprogrammatic preferences andorganisational structures. On the basisof number and relative strength ofparties, the party systems are generally

POLITICAL PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEM


divided into (i) One party system;(ii) Dominant party system; (iii) Two partysystem; and (iv) Multi party system.

One party system

By one party system is meant thosesystems in which a single party enjoysa monopoly of power through theexclusion of all other parties. This isdone either through constitution or bypolitical means. In many countries,particularly the communist countries,the constitution itself allows existenceof only one party. In certain countriesthough there is no legal restriction onformation of parties, the rulers in powerdo not allow parties other than theirown party to function by means ofcoercion and suppression or usingother legal and extra legal means.There may also be only one partybecause of conditions like anti-colonialnational movement or domination by avery popular and charismatic leader.

Dominant Party System

By dominant party system is meant aparty system where more than oneparty exist and freely compete but oneparty gets much higher support thanany other party. Dominant party thusforms the government and remain inpower for years without a fear of losingpower. The opposition parties are weakand divided. A dominant party systemas such is competitive in the sense thata number of parties compete for powerin elections, but is dominated by asingle major party that consequentlyenjoys prolonged periods in power. For

example in India the Congress partyenjoyed unbroken spell of power forabout 30 years i.e. from 1947 to 1977.After remaining in opposition for lessthan three years it again emerged as thedominant party in 1980. It lost electionsagain in 1989. Therefore, it can be saidthat dominant party system may notbe a continuous or permanent one.

Another feature of dominant partysystem is that there is competitionbetween factions within dominant partyitself. Some times even the criticismagainst government may come frominternal factions. But in generalopposition to government both fromfactions and opposition parties remainweak and ineffective. Dominant partythen may behave as one party system.This of course is not healthy for thegrowth of democracy. Japan, India,South Africa and some other countriesprovide examples of periods ofdominant party systems. In general thedominant systems are on the decline.

Two Party system

A two party system is one in which thereis plurality of parties but two parties ofbroadly comparable size receive majorelectoral support. In short, two partysystem has following characteristics.• Although a number of parties may

exist, only two parties enjoysufficient electoral and legislativestrength to have a realistic prospectof winning government power.

• The party getting the support of themajority is able to form thegovernment alone and the otherparty provides main opposition.

55

• Power alternates between these twoparties; both are able to formgovernment at one time or the other.In this, opposition is strong as it is

called the government in the waiting.At one time two party system wasconsidered the most desirable forparliamentary democracies as itprovides both a stable government aswell as a strong opposition. But of lateit is being felt that the system restrictsthe ideological choices. Also the twoequally matched parties in order toshow each other down may startbehaving irresponsible by presentingtoo populist manifestos and formulatepolicies without consideration ofeconomic health of the country.However, many observers still feel thattwo party system is the best way ofreconciling responsiveness with orderand representative government witheffective government. The UK, the USA,Canada, Australia, etc. are thecountries cited as examples of two partysystem. However, even in thesecountries the classical two party systemis not there. Many a times a third or afourth party becomes significantforcing the formation of a coalitiongovernment.

Multi Party System

A multi party system is that in whichmore than two parties compete forpower reducing the chances of singleparty winning the majority. There is nodefinite number of major politicalparties in the field. In fact in suchsystems, some times minor parties are

able to play an important role in theformation of the government, keepingthe single largest party out ofgovernment. Multi party systemsin parliamentary democracies areblamed for producing weak andunstable government with confusedaccountability. On the other handsupporters of multi party system saythat it is more representative andaccountable. In coalitions governmentshave to work keeping in view theinterests of various groups and sectionsrather than the main support base ofone major party. The system alsocreates internal checks and balanceswithin the government. Multi partysystem had been prevalent in Italy,Germany, France and Scandinaviancountries of the developed world. Somedeveloping countries like India havealso moved to this system after initialyears of dominant party system. In factin most countries both dominantsystem and two party system are on thedecline and are being replaced bymultiparty systems.

PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

As in other representative democraciesin India also political parties are anestablished part of political process.However, unlike in the Westerndemocracies where parties came intoexistence as a result of introduction ofrepresentative election system, India’sparty system originated in the latenineteenth century as a response to theBritish colonial rule and challenge.During this period the party system on



the one hand represented an assertionof national solidarity for nationalliberation and on the other a vision fornew India.

POLITICAL PARTIES BEFORE

INDEPENDENCE

The beginning of the Indian PartySystem can be traced to the formationof the Indian National Congress as apolitical platform in 1885. To beginwith Congress was a platform to expressthe grievances of emerging middle class.Soon, it became a nation widemovement first to demand politicalreforms in the colonial administrationand then a movement for nationalfreedom. In that process Congressbecame an all embracing partyaccommodating various social,communal and economic interests withprimacy for national freedom. Moreoveras a consequence of British policy ofdivide and rule and partly concernedwith apprehensions about the status ofcommunities and regions, there alsocame up communal and caste basedparties like Hindu Mahasabha, MuslimLeague, Akali Dal, Dravid Kanjahagam,etc. In addition there also were formedparties with an ideological vision forfuture India. Most important of thesewas the Communist Party. Thus, onthe eve of independence and before theadoption of parliamentary democracyin India there already were politicalparties of different shades comprisingof well defined and distinct socio-cultural regions, variety of religions,cultural and linguistic groups and

economic disparities. It was in thisbackground that framers of theConstitution adopted a parliamentarysystem of democracy and federalism inIndia and hoped that a proper partysystem would develop to run thatpolitical system.

PARTY SYSTEM IN INDEPENDENT

INDIA

The framers of the Constitutionadopted for India a ParliamentarySystem of government. Political parties,obviously, were to be an essentialinstrument for working of this system.However, in the Constitution of India nomention of parties or their functionswas made. Various provisions of theConstitution, of course, providedopportunities for parties to beestablished, develop and function as inany representative democracy. Onlylegal provision that came up to regulatepolitical parties in a limited way wasElection Commission’s powers toregister political parties for the purposeof allotment and reservation of symbols.Later a mention of parties came in theTenth Schedule of the Constitution inthe context of defections. Thus, partysystem in India is undefined andunregulated except for extremelylimited purposes of registration by theElection Commission and under theprovisions of anti-defection law.Nevertheless, right from the time ofindependence along with the alreadyexisting political parties there have beenemerging a number of parties ofdifferent sizes with different ideologies

57

and programmes, each with its ownorganisational structure. In view of thepeculiar historical background,complex socio-economic environmentand tasks of development the partysystem that has emerged in India andis developing does not neatly fit intogenerally prescribed one party, twoparty and multi party system. Yetcertain characteristics of thesesystems can be identified in differentperiods. Various phases can bedescribed as: (i) One Party DominancePhase; (ii) Trends Toward Two PartySystem; (iii) Hegemonic Domination;and (iv) Multi Party System andCoalition Era.

ONE PARTY DOMINANCE PHASE

As mentioned above right afterindependence from the time of firstgeneral election there were a largenumber of political parties. However,up to 1977 Indian National Congresswas the dominant party. It was theruling party both at the Centre andalmost in all the States. InParliamentary elections though theCongress hardly won 50 per cent votesbut the gap between Congress votes andthat of any other single party was quiteenormous. For example, in the firstgeneral elections while Congress polled45 per cent votes, the next largest partyPraja Socialist Party secured 10.60 percent votes. Up to 1971 elections nosingle party other than the Congresscrossed this limit of around 10 per centvotes. The Congress was also the onlyparty that received votes from all States

and regions and from various categoriesof population. The reasons for Congressdomination included its existence since1885, role played by it as a vanguardof the national movement for freedom,its leaders like Mahatma Gandhi,Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel andothers, and its wide organisationalnetwork spread all over India.Gradually with the elimination of thesefactors and with spread of otherparties, particularly at State level, theCongress domination began to decline.This decline became quite evident in1967 General Election, when both thenumber of seats it won and votes itpolled declined. The Congress also lostpower in eight states. But in 1971elections the party again emerged as thedominant party. It was in 1977 thatafter independence, for the first timeCongress lost power in the Centre asalso in many States. It was thus the endof first phase of party system that is theone party dominance.

TREND TOWARDS TWO PARTY

SYSTEM

1977 elections provided a major steptowards party institutionalisation andpossibilities of emergence of a two partysystem. In these elections there was asubstantial reduction in the number ofcandidates despite the increase innumber of seats (there were 2,439candidates for 542 seats compared to2,784 for 518 seats in 1971). There wassignificant increase in the number ofstraight contests. The number of clearstraight contests was 101. But if one



does not count for 1 or 2 independentsseeking elections in a constituency,besides the candidates of the rivalparties, the number of virtual straightcontests were 279. Within this anothernoteworthy trend was the clear rejectionof independent candidates. Though thenumber of independent candidates washighest in 1977, the number of thosewho won was the lowest (7 out of 1,222).Finally, 75.8 per cent of the votes werecast in favour of only two parties namelythe Janata and the Congress.

As a result of this and victory of anon-Congress party at the Centre forthe first time many scholars andobservers opined that parliamentarydemocracy in India had matured anda two party system was in the process.The hope, however, was short lived. TheJanata Party which had come intoexistence with the merger of four partiesrather than emerging a cohesive singlyparty, in its behaviour remained aconglomeration of parties. Result wasinternal bickering and factionalism thatnot only became a major hindrance inits performance but also tarnished itsimage in public eyes. It ultimately ledto an atmosphere that provedconducive to its disintegration anddisillusionment of the voters. The partycould not remain together even forthree years.

THE HEGEMONIC DOMINANCE

On the basis of 1980 elections, theIndian party system was again back toone party dominant system. However,it was now different not only from the

early party system of Nehru era but alsofrom that of the latter part of the pre-emergency. First thing was that thedominant party now was identified withthe name of the leader (Indira) who hadbecome undisputed leader of the party.

The attitude of the ruling Congressto the opposition parties alsounderwent a marked change. So longas the Congress was a dominant partyand the only national force in thecountry, the opposition was treatedwith respect and it was able to emergeas a force to reckon with at the stateand local levels. But after the successfulJanata challenge in 1977 and the splitin the Congress, the top leadership ofthe Congress had started feelingincreasingly insecure and the partybecame intolerant and exclusivist,unwilling to share power withother parties.

At the same time opposition partiesalso, after tasting power, having lost thecapacity to oppose Congress on moralgrounds because of their behaviour asa ruling party got engaged in politics ofconfrontation. Some of them had alsobrought factors like caste in theforefront and won significant supporton that basis in some states.

Thus, in 1980s the Congress(I)dominance in reality was not thedominance of one party all over Indiaand based on a type of politics ofconsensus. It was a hegemonicdominance because of failure ofnational level non-Congress parties onthe one hand and limited regionalsupport bases of regional parties on theother. In this hegemonic phase —

59

unlike the one party dominance phase,in which the organisational structureof the party which sought to representdifferent interests and identities withinthe society was important, the party hadbecome dependent on the personalityof the leader.

MULTI PARTY SYSTEM AND

COALITION ERA

The Parliamentary elections held inDecember 1989 clearly initiated a multiparty system at the centre. The statescomponent of the system, in aggregateterms had already become a multipartisan one by 1967 when nearly halfof the states had come to be ruled bynon-Congress parties. 1989 elections,according to observers, transformedthe scene at the centre in twounprecedented ways. First, it broughtinto power a coalition government at thecentre for the first time, at least in aformal sense (for even the Janata Partygovernment in the late 1970s wassubstantially a coalition government).Second, again for the first time theparty system at the centre trulyacquired a multi party character formore than two parties became ofconsequential relevance, in the ninthLok Sabha. The outcome of the 1991,1996, 1998 and 1999 polls havefurther strengthened this situationand showed a clear trend of declineof Congress hegemony and emergenceof multi party system and acoalitionist phase.

But it does not mean that this multiparty character is there sure to stay or

a polarisation process is on.Polarisation means consolidation ofthe appeal by political parties withsharply defined ideologies. The newsystem, at least for the time being, hasthrown up a dynamism in which majorparties or party like formations — theCongress and its allies, the BJP and itsallies — seem to be almost equallypoised for competition. The Left andregional parties may play a balancingrole. In this multipolarity it also seemsthat Indian politics has entered acoalition phase. Some observers seeit as dangerous for the future ofparliamentary democracy in India as itcauses instability. But in fact it isnothing unusual. In a country so vast,with so much of diversity, both themulti party system and coalitiongovernments are natural. Even indeveloped Western democracies withmuch less diversity like France,Italy, Germany and others there hadbeen coalitions. In a way coalitiongovernments tend to be moreaccountable due to continuous threatto their existence. Therefore, it is not theparty system or single party or coalitiongovernments responsible for success orfailure of democracy. It depends onvarious other factors which we willdiscuss in subsequent chapters.

TYPES OF PARTIES: NATIONAL AND

STATE

From the above it emerges that becauseof its peculiar social structure, level ofpolitical development and institutionalframework India has developed her own



type of multi party system. Variousparties, however, are not of equal sizeor equal spread. On the basis ofstrength and areas of functioning theElection Commission of India registersparties as national parties and stateparties and unrecognised parties.

According to the Election Symbols(Reservation and Allotment) order,1968, a political party shall be treatedas a recognised political party in a Stateif, and only if either of the conditionsspecified in clause (A) or the conditionsspecified in clause (B) are fulfilled. Theseare: (A) that such party (i) has beenengaged in political activity for acontinuous period of five years; and(ii) has at the general election to theHouse of people in that State or to theLegislative Assembly returned eitherone member to the House of the Peoplefor every twenty-five members of thatHouse or any fraction of that numberelected from that State or at least onemember to the Legislative Assembly ofthat State for every thirty members ofthe Assembly or any fraction of thatnumber; (B) That the total number ofvotes polled by all the contestingcandidates setup by such party at thegeneral election in the State to theHouse of the People or to the LegislativeAssembly is not less than four per centof the total number of valid votes polledby all the contesting candidates at suchgeneral election in the State.

A Party fulfilling the conditionseither of (A) or (B) is recognised as a stateparty. A political party recognised asstate party at least in four states isrecognised as a national party. Parties

which are not recognised as stateparties because of lack of strength butare otherwise registered with theCommission are called unrecognisedregistered parties. An exclusive symbolis reserved for a national partythroughout India. In the case of a stateparty a symbol is reserved for it in theState or States in which it is sorecognised. It is obvious that there isno permanent list of recognised parties.It is revised after every general electionby the Election Commission in the lightof the criterion laid down. Let us nowhave a look at one of the important rolesof political parties in a democraticsystem i.e. the role of opposition.

ROLE OF OPPOSITION PARTIES

In the beginning of this chapter youhave read that the primary goal of apolitical party is to seek power, but inaddition to that as a part of the task ofseeking power in democracies, politicalparties also perform other functions. Inthis process a party which does notacquire power during election, apartfrom performing the functions ofgovernance, continues to perform allother functions as a political partyincluding the role of opposition. Asopposition the party or parties, areexpected to present themselves as analternative government both bychallenging the governments policiesand measures between elections and byoffering themselves as potentialgoverning parties at the election. Forthis purpose the opposition keeps thegovernment in check, provides to the

61

people alternative policies and pro-grammes, and keep them aware of theshortcomings in the performance of thegovernment: its failures, the deviationsfrom promises, misuse of power. Inother words the opposition in additionto provide alternatives, caters to theneed of providing checks and balancesto the ruling party by criticising it onits excesses, lapses and acts of omissionand commission. To perform such a roleit is important that opposition party/parties is/are strong, viable andresponsible both in quantity andquality. By quantity is meant that theopposition should have enoughsupport that a small change in voterspreference can bring it to power. Byquality is meant that people shouldhave faith in the capacity and credibilityof the opposition.

In view of such an important role,in many parliamentary democracies,opposition party is given an officialrecognition. In Britain for instance, theopposition party has been officiallyrecognised. There is as such Her/Hismajesty’s government and Her/Hismajesty’s opposition. The leader of theopposition is provided the same salaryand privileges as that of a cabinetminister. His/her most special privilegeand responsibility, however, is thatrelated to the possibility of being calledat any time to constitute an alternativegovernment. Therefore, she/he has atall times to keep a shadow cabinetready so that at short notice the shadowmay be converted into a reality and cantake over the task of the government.This can be either if the government of

the day is defeated on the floor of theHouse or in general elections. That iswhy it is said that today’s opposition istomorrow’s government and vice-versa.This system of government andopposition best functions in a two partysystem where two parties are almostequal in strength and can replace eachother with a little change in votepercentage. In multi party systems, inmany cases, the opposition parties aremore opposed to each other than to theparty in power. It does not, however,mean that in a multi party systemopposition has no role or is not relevant.In a way the role of keeping check onruling party in such a case becomesmore important, because the rulingparty who is not much worried of defeatbecause of a divided opposition maytend to become irresponsible orcorrupt. Also it is not always that a multiparty system is a one party dominantsystem. Therefore, both the governmentand the opposition can be alliances orgroup of parties thereby functioning asregular government and opposition. Inany case, opposition is a very importantfactor in a democracy and needs to bestrong. At the same time in differentsituations and types of party systemsthe nature and role of opposition canbe different. Nevertheless, whatever thesituation is, both the ruling party andthe opposition are expected to play theirrespective roles with responsibility,honesty and with dignity.

OPPOSITION IN INDIA

In the early years of the Republic,in spite of their weak and fragmented



position in the Parliament, theopposition parties played a veryimportant role. The leaders of theseparties actively participated in debates,raised important national issues andtook the government to task for itsfailures. Those leaders were respectedand known for their integrity andcommitment to the task of nation andconstitution building. Nehru not onlytolerated but encouraged them. Hebelieved that there are two or more sidesto every question and called upon theopposition spokesman to present theother side of the picture whenever animportant issue arose. The questionhour in particular was used veryeffectively to keep the governmenton its toes.

As has been mentioned in thebeginning, neither the Constitution norany law in India, spoke about politicalparties. Thus, political system in Indiagave opportunities to political parties,to grow and participate in the systemwithout much conditions. In the earlyyears, there was a situation of one partydominant. Though there was no legalprovision for a recognised oppositionparty, there was a provision forrecognition as a parliamentary party, ifa party had obtained 50 seats. It wasonly in 1969 that for the first timeCongress (O) was recognised as aparliamentary party apart fromCongress (R) and its leader Dr RamSubhag Singh had the honour of beingthe first person to be recognised as theleader of the opposition. Interestingly,this opposition came from withinCongress itself as a result of split in the

party. It was only in 1977, duringJanata Party’s government, that by anact of Parliament, the leader of theopposition was given a statutoryrecognition and his salary and privilegeswere fixed as that of a cabinet minister.

With the elimination of the nationallevel leadership and political powerbecoming an instrument of vestedinterests and subsequent decline ofinstitutions, interaction betweengovernment and opposition has beenon the decline. The 1975-77 emergencyand the 1977 election results hadaroused high hopes about evolution ofa healthy party system in India. In thatelection for the first time the oppositionemerged as an alternative ruling party.Indira Gandhi accepted the defeat. Itwas expected of the opposition toprovide an issue-oriented politics andto define the issues along socially justand democratic lines. But, this did nothappen.

For a healthy democracy both theruling party and the opposition areimportant. Opposition also has to playa positive and constructive role. It isimportant for both opposition andgovernment to remember that theyhave to change their roles. If peoplestart losing complete faith in politicalparties and consequently in democracyitself then it will be too easy for anyauthoritarian ruler or group to takecharge of the system with the approvalof the masses. That will not only be theend of democracy but also of politicalparties. Events in some neighbouringcountries are before us. Let us thereforebe on our guard before it is too late.

63POLITICAL PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEM

EXERCISES

1. What is meant by Political Parties? What major functions parties perform?2. Explain different party systems.3. Examine the merits and demerits of One Party Dominance.4. Explain the reasons for emergence of One Party dominance in India.5. How political parties in India are recognised as National and State Parties.6. Explain the emerging trends in party system in India.7. Examine the nature and role of Opposition in India.8. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Two Party System;(ii) Hegemonic Dominance;

(iii) Political parties in India before independence;(iv) Role of opposition in democracies.


IN the last chapter we have read thatin India there are seven national

parties and several state partiesand unrecognised registered andunregistered parties. These partieshave been formed on the basis ofdifferent political programmes. Someparties seek support from particularsocial groups more than others eitherbecause of the nature of theirprogrammes or mobilisation. For thestudents of Political Science it isessential to have some knowledge aboutthe ideologies or programmes of theseparties and their support basis. In thischapter we will read about theseaspects of national parties and have ageneral discussion on the nature androle of regional parties.

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Indian National Congress is the oldestpolitical party not only of India but inthe whole of the developing world ofAfro-Asian countries. It was foundedon 27 December, 1885 at Bombay. Tobegin with, it was an association of thesmall westernised, university educatedmiddle class members. For the first twodecades it was primarily concerned

National and State Parties

CHAPTER 5

with demands for political reformswithin British colonial rule. At that timeits leadership was quite moderate thatbelieved in constitutional and legalmeans for its activities. Around 1907,there emerged a militant wing in theparty that raised the demand forSwaraj and started using moreassertive methods of mobilisation andprotest. For a time the Congressremained divided into moderate andextremist wings. Soon it became an allcomprehensive movement for nationalliberation. By 1920 with the emergenceof Mahatma Gandhi it had become amass movement. As a nationalmovement the Congress functioned asan umbrella organisation admitting inits ranks peoples of all shades andopinions. Thus, ideologically, it hadrightists, leftists and centrists trends init. Because of this nature and role ofparty, Gandhiji suggested that afterindependence Congress should bedissolved. Others, however felt, thatafter leading the struggle forindependence, the Congress shouldlead independent India in its taskof nation building and establishmentof democracy.

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After independence Congressbecame the ruling party. There weremany factors in its favour to grow as adominant party. These were: (i) an allIndia organisation with national goalsand established and respectedleadership; (ii) a centrist ideology ofsecularism, socialism and democracythat attracted various sectionsof population; (iii) a wide spreadsupport base that included variousinterests, classes, regions, groups andcommunities. With these benefits theCongress became a dominant party.

Up to 1967 the Congress was ableto form government both in the Centreand almost in all the States. Thoughthe Congress was a dominant and allembracing party, there were factionsand groups within the party based onideological and personality differences.Under the dominating leadership ofJawaharlal Nehru these factions couldnot come out openly. From 1962onwards with the decline of powerfulleadership and lack of popularsupport due to dissatisfactionfrom its performance, factionalismbecame quite open and important.Factionalism and groupism finally ledto the division of Congress in November1969 into two parties Congress (I) ledby Indira Gandhi and Congress (O) ledby Morarji Desai, K. Kamaraj,Nijalingappa. Indira Gandhi with herbackground of Nehru family andpresenting herself as a progressiveleader led her faction to massive victoryin 1971-72 elections bringing Congress(R) back as a dominant party. In 1977Congress (O) got itself merged into

newly formed Janata Party. In the faceof defeat in 1977 elections the Congress(R) itself got divided into two parties in1978. Now there was Congress (I) i.e.Congress led by Indira Gandhi andCongress (S) led by Swaran singh, laterby Dev Raj Urs and there after bySharad Pawar. The elections in 1980once again gave Indira Gandhi’sCongress the legitimacy of dominantparty. This position remained so up to1989, when once again leaders likeV.P. Singh left the Congress to joinhands with the opposition parties.

In 1994 there occurred anotherdivision in the Congress and leaderslike Arjun Singh and N.D. Tiwari left toform the Indira Congress. The Congressat that time was led by Rajiv Gandhi.While these people later came back tothe Congress another group led bySharad Pawar, P. A. Sangma and TariqAnwar left the party in 1999 to formanother party called National Congress.Indian National Congress led by SoniaGandhi still has a significant supportbase all over India, though it is no morea dominant party.

In terms of ideology andprogramme, Congress has projecteditself as a secular, democratic, andmodernising party. For economicdevelopment it has expressed itself infavour of land reforms, enlargement ofpublic sector and economic planningwithin the frame work of mixedeconomy. From 1955 onwards itdeclared its goal as attainment of asocialistic pattern of society. But theparty’s social following and efforts towin elections by accommodating all

NATIONAL AND STATE PARTIES


interests made Congress to compromiseon its ideology. Thus, it has remainedmore a pragmatic party rather thanideologically committed. Since 1991,it has clearly moved towards liberaleconomic system from its earliercommitment to socialism and publicsector. Hence, Congress is the initiatorof what is popularly known asEconomic Reforms and StructuralAdjustments. The Congress alsosupported efforts towards socialreforms. Like most other parties itopposes discrimination based on caste,religion, region, sex, etc. It showedsufficient sensitivity to the cause ofminorities particularly in its initial yearsin independent India. The CongressParty’s foreign policy, specially underthe leadership of Nehru brought Indiaconsiderable prominence as a founderand leader of Non-Aligned movement.

As already mentioned, beforeindependence, Congress was more amovement than a party. Afterindependence it was transformed intoa party to contest elections. In view ofits background and power, a numberof people and groups began tojoin Congress without necessarycommitment to its programmes. Thismade Congress more a pragmatic partythan a programmatic one. These andother such factors brought intoCongress wide spread factionalism,sycophancy and centralisation ofpower. As a result, organisationally,Congress became a personalised, andcentrally controlled party. It is no morea party of consensus, with a clear cutprogramme for socio-economic

development and reforms. Yet, itremains committed to values ofsecularism and democracy. It still isthe party with largest social supportspread in almost all States and regionsof India. In that sense in terms of itsorientation, areas of operation andsupport base Congress continues to bethe most significant national party.

THE JANATA PARTY

After about 30 years of Congressdomination in March 1977 for the firsttime a conglomeration of five parties, i.e.Congress (O), Bhartiya Lok Dal, JanSangh, Socialist Party and Congress forDemocracy along with some dissidentsin Congress contesting jointly, defeatedthe Congress in Lok Sabha elections.Proclamation of national emergency in1975 and suppression of democraticrights and arrest of various leaders ofopposition political parties made itimperative to unite for their survival.

Having won the elections in allianceand feeling the necessity forconsolidation of non-Congress unitythese parties decided to mergethemselves in a single party.Consequently on 1 May , 1977 was bornthe Janata Party with the merger ofCongress (O) Bhartiya Lok Dal, JanSangh, Socialist Party, Congress forDemocracy and the former Congressmenwho had left the Congress at the time ofproclamation of emergency.

Being a combination of variousparties, Janata party’s programme wasbound to be mixed one and pragmaticto satisfy all its constituents. At the

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same time it was a fact that in 1977elections support against Congress hadcome largely from North India and moreso from rural areas. Therefore, tilt ofJanata party’s programme was towardsfarming classes. However, eachConstituent party was keen toconsolidate its own social base. Thus,in spite of merger various constituentsin the Janata Party continued to workas independent partners in a coalition.The differences between varioussegments extended to a wide range ofpolitical and economic issues. TheJanata Party failed to evolve anymechanism to regulate and harmonisethe conflicting interests of variouslobbies and groups. This ultimately ledto open division and in less than threeyears in July 1979 the party got dividedinto two. Most of the members oferstwhile Bhartiya Lok Dal and SocialistParty came out of Janata Party on theissue of dual membership and formeda new party named as Lok Dal.Issue of dual membership meantwhether a member of Janata Party canbe a member of another politicalorganisation. This was raisedparticularly in the context of erstwhileJan Sangh members continuing to bemembers of Rashtriya Swayam SewakSangh (RSS) which they claimed was asocio-cultural organisation and not apolitical one. In some, there weredifferences galore. As a consequent ofthe split the Janata Party governmentfell. With the support of Congress, LokDal formed a new government. But thiscoalition also could not work for morethan six months and finally in 1980

fresh elections were held for theLok Sabha.

People of India, obviously feltbetrayed by the Janata Party andtherefore, in 1980 mid term polls votedagainst both the Janata Party and theLok Dal. This brought Congress (I)back to power. Soon after the electionsthere came another split. Most of theerstwhile Jan Sangh members alongwith some others left the Party to formBhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

JANATA DAL

Having lost two general elections in1980 and 1984, some leaders amongnon-Congress parties once again beganefforts for opposition unity. As a resultJanta Dal was born on 11 October,1988, with the merger of Janata Party,Lok Dal and Jan Morcha. In 1989elections Janata Dal became a partof National Front which has acoalition of seven parties. Earlier somecongressmen including V.P. Singh hadleft the Congress on the issue ofcorruption. They also became a part ofthe National Front. After November1989 election, the National Front withthe outside support of BJP and CPMformed the government.

Soon it became clear that both theformation of Janata Dal and NationalFront were negative considerations ofdefeating the Congress without anypositive commitment to an ideology orprogramme. Soon after coming topower there were factional pulls andpressures both in Janata Dal andNational Front. In November 1990, a



sizeable chunk of members cameout of Janata Dal and formedSamajwadi Janata Party. In August1992 Ajit Singh with his supporters leftJanata Dal to form Janata Dal (A). On21 June, 1994, another group ofmembers came out of Janata Dal andformed Samta Party. Thus, byNovember 1995 Janata Dal stood muchreduced. It, however, continued to bea national party as also a ruling partyin two States — Bihar and Karnataka.

In 1996 elections, no party gainedmajority. Bhartiya Janata Partyemerged as the single largest party butcould not get the support of others.Hence, it failed to remain in powerbeyond 13 days. This situation againgave opportunity to Janata Dal tolead a coalition government withthe support of the Congress. Thegovernment thus formed was known asUnited Front government led byH.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujralrespectively. But, the United FrontGovernment, also could not survivebeyond a year.

Even before the fall of United Frontgovernment, once again in 1997 thereoccurred another split in Janata Daland Rashtriya Janata Dal was formed.The process did not end here. In 1998 itgot split once again when Biju JanataDal was formed. Needless to say eachsplit has weakened the Janata Dalconsiderably. As a whole varioussplinters like Rashtriya Janata Dal andSamajwadi party have become regionalparties. The two factions that is JanataDal (S) and Janata Dal (U) have been ableto retain the status of national parties.

Almost all splits in Janata Dal hadbeen primarily on personality basisrather than on any ideologicaldifferences. Social base of varioussplinter parties, that is Janata Dal,Rashtriya Janata Dal, SamajwadiJanata Party, etc. is the same as of otherbackward classes and Muslims. Allof them stand committed to asocialist perspective, devolution anddecentralisation of power, ruralreconstruction, secularism and justiceto lower and backward castes. None ofthem, however, has been able to createa functional structure or broaden itssupport base. All factions of Janata Dalrely on regional caste based supportand are dominated by singleindividuals. Each of these Janatafactions has a significant support insome States and regions; like Bihar,Orissa, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, etc.All efforts to unite them are provingfailures due to personality clashes.

BHARTIYA JANATA PARTY

Bhartiya Janata Party was founded inApril 1980 as a result of second split inJanata Party. As already mentioned itwas mostly the members of erstwhileBhartiya Jan Sangh who constitutedthe Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).Bhartiya Jan Sangh was foundedon 21 October, 1951, under thepresidentship of Dr Shyama PrasadMukerjee. The objective of founding theJan Sangh was rebuilding of Indiaas a modern, democratic society inaccordance with religious precepts andfour fundamentals of “one country, onenation, one culture and rule of law.”

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From 1951 to 1977 Bhartiya JanSangh had been a national party butprimarily concentrated in urban areasof North India. In 1974 the party stoodin support of Jaya Parkash Narainmovement which was primarily an anti-Congress, anti-corruption reformmovement. The party also activelyopposed the promulgation of internalemergency in 1975. Ultimately joininghands with other major non-Congressparties, Bhartiya Jan Sangh alsodissolved itself and became a part ofJanata Party formed in April-May1977. As already mentioned withinJanata Party there started differenceson various issues from the beginning.Janata Party objected to the practice offormer Jan Sangh members continuingto remain as members of the RSS. Thisled to some socialist members comingout of Janata Party to form Lok Dal; andfinally, after Janata Party’s defeat in1980, most of the erstwhile Jan Sanghleft members the Janata Party to formBhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJPthus, inherited two different legacies,one that of the erstwhile Jan Sangh andsecond of the Janata Party.

In view of the dual legacies and inchanged circumstances, BJP tried toproject itself different from Bhartiya JanSangh. So while it permitted dualmembership with RSS, the partyproclaimed that its ideology wasGandhian Socialism. In concrete termsBJP programme was vague. It laidequal stress on the development ofagriculture and industry, reduction oftaxes, recognition of citizensfundamental right to work, introduction

of an employment guarantee schemeand pension for the aged, etc. In duecourse Gandhian Socialism wastransformed into liberalised Swadeshi.Of course in election manifestos andpublic speeches BJP leaders, likeCongress, promised some thing to every one. But BJP’s policies, as a seniorpartner in National DemocraticAlliance government, clearly reflectsits commitment for liberalisation,privatisation and globalisation.

In social field also the BJP promisesjustice to all sections. It has acceptedthe principle of reservation on castebasis and 33 per cent reservation ofseats for woman in Parliament and StateLegislatures. The most important aspectof BJP ideology, however, is culturalnationalism . Some feel that in view ofits electoral compulsions, BJP has shedits ideological homogeneity andsharpness. Nevertheless, BJP remainscommitted to the idea of one nation andone culture. It criticises the politics ofminoritism allegedly followed byCongress governments. It also does nothide its criticism of what it calls pseudo-secularism.

In terms of electoral support theBJP, like its predecessor the BhartiyaJan Sangh, has a strong electoralsupport base in the Hindi-speakingregions, Gujarat and Maharashtra.Since 1989, it has been trying to extendits base in South India also. It has beenparticularly successful in Karnataka.In terms of social base, BJP’s traditionalvotes have been coming from uppercastes, the small and medium tradersand shopkeepers in urban and rural



areas and a section of the Indianmiddle class. Lately BJP has also madea dent in other backward castes.

Since its formation in 1980, the BJPhas been increasing its vote percentage.In December 1984, Parliamentaryelections party could win only two seatssecuring 7.72 per cent votes. In 1989,Lok Sabha polls, BJP share of vote roseto 11.59 per cent and 88 seats.According to observers BJP’s suddenrise, particularly in number of seats wasbecause of three reasons: (i) generalanti-Congress wave particularly inNorth India; (ii) rise of communalpolitics in the country; and (iii) seatadjustments with other parties. In 1991Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s strength inLok Sabha increased to 122 with a votepercentage of 20.9. Having won 161seats in 1996 Lok Sabha elections BJPemerged as the single largest party.Thereafter in 1998, it won 180 seatswith 25.5 per cent votes and in 1999,182 seats with 23 per cent votes. In1999 elections it contested as analliance partner in the NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA).

The BJP as such has emerged asignificant national party almostcomparable to Indian NationalCongress. But its support base as yetis limited to certain areas rather thanspread all over India. Also there isambiguity within the party on itsideological stand particularly onreligious and cultural aspects. In termsof economic programmes, likeCongress, it has become a centrist anda pragmatic party.

THE COMMUNIST PARTIES

The two National Parties representinga clear leftist ideology are CommunistParty of India (CPI) and CommunistParty of India Marxist [CPI(M)]. Theirorigin, as with other communist partiesis based on the tenets of Marxism; withthe aim of establishing socialism. In1964, because of ideological differencesthe CPI got divided and the group thatcame out formed the Communist Partyof India (Marxist).

The Communist Party of India (CPI)was founded in 1925 by those who gotattracted towards Marxism and werealready engaged in revolutionaryactivities. Of course at that time theywere facing repression from the Britishcolonial administration. They also hadclose links with the Communist Partyof Great Britain and internationalrevolutionary movement.

In the late twenties and early thirtiesthe main arena of Communist activitywas provided by the Trade unions, inwhich definite success was scored. Thesecond sphere where the CPI couldextend its mass following was providedby the worker and peasant parties. Asthe labour movement gained ground sothe activity of these parties alsointensified. During the 1930s theparty adopted a tactic of the UnitedFront from above in cooperationwith the nationalist movement. TheCommunists joined the Congress andsoon secured leadership in its socialistorganisation — the Congress SocialistParty. They were, however, expelled

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from the Congress in 1939, on the issueof double membership. The final breakwith the Congress came with the Naziinvasion of the Soviet Union. At that timethe CPI supported the British in SecondWorld War as a war against Fascism andNazism whereas Congress was preparingto launch the Quit India Movement.

After independence there emergedtwo factions within CPI on the basis ofthe assessment of the political systemof independent India. One group feltthat independence of India was not real.It was a transfer of power in theframework of modified imperialisticsystem. Therefore, there was need forstruggle under the leadership of CPIand alliance with workers andpeasants. It was called a tactic of theunited front from below. This was theline given by the Soviet Union, the thenleader of the International CommunistMovement. The other group was of theview that the transfer of power was real.Therefore, Nehru government needed tobe supported as a part of alliance withnationalist forces. Soon the Sovietposition changed and the CPI wasadvised to abandon the adventuristtactics and instead work for the creationof a broad anti-feudal, and anti-imperialist front along with thenationalist bourgeoisie. This gave thedirection, to what is called, movementtowards “Constitutional Communism.”

By Constitutional Communism ismeant to gain power by communiststhrough elections rather than throughtheir traditional approach of snatchingpower through revolution. Thus, from

the very first general elections the CPIbegan contesting elections in the multiparty system. It got encouraged fromthe fact that compared to otheropposition parties it received bettersupport in the then situation of oneparty dominant system. A historiclandmark was reached in 1957 whenin the second general elections theCommunist party won an absolutemajority in Kerala and formed thegovernment. This made clear thechances of assuming power by peacefulmeans. But the central government in1959 dismissed the Communist Keralagovernment in spite of party enjoyingmajority support. This gave chance toradical elements to suggest that in thegiven system socialist reforms were notso easy. By this time there also hadstarted emerging conflict between Indiaand Communist China which finallyresulted in India-China War in 1962.The two factions in the CPI had differentinterpretations about this war. Whilethe pro-Soviet group was clearlyopposed to China the other groupthough not necessarily pro-Chinablamed both China and India for theconflict. Combination of all these factorsfinally led to the split in party in1964 when the more radical groupcame out of CPI and formed CPI(M)claiming itself to be the real CommunistParty of India.

THE CPI

After the 1964 split, the CPI had nodifficulty in following the Soviet line. The



main thrust of this line was that the CPIaccepted to deal with what it regardedas progressive nationalist section inthe Congress, the major vehicle ofbourgeois nationalism.

It was in this context that the CPIstarted assessing the Nehrugovernment and later supported IndiraGandhi and her supporters. Itremained an ally of the Congress till1977. Since then CPI started developingan anti-Congress line. On the issue ofcommunalism the CPI has becomemore critical of BJP. Since 1989, theCPI has been contesting elections as anally of anti-Congress and anti-BJP leftand democratic front. But in its effortsto achieve the goal of nationaldemocracy the CPI had gone to theextent of joining the coalitiongovernment at Centre in 1996.

In its programmes party favourscommunal harmony, secularism,prevention of misuse of religious placesfor disruptive activities. The CPIexpresses its commitment to work forevolving a new and equitable internationaleconomic order, curbing monopolyhouses and trans - national giants,control over foreign trade; protection ofsmall scale industries, cottage industriesand artisans, strengthening the publicdistribution system, government take-over of wholesale trade in food grains;need based minimum wage to factoryworkers and others in the unorganisedsector; introducing social securitymeasures and preventing lock-out offactories; effective workers participationin management of units in the publicsector, crop insurance scheme; and

cancellation of loans taken by smallpeasants, radical land reforms, includingfair wages to agricultural workers.

In foreign policy CPI favourscontinuation of policy of non-alignmentand anti-imperialism and improvementof friendship with neighbouringcountries. The growing escalation of USimperialism is viewed as a decisiveimpetus towards strengthening thepolicy of non-alignment.

CPI(M)The CPI(M)’s position was that the CPIwas a revisionist party which haddeviated from Leninism and hasrenounced Marxism.

The CPI(M) wanted to establish apeople’ s democracy. To attain this endit worked to develop People’sDemocratic Front. This Front was tobe led by the working class. The chiefallies of the working class would beagricultural labourers and the poorpeasants in the countryside. The middlepeasants would be firm allies and eventhe rich peasants can be allies up to apoint. The urban and other sections ofthe petty bourgeoisie could also beregarded as allies. The enemies of thisanti-feudal, anti-imperialist revolutionare the monopolists, the bigbourgeoisie, and the imperialists.

The CPI(M), at the same time did notreject the Parliamentary path. It wasin view of this that in 1982 the CPI(M)decided to work for a Broad “anti-authoritarian” front including even theBhartiya Janata Party. However, itreiterated at the same time that it willspend its energies to build “left anddemocratic unity.”

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Since 1992 there are certainvisible changes in Party’s strategicprogrammatic emphasis, but there isno major change in the stand of theparty on the basic ideological questions.While the anti-Congress edge of theCPI(M) policy has not been diluted, ithas sharpened its attack on the BJP.

The party election manifestos oneconomic issues emphasise the need forIndia to become self-dependenteconomically and to escape from theclutches of the World Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF).According to CPI(M) not only India islosing control over its economy becauseof these but also India’s domestic andforeign policies are moulded bythem. It is critical of liberalisationof economy, increasing inequalitiesand unemployment. It favoursimplementation of land reforms,minimum wages, creation of jobs; andto achieve it all suggests demolition ofcapitalist path of development. Itadvocates nationalisation of textile andjute industries and government takeover of big factories, protection ofunorganised workers, adequate wagesfor farm labourers and the right to work.

In view of some policies of CPI(M)as ruling party, particularly inWest Bengal, the critics have calledthe economic stand of the partyas paradoxical and hypocritical.Paradoxical because the party hasintroduced economic liberalisation inWest Bengal in contravention of itspolitical philosophy; hypocriticalbecause it has attempted to justify thispolicy while retaining in theory itsstandard ideology.

The two communist parties havenow moved together to build anddevelop a “left unity”. Both the partiesnote a perceptible change in theinternational situation and threats ofneo-colonialism. Since 1984, both theparties have been contesting electionsas part of Left Front, as also UnitedFront. The CPI(M) dominates that frontand CPI occupies the number twoposition. Their main emphasis atpresent is that what India needsurgently is national secular democraticunity. The new US economic offensiveand the forces threatening nationalintegration are the main targets of theirattack.

As far as State Assemblies areconcerned the two Communist partieshave done well in West Bengal, Keralaand Tripura. In all these three States,the two parties either singularly orjointly or in alliance with other partieshave been able to form government. In1957 for the first time in the world aCommunist party formed governmentafter winning elections in a multi partydemocratic system when CPI wonan absolute majority in Kerala. InWest Bengal, the Left Front led byCPI(M) is in power continuously formore than two decades.

As far as social base andmembership is concerned there ishardly any difference between the twoCommunist parties. They depend onthe support of working class, the middleclass and agricultural labour and smallpeasants. Both are essentially middleclass parties, unable to draw much newmembers from the younger generation.



The CPI(M) proximity to power,particularly in West Bengal has madeit more acceptable to peasants. Itsfollowing is intensive and concentratedand therefore, translates more intovoting strength. The CPI’s following isdiffused and scattered. Spatially, theCPI(M) has a small following in the Hindiheartland where the CPI is better placed.Concentrated electoral strength hasmade CPI(M) popular in West Bengal,Tripura and Kerala.

BAHUJAN SAMAJ PARTY

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is theyoungest among the national parties.Founded on 14 April, 1984, the partyis an expression of the dalit resurgence.It has been emerging slowly in certainparts of the country both as a resultof opportunities provided by ademocratic system and failure of othernational parties to provide social justiceto the dalits.

The BSP had its origin in All IndiaBackward (SCs, STs, OBCs) andMinorities Communities EmployeesFederation founded in 1978 byKanshi Ram a scientist in theExplosive Research DevelopmentLaboratory. After knitting his network among the governmentemployees across the length andbreadth of the country, particularlyin the Northern States he launchedyet another organisation DS-4(the Dalit Shoshit Samaj SangharashSamiti) in 1981. Finally, on 14 April,1984, BSP was launched. The

assumption was that people belong-ing to Scheduled Castes, ScheduledTribes, Backward Castes andminorities form 85 per cent ofcountries population and constitutethe “Bahujan”; but a minority of uppercastes rule the country.

The BSP ideology, therefore, isclear and sharp to mobilise dalits andoppressed assuming that a volcanicoutburst of the oppressed class couldnot be stopped for long and wasbound to happen one day. The Party’sprime objective is to build a cadredevoted to educating dalits abouttheir rights.

In the beginning, the party was anisolationist one declaring to have noalliance with any other party. Its aimwas to initiate some socio-culturalmovement among the dalits. Later onits strategy has undergone somechanges and it had allied and sharedpower in Uttar Pradesh with BJP in1995, 1997 and 2002, and had apre-election alliance with Congress in1996. The party had also entered intoan alliance with the SamajwadiJanata Party. Observers explain BSPschange of strategy on the basis ofrealisation that it was not capable ofgarnering sufficient support from thebackward castes, which have no lovelost for the dalits. In fact the backwarddalit antagonism in rural India doesnot allow the party to broaden itsbase. The class interests of backwardsections, especially after land reformsand green revolution, tend to clashwith the dalits, many of whom

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continue to be landless in rural India.The antagonism between the uppercaste and the dalits is no longer assharp as it is between the backwardsand the dalits, in view of the changedland ownership patterns in the lasttwo or three decades.

In less than a decade, BSP, atleast in Hindi-speaking States hadbecome a political force to the extentthat it can influence the electoralfortunes of the major political partieslike the Congress, BJP and Janata Dal.Thereafter, BSP has been makingcontinuing gains particularly in UttarPradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjaband Madhya Pradesh. The party,however, faces various and serioushurdles in its efforts. While the claimof a Bahujan Samaj points to a desireto unite under dalit leadership awider section of society, but its coreappeal remains to dalits whocomprise just over sixteen per cent ofIndia’s voters. Further, the successof BSP in North India has not beenequalled in other parts of the country.In South India, in particular, there areother dalit formations that havecreated their own space. The BSP’sdream of ruling the country, therefore,may remain utopia, except in the caseof a coalition. But it had made it clearthat in near future, at least, dalit powerwill surely play a role in Indian politics.

STATE PARTIES

As already mentioned in addition tonational parties there are regional or

state parties. Some of these arerecognised regional parties on the basisof their strength prescribed by theElection Commission. At the same timethere are many unrecognised stateparties because of lack of necessaryvoters support. Generally, speakingregional parties are those whichgenerally and exclusively operatewithin a limited geographical area of aState, or which represent narrow socialinterests. But in India we have severaltypes of regional parties. Broadlyspeaking these can be divided into fourcategories.

First category is of those partieswhich are classical, regional ethnicityor cultural based. These parties are bychoice regional interested to acquirepower in one or two States in the nameof that cultural, linguistic or ethnicgroups. Examples of these are All IndiaAnna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam(AIADMK) and Dravida MunetraKazhagam (DMK), Shiv Sena, AsomGana Parishad, National Conference,Indian Union Muslim League,Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, ManipurPeople’s Party, Shiromani Akali Dal,Sikkim Democratic Front, TeluguDesam, etc.

Second category is of thoseparties which have been formed bysplit in national parties. Most suchparties were formed after 1967 by theleaders coming out of Congress. Latersome such parties have also comeinto existence from splits in Janataand other parties. Examples of suchparties are Biju Janata Dal, Janata



Party, Kerala Congress, RashtriyaJanata Dal, Samajwadi Janata Party,Trinamool Congress etc.

The third category is of thoseparties which on the basis of ideologyand programme have a secularnational perspective and also try tooperate at all India level, but lack anational base. As such on the basis ofvoter support these are recognisedonly as state parties. Such partiesinclude All India Forward Block,Indian National Lok Dal, NationalistCongress Party, Republican Party ofIndia, Revolutionary Socialist Party,Samajwadi Party, etc.

Fourth category is of those partieswhich in fact can be calledpersonalised parties. Such partiesare formed by individual leaders,many of them coming out of nationalor state parties on the basis of theirpersonal support or charisma inspecific areas. These parties generally,do not survive long. They either getfinished with the personality of theleader or get merged with somenational or regional party for someshare in power. Some such parties areHimachal Vikas Congress, HaryanaVikas party, Lok Shakti etc.

In addition to state or regionalparties there are also unrecognisedregistered parties which are registeredwith the Election Commission, butdue to the lack of sufficient electoralsupport are not recognised for thepurposes of reservation of electionsymbols. Such parties also can becategorised into above four. Some

example of such parties are AkhilBharat Hindu Mahasabha, AkhilBhartiya Jan Sangh, All India MuslimForum, Ambedkar Samaj Party,Anna Telugu Desam Party, BahujanKranti Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party(Ambedkar). Gandhivadi RashtriyaCongress, Shiromani Akali Dal(Mann), Tamil Desiyak Kutch, MGRAnna DMK, Kannada Chalavali VatalPaksha, etc.

During last three decades someof the States, regional parties havebecome quite important. In fact inseveral States in India, the largestnon-Congress political parties arespecific to a single State and have littleor no strength outside their homestate. The most important suchparties are the AIADMK and the DMKin Tamil Nadu, the Telugu Desam inAndhra Pradesh, the Akali Dal inPunjab, the National Conference inJammu and Kashmir, and the AsomGana Parishad in Assam. In fact, inall these States, the non-Congressstate parties have won majorities atone time or the other in legislativeassembly elections held between 1977and 1999 and formed governmentsthereafter. These single state partiesare distinguished by their adoption ofa regional nationalist perspective, bytheir political desire for greaterregional autonomy of States in theIndian Union, for their focus on issuesspecific to their States or for their basewithin a religious minority.

One result of the growing influenceof regional parties has been that at

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times no single national party getsmajority in the Lok Sabha. In all thegeneral elections to Lok Sabha from1989 to 1999 this has been thesituation. This has led not only toformation of coalition governmentsbut also regional parties influencingthe process of governmental formationand participating in it. This has bothpositive and negative effects. Inpositive terms regional parties providea check on centralisation of power,strengthening of federalism, fulfillmentof regional and cultural aspirations ofvarious sections of population therebyhelping in national integration, ashare in power to marginalised anddeprived groups. In negative termsthey cause instability of government,lack of unity and coherence for anational government, encouragementto regional and sectorial forces, addedrole of caste and religion in politics.

Both these positive and negativeeffects of regional parties are a naturalprocess in a democratic system. In acountry of vast diversities, regionalimbalances, concentration oflinguistic and ethnic groups in certainregions, along with failure of planningto create a national economy andbalanced development growth,development of regional parties isnatural. In some countries withfederal systems, national partiesthemselves allow their state orregional wings autonomy enough torepresent regional aspirations. InIndia centrally controlled national

parties do not provide such flexibility.This provides another reason forproliferation of regional parties. As awhole regional parties are significantparticipants in parliamentary andfederal democratic system of India.Most of them have no separatist orsecessionist agenda. As alreadymentioned not all regional parties arecultural or regional based parties.Some are definitely class and ideologybased. But in terms of support baseand role in politics it is the partiesrepresenting specific regional or socio-cultural interests that have emergedimportant. The more successfulregional parties have been AIADMKand DMK in Tamil Nadu, ShiromaniAkali Dal in Punjab, Telugu Desamin Andhra Pradesh, NationalConference in Jammu and Kashmir,Biju Janata Dal in Orissa, KeralaCongress and Muslim League inKerala. All these parties have formedgovernments in their respective Statesseveral times either by themselves orin coalition with others. Some of themhave stronger roots among masses,compared to some national parties. Itis because of this that with the declineof one party dominance, in severalStates actual and potential oppositionand alternative to Congress has beenprovided by regional parties. Theyalso now share power at the Centralgovernment as partners of one or theother alliance or front. This processesseems to be the pattern at least for thenear future.



EXERCISES

1. Mention the names and symbols of any three National Parties in India.2. Briefly state the policies and programmes of Indian National Congress.3. Explain the policies and programmes of Bhartiya Janata Party.4. Bring out the significance of Bahujan Samaj Party in Indian politics.5. Write Short notes on the following:

(i) Role of State/Regional Parties;(ii) Janata Dal;

(iii) CPI and CPI(M)

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IN the last two chapters you have readabout two types of organised groups

that is political parties and interestgroups that are engaged in controllingand influencing decision making powerof the government either by capturingthe governmental machinery or byputting pressure from outside. Butultimately in any system governmentalpolicies are made, at least in theory, forthe public as a whole. Particularly in ademocracy the very survival of anygovernment finally rests on the approvalor rejection by the people at elections.Therefore, governments are alwayskeen to know the feelings of public as awhole and try to respond to them in oneway or the other. In other words,governments are less interested inpersonal opinions of one or some, whatthey are interested is in public opinionabout them. Therefore, in anypolitical system, more so in democracy,public opinion plays a very significantrole in its process, decision making,accountability and working.

PUBLIC OPINION : DEFINITION

The term public opinion, as is clear, isa compound of two words — public and

Formation of Public Opinion

CHAPTER 6

opinion. A public is a collectivity ofpeople with a common interest.Collectivity denotes a complete absenceof organisation. The only link amongthose in a collectivity is their commoninterest. They are not a group. Thecommon interests may be attributed tothe public by an outsider. For example,a government may feel public isinterested in stability. It is not necessarythat they constitute entire people oreven a majority at a particular time. Thepublic thus is not a fixed body ofindividuals. Of course it is a collectivityof people. A public, in that sense canalso be an artificial creation. Opinion isa verbally expressed attitude, that is anexpression which reflects individual’s orcollectives’ attitudes towards a matterof interest or importance. Byputting together, we can say ‘publicopinion is the verbally expressedattitude of a collectivity of people witha common interest’.

The term public opinion iscommonly used to denote the aggregateof the views men hold regarding mattersthat affect or interest the community.Thus understood, it is a congeries ofall sorts of discrepant notions, beliefs,fancies, prejudices, aspirations. It is


confused, incoherent, amorphous,varying from day to day and week toweek. But in the midst of thisdiversity and confusion, every questionas it rises into importance issubjected to a process of consolidationand clarification until it takes adefinite shape.

FORMATION OF PUBLIC OPINION

As already mentioned, public opinion isnot something made for all times tocome. It is formulated on matters ofconcern or importance. However, thereis no automatic process or an organisedway of its formation. In a societywhenever an issue emerges consciousand articulated sections of the societystart expressing their views andreactions on the subject. In the process,there may emerge various views. Someof these get discarded, some modifiedand some receive larger attention. Finally,one view or other emerges, which isgenerally considered as public opinion.

Individual’s opinion is alsoformulated on the basis of informationor discussion one gets in one’simmediate environment like family,neighbourhood, school, college, peergroups, interest groups, clubs andassociations. This is what is known inPolitical Science the process ofsocialisation. An individual’s upbringingand interactions in various instituteshelps articulating her/his short termand long term attitudes and orientations.These may take the shape ofopinions or beliefs depending on theintensity and matter.

Political parties also play animportant role in the formation of publicopinion. Parties organise meetings,protests, strikes etc. on various issues.They mobilise support in favour of oragainst a policy, thereby throwing updebates on the issues. Speeches of partyleaders inside and outside Parliamentand State Legislatures also influencepublic opinion. They bring out leafletsand pamphlets to inform the public.Since, political parties are interested incapturing political power, they focusattention on all the major problems facedby citizens, the society and the State. Inparticular opposition parties remainvery active in creating public opinionagainst the government. For the partyin power, it is easy to use governmentalmachinery to create public opinion inits favour. But compulsions of takingunpopular decisions and difficulties infulfilling the promises made duringelections, the government mostly has toface adverse public opinion.

In addition to and along withpolitical parties most active in creatingpublic opinion are interest groups. Asthe very concern of interest group is toinfluence policy making, they try tomould public opinion to protect theirown interests as societal or nationalinterests, thereby giving government toformulate policies in the name of publicinterest. Interest groups, therefore usemedia, organise seminars and meetingsto make articulated sections speak thelanguage they want.

In the present day situation,opinions in many cases are also formedon the basis of information from the

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mass media. Today, the individual isflooded with information from internet,radio, televisions, newspapers andmagazines. This information shapesand reshapes public opinion.

Here, it may be made clear that boththe articulation of views by experts orconcerned intelligent sections ofpopulation or crystallised by theinformation and analysis provided bythe media are not necessarily interestor value free. In fact critics point outselectivity in choice of information, dataor analysis according to biases,prejudices, beliefs, values andideologies. That is why it is said thatpublic opinion is subject to possibilitiesof manipulation also. Many times,under the influence of media or experts,pubic favours or disfavours a policywithout realising that it may be againstpublic interest in general. Nevertheless,since public opinion is not permanent,there are possibilities of changes in that,particularly in democratic countries,because of availability of informationfrom different sources and freedom ofexpression of views by all. It is in viewof this that governments remainconcerned about public opinion.

GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC OPINION

In general, government’s function onthe basis of mandate received inelection. This means that a governmentis only justified in introducing policiesfor which it has an electoral mandate.As you have read in chapters onelections and parties, while parties dopublish election manifestoes, electioncampaigns tend to be fought on general

issues rather than on detailed policyitems. In the fast developing andchanging times the government has todeal with unexpected events and crisisthat develop between elections. Alsoparty in power does not remainconcerned only with the past election itis very much concerned with the futureelection also and for that it has to buildits image. In view of all these it is verydifficult for a government to ignore thepublic opinion. In fact some observerssuggest that public opinion is one ofthe three essential elements forthe successful working of demo-cratic system, the other two beinguniversal adult franchise andrepresentative institutions. Universaladult franchise lays the foundation ofdemocratic participation, representativeinstitutions provide for democraticrecruitment and public opinionensures democratic communication.

Since, public opinion is consideredas an expression of the citizens ingeneral, it is very difficult for thegovernment to reject it outright. At thesame time, it is also a fact that most ofthe times public opinion is a reflectionof populism and emotional outburstsrather than rational thinking oranalysis. Therefore, it remains verydifficult to succumb to public opinionall the times. For example, except incases of extreme emergencies like war,how will public opinion favour taxation;but governments have to impose taxes.Similarly, in view of long term nationalinterests and to fulfil internationalcommitments and for efficiency in



governance, governments often have totake unpopular decisions.

Importance of public opinion evenin these types of situation is thatgovernment under pressure tries toremain responsible and does its best toconvince the public about the necessityof such policies or decisions. In the ageof globalisation, it is not only domesticpublic opinion that governments areworried about, but also of internationalpublic opinion. International publicopinion articulated through Non-Governmental Organisations andtrans-national movements like forpromotion and protection of humanrights, environment, against nuclearproliferation, discrimination based onrace or descent, prevention of childlabour, promotion of gender justice,etc. make governments answerable ininternational community and put theircredibility on stake. Therefore,governments remain conscious of suchinternational public opinion also. Wehave in India examples of governmentexplaining its conduct on issues ofhuman rights violations, communalviolence and caste oppression tointernational NGOs like AmnestyInternational, Human Rights Watchand others.

Some times the governments usetheir powers to manipulate publicopinion. In India, when government hadmonopolistic control over radio andtelevision, it was often used to create afavourable public opinion. However, inthe present age of revolution incommunication, arrival of cable TVnetworks, internet and rising awareness

among citizens in general for theirrights including right to information,government’s ability to mould publicopinion has become quite restricted.Also having been become partner in theprocess of globalisation, governmentsare also under pressure to give freeaccess to foreign media which is noteasily manipulatable. As suchgovernments are under severepressures of public opinion bothinternal and external and have to takenote of the same in formulating theirpolicies and making decisions.

AGENCIES OF PUBLIC OPINION

We have read that for governments it isvery important to take note of publicopinion. In fact parties in opposition arealso concerned about it. Both the partyin power and in opposition therefore arekeen to mould public opinion in theirfavour. At the same time they also tryto know in some authentic way whatpublic thinks on a particular issue orwhat are its expectations. While it maybe said that public opinion can beknown by sensing the public mood orfrom the conversations at various levels,these not necessarily reflect thecrystallised views at large. For it thegovernment and parties have to rely onvarious agencies. Important amongthese are the following:

Press and Electronic Media

Most easy and acceptable means to havea feel of public opinion is press andmedia. We have already said that pressand media play an important role in the

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formation of public opinion. Mediareports social and political activitiesincluding their strengths andweaknesses. Views of leaders,concerned citizens and activists arepublished in news items and articles.Editorials are written on issues, eventsof concern and also on governmentalpolicies. People write letters to editorsexpressing their views and opinions onissues and policies. Electronic mediashows in motion, movements, activities,debates and interviews bringing to lightprevailing opinion and views. Media hasalso been criticised for selectivereporting or choosing data and eventsthat confirms to their own biases,prejudices, beliefs, values and intereststo influence the government in thename of public opinion. For example, aTV channel may interview more peoplespeaking in favour of a view which maybe its own favourite than of those whoare opposed to it. It is also said that incountries like India media is largelycontrolled by big business houses andindustrialists. At present with increasingcompetition with in the media, there aremore possibilities of various views gettingexposure and space, thereby creatingawareness amongst the people bothurban and rural.

Party Platform

Another method used by politicalparties is to get feed backs from theircadres and workers. Every politicalparty has a number of party workersspread over in various strata of society.They provide feedback from voters to

their leaders during party meetings.This may be termed as linkage betweenparties and voters. While this methodis supposed to be very important anduseful in India it has becomeretrogative. Most political parties havebecome centrally controlled andpersonality oriented. In this situation,workers instead of passing true publicopinion to leadership may give themfalse picture of their popularity,charisma and support.

Opinion Polls

Opinion polls provide a significant andpopular method to gather publicopinion. These were earlier used bybusiness houses to assess consumerchoices about their products. These arenow being used to gather informationabout public attitude and opinion onvariety of political matters includingtheir opinion on issues of local ornational importance, their preferencefor political parties and leaders inelections to be held, their views ongovernmental policies or specificevents. These opinion polls aregenerally conducted by professionalagencies selecting representativesamples of population. Researchersand academics also conduct suchsurveys to study electoral behaviour,political attitudes and political culture.Opinion polls help political partiesformulate their electoral strategies,adjust their programmes and makenecessary alliances during elections.These may provide government withfeedback of peoples level of satisfaction



or dissatisfaction from its policies as alsoconvey their expectations and aspirations.

While in general, opinion polls havebeen a useful instrument to find publicopinion, they have always not beencorrect. In countries like India there arevarious problems in conductingobjective and correct surveys. Theseinclude large size of population,illiteracy, lack of awareness andapprehensions among people about thepurpose of surveys and therefore, thetendency not to give correct information.Also some critics point out that opinionpolls are being used more to createpublic opinion then to gather andreport it. Political parties in particularquite often criticise opinion polls ofdeliberately favouring one or otherpolitical party. In spite of all criticismsthe opinion polls and surveys arebecoming very popular and are beingused by all, including governments,political parties, media and researchersas a useful method to understand andanalyse public opinion.

LIMITATIONS OF PUBLIC OPINION

Even though public opinion is a veryeffective means of communicationbetween government and citizens, it isalso a tool for continuous check ongovernment, yet it has a limited use.The use and role of public opinion restson certain assumptions. These can bedescribed as:

(i) the public is interested in theaffairs of the government;

(ii) the public is informed, rather wellinformed;

(iii) the public deliberates and reachesrational conclusions;

(iv) the rationally formulated opinionstend to be held uniformallythroughout the society;

(v) the public, having reached aconclusion, would make its willknown at the polls and elsewhere;

(vi) the public will or at least generalwill be enacted into law;

(vii) the continued surveillance andconstant criticism would ensurethe maintenance of an enlightenedpublic opinion, and consequently,a public policy based upon theprinciples of social moralityand justice.

In a country like India wheremajority of the population is living inrural area, with widespread illiteracyand poverty, society remainingfragmented on caste and communitybasis and under the influence oftraditional elite, the above men-tioned factors become a difficultproposition. Public opinion some-times becomes more a means tolegitimise interests of ruling classthan a reflection of genuine publicaspirations. With the spread ofeducation, opening of media, linkagesbeing established between rural andurban areas and political awarenessreaching marginalised sections of thesociety, public opinion is likely toplay more significant role in Indiandemocratic process.

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EXERCISES

1. Define Public Opinion. What is its significance in a democracy?2. Explain the various agencies of Public Opinion.3. How does electronic media influences the formation of Public Opinion?4. Examine the significance of Opinion Polls.5. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Government and Public Opinion;(ii) Limitations of Public Opinion.



IN the last chapter you have read thatin modern day political process is the

political parties which are engaged inthe contest for political decision-makingpower. They seek this power toformulate and implement the policiesin accordance with their ideologies orprogrammes, primarily to protect theinterests of groups they represent. Evenwhen they are not in power, politicalparties keep on making efforts toinfluence the policy making inaccordance with their preference.Nevertheless, ultimate aim of politicalparties remains to acquire power. Inaddition to political parties there areother groups or associations those tryto influence the decision making orpolicy formulation by the governmentin accordance with their specificinterests. These groups themselves donot enter into elections for acquiringpower but are engaged only in puttingpressure on the government inparticular, and political process ingeneral, remaining outside thegovernment. Such groups are calledpressure or interest groups.

Interest Groupsand Pressure Groups

CHAPTER 7

MEANING AND DEFINITION

Interest groups can be defined asvoluntary organisations formed todefend a particular interest in a societyor to promote a cause, or politicalposition, without participating in actualcontest for power. In general, use ofinterest groups is made with regard togroups which are organised to promote,advance or defend some commoninterest of an occupational group likelawyers, traders, teachers, farmers,doctors, etc. There has also emergedsuch terms — as lobbies and lobbyists.This in fact refers to the practice,especially in the USA, to influence andpressurise the policy makers. Thispractice called lobbying, again is amethod used by interest groups. Thus,in general, organisations of specificinterests to influence policy making areprimarily interest groups. Because oftactics used by them they are alsocalled pressure groups. However, interms of their purpose, nature, tacticsand role both the pressure groups andinterests groups are often usedinterchangeably.

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From the above definition of interestgroups and pressure groups certaincharacteristics of such groups becomeclear. The first thing to note down is thatthese groups are organised groups,thus, they can be distinguished fromacts of participation by individuals.And accordingly, each group works forcollective interests of its members.Secondly, pressure groups, whileorganised on the basis of commoninterests are primarily concerned withinfluencing the decision making byputting pressure from outside. Thus,where political parties aspire to becomethe government, groups seek just toinfluence it. They do not aspire to formgovernments, but to change itsdirection and policy in a particularmanner. The interest and pressuregroups, do not fight elections. They mayhowever, help some parties protectingtheir interests. These groups differ frompolitical parties in that they seek to exertinfluence from outside, rather than towin or exercise government power.Further, these pressure groups have alimited issue focus, in that they areusually concerned with a specific causeor the interests of a particular group.In general, while political parties are theformal, open and recognised part of thepolitical system, the interest andpressure groups are informal, closedunrecognised part. Interest groups arealso distinguished from socialmovements by their greater degree offormal organisation. Today, in almostall countries, particularly in liberaldemocracies, a large number of interestgroups reflect a wide range of issues

and concerns. In India, we have anumber of interest and pressure groupsof various kinds which are playing animportant role in our democracy.

INTEREST GROUPS

Interest and pressure groups in Indiaare not a new political phenomena. Theyhave been in existence from colonialperiod. In fact the Indian NationalCongress in its origin itself was apressure group making a number ofspecific demands on the Britishadministration such as increase innumber of Indians recruited to theadministrative services, more quota forIndian students in England, etc. In duecourse there also emerged tradeunions, farmers associations, businessassociations, youth organisations andgroups of castes and religionsdemanding protection of their specificinterests. They were also used tomobilise support for the nationalmovement. Today, they are a growingforce in Indian politics. Of course, theissues with which groups are concernedand many of the tactics that they usein pursuit of their aims, have beenchanging, but the broad principles ofpressure group politics are the same.Since independence, when governmentactivity has spread into the spheres ofsocial welfare, industry, and economicplanning, the State has been inevitablydrawn into closer direct contact withmore people, and more groups ofpeople, thus, giving a greater impetusto the activities of organised groups.Political system also provides

INTEREST GROUPS AND PRESSURE GROUPS


considerable freedom to differentsegments of society to make demandson the systems. There are also caseswhen a pressure group that emergestends to produce a counter pressuregroup thereby increasing their number.The communication revolution leadingto the growth of mass media andefficiency and respectability of publicrelations also means that pressuregroups have greater facilities forinfluencing public opinion. So moreand more interests tend to formorganised groups. Thus, the variety ofgroups in India today is immense.These groups can be placed into fourbroad categories i.e. Social or IdentityBased Groups, Associational orProfessional Groups, InstitutionalGroups, and Ad hoc Groups.

SOCIAL OR IDENTITY BASED GROUPS

During colonial period to counter theonslaught of English education andWestern value system, to demand propershare in the new professional andgovernment jobs, and to protect socialand cultural interests in the emergingpolitics of numbers in the youngdemocratic institutions, there came upa number of groups based oncommunity interests (religion, caste,language, ethnicity, region, etc.). In somecases British administration itselfencouraged formation of such groupsto counter some of the demandsof national movement. Afterindependence, in the context ofdemocratic process and competition forscarce resources, such groups have

increased significantly. The chiefcharacteristic of social or identity groupsis that they are embedded in the socialfabric. In a sense their membership isbased on birth rather than professionalor class basis. These groups can furtherbe divided into two. One which areprimarily concerned with communityservice and the other which usecommunal or social mobilisational inpolitical and economic competition. Inthe first type we can mention DAVEducational Institutions, Rama KrishnaMission, Chief Khalsa Dewan, SinghSabhas, Muslim Educational Trusts likeVakkam Maulavi Foundation, Al-AmeenEducation Trust, Anglo-IndianChristian Association, Jain Seva Sanghand many more of these type which areengaged in the educational, social andeconomic upliftment of theircommunities. For that purpose theyseek financial, technical and other typesof help from government and putpressure for that without prejudice toother communities or encouragingcommunal or social conflicts. In recentyears a large number of caste and sub-caste associations have also come up.Though most of such associations areloosely organised, they are becomingvery important basis of interestarticulation. Some of the groupsoriginally formed as ethnic or casteassociations have also got transformedinto political parties. Anti-Brahaminmovement in Tamil Nadu in due courseof time became Dravida Kazhagam(DK)and later Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK). The Scheduled Caste Federationlater expanded into the Republican

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Party of India. You have already readthat the origin of present day BahujanSamaj Party (BSP) was from All IndiaBackward and Minorities CommunitiesEmployees Federation.

Other type of identity groups arethose which are engaged in assertionof special status, superiority orpreference for their communities vis-à-visother communities. Jamat-I-Islamiamong the Muslims, RashtriyaSawayamasevak Sangh (RSS) andVishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) amongHindus, All India Sikh StudentsFederation among Sikhs, etc. are suchgroups. These groups are engaged notonly in the welfare of their communitiesbut also in transfer of politicalprocess according to their valuesystems. There are also variousLanguage Associations promoting thedevelopment of languages.

ASSOCIATIONAL OR PROFESSIONAL

GROUPS

Associational or Professional groupsare the ones that are formed bypeople who come together topursue shared professional interests.They are sometimes also calledprotective or functional groups. Tradeunions, business associations, tradeassociations, professional bodies, etc.,are prime examples of this type ofgroups. Their unique character isderived from the fact that they representa section of society like workers,employers, consumers, etc. It can alsobe said that these groups are based onmodern economic and vocational

interests. The largest and moreimportant of these are trade andbusiness groups, trade unions andfarmers and peasant organisations.

BUSINESS GROUPS

Business and industry in any societyis the most articulated and activesection in terms of protection of interestsand influencing policy. In India theystarted organising themselves duringcolonial period itself. At that time whilethey were in favour of keepingthemselves aloof from confrontationpolitics of the Congress led nationalmovement, nevertheless, they in manyways supported the constructiveactivity of the Congress and cause offreedom. In independent India,business and industry had to work inthe context of development policies andplanning. They had both opportunitiesto grow and apprehensions ofrestrictions because of licence andcontrol regimes envisaged in the thenadopted mixed economy strategy.Therefore, they felt a strong need toorganise to put pressure on thegovernment in their favour. As a resultvarious types of business andcommercial associations, emerged atregional and national level. Importantamong them are Chambers ofCommerce and Industries and theirfederations like Confederation of IndianIndustries (CII) and Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce andIndustry (FICCI). The FICCI today is themain spokesman of Indian capitalismand big industry in particular.



Through these bodies, the bigbusiness have sustained access to theexecutive and bureaucracy for lobbyingwhile the policy is being madeand implemented. Ownership andoperational control of the means ofproduction give them tremendous leverto influence the governmental policies.With their strong organisation andenormous money power they havegained an important share in preparingand implementing decisions on mattersof financial and industrial policies. As aresult, despite the official ideology of thestate for a socialist pattern of society, thebig business groups through itsinsistent pressure has been able tomake itself a legitimate and powerfulsector. With liberalisation, privatisationand globalisation, role of business hasincreased further. They can now betterhandle unfavourable policies bycultivating personal contacts, payingbribes, using press and electronic mediaand employing professional lobbyists.

TRADE UNIONS

The labour, almost all over the worldhas emerged as an important organisedclass. A significant role in this regardhas been played by the emergence ofMarxist and socialist ideologies andparties. While in some countriesdevelopment of workers organisationhas taken long time in India, the tradeunion movement has developed with anastonishing speed. During Colonialperiod both the Communist Party andthe Congress helped organisation ofworkers in a significant way as natural

opponents of colonial oppression. Notonly trade unions were established infactories and regions, but efforts weremade to organise them at national levelalso. In 1920 All India Trade UnionCongress (AITUC) was establishedunder Congress influence. In 1929 thisfell in the hands of the Communists.

After independence, policy of rapidindustrialisation, establishment andgrowth of a very large public sector,employing millions of persons, socialistrhetoric of the government and decisionby Communist parties to participate inelection, all provided conditionsconducive for the growth of TradeUnion movement. Various politicalparties also started sponsoring theirown trade union federations or centres,like Indian National Trade UnionCongress (INTUC), All India TradeUnion Congress (AITUC), Hind MazdoorSabha (HMS), Centre of Indian TradeUnions (CITU), etc.

The trade union movement in Indiaover the last five decade or so hasdefinitely come to occupy its own placein Indian social process. Consequently,the working class has been able to exertsignificant pressure at the policyformulation level and their strength iswell recognised by the political partiesand the government. Although poorlyfinanced and under outside leadership,they can be extremely vocal in theirdemands and militant in their methods.Also because of the concentration ofindustries in certain regions, they canprovide significant vote-strengths forthe parties. The organised workingclass, therefore, has been able to obtain

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quite a few successes in bettering theireconomic and social conditions. Thetrade unions by their activities havealso helped in creating social andpolitical awareness among workers.

Trade unions are still among the bestorganised groups in the society. However,the process of globalisation is posing aserious challenge for the working class.Trade unions therefore, have torejuvenate themselves in their new rolein emerging new economic system.

FARMERS AND PEASANT GROUPS

It is well known that majority of India’spopulation lives in villages and Indianeconomy remains basically anagricultural economy. At the time ofindependence, it was essential toimprove the agricultural production onthe one hand and introduce landreforms on the other. Various policiesand programmes starting with theabolition of Zamindari system, limitedland reforms, green revolution,mobilisation of different sections ofrural population in electoral politieshave aroused awareness andconsciousness among rural people asalso created new groups with differentinterests. These in turn have resultedin the emergence of organised groupsand movements for protection andconsolidation of interests. Manyobservers call these groups under acommon terminology of “Kisan Groups”or Agricultural movements. In fact,there are no common kisan interests.These are different for differentcategories. In a broader sense, we

can divide Kisan Groups into twothe farmers associations andpeasant groups.

FARMERS ASSOCIATIONS

Farmers agitations have been in the newsfor the past several years. Since the late1970s, farmers have been organisingthemselves in associations and gainingprominence by focusing attention onhigher prices for agricultural products,lowering electricity rates, easier terms ofcredit for agricultural investment,subsidies for fertilisers, etc. Importantamong these are the Bhartiya KisanUnion in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana andPunjab, the Shetkari Sangathan inMaharashtra, and the Karnataka RajyaRyota Sangh. At the centre of these isthe discontentment of rich and middlelevel farmers.

The roots of these farmers’movements can be traced to theexpansion of the Green Revolution inagricultural strategies and theassertion of political power by richpeasants through mass mobilisation ofthe peasantry under their leadership.These movements, in general, reflectnew levels of politicisation among themiddle level farmers, clamouring forgreater concessions and share inpolitical parties. For quite some time,these movements projected a non-political image of theirs by staying awayfrom political parties and constitute apressure group from outside. However,of late they have realised that directexercise of power may be more effectivethan indirect influence. So they have also



started participating in or allying withparties. The success of these movementshave prompted political parties to givegreater attention to agricultural issues intheir political programme.

PEASANTS MOVEMENT

A large part of India’s populationengaged in agriculture consists of smallfarmers, share croppers and labourers.After independence, it was assumedthat because of their number, indemocracy the rural poor will havepolitical salience and will increasinglybe able to place demands on thepolitical and economic systems of theRepublic. However, this did not happen.The nature of the State, colonialbureaucracy and lack of confidence bypolitical parties in fact distorted theaims and objectives of thedevelopmental strategies in favour ofrich, upper classes and urban areas.

Various political parties andassociation have been mobilising thesepeasants by educating them of theirexploitation and assuring theiramelioration. Thus, there startedemerging organisation of agriculturallabourers and small farmers. They havecome up as Kisan Sabhas and variousagricultural unions. The basic purposeof these is to strive to improve theeconomic condition of all those who earntheir livelihood by toiling in agriculturalfields and related work. The peasantmovement, however, is not very wellorganised. It remains fragmented.

Nevertheless, consciousness andawareness among the rural poor and

peasants is increasing. They havestarted realising the power of their voteand united action. But the battle forthese groups is hard and long.Particularly in view of recent economicreforms, arrival of multinationalcompanies and the process ofglobalisation, the peasants and rural,people have hard tasks ahead. Muchwill depend how political parties steerIndian democracy.

CAUSE GROUPS

The main purpose of these groups is toadvance a general social objective likepreservation of environment, protectionof human rights and civil liberties,abolition of capital punishment,introduction of electoral reforms,prevention of violence against women,etc. These groups are also known aspublic interest groups to emphasisethat they promote collective socialinterest, rather than selective groupinterest. These groups may or may notbe well organised. Their successdepends more on public and mediasupport than by lobbying. You musthave heard about groups opposingconstruction of big dams, removal ofjhuggis, opposing child labour, bondedlabour, anti-dowry etc. Such groupsare becoming quite popular.

INSTITUTIONAL GROUPS

Institutional groups are those groupswhich are within the government andattempt to exert influence or pressurethrough the machinery of governmentitself. Bureaucracies and the military

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are the clearest examples of institutionalgroups. Within groups we hear of IAS,IPS, IFS lobbies, etc. Similarly withinmilitary often there are reports ofpressure from Army, Air force and Navy,etc. for some preferences on certainmatters. Such groups are particularlyimportant in non-democratic regimeswhere autonomous groups aregenerally suppressed. But they remainactive in democratic regimes also as apart of competition between elites. InIndia also they are quite active thoughtheir activities are not much public.They try to influence the policies withregard to allocation of resources in theareas of their preferences, forimportance to be given to their role, etc.They indirectly also help other groupsby supporting their cause.

AD HOC GROUPS

Finally, there are groups which comeinto existence to pressurise thegovernment for a specific objective at atime. Therefore, they remain active oreven organised only till that objective isachieved. Examples of these includegroups organised to get a railwayservice in a city, getting a book or anactivity banned, opening of a school,college or hospital, etc. Such groupscan be very active for a short period.Some of these may survive and extendtheir activities as cause groups.

HOW GROUPS ACT

The methods by which pressure groupsseek to influence the process ofgovernment are many. A groupgenerally, does not confine to a singlestrategy or try to influence through just

one channel of influence. At the sametime, methods vary from country tocountry according to the nature ofpolitical system and type of society.Similarly, the nature of the group andthe resources at its disposal are crucialdeterminants of its political strategy.The resources include public supportfor the group’s goals, the size of itsmembership, its financial strength andorganisational capacities, personal orinstitutional links with governmentalbodies and personnel and politicalparties, etc.

The various groups in India operatewithin the federal and parliamentarynature of the polity. The interest groupsalso approach the authoritiesinformally at the legislative as well asparty level. The methods they use forthe purpose include sending ofmemoranda, personal deputations,organising social gathering with thosein position of authority, lobbying withthe MPs and MLAs. Interest grouppressure is sometimes exerted throughpolitical parties. Relationship betweenpolitical parties and trade unions is atypical example of this. Similarly, someyouth groups are also openlyassociated with parties like NationalStudents Union of India (NSUI) withCongress and Akhil Bhartiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP) with BhartiyaJanata Party.

In order to gain governmentalattention and redress, some groupsoften resort to mass demonstrations,hartals, strikes and civil disobedience.This is particularly true of the interestgroups of the students, teachers,



government servants and various tradeunions. Of late even small and mediumpeasants have organised themselvesinto kisan rallies, rasta roko and othertypes of stirs. This gets public attentionand does make the government respondto such actions.

A very important mechanism forpressure groups is the use of media —both press and electronic. In the presentday world, media has become a verysignificant means for creating andarticulating public opinion. People getmuch influenced by the news and viewsexpressed in newspapers or television.Many a times, people start feeling as ifthe issue is of their own interest, thoughit may be against. The best example ofthis is the influence advertisements arehaving on our consumption pattern andfelt needs. If advertisements caninfluence people so much the opinionsof experts considered to be objectiveand neutral are likely to changepeople’s thinking much more. Pressuregroups therefore, try to influence theexperts, news makers and producersto give more coverage to their activitiesand more importantly to present theircase as if it is in public interest ingeneral. Moneyed people have startedtheir own newspapers; they are puttingenormous money in private radio andTV channels. All these are playing animportant role in influencingdecision making.

The influence that an interest orpressure group can exercise dependson several factors. An important factoris groups own organisational strengthand discipline. Among other factors are

groups capacity to elicit people’ssupport, its access to decision makingbodies, availability of resources, etc.

ROLE OF PRESSURE GROUPS

From the above discussion it emergesthat there are various organisedgroups that make use of pressure forgetting their claims accepted by thedecision makers. Though they havebeen slow to develop, these groups inIndia are a form of linkage and meansof communication between the massesand the elite. They provide scope forexpanding participation. While theinterest groups make demands uponsociety for the benefit of its members,they also increase the politicalconsciousness and participation oftheir membership. Interest groups canalso be reservoirs of politicalleadership. Most importantly interestgroups are a vehicle for socialintegration. Bringing individuals forthe expression of common interests,they may bridge the gap not onlybetween the mass and the elite butbetween the various traditionaldivisions within the society as a whole.

As a whole pressure groups occupya significant position in the Indianpolitical system. They play animportant role in the functionalperformance of various politicalstructures. With economic liberalisationand globalisation, the role of pressuregroups has further increased. Recentexperience shows how the big businessand big farmers are exerting theirinfluence both on government and

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political parties. However, all thepressure groups are not able to exercisetheir influence. Such weak pressure

EXERCISES

1. What do you understand by a Pressure Group? Describe the main characteristicsof Pressure Groups.

2. Explain the meaning of social or identity based groups giving examples of somesuch groups in India.

3. Describe the development and role of Trade unions in India.4. What do you understand by Farmers and Peasants Groups? Describe their role

in India.5. How do Pressure Groups work to achieve their goals?6. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Distinction between Political Parties and Pressure Groups;(ii) Emergence of Pressure Groups in India;

(iii) Business Groups;(iv) Institutional Groups;(v) Role of Pressure Groups.

groups remain an instrument inthe socially and economicallypowerful hands.


UNIT III

DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOCRACY

YOU are well aware, that duringabout 200 years of British colonial

rule, India suffered much set back ineconomic, social and industrialdevelopment. The traditional Indianagriculture based economy includingcottage industry and handicraft wasdestroyed in favour of British machinemade goods. Whatever little industrywas allowed to come up was primarilyto serve the British interests. This toowas largely dominated by Britishcapital or by a small section of Indianmonopolies. In fact whatever economicdevelopment was taking place in thespheres of trade, industry and bankingit was concentrated in a few hands,which led to the establishment ofmonoplies and trusts. In agriculture,British introduced Zamindari systemand commercialisation. Thus, the landalso came to be concentrated in a fewhands reducing a large number ofcultivators as share croppers orlandless labourers. The new landrevenue system, excessive landrevenue, low productivity, etc. forcedthe farmers to take recourse toborrowing of money from money

Socio-Economic Developmentand Planning in India

CHAPTER 8

lenders. Whatever land the cultivatorsand small farmers had also in many casespassed into the hands of money lenders.

Though in the initial years, underpressure from social reformers, Britishadministration introduced certainsocial reforms but it was not part of theiragenda. In fact soon they stoppedinterfering in Indian social affairs andnot only allowed some of the aberrationsto continue but in some casesencouraged their accentuation. Britishinterest in development of education inIndia was limited to producing a classof English language knowing clerks(Babus) for their administration. Thus,education in India at all levels wastotally neglected. The poorer sections,marginalised groups and womenhad negligible access to education.As a policy of divide and rule, theyencouraged fragmentation of Indiansociety on religious, caste andtribal basis. Thus, at the time ofindependence, India inherited a socialstructure that had remained almoststagnant, an economy which had beenshattered. This was at a time oftremendous scientific and technological


advancement across the world. Peopleof India, therefore were looking forrapid socio-economic development andtransformation. In this chapter, we willdiscuss what this development meant,what were the goals and expectationsfrom it and what strategy andmechanism was adopted to achieve this.But it is important for us to have aglimpse of the state of Indian economyand society at the time of independence.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF INDIA

ON THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE

At the time of independence, India hada population of about 30.5 crore,of which more than 82 per cent livedin villages. Understandably, the Indianeconomy was agriculture basedeconomy. More than 72 per centof India’s work force was dependenton agriculture. Mining, factoryestablishments and various types ofcottage, village and small enterprisesengaged about 11 per cent of workforce. The organised industry employedonly about 2 per cent, a figure lowerthan the number of administrativeworkers. This type of economicstructure obviously meant very lowproductivity and high incidence ofpoverty. The national income of Indiain 1950-51 was estimated to be Rs8,853 crore which meant annualaverage per capita income of Rs 265.Comparable per capita income inBritain, United States, Japan, Franceand Australia were Rs 3,598, Rs 8, 840,Rs 870, Rs 3, 280 and Rs 4,340respectively. It clearly shows that in

terms of per capita income, India wasamong the poorest countries of theworld. Not only this, the distribution ofincome tended to be too unequalmeaning thereby a large section ofpopulation was very poor.

India in various respects waseconomically dependent on theadvanced countries. Its exportsconsisted chiefly of primary productsand went mainly to markets in theadvanced countries, especially Britain,whereas the imports consisted chiefly ofgoods that were obtained from theadvanced countries. It also showed amarked deficit in the balance of trade.Furthermore, there remained asubstantial degree of foreign ownershipor control of domestic resources. Finally,the country was characterised by apronounced economic dualism. Amodern, foreign oriented, largelycapitalist sector could be found in a fewmajor urban centres and aroundimportant sources of raw material, whilethe rest of the country remaineddominated by a more traditional, whollyindigenous, largely pre-capitalist sector.

Within the ambit of an overallbackwardness, Indian economy wascharacterised by widespread regionalimbalances. As the colonial rulers didnot bother about the balancedeconomic development, inter-state andinter-district disparities were quitesharp. There were differences in thelevels of per capita income andconsumption, literacy, medicaland health facilities, populationgrowth, infrastructure development,employment opportunities and so on.

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Independent India thus, inheriteda backward economy in whichprevailed extreme poverty anddeprivation, characterised by stagnantagriculture, an uneven and weakindustrial sector, low capital resourcesand regional imbalances.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

The major social heritage of India wasits ethnic and cultural diversity andhierarchical social order. No doubt theBritish undertook some social reformmeasures periodically, but on the wholetheir policy was not to interfere in India’ssocial life. In fact they were interested inkeeping Indian society divided. Not onlythis policy of division set the stage forpartition of India at the time ofindependence, but it also meant thatindependent India itself was to becomprised of a great number of differentregions and have relatively little sense ofa national identity. It was particularlyso because within this plurality socialinteractions of race, religion, caste,community, language and region werebased on archaic considerations.

As for the languages, there wereabout one thousand languagesincluding the dialects. Even Hindi, themost widely used of India’s languageswas spoken by not more than aboutthirty per cent of the Indians. A vastmajority of Indians followed one or theother variety of Hindi; there was also asubstantial number of Muslims, whoaccounted for more than ten per centof the population even after thepartition of the country. In terms of

number, only Indonesia and Pakistanhad more Muslim inhabitants thanIndia. The Muslims and other smallcommunities such as the Sikhs, theJains, the Parsees, the Buddhists, theChristians, etc. constituted more thanone fifth of the total population of India.

Widespread illiteracy was yetanother factor which prevented thepeople from coming out of theirtraditional loyalties and developing amodern and secular outlook. Alongwith other factors, lack of educationhampered social mobility anddissolution of prevailing prejudices andcultural barriers. In such a situation,development of national outlook andethos was extremely difficult.

As already mentioned societywas divided on caste basis. Therewere nearly 4 crore people whowere considered untouchables andwere later described as ScheduledCastes. About one crore belonged toScheduled Tribes category. In termsof access to productive resources,land, employment, social services, etc.these groups were in a disadvantagedposition. In addition, they faced socialdiscrimination and suppression.

At the time of independence thesocio-economic condition of Indiapresented a very grim picture. Britishcolonial exploitation had not onlyhampered and held back developmentbut had also crippled social andeconomic situation in many ways. Withthe arrival of independence people werelooking for change in all this. All thismeant that India had to achieve a rapidrate of development.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING IN INDIA


GOALS OF DEVELOPMENT

From the above, it becomes clear thatat the time of independence people ofIndia in general, were looking towardsan era of change. The poverty andbackwardness of India was not becauseof lack of resources or potential fordevelopment, it was because ofdeliberate colonial policies whoseprimary aim was to use India’s resourcefor their own development. At thesame, it was a period when techno-logical revolution, developments incommunication and science had maderapid progress possible. Added to allthis was the commitment of ourleadership. During National FreedomStruggle, they not only providing astrong critique of colonial policies butalso provided alternative policies foreconomic growth and socialtransformation. As such it was not onlypolitical freedom that the people ofIndia were looking forward to, it wasalso for the establishment of a new orderof society. Development as such, wasthe expectation of the people, need ofthe time and the commitment of ourleadership.

It needs to be clarified that many atimes by development it is understoodgrowth in per capita income orproduction. Higher growth rates andproduction, of course are important butthis growth at the same time has to beseen in relation to fulfilment of wantsand needs of wider sections of peoplein a dignified manner. Thus,development has to be judged by the

improvement it makes in the quality oflife of people— both material andspiritual, creation of a harmoniousequality based society and self-reliantproud nation. Quality of life depends onmany things — health, hygiene,nutrition, life-expectancy, education,housing and general living conditions.In general, development means a societybased on the ideas of self-reliance,equality, equity and justice. To achieve,such a society the goals of developmentfor India at independence were:

(i) Rapid rate of growth to increasenational income;

(ii) Reduction of income inequalitiesamong different sections, classesand regions;

(iii) Removal of concentration ofwealth and resources in fewerhands and use them for the widerbenefit of society;

(iv) Removal of poverty;

(v) Increase in employment;

(vi) Provision of basic minimum needsfor a dignified human livingincluding health, education andhousing;

(vii) Conservation of ecology andprotection of environment;

(viii) Making of national economy a selfreliant and independent of foreigncontrol and aid;

(ix) Remove the traditional constraintson various oppressed sections ofsociety like Scheduled Castes,Scheduled Tribes, Backwardclasses and women etc.

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From the above it becomes clearthat central concern for developmentwas to achieve “growth with socialjustice.” The Preamble of the IndianConstitution and part on DirectivePrinciples of State Policy had alreadydescribed these goals as the ideals ofnew State. Later these were also definedas terms like Socialist pattern of society.In December 1954, the Lok Sabhaaffirmed that “the objective of oureconomic policy should be a socialisticpattern of society.” In January 1955,Jawahar Lal Nehru personally moveda resolution at the Avadi session ofCongress which committed the party tothe principle that “planning should takeplace with a view to the establishmentof a socialistic pattern of society wherethe principal means of production areunder social ownership or control.” In1976 by putting the word “Socialist”in the Preamble of the Constitution,socialism was made a constitutionalgoal. Though, the term socialist wasnever defined but in generalunderstanding it implied redistributionof wealth. Thus, the commonunderstanding was that poverty andinequality were to be fought byincreased production and theredistribution of wealth. Issue,however, was how to achieve thesegoals. For that we adopted the strategyof planning.

PLANNING FOR DEVELOPMENT

To attain the above mentioned goals ofdevelopment India adopted a mixed

economy model of development andplanning as a strategy. Mixed economyin a way was a new method used byIndian planners. Prevailing modelswere capitalist and socialist models.The capitalist model means privateownership of means of production andeconomic processes to be determinedby market forces. Socialist modelmeans public or state ownership ofmeans of production and economicactivities to be guided by State inaccordance with social needs. Boththese models have positive and negativepoints of their own. Indian plannerswanted to take good points from boththe systems. Therefore, emerged themodel of mixed economy which meansprevalence of public, private and jointsectors side by side with in one system.

MIXED ECONOMY

In the mixed economy system, Stateowned means of production were to beused to promote social welfare. Privateowned means of production were toserve private interests but within thenorms laid down by the State. Theunderlying purpose of mixed economywas to attain rapid economicdevelopment and ensure that noexploitative and restrictive tendenciesemerge in the economy. This was clearlymentioned in the cabinet resolution of15 March, 1950 which established thePlanning Commission in India. Theprinciples were mentioned as: (i) thatthe citizens men and women, equallyhave the right to an adequate means of



livelihood; (ii) that the ownership andcontrol of the material resources of thecountry are so distributed as best tosubserve the common good; and(iii) that the operation of the economicsystem does not result in theconcentration of wealth and means ofproduction to the common detriment.As a whole it can be said that Indiaadopted a mixed economy model witha major role for the State for protectionof the weaker sections of thesociety, control of distribution ofessential commodities, promotion ofinfrastructural facilities, prevention ofprivate monopolies, creation ofegalitarian and just society, reductionof inequality of income and reductionof imbalances between regions. Themethods and instruments to implementthis process of development in mixedeconomy model were:(i) Political democracy;(ii) Planning and governmental

regulation and control of economy;(iii) Significant place and role for

public sector;(iv) Licensing, subsidies, progressive

taxing, assistance to private sector,labour welfare, price control, landreforms, etc.

In general, it was to be a plannedeconomic development to beimplemented through the institution ofPlanning Commission. Let us have alook what is meant by planning so thatwe will be better able to understand thenature, role, success and failures ofplanning and Planning Commission.

PLANNING IN INDIA

Planning means formulation of astrategy for the future. In other words,it is programming for action for aparticular period for achieving certainspecific goals. In economic terms itimplies the assessment of one’sresources at present and theirallocation among different uses to meetsome specific targets in the future. Invery simple terms planning is a processof devising a course of action — what isto be done, when to be done and howto be done?

In India significance of planning wasrecognised even before Independence.Indian leaders were very muchinfluenced by the planning experimentstarted in Soviet Union since 1928.Various individuals and groupsbrought to the fore the importance ofplanning and made concrete proposalsfor that. In 1938 Indian NationalCongress established a NationalPlanning Committee under thechairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru.Even the government established aPlanning and Development Board in1944. As alternatives, various groupsformulated and presented plans for theconsideration of nation. These includedthe Bombay Plan formulated by agroup of industrialists, Gandhian Plandrafted by one of Mahtama Gandhi’sdisciples Shriman Narayana, People’sPlan produced by M.N. Roy, etc.After independence, to achieve thegoals of development as discussedabove, planning was considered the

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most effective way. For this wasestablished a Planning Commission on15 March, 1950.

PLANNING COMMISSION

Planning Commission was establishedas a multi member body with PrimeMinister as its chairman and a full timeVice-Chairman. The Vice-Chairman isgiven the status of a Cabinet Minister.There is no fixed number of members.In general, Planning Commissionconsists of eight to ten members. Thesemembers are given the status equal tothat of minister of State. In addition,Planning Commission also has anelaborate organisational structureconsisting of advisors, and supportstaff. The order establishing thePlanning Commission has defined itsspecific functions as follows:

(i) Assessment of Resources: TheCommission makes an assessment ofall material, capital and humanresources of the country includingtechnical personnel, and investigate thepossibilities of augmenting such ofthose resources as are found to bedeficient in relation to the nation’srequirements.

(ii) Plan Formulation: The Commi-ssion is expected to formulate plans forthe most effective and balancedutilisation of the country’s resources.

(iii) Defining Stages of Imple-mentation: The Planning Commissionhas to define, on determination ofpriorities, the stages in which the plan

should be carried out and propose theallocation of resources for duecompletion of each stage.

(iv) Indication of Requisites:Another function of the Commissionis to indicate the factors whichare tending to retard economicdevelopment, and determine theconditions which, in view of the currentsocial and political situation, shouldbe established for the successfulexecution of the plan.

(v) Determination of Machinery forExecution: The Commission has todetermine the nature of the machinerywhich will be necessary for securingsuccessful implementation of eachstage of the plan in all its aspects.

(vi) Plan Appraisal: An importantfunction of the Commission is toappraise, from time to time, theprogress achieved in the execution ofeach of the Plan and recommend theadjustment of the policy and measuresthat such appraisal may show to benecessary.

(vii) To Render Advice: Finally thePlanning Commission has been askedto make such interim or ancillaryrecommendations as appear to beappropriate either for facilitatingthe discharge of duties assignedto it; or in consideration or theprevailing economic conditions,current policies, measures anddevelopment programmes or onexamination of such specific problemsas may be referred to it by Central andState governments.



THE FIVE-YEAR PLANS

In view of the prescribed goals ofdevelopment the Planning Commissionin India began with formulating Five-Year Plans. The plans are formulatedon the basis of guidelines provided bythe National Development Council. Adraft of the final plan is considered bythe Union Cabinet and then submittedfor the approval of the NationalDevelopment Council. After theapproval of NDC and the cabinet it ispresented before Parliament. After theplan is formulated, it is divided intoannual plans for convenientimplementation and allocation ofresources. The plan is implemented bythe State and Union governments.Planning Commission itself is notinvolved in implementation. It however,monitors and evaluates the progress ofimplementation. The First Five-YearPlan formulated by the commissioncommenced on 1 April, 1951. Sincethen Ninth Five-Year Plans and sixannual plans have been formulatedand completed:

(i) First Five-Year Plan (1951-56) ;(ii) Second Five-Year Plan (1956-61);(iii) Third Five-Year Plan (1961-66) ;(iv) Annual Plans (1966-69) ;(v) Fourth Five-Year Plan (1969-74) ;(vi) Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974-79) ;(vii) Annual Plan (1979-80) ;(viii) Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-85) ;(ix) Seventh Five-Year Plan (1985-90) ;(x) Annual Plans (1990-92);(xi) Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992-97);(xii) Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002);

From the above it emerges thatduring the years 1966-69, 1979-80,and 1990-92 there were no Five-YearPlans. Though, it is said that there wereannual plans but the fact is that therewere only stop-gap arrangements.These are the years that representchanges of government, instability orlack of clarity about developmentalgoals and strategies. Therefore, eitherthe five year plans were not formulatedor were subject to review and changesby the succeeding governments. Manyobservers call these years as years ofplan holidays.

During the Ninth Five-Year Plan,within the broader objective ofraising the standard of living of thepeople and to open out to themopportunities for a richer and morevaried life, there have been continuitiesand shifts in goals, priorities, strategiesand perceptions. Successive plansconsistently placed emphasison the attainment of the objectivesof self-reliance, social justice,industrialisation, modernisation andeconomic growth. But all plans did notplace equal emphasis on the sameobjectives. However, till the time ofSeventh Five-Year Plan (1985-90),planners had been caught in thedilemma and choice between rapideconomic growth and distributivejustice. Also in the situation of ademocratic order of gaining votes andsupport of various sections of thesociety there was absence of political willto attack vested interests whenrequired. In addition, the bureaucracynot only was not oriented and trained

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for development administration, butitself belonged to the propertied classand those sections of the society whichwas not in favour of change. As a result,the primary concern of development inIndia became economic growth. Eventhe public sector became an instrumentto serve the interests of middle classand upper-middle class consumers.State, under pressure from vested andpowerful interests kept on providingsubsidies for richer sections of thesociety instead of collecting taxes fromthem for social transformation. Unableto mobilise resources the State becamedependent on aid and loans both fromwithin the and outside the country.Consequences of all these were:(i) A large fiscal deficit because of

government expenditure outpacingincome and revenues.

(ii) A huge foreign debt, with a highdebt-service ratio bringing countryunder debt-trap causing seriousrepayment problems andundermining the country’s creditrating.

(iii) An inefficient economy in which onthe one hand processes of controlsand licenses which had beenintroduced to guide economicdevelopment into desireddirections had become means ofcorruption and hindrance in thegrowth; and on the other hand thepublic sector, established to createinfrastructure, labour welfareand provision of essential goodsfor masses, had become hugeloss making inefficient andbureaucratic controlled units in

the service of politicians, privatesector and civil servants.

Thus, by the middle of 1980s India,like many other developing countrieswas in a serious economic situation.At this very time, the Western developedworld once again was working toestablish its control over the worldeconomy by integrating the wholeworld into a global capitalist economicorder. Collapse of Soviet Union andother East European socialist countrieshelped in paving the way for this.Developed world thus, started makinguse of international economicinstitutions like International MonetaryFund and World Bank to pressurise theunder-debt, and slowly developingcountries for changing their economiesin line with the process of what came tobe known as globalisation.

NEW ECONOMIC POLICY AND

GLOBALISATION

Having failed to achieve the goals eitherof a rapid rate of growth or satisfactoryredistributive justice the governmentfrom the beginning of 1980s startedtilting towards giving preference togrowth. It was felt that state controls,public sector and restrictions onprivate sector introduced in the nameof planned development and socialjustice have prove a hindrance in thepath of growth. Thus, there began theprocess of liberalisation of economy.By middle of 1980s the strategyfor development had become two-fold.First was to de-emphasise therole of the government in economic



development by ruthlessly slashing thepublic sector outlays and opening upthe economy for private enterprise.Second was to tighten the control ofthe planners over what was left of thegovernment rule, particularly in areasof taxation and credit related policies.

The changes in the policy packagestowards New Economic policy startedfrom early 1980s remained limited andunsystematic. It was from 1991onwards that a clear well defined neweconomic and development policy wasset in. All governments since then havebeen carrying the economic reformprocess forward. The new economicpolicy is based on the ideals ofliberalisation, privatisation andglobalisation.

In this context there came removalof industrial licensing on mostproducts, disinvestments of govern-ment holding in public sector,reduction in the number of productsreserved for small sectors, liberal-isation and reduction of tariffs onimports, and removal of restrictionsand encouragement to foreign privatecapital. All this mean freedom toprivate sector to produce whatever itwants, decline in the status and role ofpublic sector, arrival of foreign goodsand investment in Indian markets andwithdrawal of state or reduction inits role in various social service sectorsincluding housing, health and education.

The new economic policy has bothpositive and negative points. No doubtit has given impetus to production andgrowth by giving initiative to privatesector. There is competition in the

market and consumers have a widerange of choice. Country’s balance ofpayment situation seems to havestabilised. Benefits of technologicaldevelopments and informationtechnology revolution are reachingIndia fast. Critics, however, point thatthese gains are very limited and benefitonly a small section of the society.Related to this is criticism ofconsumerism. The multinationalcompanies to sell their goods, with vastresources in their hands are usingmedia and advertisements to createdemands for goods and productswhich are non-essential. Anotherconsequence of this is change in valuesystems. Everything Western, includingvalues, are considered superior.

It is also pointed out that economicreform have neglected the agriculturesector as also generation of employmentwhich are very essential in a countrylike India. On the other hand it hasfailed to reduce the revenue deficit.Similarly, foreign borrowing isincreasing and will show its impact indue course of time. There is aredistribution of income in favour of thebetter of classes and deterioration inliving standards of masses. Assetowners stand to gain, wage and salariedworkers to lose. The process ofdevelopment and planning itselftherefore has become different.

NEW ECONOMIC POLICY AND

PLANNING

New Economic Policy means change inthe perspective of role of State in

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economy and development. It, however,does not mean rejection of the need fordetermination of goals of developmentand providing necessary path andguidance for that. Also in a democracyState remains under tremendouspressure of voters and therefore, cannotcompletely neglect their demands andaspirations. Hence, even in the neweconomic environment, economicplanning continues to be an importantfactor determining the strategies forpublic investment, besides providingguidelines for channelising privatesector investment in desired directions.

In this context process of long-termplanning continues in India. However,from Eighth Plan onwards, there ischange in the concept of economicplanning. Now onwards, it is statedthat, “ the role of planning will largelybe indicative.” In other words, plan willnot be used to direct investableresources according to the prioritiesfixed by the government, irrespective ofthe signals given by market forces. ThePreamble to the Plan Document on theNinth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002)states that the objective of the plan is tofocus on growth with social justice andequity. The participation of public andprivate sectors and all tiers ofgovernment in this process is, therefore,vital. The Approach paper to TenthPlan (2002-2007) approved by NationalDevelopment Council in September2001 indicates that in future the roleof government and the public sector willbe confined to social sector whileinfrastructure development andindustrial development will be left to the

private sector. The Planning would seekto better the quality of life on all frontsby the end of Eleventh Five -Year Plan.This, of course will need serious effortsand renewed energies. Unfortunately,the experience so far has not been thatmuch encouraging.

DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING – AN

ASSESSMENT

From the above discussion it bringsout that Planning was adopted totransfer the poor, backward and underdeveloped social order into aprosperous independent developedmodern society based on the ideas ofbalanced growth, justice, equity andequality. For that purpose, so far wehad completed Nine Five Year Plans. Allof them have consistently placedemphasis on the attainment of theobjectives of self-reliance, social justice,industrialisation, modernisation andeconomic growth. Further in the ageof globalisation and liberalisationemphasis has shifted in favour ofproviding incentives and facilities to theprivate sector and attracting foreigninvestment within the framework ofachieving growth with social justice.

Once we review the results of lastover 50 years of planned developmentwe can on the positive side say thatIndia has many achievements to itscredit. The overall volume of industrialproduction had increased more thanfour fold by the mid seventies. Newbranches of the mining and processingindustries, including metallurgy andheavy engineering have been created in



the state and private sectors. A stagnantand dependent economy has beenmodernised and made more self-reliant.There has been a steady increase inagricultural output, particularly offood-grains, making us virtually self-sufficient. There has been a goodmeasure of growth in the field ofbanking, insurance, commerce andtransport. Judging by the enrolmentof students at the elementary andsecondary levels, one may concludethat opportunities for education havealso expanded in a significant degree.It is also important to note that theaverage life expectancy in India rosefrom 32 years in the forties to above 60years in nineties. India is the mosttechnically advanced country in theThird World. It had put satellites inthe space, exploded nuclear devicesand mined the sea-bed. Indian defencehas also made significant progress. Awide variety of technical, managerialand operative skills have beendeveloped. In agriculture and ruraldevelopment a large number of newprogrammes have been started.

Inspite of all these achievements,basic problems of India — namelypoverty, unemployment, distributivejustice and self-reliance remainsunsolved. The successive five-yearplans have failed to bring about athorough transformation of theeconomic structure of the country.Infact the inequalities of wealth andincome distribution are increasing. Alarge section of population still livesbelow the line of poverty in a state ofhunger and inhuman conditions of life.

It is, therefore, important tounderstand that a model ofdevelopment without taking intoaccount the basic needs of millions ofour countrymen cannot be conducivefor survival of democracy. Meregrowth rate measured in conventionalterms is not and must not be confusedwith socio-economic development.Development has to be understood asa social process reflecting the will of acommunity to take a common actionand a means through which it canprogress. The intended objective ofdevelopment planning should be theimprovement in the quality of life of allthe people and remove poverty,ignorance, discrimination, diseaseand unemployment. No effectivedevelopment can take place orplanning can succeed without people’sparticipation. People have to be notjust the goals but also the means ofdevelopment strategy. Therefore, thereis need to make the developmentprocess human-centred, one that thepeople could initiate and develop atdifferent levels. In terms of machineryone strategy for this is decentralisationof planning. Some steps towards thishave been taken by acceptance of theidea of multi level planning throughPanchayati Raj Institutions and aDistrict Development Agencies. Aboutthese we will discuss in the nextchapter. But that itself is not theanswer. What is required is analternative model and strategy ofdevelopment and political will toimplement that.

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EXERCISES

1. What do you mean by Planning? What is its importance for development?2. Describe the socio-economic conditions of India at the time of independence.3. Describe the composition and functions of Planning Commission.4. How many Five-Year Plans have been completed so far?5. Examine the New Economic Policy in India.6. Give a brief assessment of planning and development in India.7. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Mixed Economy;(ii) Globalisation;

(iii) Goals of development for India.



IN the last chapter you have read thatthe idea of planning in India was not

only for a comprehensive developmentbut it also was based on the principlesof democracy, with considerable scopefor participation of the people and theirrepresentatives in its formulation andevaluation. In view of this, it wasdecided to involve various institutionsin plan formulation, implementation,monitoring and evaluation. Theseincluded the National DevelopmentCouncil (NDC), Planning Commission,State Planning Boards, DistrictPlanning Cells, Planning Cells in Centraland State Ministries and Parliament.The idea thus was to have a multi levelplanning. It was to formulate plans byDistrict Planning Cells at District level,integrate them into state plans to beformulated by State Planning Boards,in turn to be integrated into nationalplan to be formulated by PlanningCommission.

CENTRALISATION

Though in the initial years of planningthe concept and methodology of Multi

Multi Level Planning andRole of District Development Agencies

CHAPTER 9

Level Planning was formulated but inpractice it was different. Indian planningwas conceptualised at two levels only—National and State. In fact, as somecritics point out, the PlanningCommission had even encroachedupon the autonomy of the States underthe federal system. PlanningCommission began to modify or evenreject the State’s proposals fordevelopment programmes for whichcentral financial assistance was soughtand which could be granted only on therecommendations of the PlanningCommission.

The central planning system hasbeen unable to provide for equitabledistribution of the benefits of economicgrowth among regions and groups. Thedecision makers at the centre wouldnot be able to understand the needs ofheterogeneous regions and groups. Incentral planning and managementthere is over-concentration of power,authority and resources at the centre.Red tape and highly structured,procedures are its inevitablecharacteristics. In a vast country likeIndia, with considerable degree of

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diversity between regions, planning bya sole central planning agency can evenbe counter productive.

NEED FOR DECENTRALISATION

It has been widely recognised that aneffective and meaningful nationaldevelopment is not possible withoutgiving adequate importance to partieswho have stake in development. In otherwords national development should bea national endeavour involving a largenumber of parties at different levels.Various levels of government aretherefore, necessarily involved in theformulation and implementation ofplans. This is what is known asdecentralised planning. Broadlyspeaking decentralisation in planningmeans the involvement of the people atvarious stages of plan formulation andimplementation. Decentralisation, is anessential way for the success ofdevelopment particularly in a countrylike India with wide spread diversities,imbalances and differences innecessities. Thus, the planning has tobe done at the central level, at the statelevel and at levels below the state thatis district, block and even village. Thisrequires establishment of a suitableplanning machinery at various levels.

EXPERIMENTS IN DECENTRALISATION

AND PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION

In India there has been a realisation ofthe importance and necessity of people’sparticipation and decentralisation.In fact, in the Constitution of India itself

the subject planning is mentioned inthe Concurrent List and not in theUnion List. It means that theresponsibility for undertaking planneddevelopment through systematicformulation, implementation andevaluation of plans is a responsibilityof both the Centre and the States. Alsothe ideas of decentralised planning,planning from below, people’sparticipation in planning, multi levelplanning etc., have been mentioned timeand again in the Five-Year Plans. Forthe coordination between the Unionand States a National DevelopmentCouncil was established. TheCommunity Development Programmeand establishment of PanchayatiRaj Institutions were the mostcomprehensive attempts at putting theidea of grass roots planning into action.In general, these attempts failed.However, from time to time failures ofcentralised planning and need fordecentralisation kept on beingemphasised.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

The National Development Councilis one of the key organisations tosymbolise the federal approachto planning in India. It is a productof the Planning Commission’srecommendations. In the draft outlineof the First Five-Year Plan, theCommission recommended the need fora body comprising the Central andState governments to enable the plansto have a national character. Accordingthe National Development Council, set

MULTI LEVEL PLANNING AND ROLE OF DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES


up in August 1952, the function of theCouncil are:(i) to prescribe guidelines for the

formulation of the national plan;(ii) to consider the national plan as

formulated by the PlanningCommission;

(iii) to assess resources required forimplementing the plan and tosuggest ways and means forraising them;

(iv) to consider important questionsof social and economic policyaffecting development;

(v) to review the working of the planfrom time to time and torecommend such measures as arenecessary for achieving the aimsand targets articulated in thenational plan.

The National Development Councilis chaired by Prime Minister and iscomprised of all Union CabinetMinisters, Chief Ministers of States, ChiefExecutives of the Union Territories andmembers of the Planning Commission.The Council is required to meet at leasttwice a year. In its meetings it generally,reviews the approach papers to the Five-Year Plans, Draft Five-Year Plans andFive-Year Plans.

There are differences of opinionwith regard to role played by NDC innational planning. Some feel that ithas functioned as a useful linkamong the Union Government,Planning Commission and the Stategovernments. It has contributed inproviding a rational perspective toplanning. The other view is that theNDC has not been able to act as an

effective instrument for developingconsensus and commitment to thenational policies. The SarkariaCommission which was appointed toreview Centre-State relations hasrecommended that the NDC should bemade more effective, so that it emergesas the supreme institution atthe political level for the Centre –State planning relations. It hasalso recommended to give it aconstitutional status and rename andreconstitute it as National Economicand Development Council.

STATE PLANNING BOARDS

A number of subjects involved indevelopmental activities like agriculture,irrigation, power, cooperation, socialservice, etc., are in the State list. As suchboth planning at State level andcoordination between the Central andthe State governments in the sphere ofdevelopment are essential. In the initialyears while at the Central level thePlanning Commission was constitutedto formulate plans at the Central level,no such institution was created by theState. Almost all States had a planningdepartment as a part of government,which was felt to be inadequate. ThePlanning Commission itself pointed outthis problem in 1962 and suggestedfor the establishment of StatePlanning Boards.

On the basis of the abovesuggestions some States constitutedState Planning Boards. But these werenot given clearly defined functions.Therefore, they were not much

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successful. The Administrative ReformsCommission, appointed in 1967, in itsrecommendations suggested to entrustthe State Planning Boards with thetasks of macro-level economic planning,assessing state resources, determiningpriorities and facilitating districtplanning. In 1972 PlanningCommission issued guidelines forstrengthening the State planningmachinery by including a number oftechnical experts in it. Thus, in 1970sseveral States set up Planning Boardswith a view to complement andsupplement the already existingplanning machinery. It was hoped thatthe States with the help of the planningboards, would be in a better positionnot only for mobilising resources andapprising the plans on a more scientificlines but they would also be enhancingtheir capabilities for bargaining with thePlanning Commission.

There is no uniform structure ofState Planning Boards. These differfrom State to State. As SarkariaCommission in its report observed thatalthough State Planning Boards hadbeen created in all States except one,they have not been involved in realplanning work. The State Planningdepartments continued to dischargethis responsibility. The Planning Boardsin general did not command due statusand authority in the State governments.As far as Centre is concerned, grantsto States are released on therecommendations of the PlanningCommission which generally, does notshow much concern for Stateformulated plans. Thus, as a whole

functions and role of State PlanningBoards continue to be ambiguous andlimited. They have played only a limitedadvisory role. Planning process hascontinued to be centrally controlledonly with minor shifts towardsdecentralisation.

DISTRICT PLANNING AGENCIES

Development planning has to bepeople oriented. Accordingly, anunderstanding of the needs of peopleat grass roots level and fulfillment oftheir needs are the most essentialaspects of planning. Mahatma Gandhistrongly advocated decentralisation andempowerment of people at grass rootlevel. Decentralised Planning enables abetter perception of the needs of allareas, makes better decision makingpossible, gives people a greater voice indecisions concerning their developmentand welfare, serves to achieve bettercoordination and integration amongstprogrammes. Framers of theConstitution included this idea inPart IV on Directive Principles of StatePolicy. The Constitution enumeratesthat the State shall take steps toorganise village Panchayats and endowthem with such powers and authorityas may be necessary to enable them tofunction as units of self-government. Inthe 1950s the Community DevelopmentProgramme and the establishment ofthe Panchayati Raj Institutions were thefirst and significant steps towardsputting the idea of grass root planninginto action. However, both theseattempts failed for various reasons.



PANCHAYATI RAJ

The government of India in 1957appointed Balwant Raj Mehtacommittee to study the problems ofdevelopment at the village level. TheCommittee recommended for theintroduction of democratic institutionsto take care of all aspects ofdevelopment work. Accordingly, a threetier structure of Panchayati RajInstitutions with elected Panchayats atthe village level, an executive body calledthe Panchayat Samiti at the blocklevel and an advisory body calledZila Parishad at the district level weresetup.

While the goal behind PanchayatiRaj Institutions was very important,the spirit with which these wereorganised in various states lacked realenthusiasm. As a result apart fromother failures the planning under thePanchayati Raj Institutions was notmuch of a success. They were reallynever given a chance to actively engagein local planning. They failed becauseof lack of experience, skill and helpin planning; domination by thebureaucracy; inadequate devolution offinancial powers and completesubordination to State governments.

DISTRICT PLANNING AND DISTRICT

DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

While planning in India has generally,remained confined to the Centreand State levels, unsatisfactoryresults of this have kept the pressurefor decentralisation. Along with

Community Development Programmeand Panchayati Raj Institutions andlater with their failure, significantsuggestions have been made to evolvethe idea of District Planning andestablishment of District DevelopmentAgencies. The Administrative ReformsCommission in its report in 1969 hadrecommended that there should be aDistrict Planning Committee consistingof the representatives of the ZilaParishad, Municipal bodies in thedistrict, professional talent in thedistrict with appropriate association ofthe district officers. The PlanningCommission also issued guidelines fordecentralised planning and forestablishment of District PlanningAgency involving government, local self-government bodies and progressivefarmers and entrepreneurs. A suitableplanning machinery at the district level,however, remained missing. AshokMehta Committee in its report in 1978pointed out that Panchayati RajInstitutions have been rarely given anopportunity to take up planning orimplementation work on a sizeablescale. In its suggestions the committeeproposed that the district should be thefirst point of decentralisation below theState. The block, which is the unit ofplanning in most of the States, was notto be the basic Unit of devolution bymerely an executive committee of theZila Parishad.

In 1978, a working group wasappointed to study block levelplanning. The committee found thatplanning machinery at the district levelwas either non-existent or extremely

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deficient. The committee suggested forstrengthening of District Planning Cells.On the basis of these recommendations,the Planning Commission once againin 1982 issued guidelines forstrengthening of planning at the districtlevel. The scheme suggested forinclusion of technical personnel withknowledge and skills required forscientific district planning. Totransform the district planning ideafrom a concept to a reality the PlanningCommission also set up a workinggroup on District Planning under thechairmanship of C.H. HanumantaRao. The working group in itsreport submitted in 1984 said:decentralisation (through districtplanning) enables a better perceptionof the needs of the local areas, makesbetter informed decision makingpossible, gives people a better voice indecisions concerning their developmentand welfare, serves to achieve bettercoordination and integration amongprogrammes, enables felt needs of thepeople to be taken into account,ensures effective participation of thepeople, serves to build up a measure ofself-reliance by mobilising resources ofthe community in hand or money,making development of local resourcesand growth potentials of local area forimproved productivity and increasingproduction feasible.

The working group accordingly laiddown the functions of district planningagencies. These were (i) crystallisationof local needs and objectives; (ii) takingstock of the natural and humandevelopment; (iii) listing and mapping

of amenities; (iv) formulation of districtplans; (v) formulation of policies,programmes and priorities;(vi) coordinated implementation; and(vii) monitoring and review of districtplan and programmes. To fulfil thesetasks the working group suggested forbroad-based district planning agenciescomprising of representatives from theZila Parishad, Panchayat Samitis,Municipalities, MLAs and MPs from thedistrict, representatives of workers,entrepreneurs and banks, etc.

On the recommendations ofHanumanta Rao group and with themotivation and assistance of thePlanning Commission, District PlanningCells have been created in a number ofStates. The primary job of a DistrictPlanning Cell is preparing a resourcepaper for the district with the help ofother district level departments. Inmany cases these cells have beenentrusted with the task of formulatingdistrict annual plans. But generally,District Planning Cells have remainedmere a formality then actuallyfunctioning in a real meaningful way.The basic reason is contradictionbetween planning and authority. In theabsence of any financial powers itbecomes impossible for the district levelbodies to set targets, decide on priories,mobilise resources and decide onallocations. Also in most of the casesDistrict Planning bodies have not beenprovided with adequate trained andcompetent planning personnel.However, as has been said, there isa realisation at least at conceptuallevel that it is very important that



development and planning is initiatedat district level. An encouraging steptowards this has finally been taken bygiving constitutional recognition todistrict level planning by the 73rd and74th Constitutional amendments.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND

DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEES

A major initiative in strengthening andrejuvenating local-self governmentsfinally came in 1992 with the adoptionof 73rd and 74th amendments ofthe Constitution. Through theseamendments for the first timeinstitutions below the State level,Panchayats, Municipalities andCorporations have been givenconstitutional status. Certain functionsof these bodies have also been mademandatory within this frame work. The74th amendment also makes provisionfor the constitution of a planningcommittee at the district level toconsolidate plans prepared by thePanchayats and the Municipalities andprepare a development plan for thedistrict as a whole. The State legislaturehas been empowered to makeprovisions with respect to thecomposition of the District PlanningCommittees (DPC).

The 74th amendment alsoprescribes that while preparingthe draft development plan DPCwill keep in view matters of commoninterest between Panchayats andMunicipalities including spatialplanning, sharing of water and other

physical and natural resources; theintegrated development of infrastructureand environmental conservation and theextent and type of available financial andnon-financial resources.

The district has been accepted asadvantage point for development andplanning for several reasons. As alreadymentioned a number of committees andstudies have favoured this. The majorreasons, as given by several experts,have been summed up as:(i) A district is relatively closer to the

local population than is any othermiddle level regional spatial unit.

(ii) A district is large enough to serveas a viable planning unit.

(iii) Because of historical reasonsit has a settled pattern ofadministration with a high degreeof internal consistency andwell-established administrativerelationships.

(iv) Most information relating torevenue, land records, irrigationworks, development loans,housing, roads, electrification,social services, etc., is organisedon a district to district basis.

(v) Most departments and agencies ofthe State governments have theirregional offices located at thedistrict level.

(vi) Because of the well-entrenchedadministrative system at thedistrict level, district planningfacilitates a clearer evaluation ofthe impact of the developmentefforts and initiatives on the peopleand the institutions of that area.

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(vii) People’s awareness of theadministrative process in adistrict is high because of theirlong time association with thedistrict administration.

As a whole, development agenciesat the district level have an importantrole to play in the planning anddevelopment process. The 73rd and74th Amendments of the Constitutionhave raised some hopes for theempowerment of district and lower levelinstitutions but the results so far arenot very encouraging. It is time for thepolicy makers to realise the importance

of grassroots and diversified planningparticularly in a country like India withso much diversities, imbalances anddifferences in needs and aspirations. It isthe absence of appreciation of people’saspirations and steps to fulfil them thatcreate situations of regional and sectionalmovements which ultimately becomeserious issues for national integrationitself. National integration can best beachieved by involving the people asparticipants in decision making andimplementation of developmental processand not by imposing values and needsfrom the above.

EXERCISES

1. Why is decentralisation important in India?2. Describe the composition and functions of National Development Council.3. Explain the development of District Planning Agencies.4. Describe the changes in the nature of District Planning Committee brought

in by 73rd and 74th amendment of the Constitution.5. Write short notes on the following:

(i) State Planning Boards;(ii) Panchayati Raj and Planning;

(iii) Need for Decentralisation.



YOU have already read that afterindependence the Constitution of

India, keeping in view the desires andaspirations of the people, valuesstrengthened during national freedommovement and the ideas prevailing inthe world, envisaged for State not onlya democratic political order but also thegoals of Justice, Liberty, Equality andFraternity. These goals are clearlyreflected in the Preamble of theConstitution, in parts on FundamentalRights and Directive Principles andother specific Articles in theConstitution. All these provisionssuggest that India is a welfare state,committed to the welfare anddevelopment of its people in general andof vulnerable sections in particular. Thevulnerable sections in India includeScheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribesand Other Backward Classes, Women,Minorities, Disabled and Children. Forthe welfare of these people mereguaranteeing of right to equality oruniversal adult franchise were notsufficient. The ideal of politicaldemocracy had to be backed by socialand economic democracy. Therefore,

Development of Weaker Sections : Scheduled Castes,Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes

CHAPTER 10

what was required was a strongconstitutional mechanism for protectionof interests and rights of vulnerableor weaker section’s of society andat the same time special schemesand programmes for their welfare,development and empowerment.

SCHEDULED CASTES

Scheduled Castes are peoplebelonging to those castes, races whichhave been or may in future be specifiedin a list in accordance with Article 341of the Constitution. In traditionalterms these are the people who wereconsidered outcastes, categorised asuntouchables. This was a part of therigid caste system dividing the Indiansociety into high and low on the basisof birth without any logic or rationale.The people of lower castes considereduntouchable were assigned menialjobs and occupations. They wereoppressed and exploited by thosewho belonged to the highercastes. Economically and sociallythey remained extremely poor andmarginalised.

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During the course of history therehad been emerging voices against thecaste system. Religious and socialreformers have been raising voicesagainst it and for its abolition. Religiousmovements like Budhism, Jainism,Sikhism and Bhakti movement ingeneral had rejected the social andritual justification of this caste systemand oppression. The system, however,has remained. During British colonialperiod with the arrival of western liberalvalues and rise of socio-religious reformmovements the question of castediscrimination came to the forefront.Within lower caste people themselvesthere emerged a consiousness andawareness about their plight anddemand for change. Dr B.R. Ambedkarand Mahatma Gandhi, in particular,though in different ways, had broughtup the issue of caste discrimination ina significant way. British colonialgovernment, for various reasons hadbegan formulating some policiesincluding those of reservations, forthese castes. The national movementmade the issue of Scheduled Castesupliftment part of its agenda. As suchat the time of independence, there wasboth a demand and commitment forSCs welfare and development. Thegovernment, therefore, took up the taskof SCs welfare right from the time ofenactment of the Constitution.

SCHEDULED TRIBES

Another social category economically,socially and politically marginalised isthat of Scheduled Tribes. Legally like

Scheduled Castes, tribes are peoplebelonging to tribes or tribalcommunities specified in the list of suchtribes as per Article 342 of theConstitution. Scheduled Tribes areweaker sections not in terms of caste.They are the people who have been livingin remote forest areas and hill tracksas tribes without any access to modernsocio-economic inputs. It is difficult todefine the tribal peoples of India interms of any single set of formal criteria.They are popularly believed toconstitute the aboriginal element inIndian society. But most tribals sharecertain common features like, natureof rurality, illiteracy, economicbackwardness, and social deprivation.Historically, one of the principal featureof the tribal population has been itsecological, economic and socialisolation. For centuries, the tribalpeople have been confined to hills andforests. This isolation has left definiteimpression on their social systems. Ithas also given them, in spite of widecultural variations, a common destinyin the Indian society.

Like Scheduled Castes, it wasduring British colonial rule that thereemerged a tribal consciousness. Here,the reason was little different. Asmentioned above for centuries tribalareas had remained unconnected withthe mainland and mainstream.Therefore, they were outside theeffective control of state and state laws.They had their own economy, triballaws and customs. It was duringBritish rule that with the extension ofadministration all over and laying of

DEVELOPMENT OF WEAKER SECTIONS


railways, roads, etc. that tribal areascame under direct administrativecontrol. Along with administrators,traders, money lenders andentrepreneurs also reached tribal areas.Tribals were deprived of their land andautonomy. In many cases there startedtribal revolts. There also emergedamong national movement leaders andBritish administration a concern forprotection and welfare of tribal people.

WELFARE OF SCHEDULED CASTES

AND SCHEDULED TRIBES

From the above it becomes clearthat the Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes have been the mostdisadvantaged and neglected people inIndian society. As mentioned in thebeginning, the situation and needs wereacknowledged by the framers of theConstitution themselves. Thus, on theone hand Constitution of India itselfprescribed certain protective measures,safeguards and welfare measures forthese sections and on the other handsuccessive Five-Year Plans have alsoregarded the welfare of SCs and STs asa major objective of development policy.In addition, both the Union and Stategovernments have taken up specificsteps and launched various schemesand programmes for their improvement.

Constitutional Provisions

The Constitution prescribes protectionand safeguards for Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes as also of otherweaker sections either specially or byway of insisting on their general rights

as citizens with the objective ofpromoting their educational andeconomic interests and removing socialdisabilities.

Article 17 of the Constitutionabolishes untouchability and forbids itspractice in any form. The untouchability(offences) Act was passed in 1955. Itsscope was enlarged and its penalprovisions were made more stringent byamending it in 1976. It was renamedas Protection of Civil Right Act. In 1989,another Act called Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes (Prevention ofAtrocities) was passed.

While Article 17 of FundamentalRights abolishes untouchability,Articles 14, 15 and 16 establishprinciples of equality and social justice.Article 14 proclaims equality before lawand equal protection of law for all.Article 15(1) prohibits discrimination ongrounds of race, caste, sex, religion orplace of birth. Article 16(1) furtherprovides equality of opportunity to all.These two articles apart fromproclaiming every one equal also givespower to the State for making specialprovisions for SCs and STs.

Apart from the protectivediscrimination clauses in theConstitution, the Directive Principles ofthe State Policy may be considered asmechanism for realising the goal ofsocial justice and social transformationin the direction of just society. Articles38 and 46 specifically aim at securingsocial justice to the deprived sectionsof the population. Apart from theseArticles, provisions have been made forreservation of seats for SCs and STs in

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Lok Sabha and State Assemblies andgovernmental services and educationalinstitutions. There is also a provisionfor setting up of tribal advisory councilsand separate departments in States andappointment of a special officer at theCentre to promote their welfare andsafeguard their interests.

National Commissionfor SCs and STs

In 1990 by 65th Amendment of theConstitution the special officer’s postunder Article 338 has been substitutedby the National Commission forScheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes. The SC and ST Commissionshall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and five other members tobe appointed by the President. It shallbe the duty of the Commission: (i) toinvestigate and monitor all mattersrelating to the safeguards provided forthe Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes under the Constitution or underother laws; (ii) to enquire into specificcomplaints with respect to thedeprivation of rights and safeguards ofthe SCs and STs; (iii) to participate andadvise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the SCs andSTs; and to evaluate the progress of theirdevelopment under the Union and anyState; (iv) to present to the Presidentannually, and at such other times as theCommission may fix reports upon theworking of these safeguards; (v) to makein such reports/recommendations as tothe measures that should be taken bythe Union or any State for the effective

implementation of those safeguardsand other measures for the pro-tection, welfare and socio-economicdevelopment of the SCs and STs; and(vi) to discharge such other functions inrelation to the protection, welfare anddevelopment and advancement of theSCs and STs as the President maysubject to the provisions of any lawmade by Parliament, by rule, specify.The Act also provides that theCommission, while investigating andmonitoring any matter relating tosafeguards provided for SCs and STs,shall have all powers of a civil courttrying a suit. It is also provided that theUnion and every State government shallconsult the Commission on all majorpolicy matters affecting SCs and STs.

Special Schemes and Programmesfor SCs and STs

In accordance with these Constitutionalprovisions and directives thegovernment of India and all States havebeen formulating and implementingvarious schemes and programmes forthe upliftment of SCs and STs withinthe process of Planning and outside.These programmes relate to education,skill formation, creating jobopportunities and development of theareas in which these people areconcentrated.

In the field of education in most ofthe States, education up to higher levelhas been made free for SCs and STs.Seats have been reserved for them,generally, in accordance withpercentage of population, in various



educational institutions. A BookBank scheme has been launched toprovide textbooks required for thestudents pursuing medical andengineering degrees, agricultural,veterinary and polytechnic courses.A Girls Hostel Scheme was started inThird Five-Year Plan with thepurpose of providing residentialfacilities to tribal girls in pursuit ofeducation. A similar scheme wasstarted for boys in 1989-90. Variousschemes of scholarships have alsobeen started including pre-matric,post-matric, and higher education.In addition to these there are otherschemes also for helping improveeducational levels and standards ofSCs and STs.

To help SCs and STs inemployment, apart from makingreservations in jobs, specific schemeshave been started for training andskill formation. One of these is thecoaching and allied scheme startedin the Fourth Five-Year Plan forimparting training to SCs and STs inrespect of various competitiveexaminations held by recruitingbodies such as Union Public ServiceCommission, State Public ServiceCommissions, Public SectorUndertakings, Banking servicerecruitment boards and similaragencies. There are State ScheduledCastes Development Corporations touplift the SC/ST population livingbelow poverty line. In 1992-93vocational training centers were setup in tribal areas to develop the skillsof the tribal youth for gaining

employment or self employmentopportunities. In the Ninth Planperiod (1997-2002) a separate planof action for the developmentof Primitive T ribal Groups hasbeen formulated. In 1987, the TribalCooperative Marketing DevelopmentFederation of India was setup with the prime objective ofproviding marketing assistanceand remunerative prices to STcommunities for their minor forestproduce and surplus agriculturalproduce and to wean them away fromexploitative private traders.

Baba Saheb Dr AmbedkarFoundation

Apart from schemes for educationand employment there also hasbeen launched programmes forempowerment of SCs and STs. Animportant step in this direction wastaken in March 1992 with theestablishment of Baba SahebDr Ambedkar Foundation. TheFoundation has been entrusted withthe responsibility to manage, administerand carry on the schemes andprogrammes identified during thecentenary celebrations of Dr B.R.Ambedkar. Some of these areDr Ambedkar National Award for socialunderstanding and uplift of weakersections; Dr Ambedkar InternationalAward for social change, harmony,equity, justice and human dignityfor the exploited and the underprivileged; and putting up Memorial forDr Ambedkar.

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Tribal Research Institutes

Some States have set up TribalResearch Institutes, for research,education, collection of data, training,seminars, workshops, professionalinputs in the preparation of tribal sub-plan, publication of tribal literature,codification of tribal customary laws,etc. The tribal sub-plan strategy wasevolved during the Fifth Five -Year Plan.It is based on the twin objectives of:(i) protection of interests of tribalsthrough legal and administrativesupport; and (ii) promotion ofdevelopment efforts through planschemes to raise their level of living.There are now 194 integrated tribaldevelopment projects.

STATUS OF SCHEDULED CASTES

AND SCHEDULED TRIBES

From the above discussion ofConstitutional and legal provisions andof some of the plans, programmes andschemes started for the welfare,development and empowerment ofScheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes, it becomes clear that these peoplehave not only been made equal citizensof India but have also been given specialprivileges, preferences and concessionsto come out of their traditional lower andinhumane position.

At the same time if we look atthe overall conditions of the ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes,particularly in rural areas, we find thatin spite of constitutional provisions andvarious plans, the poverty, illiteracy,

destitution, oppression and bondageof these sections in large areasremain intact. Untouchability, thoughbanned under the law continues to bewidely practiced. India’s bondedlabourers are almost exclusively drawnfrom SCs and STs. Only an elite classamongst SCs has benefited fromthe government’s policies andwelfare measures.

The reasons for this apathetic statusof SCs and STs are many. First of allthe problem is that provisions and plansfor the welfare of the SCs and STs arestrong at the constitutional andplanning levels, but weak in theimplementation. In many reports of theCommissioner for Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes, the PlanningCommission and other bodies, it hasbeen pointed out that the staff andadministrative machinery provided bythe States is not adequate to carry outthe policy of welfare, even if necessaryfunds are voted by the Parliament,hence, the failure in implementation.

Another problem is of inadequatefunds and corruption. To begin with,either adequate funds are not allocatedfor the plans and programmes orallocated funds are not made available.Many a times a significant proportionof funds do not reach the beneficiaries— a glaring example of the failure ofland reforms. This failure has kept SCsin particular deprived of land anddependent on landlords and bigfarmers. In case of tribal developmentthe bureaucrats, trained in the colonialtradition to maintain law and orderunaware of tribal social, cultural and



linguistic traditions and values, andunconcerned with their expectationsend up as exploiters of tribals ratherthan their protectors.

The problems of administrativeapathy and lack of funds is very muchlinked with problems in planning itself.The planning in general has beenlopsided, piecemeal and middle classor even elite oriented rather than massoriented. At the political level decisionsare taken more keeping in view theimmediate concern for votes and notethe long-term visions. One result of thisis while law has establishedcommissions, and enacted laws forpreventing untouchability and otheroffences against SCs and STs, theseprovisions lack teeth and an effectivemachinery for imparting justice.Particularly in case of ScheduledTribes, planners have not appreciatedthe tribal culture, language, religion,customs and land rights. They,therefore, formulate plans with theirown assumptions and as parts ofnational plans.

A serious matter that has emergedduring last decade or so with regard tostatus of SCs and STs is upper castebacklash in some areas. Reacting toemerging consciousness among thesecastes and their struggle for rights insome rural areas upper castes havebegun coercing them violentlyincluding killing the activists andraping the women. In some cases thisviolence is being committed byorganised groups like Ranveer Sena inBihar. In view of the nature andorientation of bureaucracy and police,

this blacklash is not crushed with thatheavy hand as it is required. Infact, inmany cases there is connivance of policeand other authorities in such cases ofoppression.

Thus, in spite of Article 17 of theConstitution, untouchability offencesAct and Protection of Civil Rights Actuntouchability is practiced openly inmany places not only in villages butalso in cities. All this is resulting inalienation of those groups andemergence of Tribal and dalitmovements. These movements areusing both constitutional and extra-constitutional methods to seek justicethereby posing new issues in India’spolitical process.

WELFARE OF OTHER BACKWARD

CLASSES (OBCS)

In India apart from Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes, there are otherweaker sections, who are economically,socially and educationally backward.They are known as Other BackwardClasses. Article 340 of the Constitutionempowers the government to appoint aCommission to investigate into theconditions of Other Backward Classesand make recommendations.

It is necessary to make it clearthat the Constitution uses words“Backward Class”. It means not justany backward person, but a group ofpeople having general characteristicsof backwardness. Constitution,however, does not specify whichgroups constitute backward classes.The Government had appointed two

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Backward Classes Commissions. Thesecommissions have given the criteria toidentify backward classes on the basisof communities or castes.

The first Backward ClassesCommission was appointed in 1953under the Chairmanship of Kaka SahebKalelkar. This Commission used fourcriteria for identifying the Backwardclasses: (i) low social position in thetraditional caste hierarchy of Hindusociety; (ii) lack of general educationaladvancement among the majority of acaste/community; (iii) inadequate orlack of representation in governmentservices; and (iv) inadequaterepresentation in trade, commerce andindustry. The Kalelkar Commission onthese basis identified 2,399 castes andcommunities as Backward Classes.However, there were dif ferenceswithin the Commission. Therefore,government did not accept therecommendations of this Commission.

The second Backward ClassesCommission was appointed in 1978under the Chairmanship of B.P. Mandaland this was known as MandalCommission. This Commissionformulated 11 indicators: four on castebased social backwardness, three oneducational backwardness and four oneconomic backwardness. In theCommission’s opinion backwardnesswas related to Caste. Accordingly, itidentified 3,743 castes as backward onthe basis of above mentioned indicators.Since then these castes have come tobe known as Other Backward Castes(OBC’s) meaning thereby backwardcastes other than Scheduled Castes.

The Commission recommendedreservation of 27 per cent of jobs forOBCs in central services, public sectorundertakings, nationalised banks,universities and affiliated colleges andgovernment aided firms in the privatesector. Some quantum of reservationsfor OBC students was recommendedin all scientific, technical andprofessional institutions of educationrun by the Central and StateGovernments. The Commission alsomade recommendations for economicand occupational development ofthe OBCs.

In August 1990, Governmentof India announced the accept-ance of Mandal Commission’srecommendations. Since then 27 percent reservation has been madein jobs by Central governmentand various percentages by Stategovernments. In addition, otherschemes have also been formulatedand launched for the welfare ofBackward Classes. Some of these aregiven below:

National Backward Classes Financeand Development Corporation

This body was set up by thegovernment of India in January 1992with the objective of providingconcessional loans to the members ofbackward classes living below thepoverty line. The corporation has alsolaunched a special scheme for eligiblewomen beneficiaries of backwardclasses under the name of Swarnima.



Schemes for OBCs

From 1998-99 following schemes havebeen launched for the welfare of OBCs:(i) Pre-examination coaching: to

coach candidates belonging toOBCs whose parent’s/guardiansannual income is less than Rs onelac;

(ii) Hostels for OBC Boys and Girls;(iii) Pre-matric Scholarships;(iv) Post-matric Scholarships;(v) Assistance to voluntary

organisations: The schemeinvolves the voluntary sector toimprove educational and socio-economic conditions of the OBCsto get them gainfully employed.

From the above, it becomes clearthat apart from Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes the government hasalso made adequate provisions for thewelfare of Other Backward Castes.Some, observers, however feel that anumber of castes which areeconomically well off are getting benefitsin the name of OBCs for politicalreasons, whereas people who areeconomically backward but technicallydo not belong to these castesremain neglected. According to theseobservers Constitution suggests thatbackwardness is to be identified byclass and not by caste or tribe. They,therefore, suggest use of economiccriteria for backwardness.

The Supreme Court in itsjudgement on 16 November, 1992while accepted the criterion of caste asrelevant for reservation felt that withinBackward castes those whose economic

advancement is so high that itnecessarily means social advancementor those who have occupied certainposts of high social status should beexcluded from getting the reservationbenefits meant for OBCs. Once they areadvanced socially which also meanseconomically and educationally they nolonger belong to the Backward Classes.However, the judgement also suggestedthat those who have attained sufficientcapacity to compete with others shouldbe taken out of the OBCs. This hasbeen described as rule of exclusionbased on “creamy layer” concept. Theimplication of this judgement is,(i) Caste though a necessary conditionis no longer a sufficient condition;(ii) Economic test should be appliedalong with the already existingidentification criterion.

From the above discussion, itbecomes clear that in accordance withthe commitments made duringnational movement and declarationspronounced in the Preamble of theConstitution of India to secure to allcitizens of India Justice, Liberty andEquality. There had been provisions inthe Constitution and policies in theplanning process and otherwise for thewelfare of those sections of society whohave been denied justice and equalityfor thousands of year simply on thebasis of birth. This has to be donebecause socio-economic justice impliesrejection of the unjust social structureand status-quo. There are no twoopinions about the fact that castesystem in India denotes a hierarchicalstratification of society based on

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division and gradation of people bybirth. Therefore, it implies socialinequality. For the lower caste peopletheir lower position has got reinforcedinto a low class position by thedeepening unemployment and poverty.

It was not sufficient merely tomention in the Constitution that allcitizens of India are equal and free.There was need to create conditions andenvironment by which the exploitedpeople could come out of centuriesold oppressive system. For thiswere adopted various schemes andprogrammes for the welfare anddevelopment of Scheduled Castes,Scheduled Tribes and Other BackwardCastes. At present the welfare of SCsand STs is given special attentionby both the Central and Stategovernments. Special programmes fortheir welfare have been undertaken inthe successive Five-Year Plans and thesize of investment in these specialprogrammes has been increasing fromPlan to Plan. A number of personsbelonging to Scheduled Castes,Scheduled Tribes and OtherBackward Castes now are in variouslevels of government jobs, educationalinstitutions, Parliament, State Assembliesand local-self government bodies. Theydo have access to social institutions.

At the same time a large number ofpersons belonging to these categoriesin different parts of the countrycontinue to suffer discrimination, socialexclusion, and oppression. They stilllive in a pathetic situation of poverty,illiteracy and social marginalisation.Mindset of a large section of persons in

India continues to be besieged withbeliefs of superiority and inferiority ofcaste. In rural areas at many placesScheduled Castes have to live outsidethe village. They continue to be engagedin traditional menial jobs. They sufferoppression and violence in the handsof upper-caste landlords, not allowedto vote in election and own land.Reasons for this are many whichinclude lack of political will, faultyplanning, administrative apathy, lackof resources and widespreadcorruption. At the same time becauseof introduction of democracy anduniversal franchise the so-called lowercaste and tribal people are becomingaware of their plight and rights. Theyare asserting for justice and change inthe position. This on the one hand isforcing the State to take effective stepsfor their welfare and on the other handis causing a backlash from certainupper castes who do not want anychange in status quo.

It is important for us to understandthat there is no religious, scientific orother rationality behind hierarchy ofcaste system. The rigidity of castesystem is not only against the principlesand ideals of justice, equality andfreedom but also a big hindrance in thepath of nation’s development. We haveto come out of our mindsets, appreciatethe values and norms of a democratic,welfare state and society and work fora harmonious, equality based justsystem. In this State alone cannot domuch. What is required is both supportand pressure from enlightened andeducated sections of society.



EXERCISES

1. Describe the provisions made in Indian Constitution for the welfare ofScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

2. Mention the functions of the National Commission for Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes.

3. Examine the various schemes launched by the government for the welfare ofScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

4. What steps have been taken by the government for the welfare of OtherBackward Classes?

5. Describe the significance of Mandal Commission Report.6. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Baba Saheb Dr Ambedkar Foundation;(ii) Creamy Layer.

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Development of Weaker Sections : Women

CHAPTER 11

THE GENDER JUSTICE

ONE significant section of societythat has been denied justice in

India, in fact in a large number ofcountries world over, is that of women.For centuries they have been relegatedto sidelines of social, economic andpolitical life. Women have been given asubordinate status promotingoppressive and unequal humanrelations at all levels of society. It isbeing stressed that the problems ofwomen, who constitute half of theworld’s population, are the problems ofsociety as a whole, and that changes inthe present economic, political andsocial situation of women must becomean integral part of efforts to transformthe structures and attitudes that hinderthe genuine satisfaction of their needs.Thus, any process of development andsocial justice that does not take intoaccount the necessity of improving thestatus of women and finding moreeffective methods and strategies thatwill enable them to have the sameopportunities as men to participateactively in the development of societyand country can not be consideredgenuine. India is no exception to this.

WOMEN’S WELFARE IN INDIA

Women in India for centuries havereceived unequal treatment in almostall spheres of life. Indian society is apatriarchal society. During the courseof history there also had been protestsagainst this position of women.Particularly during Bhakti movementin medieval period saints and religiousreformers had taken up the question ofemancipation of women. But they didnot have much impact.

During British colonial period withthe arrival of liberal ideas and in somecases as a reaction to British rule theresprang up many reformist movementsin India. Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj,Prarthna Samaj and many othermovements took up the cause ofinjustice against women. As is wellknown, the early reformist Raja RamMohan Roy denounced child marriage,and sati and worked for theemancipation of women in general. Thenineteenth century also saw for the firsttime the enactment of social legislationby the government which includedabolition of Sati (1829), WidowRemarriage Act (1856), Civil MarriageAct (1872), etc. Another significant


feature of the nineteenth century is theattempts towards girls education.

In nationalist movement also, theIndian women’s immense hiddenpotential found a forum for its release.Gandhiji called on women to give uppurdah and participate in politics. In1917 a women’s delegation met theSecretary of State for India to demandfranchise for women. In 1927 waslaunched All India Women’s Conferencefor the welfare and development ofwomen.

While as a result of social reformsand nationalist movement thereemerged awareness about women’splight and consciousness for theirupliftment, in general there was notmuch change in the social attitudetowards women, particularly in ruralareas. Also in spite of some significantsocial legislature, property, inheritanceand such laws remained againstwomen. In general, at the time ofindependence they were outside themain stream of socio-economic processand in actually did not have a rightfulplace in society.

WOMEN’S WELFARE IN

INDEPENDENT INDIA

From the above, it becomes clearthat justice for women was one of theissues of development even beforeindependence. Accordingly, it becameone of the focuses of developmentalplanning in independent India.

In the Constitution of India itselfArticles in Fundamental Rights andDirective Principles gave concrete shape

to these intentions. Article 14 confersequality before law and equal protectionof law for all. This obviously means lawcan not be discriminatory againstwomen.

Article 15 not only prohibits anydiscrimination on grounds of religion,race, caste, sex or place of birth but alsoempowers the State to make any specialprovision for women and children. Itmeans in favour of women and childrenother sections can be discriminatedagainst, if it is so required. Similarly,Article 16 guarantees equality ofopportunity in matters relating topublic employment.

Article 19 guarantees to all citizensincluding women, freedoms of speechand expression, assemble, formassociations or unions, move freelythroughout the territory of India, toreside and settle anywhere and topractice any profession or carry on anyoccupation.

The Fundamental Rights thus,make women like men and othersections of society equal and free in allwalks of life. In addition provisions ofFundamental Rights give powers to thestate to make special provisions forwomen and children. Special provisionsfurther, are given in the form of directivesto the State in the Directive Principlesof State policy. These are:

(i) Men and women equally have theright to an adequate means oflivelihood (Article 39);

(ii) There is equal pay for equal work forboth men and women (Article 39);

(iii) The health and strength of workersmen and women and the tender

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age of children are not abused andthat citizens are not forced byeconomic necessity to entervocations unsuited to their age orstrength (Article 39);

(iv) Make provisions for just andhumane conditions of work andmaternity relief.

Apart from these negative and positiveobligations on the state, the Constitutionalso (after the 42nd Amendment 1976)imposes a fundamental duty on allcitizens, “to renounce practices derogatoryto the dignity of women” (Article 51A). Asmentioned earlier the Constitution of Indiahas also granted universal franchise.Thus, women has equality both in rightto vote and contest elections.

WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT

POLICIES

Efforts for welfare and development forwomen have been initiated at two levels.One is enactment of laws and second isformulation of welfare schemes andprojects.

The Laws

Enactment of laws means using law asan instrument for change anddevelopment. In this context in last 50years or so many laws have beenenacted with a view to removedisparities and provide conditions forwelfare. Some of the important lawsthat have been passed by theParliament are: Special Marriage Act1954, the Hindu Marriage act 1955, theHindu Adoption and Maintenance Act1956, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961,

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act1971, the Equal Remuneration Act1976, the Child Marriage Restraint(Amendment) Act 1978, and theCriminal Law (Second AmendmentAct) 1985, the Dowry Prohibition(Amendment) Act 1984.

In addition to enactment of lawsby the Legislature, the Judiciary alsohas been interpreting some existinglaws in more favourable ways forwomen. In a landmark judgement inNovember 1995 the Supreme Courtgave the widow and daughter of adeceased equal right to property leftby him. Judiciary’s decision in caseslike Shah Bano and others have alsobeen important in terms of judicialactivism to reform the Muslimpersonal laws.

Welfare Schemes

Apart from enactment of laws effortshave also been made to formulate andimplement programmes and plansfor providing access to womenin education, skill development,employment, fulfillment of specialnecessities, gender sensitisation, etc.Women’s welfare and development hasalso been a part of Five-Year Plans.

The Government of India in 1953established a Central Social WelfareBoard with a nationwide programmeof grants in aid, for promotingwelfare and development servicesfor women, children and underprivileged groups. The Board has itsState counterparts.

A separate department of womenand child development was setup at the

DEVELOPMENT OF WEAKER SECTIONS : WOMEN


centre in 1985 to give a distinct identityand provide a nodal point on mattersrelating to women’s development. TheNational Policy on Education — 1986was a landmark in the field of policy onwomen’s education. The consequentprogramme of Action for the NationalPolicy on Education stated that the mainfeatures of the implementation strategywould be:(i) to gear the entire education

system to play a positiveinterventionist role in theempowerment of women;

(ii) to encourage educationalinstitutions to take up activeprogrammes to enhance women’sstatus and further women’sdevelopment in all sectors;

(iii) to widen women’s access tovocational, technical, andprofessional education at all levels,breaking gender stereotypes;

(iv) to create a dynamic managementstructure that will be able torespond to the challenge posed bythis mandate.

In 1987 the programme of supportto Training-cum-Employment forwomen was launched to strengthen andimprove the skills for employmentopportunities for women below povertyline in traditional sectors of agriculture,animal husbandry, handlooms,handicrafts, cottage and villageindustries and sericulture wherewomen are employed on a large scale.Another programme entitled the ‘IndiraMahila Yojana’ was started in 1995 withthe aim of organising women at thegrassroot level to facilitate their

participation in decision-making andtheir empowerment. In October 1998,the Rural Women’s Developmentand Empowerment Project wasalso sanctioned.

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN

To safeguard the rights and legalentitlements of women the Parliamentin 1990 enacted a law to establish theNational Commission for Women. TheCommission came into existence on 31January, 1992. The functions assignedto National Commission for Women arewide and varied covering almost all factsof issues relating to safeguardingwomen’s rights and promotion. Itsmandated activities include review oflegislation, interventions in specificindividual complaints of atrocitiesand remedial action to safeguard theinterest of women where appropriateand feasible.

As a whole it can be said that inpost-independence period there havebeen conscious efforts to change theposition of women from inequality tothat of equality. At present, legally andconstitutionally, women in India aregiven a status of equality with men.Women are free to choose any form ofeducation and training to equipthemselves for a career. They canundertake any specialist and higherlearning. But when we see the socialreality what is found is that on the onehand only a small section of urbaneducated women have been benefitedfrom the claimed legislative anddevelopmental actions and on the other

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hand gender bias in society not onlycontinues but in some ways has takena worse form in the shape of violenceand crimes against women. Thequestion of status of women in Indiansociety remains serious anddeserves attention.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

The other major sectors of visibledifferences between male and femalestatus are education and employment.The female literacy rate in 2001 was54.16 per cent as against 75.85 percent literate males. On the eve ofindependence literacy rate of womenwas 7.9 per cent in comparison to54.16 per cent in 2001. Despite thisthe number of illiterate women hasincreased over the decades due topopulation growth, non-enrolment ofgirls and dropout from the formalsystem of education. Illiteracy andlack of education among women limittheir achievements in the field ofemployment, training and utilisationof health facilities.

SOCIAL INDICATORS

The Indian Constitution guaranteeslegal and social equality to women.Various laws have been enacted tomake gender equality a reality.

If a close scrutiny of the existinglaws is made, it becomes clear that stillmany laws, particularly with right tosocial issues, are in favour of men. Whatis more important is that in practicesocial behaviour towards women is fullof biases.

In matters of property, in spite ofrecent laws and judicial decisions givingwomen’s equal share in the familyproperty, often justice is denied towomen by their families. In manyinstances, the women concernedare illiterate and, therefore, are dupedinto signing away their legalproperty rights.

Obviously, the above status ofwomen is not due to consti-tutional provisions or lack of laws orprogrammes. Reasons are various.First is the deep rooted patriarchalsystem, which makes male not onlythe head of the family but sociallygives all decision making powers tohim. Within this patriarchal systemthe process of socialisation both ofmale and female children makes themgrow with the future acceptance oftheir roles. In an average Indianfamily preference is shown to malechildren.

Along with these social factors,our planning has also neglectedthe development of women ina comprehensive manner. Theprogrammes have been piecemeal andin isolation. More important is that whileprogrammes have been formulatedadequate funds have not been released.Thus, in the male dominated familystructure and caste and kinship basedsociety, lopsided development andplanning designed and implemented bystatus quo oriented bureaucracy hasnot allowed the desired changes in statusof women in terms of equality andopportunities.



MOVEMENTS TOWARDS EMPOWERMENT

From the above it becomes clear thatchange of attitude towards womenwithin the family and social systemcompletely dominated by men cannotbe brought about by making laws orpolicies alone. There is a need to bringwomen themselves in decision makingand implementing process. Exclusion

of women from the politicaldecision making bodies and govern-mental structures have beenreinforcing factors in gender-baseddiscrimination. No serious attempt hasbeen made either by the governmentsin power or any political party toaddress the problem of women’sparticipation in decision makingbodies.

Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha

Year Seats Lok Sabha Percentage Seats Rajya Sabha* PercentageWomen of Women Women of WomenMPs MPs MPs MPs

1952 499 22 4.4 219 16 07.31

1957 500 27 5.4 237 18 07.59

1962 503 34 6.8 238 18 07.56

1967 523 31 5.9 240 20 08.33

1971 521 22 4.2 243 17 07.00

1977 544 19 3.4 244 25 10.25

1980 544 28 7.9 244 24 09.84

1984 544 44 8.1 244 28 11.48

1989 517 27 5.3 245 24 09.80

1991 544 39 7.2 245 38 15.51

1996 543 39 7.2 223 20 08.52

1998 543 43 7.92 245 15 06.12

1999 543 49 9.02 245 19 07.76

Average 528 33 6.15 238 22 09.00

Women’s Representation in Parliament 1952-1999

* The composition of Rajya Sabha changes every two years. The figures of Rajya Sabha havebeen picked up only for those years which allow comparison with Lok Sabha. The average forRajya Sabha is based on these years only.

Source: CSDS Data Unit, Delhi

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The women’s movement, therefore,have been struggling for reservation forwomen in elective bodies. Theyachieved partial success with 73rd and74th Constitutional Amendmentsproviding 33 per cent reservation ofseats for women in Panchayati RajInstitution and Municipalities andMunicipal Corporations. Struggle forsuch a reservation in Parliament andState Assemblies is on while almost allpolitical parties in public support thisdemand, but when the bill toimplement this comes in the Parliament,in one way or the other, it is notallowed to be passed.

NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN 2001

The government of India in 2001 issueda National Policy for the Empowermentof women. The major objectives of thispolicy include:(i) Creating an environment through

positive economic and socialpolicies for full development ofwomen to enable them to realisetheir full potential.

(ii) The de-jure and de-factoenjoyment of all human rights andfundamental freedom by womenon equal basis with men in allspheres — political, economic,social, cultural and civil.

(iii) Equal access to women to healthcare, quality education at all levels,career and vocational guidance,employment, equal remuneration,occupational health and safety,social security and public office, etc.

(iv) strengthening legal systemsaimed at elimination of all formsof discrimination against women.

According to National Policy, allCentral and State Ministries will drawup time bound action-plans fortranslating the policy into a set ofconcrete actions through aparticipatory process of consultationwith Centre/State departments ofWomen and Child Development andNational/State Commission for Women.

The National Policy documentalso talks of strengthening ofinstitutional mechanisms, resourcemanagement, legalisation, gendersensitisation, partnership with thevoluntary sector organisations andinternational cooperation, to achieve thedesired goals.

Needless to say the National Policyfor the Empowerment of women 2001for the first time presents aholistic approach and presents acomprehensive notion of women’sdevelopment and empowerment. It isnow to be seen whether it remains adocument of intentions or somethingreally comes out of this.

Since India became independent,many policies and measures had beenadopted to improve the conditions ofwomen. Despite all this, the situationof women has not improved much.Women, in general, have not been inposition to avail benefits from thesemeasures. However, many agencies likethe Central Social Welfare Board andother departments have been set up tolook after the welfare of women. Therehave been innumerable schemes



initiated to bring about economic self-reliance through employment, incomegeneration, education, skill trainingand other developmental programmes.To back them up, the State has alsopassed many laws. In fact, India ranksas the country with the maximumamount of social legislation for women.

Let us not forget that the full andcomplete development of any countryrequires the maximum participation of

women as well as of men in all fields:the under nationalisation of thepotential of approximately half thepopulation is a serious obstacle tosocial and economic development. It istime for both men and women to comeout of myths, imposed traditions andfalse notions of superiority of sexand join hands for a more happy andharmonious personal family andsocial life.

EXERCISES

1. Mention the provisions in the chapter on Fundamental Rights and DirectivePrinciples of State Policy with regard to welfare of Women in India.

2. Enumerate any three laws enacted by the Parliament since independence forthe welfare of women.

3. Mention the main objectives of National Policy for the Empowerment of women,2001.

4. Examine the demand for reservations of seats in Parliament and StateLegislatures as a mechanism for empowerment of women.

5. Write short notes on the following:

(i) National Commission for women;(ii) Education and employment status of women;

(iii) Women’s social status.

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UNIT IV

CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES TO

INDIAN DEMOCRACY

YOU have read that the framers ofthe Constitution of India adopted

a democratic political order not only asa desirable political system based onthe ideals of peoples’ participation, butit was also a mechanism to achieve theideals of equality, liberty and socialjustice. Democratic political order, it issaid, ensures, at least in principle,equal participation of all individualsirrespective of caste, creed, sex andsocial origin in socio-economic andpolitical life of the nation. The Preambleof the Constitution, and chapters onFundamental Rights and DirectivePrinciples make it clear that framers ofthe Constitution wanted IndianConstitution to be an instrument ofsocio-economic justice. The basis ofsocio-economic justice is equality —political, social and economic.

Seen from the perspective ofworking of democracy also equality isconsidered as one of the pre-conditionsfor its successful functioning.Democracy implies that there shouldbe a substantial degree of equalityamong people. Equality here meansthat inequality of wealth, of social

InequalitySocial and Economic

CHAPTER 12

rank or of education and accessto knowledge should not be soconsiderable as to result in permanentsubordination of some groups of peopleto others. Thus, the idea and principleof democracy cannot be divorced fromthe principle of equality. If democracyis peoples’ participation then the formalparticipation in electoral process is onlyone indicator of the equal opportunityto participate. The effective participationcannot be ensured without creating acondition of effectivity. And thiseffectivity can be advanced throughensuring substantive equality. Merepolitical equality in terms of equality ofopportunity would face disjunction incase of social and economic inequality.Hence, the ideal of political democracyhas to be backed by social andeconomic democracy. In India weadopted democracy to achieve, alongwith political equality, social andeconomic equality. Also, in the long runwe needed social and economic equalityas a necessary condition for thesuccessful working of democracy.However, even after 55 years ofindependence we have enormous


inequalities in our society and these areposing a serious challenge to ourdemocratic system.

INEQUALITY

Socio-economic inequality in India is aheritage of long history. India is theworld’s classic unequal society fromtime immemorial. Inequality in India’spast was the result of a rigid castesystem that had ordained professionsby the accident of birth in a given familyand Jati. The deprived andmarginalised were told that theirdestitution, low status and misery areordained by destiny (karma) and thatthey have to work within their assignedstatus determined by their birth.

Another type of inequality i.e.poverty, has been the consequence ofcolonial past. It is not only India as awhole that became poor, but within thatthere emerged unequal classes anddifferences in the levels of incomes.Certain sections had monopoly overland and means of production, andlarger masses were dependent on themfor employment and survival. Anotheraspect of income inequality is the largeand persisting disparity between therural and urban incomes andinequalities between different regionsand states, called regional inequalitiesand imbalances. We are discussingbelow the nature and extent of socialand economic inequalities and theirimpact on political process. In anotherchapter we will read in detail aboutregional inequalities and theirconsequences.

SOCIAL INEQUALITY

Social Inequality in India has largelybeen prevalent on caste basis. TheScheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribesand other Backward Castes (broadlyknown as backward classes) representthe social groups which have suffereddown the ages due to caste prejudices,economic inequality, educationalbackwardness.

Scheduled Castes

The term Scheduled Caste signifiesthose groups of people who were out ofthe caste system or the varna hierarchyin the past. They comprise the bulk oferstwhile untouchables or untouchablecastes. The Scheduled Caste is apolitico-legal term. It was first coinedby the Simon Commission and thenused in government of India Act 1935.When India became independent thisterm was adopted by the Constitutionfor the purpose of providing thesecastes some special privileges andconstitutional safeguards.

According to the practice ofdetermination of caste by birth andassigning social status to them thepeople belonging to Scheduled Casteswere the lowest in the caste hierarchy.They were kept out from parti-cipation in public life by beingbranded as untouchables. Of courseScheduled Castes do not constitute ahomogeneous group. Even amongthemselves there is further stratificationand ranking. But together they aresegregated on the criteria ofuntouchability. They have always been

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outcastes. Only after independence,their rights have been recognised andthey have been declared equal citizensby the Constitution of India. As alreadydiscussed in Chapter 10 various effortsare being undertaken to improve theirstatus and position in the society.However, the results so far are not muchencouraging. Hence, social inequalityon caste basis persists.

LEGAL EQUALITY

You have already read that the Preambleof the Constitution of India establishesequality, justice, and liberty as thecardinal principles in regulating thesociety and state in India. It was notmentioned as a mere pious wish. Thenon-discrimination principle ofcitizenship rights included in thecategory of fundamental rights ensuresequality before law and equal protectionof law, equality of opportunity andliberty. The Constitution ensureequality of opportunity to all irrespectiveof caste, gender, religion, and one’ssocial status. It provides opportunityto equal access in the public domain.The Constitution (Article 17) mentionsunambiguously the abolition ofuntouchability and makes its practicea criminal offence. Through the chapteron Directive Principles, the Constitution(Article 46) directs the State that it mustendeavour to promote the educationaland economic interests of the ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes among theweaker sections of the society.

Above all, the Constitution hasmade the provision for preferential

treatment or affirmative action throughpolicy of reservations as a methodremoving age-old disparities andindignities. The idea of reservation wasaccepted through provisions offundamental right itself. Article 15 (4)makes provision for the advancementof any “socially and educationallybackward classes of citizens” and Article16 (4) provides for reservations inappointments or posts in favour of anybackward class of citizens which in theopinion of the State is not adequatelyrepresented in its services. Articles15 and 16 empower the State tomake reservations for ScheduledCastes in educational institutionsand employment. The Constitutionspecifically mention that the seats shallbe reserved for Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes in Lok Sabha andState Assemblies. Accordingly out of543 Lok Sabha seats 79 seats arereserved for the Scheduled Castes andout of 3,997 seats in State Assemblies541 seats have been reserved for them.The reservation policy thus is providedin (i) government appointments; (ii) inadmission to educational institutions;and (iii) in the Lok Sabha and LegislativeAssemblies of the States.

You have already read in anearlier chapter various policies, plansand programmes formulated andimplemented for the welfare andupliftment of Scheduled Castes. Thus,it can be said that the issue of socialinequality on the basis of caste systemwas boldly tackled by the makers of theIndian Constitution. Thereafter, duringthe last 55 years the central and the

INEQUALITY : SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC


state governments have enactedvarious legislations in favour of theScheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribesand other economically andeducationally backward classes.Specific schemes, and programmeshave been launched for their welfare.As a result of all these, there have comesome changes in the status ofScheduled Castes. Some of them havefound ways of moving upward both atsocio-cultural as well as political level.But as a whole the real benefits of theConstitutional provisions and welfareschemes have not reached to the mostneedy and deprived persons.

Though the Constitution hasabolished untouchability, it stillcontinues in various parts of thecountry. The masses of SCs continueto toil, mainly as the service class fortheir survival. They are by and largelandless labourers. They are mostlyengaged in menial jobs with littlecontrol over resources such asland, forest and water. The landreforms, the legal measures to attemptredistribution of land resources, havenot been implemented.

The emergence of a minusculeminority among Scheduled Casteson account of socio-economictransformation and reservation policyis symbolic of empowerment. Therepresentation of SCs and STs in theCentral Government Services speaksof facts. As seen in Table 12.1, it isquite clear that they are mainlyemployed in Group C and Group Dservices. More than fifty per cent ofthe Safai Karamcharis (sweepers)

come from this group, which indicatea kind of occupational continuity.Some work in most dehumanisedand degraded conditions. Accordingto government records over 800,000persons are employed as manualscavengers. Even if a middle class hasemerged among the SCs due to themeasure of reservation policy, theydo not enjoy the same amount ofhonour and prestige associated withtheir achieved status as enjoyed bymembers of higher castes.

As far as literacy rate is concerned,in respect of SC/ST, they are farbehind the general population. Theenrolment ratio and dropout ratein schools among SC students havebeen quite negative as comparedto the general students. Dropoutrate of SC girl children is up to75 per cent.

Added to all this is the fact ofatrocities against Scheduled Castes.The police records suggest that whilethe decennial general crime rate hascome down, the atrocities or theincidence of violence against SCs hasincreased. One of the reasons forincreasing violence against them isthe rising awakening among themabout their rights and intolerance ofthe same by certain sections of uppercastes. While Scheduled Castes areslowly trying to recover from suchdisabilities, their social mobility ishampered because of structuralproblems and mindsets. May be, itwill take some time to come out ofthis social thinking. This is also trueof the Scheduled Tribes as well.

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Table 12.1: Representation of SCs/STs in Central Government Services(as on 1 January, 1998)

Group Total SCs Percentage STs Percentage

A 63,466 6,608 10.41 2,047 3.23

B 1,05,679 12,510 11.84 2,868 2.71

C 21,35,640 3,48,309 16.31 1,28,776 6.03

D 9,98,672 2,14,784 21.51 69,168 6.93(Excluding SafaiKaramcharis)

Safai Karamcharis 1,71,994 93,430 54.32 6,916 4.02

Total 33,03,457 5,82,211 17.62 2,02,859 6.14(Excluding SafaiKaramcharis)

Total 34,75,451 6,75,641 19.44 2,09,775 6.04(Including SafaiKaramcharis)

Table 12.2: Percentage of Literacy for Different Groups of PopulationDuring 1971-91

Population 1971 1981 1991

Group Total M F Total M F Total M F

SCs 14.7 22.36 6.4 21.38 31.12 10.93 37.41 49.91 23.76

STs 11.3 17.6 4.9 16.35 24.52 8.04 29.6 40.65 18.19

NSP 33.8 44.5 22.3 41.3 52.34 29.42 57.69 69.55 44.81

General 29.5 39.52 18.7 36.23 46.89 24.82 52.21 64.13 39.29

Note: Information in respect of five Central Ministries/Departments is not included.Source: India 2001: A Reference Annual, Publication Division, Ministry of Information andBroadcasting, Govt. of India, 2001.

Notes: 1. NSP stands for non-scheduled population and general includes all the population.

2.When the percentage of literacy for the years 1971 and 1981 has been calculated bydividing the literates by the total population, inclusive of the children in the age-group of0-4, in 1991, the same has been calculated in exclusion of the children in the age-groupof 0-6.

Source: B.S. Bhargava and Avinash Samal “Protective Discrimination and Development of ScheduledCastes: An Alternative Model for Good Governance” Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol.XLIV, No.3, Annual Issue, 1998.



Scheduled Tribes

The word Tribe has been used to referto groups belonging to forests and hillareas and distinct from so-calledmainstream population. It was firstused by the British along with prefixeslike jungle and hill, aboriginal,indigenous, etc., to describe the peoplewho seemed to have little contact withthe main culture. The common featureswere described that the tribes (i) liveaway from the civilised world in theinaccessible parts lying in the foresthills; (ii) they belong to either one of thethree stocks — Negrito, Australoid orMongoloids; (iii) they speak the sametribal dialect; (iv) they profess primitivereligion known as ‘Animism’ in whichthe worship of ghosts and spirits is themost important element; and (v) theyfollow primitive occupations such asgleaning, hunting and gathering offorest products; and they arelargely meat eaters.

For ages, the Tribes had little morethan a casual contact with the so-calledcivilised or advanced cultures andsocieties. It was during Britishconsolidations that a contact wasestablished with areas of theirhabitation. They are not a homo-geneous group. They are spread overthe various regions of India. Areas inwhich they are particularlyconcentrated include areas of Ladakh,Himachal Pradesh, Northern andSouthern Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, NorthEast States, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar,Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,

Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,Karnataka, Kerala and Union Terri-tories of Andaman and Nicobar islandsand Lakshadweep. Majority of the tribesdepend on land and forest to make aliving. Their social life is also interwovenaround the land they live on. But percapita land available to tribal people hasbeen decreasing. During the Britishrule, with the opening up of means oftransport and communication, therecame infiltration by non-tribals intotribal areas. Their land has alsoincreasingly been taken over by thegovernment for mining andindustries.

As a whole, at the time ofindependence, the situation of tribalpeople was both backward anddifferent. Their standard of living,judged by any norms, educationalstandards and physical quality of life,was low. At the same time they havedifferent culture, religion, values andtraditions. Though, they were not partof prevailing traditional caste systembut in many parts of the country theycame to be considered with contemptas low caste people. With regard to theirdevelopment and welfare the problemwas three fold. To raise the standard oflife, to integrate them in the Indiansocial-political system and at the sametime to protect their identity. You havealready read that framers ofthe Constitution provided specialprovisions for the welfare of ScheduledTribes. Similar to those for ScheduledCastes, including reservations injobs, educational institutions andlegislatures.

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Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes along with certain otherbackward castes are socially unequalbecause of discrimination andmistreatment by upper castes oradvanced sections of population. A largesection of ST population suffers fromeconomic inequality due to widespreadpoverty among them. Poverty, however,covers many others also.

ECONOMIC INEQUALITY: POVERTY

You have already read that as a resultof British colonial exploitation at thetime of independence, India hadbecome one of the poorest countries ofthe world. Not only India was a poorcountry, but within this the distributionof income and wealth tended to be toounequal. It is not that there is no povertyin other countries. Even in Britain andUSA there is poverty. What wasimportant in India at the time ofindependence was that there wereunprecedented inequalities. Therefore,poverty became a big social andpolitical problem. India afterindependence has made some effortsboth to raise the level of income of peopleand also to remove vast inequalities.There also have been significantachievements in bringing people out ofpoverty. However, still a largepopulation lives in pathetic conditionsof poverty. When we talk of poverty, itis important for us to know whatexactly we mean by poverty, what is theextent of poverty in our society andwhat are its consequences?

POVERTY : MEANING

In most general terms poverty is thedenial of opportunities, to lead a long,healthy, creative life and to enjoya decent standard of living. In fact,poverty is a socio-economic pheno-menon which defies any precisedefinition. Its concept and contentvaries from country to countrydepending upon what a particularsociety accepts as a reasonable goodliving standard for its people. In view ofthis poverty can be considered inabsolute and relative terms:

Absolute Poverty refers to theinability of a person or a household toprovide even the basic necessities of life.It refers to conditions of acute physicalwants, starvation, malnutrition, want ofclothing, want of shelter, total lack ofmedical care etc. Absolute poverty isalso called subsistence poverty, sinceit is based on the assessment ofminimum subsistency requirement,which is a condition to remain just alive.

Relative Poverty is a concept tomeasure availability or lack ofopportunities according to standardsof life at a given time and place. It refersto the fact that different societies havedifferent standards; hence, it is notpossible to have a universalmeasurement of poverty. For example,in USA a family not having two carsmight be considered poor whereas inIndia family with a single car isconsidered rich.

Whatever the type of poverty, it is afact that it generates inequalities in



social and economic powers, which inturn affects political power. It istherefore, necessary that for success ofdemocracy economic inequalitiesshould be minimum. In India we haveproblems both of absolute and relativepoverty. But more serious is that ofabsolute poverty.

POVERTY IN INDIA

It is a fact that a vast population inIndia has been living below subsistencelevel but the extent of poverty came tobe known only in 1960s when scholarsstarted measuring and studying theproblem in a serious way. To measurepoverty, the concept of poverty line hasbeen used. This is based on the amountof income required for a person topurchase a barest minimum desirablenutritional standards of caloric intake.It is suggested that in Indian conditionsin rural areas a person needs anaverage of 2,400 calories per day andin urban areas an intake of 2,100calories per day. According to a studymade by Dandekar and Rath to buythis much food in 1960 a personrequired Rs 15 per month per personin rural areas and Rs 22.50 in urbanareas. According to this criteria about38 per cent of the rural population andnearly 50 per cent of urban populationlived below the poverty line. The SixthFive -Year Plan (1980-85), whoseforemost objective was removal ofpoverty, indicated that 50.7 per cent ofrural population and about 40 per centof the urban population was livingbelow the poverty in 1979-80.

Accordingly, the absolute number ofpoor was 31.7 crore of which 26 crorewere residing in rural areas and 5.7crore in urban areas.

The poverty line was later revisedupwards in terms of monetaryexpenditure taking into note the risingcost of living. Thus, in 1984-85, withthe criteria of 2,400 and 2,100 caloriesof food for rural and urban areas,poverty line was drawn at per capitamonthly expenditure of Rs 107 for ruraland Rs 122 for urban areas. On thisbasis 39.9 per cent of the ruralpopulation and 27.7 per cent of urbanpopulation was estimated to be belowthe poverty line. The proportion of totalpopulation below the poverty line in1984-85 was 36.9 per cent. In1993-94, 34.3 per cent of populationor 32.0 crore people lived below povertyline. This was based on required percapita monthly income of Rs.205.84 inrural and Rs 281.35 for urban areas.According to government of IndiaEconomic Survey 2001, and TenthFive -Year Plan Document 26.1 per centof population lived below poverty line.This figure is contested by severalindependent economists. The HumanDevelopment Report for 2000 hasplaced India at 128th among 174poor nations with 34.6 per cent of itspopulation as poor.

Although, there are differentestimates of poverty by governmentaland other bodies, it is generallyaccepted that there are substantialnumber of people living in poverty. It isalso a fact that percentage of peopleliving below poverty line has been

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declining but in absolute numbers, itremains the same because of increasein population. Hence, about 30 croreof India’s population lives belowpoverty line. The situation is worse inareas of Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu,Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Assam,Meghalaya, Tripura and ArunachalPradesh where households fallingbelow the poverty line goes beyond40 per cent.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES

The national leaders who took overpower at independence were aware ofthe pervasiveness and depth of povertyin India, along with associatedproblems of unemployment andunderemployment and inequalities inresources and income. But in the initialyears the problem of poverty was notattacked directly. It is from Sixth Five-Year Plan that a number of programmeshave been promoted as means ofcarrying or lifting people over thepoverty line. Accordingly, apart fromrelying on the overall higher rate ofgrowth of the economy, some specificmeasures to alleviate poverty also havebeen formulated.

These programmes fall into twobroad types. One was designed to liftbeneficiaries above the poverty line byproviding them “with productive assets”or skills or both so that they canemploy themselves usefully to earngreater incomes. The second type ofprogrammes were designed to be

ameliorative, to provide temporary wageemployment for the poor and thelandless in seasons when employmentopportunities are reduced and in areaswhich are dry and drought prone wherejobs are less available even in the bestof times.

Unfortunately, most of the schemesto alleviate poverty-stricken people havenot reached their intended targets. Thereasons for this are administrativeapathy, wide spread corruption,inability of socially and economicallypowerful sections to exert pressure onpolitical and administrative machinery,lack of political will to implement mostimportant policies of land reform andfamily planning, and incapacityamongst poor themselves to organiseand fight for their rights. Apart frominequalities among people, there also areinequalities between states and regions.We will discuss them in another chapter.

Thus, in India we still have a largepopulation living below poverty line.This is in spite of the fact thatconsiderable development has beenachieved in agriculture, industry as wellas service sector. The benefits ofdevelopment have been appropriatedby socially and economically powerful,upper middle and middle classes andupper castes. The maldistribution ofassets leaves about one-third of thepopulation without effective means ofsatisfying their basic needs. A majorportion of these economically poor areScheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes. In other words, in India socialand economic inequalities are linked.



INEQUALITIES AND POLITICS

Dr B.R. Ambedkar in his final addressin the Constituent Assembly on 25November, 1949, observed:

“On the social plane, we have in India asociety based on the principles of gradedinequality which means elevation of someand degradation of other. On the economicplane we have a society in which there aresome who have immense wealth as againstmany who live in abject poverty. On the 26thJanuary 1950, we are going to enter into alife of contradictions. In politics we will haveequality and in social and economic life wewill have inequality. In politics we will berecognising the principle of one man one voteand one vote one value. In our social andeconomic life, we shall by reason of our socialand economic structure, continue to denythe principle of one man one value. How longshall we continue to live this life ofcontradiction? How long shall we continueto deny equality in our social and economiclife? If we continue to deny it for long, wewill do so by putting our political democracyin peril. We must remove this contradictionat the earliest possible moment or else thosewho suffer from inequality will blow up thestructure of political democracy”.

These words of Dr Ambedkar, itseems, our planners and policy makersdid not take seriously. Result is, everincreasing social tensions andaberrations in democracy. It is the vastocean of poverty stricken humanity,especially in the rural areas thatconstitutes the electorate. Poor,illiterate, with a sense of belonging onlyto the caste or community and with noaccess to proper communication, thisenormous human wave is driven to thepolling station. They can affect thecourse of change. During variouselections they have proved that their

voting act is not isolated from the socio-economic setting. Since, they are inmajority, properly organised andmobilised they can radically alter theelection results. Therefore, the vestedinterests have to manipulate theelections to negate their democraticoutcome. The crude ways for thatare to increase the role of moneyand muscle power, to whip upcommunalism and casteism and useviolence in elections. The ruling classes,in their own interests encouragereligiosity, fundamentalism andobscurantism. If social and economicinequalities are not reduced, socialtensions and political violence are likelyto increase.

India inherited a society full ofinequalities, both social and economic.Caste has been a great factor increating and maintaining both socialand economic inequality. Nature ofproperty, relations and mechanisms ofproduction introduced and developedby British colonial administrationincreased these inequalities as alsoproduced new types of inequalities.Independent India adopted ademocratic system to change this.There was a Constitution with plentyof promises. A process of planneddevelopment was initiated.

It seems that although consti-tutional provisions and legal texts existto abolish untouchability and toprotect the members of the ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes, andalthough social and educationalpolicies have been adopted to improvethe situation of SCs and STs and to

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protect them from abuses, widespreaddiscrimination against them and therelative impunity of those who abusethem continues. Similarly, in spite ofNinth Five-Year Plans having beencompleted and various schemes toalleviate poverty been launched andimplemented, about one third ofpopulation lives below poverty line, thatis having not enough to eat two times aday. There are many others who do nothave access to required hygiene, healthcare, education, housing and clothing,etc. In addition, gaps between rich andpoor are increasing. At the same timeintroduction of democracy, andelections and flow of information worldover has brought awareness among thedeprived and the poor. They tend to use

their voting power for theiramelioration. The unresponsiveness ofthe economic system to the basic needsof the poor makes them desperate anddrives them to blind opposition of thesystem. They are attracted byfundamentalist, communalist andterrorist groups. Both Social andEconomic inequality thus are a greatthreat to the survival of democracy,stability of the system and unity andintegrity of the country. These need tobe tackled on priority basis and in allseriousness. Development should notbe seen as mere increase in nationalincome or production. It has to be seenin the fulfilment of at least minimumneeds of all and creating a justsocial order.

EXERCISES

1. What do you understand by the terms Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes?2. Explain the Constitutional provisions provided to ensure equality to Scheduled

Castes and Scheduled Tribes.3. Describe the extent of Poverty in India. What programmes have been undertaken

to alleviate poverty?4. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Poverty line;(ii) Preferential treatment;

(iii) Democracy and Equality;(iv) Inequalities and Polities.



IMPORTANCE of education, both forsuccess of democracy and

development of society and country,has been stressed by experts andscholars for centuries. Educationexercises a decisive influence on socialand economic development. It not onlyenhances the productive capacity of theindividual but also plays a crucial rolein ensuring a fair and equitabledistribution of wealth generatedin the country. It also helps inproducing an enlightened citizenry,vital for the success of democraticpolity. It is also a potent force fornational reconstruction and culturalrejuvenation of the country. HumanDevelopment Reports of recent yearshave clearly pointed out that educationis an investment for development. Ifhuman development is aboutexpanding people’s choices to lead thelives they value, then education surelyhas to be an integral part of it. Indiahas a long tradition of organisededucation. Historians suggest thatthere is no other country where the loveof learning had so early an origin or hasexercised so lasting and powerful aninfluence. But, as is well known thatduring colonial rule hardly any effort

Education and Illiteracy

CHAPTER 13

was made for educating the masses.Limited educational facilities werecreated to produce English languageknowing subordinates for colonialadministration. Hence, at the time ofindependence number of literates inIndia was small, it was about 6 crorethat is only about 18 per cent of thetotal population. More than 30 crorepersons were illiterate. Within literatesmost belonged to upper castes, middleclasses and from cities. Almost entirepopulation of Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes and most women andrural people belonged to the categoryof illiterates. Male literacy rate was27.16 per cent and female literacy was8.86 per cent. Thus, at the time ofindependence, India inherited a systemof education which was not onlyquantitatively small but alsocharacterised by the persistence of intraand inter-regional as well as structuralimbalances.

After the attainment of inde-pendence the national government inIndia did embark on a programme ofproviding elementary education to itsteeming millions. As a result the literacyrate in 2001 census has reached65.38 per cent. The male literacy rate

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is about 76 per cent and that of femalesis about 54 per cent. While incomparison to 1947 this seems to be abig achievement, but in terms ofpromises, needs and expectationsmuch more is required. In 2001, outof 83.88 crore of people in the overseven year age group 26.84 crore wereilliterate and 3.8 crore children were outof schools. This is the highest numberof illiterates in any single country in theworld. Of course reason for this is Indiabeing second highest populatedcountry. Yet it is a matter of concern.While the world is talking of 10-12 yearsof education for all, India continues tostruggle with five years of primaryschooling. To understand that we canhave a look at the efforts made forattaining universal literacy andproblems we face.

TOWARDS LITERACY

The importance and necessity ofeducation for democracy, developmentand human dignity was appreciated bythe framers of the Constitutionthemselves. Hence, through Article 45in chapter on the Directive Principlesthey embarked upon the State that itshall endeavor to provide, within aperiod of one decade from thecommencement of the Constitution, forfree and compulsory education for alluntil they complete the age of fourteenyears. So it was expected that by 1960all children between the age of six andfourteen years will be in schools. Thequestion was not merely of bringingchildren to school but making adults

also literate, because, as the documenton Challenges of Education-1985,mentioned, “ if adequate measures arenot taken for the spread of education,the chasm of economic disabilities,regional imbalances and social injusticewill widen further resulting in buildingup disintegrative tendencies.”

In spite of pivotal importance ofeducation for social and economicdevelopment and poor state of literacyat the time of independence, in the initialyears of planning the requiredseriousness was not shown towardselementary education and spread ofliteracy. While elimination of illiteracywas expressed as one of the majorconcerns of the government, resourceswere allocated more for higher educationthan to primary education. Hence, inthe early years not much progress couldbe made in the direction of achievinghigher rates of literacy. As can be seenfrom Table 13.1, literacy rate increasedto 28.30 per cent in 1961, 34.45 percent in 1971 and 43.57 per cent in1981. In other words even after morethan 30 years of independence literacyrate was not 50 per cent. KothariCommission on Education (1964-66)which studied the problems of educationin India traced the causes for failure toachieve universalisation of education tolack of adequate resources, tremendousincrease in population, resistance toeducation of girls, general poverty ofthe people and illiteracy and apathyof parents.

Many education experts do notagree with these causes in totality.According to them various studies have

EDUCATION AND ILLITERACY


shown that an overwhelming majorityof parents, even among deprivedsections, attach great importance totheir children’s education. It has alsobeen found that economic dependenceon child labour is not the main reasonfor poor families inability to send theirchildren to school. They find the faultsin lack of resources and wrongpriorities. It is pointed out that in thefirst 25 years of independence thenumber of universities grew more than

Table 13.1: All India Literacy Rates (in per cent)

Year Male Female Total

1901 9.8 0.6 5.3

1911 10.6 1.1 5.9

1921 12.2 1.8 7.2

1931 15.6 2.9 9.5

1941 24.9 7.3 16.1

1951 27.2 8.9 18.33

1961 40.4 15.4 28.30

1971 46.0 22.0 34.45

1981 56.38 29.76 43.57

1991 64.13 39.29 52.21

2001 75.85 54.16 65.38

four times, then doubled itself in thenext 25 years. As Table 13.2 shows,the annual growth rate of enrolment inhigher education outpaced the rate atwhich elementary education wasgrowing. This was true of institutionalexpansion too, especially in the 1960s.

The proportion of expenditure onhigher education rose verysubstantially in the Second Five-YearPlan of the late 1950s and remainedhigh throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The reasons for this imbalancebetween primary and higher educationare attributed to the development plansas in most other cases, favourabletowards urban areas, middle andupper middle classes and upper castesbecause of the pressure these groups

had been able to exert on thegovernment. J.P. Naik, MemberSecretary of the Education Commissionin India wrote in 1965, “the largestbeneficiaries of our system of educationare boys, the people of urban areas, andthe middle and the upper classes:

Source: JBG Tilak and MV Vergese, Financing of Education in India (Paris, UNESCO, 1991).

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Table 13.2 : Growth of Education (average annual growth rate in per cent)

Primary Middle Secondary Higher

Enrolment

1951-61 6.2 8.0 9.2 9.8

1961-71 5.0 7.1 8.6 12.6

1971-81 2.6 4.5 5.0 5.6

1981-89 3.3 5.1 6.9 5.5

Institutions

1951-61 4.7 13.8 9.0 10.0

1961-71 2.1 6.2 7.8 12.5

1971-81 1.9 2.7 3.3 2.3

1981-89 1.3 2.5 4.6 1.5

Source: JBG Tilak and MV Vergese, Financing of Education in India (Paris, UNESCO, 1991).

Educational development, particularlyat the secondary and higher stages, isbenefiting the ‘haves’ more than the‘have-nots’.”

NEW PERSPECTIVE: NATIONAL

POLICY ON EDUCATION —1986

From the above it becomes clear thatwhile the framers of the Constitutionand planners appreciated the need fora literate population and universaleducation for all children, at least in theage-group of 6-14, the achievements infirst thirty years of independence werenot satisfactory. In absolute numbersas against a total of 30.1 crore illiteratesin 1951, India had 42.5 crore illiteratesin 1981 — an increase of 12.4 croreduring 30 years (increase in number

was due to Growth in populationthough in percentage terms there wasdecrease). If this trend was to continue,by A.D.2000 India would have had 50crore illiterates. In the middle of 1980sthere came a realisation of this sorrystate of affairs. By this time it was alsobecoming clear that world was movingvery fast in science and technologydevelopments. The country was facingboth internal and external challengesof development. And it was clear thatthe education is the most effectiveinstrument to meet these challenges. Inview of these in 1985 a review of theprevailing education system was made.Based on this review presented in thedocument “Challenge of Education —a Policy Perspective” in 1986, theNational Policy on Education was



formulated and got approved byParliament. This came to be popularlyknown as New Education Policy. Therewas also brought out a Programme ofAction. The National Policy onEducation — 1986 was revised in 1992and also a new Programme of Actionbrought in. National Policy onEducation (NPE) — 1986 and theProgramme of Action (POA) — 1992envisage that free and compulsoryeducation of satisfactory quality shouldbe provided to all children up to the ageof 14 years before the commencementof the twenty-first century. As per thecommitment of the government, aboutsix per cent of the Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) would be earmarked forEducation sector by the year 2000 ADand 50 per cent of the outlay will bespent on Primary Education. The NPEreiterated that “The new thrust inelementary education will emphasisetwo aspects: (i) Universal enrolment andretention of children up to 14 years ofage: and (ii) a substantial improvementin the quality of education.” The NPEsuggested that it shall be ensured thatall children who attain the age of about11 years by 1990 will have had fiveyears of schooling, or its equivalentthrough the non-formal stream.Likewise, by 1995 all children will beprovided free and compulsoryeducation up to 14 years of age. TheNPE also took note of socio-culturalinequalities in a significant way andlisted specific steps not only for equalityof access to education but also forequalisation with regard to the statusof disadvantaged sections of society. It

laid down that educationaltransformation, reduction of disparities,universalisation of elementaryeducation, adult education andscientific and technological researchwould be accepted as nationalresponsibilities for which the provisionof adequate resource support will be theconcern not only of the Stategovernments, but of all the agencieswhich are collectively responsible fornational development.

To attain the goals and ideals ofuniversal elementary education andthose set in the New Education Policy,various measures had been taken andprogrammes and schemes launched.Important of these are as given below.

ALLOCATION OF FUNDS

To fulfil the commitment of augmentingresources for education, the allocationof funds for education, has over theyears increased significantly. Planoutlay on education increased from 153crore in the First Five-Year Plan toRs 19,600 crore in Eighth Five-YearPlan and to Rs 20,381.64 crore in NinthFive-Year Plan. The expenditure onEducation as a percentage of GDP alsorose from 0.7 per cent in 1951-52 to3.6 per cent in 1997-98. The outlayon elementary education was 64.6per cent of the total central sector planoutlay in 1999-2000. There is as sucha significant increase in expenditure oneducation, though it still is below thetargeted 6 per cent of GDP. The March2002 budget allotted 3.8 per cent ofGDP to education.

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UNIVERSALISING ELEMENTARY

EDUCATION

As a result of the Eighth Five-Year Planmore than 95 per cent of country’s ruralpopulation have primary schools withinone km and about 85 per cent haveupper primary schools within three km.As a result (i) enrolment of children of6-14 years of age in primary and upperprimary schools has gone up steadilyto 87 and 50 per cent respectively;(ii) significant improvements have takenplace in enrolment of girls and SCs/STs;and (iii) number of primary and upperprimary schools have gone up from2.23 lac in 1950-51 to 7.75 lacin 1996-97.

In addition to increase in allocationof funds and opening of schools, therehave been launched schemes likeDistrict Primary Education Programme(DPEP) initiative; National Programmeof Nutritional Support to PrimaryEducation (Mid-Day Meal Scheme);Operation Blackboard, NationalLiteracy Mission etc. The DistrictPrimary Education Programmewas launched in 1994 as a majorinitiative to achieve the objective ofuniversalisation of primary education.It aims at providing access to primaryeducation for all children, reducingprimary dropout rates to less than 10per cent, increasing learningachievement of primary school studentsby 25 per cent, and reducing the genderand social gap to less than five per cent.

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme wasstarted on 15 August 1995. It is aimedat improving enrolment, attendance

and retention while simultaneouslyimpacting on the nutrition statusof students in primary classes.The programme envisages provisionof cooked meals/processed foodfor children studying in Classes I-Vin all government, local body andgovernment aided primary schools.

The Operation Blackboard Schemewas launched in 1987-88 with a viewto bringing about substantialimprovement in primary schools. Thescheme has three components: (i)provision of at least two all-weatherrooms; (ii) provision of at least twoteachers, one of them preferablywoman; (iii) provision of essentialteaching and learning materialincluding blackboards, maps, charts,a small library, toys, etc.

NON-FORMAL EDUCATION

Studies and reports have shown that anumber of children, even if willing,cannot go to schools for variousreasons and compulsions. The reasonsmay be non-availability of schools nearresidence, children engaged in work,assisting in performing domestic choreslike fetching water, fuel, fodder orattending to siblings, children droppedout from schools at one stage, girlsunable to attend schools due tosocial conditions, etc. For providingelementary education to such childrenthe government of India, Department ofEducation has started from 1979-80programme of non-formal education.Under this scheme Non-FormalEducation Centers are run by voluntary



agencies. Evening Schools are opened,children are engaged in studying byother means also.

ADULT EDUCATION

The National Policy of Education alsoenvisages that illiteracy should beeradicated at all levels particularly inthe 15-35 age group. The Programmeof Action stipulated that about 8 croreadult illiterates in the age group 15-35would be taught. Later the programmeaimed to impart functional literacy to10 crore adult illiterates by 1997. Toachieve these targets, the majorstrategies include reorganisation andstrengthening of the existing schemesof adult education, launching of massprogrammes of functional literacy,organisation of various programmes ofcontinuing education, strengtheningtechnical resource system, etc. foreradication of illiteracy.

NATIONAL LITERACY MISSION

Realising that the eradication ofilliteracy from a vast country like Indiais beset with several social andeconomic hurdles, a National LiteracyMission was set up on 5 May 1988, toimpart a new sense of urgency andseriousness to adult education. Afterthe success of the area specific, timebound, voluntary based campaignapproach first in Kottayam city andthen in Ernakulum district in Kerala in1990, the National Literacy Mission hadaccepted the literacy campaigns as thedominant strategy for eradication ofilliteracy.

During the last ten years 574districts out of 597 districts in thecountry have already been covered bythe literacy campaigns. The creditableperformance of the National LiteracyMission received internationalrecognition when it was awarded theUNESCO Noma Literacy Prize for 1999.The National Literacy Mission wasrevitalised with the approval of theUnion government on 30 September,1999. The Mission’s goal is to attaintotal literacy by 2005. The Missionseeks to achieve this by impartingfunctional literacy to non-literates in the15-35 age group. The focus of thecampaign now is on the four majorHindi speaking and literacy backwardStates of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. SomeStates like Kerala and Mizoram havemade significant progress in achievingliteracy rates. According to 2001census it is 90.92 per cent in Keralaand 88.49 per cent in Mizoram whereasin Bihar it is 47.53 per cent andJharkhand 54.33 per cent. As alreadymentioned, percentage of the literacy inthe country as a whole is 65.38. Aspecial programme for women waslaunched in 1989. It is called MahilaSamakhya (education for women’sQuality). The programme aims atcreating an environment for women toseek knowledge and information witha view to bringing about a change intheir perception about themselves andthat of the society. It is beingimplemented in about 6,877 villages in51 districts of eight States namely UttarPradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra

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Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, MadhyaPradesh and Kerala.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The above mentioned schemes andprogrammes have brought someimprovements in the literacy situationof India. Particularly during the decade1991-2001 performance has beensignificant. As already mentioned theliteracy rate has risen to 65.38 per cent.75.85 for males and 54.16 for females.The female literacy rate has increasedby about 10 percentage points during1981-91 but by almost 15 percentagepoints during 1991-2001. The mostoutstanding increases in female literacyrates during 1991-2001 have beenrecorded in Backward States:Chhatisgarh from 27.5 per cent to 52.4per cent, Rajasthan from 20.4 to 44.3per cent, Madhya Pradesh from 29.4to 50.3 per cent, and Orissa from 34.7to 51 per cent. It can therefore be saidthat the literacy campaigns havedefinitely achieved success in largescale through community and socialmobilisation, increasing schoolenrolment, enhancing awareness onissues of social and gender equity. Atthe same time it is true that as yet weare quite behind the targets wehave fixed.

The Constitution envisaged free andcompulsory education for childrenbetween 6-14 age-group by 1961.This goal has been getting postponedagain and again. Even NEP postponedit to 1995. At the World Conference onEducation for all held in Thailand in

1990, India along with 155 othercountries committed itself to universalprimary education and halve the adultilliteracy rate by 2000. But in 2001 wehad about 26 crore illiterates that ismore than 30 per cent of above 7 yearsof age are as yet illiterate. Added to thisis also a fact that majority are those whoare enrolled in schools are not gettingquality education. For successof democracy and developmentuniversalisation of elementaryeducation not only means universalfacilities, universal enrolment anduniversal retention, but also universalquality of teaching and learning.

Education is one of the mostimportant prerequisites not only forsuccessful working of a democraticsystem but also to achieve the goals ofpersonal, social, political and culturaldevelopment. In any welfare state,provision of elementary education to allis a must.

This goal of universal elementaryeducation means universal provision offacilities, universal enrolment anduniversal retention. Universal provisionof facilities, however, may notnecessarily ensure universal enrolmentand universal enrolment may notguarantee universal retention. What istherefore important is policies andprogrammes to take care of all theseaspects. Framers of the Constitutionembarked upon the government towork to attain these goals in the nearestpossible time. India’s literacy rate hasincreased from 18.33 per cent at thetime of independence to 65.38 per centin 2001. This is not a mean



achievement. But it cannot beoverlooked that in spite of allcommitments we have entered twenty-first century with about 26 crore peopleilliterate. World’s largest population (interms of numbers) lives in India.Illiteracy is also linked with poverty andsocial backwardness. That means alarge section of people belonging toScheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribesand of course poor are illiterate.Illiteracy keeps these people not onlyeconomically backward but alsosocially and politically unaware.Accordingly, these people remainavailable for exploitation by caste,community and such traditionalsentiments in elections and other socio-

political activities. Literacy is not merelymastering the art of reading andwriting. It gives people self-confidenceand strength. It empowers people withskills for productive work and above alla capacity to make decisions which isone of the most important requirementfor a meaningful participatorydemocracy. Therefore, it is importantthat all out efforts are made to achieveuniversalisation of education withoutany further loss of time. For that it isrequired that adequate allocation ofresources, assurance that theseresources reach their destination,participation of community, a dedicatedadministration, and above all socialawareness be assured.

EXERCISES

1. Explain the importance of education for democracy. What was the status ofliteracy in India at the time of independence ?

2. What do you understand by Universalisation of Elementary Education? Mentionany five programmes started in India in this regard.

3. Write short notes on the following:

(i) New Education Policy;(ii) Non-Formal Education;

(iii) National Literacy Mission;(iv) Adult Education.

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INDIA is a vast plural country, full ofdiversities of religions, castes,

languages, tribes, cultures, etc. Anumber of cultural and linguisticgroups are concentrated in certainterritorial segments, to which they areattached, emotionally and historically.As has been said that during colonialrule the administration was interestedin economic exploitation of the countryand not in its development; itencouraged various divisions based onreligion, region, caste and language anddid not pursue any plan or strategy fora balanced development of the country.These resulted in regional imbalances,and group identities. Subsequently, theindependent India saw the rise ofregionalism, linguism, separatism, etc.In this chapter we will read about thebackground, causes and nature ofthese phenomena and possible waysout to check them. All these are relatedand interconnected.

THE REGION

A region is a territory, the inhabitantsof which have an emotional attachment

Regional Imbalances: Regionalism,Linguism and Separatism

CHAPTER 14

to it because of commonality of religion,language, usages and customs, socio-economic and political stages ofdevelopment, common historicaltraditions, a common way of living, etc.Any one or more of these, and above allwidely prevalent sentiments oftogetherness, strengthen the bond. Thisterritory can coincide with theboundaries of a State, parts of State oreven with more than one State. A senseof discrimination or competition oneconomic, political or cultural grounds,desire for justice or favour gives rise toregionalism. Depending on reasons,and related nature, regionalism can bemanifested in many ways like demandfor autonomy or powers for State,creation of new State, protection oflanguage or culture of the region orseparation from the country.

REGIONAL DISPARITIES

By regional disparities or imbalancesis meant wide differences in per capitaincome, literacy rates, availability ofhealth and education services, levels ofindustrialisation, etc. between different


regions. As already mentioned, theseregions may be either states or regionswithin a State. In this regard in Indiathere are enormous imbalances onvarious accounts. The exploitativenature of British colonial rule eithercreated or accentuated regionaldisparities. The planning inindependent India has also not beenable to remove these.

COLONIAL LEGACY

As is well known, the British colonialadministration was primarily interestedin selling their products in Indianmarkets and taking away raw materialsfrom here. In some cases they were alsointerested in establishing someindustries to invest their surplus capitaland use cheap labour. Keeping theseneeds in view, they introducedZamindari system in some regions toget maximum land revenue. In someregions they favoured peasantproprietary system and improvement ofagriculture to create markets for theirproducts. As such, in agriculture therecame up significant variations both inproduction relations and level ofproduction in different states and regions.

The pattern of urbanisation wasbased on the strategy of exportingprimary products and importingfinished goods. This laid the foundationfor the emergence of port towns as themajor centers of urban-industrialactivities. Therefore, the growth of tradeand commerce in colonial India meantthe creation of jobs and educationalopportunities at coastal centers like

Bombay, Calcutta and Madras andsome princely states’ capitals. This alsoled to the emergence of some consumerindustries in these enclaves and henceto the development of a merchantcapitalist class. This gave these regionsa head start over others where the vasttracts of agriculture had lost theirtraditional handicrafts and other smallscale non-agricultural activities in theface of competition from the hightechnology associated with the modernprocesses of industrialisation.

Another factor in the unevenregional development was the growthof the education system. The Britishimperialists had linked India to Europevia trade relations and the coastal areasespecially around the ports of Bombay,Calcutta and Madras. To man theestablishments in these areas moderneducation was introduced. Aneducated professional class, mainlylower paid government and commercialclerks, grew up in these areas. Theseregions also threw up an elite group oflawyers and other professionals whowere involved on both sides of theindependence movement.

On the eve of independence inter-state and inter-district disparities werequite sharp and widening. Therewere differences in the levels ofper capita income and consumption,literacy, medical and healthfacilities, natural resources, populationgrowth, infrastructure development,employment opportunities etc.The independent India, thus, wasburdened with the task of removingthese disparities.

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REGIONAL POLICY IN

INDEPENDENT INDIA

The need for the removal of regionaldisparities was well recognised by theleaders of the independent India. TheConstitution of India, has made itmandatory for the government at theCentre to appoint a FinanceCommission once at least in every fiveyears. It was to examine the problemsarising out of the gaps between theneeds for expenditure and theavailability of revenue and other suchmatters. Accordingly, the balancedregional development had become thedeclared goal of the Central governmentand of its two principal agencies — thePlanning Commission and the FinanceCommission. One of the objectives ofplanning was to restore the balancebetween various areas and regions.However, these institutions were towork within overall socio-economicinfrastructure of the country and thedeveloping political process. As hasalready been mentioned that becauseof the strategic position of the rulingclass and adopted model ofdevelopment right from the beginning,the development has been drifting awayfrom the desired goals. Moreover, tobegin with planning was primarilyrestricted to the national level. Hardlyany attention was paid to the problemof regional disparities and the fewmeasures that were taken, were adoptedto deal with specific problems faced bycertain areas having natural calamities.Thus, the problem of regionaldevelopment in a national context did

not get adequate attention of the policymakers. Some of the already developedregions enjoyed the privilege to developfurther at the cost of the backwardregions which continued to stagnate.

The Third Five-Year Plan devotedsome attention to the problem ofregional disparities. Some efforts weremade to identify the backward regions.Fourth plan onward, planners haveincreasingly emphasised this objective.Deliberate policy measures are beingtaken to improve the levels of living ofthe people in regions identified asbackward. However, in practice, in spiteof the increasing awareness of theseaspects, very little has been achieved.

While industrially backwardregions have been identified by India’sPlanning Commission, no such attempthas yet been made as regards regionswhich can be deemed to be backwardfrom the point of view of overalleconomic development. Actually, themain focus of regional policy during theIndian plans has been on the dispersalof industry among the different regionsof India.

But, in spite of various attempts forindustrialisation, agriculture continuesto be the most important economicactivity from the point of view of outputand employment in most of the Statesin India. And within the agriculturalsector, because of emphasis onimmediate increase in production,inter-state disparities in per capitaagricultural production have been onthe increase. It is well known that inagricultural development policy, thegreen revolution and its impact has

REGIONAL IMBALANCES : REGIONALISM, LINGUISM AND SEPARATISM


been confined to relatively small areas.Thus, the disparities in socio-economicconditions of the people have beenincreasing both within and betweendifferent regions of the country.

REGIONAL IMBALANCES

AND REGIONALISM

Existence and continuation of regionalinequalities both among States andwithin States create the feelingof neglect, deprivation and ofdiscrimination. In a country which ismulti ethnic and multi religious, withgroups concentrated in states orregions, these disparities also becomecause of social conflicts leading topolitical and administrative problems.In any case regional imbalances are amajor cause of regionalism in India inmany ways. The movements for creationof separate States in Jharkhand areaof Bihar and West Bengal, Uttaranchaland Chattisgarh in Uttar Pradesh andMadhya Pradesh were because ofunderdevelopment of these regions inthose States and a feeling of deprivationand exploitation among people. Finally,these areas were constituted as separateStates in 2001. Similar movements aregoing on in Telengana region ofAndhra Pradesh, Vidarbha region ofMaharashtra, Darjeeling region of WestBengal and in some other regions.

Apart from sense of deprivation inthe neglected States or regions therealso are grievances due to sectoralimbalances in States like lack ofindustrial development along withagricultural development. Because of

this, on the one hand there havedeveloped interests, particularly inrural areas of developed States, and onthe other sectoral conflicts. Both theseare encouraging regionalism indeveloped States. For example, in areaswhere Green Revolution wasintroduced and has been successful, thenew rich farmers class has becomeeconomically and politically important.They are now interested in perpetuatingthe concessions and facilities whichwere given to them. In spite ofagriculture having become quiteprofitable they want subsidies tocontinue and income not to betaxed. These rich farmers in suchStates provide major social basisof regional parties.

Another aspect of imbalanceddevelopment is that because ofdevelopment only in limited areas, thework force from other States and areas,keep on flocking to the developed areasin search of job and employment.Continuous large scale arrival ofindustrial labour from South India andother parts to Bombay, from Bihar andOrissa to Calcutta and agriculturallabour from eastern UP and Bihar toPunjab, for example, are creating twotypes of tensions. First, it affects thecultural harmony of those areas bycreating apprehensions among thelinguistic and cultural groups abouttheir position. Second, it generates illfeeling in the local work force, whoeither are unable to get jobs or in viewof migratory labour’s willingness towork at lower rates become unable tobargain effectively with the local

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employees. This gives birth to thesectional organisations and sons ofthe soil agitations.

Similarly expansion of education,particularly higher education, but notindustrialisation and other job-creating institutions is increasing thearmy of educated unemployed youthsin the backward regions. Thesefrustrated young men are allured bythe movements against the inflow ofpeople from other countries andStates. One of the basic reasonsbehind Assam agitation is this.Similar developments are simmeringup in parts of Bihar and Orissa.Besides, these unemployed youthsare also attracted by the caste,communal and other sectionalagitations fighting for the protectionof rights on sectarian lines. Conflictson caste lines, particularly forreservation of jobs in Bihar andGujarat, growth of caste and sub-casteassociations in towns and cities andcontinuous increase in communalconflicts, in spite of modernisationand expansion of education are, to anextent, due to this reason.

These regional imbalances arehindrances to national economy anda national politics to a great extent. Itcreates different levels and patterns ofpolitics and gives rise to inter-state,inter -region and center -statedisputes. In certain cases, it coincideswith communal and culturaldifferences, thereby accentuatingsuch conflicts. One of the mostimportant aspects of regionalism inthis context is Linguism.

LINGUISM

Language is the most importantmeans of human interaction and aninstrument by which a wholecommunity is organised. In amulti lingual country like India thereare two problems associated withlanguage. First, a common languageseems to be the essential ingredientof national life. Second, languagebeing the most faithful reflection ofculture of an ethnic group, linguisticgroups are concerned aboutprotection and promotion of theirlanguages. The central problem, thus,is how to evolve a common nationallife in the diverse languages andcultures.

In the colonial era English was thecommon language. It was the solemedium of intercommunicationamong the elitist sections of thedifferent linguistic communities. Itwas used in the administration,adjudication and education both atthe central and provincial levels. Thisof course meant that masses werekept out from administrative, politicaland economic opportunities what-soever were available. Therefore, whilethe British language policy served theneeds of the colonial rulers, it couldnot serve the purpose of anindependent nation with democraticinstitutions. Apart from thesentimental issue of injuring thenational pride, the use of Englishwidened the gap between theeducated elite and the people, theruler and the ruled. As a result, the



wide segment of the populationremain detached, passive andalienated from the political process andeconomic programmes of the country.

In view of the above, language issuehad started emerging as a significantone during struggle for freedom itself.The issues being raised were primarilythree; (i) the official language of Indiaafter independence; (ii) creation oflinguistic States whose boundariesduring British rule did not conform tolinguistic divisions; and (iii) the statusof regional languages.

THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

With regard to declaration of officiallanguage there were very strongopinions in the Constituent Assembly.A section vehemently argued forrecognising Hindi as the officiallanguage. But the representatives fromthe non-Hindi areas opposed thisdemand on the ground that acceptingHindi as the official language wouldresult in the dominance and influenceof the Hindi region over the whole ofIndia. In case of competitivegovernment jobs, Hindi speakingpeople would naturally gain addedadvantage. They also felt if Hindi wasaccepted as the official language,communication in the internationalarena would become difficult.

The supporters of Hindi rejected allthese arguments and emphasisedthat as the Hindi-speaking peopleconstituted the largest language group(about 40 per cent) in India, the claimof Hindi as the official language was

quite natural. They felt, if a foreignlanguage like English was accepted asthe official language, it would not bepossible to keep a close touch betweenthe government and the people. Finally,the Constituent Assembly came outwith a compromise formula. TheConstitution declared Hindi to be theofficial language. It, however, alsoprovided for the continued use ofEnglish for all official purposes of theUnion for a period of fifteen years.Further, the Constitution provided thatthe legislature of a State by law mightadopt any one or more of the languagesin use in the State or Hindi as thelanguage / languages to be used forall or any of the official purposes ofthat State.

While the Constitution providedfor the use of English as officiallanguage for the Union governmentfor fifteen years, the Official LanguageCommission appointed in 1955reported strongly in favour of replacingEnglish by Hindi. With thisrecommendation, the long standingdiscontent and fears of non-Hindi speaking people burst forth.Southern critics bitterly opposedthe recommendations. There werewidespread demonstrations. Thegovernment once again came out witha compromise. That is, the formalchange over to Hindi would take placein 1965 (that is in fifteen years after theadoption of the Constitution) andEnglish might not be used as an officiallanguage there after. In April 1963, theOfficial Language Bill was formallyintroduced in the Parliament. The

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introduction of the bill generated heateddebate and witnessed some of therowdiest scenes in the history ofParliament. Promoters of Hindidemanded immediate implementationof the constitutional provisions ofofficial language and MPs from non-Hindi regions particularly from theSouth and West Bengal argued stronglyfor the retention of English. The billallowed the continued use of Englishfor official purposes without any timelimit; and at the same time, it stipulatedthat acceptance of Hindi as the officiallanguage is to be reviewed in 1975. Thenon-Hindi speakers were assured thatHindi would not be imposed on themwithout their consent.

During these conflicting years, inorder to satisfy the conflicting claims ofvarious language groups and topromote national integration and inter-state communication, a ThreeLanguage Formula was evolved ineducation. It required that schoolsthroughout the country would teachtheir own regional language, Englishand either Hindi in non-Hindi speakingareas or a language other than Hindiin the Hindi-speaking areas. Inpractice, this formula has been used asa mockery. For example, in mostschools in Hindi speaking areas otherthan Hindi, language taught isSanskrit.

After Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in1964 the situation once againdeteriorated. Home Minister GulzarilalNanda, a strong proponent of Hindi,issued a directive to all Ministries to

report on the progress made inpromoting the use of Hindi for officialpurposes. This evoked intensifiedprotests and agitations in the non-Hindispeaking States, particularly in TamilNadu, Andhra Pradesh and WestBengal. They demanded staturisationof “Nehru’s assurances”. In view ofwidespread and violent protests, theParliament in 1967, amended theOfficial Language Bill. It provided thatEnglish shall continue to be used forall official purposes for which it wasbeing hitherto used till all the non-HindiStates agreed, by a resolution of theState Legislatures to switch overto Hindi.

In 1977 when Janata governmentcame to power, the then Prime MinisterMorarji Desai made it clear that Hindiwould not be imposed on the non-Hindispeaking areas. But he also said thatthere was the need to develop a linklanguage and common script “tostrengthen the cultural unity of India”.This was taken as a hint favouringHindi and was opposed. During thePrime Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi theCentral government in September1986, issued a circular for itsemployees asking them to use Hindi intheir official correspondence anddocuments. Again, there were strongresentments against the circular inTamil Nadu and many other States.

It is thus, quite clear thatintroduction of Hindi as India’s soleofficial language has received negativeresponses and strong opposition fromnon-Hindi speaking areas, especiallythe Southern States. As a result



language in education, languagein administration, language incommunication, etc. have becomemajor issues. Services and jobs underthe government are linked with these.Any feeling that owing to adoption ofthe mother tongue of one section of thepeople as official language, chances ofthose citizens whose mother tongue isdifferent and who are not equallyproficient in that language, would bedetrimentally affected gives rise tofrustration and resistance. It was thesefears that also gave rise to the demandof creation of linguistic States duringfreedom struggle itself.

LINGUISTIC STATES

A number of linguistic groupsconcentrated in fixed territories had afeeling that if that territory was a Stateit would be an effective way to protectand promote their language andculture as also to have better chancesin economic activities with theirlanguage as the official language of thatState. During British rule provinceswere created not by any rational ordemocratic considerations but by themilitary, political or administrativeconveniences of the time. Along withthe growth of national movement therealso was growing cultural and linguisticconsciousness and therefore, a demandfor adopting linguistic principles forconstituting provinces or states. Theintroduction of provincial autonomyand the institution of quasi-responsiblegovernment at the provincial level underActs of 1909 and 1919 created a strong

ground for linguistic provinces.Congress in its Nagpur Session of 1920recognised the provinces alonglinguistic line in order to stimulatethe movement.

After independence, to begin with,States were not organised on the basisof language. This was not acceptableto most linguistic groups. Hence, therestarted agitations. In 1952 there was amajor movement in the Andhra regionof the then Madras Province for creationof a Telugu speaking state. During thisagitation death of a respectedleader Poti Sriramulu forced thegovernment to concede the demandand the State of Andhra wascreated. Simultaneously, a StatesReorganisation Commission (SRC) wasalso appointed to study the demand fororganising States on language basis.The Commission in its report,submitted in 1955, felt that in multilingual States political leadershipand administrative authorityremained the monopoly of the dominantlanguage group. Linguistic minoritieswere denied an effective voice inthe governance of their States.Commission, therefore, recommendedthe principle of linguistic homogeneityfor reorganisation of States.

The Central government, realisingthe depth of public sentiment on theissue, accepted the recommendationsof SRC and in 1956 reorganised mostof the States on language basis. In1960 bilingual Bombay was bifurcatedinto unilingual Maharashtra andGujarat. In 1966 Punjab was dividedinto Punjab and Haryana.

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In spite of these divisions, in everyState were left a large number of peoplewhose mother tongue was different fromthe language of the majority group.This was unavoidable. But in generalin the whole process of reorganisationof States there was desire for thereconciliation of diversities in the mainnational theme. There was satisfactionamong various cultural-linguisticgroups. But as already explained, inthe absence of removal of regionaldisparities in economic development,linguistic States provided an easy basefor regionalism. At the same time issueof official language, as discussed above,also created tensions in Centre-Staterelations.

Thus, a combination of regionalimbalances, lack of clear languagepolicy, desire of politicians to usepublic sentiment to create vote banks,concentration of cultural-linguistic andreligious groups in specific states andprocess of centralisation of political andeconomic powers, has causedemergence and development ofregionalism in India. To a great extent,in any plural society like India,regionalism can be considered anatural phenomena. It is primarilya process and mechanism forbargaining, expression of grievances,political mobilisation, manifestation ofdissatisfied aspirations and reaction tocentralisation. But in certain cases,either because of mishandling by thegovernment, misuse by vested interestsor interference by external forces, ittakes the shape of separatism. Then itis a real threat to national integration

and social harmony. To understandthis a little better, let us have a look atthe nature and threat of separatism.

SEPARATISM

By separation is generally meantmovement to secede from the countryand become an independent State. Thiscan also be called as the most aggressivemanifestation of regionalism whichgenerally, comes up in border States.Some suggest that separatism is aresult of the presence of religious,linguistic or ethnic minorities,concentrated in border States and lackof loyalties to nation in them. Anumber of studies in India as well asoutside have clearly proved that it is notthe presence of religious or ethnicgroups that in itself is a natural sourceof conflict. It is a sense of alienationthat comes in a group because ofvarious reasons, that makes the groupavailable for use by vested interestswithin and outside the country forseparatist movements. These causescan be: (i) Exclusion from employmentopportunities because of language orreligious requirements. (ii) Denial ofland ownership or refusal torecognise traditional land ownership.(iii) Economic development projects inminority regions which benefit themajority instead of minority. (iv) Lackof developmental activities andabsence of employment opportunities.(v) Refusal to use minority language inpublic schools and administration.(vi) Suppression of movementsexpressing democratic aspirations or



grievances. (vii) Similarity of culture,language, values, traditions, etc. withthe people across the border.

Any of these reasons may causea sense of deprivation or neglect inpeople. This sense is fueled bypropaganda by external forcesinterested in destabilisation of countrybecause of strategic, military,ideological or economic reasons. Vestedinterest from within also use thesesentiments to bargain with thegovernment. Small groups from thesecommunities, assisted and encouragedby external forces, use violent meansand even terrorist tactics. All thisresults in alienating the minoritiesfurther. This alienation or sense ofdiscrimination, real or perceived, isexploited by political populism anddivisive forces. People start feeling thatin a new country, so called their owncountry, they will have everything forthemselves. They do not realise thatelite are using them for their own vestedinterests. For example, champions ofPakistan like Jinha representedinterests not of all Indian Muslims butonly of elite Muslims. After the creationof Pakistan, bulk of Muslims in thatcountry remain as poor, as exploited oras discriminated by elite as they werebefore partition.

In understanding separatism, theextreme form of communalism andregionalism, it is important to keep inmind that no religious, cultural orethnic community is homogeneous ascommunalists or separatists make it tobe. Every community is divided alongseveral lines like caste, class, culture,

language, profession, etc. It is alsoimportant to note that several studieshave shown that the real carriers ofcommunalism, regionalism andseparatism are those belonging toeducated middle classes. And most ofthese middle class people happen to benot so enthusiastic about religion ortraditions. But at the same time theyhave reasons to resent as they find theexisting system, detrimental to theirinterests as well as their prospects ofdevelopment. They, therefore, seek aplace for themselves and look forsupport from their communities. Therealso are apprehensions among minoritygroups because of the behaviour ofcertain sections of majority, who with awrong understanding of nationalismand patriotism attempt to impose theirown religious or cultural values as thatof the whole society or nation.

Thus, separatism arises from avariety of causes which includeimbalanced development, elitecompetition, use of religion and cultureby vested interests, weakening ofsecularism, abetment, support andencouragement by external forces andpowers. The process of separatismgenerally starts with expression ofgrievances, movements for autonomy orbetter treatment, moving to extremeregionalism or fundamentalism andseparation. Studies all over the worldhave made two things very clear. One,separation or secession are no solutionsto complaints of injustice, deprivationor discrimination. In fact, in most casesof separation problems have multiplied.Second, suppression of regional or

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ethnic movements in the name ofadministrative convenience or law andorder situations has proved counter-productive. What is needed, therefore,is on the one hand a genuine approachtowards balanced development, socialjustice, plurality, accommodation anddecentralisation; and on the other hand,a firm handling of terrorists,fundamentalists and communalistswithout distinction of religion orcommunity, political patronage andideological preferences.

India is a vast country consistingof various cultures, languages,religions, castes and tribes. Thesehave been co-existing in a harmoniousmanner for centuries providing Indiaa composite culture and sense of unityin diversity. During colonial period,in general, there emerged a strongersense of loyalty to the nation amongvarious communities. At the same timedue to colonial policy of divide andrule, competition for resources andjobs in emerging modern economy,apprehensions about loss of identityin new social order, there also wasemerging group consciousness amongvarious communities. Afterindependence because of variousfactors including regional imbalances,non-fulfillment of expectations ofmasses in terms of developmentalgoals, lack of clear language policy,exploitation of peoples’ sentiments bypolitical groups for electoral purposes,diversive and divisive tactics used byvested interests to maintain status-quoand designs of external powers to keep

India destabilised, underdevelopedand weak, there had been emergingregionalism, linguism, communalismand separatism. In a vast and diversecountry like India, regionalism isneither a matter of surprise nor athreat to national integrity and unityin itself. Regionalism can have bothpositive and negative aspectsdepending on the causes of itsemergence and how it is dealt. In Indiatoo, we have both these experiences.In many cases, regionalism byproviding people a mechanism toexpress their grievances and gettingconcessions from the government havehelped in strengthening the process ofintegration. In some cases, havingbecome tool in the hands of vestedinterests and abetted by externalforces, it has taken the shape ofseparatism, using terrorist techniques.Indian society therefore, has tounderstand the issues of regionalismand linguism in an objective anddispassionate manner, looking intosocial, economic and cultural aspects.Societies characterised by culturalpluralism have a built in tendency forconflicts but are not necessarily proneto disintegration. India has a longhistory behind it that provides itsstrength and sustenance. What isrequired is efforts to build a modernsociety based on full respect for humanliberties, pluralism, and a better socialdeal for all, a society that doesnot succumb to communalism,fundamentalism and terrorism ofany kind.



EXERCISES

1. What do you understand by regional disparities? How far colonial administrationwas responsible for this?

2. Examine the steps that have been taken to remove regional imbalances in India.3. What is meant by regionalism? How far regional imbalances are responsible for

emergence of regionalism?4. Explain the Official Language Policy of India.5. What do you understand by separatism? Describe the causes of emergence of

separatism in India.6. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Linguism;(ii) Linguistic States;

(iii) Regions.

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AMONG the diverse challenges thatIndian democracy is facing today,

not only for the survival of system butalso of the people as a community, quiteserious are those of communalismand casteism. They are afflictingour national life, social relations,disrupting the bonds of unity amongthe people and affecting the process ofdevelopment. Communal and castetensions are disturbing the socialpeace and order diverting the Stateresources from developmental activitiesto unproductive expenditure onmaintenance of law and order. What ismore disturbing is the fact that thesephenomena affecting even thosesections of society which are generally,considered to be modern, tolerantand liberal. It is generally saidthat technological and economicdevelopment leads to decline oftraditional, irrational beliefs andinteractions and the emergence of newbonds of socio-economic roles,undermines communal and casteidentities. But in India, even after fifty-five years of independence, in spite ofmodernisation and industrialisation,

Communalism,Casteism and Political Violence

CHAPTER 15

tremendous expansion of educationand urbanisations, communal andcaste loyalties have not only continuedbut are assuming serious dimensions.It is, therefore, important to cope withthese challenges. And for that, it isnecessary that we understand whatthese problems are, what are the causesfor their emergence and growth andwhat can be done to tackle them.

COMMUNALISM

The word communalism comes from theword community, which in simple termmeans individual’s, attachment oridentification with the community towhich she/he belongs. In this sense, theterm ‘communal’ is a positive term. Inits modern usage, term ‘communalism’refers to the tendency of socio-religiousgroups of a sectarian exploitation ofsocial traditions as a medium ofpolitical mobilisation to promotepolitical, social and economic interestsof one group even at the expense of orin an antagonistic conditions ofother group. In doing so, the religiousgroup may consider other religious


communities as opponents andenemies.

Communalism in this context hasbeen explained mainly in two ways:(i) as an ideology or belief system; and(ii) as a social phenomenon. As anideology, it means, a belief that peoplewho follow a particular religion havecommon social, political and economicinterests. Therefore, one should haveprimary social and political allegianceto one’s religious groups. This belief indue course takes the shape of socialphenomena. It means aggressiveassertion of communal identity inorganised way in opposition andantagonism to other religions. Thisassertion is used to demand voting onreligious basis and also confronting theopposing group violently.

It is important to clarify here thatadherence to a religion is notcommunalism. As Rasheeduddin Khanpoints out, even indulgence inritualism, superstition, obscurantism,magic, charm and occult practice likeastrology is not communalism. Theyare merely irrational, unscientific andprimitive orientations of individualsrelated to themselves and theirbehaviour due to conformist traditionsor fear of the unknown. Evencommitment to conservative values insocial life and conservative orientationin politics is not communalism. It couldbe called social backwardness.Communalism is using and exploitingreligion for political purposesand mobilising one religiouscommunity against other community.Communalism in this sense is a modern

phenomena and not a phenomena ofthe past.

It is also important to note thatcommunalism and communal violenceor riots are two distinct stages.Communalism may not necessarilylead to communal violence. Theprimary factor involved in thepromotion is creation and consolidationin one community of certain prejudicesagainst other community. Thisexistence of prejudice may always notbe necessarily reflected throughviolence but nevertheless is verydangerous and a reason for violencewhenever it occurs. Therefore, it isimportant that it is not only communalviolence or communal riots that pose achallenge to social harmony anddemocracy but the very ideology andsystem of communalism itself.

CAUSES AND FACTORS BEHIND

COMMUNALISM

Communalism is a multi dimensional,complex, social phenomena. There aresocial, political, economic, cultural andreligious factors which account for thegenesis of communalism andcommunal violence. It has generallybeen seen that determining role increating communalism is not played byreligion but by non-religious forces. Acareful scrutiny of the demands whichhave been and are made by communalleaders will reveal the true characterand objective of communal politicsunder the mask of religion, traditionand culture. Seen in historical context,British imperialism used it as a divide

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and rule policy. The same has beencontinued by vested interests afterindependence using various factors. Letus have a look at these.

COLONIAL LEGACY

As is well known, British administrationwas interested in exploitation of Indiaand not in its welfare. Reaction to thiswas emergence and growth ofnationalism posing a serious threat tocontinuation of colonial rule. It servedthe colonial administration to divide andrule. They, therefore, nurtured andpromoted religious differences. They firstprojected social and cultural variationsand then promoted political divisions byplaying up rival social, economic andpolitical claims of Hindus, Muslims,tribals and lower castes. The communalaward, separate electorates, recognitionof communal demands, etc., can betaken up as examples of this policy.

In fact, the type of politics approved,tolerated and encouraged by the Britishimperialism was only communalpolitics. It is in this historical contextthat communalism came to acquire themeaning of being opposed to nationalidentity, of being against secularisationprocess, of being too narrowly andnegatively attached to one’s ownreligious community and use of religionfor political purposes.

Response to colonial rule wasnationalism and national movement.Unfortunately, it could not counter theBritish policy of divide and rule. Rather,in some ways it also becameinstrumental, though unconsciously, in

consolidation of communal identities.No doubt, the pioneers of the IndianNational Movement were great men andhoped to develop political nationalismto secure political ends, irrespective ofreligious differences. In an age ofrationality, enlightenment and socio-religious reform movements, theywanted to keep religion strictly atpersonal level and away from politicalprinciples. But some of them perhapsin their enthusiasm, could not realisethe methods they were using formobilising people. For instance, in thenineteenth century, one stream ofIndian nationalism acquired a historicaldimension derived from a reformulatedview of Hindu past. There was anemergence of militant nationaliststream supported by leaders likeBal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala LajpatRai. The Ganpati festival and Shivajifestival started by Tilak to mobilise themasses against the colonial rulers,though were not intended to be againstMuslims, but in the historical contextthey alienated themselves as they couldnot take an active part in these festivals.

Another factor was that the nationalleaders adopted the policy of bringingunity from above. Whenever there wasa question of differences on certainissues concerning religion, only the topleaders, not necessarily representativesof communities, were consulted. Thenational leaders thought that everycommunity in India was homogeneousand well-knit and the communalleadership was the authenticspokesmen of the problems of thecommunity. Masses were never

COMMUNALISM, CASTEISM AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE


taken into confidence. This methodencouraged communal leaders to keeptheir communities in belligerentmood and make use of that to bargaintheir own positions. The real concernof these leaders was not welfare of theircommunities but protection of theirown vested power and politicalinterests.

As such, both the policies of Britishcolonial administration and failure ofnational movement to counter that ona firm social and secular basis, helpedconsolidating communal, caste, tribaland linguistic identities. Most seriousconsequence of this was the partitionof India and its aftermath inindependent India.

COMMUNALISM IN INDEPENDENT INDIA

At the time of independence, as a resultof British colonial policies and otherfactors mentioned above, there was anatmosphere of various religious,linguistic, caste and cultural groupshaving gone into narrow sectarianloyalties. In this situation, the partitionof the country on religious basis andconsequent violence had surchargedthe communal situation. Variousminorities were feeling a bit insecureand worried about their future positionin independent India. The newgovernment, and the framers of theConstitution were very muchconcerned for unity and integrity of thecountry, sense of security to all itscitizens, and maintenance of socialharmony. All these were the values towhich National Movement was

committed. These were also required forstrengthening of democracy andachieving a rapid development.Framers of the Constitution, therefore,rightly decided to establish India as asecular State. It meant respect for allreligions and tolerance of all faiths, noState religion and support or favour toany religion by the State. Along withsecularism were adopted democracyand a commitment to economicdevelopment. It was expected that in asecular democratic set up governmentand people would get involved ineconomic development collectively,thereby building a new Indian society.What was expected was a new politicalculture based on full respect for humanliberty, justice and equality.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CAUSES

As you have already studied, at the timeof independence resources were limitedand expectations were very high. In thissituation planning was introduced tomaintain a balanced development. Butthe planning could not achieve thedesired goals as a whole. Soon, thereemerged a competition for limitedresources. In this competition thevested interests found an easy way tomobilise people on caste, communaland regional basis to demand bettershare. The propertied and rulingclasses found religion and religiositymost useful for reinforcing theirhegemony, their ideological dominanceand social control over the commonpeople. It may be mentioned herethat no religious community is a

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homogeneous community. In everycommunity there are poor and rich,unemployed and underemployed.In fact, the poor, underemployed,unemployed and suppressed in everycommunity, have common grievancesagainst the rich and the powerful. Therich and powerful, therefore, have avested interest to keep people dividedon religious basis rather allow them tounite on class or economic basis.

Similarly, the political parties andgovernments, having failed to fulfil theexpectations of people, use religion andtradition as diverting tactics. Almost allpolitical parties having failed to keeptheir promises for removing inequalitiesor poverty and afraid of peoples’ wrathin elections turn to create and raisecommunal issues. Some parties tell theminorities that they are beingdiscriminated against by majoritydominated governments and others tellpeople from majority community thatgovernments are engaged in minorityappeasement and are neglecting theirinterests. The frustrated, educatedunemployed or underemployed youth,full of energies to act is particularlytargeted to keep them busy in divisivepolitics. It is in this context that youthin India today has fallen prey tocommunal leadership and show greaterreligious fervour, fundamentalisticattitude and nearness to communalidentities than ever before. It is not acoincidence that the period of economiccrisis that is the decades of 1980s and1990s have also been worst in terms ofcommunal violence.

Along with this is the fact offailure of the State to consolidatesecularism and formulate policies ofmulticulturalism required in a pluralsociety. India is a multi religiouscountry. The believers of each religionare very proud of their religion and areconcerned about maintaining theirreligious identity. In this socio-religiouscontext, the functionaries of the secularstate have to maintain equal distancefrom all, and at the same time they haveto harmonise inter religious socialrelations. While the constitutionalframework provides a strong basis forthe separation of democracy andreligion, the actual practice ofdemocracy has revealed that thepolitical parties and governmentalfunctionaries have not been ableto internalise the constitutionalframework. Religious rituals are beingused at State functions.

ELECTORAL POLITICS AND

COMMUNALISM

Needless to say, introduction ofuniversal adult franchise was a boldand revolutionary step on the part offounders of Indian Constitution.But unfortunately, soon afterindependence, political parties andpoliticians rather than strengtheningdemocratic traditions of competing onthe basis of programmes and ideologies,started looking for easy ways ofmobilising voters. They found in religionand caste easy factors to strengthentheir “vote banks”. The law in India doesnot debar political parties to be



organised on the basis of caste orreligion. Even the Supreme Court, in aJudgment delivered on 17 July, 1995has ruled that political parties whichare identified with a particular caste,community, religion or language canseek votes to promote their causewithout creating hatred for theiradversaries. Given this opportunity,political parties and leaders evolvestrategies for acquiring power in ashortest possible time and in an easiestway. Thus, most political parties havecarefully carved out combinations ofsupport bases in which the units ofmobilisation remain principallycommunity, caste and language andregion. Due to continuous failure ofplanning in fulfilling peoples’ socio-economic aspirations, the people havebeen getting alienated from the system.Political parties are exploiting thissense of alienation of people also.Consequently, the use of religion inelectoral politics and in nomination ofcandidates and campaigning oncommunal appeal have accentuatedthe process of communalism to aserious level.

The consequence of the above is thattoday, the marriage of politics andreligion has led to the growing incidentsof communal violence. Mosques,Temples and Gurudwaras are beingused not only for political mobilisationbut also to stockpile arms and weapons.Communal and quasi-religious groupsare emerging as political organisations.Religious passions are being whippedup for the sake of political power.Communal issues are being given

importance and real issues ofsocio-economic development andtransformation are being sidelined.

The need of the hour is to face thischallenge to democracy, developmentand social harmony in a united way.The conscious, the educated andconcerned citizens should take the leadand teach the people. Those who areexploiting ordinary peoples’ emotions,their religious beliefs and ignoranceneed to be exposed. Since religionteaches respect of others; and tolerance;it does not teach violence. Existence ofdifferent religions, therefore, doesnot lead to communalism. It isfundamentalism and communalismwhich is distorting it.

COMBATING COMMUNALISM

It is time for the State and governmentalso to realise that ultimately anti-socialelements, communalists and criminals,rather than serving the interest ofpolitical parties and governmentalfunctionaries have themselvesstarted staking claims for power.Communalism, therefore, should bedealt with an iron hand. The governmentshould not yield to communalpressures. The formation of politicalparties on communal lines should notbe encouraged. Political parties shouldeither evolve a code of conduct not touse religion for electioneering or letElection Commission or Parliamentenact such a code. We need a Statemachinery which is efficient, strong andimpartial enough to put downcommunalism and communal violence

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and ensure safety to all section of thesociety. Political, religious or othercompulsions should not be allowed tocome in on the way of this. Educationalsystem must be reconstructed toemphasise the composite nature of ourculture and inculcate secular andscientific temper among youngstudents. We have to realise thatcommunalism hinders social andeconomic change, which is so essentialfor all of us. Therefore, if political processis not decommunalised then ourdemocracy itself is likely to perish.Alternative to democracy is fascism ordictatorship. The history of manycountries is a proof that Fascism anddictatorship are good neither formajority nor for minorities.

CASTEISM

It has been pointed out in the beginningof this chapter that along withcommunalism, casteism is anotherserious challenge that India’sdemocratic process is facing at thisjuncture. We often hear and read innewspapers the frequent instances ofcaste confrontations, leading even toviolence and deaths. The issue ofreservations in services and educationalinstitutions on caste basis, raises astorm every now and then. At electiontimes newspapers are full of casteanalysis of constituencies, partiesselecting candidates on caste basis andcastes providing support basis toparties. Fact of the situation is that casteis playing the most significant role inIndian politics at all levels and in

various ways. As in the case ofcommunalism, at the time ofindependence it was expected that withthe adoption of parliamentarydemocracy, industrialisation andmodernisation, the narrow, parochialinfluence of caste in society would goaway. But like religion, in practice,caste appeals, caste mobilisation, casteviolence and caste-based parties haveincreased. Why and how it hashappened and what are itsconsequences for our social andpolitical process? Let us have a look atthat. For a proper understanding of theproblem it is first necessary to knowwhat is meant by caste.

CASTE AND CASTE SYSTEM

While the phenomena of caste is themost important characteristic of Hindusociety, no precise definition of caste isavailable. Though, there are somelinkages of caste with varna system butthe two are not the same. Caste isusually a localised group having atraditional hereditary associationwith an occupation. The principleof birth forms the exclusive basisof membership in a caste group.Accordingly, one’s profession oroccupation is assigned on the basis ofone’s birth in a caste and not on thebasis of ones liking. A caste group hasalso restricted rules regarding food andmarriage. One may marry or carry onclose relations only within ones owncaste group. In view of closeness ofthe system all members of thesame caste are supposed to be



treated alike. Caste system alsoenvisages vertical differentiationsbetween castes creating a hierarchy onthe basis of superiority and inferiority.Some castes are considered low andpolluting to the extent of beingconsidered untouchables. In this senseof hierarchical stratification of societybased on division and gradation oflabour, caste also implies inequalityand contains elements of exploitationand oppression. The system is furtherdivided into sub-castes. Thus, thereare jatis and upjatis (castes andsub-castes).

CASTE AND POLITICS

As you have read in the case of religion,the British imperialist interests lay incharacterising the Indian people in termsof communities and castes. They usedthese identities for political divisions. Yet,British belonging to Western liberalsociety could not restrict educationalinstitutions or jobs under their controlto particular castes or religions. Thus,having got opportunities for educationand jobs, there emerged in many casteseducated middle class. To get furtherconcessions from the government, theystarted forming caste-associations.Social reformers in India also took noteof the oppressive and divisive nature ofcaste system and stressed upon theneeds for reforms. With education,emergence of awareness and hopeful ofsupport from government, socialreformers and liberal leaders and somefrom lower castes themselves begantrying to improve their status, andprotect their interests and rights.

Thus, during colonial period thecaste system began to acquire newidentities and dimensions. Itundermined the vocational basis ofcaste, its economic rationality, itsinteractional restrictions and its spatialand political isolation. However, the gripof caste system on society did notchange much. Caste continued topersist as the main identity mark inHindu society. In this dual context ofcaste-based society and changingdimension of caste mobility inindependent India, caste became animportant political resource.

CASTE IN INDEPENDENT INDIA

In independent India, with theintroduction of universal adultfranchise and beginning of a processof socio-economic development andtransformation, caste has acquired anew role. In the new system, caste hasboth the positive and negative roles.The government recognition of casteas a category for reservations hasadded a new dimension to caste basedpolitics. Until the introduction of theprinciple of universal adult franchise,the politically active sections,particularly in rural areas, weregenerally men of higher castes. Thegrant of franchise gave importance tonumbers. This gave a chance to lowercastes and deprived groups toorganise themselves, assert theirnumerical strength and get justice. Inthis situation caste mobilisationbecame an important means forseeking justice.

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The caste associations providechannels of communication and basesof leadership and organisation whichenables those still subverted in thetraditional society and culture totranscend the technical and politicalliteracy which would otherwise handicaptheir ability to participate in democraticpolitics. One result of this is that now allpolitical parties talk of welfare anddevelopment of lower castes.

The other view looks at the use ofcaste in politics as divisive and diversive.First aspect of this is that democracy,elections and processes of change cameas threat to the position of traditionalpowerful sections in the rural areas whogenerally, happened to be from uppercastes. They, therefore, developed aninterest in perpetuating the castesystem for legitimisation of their existingposition by exploiting the ignorance ofthe masses. There also emerged conflictwithin ruling classes, particularlybetween the rich peasantry and urbanindustrial classes. In this, for gainingimportance, the rural rich found castemobilisation as a useful means topressurise political parties in theirfavour. Thus, in protecting their classinterests as landowners againstlandless and small peasants, the higherand middle castes got united. By thisthey were successful in sculling theland reforms and retaining control overland. Economic dominance rooted incontrol over land, provides the ruralelite conducive opportunities to controlthe political and administrativeinstitutions at the village level. Thiscontrol, in turn, gives the ruling elite,

tremendous influence over the lowercastes at the time of elections. The casteaffiliations of rich and medium levelland owners is, thus, of greatimportance to political parties.

Another use of caste to rulingclasses is to keep the voters divided, oncaste basis. By using caste, like religion,they can keep voters attention divertedfrom socio-economic issues and failureson development plans. In a democraticsociety in elections numbers count.Majority of Indians are poor anddeprived. If they all join hands, it willbe very difficult for the parties favouringpropertied sections to win elections.Similarly with freedom to formassociations, workers, landlesslabourers, peasants and othermarginalised sections have theopportunities to form associations,trade unions, etc. United, theseassociations can gain tremendousbargaining power. Faced with thechallenge from the mobilised andexpectant masses, the ruling classesfind traditional identities of caste,religion, region, etc. as importantmeans to keep the masses divided.Caste being the most widespread anddeeply entrenched identity comes mosthandy. Political competition based onissues and ideologies is thus reducedto a process of caste game.

CASTE AND ELECTIONS

Thus, caste has become an importantfactor in electoral politics. The lowercaste people know that vote is apotent weapon in their hands. With



government having failed to amelioratetheir conditions, these castes are tryingto assert by influencing election results.One report of 1989 elections in Biharrecorded “What is important is thathundreds of thousands of dalits wereable to cast their votes for the first timeresisting all threats to their lives. Thishas given them a new izzat, and, in theprocess, the already declining feudalorder in Bihar has been given anothersevere jolt.” At the same time, tomaintain their power upper castelandowners are using all possiblemeans to perpetuate the system. Thus,caste considerations become importantin electoral calculations with the resultthat booth capturing and rigging ofballots are resorted to. In many partsof constituencies where the scheduledcastes and lower caste and poor formnearly 40 per cent of electorate, they areat times not allowed to reach the pollingstations. The electoral strategies ofpolitical parties have furtherstrengthened caste identities andloyalties.

Political parties work on thebasis of the demographic mapof parliamentary and assemblyconstituencies and base their strategyof nomination of candidates andmobilisation of voters on the calculationof possible caste coalitions. Since, noone caste is absolutely dominant in anylarge parliamentary or assemblyconstituency, political parties seek tomanipulate coalitions of castes anddirect their electoral campaign towardsmobilising the people as Brahamins,Jats, Kammas, Reddies, Rajputs, etc.

During the election, local caste leaders,with influence over their fraternity aremobilised with promises of rewards forsupport by various party candidates.

By consciously encouraging casteloyalties in elections, cabinet formationsand other political appointments, theparties and leadership havestrengthened caste identities. Caste hasbecome an instrument of bargaining inpolitics because caste arithmetic hasbeen used as the basis of politicallegitimacy. Thus, caste identities havebeen solidified because a newconsciousness has been created bypolitical leaders that caste is a veryimportant bargaining factor incapturing the party machine, seats inlegislatures or positions in cabinets.

Results of this role of caste in politicsin general and in elections in particularare also caste conflicts, caste violence andcaste wars. The society standsfragmented and divided. Socio-economic,national and civic issues in elections donot matter. Political parties rather thanrelying on their performance andprogrammes, look for caste supports andpower brokers. This has sharpened socialcleavages. Caste vs caste politics does notmake politics competitive as is requiredin democracy. Democratic politicalculture is based on the spirit ofaccommodation of diversities; butcasteism, like communalism, is based onsocial exclusionism.

VIOLENCE

The most aggressive manifestation,of communalism, casteism, and

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deteriorating political process isviolence. Communal violence, casteviolence and political violence in generalhave attained serious dimensions.These days, whenever we open anewspaper, we find references to violentclashes between religious groups,between castes, or between linguisticcommunities. During elections, we readabout booth capturing, voters areallowed to vote on gun point, peoplebeing killed during elections, mobsbeing fired at. Rising violence in politicscan more clearly be seen in communalriots, caste oppressions and conflictsand criminalisation of politics.

Communal riots are engineered byvested interests for political, religiousand economic reasons. Since much hasnot been done to secularise the society,people remain backward in their socialthinking, caught in superstitious beliefsand obscurantist practices. Rulingclasses have allowed pre-partitionlegacy of communal division to intrudeinto politics, lending legitimacy toreligious fundamentalism. Toperpetuate the divisions, violentconfrontations are encouraged. Thedecade of 1990s has seen an alarmingrise in the graph of Hindu-Muslim riotsthat had been increasing steadily allover India for several years. Variousstudies have shown that riots areprimarily an urban phenomena and areprovoked by communal ideology onone hand and economic confrontationon the other.

So far as caste violence is concernedit is taking various shapes. First, as aresult of agricultural development,

zamindari abolition and above all greenrevolution, there has emerged seriousconflict of interests between higher andmiddle castes. This has turned intofierce struggle for political power. Theaggressive political posture by otherBackward Castes is one manifestationof this, whereby OBCs having economicpower are keen to improve their socialand political position. This many a timesleads to violence.

Second aspect of caste violence ishigher castes backlash againstemerging awareness and assertion ofindependence by lower castesparticularly Scheduled Castes. TheScheduled Castes are threatened not tovote against landlords. They are notallowed to go to polling stations,violence is used to rigg the polls andcapture the booths. Third manifestationof caste violence is related to thesecond. The lower caste groups,landless labourers, suffering fromunemployment and poverty aremobilised by militant and extremistgroups like Naxalites for violent actions.

As a whole, caste violence in itsvarious shapes has been increasing. Ithas started entering urban areas too;for example, as was evident during anti-reservation agitations in 1990. Duringelection times, communal and casteviolence become more aggravated alongwith general decline in political system.In some cases it has become a normthat whoever can employ goons toterrorise the voters, capture pollingbooths and mark ballot papers in hisfavour, stands a better chance ofwinning. The criminals now have



started entering politics directlythrough political parties or asindependent candidates. By acquiringpolitical power, criminals are able topressurise police and administrationnot to act against their criminalactivities. This obviously results inspread of crime and violence in societyin general.

The most serious manifestation ofpolitical and social violence has beenthe growth of terrorism. Manycommunalists, fundamentalists orthose owing allegiance to militantideologies, have started using thelanguage of gun to prove their own pointright. There are various factors thathave contributed in swelling the ranksof terrorists in various regions. In somecases, innocent victims of staterepression go underground and jointhe ranks of terrorists or insurgents.

Whatever may be the reasons,terrorism edges out debates ina democratic form and sup-presses dissent. Terrorist groups,owing allegiance to fundamentalorganisations, even aim at subjugatingmembers of their own communities tofollow norms and practices selectivelytaken out from their traditionalreligious practices and systems on theplea of restoring the fundamentalpurity of their respective religions. Whileimposing such traditional norms onmembers of their particularcommunities, they threaten thedemocratic rights of their own people.Another important point is that,organised terrorism in India, aselsewhere, has been able to acquire

sophisticated weapons. When the gunstarts becoming decisive force inpolitical discourse, democracyobviously comes under great threat.

As a whole, when criminals,hoodlums and gangsters become anintegral part of political process, one ofthe consequences is the gradual demiseof democratic institutions. Theescalation of violence in recent decades,thus, is a great challenge Indiandemocracy and society is facing today.

From the above discussion itbecomes clear that Indian society anddemocracy are facing serious challengesfrom forces of communalism,casteism and violence. With theadoption of Parliamentary democracy,industrialisation and spread ofeducation, it was expected that narrowparochial influence of religion, caste,ethnicity, etc. would wane. But veryopposite has happened. Several causesare responsible for this. India is a veryancient society and religion plays adominant role in the life of the majorityof the people. But, religion and religiouspluralities in themselves are not reasonsfor communalism. It is the use ofreligion by vested interests to keep thesociety divided that causescommunalism. So is the case withcasteism. Unfortunately, most politicalparties are compromising withcommunal and caste politics as alsousing criminals for electoral success. Asa result, the ideology of communalismis not confined to organised communalorganisations only. It has penetratedinto the system itself. Since, all sectionalforces of communalism and casteism

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compete against each other; they adoptaggressive methods of imposingtheir ideology.

Use of violence in communal andcaste politics has given legitimacy toviolence and crime in politics.The Election Commissioner G.V.G.Krishnamurthy, has gone on record tosay that the situation is threatening todegenerate into a “government ofthe criminals, for the criminals, bythe criminals”.

Such a sorry state of affairs cannotbe allowed to continue for long. Thedoctrines of liberty, equality, fraternity,social justice, secularism, fair play andrule of law, enshrined in ourConstitution have to percolate into ourdaily lives. The government, the politicalparties and citizens all must play theirrole in the fight against thesechallenges. It should be recognised thatpolitics should be kept free from ills ofthe social environment, and should be

used for reforming the society. Thegovernment should deal withcommunal and divisive forces with afirm hand. Political parties should fightelections and exercise political power onthe basis of an ideological perspective,of course, taking care of social, culturaland linguistic interests of variouscommunities in India. However, theState apparatus should be insulatedfrom communal or caste feelings.

We have to understand that the realpurposes of communal and castepolitics is to keep us divided. Massesare religious minded but not communal.Hence, the educated and the conscioushave to protect them from falling preyto communal forces. Communal andcaste sentiments are bound to lose theirstrength in India with the growth ofdemocratic and humanistic values. Wein India are in a desperate need tomake a new beginning. With firmdetermination we can do this.

EXERCISE

1. Explain the causes and factors for the emergence and development ofCommunalism in India.

2. Describe the role of Caste in electoral politics of India.3. What are the factors responsible for emergence of violence in Indian politics?

What threat it poses to democracy?4. How can communalism be curbed?5. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Casteism;(ii) Terrorism.


UNIT V

INDIA AND THE WORLD

FOREIGN policy, in general terms,means maintenance of relations

with other countries and participationin international political and economicaffairs. It is a combination of principles,interests and objectives through whicha State formulates and conducts itsrelations with other countries.Traditionally, it is believed that acountry’s main concern while dealingwith other countries and participatingin international affairs is protection ofits national interest. However, thenational interest is not the soledeterminant in formulating a country’sforeign policy. It is very difficult topinpoint a country’s national interestin isolation. In fact, a foreign policyserves two major goals — namely,protection and promotion of nationalinterests and participation in globalconcerns like peace, disarmament,development, justice, decolonisation,etc. Therefore, a country’s foreign policyis generally, determined by an interplayof four factors. These are: (i) nationalinterest; (ii) geographical and politicallocation and situation; (iii) nature, typeand relation with neighbours; and

Foreign Policy of IndiaDeterminants and Basic Principles

CHAPTER 16

(iv) international environment. In otherwords, it can be said that two broadtypes of influences, i.e. the domesticenvironment dealing with factors (i) and(ii) and international environmentdealing with factors (iii) and (iv)influence the making of foreign policyof a country. It is, however, importantto keep in mind that both theseenvironments are dynamic and keep onchanging. Countries accordingly haveto keep pace with these and reevaluatetheir policies from time to time. Besides,there are certain long-term aspects ofthese environments which determinesome basic characteristics of acountry’s foreign policy. India’s foreignpolicy has been and is being influencedby both external and internalenvironments; and elements ofcontinuity and change are prevalent. Inother words, there are certain basiccharacteristics of our foreign policywhich we have adopted from thebeginning, and there are periodicadjustments and changes in that,particularly in terms of our relationswith specific countries. First, we willdiscuss the elements or factors that


have been shaping India’s foreignpolicy, and the main characteristics ofthat policy and changes andadjustments therein. In subsequentchapters, we will read about India’srelations with some specific countries.

DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT

Among the domestic determinant theprimary factors shaping India’s foreignpolicy have been its history and culture,geographical situation, nationalphilosophy and identity, demands ofeconomic development and politicalorganisation.

History and Culture

India’s history is not only very old butalso complex. This history has givenIndia a pluralist society and a valuesystem. The writings of well knownmodern Indian thinkers show thatbelief in ancient social values is still verymuch alive in modern India regardlessof whether it is practised or not.Important traditional values which hadsome impact on India’s foreign policyare tolerance, the equation of mean andends, and non-violence.

The character of British rule with itsmerits and demerits, and nationalfreedom movement also had its impacton the formation of its foreign policy.This according to Prof. A. Appadorai isthree fold: (i) it gave a stimulus to thenational movement for freedom whichin turn led to India’s support for thefreedom of dependent people; (ii) racialinequality clearly existed under Britishrule which made India realise the

inequality of racial discrimination and,in turn, led her to stress on racialequality in her foreign policy; and(iii) India continued as a member of theCommonwealth after she becameindependent. At the same time the factthat, before 1947, opportunity wasdenied to Indians to participate in thedecision-making process in foreignpolicy, India remained out of touch withthe realities in the modern world.

The history of India has also givenher a pluralistic society. The Hindu,Buddhist, Jain and Sikh faiths wereborn in this country. Christianity,Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Islamentered it later on. They all prosperedhere in an atmosphere of tolerance andreverence. Various religious and ethnicgroups in India also have sensitivitiestowards their coreligious and culturalgroups outside India. The government,while taking decisions on certainissues, therefore, cannot just overlookthem. For example, presence of a largeTamil population in Sri Lanka and theconcern of Indian Tamils for themcannot just be overlooked. As such onmany issues in foreign policy India hasto be very careful.

Geographical situation

India’s location in the centre of SouthAsia places her in a significant geo-political situation, both for theinternational community and Indiaherself. Added to it is the size andpopulation of India. All the countriesof South Asia which are the membersof South Asian Association for RegionalCooperation (SAARC) i.e. Bangladesh,

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Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan andSri Lanka have common borders withIndia which is the biggest and thelargest of all these countries. Therefore,there are expectations from it as well asapprehensions of its dominance.Similarly, India and China are not onlytwo most populous countries of theworld but also have potentials to emergeas great powers. Two such borderingcountries in view of commonality ofinterests can enter into cooperation orconflict depending on various situationsincluding the decisions taken by theirleaderships. In such a geographicalsituation Super Powers, too, haveinterests in India and her relationshipwith her neighbours.

National Philosophy and Identity

During her national movement forfreedom certain values andcommitments emerged which, in a way,have become a part of our nationalphilosophy. India’s freedom movementwas unique in the sense that while itstrived to achieve freedom for thecountry, it was also responsive to thecurrents and cross-currents ofinternational relations. Under theleadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, theIndian National Congress passed avariety of resolutions expressing itsviews on the problems of the world.India’s commitment to world peace,anti-colonial struggle, opposition toracism, commitment to democracy,freedom, secularism and peacefulcoexistence are certain important valueswhich came out from our freedomstruggle. Promotion and protection of

these values has to be a part and parcelof our foreign policy. Also, duringnational movement, the sense of India’snational identity related to its territorialboundaries has been evolved.Protection of territorial Indian identityi.e. unity and integrity of India are ourprime concerns.

Demands of Economic Development

The economic development of India hasbeen of such an urgent need thatpolicy-makers were right to use foreignpolicy as a tool to further thedevelopmental process. Foreign policyhas an impact on the economicdevelopment of an underdevelopedcountry. It may help to secure foreignaid for economic development. It mayencourage or discourage the flow offoreign private capital. It may throughforeign trade policies and tradeagreements, promote or retard exportswith their impact on balance ofpayments as well as economic growth,and it may also through encouragingjoint industrial ventures with parties inother developing countries, give animpetus to increase production in orderto establish the industrial unity.

In this context working for worldpeace and avoiding conflicts wereessential for India’s economicdevelopment. War not only divertsfunds from development to defence butalso effects foreign trade withneighbouring countries and foreign aidboth of which are essential fordevelopment. Further, in a bipolarworld to receive aid as well as maintainits sovereignty, India had to formulate

FOREIGN POLICY OF INDIA : DETERMINANTS AND BASIC PRINCIPLES


a foreign policy conducive to maintainbalance of power. In order to attain self-sufficiency, it is essential to developavenues of favourable foreign traderather than depend on foreign aid.Therefore, foreign policy, has to layemphasis on this aspect to achieveregional cooperation. Thus, thedemands of economic developmenthave been an important factor in theevolution of India’s foreign policy ofnon-alignment as well as friendshipwith all countries.

Political Organisation

In the parliamentary democracy ofIndia formulation of policy andactivities of government areaccountable. Though, in the name ofnational interest and strategic issuesinvolved, government on matters offoreign policy, seeks some autonomyfrom parliament. It cannot be totallysecretive since foreign policy forms animportant segment of the public policy.It follows that the people would havean interest in the formation of thatpolicy. In this context, Parliament, asthe representative of the people, hasoccasionally been a useful guardian inthe formulation of foreign policy. Publicopinion, expressed through the pressand studied by public opinion polls,has had to be taken care of by themakers of foreign policy. Politicalparties have, of course, been keenlyinterested in foreign policy and nogovernment, even one commanding alarge majority, can afford to ignore theirview points.

THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

The domestic determinants providevalues and concerns for a nation’sforeign policy. The externalenvironment provides the arena ofaction and broader global concerns andtrends. The situation at the time ofIndia’s independence was that of postSecond World War that has ended in1945. The world stood divided into twoblocs—one liberal democratic capitalistworld led by the United States ofAmerica and the other Communistworld led by the Soviet Union. Not onlyworld was divided into two rival blocsbut there was cold war also between thetwo to prove superiority. Related to thiswas Arms race particularly theproliferation of nuclear weapons.

In the post-Second World Warperiod there also had emerged processand ideology of decolonisation. In theprocess newly independent countries ofAsia, Africa and Latin America hademerged as new entrants ininternational politics. Those which werestill not granted independence werestruggling for that and seeking supportfrom erstwhile colonies like India, as alsofrom newly established United NationsOrganisation (UNO) and thosedeveloped countries like the USA whohad fought in the war on the claimedprinciples of democracy and self-determination.

Even before India’s independencethe national movement had startedtaking note of global dimensionscovering developments in many partsof the world like resurgence of

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nationalism in Asia and Africa, theemergence of China and Japan; the riseof Fascism in Europe; role of the USAin world affairs; October Revolution ofRussia establishing communist statesand process of decolonisation. TheIndian National Congress in its sessionsin 1926, 1927 and 1928 had adoptedresolutions against imperialism, insupport of liberation struggles and forstrengthening of bonds of solidaritywith the people of Asia and Africa. Inthe given international scene India, withits size and history, was expected to bein the forefront of issues facing colonialand newly independent countries.India’s foreign policy was to bedetermined accordingly.

The above description of deter-minants of India’s foreign policy makesit clear that India’s foreign policy wasto be a projection of the values whichwe have inherited through thecenturies and during our nationalmovement as well as our presentconcerns. Like colonial powers anddeveloped countries India was not tiedto the concepts of a foreign policydesigned to safeguard overseaspossessions, investments, carving outareas of influence and establishingdomination over others. India’s firstconcern was to safeguard itsindependence . She had equal interestin the maintenance and safeguardinginternational peace as an essentialcondition of her economic, social andpolitical development. These concernsremain relevant even today. At the sametime during last 55 years there had also

been changes and new developments,some even drastic. India, thus,established certain basic characteristicsof its foreign policy after independencewhich are still there. At the same time,there have been changes from time totime. A particular drastic change ininternational affairs was thedisintegration of Soviet Union andcollapse of Communism in EastEuropean countries in early 1990s.Related to this has been the process ofglobalisation. These events have madealmost all countries, particularly,developed countries to have a fresh lookat their foreign policies and relations.We can have a look both at the basiccharacteristic of India’s foreign policyits continuity and changes in it.

FOREIGN POLICY OF INDIA : BASIC

PRINCIPLES

As mentioned above, even before India’sindependence the leaders involved inthe national movement had startedtaking interest and present the visionof India’s foreign policy. JawaharlalNehru in particular took a very activeinterest. The Indian National Congressin 1927 established its Foreign Affairsdepartment with Jawaharlal Nehru asits main spokesman. In 1946,assuming office as Prime Minister andincharge of foreign affairs departmentin the interim government, he made aclear declaration about future foreignpolicy. He said “we shall take full partin international conferences as a freenation with our own policy and not



merely as a satellite of another nation.We hope to develop close direct contactswith other nations and to cooperatewith them in the furtherance of worldpeace and freedom. We propose, as faras possible, to keep away from thepower politics of groups, alignedagainst one another, which have led inthe past two world wars and which mayagain lead to disasters on an even vasterscale. We believe that peace andfreedom are indivisible and the denialof freedom any where must andendanger freedom elsewhere and leadto conflict and war.”

In the context of the abovestatement and to protect India’snational interests, to maintain theterritorial integrity and to achieveeconomic development, the foreignpolicy objectives before India were:• Maintenance of Freedom in Policy

Formulation;• Promotion of International (Global)

Peace;• Cooperation with United Nations

Organisation;• Disarmament;• Opposition to Colonialism,

Imperialism and Racism;• Cooperation Among Developing

Countries.

MAINTENANCE OF FREEDOM IN

POLICY-FORMULATION

It has been mentioned above thathistory; geography, past experiencesand the post-Second World Warinternational situation were the

formative influences on the formulationof India’s foreign policy. In addition, itcan hardly be overlooked that India’ssize, potential and perceptions of herleaders postulated an intense interestin world affairs. Indian leadership washighly conscious of her needs andpotentials. This awareness reinforcedby a powerful nationalist impulse setIndia to chart out her own independentcourse in international affairs.Therefore, the basic principle forformulation of India’s foreign policybecame freedom from externalpressures, from power blocs. For thisnon-alignment became the logicalframework of India’s foreign policy. Wewill discuss below basic features andcharacteristics of non-alignment. Hereit is important to note that anindependent foreign policy respondedto the conscious and sub-consciousurges of the people, imparted a senseof pride and belonging and helpedcement the unity of the country.

INTERNATIONAL PEACE

Maintenance and promotion ofinternational peace and security hasbeen one of the overriding goals ofIndia’s foreign policy, Right from thebeginning India desired peace notmerely as an ideal but also as anessential condition for its own security.However, peace for India is not a “pacifistneutralism”. Jawaharlal Nehru made itclear. “Peace is not simply renunciationof war, but an active positive approachtowards international relations andproblems, leading to the easing of

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tension by means of solving problemson the negotiating table, by means ofthe growing international cooperationin different spheres; cultural andscientific contacts, extending trade andbusiness contacts, exchanging views,experience and information”.Accordingly, India has been insistingon peaceful methods to solve allproblems. It also tried to maintainfriendly relations with all countrieswithout considerations of differences inideologies and political systems. Itsmessage has been “peace”, “peacefuldevelopment”, “peaceful cooperation”,“peaceful coexistence” and “strugglefor peace”.

SUPPORT FOR UNITED NATIONS

As pointed out above India’s concernfor international peace was not anegative or passive one but a positiveand constructive one. Peace meant notonly avoidance of war, but alsoreduction of tension and if possible endof Cold War. For this India consideredUnited Nations as an effective anddesirable agency. As such, Indiadecided to give unqualified and activesupport and allegiance to the UnitedNations. In a subsequent chapter wewill discuss India’s role in the UN andits various activities therein.

DISARMAMENT

Another essential concern for peace inIndia’s foreign policy has been armscontrol, disarmament and relatedmatters. In the context of arms race thatbegan with speed during the Cold War

period after the end of Second WorldWar, it was felt that arms racerepresents a waste of resources, adiversion of the economy away from itshumanitarian purposes, a hindrance tonational development and a threat todemocratic process. It also impedesrelations between countries affectingthe volume and direction of exchanges,diminishing the role of cooperationamong states and efforts towardsbuilding a just international order.Therefore, from the very beginning,India has advocated the prohibition ofnuclear weapons and check on theproliferation of all kinds of weapons inthe United Nations and other forums.In general, a major objective of India’sforeign policy has been comprehensivedisarmament. In a subsequent chapterwe will discuss in detail India’s positionand the role it has been playing towardsarms control and disarmament.

OPPOSITION TO COLONIALISM

IMPERIALISM AND RACISM

As has already been mentioned thatIndia’s vision about foreign policy andworld affairs had emerged as a part ofits struggle for liberation from colonialrule. In that leadership saw its ownmovement as a part of struggle againstcolonial domination and the entireimperialist system of oppression anddiscrimination. Cause of liberation ofsubject peoples and the elimination ofracial discrimination, therefore, becameimportant objectives of India’s foreignpolicy. In fact anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism has been a matter of faith



with India’s foreign policy. Similarly, ithas been aimed at opposition to all formsof racial discrimination. India firmlybelieves that racialism is one of thesources of conflict in the world and athreat to international peace. Therefore,India, at various forums has stronglyformulated, defended and elaborated theideals of freedom for all, elimination ofracism and racial discrimination andopposition to imperialism in all its forms.In chapter on India and UN, we willdiscuss in detail India’s contributionstowards these. It can, however, bementioned here that the continuity andthe consistency with which this causehas been supported by Indiathroughout, has brought heran unprecedented prestige anddignity, particularly among thedeveloping countries.

COOPERATION AMONG DEVELOPING

COUNTRIES

The major task for India as also forother newly liberated countries was thatof nation building and development. Inthe given situation and internationalatmosphere of unbearable inequalityand exploitation established bycolonialism and imperialism this was avery difficult task for any countryindividually. Moreover the developedWestern world was not in a mood toconcede their position of domination.India, therefore, firmly believed in thenecessity of cooperation and solidarityamong developing countries of Asia-Africa and Latin America both forthe purposes of struggle against

colonialism and for their economicdevelopment. India had formulated thisvision even before independence . It is,therefore, not surprising that Indiabecame the venue of the first forum ofliberated nations. Representatives of 28countries met in New Delhi in March1947 at the conference on regionalcooperation among the AsianCountries. Another conference of theindependent states also met in NewDelhi in 1949. As you will read, Indiaplayed a leading role in theestablishment of Non-AlignmentMovement (NAM) as a forum of newlyindependent countries to maintain theirfreedom in foreign affairs by keepingindependent of power blocs and also forcooperation among themselves. Indiahas consistently been working formeaningful cooperation amongdeveloping countries. We will studymore about it in chapter on India andthe UN.

India thus, relied on three mainprinciples: non-alignment, peace andfriendship with all countries. Indianeeded the friendship of both Easternand Western powers. It disliked anyinterference from outside and realisedthat keeping the big powers out of theregion was a vital pre-condition ofpolitical autonomy and nationalreconstruction. Following this line ofapproach, Nehru’s interest was inmobilising support and assistance ofthe rich nations of the world for India’seconomic growth. Further he was infavour of avoiding conflict with SuperPowers. He laid emphasis on cultivatingthe friendship of the emerging countries

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and in speaking authoritatively on theirbehalf on various Councils of the world.

NON-ALIGNMENT

Peace, freedom from colonialism, racialequality and non-alignment withmilitary blocs, emerged as main planksof independent India’s foreign policy.Nehru, the architect of non-alignmenthimself said, “I have not originated non-alignment, it is a policy inherent in thecircumstances of India, in theconditioning of the Indian mind duringthe struggle for freedom and inherentin the very circumstances of the worldtoday”.

When we say that India followspolicy of non-alignment, it means that(i) India has no military alliances withcountries of either block; (ii) India hasan independent approach to foreignpolicy; and (iii) India attempts tomaintain friendly relations with allcountries.

NON-ALIGNMENT AND NEUTRALITY

Non-alignment is perceived by someobservers as neutrality. JawaharlalNehru attempted to remove theconfusion by observing that “neutralityas a policy has little meaning except intime of war.”

When we say that non-alignmentmeans to remain independent of blocs,it gives an impression of remainingneutral. Neutrality and non-alignmentinfact, are two different concepts. Theterm neutrality in international lawrefers to a situation in which a statedoes not take any side in a war. Neutral

States, generally, do not take sides evenin disputes and differences of opinionbetween other states. Therefore, theterm neutrality is basically connectedwith war or war like situations. Non-alignment on the other hand, isconcerned both in war and peacesituations and in fact is more relevantin peace.

Non-alignment is a condition of non-involvement in tensions and potentialconflicts between military alliances andpower blocs. Neutrality as a concept, aterm and a situation emerged in theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries.The newly liberated countries of Asiaand Africa, led by India, Egypt, Syria,Indonesia and Ghana together withYugoslavia, refused to fall in line withone power bloc or another. Theyconsidered the situation of bi-polarityirrelevant to their own economicdevelopment and social change. Theyrefused to be tied down in needless bigpower conflicts. Therefore, they beganto take independent position in theUnited Nations on several world issues,by refusing to get aligned with one bigpower or the other.

Therefore, while neutrality is anegative concept, in the sense that it seeksto avoid taking sides in war, non-alignment is a positive concept which onthe one hand, refutes alignments andsubordination to big powers, and on theother, affirms positive commitment to anindependent foreign policy, and to majorconcerns like peace in the world,cooperation between States based onequality and justice, and economicdevelopment for greater human welfare.



In broad terms it can be said thatthere are three essential features orelements of India’s foreign policy. First,the entire exercise of foreign policy asJawaharlal Nehru himself conceivedwas to safeguard India’s decision-making autonomy, to obtain someadditional importance for India and tobe heard in the comity of nations aboutIndia’s views on issues vital to her. Thisis the fundamental and basic elementin the foreign policy of India.

Second, important element was thatIndia should cooperate with othersimilarly emerging developing countriesfor mutual benefit. It was believed thatby reinforcing the independence ofthese emerging nations, India shall bereinforcing its own independence .

The third, element of India’s foreignpolicy was cooperation at the world level.It means that India as a non-alignedcountry, should not get involved or beentangled in the politics of the bigpowers and yet maintain good workingrelations with all of them withoutsacrificing her national independence .

CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN POLICY

India not only adopted the policy ofnon-alignment for itself but also becamea founder member of Non-AlignedMovement (NAM). The three basicelements of its foreign policy remainedintact. But at times the emphasis onnon-alignment and peacefulcoexistence, brought in a sense ofpacificism in foreign policy. As a resultnot much attention was given to defenceand military capabilities. This weakness

was exposed in a short border war withChina in 1962. At the same time effortsfor disarmament notwithstandingnuclear weapons proliferation wasgoing on. At India’s own borders, Chinain 1966 tested its own nuclear device.All these developments shook Indianconfidence. Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru himself, after Chinese aggression,had to express “ultimately the task ofany country’s foreign policy is to protectits integrity. This is the first test of anycountry’s foreign policy and it if cannotachieve this then it is a failure.”

In view of Chinese aggression, Indiahad to take western assistance for itsenhanced defence needs. It entered intobilateral agreements with the USA andBritain for purchase and production ofarms. Though it did not discard non-alignment, doubts were raised aboutits ideological commitment. AfterNehru’s death in 1964, hostilities withPakistan in 1965, increasing friendshipbetween China and Pakistan, nucleardevelopment in China, idealism inforeign policy had to be further watereddown.

During 1960s and 1970s as aresult of emerging America-China-Pakistan alliance, increased arms race,developments in East Bengal(Bangladesh), dumping of armamentsin Middle East by great powers, worldwide military alliance and strugglebetween the USA and USSR in theIndian Ocean region, India’s strategicposition came under further pressure.These external environments anddomestic developments made India totilt towards USSR for its strategic

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needs. In August 1971 India signed atwenty-year treaty of friendship andcooperation with Soviet Union. It wasnot a mutual security treaty; it was anagreement for consultation. It, however,raised many doubts, within andoutside, about the genuineness of non-alignment. It was more so because inthe prevailing circumstances it wasalleged to be intended as a deterrent toPakistan and China.

Even with the change of governmentat centre in 1977, (the new Janata Partygovernment did not envisage anychange in the basic tenets of our foreignpolicy). The Janata governmentdeclared itself in favour of genuine non-alignment, good neighbourly relations,friendship with all, peaceful settlementof international disputes anddisarmament.

During 1980s, India more or less,continued its policy and relations withother countries on the principles ofsovereign equality, mutual respect andnon-interference in the internationalaffairs. However, there was now moreemphasis on maintaining India’sdignity, self-respect and nationalinterest. It can be said that non-alignment was balanced withpragmatism. India, like many othercountries, entered into bilateral andmultilateral agreements rather thansimply harping upon Afro-Asiansolidarity. There also was move towardsregional cooperation and therefore,establishment of South AsianAssociation for Regional cooperation(SAARC). In general, during 1980sthere were enough indications of India

continuing to adhere to the basic policyof non-alignment and friendship. At thesame time taking pragmatic decisionsin accordance with country’s specificrequirements of development anddefence were the basic tenets of India’sforeign policy.

ERA OF GLOBALISATION

From the late 1980s world startedchanging very rapidly. It was a periodof critical times in internationalrelations. It was the time when thesuper power rivalry got almosteliminated. Disintegration and collapseof Soviet Union and East Europeancountries had changed both theideological and procedural aspects ofinternational relations. Establishmentof united Germany, emergence ofEuropean Union, end of apartheid inSouth Africa and emergence of peaceand environmental movements worldover all have brought new actors androles in international relations andpolitics. Though, the Cold Warconsidered to have been ended, therehad emerged new areas of conflicts andtensions. The processes of globalisationwas bringing new dimensions inrelations between states and role ofinternational organisations. Division oflabour and opening of national andregional markets to increasing worldtrade, and transfer of investments andtechnology became the order of the day.In this situation it became clear thatone cannot remain mired in the past.

The emerging new internationalorder is now being viewed differently by



different observers. One view is that theworld has become unipolar in which theUSA has become the single mostimportant power. It could actunilaterally without any fear of itsactions being challenged. The otherview is that after the collapse ofbipolarity in the process of evolutionemerged a polycentric world wheremajor players are the USA, EuropeanUnion, Japan, China and Russia. Somespeculate whether India too would bea major actor in international decision-making or not.

Hence, a different division of theworld has come into sharper focus.Whereas, earlier, it was essentiallyideological—between the capitalistWest and Communist/SocialistEast—now the division is between therich North and poor South. Thedisintegration of erstwhile Soviet Unionhas also led to a situation where thebulk of aid and trade is now beingconcentrated on the countries ofEastern Europe. Hence, countries likeIndia have to look for alternatives to aidand development. Foreign policy,therefore, has to take care of trade andcommerce, negotiations withmultilateral agencies, participation innew organisations like World TradeOrganisation (WTO), etc. In this newworld order ideology is becoming lessimportant.

Another development that the worldhas been witnessing for the last twodecades is that of resurgence of sub-nationalism, religious and ethnicfundamentalism, and terrorism. Indiais facing these challenges both

nationally and internationally. Thesephenomena had become international.Terrorist attacks in USA on 11September, 2001, had brought newdimensions in international politics andinternational relations. New types ofequations and alliances are emergingeither to combat international terrorismor establish new types of hegemoniesin view of such phenomena. These arevery significant factors affecting India’sforeign policy.

In the changed situation, Indiahas recognised the need to developmore pragmatic and wide-ranginginternational relationship. India’s majorstrategic focus has been on herneighbourhood in particular China andPakistan. In the aftermath of the coldwar and with the advent of India’seconomic reforms and looking forforeign capital investment, there ismarked willingness to improve relationswith the USA. At the same time, Indianow seems to be desirous to gain for itwhat it sees as the country’s rightfulplace in the world consistent with itssize and capability. India has not onlytested nuclear devices but also hastaken a tough position on theComprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)insisting on linking this to a time boundframework for universal nucleardisarmament. India continues to refuseto sign the CTBT and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in theirpresent form, arguing that thesetreaties discriminate against her andserve principally the interests of therecognised western nuclear states. It ispointed out that in the new world order

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in the era of globalisation India’sprincipal aspiration in foreign policy hasbeen to take note of the changes in theworld around it without beingoverwhelmed by them.

At the same time, the Indian policyplanners are facing various challengeswhich they would have to take note of.It is not only that in the post Cold Warera the new polarities are emerging butthe very philosophy and purposebehind non-alignment does not seemto be the same as it was. The non-aligned oil-producing countries ofWest-Asia, North Africa and LatinAmerica had already become aseparate special interest group.Several non-aligned members ofAsia-pacific region have achievedhigh rates of growth through theirown efforts. Similar regionalassociations and groups are becomingmore important than globalorganisations. Growth of funda-mentalism, terrorism, separatistmovements world over andinternational concerns for issueslike Human Rights, environment,sustainable development, etc. arealso new determinants of the foreignpolicy in the present world. India toohas to deal with it.

Keeping in view its national interestparticularly to maintain unity andintegrity of India and socio-economicdevelopment and transformation,based on its tradition of plurality andtolerance and commitments to valuesestablished during nationalistmovement as a reaction to colonialismIndia adopted a foreign polity based on

principles of non-alignment, peacefulcoexistence, and friendship with all.

The policy of non-alignment by andlarge turned out to be in her best interest.Therefore, India had continued with thebasic characteristics of this policyirrespective of changes in governments. Atthe same time, keeping in view thedevelopments in international politics fromtime to time changes and adjustmentshave been made in this policy. But, thesechanges have been more in India’srelations with specific countries ratherthan in the basic elements of foreignpolicy. Right from the beginning, it wasclear that non-alignment was not on endin itself. It was an instrument of policydesigned to safeguard interests of thecountry. Therefore, it was not a staticpolicy but subject to change in accordancewith needs.

The sudden and importantdevelopments in international politicsin 1990s have brought both NAM andIndia’s foreign policy at cross roads. Atone time it seemed that non-alignmenthas lost its grounds. Soon it becameclear that NAM in many wayscontinues to be relevant in the areas ofdemocratisation of internationalrelations, establishment of newinternational economic order, securityand well being of small states, resolutionof regional conflicts and development,etc. Therefore, it is not necessary forIndia to abandon its valid ideals ormoral principles. But at the same timeit is important to keep in mind whatJawaharlal Nehru once said, that“Whatever policy we may lay down, theart of conducting the foreign affairs of a



country lies in finding what is mostadvantageous to the country”. India,therefore, has to be very careful indetermining its foreign policy andrelations with other countries. Our firstconcern has to be to prevent any erosionof our independence . Of course, ourinterest in the maintenance andsafeguarding of international peace, asan essential condition for our socio-economic development, continues. Whatis important to keep in mind is that Non-Alignment is not a dogma. It is adynamic process. India has in the pasttaken an enlightened and a broader viewof its interests. Hence, in evolving thecomponents of its national interests,

India attempted a synthesis ofnationalism and internationalism, acombination which gave much of thepositive content to the concept of Non-Alignment. The promotion of enlightenedself-interest remains the most importantaspect of India’s foreign policy and thatof Non-Alignment. It is obvious thatNon-Alignment is a means and not anend in itself. The end is the achievementof national and international objectives.India, therefore, has to formulate itsforeign policy accordingly. Of course itis equally important to remember thatpolitics without vision, devoid of beliefs,ideals, principles and values is debasedof human dignity and national purpose.

EXERCISES

1. Describe the internal and external determinants of India’s foreign policy.2. What are the basic principles of India’s foreign policy? Explain.3. Explain the meaning of Non-Alignment and distinguish it from neutrality.4. Describe the importance of Non-Alignment in India’s foreign policy.5. Assess the importance of globalisation in India’s foreign policy.6. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Peaceful Coexistence;(ii) India’s role in the UN;

(iii) India and Global peace.

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YOU have read that the basicprinciples of India’s foreign policy

are non-alignment, global peace,peaceful coexistence, disarmament,international cooperation and struggleagainst various manifestations ofinjustice like imperialism, colonialism,racism, etc. These principles had beenadopted, apart from commitment to andpreference for a value system in view ofthe enlightened national interest ofIndia. Both the national interest andcommitment to values first of alldemand maintenance of relations withneighbours. India has a large numberof neighbours. It is the largest countryin the South Asian region and sharesborders with all the countries of theregion that is Nepal, Bangladesh,Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka andPakistan. It shares long borders withChina, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Asa part of its overall policy of peacefulcoexistence India has consistentlysought peaceful, cordial and friendlyrelations with all its neighbours. Beingneighbours, however, there also hadbeen problems arising out of historicalfactors, mis-interpretations, external

India and Her NeighboursNepal, Sri Lanka, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan

CHAPTER 17

interventions and overall developmentsin international politics. Therefore, therelations with all the neighbours hadnot been the same. There had been upsand downs, differences, adjustmentsand changes. The process continuesto be on. In this chapter, we will have abrief description about India’srelations with some of its neighboursto understand an overall situationof the region.

INDIA AND NEPAL

No other two countries in the worldshare as extensive and intimate ties asIndia and Nepal do. These two SouthAsian neighbours share 1,700 Km ofcompletely open, geographicallycontiguous and therefore, easilyaccessible border. The magnificentHimalayas, for centuries in the past,acted as barriers to the oncominginfluence and military adventures fromthe north. The Nepali and Indianpeoples have close religious andlinguistic affinities, they celebratesimilar cultural festivals, follow similarcustoms, rituals and live a life


embedded in common social hierarchiesand structures.

For centuries there have been openborders between the two countries andthere had also been a free flow of peopleand goods across the traditionalboundaries. British colonial rulers didnot annex Nepal. They negotiated itssubordination. Accordingly, Rana,rulers of Nepal agreed to send Gurkhasoldiers to the English Army and Nepalilabourers for building the railways androads in the colonies.

When India became independent,apart from shared cultural values, therealso emerged shared security concernsbetween India and Nepal. Both of themestablished friendly relations betweenthe two countries in July 1950 andsigned a treaty of Peace and Friendship.Thereafter, the relations between thetwo have been governed by this treaty.

The Treaty had two majordimensions. One regarding the mutualsecurity concerns and the otherregarding socio-cultural and economicinteraction. The two governmentsagreed not only to have everlastingpeace and friendship between them butnot to tolerate any threat to the securityof either by a foreign aggressor. Thetreaty permitted Nepal to importdefence equipment from or throughIndia. Both the governments undertookto give each others nationals equaltreatment with their own nationals inthe matter of residence, ownership ofproperty and participation in trade andcommerce. Accordingly, the people ofthe two sovereign countries have hadopen access to each other, without

passports, permits etc. Nepalesecitizens have had the right to work invirtually all government services inIndia, barring the three top civil services— the IAS, IPS and IFS. Indian traders,teachers and other professionals havehelped build Nepal as has Nepaleselabour contributed to the economies ofseveral Indian regions.

DRIFTING AWAY

The decades of 1960s and 1970s sawsome bitterness in relations betweenthe two countries. The reasons for thiswere many. There had been a growinga movement for democracy in Nepal.Democratic forces represented by theNepali Congress secured electoralvictory in 1959. But in December1960, King Mahendra dismissed theelected government and imprisonedNepali Congress leaders includingPrime Minister B.P. Koirala. India wasin favour of democracy to the dislikingof King Mahendra. At the same timeChina was trying to appease Nepal.King Mahendra found it useful bothfor dealing with Nepali Congressdomestically and distancing Nepalfrom India.

Chinese aggression on India in1962 brought a temporary thaw inbitterness. Under the pressure of warand its outcome India had to relent onits sympathies for the democratic forcesin Nepal and take prompt and effectivesteps to make up with the king. Thelong term adverse implications forsecurity in the sub-continent werealso realised by the king. Therefore, he

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agreed to meet India’s securitysensitivities. In January 1965, throughan exchange of letters, the Nepalesegovernment agreed to seek extensivesupport from India in training,equipment and modernisation of theNepalese army.

This understanding remained shortlived. China seemed to have beenplacating Nepal well and KingMahendra seemed to be in favour ofdistancing Nepal from India. Years1971-72 witnessed the involvement ofChina in development projects in theTarai region of Nepal in completedisregard of India’s sanctities,provisions of 1950 treaty and assurancegiven by Nepal in 1965. Nepal was alsobeing used by China and some of thewestern nations to promote the entryof their own products into India. Nepalwanted to legalise this trade. But Indiaonly agreed that primary products ofNepal will have unrestricted entry intothe Indian market without anyobligation to pay custom duties.

King Birendra who ascended theNepalese throne on his father’s deathin January 1972 carried forward hisfather’s policy of distancing Nepalfrom India with added vigour anddetermination. India’s war for liberationof Bangladesh and inclusion of Sikkimin its territories were seen with a degreeof alarm in Nepal. In 1975 Nepalproposed itself to be a Zone of Peace.This proposal sought to establishNepal’s relations with all countries ofthe world and particularly with itsneighbours on the basis of equality.Nepal also wanted guarantees that

adversaries of the system would notsecure support or protection in any ofthe countries.

India, nevertheless, favoured betterrelations between the two countries. In1973 Prime Minister Indira Gandhivisited Nepal and next yearKing Birendra came to India.Both stressed the need for matureand sober bilateral relations.

RESTORATION

The Janata government which came topower in 1977 took special measuresto improve relations with Nepal. Thegovernment in 1978 agreed to have twotreaties for trade and transit which weregoverned by one treaty so far. Underthe transit treaty, India gave Nepalconcessional access to port facilities inCalcutta and also subsidisedwarehousing facilities. Under this tradetreaty both countries agreed to exemptcustoms duty and quantitativerestrictions on mutually agreed basiccommodities. India also agreed to wavecustoms duties on Nepalese industrialproducts which had atleast 80 per centNepalese or Indian raw material. Thesetreaties remained in force till 1989.Failure to conclude a new trade treatythat year once again created bitternessbetween the two countries.

Restoration of multi partydemocracy in Nepal in April 1990,however, began a new era of cordialrelations between India and Nepal. Twotreaties on Transit and Trade thathad lapsed in 1989, were signedin December 1991. Prime Minister

INDIA AND HER NEIGHBOURS


G.P. Koirala on his visit to India inDecember 1991 assured that Nepal wasno longer dependent on China to meetits security concerns. The Treaties ofTrade and Transit were amended in1993 and further extended for five yearsin March 2002.

In 1994, King of Nepal visited Indiaand Prime Minister of India visitedKathmandu. The first ever communistPrime Minister of Nepal, ManmohanAdhikari visited India twice within aperiod of six months in 1995. The twogovernments signed in February 1996a treaty concerning the IntegratedDevelopment of River Projects in Nepal.India and Nepal are also cooperatingwell in South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation (SAARC).

In general, Indo-Nepal relationshave remained cordial. There have beenoccasional changes in the parametersprimarily due to Nepal’s internaldomestic situation, particularlydifferences between forces supportingdemocracy and monarchy, as alsoexternal pressures, like that of China.Learning from the sore experiences ofthe early sixties, India has beenextremely cautious in avoiding offenceto the Monarch’s political sensitivities.India has never been hesitant or shy infulfilling its obligations towards Nepal.

The open border regime between thetwo countries is unique in the world.Today, it is estimated that about sixmillion Nepalese are in India andmillions of Indians have settled in Nepal.The open border system is alsosometimes used by criminals,smugglers and underground gangs. In

recent years Pakistan Inter ServicesIntelligence (ISI) activities against Indiafrom Nepal have also been reported.Government of Nepal has helped to curbsuch hostile activities by cooperatingwith India as and when such co-operation has been sought. In view ofcloseness but vast differences in size andpopulation in respective politicalsystems some aberrations in therelations do emerge occasionally. KingBirendra and his family members wereassassinated in early 2002, anti-Indiademonstrations and other provocationscould have created tensions. But thetwo governments behaved in aresponsible manner. Again at thedismissal of democratic government inOctober 2002 by King Gyanendra,India preferred not to interfere in theinternal affairs of that country, despiteits preference for democracy. Both Indiaand Nepal share security concerns.Both have to appreciate each otherspriorities and domestic constraints fora better relationship.

INDIA AND SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka, a small island in the middleof Indian Ocean, is another countrywhich apart from geographicalproximity to India, has bonds ofcultural and traditional affinity with itfor more than four thousand years.Almost the entire population of SriLanka including its two major ethnicgroups, the Sinhalese and Tamils,migrated at one time or the other fromIndia. The Sinhalese consisting of about74 per cent of population trace their

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ancestors to Aryans from eastern India.Almost all of them have embracedBuddhism and have graduallydeveloped roots in different parts of theisland and got assimilated with theindigenous inhabitants. The Tamilswho constitute about 18 per cent of thepopulation are mostly Hindus and,trace their roots to Dravidians of TamilNadu. In fact there are two groups ofTamils. One who have been in Lankafor long and are as much indigenousto the island as the Sinhalese are. Theother, known as Indian Tamils, are thedescendants of the Tamil plantationworkers who went to Ceylon (Sri Lanka)under British patronage to provide themuch needed labour for thedevelopment of coffee, tea and rubberplantation.

Sri Lanka had been a colony sinceSeventeenth century first of Portugese,then of Dutch and finally theBritish. It attained independence on4 February, 1948. Though small SriLanka is strategically quite important.It is the main connecting link to the airpassage from West Asia to Australia,New Zealand and East Asia. Its positionon a major highway in the internationalair and ocean trade route as well as itsphysical closeness to India makes itimportant for world powers. In thehands of inimical powers Sri Lanka cangravely endanger India’s security. So,India’s interest in Sri Lanka have beenboth economic and strategic. Beingsmall and weak with limited militarypotential and lying within India’speriphery, it is difficult for Sri Lanka topursue a foreign policy opposed to the

interests of India. However, at the sametime Western powers and Chineseinterest in Sri Lanka have also beeninfluencing its relations with India.Though part of South Asian region, SriLanka is geographically close only toIndia and, therefore, is not affectedmuch by the bilateral developments ofother countries.

In view of the above factors India-Sri Lanka relations have generally, beencordial. After independence Sri Lankaalso followed the policy of non-alignment and declared six cardinalprinciples of its foreign policy:(i) Friendship with all nations;(ii) Peaceful Coexistence; (iii) Greaterregional cooperation; (iv) Freedom totake decisions on national andinternational matters; (v) Support fornational independence movements incountries still under colonial influenceand domination; and (vi) Championshipof the cause of disarmament.

Thus, in the early years India andSri Lanka saw similarity of visions andinterests. Both the countries expressedsimilarity of opinion on variousinternational crises. However,developments during 1960s and 1970sbrought some changes in theirperception. Sri Lanka adopted anincreasingly neutral posture in respectof Chinese aggression on India as alsoIndo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. In1971, deep suspicious were aroused inIndia over the extension of landing andrefuelling facilities by Sri Lanka toPakistani planes flying to and from EastPakistan. In fact with the change in theregional balance of power and creation



of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka had developedsome apprehensions against India. SriLanka was afraid of coming close toIndia and Soviet Union as reflected bythe Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship,1971. Sri Lanka began to cultivate morefriendly relations with the USA, Chinaand Pakistan. But there was no hostilityagainst India. The outbreak of ethnicviolence in Sri Lanka in early 1980,however, brought the relations betweenIndia and Sri Lanka to their bottomrock.

ETHNIC CONFLICT AND INDIA – SRI

LANKA RELATIONS

As mentioned in the beginning, about18 per cent of Sri Lankan populationconsists of Tamil migrants fromIndia. A large number of Tamilianpopulation, particularly of Sri LankanTamils, are concentrated in northernand eastern provinces and districts. Afterindependence, Sri Lanka startedcreating a new State on the basis oflanguage and religion of majoritycommunity that is Sinhalese. The Tamilsnaturally resented these. They were infavour of federalism in Sri Lanka. From1970s, Sri Lankan government alsointroduced reservations for Sinhalese inadmission to the universities andrecruitment to government services.Another aspect of discrimination wasthe land colonisation of traditional Tamilhomelands in the eastern province bySinhalese population.

In view of the above, the Tamilsstarted demanding a federal state. Theystarted peaceful agitation for the same.

By 1977 there was a tilt in theirdemand which turned into demandingseparation. The agitation for separationgradually started taking militant shape.Rise of militancy, specially among theyouth, was for various factors. Thesewere (i) the disenchantment of the Tamilyouth with parliamentary democracyas was practiced in Sri Lankawhich meant the rule by Sinhalesemajority; (ii) their intense pride inTamil language and Tamil culture;(iii) lack of employment opportunitiescoupled with discrimination inadmission to educational institutionsand recruitment to jobs; (iv) theirdisenchantment with the traditionalleadership who were willing tocompromise on Tamil rights; (v) theirbelief and commitment that only violentstruggle would enable them to achievetheir goal; and (vi) only a separate stateof Tamil Eelam would provide securityand safety to Tamils. With theseperceptions from a small number inearly 1980s the number of Tamilmilitants began to increase in largenumbers and in 1983 got organisedunder Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE). In view of geographical contiguityof Tamil Nadu and the sympathy ofTamils, LTTE was able to get supportfrom some Tamil groups in India. Indiangovernment while committed toupholding the unity and integrity of SriLanka favoured a peaceful solution. Itwas also concerned with the arrival ofTamil refugees from Sri Lanka.

Immediately after 1983, violentupsurges brought India-Sri Lankarelations under cloud. Sri Lanka looked

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for assistance from countries like theUK, the USA, Israel, Pakistan, etc. TheWestern countries, however, advised SriLanka to use good offices of India to findan amicable solution. This resulted inIndia-Sri Lanka accord signed betweentwo countries in July 1987. IndianPeace Keeping Forces (IPKF) were sentto Sri Lanka to restore normalcy. This,however, became controversial. Indianforces received criticism from bothsides. By some it was alleged that theywere fighting against Tamils, while somein Sri Lanka looked upon this asinterference in Sri Lanka’s internalaffairs. In general sending of IPKF to SriLanka did not prove useful. They werecalled back and by March 1990 theywere completely out of Sri Lanka. In1991, during Lok Sabha electioncampaign, former Prime Minister ofIndia, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinatedallegedly by LTTE militants. AlthoughIndia had taken positive measures toensure that Indian territory was notused for anti-Sri Lanka forces butsuspicions remain. India also hasbanned LTTE as a terrorist outfit.

Since 1991 after the assassinationof Rajiv Gandhi in India and Sri Lankanpresidential candidate GaminiDissanayake a better understandingbetween the two countries emerged onthe handling of ethnic violence andterrorism. Towards this, India’s policytoward Sri Lanka consists of threefold commitment (i) to the unity,sovereignty and territorial integrity ofSri Lanka; (ii) to the restoration oflasting peace in Sri Lanka; and(iii) to a peaceful, political process

which is the only means of achievinga lasting peace.

For quite some time now the twocountries are working towardsstrengthening bilateral relations in allfields of mutual interest, especially inthe economic sector. In recent years topleaders of India and Sri Lanka havevisited each other on several occasions.In September 2002, Sri Lanka startednegotiating with LTTE for a peacefulsettlement. India was taken intoconfidence. In joint statements Indiaand Sri Lanka had agreed that globalterrorism is a threat to internationalpeace and security. They agree thatterrorist acts cannot be justified onpolitical, ethnic, religious, social oreconomic grounds. It seems that Indiaand Sri Lanka are aiming atmaintaining close, cordial andcooperative relations, building on theconsiderable legacy of historic links,common culture, shared commitmentto democracy and a general orientationtowards non-alignment.

INDIA AND CHINA

Among India’s neighbours a greatpower and a big country is China. Indiaand China not only share a border ofmore than 4,000 km but both areancient civilisations and haverelationship with each other forthousands of years. Buddhism arrivedin China from India in A.D. 65 . Overthe next 4-5 centuries, hundreds ofChinese scholars visited India to learnBuddhism. Among the more wellknown Chinese scholars who visited



India are: Fa-Hien, Huen-Tsang and YiTsing. Many Indian scholars especiallyKashmiris also visited China during thisperiod.

Nationalist movements in the twocountries against colonial oppressionled to some renewed contacts in thelate eighteenth and early nineteenthcentury. Chinese leader Sun Yat Senmaintained contacts with some Indianrevolutionaries such as Ras BihariBose, M.N. Roy, et.al. RabindranathTagore visited China in 1924.

INDIA CHINA RELATIONS SINCE 1947

On 1 October, 1949, formation of thePeople’s Republic of China (PRC) that iscommunist China was proclaimed. Indiawas among the first countries to recognisethe People’s Republic of China on 30December, 1949. India supportedCommunist China’s claim forrepresentation in the UN, even at the costof displeasure of several non-communistcountries, particularly the USA.

Thus, India and People’s Republicof China began with very friendly andcordial relations. On 1 April, 1950diplomatic relations between the twowere established. An agreementbetween India and China on Tradesigned on 29 April, 1954. Chinesepremier Zhou En lai visited India inJune 1954. The two prime Ministersjointly enunciated the five principles ofpeaceful coexistence, which came to beknown as principles of Panchsheel.These were: (i) mutual respect for eachother’s territorial integrity andsovereignty; (ii) mutual non-

aggression; (iii) mutual non-interference in each others internalaffairs; (iv) equality and mutualbenefit, and (v) peaceful coexistence.

Another trade agreement betweenIndia and China was signed on14 October, 1954. Indian PrimeMinister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Chinain October 1954 and Chinese PrimeMinister Zhou En lai again visited Indiain November 1956. The friendshipbetween the two countries reached itszenith at the Bandung conference ofAfro-Asian nations in 1955. After thisConference, India gave full moral anddiplomatic support to China. Chinasupported India’s claim to Portuguesepossession of Goa. Thus, up to 1957mutual affirmation of indestructiblefriendship between the two countriescontinued. From 1957 onwards therestarted a decline in these relations. Itwas primarily for two reasons firstly,because of Chinese territorial claimsin India; and secondly, differencesover Tibet.

BORDER DISPUTES AND TIBET

Though India in general has notopposed Chinese claims over Tibet,but, there were some differencesbetween the two countries over someactions of China. Tibet, a province ofChina, is on the northern borders ofIndia. In the past, Tibet was anindependent State. From eighteenthcentury, for historical reasons, ithas been considered a part ofChina. However, Dalai Lama wasconsidered by the people the

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legitimate ruler of autonomousTibet. From 1911 onwards, Chinesewere not able to exercise their effectivecontrol over Tibet. After establishmentof People’s Republic of China thegovernment expressed its desire toestablish firm control over Tibet, butthrough negotiations. In October 1950,China launched a full scale invasion onTibet. India expressed its protest onthis armed action. China accused Indiaof being influenced by imperial powers.India, of course, clarified that itrecognised Chinese suzerainty and hadno intention of interfering in China’sinternal affairs.

In 1959, there was a suddenuprising in the capital of Tibet. Therevolt was put down by China with aheavy hand. The Dalai Lama fled fromTibet and sought asylum in India. Healong with thousands of Tibetan wasgiven political asylum in India but wasadvised not to organise any anti-Chinese resistance on Indian soil. Chinadid not like India’s sympathies toTibetans and described the grant ofasylum to Dalai Lama as an enemy-likeact. India was even charged asexpansionist.

Parallel to developments in Tibet,China also was staking claims on someof the Indian territories as belonging tothem. In 1957, it started intruding inLadakh. In September 1959, theGovernment of China laid a formal claimto 128,000 Sq. km of Indian Territoryin Ladakh and in the North EastFrontier Agency (now ArunachalPradesh). The Prime Ministers of Indiaand China met in Delhi in 1960 to

discuss the boundary issue. This wasfollowed by the meetings betweenofficials of the two sides. However, on8 September, 1962, China startedaggression in the Eastern sector ofIndia-China boundary in the NEFAregion. The Chinese forces mounted anall out attack on 20 October, 1962 onIndian defence forces along the entireIndia-China boundary. As a result ofthis, China additionally acquired about6,400 Sq. km of Indian Territory. On21 November, the Chinese declared aunilateral cease-fire. It, however,refused to restore the status quo as itprevailed before the aggression. Chinathus still holds large tracts of IndianTerritory and claims approximately90,000 Sq. kms of Indian Territory inthe Eastern sector of India-Chinaboundary in Arunachal Pradesh.

From this period onward, till themiddle of 1970s, China had a hostileattitude towards India. During theIndia-Pakistan conflict in 1965, theChinese side extended materialassistance to Pakistan and its officialstatement accused India of criminalaggression. During the India-Pakistanconflict in 1971, China again criticisedIndia for gross interference in theinternal affairs of Pakistan. On mergerof Sikkim in India in 1975, Chinaissued a statement and called it asillegal annexation. China has not yetofficially recognised Sikkim as anintegral part of India. Earlier China wasalso angry with India on its nucleartests in 1974, though India hadannounced that its nuclear programmewas for peaceful purposes. As such it



seemed that from 1958 to 1975 Chinalooked at India as its major geostrategicrival and was bent upon keepingIndia down.

TOWARDS NORMALISATION

From the above it becomes clear thatthe relationship between China andIndia has been ambivalent. On the onehand, the two nations sought goodrelations in the early years of cold warwhen developing and non-alignedcountries were keen to keep theirdistance from super-power politics. Onthe other hand, both India and Chinabeing the only regional powers of sizelooked like rivals. China was inconfrontation both with Western andSoviet powers and had been expressingstrong views on most internationalissues. The situation, however, startedchanging from 1975 onwards.According to Jagat S. Mehta, Chinaperhaps perceived that India hademerged politically self-confident andeconomically resilient after theBangladesh crisis even in the face of theUS-China tilt towards Pakistan. At thesame time China’s own position wasbeing recognised in the internationalcommunity. It was officially admittedinto the United Nations including theSecurity Council in 1971 by replacingTaiwan. It has already been mentionedthat India has consistently followed theone-China policy, despite ups anddowns in bilateral relations. Both Indiaand China started talking on the themeof traditional friendship between the

two countries. Immediate outcome ofthis was that in 1976, the two countriesrestored ambassadorial level relationsafter 15 years.

In 1976-1977 other developmentsin the two countries further pavedthe way for normalisation of relations.Hardliner Mao Ze dong, the supremeleader of China, died in 1976. In 1977,India for the first time a non-Congressparty that is Janata Party came to powerat the Centre. As explained elsewhereto establish its credibility, one of thepolicy of Janata governments was toimprove relations with neighbouringcountries. Thus, in February 1979External Affairs Minister, Atal BihariVajpayee visited China. India and Chinahad resumed trade in 1978. IndiraGandhi, when back to power in 1980,continued the initiatives taken by theJanata government. She met the thenChinese premier Hu Kuo-feng inMay 1980 at Belgrade, during PresidentTito’s funeral. After 1961 it was thefirst meeting between the twocountries at this level. There afterseveral rounds of talks at differentlevels took place between the twocountries, though differences onboundary issues persisted.

The visit of Prime Minister RajivGandhi to China in 1988 marked theresumption of political dialogue at thehighest level. The two sides decided to setup a Joint Working Group to discuss theboundary question. Since then PresidentVenkataraman visited China in 1992,Prime Minister Narasimha Rao in 1993,and the then Vice-President K.R.

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Narayanan in 1994. From the Chineseside, Premier Lipeng visited India in 1991and president Jiang Zemin in 1996.

Once again in 1998 there came atemporary set back when India testednuclear bomb, and gave Chinese threatas one of the reasons. China joined theconsensus among the PermanentMembers of the Security Council andthe G-8 countries condemning thetests. In fact, China had been the moststrident critic of India’s nuclear policyin the interim. The trip to China byIndian Foreign Minister in June 1999helped reduce the bitterness. China’sanger about India’s nuclear testsseemed to have subsided, top level visitswere back on track and both sidesseemed determined to work towards amore positive relationship. Thus, on theoccasion of the 50th anniversary of theestablishment of diplomatic relationsbetween the two countries, thePresident of India, Shri K.R. Narayananpaid a state visit to China in May-June2000. Li Peng Chairman of the StandingCommittee of the National People’sCongress visited India in January 2001.In January 2002, Chinese Premier ZhuRongji paid an official visit to India.

During these visits leaders havestressed that India and China do notconsider each other as a threat andwould like to maintain goodneighbourly and friendly relations. ForChina, with its economic reforms anddevelopment, India’s fast-growingdomestic market is important. A strongIndian ally could also create a powerfulregional axis to counterbalance the

global dominance of the United States.India also has much to gain fromcooperation with China. A settled borderwith China would facilitate thestabilisation of the troubled north-eastern region in India’s domesticpolitics and reduce opportunities formischief in its external relations withBhutan and Nepal. It will also help indealing with Pakistan. It may bementioned here that China was nothappy with Pakistan’s incursion intoKargil in 1999.

In the new historical and objectivesituation China and India have entereda new stage of relationship. In thewords of former President of India K.R.Narayanan. “We have a very goodopportunity for exchange of goods andideas. We have real opportunity to puttechnical content in our ancientcultural friendship”. And in ChinesePremier Zhu’s words, “as the twolargest developing countries in theworld, India and China shoulderimportant responsibilities formaintaining peace, stability andprosperity in Asia”. It is in this spiritthat India and China are moving aheadin different areas of bilateral relationssuch as trade, cultural exchanges,security and foreign office dialogues,science and technology cooperationand efforts to resolve border disputesalso. India has made it clear that itseeks friendly, cooperative, goodneighbourly and mutually beneficialrelations with China on the basis ofFive Principles of Peaceful Coexistencejointly enunciated by India and China



as Panchsheel. Long-term stablerelationship between the two isimportant for the mutual benefits ofIndia and China and also for peace inthe region.

INDIA AND BANGLADESH

Bangladesh had emerged as anindependent nation in 1971 discardingthe two-nations theory which was thebasis of India’s partition in 1947. As youhave already read, India played a verysignificant role in creation of Bangladesh(erstwhile East Pakistan) and was the firstcountry to recognise it as a sovereignstate. One of the causes leading to theseparation of Bangladesh from Pakistanwas its geographical location whichmade it more a part of the eastern ratherthan the western region. The location ofBangladesh in the sub-continent isstrategically significant. It is surroundedon three sides by India— on its western,northern and eastern sides. On its south-eastern side is borders of Myanmar. Onits southern areas are waters of Bay ofBengal.

In the background of having playeda crucial role in its liberation struggleand geographical location ofBangladesh, India has special interestsin its relations with her. Involvement ofIndia in Bangladesh liberation alsocreated a large number of committedfriends/foes of India. Both of them havebeen playing important roles indetermining relationship between thetwo countries. Some external factorshave also been playing some role in thedevelopment of these relations.

Important of these have been Chinaand forces of pan-Islamism. Therefore,there had been some ups anddowns, cordialities and bitterness inIndia-Bangladesh relations in specificcontexts and at specific times.

THE EARLY PHASE

In the early years of its existenceBangladesh, in view of India’s roleand help in its liberation, had asense of obligation and thankfulnesstowards India. Also in view of itseconomic position and developmentalneeds, it was looking towards Indiafor help. It may be mentionedhere that Bangladesh is the eighthmost populous country in theworld. At the same time it is one ofthe poorest countries. In view of thesefactors in the initial years under theleadership of Shiekh Mujibar RehmanBangladesh’s relations with Indiawere very friendly. Mujibar Rehman’sfirst visit as Prime Minister ofBangladesh was to India. Duringthis visit, it was resolved thatIndo-Bangladesh relations wouldbe guided by the principles ofdemocracy, socialism, secularism, non-alignment and opposition to racialismand colonialism in all formsand manifestations. India assuredBangladesh that it would never interferein its internal affairs. Shiekh MujibarRehman’s visit was returned by IndiraGandhi’s official visit to Bangladesh inMarch, 1972. On the conclusion of thisvisit a Treaty of Friendship and Peacewas signed between the two countries.Indo-Bangladesh Trade Pact was also

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signed. Although there existed somedifferences with India, they were notconsidered significant enough.

The forces inimical to nationalliberation struggle were also presentin Bangladesh. Immediately afterindependence, these forces startedlaunching anti-India tirade. SheikhMujibar Rehman took certainmeasures to curb anti-Indiapropaganda. In 1974 Indo-Bangladeshborder agreement was signed. Stepswere taken to resolve Ganga-waterdispute and the related problemsconcerning the Farakkha barrageconstructed in India to augment watersupply into the river Hoogly. There wasan interim agreement on water sharing.Talks were also initiated regarding theexchange of areas in each othersterritories. Thus, bilateral problemsbetween the two countries werediscussed in an atmosphere of utmostfriendship and despite attempts byanti-India forces to exploit theseproblems for creating anti-Indiahysteria, these were not allowed to gobeyond manageable limits.

On 15 August, 1975, the creator ofBangladesh Sheikh Mujibar Rehmanalong with his entire family except twodaughters (who were abroad) wereassassinated, in a coup by some armyofficers. As already mentioned therewere anti-India forces in Bangladesh.With the assassination of MujibarRehman these forces became vocal andin some cases hysterical. General Zia-Ur-Rehman who took over power wasto consolidate his position. Naturally,he received support from reactionary

communal forces which were initiallyopposed to independence ofBangladesh and had supported thePakistan occupation army. The otherpillar of support was ultra-leftist pro-Chinese elements which were highlycritical of India’s role in liberationand branded it as an expansionistpower eager to grab Bangladesh.Internationally the support came fromthe Islamic world, the Western powersand China, all of whom at that time werecritical of India. In such a situation Zia-Ur-Rahman went with projection ofIndia as the enemy of independence andterritorial integrity of Bangladesh.

Thus, during the period of Zia-Ur-Rehman, bilateral problems with Indiabecame more complicated and hostilepostures did not help to sort outdifferences in perceptions. There were,however, some changes when JanataParty came to power in India in 1977.The Janata government, as with Nepaland Pakistan, adopted a soft attitudeeven towards military regime inBangladesh. An interim agreement onsharing Ganga waters duringlean months was signed between thetwo countries. However, otherdisputes emerged.

Zia-Ur-Rehman was also assas-sinated in 1981. After a short intervalof few months, Lt. General H.M. Ershadstaged a bloodless coup and establishedhis own military dictatorship in thecountry. Under Ershad anti-India andanti-Soviet Union plank wasmaintained. Political changes in Indiaand the return of Indira Gandhi topower, though not welcome to the



military regime, did have a soberingimpact on anti-India tirade, who at thesame time vigorously pursued the ideaof regional cooperation. He receivedsupport from South Asian nationsincluding India and Pakistan and therecame up in 1985 South AsianAssociation for Regional Cooperation(SAARC). This brought some relaxationin both multilateral and bilateralrelations in the region. A step inimprovement of relations also came withIndia’s agreement to give TeenBeegha Corridor to Bangladesh onperpetual lease.

With the restoration of democracyin Bangladesh in 1990, there alsostarted a move towards improvementof relations with India. Teen BeeghaCorridor was formally transferred toBangladesh on 26 June, 1992. Indiaand Bangladesh also agreed toformulate a comprehensive plan forsharing of the water resources.Negotiations during 1994 led to therepatriation of Chakma refugees fromTripura to Chitagong Hill tracts inBangladesh. Prime Minister SheikhHasina Wajed, daughter of MujiburRehman, took pains to improverelations with India. She visited Indiain December 1996 and signed anaccord with India on the sharing ofGanga waters for the next 30 years.She again visited India in 1998and 1999. In any case India had beencommitted to better relationswith Bangladesh.

However, there are emerging someother problems. One of these is

continous influx of illegal immigrantsto India from Bangladesh. Anotherproblem, arising particularly since1990s is the rise of Islamicfundamentalist forces. The PakistaniISI is reported to have been making useof these forces for its activities againstIndia. In 2002, party of General Zia-Ur-Rehman’s wife came to power withthe support of some anti-India elementswho are hostile but lukewarm intheir attitude. Non-Islamic forces inconnivance with Pakistan are also takinginterest in consolidation of Islamisationof Bangladesh. The Pakistan President,Pervez Musharraf, during his visit toBangladesh in the end of July 2002,went to the extent of expressing regretsfor the excesses committed by hiscountry’s Army 32 years ago in war ofliberation of Bangladesh. Theunqualified regrets expressed by thePakistan President undoubtedly, marksa new beginning in the Pakistan-Bangladesh relations of which India willhave to take due notice.

INDIA AND PAKISTAN

Among its South Asian neighbours itis only with Pakistan that India has notbeen able to improve relations at thedesirable level. Both India andPakistan form the parts of the same landmass with common historical legaciesand with no natural barriers. The twobelong to a single civilisation. There aremany more things in common betweenthem making them to be the closest. Yetfor the last 55 years India and Pakistan

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have stared at each other. India hasconsistently sought peaceful, cordialand friendly relations with Pakistan. Attimes some of the Pakistani leaders alsohave desired and attempted for suchrelations, but certain historical factors,differences between political systems ofthe two countries, internal politicalsituation of Pakistan, the geo-politicalsettings and ideological differences sofar have kept the two at logger heads.To understand the nature of Indo-Pakrelations, it is important to know somehistorical and geographical factors thatdetermine the relations between the two.

HISTORICAL AND GEOPOLITICAL

FACTORS

India’s history as a society and polityis thousands of years old whereasPakistan’s existence is only from 1947.It has no monumental and historicallegacies and traditions separate fromIndia. Being a result of separation fromIndia half of Pakistan’s land frontier iswith India. As a pre-independenceorientation of foreign policy while Indiawas formulating a vision in the contextof its future role in Internationalcommunity, Pakistan’s heritage wasaspirations, and expressions ofMuslim League since its emergence in1906. It was manifested in theirtwo-nation theory, and communalapprehensions. Added to all thesehistorical factors to influence Indo-Pakrelations were communal holocaust anddisplacement of population duringpartition, disputes over the partition of

assets, and accession of princely states,including Kashmir.

India with a long history andnationalist movement behind it,adopted a foreign policy based onprinciples of non-alignment, friendshipand cooperation. Pakistan with nosocio-cultural differences with Indiahad to justify its establishment as aseparate nation. For this religion, thatis Islam, was considered to be the basisof its political structure. Pakistan’srulers felt that other factors were notprobably as much important for itssustenance as Islam. Therefore,Pakistan’s foreign policy primarily wasbased on pan-Islamism. Rulers ofPakistan also believed that India hasnot accepted the reality of partition.They, therefore, looked towards Indiawith suspicion and viewed every actionof India as a design against the veryexistence of Pakistan. An obviousconsequence of this view point has beenanti-Indianism. The Pakistani rulingelite has always raised the bogey of anti-Indianism so as to sustain theirinterests in the domestic politics of thecountry.

Another important factor ofdifference between India and Pakistanhas been consolidation of democracy inIndia and dominant role of army inPakistan. Pakistan’s self assumedrivalry with India, need to acquirestability, legitimacy, and recognition,and desire to provide a leadership tothe Islamic countries have created adesire to accumulate power anddemonstrate it. This has shifted centre



of power from its people to themilitary establishment. Neither theParliamentary nor the Presidentialforms of government, which wereexperimented, could bring stability inthe country. After 1953 the military hasbeen playing a dominant role in thepolitics of the country and there havebeen various experiments to conferlegitimacy on the military dictatorships.

PARTITION AND INDO-PAKRELATIONS

Immediately after partition, the issueswhich created irritants between the twocountries were transfer of militaryassets, sharing of river waters of Indusriver basin, division of cash balance ofundivided India and so on.

With regard to river waters, partitionof India left three rivers in Punjab—Ravi, Sutlej and Beas mainly flowing inIndia and Indus, Jhelum and Chenabmostly flowing in Pakistan. India couldhave used all the water creatingproblems for Pakistan. It, however,agreed to supply water to Pakistan fromthese rivers. An agreement on watersharing was concluded on 19September 1961 and was signed byPrime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru andPresident Ayub Khan which wasdescribed as a memorable eventtowards normalisation of relationsbetween the two countries.

THE KASHMIR ISSUE

Various efforts made between India andPakistan to establish friendly relations

finally broke down because of disputeover Kashmir. It will be appropriate foryou to know the background of this issue.

Before independence, Jammu andKashmir was one of the 584 princelystates. It was ruled by Maharaja HariSingh. In accordance with theconditions of the partition of BritishIndia, rulers of princely states weregiven the right to determine which stateto join—India or Pakistan, or to remainindependent. The Maharaja of Kashmirdecided to remain independent.

Pakistani leadership motivated withthe approach of two-nation theory wasof the view that in view of 77 per cent ofits population being Muslim, Jammu andKashmir should join Pakistan. AfterMaharaja’s declaration of independence,on 3 September, 1947 there started tribalintrusions and border raids fromPakistan. The government of Kashmirprotested to the Prime Minister ofPakistan. However, four days after thecomplaint on the night of 20-21 October,1947 India assessed the position ofPakistan as provocative and directsupport to aggression, aimed atoccupying Kashmir. On 24 OctoberMaharaja of Kashmir himself appealedto India for help. India’s leadership statedthat such help could only be renderedon condition of integration of Kashmirwith India. On 26 October Maharaja HariSingh sent a letter to Lord Mountbatten,then Governor General of India about hisdecision to join India. Indian troops wereair-dashed to Kashmir. The troopsstopped the advancing Pakistaniinfiltrators but the war continued for14 months.

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In the mean time on 1 January,1948 India lodged a complaint with theUN Security Council to ask Pakistanto prevent assisting in the invasion ofJammu and Kashmir. The UN SecurityCouncil passed a resolution on17 January, 1948 appealing to theconflicting sides to resolve theirdifferences through peaceful means andto establish law and order and then toorganise a plebiscite for determining thefuture of the State.

Finally on 13 August, 1948Security Council passed a newresolution in which cease-fire wasenvisaged. India and Pakistan acceptedthe proposal. Consequently, fighting inJammu and Kashmir came to a halt.The final resolution on this was passedon 5 January, 1949 by which cease-fire line was formally accepted byIndia and Pakistan.

With the implementation of first partof 1 January, 1949 resolution therecame an end to 14 months old war. But,part two of the UN resolution could notbe implemented as Pakistan refused towithdraw those forces, includingPakistani nationals under variousguises, which had been fighting underthe collective name of Azad Kashmirforces. This was a condition precedentto the holding of any plebiscite. Whileaccepting UN resolution of 5 January,1949 India had sought the clarificationfrom the UN Council that the plebisciteproposal would not be binding uponIndia if Pakistan did not implement parttwo of the UN resolutions of August 13.This assurance was given categoricallyby the United Nations.

In those ensuing years Pakistantried to win Western countries over itsside. India’s foreign policy of Non-Alignment was not much appreciatedby the USA and its allies. Pakistan in1954 decided to move away from itneutral course and join a military-political union with the USA, initiallythrough entry into the military blocof SEATO (South East Asia TreatyOrganisation) and then theBaghdad pact or CENTO in 1955.Pakistan’s close collaboration withthe US and its military alliance andIndia’s multifaceted cooperation andunderstanding with Soviet Union madethe Kashmir issue in the UN purelypolitical.

Notwithstanding the discussions inthe United Nations, since then, the Stateof Jammu and Kashmir has remainedan integral part of the Union of Indiaand had been participating in its affairsincluding elections as such. Pakistanhas remained adamant on its positionon communal grounds. Internalinstability and civil-military conflicts inPakistan have also forced it to keepKashmir issue alive for emotionaldiversion of people.

To internationalise Kashmir issuePakistan once again started in August1965 sending its troops in civilianclothes across the cease-fire line. Theseinfiltrators were sent to provoke large-scale violence and abet people ofKashmir to revolt or create a war ofindependence in Kashmir. It resultedin full-scale war between India andPakistan in which Pakistan sufferedhumiliating defeat. A UN Security



Council resolution adopted on 20September, 1965 called upon India andPakistan to cease-fire.

After the end of war a meeting washeld at Tashkant in the then SovietUnion from 3-10 January, 1966 toformalise peace between India andPakistan. The summit meeting was heldat the initiative of the Soviet PrimeMinister Alexi Kosygin and attended byPrime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri andPresident Ayub Khan.

Outcome of the Summit was a nine-point Tashkant declaration containingthe resolve by India and Pakistan torestore normal and peaceful relationsbetween themselves and to promotefriendly relations between their people.It was agreed that the relations betweenIndia and Pakistan would be based onthe principle of non-interference in theinternal affairs of each other; they willnot resort to force, but settle theirdisputes through peaceful means.

The Tashkant declaration waswelcomed world over and for the firsttime it was hoped that India andPakistan might turn away from the pathof conflict and strive to live in peace. Butthe hawks in Pakistan did not believein that. They held the view that peacein the sub-continent was possible onlyif Kashmir issue was solved toPakistan’s satisfaction. Inspite of eventsof great significance and changes bothat international level and in India andPakistan the internal political situationin Pakistan did not allow to change itsposition that Kashmir is the core issuebetween India-Pakistan relations.

Since 1987 Pakistan has beenabetting, encouraging and supportinginsurgent terrorist movement inKashmir. Events in Kargil in summerof 1999 made it very clear that thepresence of army regulars and Islamicmilitants on the Indian territory wasnot a spontaneous performance ofthe local freedom fighters. Byplanning operations in Kargil, Pakistanistrategists hoped that the internationalcommunity would be attracted to theso-called fight for freedom in Kashmirwould come to the rescue of victims ofalleged Indian violations of humanrights. Conduct of free and fair electionsand participation of significantpercentage of voters in elections inKashmir in September-October 2002despite of terrorist threat has made itclear that people of Kashmir are not infavour of violence and they desire peace.The parties they voted for also makesit clear that they are not enamoured byPakistan propaganda. But for Pakistanthe Kashmir issue remains as thecentral issue.

Thus, the initial positions ofIndia and Pakistan on the Kashmirissue remain unchanged and arediametrically opposite. For IndiaKashmir issue has been resolved fully,taking into account the appeal of theMaharaja and signing of the Instrumentof Accession to India. It was furtherreiterated in 1954 by the ConstituentAssembly of the State.

At ideological level Pakistancontinues to harp on Muslim League’spre-partition theory of two nations.

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That is Hindus and Muslims are twonations. India’s stand on the otherhand is that India is a multi religious,multi cultural, secular state. WhilePakistan may be a Muslim majorityState, India has a very large Muslimpopulation as well. In fact Muslimpopulation, over 12 crore, is more thanin any other country except Indonesia.It is more than Pakistan. It is not onlyin Kashmir that a non-Hindu religionis in majority but in several other Statesalso it is so. Therefore India has neveraccepted the idea of religious basis ofthe State. At the time of partition alsoit had rejected the two-nations theorytotally. Yet, as stated in the beginning,for Pakistan compulsions of identitycrisis, internal instability, its desire tobe the leader of Islamic world and ananti-India mindset forces the Kashmirissue to be seen in communal terms andkept alive in one form or the other.Unfortunately, it has become so seriousthat all efforts for peaceful relationsbetween the two countries which are soessential for trade and commerce anddevelopment have so far failed. Some ofthese efforts are discussed below.

BANGLADESH WAR AND SHIMLA

AGREEMENT

The most serious internal crisis thatPakistan faced after its creation in 1947was the upsurge in East Pakistan (nowBangladesh) — a direct challenge to thetwo-nations theory of Muslim League.The consequences of this crisis becamea vital and vitiating factor in Indo-Pak

relations. When India was partitionedon the basis of religion, Eastern wingwas carved out of Bengal which wasmore than 1,500 km away from westernwing (present Pakistan).

Though people of both the wingswere Muslims, they differed from eachother culturally and linguistically.Imposition of Urdu was totallyunacceptable to them. The differenceshad continued and East-Pakistanpopulation had felt neglected. InDecember 1971 elections AwamiLeague led by Shiekh Mujibur Rehmanwon majority. Rather than acceptingthe democratic verdict of election andallowing Sheikh Mujibur Rehman tobecome Prime Minister, PresidentYahya Khan arrested and detained him.This led to widespread protests andviolence. Pakistan security forces letloose a reign of terror. People startedrunning towards India. By March1971 about a crore of East Pakistanishad crossed over to India as refugees.

Under tremendous suppressionby Pakistani Security forces peopleof Bangladesh began looking forindependence as the only wayout. Thus on 12 April, 1971 theAwami League leadership declaredindependence from Pakistan andestablishment of Bangladesh. At thattime no country including Indiarecognised Bangladesh. Pakistan’smassacre of people continued and soalso influx of refugees to India. Seeingthe situation becoming worse, India wascompelled to intervene and finally on4 December, 1971, Pakistan waged a



war against India. Pakistan wasdefeated on all fronts. It surrenderedbefore India unconditionally on 16December, 1971. About 93 thousandPakistan troops were taken as prisonersof war. The net result of war wasdivision of Pakistan and creation of asovereign State of Bangladesh.

In order to normalise the relationsbetween India and Pakistan, the thenPresident of Pakistan, Zulfikar AliBhutto, desired a meeting between thetwo heads of the governments. Hence,India-Pakistan Summit was held atShimla in June 1972. After prolongeddiscussion an agreement was reachedin which both the countries pledgedto work for lasting friendship. The twocountries agreed to seek peacefulsolutions to disputes through bilateralnegotiations, they also agreed not touse force against each other and violatethe territorial integrity and freedom ofeach other. The two countries alsoagreed to establish trade andcommerce relations, cooperation inscience, technology and culturalfields and recognise the line of controlas at the time of cease-fire on17 December, 1971.

Observers felt that Shimlaagreement was a real settlementbetween India and Pakistan. Thoughnot declared publically implied in theagreement was that the two countriesaccepted the settlement of Kashmiraround the existing realities. It wastherefore accepted that after Shimlaaccord India and Pakistan will work formutual benefits through cooperation.

INDO-PAK RELATIONS AFTER

SHIMLA ACCORD

After Shimla Accord, for some time, thetwo countries began working forconfidence building activities andcooperating with each other. But thehardliners in Pakistan could notreconcile with implied settlement onKashmir. Under pressure fromopponents Pakistan government,inspite of commitment to bilateralapproach in Shimla Accord, kept onraising Kashmir issue in severalinternational fora. Nuclear test by Indiain 1974 created some apprehensionsin Pakistan but efforts went on forimprovement of relations. MorarjiDesai’s Janata Party government in1977 made particular efforts to improverelations with Pakistan. The thenforeign minister Atal Behari Vajpayeevisited Pakistan in 1978. There was ageneral impression that India-Pakistanwere on the move for better times. Theinternal politics of Pakistan, however,did not allow this for long. In 1977 onceagain there was a military coup inPakistan in which General Zia-Ul-Haqtook over the Presidentship of Pakistan.To consolidate his position, Zia startedplaying with the emotions of people. By1980 it became clear that he also hadto go for India bashing. It was widelybelieved that Zia was also interested intaking revenge for the creation ofBangladesh. He, therefore, tried todestabilise India by abetting andencouraging terrorism in Punjab. Inthe given international situation,

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including Soviet Union’s intervention inAfghanistan, Pakistan once again hadbecome a close ally of the Westernpowers and China. As such, it thoughtproper once again to internationalisethe Kashmir issue. It startedsponsoring and supporting insurgencyin Jammu and Kashmir, which in duecourse of time took a very serious turn.

GUJRAL DOCTRINE AND VAJPAYEE’SEFFORTS

President Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan waskilled in August 1988 in an air crash.After some time democracy was restored.Benazir Bhutto, who took over as PrimeMinister, though continued with theestablished parameters of Pakistanforeign policy, expressed desire toimprove relations with India. She heldtalks with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.Both referred to Shimla Accord andcommitment to bilateral approach.However, the basic issues remainedunresolved and the anti-Indian stance ofPakistan ruling elite continued. In 1990,Nawaz Sharif’s government and again in1993 new Government of Benazir Bhuttocreated both hope and despair for Indo-Pak relations. New Delhi suggestedseveral confidence measures butPakistan continued to insist on theresolution of Kashmir problem and thattoo in accordance with the Pakistan’swishes and 1948-49 UN resolutions. TheArmy and ISI were not necessarilyfollowing civilian government’s dictates.Thus, support and encouragement toterrorist activities kept on increasing.

A major initiative to improverelations with Pakistan was taken byForeign Minister I.K. Gujral in 1997when he initiated the policy of takingunilateral action to improve relationswith the neighbours. Gujral’scontention was that scarce resources insubcontinent were being wasted inhostilities. He expressed India’sreadiness as larger neighbour to givemore. In March 1997, he said, “I amwilling to make concessions onanything, except the sovereignty orsecular character of our nationwhich are non-negotiable. There will beno other partition of India.” Foronce, it seemed that Pakistan wasresponding positively.

Gujral’s initiatives were carriedforward by Prime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee who in February, 1999 wentto the extent of going to Lahore on Bus.But as already stated Pakistan’sinternal politics remained an hindrance.While Prime Minister Sharif wasexpressing his readiness to talk andimprove relations with India, his armywas preparing to strike in Kargil andISI was engaged in large scaleinfiltration of terrorists across theborder. Finally came the Army Coupand once again Military rule wasestablished under the command ofGeneral Pervez Musharraf. To establishhis credibility and win popularityGeneral began harping on Kashmir invery loud voices. At the same timekeeping in view the Kargil defeat andincreasing isolation of Pakistan ininternational community, he expressed



his willingness to talk to India. For thatpurpose he came to India andparticipated in Summit meeting withPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee atAgra. Whole world was looking at AgraSummit with great hopes. The summitfailed because the core issue forPakistan was Kashmir. India wasprepared to discuss Kashmir subject toPakistan’s commitment to end itssupport and encouragement toterrorism.

Since Agra Summit, relationsbetween India and Pakistan havecontinued to worsen. Terrorist attackon Indian Parliament in December2001 and Pakistan continuedinvolvement in Kashmir has made Indiarefuse to talk to it. After 11 September,2001 events in the USA andinternational war against terrorism,Pakistan has accepted the fact that theterrorists are using its territory, thoughhas denied its own support to them. Ithas promised to the world to keep itselfaway from support or abetment toterrorism. It however, keeps onexpressing its moral and politicalsupport to the terrorists whom theyallege are fightings for freedom ofKashmir. It seems that internal politicalcontradictions of Pakistan are socomplicated that politicians there haveto remain engaged in politics of one-up-manship in respect of India.

The basic problem in restorationof friendly relations between the twocountries is that while for over 55years India has been a vigorouslyfunctioning democratic State, Pakistanstill is in search of an identity and

system. In India the defence forces arefully under the control of the civilianand political authorities. In Pakistanon the other hand, they seem toconstitute an empire within an empire,perhaps autonomous in decision-making. It is time for India andPakistan to come out from skirmishesand to address of real issues ofhuman development, but the ray ofhope is bleak.

It is obvious that in its foreign policy,apart from general vision, the immediateneighbours have the first claim on itsattention. The relations with Nepal, SriLanka, China, Bangladesh andPakistan are of paramount importanceto India. India’s security, vital interestsand well being are intimately tied upwith the fate and future of this region.India, therefore, has tried to maintainpeaceful and cordial relations withthem. However, the differences in size,potentialities and ideologicalpreferences have quite often causedsome frictions also, particularly inrelations with China and Pakistan.While in recent years there has beentremendous improvement in India-China relations, the relations withPakistan have further worsened. Indiaremains interested in peacefulcoexistence and development of theregion. Of course it has to take note offears and susceptibilities of smallercountries and its strategic interests inrelation to China. It is expected that inthe post-cold war era there will be a newperspective on regional cooperation andfurther improvement in relationsamong neighbours.

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EXERCISES

1. Examine India’s relations with Pakistan.2. Explain the phases of cordial and strained relations between India and

Bangladesh.3. Give brief account of India’s relations with Sri Lanka4. Describe India’s relationship with China.5. Assess relationship between India and Nepal.6. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Shimla Agreement;(ii) Panchsheel ;

(iii) Kashmir problem;(iv) Indo-China border dispute;(v) Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.



IN a situation of bloc rivalries and coldwar the national leaders of India, after

independence, believed that anindependent India should be willing tomake adjustments in respect of herrelations with other nations. However,the prime concern for her was itsnational interest. Soon after the end ofthe Second World War the prevalentsituation was complex and delicate.Although the Western powers led by theUSA and the erstwhile Soviet Unionfought the common foe, the NaziGermany, during Second World War,their suspicions for each other prior tothe war, during the war and after thewar continued. By 1947 the dividinglines were clearly drawn. The newlyindependent Afro-Asian countries, onaccount of their fragile economic andpolitical conditions were susceptible topressures from both the super powers.Both the superpowers were trying toassume the role of system builders forthe world and were expecting otherstates to follow their lead. Both had afirm belief in the rivalry between theEastern and Western camps. They alsoopined that there was little room for athird camp. The bipolarity of the world

India’s Relations with USA and Russia

CHAPTER 18

was accepted as a natural consequenceof the Second World War.

It was in this situation that Indiadecided not to join either of the powerblocs and to follow a policy of non-alignment. Main concern at thattime was its development andtransformation, to raise the standard ofliving of the people and not militarypower. For this, India neededindependence in decision-making andsupport from all possible avenues.The only way to preserve India’sindependent identity and seek helpfrom both the powers was to avoidexcessive intimacy and identificationwith either bloc. At the same time, toattain the goals of national economicdevelopment and political stability, toensure the unity and socio-economicgrowth of the country, to preventaggression, or the threat of aggressionto its independence, it was necessaryfor India to maintain friendly relationswith both the super-powers. Thesuper -powers had their ownperspectives, interests and parametersto deal with countries in this region. Inthis context, India’s relations with theUSA and erstwhile Soviet Union (now

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Russia) emerged in a situation of bloc-rivalries during the cold war. In thischapter we will discuss in brief theorigin and development of India’srelations both with the USA and Russiaincluding former Soviet Union.

INDIA AND THE UNITED STATESOF AMERICA

Indo-US relations have remainedcomplex and at times paradoxical.Though there is tremendous change inthe relationship between the two afterthe end of the cold war and particularlyin the phase of recent terroristchallenges, yet it is clear that they areneither complete partners nor are theycomplete adversaries.

USA is three times the area of Indiabut the population of India is two anda half times than that of the USA. Interms of industrialisation and economyUSA is one of the most developed andrich countries whereas India is adeveloping country. Both India and theUSA are plural countries in termsof cultures and religions. Both aresecular democracies, committed toconstitutionalism, rule of law andfreedom of individual and the press.But in terms of strategic requirements,military ambitions and vision aboutinternational politics, the two countriesdiffer considerably.

ORIGIN OF INDO-US RELATIONS

Relationship between India and theUnited States goes back to pre-independence days. United States was

sympathetic and supportive of India’sstruggle for freedom. During the SecondWorld War period USA supported theidea of right to self-determination for thepeople all over the world. Thus, afterindependence, while India wasformulating its foreign policy with astrong desire to be independent ofpower blocs, it was also expecting thatwith independence and democraticinstitutions the USA would comeforward to support its struggle againstpoverty and for development. USA hadpeculiar interests in South Asian region.Its main concern was to contain thespread of Soviet influence and hercommunist ideology. The USA wasafraid that the Soviet Union would takefull advantage of the power vacuum,created by the withdrawal of the Britishfrom India. It also thought that thefragile economy of the Afro-Asiancountries was best suited for breedingthe communist ideology. Emergence ofChina as Communist Republic in 1949increased these apprehensions andinterest in the region. At the same time,US considered itself to be the sole globalpower and suspected that India had theambition and potential to be a regionalhegemony by virtue of its size, economicand military potentials. It may thusbecome a challenge to Americanauthority.

In view of the above to containSoviet Union and extend their owninfluence, Americans adopted a two-fold approach. First, to confront thesuspected Soviet expansionismthrough military force. Second, bylaunching plans for economic recovery

INDIA’S RELATIONS WITH USA AND RUSSIA


known as the “Marshal Plan”. Theperiod from 1947 to 1955 saw theemergence of a series of militaryalliances and extension of economicassistance to several nations which werewilling to go along with the Americanplan. Quite a few nations in Europe,Asia and Africa accepted the Americanpatronage while some others wentunder the Soviet fold. India, in theframework of its vision of non-alignment, opted for the policy offriendship with all but enmity to none;the policy of seeking help withoutstrings for India’s economicdevelopment; and the policy ofemploying freedom to judge all issueson their merit. India, also did notapprove the American policy ofcontainment of Communism againstSoviet Union and China through asystem of military alliances, and soughtto promote a climate of peacefulcoexistence and cooperation. Infact,India was among the first countries torecognise Communist China andestablish diplomatic relations with it.

As against India’s desire to remainindependent while maintaining friendlyrelations with the USA, Pakistan soonbegan to accept its dominance. Themain reason for this was Pakistans’animosity against India and search forallies in the international scenario.Pakistans’ search for security, statusand identity coincided with the UnitedStates search for an ally in South Asiato buttress its global strategicimperatives. In 1954 Pakistan becamea member of military alliances such asCENTO and SEATO sponsored by the

USA. Pakistan offered Peshawar,adjacent to the Soviet Union, foroperation of military spy planes of USA.This move of Pakistan was mainly tointernationalise the issue of Kashmir.The military pacts were, obviously, seenby Indian leaders as steps to containIndia’s policy of non-alignment andindependence of action.

USA condemned non-alignmentopenly. In 1954 it was the first countryto support Pakistan’s stand onKashmir issue in word and deed.Pakistan received huge amounts ofmilitary aid from the USA. Pakistan’salignment with the United States beliedthe hopes of Indian decision-makers.India was forced to be friendly with theother Super Power i.e. the Soviet Unionfor the diplomatic vantage and militarybuild-up within the constraints of itsnon-aligned identity. Soviet Union alsotook keen interest in the affairs of newlyindependent countries of Asia andAfrica. Soviet Union appreciated thepolicy of Non-Alignment. In South Asia,the Soviet Union found a sympathetically in India inspite of its not joining themilitary alliances.

Thus, in order to encourage Indiato remain a liberal democracy andnot to go under the communistdependency, USA maintained afavorable economic, cultural andeducational relations with India in thedecade of 1950s and 1960s. It providedvaluable assistance to India under theTechnical Cooperation Agreement of1951. It also made available to Indiahuge quantities of food grains duringperiods of shortages. But in military –

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strategic terms, American policy was tocontain India by strengthening itsmilitary alliance with Pakistan andcreating a regional balance of power.This policy to check India was due tothree concerns of the USA (i) India hadan alignment with the USSR which wasan adversary of the USA; (ii) India’sambition and potential to be a regionalpower by virtue of its size, economic andmilitary potential; and (iii) USapprehension that a threat of war in theIndian sub-continent might prove to bethreat to international peace. To containIndian ambition and regionalhegemonic capacity, USA worked tobuild up Pakistan as a pillar of sub-continental security. USA was so muchapprehensive of India’s potential toemerge as a regional power that it evencondemned liberation of the Portugesecolonies of Goa, Daman and Diu byIndia whereas it was expected that theUSA would applaud the action.America had been advocatingelimination of colonial rule, and self-determination. India was surprised andshocked. It found that the USA wasmore concerned about her NATO ally,Portugal, instead of honouring itscommitment to anti-colonialism.

During this period, USA gavemilitary aid to India only once in 1962i.e. at the time of Chinese aggression.At that time the USA provided Indiawith the useful moral and material help.There was also some change inAmerican perception of non-alignment.John F. Kennedy administrationbelieved that the cold war neutralityof Third World nations was an

acceptable alternative to Communism.Furthermore, India was key power inAsia; and its relative neutralitywould be preferable to its adoptingCommunism. However, the newChinese communist threat forced USAto continue the flow of militaryassistance to Pakistan.

The American justification ofmilitary aid to Pakistan was that it wasdirected against the Soviet Union andChina. But, as a matter of fact forPakistan the aid was principally meantto be used against India. However, itmay be mentioned here that AmericanPresident Eisenhower had given awritten pledge to Prime Minister Nehruthat American weapons would not bepermitted to be used by Pakistan in itswar with India.

Whatever improvement in Indo-USrelations took place after 1962, itdeteriorated after 1965. At that time,India was suffering from severe foodshortage and US administration slowedfood aid shipments to India. Even thishad no impact on India, who continuedto speak against the US action inVietnam. During 1966-1969 someefforts were made to improve therelationship between the two countries.Not much came out of this. Onthe contrary developments between1969-71 brought the Indo-USrelations to the lowest ebb.

By this time serious difference haddeveloped between Soviet Union andChina. US administration startedserious efforts to improve relations withChina. For India US-Pakistan-Chinaaxis was a serious cause of worry. Yet,



India tried to maintain its non-alignedstance. In view of developments in EastPakistan (Bangladesh), in 1971, thesituation radically changed. Americanpro-Pakistan policy finally inducedIndia to sign the Indo-Soviet Treaty andcome further closer to the Soviet Union.Bangladesh crisis in 1971 clearlyrevealed the decisive influenceof the USA on Pakistan in itsstrained relationship with India andits till towards Pakistan. Indias’underground nuclear test in 1974, wascriticised by the United States, thoughIndia had made it clear that its nuclearprogramme was entirely for peacefulpurpose. Apprehensions between Indiaand the USA reached its peak in 1979with the Soviet intervention inAfghanistan because India did notcondemn the Soviet intervention inAfghanistan. In view of the situation,Pakistan was given the status of afrontline state by America and itreceived significant military aid. Thus,supply of fresh arms by the USA toPakistan and non-condemnations ofSoviet intervention in Afghanistan byIndia renewed tensions between Indiaand the United States. However, at thesame time the visit of US Secretary ofState Henry Kissinger in 1974 to Indiaand other diplomatic efforts to improvethe relations between two countries sawpositive and visible change.

TOWARDS NORMALISATION OF

RELATION

Till the last years of 1970s, in general,US administration perceived Indian

policies as decidedly pro-Soviet,whereas Indians saw their own policiesas continuation of non-alignment andnon-interference. A meeting betweenPrime Minister Indira Gandhi andPresident Reagan in October 1981 atthe Cancun meeting made the two toreexamine postulates of their foreignpolicies. The Reagan administrationcontinued to consider the US-Pakistansecurity relationship highly importantand offered a substantial military aidpackage to Pakistan. However, he alsorealised the importance of improvedrelations with India and adopted a two-track approach of continuing to armPakistan while assisting India onpolitical and economic issues. Thus,during 1980s the USA and Indiaexpanded high-technology cooperation.In November 1984 a memorandum ofunderstanding was signed to regulatethe export of defence technology tobring in a new era of understanding.

Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister,evinced great interest in improvingrelations with the US. The USadministration responded favourably.The two countries signed amemorandum on high technologytransfers. The US also offered advancedmilitary equipment and weaponry,including aircrafts. On India’sexpressing her concern, US evenwithdrew offers to sell surveillanceaircraft to Pakistan. The developmentof new relations, of course, were notwithout hindrances and problems. Onmany issues the differences between thetwo countries persisted. One of thesewas on nuclear policy. However, in view

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of India’s increasing economic, militaryand strategic importance and policiesof economic liberalisation adopted byher the process of normalisation kepton accelerating and received significantstimulation after the end of the coldwar.

INDO-US RELATIONS IN POST

COLD WAR ERA

The end of the cold war marked asignificant change in the US approachtowards the Indian sub-continent. Withthe end of cold war and collapse anddisintegration of Soviet Union, theideological confrontation between theEast and the West ended. Centrallycontrolled economies started movingtowards market economy. US thoughtitself to be the sole Super Power. InSouth Asia, with the collapse of SovietUnion and its withdrawal fromAfghanistan, Pakistan’s role infurthering US strategic goals ofcontaining the Soviet Union becameredundant. Pakistan’s relentlesspursuit of a nuclear capability alsocaused US to distance itself fromPakistan. Moreover, in the age ofglobalisation, India was looked uponas one of the major emerging markets,because of its size, huge population, alarge middle class community, and itseconomic potential. To cope with itseconomic problems, India had alsostarted looking for external investment,technical cooperation and traderelations. Also Pakistan’s continuousencouragement to terrorism in Kashmirand its efforts to internationalise the

Kashmir issue was a matter of concernfor India. Thus, both India and the USAbegan to shed the ideological blinkersdonned to protect their interests duringthe cold war. They started discoveringeach other afresh. Now, USA recognisedthat with economic strength, India wasan important player in this part of theworld. Its growth potential — economicand political could not be ignored.

In view of the above changes botheconomic and defence relations betweenthe two countries started taking newshapes. The discussions between thetwo countries moved India into an arenaof military consultations which the UShad never experienced before. The majorhurdle that continued between the twocountries was over nuclear policy. Indianot only continued to refuse to enter intodiscriminatory arms control agreementsbut also developed its missileprogramme. In this context conduct ofnuclear tests by India in 1998,significantly eroded its relations with theUSA. The Clinton administration in USAimposed sanctions both on India andPakistan. The context of Indian nuclearand missile proliferation was not fullyappreciated by the US policy makers.India had long standing territorialdisputes with nuclear and near —nuclear powers. India had no way todefend itself against its neighboursexcept by recourse to a nucleardeterrent, so that it could acquirediplomatic and military space inthe troublesome strategic environmentof the Asia-pacific.

After 1998 nuclear tests, inspite ofsanctions imposed by the USA, India



tried to keep the relationship frombecoming bitter. Known for itspragmatic approach, the Americanforeign policy establishment also seemsto be accommodating the Indiannuclear policy. An example of this camein November 1998 when a large factionof the Pakistani military and Pakistani— backed terrorists crossed over theLine of Control on the Kargil heights.The USA joined other members ofthe international community incondemning Pakistan for this. Whilecriticising Pakistan, the USA also tookupon itself the role of a mediatorbetween India and Pakistan. Theterrorist attack, on 11 September,2001, in the USA has opened a newchapter in the relations betweenIndia, Pakistan and the United Stateof America.

In view of the spread of terroristactivities the world over, Americarecognised the necessity of aninternational war against terrorism andalso to build links with non-traditionalpartners. In this, the US administrationlooks towards India as the potentialpart of global surveillance that the USwants to build against terrorism. It iswell recognised that India enjoysinternal stability as well as military andeconomic strength, and that it has amature non-expansionist internationalattitude. Both Indian and the USA aretargets of cross-border terrorism. Thus,we may find increased cooperationbetween the US and India in dealingwith the problem of terrorism in thenear future. This, of course, does notmean that America is losing interest in

Pakistan. Infact, it is trying to improverelations with Pakistan also,particularly, to check the growth offundamentalist forces.

As already mentioned, in thechanged situation there also are someunique opportunities for India and theUS to expand trade relations as well.India has a major need for technologicalcooperation. It can, therefore, be saidthat India and the USA have emergedfrom a history of mistrust and arelationship which lacked depth to theprocess of an economic and strategicdialogue and cooperation. Americancalculation of course is for thefulfillment of its own national interest.It is, therefore, important that whileIndia should continue developingfriendly and cordial relations with theUS it should also remain vigilant aboutits own interests, and safeguard itssovereignty and independence.

INDIA AND RUSSIA

Russia emerged as an independentState in 1991, after the disintegrationof the USSR. But Russia has declareditself to be “State-continuator” of theerstwhile USSR. India and most of theother countries also recognise Russiaas the successor State to the formerSoviet Union. As such India’s relationswith Russia are both a relationshipbetween new non-communist Russiaand a continuity of relationships withthe former Soviet Union. Developmentsduring last decade also suggest thatIndo-Russian relations in many waysare based on continuity. India’s

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relations with Soviet Union were ofspecial significance. The importanceattached to them cut across party lines.There was a national consensus on theneed for a strong and stable relationshipwith the USSR. This seems to becontinuing from both sides, thoughthere are some changes on certainaccounts in view of post cold warsituation. In the new foreign policyconcept released by Russian Federationon 10 July, 2000, it has been stated thatone of the crucial directions in theRussian foreign policy in Asia will be todevelop friendly relations with theleading States including India. Tounderstand the nature of theserelationships between India and Russiait is necessary to know the origin anddevelopment of relations with theerstwhile Soviet Union.

INDO-SOVIET RELATIONS

Soviet Union came into existence in1917 as a result of Russian Revolutionbased on Marxian-Socialist ideology.In accordance with the socialistideology, right from the beginning,Soviet Union condemned colonialismand supported freedom strugglesincluding that of India. The process ofplanning adopted by Soviet Unionmade it a developed and a powerfulState within a few years. India’s leadersfighting against British imperialism,and facing the consequences ofcapitalist oppression were obviouslyappreciative of both the Soviet supportfor its freedom struggle and theachievements that country had made.

They, therefore, did not share Westerncountry’s apprehensions aboutcommunist expansionist designs.

At the time of independence, theexpectation was for development ofrelationship of cooperation between thetwo countries, irrespective of differencesof ideologies. Hope was strengthenedwith Soviet Union formally recognisingIndia as a sovereign State in April 1947,that is four months before itsindependence, and establishment ofdiplomatic relations. However, at thetime of India’s independence SovietUnion was under control of Stalin, whowas very rigid in his approach whichincluded the perception that all thosewho were not communists were againstthe Soviet Union. India’s joiningCommonwealth after independence wasprojected as India’s pro-western policy.Similarly, India’s adoption of non-alignment and its independent stand oncertain issues at that time did notplease Soviet Union. As such, in 1947Soviet Union was quite skeptical aboutIndia’s independence and its futureidentity.

The situation, however, startedchanging from 1953 onwards. With theend of Stalin era new Soviet leadershipbegan to look towards newlyindependent Afro-Asian countries asits natural allies. It, therefore,appreciated India’s non-alignment.Soviet leadership realised that Indiawas not suffering from any perceivedthreat of the spread of communism.In fact, India was resisting theexpansion of Western influence intoAsian region if it threatened self-



determination. India had adopted apolicy of non-alignment to address itsown security and national concerns.Above all Soviet Union realised India’simportance as a strategic partner whenin 1954 Pakistan joined SEATO andCENTO alliances and provided basis toAmerica on Russian borders. As aconsequence, the Soviet Unionconsidered Pakistan as an Americanclient State, advancing and nurturingthe US military and strategic interestsin the region. From this period onwardsrelations between India and SovietUnion started developing very cordiallyand friendly. One area in which SovietUnion has solidly stood by India wasin regard to Kashmir. By 1955 SovietUnion had clearly taken a pro-Indiastand and declared unequivocally thatJammu and Kashmir was an integralpart of India. As has already beenmentioned above in the discussion onIndo-US relations that some otherevents in international arena andcountry’s responses to them furtherbrought Soviet Union and India closervis-à-vis Pakistan and the USA.

Along with strategic relations, gateswere opened for trade and economicrelations. The beginning was made withthe Indo-Soviet Trade Agreement of1953. It was followed by anotheragreement in 1955 for construction ofBhilai Steel Plant. India receivedeconomic aid from Soviet Union at lowinterest rates and on long-term basis.An important aspect of trade relationshas been Rupee trade. It meansthat trade was regulated underthe Rupee agreement under which

imports into India were to bepaid through export commodities.Transactions involving free foreignexchange were eliminated and the rupeeserved as an account unit. The traderelations between India and the USSRdeveloped enormously.

During the cold war, India’s goalwas to avoid being drawn into thesphere of influence of the majorsuperpowers. At the same time, Indiarequired weapons for its defence,specially after the Chinese aggressionin 1962. Indian defence procurementwas limited due to budgetaryconstraints and a scarcity of foreignexchange. Under pressure fromPakistan and for its own strategicreasons, United State provided onlylimited weapons that too, underconditions prevailing immediately afterChinese aggression. But Sovietequipment was sold to India onconcessional rates and lower rates ofinterest and on long-term schedules.During India’s war with China, theSoviet Union generally supportedIndia’s position. During India-Pakistanwar in 1965, Pakistan freely usedAmerican weapons, their sophisticatedtanks and some of the Chinese weaponsagainst India. Further, the UnitedStates’ efforts to come closer to Chinaand possibilities of US-China-Pakistanaxis was also a matter of seriousconcern for India.

Impact of US-China-Pak axisbecame clear during Bangladesh crisisin 1971. It was in this situation that inAugust 1971 a Treaty of Friendshipand Cooperation was signed between

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India and the erstwhile Soviet Union.This treaty proved to be a deterrent andthe USA did not intervene in the War.The 1971 treaty was the first politicaltreaty concluded by India with one ofthe Super powers. Many criticsobserved that it was a deviation fromnon-alignment, but given the situationand America’s direct threat, perhaps itwas essential. In India the treaty wasuniversally hailed. Hence, now onwardsIndo-Soviet relations continued todevelop under all governments in India.So much so that even at the time ofclear indications of collapse of SovietUnion, the 1971 treaty, which wassigned for 20 years, was renewed foranother two decades in August 1991.

In general, India-Soviet Unionrelations were based on mutual benefitand certain common visions aboutinternational politics. Both believed innational freedom and social equality,support to national liberationmovements and fight againstcolonialism, racial discrimination andoppression as a matter of principle. Ofcourse the military and strategicinterests of both the countries played apivotal role in determining theserelations. The same in many ways stillcontinues as India-Russia Relations.

INDIA-RUSSIA RELATIONS

By December 1991 not only theCommunist system in Soviet Unioncollapsed but it also got disintegratedinto 15 independent Republics. Allthese States have been recognised assovereign States. Russian Federation

has been recognised by theinternational community as thesuccessor State of USSR. It meansrights and commitments of the USSRare now that of Russia. India also hasrecognised the 15 Republics assovereign States and expressed itsdesire to establish friendly andcooperative relations with all. Its specialinterest, however, remain with Russia.

Both India and Russian federationhave expressed the hope andcommitment to maintain time-testedtraditional relations between the twocountries. However, in the early yearsof 1990s there were some constraints.Among the Russian leaderships therewere three main trends with regard toIndo-Russian relations; (i) Proponentsof traditional ties were pleading for apolicy based on continuity; (ii) Therewere exponents of building new typesof relations, devoid of any ideologicalpreconception; (iii) There were blindsupporter of the US course, intendingto give strategic character to the US-Russian relations and thus keen tooverlook the value of Indo-Russian ties.It seems that both the leadership andelite in the two countries wereinfluenced by all the three trends partly.Therefore, in the first two years ofestablishment of Russia the traditionalwarmth in the bilateral relations of thetwo countries was not visible. However,starting with the visit of President Yeltsinof Russia to India in 1993, renewal ofold ties became pronounced.

During the period 1994-96, severalhigh-level visits were exchangedbetween the two countries. India was



assured of Russian support onKashmir and continuation of supplyof spare parts for defence equipments.At the same time, in the changed postcold war environment and marketstaking over the economy, both Russiaand India were looking for wideroptions. Russia was keen to develop itsEuropean entity rather than itsEuroasian identity. It believed that itsfuture prosperity and influence lay inforging a close alliance with the UnitedStates and Western Europe. It wantedto join the G-7, that is group of 7 highlyindustrialised and developed countriesof the world. India also, in the changedsituation and in need of moresophisticated arms, was looking foralternative options, in addition toRussia. As already mentioned indiscussion on India-US relations, theUSA was offering such options to India.Also, India’s need for foreign investmentwas making it look towards West fortrade and economic relations. And, inthe meantime both India and Russiacontinued interacting with each otherat various levels.

By early 1997, Russia startedgetting disillusioned from WesternPowers. Its attempt to get entry intoG-7 was not successful. The UnitedStates was expanding the North AtlanticTreaty Organisation (NATO) to includeseveral former communist EastEuropean countries. This was notappreciated by Russia, thoughultimately Russia itself signed a NATO-Russian pact. All these events madeRussia to reexamine its priorities.Though the basic pro-West orientation

of Russian foreign policy remainedintact, Russia also started movingcloser towards India, China and Japan.

The visit by Prime Minister of India,H.D. Deve Gowda to Moscow in March1997 turned out to be a highwatermark. Several agreements weresigned between the two countries. Thetraditional relations shared by both thecountries, reached its culmination withthe visit of Russian President VladimirPutin to India on 3 October, 2000. Thesigning of the strategic partnership byPresident Putin and Prime MinisterVajpayee widened scope for continuedpolitical engagements and dialogue ondefence matters by setting up of jointworking groups. The MoscowDeclaration signed by the RussianPresident Vladimir Putin and IndianPrime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on5 November, 2001 is yet anothermilestone in cementing the close andfriendly ties between India and theRussian Federation. As both thecountries have been the victims of thescourge of international terrorism formore than a decade (Russia in the caseof Chechnya and India in the case ofKashmir), there has been identity ofviews on the need and support tocontain and eliminate terrorism. BothIndia and Russia while extendingsupport for global effort, and inparticular for the American initiative toeliminate terrorism, have expressed theview that there should not be anydouble standards in identifyingterrorism and dealing with it.

The Moscow declaration alsoreiterates the desire of both the

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countries for expanded economicrelations in future. The two countriesthus can look forward to better avenuesfor a wide range of trade and commerceactivities. Leaders of both the countrieshave clearly indicated that they wantto restore their relationship to its earlierhigh pedestal. Of course in the fastchanging international situationnothing is certain; but at least for thepresent, the relations between Indiaand Russia are poised for revival of thetraditional Indo-Soviet friendship.

Indo-Soviet/Russian relationscould be summed up, as SiddharathVardarajan observes, in the followingphases:

During the Stalin years, the USSRpreferred to keep its distance from Indiaas it considered Nehru’s India to be areactionary state beholdened to Britainand the US. From Khrushchev till earlyyears of Gorbachev, on the other handrelations were warm with closeeconomic and military ties. The end ofthe cold war and a prolonged period ofeconomic anarchy brought with it acertain cooling of relations betweenRussia and India with Yeltsin tendingto follow the US lead. But now, withUS-Russia relations entering a newand potentially unstable phase,Moscow is anxious to renew itsfriendship with New Delhi.

EXERCISES

1. Examine Indo-American relationship.2. Describe the process of normalisation of relationship between United States of

America and India.3. Explain the Indo-Soviet Union relationship up to 1990.4. Discuss the nature of relationship between India and Russia.5. Write short notes on the following :

(i) The US tilt towards Pakistan;(ii) Indo-Soviet Treaty of 1971;

(iii) Attitude of the USA and the USSR towards India at the time of 1971Indo-Pak war;

(iv) Post-Cold War relationship between India and USA.



UNITED Nations was founded on24 October, 1945 after the Second

World War with the purpose of savingthe world from the fear of another worldwar, to reaffirm faith in human rights,dignity of human beings, equal rightsof men and women and of nations. Italso envisages to establish conditionsunder which justice and respect fortreaties and international laws can bemaintained. The aims, objectives andorganisation of the United Nations (UN)are contained in the Charter of UnitedNations which was adopted at SanFrancisco on 25 June, 1945. India wasa participant in the San FranciscoConference that drafted the Charterand was honoured with originalmembership of the organisation. Ofcourse, at that time India was not anindependent state.

UNITED NATIONS GOALS, PRINCIPLES

AND ORGANISATION

The purposes, for which United Nationswas established are: (i) to maintaininternational peace and security; (ii) todevelop friendly relations amongnations; (iii) to cooperate internationallyin solving international economic,

India and the United Nations

CHAPTER 19

social, cultural and humanitarianproblems and in promoting respect forhuman rights and fundamentalfreedoms; and (iv) to be a centre forharmonising the actions of nationsin attaining these common ends.The basic principles of the UnitedNations are: (i) sovereign equality ofall its members; (ii) fulfillment ofobligations assumed by member statesin accordance with the Charter;(iii) peaceful settlement of internationaldisputes without endangering peace,security and justice; (iv) members torefrain from threat, or the use of forceagainst the territorial integrity of otherStates; (v) members to give all possibleassistance to the United Nations; (vi) toensure that even non-members act inaccordance with the principles of UNCharter; and (vii) United Nations notto interfere in domestic matters ofany State.

The United Nations performs itsfunctions through its principal organsand specialised agencies. According tothe UN Charter there are six principalorgans of the organisation. These are:The General Assembly, SecurityCouncil, Economic and Social Council,Trusteeship Council, International

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Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.General Assembly is the plenary organof the United Nations. Every membercountry is represented in this on thebasis of sovereign equality. Thus, everymember country, irrespective of size orpower, has one vote in the GeneralAssembly. It meets at least once a year.It can discuss any matter within thescope of UN Charter and makesrecommendations.

The primary responsibility ofmaintenance of international peace andsecurity has been assigned to theSecurity Council. It consists of 5permanent and 10 non-permanentmembers. Permanent members are theUSA, the UK, France, Russia andChina. For any decision the consent ofthe 5 permanent members is essential.A negative vote by any permanentmember means rejection of theproposal. This power to get anyproposal rejected is known as vetopower of the permanent members. Tennon-permanent members are elected bythe General Assembly for a two-yearsterm. They don’t have the veto power.

The Economic and Social councilconsists of 54 members elected by theGeneral Assembly. It is responsible forcooperation in socio-economic activitiesamong the members. The TrusteeshipCouncil was established to manage theaffairs of territories detached fromJapan and Italy after the Second WorldWar or such territories not under thecontrol of a country at that time. Withthe task of decolonisation having beenalmost completed the TrusteeshipCouncil does not have much work to

do. International Court of Justice ismade of 15 judges elected frommember countries. The Court is calledupon to find solutions to legal disputesbetween member countries. It interpretsinternational law and also advices theGeneral Assembly and the SecurityCouncil on legal matters.

The Secretariat is the permanentoffice of the United Nations. It is headedby the Secretary General. The SecretaryGeneral is elected by the GeneralAssembly for a term of five years. Heis also the chief executivefunctionary of the UN. Accordingly, heacts both as the Secretary General ofthe General Assembly and of theSecurity Council.

Various specialised agencies ofthe United Nations are meant to workfor cooperation in developmentalactivities. These include InternationalCivil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), WorldMeteorlogical Organisation (WMO),International Labour Organisation (ILO),World Health Organisation (WHO), Foodand Agricultural Organisation (FAO),United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),United Nations International Children’sEmergency Fund (UNICEF), etc. Indiahas remained an active participant inmost of the UN agencies right from theday of its establishment.

INDIA’S ROLE IN THE UN

As stated above India is one of thefounder members of the UN. Afterindependence, Indian leadership madea conscious effort to identify principles

INDIA AND THE UNITED NATIONS


of India’s foreign policy totally with thecollective goals of the UN Charter.Hence, a strong and effective UnitedNations was in harmony with India’snational and larger interests. India,therefore, starting as a foundingmember of the UN has travelled a longway since independence and hasearned a formidable reputation for itsversatile experience and contributionsin the UN activities.

You have already read that not onlythe visions of India’s foreign policy weresimilar to the goals set by the UN butalso the Constitution of India throughArticle 51 in the Chapter on DirectivePrinciples of State Policy directs thegovernment to promote internationalpeace and seek peaceful settlement ofinternational disputes. India’s record inthe UN, particularly in earlier decades,bears out that the positions India tookon all key issues had been those whichhelped strengthening the United Nationsas a non-partisan and effectiveorganisation free from domination byany single power or group of powers. Wecan see this by looking at India’s specificrole in some of the major activities of theUN during all these years.

STRUGGLE AGAINST COLONIALISM

In the frame work of pronounced goalsof the UN charter for promoting andencouraging respect for human rightsand fundamental freedoms for all,the UN also strives for freedomfrom colonialism, racialism anddiscrimination. In 1945, when the UNCharter was signed, more than 750

million people lived under colonial rule.Now, this is almost over. India was inthe forefront of the struggle againstcolonialism, apartheid, and racialdiscrimination — a struggle that hastransformed the lives of millions ofpersons in Africa and Asia.

The provisions of the Charter onNon-Self Governing Territories weregiven a new thrust when the UNadopted the landmark declaration of1960 on the Granting of independenceto colonial countries and peoples. Thedeclaration solemnly proclaimed thenecessity of bringing to a complete andunconditional end colonialism in all itsforms and manifestations. The followingyear, the special committee on theImplementation of the Declaration onDecolonisation was established tostudy, investigate and recommendaction for ending colonialism. India wasappointed the first Chairman of theDecolonisation Committee. As amember of the committee of 24, Indiahas ceaselessly struggled for an end tocolonialism. India also took up thedecolonisation issue in TrusteeshipCommittee, the Special Committee onNon-Self Governing Territories. It alsosponsored and supported numerousresolutions in the UN on decolonisation.India has raised this issue also at Non-Aligned and Commonwealth meetings.In the early years, it took up the causeof Indonesian freedom. It sought toprotect the interest of the Arabs bytaking a clear stand on the division ofPalestine. India played a significant rolein the freedom of the French colonies ofTunisia, Algeria and Morocco. India’s

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role in liberation of various Africancountries and struggle againstracialism, particularly the apartheid, iswell known.

By 1960s most of the colonieshad achieved independence. Emergenceof the new States as a result ofindependence increased the membershipof the UN as also brought to the fore theissues of underdevelopment, poverty andunequal world order. India, in thatsituation, played a leading role inbringing newly independent countriestogether in the non-aligned movementand worked collectively for their freedom,development and stability. Till todayIndia is representing in the UN, theinterests of the developing countries in avery forceful manner. One aspect of thisis the demand for reforms in the UnitedNations itself. We will discuss this later inthis chapter.

INDIA AND DISARMAMENT

In view of the disastrous experiences ofthe Second World War, particularly theuse of nuclear arms, one of the majorconcerns of the United Nations was tocontrol the arms race. In that India hasconsistently pursued the objective ofglobal disarmament based on theprinciples of universality, non-discrimination and effective compliance.Given the horrific destructive capacityof nuclear weapons, India has alwaysbelieved in the existence of a world freeof nuclear weapons. In the UnitedNations, India pleaded the cause ofdisarmament and arms control inEighteenth National Disarmament

Committee, special sessions of the UNGeneral Assembly and in the conferenceon disarmament. We will discuss India’sposition and role in disarmamentin some details in another chapter ofthis book.

INDIA IN THE UN PEACE KEEPING

OPERATIONS

As mentioned in the beginning,the United Nations was establishedprimarily for maintenance ofInternational Peace and Security. Inregard to this, India believed thatUnited Nations should emphasise onmethods of peaceful settlement ofdisputes rather than on the use offorce. During 1950s and 1960s anumber of such disputes had emergedin various parts of the world. India,within United Nations and underUnited Nations, played a key role ineasing several such critical situationsthrough the process of peace-makingand peace-keeping operations of theUN. Peace-keeping, though has notbeen used in the UN Charter, hasevolved during the years as aninternationally acceptable UNmechanism for resolving conflicts. Inthis, the UN controlled forces are sentto control and resolve conflictsbetween states or communities withinstates. So far about 40 peace-keepingoperations have been organised bythe UN.

Indian troops have taken part insome of the most difficult operationsand have suffered casualties inthe service of the UN. Professional



excellence of the Indian troops has wonuniversal admiration. India has takenpart in the UN peace -keepingoperations in four continents. Its mostsignificant contribution has been inmaintaining peace and stability inAfrica and Asia. It has demonstrated itsunique capacity of sustaining largetroops and commitments overprolonged periods. India is ranked asthe second largest troop contributingcountry to the UN. India has alsooffered one brigade of troops to the UNstand-by arrangements.

India provided a paramedical unitto facilitate withdrawal of the sickand the wounded in Korea. Afterannouncement of ceasefire in Koreain 1953, India was appointed theChairman of the Neutral NationsRepatriation Commission. One brigadeof the Indian Army participated in theoperation in Korea, authorised by theUN General Assembly.

India also contributed to peace inthe Middle East. The United NationsEmergency Force (UNEF) was there in1956 following cessation of hostilitiesbetween Egypt and Israel. Indiaprovided an infantry battalion whichaccounted for the bulk of the UN force.For over 11 years, from 1956 to 1967,more than 12,000 Indian troops tookpart in UNEF.

Pursuant to the Geneva Accord, anInternational Control Commission (ICC)for Indo-China was set up in 1954.India was the Chairman of theCommission, which implementedceasefire agreement between Vietnam,Laos, Cambodia and France. India

provided one infantry battalion andsupporting staff until ICC was woundup in 1970.

The UN faced one of its worst criseswhen war between the government andthe secessionist forces broke out inCongo in 1960. The UN operation inCongo, was unique in many ways. Theoperation involved heavy casualties. Itwas also for the first time that the UNundertook an operation in an intra-state rather an inter-state conflict. Theoperation upheld the national unityand territorial integrity of Congo. Theperformance of Indian troops wasdistinguished by their discipline, self-restraint and humanitarian concern.

Indian Army provided a ForceCommander and observers for theObserver Mission in Yemen in 1960.India also participated in the UNoperation in Cyprus. The UN set up aMilitary Observer Group to monitor thesituation on Iran-Iraq border. Followingthe end of the Gulf War, the UNestablished an Iraq-Kuwait ObserverMission. UN operation in Namibia is alsoconsidered one of the significant successstories of the United Nations. In this caseagain, the Force Commander was anIndian officer. Indian military observersin Namibia were responsible for thesmooth withdrawal of foreign troops,elections and subsequent handing overof the authority to the government. InMozambique the UN helped to restorepeace and conduct elections. Here also,India provided a big contingent ofstaff officers, independent headquarters,and engineers. The operation endedsuccessfully.

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Countries which participate in UNPeace-keeping Operations have toprovide not only the military expertisebut also they have to be politicallyacceptable. The range of sensitivepeace-keeping operations, India hasparticipated in, is a testimony to India’spolitical image in all parts of the world.India has risked the lives of its soldiersin peace-keeping efforts of the UnitedNations, not for any national gain, butfor a noble cause of strengthening theworld body. Therefore, India has notonly provided armed forces in the UNpeace-keeping operations but has alsomastered the techniques of negotiationand diplomacy at United Nations.Indian contribution has been soenormous that a former UN SecretaryGeneral Dag Hammarskjold once said,the United Nations could not conceiveof a single conflict situation which couldbe defused without the constructivecooperation from countries like India.

AFRO-ASIAN SOLIDARITY

Soon after the establishment of theUnited Nations, it became clear that itwas to deal with diversity of issues andinterests of various countries as well asgroups of countries. Size of themembership was also increasingcontinuously. In this situation someinformal group emerged within UnitedNations. These groups were formed onthe basis of regional, ideological,functional, and other considerations.As you have already studied that evenbefore independence Indian leaders hadbeen stressing for solidarity between

newly emerging independent Afro-Asian Countries. It was in this contextthat in March 1947 India had hostedthe Asian Regional Conference inNew Delhi. Thereafter, it took lead inorganising Bandung Conferenceleading to the establishment ofNon-Aligned Movement.

Within United Nations, India tooklead in organising an informal Afro-Asian group and has continued torepresent the views of the group invarious fora of the UN. In the earlieryears membership of some newlyindependent Afro-Asian countries wasblocked by one Super Power or theother. India not only supported thecause of their membership but alsoactively pleaded for that. This led to theadmission of 16 countries in the UN.By 1960s most of the colonies hadachieved independence and were underpressure from Super Powers for joiningone or the other power bloc. Badlyneeded aid for development was beingtied up with the support or oppositionto one power or the other. In thissituation, India along with Egypt,Yugoslavia, Indonesia, etc. provided thevision of non-alignment for newlyindependent Afro-Asian countries andworked as a NAM group in the UN toassert their views on issues ofdevelopment and freedom.

India played an active role in theestablishment of Group of 77 andG-15 and has continued to play aleadership role in the activities of thesegroups to protect and promote theinterests of developing Afro-Asiangroups. Of late African and Asian



groups have begin to meet and actseparately on various issues. On certainissues they still remain together. In thecontext of globalisation, countries arealso preferring bilateral agreementswith developed industrialisedcountries. But it is increasinglybecoming clear that various processesof globalisation, at present, are beingdirected by developed countries topromote their own economic andpolitical interests. Recent WTOnegotiations in July 2002 at Dohaprominently manifested differencesbetween the developed and developingcountries. Similar is the case with theissue of democratisation and reforms ofthe United Nations. Importance of Afro-Asian unity and their collective voice inthe UN, therefore, is important. Indiaunderstands this and her role as a leaderin that has been recognised by all.

REFORM PROCESS OF UNITED

NATIONS

At its inception, after the Second WorldWar the United Nations had 51 foundermember countries, mostly fromEurope, North America and otherindependent countries. The mainconcern of the UN at that time wasmaintenance of peace, collectivesecurity and elimination of situationswhich lead to the devastating WorldWars. Besides these, the UN was facedwith the task of decolonisation andelimination of discrimination based orrace, religion, region, etc. But, as itis generally observed that it wasprimarily an organisation of developed

independent nations. In due course oftime, with the emergence of new statesas a result of decolonisation, themembership of the UN kept onincreasing. At present it is 190. The lastcountry to join the UN as a member in2002 is Switzerland. With the inclusionof the new nations underdeveloped,poor and suppressed for years, therealso have come up new issues,challenges and aspirations. It is,therefore, felt that the United Nationsrequires reforms and improvements inits working.

There is a demand that UN shouldbe more democratised. In the situationof the new political realities andchallenges of global economicdevelopment, it should become a forumfor all peoples and nations; it shouldbe more representative of the world andits diversities and emerging aspirations.In any case, reform and improvementsare an intrinsic part of any organisationwhich has to serve the purpose inchanging environment. The UnitedNations is no exception.

India supports a strengthened andreformed United Nations with its variousorgans functioning within theirmandates in accordance with the UNCharter. It supports an enhanced rolefor the United Nations in thedevelopment of various fields. Indiafirmly believes that this developmentshould be in conformity with the UN’sagenda which is an indispensableprerequisite to the maintenance ofinternational peace and security.

India actively supported the creationof the UN development programme,

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establishment of UN EconomicProgramme and responsibility of the UNin socio- economic spheres of activities.India has also represented in the HighLevel Expert Committee established bythe UN Secretary — General in the midnineties on the finance of the UN. Itplayed very constructive role in thediscussions on the Agenda for Peace andDevelopment. India is one of theCo-chairperson of the working Groupon Strengthening of the United Nations.

India has been supportive of the UNSecretary General Kofi Anan’s reformproposals. While some of these havebeen agreed and implemented,discussions continue on others. Animportant proposal is for holding of theMillennium Assembly. India believesthat the Millennium Assemblymust identify the goals for thepromotion of development, cooperation,disarmament, etc; and it must alsoprovide Developing Nations with therequired resources to effectively tacklethese challenges.

India shares the concerns forimproving efficiency, avoidance ofduplication and minimisation ofbureaucracy in the functioning of theentire UN system. While efforts for theseobjectives need to be intensified, Indiabelieves that member States should paytheir contributions unconditionally, infull and on time. Default in paymentshave caused an unprecedentedfinancial crisis in the UN system.Financial reforms is the key to thefuture of this world body. Withoutsufficient resources, the activities androle of the UN would suffer.

The United Nations as a universalforum should have as its guidingprinciples transparency, non-discrimination, consensus and equalrespect for the dignity of all individuals,societies and nations. Values likeenvironment and development,resolution of the global debt crisis, oreconomic assistance to the poorestmembers of the world community,world trade, etc., are to become thetouchstone at the New Global System.

A significant issue in UN reformagenda is with regard to UNSecurity Council. The composition ofthe Security Council has remainedlargely static, while the UN GeneralAssembly membership has expandedconsiderably. This has undermined therepresentative character of the SecurityCouncil. There is a persistent demandfor the expansion of the SecurityCouncil. There is opposition to it also.The opponents go on to argue that, forthe United Nations to play an effectiverole for ensuring world peace, theSecurity Council, must be allowed tofunction smoothly. This is not possiblewithout agreement among the veto-power holding Permanent Members.Increase in number of permanentmembers will make agreement difficult.The argument for expansion is that therole of the United Nations cannot bestrengthened, if it is kept prisoner of theinterests, compulsions or preferences ofa few countries however, powerful theymay be.

Indian view is that the key tostrengthening the role of the UnitedNations in the maintenance of world



peace is necessity of restructuring theSecurity Council so that it embodiesgreater representative character andreflects changed realities.

In 1965, the membership of theSecurity Council was increased from11-15. There was no change so far thenumber of permanent members isconcerned. Since then, the size of theCouncil has remained frozen. Evenmore important, than the increase in thenumber of Member States of the UN, isthe change in the composition of theGeneral Assembly. The overwhelmingmajority of the General Assemblymembers today consists of Afro-Asianand Latin American developingcountries. Most often, they are theobjects of the Councils’ actions. Nowthey must have role in taking thosedecisions which affect them. Thepresent composition of the SecurityCouncil, particularly the permanentmembers category, is weighed heavilyin favour of industrialised developedcountries. This imbalance needs tobe redressed by an expansionof the Council, by enhancingthe representation of developingcountries both in permanent and non-permanent categories.

India is of the firm opinion that anyexpansion of permanent memberscategory must be based on transparentconsultations. A resolution moved byIndia seeking equitable representationon, and increase in, the membership ofthe Security Council was adopted bythe General Assembly in December1992. By late 1993, the United Stateshad reluctantly agreed two permanent

seats being given to Germany andJapan, the two emerging economicgiants. But there are supporters alsofor India, Brazil and Nigeria. As yet nocountry has been elevated to the statusof permanent members. India hasalways believed in a universal UnitedNations in terms of membership.Another course suggested in thisdirection is that the veto power mustbe done away with. India is in favour ofthis proposal also. Its stand onexpansion of Security Council is onprinciples and not the motives of itselfprojecting as a candidate for permanentmembership.

From the above discussion ofIndia’s role in the United Nations, itbecomes clear that from the beginningIndia has been playing an active rolein all spheres and activities of theUnited Nations. India has played a keyrole in easing several crisis situationsfrom Korea to Congo. India, in manyways, has been able to build an image,larger than most of the powerfulnations, by engaging in exercises ofmediation and moderation. It alsoresisted efforts by any power bloc todirect the instrumentality of the UnitedNations against other blocs,threatening the very existence of theworld body. As and when called, it hasresponded to the UN to the best of itsefforts. India continues to believe thatif there is hope in the world for a newdispensation that might lessen conflictand promote international justice, itwould lie in the reconstructive effortsthat the UN could undertake. Alongwith this belief India also is of the firm

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opinion that in the changed situationand circumstances, the UN needs

reform and these must be carried outat the earliest and with consensus.


EXERCISES

1. Describe the main objective for which the United Nations stand. How far theyhave been realised?

2. Examine the role of India in the United Nations.3. What do you understand by peace-keeping operations? Describe the role played

by India in these.4. Why a demand for reforms in the Security Council is being made? What reforms

are being suggested?5. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Veto power;(ii) Afro-Asian Solidarity;

(iii) Security Council;(iv) Secretary General of the United Nations;(v) International Court of Justice.


THE South Asian Association ofRegional Cooperation (SAARC) is an

organisation of seven countries ofSouth Asia — Bhutan, India, Maldives,Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and SriLanka. SAARC was established topromote the welfare of the people of theregion through active collaborationand mutual assistance in the economic,social, cultural, technical andscientific fields. It was established on8 December, 1985. From relativelymodest beginnings, SAARC membershave been gradually expanding theircooperation to cover new areas ofcommon interest. India, as the largestand most populous country in theregion has been playing an importantrole in SAARC activities and tries toprovide it with necessary direction forcooperation and development. Thepredominant position enjoyed by Indiahas been at times viewed by somecountries in the region, with suspicion.India, however, values SAARCcooperation as an enlarged dimensionof her bilateral relationship withthe neighbouring countries. Tounderstand India’s relations with and

India and South Asian Associationof Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

CHAPTER 20

its role in SAARC it is essential to knowabout the establishment, structure andobjectives of the organisation.

ESTABLISHMENT OF SAARCAfter the end of the Second World Warthere started a process of formation ofschemes of regional cooperation, bothfor economic cooperation and securitypurposes. The movement began inEurope and subsequently spread theworld over. The growth of regionaleconomic groupings was mainly toovercome the obstacles of internationaltrade and for allocation of resources. Agrowing awareness of interdependenceamong the independent states,realisation by nations that theirindividual interests are combined withthose of other nations in similarconditions, etc., have stimulated theprocess of regional cooperation.

In the developing world, the processof the formation of regional cooperationgroupings started very late. It startedat the end of 1950s with the schemesof cooperation in Central and LatinAmerica. As far as Asia is concerned itstarted with the emergence of the

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Association of South-East AsianNations (ASEAN) in 1976 consisting ofBrunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Singaporeand Thailand. Pakistan, Turkey andIran had also established the ‘RegionalCooperation for Development’. Anagreement known as the BangkokAgreement was signed in July 1975 byBangladesh, India, Laos, thePhilippines, Republic of Korea, SriLanka and Thailand for preferentialtrading arrangement.

In South Asia, though the countriesshared many common values rooted intheir social, ethnic, cultural andhistorical traditions, and had commontasks for rapid development, to beginwith mutual trust was absent. It wasfor various reasons. These includeddivergent security interests of thecountries, diverse political cultures,Indo-Pak conflict, and India’s peculiarsituation in the region. It was duringthe last years of 1970s that the thenpresident of Bangladesh late Zia-urRehman floated the idea that sevenStates of South Asia work out acooperative arrangement to amelioratethe stark economic problems of theregion. To initiate the process adocument called ‘Bangladesh workingpaper on South Asian RegionalCooperation’ spelled out eleven broadareas for cooperation. These wereTele communication, Meteorology,Transport, Shipping, Tourism,Agricultural Research, Joint Ventures,Market Promotion, Scientific andTechnical Cooperation, Educationaland Cultural cooperation. The paper

expressed the hope that this cooperationwould promote peace and stability inthe region through adherence to theprinciples of the United Nations andNon-Alignment; there would be adetermination to uphold respect for theprinciples of sovereignty, noninterference in each others internalaffairs, non-use of force and peacefulsettlement of disputes.

After meetings and studies atdifferent levels among seven countriesof the region, in March 1983 it wasdecided to hold a foreign ministers’meeting in Delhi. In the Delhi meetingthe foreign ministers of all the sevencountries signed the South AsianRegional Cooperation agreement. Thedeclaration stated that regionalcooperation in South Asia is beneficial,desirable and necessary and it will help,promote the welfare and improve thequality of life of the people of the region.Finally, the first summit meeting of theHeads of the State or Government washeld in Dacca; and the SAARC Charterwas adopted on 8 December, 1985; andSouth Asian Association for RegionalCooperation was born. India playeda vital role in the development ofthis organisation.

In February 1987, the SAARCSecretariat came into being with aSecretary General and four directors.SAARC has a four-tier structure. At thelowest level are the Technicalcommittees of experts and officialsformulating programmes of action andorganising seminars and workshops.Next is the standing committee ofForeign Secretaries to review and

INDIA AND SAARC


coordinate the recommendations of theTechnical Committees, which meets atleast once a year, Above this is theForeign Ministers conference, also heldat least once a year to grant politicalapproval to the recommendations of theStanding Committee. At the apex is theSummit Meeting held annually to givepolitical significance to SAARC. TheSAARC secretariat has been establishedat Kathmandu in Nepal.

THE SAARC OBJECTIVES

The Charter of the SAARC mentions thefollowing objectives of the organisation:

(i) to promote the welfare of thepeople in South Asian countries,and to improve their quality of life;

(ii) to accelerate economic growth,social progress and culturaldevelopment;

(iii) to promote and strengthencollective self-reliance;

(iv) to contribute to mutual trust,understanding and appreciationof each others problems;

(v) to promote mutual assistance inthe economic, social, cultural,technical and scientific field;

(vi) to strengthen cooperation withother developing countries;

(vii) to strengthen cooperation amongthemselves in international fora;

(viii) to cooperate with other regionaland international organisations.

According to the SAARC Charter,the organisation’s working principlesare:

(i) Regional cooperation throughSAARC shall be based on mutual

respect for the principles ofsovereignty, equality, territorialintegrity, political independence,non-interference in internal affairsof other states and mutual benefit;

(ii) Such cooperation shall not be asubstitute for bilateral andmultilateral cooperation, but shallcomplement them;

(iii) Such cooperation shall not beinconsistent with bilateral andmulti lateral obligations.

From the declared objectives andprinciples of SAARC it is clear that theemphasis is on regional cooperationwithout interference either in bilateral ormultilateral obligations, and withoutdisregarding sovereign equality, orchallenging territorial integrity andindependence of its members. It needsto be kept in mind that SAARC is anorganisation only for cooperation indevelopment and welfare. It is not astrategic, defense or military alliance. Theorganisers of SAARC were also clearabout keeping political issues out ofSAARC. Therefore it was incorporatedin the Charter that bilateral issues ordisputes shall not be raised or discussedin the SAARC fora. In spite of thisprovision, occasionally, there have beenattempts to bring issues of conflict orpolitical differences between the two ormore countries at SAARC meetings.Those who are in favour of getting suchissues within the preview of SAARC saythat it would evolve better regional trustand understanding. India, however, isfirmly opposed to bringing bilateral andcontentious political issues at SAARCmeetings. However, the Summit

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meetings provide occasions for informalpolitical consultations. Such informalconsultations are, by their very nature,unstructured. The Summit also providesopportunity for informal bilateralconsultations in the bilateral meetingsbetween SAARC leaders on the sidelines.The differences on expanding theorganisation’s agenda on political issuescontinues. In addition to conflictingsecurity perceptions, such differencesare causing a serious problem in theworking of organisation. However,during more than two decades ofits existence, SAARC has givenopportunities to regional leaders to meetat regular intervals and has brought insome cooperation in developmentalactivities. Let us have a look onsome aspects of this.

SAARC IN ACTION AND INDIA

As already mentioned, SAARC wasestablished primarily for cooperation inagriculture, rural development, scienceand technology, culture, health,population control, narcotics, andterrorism. From relatively modestbeginnings, SAARC members havebeen gradually expanding theircooperation to cover new areas ofcommon interest.

In the beginning, SAARC focusedprimarily on technical cooperation withthe aim of creating common ground.Eleven Technical Committeeshave been set up under SAARC,covering Agriculture, Communications,Education, Culture and Sports,Environment and Meteorology, Health

and Population activities, Preventionof Drug Trafficking and Abuse,Rural Development, Science andTechnology, Tourism, Transport andWomen’s Development. These TechnicalCommittees draw up an AnnualCalendar of activities for exchangeof information, formulation ofprogrammes and preparation ofprojects in their respective fields. Thesedo not comprise the exclusive areas ofcooperation, and SAARC activities andmeetings take place on specific subjectsof common interest, as and whenrequired. Four SAARC RegionalCentres have also been set up onAgricultural Information, (DHAKA),Tuberculosis Prevention, (Kathmandu),Meteorological Research, (Dhaka) andon Documentation of SAARC interests.India hosts the SAARC DocumentationCentre. A fifth Regional Centre onHuman Resource Development isproposed to be established inIslamabad, Pakistan.

Beginning in about 1990, thesecond stage of cooperation withinSAARC was on the Social Agenda.Major initiatives have been taken onsocial issues such as eradication ofpoverty, promotion of literacy, anddevelopment of women and children. Itwas decided that the decade 2001-2010 would be designated as the“SAARC Decade of the Rights of theChild”. SAARC will also pay particularattention to the evil of trafficking inwomen and children. A RegionalConvention on Prevention of Traffickingin women and children has beennegotiated and signed at the Eleventh

INDIA AND SAARC


Summit in Kathmandu. ThisConvention provides for extradition orprosecution under national laws ofpersons involved in trafficking. It alsoprovides for assistance in investigationsand for orderly repatriation of victimsof trafficking.

Particular focus has been placed onthe persistent problem of poverty in theregion and the Heads of State orGovernment of SAARC countries havecommitted themselves to theeradication of poverty in South Asia,preferably by the year 2002 AD.

An agreement on establishing aSAARC Food Security Reserve wassigned in 1987 and came into effect onthe 12 August, 1988. This provided fora reserve of food grains for meetingemergencies in member countries. Thereserve is to be maintained at aminimum level of 2,00,000 tonnes withIndia’s share being 1,53,000 tonnes.

SAARC has also taken up the issueof environment. Four MinisterialMeetings on Environment have beenheld so far. The Third Meeting of SAARCEnvironment Ministers was held inMaldives in October 1997 to considerthe recommendations of the two SAARCStudies on ‘Causes and Consequencesof Natural Disasters and Green HouseEffect and its Impact on the Region’. Themeeting adopted an EnvironmentAction Plan focussing on environmentalimpact, evaluation, exchange ofinformation and development of humanresources through training. Abeginning has also been made todevelop cooperation in the importantfield of information and media. The first

SAARC information Ministers Meetingwhich was held in Dhaka in April1998 adopted an Action Plan forstrengthening cooperation through,inter alia, greater interaction amongstmedia personnel, cooperation amongstnews agencies, free flow of newspapers,journals and books within the regionand reduction of hostile propaganda.

SAARC has also put in placeinstitutional arrangements forcooperation in combating terrorism andtrafficking in narcotics. Of courseproblems remain with regard toimplementation of these conventions.The SAARC Convention on Suppressionof Terrorism was signed in November1987 and came into effect on 22August, 1988 after ratification by allMember States. Under its provisions,Member States are committed toextradite or prosecute allegedterrorists, thus preventing them fromenjoying safe havens. RegionalCooperation is also envisaged inpreventive action to combat terrorism.However, Pakistan and Bangladesh arestill to enact the necessary domesticlegislation to give effect to theConvention. ‘The SAARC TerroristOffences Monitoring Desk’ has beenestablished in Colombo to collect,analyse and disseminate information onterrorist incidents. The SAARCConvention on Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances was signed inNovember 1990 and came into force on15 September, 1993 followingratification by all Member States. Mostimportant issue on SAARC agenda isof cooperation in trade and core areas

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of economy. In this context,operationalisation of the South AsianPreferential Trading Arrangement(SAPTA) has evoked much interest.Movement now is towards achievementof South Asian Free Trade Area(SAFTA). We will discuss this in detail abit later. Let us first have a look at India’srole in SAARC.

In all the activities of SAARC India’sparticipation and contribution has beensignificant. Certain aspects of India’srelations within the subcontinent areconducted through SAARC. Indiadeveloped many international treatiesalong with SAARC, and was the sourceof many of those ideas, some of whichare: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,Climate Change, EndangeredSpecies, Environmental Modification,Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone LayerProtection, Ship Pollution, TropicalTimber, Wetlands, Desertification, etc.These treaties were implemented byother nations as well on the guidelinesof India. The Indian contribution toSAARC was significant when itsrepresentatives were chosen as thechairpersons for two big events inSAARC, one of which was Agriculturalprogramme (including forestry), and theother one being the Science andTechnology (Energy Development)Programme. New Delhi hosted meetingsfor various programmes likeEnvironment (1992 and 1997) andcommerce (1996). The second SAARCsummit was also held in Bangalore on17 November, 1986. Some importantoutcomes of this summit were: it was

felt that in keeping with the view thatthe government should have people-to-people contact; some concrete stepsshould be taken to facilitate tourismin the region, including facilities forlimited convertibility of nationalcurrencies for tourists from SAARCcountries; A South Asian BroadcastingProgramme covering both radio andtelevision should be launched; TheHeads of State or Governmentemphasised that in view of theimportance they attach to students,scholars and researchers in theircountries should have ready access toreliable and up-to-date information ontechnical, scientific and developmentalmatters. This need could be met by aSAARC Documentation Centre as therepository of such information; it wasalso felt that it is essential to promoteincreasing cross-fertilisation of ideasthrough greater interaction amongstudents, scholars and academics inthe SAARC countries. The Heads of theState or Government, therefore,directed that a concerted programmeof exchange of scholars be formulatedand action taken for an earlyinstitution of SAARC scholarships,SAARC Fellowships and SAARCChairs; it was stressed that theidealism of youth must be harnessedfor regional cooperative programme. Itwas also decided that an ‘OrganisedVolunteers Programme’ be establishedin SAARC under which volunteersfrom one country would be able towork in other countries in thefields of agriculture and forestryextension work.

INDIA AND SAARC


The eighth summit of SAARC washeld in New Delhi on 4 may, 1995. TheHeads of State or Governmentexpressed their satisfaction on theachievements of the First Decade ofSAARC and resolved to celebrate itscompletion of the First Decade both inthe individual Member States andcollectively. They endorsed the proposalof the Council of Ministers to convene aCommemorative Session of the Councilon the theme “SAARC – Vision for theSecond Decade” to identify the areas onwhich SAARC should focus in itsSecond Decade. They reaffirmed theircommitment to the eradication ofpoverty in South Asia, preferably by theyear 2002 AD through an agenda ofaction. They thus declared 1995 as the“SAARC Year of Poverty Eradication”.The SAARC meet noted thatsubsequent to the signing of theFramework agreement on SAARCPreferential Trading Arrangement(SAPTA) during their Seventh Summitin Dhaka in April 1993, the first roundof trade negotiations to exchange tradeconcessions among Member States hasbeen completed. They directed that allnecessary steps should be taken tofacilitate ratification by all MemberStates and operationalise SAPTA by theend of 1995 as mandated. The eighthsummit was the most significant as allthe major topics were discussed in it,including the rights of women, children,disabled, etc. The literacy issue wastaken up and many developments wereintroduced in it.

The SAARC Development Centrefound its way in New Delhi in May 1994.

Thus, New Delhi was a major help toSAARC and without India, thecommunity would have not been asprofited as it had been.

SAARC ECONOMIC COOPERATION

AND INDIA (SAPTA AND SAFTA)

Cooperation in core areas of economiccooperation among SAARC countries isfairly recent. South Asia as a region iseconomically quite underdeveloped.Nearly 1/5th of the world’s populationlives in South Asia which is only 2.7per cent of the world’s land surface. Allthe economies of the region arepredominantly rural and agricultural.The countries of this region are amongthe poorest in the world. The share ofSouth Asia in world trade continues tobe insignificant. India from thebeginning has been insisting on freetrade among SAARC countries. In thisdirection, the first step was taken in1995 with the agreement on creationof South Asian Preferential TradeAgreement (SAPTA).

SAPTA

Though necessity for cooperation intrade among neighbouring countrieshave always been felt, the decade of1990s gave it added importance. By thistime with the emergence of new regionaltrading blocks across the world, theSouth Asian countries were faced witha tight position on the export front. Also,trading within SAARC region hadbecome necessary as aid flow to thisregion was slowing down. With thisbackground, initiative for preferential

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trade, i.e. for SAPTA was taken at theSAARC summit at Colombo inDecember 1991. Later, on April 111993 a document to set up SouthAsian Preferential Trade Agreementwas signed by the ministers ofmember countries during SummitMeetings at Dhaka. Finally, SAPTA wasoperationalised in December 1995,following ratification of the SAPTAagreement by all SAARC countries.Each country has offered items fortrade under concessional tariffs.

A major boost to trade within theregion was provided by the boldinitiative taken by India to unilaterallylift all Quantitative Restrictionspreferentially from SAARC countriesfrom 1 August, 1998. Over 2000products from the Restricted List havebeen placed on Open General List forSAARC countries, substantiallyenhancing their access to the Indianmarket. The Third Round of TradeNegotiations concluded on 23November, 1998. A total of 34,556tariff lines were covered underconcessional tariffs and India offeredmore than half the concessions. Indiahas also offered to concludebilateral free trade agreements withthose countries who are willing tomove faster.

Sri Lanka has taken up the offerand negotiations are under way for abilateral India-Sri Lanka Free TradeAgreement. India already has FreeTrade Agreements with Nepal andBhutan. Infact the ultimate aim ofSAPTA is to bring a South Asia FreeTrade Area (SAFTA).

SAFTA

A Free Trade Area means that tradingamong the countries of the area is freefrom custom restrictions and duties. Itmeans there is free flow of goods. TheSAPTA was to achieve this goal. It wasexpected that discussions would soonbegin to replace SAPTA by South AsiaFree Trade Area (SAFTA) by thebeginning of twenty-first century. Theleaders at the Tenth SAARC Summit atColombo decided to set up a committeeof Experts to conclude a Treaty by2001 on SAFTA. However, so far it hasnot come. This treaty has to spell outlegally binding schedules for freeingtrade and provide a predictable andtransparent blueprint for achieving afree trade area in South Asia. It will alsoinclude special facilitative measures forthe Least Developed countries. TheEleventh Summit meeting inKathmandu in January 2002 laidstress on taking necessary measurestowards attainment of this agreement.Differences between countries howeverremain to be sorted out.

Apart from SAPTA and SAFTA,economic cooperation is beinginstitutionalised by other means also.One of these is the meeting of CommerceMinisters of SAARC countries. TheFirst SAARC Commerce MinistersConference was held in New Delhi inJanuary 1996, when the SAARC TradeFair was also hosted by India. This hasnow become an annual featurealong with a conference organised bythe SAARC Chamber of Commerceand Industry.

INDIA AND SAARC


Regional arrangements are alsobeing considered for intra-regionalinvestment promotion and protection,and avoidance of double taxation. ASAARC visa Exemption Scheme wasinitiated in 1988 with a view to promotecloser and frequent contacts among thepeople of the SAARC region whichbecame operational from 1 March ,1992. The scheme has beenprogressively expanded to covertwenty-one categories of personseligible for visa free travel in the SAARCregion. Thus, the organisation, withsome built-in problems and diversityof interest among member countries, ismoving ahead to achieve it aims.

From the above discussionit becomes clear that whileregional cooperation through regionalorganisation has been coming up in asignificant way in various parts of theworld, in South Asia it began quite late.It was only in 1985 that SAARC wasestablished as an organisation forcooperation in the region. The goals ofSAARC have been kept developmentoriented. Conscious efforts have beenmade to entertain modest aims,excluding more or less contentions andbilateral issues. SAARC also suffersfrom built-in contradictions, conflictamong States, diversity of problems,differences in security perceptions andabsence of required political thrust.

India’s position in SAARC is unique.It accounts for 72 per cent of theregion’s area, 77 per cent of its

population, and 78 per cent of its GrossNational Product. Its armed forcesaccount for about 50 per cent of theregion’s total armed strength. Indiashares borders with all other sixcountries. Thus being the largestnation, economy wise, area wise andpopulation wise, India has the potentialto contribute the most and provideleadership to the organisation. But thenature of conflicts in the region,particularly India-Pakistan, alsocreates apprehensions among smallercountries about domination by India.In view of this, India has been playinga very cautious role. It has contributedsignificantly in all the activities ofSAARC but has not tried to behave asa leader of the organisation. Needlessto say conflictual relationship betweenIndia and Pakistan is one of the majorbottleneck in the development ofSAARC. India has taken several stepsand made suggestions to keep thedevelopmental issues separate frompolitical. Changes in the internationalpolitical and economic situationdemand a greater cooperation amongthe countries of the region. There arecertain positive developments whichraise hope for a better cooperationamong SAARC counties. Mostimportant of these is a realisationamong the people of all the countriesthat peace, harmonious coexistenceand cooperation are a must to survivewith dignity in the present daycompetitive and fast moving world.

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EXERCISES

1. Describe the background and efforts made for the establishment of South AsianAssociation for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

2. What are objectives and principles of SAARC?3. What important activities SAARC has taken up during its existence? What has

been India’s role in them?4. What is the importance of cooperation in core economic areas? What lead

India has taken towards such a cooperation in the region.5. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Second SAARC Summit (1986);(ii) Eighth SAARC Summit (1995);

(iii) SAPTA;(iv) SAFTA.

INDIA AND SAARC


IN one of the previous chapters youhave read that one of the basic

tenets of our foreign policy hasbeen non-alignment. As an elementof foreign policy non-alignmentmeans independent of blocs,peaceful coexistence, global peace,disarmament, struggle against allmanifestations of injustices likeimperialism, colonialism, apartheid etc.After India’s adoption of non-alignmentas the core element of its foreign policy,it also became a model for other newlyindependent countries. Most of themadopted it as an instrument forindependence in international relations.Soon non-alignment, in addition to asignificant perspective of foreign policy,became a movement of solidarity andcooperation among the newly liberatedcountries of Asia, Africa and LatinAmerica. Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)was thus founded as a solidaritymovement for giving voice to ThirdWorld Countries. Its essential purposewas to maintain equidistance in coldWar rivalries and advocate principles forthe promotion of world peace andcooperation. In due course of time,NAM became the largest membership

India’s Role in Non-Aligned Movement

CHAPTER 21

movement as also the largest peacemovement in the history of humanity.In both, in its founding and laterconsolidation and development, Indiaplayed a significant role. In fact, inmany ways India has been consideredas a non-formal leader of the NAM.

BIRTH OF NAM

The Non-Alignment as a movement wasfounded formally in 1961 at Belgradein Yugoslavia, it called the first SummitConference of Non-Aligned Nations.This Conference was sponsored byEgypt, India and Yugoslavia, seekingto enhance the international influenceof the participants vis-à-vis the greatpowers and the existing militaryalliances. In this Conference 25countries participated as member-states. The criteria for invitation to thisConference was composed of thefollowing five points:

(i) The country should have adoptedan independent policy based oncoexistence of states with differentpolitical and social systems andshould be showing a trend infavour of Non-Aligned policy.

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(ii) The country concerned shouldbe consistently supportingthe movements for nationalindependence.

(iii) The country should not bea member of any multilateralmilitary alliance concluded in thecontext of Great Power conflicts.

(iv) If a country has a bilateral militaryagreement with a great power oris a member of a regional defencepact, the agreement or pact shouldnot be one deliberately concludedin the context of great powerconflicts.

(v) If it has conceded military basesto a foreign power, the concessionshould not have been made in thecontext of great power conflicts.

ORIGIN OF NAM AND INDIA’S ROLE

Though as a formal organisedmovement NAM started with theholding of the Belgrade Summit of Non-Aligned countries in 1961, its seedswere sown by India, particularly byJawaharlal Nehru even beforeattainment of India’s independence. Itwas in the broadcast made byJawaharlal Nehru on 7 September,1946, a week after the IndianProvisional government was formed.Nehru said:

“We propose, as far as possible, to keepaway from the power politics of groups,aligned against one another, which have ledin the past two world wars and which mayagain lead to disasters on an even vaster scale.We seek no domination over others and weclaim no privileged position over other people.But we do claim equal and honourable

treatment for our people wherever they maygo, and we cannot accept any discriminationagainst them. We believe that peace andfreedom are indivisible and the denial offreedom anywhere must endanger freedomelsewhere and lead to conflict and war”.

It is quite clear that Nehru wasarticulating the ideas of decolonisation,national independence, non-blocpolitics, peaceful coexistence,eradication of racialism and the needfor the developing countries to play anactive role in international affairs. It wasat the initiative of Jawaharlal Nehruthat India became the venue of the firstforum of the liberated nations, whenrepresentatives of 28 countries met inNew Delhi in March 1947 (before formaldeclaration of independence of India) atthe Conference on Regional Cooperationamong the Asian Countries known asAsian Relations Conference. At thisConference Bandaranaike from SriLanka, both by the force of hisconviction and under the influence ofNehru’s ideas, declared: “I amconvinced, and we all hope that thisconference will lay the foundation of abroader cooperation between the freeand equal States in Asia, lighting notonly for their nation’s future, but alsoin the name of humanity, peace andprogress”.

The Asian Relation Conference thuscan truly be called the foundation stonefor NAM. Nehru who had organised thisConference observed: “For too long weof Asia have been petitioners in theWestern Courts and Chancelleries. Thatstory now must belong to the past. Wepropose to stand on our own feet and

INDIA’S ROLE IN NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT


to cooperate with all others who areprepared to cooperate with us. We donot intend to be the play-thing ofothers.”

BANDUNG CONFERENCE

Along with Nehru some other leadersin the world were also projecting theseperceptions of newly independentcountries. President Josip Broz Tito ofYugoslavia, President Gamel AbdulNasser of Egypt (then called UnitedArab Republic), President KwameNkrumah of Ghana and PresidentAhmed Soekarno of Indonesia wereprominent among these. Together withNehru they evolved a coherent outlookand position on Non-Alignment. Theseleaders were largely instrumental inchannelling the emerging changestowards the liberation of the people ofthe world and towards evolving a newvision of the world order. Theyrejected outright the notion that East-West relations alone constitutedinternational affairs and asserted theirown role in shaping these affairs.

On the initiative of these leaders theconference of Afro-Asian Nations washeld in Bandung (Indonesia) in April1955. The participants from 23 Asianand 6 African States representedmainly the people of young Stateswhich had been setup as a result ofthe new balance of forces of democracyand freedom on the one hand and ofcolonialism and oppression on theothers. The states participating in theconference did not belong to anymilitary or political blocs, and they had

taken clear and definite positions onthe problems facing mankind. Despitetheir different perspectives, thecountries represented at the BandungConference arrived at a commonposition in the larger interest ofworld peace.

One of the most importantachievements of the BandungConference was the Declaration onWorld Peace and Cooperation. Thisdeclaration embodied the principles ofPanchsheel which were first stated inthe Preamble to the agreement betweenIndia and China in April 1954. Thesewere five principles of mutual respectfor territorial integrity and sovereignty,non-belligerence, non-interference ininternal affairs, equality and mutualadvantage, and peaceful coexistence.

The final communiqué of theConference did not limit itself to theenumeration of the region’s problemsbut also called for concrete steps tobe taken for disarmament andsafeguarding of peace in the world. TheConference served as the major supportof the bridge linking the Afro-Asian,European and Latin American peopleand the role they intended to play inthe New World Order. Nehru assertedat Bandung “There is no doubt that ourinfluence will grow. It is growing in fact,and we do exercise some influence eventoday. But whether our influence isgreat or small, it must be exercised inthe right direction.”

The Bandung Conference wasfollowed by a tripartite meeting in July1956, between Nehru, Tito and Nasserat Brioni. In this meeting affirming the

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Bandung principles, the three leaders,in a joint statement rejected the divisionof the world into rival power blocs asone which had the effect of perpetuatingconfrontation. They also asserted theirconviction that the policy of Non-Alignment pursued by them had to acertain extent, contributed to thelessening of international tension andto the development of equal relationsbetween nations. They reiterated theirresolve to carry forward that policy andto evolve a collective framework for thatpurpose. The differences in their socialand political systems hardly constitutedan obstacle. The Brioni meeting was alandmark in the ongoing process ofconsultations which eventually led tothe convening of the first Non-AlignedSummit at Belgrade in 1961, heraldingthe formal launching of the Non-AlignedMovement.

INDIA’S PIVOTAL ROLE IN NAM

It is quite clear that in the founding ofNAM India not only played an active roleas one of the founders but in manyways it was the initiator of theMovement. As we have already seennon-alignment as a concept of globalpolitics, as a foreign policy premise andas a perspective of maximising nationalinterest of the newly liberated countrieswas a vision Indian national leadershiphad developed during its freedomstruggle itself. The vision became thecore element of India’s foreign policyafter independence and of othercountries which attained independencefrom that period onwards. Soon, it

became a movement of solidarity,cooperation and understanding amongthe newly independent countries; thesecountries are known as the Third Worldor Developing Countries. The non-aligned movement, thus, emerged fromIndia’s initiative for formulating anindependent foreign policy. Thisindependent foreign policy was basedon a solid moral and sound politicalfoundation. It was a non-partisanforeign policy. India’s moral approachto international politics was furtherprojected through the Panchsheel in1954. Within three years, eighteencountries had endorsed the Panchsheelprinciples in joint communiqués withIndian leaders. These principles werepractically incorporated in the TenPrinciples declared at Bandung. Inaddition during its initial years ofindependence itself, India played a veryactive role in peaceful resolution ofsome complex international issues andpersistently lobbied in United Nationsfor disarmament. All these made theidea of non-alignment, the initial basictenet in India’s foreign policy, amechanism providing link between thecoordinated actions of the anti-imperialist and anti-colonial forces, asan assertion of independence in foreignaffairs, as a process of weakening ofpower blocs, as a symbol of defianceagainst big power domination and as adiplomatic innovation in the phase ofpolitics of confrontation and cold war.Over forty years of its existence the NAMhas been developing a comprehensivepolitical philosophy, a programme ofaction, and a new and positive system



of international economic and politicalrelations. From its founding India hasremained one of the most activemembers of NAM and has played apivotal role in its various activities anddevelopments.

NAM IN ACTION AND INDIA

We have discussed above that the firstSummit Conference of non-alignedcountries in 1961 at Belgrade was theculmination of the process ofdevelopment from an impulse to anidea, from an idea to a policy and froma policy to a movement. The summit wasconvened for the purpose of exchangingviews on international problems with aview to contributing more effectively toworld peace and security and peacefulcooperation among peoples. It was thefirst Summit Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement under thestewardship of the leaders of the Asian,African and Latin American countriesalong with the lone European country,Yugoslavia. The agenda of the Summitlisted exchange of views on theinternational situation, establishmentand strengthening of InternationalPeace and Security, Problems ofUnequal Economic Development,Promotion of International Economicand Technical Cooperation whichexhibited the deep understanding of theinternational problems by the leadersof the NAM. The leaders were veryspecific in their agenda with regard tothe issue of strengthening internationalpeace and security which was presentedas under:

“Respect of the right of peoples andnations to self-determination, struggleagainst imperialism, liquidation ofcolonialism and neo-colonialism, respectof sovereignty and territorial integrity ofstates, non-interference and non-intervention in the internal affairs of states:racial discrimination and apartheid;general and complete disarmament;banning of nuclear tests; problem offoreign military bases; peacefulcoexistence among states with differentpolitical and social systems and role andstructure of the United Nations and theimplementation of its resolutions”.

India both in its foreign policydeclarations and by its actions made itclear that Non-Alignment was to bedifferent from the passive concepts ofneutrality as well as isolationism. Non-Alignment was not intended to seekisolation from crucial world issues. Onthe contrary, it was a policy designedto secure an active engagement andinvolvement with international affairs.It signified independence of judgmenton world issues. It called for freedom ofopinion and of action. It was indeedthrowing one’s weight on the side ofpeace, equity, justice and humandignity. To quote Pandit Nehru:

“When there is a crisis involving thepossibility of war, the very fact that we areunaligned should stir us to feel that morethan ever it is up to us to do whatever we canto prevent such a calamity coming upon us”.

The two essential though inter-related constituents of the Non-Alignment’s concept, as it evolved, arethe primacy of national independenceand active, peaceful coexistence.

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The rejection of military alliances,refusal to be yes-men of this or thatpower and opposition to all forms ofcolonial domination and racialdiscrimination — all flowed from thisirrepressible urge for independence.The second component of the Non-Alignment related to the struggle for anew structure on which to baserelations amongst people and countries— relations characterised by equality,peace and cooperation rather thanperilous confrontation.

The attainment of politicalindependence was not the end of thestory but the beginning of a new chapterin which the focus was on economicself-reliance. In this field too, India hasplayed a pioneering role. PanditJawaharlal Nehru lost no time in settingup a Planning Commission to draw upthe blueprint of India’s Five-Year Planswhich allotted enough weightage toPublic Sector. Many of the other newlyindependent countries establishedcontacts with India in order to benefitfrom Indian experience. The WorldBank, despite its strong bias for theprivate sector, began to advisedeveloping countries which sought itsassistance to have some kind ofdevelopmental plan, on the policy-planning pattern of India. Inconsequence, contacts between Indiaand other developing countries werefurther strengthened.

After the UNCTAD came intoexistence, the developing countriesorganised themselves into a groupknown as the ‘Group of 77; at that timeit was the number of the developing

countries in the UN. This name hascontinued even though the number ofsuch countries has increased to overhundred. The ‘Group of 77’ certainlysucceeded in getting a number ofconstructive ideas accepted in theUNCTAD.

In 1990, at Belgrade, the NAMdecided to create G-15 as an interfacewith G-7 (the group of seven mostindustrialised States) realising correctlythat economic issues had takenprimacy over political-strategic ones.NAM rightly felt that its new rolewould be in creating South-Southco operation, which would mean, byand large collaboration between andamong the non-aligned nations and indefending the interests of these nationsfrom the fast expanding economic andtechnological power of the North. Indiahad been a member both 05G-77 andG-15 and is playing a leadership role.

India’s contribution as organiser ofthe seventh conference of NAM in 1983at New Delhi was particularlyappreciated in the use of its politicalprestige and strength to drawparticipants’ attention to such issuesas the struggle for averting nuclear war,putting an end to the arms race, andthe need for disarmament, anti-colonialism and anti -racism. After thisconference India, in its capacity of thechairperson of NAM, sponsored aproposal in the United Nations to freezenuclear weapons and to conclude aninternational convention on banningthe use of nuclear weapons. India alsoorganised a Six Nations DisarmamentGroup to impress upon the nuclear



powers to stop the arms race. Indiahas also played a very active rolein defending the freedom ofcountries for use of nuclear energy.It has vociferously opposed thediscriminatory attitude of nuclearpowers, particularly on CTBT and NPT.India’s refusal to allow the deeplyfaulted CTBT to go to the UnitedNations alerted USA and its allies; theyfelt that they can not take the leadingpowers of the South for granted. Itimparted a sense of strength to NAM.

Right from the beginning a veryimportant task before NAM hadbeen to fight against racism. In this,India has played an outstandingrole, particularly against apartheid.At the Harare NAM Summitin September 1986, Indian PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi proposed andsuccessfully persuaded the memberStates to create Action for ResistingInvasion, Colonialism and ApartheidFund (popularly known as AfricaFund). The main objectives of the Fundwere to strengthen the economic andfinancial capabilities of the FrontlineStates to fight the apartheid regime ofSouth Africa. The Harare Summitcreated the Fund and India wasappointed the Chairman of the ninemember AFRICA Fund Committeewhose responsibility was to raise thefund. India herself contributed Rs 500million by January 1987. It wasprimarily the efforts of NAM with veryeffective role of India in it that finally in1994 apartheid ended in South Africa.

Thus on account of its steadfastsupport to NAM, India has all along

been a pillar of strength of its members.Today after the end of cold warand beginning of the process ofglobalisation when doubts on the veryexistence of NAM are being raised thereis need that NAM is strengthened.India’s stakes in this task are ofconsiderable importance. India as adeveloped among the developing non-aligned countries has to concentrate onretaining the independent character ofthe Movement working for evolution ofa just international order.

NAM IN POST-COLD WAR PERIOD

AND ITS RELEVANCE

From the period of the formation of itsvision at Bandung in 1955 and firstSummit at Belgrade in 1961, NAM hastraveled a long and eventful path.Starting with a membership of 25countries, its membership has grownto 114. There have also been shifts inits perspective and preoccupationsnecessitated by the change ininternational scenario. However, thechanged perceptions that have come inthe 1990s have placed NAM almost atCross Roads.

With the disintegration of theerstwhile Soviet Union and break up ofSocialist bloc, there have emerged newglobal situations and issues. Theprocess of globalisation has also begin.Humanitarian aid to the developingworld has greatly been reduced.Greater conditions are being imposedon the aid to the South, such asallowing access to transnationalcompanies. Most of the developed and

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developing nations have adopted anopen market policy. Again, thesecountries have formed an agenda ofregional economic cooperation. TheEuropean Union has been establishedas a significant regional cooperationgroup. The Association of South-EastAsian Nations (ASEAN) has also maderemarkable achievement in forming aformidable economic bloc. The NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) has emerged as a strongeconomic bloc in North America and theAsian Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) has also been progressing wellin creating a consensus for economiccooperation in Asia and Pacific region.Most countries, even NAM members,have started taking decisionspragmatically and individually. Inthe context of these far-reachingdevelopments there has started adebate about the relevance of NAM. Itis being argued by some that in thechanged situation, non-alignment andmost of the policies associated with ithave become irrelevant.

There is however, a significantopinion in favour of continuousrelevance and role of NAM in the post-cold war world. India, as one of theactive founder members of NAM is notonly in the forefront of proclaiming non-alignment as the sheet anchor of itsforeign policy but also advocating thecontinuous role of NAM with somechanges in its perspectives andpriorities. From the beginning of 1990sthe Movement has realised the need toshift from an approach of confrontationto one of dialogue and cooperation

with industrial countries. Alsocircumstances, over which manymember countries of NAM had nocontrol, compelled them to develop avariety of relations with super powersand their allies. But these States havenot deviated from the basic criterion ofnon-alignment, namely pursuit ofpolicies that strengthened theirexistence as independent sovereignStates, belief in the coexistence of Stateswith different political and socialsystems and support for nationalliberation movements and movementsagainst racism.

The end of cold war in many wayshas vindicated the principles andpolicies of NAM. At the same time it is afact that though the cold war is over,peace in the world is still threatened byforces of extremism, discord, aggressivenationalism, terrorism and piling up oflarge stocks of weapons of massdestruction. The dynamics ofglobalisation has thrown a whole rangeof new problems for the non-aligneddeveloping countries. While thedeveloping world is largely supportiveof mutually beneficial globalintegration, it has major concernswhich are not being addressed in theglobal agenda. These are: equitablebalance between rights and obligationsof investors particularly multinationals;extra-territorial application of domesticlaws; intrusive and calculated invokingof human rights agenda; labourstandards and intellectual propertyrights; and conditionalities ofenvironmental protection andpreservation and opening up of



national economies tied to grant of aidand trade concessions. Developingcountries are increasingly exposed topressures to confirm to an agenda whichis being defined and driven by others.

The need for the articulation of theviewpoint of the disadvantaged is asstrong as ever. NAM provides platformto these countries for consulting anddeveloping common positions andcoordinated approaches to safeguardtheir rights and promote their interests.The imperatives that propelled foundingfathers of NAM to get together to speakwith one voice and collectively declaretheir determination, to assert their rightto participate fully in the process oftaking decisions on world issues in thelight of their own national interests arestill with us today.

Common to the most, if not all, NAMcountries are problems of poverty,hunger, disease, ignorance, illiteracy,rising foreign debts, deteriorating termsof trade, inflation and unemployment.Therefore, the most important task thatconfronts the NAM today is to find waysand means to overcome theseproblems.

The scenario, once again, placesIndia in a special situation. Though itsproblems are stupendous as a poorcountry, there is a measure ofbuoyancy in its economy. Its foodposition is satisfactory and its foreignexchange reserves are comfortable. Itsadvancements in the field of science,technology and industry permit it torender economic and technologicalassistance to many countries of Asiaand Africa. Its economy is now much

less vulnerable to external shocks orinternal adverse factors. Thus, to a greatextent India remains in a position topromote the ideal of collective self-reliance among non-aligned countries.

In 1977, in the 12th meeting of NAMForeign Minister, the former PrimeMinister of India, I.K. Gujral, highlightedthe points responsible for the re-emergence of new imperialism of theWest. He said : The G-7 are writing theglobal agenda, new labour laws andsocial clauses; selecting globalinvestment regimes; preaching humanrights, environmental conditionalities,protectionism, etc. The five permanentmembers of the UN Security Councilare unwilling to give up the veto.Democratisation of the UN SecurityCouncil is blocked. Too many NAMcountries are living on Western dole. Inseveral countries treasured concepts ofcivilised behaviour have beenabandoned. NAM, therefore, mustdeplore the fundamentalism ofglobalisation and the market and mustnot remain silent on fundamentalismbeing preached and practised at severalplaces.

The use of World Trade Organisation(WTO) for forcing developing countriesto reduce tariff walls and observelabour standards, is another case inpoint. This indicates another area ofdominance by the developed countriesin a period of recession in theireconomies. Unless the developingcountries, who are also the members ofNAM, put up united resistance againstthese onslaughts by the major alliedpowers, the world prospects of

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peace, security, equality of status fornation-states and a voice for theunderdeveloped world to procureforeign aid for development will remaina distant dream. At the Doha meetingof WTO in June 2002, India urgedstrongly on behalf of the developingcountries.

Thus, even after the end of cold warand demise of power blocs, non-alignment both as an idea and amovement continues to be relevant. Theefforts of NAM have to be gearedtowards achieving security, peacefulcoexistence, international cooperationin political, economic and culturalfields and in opposing all typesof domination, neo-colonialism,hegemonism, fundamentalism, etc.India has a stake in these and is likelyto play the leadership role that it hasplayed so far.

Non-alignment has first developedas a conceptual factor in its foreignpolicy by India as a means to itsenlightened national interest in thecontext of bipolarisation of worldpolitics and situation of cold war. Lateron, non-alignment became a movementof nations which had suffered the samefate of colonialism and imperialism.Prime Minister of India, JawaharlalNehru, with the cooperation ofPresident Tito of Yugoslavia, PresidentNasser of Egypt directed this movementtowards peace in the world and alsoaimed at securing political andeconomic objectives of development. Atthe political level, the movement aimedat keeping intact the independence ofthe newly decolonised countries and

support the struggle for decolonisationof rest of the colonies. It sought to forgeunity among anti-colonial, anti-racialforces and liberation movements andhelp them in achieving their objectivesworld wide.

The economic objective of the Non-Aligned Movement is aimed at keepingthe markets of developing countriesfree from the domination of freemarket forces represented byWestern capitalism and MultinationalCorporations.

India remained in the forefront ofthe movement performing a leadershiprole as a founder member. In all theactivities of NAM — struggle againstcolonialism and racism, and infavourof disarmament and cooperation fordevelopment, and dialogue withdeveloped world, etc. — India not onlyprovided policy inputs but has playedan active role.

With the end of cold war and bloc-systems NAM has in no way becomeirrelevant. If the essence of non-alignment is the assertion ofindependence, then non-alignmentdoes not become irrelevant at any time.Infact developing nations have noalternative but to strive for a just worldorder through the forum of NAM.

While the relevance of NAM in thepresent day world is not in doubt, itwould serve its purpose if it focuses onthe current problems that thedeveloping countries are facing. Informulating its agenda for the future,NAM would have to incorporate in itboth its traditional and emerging goalsand objectives and take cognisance of



emerging issues and priorities on theinternational agenda. The NAM agendahas to be topical and flexible thereby

EXERCISES

1. What role did India play in the origin of Non-Aligned Movement?2. Examine India’s role in the various activities carried on by NAM.3. Explain NAM’s role in the post-cold war period.4. Assess India’s role in the survival of NAM.5. “NAM has become irrelevant in the present uni-polar world”. Do you agree?

Give arguments in favour of your answer.6. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Bandung Conference;(ii) Belgrade Summit;

(iii) Nehru and NAM.

moving in steps with the realities oftime. To usher in peace, security andprosperity NAM has to act in unison.

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THE world has entered the twenty –first century with new hopes and

problems in the wake of scientific andtechnological developments. While ourlives have become more comfortable,we are also facing challenges fromdegrading environment, risingfundamentalism and terrorism,violation of basic human rights, everincreasing threats of deadly chemicaland nuclear weapons, spread of newdiseases like HIV/AIDS and wideninggaps between the rich and the poorcountries, etc. The world of today hasto face these challenges both locallyand globally. The scientific andtechnological developments havebrought the world closer and made itinterdependent. As a result, allcountries are affected by the events anddevelopments that may be takingplace anywhere. Therefore it isimportant for the internationalcommunity to take note of emergingglobal issues and react to them. Ofcourse different countries, dependingon their national interests, ideologicalvisions and perceptions, reactdifferently to various issues though

India’s Approach to Major World IssuesDisarmament, Human Rights and Globalisation

CHAPTER 22

there always is an emphasis oncollective action. In this chapter we willstudy some of the major issues facingthe world today and the views Indiahas and role it is playing in thiscontext.

DISARMAMENT

One of the most important globalproblems affecting both nations andindividuals, today, is disarmament.Arms race has reached alarmingproportions and is even spillinginto outer space after having stationedweapons on the face of the earthand in the oceans. Therefore thefocus in international relations isincreasingly around the question ofdisarmament.

The arms race started in the wakeof the Second World War andcoincided with the Cold War whichhad divided the world into blocs. TheSecond World War, apart fromwidespread destruction also markedthe beginning of the nuclear era witha destructive power quite unforeseenso far. Unfortunately, after the War


there emerged a competition amongnations, to build up their weapons –stocks and remain ahead of others.Since then, this race for arms hasbeen continuing at a galloping pace.The world today is threatened with anuclear holocaust. The single bombthat destroyed Hiroshima left 71,379dead with the toll mounting toanother 200,000 within five years asa result of radiation and other aftereffects. Today several thousands ofmore powerful bombs than that, arein the nuclear arsenal of manycountries.

Scientific studies have visualiseda chilling scenario of a nuclear war.Estimates show that in the event of auniversal nuclear war more than1,500 million people will die andabout 1,000 million would bewounded. The condition of those whosurvive the war will be pathetic.Primarily, they will not get adequatemedical attention. They will be leftwithout drinking water, gas, electricityand millions of cubic meters of highlytoxic sewage will flood urbanterritories, fields, pastures and leakinto rivers. Rains will result inconcentration of radioactivesubstances and for many monthsdrinking water will be unfit forconsumption. Thus the humanityfaces challenge to its very survival.The arms race because of its scope,destructive power and technologicalsophistication, has been posing thegreatest danger ever known tomankind. According to a study made

by the UN experts, the global armsrace makes heavy demand on thelimited human and material sourcesof nations. Its cost is not only ineconomic terms, but even in social andpsychological terms.

ARMS CONTROL AND DISARMAMENT

As we know, at the end of the SecondWorld War, United Nations wasestablished to maintain peace,harmonious coexistence and welfareof human kind. From the verybeginning United Nations took up thecause of regulating armaments on aworld wide scale. This was mentionedin the United Nations (UN) Charteritself. The very first resolutionapproved by the UN General Assemblyon 24 January, 1946, sought theelimination of atomic weapons andother weapons of mass destruction.But during early years, progress wasnot made in this direction. In 1959,the General Assembly adopted, as agoal for the United Nations, Generaland Complete Disarmament undereffective international control. Sincethen various steps have been takenand efforts made in the direction ofDisarmament and Arms control. Itmay be mentioned here thatDisarmament refers to reduction orabolition of existing weapons. In fact,in academic and policy discussionsdisarmament means control orreduction of existing weapons,whereas arms control means controlof weapons in future. In this chapter

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we are discussing the issue as oneunder the heading of disarmament.As mentioned above the UN GeneralAssembly has set before itself the aimof Complete Disarmament.

In 1961 at the initiative of theSoviet Union and the United States anegotiating body called the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament,was constituted. It was renamed in1969 as the Conference Committeeon Disarmament. Since 1979, theGeneva based body has been meetingas the Committee on Disarmament,with an enlarged (40 nation)membership to ensure betterrepresentation of different regionsand view points.

Along with these efforts by theUnited Nations, negotiations amongnations were also going on,particularly among nuclear powers,for control over nuclear weapons. In1963 an agreement was reached on aPartial Test Ban Treaty. It prohibitedall test explosions on the surface, inthe atmosphere and under water.Only limited underground tests wereallowed. The treaty was ratified bythree original signatories i.e. UK, USAand USSR and 98 other memberStates of the UN including India andseven non-member States of the UN.Another treaty known as NuclearNon-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) wasformulated in 1968 and signed by UK,USA, USSR and 50 other countries.India refused to sign the treaty on theground that it was discriminatory innature.

The Partial Test Ban Treaty of1963 and subsequent agreementsdid not ban nuclear testing underthe ground. Need for this promptednegotiations for comprehensivenuclear test ban treaty (CTBT). Suchnegotiations started in 1977. Aftermany years of debate finally in 1996there emerged a Comprehensive TestBan Treaty (CTBT). This treaty,however, was full of controversies,particularly in view of discriminatorytreatment of nuclear weapon Statesand non-nuclear weapon States.Because of this India, which hadbeen actively advocating for acomprehensive test ban since 1954,could not agree to sign the CTBTtreaty. We will discuss this issuebelow. What is important to note hereis that though it cannot claim fullsuccess in disarmament, the UnitedNations, since its inception has maderepeated attempts to halt arms race.Efforts have also been made by otherorganizations like Commonwealth,NAM, and Regional bodies. Indiaright from the beginning has not onlybeen an active supporter fordisarmament but has also beenplaying a leading role both in the UNand at other fora for this cause.

DISARMAMENT AND INDIA

Since Independence, India hasconsistently pursued the objectiveof global disarmament based onprinciples of universality, non-discrimination and effective

INDIA’S APPROACH TO MAJOR WORLD ISSUES


compliance. India has alwaysbelieved that a world free of nuclearweapons would enhance globalsecurity and India’s own nationalsecurity. Thus India has always beenadvocating that the highest prioritybe given to nuclear disarmament asa first step towards general andcomplete disarmament. As early as1948, India called for limiting the useof atomic energy for peacefulpurposes only and elimination ofatomic weapons from nationalarmaments. India was the firstcountry to call for stoppage ofnuclear tests and made a formalproposal for total cessation of nucleartesting in the UN General Assembly.

In 1961, India and other Non-aligned countries tabled a resolutionin the UN General Assembly whichdeclared that the use of nuclear andthermo-nuclear weapons would be adirect violation of the UN Charter andany State using such a weapon wouldbe acting contrary to the laws ofhumanity and committing a crimeagainst mankind and civilization.In 1964, India suggested that “allproliferation of nuclear weapons, beit horizontal or vertical, shouldbe stopped simultaneously andaltogether, so that all nuclear facilitieseverywhere become peaceful andthe problem of existing stockpilesof nuclear weapons could thenbe contained and tackled moreeffectively.”

In December 1978, at the firstspecial session of the UN GeneralAssembly on Disarmament, India

moved a resolution which declared theuse of nuclear weapons would be aviolation of the UN charter anddemanded that pending nucleardisarmament, the use and threat ofthe use of nuclear weapons shouldbe prohibited. This resolution wassubsequently adopted by the GeneralAssembly in 1978. India alsoproposed negotiations for aninternational convention that wouldprohibit the use of nuclear weapons.This was followed by another initiativein 1982 calling for a nuclear freeworld, prohibition on the productionof fissile material for weapons and onproduction of nuclear weapons, andtheir delivery systems.

The seventh conference of NAM,held in Delhi in March 1983,forcefully accentuated the danger ofa nuclear war and the necessityto fight for peace. The conferenceproposed to ban the use of nuclearweapons immediately, to freezeand after that to reduce and toeliminate its arsenals, to preventthe use of outer space for militarypurposes, to conclude as soon aspossible a comprehensive nuclear testban treaty.

Subsequently, India has beenmaking consistent efforts to bringnuclear arms race to a halt. At thespecial session of the United NationsGeneral Assembly on disarmamentIndia put forward a number of seriousproposals including the 1988‘Comprehensive Plan for TotalElimination of Weapons of MassDestruction’ in a phased manner. It

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was a matter of great regret that theproposal put by India, along withseveral other countries, did not receivea positive response and insteada limited and distorted non-proliferation agenda, meant above allto perpetuate nuclear weapons wasshaped. This compelled India not onlynot to sign the CTBT but also itself gonuclear in consideration of itsnational security and failure of bigpowers to agree on completeelimination of nuclear weapons.

INDIA’S STAND ON CTBT

India’s stand has been that the goalof disarmament can be none otherthan the achievement of general andcomplete disarmament. This meansthat disarmament has to be general,i.e. to cover all countries; to becomplete, to apply to all weapons andhas to be implemented under strictand effective international control.India has also made it clear, from thevery beginning, that it wanted to keepits options open for the peaceful useof nuclear energy.

Against this background India didnot sign the Nuclear Non-ProliferationTreaty (NPT) of 1968; She emphasisedthat it is an unequal anddiscriminatory treaty. While itimposes stringent restrictions andcurbs on non-nuclear weapon States,it leaves the nuclear weapon powersfree from any legal or time-boundobligation to stop proliferation and totake steps to reduce their nucleararsenals. It also denies the right to

peaceful nuclear explosions by non-nuclear weapons States. Accordingly,in India’s view, the treaty isdiscriminatory, unrealistic, ineffectiveand therefore unacceptable to India.

India’s concerns have been two.One, freedom to use nuclear energyfor peaceful purposes, and two itsnational security. In terms of nationalsecurity India was faced not only withthe situation of nuclear proliferationworld over, but also in its ownneighbourhood — first in China andthen in Pakistan. China conductedits first atomic explosion in October1964. Before that, China had alreadywaged a war on India in 1962.Having joined the nuclear club,China also started helping Pakistan’snuclear programme. At that time,both China and Pakistan were hostileto India and Western powers werealso inclined towards Pakistan. Allthese factors posed a threat to India’ssecurity. Yet India continued tostrictly adhere to the policy of usingnuclear energy only for peacefulpurposes.

On May 18, 1974 India carriedout an underground nuclearexperiment for peaceful purposes,and reiterated that the country wascommitted to its use for constructivepurposes and that it had no intentionof producing nuclear weapons.India, therefore, continued its effortsfor a Comprehensive Test Ban Treatywith the aims of curbing nucleararms race by stopping bothhorizontal and vertical proliferationof nuclear weapons. After the Nuclear



Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) 1968,which India did not sign, theUnited Kingdom, the United Statesand the Soviet Union in 1977 initiatednegotiations on CTBT. Years ofnegotiations did not yield anyresult. India’s position was clear thatit believes in total nucleardisarmament, but it opposes anyagreement that is discriminatory innature. Despite India’s strongobjections against discrimination andnot taking into account securityinterests of countries like India, theCTBT was pushed through. Indiarefused to sign it. According toexperts the Treaty (CTBT) will, inreality, legitimize a new qualitativearms race. This treaty like the NPTwill be a l icense to proli feratevertically without effectively banninghorizontal proliferation. Thus India,after having been actively engagedin the negotiations for two and ahalf years, could not become aparty to CTBT precisely because theissues of non-proliferation, globaldisarmament and India’s concernsfor its national security and strategicautonomy were ignored.

In May 1998 India conductedthree nuclear explosion tests somedoubts were raised in inter -national community about India’scommitment to disarmament. India,however had made it clear that thesetests were conducted in the contextof national security and prevailinginternational situation. India hasdeclared that it will maintain aminimum credible nuclear deterrent

and will not engage in an arms race.India has also declared a no-first-useof nuclear weapons. It believes thata global no-first use agreement canbe the f irst step towards thedelegitimisation of nuclear weapons.It stands for Comprehensive Test BanTreaty (CTBT) which is non-discriminatory and universal. Inother words, it should have threecharacteristics: (i) it should cover allStates including the five nuclearweapon States; (ii) it should extendthe prohibition on the testing ofnuclear weapons to the undergroundenvironment also; and (iii) it shoulddo so for all time. The verificationsystem to be developed must be non-discriminatory.

From the above discussion itbecomes quite clear that the worldtoday, more than ever before, is awareof the menace of arms race with no endto the stockpiling, deploymentand development of new andmore destructive weapons, bothconventional and nuclear.Disarmament has long been anagenda item in various global forums.In all these efforts India has beenplaying a significant active role.

HUMAN RIGHTS

People is general, whether living in thedeveloped, developing or underdeveloped world, cherish theenjoyment of rights in one form or theother. The rights are the claims of theindividual recognised by the societyand enforced by the State. These

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rights are moral, legal, political,economic in nature and a combinationof all these rights is termed as humanrights which all men and womanshould enjoy. Today these basicrights are even recognised by theinternational community.

The Indian Constitution which wasenforced in 1950 showed its fullrespect to the Universal Declarationof Human Rights. In the third part ofthe Constitution, they have given themost elaborate description of the basicrights of the Indian citizens. In theremaining of this chapter, we willstudy about the India’s role relatingto human rights.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND INDIA

We have read above that the conceptof human rights in the existing formis of recent, post Second World Warorigin. In India concern for humandignity, opposition to exploitation andinjustice and inequality has been apart of her civilisational traditions. Wehave a long tradition of acceptance ofcontrary view-points, tolerancetowards others, non-violence, love andcompassion, religious universalismand an emphasis on the brotherhoodof all men. Colonial oppression andopposition to it and contact with theWest in the modern period brought inIndia a new understanding of humanrights. During this period while thesocial reformers led the intellectualmovement and contributed to thehuman rights situation, the freedommovement produced great champions

of human rights. The British colonialrule in India affected the commonman, children, women, labourers,workers, peasants, either directly orindirectly. The police and the securityforces were used as basic tools tosuppress the rights of the individuals.In this context the national movementin India incorporated in its valuesissues of democracy, universalfranchise, freedom of the press,education, etc. It took these issues tothe people and educated them abouttheir political and economic rights.Infact national movement took upthe battle for human rights in a varietyof ways.

HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS AFTER

INDEPENDENCE

The leaders of the Nationalistmovement, who now entered theConstituent Assembly to draft a newConstitution for India, were committedto the cause of the Human Rights. Inthe Constituent Assembly the movingspirit behind the rights was theadherence to the principle of humanequality and dignity which wasdenied to Indians during the colonialrule. Also as a founder member ofthe United Nations India was inthe forefront in accepting theprinciples of Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights.

At the same time Framers ofthe Indian Constitution made aremarkable contribution by layingdown an elaborate set of rights forthe people. They sought to achieve a



delicate balance between, Civil andPolitical Rights on the one hand, andSocial and Economic Rights on theother. The makers of the Constitutionbelieved in giving equal importanceto the two sets of rights as acardinal tenet of philosophyunderlying it. The Political and CivilRights are made fundamental bythe provisions of part III of theConstitution. This part assures thepeople equality and freedom. Rightsin this part are judicially enforceable,even though subject to reasonablerestrictions. The economic and socialrights are also made basic to thegovernance of the country throughprovisions in part IV that is theDirective Principles of State Policy.This part seek to make these rightssubstantive by enjoining on futuregovernments to bring in conditions ofsocial and economic justice.

Apart from ConstitutionalProvisions and Statutes the IndianGovernment has also set up severalinstitutions under different acts ofParliament to give effect to theseprovisions of human rights ofall persons. Most important of theseis the National Human RightsCommission (NHRC).

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

COMMISSION (NHRC)

The Indian Government establishedthe NHRC on 12 October, 1993. Ithas eight members -a chairperson (aformer chief justice of India), a present

or a former judge of the SupremeCourt, a present or a former chiefjustice of a high court, two membersfrom among those persons who areknowledgeable in the area of humanrights, and the chairpersons of theNational Commission for women,National Commission for SCs and STs,and the National Commission forMinorities. NHRC has been assignedbroad powers and functions. It caninquire on its own or on a petitionpresented to it by a victim orany person on his behalf intocomplaints of:(i) Violation of or abetment to

violation of human rights;(ii) Negligence by a public servant in

the prevention of such violation.To perform its functions, the

NHRC has been given the followingauthorities.• It may intervene in any

proceeding involving any alle-gation of violation of human rightspending before a court with theapproval of such court.

• It may visit, under intimation toa state government, any jail orany other institution under thecontrol of the state governmentconcerned, where persons aredetained or lodged for purposesof treatment, reformation orprotection, to study the livingconditions of the inmates andmake recommendations thereon.

• It may review the safeguardsprovided by or under theConstitution or any law for the

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time being in force for theprotection of human rights andrecommend measures for theireffective implementation.

• It may review the factors,including acts of terrorism thatinhibit the enjoyment of humanrights and recommend appro-priate remedial measures.

• It may study treaties and otherinternational instruments onhuman rights and makerecommendations for theireffective implementation.

• It may undertake and promoteresearch in the field of humanrights; spread human rightsliteracy among various sections ofsociety and promote awareness ofthe safeguards available for theprotection of these rights throughpublications, the media, seminarsand other available means.

• It may encourage the efforts ofnon-governmental organisationsand institutions working in thefield of human rights. It mayalso undertake such otherfunctions as it may considernecessary for the promotion ofhuman rights.

In addition to NHRC, there are alsoNational Commissions for Women,Scheduled Castes and Tribes,Minorities and other Backward Castes.Their functions include protection andpromotion of rights of these specificcategories and suggest measures fortheir welfare so that they can betterexercise their rights.

INTERNATIONAL COVENANTS AND

ACTIVITIES

As already mentioned India is asignatory to the Universal Declarationof Human Rights and has acceded tothe two International Covenants i.e.International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights (ICCPR) andInternational Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights. It has alsoaccepted and ratified most othermajor conventions and covenantsof the UN and its specialisedagencies – like International LabourOrganisation (ILO) India has also beenparticipating in the UN Commissionfor Human Rights, both as a memberand as an observer. It played a leadingrole in opposing violation of humanrights on grounds of colour and race.You have already read in an earlierchapter India’s contribution instruggle against colonialism,apartheid, racial discrimination, etc.,which were gross violations of thebasic values of human rights.

At the international level, there alsohas been debate with regard toimportance of specific human rights.The Western thinking in general hasbeen that civil and political rights aremore important. India’s position,however, is that Civil and Politicalrights and Social, Economic andCultural Rights both are equallyimportant. Equally important arerights of the people as a groupand countries for example Rightto Development. India, whilewholeheartedly supporting the cause



of Human Rights, has always opposedthe politicisation of Human Rights ininternational relations, where somepowers have been trying to use thepretext of Human rights violation forinterfering in the internal affairs ofother countries.

From the above it becomes clearthat India’s response to the issue ofHuman rights has been one ofcommitment. Fundamental rightsand Directive Principles of State Policyprovided in the Constitution of Indiacontain a number of rights providedin the Universal Declaration of Humanrights. India is also a signatory to thisDeclaration as well as most of theInternational conventions andcovenants. It has also joined handswith the international community inthe task of promotion and protectionof Human Rights throughout theWorld; it has played a leading role inthe fight against colonialism,apartheid, racial discrimination andexploitation.

As far as implementation ofcommitment to Human Rights isconcerned, India’s record is better thancompared to many other developingcountries. Most significant aspect ofthis is continuation and consolidationof democracy. However, there are someviolations of Human Rights by Statemachinery, police, security forces andnon-state actors like terrorists andfundamentalists. As such, India, mustevolve herself as a leading example forthe developing countries in terms ofrespect for human rights.

GLOBALISATION

The end of Cold War politics followingthe disintegration of Soviet Union,restructuring of Eastern Europeancountries and weakening ofcommunism as an ideological force ininternational politics, have paved a wayfor the emergence of a new world ordercharacterised by globalisation. Theprocess of globalisation began from the1970s due to various developments inthe field of science and technology.Since 1990s the term globalisation hasgained wide currency. However thereare significant differences amongobservers on the definition, purposeand consequences of globalisation.

GLOBALISATION: MEANING

According to Anthony Giddens,Globalisation means “The intensi-fication of world-wide social relationswhich link distant localities in such away that local happenings are shapedby events occurring many milesaway and vice-versa”. Similarly anotherexpert Robertson has definedglobalisation as “a concept thatrefers to the compression of the worldand the intensification of theconsciousness of the world as a whole”.In general we can say that globali-sation refers to a process by which thePlanet Earth is considered to beone single unit or a global villagewhere social and economic interactionsamong the people are basedon interdependence. The world issupposed to be a global society with

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global issues and problems whichare to be tackled with global effortsand cooperation. Of course variousdevelopments in the field of science andtechnology have helped in this closenessof the world. The phenomena includesan enormous range of features ofcontemporary life involving diverseactivities and interactions in theeconomic, political, technological,cultural and environmental field.Globalisation is manifest in therapid flow of information, capitaland goods. Under globalisation culturesand societies that were hitherto distincthave come face to face with eachother. The world has become aninter-connected one.

While the “coming closer” of theworld can be attributed to thephenomenal increase in the reach ofelectronic media and other means ofcommunications, as a policy framework for economic, political and socialinteractions, the emergence ofglobalisation is a consequence ofdeliberate efforts of western liberalcapitalist countries to bring thewhole world under one marketoriented economic order. Observerspoint out that the big Multi NationalCompanies (MNCs) had alwayswanted to have free access to allmarkets in the world. They were,however, restricted by the protect-ionist policies of the various countries.They had been pressurising theirpowerful governments to get theseartificial restrictions removed andfacilitate free flow of capital and goods.

Their efforts got a big boost by thecollapse of Socialism, revolution incommunication technology andworsening economic situation ofdeveloping countries. New develop-ments in the field of communicationsand rising debts and decliningproductions in developing countrieshelped developed countries to putpressure on these countries throughinternational bodies like World Bankand International Monetary Fund(IMF) to integrate their economies withthe market oriented world economy,make structural adjustments toaccommodate the interests of theMulti-National Company and liberlisetheir own economies. Accordingly, alarge number of developing countries,either per-force, or due to their needsof development have sought tointegrate increasingly with the worldeconomy. India also has not remainedimmune from the processes. It hasaccordingly, taken some measures tobe a part of global community andalso reacted to certain issues arisingout of the process.

GLOBALISATION AND INDIA

India began responding to globali-sation from early 1980s bywarmly welcoming the technologicaldevelopments. In the beginning, itsacceptance of the ideas of worldmarket, world economy, unfetteredmarket economy etc. was lukewarm.Of course, it started some pro-cesses towards liberalisation andglobalisation in the middle of 1980s.



It was in the wake of the externalrepayment liability crisis of 1991 thatgovernment took a qualitative turntowards liberalisation. It involved thefollowing major changes in policy.

(i) Trade policy reform: This reformsought to dismantle the earlierimport licensing system. Itproposed reforms and heavyscaling down or removal of tariffon imports . Except on consumergoods non-tariff barriers werephased out.

(ii) Industrial Policy Reform: Itsought abolition of industriallicensing except for a fewspecified industries. Itemsreserved for public sector cameto be highly restricted and itextended favourable treatmentto FDI. Restrictions oninvestment by large industrialhouses were abolished anda phased programme ofdisinvestments of publicownership in public sectorundertakings was initiated.The Non-resident Indians (NRIs)were extended additionalencouragement to invest andoutward investment by Indianenterprises was liberalised.

(iii) Exchange Rate Reform: The rupeewas devalued in 1991. Partialconvertibility of the rupee wasdone in 1992-93 and fullconvertibility on current accountin 1994.

(iv) Capital Market Reform: This wasundertaken by setting up theSecurities and Exchange Boardof India (SEBI).

(v) Financial Reforms: Private sectorbanks including foreign jointventure banks came to bepermitted to undertake andexpand their operations. Apolicy regime for private non-banking finance companiescame to be established.

In addition to the above, thegovernment has attempted to build upcompetition in sectors where hithertothe public sector enjoyed a monopoly;thrown open the insurance sector formarket competition; attempted tolay down a set of directives fordisinvestments and removed tariffs ona large number of items in accordancewith its agreement with the World TradeOrganisation (WTO).

In the context of globalisation,the above-mentioned liberalisationprimarily means removal of controlsand regulations at various levels of theeconomy facilitating market forces todetermine its course and direction. Itfavours a competitive market solutionto economic issues and a reducedrole for the State in economicmanagement. In a wider sense, theterm is also used to mean creatingconditions for the prevalence of civicand political rights, rule of law,accountability of power, periodicelections, multi-party system and animpartial judiciary. These conditionsare seen as keeping public authoritytransparent and under scrutiny.

Summing up, liberalisation meansfreedom of trade and investment;creation of free trade areas; eliminationof government control on allocation of

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resources in the domestic economy;progressive removal of restrictions onexternal trade and payments;expansion of foreign investment, loansand aid and rapid technologicalprogress. Liberalisation also advocatesa balanced budget, reduction inprogressive taxation, social securityand welfare and a diminished role forthe State in economic management. Itdoes not favour subsidies and Stateprotection and resource allocationsthrough administrative means. Itsuggests that inefficiency, corruptionand mismanagement are built intoregimes with excessive State control.

DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONS

There is a general view thatglobalisation is a reality which cannotbe wished away. Yet there aredifferences of opinion, both at theinternational level and in India, withregard to impact of globalisation andits usefulness. Primarily there are twoopinions, optimistic and pessimistic.The former point out the benefits ofglobalisation. According to them, theeconomic policies before liberalisationwere not yielding positive results. Thegap between the rich and the poor wereconstantly on the rise; due to lack ofcompetition, the big business houseswere selling average products athigh prices. But liberlisation andglobalisation has increased the scaleand allocative efficiency of markets forgoods and capital. It has releasedhuge unutilised resources and has ledto a great economic recovery.

Globalisation has greatly facilitatedthe movement of capital and lessenedthe dependence of the country onbilateral and multilateral agenciessuch as the IMF and World Bank. Ithas also been an importantmechanism to upgrade theirtechnology and get an access to theglobal markets.

It is also argued by the supportersof globalisation that it has helped inexpansion of liberal democracy bystrengthening accountability andtransparency of power. It has createdglobal electronic communicationsystems. They allow a diversity ofalternative voices and opinions to beheard and accessed . These, in turn,have also led to the rise of newsocial movements such as ofwomen, peasants, ethnic commu-nities, displaced people etc. therebymobilising more people. In thecultural field, globalisation hasfacilitated a phenomenal growth in theglobal circulation of cultural goods.These include printed matter, music,visual arts, cinema and photography,radio and television.

Critics of globalisation see it as aprocess of domination by advancedcapitalist countries especially UnitedStates of America. According tothem, it has further increasedexisting inequalities. There is evidenceto suggest that the processes andpolicies of liberalisation andglobalisation have contributed to asignificant redistribution of incomeand wealth from the poor to the richboth nationally and internationally.



There is growing disparity within thedeveloped nations, between thedeveloped nations and the developingnations, and within the developingnations themselves. In the wake ofglobalisation there is substantialincrease in unemployment.

There has been a cut in welfaremeasures, reduction in subsidies ofgoods of mass consumption and declinein real wages. There is an increase inthe power of foreign investors andcreditors. While a great deal of attentionis paid to formulate rules for theexpansion of global markets andcapital flows, little attention is paid toobjectives like labour standard, povertyreduction and human rights. It hasgreatly circumscribed the power ofnation-state under pressure frommultinational companies.

Neo-liberal ideology has emergedas the reigning ideology underglobalisation with its stress on marketfreedom, private property andaccumulation. There also is a processof cultural imposition and domination.Through Cable TV and Internet, theMultinational Corporations aresuccessfully promoting consumerismand western values. The craze of Coke/Pepsi or famous western brands ofclothing, cosmetics, etc., are all creationof electronic media. The Englishlanguage has emerged to a pre-dominant position threatening thedevelopment of vernacular languages.Critics also point out the serious impactof globalisation on education. Nowthere is rapid commercialization ofeducation and over -emphasis on

market-oriented courses. Theundermining of Social Sciences andHumanities is already having adetrimental effect on society.

From the above, it becomes clearthat globalisation is a process throughwhich the world is becoming closer anddistanceless. As a result of this, nationaleconomies are diminishing and they arebecoming part of the internationaleconomic system. It has put limitationson State’s sovereignty. India hasbecome a part of this process and istrying to adapt itself to this new reality.Major challenge before it is to reap itsbenefits and avoid its adverse effects.There are a number of serious issueswhich developed countries areimposing on developing countriesthrough international financial andtrade organisations like World TradeOrganisation (WTO). India is of theopinion that developing countries needto oppose these attempts. However, sofar the necessary cooperation amongthe developing countries, required forthis purpose, is lacking. Some of thedeveloping countries are also workingunder pressure from the United Statesespecially in regard to their extendeddebt liabilities. India has taken anumber of initiatives at the internationalfora, to protect the interests ofdeveloping countries with regard totrade negotiations, subsidies and rightsand responsibilities of differentcountries. At the same time, it hasaccepted and implemented StructuralAdjustment programmes, opened upits economy and allowed foreigncompanies to operate. Both scholars

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EXERCISES

1. What do you understand by Disarmament? What efforts have been made bythe United Nations towards Disarmament.

2. Describe the role played by India in achieving the objective of global disarmament.3. Why has India not signed Non-Proferation Treaty (NPT) and Comprehensive

Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).4. Describe various measures adopted in India for implementation of Human

Rights.5. How has India responded to the process of globalisation.6. Describe the two different opinions about effects of globalisation.7. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Arms race and its effects(ii) National Human Rights Commission

(iii) Meaning of Globalisation


and political parties are deeply dividedon the desirability and consequencesof globalisation. Since globalisationnow is a reality, the discussion on thedesirability or otherwise of globalisation

has now been replaced by discussionon the measures which can help thecountry derive more advantages fromglobalisation and minimise itsdisadvantages.


Glossary

Activist: A person mobilising people for political action.

Alternative Vote: In this first method voters are asked to rank the candidates inpreferential order. In this first stage of counting, only the first preferences are takeninto consideration. If no candidate receives majority, the candidate with the leastfirst preferences is eliminated, and the ballots of this candidate as first preferenceare redistributed according to second preferences and so on.

Apartheid: Refers to the South African system of racial segregation of the white,black and brown (i.e. Indian) population and the domination of the white minorityover the black majority. A basic aspect of apartheid was the exclusion of the majorityon the basis of their colour from participation in government.

Aristocracy: A government or a state ruled by a privileged class; a governmentcomposed of and ruled by the few, supposedly to be superior.

Authoritarianism: It is opposed to democracy. It is a form of government in whichthe authority is vested in the hands of a dictator, a military junta or an absolutemonarch. The ruler is not accountable to the people nor he is bound by anyconstitution.

Bourgeoisie: Also known as the capitalist class that owns the means of production,employs wage labour, and has profit as its source of income.

Capitalism: It refers to an economic system where there is a combination of privateproperty, a relatively free and competitive market, and a general assumption thatthe bulk of the workforce will be engaged in employment by private (non-governmental)employers engaged in producing whatever goods they can sell at a profit.

Civil Liberties: These are freedoms or rights which are thought to be especiallyvaluable in themselves and vital to the functioning of a liberal and democraticsociety. Emphasis vary, but most lists of basic civil liberties will include freedom ofspeech, freedom of religion and thought, freedom of movement, freedom ofassociation, the right to a fair trial and freedom of the person.

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Coalition: These are grouping of rival political units in the face of a commonopponent. Coalition usually occur in modern parliaments when no single politicalparty can muster a mojority of votes. Two or more parties, who have enough electedmembers between them to form a majority, may then be able to agree on a commonprogramme that does not require too many drastic compromises with their individualpolicies, and can proceed to form a government.

Cultural Pluralism: Multiplicity of cultural identies coexisting within a society.

Egalitarian Society: A society based on the principles of liberty, equality and justicein which all have a certain minimum equality in social, political and economicspheres.

Feudalism: The economic, political and social system in which land was held byvassals in exchange for military and other services to overlords.

G-15: A group of 15 developing countires for consultation and cooperation was aninitiative taken at the Non-Aligned Summit at Belgrade in September 1989. Thetask of the group include (i) to identify new specific and concrete ideas or schemesto foster South-South Cooperation, commit their governments to them and mobilisewider support; and (ii) to hold a review of the world economic situation and thestate of international relations affecting developing countries with a view todeveloping common perceptions on them and suggest common strategies includinginitiatives to be proposed in North-South fora.

Imperialism: Systems of political control of one country over another. A biggerpower establishes its rule over another country through the route of colonialism orthrough conquest.

Liberal Democracy: A form of democratic rule that balances the principle of limitedgovernment against the ideal of popular consent. Its ‘liberal’ features are reflectedin a network of internal and external checks on government that are designed toguarantee liberty and afford citizens, protection against the state. Its ‘democratic’character is based on a system of regular and competitive elections, conducted onthe basis of universal suffrage and political equality.

Multinationals: Companies having subsidiary operations in several countries acrossthe globe.

Nation Building: It is a term to cover the comprehensive process by which peopleconstitute and stabilise themselves as a nation. It refers to the construction ofinstitutions, structures, processes which give shape and form to a nation as sovereignentity.

Neo-Colonialism: The continued and indirect influence, or in few cases control, bythe ex-colonial powers over their former colonies through unequal trade, interference

GLOSSARY


in governance, multinational corporations etc. It is also used interchangeably withimperialism to suggest that even after the end of formal colonialism, the Europeancountries still have many informal channels of control over the non-Europeanworld.

North-South Dialogue: By ‘North’ is meant the advanced industrialised countriesof North America, Western Europe and Japan — all of which are in the Northernhemisphere, but it also includes Australia and New Zealand from south of theequator. By ‘South’ is meant the developing countries of Asia, Africa and LatinAmerica, most of them having become recently independent, and almost all markedby low per capita income, poverty, social backwardness and disease. By ‘North’ inbrief is meant the ‘rich nations’ and by South ‘the poor nations’. Therefor, by North-South dialogue is meant the talks and negotiations between the advancedindustialised countries and the half-industrial to pre-industial developing countriesof the world, for a more equitable, just and balanced world economy.

Nuclear Disarmament: The talks for nuclear disarmament have taken place in theDisarmament Commission (DC) of the UN General Assembly, among the nuclearpowers, especially the USA and the former Soviet Union over the years, From 1969to 1979 the famous Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were held between thetwo. Followed by Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) initiated in 1982.Gorbachev and Reagan held five summits between 1986 and 1988, discussing nucleardisarmament. In 1988, the US and the former Soviet Union signed the IntermediateNuclear Force (INF) disarmament agreement which was the first major breakthroughin nuclear disarmament.

Panchsheel: In 1954, the Prime Ministers of India and China, Jawaharlal Nehruand Chou-en-lai enunciated five principles of peaceful coexistence while signingthe Treaty on Tibet. These five Principles, known as Panchsheel, have becomeimportant formula of International relations. These are:

(i) Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty;(ii) Mutual non-aggression;

(iii) Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs;(iv) Equality and mutual benefit and;(v) Peaceful coexistence.

Plural Society: A society containing members of many ethnic, language, religiousand cultural groups. A society marked by diversities, a compound of diverse elements.It is a heterogenous society.

Polarisation: Alignment of forces (here political) along distinct ideological lines.

Poverty Line: A way of defining the minimum level of existence in a society belowwhich it would be impossible to satisfy the bare minimum needs to survive.

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Pragmatism: Doctrine that evaluates any assertion solely by its practicalconsequences and its bearing on human interests.

Racism: Racism is any political or social belief that justifies treating people differentlyaccording to their racial origins. (See Apartheid)

Rigging: It describes any fradulent, illicit or underhand interference with votes andvoting processes. The intention being to falsify the result or to make sure of electoralvictory in advance.

Secession: It means the attempt by some region in a political systems to becomeindependent of the rest of the state and rule itself as an autonomous state.

Secularism: A form or a system where religion and politics are separated from eachother; one where religion has no role in politics.

South-South Cooperation: As opposed to North-South dialogue, South-SouthCooperation has been proposed to build solidarity and fraternity between morethan 100 developing countries of the world. A South Commission was constitutedto work out plans of cooperation. Many regional associations of countries of theSouth, like Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), South AsianAssociation for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Organisation of African Unity (OAU),League of Arab States, Gulf Cooperation Council etc., have taken up the task ofpromoting mutual cooperation for common welfare.

Totalitarianism: It is defined in the context of political regimes as developed inGermany and Italy during the Second World War and in USSR and Eastern Europeduring the communist rule. Totalitarianism believes in the totalist ideology, a singleparty state, a secret police, overall control and a government monopoly over theeconomic, cultural and information structure of the society. There is no differencebetween the state and the society.

Trade Unions: These Unions are organised collectives of working people, usuallybut not invariably in industrial and commercial rather than agriculturalorganisations.

GLOSSARY

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