8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

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8/18/2019
CONTEMPORARY INDIA
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Economy, Society, Politics

Edited by

Neera Chandhoke
Praveen Priyadarshi

Longman is an imprint of

Delhi • Chennai • Chandigarh

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 8/18/2019
Contents
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Introduction: Democracy in Contemporary India

Neera Chandhok e and Praveen Priyadarshi

PART I: ECONOMY
1 Basic Features of the Indian Economy in 1947

Samir Kumar Singh

2 The Evolution of Development Strategy Since Independence

Ambuj a Kwnar Tripathy

3 Some Important Constituents of Economic Policy

Samir Kumar Singh

4 Regional Disparities, Poverty and Food Insecurity

Satyajit Puhan

5 Human Development: Health and Education

Neera Chandhoke

6 Science and Technology Policy: IT and Social Change

Neha Khanna

PART II: SOCIETY

7 The Changing Social Structure in Contemporary India

N. R. Levin

8 The Explosion of the ‘Middle Class’

Sujit Mahapatra

9 Catalysts of Social Change: Adult Franchise and Education

Ravi Nandan Singh

10 Social Movements and the Mass Media

Bindu Menon

11 Social Mobility and Changes in Occupational Structure

Wasudha Bhatt
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 12 Social Movements: Challenges and Opportunities
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Silky Tyagi

PART III: POLITICS

13 The Nature and Functioning of Democracy

Swaha Das and Hari Nair

14 The Parliamentary System: An Evaluation

Kumar Rahul

15 Democracy: Social and Economic Dimensions

Praveen Priyadarshi

16 The Changing Nature of the Party System

Pushpa Kumari

17 The Nature of Coalition Politics

Sanjeev Kumar

18 Why Is Secularism Important for India?

Neera Chandhoke

19 Contemporary Debates on Nationalism

Mohinder Singh

20 Dimensions of Indian Federalism

Rajesh Kumar

21 Democratic Decentralization and Panchayati Raj

Moitree Bhattacharya (Muk hopadhyay)

22 The Changing Nature of Public Administration

Suranjita Ray

23 India in the Global Strategic Environment

Satyajit Mohanty

Glossary

About the Editors and the Contribu tors

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About the Editors and the Contributors
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

ERA CHANDHOKE is Professor at the Department of Political Science, and Director of the
veloping Countries Research Centre at the University of Delhi from where she also received h
A (1968) and her PhD (1984). Her main teaching and research interests are political theory,
mparative politics, and the politics of developing societies with special focus on India. She ha
hored The Conceits of Civil Society (2003, New Delhi: Oxford University Press); Beyond
cularism: The Rights of Religious Minorities (1999, New Delhi, Oxford University Press); an
ate and Civil Society: Explorations in Political Theory, 1995 (Delhi, Sage), and has edited
apping Histories (2000, Delhi: Tulika); Grass-Roots Politics and Social Transformation (19
lhi: University of Delhi Press); Understanding the Post-Colonial World (1995, published un
auspices of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi). Professor Chandhoke regular
ntributes articles to national and international journals and to Indian newspapers on contempor

mes.
AVEEN PRIYADARSHI is doing his PhD in development studies from the London School of
onomics and Political Science (LSE). He is also a research associate with the Crisis States
search Centre, LSE. He is presently on leave from teaching political science at Zakir Husain
llege (Evening), University of Delhi. His interests are in the history of political institutions in
d their relation with development processes. He has published papers in journals such as
onomic and Political Weekly and Social Science Research Journal .

THE CONTRIBUTORS

ASUDHA BHATT is a doctoral fellow at the University of Texas-Austin and a trainee at the
pulation Research Center.

OITREE BHATTACHARYA (MUKHOPADHYAY) teaches political science at Daulat Ram College,

iversity of Delhi.

WAHA DAS teaches political science at Indraprastha College, University of Delhi.

HA KHANNA is a postgraduate in the fields of history and education. She is currently involved
earch on the health issues of Black, minority and ethnic groups in London.

JESH KUMAR teaches political science at the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, University
lhi. He is also an affiliated fellow with the Developing Countries Research Centre, University

lhi. http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi 5/369

NJEEV KUMAR
8/18/2019 teaches political science
Contemporary at Zakir
India Economy, Husain
Society, Politics -College, University
Neera Chandhoke, of Delhi. He is al
Praveen Priyadarshi

earch fellow with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi.

SHPA KUMARI teaches political science at Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is also a
low with the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi.

R. LEVIN is a research scholar at the Department of History, University of Delhi.

JITMAHAPATRA is a research scholar at the Department of English, University of Delhi. He is

ociated with the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi and Bakul
undation, Bhubaneshwar.

NDU MENON teaches journalism at Lady Sri Ram College, University of Delhi.

TYAJIT MOHANTY is with the Indian Revenue Service. The views expressed in his chapter are,
wever, personal.

ARI NAIR is an independent scholar working on the philosophy of law.

TYAJIT PUHAN studied economics and obtained an MPhil degree from Jawaharlal Nehru
iversity, New Delhi. He is currently based in Orissa and is associated with the Bakul Foundat
initiative for volunteerism and social change.

UMAR RAHUL teaches political science in Ramjas College, University of Delhi.

RANJITA RAY teaches political science in Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi. She is also
low with the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi.

OHINDER SINGH is a fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla. He is presently
ve from teaching political science at Ramjas College, University of Delhi.

VI NANDAN SINGH teaches sociology at Hindu College, University of Delhi.

MIR KUMAR SINGH teaches economics at Kirori Mai College, University of Delhi. He is also
ociated with the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi.

MBUJA KUMAR TRIPATHY teaches political science in Sri Ram College of Commerce University
lhi. He is also associated with the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delh

LKY TYAGI is a research scholar at the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. Sh
o associated with the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi.
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 8/18/2019
Praise for Contemporary India
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

a welcome addition to the vast body of literature available on the theme. The chapters … are
nceived and structured. They provide useful insights for a better understanding of contemporar
velopments and trends relating to the Indian economy, polity and society.
—M. J. Vinod, Profe
Department of Political Sci
Bangalore Unive

an excellent collection of articles meant for undergraduate and post-graduate students, scholar
ademics and journalists. It can become an excellent reference book, too.
—Muzafar H. Assadi, Profe
Department of Political Sci
University of My

e division of the book into the three parts … brings out and reflects political science’s discipl
ed of expanding its contours to capture the multifaceted dynamics of contemporary India. The b
ll go a longer way than satisfying the needs of its basic target group.
—Amartya Mukhopadhyay, Profe
Department of Political Sci
University of Calc

e book has been written using a framework that will aid critical thinking about Indian society.
mmendable effort towards creating good textbooks for university students in India.
—Virginius Xaxa, Profe
Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Econo
University of D

his book] seeks to take stock of both India’s progress in establishing and refining democracy, a
o the extent to which this has yielded satisfactory outcomes. The contents of the book are
erdisciplinary with lucid expositions, and the outcome is refreshing.
—Ashish Saxena, Associate Profe
Department of Socio
University of Ja

well written with a clear thrust on analysing in a simple, lucid manner the three most importan
gments of contemporary India. A striking feature of the book is its analysis of the past and the
esent of Indian society and politics with equal élan…. [T]his book has combined historicity w
day’s India in a splendid manner.
—Aneek Chatterjee, Assistant Profe
Department of Political Science, Presidency Co
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University7/369
of Calc
 a winning
8/18/2019combination of facts andIndia
Contemporary analysis
Economy,on some
Society, of- the
Politics Neeramost salient
Chandhoke, facets
Praveen … of contempo
Priyadarshi

dia. Admirable for its clarity and readability, it is sure to be a prized collection for any serious
dent of India.
—Ashok Acharya, Re
Department of Political Sci
University of D

a comprehensive text catering to the demands of undergraduate students and general readers w
interested in knowing the working of the Indian economy, democracy and sociological change
t have taken place in the country.
—Poonam Kanwal, Re
Department of Political Sci
Janki Devi Memorial College , University of D

is is a wide-ranging collection that addresses the tumultuous experience of Indian democracy.

his book will help in understanding why democracy, despite many hurdles, still works in Indi

w it influences Indian politics. —Partho Datta, Re

Department of History, Zak ir Husain Evening Co
University of D

is volume … is useful and has relevance not only for students, but also for the general readers
interested in contemporary issues that influence the nation today. The merit of the chapters lie
cussing complex issues in a manner that will help in the pedagogic exercise. Written by teach
ho are actively involved in the classroom teaching, the text is lucid and has an interdisciplinary
proach…. The contradictions brought out in the democracy and the democratic system of India
p students to think in a critical manner.
—Ranjeeta Dutta, Lect
Department of History and Cu
Jamia Millia Isl

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 8/18/2019 Introduction
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Democracy in Contemporary India

Neera Chandhoke and Praveen Priyadarshi

is volume is the product of a joint effort by a number of scholars who carry out research and te
the University of Delhi. Many of these scholars are fellows of the Developing Countries Rese
ntre of the university, where the initiative to put together a volume on contemporary India first
ape; others are fellow travellers. In view of the fact that: (a) a foundation course on contempo
dia has been introduced at the BA level in the university; (b) the course straddles four disciplin
tory, economics, sociology, and political science, and (c) there are very few original works th
gotiate all the themes included in the course in one work, a group of committed scholars and
chers decided to write original and well-researched pieces on each topic of the course. The
hors have written especially for students, and though the essays are the products of in-depth
earch, they are written in an easy, conversational style. But we hope that the volume can serve
introduction to contemporary India for the general reading public, journalists, professionals an
urse, students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, of other universities.
The course on contemporary India covers a variety of conceptual and empirical themes rangin
m the state of the economy at the time of Independence to the emergence of the new middle cla
e were of the opinion that different themes should be approached from the vantage point of
mocracy. Democracy, in other words, provides both a perspective and a thread that ties differe
pects of contemporary India together. In the following section, we chart out some of the main
aracteristics of democracy in the country to serve as a framework for understanding.

DEMOCRACY

or my part,’ wrote the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, ‘I wish to say that, in sp
everything, I have a firm faith in India’s future…. Although many of my old dreams have been

attered by recent events, yet the basic objective still holds and I see no reason to change it. Tha
ective is to build a free India of high ideals and noble endeavours where there is equality of
portunity for all.’ 1 More than five decades have passed since Pandit Nehru wrote these words
s clear that a democratic culture has been institutionalized in the country. This culture was firs
roduced to the Indian society by the freedom struggle in the first half of the 20th century. The
ctoral and the political processes after Independence have consolidated this culture. We have
ly functional electoral system; we have one of the most politicized electorates in the world; an
ctorate that never fails to surprise every time a verdict is out; we have an untidy, unruly, but
brant http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
civil society peppered by social movements and campaigns; we have a Constitution9/369 that i
guably one of the finest in Contemporary
8/18/2019 the worldIndia
andEconomy,
is deeply
Society,respected;
Politics - Neera and evenPraveen
Chandhoke, if thePriyadarshi
Parliament and th
ecutive let us down periodically, the Supreme Court has been highly proactive, particularly wh
mes to protecting the basic rights of citizens. India’s democracy is alive and kicking, and the c
ciety in the country, embedded as it is in a democratic culture, fiercely guards the rights of the
izens against infringements or violations.2
Yet, the gains of political democracy have not been accompanied by advances in social or
onomic democracy. If there is one lesson that we have learnt from our experience with politica

mocracy in India, it is that though political/formal democracy ensures political and civil rights
nstitutionalism, the rule of law, and a vibrant civil society, it does not by any means guarantee
ll-being, absence of caste discrimination, or secularism. We certainly have reason to pat ours
the back because India is hailed as the world’s largest democracy However, problems blight
es of millions of citizens, largely in the rural areas, where they suffer from unimagined hardsh
form of poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, and disease. We admittedly have reason to feel prou
have one of the most democratic electorates in the world—the results of the 2004 general
ctions and of the state elections in 2006 and 2007 bear testimony to this. Yet, discrimination o
sis of caste continues to haunt the everyday lives of millions of the so-called lower castes. We
een over the fact that civil liberties in the country are safe in the hands of a representative
vernment, a hyperactive judiciary, and human rights groups. Yet, communal riots continue to sc
body politic, leaving wrecked lives and livelihoods in their wake. India’s democratic culture
own a remarkable capacity to tolerate economic ill-being and discrimination on the basis of
criptive characteristics such as caste and religion, even as it zealously guards the frontiers of
litical democracy. This is the paradox of democracy in our country.
But if political democracy has not led to the eradication of mind-numbing poverty, oppression
human practices which thrive on discriminating against the lower castes and religious minoritie
democratic project necessarily remains incomplete. To put the point in different words, the
mocratic project has neither realized its own potential nor delivered on its own promises. Wh
se promises? We do not have to go far in order to search for these promises. There was a time
hen the Cold War had frozen the distinction between formal democracy characterized by politi
d civil rights (liberal democracy), and substantive democracy characterized by social and
onomic rights (socialist democracy). The end of the Cold War, however, dissolved this distinc
d, increasingly, democracy is seen not only as an institution but as a continuum, as a process th
ds or at least should lead from formal to substantive democracy or from political and civil rig
social, economic, and cultural rights. In other words, democracy promises rights, justice, freed
uality, and human dignity.
The roots of democracy are to be found in the basic axiom of our electoral democracy—unive
ult franchise. Universal adult franchise promises that each citizen is free to cast his/her vote fo
homsoever s/he wants; that there is no constraint whatsoever on his/her political freedom to do
e second promise that it embeds is that of equality; each vote, and by implication each voter, c
one and only one—no less and no more. No one is either privileged or deprived in this matte
grounds of class, caste, gender, or religious belief. These ascriptive characteristics are10/369
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elevant in our democracy.Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
8/18/2019

But if political freedom is not accompanied by economic and social freedom, the democratic
oject remains unfinished. What is the point, a committed democrat may well ask, in granting
uality to citizens on one day every five years, when people remain unequal and ‘unfree’ in thei
ly lives? In other words, though formal or political democracy is essential for human dignity,
t sufficient . For if the vast masses of citizens remain outside the boundaries of the demos beca
y belong to, say, the beleaguered lower castes who are compelled to live life in this and not th

y, or because they are religious minorities which are subjected to rank and inhuman
crimination, or because they are caught up in mind-numbing poverty, deprivation, and ill-bein
mocratic project has stopped short at what is known as formal democracy. This is not the
mocracy that Pandit Nehru, the tallest statesman and the architect of modem India had dreamt o
iculated repeatedly in his public speeches and in his reflective writings. In his usual elegant
nner, Pandit Nehru had said during the closing debate on ‘The Resolution of Aims and Object
Constituent Assembly. The first task of this assembly is to free India through a new constitutio
d the starving people, and to clothe the naked masses, and to give every Indian the fullest
portunity to develop himself according to his capacity.3 To give each Indian the fullest opportu
develop himself/herself according to his/her capacity means to give them equal rights and free
their everyday life; in other words, to extend the promises of formal democracy into the econo
cial, cultural, and domestic spheres. This deepens both democracy and the democratic politica
ture in the country.
To phrase the point differently, a deepening of our democratic political culture can only take p
hen citizens carry the democratic project beyond the frontiers of political democracy into the
mestic sphere, social domain, site of cultural practices, and the workplace. Citizens should be
vently that if children die of malnutrition, people suffer from indignity caused by poverty, peop
humiliated just because they belong to lower castes, and people are discriminated against or
bjected to hate and hateful comments and stereotypes because they are members of a religious
nority, the project of democracy has faltered; it has been short-changed. The promises of equa
d freedom, which are essential for individuals to lead lives of dignity, have been violated. And
mocracy itself has been compromised.
Like all projects, the democratic project is not self-realizing or self-propelling. It does not fol
me inexorable law that forces it towards a determined end. Democracies falter, they make shar
ns, and they may progress at times and regress at other times. The guiding force of the project
entional purposive action, which continuously strives to secure these objectives. The precondi
the realization of the project are a democratic, political culture. The building of such a culture
quires not only a democratic state but a democratic civil society, which is committed to the
folding of the project of democracy. The realization of this project requires the deepening of a
mocratic culture, which motivates human beings to resist oppression, exploitation, and
crimination whenever and wherever these occur. In other words, a deep, democratic, politica
ture is informed by the vision that democracy is negated if people suffer from economic and s
freedom.
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The democratic,
8/18/2019 political Contemporary
culture, which has been
India Economy, historically
Society, built in India
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen through
Priyadarshi the freedom

uggle, cherishes universal adult franchise as the signpost of democracy. The contributors to thi
lume suggest that we need to deepen this culture so that citizens who have legitimate reasons t
ieve that democracy can make the world less oppressive, less exploitative, less horrid, and m
t, equitable, free, and favourable for human dignity, are not short-changed. In short, we wish to
ggest that the culture of deep democracy must capture hearts and minds, it must govern politica
ssions and preoccupation, and it must dominate imaginations and imaginaries if democracy has
deem the promises implicit in the concept of universal adult franchise. People must feel with
nviction that democracy is far better than any alternative form of governance because it embod
kind of promises which other forms of governance do not take into account.
But the project of deepening democracy by building a democratic culture can only be realized
hen citizens push inexorably the empirical limits of a given democratic system towards new
ntiers. The project of democracy is self-expanding, and new ends, new goals, and new purpos
nstantly present themselves to the public gaze, as we decide what is due to human beings simp
cause they are human. The path to the realization of democracy’s promises is littered with
stacles. If one negotiates class inequalities, gender inequalities remain to be tackled. If gender
qualities are addressed, then caste inequalities challenge the basic norms of democracy. One
dresses caste inequalities, to have on hand the oppression of forest communities, violations of
hts, dismissal of the rights of the differently abled who need special opportunities, and targetin
igious minorities. Above all, one negotiates one form of oppression, and other forms erupt to
ovide democracy with new goals and new challenges. But no one goal or set of goals will do;
als of democracy revolve around the basic axiom, which is embodied in the formal avatar of
mocracy—the right to freedom and equality, and, thereby, the right to dignity. The values of
edom, equality, and human dignity are the reasons why democracy is a better way of arranging
litical, social, and economic life. This really means that at any given point of time, a particular
rsion of democracy is a partially realized vision, which needs to be fulfilled through purposive
man action such as social movement. It is to the realization of the project that a deep political
ture should be committed.

THE PROBLEM OF ECONOMIC UNFREEDOM

nsider, for instance, that despite the successful institutionalization of political democracy in In
majority of the people continue to suffer from unimaginable hardship, with the most vulnerable
mendous risk in matters of both lives and livelihoods. The country’s position has slipped from
4th to 128th according to the 2007–08 Human Development Report . Nearly a quarter of the
rld’s poor live in India. The Indian case actually provides us with a supreme example of a
radox. The GDP (gross domestic product) grew by an impressive 7 per cent per annum in the y
02–03 to 2006–07, or during the period of the Tenth Five-Year Plan. But as the Approach Pap
Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007–12) states clearly, though official figures for poverty in the y

99–2000 indicated that the percentage of population in poverty had declined from 36 per cent
93–94 to 26 per cent in 1999–2000, revised estimates show that the pace of reduction of
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12/369
d been overstated. The data
8/18/2019 from theIndia
Contemporary sixty-first round
Economy, Society, of -the
Politics National
Neera Chandhoke,Sample Survey conducte
Praveen Priyadarshi

04–05, which is comparable to the data garnered in the fiftieth round of the survey conducted i
93–94,4 shows that the percentage of people below the poverty line in 2004–05 was above 28
nt, which is higher than the numbers provided by official figures earlier. The reduction in pove
tween 1993–94 and 2004–05 was 0.74 points per year, rather than 1.66 points per year, as imp
the earlier 1999–2000 data.5
In absolute terms, the number of people below the official poverty line is huge, an estimated 2
llion,6 of which 193 million live in rural areas and 67 million in urban areas. These are person
ho are unable to access the minimal consumption basket. In the backward states of north India,
per cent of the people fall below the poverty line. 7 What is more disquieting are regional
balances when it comes to poverty: in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, the numbers of the absolut
or went up during 1993–2000. States containing larger proportions of the poor are also marke
w human development indicators, and slower economic and higher population growth. Poverty
uch higher among the landless and among marginal farmers whose small land holdings have be
ndered unproductive because of environmental degradation and vagaries of the monsoon. Abov
half of India’s 260 million Scheduled Castes/Tribes belong to the category of the absolute po
th no access to employment and minimum wages because they lack educational skills. Not only
arly a quarter of the world’s poor live in India, the number of illiterates, school drop-outs, per
fering from communicable diseases, and infant, child and maternal deaths, amount to a stagger
oportion of respective world totals9. About 40 million children out of the world’s 115 million
ldren who are out of school are Indian. Infant mortality has declined significantly from 110 de
r 1,000 live births in 1981, 66 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004. Maternal mortality rates in
untry are the highest in the world. Life expectancy has increased from 54 years in 1981 to 64.6
ars in 2000,10 but it is still low compared to 70.3 years in China. According to the 2001 censu
eracy rate for the population stands at 64.8 per cent, compared with 52.21 per cent in 1991, 11 b
men constitute a high proportion of the non-literate. More than 90 per cent of polio cases in th
rld are found in India. Widespread malnutrition, poor infrastructure in the area of health, and
ortality rates among the poor mean that the health scene is grim. The country has a very large
mber of hungry people—233 million—despite the existence of huge buffer stocks of food right
2006. The country’s record in providing services—sanitation, clean drinking water, electricity

using, and jobs—is even bleaker. And social spending on essential basic needs has not gone up
bstantially over the years.
It is evident that India has not done too well when it comes to social and economic democracy
en if its gains in political democracy are impressive. This is regrettable considering that the
ders of the freedom struggle had envisaged an integrated agenda of civil, political, social,
onomic, and cultural rights for all in the 1928 Nehru Constitutional Draft and in the Karachi
solution on Fundamental Rights adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1931. Members of
nstituent Assembly, however, split this integrated agenda into two autonomous units. Whereas

litical, civil, and cultural rights in Part III of the Constitution came to be backed by legal
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sanct
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cial and economic rights that
8/18/2019 are placed
Contemporary in Part
India Economy, IV under
Society, the Directive
Politics - Neera Principles
Chandhoke, Praveen of State Poli
Priyadarshi

not backed by such sanction. The cost of implementing positive rights was considered to be f
o prohibitive. Consequently, the Directive Principles of State Policy are intended as general
idelines for legislatures and governments even though Dr Ambedkar, the President of the
nstituent Assembly, assured members that
… whoever captures power will not be free to do what he likes with it. In the exercise of it, he will have to respect these
nstruments of Instructions, which are called Directive Principles. He cannot ignore them. He may not have to answer for their
reach in a court of law. But he will certainly have to answer for them before the electorate at election time.12

pursuance of the general objectives of establishing a social order based on social and econom
tice, the Directive Principles urge the state to assure the people of India a cluster of social goo
t meet basic needs, on the one hand, and ensure a life of dignity for the ordinary individual, on
her. Towards this end, the Government of India has enacted several policies, which aim at: ( a)
isfying basic needs and generating social protection, and (b) engendering income and employm
hereas the first set of policies is geared towards providing all people with basic goods essent
leading a life of dignity, other schemes are targeted towards raising the purchasing power of t
orer sections. Yet, the definitive statement on the incapacity of the Indian state to deliver socia
ods effectively has been made by Drèze and Sen. They conclude that despite some notable
ccesses, India’s overall success in promoting social opportunities has been quite limited. The
ensities of many basic deprivations have been considerably reduced, but there is nevertheless
ng way to go in ensuring anything like acceptable living conditions for all citizens.13
Arguably, the ability of social policy to address deep problems of poverty is limited because i
t addressed the issue of redistribution. To put it sharply, in a highly iniquitous society like Indi
cial policy can prove effective only if it addresses the structural roots of inequality. The preva
deep poverty in rural areas, where till today more than 60 per cent of the population lives and
rks, required at the very least a radical restructuring of land relations. However, the
nceptualization and the administration of land reforms in India had serious shortcomings. Thou
ermediaries were abolished and land was transferred to the tenants through a series of legislat
t only were land reforms confined to 40 per cent of the cultivated area, but they also suffered b
m flawed conceptualization, and sluggish and ineffective implementation. Administered often
alcitrant bureaucrats, land reforms failed to transfer land to the tiller, correct imbalances in th
ucture of land relations, provide security to tenants, and secure implementation of land ceiling
ws. More significantly, land reforms slowed down because the issue of compensation to erstw
downers was bogged down in massive litigation. By the 1990s, land reform was put on the
ckburner as the subdivision and fragmentation of land weakened the case for lowering the land
ling. This was despite the fact that inadequate tenancy reforms had resulted in concealed tenan
reby denying tenants the security of tenure and rent regulation. Further, massive alienation of l
m tribal communities that live off the produce of the land reduced many to penury. The decade
ralded the liberalization of land laws in sharp contrast to the post-Independence period, when
nsiderations of equity and social justice governed land reforms. Therefore, whereas by the end
Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992–1997), 52 lakh acres out of a ceiling surplus of 75 lakh 14/369
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 tributed among 5.5 million
8/18/2019 beneficiaries,
Contemporary the position
India Economy, remained
Society, Politics unchanged
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveenat the end of the Ni
Priyadarshi

ve-Year Plan (1997–2002).14 The net result is that in major parts of the country, the poorest of
or, mainly belonging to the Scheduled Castes, have been unable to access land, productive ass
d skills.
This is not the democracy that Pandit Nehru had dreamt of and yearned for. In 1934, Nehru had
itten in Glimpses of World History: ‘We talk of freedom for our country, but what will any
edom be worth unless it gives to the man who does the work the fruits of his toil’.15 Twenty-th
ars later, when India had become free and Nehru had become its first prime minister, he contin
hold that ‘political democracy by itself is not enough except that it might be used to obtain a
adually increasing measure of economic democracy. The good things of life must become avai
more and more people and gross inequalities must be removed’. 16 Pandit Nehru was speaking
bstantive and not only of formal democracy, because a hungry human being is not a free human
ng, nor is a human being who is forced to beg for his/her daily bread equal to the wealthy.
The advantage is that the grant of civil and political rights has enabled civil society groups to
mand that the State undertake appropriate action to realize the objectives laid down in the
rective Principles. Ever since Independence, groups have mobilized for social and economic
tice and tenaciously fought somewhat entrenched systems of domination: peasants’ movements
ovements for land rights, women s movements, anti-caste movements, environmental movemen
ovements against displacement on account of large projects, and Naxalite movements. Most of
ovements have called for a radical restructuring of power relations.
Since the late 1990s, a qualitatively different series of campaigns have appeared on the politic
ne. Five of these campaigns—campaigns for the right to food, the right to education, the right t
alth, the right to work, and the right to information—are of some interest because they have
apulted issues of serious concern into the limelight. Spearheaded mainly by social activists an
n-governmental organizations (NGOs), these campaigns have demanded that the provisions of
of the Constitution be upgraded to the status of part three of the Constitution, or that social and
onomic rights be given the same status as political and civil rights. Some of these campaigns h
ched notable results in the form of the Right to Education Act, the Rural Employment Guarante
t, and the Right to Information Act. The cause of these campaigns has been immensely helped b
preme Court interventions, particularly in the case of the right-to-food campaign.17 In May 200
Supreme Court ruled that village self-government bodies shall frame employment-generation
oposals in accordance with the Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana. Earlier in 1993, the Supre
urt in the case of Unnikrishna J. P. vs State of Andhra Pradesh had ruled that though right to
ucation is not stated expressly as a Fundamental Right, it is implicit in and flows from right to
aranteed under Article 21. The court further declared that the Directive Principles of State Pol
m the fundamental feature and social conscience of the Constitution and the provisions of Part
d IV are supplementary and complementary to each other. The court ruled that Fundamental Rig
means to ensure the goals laid down in Part IV and must be construed in light of the Directive

nciples.
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 CONCLUSION
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

sum, the realization of the democratic project and the corresponding project of building a cultu
ep democracy requires two major preconditions. First, we in civil society have to understand t
zens are not merely consumers of services such as employment and education rendered by the
ate and by its partners, the NGOs. Citizens have an equal political stake in the collective resou
society. If resources have been concentrated in the hands of an elite, then citizens by virtue of
keholders have the right to demand their redistribution. Second, any democracy which is base
core values of freedom and equality is relational in as much as no one should be poor or wea
yond a limit. This is not to say that each person should possess exactly the same resources as
yone else. Those who exhibit entrepreneurial skills, those who work hard, and those who are
ourceful should have the right to the product of their endeavours. All that a substantive democ
gues is that everyone should have the opportunity to develop their skills and capacity. These ca
ly be developed when each citizen possesses a ‘social minimum’ in the form of income, health
ucation, and other basic needs, which provides the opportunities to develop talents and skills.
matter how many jobs the government provides to its citizens, how many schools are set up, h
ny health services are provided, most people will continue to suffer if they do not possess a so
nimum. In sum, deepening the democratic, political culture requires sustained and focused spo
redistribution of resources, and not only on the provision of services.
It is this perspective that informs the contributions to this volume. The volume is divided into
rts, dealing with economic, social, and political themes, respectively. Despite this thematic
vision, there are two reasons why they form parts of a single body of understanding. First, as
cussed earlier, democracy as a system of governance, and as a value, encompasses all these th
pects of our social lives. Democracy runs as a thread, binding the economic and the social with
litical. Understanding of democracy, thus, requires that an attempt is made to situate it within t
cial and economic conditions of its operation. Second, understanding contemporary India also
quires situating it historically. Like democracy, historical and political events also begin to ma
nse if illuminated by the socio-economic conditions that triggered them off. For example, the lo
nding tussle between the legislature and the judiciary in India cannot be understood unless we
uate it historically into the right to property as a Fundamental Right granted by the Constitution
mindari Abolition Acts enacted by various state legislatures. Further, in order to understand th
mindari Abolition Act, we have to not only understand the history of the zamindari system but
social and economic implications.
We hope that the volume will serve to answer some questions that students and informed read
ve or rather should have on the democracy in India, and that they will help raise new questions
d for democracy.

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8/18/2019
PART I
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Economy

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 8/18/2019 1
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Basic Features of the Indian Economy in 1947

Samir Kumar Singh

the time of Independence, the Indian economy was ridden with many structural constraints. Th
onomic planners were facing a very tough task of putting the economy on the development
jectory. The problem was two-fold. First, they needed to improve the performance of the econ
generating income and fighting poverty despite the existence of various kinds of constraints an
cond, these constraints had to be removed. The prime constraint that the economy was facing w
ute shortage of physical capital in relation to the availability of employable persons. The indu
ctor was too weak to bring about any big turnaround and the agricultural sector already had a h
plus of unemployed or under-employed persons. Further, the agrarian economy was feudal in
ure, the prime concern of which was exploitation and not the development of agriculture itself
ssibility of fast capital formation was also limited due to the low saving capacity of the poor
pulation. Moreover, the rate of population growth was also high. Apart from this, the situation
health, food security, infrastructure and defence fronts was quite difficult.
In order to understand the Indian economy at the time of Independence, we need to examine
onialism and the British rule during the first half of the 20th century. We also need to understa
hat our planners and social scientists thought regarding the problems and challenges that India
d the possible solutions. Colonialism is the extension of a nations sovereignty over territory be
borders by the establishment of either settler colonies or administrative dependencies in whic
digenous populations are directly ruled or displaced. Colonizers generally dominate the resour
our and markets of the colonial territory and may also impose socio-cultural, religious and
guistic structures on the conquered population The purposes of colonialism include economic
ploitation of the colony’s natural resources, creation of new markets for the colonizer, and
ension of the colonizer’s way of life beyond its national borders. British interests in India we
veral kinds. At first, the main purpose was to achieve a monopolistic trading position. Later, it
t that a regime of free trade would make India a major market for British goods and a source o
terials, but British capitalists who invested in India, or who sold banking or shipping service
dia, continued effectively to enjoy monopolistic privileges. India also provided interesting and
rative employment to a sizeable portion of the British upper middle class, and the remittances
nt home made an appreciable contribution to Britain’s balance of payments and capacity to sav
nally, control of India was a key element in the world power structure, in terms of geography,
gistics and military manpower. The British were not averse to the Indian economic developme

ncreased their markets but refused to help in areas where they felt there was conflict with thei
n economic interests or political security. Hence, they refused to give protection to the 18/369
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 tile industry
8/18/2019 until Japan emerged asIndia
Contemporary itsEconomy,
main competitor, displacing
Society, Politics - Neera Manchester
Chandhoke, from its privil
Praveen Priyadarshi

sition, and they did almost nothing to further technical education.

So, in the following section, we start by looking at India a few decades before Independence.
ction will first look at the economic growth and then move to national income, agriculture, indu
d trade, respectively. The next section deals with the development debate of independent India
ce the perception of the planners and its link with the British Raj experience.

INDIA BEFORE INDEPENDENCE

e economic growth rate in colonial India was very low but the situation became far more serio
ring the first half of the 20th century. Colonial India was an agrarian economy. The national inc
avily depended on the performance of agriculture, and the performance of agriculture was
pendent on the monsoon. Thus, the performance of the economy was largely dependent on facto
yond control. The growth prospects of industry and the tertiary sector depended on the demand
ir goods and services. This demand itself depended on the agriculture sector. It is important to
re that the Indian economy then was much more open than in the post-Independence era. Foreig
de, therefore, was an important source of demand for the industrial sector just as the domestic
mand was the most important determinant of industrial performance. Thus, agriculture perform
s the most important cause of fluctuations in the national income.

Economic Growth During British Raj

onomic growth is defined as a sustained increase in the real per capita income. This growth
pends on three crucial factors, namely, availability of resources, investment and increasing
iciency. Studies of the growth path of various countries, from being poor to becoming develop
tes, identify three stages through which a nation passes. In the first stage, the poor country star
th the export of resources. In the second stage, the nation graduates to the export of labour-inte
nufactured commodities and, in the last stage, as labour starts becoming scarce the nation mov
wards production of capital-intensive commodities. All these stages generate growth in the nat
ome but it is in the third stage when the nation witnesses increase in capital-labour ratio and
nsequently increased productivity and sustained increase in the real income. The third stage is
forcing. Thus, this is the most desired shift for a nation. It must be remembered, however, that t
pulation growth rate is a very important factor that affects both the promotion to the next stage
pace of economic growth in a particular stage. If the population is growing fast then it may tak
ion a long time to increase its capital-labour ratio substantially and consequently affect the
oductivity and real per capita income growth adversely.
Naoroji, who made a remarkable contribution to the study of Indian national income, was also
erested in comparing the per capita income in India and England, but with the particular aim o
monstrating the higher burden of taxation in India. Naoroji placed the per capita income of Ind
30 in 1870 compared to that of England where it was Rs 450. His estimate is of great importa
addressing both the question of the absolute level of incomes in India and the issue of establish
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 1
poverty of India in a comparative
8/18/2019 Contemporary context.
India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Colonial India witnessed economic growth during the 19th century, which was attributable to
port of labour and resource intensive goods, huge investment in irrigation and railways and slo
e of growth of population. Since the population was not growing rapidly as a result the deman
our was greater than the supply. During the first half of the 20th century, the growth in agricult
d investments slowed down while that in industries and some of the services sectors strengthen
agriculture maintained its major share due to which the overall income growth remained subd
e prime reasons behinds this poor performance were low investment during the last 50 years o
itish Raj and population explosion after 1921, which became a major impediment to increasin
pital-labour ratio. The low investment was due to two reasons: first, investment was a small
oportion of government expenditure and it was declining and second, private investment remai
w due to high risks and uncertainties. It is important to note here that the 1920s witnessed
pression in the world economy and the first half of the 20th century saw two world wars.

National Income: Movement and Composition

bles 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 show that during the first half of the 20th century, 2 national income grew
e of 0.9 per cent per annum, which is lower than its rate in the 19th century and so low by any
ndard that it would not make any significant contribution to the economic development of a nat
is 0.9 per cent rate of growth of national income means 0.1 per cent annual growth rate for per
pita income. Thus, the per capita income during this time remained stagnant.
Table 1.1 Measurement of Economic Growth, 1891–1938

rce: Tirthankar Roy, The Economic History of India 1857–1947 .

Table 1.2 National Income at 1948–49 Prices: Annual Average

Ye ar National Income

Total Per capita

(Rs billion) (Rs)

00–05 43.4 228

42–47 51.5 239

rce: Tirthankar Roy, The Economic History of India 1857–1947 .

Table 1.3 National Income at 1948–49 Prices: Annual Average

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 8/18/2019 Year Contemporary India Economy, Society,Exponential
Politics - NeeraGrowth Rates
Chandhoke, overPriyadarshi
Praveen the Period (%)

Total Per capita

00–05 to 1942–47 0.9 0.1

42–47 to 1992–95 4.0 2.0

rce: Tirthankar Roy, The Economic History of India 1857–1947 .

With such a low growth rate, we cannot expect any radical shift in the composition of the natio
ome. However, some qualitative changes can be seen. During the first half of the 20th century,
mary, secondary and tertiary sectors were growing at the rate of 0.4 per cent, 1.4 per cent and
r cent per annum, respectively Thus, we find that the primary sector was really sluggish. The
tiary sector was the fastest. Due to this, the share of the primary sector in national income decl
m 66 per cent at the beginning of the 20th century to 53 per cent by the time of Independence. T
are of the secondary sector slightly improved and that of the tertiary sector increased from 23.5
nt to 32.3 per cent. In the tertiary sector, the largest expansion took place in the government
ministration at the rate of over 2 per cent followed by commerce and transport and realjestates

Agriculture
e have seen during the first half of the 20th century that the primary sector grew at the annual
erage growth rate of 0.4 per cent per annum and agriculture remained stagnant. So the first que
t comes to our mind is: why was agriculture stagnant, even though it employed more than 70 p
nt of the active population and was the single most important factor affecting growth in the nati

ome? Second, why has the regional pattern of growth and stagnation in agriculture remained,
oadly, the same before and after Independence, particularly till 1980. Even the Green Revoluti
t brought about a turnaround in agricultural performance was confined to those regions that
tnessed better performance during the British Raj. Before we take up these two questions, a fe
portant aspects of agriculture need to be discussed.

ricultural Production. Due to a lack of data and comparison across time, it is difficult to mak
y concrete remark on the issues. Studies differ on the magnitude of performance. But it is possi

make some general observations on the issue. During the second half of the 19th century, in ma
gions of India, areas under cultivation were expanding. The largest beneficiary of this expansio
s traded crops. There was an improvement also in agricultural productivity but the increase in
oduction is mainly attributable to expansion in the area under cultivation. On the basis of a stud
yn, the following findings can be noted.
The agricultural output, as can be seen in Table 1.4, was growing at the slow rate of 0.37 per c
r annum.

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 Table 1.4 Growth Rates
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of Crop Output, Acreage and Yield in British India, 1891–1946 (per cent per annum)
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

rce: George Blyn, Agricultural Trends in India, 1891–1947: Output, Availability, and Productivity (Philadelphia, PA:
versity of Pennsylvania Press, 1966).

In terms of growth in output, food crop growth was almost stagnant at the rate of 0.11 per cent
num while non-food crops were registering a relatively high growth rate of 1.31 per cent per
num.
The productivity (yield per acre) growth was negative for the food crops and a low 0.67 per c
r annum for the non-food crops. It is important to keep in mind that the food crop constituted a
oportion of the agriculture output. This is why, despite the 0.67 per cent rate of growth in
oductivity for the non-food crop, the overall growth in productivity was virtually nil. This imp
t whatever growth was visible was largely due to the expansion in the acreage under cultivatio
nce the area under cultivation grew faster during the second half of the 19th century, subsequen
pansion was difficult and, consequently, it was expanding at the slow rate of 0.40 per cent.
During 1891–1916, productivity was growing faster. It declined during 1961–21, largely due
st World War (1914–19) and became negative for the food crops making agricultural growth
gative. After that, the productivity for the non-food crops improved but foodgrains productivity
ntinued to be negative making agriculture growth negative at -0.02 per cent.
A comparison of agricultural performance to population growth reveals the picture regarding t
od security of the nation, which is reflected in the availability of food per person. Blyn’s study
ows that during the prewar period, the rate of growth of agriculture in general and, food crops
rticular, were growing at a higher rate as compared to population. During the post-war period
tween 1921 and 1946, the rate of growth of agriculture in general and food crops in particular
nificantly lower than the population growth rate. It is to be noted here that 1921 is known as th
ar of the great divide in India’s demographic profile. This is identified as the beginning of the
pulation explosion. Thus, during this period, food availability started declining at an alarming
Therefore, the study finds major deterioration in the agrarian economy and economy at large.
rthermore, there was a regional disparity in this performance. The rice-producing belt, in
rticular, was not doing well while the wheat-producing belt was doing relatively better.

vestment and Technology. During the first half qf the 20th century, some improvement in
vestment and technology was seen. Government expenditure was the most important source of
vestment in agriculture. Investment was primarily in irrigation. Furthermore, improvement in
vestment and expansion in irrigation facilities were primarily confined to three regions, 22/369
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itish 8/18/2019
Punjab, Western UP Contemporary
and the Madras belt.Society,
India Economy, Due Politics
to increased investment
- Neera Chandhoke, and irrigation faci
Praveen Priyadarshi

value of land increased and this provided an incentive for private investment in agriculture.
rther, due to the research conducted by the government, improved seeds of wheat and cotton
came available. This was the major reason behind the improved productivity of these crops. It
ry important to remember here that these were the regions that were well endowed with irrigat
ilities and brought about the green revolution in India in the late 1960s.

arket. Before the British Raj, the Indian market was highly fragmented and was largely confine
eting local needs. The prime reason for this was the different weight system, the prevalence o
rter system and underdeveloped and risky transportation system. These constraints were eased
British efforts. Expansion of the railway network, which was primarily meant for the
nsportation of troops and raw materials for export, ultimately unified the fragmented market in
g way, and provided access to the distant Indian market and world markets. Before the British
dian agriculture was subsistence agriculture. Agriculture production was meant mainly for self
nsumption and sales to the local markets. But during the British Raj, commercialization of

riculture started and intensified rapidly till the First World War. Commercialization includes b
ng distance trade and foreign trade. During 1860–1925, Indian exports increased five times wit
to 80 per cent share of the non-manufactured commodities. This domestic and foreign trade w
couraged by a significant decline in rail and international shipping freight charges. During this
ase, a significant gain in exports was registered by the rising prices of the primary commoditie
ter 1920, there was a major change in world trade. The world was becoming highly protection
d, to the worry of the underdeveloped countries like India, the rate of growth of demand for pr
oducts decelerated. This happened due to the emergence of many substitutes for primary produ
e jute, cane and sugar, and the declining use of raw material per unit of manufacturing
mmodities. As a result, the Indian exportable commodities started facing excess supply in the
rld market and, consequently, prices of primary products started declining. This affected our
ports earnings quite negatively.
The adverse performance of exports after 1920 and the depression of 1929 affected the percep
the planners in independent India in a significant manner and they adopted a negative attitude t
port possibilities. On the basis of the downward movement in relative price of primary produc
ntemporary literature claimed that any nation, which is mainly exporting primary commodities
ing to lose out in the world trade. The trade will not help them grow, rather it will retard it. A
ion could benefit from international trade if and only if it largely exported manufactured
mmodities. At the time of Independence, India inherited a weak industrial structure, so it was n
pecting to export huge amounts of manufactured commodities. The planners concluded that it w
tter to postpone the export issue till we acquired sufficient capabilities in the manufactured
mmodities. Consequently, planning in India was started with a bias against exports. This later
arked an academic debate on whether the attitude of planner towards exports was correct, and
t was correct, if it was justified in the case of the cotton textile industry which had a huge pote
the international market.
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 nd Relationship.
8/18/2019 The lastContemporary
half-century of British
India Economy, rule
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Politics NeeraUnited Provinces
Chandhoke, witnessed a sha
Praveen Priyadarshi

ensification of agrarian difficulties and an increasing responsiveness of the land revenue

ministration to political pressure. By the beginning of the century, the net cultivated area reach
most its maximum extent of some 35 to 36 million acres. But the most serious destabilizing elem
s prices.3 From 1905, prices began to climb rapidly and then tilted upwards with an unpreced
verity during the inflationary period of the First World War and its aftermath. By 1926, prices
ubled over that in 1900. While rents increased correspondingly by 36 per cent and revenue dem
some 12 per cent, rural incomes started falling from 1921. The landlord class wanted to incre
nt in line with the increasing price level to appropriate a significant chunk of the gain. The Brit
ministration found it politically correct to give concession to the landlord class. Though the pr
el took a downward direction after that due to world depression, it revealed the system’s desi
otect the interests of the landlords.
The land tenure system in India during the first half of the 20th century was highly exploitative
me goal of the zamindars was to extract maximum possible rent from the land. Furthermore, th
s a large chain of intermediaries between state and the actual tiller of the land. Thus, the actua
er of the land had little incentive and resources to invest in the land. Furthermore, the caste-ba
ntrol system led to not just economic exploitation of the farmers or the landless class but also
cial exploitation. With the acceleration in population growth since 1921, the pressure on land
rted increasing and the tenancy started becoming further insecure. This further added to the
incentive to invest in the land. Regions under rayatwari faced less exploitation. The change in
operty rights definitions benefited the landlord class in the zamindari system, which was larg
evalent in Bihar, Bengal and Orissa whereas the changes in property rights benefited the cultiv
the rayatwari area like Punjab and Western UP It is again interesting to note that it is the area
der rayatwari that helped India usher in the green revolution.
Now we come to two questions that were raised at the beginning of this section. The prime rea
hind stagnancy was the exploitative land tenure system, declining investment in the irrigation
ilities and slow expansion of railways primarily after the First World War and declining wor
mand for cash crops. Various studies find commercialization to be positively correlated with
ricultural growth. The second question relates to the continuity of the regional pattern of growt
fore and after Independence. In order to understand this we will have to understand the green
volution policy. The green revolution technology is a highly water intensive technology; so its
plementation is suitable for well-irrigated areas. Furthermore, this technology at the time of
eption was combined with uncertainty regarding its success and its impact. This needed input
hich were to be bought from the market unlike the traditional agriculture. Further, it required th
a lot of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. So the cost of agricultural operation increased alon
th the promise of better results. Therefore, the adoption of this technology largely depended on
ailability of capital with the farmers and their risk-taking capacities. The British Raj had alrea
epared the region and created the class that was suitable to adoption of the technology. This w

marily
te here the well-to-do
that these were farmers
the regions from the present
under rayatwari Haryana,
whichPunjabpromotedandbenefit
Western toUP
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ntributed in creating a class
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Contemporary to take Society,
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Priyadarshi

Industry
beginning had been made in the development of modem industry at the end of the 19th century
setting up some textile and jute mills and development of the tea and coffee industry. But it w
ly in the 20th century and, more so during the inter-war period that modem industry recorded r
owth in India. It is generally agreed that manufacturing in India had made rapid progress during
st half of the 20th century.
The history of large-scale private factory enterprise till the First World War is associated alm
irely with developments in three industries—jute, cotton, and iron and steel. It is only towards
d of the period and the inter-war period when the Indian industrial sector witnessed a
versification. The beginning of the cotton and jute industry started simultaneously in western In
d Bengal respectively. The foreigners controlled the jute industry and the Indian investors
minated the cotton textile. After 1850, Indian entrepreneurs started setting up modem textile m
d, by 1875, they started to export textiles and slowly it moved to grab the domestic market onc
ain. In 1896, the domestic mills supplied only 8 per cent of the domestic cloth demand but, by
45, 76 per cent of the domestic demand was catered to. By 1914, India had the world’s largest
nufacturing industry, the fourth largest cotton textile industry and the third largest railway netw
The real emergence of Indian industrial houses starts with the inter-war period. Both the India
foreign capitalist class made huge profits during the inter-war period. The profit was mainly
ming from the sudden rise in the price of the input and from speculative activities. Quite a few
ople became major wealth creators during this time. Among these, G. D. Birla and Kasturbhai

lbhai are two prominent names. The English capitalists remitted their earnings to England whe
dians used this for creating an industrial empire after the war was over. Between 1913 and 193
nufacturing output started rising at the rate of 5.6 per cent per annum, which was above the wo
erage of 3.3 per cent. From 1920 onwards, the British government started providing tariff
otection to Indian industry and this helped the sector diversify its product basket. The Birlas
ered sugar and paper apart from jute and textiles. Hirachand entered shipping apart from the
nstruction business and the Tatas set up an airline that later became Air India.
The significance and pattern of manufacturing changed somewhat during the inter-war period.

nificance of the largest industries, cotton textile and jute, was coming down. By 1938, their sh
clined from just above 50 per cent to 37 per cent of total manufacturing. No new industry emer
replace their rank. By this time iron and steel increased its share to secure the third rank in
nufacturing output. The great wartime boom lasted until 1922 for the cotton textile industry. Du
22 to 1939, this industry suffered significantly due to the weak domestic demand, which was th
ult of poor agricultural performance during this period. On the export front, Indian mills could
thstand the Japanese challenge. The cost could not be reduced due to the inability to reduce wa
the fear of strikes and the speculative mentality of the Indian investors.
The development of the industrial sector goes along with this speculative mentality. The25/369
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eculative mentality provided
8/18/2019 capitalIndia
Contemporary to Economy,
the domestic entrepreneurs
Society, Politics to set
- Neera Chandhoke, up Priyadarshi
Praveen an industrial empir
o proved to be a drawback when it came to facing Japanese competition in the textile industry
is led to the planners forming the view that the capitalist as a class were merely interested in th
ort-term gain by every possible means. This is one reason why planners were so sceptical abo
vate capital when they started the planning process in independent India.
By the Second World War, the supremacy of British business was being challenged and Indian
repreneurs had grown stronger. Even during the Second World War period, the diversification

industrial structure continued. Indian entrepreneurs were in a position to buy the business of
parting foreigners. At the time of Independence, the share of manufacturing increased to 7.5 pe
nt, which could be considered big when compared with the past performance but in absolute te
s meant little. This sector provided employment to 2.5 million people only. Ultimately, at the t
Independence, we inherited a diversified but weak industrial structure. Why could the modern
dustrial sector not expand in India to bring about a major turnaround? The probable answer to
uld be that only those industries were set up for which resources was available in abundance l
ton textile, jute and sugar. Capital was a costly and scarce factor due to which capital-intensiv
dustrialization did not pick up. Furthermore, due to the high cost of capital output, export of
nufacturing commodities were not moving fast enough to generate capital to bring about a larg
ale turnaround in the industry. Thus scarcity of capital was a major constraint.

Foreign Trade
reign trade as a ratio of national income increased significantly since the late 19th century. Du
00–1939, exports were approximately 9 per cent of the national income. The ratio of total fore

de (export + import) to national income, which is a representative of integration of the nation t

t of the world, increased substantially from 10 per cent in the 1860s to nearly 20 per cent by 1
discussed in the agriculture section, agricultural products dominated exports. So we do not ne
cuss trade separately.
The British rulers were responsible for bringing about profound changes in the Indian economy
lity during their 200 years of rule. Although the changes encompassed the entire economic and
cial structure, their biggest impact was in the area of the agrarian structure. The important chan
ought about by the British in the agrarian structure included alteration in land settlements and r

sale and alienation of land. The British rulers worked with zamindari (Bihar, UP, Orissa, Ben
d rayatwari or mahalwari in the south and in the rest of India. Vested interests created in land
ovided very powerful support to the British Raj. The existence of absentee ownership, occupa
ancy, extreme inequality in land ownership and increasing indebtedness created not only large
ale impoverishment of the peasantry but acted as a formidable barrier to the improvement in
oductivity of agriculture. On the industrial front, little industrialization took place and that too
ginning of the 20th century. In light of these facts, we now move to examine the development d
independent India.

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 THE DEVELOPMENT DEBATE
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

e development debate during Independence revolved around the three approaches. These were
mbay plan, the Gandhian approach, and Nehru’s approach. The Bombay plan was a strategy o
dustrialization with the participation of private players. This plan was chalked out with the ma
volvement of the big industrial houses of that time like the Tatas and the Birlas. This plan was
cepted as the capitalist class was seen with suspicion. There were strong economic arguments
ainst this mind set. Since capital was identified as a scarce resource, a prudent and planned
lization was considered better. The Gandhian approach was based on voluntary limitations of
nts and development of a self-sufficient village community. The idea was that the village shou
veloped as an economy which can produce enough to meet its demand, create employment
portunities for the villagers and, at the same time, create a better balance between man and nat
is approach was largely termed as impractical and was not given serious attention. Only the la
int has received some support by recent researchers who are concerned with the ecological is
s Nehru’s approach that enjoyed the support of the time.
Nehru’s approach was based on the Lewis model. The basic idea is that an underdeveloped
onomy has an agriculture sector with a huge amount of surplus labour. If surplus labourers are
ay from the agriculture sector, it will not affect output in that sector. The industrial sector has
sitive productivity for the labourers. If this sector is promoted, it will generate profit. If this pr
nvested in machines and tools, the capital per worker will increase and this, in turn, will boo
ofits. This profit is reinvested again and the process moves on. So, this will increase capital
mation at a fast rate. Thus, the basic understanding has been that agriculture is not likely to bri
out a turnaround, whereas continuous investment of profit generated by the industrial sector in
dustries will start a self-sustaining growth process.
Now the question was: who will do this job, the capitalist class or the government? The capit
sses, it was felt, would generate profit but would not invest a significant proportion of it and m
t increase their consumption of luxurious commodities. Nehru was emphasizing on heavy indu
e iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, machinery, engineering goods, coal and cement. In the cas
ch investments, profits are realized after a long period. So the private players were not expecte
vest in these sectors. Furthermore, private participation was expected to promote inequality by
rnering a large part of the profits. Due to these reasons, it is the public sector that was entruste
th the task. It is very important to understand here that the public sector was expected to gener
ge profits which could be reinvested to accelerate the process of industrialization. In reality, w
ve seen that multiple objectives were given to the public sector and the profit generation objec
came secondary. This, in the later stages, made it difficult for the public sector to remain viabl
In this model, the production of consumer goods was left open to the private sector, with some
gulation. It was considered all right to promote private players till it was possible to tax them
ficiently. For this, we created a large bureaucratic mechanism of licensing and regulation. Thu
entire industrial sector during the Second Five-Year Plan of 1956, was divided into three ma
egories: industries reserved for public sectors; industries where both public and private secto
re allowed; and industries left to the private players only. The last category of industries
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 t open to the private players
8/18/2019 was labour
Contemporary intensive
India Economy, Society,industries.
Politics - Neera Since heavy
Chandhoke, industrialization,
Praveen Priyadarshi wh
s reserved for the public sector, was highly capital intensive, this was not expected to generat
ge employment. So, the government expected to generate large employment through the last cat
industries, which was left to the private players.
This plan did not give due emphasis to the agriculture sector. This sector was left to the privat
ayers, that is, the farmers. As far as benefit to the masses was concerned, it was expected to ha
ough the ‘trickle down’ effect. This means industrialization will increase the income of a secti

society and, as a result, they will demand various kinds of goods and services and these will
ovided by the masses. So the masses will benefit indirectly by the growth of the economy. Thu
n see that India basically adopted a mixed economy approach. The idea was to keep the good
ments of both socialism and capitalism.

CONCLUSION

s clear that India inherited a weak and problematic economic structure. It was an agrarian econ
th little industrial development and stagnating agriculture sector. Agricultural relationship and
arcity of capital were realized as the main constraints. Despite criticizing the British Raj for
gravating the agrarian relationship by protecting the vested interests in land, independent India
le to dismantle the structure. Land reform is still incomplete and has become politically infeas
ate intervention during the British Raj was low as far as the industrial sector was concerned. W
rted with active state control of the industrial sector. At the same time, by disallowing private
pital in most of the areas, we killed private incentive and a potential for better performance. O
n see some of the structural bottlenecks prevalent at the time of Independence still present toda
ough in a relatively weaker form. The agriculture and social sectors are still being neglected. T
te in which we received India at the time of Independence reveals what wrong institutions can
en today we continue with many institutions, which are undermining our potential, and we need
ercome them to build a really strong India.

SUGGESTED READINGS
kravarty, Sukhamoy. Development Planning: The Indian Experience . Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1987.
, Tirthankar. The Economic History of India 1857–1947 . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000.

QUESTIONS

1. What were the major challenges before economic planners when India got Independence?
2. What was the composition of the national income of India at the time of Independence? Give a sector-wise analysis.
3. What were the main positions in the debate over development at the eve of Independence? Please elaborate.

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 8/18/2019 2
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

The Evolution of Development Strategy Since Independence

Ambuja Kumar Tripathy

e economy of contemporary India is a great paradox. It is a strange combination of outstanding

hievements as well as grave failures. Since Independence, India has achieved remarkable prog
overcoming its economic backwardness. From being a very poor country in the 1950s and a
asket case’ in the mid-1960s, it has emerged as the fourth largest economy in the world (in term
rchasing power parity). Our economy has become one of the fastest growing economies in the
rld. Now the country is one of the leading players in the world knowledge economy with vast
ellectual capital and booming software and information technology services. These factors tog
ve made India one of the greatest destinations for foreign investment. In spite of these historic
hievements, the country has pervasive poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, and a huge unemployme
oblem.1 Although we are the world’s largest democracy, our country has an overwhelming maj
poor voters. While our country has joined the league of the world’s top five fastest growing
onomies, we are in the bottom 20 among all countries in terms of the Human Development Inde
hile the country is celebrating its growth rate and technological wonders, it is witnessing socia
ntradictions and the paradoxes and ironies of development. Thus, there are ‘two Indias’ in
ntemporary India. There is the India of burgeoning growth and the India of widespread want an
sery. This gives rise to several questions: Where have we gone wrong? Was the development
ategy adopted after Independence right? Were the economic reforms of 1991 done right? Could
orms have been done better? To analyse these questions, it is essential to look at the Indian
onomy in a historical perspective.
This essay examines India’s development experience after Independence. This experience
compasses the initial socialist principles of state ownership, regulation, and control over key
ctors of the economy as well as the economic reforms in 1991. For a better understanding of th
olution of these economic policies, they have been placed in the social, cultural and political
tings in which they occur. This chapter is divided into three sections: the first section deals w
Nehruvian legacy (from the First Plan to the Third Plan); the second section is concerned wit
riod from the mid-1960s to the end of the Seventh Plan; and the last section begins with the
onomic reforms of 1991.

DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

onomic policies adopted in India after 1947 were conditioned by the colonial legacy and
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the
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evailing international situation.
8/18/2019 TheIndia
Contemporary strategic
Economy,design of these
Society, Politics - Neerapolicies
Chandhoke, was tremendously
Praveen Priyadarshi influen
the dominant ideology of the Indian national movement and the ideas of nationalist leaders,
pecially Nehru. At the time of Independence, India was in the stranglehold of stagnating per ca
ional income, static and semi-feudal agriculture, poorly developed industry and inadequate
rastructure, mass poverty, extreme unemployment and underemployment, massive illiteracy, hi
th and death rates and deplorable health conditions. Independent India faced the gigantic task
doing the damage caused by British rule. There was a need to put in huge and organized effort

ional scale to achieve substantial progress on the socio-economic front. Towards this end,
anning was accepted as the key strategy of India’s developmental efforts.
Planning was considered a superior way of developing the Indian economy than the market
chanism. While the market gives priority to high-profit activities, planning makes a systematic
lization of the available resources at a progressive rate to ensure quick building of the product
pacity of the country. Planning was looked upon as an instrument that could enable the state to
dertake several massive development projects and unemployment and poverty alleviation
ogrammes. Furthermore, planning was essential to deal with difficulties caused by the partition
country in 1947, that is, huge influx of refugees from East and West Pakistan and the loss of r
terial-producing areas.
Several international developments in the early decades of the 20th century revealed the limita
market mechanism with respect to both efficiency and equity. After the 1917 revolution, the So
ion became the first socialist state and adopted a planned economy model. Its remarkable
hievements on the socio-economic front greatly inspired the nationalist youth in India. Around
me time, the Great Depression of 1929–33 exposed the problems of a free market economy.
ynesianism, a product of the Depression, strongly advocated the case of economic managemen
state through taxation and spending policies.
In fact, the economic critique of colonialism by the national movement and its explicitly articu
of economic objectives provided the foundation to the strategy of development planning in In
er Independence. While criticizing colonial underdevelopment and the dependent character of
dian economy, Indian nationalists put forward the idea of a self-reliant independent economic
velopment in which state planning would play the key role. In the 1930s, ideas on developmen
anning were crystallized due to the influence of the Russian experiment, Keynesian economic i
d the New Deal programme in the US seeking state intervention in the economic forces. The ne
planning was so strongly felt that the Indian National Congress set up the National Planning
mmittee (NPC) in 1938 under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru. This plan was to have g
plications on the post-Independence economic strategy in India. In addition to this plan, severa
an documents were prepared along different ideological lines in the 1940s: the Bombay Plan w
hored by India’s eight leading capitalists, the People’s Plan prepared by M. N. Roy took a lef
sition, and the Gandhian Plan formulated by Shriman Narain pleaded for a self-sufficient villa
onomy. However, there was a broad consensus among the Gandhians, the capitalists, the socia
d the communists on the necessity of planning as well as the nature and path of development to
lowed after Independence.2
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Jawaharlal
8/18/2019 Nehru, the chief architect
Contemporary ofEconomy,
India planning inPolitics
Society, India- Neera
andChandhoke,
the country’s
Praveen first prime minister
Priyadarshi

s greatly influenced by democratic, socialist and Gandhian values. He believed that socialism
mocracy were inseparable. Hence, he described democratic socialism as the vision of indepen
dia that would seek to make democratic social transformation an integral part of the country’s
onomic strategy. Nehru spoke of his approach as a third way that takes the best from all existin
tems—the Russian, the American and others—and seeks to create something suited to one’s o
tory and philosophy. He thought that planning introduced in a democratic manner could becom
trument for growth and reduction of inequalities while ensuring individual freedom and avoid
violence of revolutionary change. He hoped for a society organized on a planned basis for ra
mankind to higher material and cultural levels, to cultivation of values, of cooperation and
imately a world order. He also considered planning a positive instrument for resolving conflic
ge and heterogeneous country.

Nature and Objectives of Planning

ter Independence, India adopted a democratic ideology—a representative form of government
sed on universal adult suffrage with rights and liberties for the masses. Democracy became ce
the Indian model of development. There was unanimity among the leaders on the unique appro
India to planning within a democratic and civil-libertarian framework. It was believed that
anning would create a democratic economy in the country by bringing the economy under publi
ntrol. At the same time, in India’s development strategy market and economic planning were
garded as complementary to each other. Development plans were to be formulated and carried
thin the framework of a mixed economy that included the merits of both socialism and capitali

mixed economy was marked by the coexistence of private and public sectors, the latter remain
nfined to infrastructure and basic and heavy industries.
The basic objectives of planning were derived from the Directive Principles of State Policy
shrined in the Constitution. These basic objectives provided the guiding principles of planning
dia. These spelt out as: (i) economic growth— accelerating the growth to achieve higher level
ional and per capita income;3 (ii) modernization—implementing structural and institutional
anges to make the economy progressive and independent; (iii) self-reliance—eliminating
pendence on foreign aid and India’s vulnerability to external pressures and disturbances; and (
cial justice—improving the living standards of the masses, especially the underprivileged thro
duction in income inequalities, removal of unemployment, elimination of poverty, land reforms
cial programmes on health and education.4 Overall, growth and social justice formed the econo
d social framework of planning. With this perspective, the Planning Commission was set up in
50 by a government resolution to formulate a plan for economic and social development and to
an advisory body to the Union government in its behalf. The National Development Council w
med later as an adjunct to the Planning Commission to associate the states in the formulation o
ans.
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 8/18/2019 The Nehru—Mahalanobis
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Development Strategy
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

e era of planned development was ushered in with the launch of the First Five-Year Plan in Ap
51.5 It addressed the problems arising from massive influx of refugees, acute food shortage an
unting inflation. The highest priority was given to overcoming the food crisis by raising foodg
tput, curbing inflation and the development of infrastructure (see Table 2.1).

Table 2.1 Five-Year Plans and Plan Periods

Five-Year Plan Period

st Plan 1951–56

cond Plan 1956–61

ird Plan 1961–66

nual Plans 1966–69

urth Plan 1969–74

th Plan 1974–79
th Plan 1980–85

venth Plan 1985–90

ghth Plan 1992–97

nth Plan 1997–2002

nth Plan 2002–2007

The Second Five-Year Plan is regarded as the milestone in the trajectory of planning since it w
sed on the Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy of development, which guided the planning practice fo
re than three decades until the end of the Seventh Five-Year Plan. The draft outline of this pla
s framed by P C. Mahalanobis.6 This development strategy was based on several assumptions
garding the causes of structural backwardness of the Indian economy. First, severe deficiency o
terial capital was seen as the basic constraint of development since it prevented the introducti
ore productive technologies. Second, the low capacity to save was considered as the limitation
speed of capital formation. Third, it was believed that through industrialization the surplus la

deremployed
t if the marketinmechanism
agriculture were
couldgiven
be productively employed
primacy, this in industries.
would lead Fourth,
to excessive it was presu
consumption by
gher-income groups, along with relative under-investment in the sectors essential to the acceler
velopment of thé economy.
Given these assumptions, the basis questions before the planners were: How to increase capita
ck rapidly? How to invest wisely? How to increase savings? How to regulate the market? The
hru-Mahalanobis development strategy found the answer to these questions in rapid capital
mation through the development of capital goods industries with direct intervention of the sta

economy. As such, it was based on the principle—higher the allocation of investments32/369

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to the
avy or capital goods industries, lower will be the rate of growth of income in the short run, bu
gher will it be in the end. Thus,
8/18/2019 industrialization
Contemporary with
India Economy, Society, preference
Politics to capital
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveengoods industries ov
Priyadarshi

nsumer goods industries became the core of this development strategy. The basic elements of t
ategy can be summed up as:

1. Raising the rate of investment since the rate of development is dependent on the rate of investment. It involved stepping up
domestic and foreign savings also.
2. Rapid growth of the productive capacity of the economy by directing public investment towards development of industries,
especially capital goods industries. Simultaneously, promotion of labour-intensive small and cottage industries for the
production of consumer goods and expansion of employment opportunities.
3. Import s ubstitution for self-reliance and reduction of external dependence.
4. Setting up of an elaborate system of controls and industrial licensing to allocate resources among industries as per the Plan
requirements and distribute consumption goods equitably among the consumers. This was done through the Industries
Development and Regulation Act (IDRA) of 1951.
5. Enhancing the scope and importance of the public sector so that this sector comes to predominate capital goods industries,
controls the commanding height of Indian economy.

In this way, the Second Five-Year Plan sought to promote a pattern of development that would
imately lead to the establishment of a socialistic pattern of society in India. The development

ategy of the Third Plan was basically the same as that of the Second Plan but the highest priori
s Plan was accorded to agriculture.

Agrarian Reconstruction
hile formulating national plans and policies, the planners also tried to address the fundamental
cial and economic problems of the agrarian structure. The Gandhian idea of gram swaraj was
eat influence in this regard. Two significant steps were taken in the 1950s to bring about major
anges in the agrarian structure. These were the Community Development Programme and land
orms.

mmunity Development Programme. The Community Development Programme (CDP) was a

mprehensive programme of rural upliftment that aimed at transformation of the traditional rura
injecting forces of dynamism in the stagnant rural economy. The underlying principle of this
velopment programme was cooperation between the government and people to improve the
onomic, social and cultural conditions of communities, to integrate these communities into the
instream life of the nation, and to enable them to contribute fully to national progress. CDP wa
nched on a pilot project basis in 55 community project areas throughout the country on 2 Octo
52. The success of CDP depended on the active participation of people. Such participation wa
de possible by local democratic and representative institutions introduced in 1959 under the
nchayati Raj scheme.

nd Reforms. After Independence, the need for land reforms arose owing to the exploitative na
the land tenure system prevailing during the colonial period. The basic objectives of land refo
re: (a) to raise agricultural production by removing obstacles emanating from the semi-feudal
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ploitative features of the agrarian
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Society, Politics -equality of status
Neera Chandhoke, and
Praveen opportunity to a
Priyadarshi

ctions of the rural population.

Broadly, three measures were taken to achieve these objectives.7 First, the zamindari system
the British government was abolished. By this measure, all the zamindars , who acted as
ermediaries and collected land revenue for the state and exploited the cultivators by extracting
cessive rents, were eliminated. Second, several tenancy reforms were undertaken to improve t
ndition of tenants working on lands owned by others. These included fixation of rents and secu

tenure to protect tenants from eviction. Ownership rights were also conferred on tenants over l
y cultivated after the fulfilment of certain conditions such as payment of price for land. Third,
orms provided for a ceiling on agricultural holdings or statutory absolute limit on the amount o
d that an individual could hold. The surplus over the ceiling was to be transferred to the landl
small cultivators. Moreover, reforms had a provision for consolidation of holdings. This meas
med at providing consolidated holdings to the farmers equal to the total of the land in different
attered plots under their possession.

ROLE OF THE STATE

e nature of the post-colonial state in India was determined by the colonial legacy and contemp
obal events. The latter included the Great Depression of the 1930s, post-Second World War
oblems and rapid growth in the Russian economy that created a congenial atmosphere for an ac
e of the state in the economy. The colonial legacy was the compelling factor for direct state
ervention to bring about major transformations in various spheres of the society. Before
dependence, the nationalist economic perspective advocated a central role for the state in the
ocess of economic development. Even the early nationalists such as M. G. Ranade and Dadabh
oroji in the late 19th century favoured a crucial role for the state in India s economic developm
e 1931 Karachi Resolution declared that ‘the state shall own or control key industries and
vices, mineral resources, railways, waterways, shipping and other means of public transport’.
PC and the Bombay Plan also recommended a comprehensive policy of direct and systematic s
ervention in the economy through planning, the public sector and general control over different
tors of the economy. The unanimity among the Indian nationalists for active state intervention
onomy was found at the time of Independence also.
Given the nature of problems in India at the time of Independence, development became the co
state’s agenda. Development was ‘comprehensively defined to encompass not only an industr
onomy, but also simultaneously a programme of social transformation and political
mocratization.’8 The state tried to achieve economic development as well as an egalitarian soc
der within the confines of democracy. The Constitution in 1950, having universal adult franchi
d an extensive list of Fundamental Rights, officially declared India a democracy. The Directiv
nciples of the Constitution with the goals of social justice and preventing concentration of we
aped the scope and nature of state intervention.

For the attainment of economic as well as social transformation in the society, the Indian state
the role of a developmental state. It became the central instrument in the development course
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ough8/18/2019
the process of planning, whichIndia
Contemporary involved state Politics
Economy, Society, control over
- Neera the production,
Chandhoke, distribution an
Praveen Priyadarshi

change of goods and services. The state itself entered the fields of production and distribution
et the developmental objectives. The Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy found the state as the most
table agency to achieve its objectives. The state was required to intervene in the economy,
omote public sector in heavy industries and guide the growth of the economy. The state launche
g dams, large industrial and mining projects and institutions of higher learning as ‘temples of
dem India’ for infrastructure development. To improve village life, the state undertook institu
orms or land reforms. It took the primary responsibility for providing elementary education, b
althcare, safe drinking water and employment programmes. Such a large expansion of the econ
d social responsibilities of the state was consistent with the objective of the socialist pattern o
ciety. However, this did not mean complete elimination of private enterprise. In fact, the state
dged to maintain a mixed economy in the society based on its commitment to democracy and
cialism.

Assessment
e Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy of development faced considerable criticism from several quar
e most important criticism came from two Mumbai economists C. N. Vakil and P. R. Brahman
ho offered an alternative at the time of formulation of the Second Plan.9 Since it put greater
phasis on industrialization compared to agriculture, the latter suffered. The allocation of highe
ority to heavy industries compared to labour-intensive industries resulted in heavy concentrat
alth and large-scale unemployment. The IDRA of 1951 did not serve its purpose fully. It creat
ence raj in the country favouring the large industrial houses, which became an impediment to

dustrial development. Land reforms could not be implemented properly owing to the defects in
islations, lack of political will and bureaucratic apathy. Because of the same reasons, the CDP
t achieve considerable success.
Nevertheless, the first phase of the development effort witnessed several significant achievem
is phase created the basic physical and human infrastructure for comprehensive development i
ciety The overall economic performance was far better compared to the colonial period. The r
growth was quite impressive. Both the savings and investment rates rose substantially. Growth
ricultural production occurred because of land reforms, CDP and large investment in irrigation
wer and agricultural research. Industry grew more rapidly than agriculture. The country develo
eavy industry complex with considerable diversification within the industrial structure.
rthermore, progress was made in the sphere of human capital due to the setting up of institution
gher learning, especially in the scientific field.

II

spite these significant achievements, India faced a macroeconomic crisis in the mid-1960s due
slow growth of agriculture and exports, two successive droughts of 1965 and 1966 and the In
k War of 1965, followed by a suspension of US aid. This situation delayed the Fourth Plan
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and
ee annual plans were adopted
8/18/2019 between
Contemporary 1966 and
India Economy, 1969.
Society, Politics The response
- Neera Chandhoke, of thePriyadarshi
Praveen state to the crisis
luded: (i) the adoption of restrictive fiscal policies by cutting down on expenditure, (ii) the
valuation of the rupee and (iii) the launching of the Green Revolution.

The Green Revolution

e term ‘Green Revolution’ is used to describe the new agricultural strategy that was put into
actice for the first time in India in the kharif season of 1966 to overcome the food problem. 10 I
o known as the High-Yielding Varieties Programme (HYVP) as the strategy was based on hig
lding varieties of seeds that had higher productivity than traditional varieties. Unlike tradition
riculture, the new strategy consisted of chemical fertilizers, pesticides arid insecticides, impro
rieties of seeds including hybrid seeds, agricultural machinery, extensive irrigation and use of
sel and electrical power.

Shifts from Early Development Strategy

e Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy of development came under severe attack due to the poor
rformance of the economy and the economic crisis of the mid-1960. Although the basic framew
the Mahalanobis strategy was retained until the end of the Seventh Plan, shifts from this strateg
came visible from the Fourth Plan onwards. In the Fourth Plan, the objective of self-reliance w
t discarded, but the main emphasis was shifted to rapid economic growth. Consequently, prefe
s given to quick-yielding projects as well as to light industry at the expense of heavy industry.
te went for an elaborate system of controls in the economy such as nationalization of banks in
69, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act in 1969, nationalization of th
urance sector in 1972 and the coal industry in 1973, and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act
ERA) in 1973.
A major criticism of the Mahalanobis development strategy came from the World Bank econom
the early 1970s. Challenging this growth-oriented strategy, they argued that the objective of
moval of poverty could not be achieved by growth itself. Several studies undertaken by Dande
d Rath, Pranab Bardhan and B. S. Minhas in India concluded that the benefit of growth had fai
ch the poor. Hence, the Fifth Plan allocated highest priority to the elimination of poverty and
opted various area development programmes The Sixth Five-Year Plan adopted various
distributive measures such as the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and the
tional Rural Employment Programme (NREP). The Seventh Plan adopted a new long-term
velopment strategy focusing on growth in foodgrain production, employment opportunities and
oductivity.11

Crisis of the State

the post-Nehru period, the country witnessed severe political instability because of decline an
osionhttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
of state institutions and political values. It was manifested in the electoral blow to36/369 the
 ngress in 1967 and the 1969
8/18/2019 Congress
Contemporary split, rampant
India Economy, factionalism,
Society, Politics defections
- Neera Chandhoke, and corruption,
Praveen Priyadarshi

sion of standards of integrity in public life and growing intensity of caste, communal, ethnic a
gional conflicts. In the early seventies, the process of heavy centralization of decision-making
combined with undue emphasis on personalities began, which culminated in the Emergency o
75 and continued right through the 1980s. It adversely affected the effectiveness and the morale
te institutions such as the party system, parliament, judiciary, bureaucracy and law-and-order
chinery. This structural crisis of the state led to a crisis of governability in the country.
12
The turbulence in India’s democracy occurred because of political awakening and decay.
litical awakening refers to self-assertion and political participation of hitherto marginalized gr
society due to growing democratization in the country. These groups consisting of the lower-m
d the lower strata in villages, petty traders and workers in the organized sector emerged as stro
mand groups making claims on state’s scarce resources. Political decay refers to the drastic
cline in the ability of state institutions to face these increasing demands.
In this situation, political leaders used populist slogans to win elections, for example, the slog
ribi hatao (remove poverty) in the 1971 elections. Furthermore, policymakers resorted to sev
pulist measures (such as tax concessions to petty traders and write-offs of rural loans), which
arply increased government expenditures or reduced government revenues. In this way, the pol
the state aggravated the deteriorating economic situation in the country.

Assessment
spite of several domestic and external shocks, this period witnessed considerable economic
hievements. Due to the Green Revolution, the post-1966 period saw substantial increase in

odgrain production, particularly wheat production, which led to food security and poverty
duction. Anti-poverty and employment programmes of the government helped tackle rural pove
d rural unemployment. The economic situation improved due to the reduction in import of food
her items increase in exports and rise in remittances made by Indian workers from West Asia. T
es of domestic savings and investment increased and the industrial growth rate started picking
w oil discoveries at the Bombay High oil fields cut down the oil import bill. In the 1980s, the
indu rate of growth’ (coined by Raj Krishna) of 3 to 3.5 per cent, which India had maintained
first three decades after Independence, was broken and the economy grew at over 5.5 per cen
same time, the Green Revolution and the structural weaknesses of this period caused many
onomic problems in the long run. Since the Green Revolution was largely wheat-based and it w
plemented in a few states, it created inter-crop disparities and regional imbalances. Because o
pital-intensive nature, it could not benefit the rural poor.

III

dia faced a full-scale macroeconomic crisis in the early 1990s that reached its climax in 1991.
sis was marked by high inflation, rising food prices, large current account deficit, huge dome
d foreign debt, a sharp fall in foreign exchange reserves, a steep decline in India s credit
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rati
37/369
d a cut off of commercialContemporary
8/18/2019 loans accompanied by a net
India Economy, Society, outflow
Politics of NRIPraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, (Non-Resident
Priyadarshi Indian)
posits.
The long-term constraints of the preceding decades, especially the 1980s, combined with certa
mediate factors gave rise to this economic crisis. The Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy of import
bstitution-industrialization made the Indian industry inefficient and technologically backward d
absence of competition. Due to the discouragement of foreign capital, India could not get the
nefits of technology and excellent competition. Heavy regulation of private sector through the

stem of licences and permits caused a great damage to entrepreneurship and innovation. The pu
ctor that dominated this strategy became highly inefficient and even sick due to excessive polit
erference. The preoccupation of the strategy with self-sufficiency caused export pessimism. Th
avy industry strategy required huge imports of capital goods. Due to large imports of capital go
d foodgrain combined with little imports, the trade deficit increased. Instead of making neces
difications according to the changing world situation,13 the government itself caused fiscal
erioration in the 1980s through (i) populist policies, (ii) rapid growth of state controls over th
onomy, and (iii) reservation of certain areas for small-scale industries. The Gulf Crisis of 199
me as an external shock to the Indian economy, which was in a highly vulnerable state.

Economic Reforms
response to the internal economic crisis of 1990–91 and the changing international situation, th
rasimha Rao government decided to introduce economic reforms or the New Economic Policy
EP). The NEP clearly reflected certain global trends, namely, the collapse of the socialist econ
d growing acceptance of economic globalization across the world. Although the reforms as a p

the process of liberalization and globalization were revolutionary in nature, these were launch
thin the democratic framework of the country They marked a shift from the Nehruvian consensu
1950s to a new consensus around reforms. While the national goals set out at Independence
mained unaltered, the change came only in the strategy to achieve these goals—from Nehru-
ahalanobis development strategy to the new development strategy of liberalization and econom
orms.
The reforms programme consisted of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reforms.
acroeconomic stabilization was a short-term programme adopted to overcome the macroecono
sis by regulating the total demand in the economy. While structural reform was a medium- and
ng-term programme, it dealt with sectoral adjustments and the problems on the supply side of th
onomy by bringing in dynamism and competitiveness to the economy. Crisis management meas
luded use of gold to acquire foreign currency to meet payment obligations, devaluation of the
pee, compression of imports and seeking finances from multilateral financial institutions and
ateral donors. Structural reforms included liberalized trade and investment policies with emph
exports, industrial deregulation, disinvestment and public sector reforms, and reform of the ca
rkets and the financial sector. In this way, an attempt was made to achieve a progressive econ
removing the internal controls and further to equip it to take advantage of the opportunities
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ovided by the worldwide Contemporary
8/18/2019 globalization process.
India Economy, Accordingly,
Society, a new trade
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveenpolicy and a new
Priyadarshi

dustrial policy were introduced. In the face of these changes, the Eighth Plan, the Ninth Plan an
nth Plan were launched.

Redefining the Role of the State

e adoption of the NEP based on liberalization and privatization has given rise to a debate on th
ure of the link between state and market. 14 The NEP does not imply a retreat of the state. It is b
a few propositions. First, the state and the market are not substitutes for one another but they
mplement each other. Second, these two actors provide mutual checks and balances in such a w
t one can correct the failures of the other. Third, through proper intervention the state has to m
market people-friendly because governments are accountable to people, while markets are no
ls for a reorientation in the role of the state that tended to take too many responsibilities in the
underlines a change in the nature of the state from a producer, investor and regulator to a facili
ency. The state has to maintain general law and order and provide an appropriate policy frame
the areas where the private sector can play a large role. The state needs to formulate policies
ng about improved transparency and greater accountability, which form the basic pillars of go
vernance.
The new development strategy urges the state to play an important role in creating economic an
cial infrastructure that is unlikely to attract private investment, such as rural infrastructure and
velopment of roads and railways. It also justifies state intervention in those areas where the
rkets either do not exist or where market activity can lead to undesirable outcomes—providin
blic goods such as healthcare, education and safe drinking water, and generating measures for

dication of poverty, creation of employment opportunities, empowerment of the disadvantaged

mination of regional imbalances.

RELEVANCE OF PLANNING

anning has been one of the basic pillars of the Indian state’s approach to development since
dependence. However, in the recent times the relevance of planning is much debated by the
holars. One argument is that planning has failed to achieve its goals. The second argument is th
anning has become irrelevant owing to globalization and liberalization, and the consequent free
ovement of capital and increase in the role of the market forces in economic decision-making a
vestment.
However, planning based on the Mahalanobis framework was fine during the first three plans.
oblems that surfaced in the economy after the Nehruvian period are not due to planning but are
oduct of lack of appropriate planning15 and mismanagement by government. Planning does not
come irrelevant due to internationalization of capital. Planning has to take the internationalizat
capital as a fact of life, a constraint within which it has to chart out its course. 16 In a liberalize
onomy, the nature of planning changes corresponding to the changes in the nature of state
ervention but it does not become irrelevant. Public investment will continue to have a major
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ro
cial sectors
8/18/2019and rural economic infrastructure
Contemporary India Economy, and the
Society, prioritization
Politics of Praveen
- Neera Chandhoke, the investment
Priyadarshi has to be
operty planned. The role of planning in our federal system is to coordinate the activities of all
els in the government—centre, states and local level—and that of the market and civil society
ors. In this way, planning has to evolve a shared commitment to national goals among all the a
the society. To make planning successful, the country has to follow a more decentralized and
rticipatory planning. The poor are to be placed in our economic planning. To remove the regio
qualities, there is the need for regional planning, town and country planning. Further, planning

ntemporary India has to be made comprehensive by including not only the conventional issues
o the emerging areas, like critical environmental issues.

Assessment
though there is a broad consensus among all the parties (except the extreme Left and extreme R
the desirability of reforms, considerable debate has emerged on the contents of the reform
ogramme, their sequencing and pace as well as their implementation and impact. The balance s
Indian economy in the post-reform period is mixed. The overall post-reform growth rate has b
gher than the average rate achieved during the pre-reform period, largely because of the servic
ctor. The fiscal imbalance and inflationary tendency have been controlled. India is emerging as
portant player in fields such as manufacturing and medical services. Robust export growth
pecially software exports, and rising remittances by Indian workers abroad have created a new
nfidence in the Indian economy. It has led to phenomenal growth in foreign exchange reserves.
owth competitiveness and the business competitiveness of the country are increasing. India is
erging as a stable growth engine and as a Big Emerging Market (BEM) in the world due to rob

onomic performance supported by a vibrant democracy, increasing young population, expandin

ddle class and domestic market and well-developed private sector.
However, this growth is not inclusive. First, the growth is skewed within the economy. For
ample, there is a great divide separating industry and agriculture, and the infrastructure, especi
rural infrastructure, is in an appalling state. Second, the reforms are just confined to the econo
d they are not spreading to the social sector. The social sector including healthcare, education,
cial security, gender equity and environmental protection has suffered a setback owing to the
cline of public investment in this crucial area. Low spending by the government has led to grow

quity in education and a decline in the quality of education. Indian society is marked by four g
vides: rural-urban, rich-poor, and along gender and caste lines—which pervade every aspect o
e, including social services. In each category, there is the existence of a disadvantaged section
ds it extremely difficult to get access to social services and thus gets left out. Though there has
en immense improvement since Independence, we do not yet have a system in place that is cap
providing equal access to public goods. As a result of liberalization, the state is increasingly
nsferring its constitutional responsibility of providing public goods to market forces. Hence, th
te is failing to build human capability17 and to ensure dignity of life for every citizen of the cou
nce the market operates on the basis of economic power, it excludes the common people40/369
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and th
 rginalized
8/18/2019sections that do not haveIndia
Contemporary economic power
Economy, Society, from
Politics itsChandhoke,
- Neera benefits.Praveen
FreePriyadarshi
market, coupled w
lack of necessary state support in the social sector, has led to huge interpersonal and inter-
gional inequalities. These inequalities have caused social instability manifested by increasing
otests and farmers’ suicides. Globalization as shaped by the new development paradigm has g
e to large-scale human displacement and the consequent disappearance of many communities a
tures, and massive protests.18 The continuing paradox of India and Bharat—a fast-growing
onomy supported by a well-developed private sector and yet with persistent mass deprivation

effective freedom—within the democratic framework in the country has given rise to the ques
whether democracy and market are incompatible. While the market excludes common people
outcome, democracy based on universal adult franchise includes all in economic benefits.
Nevertheless, the inherent exclusionary tendencies of the market can be limited only by the Sta
ough providing public goods and services to the marginalized and the excluded sections of the
pulation and regions of the country. This can be done most effectively in India’s highly plurali
d participative democracy with a very competitive print and electronic media, since they put
essure on governments to focus on the deprived sections of the society.19 To foster a more incl
owth, we need to create new employment opportunities in rural areas, improve the quality of
rastructure (both the so-called ‘soft infrastructure’—political and economic policies and
titutions; and hard infrastructure—roads, railways and ports) and improve human capabilities
oritizing health and education.
Keeping these concerns in view, the government decided to introduce the second-generation
orms while continuing the beneficial measures of the first-generation reforms, or the reforms
tiated in the early 1990s. The second-generation reforms focus on the predominant issues of
ntemporary India. These include: ( a) extending reforms to the states; ( b) creating infrastructure
ough public-private partnership; ( c) reforming the labour market, agriculture, intellectual prop
hts regime and telecom sector; ( d) improving governance through legal and political reforms;
powering the underprivileged; ( f) expanding primary education and improving quality of highe
ucation; (g) improving human-development sector through intensive engagement with civil-soc
ors; and (h) achieving environmental sustainability. The aim of these reforms is not only to he
n India into a fast-growing economy, but also a knowledge economy by strengthening the
owledge sector; a strong democracy by building social capital; and finally a humane society w
highest levels of sustainable human development. In the light, of this, the government adopted
licies such as the national population and health policies, and introduced programmes and mis
ch as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, the Bharat Nirmnan, the Employm
arantee Scheme, the National Rural Health Mission and the Knowledge Commission. This lin
nking is reflected in the Tenth Plan, the Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Plan and the approac
per to the Eleventh Plan. In this light, the Planning Commission has unveiled the futuristic repo
ed India Vision 2020, which anticipates a resurgent and new India, achieving cent per cent
racy, eradicating unemployment and poverty, attaining a 9 per cent annual growth rate and
adrupling per capita income by 2020. If this can be achieved, India can fulfil that long-awaited
omisehttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
that Jawaharlal Nehru so eloquently described as our ‘tryst with destiny’ at Independenc 41/369
 SUGGESTED READINGS
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
dhan, Pranab. The Political Economy of Development in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1984.
kravarty, Sukhamoy. Development Planning: The Indian Experience . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1988.
ze, Jean and Amartya Sen, India: Economic Development and S ocial Opportunity . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1
nkel, Francine. India’s Political Economy. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005.

QUESTIONS

1. Critically analyse the Nehru-Mahalanobis development strategy.

2. What is the New Economic Policy (NEP)? Discuss the second-generation reforms in the light of the recent Five-Year Plan
3. Discuss the role of the state in the Indian economy before and after the adoption of the economic reforms.
4. Analyse the major reasons that led the government to adopt planning for the country’s economic development after
Independence. Discuss the role of planning in the era of liberalization.

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 8/18/2019 3
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Some Important Constituents of Economic Policy

Samir Kumar Singh

forms in any sector cannot be seen in isolation. There is a huge degree of complementarity amo
ferent kinds of reforms. If there is delicensing of the export of a particular item/good but
oduction of that good remains controlled, then the benefit of the reform will be limited. Instead
industrial policy deregulates production of goods, then the benefit will be much greater. Simi
ernal-sector reforms will reach its potential if sufficient reforms are introduced in the financia
cal, industrial and agricultural sectors. Although I will concentrate on the external sector in thi
ction, the implications of reforms in the other sectors must be recognized.
India was not only exposed to free trade from a very early time, but it also maintained its
mpetitive position in world trade. Even during the colonial period, India’s competitive strengt
mained fairly intact. However, it lacked exposure to modem technology with well-organized
rkets and faced internal price repression and a deluge of non-competitive imports. In the post-
dependence period, the problem of transforming an agrarian economy to an industrial one, buil
mestic capability in crucial sectors and addressing the immediate need and aspirations of peop
ighed heavily on the economy. The role of the government in economic management, therefore
ew in relative importance. India adopted a process of planning that determined how much to sa
here to invest and in what forms to invest. India adopted a mixed-economy strategy with the Sta
d the private sector competing for scarce resources. Self-reliance was the principal objective.
port substitution and export pessimism were underlying strategies/assumptions. Doubts abou
ectiveness of this policy regime arose as early as the mid-1970s. After considerable thinking,
ocess of reorientation of the policy framework began in the late 1970s and gathered some
omentum in the 1980s. The most important changes were related to reducing the domestic barri
entry and expansion. Larger scope was also provided to enable big business groups to particip
the process of industrialization. Attempts were made to shift from direct physical controls to
direct financial incentives and disincentives. Overall, the 1980s witnessed a gradual and defin
regulation from domestic controls. Trade policy was also liberalized to some extent in the 198
r example, there was some liberalization in imports of capital goods in the second half of the
80s, with emphasis on technological upgradation of the industry. Consequently, the second hal
1980s witnessed a record growth of industrial production of 8–9 per cent per annum. The
celeration of growth during the 1980s was achieved with distinctly better productivity
rformance.

However, during the 1980s, the government had started to live beyond its means. Consequently
cal deficit, which had remained moderate until that time, started to rise. The average fiscal
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 the central
8/18/2019government alone was 8.2
Contemporary Indiaper centSociety,
Economy, of thePolitics
GDP during
- Neera 1985–86
Chandhoke, Praveen to 1989–90. This w
Priyadarshi

inly due to the growing expenditure on subsidies, interest payments, salaries and defence. As t
vernment borrowed internally and externally to finance the growing fiscal gaps, the economy f
ious structural problems, which posed obstacles to the sustainability of the higher growth that
en set in motion during the 1980s.
In the following section, we start with a discussion on the macroeconomic crisis of 1991 and t
ove on to reforms in the external sector. In the next section, the basics of fiscal policies, and the
cal performance of the government since the 1980s are discussed to understand the reforms
opted since 1991. Next, we go on to financial and infrastructure reforms. In the final section, w
mmarize the discussion to assess the reforms and understand the need for future reforms.

MACROECONOMIC CRISIS

the early 1990s, the Indian economy suffered from a very acute macroeconomic crisis, the like
hich it had never faced. The foreign-currency reserves of the country had tumbled to $1 billion
ough to pay for two weeks of imports. For the first time in its history, India was faced with the
ospect of defaulting on its international payments. The inflation rate climbed to a peak of 17 pe
nt by August 1991. The ratio of the fiscal deficit of the central government to GDP had almost
ched a double-digit level, and the current-account deficit rose to nearly 3 per cent of the GDP
The Gulf crisis of 1990–91 may have aggravated the problem, but it cannot be regarded as the
use of the economic crisis in the early 1990s. The crisis drew attention to the deep, structural
balances in factor- and product-market activities, and also in the fiscal system. This, in a sense
derlined the need for a comprehensive programme of reform. The crisis was met with some
cisive policy measures such as the downward adjustment of the rupee, the pledging of a part o
untry’s gold reserves to avert default of scheduled repayments, import-compression measures,
htening of monetary policy and the timely receipt of exceptional assistance from internationa
ancial institutions. A comprehensive stabilization and structural-reform programme to correct
croeconomic imbalances followed these policy initiatives.

External-Sector Reforms
Joshi and Little1 argue forcefully, there were not good reasons for the level of protection that
fficient manufacturing sector had enjoyed historically. As they also note, the really significant
ange on the import side was the introduction of a ‘negative’ list. Any item not on the list could
ported freely except for some bulk items that were still controlled by the government agencies
mid-1990s.
The first move was the real devaluation of the exchange rate in 1991 and the switch over from
ed-exchange-rate regime to a market-determined-exchange-rate regime under which the Reser
nk of India (RBI) was supposed to intervene in times of crisis to maintain stability. With the
ange in the exchange-rate regime and accomplishment of trade reforms, the current account is n
en along with limited capital-account convertibility. The exchange-rate regime focuses 44/369
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on the
 nagement of volatility without
8/18/2019 a fixed-rate
Contemporary target
India Economy, and
Society, the- underlying
Politics demand
Neera Chandhoke, and supply condit
Praveen Priyadarshi

ermine the exchange-rate movements in an orderly way. Furthermore, India made a gradual m
wards convertibility. We have already made the currency convertible on the current account. T
plies importers and exporters can acquire foreign currency at the market-determined rate as
posed to the unfavourable government-determined rate that was prevalent in the pre-reform er
capital account, the movement has been slow. Capital-account convertibility means allowing
eigners to buy Indian assets and Indians to borrow and invest outside. But due to volatility

ncerns, movement has remained quite slow on this front. Due to the policy changes regarding
reign Direct Investment (FDI) and convertibility, the level of foreign-exchange reserves has
adily increased from US$ 5.8 billion as at end-March 1991 to US$ 113.0 billion by end-Marc
04 and further to US$ 275.76 billion by end-December 2007.
The trade regime has undergone massive changes with the removal of quantitative restrictions
ng with rationalization of the tariff structure. India’s main success in trade reform has been in
a of tariffs. In 1990–91, the unweighted average tariff was 125 per cent. That figure came dow
per cent in 1993–94. The peak tariff rate in 1990 was an unbelievably high 355 per cent. The
e in 1993–94 came down to 85 per cent. In 1995, the highest rate of tariff was further reduced
r cent. Today, the average tariff rate is only 18 per cent with the peak rate below 30 per cent. O
export side, quantitative export restrictions came under attack. The list of restricted items has
unk as a result. Export-promotion schemes are also being pursued with more than usual vigou
wever, many export-promotion schemes still carry large administrative costs and are quite
mplex in practice.
We define a policy as an export-oriented policy if it increases the profitability of selling in the
ernal market as compared to the domestic market. Thus, increased competition due to delicen
industries and increased competition from the external sector has resulted in a dip in the
ofitability of selling in the domestic market. Thus, the policy reforms started since 1991 have
gely been export oriented. Therefore, in the broader policy framework, it is an attempt to
courage efficiency of the economy and help the players to do well in this competitive environm
Countries that are highly integrated in the world economy tend to exhibit a high trade to GDP r
India, this has increased over the years but not at the pace of the more dynamic, developing
untries such as China. For example, the ratio of exports to GDI? which was less than 4 per cen
ring the 1960s and early 1970s, rose to 5 per cent in the 1980s and is now a little over 9 per ce
ports and imports taken together today stand at about 22 per cent of India’s GDP If internation
nsactions in services are included, the degree of openness of the Indian economy is well over
r cent. However, the ratio is one of lowest in the world. At the end of the 1970s, when China
ened its economy to the rest of the world, external trade accounted for less than 10 per cent of
DP But now, it accounts for about 40 per cent of China’s GDP Another indicator for measuring
untry’s integration with the rest of the world is through estimation of a country’s mean tariff rat
cording to the World Bank, the mean tariff rate for all products in India has declined from 80
nt in 1990 to 30 per cent in 1997. In the case of China, these rates are at about 43 and 18 per ce
pectively. This shows that while the degree of protection for Indian products has come45/369
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 l high compared to other Contemporary
8/18/2019 developing countries.
India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

There is evidence that countries that are integrated faster into the world economy experience n
ly a rapid export growth but also export diversification. The average-annual-export-volume gr
India during the period 1981–90 was 5.7 per cent. But this rate accelerated to 12 per cent dur
91–95, when there was large-scale trade liberalization. Although India’s performance was bet
hen compared with its own past as well as that of many low-and middle-income countries, its
rformance did not match that of East Asia, as a whole. For example, average-annual-export-vo

owth during the period 1991–95 was 17 per cent in China, about 13 per cent in Korea and
donesia, and 18 per cent in Thailand.
The performance of our external sector looked quite encouraging before the emergence of the
ian crisis, but after that, it has remained quite sluggish. If we take a look at the export-growth
ttern in the successful countries, we find that they start with resource-intensive commodities; th
ecialize in labour-intensive commodities; in the third stage, move to scale-intensive commodit
the fourth stage, to differentiated products that are skill intensive; and, finally, switch to scient
ods. While the East Asian countries have successfully graduated from the second and third stag
fourth stage, India is still stagnating in the second and third categories. So India’s inability to
versify the export basket has been the main reason behind the unsatisfactory performance of the
port sector. This can be linked to the reservation policy of small-scale industries and various o
titutional bottlenecks, which are obstructing such a transition. Thus, we have a huge potential
tter export performance, pushing up growth and fighting poverty.

Fiscal Policy

pital formation plays an important role in the growth rate of an economy, which needs a contin
ost. In this context, public investment is very important. The Indian economy in general and
riculture in particular have witnessed a decline in the growth rate of public investment. In the
riculture sector, an increase in the private-sector investment more than offset the decline in the
blic investment. But private investment is no substitute for public investment, and the latter is
portant for attracting private investment in the sector. In the post-liberalized era, public invest
s not been increasing at the desired rate in either agriculture or infrastructure. This affects the
tential growth of an economy and this is an explanation for the declining productivity in the

riculture sector during the post-liberalized era. This indicates a great need to accelerate public
pital formation in the country. The main obstacle to this is the deteriorating fiscal scenario of th
onomy and the continuous decline in capital expenditure.
Fiscal policy deals with revenue and expenditure of the government. Some of the major object
t fiscal policy intends to cater to are—solving redistribution issues, efficiency, macroeconom
ectives, market failure, commercial activities, provision of public goods, capital formation, e

gulation of Resource Allocation. Allocation of resources by the market may not always be

sirable. The reason is that the objective of private players and society may differ. So, in46/369
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order
 ng about harmony in theirContemporary
8/18/2019 objectives, Indiathe government
Economy, can
Society, Politics use Chandhoke,
- Neera fiscal policy. For example, the
Praveen Priyadarshi

vernment has provided subsidy to farmers to adopt the Green Revolution technology and can ta
ation of pollution beyond a limit.

lving Redistribution Issues. Various kinds of fiscal policy options are available with the
vernment to address the problem of inequality. One of the options is transfer payments under w
government runs the poverty-alleviation programme, public distribution system, employment

hemes, etc. Progressive taxation and high tax on luxuries are imposed.
rrecting Regional Disparity in Post-liberalized India. In India, private investment is the lar
rt of the total investment. After 1991, the government has been withdrawing from the commerc
ctor. So the development of industries is now dependent on the flow of private investment, wh
turn, depends on public investment.

ficiency. An important aim of a budget is to attain its objective at the minimum cost. This mean
articular level of revenue is to be generated, it should be done with the minimum possible
turbance in the economy, as there could be a trade off between different objectives. For exam
hen the government imposes taxes to generate revenue, it affects the prices of commodities in th
rket and, therefore, our consumption. In order to attain this, such a policy can be adopted wher
sticity of demand is inversely proportional to the rate of taxes—higher the elasticity of deman
wer would be the tax rate.
For example, higher tax should be levied on income and lower tax on food.

acroeconomic Objectives. This policy includes the objectives of inflation control, growth
omotion, employment generation, avoiding business cycle, etc. Expansionary fiscal policy in
pression and strict policy in an inflationary economy can be adopted.

arket Failure. According to Amartya Sen2, the market does two kinds of negative acts, namely
mission and commission. Commission means doing something wrong and omission means not d
mething good. In the case of omission, the government needs to take active action in the area, fo
ample, primary education and health facility in villages.

pital Formation. A direct way of capital formation is borrowing to invest capital. An indirec
y of capital formation has been deficit financing. This leads to increase in the price level due
hich purchasing power of the society declines and the government gets larger resources.

mmercial Activities and Public Goods. The government invests in industries and commercia
vices like railways. Public goods are those that have the characteristics of non-rival consump
d non-exclusion. Here private provision is sub-optimal. So the governments take the task of
oduction of the public goods.
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 8/18/2019Budget. Before
vernment we get into
Contemporary a policy
India Economy, discussion,
Society, it is
Politics - Neera important
Chandhoke, toPriyadarshi
Praveen understand the
ssification of the government s budget and the related terms and concepts. The budget is divid
o receipts and expenditures of the government. Receipts are further divided into revenue recei
d capital receipts and expenditure into revenue expenditure and capital expenditure (see Figur
).

Figure 3.1: Government Budget

venue receipts include tax and non-tax revenues; and capital receipts primarily include borrow
the government, receipts from disinvestments, and interest on loan given by the government. O
penditure side, revenue expenditure includes the day-to-day cost of running the government. Th
ludes interest payments, subsidy, defence expenditure, grant to states, etc. Revenue account
penditure is close to consumption expenditure and is committed in nature. This is to say one do
t expect a direct return from such expenditure and, at the same time, it is very difficult to reduc
ch expenditure in a short span of time. The capital expenditure includes all those expenditures
d to the nation’s productive capacity like infrastructure development. Thus, broadly, we can sa
a productive expenditure, while revenue account expenditure is an unproductive expenditure.
Fiscal deficit is defined as excess of total expenditure over receipts of government except
rrowings. Thus, it is the amount of borrowing by the government to meet its expenditure.
Fiscal Deficit = Total expenditure − Receipts except borrowings
Primary Deficit = Fiscal deficit − Interest payment
Revenue Deficit = Revenue expenditure − Revenue receipts

Primary deficitisisa an
erest payment indicator
result of the of the fiscal done
borrowings behaviour
by theofpast
the government.
current government as theaccount
The revenue deducte
dicates the government s capacity to meet its day-to-day expenditure. Deficit implies that the
vernment is not only entirely borrowing for the capital formation, but a part of it is also being
current consumptions. There is nothing wrong as such with borrowing if it is utilized for larg
ome generation such that it is comfortably repaid. But if there is a large and sustained revenue
count deficit, it means interest obligation of the government is continuously increasing and it is
coming difficult to generate resources for developmental purposes.

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 8/18/2019 Fiscal Scenario in the 1980s
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

order to understand the fiscal reforms of 1991, it is important to examine the pattern of expend
d revenue in the last two decades. According to Mohan,3 the total expenditure of the central
vernment increased from an average of 16.8 per cent of GDP in 1980–85 to about 20.5 per cen
85–90 and then declined to 16–17.5 per cent in the late 1990s. What is most notable is the very
nificant increase in the second half of the 1980s. The increase took place in almost all categor
revenue-account expenditure such as interest payments, defence expenditure, subsidies, pensio
d loans to states.
Thus, we find a massive increase in the consumption expenditure of the government. During 19
the capital expenditure on an average was 37 per cent of the total expenditure and, by 1990, i
clined to barely 17 per cent. This implies that the interest obligation of the government was bo
increase. Interest payment, which was 2.2 per cent of GDP in 1980, increased to 3.8 per cent i
90–91. Interest payment for long has been the largest component of government expenditure. T
fiscal policy in the 1980s was not sustainable and ultimately, this turned out to be an importan
son for the 1991 crisis.
There are serious dangers of excessive fiscal deficits. Joshi4 has talked about the dangers of
stainability, crowding out and flexibility of policy. A new cost that has emerged in the post-
eralization era is in terms of the capacity to control regional disparity.
Sustainability: Fiscal deficits can be financed by printing money or by borrowing from domes
d foreign sources. If carried out excessively, this can lead to a crisis. If primary deficits remai
gh, then it might lead a country to the debt trap. In other words, this means increasing the debt:
io leading to borrowing in order to pay the interest.

Crowds out private investment : If fiscal deficit remains high, it reflects huge expenditure from
vernment side. This reduces the supply of financial resources to private players and, in turn, le
a high interest rate that implies lower investment in the private sector. In the Indian case,
penditure on infrastructure encourages private investment by increasing its profitability. So, if
vernment expenditure is largely unproductive (revenue account), then there will be larger
placement of private investment. Since private investment is more productive than public
penditure, rising fiscal deficit may imply reduction in overall productivity of investment and,
nsequently, slower growth rate of economy.

Reduces flexibility of policy: High fiscal deficit means lower financial resources in the
vernment’s hand. It, therefore, reduces the government’s ability to respond to external shocks l
oughts, and oil-price rise. Furthermore, as the share of revenue-account expenditure in total
penditure increases, the government capacity to invest in capital infrastructure and social secto
clines. This not only constrains growth prospects in the long run, but also compromises
velopment of the social sector. Since this deficit cannot go on forever, in a bid to control it, th
vernment may have to resort to higher tax rates, which discourages private investment.
Special significance of fiscal health in the post-reform era: Since 1991, there has been a
ndamental change in the role of the government. The government started to pull itself away
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from
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mmercial activities and was
8/18/2019 expected
Contemporary Indiato play Society,
Economy, the role of- aNeera
Politics facilitator
Chandhoke,rather
Praveen than provider. Thi
Priyadarshi

ange in policy has made private investment the prime source of growth of different states. Sinc
vate investment is mobile and moves in the pursuit of profit, it will move to those regions whe
ofitability is higher. This is why the 1990s witnessed an increasing regional disparity. The
gument goes like this:

The flow of private investment is the major determinant of the growth rate of any state. It is,
refore, dependent on the state’s capacity to attract it and this, in turn, depends on human capita
rastructure, which is dependent on investment made by the central and state governments. Thu
government does not play an active role to address the problems of insufficient and unequal
rastructure, the disparity witnessed in the 1990s will get accentuated further. The widening ga
tween developed and backward states can encourage resentment and can be a big threat to furt
orms. Now, the government can take up this task, if it manages to control its deficit. Since the
vernment has to play a very active role as a facilitator, it should try to control unproductive
penditure and bring about an acceleration in collections.
The 1991 crisis and response to it : The high unsustainable fiscal policy, inefficiency of publi
ctor enterprises, poor management of the external sector etc., had led to the crisis of 1991. The
mediate task ahead was to stabilize the economy and then do away with the structural weaknes
the economy that made it vulnerable to external shocks. There have been policy changes aimed
sing revenues, on the one hand, and controlling expenditure, on the other.
During the initial years of reform, the government tried to restructure direct taxes. The governm
fact, reduced direct taxes to promote the growth of the economy. Direct taxes are already high
Indian case, so the main source of tax revenue is indirect taxes and expansion of the tax base.
der to expand the base, the government has been increasing the number of services within the ta
a phased manner. This has become very important in the light of the fact that the services secto
counts for more than 50 per cent of the national income. Despite this, no dynamism is visible in
non-tax revenue. Revenue receipts have moved from 9.7 per cent of GDP in 1990–91 to50/369
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r cent8/18/2019
in 2004–05. There is not much
Contemporary variation
India in thePolitics
Economy, Society, relative role of tax
- Neera Chandhoke, andPriyadarshi
Praveen non-tax revenue.
the main reasons for subdued performance in non-tax revenue is the government’s failure to pu
e proper user charges for commercial services.
On the expenditure front, the government tried to rationalize the number of employees and talk
ntrolling profligacy, but the situation is far from satisfactory. Reform in the banking sector has
ced the government acquire loans at the market rate, which has increased its interest-payment
rden. Interest payment, which was already at a high of 3.8 per cent in 1990, reached its peak o

r cent in 2002–03 and then came down to 4.1 per cent in 2004–05. The fiscal deficit declined
per cent in 1990–91 to 5.6 per cent in 2000–01 and then to 4.1 per cent in 2004–05. Although
ovement of the deficit figure may look satisfactory, the manner in which this has been done is h
ectionable. It has been achieved by slashing the capital expenditure rather than reducing
productive revenue-account expenditure. Capital expenditure, which was 4.4 per cent of the G
clined to 2.3 per cent in 2000–01. During the post-reform era, the capital expenditure of the
vernment has significantly come down. This has continuously been lower than the interest paym
e could, thus, conclude that the situation has not substantially improved. As we talked earlier,
vernment is supposed to play a very active role in the various spheres of economy, but due to t
or fiscal scenario, its ability is significantly constrained.

The Financial Sector

the post-reform era, India has witnessed significant policy changes towards the financial secto
know, before 1991, there was primacy to centralized planning, which made it important for th
te to generate resources in order to fund the developmental functions. The financial policy bef

91 was heavily based on this understanding of generating resources and that is why the governm
pt the banking sector in its control and kept the interest rate low for its borrowing. In the post-
orm era, the role of the government changed significantly. The State was supposed to be a
ilitator rather than the controller. This made it imperative to bring abut changes in the financia
licy.
Since the genesis of reform, the ownership pattern of the banking sector has changed. In 1993,
BI issued guidelines for setting up of the private-sector banks. Legislative changes were made i
94 to enable public-sector banks to raise capital funds for the market by public issue share.

nancial reforms can be reviewed under three major heads:

Banking-sector reforms
Stock market reforms
Financial institutions reforms

nking-Sector Reforms. There have been significant reforms in the banking sector in the post-
eralization era. The major policy reforms include dismantling of administered interest rate, ma
duction in reserve requirements of Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) and Cash Reserve Ratio (C
olition of firm-specific credit controls, permission to private players in the banking sector
luding foreign participation and improving the supervision of the banking operation, etc.
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understand
8/18/2019the significance and implications
Contemporary India Economy,of these
Society, policy
Politics - Neerachanges,
Chandhoke, we need
Praveen to look at the
Priyadarshi

nking sector during the pre-reform era.

Ownership pattern: The banking sector in the pre-reform era was entirely under the control of
blic sector. The government started with the nationalization of all the major banks in 1969. Du
multiplicity of goals, political interference, lack of free management, accountability and incen
ucture, and inherent inefficiency of the public-sector banks (PSBs), this sector became highly
fficient. It took very little changes and innovation in the banking sector to meet the changing

quirements and challenges. Thus, it contributed significantly in converting India into a high-cos
onomy. Since the genesis of reforms, the ownership pattern of the banking sector has changed.
93, the RBI issued guidelines for setting up of the private-sector banks. Legislative changes w
de in 1994 to enable public-sector banks to raise capital funds for the market by public issue o
ares. Even now, the share of private sector in total deposits to the bank is merely 20 per cent, a
per cent with the PSB banks. The sector needs much more reforms to become vibrant.
Administered interest rate and credit control : During the pre-reform era, an administered int
licy was followed. This implies rate of interests were not decided by demand and supply
nditions in the market but by the government. The government controlled the flow of financial
ources using direct control over credit and maintaining high interest rates for the private secto
der to encourage household savings and fulfil welfare objectives, interest rates on deposits we
o kept high. At the same time, it borrowed from the banks at a low interest rate. The basic
croeconomics tells higher interest rate for loans discourage private investment. Furthermore, t
vernment took away a significant proportion of the financial resources keeping a relatively low
ount for the private sector, that too with various kinds of control on distribution of credit.
The Reserve Bank undertook several measures to facilitate the deregulation and flexibility in
erest rates. First, the Reserve Bank allowed banks the freedom to prescribe different Prime
nding Rates (PLRs) for different maturities. Banks were accorded the freedom to charge intere
es without reference to the PLR in case of certain specified loans. The RBI also allowed vario
nds of financial operations like hedging products, mutual funds, etc.
Quantitative vs market-based tools: Banks are needed to keep a part of their liabilities with t
BI in the form of CRR. Furthermore, banks are required to keep a part of their liabilities in the
cash, gold or government securities, which is called SLR. These norms are needed to safeguar
erests of the consumers. These were deliberately kept high to garner resources for carrying out
ge government expenditure. But this left banks with lower resources for commercial lending.
rther, lower supply of commercial lending increased the interest rates for the private sector. Th
the one hand, the policy restricted the capacity of banks to generate surpluses, and on the othe
led incentives for private investments.
During the 1990s, the orientation of the banking policy was overhauled. Rather than using
antitative tools, they relied on the market-based tools. This decade witnessed significant reduc
the CRR and SLR requirements. There was a greater reliance on the open-market operations to
ntrol money supply in the economy. Open-market operation means that the government sells bo
mop http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
up excess supply in the economy and purchases bonds whenever it wants to increase the
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oney 8/18/2019
supply. Due to theseContemporary
factors, banks’ resources
India Economy, for commercial
Society, Politics use
- Neera Chandhoke, increased.
Praveen PriyadarshiThis increas

potential for profit generation by the banking sector, and the reduction in lending rates encour
vate investments.
Prudential norms: The Reserve Bank of India persevered with the on-going process of
engthening prudential accounting norms with the objective of improving the financial soundnes
nks and to bring them at par with international standards. The Reserve Bank advised PSBs to s
ttlement Advisory Committees (SACs) for timely and speedier settlement of non-performing a

the small-scale sector and the agricultural sector. The guidelines on SACs were aimed at redu
stock of NPAs by encouraging the banks to go in for compromise settlements in a transparent
nner. Recognizing that the high level of NPAs in the PSBs can endanger the financial-system
bility, the government set up debt-recovery tribunals for speedy recovery of bad loans. An
endment in the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 was effe
expedite the recovery process.

ock-Market Reforms. The last two decades have seen the rapid development of the stock mar

e to deregulation and reforms. In 1980, the total market capitalization of the Indian stock marke
s only 5 per cent of GDP This increased to 13 per cent by 1990 and has already crossed 100 p
nt of GDP During the 1990s, the government phased out its control over new share issues and
rmitted recognized foreign-institutional investors to directly buy shares in India. Indian firms h
o been allowed to raise funds abroad.
The significance of the stock market is also increasing for small investors. Earlier, deregulatio
ve seen some scandals in the stock market, which eroded the confidence of small investors. Bu
proved supervision and change in trading mechanisms have restored confidence in the system.
90s have seen the emergence of a large number of financial products, like different types of mu
nds, which meet the requirement of small investors.

nancial-Institution Reforms. In the post-liberalization era, the deregulation of the financial s

rted. This made it mandatory to increase supervision of the sector. For example, it become
portant to ensure that banks with short-run funds do not significantly invest in long-term projec
in for speculative investment or pose a threat to the stability of the economy. There has been a
ssive and active transformation in the supervisory role of the RBI. To regulate and promote th
ck market, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had been empowered, and simi
the healthy development of the insurance market, the Insurance Regulatory and Development
thority (IRDA) has been set up. With the passing of the Insurance Regulatory and Developmen
thority (IRDA) Act, 1999, banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) have been
rmitted to enter the insurance business. The Reserve Bank has issued guidelines in this regard.
s felt necessary in view of the fact that the insurance business does not break-even during the
tial years of operation, and that the banks and NBFCs do not have adequate technical expertise
dertaking the insurance business.
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 titution is lack of proper unbundling
8/18/2019 ofEconomy,
Contemporary India the generation,
Society, Politicstransmission and
- Neera Chandhoke, distribution.
Praveen Priyadarshi The succ
th private participation heavily depends on the capability of the regulatory agency.
One of the salient features of the post-reform era is the rising share of private investment in the
rastructure sector. Apart from the above-mentioned two sectors, private participation has been
couraged in the construction of national highways. Some of the services in the railways have b
ven to the private players. Even in the aviation industry, the private sector has been permitted a
y have started playing a very significant role. The major reforms in roadways were the impos

a fuel cess to finance highway construction and the commissioning of the National Highway
velopment Project (Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana). In the case of ports, private opera
ve been introduced and then the Tariff Authority of Major Ports was formed; in the civil-aviati
ctors, new private airlines, new private airports and the beginning of an open skies policy are
dence. The success of such a reform process, where the private sector is being encouraged, is
gely going to depend upon the regulatory framework provided. So, the most important task that
be taken up very seriously is the creation of different regulatory agencies, which are efficient,
namic, accountable and professional.

CONCLUSION

ere have been significant reforms in the post-1991 era and there has been some positive impac
o. But the situation is far from satisfactory. In terms of Amartya Sen, a policy should be judged
basis of its contribution to capability expansion. Here capability expansion means improving
man capital. But this is one area, which has been ignored in the successive plans and even in th
st-reforms era. There is an urgent need that the government should release funds fast for the so
tor. This is important not just for improving human development indicator, but also because th
odem growth theory identifies the development of human capital as the driving force of the
onomy. Now we come to industrial-, trade-, fiscal- and financial-policy reforms. These reform
ve been good but not sufficient. It needs to be realized that the benefit of reforms already taken
ongly depends on the amount and pace of future reforms. So there is a need to push up these
orms. The most important agenda of reform could be agricultural-sector reforms, power-secto
rastructure reforms, tax reforms, reconsideration of reservation policy to small- scale industry
ther simplification of the bureaucratic process. Apart from economic reforms, large reforms in
al system and governance are also needed. These reforms are not easy to come by as many of
state subjects and are going to be fought fiercely by the vested interests. But if we want to ach
mething big, then it requires big and fundamental changes in the policy; and the reforms proces
ould not be confined only to the economic sector, but should look beyond it.

SUGGESTED READINGS
u, Kaushik (ed.). India’s Emerging Economy: Performance and Prospects in the 19 90s and Beyond . New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2005.
ze, Jean and Amartya Sen. India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1

uwalia, I. J. India’s Economic Reform: Essays for Manmohan Singh . New Delhi: Oxford University Press 2005.
eger, Anne O. Economic Policy Reforms and the Indian Economy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi 55/369
ivasan, T. N. and Suresh D. Tendulkar. Reintegrating India with the World Economy. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute, 2
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

QUESTIONS

1. Briefly explain the fiscal scenario of the 1980s. In the light of this, critically examine the post-1991 fiscal reforms.
2. Comment on the financial-sector reforms of the post-1991 era. What are the major changes in the orientation of these finan
policies?
3. What are the reasons for the macroeconomic crisis of 1991? Elaborate the policy responses to the crisis.
4. Reforms were primarily targeted at the industrial, trade and financial sectors but ignored the social and agriculture sector. D

you agree with the statement? In light of this statement, assess the performance of reforms.

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 8/18/2019 4
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Regional Disparities, Poverty and Food Insecurity

Satyajit Puhan

hat is the face of contemporary India? Is it that of the bright and shining India with its rapidly
owing economy, great advancement in science and technology, an ever-expanding and upwardl
obile middle class, the sprawling city and the malls? Or, is it that of an India marked by povert
ecurity, with millions untouched by the benefits of economic growth, without access to educat
d healthcare, deprived of basic needs and struggling to survive? Or may be beyond this rhetori
verty or progress, these sharply contrasting images do not cancel each other but coexist in the
contemporary India.
As dealt in previous chapters, since the beginning of the 1990s, the Indian government has
dertaken major macroeconomic reforms and moved towards a greater integration of the Indian
onomy with the global market. It is a fact that India has moved onto a higher economic growth
jectory in the last two decades in comparison to the pre-reforms period. And at an average of
nt GDP growth rate annually (the present projections are even higher), India would be doublin
ional income approximately every 10 years. A rapidly growing economy has led to hopes of I
ally actualizing its potential as an economic superpower. What does this unprecedented growt
ional income mean for the lives of the poor in India?
Does it mean that with the rising per capita income, the poor will no longer remain poor? Doe
an that there will be less hunger and destitution, less children dying because of lack of
munization or basic health care? Does it mean more employment and better wages for the land
ual labourers in rural areas, greater access to educational opportunities, general improvemen
living conditions, more social equality and freedom of opportunity?
The Indian State periodically comes up with estimates of the level of poverty in India. The num
ggest that poverty has been rapidly declining but still remains high with every fourth Indian stil
ng poor in 2004–05. What does it mean? Does it mean an acknowledgement that a large sectio
dia is still poor, but at the same time a claim that India is definitely on its way to eliminate pov
ot depends on what we understand by ‘poverty’.
The persistence of extensive poverty in times of general prosperity raises the other troublesom
estion confronting democratic societies: how to ensure equality of opportunity in the face of th
ing socio-economic inequality? The deprivations that characterize the lives of the poor put the
isadvantage in terms of their capability to actualize the opportunities presented by economic
owth. This means that in the absence of political and social action mediating the process of

onomic growth, poverty tends to reproduce itself and results in rising socio-economic inequali
The essay begins by discussing varying notions of poverty. It distinguishes between ‘poverty’
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fined8/18/2019
by the concept of theContemporary
frequently Indiareferred poverty
Economy, Society, line
Politics andChandhoke,
- Neera the much broader
Praveen notion of
Priyadarshi

overty’ as human-capability deprivation. The debate on ‘poverty’ in India must not be limited
k of income or purchasing power but must include a wide array of living standard and social
dicators bearing on human-capability deprivation. This essay argues that the persistence of the
privations could be significant in determining how equitably the opportunities of economic gro
shared and what happens to socio-economic inequality in the future. It ends by appraising how
ntemporary India is positioned in terms of poverty and the related phenomena of food insecuri
d unemployment.
The essay goes on to discuss the response of the State to poverty. It follows the shifts and chan
the orientation of the Five-Year Plans towards poverty alleviation in India. The limitations of
ate policy are discussed to understand why it has remained ad hoc and narrow in focus with re
poverty in the country.
The last section of the essay discusses the rising regional disparities and the changing percepti
the State in the post-reforms period. It argues that this is only one aspect of the broader pattern
reasing economic inequality in this period. The essay ends by enquiring into the implications
se developments in the light of social conflicts in contemporary India.

THE NOTION OF ‘ABSOLUTE POVERTY’ AND MAKING OF THE ‘POVERTY LINE’

onomic poverty is generally understood as the lack of means for providing material needs or
mforts. Since income or wealth (representing purchasing power) is often seen as the most com
ans of obtaining such needs, ‘poverty’ is generally associated with a lack of income or wealth
hen income or wealth in a society is unequally distributed, some people have more means at th
mmand than others. The lowest segment of the population having lesser means is considered p
comparison to the upper segments. This is poverty in a relative sense.
Among the relatively poor are those whose extreme lack of means result in deprivations that n
ly severely affect their well-being, but threatens their very survival. In this case, poverty is
aracterized by deprivation of the most basic of needs like adequate food, shelter, clothing, acc
health care. Anyone suffering from such extreme deprivations is considered poor in the absolu
nse. Absolute poverty also reflects what is socially considered a minimum level of resources t
ould be the right of every member. This threshold of minimum, socially acceptable living cond
often quantified as a minimum income level or poverty line and the absolute poor are consider
those who live Below the Poverty Line (BPL). One of the most widely used measures of pove
s been the headcount ratio, which is nothing but the proportion of population living on a per ca
ome lower than the given poverty line.
The nature of absolute poverty makes it socially, morally and politically difficult to accept or
erlook. The reduction of absolute poverty has been a major concern world over. The high prio
ached to the task is understandable given the urgency of survival and abject suffering associate
th starvation, malnutrition and vulnerability to diseases. In 2000, the United Nations adopted t

llennium development goals (MDGs) as a roadmap for building a better world in the 21st cent
e firsthttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
of the eight goals set by the governments of the world is the eradication of extreme pove
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 1
d hunger. In terms of poverty,
8/18/2019 the target
Contemporary is to reduce
India Economy, by half,
Society, Politics - Neera between 1990 Priyadarshi
Chandhoke, Praveen and 2015, the
oportion of population living below the poverty line given by the per capita income of US $1 p
y, which is one of the poverty lines used internationally.2

Officially Speaking, Who Is Poor?

e Indian government uses an official poverty line in terms of per capita income but calibrated
fice for the cost of a minimum consumption basket. In 1979, the Planning Commission of India
opted a poverty line that has become common reference for poverty in India. The concept of
verty line in India is primarily based on a minimum-calorie norm or the amount of food deeme
cessary for the healthy and active functioning of a human being. Using the help of nutrition exp
s calorie norm has been fixed as per capita daily calorie requirement of 2,400 kcal in rural are
d 2,100 kcal in urban areas.3 The poverty line is quantified as the cost of an average consumpt
sket that satisfies the above calorie requirement. In other words, the per capita income that is
cessary to buy the rudimentary food basket satisfying the minimum calorie norm is the poverty
4
viding the poor from the non-poor in India.
The concepts of ‘poverty line’ and ‘headcount ratio’ have been central to State planning towar
verty eradication in India. At the same time, both these concepts have generated considerable
ntroversy. For instance, it has been argued that the definition of a realistic poverty line must al
lude the cost of provision of other basic needs apart from food. 5 Although food is one of the m
ndamental human needs and is critical for survival, it is not the only component of well-being.
ell-being is also dependent on many other basic material needs as significant as food such as
elter and sanitation, drinking water, medicine and health care.

The Puzzle of the ‘Head Count’

e estimation of the ‘headcount ratio’ has been another major contentious issue. Varying
thodologies and assumptions have led to varying estimates adding to the confusion. It is enoug
y that there exist two official estimates of ‘headcount poverty ratio’ in India. The official figure
verty in 1999–2000 indicated that 26 per cent of the population lived below the poverty line. I
s hailed as a rapid decline from the official estimate of 36 per cent in 1993–94. The strict

mparability of the two figures was questioned on methodological grounds by experts and many
und the 1999–2000 official figures grossly underestimating the numbers of the poor. 6 The
eliminary official estimates for 2004–05 show almost 28 per cent of the population living belo
poverty line.7 According to the Planning Commission, this data is fully comparable to the 199
estimates but not to the 1999–2000 estimates. It simply means that the higher headcount ratio g
the current estimate in comparison to 1999–2000 estimates should not be misconstrued as an
rease in poverty during this period (see Table 4.1 for official estimates of poverty in India).

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 8/18/2019
Table 4.1 Official Estimates of Poverty in India*
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

oportion of population living below the poverty line in India (%)

rce: Government of India, Economic Survey (various years). The estimates are based on per capita expenditure distribution d
ected by National Sample Surveys and the Planning Commission on the all-India poverty line.

The varying headcount estimates have been used for contradictory claims on the purported rate
cline of poverty in India in the 1990s. 8 The debate has mostly centred on the issue of the corre
imation of poverty in India with reference to the ‘poverty line’. It is not clear whether the decl
s been faster or slower in the 1990s in comparison to the earlier decade because of the
omparability of estimates. But there is evidence to suggest that as far as the ‘headcount ratio’
ncerned, poverty level in India has been consistently declining. If one takes the comparable of
imates of headcount ratio between 1993–94 and 2004–05, the figures show a decline from 36
nt to nearly 28 per cent. India may yet achieve the target set by millennium development goals
DGs), though the current estimates are not as reassuring as the 1999–2000 estimates were. Bu
hile acknowledging the fact that meeting the MDG target would be a significant achievement, o
ust also keep in mind the narrow definition of poverty that the ‘headcount ratio’ uses.
So what does it mean when the Planning Commission of India states that the headcount-poverty
io was almost 28 per cent in 2004–05? It means that almost 28 per cent of the Indian populatio
s found to subsist below the per capita income specified by the poverty line or the minimum-
orie norm; it does not say how low the income was of those below the poverty line or how ac
ir hunger was. The figure also means that according to the Government of India, every fourth I
ed in absolute poverty in 2004–05; but since this absolute poverty is pegged to a bare subsiste
el defined by the ‘poverty line’, it does not say how many of those who stayed above the line
naged to escape destitution.9

Poverty Beyond the ‘Poverty Line’

e ‘poverty line’ is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India
t only because of its extremely narrow definition of ‘who is poor’ and the debatable methodolo
ed to count the poor but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. As stated
lier, it exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or purchasing power.
n better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations
ecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Income is no doubt a vi
ans to the attainment of individual well-being, but it is not adequate to ensure against many oth
nds ofhttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
deprivation. For example, illness due to communicable diseases can seriously affect the
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 ll-being of a person in various
8/18/2019 waysIndia
Contemporary ranging
Economy, from
Society,depriving
Politics - Neera her of a healthy
Chandhoke, life to curtailing h
Praveen Priyadarshi

ome-earning abilities. It is a well-known fact that outbreak of many of the communicable dise
n be effectively prevented by the provision of safe drinking water, public sanitation and health
vices. Ensuring against communicable diseases and the resultant deprivations to well-being th
pends on many factors like access to safe drinking water, public sanitation and health services
cial-insurance systems apart from private income. A strictly income-based approach to povert
en fails to reflect pervasive deprivations relating to many of the basic needs when the satisfact

the need is also dependent on social provision of goods and services and not just private incom
d the market.10
It is also limiting to think of poverty essentially in tenus of material deprivations relating to ba
eds. One must also take into consideration sociological deprivations rooted in underlying struc
quities and inherent disadvantages. Even when resources are available, people may not be ab
e full advantage of them because of pre-existing disadvantages ranging from social constraints
te and gender to personal impediments like old age and physical disabilities. Income-based
proach to poverty is again found severely wanting in taking into account these other kinds of
privations.

Poverty as Capability Deprivation and Lack of Social Opportunity

broader understanding of poverty needs to look beyond the income approach. One of the most
luential concepts in this regard has been the notion of human capability. Jean Drèze and Amar
n write:
overty of a life, in this view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of
pportunity—given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances—to choose other types of living. Even the relevance
ow incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relates ultimately to their
n curtailing capabilities (that is, their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead valuable and valued lives). 11

The freedom of opportunity available to people is influenced by their personal circumstances

ll as social situations. The personal circumstances that significantly matter are not just access
eans’ like income or wealth but also the access to basic needs and amenities, like food, clothin
elter, education and health services, safe drinking water and sanitation to list a few. Along with
se material means of well-being, it is the actual states of well-being or ‘outcomes’ achieved b
rson, like nutritional status, educational and health achievements that also impact upon the real
portunities available.
Personal circumstances are found to be embedded in social situations. Social, political and
onomic relations and inequalities determine how resources are distributed and what choices ar
ailable to different sections of the society. Some of the most visible examples of these are base
te, class and gender disparities that constrain the real opportunities available to people.
Deprivations in the form of access to basic needs, actual states of well-being and social
qualities have a great role to play in the creation of economic poverty. On the other hand,

onomic poverty often reinforces these deprivations. And the circle is difficult to break—a
dimensional approach to poverty as essentially income poverty overlooks the other dimension
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privation that make inequality
8/18/2019 of opportunity
Contemporary India Economy, persist and- poverty
Society, Politics replicate
Neera Chandhoke, Praveenitself.
Priyadarshi

The major dimensions of poverty that persist in India relate to deprivations in nutritional,
ucational and health achievements, access to basic needs and amenities, quality of physical
vironment and various social inequalities like caste and gender disparities. In this context, som
other targets given in the millennium development goals (MDGs), besides reduction in head-c
io, give a sense of the challenge facing contemporary India in terms of poverty (see Table 4.2)

Table 4.2 India’s Progress Towards Some Selected MDG Targets

rces: Government of India, Economic Survey, New Delhi (various years); Registrar General of India, Sample Registration S
letin , New Delhi (various years); UNDP, Human Development Reports , New Delhi (various years); Indian Institute of Popul

ences, NFHS-I, (1995) and NFHS-II (2000).

India’s progress has been much slower than needed to meet the targets in the reduction of incid
mortality and morbidity among women and children, reduction of hunger and improvement in
tritional status, reduction of gender and caste-related disparities and improvement in general li
nditions in terms of better access to basic amenities. India may not achieve many of these targe
te of the likelihood of it becoming an economic superpower by 2015.
This must be qualified by the fact that social progress in India in terms of human development

characterized by wide inter-regional and intra-regional divergence. It means that in the absenc
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ective measures directed at bridging the gaps, the regions doing better in terms of human
velopment
8/18/2019will be better placed to seize
Contemporary the benefits
India Economy, of growth.
Society, Politics The result
- Neera Chandhoke, can
Praveen be one of growi
Priyadarshi

onomic inequality in India. Such a scenario cannot be considered conducive either to the proce
pid economic growth or the prospect of India becoming an economic superpower, if the growin
qualities lead to increasing regional and social conflicts within India.
A detailed discussion of the social indicators that reflect contemporary India’s progress towar
ering equal opportunity to its citizens is beyond the scope of this essay. This essay focuses on
w significant issues relating to poverty in India in light of the discussion so far.

Poverty, Hunger and Food Insecurity

nger and malnutrition are outcomes of food insecurity or the inability to access adequate food
rition. Hunger-related poverty remains one of the major deprivations in India. In 2001–03, ev
h Indian (20 per cent) was found to be undernourished. 12 The rate of decline in the proportion
undernourished through the 1990s was much slower in comparison to the decline in poverty-
adcount ratio. In fact, the proportion of undernourished people remained stagnant at 21 per cen

ssecond half of
most likely theIndia
that 1990s and the
is going to number
miss theofmillennium
the undernourished actually
development goal increased (see Table
in this regard.
Even a greater cause of concern is the status of malnutrition among children. Malnutrition dire
ects the development of the child by retarding their physical and cognitive growth and increas
k of infection and disease. Malnutrition also affects cognitive and motor development in child
reby influencing educational attainment, labour productivity and future income-earning ability
k of income means vulnerability to food insecurity and malnutrition, then the latter also reduce
etime-earning potential.

The deprivations relating to hunger and malnutrition, morbidity, mortality and the physical
vironment often reinforce each other and the general condition of economic poverty. To give a
ample, an illness like diarrhoea is one of the major causes of infant deaths in India, along with
laria, pneumonia and measles contributing to the high infant-mortality rates. Diarrhoea also le
loss of absorption of nutrients, causing severe malnutrition among children. On the other hand,
lnutrition has been estimated to be associated with about half of all child deaths and more than
child deaths from diarrhoea (61 per cent). 13 Access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
ilities greatly reduces the incidence of diseases like diarrhoea. India’s achievements in terms
oportion of population having access to either of these basic facilities is woefully low.
There is a gender dimension to hunger and malnutrition in India. Half of the country’s women s
m anaemia and the prevalence of anaemia is even higher among the pregnant women. Anaemia
e of the major causes of maternal mortality and also contributes to nearly 30 per cent of babies
ng bom underweight.14 The low birth weight means that there is greater risk of growth retarda
ost of which occurs by the age of two and is often irreversible. In 1998–99, about 37 million
ldren, almost one half of children below the age of three, were chronically undernourished (se
ble 4.4). Approximately, 18 per cent of the children were severely underweight. Overall, two
children were moderately or severely malnourished.15
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A greater prevalence of undernourishment
8/18/2019 canSociety,
Contemporary India Economy, be seen among
Politics the children
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveenfrom scheduled-cas
Priyadarshi

d scheduled-tribe communities. The rate of decline of undernourishment among these sections

pulation was also found to be lower in comparison to the general population in the 1990s. It le
the widening gap in terms of nutritional status among these communities and the general popula
similar observation could be made about the divergence between rural and urban areas, in the
90s, in terms of nutritional status. The overall picture that emerges is one of growing urban-ru
er-caste, male-female and economic class disparities in nutritional status in the 1990s.
It is the dark irony of our times that hunger and malnutrition are so pervasive in the country, w
Indian economy has achieved self-sufficiency in foodgrain production. The Indian governmen
intains buffer foodgrain stocks to guard against serious food shortages arising from drought an
her crop failures. But in 2001, starvation deaths were reported from various parts of the countr
re than 13 states were affected by drought. This happened at a time when the Food Corporatio
dia was finding it difficult to manage the millions of tonnes of surplus foodgrain rotting in its
rehouses. Similar cases have been reported in the following years and have led to the ‘Right t
od’ campaign. Chronic hunger and malnutrition are not as visible and shocking as starvation d
t they happen to be more widespread and persistent.

Table 4.3 Status of Undernourishment in India Through the 1990s

rce: UNFAO, The State of Food Security in the World: Eradicating World Hunger—Taking Stock Ten Years After Wo
d Summit, Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations, 2006.

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 8/18/2019
Table 4.4 Undemutrition Among Children Under 3 Years of Age
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

rce: Based on National Family and Health Survey I and II.

Poverty and Unemployment

employment is not only a major cause of income poverty but also a deprivation of the opportun
earn a livelihood. Poverty and unemployment are often mentioned together. In India, the linkag
le more complex as the unemployment rate has remained much lower than what would normal
pected, given the extent of income poverty. According to official estimates, for example, 36 pe
nt of the population was poor in 1993–94, while the rate of unemployment was only 5.9 per ce
d the number of unemployed persons was 20.13 million. 16 The large gap between die incidenc

verty and the in

employment’ incidence of literature:
economic unemployment point
people to a phenomenon
employed thatlow-productivity
in extremely is known as ‘disguised
and low-
ome activities.

Table 4.5 Unemployment Rates in Rural and Urban India

rce: NSSO and Population Census of India. Based on National Sample Survey daily-status unemployment data, where the
mployment rate is defined as the number of days seeking (or being available for) work in the reference week as percentage of
mber of days in the labour force in that period.

The rate of unemployment in India is seen to fluctuate over the years, but the variation has been
er a narrow margin. Overall, the unemployment rate does not show any consistent trend65/369
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(see T
 ). After a decline from 8.3
8/18/2019 per centIndia
Contemporary in Economy,
1983 toSociety,
5.99Politics
per cent
- Neera in 1993–94,
Chandhoke, thePriyadarshi
Praveen unemployment ra
s risen to 7.32 per cent in 1999–2000. Given the increase in the population and the addition to
our force, this has meant that the absolute number of unemployed has increased considerably o
1990s.
Looking at the figures given in Table 4.5, one could see that the bulk of the increase in the rate
employment comes from the rural sector. It must be remembered here that the majority of the
pulation of India (more than 70 per cent) lived in the rural areas and more than 75 per cent of t

al rural workforce was dependent on agriculture in 1999–2000.

One of the factors contributing to the rising rural unemployment in the 1990s could be found in
nsiderable decline in the agricultural growth during the same period. From a high of over 3 per
the 1980s, agricultural growth has declined to mere 1.5 per cent in the second half of the 1990
present decade.17 The impact of an overall slow down of the agricultural sector would be
gically more severe on the rural poor. The rural poor are primarily landless wage labourers, c
rkers and marginal farmers. The casual agricultural wage labourers who constitute 35–40 per
rural workers also form the bulk of those below the poverty line. They are more vulnerable to
employment and underemployment depending on the changing demand in the agricultural secto
d, many of those who find employment are, as mentioned earlier, occupied in extremely low-
ome, low-productivity activities. In this context, it is relevant to note that the real agricultural
ge has grown at a much slower rate in the 1990s in comparison to the earlier decade.
The depth and spread of poverty in rural India is more extensive than the official statistics sug
d the spate of suicides by farmers from different parts of India is indicative of the endemic and
uctural nature of the problem. These have to do with the persistence of deep socio-economic
qualities relating to caste and class, ownership of land and assets, access to education, health
dit and social insurance. The Eleventh Five-Year Plan aims at an ambitious 4 per cent annual
owth in agricultural production, which is more than double the current rate. It is possible that
ricultural growth may pick up again with another Green Revolution or the non-farm sector in ru
as may really take off. But it is also a fact borne out by the earlier Green Revolution that grow
es not benefit all regions and classes equally.18 The ability to benefit from the opportunities
esented by growth will depend on how the population is positioned in terms of many other bas
pabilities.
A good illustration of the above point would be the extent and quality of participation of wom
labour force, which is far less in comparison to that of males. Women account for less than o
rd of the total labour force. Part of this has been explained by the socio-cultural preferences
ating to maternal and household responsibilities but much of it is still a matter of unequal
portunity. If one looks at the sectorial distribution of female workers, one finds it largely
ncentrated in the agricultural sector in the form of casual wage labourers. The disadvantage of
men in terms of quality of employment could be largely ascribed to the inequality they face in
ucational attainment. In Table 4.2, the twin MDG targets of ratio of girls to boys in primary an
condary education reflect the persistence of gender inequality in basic education in India.
The same argument also explains the trend of labour participation of people from the SC
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66/369
mmunities
8/18/2019in the rural workforce. Though
Contemporary the SC
India Economy, and
Society, ST- population
Politics together
Neera Chandhoke, constitute only ar
Praveen Priyadarshi

5 per cent of the total population, they accounted for nearly 43 per cent of the total poor
useholds in rural India in 1993–94. They also constituted the majority of households involved
ual wage labour in agriculture.

Table 4.6 Livelihood Characteristics of the Rural Poor in 1993–94

rce: Government of India, Indian Planning Experience , New Delhi: Planning Commission of India, 2002. All figures in
centages.

Again, the great disparity in the nutritional, educational and social status of the SC and ST
mmunities could be found to contribute to their income poverty. Social inequalities curtail the

portunities available to people, and it is the kind of ‘poverty’ that economic growth on its own
take care of in the absence of affirmative political and social action.

State Planning and the Fight Against Poverty

ter Independence, the Government of India chose the path of economic planning, and since 195
ies of five-year plans have guided the country’s economic development. Poverty alleviation h
mained one of the major objectives of the succeeding plans in India.
Over the years, the orientation of the state policy to end poverty has undergone shifts and chan
hich can be broadly categorized into three phases. The first three five-year plan documents,
anning the period from 1951 to 1966, show that the approach was largely ‘growth centred’.
stained high rate of economic growth was seen as the most effective means of alleviating pove
e pursuit of the growth objective was carried out through a state-led industrialization process
here the state owned and controlled key sectors of the economy. The policy thrust on
dustrialization was not complemented by adequate attention to the agricultural sector. Agricultu
oductivity stagnated, and the 1960s saw continuous food shortages.
By the mid-1960s, the achieved rate of growth for the economy as a whole was sluggish and fa
m the ‘planned’ levels. A rapidly growing population and the persistence of socio-economic
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 qualities in the absence ofContemporary
8/18/2019 adequateIndia
institutional reforms
Economy, Society, meant
Politics - Neera that the
Chandhoke, ‘growth
Praveen centred’ polic
Priyadarshi

s hardly effective in making a significant difference to poverty in India.19 As a result, the bulk
population remained in abject poverty.
The food crisis of the 1960s brought into focus the need for the development and modernizatio
agricultural sector. Self-sufficiency in foodgrain production became a central objective of the
e-year plans. This ultimately led to the introduction of high-yielding seeds, widening of the
igation network, improvements in the supply of fertilizer to accelerate the growth in the agricu

ctor, and became known as the Green Revolution.

The 1970s saw a reappraisal of the ‘growth centred’ approach to poverty alleviation. The view
t economic growth, though essential, cannot by itself address the needs of the poor, led to the
mulation of more direct and targeted interventions by the State. This new approach to poverty
eviation found its populist expression in the ‘ Garibi Hatao’ slogan of Mrs Indira Gandhi and
the launching of a series of programmes aimed as a direct attack on poverty.
The Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974–79) explicitly focused on the provision of basic minimum nee
luding access to such necessities as food, shelter, schooling, health services, safe drinking wa
d sanitation facilities and employment opportunities. The 1980s saw a host of other measures l
Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), rural employment schemes, subsidized pu
tribution of food and other essential commodities aiming to improve the living standards of th
orer population. Interventions directly targeting the poor created the necessity for the planners
d out, ‘who is poor?’ and ‘how many are poor?’ This led to the adoption of the ‘poverty line’
Planning Commission of India in the 1970s.
The period 1967–87 showed a declining trend in poverty headcount, with the rural areas show
arper decline in comparison to the urban areas. It has been argued that the success of the Green
volution to raise agricultural productivity not only eased the food crisis but also had some imp
rural poverty in the 1970s and 1980s. 20 The direct interventions introduced during these years
ntributed to the decline in poverty levels. But the rate of decline of income poverty in India wa
nsiderably slower and definitely less than expected levels when compared to many of its Asia
ghbours.
The third shift in the orientation of planning in India happened in the 1990s following the struc
orms, with rapid economic growth again assuming central significance and supplemented by th
ntinuation of the targeted interventions for poverty alleviation.
The anti-poverty programmes of India could be broadly categorized into two groups dependin
ir nature of intervention: employment generation through public works and provision of subsid
od. Sometimes, the categories can overlap as in the case of food-for-work programmes where
the major components of wage paid was in the form of foodgrain. The dominant thinking behin
se interventions shows the significance attached to the notion of poverty as given by the offici
verty line: insufficiency of per capita income and the failure to meet the minimum calorie
nsumption norm. One can question whether this definition of absolute poverty in India is not fix
o low and, thereby, excludes a large section of the population suffering from extreme deprivati
d struggling for survival. There are reasons to believe that it is so when we broaden the 68/369
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verty8/18/2019
to include other kinds of deprivations
Contemporary apart
India Economy, from
Society, Politicsincome. The exclusive
- Neera Chandhoke, reliance on the
Praveen Priyadarshi

icial poverty line for the identification of eligible beneficiaries limits the scope of anti-povert
ogrammes. The conceptual limitation underlying the anti-poverty programmes has also meant t
fight against poverty has been essentially fragmentary in focus. They have been more about fir
hting than laying the foundations for social change; more about ensuring bare survival than bui
pabilities and creating equal opportunities.
The sector that accounts for the majority of the poor in India has been the predominantly agrari

al sector. The real neglect of this sector by the State has meant that the efforts of poverty
dication have mostly remained cosmetic measures given to political expediency seen in sloga
e Garibi Hatao.
The operational problems relating to state anti-poverty programmes can be discussed in the co
the Public Distribution System (PDS) for food and employment guarantee scheme.

Public Distribution System

blic distribution system is a programme managed by the government with the objective of ensu
cess to food for all. The PDS does not provide the entire requirement of foodgrains to a househ
t is only supplemental. The system operates through a three-stage process. In the first stage, the
od Corporation of India procures foodgrains from farmers at a minimum support price. The
ocurement exercise is carried out with the purpose of providing farmers with a minimum suppo
ce and protecting them against unexpected price fluctuations in the market. The procured
odgrains are also used for the maintenance of buffer stocks in times of need and to stabilize the
en-market prices. In the second stage, the procured foodgrains are allotted to the various states

cording to the number of poor in these states and the level of production of foodgrains in the st
is is used as a balance of availability of food between surplus and deficit states. In the third st
foodgrains are distributed at subsidized prices to the population in the various states through
ain of fair-price shops under PDS. The foodgrains are also used for distribution through other
blic programmes like food-for-work and midday-meal scheme for children in schools.
Though PDS started as a universal food distribution programme, it faced the problems of exten
kages and the inability to reach the really vulnerable groups. In 1997, the scheme was restruct
supply the foodgrains at differential prices to households Below the Poverty Line (BPL) and th

ove the Poverty Line (APL). This has been known as the Targeted Public Distribution System
PDS). But the failure of the system was grossly highlighted when, as mentioned earlier, starva
aths were reported in 2001, at a time when the FCI warehouses were overflowing with surplu
odgrains.
The system is found to be so corrupt and inefficient that some studies have estimated that out o
ery rupee spent, only 20 paise reaches the poor.21 And according to the Planning Commission’
ogramme evaluation division, in 2003–04, more than 50 per cent of the foodgrains meant for th
or did not reach them.22 While in many states, the surveys to identify below-the-poverty-line
pulation were not even carried out, in other states, several families did not receive the
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 ntification
8/18/2019 cards even after the surveys.
Contemporary And the
India Economy, surveys,
Society, being
Politics - Neera essentially
Chandhoke, bureaucratic exerc
Praveen Priyadarshi

ve meant massive manipulation and harassment. In several cases, the administration refuses to
ds to urban destitutes including urban homeless, migrant labourers and destitute women due to
proof of address. This problem is compounded by the poor quality and inadequate supply of
odgrains.
The failures of the PDS are symptomatic of what ails the government anti-poverty programmes
ost. The major drawbacks have been centralized planning and lack of local-level participation

ding to mismatched priorities, and bureaucratic control characterized by lack of transparency

countability.23

Employment Guarantee Schemes

blic employment generation schemes have been in existence in India for long. In the 1970s, foo
-work programmes were created to provide both income and food security. Since then, a numb
wage-employment programmes have been introduced like the National Rural Employment
ogramme (NREP) and the Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), both
rged in 1989 into a single component—the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY). In many of these
ogrammes, foodgrains have been used as a component of wage. But in spite of these interventio
despread hunger and undernourishment has persisted in India.
In response to the public campaign for Right to Work, in November 2004, the government laun
ational Food for Work programme in 150 most backward districts, for providing guaranteed
ployment for 100 days to BPL families. Simultaneously, a bill was drafted and in December 2
government introduced the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) bill in Parliament

is obligates the government to provide at least 100 days of wage employment every year to ev
usehold whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The bill was passed by
rliament and the NREG scheme was launched in 200 districts of the country in February 2006.
ms of a programme, it is significant in the sense that it can, provided the problems of
plementation are overcome, supplement the income of the poor, like the casual labourers in ru
as. But this is again primarily an attempt to keep the absolutely poor from losing the battle for
vival. And, while acknowledging the importance of the Right to Work, one must raise the larg
estion of the Right to Livelihood.

Economic Growth, Inequality of Opportunity and Regional Disparity

w does economic growth impact poverty? The relationship is not a straight-forward one. To b
th, it depends on the notion of poverty used. High economic growth sustained over a long perio
me eventually leads to increase in the levels of per capita income. And, if poverty is defined as
k of income, then economic growth does lead to a general decline in absolute poverty defined
‘poverty line’ or minimum per capita income. This logic is sometimes called ‘the trickle-dow
ect’: the benefits of growth eventually trickling down to the poor. The rate of decline of pover
o depends on how low the level of per capita income fixed by the poverty line is; the lower
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 el, the higher the rate of decline.
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

But the above logic does not extend to relative-income poverty, which relates to the inequality
tribution of income. The impact of growth upon income inequality depends on the nature of gr
d how different sections of the population stand to benefit from it. For example, in contempora
dia, the high economic growth is largely driven by industry and services while the agricultural
ctor has shown considerable deceleration in the 1990s. 24 It means that the growth has been mo
ban centric as the majority of the rural population is still dependent on agriculture. Further, bet

cess to quality education gives an advantage to the urban population over the rural population
ms of capability to actualize the opportunities offered in the industrial and services sectors.
idence suggests that rural-urban disparities in per capita expenditure have significantly increa
the 1990s.25
The pattern of growth in the 1990s is also marked by major regional imbalances. The better-
rforming states in terms of growth are from the western and southern parts of the country with
ception of Andhra Pradesh.26 These states showed high growth rates in per capita income throu
1990s, and with the exception of Rajasthan, they all had per capita incomes above the nationa
erage at the beginning of the period. On the other hand, the low-growth states forming a contigu
gion in the north and east experienced marked deterioration in terms of growth of per capita in
the 1990s.27 This is especially true of states like Assam, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar
adesh, where growth has been virtually stagnant in the 1990s. All the states forming this group
cept West Bengal have had per capita income levels lower than the national average since the
80s. The states that were relatively richer have done better in comparison to the poorer states.
so, the headcount-poverty ratio in the poorer states has declined at a much slower rate, and by
d of the 1990s, these states accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the below-the-poverty-line
pulation in India. The regional disparities in terms of income have intensified in India in the 1
One of the dominant perceptions of the process of economic development has been the
neralization that economic progress, measured by per capita income, is initially accompanied b
ing inequality, but these disparities eventually decline as the benefits of development permeate
ore widely.28 Again, as in the case of the ‘trickle down effect’, there is an implicit assumption:
litical and social structures in existence do not hinder the benefits of growth to reach all sectio
population. This is rarely the case, as inherent inequities in political and social structures ten
plicate with growing economic inequality, generating its own stratifications and hierarchies. T
no innate tendency for economic inequality to disappear in the long run without the mediation o
irmative political and social action for equal opportunity.

Exclusion and Social Conflict

e logic of the State intervention in poverty alleviation has been based on the twin premise of
lure of the market and comparative advantages of the public agency to bring disadvantaged,
rginal, bypassed social groups and regions into the mainstream process of development. The
licy emphasis on market forces and economic growth does not forsake the welfarist role71/369
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of the
ate as8/18/2019
the provider of social goods but
Contemporary India raises
Economy,questions regarding
Society, Politics its political
- Neera Chandhoke, commitment to s
Praveen Priyadarshi

tice. Some of the ambiguities and uncertainties inherent in this situation could be seen in the lig
agitations and conflicts arising out of State action.
The changes in public policy in India in the 1990s have seen the gradual withdrawal of the Sta
m its entrepreneurial role as the prime agent of economic growth. As the Planning Commissio
ts it, ‘the current thinking on planning in the country, in general, is that it should increasingly b
indicative nature’. In other words, the preferred policy of the State is ‘increasingly’ one of lea

erference with the market forces in pursuit of rapid, economic growth. Gone are the days when
blic sector was the biggest investor. Now, the role of the State is to promote private investmen
suring that the freedom of the market forces is not interfered with. This trend could be seen in t
st-1990s with the regional states competing with each other to attract both domestic and foreig
ect investment. Some of the States have been offering various tax concessions and other speci
ilities to new investors on a competitive basis. The terms and conditions of the Memorandum
derstandings (MoUs) signed between the private concerns and the State have come under the
anner for allegedly giving undue advantages to the former at the cost of public interest and
ources. The opening up of the mining sector in Orissa in the second half of the 1990s could be
rticularly good case study. Many of these industrialization projects also require the acquisition
d and have raised the issue of displacement of population. The problem of displaced populati
esult of large-scale industrialization is not new. The social cost of displacement during the ea
ase of State-led industrialization found its justification in the political rhetoric of the ‘nation-
lding’ exercise. Now that private corporations are at the helm, the State’s active endorsement
placement is seen as open partisan support of the former. The violent conflicts that have resul
process of what is seen as State-sponsored displacement for the benefit of private capital cou
indicative of the frustration and anger at the growing economic inequality and social polarizat
The persistence of chronic poverty and deprivation in the face of economic growth poses one
st difficult challenges for Indian democracy: to provide equality of opportunity for all. The
ponse of contemporary India will determine whether we will have a less-divided and less-
nflicting future.

SUGGESTED READINGS
ze, Jean and Amartya Sen. Hunger and Public Action . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1993 [1989].
ze, Jean and Amartya Sen. India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1
ze, Jean and Amartya Sen (eds). Indian Development: Selective Regional Perspectives . New Delhi: Oxford University Pre
996.
, Amartya. Development as Freedo m. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000.

QUESTIONS

1. Write an essay on the politics of poverty alleviation in India.

2. Analyse the debate on the definition of poverty and poverty line. Do you think tackling ‘absolute poverty’ is sufficient for
elimination of poverty-related problems?
3. Analyse the relationship between poverty, unemployment and food insecurity.
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4. Why do certain regions perform better economically while others do not? Explain the problem of regional imbalance72/369
in India
5. What is the relationship between economic growth and poverty? Elaborate.
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 8/18/2019 5
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Human Development: Health and Education

Neera Chandhoke

INTRODUCTION

hat is the relationship between democracy and the well-being of citizens? There are two sorts
swers that we can offer in response to this question. First, people are not themselves responsib
poverty, illiteracy, or ill health that afflicts them. The causes of ill-being lie outside the contr
victims. For example, due to the distorted pattern of resource distribution, some people have
d, some have no land, and some have command over their incomes such as wages or rents, wh
hers have nothing except their labour power. If the social distribution of resources is responsib
the ill-being of citizens, then society, or more precisely, the democratic State, which is the
litical organization of that society, has the responsibility to prevent this through the enactment
cial policies. To put it strongly, a democratic state has reason to exist because it is charged wi
curing the well-being of the citizens. After all, citizens elect representatives on the assumption
representative will take care of the needs and interests of his or her constituent. This is the ba
nimum that a democratic state can do for its citizens. This is the minimum we expect of a
mocracy.
Citizens should not suffer from ill-being such as illiteracy, ill health, homelessness or poverty,
other reason. Democracy is based on two main principles. The first principle is the participati
izens in the political process. Citizens participate in the political process not only by voting in
ctions, but also by taking part in public debates, e.g., contributing to readers’ columns in
wspapers, taking part in demonstrations, campaigns, and social movements, or simply by being
ormed and aware of the crucial issues that confront the polity, so that they can vote for the bes
rson when the next election comes around. The second principle of democracy is that of State
countability to the citizens. Both these principles can only be realized when the citizens are
ormed and aware of the basic issues that confront society.
But citizens can only be informed and aware when they are provided with education, healthcar
elter and when they have an income; in short, when they do not suffer from any serious harm. A
izen who has been deprived of education, or suffers from malnourishment, will neither be able
rticipate in the political process, nor be able to hold State officials accountable. This is not to
t non-literate persons cannot be democratic. The issue is deeper; that the realization of full
mocracy demands an educated, informed, and politically aware citizenry, and that ill-health an
n-literacy can impede the democratic process. In other words, basic needs for education and h

ve to http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
be met before people can do anything else. Unless these needs are met, human beings wil
able to do anything else—take up a satisfying job, form enriching friendships, engage in74/369 leisur
 1
ivities or, indeed, participate
8/18/2019 in anIndia
Contemporary activity that
Economy, the Politics
Society, Greeks called
- Neera politics.
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Basic needs can be met in two ways. For that section of the population that can afford to buy
vices such as education and health, the provisioning of basic needs can be routed through the
rket. But the market is indifferent to the needs of those who cannot buy goods offered in the ma
r the poorer sections of the people, therefore, democratic governments are obliged to provide
sic needs irrespective of the ability of the poor to pay for these goods. To phrase it starkly, the
ods that satisfy basic needs—education and health—are of such overriding importance that th
ve to be placed outside the realm of market transactions for those who cannot pay for them, thr
enactment of a social policy. Social policy subsidizes food, housing, education and health, so
poor can afford these goods.
There are, therefore, two main reasons why a democratic State should secure the well-being f
izens through the fulfilment of basic needs. First, it is not the victim of ill-being who is respon
her or his State, but society which, through the unjust distribution of resources, renders some
ople harm. A democratic State, which is responsible for its citizens, has to remedy this harm
ough the provision of goods to meet basic needs on non-market principles. Second, the realiza
democracy demands an informed, educated, politically aware, and healthy citizenry so that cit
n participate in the making of political decisions, and can ensure accountability of the State
icials. If people are poor, without shelter, sick, or non-literate, the concept of democracy is le
realized.
However, the relationship between democracy and well-being is not a causal or a straightforw
e; political democracy need not always lead to social and economic democracy. On the other h
litical democracy can coexist quite happily with extreme poverty, illiteracy and ill health. Con
case of India. The country has held regular, and free and fair elections, 2 institutionalized a
mpetitive party system, established a functioning rule of law, granted legal sanction to politica
il rights, and established a free press, all of which have led to a vibrant and active civil socie
dia, without any reservation, can be called a political democracy. A majority of the people,
wever, continue to suffer from harm, with the most vulnerable among them— the poor among t
heduled Castes and Tribes, hill people, forest dwellers, tribals, and women, particularly the g
ld—at tremendous risk in matters of both lives and livelihoods.
It is true that we have seen an improvement in the basic parameters of human development.
cording to the approach paper to the Eleventh Five- Year Plan, the literacy rate for the popula
ove the age of seven is 75.3 per cent for males, and 53.7 per cent for women. In 1990, the
rresponding figures were 64.1 per cent for males and 39.3 per cent for females. The infant-
ortality rate per thousand live births is 60 according to 2003 figures, compared with 80 around
90.3 Yet, this progress is unevenly spread across the population—across income groups, caste
igious minorities, and gender and regions. This has led to large disparities in health, nutrition,
ucation, and skills. Kerala, for instance, has a literacy rate of 92 per cent, which is comparabl
t of Vietnam; but Bihar continues to have a literacy rate of only 47.5 per cent. Also striking are

ban-rural
eracy rate disparities,
for rural areas whereasis onlythe59.40
literacy
per rate
cent.in‘The
urban areas
most is 80.30challenge’,
important per cent, the
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correspond
states the
75/369
proach paper, ‘is how to provide
8/18/2019 essential
Contemporary public
India Economy, services
Society, such
Politics - Neera as education
Chandhoke, and health to larg
Praveen Priyadarshi

rts of our population who are denied these services at present. Education is the critical factor
ll empower the poor to participate in the growth process’. 4
The coexistence of political and civil freedom alongside social and economic unfreedom is ca
some regret. For the leaders of the freedom movement, the task of attaining political freedom
be accompanied by social and economic freedom, and vice versa. The leadership had, for that
son, conceptualized an integrated agenda of political, civil, social, cultural, and economic righ
1928 Nehru Constitutional Draft5 and in the Karachi Resolution on Fundamental Rights adopt
the Indian National Congress in 1931. This integrated agenda was, however, split into its two
nstituent units in the Constituent Assembly. Whereas political, civil, and cultural rights in Chap
ree of the Constitution are backed by legal sanction; social and economic rights, which are pla
Chapter Four of the Constitution under the title of Directive Principles of State Policy, are not
cked by such sanction. The opening clause of the report of the sub-committee on fundamental r
arly stated that ‘[w]hile these principles shall not be cognizable by any court, they are neverth
ndamental in the governance of the country and their application in the making of laws shall be
ty of the State’.6 Dr Ambedkar, the president of the Constituent Assembly, assured members th
ugh the principles were not legally binding:
whoever captures power will not be free to do what he likes with it. In the exercise of it, he will have to respect these instrumen
f instructions, which are called Directive Principles. He cannot ignore them. He may not have to answer for their breach in a c
f law. But he will certainly have to answer for them before the electorate at election time. 7

The legal historian Granville Austin argues that though Directive Principles of State Policy are
ticiable, ‘they have become the yardstick for the measurement of government’s successes and
lures in social policy’.8 However, the downgrading of social and economic rights to the status
re objectives, and what one member of the Constituent Assembly was to term pious wishes’ h
d expected consequences. Whereas political and civil rights have functioned in some cases fai
ectively as a constraint on State power, social and economic rights have just not been treated w
seriousness that these deserve. Drèze and Sen point out that even though ‘the expansion of soc
portunities was very much the central theme in the vision that the leaders of the Indian
dependence movement had presented to the country at the time the British left, rather little attem
s, in fact, been made to turn that vision into any kind of reality’. 9
It is not as if policies have not been designed to implement these objectives, and it is not as if
ogrammes have not been initiated for provision of social goods to the needy section of the peo
t when it comes to the implementation of these policies, the necessary political will vanishes,
rhaps because no one can take the government to court for a violation of the Directive Principl
her social policies have not been accompanied by necessary financial outlays, or both have be
ovided for and the policy itself not implemented. Even if policies have been implemented, the
ocess is attended by massive instances of corruption and mismanagement. Moreover, though th
ovision of social goods falls more or less within the provenance of state governments, the Plan

mmission
wever, thethrough the five-year
conceptualization ofplans
planning,determines
as Prabhu strategy, priority, and
and Sudarshan allocation
argue, of resources
is not embedded
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redistributive
8/18/2019 ethos’. Therefore, ‘the
Contemporary distribution
India ofPolitics
Economy, Society, benefits
- Neeraof economic
Chandhoke, growth
Praveen has not been
Priyadarshi

alitarian. Social-sector policy, which could have acted as a redistributive measure, did not don
ntle. Further, the very approach of the State towards social sectors has been ambivalent. They
en considered either as constituting welfare, or as a means of enhancing human capital’. 10
In sum, social policy in India has proved far too inadequate when it comes to addressing the
allenges confronting the nation. Though Chapter Four of the Constitution lays down directives
cial policy, successive central and state governments just do not seem to have taken this charge

iously enough. For instance, according to one of the main Directive Principles, the State is ob
ensure that health care is provided to all, that maternity relief is available to women, that leve
trition are raised, and that free and compulsory education is provided to all children till the ag
Yet, as the discussion below shows, the record of the government in these two areas, which a
ucial for human well-being, is not too good.

Health
tween June and July 2004, 11 children in the age group of 0–5 died in the Dongiriguda Adivas
rest dwellers) settlement located in the Jharigaon block of Nawrangpur district in Orissa. Oth
ldren living in the block were being treated for similar symptoms, and reports stated that the
derstaffed and ill-equipped Community Health Centre at Jharigaon was admitting about 40 aili
ldren per day. The proximate causes of death of these children were diarrhoea, acute respirat
ection and fever. The generic cause for these deaths, however, was malnutrition, which has be
ntified as the biggest cause of infant mortality in this district—as high as 97 deaths per 1000 l
ths. Since the Dongiriguda forest hamlet is a village existing within reserve forests, none of th

ow-poverty-line (BPL) families possesses a ration card, which would entitle them to buy rice
bsidized rate. The only benefit that the village receives is under the Integrated Child
velopment Programme . It is not surprising that when their meagre supplies of food ran out du
monsoon, villagers were forced to survive on mango kernel, wild mushroom, tubers and leav
cept for the fact that a health worker distributes free medicines once a month, the villagers are
itled to any medical facilities.11
The tragic incident foregrounds the main problem with the public health policy adopted by the
vernment of India: the thrust of the policy is curative rather than preventive . A preventive hea
licy would provide nutrition, safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and education as essenti
econditions of health. It would also demand the institutionalization of an extensive public healt
tem: immunization programmes, clinics and community health centres staffed by trained medic
rsonnel and para-health workers. All this requires a great deal of public investment. Yet, acco
the latest Reserve Bank report on State finances, expenditure on the social sector, and health a
ucation in particular continues to be appallingly inadequate. The Eleventh Plan draft focuses o
se sectors and has earmarked substantial increases in outlays for health. Apart from the Nation
ral Health Mission, government spending on health is aimed at 2 per cent of the GDP by the p
d.12 This is a figure that is far lower than other developing countries. Cuba spends 6.2 per
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cent
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mibia 4.7 per cent of theirContemporary
8/18/2019 respective IndiaGDPs
Economy,on health.
Society, PoliticsIn India,
- Neera healthPraveen
Chandhoke, is a state subject and sta
Priyadarshi

expected to contribute to a major part of the finances allotted to the sector, but the budgetary
ocation of state governments has shown a consistent decline over the years.
The general neglect of preventive healthcare and the increasing push towards the involvement
private sector in the delivery of health services highlights a dramatic lessening of public
mmitment to health. In 1946, on the eve of India’s Independence, the report of the Bhore Comm
d suggested a detailed and comprehensive plan for health security. The plan, which was

entionally biased in favour of rural areas, recommended that a uniform and comprehensive pub
alth act be enacted, and plans made for the implementation of an Indian National Health Servic
e Bhore Committee Report envisaged the establishment of a massive state-managed infrastruct
health, which would have required the State to allocate almost 10 per cent of the GDP for
althcare. Stressing that the provision of healthcare is an indispensable function of the governm
d that this should be provided to all irrespective of their ability to pay, the report suggested tha
us of the health programme must be preventive rather than curative, that health services should
aced as close to the people as possible to ensure maximum benefit to communities, and that the
ctor should be a social physician who combines remedial and preventive measures. If it had b
plemented effectively, the Bhore Committee Report would have rendered the private sector in
alth irrelevant, and the level of health services in the country would have reached three-fifth of
Britain during the Second World War.
Though the health minister’s conferences in the first few years of Independence ritually referre
report, and though the First Five-Year Plan attempted to incorporate its recommendations, ve
on, policy makers dropped the recommendations. From the Fourth Five-Year Plan onwards,
dgetary provisions for health shrank drastically, reaching a new low in the first decade of the 2
ntury, though the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that a minimum of 5 pe
nt of the GDP should be allotted to healthcare. India has one of the lowest health budgets in the
rld. Health does not seem to be a priority area for the nation. Neither does it seem an importan
ority area for political parties. For instance, in the 2004 general elections, health issues were
sed by any candidate.
In fact, we can discern an odd gap between the stated objectives of health policy and the finan
tlays made by the government, for the Government of India has been sensitive to the need for a
und and fully functioning health system, which can deliver efficient services particularly to the
or. The public health system that was laid out in the early years of the post-Independence perio
nsists of a three-tiered layer of primary health centres, sub-centres, and community centres,
oviding multi-functional outpatient facilities. The number of centres is in direct proportion to t
pulation being served, with special provisions being made for hilly and tribal areas. The
vernment has also initiated and implemented several disease-control programmes and
munization schemes, some of which have shown remarkable success. Under the Central
vernment Health Scheme, healthcare is provided to government employees, pensioners, and p
icials living in big cities. The global debate on health strategy, the signing of the Alma Ata
claration of ‘Health for All’ by 2000, and the recommendations of various specialized bodies
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 ulted8/18/2019
in the enunciation ofContemporary
a comprehensive,
India Economy,integrated,
Society, Politics -approach to healthcare
Neera Chandhoke, in the form of t
Praveen Priyadarshi

tional Health Policy in 1983. The 2002 National Health Policy aims at achieving basic standa
good health among the population through national public health programmes, extension of
rastructure, medical education, research, enhanced role of stakeholders such as NGOs,
forcement of quality standards in food and drugs, and women’s health.
It is also not as if India has made no progress in the past several decades in the field of health.
ailed above, infant-mortality rates have dropped and life expectancy has risen. There have bee

ported cases of small pox since 1985, of guinea worm disease since 1996; and of plague since
69 with the exception of Surat (August–September 1994). Cholera epidemics and related death
ve become more infrequent. In 1950, cholera cases numbered 176,307 with 86,997 deaths; by
01, the total reported cases of cholera were 5000.13 The incidence of measles, polio, whoopin
ugh, and tetanus is lower than before. The proportion of children without immunization decline
m 30 to 14 per cent between 1992–93 and 1998–99.
Yet, the presence of both communicable and non-communicable diseases casts a heavy cloud o
ll-being. Infant mortality rates have still to be brought to a level under 60 per 1,000 live births
hich is the expressed goal of the 1983 health policy. The mortality rate for children under the a
e years is still high, compared with 39 deaths per 1,000 live births in China. The main causes
ortality in the age group 0–5 are common diseases, which can be easily avoided, such as lower
piratory tract infection, diarrhoeal diseases, perinatal causes and vaccine-preventable disease
mmunicable diseases like viral encephalitis, meningococcal meningitis, rabies, kala azar, den
ver and tuberculosis have escaped control. Epidemics of food poisoning, infectious hepatitis,
hoid fever, measles, tetanus, and pneumonia regularly appear to trouble the citizens of the cou
s estimated that about 15 million people suffer from tuberculosis, and that 2.2 million are adde
s figure every year.14 The emergence of AIDS has begun to affect national and regional
demiological profiles and priorities, and leprosy cases constitute a major part of the world’s
ses of leprosy.
The picture is not even across the country; for instance, Kerala has made progress on all health
dicators, whereas Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan show
mendous vulnerability on this front. Second, the rural-urban divide, when it comes to health, i
ry strong, with the rural sector much more vulnerable to malnourishment and disease. What is
rrying is the massive social inequity between income groups across all the regions of the coun
matters of health. A study has shown that the richest 20 per cent enjoy three times their share o
blic subsidy for health compared to the poorest quintile, and that 20 per cent of the population
hich belongs to the poorest section of society, has more than double the mortality rates, fertility
es, levels of under-nutrition than the richest 20 per cent of the population.15
Ill-health is due to the interaction of a number of factors. First, the public sector in health exist
thout a minimum legislative framework. Second, declining public investment and expenditure
alth is compounded by bureaucratization, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and non-availa
medicines. Third, whereas the Government of India has concentrated massive resources in spe
ease http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
eradication campaigns, such as the huge campaign initiated in 1995 to eradicate poliomy 79/369
ough8/18/2019
a pulse polio immunization programme,
Contemporary this has
India Economy, Society, been
Politics atChandhoke,
- Neera the cost Praveen
of other programmes, w
Priyadarshi

m at the annihilation of common ailments such as diarrhoea and dysentery. Even though dysente
d diarrhoea along with acute respiratory infections leading to pneumonia happen to be the main
lers of children below the age of five, these are not even seen by the government as diseases.
urth, universal programmes of immunization have failed to establish efficient epidemiological
veillance services for diseases that can be controlled. Fifth, health policy in India has concen
re on curative measures rather than on preventive measures such as the provision of safe drink

ter, nutrition, and sanitation. And sixth, the health infrastructure, particularly in the rural areas
or, inefficient, arbitrary, and corrupt.
Given all these deficiencies in the public-health system, it is not surprising that it is the private
ctor that has stepped in to fill the gap in a major way since 1991 and accounts for three-fourths
healthcare system in the country. The National Health Policy of 2002, departing from existing
derstanding, does not even refer to universal healthcare. What it does suggest is the privatizati
sting hospitals, introduction of more private hospitals, user fees in government hospitals, and
volvement of the non-governmental sector in healthcare. However, the problems of leaving
althcare to the private sector in a predominantly poor country are many, of which four can be
ntioned here. First, unlike the USA the private-health sector in India is unregulated, save for s
tes that have laid down guidelines and regulations. Second, the private sector, which is driven
profit motive, is unconcerned about equity. The poor are either denied access to healthcare, o
mpelled to resort to cheap but under-qualified or unqualified ‘practitioners of medicine’. It has
en estimated that the number of poor that did not seek medical treatment because of financial
nstraints increased from 15 to 24 per cent in the rural areas and doubled from 10 to 20 per cen
urban areas in the 1990s. A hospitalized Indian spends more than half of his/her total annual
penditure to buy healthcare.16 Third, if left to the private sector, the balance in healthcare will
vitably be skewed towards urban based, tertiary-level health services, and tilted against prim
althcare. Fourth, private practitioners are not inclined towards the initiation or the implementa
measures that ensure preventive healthcare.
Assurances of health, it has become clear, require certain preconditions. If Tamil Nadu has the
rd lowest child-mortality rate, and the second lowest maternal mortality rate in the country, th
e to easy access to healthcare; government provision for child nutrition; immunization program
attendance of professionals at childbirths; social security measures such as old age pensions a
cial support to widows; improved status of women, balanced gender ratios; a high presence of
men in the workforce; midday meals in schools—the provision of which both improves schoo
endance and lessens child under-nutrition; and little gender bias in school attendance. On socia
velopment indicators, Tamil Nadu ranks just below Kerala, whose success is largely due to th
most continuous presence of a Left government, which is committed to social well-being, as w
the social movement for health launched by the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP).
mphasizing that health is a right, the KSSP has consistently argued that health has to be located
thin the wider social realities of poverty, lack of proper food and an unhealthy living environm
has, consequently, sought to raise public awareness through the establishment of health camps,
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blication of documents onContemporary
8/18/2019 people’s India
health, andSociety,
Economy, stress on- indigenous
Politics system
Neera Chandhoke, of medicines. Biha
Praveen Priyadarshi

tar Pradesh, on the other hand, have high infant-mortality rates, both because of the lack of soc
rastructure and the lack of the requisite political will.
For these reasons, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan or the People’s Health Movement has initiated a
ionwide ‘Health for All’ campaign. The movement suggesting that healthcare should be a
ndamental right has demanded that the government enact a National Public Health Act to amend
nstitution and mandate a right to basic healthcare in accordance with article 47 of Directive

nciples of State Policy, and article 12 of the International Covenant of Economic, Social, and
ltural Rights. The Act would guarantee universal healthcare to all citizens through the enactme
mprehensive preventive measures that address mortality and morbidity in the country; strength
the public-health system in the rural areas, involvement of the community and local self-
vernment bodies in healthcare, raising of public investment in the field, regulation of the priva
alth sector, providing every patient the right to information on every aspect of her treatment, an
titutionalization of a patient-friendly, grievance-redressal system. The Act should make it
ligatory for every doctor to render essential, first-aid and medical care in situations of emerge
he public-health system fails to deliver, this should be treated as a legal offence, remedy for w
n be sought in a court of law. In sum, the overall goal of the health policy should be to move
wards a system where every citizen has assured access to basic healthcare along the lines of th
nadian system of universal healthcare, the National Health Service in Britain, and the Cuban
stem of healthcare for all citizens.17
Although the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) govern
s recommended that public expenditure on healthcare be increased from 0.9 per cent of the GD
o 3 per cent, the figure is still far lower than the 5 per cent recommended by WHO. In the
anwhile, the public-health system continues to be in disorder, healthcare delivered by the priv
ctor continues to be out of reach of the poor, and life-taking diseases continue to stalk small
ldren and the vulnerable sections of the population.

Education
ticle 45 of the Constitution stipulates that the State shall endeavour to provide within a period
years free and compulsory education for children till the age of 14. 18 The National Policy of
ucation, 1986, which was revised in 1992, provided momentum to the task and has achieved s
ccess. The Census of India defines literacy rates as the proportion of literates to the total popu
ove the age of seven years. By these standards, at the time of Independence, literacy stood at
rely 18.3 per cent for the age group of five years and above. Literacy rose to 43.6 per cent in
52.21 per cent in 1991, to further rise to 65.4 per cent in 2001. In a 10-year period from 1991
00, illiteracy declined for the first time by 32 million in absolute terms. Significantly, in rural
as, the literacy rate increased from 36 per cent in 1981 to 59 per cent in 2001. This was achie
spite the fact that the education budget is clearly insufficient.
The goal of universalizing elementary education is sought to be achieved through the setting
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up
vernment or government-aided
8/18/2019 primary
Contemporary schools.
India Economy, ByPolitics
Society, 1993, 94 Chandhoke,
- Neera per centPraveen
of thePriyadarshi
total rural popula
s served by primary schools; and in the period 1950–1990, the number of schools increased b
re than three times. The number of upper primary schools increased 15 times in the same peri
e expansion of the school system was accompanied by the provision of midday meals, free
forms, textbooks, and scholarships in order to increase recruitment and prevent dropouts.
The elementary educational system has been strengthened from time to time by the launch of sp
mpaigns such as Operation Blackboard to upgrade infrastructure, train teachers, and improve t

vironment. To cover gaps in the educational system, the Government of India launched in 2000
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the movement for education to provide elementary education to
ldren in the age group 6–14, in partnership with state governments, local governments and
mmunities. The school system has been decentralized to enable community participation. This,
ports show, has led to improved performances, provided community-owned education, and bri
nder and social disparities to some extent. The District Elementary Education Plan, which was
nched in 1994 and supported by international agencies, is based on assessments of specific ne
each habitat, particularly in the field of early childhood care.
From 1986 onwards, the Government of India initiated several schemes to bring more than hal
ldren in the age group of 6–14 who are outside the school system, within the ambit of educatio
ting up a parallel stream of non-formal education, by opening up literacy classes to children
tside the school system, and through the setting up of World Bank-sponsored district, primary-
ucation programmes. Under the programme, 21,000 new alternative schools have been establis
d 10,000 clusters for Early Childhood Care and Education have been set up. However, these
tiatives, which introduced parallel streams of cheap but low-quality education for poor childr
ve been criticized by educationists and activists. For, instead of strengthening the existing
vernment and government-aided school system, these schemes provided for contracting often
der-qualified youths at low salaries to teach children for a period of nine months. The quality o
ucation has, thereby, been compromised.
Adults in the age group of 15–35 are provided functional literacy through the National Literac
ssion, which was set up in May 1988 and is administered in 561 districts through local
mmunities and self-government bodies. The purpose was to achieve full literacy for 75 per cen
population by 2007. This, it was expected, will lead to increased productivity, improvement
althcare, and betterment of social life. However, this has been left unrealized. More important
tes and 4 union territories have passed laws making elementary education compulsory. In 200
ion government passed the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Bill, subsequently adopted as the 8
nstitutional Amendment Act, which grants a fundamental right to free and compulsory educatio
The right to education, however, makes little sense unless the school system, which is marked
w rates on enrolment (approximately only 56 per cent of children in the age group 5–9 attend
hool), high rates of dropouts, distance between schools and residential areas and lack of
nsportation, teacher absenteeism, low levels of learning, low participation, particularly of the
ld, and critical gaps in the availability of infrastructural facilities and qualitative aspects of
ucation, including teachers’ training, educational curricula, equipment, and training material,
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 tructured. It has been estimated
8/18/2019 thatIndia
Contemporary more children
Economy, Society, drop
Politics -out
Neeraof school Praveen
Chandhoke, for these reasons rather
Priyadarshi

ose of poverty. Families would rather incur a debt and send their children to expensive private
hools. Despite the fact that the first compulsory Education Act was legislated by the Parliamen
lhi in 1960 (Delhi Primary Education Act 1960), and despite the fact that other states subsequ
opted this model act, respective legislations failed to bring about major changes in the lives of
ldren. Child labour is still rampant in the country, social biases work against educating the gir
ld, who is often compelled to drop out of school in order to look after her siblings while her

rents go to work, and the presence of deep-rooted poverty, particularly among the Scheduled
stes and Tribes, hill and forest communities, rules out education.
The National Human Development Report 2001 concluded that India’s educational developme
mixed bag of remarkable successes and glaring gaps. In the post-Independence period, the pace
ucational development was unprecedented by any standards. At the same time, perhaps, the po
cus and public intervention in the provision of educational services was not adequately focuse
en misplaced, to the extent that even after 50 years of planned effort in the sector, nearly one-th
the population or close to 300 million people in the age group of seven years and above are
terate’. These figures vary across regions: literacy rates have improved in Rajasthan, Orissa,
adhya Pradesh in the 1990s. Himachal Pradesh is also a success story with 98 per cent of the
ldren going to school in the state by the end of 1990s. However, literacy rates continue to be
odest in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The picture on the educational front is simply not encouraging
In the mid-1990s, a committee of education ministers recommended that the Constitution be
ended to make free and compulsory education for children in the 6–14 age group a fundamenta
ht. The committee also recommended that parents and guardians have a fundamental duty to
ovide opportunities to their children with respect to education. The report of the committee wa
inly a response to a 1993 ruling of the Supreme Court in the case of J. P. Unnikrishnan vs the
ate of Andhra Pradesh. The Court had ruled that ‘though right to education is not stated expres
a fundamental right, it is implicit in and flows from right to life guaranteed under article 21’. T
urt further declared that the Directive Principles of State Policy ‘form the fundamental feature
cial conscience of the Constitution and the provisions of part III and IV are supplementary and
mplementary to each other’. Fundamental rights, ruled the court, are means to ensure the goals
wn in part IV and must be construed in the light of the Directive Principles. The State, ruled th
urt, should take measures to ensure free and compulsory education to all children in the age gro
6–14 years. The initiative taken by the court was enormously significant, since the goal of
iversal education stipulated by article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy, which wa
pposed to be achieved by 1960, is yet to be realized. The deadline kept getting postponed, and
rrently it stands till the end of the Tenth Five-Year Plan that is 2007.
The 93rd Constitution Amendment Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on 28 November
01, subsequently became the Constitution 86th Amendment Act 2002. The bill had originally b
roduced in 1997 in the Rajya Sabha. However, before it could be passed by the House, the
vernment had fallen, and the bill remained in abeyance for four years, till it was resurrected by
tional Democratic Alliance government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2001. The 83/369
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erted8/18/2019
a new sub-clause (a)Contemporary
after Article 21 in Chapter
India Economy, Three
Society, Politics - Neeraof the Constitution,
Chandhoke, which protect
Praveen Priyadarshi

ht to life. The new sub-clause guarantees that the State shall provide free and compulsory
ucation to all children of the age of 6–14 in any manner as the State, may, by law, determine.
ticle 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy has been upgraded to a fundamental right. T
icle has been replaced by a new article, 45, which reads that the State shall endeavour to prov
ly-childhood care and education for all children until the age of six years. Article 51A of the
nstitution has been amended by adding Clause (k) that lays down that parents and guardians sh

ovide opportunities for education to their children or child as the case may be, in the age group
14 years.
The UPA government had constituted a Central Advisory Board for Education to enforce this r
ABE finalized the draft Right to Education Bill in June 2005. However, the central government
tead of tabling this bill in Parliament, re-sent it in June 2006 as a model Right to Education Bi
state governments, with the request that they should legislate the right to education in conform
th the model Right to Education Bill 2006. The right to education now falls within the purview
te governments, and state governments might or might not implement this bill, if necessary
ources are not forthcoming. The model bill also does not give the right to approach the court,
e this right is violated. It is not mandatory for private schools to reserve 25 per cent of their s
the marginal communities. And the bill holds parents responsible for giving their child educa
en if there are no schools nearby and even if the parents lack resources.
Social activists and experts who have come together in the National Alliance for Fundamental
ght to Education and Equity (NAFRE) and who have been consistently struggling to make educ
ight are disappointed by the government’s response. The objective of the alliance is to prevent
ution of vital rights related to free and compulsory education as defined by the Constitution an
erpreted by the Supreme Court. The alliance states that free and compulsory education is the
ponsibility of the State, that the State must provide quality education to all children, and that it
ould invest a minimum of 6 per cent of the national income in education. Experts also criticize
glect of Early Childhood Care and Education, which is an important component of education an
hich influences heavily the most vital period of the development of children in the bill. Nor are
eds of children over 14 years of age taken into account. For these reasons, the right to free and
mpulsory education has been diluted.

CONCLUSION

t me return to the question that was raised at the beginning of the argument—what is the
ationship between democracy and well-being? Is the relationship between the two an essentia
e? Or is it random and contingent? There are perhaps no clear answers to these questions, beca
here was ever a time when theorists assumed that democracy essentially exists for the well-be
the people, that time seems to have long passed. As our recent history has shown us, authoritar
gimes, which deny to their people civil and political rights, also find it perfectly feasible to ens

n same people a certain

by authoritarian regimes, level ofSingapore,
say social and do economic
enjoy a well-being. After of
far better quality all,life
inhabitants of84/369
than citizens
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coun
of
mocracies like India. ThisContemporary
8/18/2019 is a reality that
India theorists
Economy, Society, in the- Neera
Politics business of conceptualizing
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi democra
ve had to confront with some degree of discomfort.
Does it then follow that democrats should give up on democracy and opt for a regime that can
iciently deliver services/goods that meet the basic needs of people? The answer cannot but be
cause the virtue of democracy is that it recognizes, legalizes, and codifies the fundamental righ
zens. Among these fundamental rights is the root right to demand rights. It is the possession of
lienable rights which allows citizens to stake a claim to the provision of social goods as a ma

right. Therefore, the first condition that serves to translate formal into substantive democracy,
litical into social and economic democracy, is the existence of democratic institutions. The
dification of political and civil rights in Chapter Three, and the codification of objectives of S
licy in Chapter Four of the Indian Constitution have motivated and inspired collective action o
essing social issues. Certainly, collective action may not have resulted in the production of
propriate policies that address the malaise of social and economic deprivation in every case. W
significant, however, is that campaigns to enlarge the domain of rights have insistently and
essingly fore-grounded issues that are absolutely crucial for human lives in the public domain.
In India, this has been facilitated by the fact that Chapter Four of the Constitution has codified
haustive list of objectives of the social policy. The Directive Principles of State Policy in Indi
ve motivated a number of campaigns, which demand that the State deliver to the people what th
nstitution has promised. The Supreme Court in India has played a significant role in equating
ndamental rights and directive principles in a number of cases. The institutionalization of civil
hts, the codification of Directive Principles of State Policy, and the presence of a hyperactive
diciary have served to create a space wherein civil society can mobilize to demand the realiza
entitlements. This is the only way that political democracy can be translated into social and
onomic democracy, which will, in turn, deepen democracy.

Appendix: Table 5.1A

rce: Planning Commission, Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth: An Approach to the 11th Five-Year Plan (New
vernment of India, 2006), p. 53.
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 SUGGESTED READINGS
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
dhan, Pranab. ‘Sharing the Spoils, Group Equity, Development, and Democracy’. In Atul Kohli (ed.), The Success of India’s
Democracy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001, pp. 226–41.
bridge, Stuart and John Harriss, Reinventing India: Liberalization , Hindu Nationalism, and Popular Democracy, New De
Oxford University Press, 2001.
ze, Jean and Amartya Sen. India: Development and Participation . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002.
on, Tim, Robert Cassen and Leela Visaria. Twenty-first Century India: Population, Economy, Human Development, and
nvironment. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004.
bhu, Seeta and R. Sudarshan (eds.). Reforming India’s Social Sector: Poverty, Nutrition, Health and Education. New De
ocial Science Press, 2002.

QUESTIONS

1. How does democracy empower citizens to claim that the State should satisfy their demand for basic goods?
2. Why are health and education the most basic of goods that every human being has a right to?
3. What in your estimation is the reason for the Indian government not honouring its obligations given in the Directive Principle
State Policy?
4. Why is political democracy, particularly the right of political participation, important for the establishment of social and econ
democracy?

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Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Science and Technology Policy: IT and Social Change

Neha Khanna

mebody once said to the philosopher Wittgenstein: What a bunch of no-knows we medieval
ropeans must have been! Back in the days before Copernicus, to have looked up at the sky and
ught that what we saw up there was the Sun going round the Earth, when, as everybody knows
rth goes round the Sun, and it doesn’t take too many brains to understand that! Wittgenstein rep
s, but I wonder what it would have looked like if the Sun had been going round the Earth. The
that it would, of course, have looked exactly the same. What he was saying was that you see w
u want to see. Consider also the medieval Londoner or an 18th-century American who, when a
hat he thought of the prospect that one day everybody would have his own individual form of
rsonal transportation, laughed at the idea of the metropolis at a standstill when the streets beca
they surely would, 14 feet deep in horse manure. The concept of any other form of transportati
s outside his context.1 Human history and society have for long been shaped by the changes or
her the revolutions in the field of science, be it the ability to make fire or unravelling the myste
producing a crop out of seed strewn on the ground. Over the ages, various technologies have
ered our lives and the social setting in a manner we can only imagine and admire.
It is, indeed, intriguing how technologies that we take to be primitive today changed the course
man civilization during the period in which they were invented. In this chapter, we shall try to
he impact of science and technology in two sections. We begin with a general discussion on th
pact of science and technology policies and their achievements and implications. In the second
rt, the chapter focuses on information technology policy and its impact on the economy as well
mocracy.

A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

ience and technology have been an integral part of the Indian civilization and culture over the p
veral millennia. Few are aware that India was the fountainhead of important foundational scien
velopments and approaches. These cover many great scientific discoveries and technological
hievements in mathematics, astronomy, architecture, chemistry, metallurgy, medicine, natural
losophy and other areas. A great deal of this travelled outwards from India. Equally, India als
imilated scientific ideas and techniques from elsewhere, with an open mind and a rational atti
aracteristic of a scientific ethos. In the half century since Independence, India has been commit
the task of promoting the spread of science. The key role of technology as an important elemen
development is also well recognized. The Scientific Policy Resolution of 1958 and
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87/369
chnology Policy Statement
8/18/2019 enunciated
of 1983India
Contemporary the Politics
Economy, Society, principles on which
- Neera Chandhoke, the Priyadarshi
Praveen growth of science
hnology in India has been based over the past several decades. These policies have emphasiz
f-reliance, as also sustainable and equitable development. They embody a vision and strategy
applicable today, and would continue to inspire us in our endeavours.2
The British were quick to recognize the role and importance of science, technology and medic
empire building.3 So the colonial state, even though it claimed to be carrying a disinterested
oject of civilizing mission, actually came with an ideology, a string of institutions and a set of
mmitted people to serve its ends. Even though the indigenous education in India included
tructions in science prior to the advent of the colonial rule, the debate and discussions for the
stem of education to be adopted concerned primarily what kind of science and technology wou
entually be institutionalized in India. 4 The Indian thinking in response to this was highlighted b
empt at cultural synthesis. For the educated Indians, then, retrieval of this seemingly lost identi
came a precondition for regaining lost sovereignty. Talking about the cultural synthesis enable
m to absorb culture shock and then promised a possible opportunity to transcend the barriers
posed by colonialism.5
The two major religious groupings engaged with modern scientific thought from their own van
ints governed by their political, social and economic objectives, not always in isolation from
her.6 Within the nationalist movement, the debate on the reconstruction of India heavily centred
knowledge and use of modern science and technology. While the likes of Madan Mohan Mala
essed how India was reindustrialized and carried on a new watchword of scientized technolog
ons of which were Japan and Germany because he felt that the British model was inadequate 7
ndhi ridiculed the most prized possessions of the West: modernization and industrialization. H
dom used the term science and technology and conveniently replaced it with civilization and
chanization, to which he showed his deep concern. Some of the central tendencies in modern
ilization such as massive industrialization, undue importance to technology and science, whic
ered the concept of labour, made Gandhi a critic of that civilization.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: THE POST-INDEPENDENCE PERIOD

ter Independence, the highlight of India’s development strategy was the adoption of the sociali
odel of planned economic development, with a great emphasis on capital goods industries. Pan

waharlal Nehru ordained the huge multi-purpose projects as the new temples of modern India.
riod was soon followed by the first tentative steps in the field of research in science and
hnology with the aim of changing the economic pattern in the nation’s countryside, the referenc
re being made to the increase in agricultural output as a result of the Green Revolution, which
ied on newer varieties of seeds and fertilizers, a move towards the mechanization of the India
ricultural sector. Howsoever slow it might have been, the result was there for all to see.
Scientific and technological activities in India are carried out under the aegis of a wide array
vernmental bodies (both central and state level), private-sector participation, non-profit

ganizations, etc. These institutional structures with their research laboratories are the main
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 8
ntributors to the scientificContemporary
8/18/2019 research being carried
India Economy, outPolitics
Society, in the country.
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Agricultural Research
e huge strides that were made in the field of agricultural research and technology related to hig
lding crop varieties that have laid the foundation of the journey from a food-deficient nation to
t has excess production of cereals and other food and cash crops. However, the irony is that w
food stocks of the country are spilling over, we still have pockets of hunger, deprivation and
rvation deaths. There is a need to ensure that the benefits of the innovations reach all conceiva
mers of the country. A step in this direction are the ‘e-choupals’, which have to be used as too
ormation dissemination. There has been talk of the need to give another push to the productive
pacity of agricultural sector through a second Green Revolution.
The technology fatigue is seen as a major cause underlying the deceleration in performance of
ricultural sector. Since the Green Revolution in the 1960s there has been no major technologic
novation that could give a fresh impetus to agricultural productivity. The absence of productive

hnology,
nger which in
run, growth also reduces risks,
agricultural is particularly
productivity can beserious foronly
sustained rain-fed, dry-land
through situations.
continuous In t
technolo
ogress. This calls for a well-considered strategy for prioritized basic research, which is now a
more urgent in view of the mounting pressure on scarce natural resources, climate change and
shrinking availability of spillovers from international public research. We need to usher in a
ond Green Revolution by adopting a strategy that frees us from past mindsets. The strategy sho
operationalized in the form of challenge programmes in which central institutes and the state
ricultural universities work with organic integration.

The Eleventh Plan will have to energize the National Agricultural Research System and impro
capacity to develop and deliver innovative and effective technologies relevant in the current
ntext and needs. This will require strengthening of the basic research component of its program
ough identification of strategic research pathways in an anticipatory fashion. The exercise mus
nd in hand with clearer demarcation of basic research on the one hand, which may not contribu
mediately to growth, and strategic research on the other, which tackles well-identified problem
oal-directed way. The recently established fund for National Strategic Agricultural Research m
expanded in the Eleventh Plan and oriented to stimulate research that responds to a prioritized
ll-defined strategy, so that the country’s large, agricultural research system, which successfull
nched the Green Revolution in the past, can now be called upon to address newer and more
midable challenges and provide region-specific, problem-solving capacity. A delivery-target
erational mechanism will have to be designed for its meaningful operation. Clearly, business a
ual has no place whatsoever in this framework. The agricultural system also needs to be thorou
vamped and restructured in the light of advice rendered by high-powered committees chaired
pectively by Dr M. S. Swaminathan and Dr R. A. Mashelkar.9

Meteorological Services
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 e Indian Meteorological Department
8/18/2019 (IMD)
Contemporary India Economy,was established
Society, Politics - Neerain 1875. It
Chandhoke, is the
Praveen national
Priyadarshi

teorological service and the principal agency in all matters related to meteorology, seismolog
ied services. The IMD issued the first operational long-range forecast of seasonal south-west
onsoon rainfall (June–September) of India in 1986. The Crop Yield Formulation Unit of the
partment has developed statistical models using correlation and regression techniques to forec
op yields on an operational basis over a large part of India. The Meteorological Department is
rhaps also burdened with the most critical form of soothsaying—that of forecasting the monsoo
ese predictions have an effect on the Indian economy that belies any belief that the economy of
untry is not solely dependent on agriculture and the rains that feed it.
Apart from this, the Indian plate is notoriously unstable in terms of tectonic movements and ha
en the cause of many devastating earthquakes. A new challenge that the forecasters were faced
s on 25 and 26 December 2004, when the giant tsunami waves erased out of the face of the ea
lages, and with them, extinguished many human lives. That experience prompted the process o
king India a part of the Tsunami Early Warning System that operates through a series of warni
tions that are connected via satellites. Warnings are sent across to the member country in the e
any underwater tectonic movement or any other development that could trigger a tsunami. This
ed to use the latest in the field of weather forecasting and supervision of tectonic movement ha
coupled with the developments in the field of communications, so that the news of impending
asters get passed on to the groups that are in the gravest danger.

Atomic Energy
th the world’s reserves of fossil fuels depleting faster than the replenishment rate, there is an

gent need to look for alternative sources of energy that will continue to support the bulwark of
onomic development in an efficient and sustainable manner. The answer to the energy problem
future and even the present day lies in the power that remains trapped in the building blocks o
ure—the atoms. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was established in 1954 with this
ecific object in mind. Since then, the DAE has been involved in research in the field of atomic
ergy technology and its application in the field of agriculture, medicine, industry and even
oviding a credible, nuclear-weapon-based military deterrent for the nation. The research centr
AE are engaged in basic research in relevant areas. In addition, the autonomous research institu
pported by grant in aid by DAE, are centres of excellence in the field of research ranging from
thematics to computers, physics to astronomy and biology to cancer. India, today, not only use
mic energy for medical and research purposes but also possesses a credible nuclear deterrent
is nuclear weapons programme is supposedly our guarantee against any harm coming to our na
m external forces, but the question that begs an answer is this: what is our safeguard against
hernobyl-style’ accidents? We have already paid a huge price for the careless handling of
ngerous chemicals in Bhopal in 1982, where more than 25,000 lost their lives and a whole
neration was cursed with a life of disabilities and deprivations. Can we risk a similar acciden
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in Bhopal at any of our nuclear facilities? What is the explanation for the huge expenditur 90/369
wer and better ways of killing
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Contemporary human
India Economy,beings, when
Society, Politics in large
- Neera parts
Chandhoke, of the
Praveen country, hunger
Priyadarshi

ing that with a far more horrendous precision. All through 2006–07, the government tried to dr
support from the rest of the world while staking India’s claim to a permanent seat in the Unite
tions Security Council. However, efforts should first be made to provide adequate support ag
dangers of hunger, starvation and penury.

The Indian Space Programme10

spite being a developing country with the economic constraints that follow with it, India has
ectively developed a credible space programme that has broken new ground and put it in the s
oup of countries that can design its own satellites and, now, can even launch satellites.
During the formative years in the early 1960s, space research was carried out with the help of
unding rockets. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the primary body for space
earch in India, was founded in 1969. In the history of the Indian space programme, the 1970s w
period of experiments with the launch of experimental satellite programmes like Aryabhatta,
askara, Rohini, and Apple. In the 1980s and 1990s, ISRO made impressive strides in building
te-of-the-art remote sensing and communication satellites, together with their applications for
ional development. So far 48 major satellites, have been launched, both low Earth-orbiting on
remote sensing and geostationary ones for meteorology and communication, half of them form
dia’s space port at Sriharikota (using its own satellite-launching vehicles). The remote sensing
ellites have been extensively used for the monitoring and management of agriculture, forests, w
ources, mineral wealth, ocean resources, land use practices, environmental pollution, and natu
asters, and for initiating sustainable integrated development. The geostationary INSAT satelli

ewise, have initiated a new communication revolution in the country, and are now being
ensively used for nationwide broadcasting, telecommunication, education, telemedicine and h
e, weather forecasting and disaster management. Recently, ISRO launched Chandrayaan-I, Ind
st mission to the Moon (an unmanned exploration), which is a major boost to India’s space
ogramme. India’s robust launch vehicle programme has enable the country to now offer its serv
the outside world. Antrix, the commercial arm of the ISRO, has been marketing India’s space
vices globally.
What we have discussed above are the research programmes, developmental policies and cutt
ge scientific explorations that have been carried out over the years in India, while the question
must answer now is how these endeavours bring about a change in the social fabric of the cou
d how they spawn a new beginning. The answer is not too difficult to find: All the above resea
ogrammes have been carried out with one common objective and that is greater good of the gre
ssible number, the development in the field of meteorology has helped us in studying the rainfa
tterns and its effect on crop cycles. Nuclear energy might be the source of the most horrific kill
chine that man ever invented, but it is also true that it can solve all the energy problems that th
untry faces. Countries like Canada and France have been using nuclear energy to meet their ene
quirements and the fact that the levels of pollution due to safe nuclear energy are close to91/369
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nil is
mething that has to be considered
8/18/2019 specially
Contemporary in Society,
India Economy, this day and
Politics ageChandhoke,
- Neera of increased awareness about g
Praveen Priyadarshi

nning and the havoc that it wreaks on our weather systems. The Indian space programme has
abled us to move to an age of easier and efficient communication and made distances disappea
ge boom that the Indian service sector has experienced is something that stands testimony to thi
ccess story that has added a new feather in its cap.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

ney, will you answer the television, am watching the telephone…. As a social leveller.; Inf ormation Technology ranks s
y to Death.
—Sam Pit

ormation technology (IT) is considered to be a social leveller in the statement because it has
minated distance as a perceptible concept from our lives. This ‘death of distance’, 11 a determi
the cost of communication, will become the single most important economic force to reshape
ciety over the next half century. The history of human civilization, the argument goes, has been
verned by three major revolutions in communication. The 19th century saw the easier and faste
mmunication of goods. The 20th century saw cheaper, easier communication and transportation
ople and the 21st century is going to be governed by a faster means of communicating ideas. T
uation has now shifted from labour intensive to intellectual incentive.
The following section of this chapter is an attempt at assessing this argument. (We open the
estion up and try to measure up the veracity of the claim.)

Background
th the advent of IT, avenues like e-commerce, e-govemance, e-mails and the e-world emerged
one hand, and lots of other e-things made their debut in the Indian e-conomy in the late 1990s
other, for example e-marriages, e-ducation, e-nvironment studies and e-ntertainment. Even the
glish language did not remain unaffected by the change with, ‘4m’ replacing the usual ‘from’ in
pular SMS text language. The ‘e’-dominance in our day-to-day lives has grown so much that it
come rare to spot any technology which is 95 per cent e-free.12
The IT industry saw daylight in India in the 1980s. It was C = DOT, the technology centre set u
84 by Sam Pitroda, that pioneered the ringing out of archaic phone systems country wide and t
ved the way for street-corner telephone booths mushrooming in the smallest of towns. This wa
ecom revolution gave birth to 800,000 PCOs in India. In the past one-and-a-half- decade or so
gantic changes have taken place at the global levels. Information technology is applied in most
man activities, be it production or education, defence or war, distribution or production of goo
have become simplified, effective and reliable. Telecommunications not only links all industr
ocesses, but also allow computerization and storage of information. Information technology
ablished a foot in India with active support and eagerness of the government. From the outset,
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helped Indians to establish themselves
Contemporary first
India Economy, as Politics
Society, employed professionals
- Neera Chandhoke, and then as
Praveen Priyadarshi

repreneurs. India has gained a name for itself in the field of excellence in IT.
Nirvikar Singh defines IT as ‘the digital processing, storage and communication of information
kinds’.13 Roli Varma and Everett Rogers expand the definition given by Singh by stating ‘it is
gle technology but a combination of four technologies, viz. tools to access information,
ecommunication linkages (including networks), information-processing hardware and softwar
rage media’.14 The foundation of IT is the ability to represent text, data sound and visual
ormation digitally’. IT is further woven with economy by Kalyan Raipuria who says, ‘the IT
onomy comprises all the activities involved in value addition (i.e. GDP) adjusted for exports a
ports, by way of IT services, software, systems and communication equipment such as comput
mpanies, telecommunication utilities and related enterprise’.15 Nasscom lists 10 categories of
abled services (ITES). The services give a broad view of the scope of the IT industry:
Customer interaction services
Business process outsourcing/management, back office operation
Insurance claims processing

Medical transcription
Legal database
Digital content
Online education
Data digitalization/GIS
Payroll/HR services
Web site services

The Indian IT journey to greater heights was initially chartered by private industries and IT
ofessionals who wanted to be amongst the best in the world. A bunch of upstarts unleashed a tr

achievements, which cascaded and have created the most compelling brand—the Indian IT
ofessional. Some of the market segments shaping the future of the IT industry are:
IT software and services export
IT-enabled services
Domestic IT market
Telecom infrastructure
Venture capital

The niche carved out by the IT industry in our modern-day economy provides an almost perfec

ntrast to the Nehruvian model of development. In lieu of public-sector-led investment and grow
this case, State policies have promoted rapid growth in the private sector through a judicious
xture of laissez faire and the hidden and visible subsidies. The new equation between the State
vate enterprises that is emerging in this sector, especially in states such as Karnataka and And
adesh, suggests major shifts in the socio-economic structure of the country. Thus, it gave IT the
tus of a revolution. The rudimentary approach of the IT revolution is inherent in the Schumpete
mework of creative destruction,16 a process where a number of innovations, discoveries and
ventions allowed the new ‘sunrise industries’ to dominate and displace the old ‘sunset industri
the perspective of history, it is similar to the wave of innovations associated with the Industria
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volution of the late 18th century,
8/18/2019 which
Contemporary opened
India Economy, up Politics
Society, access to fossils
- Neera fuels,
Chandhoke, a Priyadarshi
Praveen previously unexplo
d (then) infinitely elastic source of energy, on to the railway boom, which opened up access to
stic supply of food and natural resources from the heart of the new world. Just as these innova
ened access to an elastic supply of information, it did this by drastically lowering communicat
ormation-processing and search costs. It is not just that the IT revolution had its origins in a
enomenon often witnessed throughout economic history.
The benefits associated with the IT revolution have, if anything, emphasized the value of tradit

onomic principles. It did this by increasing the importance of comparative advantage and divis
labour, ushering in an era of cheap information and low transaction costs in markets with grea
duced friction, greater competition, diminished importance of the economics of scale and argu
wer entry barriers where fixed costs were low. The income-creating effects of the IT industry
IT boom, which meant there was a rise in demand, and, therefore, a shift towards high-incom
stic products, mainly services. These included a rise in the demand for software and computer
ofessional—a direct consequence of IT boom. It also extended to other service professionals
edical, legal, entertainment, etc.) reflecting direct income effects and to areas like childcare an
curity related to the increasing complexity of life and reduced leisure.

Information Technology: The Growth Story

hile information technology is the engine of the current Indian growth story, the real challenge
translating it to a vision in order to use it as a tool for raising the living standard of the commo
n and enriching their lives. Through IT, India has built up valuable brand equity in the global
rkets. In ITES, India has emerged as the most preferred destination for business process
17
tsourcing (BPO), a key driver of growth for the software industry and service sector. Howev
order to translate this growth into social change and development, the thrust has to be on the ro
not only as a catalyst in accelerating the growth of India, but also on the role of the communic
stems as agents of social change as well as indicators of economic development and social
ogress.
The significant growth of the IT sector in the past few years has been a major phenomenon. Du
period 1993–2003, the revenue generated by the sector grew from about Rs 54,500 to Rs 793
llion. The employment in this sector has also grown significantly. According to industry sourc
re were only 6,800 IT workers in India in 1986–87. This number went up to 650,000 in 2002–
03. India’s most prized resource in today’s knowledge economy is its readily available work.
cording to a Nasscom-McKinsey report, annual revenue projections for the IT industry is $17
lion for 2010. Importantly, the IT market has both domestic and internal components to it.

TELEPHONE SECTOR

e domestic component includes the telephone networks, which is one of the largest in the worl
nce 1985, the communication facility has been augmented significantly from fibre-optic cable,
mestic satellite system with 254 earth stations, to mobile cellular services with urban and
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nnectivity.
8/18/2019To ensure the investment of Economy,
Contemporary India moneySociety,
and technology in the telecom
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, infrastructure, TR
Praveen Priyadarshi

elecom Regulatory Authority of India) has divided the telephone sector into the following grou
Cellular mobile service providers, fixed service providers and cable service providers, collectively referred to as access
providers
Radio-paging-service providers
Public-mobile-radio-trunking-service providers
National long-distance operator
International long-distance operator
Other service provider
Global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS) service providers
V-SAT-based service provider

The total number of telephone (cellular, fixed landline + WLL) crossed the 10 million mark in
ril 2005. Today, India is the fifth largest network in the world in terms of telephones after Chi
USA, Japan and Germany.18 India’s teledensity is 9.13 per cent compared with China’s 55 pe
nt and more then 100 per cent in the case of the USA, Japan and Germany. Telephone services
ver more than 87 per cent villages. Around 5.45 million Internet connections were established

nuary 2005. Fixed lines increased from 17.8 million in 1998 to 58.1 million in April 2005. Th
al number of phones in 1998 was 18.68 million with a teledensity of 1.94 per cent. India had h
have 250 million telephones, 22 per cent teledensity, 18 million Internet connection and 9 mill
oadband connections by 2007. Cellular-phone usage increased from 1.20 million in 1999 to 41
llion in April 2005. The impact of information technology, especially in communication, and th
nsequent growth of e-commerce have defined all prediction. It is uniformly being seen, especi
developing countries, as the technology that will enable these countries to leap-frog half a cen
development. The above data show that we have solved the problem of communications for th
ve- nots with public telephones in almost every street and every village. The focus is now on th
gradation of the PCO culture to public information centres or Internet cafes.

THE INTERNET

e Internet was created in the early 1960s. It was conceived in the form of computer networkin
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962. It further developed into the Advanced Resea
oject Agency Network (ARPANET) of the department of defence of the government of the USA
a two-way telecommunication application with a difference. It uses computers to receive and
nsmit pure, digital signals. The signals blend messaging with controls in a single, multiplied, d
eam. It was in 1990 that ARPANET was converted into a public network and was thrown open
citizens. Since 1993, the Internet has been enhanced with a new development, namely, the cre
a database that users could access without mediation coupled with a very easy-to-use, graphic
signed computer application—browsers. This has made the medium available to millions of p
ho do not need much more than the basic command over the written language to become adept.
t, the growth of the Internet globally has outstripped any previous innovation. If 50 million is t
a measure of the number of users needed to make a technology ubiquitous, then the automobile
dustryhttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
took some 30-odd years to reach this level and television, 20. The Internet has taken 95/369onl
e and8/18/2019
is well on its way toContemporary
doublingIndia
that number
Economy, in Politics
Society, less than
- Neeratwo years.
Chandhoke, ThePriyadarshi
Praveen digital and
mmunication technology (through the Internet) by decreasing transport and information-distribu
sts increased the accessibility to foreign markets. Transaction costs plummeted, so did search
sts, opening up access via the Internet to new markets and supply sources, which increased
mpetition between suppliers. A firm is no longer vulnerable to opportunistic extortion by any o
pplier, undermining what used to be a precautionary motive for vertical integration. In a nutshe
IT revolution has made it possible for an entrepreneur to set up business with little more than
19
, a telephone and a modem, benefiting many small-scale entrepreneurs.

E-Commerce: Applying It to Trade and Commerce

e Internet grew rapidly mainly because of its widespread application and it provided utility an
vices to the common man. The first requirement was to develop the capability of transferring
d data from one computer to another and for this purpose, a worldwide network of computers
ablished in such a way that any computer in the world could be connected to any of the million
d billions of computers to emerge as the World Wide Web. These three words gained an impo
sition in further democratization of governance and market processes; thus, e-commerce and e
vemance came into the picture.
India’s lack of infrastructure and terrestrial telecom facilities has greatly hindered the progres
ommerce in India. As a result, electronic commerce was still in its infancy in India till 2003. W
opening of the Internet market, however, a large number of new industries and MNCs have
peared. Given the recent apparently phenomenal growth of the IT-enabled services, the expect
developments in e-commerce and industry prompted support for such development. With the n

policy, there has been a lot of expectation that e-commerce will bring the global marketplace t
tentially large market in the Third World countries. The development of the country is heavily
pendent on the changing price structure that makes equipment networks and services more easi
d widely available.20 E-banking with magnetic transfer of money and the popular usage of ATM
ds has become an essential part of our daily lives. E-commerce is already raising other issues
axation in the realm of trade and exchange. E-commerce is leading to a growth of supply capa
ough capital, augmenting technological change. These, in turn, are already changing the capital
our markets. As the volume of e-commerce grows, the significance of revenue from this mode
mmerce is bound to grow and would be difficult to ignore. Thus, regulation becomes an impor
ture. ‘Hacker lesson; wired citizens need government’.21

E-Governance: Applying It to Governance

current literature, most of the definitions of e-governance are loaded with its advantageous or
tuous connotations. For example, e-governance is considered a system of governance that
presents ‘good governance’; that works better and costs less; that enhances responsiveness; tha

omotes
M.A.R.T,civil society; and that is simple, moral, accountable, responsive and transparent—
in short.
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 E-governance
8/18/2019 in a layman’s language
Contemporary Indiameans
Economy,application
Society, Politics -of e-commerce
Neera techniques
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi to governm

vices to improve services to citizens and businesses. The USA, Australia, Singapore and Can
leaders in e-governance. India is in the process of attaining a level where more than 25 per c
government dealings and services will be electronically delivered.22
The progress of e-governance in our country is hampered because of the lack of adequate finan
ources, appreciation about the benefits by all concerned including politicians and the bureauc
e importance of e-governance lies in the provision of information and services. The Net will n
ly improve transparency in governance but will also allow government officials to devote mor
me to the less-privileged citizens who do not have access to the Net. In 1999, the Government o
dia set up a National Institute of Smart Government (NISG) as a collaboration between the
vernment, businesses and the community. However, India’s teledensity is quite low and PC
nership is abysmal. The Ministry of Information Technology is trying to create a network of 1
llion Internet connections and one million information kiosks (i.e. 1–2 connection per village,
success will depend on the promotion of Indian-language usage over the Internet; re-engineeri
vernment processes to improve governance and the launch of mass campaigns on IT awarenes
sscom and the government together as a joint force are working towards prioritization of e-
vernance. A centre for developing advanced computing through Global Information System
chnology (GIST), with direction from the government, initiated and commissioned the project
veloping Indian-language tools with natural-language processing in evolving script and font
ndard.
The significant parameters of e-governance initiatives were:
Improve government’s own functioning
Provide better service to the citizen in a transparent manner
Potential priorities for e-governance pilot projects
Strengthening the pressure points
Locals ‘external drivers’ are to be used on a priority basis. This would mean targeting three sectors: (a) independent media
local NGOs and (c) public libraries, community centres, post offices and other access points, which provide information to
citizens
Priority to be given to building a data and management-information system and then moving on to the institutional links and
finally to the intermediated citizens-related projects
Projects that will be used as a demonstration site to get priority as they build knowledge
Supportive, cross-cutting development priorities

Information Technology and the Law

th information technology being applied to trade and commerce as well as to governance,
berspace cannot remain a government-free zone. Equally important are the issues of individual
rsonal privacy and other social and cultural practices. Therefore, a systematic framework of c
ws has evolved to act as a facilitator. The framework is the following:
Digital signatures are recognized along with the rules of encryption and secure electronic transmission
Protection of copyright and other intellectual property rights
Data protection and protection of privacy of individuals and corporate entities
Consumer protection
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 vernance in the state. It delivers
8/18/2019 a range
Contemporary of services
India Economy, to citizens
Society, Politics rangingPraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, fromPriyadarshi
online submission
ms, applications and requests for registrations to licenses, permits, certificates and representa
any government departments along with provision to register complaints and grievances onlin
ective e-governance, the state aimed this endeavour to be comprehensive in scope by making 2
ormative, interactive and payment services available to all citizens. 24 The online availability
ormation nationwide aims to provide government to citizen services, government to business-
gital-procurement processes, and development of government-to-government connectivity prom

yield significant benefits.

IT has become a part of day-to-day life and has a wide outreach. Apart from dissemination of
ormation, it is also being used in social and political mobilizations. From election campaigns
litical parties to campaigns against government policies, from building alliances and networks
il-society organizations to promoting various causes, online campaigns are the most importan
the hands of people. When the students of various academic and technical institutions came tog
oppose the government policy of reservations in institutions of higher educations, they did not
rch on the streets of the capital. Within weeks, they launched a Web site, which began to work
tual epicentre of the campaign. Text-message service of the mobile phone was transformed in
trument of sloganeering. Pictures taken by mobile phones were instantly sent to the electronic
dia, which, in turn, asked its viewers to participate in SMS surveys and express themselves on
ue. In sum, the campaign got its character as much from the way it transformed the services of
ormation technology into a political tool as from the political point it was making.
There are other examples in which IT, particularly the Internet, has paved the way for creative
erventions. When a group of youngsters wanted to promote volunteerism by pooling together s
dividual energies under the name of Bakul Foundation, opening up an office was not the first th
y did. Instead, they launched an online campaign requesting people to pledge their small resou
d energies for building a children’s library. Bakul Foundation announced on their official blog
a pledge site that a library for children would be opened in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, on April 20
one thousand people came together to help set it up. 25 Bakul existed only on the Internet till the
dge became successful and the library was set up. However, the online campaign helped mob
ople because people gradually saw that they were not alone and that they were joining someth
t had acquired the contours of a movement. The pledge campaign was a transparent document
support Bakul had been able to mobilize and as more and more people took the pledge, it bec
ier to mobilize further support. As the library and, indeed, Bakul Foundation came into its rea
stence, it was already a success story of online volunteerism. It stands testimony to the power
tency of the Internet, which is not merely a virtual world, but which can contribute to concrete
anges in society.
There are problems, however, that raise questions. First, there is issue of accessibility of the I
d, as a result, the digital divide that it creates. In a country with continental proportions, provid
cess to IT-related facilities has been a major challenge. Second, the use of IT requires the abili
d and write and in the Indian context, with a high level of illiteracy, large sections of society a
able to have access to it. This digital divide has led to further widening of the gap between
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ho have access to technology
8/18/2019 and those
Contemporary who doSociety,
India Economy, not.Politics
Third, policy
- Neera makers
Chandhoke, have
Praveen barely been abl
Priyadarshi

ve concrete shape to the general directions regarding implementation of IT in the governance

ocesses. It is quite clear that the current infrastructure in most government agencies could not
pport e-government at any appreciable level. The initial euphoria regarding e-commerce has b
placed by the awareness of a painstaking process that will be necessary to further exploit the
ordination, control and communication potential of information technology, namely, a cumbers
ocess of policy change embedded in red tapism and bourgeoning hierarchies of the governmen

omplicated process of policy change.

Fourth, information technology has overlooked some structural problems, for instance, in rural
as, making government information accessible to anyone with a computer, a connection and an
ernet service provider or else accessibility to cyber cafes. Both these options have not reached
ng areas, thus creating a situation where technology influences choices that are already facing
nstraints. IT, therefore, restricts its benefits to the middle class.

CONCLUSION

ter Independence, the process of nation building depended a lot on the progress in the field of
ence and technology. Development of technology and its applications in the fields of industry,
riculture and the daily lives of the citizens have played an important role in the development o
untry over the last 60 years. The diffusion of information and communication technologies has
pacted on the nature of work, creating new work cultures and ethos inside and outside the indu
wever, if the aim is to expand the democratic processes with the help of information technolo
d science and technology in general—in terms of the new class and power relations in society—
king it available to the poor sections of society should be the aim. It is not to be forgotten that
hnologies are a part of the social system and, thus, should serve larger social purposes. IT ind
slowly emerging from an industry with the acquired status of narrowly defined corporate
ectives to one possessing social collectives and determination to cater to the needs of politics
ange.

SUGGESTED READINGS
niston, Kenneth and Deepak Kumar (eds.). IT Experience in India: Bridging the Digital Divide . New Delhi: Sage Publicatio
004.
ik, Amitav. Indian Science and Technology . Delhi: Observer Research Foundation, 2006.
earch, Reference & Training Division (ed. and comp.). India 2006 . New Delhi: Government of India, Ministry of Information
roadcasting, Publications Division, 2006.
bbarayappa, B. V. Science in India—Past And Present. Mumbai: Popular Prakashan, 2007.

QUESTIONS

1. Trace the evolution of science and technology policy in independent India. Analyse its role in nation building.
2. Discuss the role of science and technology policy in industrial and agricultural development in modern India.
3. What is information technology? Analyse the role of information technology in the process of socio-economic change.

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8/18/2019
PART II
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Society

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 8/18/2019 7
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

The Changing Social Structure in Contemporary India

N. R. Levin

e, the educated, urban, middle-class Indians, feel very uncomfortable talking about caste.
nsiderations of caste reflect a sectarian and narrow worldview and remind us of rural India w
caste wars. We claim indifference to the question of caste, though our lives are inextricably
erlinked with the historical legacy of the caste system. In fact, it is so inextricably linked that o
do not notice how our lives are governed by caste.
Caste once again became a burning issue in 2006 over the issue of reservations for other back
tes (OBCs). In what was dubbed by sections of the media as Mandal II, students took to the st
protest the reservations and to press for the repeal of the Government of India order for 27 per
ervations in the country’s premium educational institutions like the IITs, IIMs and, AIIMS. Th
re two major aspects of the argument against the proposed reservations: ( a) that it was merely
aything in the hands of crooked politicians out to grab vote-banks, and (b) it would compromis
rit of students and the reputation and standard of these elite institutions, which have earned a r
the country in the world. In this highly charged emotional atmosphere, caste became the focus
cussion and it was predicted that it would divide India on sectarian and narrow lines. It was a
edicted that the economic growth of the country would be affected because merit is increasingl
d up with the productivity criteria of the market and the norm of efficiency.
In all the debates that raged in the media and in popular discussions, it was often not acknowle
t the focus on merit itself made caste merely invisible, though it was very much present. For
tance, during these agitations and the debates around it, it was discovered that backward caste
mbers had a marginal presence in the mainstream media (considered a bastion of meritocracy
t there was an absence of their voices of dissent. Merit is determined objectively through entra
aminations, marks secured, etc. But it was only students who had access to a particular kind of
ucation at elite institutions and had the benefit of coaching classes, who lay the maximum claim
t merit. It is well known among policy makers and educational experts that the majority of thes
nners are particularly drawn from urban, upper-caste households. What is disturbing is that a v
jority of the rural, backward-caste students are not able to acquire the merit, and remain tied u
th traditional jobs or end up as informal labourers in urban areas. To replicate the success of t
ervation policy in Tamil Nadu and other southern states, where more than 50 years of reserva
s assured desired levels of socio-economic progress for backward groups, the Government of
cided to implement reservations extending to the country’s premium educational institutions lik

s and IIMs.
This http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
chapter attempts to engage with the contentious issue of caste, historically, by looking 102/369at t
cial structure
8/18/2019 of India over a period India
Contemporary of hundred years
Economy, Society, and- Neera
Politics the socio-economic changes the soci
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

ucture has undergone under colonial and post-colonial regimes. The chapter will also engage w
thinking on the caste question in India by intellectuals and activists from Jyotiba Phule and B.
mbedkar in the colonial times to the post-colonial sociologists of independent India.

CASTE IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD

ste, as an institutional practice as we know now, had been shaped largely by colonial powers
ministration and governance, the colonial powers instituted a land assessment system and later
nferred ownership status on many intermediaries to extract wealth in the form of land taxes and
her cash revenues. It also introduced the Census of India by a decennial system for the enumera
the castes and tribes of India. The idea behind the caste census was that the Indian society
entially comprised castes, which are governed hierarchically by the norms of purity and pollu
is resulted in the production of census reports that had the details of all castes, according to
ahminic textual principles. This consolidated the caste system to form a grid-like structure wit
-down model of hierarchy putting the Brahmin on the top and the Sudra/untouchable at the bott
Many caste association leaders challenged the census of 1902. Many of them demanded Kshat
Vaisya status. Many petitions were submitted to the governor generals and census commission
‘corrections’ in the census reports. It led to widespread discussion of caste in various vernac
wspapers. Many tracts and pamphlets were produced to sensitise the reading public about the
nsequences. Caste had entered the emerging public domain.
It was assumed that each caste was different from another by an essential and ‘original’ criteri
t is, occupation. This essentialist argument of caste created a primordial self of each caste. Ov
riod, caste reformists could invoke this primordial identity to mobilize people behind them. Th
ly mobilizations were intended to ameliorate the untouchable castes’ woes and anomalies.
In many villages, untouchables known as panchamas were not allowed to use public wells for
awing drinking water. Upper-caste men punished those who violated the norms by all violent
ans. Many lower-caste people, therefore, organized themselves along caste lines to build opin
ainst upper castes. The emerging institutional spaces like schools, colleges and medical facilit
re restricted to the few upper-caste men. Many lower castes were forced to become scavenge
per-caste households. Lower-caste women often had to succumb to sexual exploitation by upp
te men. Many lower castes were made bonded labourers whereby they were forced to work f
nimal pay with little hope of escaping their servitude.
The Christian missionaries along with the reformists opened their institutional spaces to the lo
tes to help them get access into public offices. Jyotiba Phule and other reform-spirited men
allenged these conditions of the lower-caste majority by petitioning and complaining to the Br
hority against the errant upper-caste men. Through all these agitations and caste-based movem
te gradually got politicized. Phule started the Satyashodhak Samaj for lower-caste men to
allenge the upper-caste dominance and the san-skritizing tendencies of fellow caste men. He ar

the universalization of education for all, including men and women. His support for widow
marriage was challenged by the orthodoxy. His movement did not last long but the ideas103/369
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 by the reluctant nationalists.
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In Madras too, responses to census commissioners increased with the introduction of the decen
nsus after 1881. Castes like Palli or Vanniyan asserted a Vaisya status. In 1901, caste associat
re formed to protect self interests like participation in administrative and other official bodies
art from seeking admissions in educational and medical institutions.
Western ideas of rationality, equality and scientific education were open to all sections includ
untouchables. The Christian missionaries encouraged many lower castes to enter these institu
d facilitated the spirit of reform among them. Major reformists like E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker
pularly known as Periyar, actively participated in agitations and movements against caste rigid
s Justice Party promoted self-respect of the backward-caste people in Tamil Nadu. The British
vernment took the initiative of positive discrimination or reservation in Madras and other area
ckward castes. Consequently, the educated among the ‘lower castes’ began to be appointed as
vernment officials. Many from these castes also started to join the national movement led by
ndhi and others. The national movement, thereafter, took caste as a social evil and started
tations for temple entry for all Hindus. At the invitation of ‘lower caste’ Congress leader T. K
adhavan, Gandhiji started the famous vaikam satyagraha in 1924 to assert the right of all
ouchables to enter temples. The agitation continued and later became a national issue and
entually resulted in the decree that guaranteed temple entry for all. Thereafter, the national
ovement led by Gandhiji assured lower castes of alleviating their problems in the emerging
dependent India. In one of his articles on caste, B. R. Ambedkar defines caste as the chopping
population into fixed and definite units, each one prevented from fusing into another through t
stom of endogamy.1 He said that any attempt to do away with caste has to take into considerati
ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. Thus, for him, democracy is not merely a form of
vernment. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. It
entially an attitude of respect and reverence towards fellowmen.2 Thus, caste was perceived
indrance to the development of democracy in India and it could only be achieved through the
nihilation of it. Mahatma Gandhi accepted this: Through a famous pact called the Poona Pact w
mbedkar, caste was taken as a social evil to be eradicated as part of the national movement. Th
edom movement led to the independence of India and soon after, Nehru, along with others
luding Ambedkar, drafted the Constitution of India. The Constitution guaranteed equal
portunities to all and, as part of the social welfare measures, abolished untouchability and
ommended the implementation of reservations in government jobs as well as educational
titutions.

WHAT IS AN INDIAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE?

social structure, according to many sociologists, is a set of social relations conditioned by the
terial circumstances like socio-economic conditions. We can say that caste is the institution by
hich the Indian social structure is identified. What makes caste a distinctive social institution o

dia? Is it the innate sense of inequality or the status-maintaining occupations per se of a104/369 particu
te? Ithttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
is assumed that each caste has traditionally one occupation and it is hierarchically
 ferentiated
8/18/2019 according to the rules and
Contemporary Indiastatus,
Economy,which assign
Society, Politics to itChandhoke,
- Neera a lowerPraveen
or higher rank. Thus, a
Priyadarshi

ahmin performs priestly duties, a Kshatriya is a warrior, Vaisya is connected with trade and
riculture and a Sudra provides manual labour to all three of them. It is also said that each caste
nked by the purity and polluting nature of their respective occupations. The Brahmins tradition
cupied a higher status in society due to their priestly functions. It is status that gave power to th
oups who were dominant in their respective areas. They retained social and economic clout to
ert their political dominance over other social sections that were weak. This was maintained
ir control over the resources and denial of access to the needy. Women and Dalits were suppo
bear the burden in return for the services they rendered to the dominant groups.

Defining the Nature and Function of Caste

cording to sociologists like Andre Beteille,3 caste is the fundamental social institution of mod
dia. The English word ‘caste’ might mean either varna or jati. Varna refers to an ideal model,
an or design of society. Jati refers to the actual social group with which people identify themse

d it forms the basis on which they interact with each other. There are only four varnas—Brahm
hatriya, Vaisya and Sudra—and they were the same and were ranked in the same order among
ndus everywhere, from ancient to modern times. The very peculiar nature of the Indian caste
ucture is that it has a hierarchically ordered stratification in which people are segregated acco
the social group they belong to. Each caste is supposed to have a traditionally defined occupat
d they stick to it mostly, even though changes have been brought about in its nature and function
last century. This has been made possible largely by the colonial influences and new econom
ces. Membership in a caste is by birth, and caste is extremely important in marriage. Most Ind

rry within their caste. Jatis are many in number and often internally segmented. They vary from
gion to another. For example, Brahmins, who are usually understood to be at the top of the soci
der, may not have dominance over others and some other caste, which may have control over th
a. Thus, in many areas, it is those intermediary groups like Bhumihars and Yadavs in rural Bi
d Jats and Rajputs in Rajasthan and Lingayats and Vok-kaligas in Karnataka that wield social
wer in many regions. In the past, each caste was associated with a distinct traditional occupati
d a caste might be divided into sub-castes in keeping with differences in occupational practice
e emergence of a large number of modern, relatively caste-free occupations has greatly weake
specific association between caste and occupation. But there is a different kind of association
actice now. In the superior, non- manual occupations, professionals are mostly from the upper
tes and those in the inferior, manual occupations are mostly from the lower castes.
The enshrined principles guaranteed in the Constitution were not implemented properly. Many
ose deprived sections were left out of the purview of the welfare and development initiatives o
ate. It led to many questions related to ‘caste’ as the fundamental sociological problem exclusi
India, which has to be the focus of any study of rural India. The discipline of sociology was in
efront of rural studies all over the world in the early 20th century.
Ruralhttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
sociology as a disciplinary form of enquiry was initially the prerogative of colonial 105/369
ministrators
8/18/2019 for whom theContemporary
absence of IndiaaEconomy,
properSociety,
market economy
Politics in land
- Neera Chandhoke, relations
Praveen and a village
Priyadarshi

te-based hierarchical social order were synonymous with the image of unchanging Oriental In
is understanding was instrumental in the colonial legitimacy of British rule over India. Thus, u
onialism, commodification of land, rural indebtedness and the rise of a new social class happ
th changes in socio-economic conditions. The challenge of most Indian sociologists like M. N
nivas was to have different disciplinary forms of enquiry other than that was prevalent.
According to Srinivas, the Indian social structure and cultural patterns are characterised by un

ll as cultural diversity. He goes on to add, the institution of caste may be mentioned as a typic
ample of the paradox that is Indian society.4 The institution of caste that is sui generis of the so
ucture in India is typical of Hindus, but cuts across diverse religious groups such as Sikhs, Jain
uslims and Christians. To him, the essence of caste is the arrangement of hereditary groups in a
rarchy. Generally, each caste is divided according to occupational differences, but no caste is
variably associated with a single occupation. Thus, castes living in a village or a group of
ghbouring villages are bound together by economic ties. Inter-caste relations at the village lev
nstitute vertical ties. They may be classified into economic, ritual, political and civic ties. Srin
ys it is the functioning of a village as a political and social entity that brought together member
m different castes.
As in many parts of British India, the lower castes were serfs or slaves, either attached to the l
d liable to be transferred along with it or attached to the land owner and liable to be sold by hi
e economic forces released under British rule enabled the law abolishing slavery to be transla
o reality.5 But the agricultural hierarchy is mixed up in different ways and degrees with the ca
rarchy in several parts of India. The caste system together with the inequalities of land owner
oduced a deeply stratified society, but that did not prevent the village from functioning as a
mmunity. The rural pattern of life is largely organized around land, still the most important sou
wealth. Under British rule, the village became, however, incompletely a part of the national a
ll as international economy. In post-independent India, the tendency of the villages to be sucke
ore and more into the political economy of market relations were more visible.
These changes in the socio-economic fabric of rural India were the focus of most of Srinivas’s
itings. In his words, to see the monster machine pull down huge trees and cut through blocks of
th was an experience, which they (rural villagers) would not easily forget. Modern technology
deed perform miracles, and human labour appeared pitiful in contrast. 6
This process is best illustrated by Beteille’s example of Sripuram village of Thanjavur distric
mil Nadu. This village was selected for the study as it had a multi-caste presence. In earlier tim
e’s social position in Sripuram was defined largely in terms of one’s membership of a caste, su
te, a lineage or a household. But the situation has changed drastically by the visible forces of
cial change like migration to urban areas and nearby towns, remittances and investments of mo
ck at home. All these have partially dissolved the rigid and segmented form of caste hierarchy
metimes subverting the social codes of dominance. Many of these groups adopted the rituals an
emonies of the dominant upper castes to identify themselves positively against the prevalent
rms, http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
positioning them stereotypically. 106/369
It is to map these social changes
8/18/2019 that
Contemporary Srinivas
India introduced
Economy, Society, concepts
Politics - Neera likePraveen
Chandhoke, Sanskritization
Priyadarshi in his
luential study on social changes happening in contemporary India.7 For Srinivas, Sanskritizatio
rocess by which a low Hindu caste or tribal or other group changes its custom, ritual, ideology
y of life in the direction of a high and frequently twice-born caste. Sanskritization has been a m
ocess of cultural change in Indian history and it has occurred in every part of the Indian
bcontinent. Dominant castes set the model for the majority of people living in rural areas inclu
casionally, Brahmins. Along with Sanskritization, Srinivas coined another term called
esternisation to denote the changes introduced by more than 200 years of British colonialism. T
m subsumes changes occurring at different levels including technology, institutions, ideology a
ues.
But another equally important concept of Srinivas’s dominant caste, aimed to represent the
nditions of limited forms of social mobility happening in rural India, drew attention to the imp
anges that Independence had brought. Post-Independence land reforms had transferred legal
nership rights in land previously owned by absentee landlords to the erstwhile tenant castes. T
tes were also the most numerous and they formed the large vote banks that helped the leaders
se castes to gain unprecedented levels of political power in many regions. In this way, the
mbination of the vote and land rights converted the former tenant castes into dominant castes. W
ve the examples of Jats and Yadavas in north India, Khammas and Reddys in Andhra Pradesh,
evars and Vanniyars in Tamil Nadu, asserting their power in regional polities. They deny acce
ny lower-caste groups to have their fair share in resource allocation. This newly found clout i
trumental in rigidifying the local patriarchal relations that women are forced to remain subserv
the male members of the family.
There are different perceptions and understandings of caste and, therefore, difficulties in arriv
ossible definition. Louis Dumont, another influential sociologist, concluded that Homo
erarchicus8 is the central and substantive element of the caste system, which differentiates it f
her social systems particularly of the West. Thus, broadly speaking, the caste system has been
verned by the concept of purity and pollution in personal interactions, in exchanges of food an
pursuit of occupations. The principle of pure and impure structures the divisions of labour, an
vours the pure occupations of Brahmin as superior to that of the occupations of scavenging cast
e Valmikis and Parayas. But Dumont’s view has been criticized by scholars for emphasizing t
tual views of caste and theories of Karma. The prevalence of hierarchy does not imply that lo
tes give legitimacy to the theory of caste that is propounded in the shastras. Had this been the
lits would not have waged struggles against dominant castes to improve their social life.

Caste and Class

cording to many scholars influenced by Marxism, the caste system is essentially a class system
stratification is based on occupation and the economic position of the group. It is generally ar
most Marxists that caste is a residue of a pre-industrial class society. Marxists reckon the con
castehttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
will disappear with the ultimate success of class struggle. Hence, there was less 107/369 focus
nerally on caste and moreContemporary
8/18/2019 on class analysis and
India Economy, class
Society, struggle.
Politics But A. Praveen
- Neera Chandhoke, R. Desai and B. T. Rana
Priyadarshi

o of the pioneering Marxist sociologists, gave importance to the studies of caste in their respec
rks.
Thus, for Desai:
Caste has further determined the pattern of the complicated religious and secular culture of the people. It has fixed the psycholo
f the various social groups and has evolved such minutely graded levels of social distance and superior-inferior relationships th
he social structure looks like a gigantic hierarchic pyramid with mass of untouchables as its base and a small stratum of elite, th
rahmins almost equally unapproachable at its apex. 9

e changes introduced by the British in Indian society produced changes in caste and class relat
rural India. The increase in the speed of the modern means of communication, the introduction
British system of administration and laws, and the growth of a modern capitalist competitive
onomy shattered the subsistence economy of the self-sufficient village community. Thus, the
nctional basis of caste has been undermined partially. The transformation of self-contained, rig
tes into modern, mobile classes has taken place in a peculiar manner. Certain castes have bee
onopolizing the position of the privileged, upper classes of modern society. Certain castes have

en losing society.
modern previousThis
status
newand functions and
development hasslowly gettingtosubmerged
contributed to theoflower-class
the emergence group
a peculiar social
ucture in Modern India that class struggles have taken the form of caste struggles.
B. T. Ranadive, a leading political leader and Marxist theorist, argued that the anti-caste strug
the oppressed classes were manifesting itself as demand for reservation in jobs and distributi
plus lands for the lower castes. Thus, for him, a deeper struggle should be a transformation of
operty and production relations sustaining both caste and class oppression.10 His arguments w
med in the context of the Green Revolution and the 1970s’ caste conflicts. (For more on these

ues, see Chapter 11.)

But the complexities of class interface with caste are so intriguing that it is difficult sometimes
y which is contributing more to social conflicts. On many occasions, the economic deprivation
wer caste or class may stem from a caste conflict depending upon the context. This happened d
impact of capitalism in India. This was originally made by the British to enhance productivity
industrial sector by utilizing local raw materials and later by the Indian State through the
pansion of agricultural production. This was done by the introduction of modern irrigation and
hnological inputs to create more surplus. But the bulk of the poor in rural areas were landless
ricultural labourers and ‘lower castes’, including women. This new development process call
Green Revolution has been highlighted as the bloodless revolution.
Among the development programmes introduced by the post-colonial Indian State, the Green
volution is considered to be the most successful. It led to a substantial increase in agricultural
tput and helped solve India’s food problem. It contributed significantly to the social and politi
anges in rural villages and, in that sense, it was called an agricultural revolution. 11 It also
ensified the interplay between caste and class links and was articulated often as violent confli
tween landowners and Dalit labourers. The Green Revolution converted many of these middle
tes as commodity producers of the grain-market economy. Thus, sizeable landed areas108/369
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of wes
P witnessed
8/18/2019 the assertion of Jats as aIndia
Contemporary political
Economy, pressure group
Society, Politics - Neerathrough
Chandhoke, the kisan
Praveen unity of Mahen
Priyadarshi

ngh Tikait and, in Andhra Pradesh, Khammas and Reddys became influential in deciding the fu
any political outfit. The cost-intensive regime of the Green Revolution also made the way for
chanization of the production and, thereby, alienated the vulnerable labouring groups like Dal
d poor Muslims in the Telengana region.

CASTE AND VIOLENCE

e outbreak of mass violence from the 1960s between the upper castes and lower castes were c
te war, caste feud, and caste battle and even caste genocide by academics and journalists alik
hat then is a caste war? Caste violence or caste war is the committed, oppressive form of viole
rmally directed at the lower-caste, landless poor, initiated largely by the landholding powerfu
per castes to teach them a lesson for crossing the ‘limits’ like demanding more wages, violatin
te hierarchy and sometimes for avenging the wrongs done by the lower castes. Thus, groups th
are common interests as landlords, cattle owners, tenants and labourers recruit their members f
hting by using the language of caste.
Most Indian states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar
have witnessed innumerous incidents of violence against Dalits. It is against this context that
reme movements like Maoists and Naxal movements formed alliances of poor peasants and
ourers to fight against ‘upper caste’ forces. What resulted in this attempt was the consolidation
te members as ‘caste senas’ to protect the honour and pride. In Bihar, senas of Bhumihars, Ra
d Yadavas are prominent in their fight against Dalits and other ‘lower castes’. These senas use
olence with the ‘legitimate’ claim that it was always for a worthy cause like correcting the ene
ongs by inflicting punishment. From 1970s onwards, many Dalits invoked Gandhian and other
nciples of social justice to pressurize the state to take action against the upper caste senas . In
e Andhra Pradesh, the dominant castes like Kammas and Reddys invented the language of ‘bur
the civilized’ to counter the legitimate and rational claims of the Dalit activists. In this claim, t
gue that the Kammas and Reddys have earned their wealth and prestige by their hard work and
ultured virtues’. This argument was used to challenge the moral mandate of the lower castes as
re yet to be ‘civilized’ like Kammas and Reddys. Many would argue with comparative intenti
t there were more violent caste conflicts in post-Independence India than during the colonial
riod that had more agrarian conflicts rather than caste conflicts. What is missed in these sweep
tements are the relative absence of lower-caste dissent against upper-caste land owners in col
mes, as the lands and other resources were in the hands of colonial State and zamindars. (For m
this, see Chapter 12.)
In post-Independence India, with the emergence of consciousness related to rights and social
tice, the Dalits promoted the desire for equality as a social virtue. They demanded equal
tribution of land and resources between various groups and these demands were not at all
nsidered by the State and upper castes. The State agencies have often been manipulated by the

per castes
idents andtothe thwart
number the of claims
peopleof killed
Dalits.inThere
caste are
wars. noRough
clear-cut figures put
estimates about the details
it between
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of var
40,000
109/369 a
 000.8/18/2019
According to government figures
Contemporary from mid-
India Economy, Society,1980s to the
Politics - Neera late 1990s,
Chandhoke, Praveenpeople
Priyadarshikilled in cas

rs were more in number than in the six-year conflict between Kashmiri separatists and Indian
curity forces during the same period.12

Caste in the Present Context

e Indian society and the caste system have changed tremendously over the years after
dependence. For many of the contemporary sociologists, these changes may be uneven both in r
d urban areas. The caste-based hierarchy is sharply defined at least among the upper castes of
mkheri, a village selected for the study in north India. Caste endogamy is universally practised
meaning has changed. Ritual purity has given way to cultural difference as a marker of separa
rough a realignment of ideas about rank and equality, status has become less important. Hence
re is a continuity as well as change in the perceptions and practices of caste in contemporary
mes. One may find a Brahmin sharing food with a lower caste in functions like marriage and oth
emonies. Also one may find the claims from many villagers that there is no caste left. For Ful
se claims are made largely because of the illegitimacy to defend caste in the public domain, an
w it has gone into the ‘private realm’ of family and marriage as a form of culture and ‘differen
tead of jati, they may now use samaj to refer to caste difference rather than caste hierarchy. 13
Party politics in Independent India has influenced caste and it is reflected in the electoral proc
o. Across the country, one finds that leaders of the powerful and large parties are successful in
nslating their numerical strength into political power by mobilising horizontally their members
ce the 1980s, a more polarized caste politics has emerged around the vexed issue of reservatio
e explicit purpose of reservation is to promote social, economic and political equality for Dal

bals, women and other low castes by following positive discrimination in education and job
portunities. By this policy, the constitutional delegitimacy of caste had acquired new levels in
dia. In 1990, the issue of reservation took a dramatic turn when V P Singh introduced Mandai
mmission recommendations for implementing the 27 per cent quota for other backward castes
ntral government services and public undertakings. The decision to implement the report provo
lent protests from the higher castes in many areas of the country. Even in 2006, the present
ngress government’s decision to extend reservations to country’s premier institutions was
allenged in the streets by higher-caste students. But elsewhere in South India, reservation has b
practice for the last 50 years or more, helping to create opportunities for backward castes in
ucation and employment. But evidence to the contrary show that compensatory discrimination
evenly spread as some backward castes have gained nothing while some powerful castes have
ned a lot. The process of Mandalization, a term coined by many sociologists, swept across ma
rth Indian states like Bihar and UP with the backward-class, lower castes gaining political pow
owing the disintegration of dominant high-caste groups in the political domain. It has been argu
t Mandalization is also a result of the rise of a middle-class section among lower caste OBCs
s also been observed that the OBCs’ demand for reservations are largely due to the pivotal rol
ucation has in providing social mobility and status. The key to their material prosperity110/369
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over th
ars has been the policies of
8/18/2019 the post-independent
Contemporary Indian
India Economy, Society, Politics -State such as Praveen
Neera Chandhoke, progressive
Priyadarshiland reforms

plementation of various development projects and, most importantly, with the Green Revolutio
miliarizing them with the market economy of grain production.
The Dalit castes at the bottom of the hierarchy have hardly experienced substantial changes in
cio-economic profile over the years. Large sections remain landless and have only their labou
wer to sell and, therefore, do not have any access to education, health and a secure livelihood
ntradictions are sharper in rural areas where now upwardly mobile middle castes and the Dal

t work for them enter into violent conflicts. Often, this results into the brutal subjugation of Da
d the violation of basic human rights that are guaranteed to any citizen of India. The entire struc
class and caste linkages are being reworked under these new social processes. Thus, the histo
vantages of the upper castes in relation to education and professional occupations by making u
portunities provided by the colonial regime placed many of them and their descendants in a
sition of advantage in comparison with lower-caste groups.
In a similar vein, many lower-caste, backward classes benefited from historical changes like t
ancy occupation of land for agriculture and the abolition of Zamindari or absentee landlord
stem. These changes were introduced at an all-India level with different degrees of land reform
plementations. Some states like Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal and Kerala have relatively
ccessful implementations, whereas in many north Indian states, landed groups thwarted this po
e transformations in the agrarian structure due to land reforms had a tremendous effect in the ru
as. For example, in a village of Rajasthan, there was considerable difference in the overall
downership patterns after land reforms. The Rajputs, the erstwhile landlords, possessed much
d after the land reforms than they did before. Most of the village land had moved into the hand
se who could be called the medium and small landowners mostly from the middle castes. The
touchable Dalit groups that were called the attached land labourers remained out of the purview
d reforms even though the change in the agrarian scenario had brought the backward-caste gro
dominate the rural, social structure.

Caste and Gender

e interplay between caste and gender has been an area of concern that was neglected by most
cial scientists. Recently many social scientists of feminist concerns have raised the complex is

the exclusion of women from the discussions of caste and class. There has been no sustained
logue between the two sets of scholars representing the women’s studies and caste studies. M
holars have regarded the axis of caste and gender as mutually exclusive and, therefore, having
ks between the two axes of stratification. Thus, for the first time, many feminists have taken up
e of the inextricable links between caste and gender. They also coined a term ‘Brahminical
triarchy’ by which caste and gender could be understood in the Indian context.
Many feminist scholars have also explored the regional and caste dimensions of the functionin
ahminical patriarchy. The major contribution of feminist scholarship has been in raising the
portant question of why women become complicit in systems that subordinate them. Several
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swers8/18/2019
were made in response to thisIndia
Contemporary question. It is argued
Economy, Society, thatChandhoke,
Politics - Neera even though
Praveen women
Priyadarshi lose in rela

their own menfolk, within a patriarchal situation they derive certain benefits from the system o
hich they are a part. Compliance brings them gains and deviance, on the other hand, expels them
m the material and symbolic resources of the family. Women are regarded as upholding the
ditions by conforming to traditions. Men, on the other hand, uphold traditions by enforcing them
on women. The greatest impact of such enforcing is most visible in the arena of marriage and
production. Thus, it is in the field of marriages that caste continues to structure the lives of peo

we take a look at the matrimonial columns of most newspapers, we may be able to see how ca
l governing our lives. We find that it is not just reservations or caste-based electoral politics t
keeping caste alive but other factors like unequal control over property, unequal performance
our and the endogamous marriage system binding production and reproduction together. What
noted here is that not all women suffer equally under patriarchal conditions. The upper-caste
men may not have the same level of advantages like upper-caste men. But upper-caste women
vantageously placed over lower-caste men in relation to access to education and occupations.
not the case with Dalit women who face oppression at multiple levels. Dalit feminists have
mulated a notion of three-way oppression of Dalit women:
1. As subject to caste oppression at the hands of the upper castes
2. As labourers subject to class-based oppression
3. As women who experience patriarchal oppression at the hands of all men, including men of their caste 14

The Dalit women’s issue has been raised for the first time and their voice has been politicized
ough to make an impact on social life. Thus, our public domain is becoming sensitized to the
mplexities of social structure by the participation of social scientists on various issues after th
tations over the Mandai Commission Report. Their views have shaped our knowledge about t
cial structure in which we live.

SUGGESTED READINGS
ly, Susan. Caste, Society and Politics in India. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
kravarti, Uma. Gendering Caste. Calcutta: Stree, 2003.
noranjan, Mohanty (ed.). Class, Caste and Gender. New Delhi: Sage, 2002.

QUESTIONS

1. What is social structure? Analyse the changes in the social structure in rural India in the post-Independence period.
2. Caste has been the basic organizing principle of social life in rural India. Do you agree with this statement? Give arguments
favour or against the statement.
3. Define caste and class. Analyse the relationship between the two concepts in the light of the Indian situation.
4. Do you agree with the view that caste has reinvented itself as a category of political mobilization in democratic India?
Elaborate.

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 8/18/2019 8
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

The Explosion of the ‘Middle Class’

Sujit Mahapatra

ddenly, the middle class is everywhere, whether it is the newspapers, or social commentaries
television. The Indian midle class is a category often used by both experts and common perso
e focus on the middle class in popular discourse is partly explained by the fact that its rise is
nsidered the most striking feature of contemporary India. Gurcharan Das, an icon of corporate
d a prominent newspaper columnist, celebrates the unleashing of this middle class in his book
dia Unbound. This new, young and dynamic middle class has, according to Das, led to ‘the big
nsformation in its (India’s) history’ and he says that he feels the same excitement his parents h
t at the time of Independence.1 His arguments, however, suggest that the members of this new
ddle class are not midnight’s children but children of a new dawn.
It is being said that the Indian economy is doing so well despite the political impediments to
owth (read the Left parties) because of the young and huge middle class, which shot into
ominence with the economic reforms ushered in the early 1990s. That is the first time that the s
the middle class was debated, as the MNCs saw their major market in this middle class. Altho
re is no clearly accepted definition of the middle class, some estimates peg the Indian middle
300–350 million,2 while conservative estimates put it at about 200 million. 3 Even the latter fig
kes it the biggest middle class anywhere in the world (China, as our favourite middle-class
nchmark, has about 130 to 170 million that can be considered middle class). This also makes t
dian middle class bigger than the entire population of most European countries and almost as hu
the US population.4 The size of the middle class has also changed our attitude towards the que
population, which is no longer seen as a liability but as an asset.
It has almost become a cliché to talk about how the middle class enjoys power disproportiona
size. It had always been politically powerful and, from the time of Independence (as we shall

cuss), has and

reaucracy set the
the agenda
politicalforclass
the nation. It has
itself. The always
middle dominated
class the institutions
has become even more of the judiciar
powerful toda
th the spectacular growth of two institutions they dominate—mass media and large corporation
t now have a major say in an India that is liberalizing. Hence, politicians who ignore the midd
ss are vulnerable to punishment from these middle-class institutions. For instance, Lalu Yadav
lier fought elections with slogans such as ‘Vikas nahin, samman chahiye’ making it clear that
litics was about empowerment of the lower castes and not development for the middle class. A
ing the elections in Bihar, the same Lalu has reincarnated himself, as he tries to appeal to mid

ss values and concerns of development and efficiency in his stint with the railways.
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The middle
8/18/2019 class itself has become India
Contemporary so huge and
Economy, so powerful
Society, Politics - Neerathat it is often
Chandhoke, Praveenpossible
Priyadarshi to forget th

re is a world that exists outside. In fact, it is possible that if someone wakes up like Rip Van
nkle after 17 years and goes through the mass media, she may not realize that the middle class
t constitute the entire India. The case of the India Shining campaign before the general election
04 illustrates how it has become increasingly difficult not to confuse the concerns and feelings
middle class with that of the entire country. Most electoral predictions went horribly wrong a
NDA victory because, as always, the respondents of the surveys predominantly belonged to th
ddle classes.
The other distinctive feature of the power of the middle class in contemporary India is that like
ver before, the middle class now sets the tone for the other classes culturally as well. Accordin
hish Nandy, middle-class cultural products:
… are threatening to turn both the folk and the classical into second-order presences (the way the immensely successful televis
erials on the Ramayana and the Mahabharata now influence the frame for interpreting the epics for a large number of Indian
nd today even the global mass culture enters the subcontinent filtered through the same middle-class sensitivities epitomized by
ommercial cinema.5

t before we ask how the middle class became so powerful, what turned it into the engine for
dia’s growth and what its implications are, let us try and understand the ‘middle class’. This is
cause the question of what is middle class and who constitutes the middle class elicits varied
en contradictory answers.

THE ‘MIDDLE’ IN THE MIDDLE CLASS

ere are two popular ways in which we understand the concept of the ‘middle’. It is taken to
signate that member (the median) of a group or series or that part of a whole, which has the sam
mber of members or parts on each side. Or, it can be understood as the intermediate stage or p
tween two other parts in relation to which it defines itself.
Neither the middle class in India nor in the West is really in the middle if one takes one of the
nventional definitions of the middle class as including families whose incomes lie between 75
nt and 125 per cent of the median. 6 In America, for instance, the middle class practically inclu
entire population. In a country like India, where statistically a third of the population lives be
poverty line, where 46 per cent of the income is accounted for by the top 20 per cent of the
pulation and the lowest one-fifth accounts for only 8 per cent of incomes, if we define the midd
ss in terms of the median income, we are talking of those who are actually better off than the
jority.
This definition, however, does not explain why we talk of so many middle classes—the upper
ddle class and the lower middle class—and why we never talk of the lower upper class or the
per lower class.7 This is probably because in our popular imagination, there are two definite
sses, the rich and the poor, and all those that come in between constitute the middle class. We
efinition for the poor, however contested, and we have some understanding of the rich, but the
ddle class has always been a fuzzy category. It is because there is such diversity within this cl
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In fact, our understandingContemporary
8/18/2019 of the rich and
India poorSociety,
Economy, necessitates a conceptual
Politics - Neera space
Chandhoke, Praveen for the middle c
Priyadarshi

e word ‘rich’ comes etymologically from the Latin reich, which like the German reich stands
power of the king. The power of the king comes from the fact that the others are subjects and
king. Later, when the word ‘rich’ came to be applied to the power that comes with money, for
h to be rich, the poor required to be poor. At the same time, this means that in a social
atification, the rich and the poor cannot meet. Hence, we need the intervening middle classes
tween the rich and the poor.
This middle class, because it avoids the extremities, is seen as the most desirable social locat
en when one moves beyond the middle class, one is admired for retaining a middle-class lifes
was epitomized by Narayan Murthy continuing to drive his old Fiat even after becoming the cz
Indian IT industry. Moreover, in all our debates and arguments about ending poverty, what w
t state is our desire to uplift the poor into the middle class. The rich, poor and the middle class
course relative terms—if all the poor are lifted into the middle class, what would the middle c
the middle of?

THE ‘CLASS’ OF THE ‘MIDDLE CLASS’ 8

modern Europe, the middle class emerged as an intermediate social class between the nobility
peasantry. While the nobility owned the countryside, and the peasantry worked the countrysid
middle class, also called the bourgeoisie (literally town-dwellers), then arose around mercan
nctions in the city. This bourgeoisie allied with the kings in uprooting the feudalist system and
pported the American and French revolutions, and were instrumental in the rapid expansion of
mmerce.
With the expansion of commerce, trade and the market economy, the bourgeoisie grew in size,
luence and power, and gradually became the ruling class in industrialized nation-states in the l
th century, which means that it owned the bulk of the means of production (land, factories, offi
pital and resources). The middle class, disassociated from the bourgeoisie now, came to descr
professional and business class in the United Kingdom. This middle class is sometimes called
tit or petty bourgeoisie. They are the white-collar workers—those who work for wages (like a
rkers), but do so in conditions that are comfortable and safe compared to the conditions for bl
lar workers of the ‘working class’.

It must be mentioned, however, that there is little unanimity in the understanding of the ‘class’
noted by the middle class from the 20th century onwards. In the United States, by the end of the
ntury, most people identified themselves as middle class. In contrast, recent surveys in the Uni
ngdom indicate that up to two-thirds of Britons identify themselves as working class.9 This is
obably because in the USA, the term always has a positive connotation whereas in the UK, it o
s a pejorative value due to its association with matters of culture and taste. In fact, in the USA,
ney is the marker of social status, whereas in the UK, markers such as accent, manners, place
ucation, occupation and a person’s family, circle of friends and acquaintances determine one’s
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In this contested terrain, to
8/18/2019 understand
Contemporary what the
India Economy, middle
Society, Politics class
- Neera in India stands
Chandhoke, for, we have to
Praveen Priyadarshi

amine the history of growth of the middle class in India right from its origins. It is from this
ploration shall we try to arrive at a definition at the end.

The Emergence of the Indian Middle Class

e way of thinking about the Indian middle class is in terms of the adjectives commonly used to
scribe it such as ‘urban’ and ‘English speaking’. It follows that an urban, English-speaking per
definitely middle class in India. The strong association of these adjectives with the middle cla
pears to be a historical legacy.
The middle class in India came into being with the felt need by the colonial masters to create a
ive elite in its own image for the colonial administration of the country. Thus, the middle clas
t emerge with industrialization as in England but with the need for colonial administrators. Thi
ddle class did not emerge as the manufacturing class but was, in a way, itself manufactured in t
esidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Lord Macaulay said in his notorious ‘Minute
dian Education’ in 1835, ‘We must at present do our best to form a class, who may be interpre
tween us and the millions we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but Engli
te, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect’. 10 It is worth noting here that by ‘English’, Macaula
erred to the upper-class English taste because only the upper class had taste in the first place.
The native elite they created were modern Indians like Raja Rammohan Roy, who maintained
uses in Calcutta, one in which he entertained his Western guests and another in which he
ertained his Indian guests. It has been famously said about him that in his Western house,
erything was Western except Rammohan and in his Indian house, everything was Indian except

mmohan. In other words, the native elites like Rammohan were neither with the British nor wi
dians.
Macaulay’s Minute also indicated that it was a job in the colonial administration, which also
plied English education, that secured the entry into the middle class. Bankim Chandra Chatterj
author of Vande Mataram, had written of the middle class in 1873 that ‘like Vishnu, they wil
ve ten incarnations, namely clerk, teacher, Brahmo, accountant, doctor, lawyer, magistrate,
dlord, editor and unemployed’11 It is significant that the question of unemployment only emerg
th the failure of education to secure a job contrary to its promise, or in other words, the failure
ucation to deliver one into the middle class. We, therefore, do not talk of the illiterate unemplo
t almost always of the educated unemployed.
The social groups not dependent on education were excluded from the middle class. They incl
vast majority of the agricultural poor, and the unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled manual wor
tty clerks and employees such as postmen, constables, soldiers, peons, etc. At the other end, it
cluded the rich industrialists and capitalists like the Goenkas, Birlas and Tatas, the very big
mindars and taluqdars, and members of the princely families.
Education not only promised a job, but an entry into the middle class, the bhadralok in colonia
The bhadralok are the genteel, civilized people; the native equivalent of the gentlemen.
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T
nnection has strong roots Contemporary
8/18/2019 and permeates our contemporary
India Economy, consciousness
Society, Politics - Neera asPriyadarshi
Chandhoke, Praveen well. For instance
film Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Shah Rukh Khan graduates from a slum to a middle-class lif
ough his education. People who have not had the privilege of middle class education, often im
ucation as having a transformative effect. Hence, the traffic policeman who stopped me on my
not wearing a helmet said, ‘What is the use of all your education if you do not follow the law
at is why we often overhear maids bemoan, ‘Look, how that husband and wife fight with each
her! What is the point of all that education then?’ The idea of education, they still retain, promi

t only a job but also the social graces and etiquette that mark civilized behaviour.
Partha Chatterjee argues that the Indian middle class in the colonial context had a paradoxical
sition.12 The middle class was culturally invented through colonial English education, yet
ucturally limited as it lacked a basis for economic expansion in the context of colonial econom
ntrol. So, it was never a bourgeoisie as in the West. Hence, it was not a fundamental class in
atterjee’s opinion as it made no attempts at social transformation. In fact, the existing social
ucture mutated itself to constitute the new middle class. The requirement of English education
ry into the hallowed circle of the middle class meant that the upper-caste Indian with tradition
cess to education could exploit the opportunities and become the middle class. In the process,
quired a class identity without losing its caste moorings.

Implications of an Upper Caste Becoming Middle Class

the existing studies of the Indian middle class, hardly any attention has been given to the histor
t of an upper caste constituting the original middle class. This has been a major gap in
derstanding the specificities of the Indian middle class and its distinctive development in the

ntemporary period. For instance, the middle class that emerged in the Presidency towns in the
onial period was classical in its cultural preferences, both classical Sanskritic because of its
ahminical origins, and upper-class Western because of education. It had distaste for the popul
d the folk in both the Indian and the English traditions. That is how indigenous, popular, cultura
ms such as the nautanki and jatra acquired pejorative values, which continues today.
More significantly, the upper-caste location of the original Indian middle class led to the reten
their traditional roles in the social hierarchies, where the upper caste engaged itself with educ
d disengaged itself with any form of physical labour. This has major implications for the
derstanding of middle-class existence even now. One defining characteristic of a middle- clas
estyle in India today is the reliance on domestic help, whether in the form of the maid, the cook
a lesser extent, the driver (‘chauffeur’ sounds too upper class). Sometimes, it may even includ
ddle-class help such as the home tutor for children. This presence or dependence on domestic
the menial jobs is a distinctive feature of middle-class India (it is not the case in the West, w
ddle-class people do most of these jobs themselves). It has, however, been largely ignored in t
dies on the middle class, perhaps, because the significance of the upper-caste origins of the m
ss in India has been little explored.
The failure to acknowledge this distinctiveness of the Indian middle class has been a major
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oblem8/18/2019
in city planning as well. The India
Contemporary cities of India
Economy, Society,are very
Politics different
- Neera from
Chandhoke, thePriyadarshi
Praveen cities of the Wes
hich they are modelled. The cities are of course for the civilized people or, in other words, for
ddle class. In fact, the word ‘civilization’ comes from the Latin root, civitas, which signifies c
modelling our cities on the West, we, however, forget that the urban middle class in the West d
t depend on the kind of domestic help the middle class in India does. The urban poor are
dispensable to the urban middle class in India. Yet, the city is never planned with the slum in m
d a slum always has an illegitimate birth. In each city, therefore, there is also what the architec

n calls ‘the unintended city’, which the city cannot do without, and which, in cities like Bomba
d Calcutta, houses the majority of the population.13

Political Dominance of the Middle Class

til the first two decades after Independence, there was the political hegemony of a small, uppe
te, English-educated elite. At the same time, the rule of the middle-class elite at the national l
uld not be typified with the rule of the upper castes. Even if the ruling elite had their origins in
per castes, they had become detached from their traditional ritual functions. They had acquired
erests and lifestyles, which came through modern education, non-traditional occupations and a
gree of Westernization in their thinking and lifestyle.
The upper castes, reconstituted as middle class, could comfortably own both the upper-caste a
ddle-class identity. Even though they ceased to perform their ritual functions, their traditional h
tus helped them access modern education and professions and also to convert, when required,
herited wealth into new means for acquiring elite positions of power. So their castes had fused
ss and had acquired a power dimension. The modernized urban section of the upper castes

nctioned as a power group of elites. As this process of converting traditional status into new po
s restricted to the upper castes, they sought to use that power to establish their own caste-like
gemony over the rest of the society.
Even the Indian National Congress, which was set up in 1885, catered to upper-and middle-cl
erests. Nehru has written in his autobiography about the culture of Congress politics in the
ionalist struggle. He wrote:
My politics had been those of my class, the bourgeoisie. Indeed, all vocal politics then (and to a great extent even now) were tho
f the middle classes, and Moderate and Extremist alike represented them… The Moderate represented especially the handful o
he upper middle class who had on the whole prospered under British rule and wanted no sudden changes, which might endange
heir position and interests. They had close relations with the British Government and the big landlord class. The Extremist
epresented also the lower ranks of the middle class’. 14

s only with the political emergence of Gandhi in the 1920s that the Congress acquired a mass
aracter for the first time. The nationalist movement involved the masses but the leadership
mained with the dominant elite, the middle class.
It is perhaps because the original middle class in India became the dominant elite that we have
nfusion of the middle class with the elite. There were further implications of this political
minance of the middle class. Nehru has argued that Muslim separatism, which led to the carvin
Pakistan from British India, was the work of middle-class Muslims to protect only their
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 remarked,
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the communal demands
India Economy, put
Society, forward
Politics by any communal
- Neera Chandhoke, group is, in the
Praveen Priyadarshi

al analysis, a demand for jobs, and these jobs could only go to a handful of the upper middle
sses’.15
Further, the fact that knowledge of English was a common bond with the middle class througho
country ensured that in the impasse over the selection of Hindi as the national language with i
position from the South, English continued its dominance in Independent India as it was the
mmon language of the middle-class leadership across the country, though it was spoken by a v

all fraction of the population.

Changes in Urban Life with the Formation of the Middle Class

e have already mentioned that with their emergence as a middle class, the upper caste lost their
ual functions. This was an indication of the progressive breakdown of the traditional caste syst
is is because the nexus between hereditary ritual status and occupations constituted one of the
fining features of the caste system. One chooses an occupation for its monetary and other benef
d not for its correlation with ritual purity. Hence, a Brahmin would now have no problems in
ling leather in the city, though dealing with leather was traditionally confined to a lower caste
wever, castes as self-conscious communities continue to survive.
Other changes have taken place in the caste system with the emergence of a middle class from
thin its ranks. Earlier, within a particular caste, the members were more or less equal in terms
ir lifestyle. The little differences between households in terms of wealth and status were rarel
pressed in terms of power. ‘Today, members of a single caste are becoming increasingly
ferentiated among themselves in terms of their occupations, educational and income levels and
16
estyles’. With the increasing differentiation within a caste, people are increasingly marrying
tside the sub-castes and often the caste as well.
The differentiation within castes and its impact on middle-class marriages can be seen in the
reasing reliance on the matrimonial columns in newspapers, which are middle-class products
rlier, in cohesive social groups, it was possible to find a partner from within one’s social circ
wever, with mobility into the middle class, one not only looks for a partner from the same cas
t from the same social class as well. The reliance on newspapers and other media also sugges
t the middle class itself has expanded beyond a small social community.

Expansion of the Middle Class

e middle class in the colonial period and the early years of Independence was a fairly homoge
oup, urban centred with English education and mostly upper caste. This English-speaking, urba
ddle class continued to expand with increasing prosperity in the urban centres. However, the
atively homogeneous character of the middle class began to change with its expansion and with
ergence of new groups into the middle class.

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Emergence of the Rural Middle Class
 8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
e defining urban-centredness of the middle class was lost with the emergence of an agrarian m
ss on the heels of the Green Revolution, introduced from around the mid-1960s. These farmer
ho constituted the new middle class, were relatively well off and they owned over 60 per cent
total land area, though they constituted only about 25 per cent of the total agrarian population
ey were the numerous middle-level cultivationists, who had benefited the most from the Zamin
olition Act of 1955 and now benefited the most from the Green Revolution.17
Unlike the very rich farmers, they farmed the land themselves and took good care to ensure
ximum produce. Their land holdings were large enough to generate the capital for use of new
hnologies such as tractors and fertilizers. Since they had the political power, they also manipu
policies to benefit them. With favourable government policies such as subsidies in power, w
sel and fertilizers and on taxation and easy availability of credit and price supports for agricu
oduce, their surpluses increased. This led to diversification within agriculture and many farme
o went into dairy and poultry farming and into ancillary industries such as flour mills, sugar
operatives, transport business, trading, and brick kilns—and an agrarian middle class was bor
The power of this new political class came to be seen in 1977 with the formation of non-Cong
vernments. Charan Singh became one of the leaders of this agrarian middle class opposed to w
s perceived to be the pro-urban policies of the Congress. With increasing prosperity, the rich
mers sent their children to the cities for education as befitting a middle-class life. With the arr
television, the culture of the urban middle class and its lifestyle came into the courtyards of
rarian homes and it acted as a spur for the consumption seen in the cities. The confidence that c
th the new-found political power also brought a desire for consumer goods earlier seen as
necessary for poor farmers.

With increasing migration both within the country and outside from the villages, there slowly
erged a rural middle class fuelled by the remittances of migrants, which added to the already
med agrarian middle class. At the same time, the agrarian middle class was dominated by the
per caste and the middling castes. There was hardly an agrarian Dalit middle class for obviou
sons. Most Dalits were either landless or precariously marginal farmers. In fact, a survey had
orded that till as late as the mid-1980s, over 90 per cent of the bonded labour in Uttar Pradesh
s from the SCs. The dalits had not constituted the urban middle class as well because they did
ve the means to access modern education, having been denied education in the traditional syste
a result of reservations, however, slowly a Dalit middle class emerged in the urban centres.

Emergence of the Dalit Middle Class

e Congress party, which dominated national politics in the early decades after Independence,
cused on the middle class and the lower castes, linking middle-class rule to lower-caste suppo
d the ideology that legitimized it was neither caste ideology nor class ideology but the ideolog
ation-building’. The politics and programmes of the Congress party at the centre were thus
ojected as representing the ‘national aspirations’ of the Indian people, although as articulated b
mogenous middle class or the new power elite that played the leadership role at the time
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dependence.
8/18/2019 The Congress-dominated
Contemporary Indiapolitics was through
Economy, Society, theChandhoke,
Politics - Neera politicalPraveen
hegemony
Priyadarshiof the upper

ste-oriented middle class with the electoral consent of the lower castes. It was a peculiar caste
ss situation where the upper castes functioned in politics with the self-identity of a class and th
wer castes with the consciousness of their separate caste identities. 18
Towards the end of the 1960s, despite tardy implementation, affirmative policies (for the lowe
tes and tribals, which had been in operation in some form or the other since colonial times) ha
ated a small but significant section of individuals in lower-caste groups, who, by acquiring

dern education, had joined the middle class by entering the bureaucracy and other non-traditio
cupations.
The Congress party-dominated politics of social consensus, presided over by the hegemony of
per-caste, English-educated elite, began to crumble. The elite at the top could not accommodat
er-increasing claims and pressures from different sections of the lower castes for their share o
wer. 19 The lower castes, therefore, started mobilizing politically. Members of each lower cas
ed the advantages secured through the political mobilization of the castes collectively for entry
middle class.
The members of the lower castes then started acquiring the self-consciousness of belonging to
ddle class and it is characterized by new lifestyles (modern consumption patterns) and owners
consumer goods/economic assets. The ritual purity or impurity of statuses held by its members
traditional system has ceased to matter as members of the middle class. Now, members of
ferent castes and communities, who have acquired modern education, and have taken to non-
ditional occupations and/or command higher income and political power, are entering the mid
ss.
The lower castes, however, in seeking upward mobility to the middle class are looking to acq
odern jobs, white-collar jobs, wealth and political power, not a higher ritual status. Individuals
m different castes and communities, as they enter this middle class, acquire not only economic
erests and modern lifestyles but also a new self image and social identity as members of a mid
ss.
When sections of the Dalits entered the middle class, largely through policies of reservation, a
ntinued to face discrimination and humiliation at the hands of the upper castes, they decided to
their respect and dignity. This political mobilization of the scheduled castes in north India, fo
tance, led to the formation of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1984. 20 The party was finance
new Dalit middle class mostly comprising government servants and clerks and it is this new
ddle class that took over the leadership of the BSP Their argument was that humiliation and no
onomic deprivation was the main problem of the Scheduled Castes and hence, greater politica
presentation and not material advantage was the solution. It rallied under the slogan of ‘Vote
mara, raaj tumhara nahin chalega’ , which indicates the existing pattern of politics they oppo
Meanwhile, with the split in the Congress in 1969, and with it a split in the lower-caste suppo
middle-class leaders, Indira Gandhi herself increasingly patronized and promoted different
litical groups to stay in power. The English language media and the popular Hindi film, both
dressing the middle-class audience, consequently started bemoaning the plebeianization
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litical8/18/2019
field and held the plebeian politicians
Contemporary India Economy, responsible for the
Society, Politics - Neera decayPraveen
Chandhoke, in political
Priyadarshi standards a

ics. I remember stating as an undergraduate that I did not want to become a bureaucrat because
d not want to take orders from an illiterate scoundrel (read politician). It little occurred to me
t time that my iconic scoundrels were all leaders from the lower castes such as Lalu Yadav an
ulayam Singh Yadav.
This middle-class disillusionment with political class comes to a head in the recent film, Rang
santi.21 The film has been much talked about and, in fact, been credited with creating an awak

the youth. The politics it advocates, however, is slightly disturbing. In the film, the protagonist
politician but not because he was himself directly responsible for the death of their friend. Hi
ling seems to be symbolic of the decimation of the entire political class. One must, however, n
t it is only the middle class that can afford to do away with the political class. For most of our
evances in the metros, we do not turn to the politicians, but to the media, the judiciary and the
reaucracy, institutions populated by members of the middle class. However, people not belong
the middle class, cannot do away with politics. It is probably their only redressai mechanism.
The political mobilization among the lower castes had other consequences as well. Thomas
nsen has argued in The Saffron Wave that this has been one of the major factors for the rise of
ndu nationalism, which articulated the anxieties of the Indian middle class in the wake of these
velopments.22 The fact that Hindu nationalism developed within a large and expanding middle
ss defied political commonsense, which sees a strong middle class as a prerequisite for a stab
mocracy in the postcolonial world. The assumption, of course, is that a democratic culture
ovides greater tolerance and pluralism.

The Middle Class and Democracy

e middle class has been taken as the cornerstone of a stable democracy. Seymour Lipset had m
influential proposition in 1959 that the more economically developed the country, the more
ccessful a democracy it is.23 According to this theory, economic development is closely assoc
th increases in education, which in turn promotes political attitudes conducive to democracy (i
rsonal trust and tolerance of opposition). Second, economic development alters the pyramid-
aped social stratification in which the majority of the population is poor to a diamond-shaped
cial stratification, in which the majority is middle class and relatively well off. This social cha
oderates the intensity of class struggle by reducing the proportion of the population that is
sceptible to anti-democratic parties and ideologies and by increasing the proportion of populat
t supports moderate pro-democratic parties. Moreover, because middle-class occupations req
educated population, the middle class will hold political attitudes conducive to democracy th
quired through formal education. Thus, the middle class emerges as the main pro-democratic fo
Lipset’s analysis and this class gains in size with socio-economic development.
It must also be taken into account that capitalist development helps in the rise of democracy by
akening the feudal structure and the power of the landed gentry. The weakening of the landed
ntry, http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
of course, leads to the growth and power of the middle class. The middle class is 122/369 now
 nificant enough to be organized
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Contemporary it becomes more
Economy, Society, difficult
Politics for the elites
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveen to ignore them
Priyadarshi

litically.
Taking cue from Lipset’s proposition, in a recent book that asks why democracy succeeded in
t failed in Pakistan, Aitzaz Ahsan, the Pakistani senator, argues that the answer lies in the struc
the Pakistani and Indian society at the time of Partition. India had a strong middle class and a
bordinated military, while Pakistan had a strong feudal class and a weak middle class, and this
udal class was in the charge of the military.24 Many political commentators have, however, dra

ention to the history of the Indian democracy to show that this proposition of ‘no bourgeois, no
mocracy’ does not work in the Indian case because though the vast majority of the population h
t been middle class, democracy has thrived. Rather, the political mobilization of different grou
ch as the lower castes and the increasing heterogenization of the middle class have been seen a
dicators of the triumph of Indian democracy.

The New Industrial class

e agrarian and the Dalit middle class, however, lacked the pedigree and upbringing of the
ditional middle class though they shared the money and goods. Increasingly, therefore, it is thi
oney and consumption of goods that came to define the heterogeneous middle class. This middl
ss consumer then came to be portrayed in public discourse as the primary beneficiary of new
portunities in the wake of liberalization. At the same time, policies of liberalization were chan
ndamentally the character of a section of the middle class into that of a transnational global cla
With liberalization, the services sector and the IT industry became the drivers of the economy
agrarian economy, land and labour with capital become the determining factors for increasing

plus. In the industrial economy, capital and labour along with energy sources become the main
tors pushing productivity. In the information economy, the main source of productivity lies in t
cumulation of knowledge. The structural change in the information economy changes the labour
rket and there is a shift from manual labour to intellectual labour. In the information economy,
man capital, and not physical capital, is the driver of growth unlike in the industrial economy.
s, therefore, the educated middle class in India, which is the cause and the effect of the boom
dian economy, indicated among other things by the irresistible rise of the Sensex.
According to a 2005 study by Nasscom and McKinsey, India now accounts for 65 per cent of t
obal business in offshore IT and 46 per cent of the global BPO industry. Today, these two indu
ploy about 700,000 people and provide indirect employment to about 2.5 million workers. Th
vices sector dominates the Indian economy today contributing more than half of our national
ome. And according to a survey by India Today , most middle-class parents wanted their child
work in the services sector.
A distinctive feature of the IT industry is that it has flourished largely independently of the old
onomy, having few links to the traditional sources of business entrepreneurship or capital in th
m of the large industrial houses or business communities. Most software companies have been
undedhttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
by trained engineers of middle-class origins. The middle-class origins of many of the
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 repreneurs,
8/18/2019 who have drawn on theIndia
Contemporary cultural
Economy,capital of their
Society, Politics higher
- Neera education
Chandhoke, and social capita
Praveen Priyadarshi

rived from professional experience, have lent a distinctive culture and orientation to this indus
e entry of multinationals into IT has helped the industry grow and, therefore, the IT class is the
st vociferous in supporting globalization.
The software industry has produced a new transnational capitalist class. With increasing mobi
dian IT companies service global MNCs based all across the globe, 100,000 Indian profession
ve India every year to take jobs in the USA and 25 per cent of Silicon Valley companies are

unded or managed by Indians. The new middle class is constructed as a potential promise of th
nefits of globalization and the benefits are associated with the particular practices of commod
nsumption. Liberalization has created a sharp divide within the middle class, as segments of th
oup constitute the new rich in metropolitan India. The prosperous, urban, middle-class consum
sically the young, urban professional working in MNCs and drawing handsome salaries. This
ddle class working in MNCs is also a globalized middle class with consumption patterns typi
ir counterparts and colleagues in the developed countries. Consumption so defines us that our
nsnational identity as a consumer often takes precedence over our identity as a citizen, which i
ritorially defined. We are as much consumers of coke and cricket as we are Indian. 25
Popular Hindi cinema has also been focusing on this globalized middle class, feeling at home
ually in the West and in India, compared with the middle class in the colonial period, represen
Raja Ram Mohan Roy, feeling at home nowhere. This easy mobility you see, for instance, in D
ahta Hai, where Preity Zinta’s character is from India, but she is at home in Sydney and can p
st to Aamir Khan, whose family has business interests in India and Australia. These films appe
Indian middle class even when they focus on NRIs because NRIs are acutely conscious of the
sition as ‘an apotheosis of the Indian middle class’ and that is why the working-class NRI is n
nerally depicted.

Implications of a Culture of Consumption: Middle-Class Apathy and Activism

st as the middle class has been celebrated for its consumption patterns, it has also been held to
nchant critique for its consumerist lifestyle. It has been accused of being indifferent to society
session with consumption. To some extent, the self-indulgence of the middle class today and th
coons of MNC offices, swanky shopping malls and posh apartment complexes within which th
ddle class lives, makes it difficult to see the poverty lying around. In fact, in a way, we have
cceeded in the project of garibi hatao. We have removed poverty from our vision. In fact, the
gan of garibi hatao has always been followed in that ironic sense. Hence, only a few years af
dira Gandhi rode to victory on the back of this populist slogan, her son, Sanjay Gandhi started
m-removal programme as poverty was a polluter and an eyesore.
This is not to say that the middle class has been completely apathetic. There has been middle-
ivism as we saw in Delhi with the huge outcry against the initial verdict in the Jessica Lal cas
same time, we take up the cudgels only for middle-class victims like Jessica Lal, Priyadarshi
attoo,http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
Nitish Katara and Geelani. In this discussion about middle-class activism, the popularity 124/369
 ndhigiri as packaged in Lage
8/18/2019 RahoIndia
Contemporary Munnabhai is worth
Economy, Society, mentioning.
Politics - Neera Gandhism
Chandhoke, Praveen as an ideology
Priyadarshi

es not go well with the middle class as it is against consumerism, but Gandhigiri goes well wi
ddle classes because it is a commodity—a self-help course—with Gandhi morphing into a kin
Sri Ravi Shankar or better Ramdev, preaching the Art of Solving Personal Problems.
Environmentalism has found many supporters from the middle class but middle-class values,
rticularly that of consumption, inflect our attitudes to the environment as well. For instance,
ddle-class environmentalism is often directed at the consumption of the environment. We seek

ve out tribals from national parks so that the wildlife is safe and thriving for our consumption
urists. The National Geographic and Discovery channels have also commodified this new
vironmentalism and made it possible. Our environmentalism is often anti-poor. Since the
pectability of our middle-class neighbourhood depends on its lack of proximity to slums, we
drive away the slums to maintain clean parks for our morning walks. Although we consume mo
vironmental goods such as water, electricity and our per capita pollution is more from our use
hicles, fridges and ACs, our green concerns seldom affect or influence our consumerist lifestyl

CONCLUSION
nce, it is very difficult to speak of the Indian middle class in the singular and it will be better t
eak of it in plural, as the ‘the Indian middle classes’. This is because there is not just the upper
ddle class and the lower middle class. There is the old middle class and the new middle class
tropolitan middle class and the small-town and agrarian middle class; the national middle cla
d the global middle class; the Dalit middle class and the upper-caste middle class: there is also
cond-generation Dalit middle class, for many of whom, the middle-class identity overrules the
te identity. Just as most references to India seem to refer only to the middle class, most referen
the middle class also seem to refer only to the metropolitan middle class today. It is the new
tropolitan middle class that is criticized for its apathy and its consumption patterns by the old
ddle class just as the traditional rich had criticized the nouveau riche in Europe.
Our understanding of the middle class in India has also changed as the character and composit
the middle class have changed. The middle class in India was understood in the colonial perio
d the early decades of Independence as a small, homogenous, English-speaking elite constitute
gely by the members of the upper castes, who were distinguished by their middle-class taste
hich was little different from upper-class taste). As this middle class became less homogenou
th the entry of people from different castes and backgrounds into the middle class, this
finition/understanding of the middle class had to change. It came to be defined in terms of
nsumption, which was the common marker in this heterogeneous middle class. It is because of
anges in the understanding of the concept and the attendant confusions that the National Counci
plied Economic Research (NCAER), whose national-level surveys are used to gauge the size
Indian middle class, chooses to use the term ‘consuming class’ instead of the fuzzy ‘middle c
The question of how much a person should consume to be considered part of the middle class

mains
vey inunresolved.
1996 to study Themiddle-class
Centre for the Study ofin
formation Developing
India, looked Societies
at five(CSDS),
separate which conducted
indicators
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 ddle-class
8/18/2019positions: ( a) education above
Contemporary India high-school
Economy, level;
Society, Politics - Neera (Chandhoke,
b) occupation: white-collar jobs
Praveen Priyadarshi

using: living in pucca houses, i.e. houses built of brick and lime or cement; (d) ownership of a
least three of these) 1. car/jeep/tractor 2. scooter/motorbike 3. house/flat 4. television 5. wate
mp; and (e) self identification as members of middle class.26 The NCAER’s consuming class i
mparison has an average annual income between Rs 45,000 and Rs 215,000 and typically own
V, cassette recorder, pressure cooker, etc., two-thirds of them own a colour TV, scooter, electr
n, sewing machine and blender. 27
The television, perhaps, remains the archetypal middle class consumable. That is why in 2007
mil Nadu government gifted television sets to families below the poverty line. If we cannot lif
m into the middle class, at least we can make them feel they are middle class. This is because
onging to the middle class means having a middle-class lifestyle. Accordingly, moving into th
ddle class also means moving into a middle-class neighbourhood. At the same time, middle-cl
omes often do not guarantee a middle-class lifestyle and in America, with the middle class
inking, it has become a common phenomenon to find families going broke over maintaining thi
estyle to retain their middle-class identity. 28 In fact, self-identification is probably the most
portant marker of the middle class because as most sociologists and economists affirm, there i
ar definition of the ‘middle class’ as it is more a state of mind than an actual economic status.

SUGGESTED READINGS
, Gurcharan. ‘The Rise and Rise of a Middle Class’. In India Unbound: From Independence to the Global Information Ag
New Delhi: Penguin, 2002.
hpande, Satish. ‘The Centrality of the Middle Class’. In Contemporary India: A Sociological View. New Delhi: Viking, 200
nandes, Leela. ‘Restructuring the New Middle Class in Liberalizing India’. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and t
Middle East , 20 (1, 2), 2000.
nkel, Francine. ‘Middle Classes and Castes in India’s Politics: Prospects for Accommodation’ In Atul Kohli (ed.), India’s
Democracy: An Analysis of Chang ing State-Society Relations . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.
ma, Pavan K. The Great Indian Middle Class. New Delhi: Penguin, 1998.

QUESTIONS

1. Is the midle class a socio-economic or a cultural category? Analyse.

2. Analyse the role of the middle class in democratic stability in India.
3. Is the middle class an urban phenomenon? Or can there be a rural middle class too? Give arguments in support of your ans
4. How do you perceive the role of the Indian middle class in the post-globalization India?

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Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Catalysts of Social Change: Adult Franchise and Education

Ravi Nandan Singh

INTRODUCTION

this chapter, attempts have been made to understand Indian democracy as an institution that is
ntinually challenged and reshaped by various constituent institutions like caste, family, tribe,
igion, education, bureaucracy, market and the electoral process. The individual social actor an
/her activity would, therefore, be seen with and within these institutional practices and not dis
m these institutions. One may refer to this as a socio-anthropological elaboration of democrac
cause the perspectives developed here use the conceptual trajectories of the discipline of soci
hropology. Keeping the positive limits of the themes of this chapter in mind (universal adult
nchise and universalization of education), we are not going to trace the path these institutions h
en from the past to the present; so this is not a historical overview of events. Rather, we are g
reflect on them through the description of the establishment and the changing practices of unive
ult franchise and the modern educational systems. Let us briefly sum up the scheme of discussi
e chapter is divided into three, broad sections.
The three-part discussion is loosely separated, where each part purports to introduce the basic
nceptual framework, followed by the analytical arguments with relevant exemplifications. Mo
holars would agree that universal adult franchise by itself is a nominal or symbolic entry (that
ovides a kind of formal equality) in the working of a nation. It is the complex of education, soc
obility and citizenship (which, if realized, leads us towards substantive equality) that signifies
ent of indifference or sincerity of the democratic governments. This is the main thread of the
guments in the chapter, which are supported by examples. Illustrating this in detail, the first sec
es to show that the history of the vote is deeply entrenched with the social divisions between
ferent groups of society.
The institution of universal adult suffrage that was put into practice revealed the schism betwe
rious communities that had existed in social ties before the ideological adoption of a democrat
m of government in Europe and America. This schism is most severely exposed when one look
accounts of women’s movements for suffrage in Europe and America. Initially, the propertied
hite men were given voting rights, which they were ready to extend to the educated men among
m. However, most of them opposed the idea of conferring the same right to women. A large
mber of White women then rallied to claim suffrage rights. Curiously, these women were eithe
different or vehemently opposed to the idea of extending the same right to Black men and wome

on enough, Black men and women voiced their protest against the discrimination by the127/369 White
ople http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
and demanded voting rights. Thus, on the one hand, the White families were witnessing an
ernal8/18/2019
revolt and, on the other, the institution
Contemporary India Economy,of racial
Society, relations
Politics was also
- Neera Chandhoke, questioned.
Praveen Priyadarshi Both thes

courses have been crucial in setting the pattern for socio-political inequalities and their
gotiations in the 20th century and the times to come.
In the second section, we look at the basic concepts regarding access to education and the
ficulties in realizing the ideals of democracy and substantive citizenship by an examination of
oretical perspectives put forth by Pierre Bourdieu and Michael W. Apple. In the final section,
using on India, we trace the women’s movements for voting rights under the colonial governm
d as the discussion on Europe and America indicates in the context of family, race and class, w
d that in the Indian cultural sphere, the familial structure and caste relations get questioned in t
ocess of struggle over the vote. Notwithstanding these struggles, contemporary India inherits m
a half-formed agitation between various social groups that borders on a contested exclusion an
rticipation of marginalized groups on the lines of caste, gender, class, tribe, religion and ethnic
eir aspirations for social mobility through education—more than any other media—calls for an
pathetic understanding of the realms of opportunities that contemporary India represents and th
ys in which it can be accessed through cultural, political and educational negotiations between
izens and with the State.

Racial Relations of Gendered Families: Women’s Suffrage in 20th Century Europe and Ameri
e practice of democracy has undergone tremendous interrogation ever since its adoption by va
st-revolution states in Europe and America and, indeed, it is part of the bases of democracy th
ould have room for questioning—a questioning that is critical, substantial and, at times, threate
destabilizing too. One way to capture this conflict, which has never been without struggles

tween various communities, is to analyse the history of the vote or adult franchise as it has als
en called. Conceptually, as an idea, the vote signifies two important features in the history of
litical thought and practice. One, using the tool of vote, one gives nominal or symbolic consen
sent to a person or a party; two, this consent or dissent is used by the said party or person to
present the people or the communities that may have voted in favour or against the prevailing
nces of the government. It is also important to remember that the vote is anonymous and, thus,
ations between elected ones and their represented ones is speculative and, owing to this
eculative relation, the political equations may change, come elections. The shifts in political
ations are structurally present within the practice of democracy and it is not a negative presenc
her. The voter and the elected are not eternally bound to each other and they are relatively free
ke use of the changing socio-political contexts of the cultures within which they operate. One m
gue that this nominal, symbolic and continuous relation of the voter with the socio-political sys
mainly linked with the vote for an adult—and that this link gives rise to an entire range of featu
t can be accommodated under what is termed citizenship. In bureaucratic terms, this relation i
o legalized and chartered: ration card, voter’s list, voter’s identification card, passport,
ferential treatment with regard to entitlements over bank accounts, property holdings, political
presentation, professional choices, and subsidies are just some of the common ways to128/369
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 vilege citizenship and also
8/18/2019 to hold India
Contemporary a citizen under
Economy, Society,obligation to the country.
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

It is also important to remember that just as democracy did not get defined by its mere origin,
milarly citizenship did not settle as a site of new socio-political identity over few years and at
ace. As the interactions of the so-called traditional and modern cultures intensified and new
titutions like judiciary, international market economy, and schools and universities took firm r
izenship also acquired new dimensions in people’s lives. Be it in negotiating migration, pover
eviation, minority or ethnic rights, reservation or parity rights or, in the contemporary world, t

nsumer-oriented policies and policing, the complexity of citizenship has to be seen in relation
cial currents. These may be the key markers of a mature democracy, seen retrospectively or co
the central requirements of a normative democracy, but in practice, all of these issues have be
sive at different junctures. People have had to wage bitter struggles to redefine the prevailing
cial customs and cultural nuances so as to be better represented or represented at all in democr
stems. The redefinition acquires greater intricacy when the struggle involves the newly emerge
ntested public spheres and some previously unquestioned quarters of the private spheres of
mmunities. In what follows below, we are going to look at the institutions of race and family
ough the women’s movements for suffrage in Europe and America in the late 19th and early 20
ntury, using the feminist scholarship, which critically evaluates the socio-political milieux of th
me.
The history of the vote, or what one may call suffrage movements, has been chequered. The
ginnings can be traced to the 18th century democratic revolutions of the propertied White midd
ss, if not the residual classes of aristocracy. Political subordination was challenged by the
ctrine of inalienable civil rights and this demand was first made by the White male ‘subject’
bsequently a ‘citizen’). This is evident for instance in ‘The French Declaration of the Rights o
an and the Citizen’ of 1789. The celebrated declaration saw vote and suffrage as the exclusive
erogative of the male citizen. The declaration, however, provided the inspiration for the ‘secon
x’ to claim similar rights for themselves. The well-known French playwright and revolutionary
ympe de Gouges, revised the declaration of the rights of man and composed ‘The Declaration
Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen’. Subsequently, one had Mary Wollstonecraft’s maj
t Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) and John Stuart Mill’s Subjection of Women (1
e texts may have prepared the stage for a long drawn arduous battle to obtain the political righ
te. However, it is crucial to observe that the White male citizen was thinking of himself alone
d not see women as worthy of the vote, as their social role was primarily seen as confined to th
mestic and the familial spheres. In a similar vein, the White woman talked about political
ancipation exclusively in terms of the rights of White, middle-class women and shared the sco
r male compatriot for the civil rights and liberties of coloured women and men. While many ea
hite feminists were engaged in anti-slavery campaigns, they often saw themselves as carrying t
rden for emancipation of the Black slaves. An example is Angelina Grimke, a White woman a
anti-slavery campaigns, who, in 1838, publicly declared that she could not emancipate the Neg
ve until she achieved her own emancipation. Paradoxically, many White women involved in t
i-slavery campaigns of the time assumed a racist posture towards Black women. The class
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d racism of the women suffrage
8/18/2019 movements
Contemporary was
India Economy, effectively
Society, voiced
Politics - Neera in Praveen
Chandhoke, articulations
Priyadarshiof the wom

our. Sojourner Truths’s Ain’t I a Woman is one of the most militant and important historical
tements in this respect. A Black American woman bom into slavery, she attacked the racism o
hite women as well as the male supremacists. She pointed out that neither were all women Wh
d nor did they enjoy the middle-class life of material comfort, and she became the voice for th
il and equal rights of women of colour.
Although this fragmented account does not enable one to generalize, one may still convincingly

gue that the institution of democracy in its infancy displayed a yawning chasm between the idea
t it stood for and their practice. The dominant and privileged social classes arrogated to
mselves the right to decide the conditions of citizenship. As the struggles intensified, they wer
dy to accord only limited rights to the social groups that they otherwise deemed unfit for polit
cretion and participation. It is perhaps a mixed boon of democratic reason and social struggle
universal adult franchise was won by people who were denied these rights but, if one looks a
cio-political history of any of these countries, one would find that the practice of the voting rig
s been cordoned off from a direct acquisition of these people into the mainstream of these natio
en after obtaining citizenship, they stand relatively distant from institutions that facilitate socia
obility and they are not so much a part of the face of those institutions that reflect successes in t
ciety, viz. cinema, media, industries, high political offices, professorial posts and research lab
hen we look at the section on India, some of the structural similarities would stand out for us to
d compare to what is mentioned above. For now, let us conceptually analyse how education is
gle most important site for social mobility and how it is also one of the most competitive ones
eady suggested, democracy seeks to resolve conflicts between communities and its greatest
ength is that promise, but its failures run parallel to its successes. Education reflects this
ationship, in the way it is accessible to citizens, the content or curricula on which students are
ned to be citizens and through the researched disclosures of higher studies that may strengthen
eaten the settled truths of a nation-state.

Theories of Education in the Context of Democratic Social Changes

ving evoked a view of the political situations in Europe and America at the time of
titutionalization of democracy, we move on to outline similar societal conflicts through the the

sociology of education. The pre-existing political modes of being, before democratic

titutionalization, had one way or the other signified the ‘ruler’ and the ‘ruled’, which in democ
comes the elected’ and the ‘represented’. Similarly, modes of educating or training the young a
newcomer have existed in all cultures. Just as the transition from the previous modes of polit
stence to a democratic one requires a systemic questioning of social customs and beliefs, sim
transformation of educational means and methods requires an adoption of new values and
anings. In both cases, the transitions and transformations are at times acceptable and at other t
posed in contrast to each other in a way that the values of the old and the new get caught in a
ver-ending façade, giving rise to cynicism and nostalgia in the everyday world of people.
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Different social thinkers envisaged
8/18/2019 similarly
Contemporary India Economy, paradoxical rolesChandhoke,
Society, Politics - Neera to modern education,
Praveen Priyadarshi as they sp
out the social transitions of cultures from the so-called traditional-rural to the industrial-urban
main. Emile Durkheim1 argued that the existence of the institution of science would be crucial
newly-emerged ‘organic solidarities’ (an organization of societies on rational thinking, with
the individual as a prime moral and intellectual agent) because it would be central in defining
ecialized occupation people may have in the industrial societies. However, he also argued 2 th
se newly emerged societies, the new specialized roles and thus new communities of labour w
ve to understand the rationale behind their specialization—that every community is working fo
ater good of the society. And, to make the greater good of the society sacred to everyone in the
st place, Durkheim argued for a moral grounding of the future citizens in schools. Thus, it follo
t schools have a greater function in democratic societies than merely imparting information;
cording to Durkheim, they must prepare the student to accept and respect the moral fabric of
ciety. Another theorist called Max Weber 3 argued that to a large extent, the educational proces
industrial and modern capitalistic societies would be invested in the maintenance of the ration
reaucratic systems of democratic institutions (which means that we have to be sufficiently liter
order to participate in most of the modern, social exchanges and contracts and, second, this lit
s to keep pace with legal and constitutional changes). So, at least three things emerge from the
ove viewpoints: one, in the present world, education is the most basic platform through which
made to relate with the required values of the civil world of family, bureaucracy and the idea
nation and their practice, through past and present, in a standardized manner. Many scholars c
s part of education a ‘nationalistic agenda’: instilling of secular, multicultural, racially impart
d gender-neutral values.
However, having said that, it is significant to take note that if all this is in the hands of the
vernment agencies to a large extent, it is very likely that the government can also use education
the opposite of what has been mentioned. It can bring in communalism, xenophobia, class, cas
d gender bias. In either case, most thinkers generally agree that the educational apparatuses are
vitably influenced by agencies that are bound to affect its content now and in times to come—
ose agencies of State, market, communities, political parties or that of science. Let us call this
namic system ‘mainstream education’. The second concern is: how do we keep producing
ecialists or professionals who continuously avow to maintain or better the economic, cultural a
ademic institutions of the respective socio-cultural world? This introduces the aspect of educa
ciding the merit or capacity of every individual and accordingly making him or her eligible for
rious specialized jobs.
One of the central tenets of democracy is also that we do not allocate merit to birth-based iden
criptive identities) like caste, race and gender but rather see everyone through the merit of the
lities to compete on common grounds (achieved identities). This, in a certain way, means that
der to keep the social status of the family, it is not enough to be born in it; one has to try and at
ual it through educational measures, most of the time. It also means that families that are stigm

the society
also the reason can why
hypothetically
education overcome
is always more their than
stigma, theby sum possibly achieving
of its parts; respectable
it is about
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nsformation
8/18/2019 of social identities along
Contemporary Indiawith theSociety,
Economy, enablingPolitics -of jobs
Neera and occupations).
Chandhoke, Praveen PriyadarshiThe convers

o true, a respectable family may eventually bite dust if the new generation fails to live up to
pectations. In practice, most of us wish to better our own individual positions and our familial
sitions in society. This could be called social mobility through educational and/or other means
cial mobility is about maintaining (remember that maintenance also is about improving familia
tus, because the social context changes with time: parents would want their children to do bett
n themselves), improving (that is seen as real upward shift) or downgrading (that is considere

barrassing or disgraceful in most cases) our familial positions and that of the community to an
ent as well. Needless to say that educational means are adopted and appropriated by particula
sses, castes and professional families over time. In other words, mainstream education becom
ore amenable to people of a certain class, caste, race, gender and ethnicity and is, thus, instrum
promoting these people to better social statuses, at times at the cost of the ones left behind.
erefore, we can say that mainstream education is the site of failure and success of the democra
titutions themselves (which partly explains, why even the democratic governments may try and
er the content or method of the educational system to soothe certain losses, or to deflect certain
uries of the people concerned); if it is unable to incorporate and promote the left-out communi
would reiterate the traditional hierarchies of the pre-democracy days. Talking about the Indian
ntext, Krishna Kumar 4 argues that the colonial government started educational facilities for the
per caste, ‘wards’ of the propertied natives, so that this educated class becomes the facilitator
ureaucrats) of the colonial rule. However, he also says that moving beyond this commonly held
w in post-colonial India, the colonial government’s educational policies should be seen as an
ort to introduce a culture of science and rationality, far removed from the associations of daily
es of the students as the new civil order in a country marred with conflicts of caste, religion an
gions. Further, he says that if science was to offer a secular way of civil life apart from sharing
als of industrialization and development, Western literature was to provide a new aesthetic fa
the newly educated. It is all together a separate story that the notions of ‘scientific is secular’,
erature is English’ got reasonably challenged as the struggles for Independence from the colon
e intensified and education became less of a site that got its pedagogic concerns planted from
ove. Krishna Kumar owes the disavowal of the colonial ideals in the field of education most to
ndhi’s interventions and not to any nationalist obscurantism. The third issue is that education i
en to be a pleasant thing to be a part of, by everyone, partly because there seems to be a genera
tance between the means-end kind of mainstream education and the creative demands of huma
positions but mostly because one may come from a particular social background to a school,
here very few things may be common between the two. To many people in the world, this has b
all to think of alternative education, either in opposition or in conjunction with mainstream
ucation. It is important for us to remember that what is alternative and what is mainstream are
cially and politically informed debates and, thus, in the end, the simple question of education i
ver really a simple practice or a settled idea. It characterizes as an institution, the deepest of
nflicts for better (or worse) social values, progress (or regression) in social and literary thoug
e hand and for greater (or minimal) technical efficiency on the other, intertwined into one.
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w discuss the abovementioned
8/18/2019 issues
Contemporary Indiain greater
Economy, detail
Society, using
Politics - Neerathe theories
Chandhoke, of Pierre
Praveen Bourdieu an
Priyadarshi

chael W. Apple. The question of social change that we will address in this discussion relates
asymmetries of class, race and ethnicity.
Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist and anthropologist, the late contemporary of another pro
hropologist Lévi-Strauss, is commonly known for his theories of ‘practice’ and his contributio
panding the understanding of ‘capital’ beyond the Marxian descriptions. Since, it is through his
scription of different kinds of ‘capital’ that he later on arrives at a theory of ‘symbolic violenc

us try and define his categories of capital, but, first we may want to define what he meant by th
rd capital. He says ‘… capital, which, in its objectified or embodied forms takes time to
cumulate and which, as a potential capacity to produce profits and to reduce itself in identical
panded form, contains a tendency to persist in its being, is a force inscribed in the objectivity o
ngs so that everything is not equally possible or impossible.’ 5 Bourdieu asserts that the Marxis
finition of capital, which conceives capital as materially accumulated wealth, that which is
vested into a capitalist venture in suitable economic conditions and is made to reproduce itself
re using exploitative work conditions, may be a sufficient analytical definition for understand
pitalism but to understand other relations of dominance, we need to expand the idiom of capita
arx’s notion of capital also becomes a basis for defining social classes; loosely one can say tha
ss that owns machines and capital (and profit by owning and operating them) is that of the
pitalists, related with the labour of the class which does not, that is of the workers. To some ex
urdieu also uses the ownership of capital to signify the privileged position of individuals, fam
d communities in society. He retains the idea of economic capital as that ‘… which is immedia
d directly convertible into money and may be institutionalized in the form of property rights’ 6 b
es on to describe ‘cultural capital’ and ‘social capital’ by moving beyond the definition of
onomic capital. Cultural capital, he says, can be primarily differentiated from economic capita
fact that it is an embodied capital. One has to acquire it over time and it cannot be handed dow
e stroke like, for example, inheritance of wealth. What immediately comes to mind is educatio
w, gradual and rigorous incorporation of skills, values and wisdom at an individual end. If we
objective signatures to this acquisition, then it would mean what educational degrees and
tificates we have, which institution we are attached to and so on. Many people have described
academic capital. Now there are two things to consider: one, since this acquisition is depende
rsonal acquisition, it also goes along with the person to a large extent and thus we cannot equa
a material property; it cannot be handed down or inherited like wealth but since the acquisitio
elf is rated highly in society, it has a symbolic value and thus academic capital in practice is a
mbolic capital. Two, since it cannot be inherited and largely is incorporated within an individu
tend to think that it does not help in social mobility of a group or a community. Let us see how
es indeed help in social mobility and has a rather hidden way of doing it. Personal acquisition
st of all directly related with the families that we come from, schools and other educational
titutions that we go to, that is, symbolic capital is cultivated (at times at any cost) by our
edecessors. A family of doctors may first of all inculcate in its children a deep sense of respec
profession of medicine and surgery and, second, explain to them how they got there with
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mely investments
8/18/2019 of hard work and intelligence,
Contemporary evenPolitics
India Economy, Society, as they
- Neeratry and ensure
Chandhoke, Praveenthat similar cues ar
Priyadarshi

oted in their children’s lives. Even though they may not want their children to become doctors,
children themselves may not want to be doctors like their elders, they would have to negotiat
mbolic capital of their families. That is, something close to what a doctor in the society stands
uld be acceptable and thus promoted. Thus, we can see that the individual’s social and symbo
tuses are trajectories that are built with an investment of time, energy and cultural capital
aluation of art, that involves music, literature and paintings; importance to grooming, that invol

way we dress, speak, behave and eat; current affairs and general informational awareness) by
milies, situations and circumstances in which they are brought up, with utmost calibration. So,
gically it follows that most of these families that identify with some kind of symbolic capital ra
n the other would also tend to be organized on those lines. Here comes the notion of social cap
t us examine it with an apparent and transparent definition provided by Bourdieu himself : ‘so
pital is the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a
rable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recog
or in other words, to membership in a group—which provides each of its members with the
cking of the collectively owned capital, a ‘credential’, which entitles them to credit, in the var
nses of the word’ (ibid.). This institutionalization is real and is recognized by us in the ways in
hich we participate in our social world. Then, just as there is a conflict and hiatus between the
mbolic capitals or the lack of it amongst different social groups, this conflict also at times find
nifestation in our classrooms and the way we look at our education. The recognition and
presentation of this conflict is called symbolic violence by Bourdieu. He asks why is it that
ldren of poor migrants, of ethnic communities, of colour, of non-professional classes not only
dly in schools but are also directly confrontational, antagonistic or evasive to their education;
they drop out, run away, take to drugs, indulge in street fights rather than play soccer in schoo
usive rather than participate in speech or elocution competitions. He considers that the answer
rtly lie in the ways in which these children are treated at home, in school, in the neighbourhood
the mainstream culture, that is, how their communities are seen in relation to the dominant
mmunities of the society and how they see themselves as a part of the social world. In other w
ir symbolic capital is either not recognized, is made to look like a lack or is not given enough
itimacy in the formal order of things.
Michael W. Apple, a contemporary American theorist of education, has spent most of his acad
eer in attempts to convince us that this symbolic violence exists and it exists in more deep-sea
d more manifest ways than we recognize; but what is also true is that in democracy, the power
actices of different institutions also strive harder than we think they do to ensure that education
ries us all—in our thick and thin and in its hard and fast rules. These practices, he argues, are
actices to bring legitimation to differing social values, conflictual relations and torn histories.
ntends that all this gets represented in the curriculum of our national charter of education, whic
eps varying according to the social context in which we live. That is to say, our educational tex
sites of contestation for different social groups, which seek to signify through it a cultural pol
ferring again to Krishna Kumar’s discussion, we follow that most of the nationalist ideas
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ucation in the colonial times
8/18/2019 were also
Contemporary about allocating
India Economy, Society, Politics ‘legitimation’ to issues
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveen that were negl
Priyadarshi

the colonial government. However, the nationalist politics wished to have its ‘sacred’ knowle
rsued uncritically and in isolation of counter disciplines by the pupils, which was criticized th
rious other political streams. The post-Independence educational reforms have largely been
arded efforts by various commissions set up by successive governments to incorporate a judic
x of cultural legitimacy, scientific temper, managerial qualities and literary and aesthetic
preciation of thoughts and ideas, not only of that which originated in the Indian state but which

me from elsewhere. So Michael W. Apple seems justified in defining culture as:

… the way of life of a people, the constant and complex process by which meanings are made and shared—does not grow out
he pregiven unity of a society Rather, in many ways, it grows out of its divisions. It has to work to construct any unity that it has
he idea of culture should not be used to celebrate an achieved or natural harmony.

lture is instead ‘a producer and reproducer of value systems and power relations’. 7 Thus, our
urricula’ is a round about of our social lives; it is a black-lettered, revolving mirror embedded
me, which shows ourselves to us and to ‘others’ differently at different points of historical junc

India: Citizenship and Education

ing the political contextualization of the first section and the exposure of the same kind of
ntestation in the ostensibly peaceful field of education through various theories of sociology of
ucation in the second section, we may try and briefly discuss the trajectories of post-independe
dia. It would be perhaps apparent after going through the extended discussions of the first two
ctions that societal conflicts are universal and democratization is about recovering lost voices,
presenting those who are not yet there. But to a large extent, it is also about reiterating the
instream and considering it ‘sacred’, as Durkheim would have said it. India, with its colonial
ultiple linguistic, religious, ethnic identities and big and small political initiatives and their
minations is similarly an illustration of this democratizing process. In this section, we may us
ecdotal alibis to lay out the deeply entrenched asymmetries in our democracy. We may not be
discern the scopes and extents of the gravid past of the country here, but using few basic refere
late colonialism and through it of contemporary India, we would illustrate how categories of
nder and caste operate vis-à-vis education and adult franchise or citizenship. The institutions o
te and gender are used as tools vis-à-vis education and adult franchise to illustrate the

ssibilities
achievementin which
of the democracy inhabits
adult franchise our lives
for women in and vice
India, theversa. Starting
present sectionwith a brief
follows discussi
it with an
alysis of a statement by Ambedkar with regard to the institution of vote, education and democra
the late colonial period.
There is a general feeling amongst scholars that the struggle for female, universal, adult suffrag
dia that started in the early part of the 20th century, decades before Independence, under and w
presence of colonial government, was less acrimonious and violent than the European and the
merican struggles (discussed in the first section). Before going into the reasons for the same, le

ok at http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
another feature, over which there is a similar consent amongst scholars: the struggle for
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ctoral representation for women was primarily led and mobilized by women, organized along
 es of8/18/2019
class and race; similarly in India,
Contemporary the women-led
India Economy, Society, Politicsstruggle also had
- Neera Chandhoke, a class
Praveen and caste base
Priyadarshi

sides having the manifest gender basis but even deeper commonality between the two is that th
uggles managed to open the seams of institutions like family, race (in the European and Americ
ntext) or caste, class and that of the nation itself. Let us try and expand on these comments furth
hich would perhaps also explain why the Indian women’s struggle for voting rights is more
otected than the disruptive and violent one of Europe and America. If we think of our anti-colo
uggles, then it is not hard to imagine that the way families were organized, it was only gradual
t women were allowed entry into the political spaces in different capacities. So, if an organize
uggle for Independence can be claimed to have started some time before the 1857 revolt (that
o termed as the first war of Independence by some historians), we can come to an agreement t
ss-based women’s organization in politics could have only come by the end of the 19th century
he beginning of the 20th century.
It is easy to visualize that by the time a gradual incorporation of women into the mainstream of
litics must have happened, the ‘rules’ to play by in the political ‘field’ would have been alrea
gotiated by different sections of caste men. Therefore, the incorporation of women in mainstrea
litics implied a further negotiation of the already negotiated term. That entailed in the first plac
ceptance of the dominant practices to participate within the political field. As the historian Sum
rkar argues, the reformation movements or other nationalist struggles raised by various
mmunities were bound within conservative limits of caste, patriarchy, scriptural moralism in t
actice. So it is crucial to make sense of the gradual opening and closure of these rigidities at
rious historical junctures, rather than maintaining any one enclave of time as thoroughly liberat
d other as deeply entrenched in bondages.8 Thus, a major section of political elite or regional
ho had influence over politics in its negotiation with the colonial administrators in the pre-
dependence era belonged to the upper castes and held major shares in property (whom M. N.
nivas later called the dominant castes), or were educated professionals. Thus, even women’s
bilization to seek voting rights reflected this. Coming primarily from political or industrial
milies, they demanded an equal representation in society through vote. The demand for voting r
one level equalled to becoming what Anupama Roy in her book Gendered Citizenship (2005)
onsort citizen’ to the main political players, who were the upper caste middle class men. If we
rkar’s and Roy’s views together, we may conclude that in the nationalist struggle the already
stent radius of familial ‘values’ and caste ties was reiterated by nationalist politics rather than
bstantially challenged. Scholars argue that this probably happened because the nationalist strug
erged in cultural negotiation with the colonial values. While we were ready to take the politic
uctures and constitutional methods that originated in the West, we also wished to Indianize it b
hat we thought India was all about—women as keepers of home and Sanskriti or Aabru rather
rticipants of public sphere; caste marriages, religious purity and pollution, the dominance of th
ndu ethos rather than intercaste marriages, revised notions of merit not based on what was
nsidered pure-impure and multi-religious ethos (a conflict that manifested itself in the form of

rtition).
The Indian National Congress in its Karachi Convention (1931) did adopt the demand 136/369
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niversal adult franchise’; itContemporary
8/18/2019 took long before
India itSociety,
Economy, couldPolitics
be realized. It is the
- Neera Chandhoke, realization
Praveen Priyadarshi of this dem

d the political debates for and against it that reveals the deep-seated differences between the
rious communities of dominant and depressed castes and middle and lower classes. It also laid
tterns for future women citizens where caste and religious identity became entrenched and that
ucturally shaped their public participation. Along with the pressures of caste, we must also no
xual connotation of a woman as a ‘consort-citizen’—the freedom to participate in the social w
s routed through the man. The woman can be a citizen and a participant, as a daughter, wife or

other and ironically not only is she to be governed by her family and kinship from where her
powerment comes, she also has to maintain the structures of caste, family and kinship by indul
a proactive familial politics. While there is no denying that through women’s struggle and
reasing participation, the seam of family and lines of gender and caste have become more
rmeable at places, however, we can not take the mobility of women in the contemporary publi
here for granted. It is more likely that a professional woman is seen as a ‘woman citizen’ 9 who
continuously participate in an internal strife between the divisions that she has to cross of cast
mily, kinship and professional life on an everyday basis.
Now we move on to a discussion on education with the above-mentioned themes in perspectiv
mbedkar in the 1920s had argued with his political contemporaries at various junctures to dem
iversal right to vote in India that cut across caste and powerful landholding groups of people. H
nsidered the right to vote not merely as a transaction but as a direct and participatory event tha
owed the vote to be used as a vehicular agent of social negotiation of one’s life situation. That
vote was not merely a simple act of consent to a party or a person; it had a transformative cap
t could invoke change, favourable to the respective community. He argued that associated life
ared by every individual and as every individual is affected by its consequences, every individ
ust have the right to settle its terms. From the same premises it would further follow that the po
individual, the greater the necessity of enfranchising him. 10 While Ambedkar uses the term ‘p
er here, we must try and relocate the poor of that context in which Ambedkar is speaking and a
t of which he is speaking. One obvious struggle involved over here is that Ambedkar is speak
th a mixed audience of British officials and Indian nationalist leaders who, as noted above, w
inly upper-caste people and, thus, Ambedkar’s position as a Dalit leader was in sharp contras
marginalized one. Second, he is trying to make a case for the ‘illiterates’ to have voting rights a
counted as able citizens when the landholding and relatively educated, upper-caste men and
men had still not been granted the same. If we dig deeper, we would know that the social clas
mbedkar wants to be given voting rights to is not merely poor in the economic sense. These are
iterates’, who were largely from the landless castes, because the voting rights—in whatever l
rcentage that had been granted to the Indian men—were given on the basis of their large land
ldings and the next step the government was contemplating was to extend it to minor land hold
is, the British government could do because owing cultural allegiance to the Roman law of
ccession, it somehow felt that property holders were naturally disposed with discretion and
udence, which otherwise comes through the instalments of education (see the first section). Thu
operty was one criteria and soon educational achievements or academic capital, as Bourdieu
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came8/18/2019
the means for gettingContemporary
recognition as a citizen,
India Economy, who -could
Society, Politics contribute
Neera Chandhoke, to Priyadarshi
Praveen nation building thr
, agricultural produce on one hand and through running institutions like Parliament, court, indu
hools and universities on the other. Thus, what gets questioned through Ambedkar’s interventio
s proprietorship, which seems to be in the offing that the nation will progress in a set order and
—one acquires property or gets educated through the various schools and universities set by th
vernment (which were difficult to get in, even for the upper-caste Hindus or people of any othe
igion) and then gets incorporated in the symbolic order of citizenship and gets the entitlement

rticipate in the activities of nation building. Conceptually, this intervention poses a question:
ould we insist on an eligibility (property and academic capital) criteria for getting voting right
be counted as citizens merely to please a dominant few sections of society or should we involv
eryone and their political representatives and work towards mass social mobility? The answer
what we have as constitutional rights post Independence that citizenship and acquisition of dif
nds of capital, viz. economic, cultural and social has to happen through social mobility of diffe
mmunities. In agreeing to this social composition of democracy, we also know that given our s
tory, the nation-state would have unequal communities in terms of wealth, academic and socia
pital and, thus, social mobility would also be scarce and elusive. There is also a radical need
dge these gaps and realize the needs of these communities, and clearly, educational measures
be most suited to enable people to realize the full potential of their citizenship.
As noted in the section on theories of education, the mere presence of schools, colleges and
iversities does not ensure that everyone would get enrolled and come out successful. The ones
left out (belonging to lower castes and tribes and minorities) or the ones who drop out (a vas
ction of students, marred by the economic background of their families; discords in families; d
enation; societal pressures or a general mismatch between what one can do as a student and pe
d what one is made to do) or the ones who are taken out (young women for marriage) should no
ame their fate because as we have maintained from the beginning of this chapter, citizenship ex
relation to the institutions of caste, religion, race, tribe, ethnicity, and language. So any one
dividual’s success or failure is not entirely his or her own. One can trace the history of central
titutions like NCERT, CBSE, UGC or one can look at the counts of schools, colleges, univers
d professional institutes, including the IITs and IIMs along with FTII, NDA, NSD, etc. that
peared on the scene as per the demands of the time. The central point, however, is to understan
w important education is for social mobility and how our social organization facilitates or
cludes the possibilities of our participation.
If we look at school and university as systems that create successes in the society, one can obs
hree-fold scheme that repeats itself. Parents or communities feel extremely motivated to send t
ldren for primary education because they have seen the results of higher education—that is, so
studied for this degree and now holds a post with this or that office. Most would be aware tha
onial post of ‘tax collector’ was seen to be so powerful that in Independent India, most famili
older generation would wish that their sons become collectors or sahibs. The paradox, howev
hat between primary education, which is largely a promise, and higher education, which is the
results, there lies a vast span of time, at times one-third of one’s life. The changes that138/369
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 individual’s
8/18/2019 life, in his familial, communitarian,
Contemporary andPolitics
India Economy, Society, national context determine
- Neera Chandhoke, the paths that
Praveen Priyadarshi

uld open up for that person. This silent period of educational life is also the most turbulent on
cause some students find the full course of school and college education too long and demandi
ans for an end that lies outside the educational domain, and, thus, choose to opt out of it. This
lent period’ also in a certain way lays the foundation for various things that education brings fo
possibilities: our vocations, interests, orientations, faiths, friendships and most importantly a
erishing feeling for education itself as an institution. Thus, education in the society is not seen a

ould not be seen as a skeletal vehicle to success; it also brings the charisma of newness in cultu
d apart from the material success it may bring, it provides the cultural communities of students
sons and spaces to criticize and change their inherited worlds. However, the pragmatic act of
mpleting one’s education in itself may be the most demanding thing in a developing economy li
dia, a reality that characterizes contemporary India more than anything else. If one illustration i
added to the ongoing discussion on the links of caste, family, education and the importance of
cial mobility, then it is worthwhile to note that most marriages happen within caste boundaries
groom’s family and individual status considerably superior than the girl’s, most of the time a
nship network of relatives comes into place. The children born to a rural or a small-town coup
often sent to an urban relative and invariably it is the boy child who is sent to avail of the bet
ucational facilities. In fact, research shows that most girl children are not even sent to primary
hools because in rural areas the schools are often outside the villages and those who manage to
ish their primary education are unable to pursue higher education for the same reason. Similar
re is a migration to the metropolitan cities for education and jobs which again depends on kin
d is gendered (relatives or a person from one’s own village or town may take the male student
m). However, even with its limitations, educational mobility ultimately works in favour of the
mmunities: Xaxa notes, owing to the affirmative actions like reservation, there is a tribal midd
ss in the urban centres and the same uses similar enclaves of kinship and regional identities to
irm cultural and educational spaces through political advances and pragmatic associations. 11 T
y difference between the Dalit middle class, the tribal middle class, the minorities—their midd
sses and that of the majority upper caste and, at times, upper and middle class Hindus is what
urdieu says: that of investment of time and density. A set of people who have managed to estab
symbolism of their cultural and social capital over a long period of time have a greater degre
itimation compared with the new and fragile social groups and their social capitals. That’s wh
re is a simultaneous struggle by and for these communities of women, ‘lower’ castes, tribes,
igious minorities to be represented in the symbolic knowledge of the nation-state (textbooks,
rricula, rewritten histories, etc.) and to get entries into educational institutions of excellence an
e them to mobilize their individual and communitarian interests.
In conclusion, it can be simply added to the preceding discussion that as the context of
obalization and consumerist capitalism intensifies, the security of having a large amount of
dholding would recede. Small-time farmers and workers in any case would not be able to pro
ch so as to accelerate their social mobility through the education of their children. In most cas
n, there will be greater and perhaps bitter struggles to acquire social capital that bring 139/369
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pital.8/18/2019
Since what earlier happened
Contemporaryover generations
India Economy, are to
Society, Politics be achieved
- Neera in a few
Chandhoke, Praveen years today, th
Priyadarshi

an undeniable presence of nerve-wracking competition and dramatic successes and failures. T

ttle for privileges would be experienced as citizens, but played out in the modes, means and
thods of education as thoughts, ideas, techniques, policies and ways of contemporary life.

SUGGESTED READINGS
ple, Michael W. Off icial Knowledge: Democratic Knowledge in a Conservative Age. New York: Routledge, 2000.
hpande, Satish. Contemporary India: A Sociological View. New Delhi: Viking, 2003.
lks, Keith. Citizenship . London: Routledge, 2000.
h, Ivan. Deschooling Society. London: Pelican, 1971.

QUESTIONS

1. As observed in this chapter, a crucial link can be established between education and citizenship. Try and develop similar lin
between healthcare and citizenship, crime and citizenship, and sexuality and citizenship.
2. Sociological descriptions reduce individual social agents to mere props of social process. Comment and possibly envisage a
model of society in which individuals can be said to be doing everything independent of societal influences.
3. Why is it important to evoke the categories of race, caste, age, gender and sexuality while understanding the processes of
citizenship?
4. ‘Right to information, ‘national identity card’ (NIC), and ‘consumer forum’ are some of the new forums through which the
citizen is addressed in contemporary India. Trace the social contexts that brought about the existence of these processes (F
example, right to information against corruption, NIC against terrorism, etc.).

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 8/18/2019 10
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Social Movements and the Mass Media

Bindu Menon

e 2004 EPICA award (Europe’s Premier Creative Awards in Advertisement) was won by the
vertisement agency Y&R Italia. The visual media advertisement for Telecom Italia, the Italian
ecommunications company, was enthralling for various reasons. The black-and-white
vertisement starts with a medium shot of the Gandhi Ashram in Wardha and cuts to a shot of
ahatma Gandhi walking in to the ashram and on to a still of Gandhi working on his charkha. Th
ne cuts to Gandhi moving to his typewriter. The next shot is of a powerful camera capturing th
age of Gandhi, and beaming it across the world, huge crowds of men and women listening
entively to him in various European cities—London, Rome and Paris. Equally keen are statesm
ho are listening to him on television, Gandhi is also on a mobile screensaver and computer scr
mong those listening are also an old Chinese man outside a market and two native Indians with
top. The music soundtrack fades and over the images emerges Gandhi’s voice where he says
urse I believe in One World’. The advertisement ends in a long shot of Gandhi speaking on a h
blic TV screen in Moscow and thousands listening to him on the streets. The advertisement en
th a caption that says, ‘If he could communicate this way in that age, imagine the world today.’
es having better means of communication and media help movements and ideas well? Would
ndhi have had a greater impact in a tangled, conflict-ridden contemporary world if there were
arter means of communication and more mass media? To answer the wishful thinking of the
vertisement, we have to look into the complex debates on the relationship between mass media
cial movements.
Central to this is the relationship between the media and democracy. The discussion of media’
mocratic role is intimately bound up with a debate about the media’s organization and regulati
e principal democratic role of the media, according to the traditional liberal theory, is to act a
eck on the State. The media should monitor the full range of State activity and fearlessly expos
uses. This watchdog role is said, in traditional liberal theory, to override all other functions of
dia. Many of the received ideas of the
democratic role of the media derives from a frock-coated, Western European world of the 18t
ntury where the media consisted principally of small circulation, political publications and the
ate was still dominated by landed elite. The result is a legacy of old maxims with very little
ationship to contemporary reality. By extension, the watchdog role also places it in the free ma
be completely independent from the State. This also was interpreted widely as a role that coul

rformed when it operates in an environment free of State regulation. Apart from this watchdog
nction, media could also be seen in an expansive way in the Liberal theory, as an agency
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141/369
 ormation and debate that facilitates
8/18/2019 the Economy,
Contemporary India functioning
Society, of democracy.
Politics At the
- Neera Chandhoke, heart
Praveen of this approach
Priyadarshi

admirable stress on the need for civic information, public participation, robust debate and act
f-participation.
The media system in the United States of America developed mainly as a commercial system,
hereas it developed as public service systems with varying degrees of State regulation in most
untries of Western Europe. Many of the post-colonial nations in the wake of Independence
ulated public-service-broadcasting model with strict State regulations. One important feature
ost media systems in the globalized world is an increased move towards deregulation of the me
stems, placing them squarely in a free market system. The liberal argument about its role as a
tchdog and information provider proved effective in campaigns for deregulation in most parts
world.
Traditionally, liberal theory holds that the government is the main target of media scrutiny bec
State has a monopoly of legitimated violence and is, therefore, the institution to be feared mo
uld argue that for this reason, there should be a distance between the governmental systems thr
vate ownership. This fails to take into account shareholder and other forms of authority.1
A significant section of the world’s media has been taken over by the large industrial and
mmercial concerns, including General Electric, Fiat, Toshiba, etc., in a development that exten
m the USA to Japan. A number of media conglomerates have also grown into huge leisure
nglomerates with major investments cutting across interests like television, music, films,
wspapers, books and net enterprises. The concern currently is not about the media’s links to bi
dustries but media itself, which is a huge industry.2
The argument about vigilantism against State abuse of power, though persuasive, ignores the w
hich the world has changed after the 18th century. A magnetic field of mutual advantage has alr
erged between media and political realms. The government’s sphere of activity has developed
ormously and many policy measures could directly affect the profitability of the media
ganizations. The media has also become more market driven and expansionist, and are, therefo
ore concerned about lobbying with the government for more market-friendly policies and are p
corruption.
A well-known case in point is Rupert Murdoch’s vetoing of the Harper Collins venture to pub
mer Hong Kong Mayor Chris Patten’s memoirs in 1998, because he wanted to seek favour wit
inese government in order to obtain permission for expanding his broadcast operations in main
ina. In short, the market system has given rise to media moguls who adjust their critical scrutin
t their business interests, says Curran.

THE MEDIA IN INDIA

start with, let us go back to Gandhi who himself was a journalist. In fact, many of the national
ders including Lokmanya Tilak, who founded the Marathi newspaper Kesari , and Mahatma G
ho campaigned in papers like the Indian Opinion in South Africa, Hind Swaraj, Young India a

rijan, used the media as powerful tools of communication with fellow citizens and the142/369 rulers.
pact http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
of the print media in enhancing the nationalist movement is well recorded by many histori
ore generally,
8/18/2019 newspapersContemporary
in almostIndia
allEconomy,
vernacular
Society,languages
Politics - Neera from thePraveen
Chandhoke, 1870sPriyadarshi
onwards contribu
the creation of a public sphere, an arena in which debates took place.
The term ‘public sphere’ is coined by the German philosopher, Jurgen Habermas, to indicate ‘
main of our social life in which such a thing as public opinion can be formed. Access to the pu
here’ is open in principle to all citizens.3 A portion of the public sphere is constituted in every
nversation where private persons come together to form a public. Citizens act as a public whe
y deal with matters of general interest without being subject to coercion; thus, with the guaran
t they may assemble and unite freely and express and publicize their opinions freely. This spa
ludes the newspapers, coffeehouses, clubs and similar places of public gathering and discussi
hen the public is large, this kind of communication requires certain means of dissemination and
luence. Today, newspapers, periodicals, radio, television and the Internet comprise the media
hich contribute to a ‘public sphere’.
In the Indian context, the historic role of the press and the journalistic efforts of those who led
uggle for national freedom meant an opposing role for the press vis-à-vis the imperial forces.
ionalist press, which was anti-imperial and a crusader of the freedom fight assumed a more
pportive In other words, movements make strategic use of the media for various counter hegem
rposes, which include critiquing existing social and material conditions, disruption of dominan
courses, codes and identities, and articulation of alternatives, whether in the form of new cod
d identities, ways of life or change in policies. Gitlin points out that, however, there is a tensio
ng a hegemonic system for oppositional purposes, which poses continuing challenges for
positional social movements.
In pursuing this sociological problem, we make use of the sensitizing framework by Gamson a
olfsfeld,11 who have distilled many of the strategic considerations in movements’ use of media
model of interacting systems. They claim that the movements-media relation is one of unequal
pendency, the position of the media at the centre of mass communications network, gives medi
ectrum of options for making news, whereas movements have very few options beyond the ma
dia to get their message across to the wider public. The fact that movements need the media fa
ore than the media needs them translates itself into unequal relationships in the transaction.
cording to them, movements need the media for standing, which is a certain quantity of news
m that makes them relevant in public discourse, preferred framing of the issues at hand—featu
terms, definitions and codes of the movement and sympathy—coverage that is likely to gather
mpathy for the movement from the public. The purpose here is to understand strategic relations
tween media and specific movements engaged in specific forms of struggle.
Two further distinctions are especially helpful in conceptualizing media strategies as aspects o
ger political projects. In the first place, we can distinguish as complimentary and simultaneou
odes of political and cultural engagement what the Italian Marxist scholar Antonio Gramsci
scribes as Wars of Position and Wars of Manoeuvre. The latter characteristically involves
aults on existing institutional structures and culture entailing rapid deployment of forces in sp

njectures to gain tactical advantage, as in the case of demonstrations and direct actions,143/369 an effe
hich ishttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
often a massive surge in the media that might prevent the State from pursuing certain cou
contrast, a movement group
8/18/2019 occupies
Contemporary Indiaa characteristic
Economy, war
Society, Politics of position
- Neera tryingPriyadarshi
Chandhoke, Praveen to create new spac
alternative identities, moralities and ways of life within the limits of the existing social, econ
d State structures, activating a longer-term process of building a counter-hegemonic force throu
pular education, consciousness raising, community development, etc. Both forms of engagemen
portant in counter-hegemonic politics that leads to transformation. Yet, specific movements wi
velop niche methods of counter-hegemonic politics in the life of social movements, which has
nsequences for their media strategies. For example, while holding that strikes are generally wa
noeuvres involving force, Gandhi’s passive resistance was a war of position but at times did
come a war of manoeuvres.12
Our overall aim is to analyse how social-movement groups with differing commitments to cult
cial and economic justice have been represented in the media and how the movements have
ervened in this process. One aspect of social movements is that they are simply not victims of
dia stereotypes and engage with media to advance movement goals. We will try to analyse me
ategies and consequent representation of movements in an informed manner. We attempt to do
an analysis of selected reporting of distinct social movements in such a manner that enables u
ce the connection between media strategies and their specific political projects and the
presentation of them by the mass media. To do so, we will undertake an analysis of some of the
ws coverage of the Chipko movement, Narmada Bachao Andolan and some of the campaigns b
men’s movements in the 1980s. We are limiting our analysis to news because other forms like
ms, soap operas, musicals, etc., do not engage with movements directly. Also, these forms are
parate from each other and require an understanding of their specific language and practice, w
outside the scope of this chapter.

The Chipko Movement

many ways, the Chipko movement has and will sustain the iconic status that it had acquired for
inly two reasons. First was its grassroots approach and second, the links that it was able to
ablish between the local environmental concerns of the villagers with the larger environmenta
course.
Chipko, although referred to as a movement, is actually a collective of several smaller movem
t took place in the early 1970s against commercial forestry. Chipko did not begin as a conserv
ovement but primarily as an economic struggle, the roots of which lay in rural and peasant prot
ainst commercial forestry during the British Raj. Post Independence, a network of roads snake
hill areas of Uttarakhand in the name of ‘development’. These roads, armies of labourers, for
icials and contractors from outside are those whose work led to the methodical denudation of
gion’s forest.
The unusually heavy rains of 1970 had precipitated one of the most devastating floods in the
untry. In the Alakananda valley, water flooded nearly 100 square kilometres of land, washed a
metal bridges, 10 kilometres of motor roads, 24 buses and several other vehicles. Apart from t
uses http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
collapsed, paddy crops were destroyed. The huge loss of life and property in this 144/369 flood
 rked8/18/2019
a turning point in theContemporary
understanding of ecology
India Economy, in the
Society, Politics region.
- Neera ThePraveen
Chandhoke, role towards
Priyadarshi the State-

lding process in the wake of the Freedom struggle. Many of the norms laid down during this p
me to define the nature of Indian journalism for several years to come. A break from this came
1975 with the imposition of the internal emergency restrictions, which revealed a more menac
e of the ‘benign’ State. Censorship, which was considered repulsive during the freedom strug
s imposed. But the resistance was meek from the mainstream newspapers, barring a few and s
ave, small publications.4 The post-Emergency period also saw the emergence of social movem

e the women’s movement and the environmental movement. (For detailed discussion on social
ovements, see Chapter 12. The post-Emergency period also heralded a more vigorous, investig
le of journalism.
The structure of the Indian media also has undergone a major change from the days of Independ
the contemporary period. In the early years following Independence, there were two kinds of
wspaper owners in India. The nationalist struggle against the British produced newspapers ow
patriots who ran newspapers for the cause. The second were a few families who were in the
wspaper business to make a living and did not find it necessary to fight against the British: they
lt strong investments and did not cause any imperial disapproval. Bodies like the Registrar of
wspapers of India, Press Council of India and the Manisana Wage Board were part of the
vernment apparatus of direction, regulation and largesse. The broadcast medium, first the radi
n television were strictly State-owned and State-regulated. In fact, in most post-colonial natio
evision and radio developed as central elements in the political and cultural processes of natio
lding.5
But in the last 15 years or so, all these countries have seen a range of developments in their me
stems. These include the international diffusion of the pro-liberalization-policy prescriptions (
m official institutions like the IMF), the desire of many of these nations to benefit from the new
onomic policies and the emergence of new technologies of transmission that have brought a for
ve of programming to many of these closed media systems. 6
In the 1990s, as the Indian economy was shorn of many government controls with the new
onomic policy, capitalist forces in the media industry also emerged. The Indian skies were ope
private broadcasters and, consequently, to foreign broadcasts. The question of foreign investm
newspapers invited fervent opposition from many newspapers. Some feared it as a move, whi
ll lead to a neo-colonialism, some feared losing autonomy and jeopardizing national interest. T
w guidelines in 2002 permits foreign investment up to 26 per cent of a company but at least 51
nt of the equity had to be held by a single Indian shareholder. 7 In the case of newspapers, all th
ve led to the creation of an industry that is heavily supported by advertisement revenue, which
-reaching implications in their ethos and approach towards journalism.
Parallel to the vertical conglomerates are the emergence of national multimedia conglomerates
hich have consolidated their market hold within the nation as well as expanded to cultural,
guistic markets outside it. Though the scale on which they operate are much less compared to t

bal giants,
leman, ZeetheyTV, arethe successful
Eenadu Group, in generating
etc., ownadvertising
huge chunks revenue. In the
of market Indian
share and market,
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi straddleBennett
various
145/369
as of8/18/2019
business interests like film, music,
Contemporary Internet
India Economy, service
Society, providing,
Politics - Neera Chandhoke,cable
Praveenservices,
Priyadarshi print,

blishing and broadcast.8

THE MASS MEDIA AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

he contemporary mass media is such a capital-intensive system, driven by profit, how would t
nction in the case of reporting on social movements? Nevertheless, the mass media—newspape
dio, television and magazines—played an important role in the origins and development of ma
cial movements. Thus, those who are active with those movements are ambivalent about the m
dia. On the one hand, they looked at the mass media as organs of public opinion through which
uld be represented in the political arena, on the other hand, they felt that the media were
sceptible to ideological and governmental pressure and was never independent.
Since the 1970s, studies on mass media and social movements have observed mass media as a
e of political contention in advanced capitalism. Scholars like Gaye Tuchman9 and Tod Gitlin
ve described:
… news as a hegemonic system of power into which oppositional movements step in when they contest prevailing definitions an
ominant cultural and political frames. Movements in great part, it is held, depend on mass media a great deal to get the messag
ut. In doing so, they use establishment institution to fulfil non-establishment, communicating with movement followers, reaching
o potential recruits, neutralizing or combating opponents.

ationship between deforestation, landslides and floods were being explored in the region. It w
served that some of the villages most affected by the floods were directly below forests where
ling operations had taken place.
This cause was subsequently taken up by the Dashauli Gram Swarajya Sangh, a cooperative S
up in Chamoli District and Chandi Prasad Bhatt, a prominent local activist. On 27 March 197

att vowed to ‘hug the trees’ to stop the felling, which was followed by a huge protest gatherin
ril the same year at Mandai, forcing the Symonds Company contractor to beat a hasty retreat. I
74, the State forest movement marked trees for felling at Peng-Murrenda forest near Reni Villa
himath. In a singular display of courage and determination, hundreds of women in Reni led by
ar-old Gaura Devi drove out the labourers of the contractor.
Chipko was largely a series of protests in the region by different groups and villages. Its
nificance lay in the fact that it was the case of poor and deprived villagers fighting the might o
dustry as well as the government through non-violent means. 13
The movement received good media coverage, though erratic and stereotyped. In fact, the med
verage of the andolan is a sore point with the people in the region. In one of the articles on Ch
the environmental magazine, Down to Earth, Shamsher Singh Bhisht, a Chipko activist is quot
ying that the main reason for the failure of the movement is the role that the media played. Mos
reports on Chipko missed out on the real concerns and demands of the local people. The med
orted to artificial dramatization of Chipko’s image. The locals were trying to point out that the
es were so intertwined with the forests that they alone should have the right to manage the fore
ources and products. Bhatt’s idea of hugging trees to protect them was a powerful concept and
nslated into an easily identifiable icon of protest to save the earth. The actual act of hugging
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ca
be a media-propagated
8/18/2019 myth through
Contemporary media-primed
India shots- Neera
Economy, Society, Politics of women embracing
Chandhoke, trees. The conc
Praveen Priyadarshi

d the icon were lapped up by the media, especially the international media.14
Globally, the concern for and the understanding of the environment was growing around the tim
ipko happened. The global concern and understanding was mostly related to the idea of
nservation than rights of communities. It influenced the transformation of Chipko from a strugg
ntrol local resource use to a national movement with a conservationist and economic bearing.
ncurrently, the national and international media too gave greater emphasis on to the conservati

ment in Chipko and the local reality receded to the background. Further, the national media ga
ore importance to the conservationist strand in the movement by focusing on the conservationis
nderlal Bahuguna and gave him a legendary status, than on the movement as such.
There were though a few journalists, like Anil Agarwal, then a science correspondent with the
dian Express, who went beyond the concept and icon and focused on the appalling tales of the
lages and astutely introduced all the larger issues Chipko stood for—economics of environme
d the nature of development in India’s hill regions.

Women’s Movements
e years following the Emergency witnessed the beginnings of nation-wide campaigns by wome
oups who coalesced to demand changes in laws, of special concern to women, beginning with
ated to dowry. Many of these campaigns received fairly prominent coverage in the press.
urnalists Ammu Joseph and Kalpana Sharma have extensively written about the coverage of
men’s issues in media in their 1984 book, Whose News: The Media and Women’s Issues .
ncentrating mainly on the press, both English-language and vernacular, the book is a pioneerin

empt to understand the representation of women’s issues in media.

The study spans roughly a decade from 1979 to 1988. Rather than concentrating only on news
ated to women, it decided on five landmark issues. Four of these—dowry deaths, rape, sex
ermination tests, and sati—were partly determined by the fact that the women’s media had dra
ional and media attention to them. Five English-language dailies, four periodicals and two
men’s magazines were selected. Apart from this, the study also analysed one newspaper, one
neral interest magazine and one women’s magazine from the regional languages of Tamil, Hind
ngali and Gujarati.
In relation to women’s issues, most media do not follow an openly anti-women line. The
nstitutionally enshrined ideal of equality between sexes and the historical legacy of the press i
dia, a generally liberal and reform minded approach, has benefited the coverage of women’s is
cording to Joseph and Sharma, the rise of women’s movement and the consequent increase in
blic consciousness has led to the espousal of women’s concerns by the main political parties,
hich has nevertheless enabled the women’s movement to acquire political legitimacy and enab
m to fit into the mainstream notions of what constitutes news.
This was not the case in the early days of the movement. Dominant perceptions of what constit
ws are among the most important determinants of news coverage. In the received definitions,
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e
 more important than processes,
8/18/2019 powerful
Contemporary people
India Economy, Society,and not
Politics theChandhoke,
- Neera powerless, arePriyadarshi
Praveen important in new
e unusual is newsworthy, whereas everyday normal activities are not. A combination of all the
ends to news stories that make many marginalized sections and many women unworthy of bein
news. Most issues of women’s concern do not fit into the traditional concept of what constitu
ws since women are most often not in powerful positions. This absence of women in news is
med ‘symbolic annihilation’ by Gaye Tuchman. Symbolic annihilation is a combination of
ndemnation, trivialization and erasure, according to Tuchman.15

Many of the important issues related to women are linked to processes rather than events, and
ns the risk of not getting reported. Joseph and Sharma show that news related to women’s work
alth, position in society, etc., were not matter of news coverage and when they appeared in new
me from traditional news sources like the government, police, parliament, courts and NGOs.
olent atrocities against women get far more priority in reporting than issues mentioned above,
eph and Sharma.
The women’s group campaigns against dowry deaths demanding conviction in cases as well a
endment to the 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act was started by the end of the 1970s. Some of the h
ints of this ongoing campaign were in 1979, 1983 and 1984. The 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act
ended and passed in Parliament in 1984. Joseph and Sharma point out that the campaign was
nerally located in Delhi and The Hindustan Times had maximum coverage of stories on dowry
aths, The Statesman had 13 stories but three editorials on the issue and The Indian Express ra
ur-part survey on the news pages of 15–18 August 1983.
Though the campaign was acknowledged by all major English national dailies, the reporting w
served as inconsistent. The editorials and reports didn’t follow each other, or at times, there w
editorials at all from sympathetic newspapers. Overall, Joseph and Sharma noticed an
provement in the reportage by the English national dailies, which coincided with the campaign
women’s movement. At the same time, alongside sensitive articles on the issue, there were
casional swipes at women or feeble attempts at humour by using the all-encompassing phrase
omen’s liberation’, which again showed an inconsistency in the recognition of women’s rights
m the standpoint of editorial policies of the newspapers. A similar look at the reporting in the
ndi press showed a more callous approach to the issue, lack of well-researched reporting and
me events were unreported or tucked away inconspicuously.
But by 1987, when the sati controversy shook the nation, the press was able to respond with a
ount of professionalism and sophistication. Most national dailies carried features or spot stor
d editorials on the issue. Though most national dailies except for The Indian Express (which
tured a Vishwa Hindu Parishad advertisement and prominently displayed the pro-sati views o
nkaracharya of Puri) took a strong stand against the revival of sati, there were several incongru
th the reporting. While there was more alertness on the media’s part, it was more for fear of
mmunal and political repercussions. The editorial discussion of the issue of sati was more aro
igion, politics and social conflicts rather than from a gender perspective. Also, as pointed out
seph and Sharma, there is dissonance between editorial condemnation and glowing accounts o
tivalshttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
like Chunri Mahotsav as well as unquestioned and, sometimes, interchangeable 148/369 use of w
 e ‘sati’ and ‘self-immolation.
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The multi-pronged strategy of the women’s movement and the willingness of women activists
iters to write consistently on the issue in ‘mainstream’ newspapers also contributed in wideni
d deepening media coverage of the issue, especially in terms of keeping the women’s point in
rspective. This long period also saw the emergence of alternative women’s journals like Man
hich discussed all of these campaigns from the perspective of the women’s movement.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan

e Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is a grass-root level movement that celebrated 21 years o
stence in November 2006. It was formed to fight against the environmental, social and cultura
mage that the Narmada Valley Developmental Project (NVDP) has caused. The NVDP propos
nsists of 30 large dams, 135 medium dams, 3,000 small dams on the river Narmada and its ove
ur tributaries and threatens the life and livelihood of the 22 million inhabitants of the Narmada
sin. The Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), the largest dam, alone will submerge 245 villages—19
jarat, 33 in Maharashtra and 193 in Madhya Pradesh. According to NBA, 250,000 people wil
ected by the SSP16
The government sources claim that the SSP would irrigate more than 1.8 million hectares of la
d solve the water crisis in the drought-prone areas of Kutch and Saurashtra. The NBA respond
ying that these are exaggerated and the actual benefits are much less than what is projected. Th
BA also argued that in the whole process of the NVDP the riparian rights of the people who liv
valley, including the tribals and peasants were not taken into consideration. Added to this are
es of those who have been displaced by the dam construction resumed by a court order in 200

e projected figure of 15,000 affected families in Maharashtra, though promised rehabilitation,

to be rehabilitated.
The NBA has taken up a lot of issues related to the riparian rights of the people. NBA’s is a
litics that is a complex articulation of land rights, environmental degradation, economies of lar
ms and also the effects of these on the local communities. The fact that the process of developm
ht from its origin, plan and management of resources is seen as a prerogative of the State is the
sic point of opposition for the movement. The movement emphasizes that the people have the r
control their own forest, land, water and other natural resources. The movement thus is a deep
oted critique of the development paradigm. NBA is committed to non-violent means of protest
ieves that non-violence is the only path for a social movement.
NBA has relied heavily on the media to popularize their struggles and issues and the mainstrea
ional media has been an important part of their campaigns. Leaders and activists of the movem
en write in various newspapers and publications. NBA also communicates through frequent pr
eases giving the status of the struggle from time to time. The media is also informed about the
veral mass agitations and other programmes and activities. For communicating with the people
valley, the NBA depends on other forms of media like songs, leaflets, posters, audio cassette
. Though the NBA and the NVDP have been discussed quite widely in national and regional
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wspapers and the visual media,
8/18/2019 many
Contemporary Indiaof the issues
Economy, Society, discussed
Politics - Neera earlier with
Chandhoke, environmental
Praveen Priyadarshi report
relevant here too. The media’s interest in events rather than processes has seriously affected
BA reporting in various ways. A movement like NBA, with its issues of displacement and the
velopment paradigm that caused this, are equally important. But the media generally does not
stain its focus on long-term processes and gives space only when there are mass actions such a
lies or a dharna in the national capital. Of the 435 stories on the Sardar Sarovar Project in 200
luding those in English dailies, TV, periodicals and Internet news sites, more than 75 per cent

stories are when devastating events like floods happen. The rest happen to be around mass ac
e rallies and dharnas. The handful of well-researched writings is either specialist columns in
wspapers or Internet news sites.
The media often links issues and movements to the leaders and activists who are involved in t
e reason could be that these leaders are the ones who become the most visible while bringing
notice of the world the needs and problems affecting the struggle. The media finds a face for t
ovement in Medha Patkar making the NBA look like a single-handed task, whereas in reality, it
ulti-tiered movement, consisting of adivasis, Dalits and caste Hindu peasants and also various
ddle-class activists and supporters. The movement is influenced by both community and activi
e decision-making body has two main groups: the full-time activists as well as community
presentatives from every village. In terms of projecting the leaders, the media often makes
ovements seem like individual struggles. On the flip side, often protests and rallies that do not
lude the respective leaders are not given adequate coverage. For instance, on 17 December 20
police charged hundreds of protestors in Badhwani, Madhya Pradesh outside the collector’s
ice. This got little coverage, none in the mainstream national media. During the satya-graha sta
NBA in April 2006, the event got covered extensively when film actor Aamir Khan visited th
ndal to express his solidarity with the displaced people of the valley.
As it is obvious from our discussion of various social movements and media representation, th
ationship between the two interacting systems has been a battle over under-representation,
srepresentation and true representation. Aggressive campaigns have earned many of these
ovements the credibility and sympathy from the general public and enabled them to influence a
dia discourse in framing many of the issues. A public inured by visual stunts and imagery will
d to media disavowal or at least reduced coverage, thus fore-closing the possibilities of an
panded war of positions on long-term process and their social consequences. To prevent a gro
asm between movement needs and media response, it is a tough call on movements to reinvent
novative tactical performances, yet to link them to the overall cultural change.
Going back to the Telecom Italia advertising, one can easily see that the advertisement is a
nfluence of the past and present in the singular image of Gandhi on a public display television
onitor, an image removed far from its context. Probably, the amount of media coverage would b
e to capture Gandhi vividly and extensively because Gandhi would not have been a mythical
age as in the advertisement, he would have disturbed the very media systems deeply and Gand
d his movement would have to negotiate and strategize in a world of media corporations.
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 SUGGESTED READINGS
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
ia, Ramachandra. The Unquiet Woods . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989.
ery, Robin. India’s Newspaper Revolution: Capitalism, Politics and the Indian Language Press . New Delhi: Oxford Univ
ress, 2000.
eph, Ammu and Kalpana Sharma. Whose News? Media an d Women’s Issues . Delhi: Sage Publications, 1994.
hli, Vanita. Indian Media Business . Delhi: Response Books, 2006.

QUESTIONS

1. What do you understand by the mass media? How important are they according to you for democratic mobilization?
2. How do you view the relationship between social movements and the mass media? Give examples from the Indian experien
3. Discuss the media explosion in India in the post-liberalization and globalization period. How, according to you, has it impacte
the social movements?

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 8/18/2019 11
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Social Mobility and Changes in Occupational Structure

Wasudha Bhatt

as not born a Hindu for the simple reason that my parents did not know that they were Hindus. My parents had only o
ntity and that was their caste: they were Kurumaas.
— Kancha Ilaiah, 199

e lines above signify one of the most provocative statements from Kancha Ilaiah, who identifie
mself as a Dalitbahujan, and testifies to the intense socio-economic disparities lacing the India
ciety. These differences, he writes, are deeply entrenched within the Indian social hierarchy.
aying a central role in regulating an individual’s journey from life to death, they have a decisiv
luence on one’s location on the religious, economic and the political plane.
Evidently, the interplay of ‘caste’ and ‘class’ in India, its impact on social mobility, and the
pression of globalization on such processes in determining occupational attainment have long
ssionately contested subjects of interest. More so, the world today is marked by a far more
ofound belief in endorsing equality of opportunity as a way of life, disseminating fuller econom
owth, and promoting greater social cohesion1 across the socio-political divide. As a result, so
obility attains critical significance in the present times. It is in the above context that the propo

apter seeks to examine social mobility in India and trace the pattern of change in the occupatio
ucture as well.
The chapter is divided into five sections. The first section undertakes a conceptual analysis of
cial mobility’ and ‘occupational structure’. This is followed by a theoretical analysis of ‘cast
d ‘class’, particularly as a means for distribution of power, when conceptualized within the
onomic, political, and cultural landscape of India. The second-last section tries to disentangle
mplexities between caste and class, as they have evolved since the 19th century, following wh
final section tries to foreground the social-mobility debates within the entire discourse on
obalization. Ordaining the new global hierarchy as the emergent means for upward mobility,
osscutting lines of class, caste, and gender, it elucidates the formidable challenges it presents f
Indian social fabric.

UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL MOBILITY AND OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURES

ivision of labour’ and a ‘hierarchy of prestige’ constitute an integral component of every socia
der. Social mobility when contextualized within such a social order signifies any transition of
dividual or social object or value, which has been created or modified by human activity, from
cial position to another, positions, which by general consent, have been given specific 152/369
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hierarch
ues. 8/18/2019
Thus, when we studyContemporary
social mobility, weSociety,
India Economy, analysePoliticsthe movement
- Neera Chandhoke, of individuals
Praveen Priyadarshi from posit

a certain rank to positions either higher or lower in the social system, and accentuated by
vileges and prerequisites accruing in proportion to its difficulty and responsibility. Conseque
mobility is a consequence of changes in the structure and all significant changes in the structur
se questions about the locus of political power.2
Whereas, it is the ‘occupational structure’ that comprises labour-force participation and differ
es of economic activity comprising the economic societal set-up, which constitutes one of the
3
ect links between the various modes of economic production and the social structure. This lin
the more visible as an economy shifts from a decentralized, subsistence production to an
erdependent production of a wide range of goods and services. As a result, the human or socia
unterpart gives way to a series of shifts in work roles. This shift in work roles and the demand
our determine and are further determined in return by various other factors at work. What is th
quired is a multi-dimensional analysis of the whole process of social mobility, rather than tryin
w it solely from a singular standpoint—as just a sorting of persons into given positions.

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION, CASTE, AND INDIA

atification implies a multi-layered phenomenon, much like the Earth’s crust. However, social
atification occupies a special place in the study of the Indian society. India has long been belie
be the most stratified of all known societies in human history, whether it is with regard to
atification in the social arena or the economic sphere. Added to this, the diversity of the varied
guistic groups, which make up the nation, further strengthens the belief of India being ‘the most
atified society to the point of near incontrovertibility’. 4
However, James Tod and many other historians and political scientists using European analog
wed the Indian State conquered by the British as a feudal society. 5 According to this view, the
s the same kind of personal link based on loyalty and the reciprocal grant of fiefs or rights to t
e of land between the king, his vassals and a dependent or a servile peasantry, following which
re was similar predominance of direct methods of surplus extraction without a necessary
ermediation of the market. There was the same rigidly hierarchical ordering of society with lit
obility between the different classes or estates.
Quite on the contrary, for another group of social scientists, any European analogy for the India

cial
samedevelopment
time, was awas an anathema.
segmented According
society. The logictoofthem, the Indianand
segmentation society was hierarchical,
hierarchy was providedbub
e and the same ideology and a deeply ingrained institutional structure supporting that ideology
mely the caste system, says Amita Kumar Bagchi. In fact, according to the formulation of the m
mous theorist of caste system in the modern times, M. N. Srinivas, caste represented a state of
lected by the emergence in various situations of various orders, generally called castes.
Disparities in historical analogies apart, existing for thousands of years, the caste system deriv
name about 500 years ago from the Portuguese when they landed on the Malabar Coast and be
6
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direct interactions with the Indian society. Derived from ‘casta’ in Portuguese, the term
153/369
s since been used generally
8/18/2019 to describe
Contemporary the varna-jati
India Economy, system
Society, Politics in its entirety,
- Neera Chandhoke, as well as specific
Praveen Priyadarshi

refer to its various orders and the units within an order. Nevertheless, the Portuguese discover
te went beyond giving a name to India’s varna-jati system. The Portuguese were also the firs
ong Europeans to provide detailed accounts of its functioning.
Nevertheless, it was only after the British rule was established in India that a second discover
te was made by the Europeans. The Western Oriental scholars, the Christian missionaries and
tish administrators began, in their different ways, to make sense of this complex phenomenon.

oreover, the colonial State acquired a legitimate authority to arbitrate and fix the status claims
contested by various castes about their location in the ritual hierarchy. The colonial State then
umed a dual role: of locating and relocating disputed statuses of caste in the traditional hierar
d of a just and modern ruler who wished to recognize rights and aspirations of his weak and po
bjects. This further helped the State to protect its colonial political economy from incursions o
erging nationalist movement. Among other things, it also induced people into organizing and
presenting their interest in politics in terms of caste, identities and participating in the economy
terms and the mechanisms set by the colonial regime.
Nonetheless, contested term that it was, the caste system deflected any single unifying definitio
obe. After a long deliberation, E. R. Leach settled more or less for J. H. Hutton’s descriptive
tement of the caste system where endogamy, pollution, occupational differentiation and hierar
th the Brahmins at the top, are the important diacritical features of the phenomenon.7 Nonethel
cording to C. Bougie, hierarchy, repulsion and hereditary specialization are the three importan
aracteristics of the caste system. The spirit of the caste system for him is determined in an imp
y by the mutual repulsion that exists between the castes. In other words, Bougie emphasized th
ferences that existed between the castes. Repulsion, Bougie hence argued, manifested itself in
dogamy, commensal restriction, and even contact. For this reason, different castes stayed as
crete entities, atomized, opposed, and isolated, thus significantly highlighting the coexistence
rarchy along with repulsion. Declan Quigley, however, traced the emergence of caste into a fo
political structure resulting from the inability of kingship or kinship to provide political stabil
ste relations were determined herein by centrality, and the ability to command services, and no
rarchy. Overall, caste divisions were constructed not around caste-specific occupations, but
ound particular ritual roles connecting groups within the sacrifice, with a dominant caste.
Such contestations apart, towards the end of the colonial rule, political policies and processes
ngside the larger historical forces had produced some profound and far-reaching changes in th
te system.
The most important among the changes was the formation of a new, translocal identity among l
tes, collectively as a people with the consciousness of being oppressed by the traditional syst
hierarchy, following which, the discourse of rights, until then quite alien to the concepts gover
ual hierarchy, made its first appearance in the context of the caste system. New ideological
egories of social justice too began to question the idea of ritual purity and impurity according
hich the traditional stratification endowed entitlements and constraints to hereditary statuses. A
ult, the established categories of ritual hierarchy began to be confronted with new categories
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pressed castes and oppressed
8/18/2019 classes.
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Second, several castes occupying more or less similar locations in different local hierarchies
gan to organize themselves horizontally into regional-and national-level associations and
derations as it became increasingly essential to negotiate with the State and, in the process, pro
ir larger social identity and numerical strength.
Third, movements of the lower castes for upward social mobility, which were not new in the
tory of the caste system, acquired a qualitatively novel dimension as they began to attack the v

ological foundations of the ritual hierarchy of castes in modern ideological terms of justice an
uality. The changes further acquired a newer dimension and greater transformative edge with I
ablishing itself as a liberal, democratic State.
Even though the system had served India well for two millennia, yet one could witness a varie
ces bringing about significant changes in the caste-based system of production. This change w
ible both at the level of the villages and of the individual, with the individual castes competin
th each other for access to secular benefits. 9

CONSTRUCTION OF CLASS AS A MEANS FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWER

e word ‘class’ is undoubtedly a complex one indeed, both in its range of meanings and the
mplexities arising within that particular meaning where it describes a ‘social division’. It was
tin word classis, a division according to property of the people of Rome, which came into Eng
with plural classes or classies.10 Nevertheless, the development of ‘class’ in its modern socia
nse, with relatively fixed names for particular classes, belongs primarily to the period between
70 and 1840, which also signifies the period of the industrial revolution and its decisive socie
organization.
However, the essential history of the introduction of class as a word, which would supersede
mes for social divisions, relates to the rising consciousness that ‘social position is made rather
rely inherited’, says Raymond Williams. All the older words, with their essential metaphors o
nding, stepping and arranging in rows, belong to a society in which position was determined b
th. Individual mobility herein could be seen as a movement from one estate, degree, order or r
another. Nonetheless, what was changing consciousness was not only increased individual
obility, which could be largely contained within older terms, but also, a newer sense of society
cial systems, which led to the creation of social divisions, including new kinds of divisions.
For Marx, one of the most popular exponents on the subject, classes were defined and structur
relations concerning: work and labour, and ownership or possession of property and the mean
oduction.
The significance of the economic system of society herein was elaborated in a theory, which tr
formation of the principal social groups—the classes—to the forms of ownership of means o
oduction and the forms of labour of non-owners. The idea of social change resulting from inter
nflicts then on was formulated in a theory of class struggle, which made social classes the

ncipal, if not the only agents of political activity. And, it was this conception, which in155/369 turn le
distinction between the ruling and oppressed classes and to the formulation of a distinctive th
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the state.
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The belief that social changes display a regular pattern further led Marx to construct, in broad
mework, a historical sequence of the main types of society, proceeding from the simple,
differentiated society of primitive communism to the complex class society of modern capitali
d he then on drew up an explanation of the great historical transformations, which annihilated
ms of society and created new ones in terms of economic changes, which he regarded as gene
d constant in their operation. These economic factors more completely governed social
ationships in capitalism, than they did in earlier societies.
rl Marx hence wrote:
Where] the particular kind of labour—i. e., its craft mastery and consequently property in the instruments of labour—equals
roperty in the conditions of production, this admittedly excludes slavery and serfdom. However, it may lead to an analogous
egative development in the form of a caste system. 11

Max Weber, on the other hand, differed only marginally from Marx when he defined class as a
egory of men who
… have in common a specific causal component of their life chances in so far as, this component is represented exclusively by
conomic interests in the possession of goods and opportunities for income, and, it is represented under the conditions of the
ommodity or labour market.12

He was fairly close to Marx’s view, though not necessarily to those of latter-day Marxists; wh
gued that class position do not necessarily lead to class-determined economic or political actio
r Weber, a class situation was a situation that was determined by the market. It instead represe
array of different life-chances that arose from the uneven distribution of material property amo
plurality of people’: it was a situation in which ‘pure market conditions prevail’. 13 He further

opounded that communal class action would only emerge if and when the connections between
uses and the consequences of the “class situation ”’ become transparent. The fundamental idea
ng, class might exist in itself, but never actually for itself: ‘it is ultimately an instance of econ
her than social or political stratification’. Therefore, Weber talked less of class in itself than o
ass situation’.14
However, definitional inconsistencies apart, pure class relations as between individuals and
dividuals are only an abstract construct in most societies, according to Dipankar Gupta. The fir
ng that strikes one in the Indian scene is the plurality and heterogeneity of these classes and the
nflicts in their interests,15 especially when juxtaposed with the caste hierarchy in India, which
pta, need to be explored in greater detail.

DECIPHERING THE INTERLINKAGE BETWEEN CASTE AND CLASS

Caste and Class: 19th–21st Century

hen the British, after conquering Bengal and subsequently the whole of India, set out to adminis

colony, they came across two phenomena with which they were unfamiliar: ‘the relation of p
156/369 16
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for production, and the caste system of India, namely the ‘jati’ stratification of society’.
However, they soon realized
8/18/2019 that the
Contemporary ‘varna’
India stratification
Economy, Society, of Chandhoke,
Politics - Neera society was not
Praveen unique to India.
Priyadarshi

1896, Senart in 1927 and others had elucidated in the late 19th and early 20th century, that the
rnas which denoted the status system in the Hindu society, are found with different nomenclatu
other societies of the world, says Mukherjee. However, the fact that jatis—namely, the smalle
dogamous groups of people within each varna, denote the caste system of India was universal
claimed.
The British researchers further found that in the 18th–19th centuries, though the instruments for
oduction were held by the Indians family-wise, yet, the land for production was held by the
lagers in common, be it the Indian peasants, artisans, or the traders under the village communi
tem. This unified strength of the village community system was, however, shattered by the
roduction of the ‘zamindari’ system, as was later acknowledged by Lord Bentinck. First introd
1793 in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (the ‘subah’ of Bengal) as the ‘Permanent Settlement of Land
s system in due course spread all over India.17
Ramkrishna Mukherjee, however, asserts that it was now that the falsification of the role of ca
ti ) system in India took a distinctive turn with the beginning of researches into the caste system
British scholars in the 18th–19th centuries, which was later followed by the Indian academia
ll. The jati division of society was viewed in the realm of ‘cultural’ relations. And, an overvi
the Hindu society further substantiated the correlation between the caste hierarchy and the
pitalist class structures, 18 so much so, that it was ideologically imposed that the caste structure
ed the society.
With the general run of Western scholars and the great majority of Indian scholars supporting t
rception that caste sans class represented ‘modern’ India, Louis Dumont declared the uniquene
te-ridden Indian people as ‘Homo Hierarchicus’. Sanskritization and Westernization were th
oclaimed to be the forbearers of social change in modern India.19 The social processes bearing
umph of class structure over the caste hierarchy were all the more visible, with M. N. Srinivas
ooting the notion of ‘dominant caste’ in the 1960s, and listing six attributes for identifying it,
mely: ‘sizeable amount of the arable land locally available’; ‘strength of numbers’; ‘high place
local hierarchy’; ‘Western education’; ‘jobs in the administration’ and ‘urban sources of inco
Mukherjee further propounds that the reinforced false consciousness generated by scholars an
liticians alike had been so pervading in the upper political level, that even in recent times the
andai Commission assigned caste as the criterion of backwardness in Indian society.20 Though
sai in a noteworthy article21 did emphasize that the criterion of ‘backwardness’ should be sou
class relations in modern India, yet his voice was stifled effectively
In the meanwhile, as a consequence of the inevitable spread of capitalism in India, the resultin
enation of land and accumulation of crops enriched some peasants and traders who were plac
l lower in the caste hierarchy. Subsequently, in conformity with their improved economic stat
y sought a better ‘social’ status, with a new alignment between caste and class now in the offi
Consequently, due to the impact of colonial capitalism on the Indian social structure, the

epressed classes’ clamoured for equality in economic and cultural perception and behaviour
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w
 22 As a result, the Raj pacified them by enacting the
‘high castes’, in the last days
8/18/2019 of theIndia
Contemporary Raj.
Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

heduled Castes Order in the 1930s, for further consolidating their political position in the Indi
ciety. Even after Independence in 1947, the Indian rulers retained the nomenclature of the
heduled Castes, and added that of the Scheduled Tribes.23 Later, the government further catego
‘Other Backward Classes’, thus making the caste hierarchy complete.
With reality asserting itself at the grass roots level, the correlation between caste and class in
onial India was now being transformed into ‘caste in class’. Deriving its nomenclature from th
icial classification devised by the State in course of implementing its policy of affirmative act
new formations—the forward or the upper castes, the backward castes, the Dalits or Schedul
stes and the tribal or the Scheduled Tribes—were ranged within the spectrum of the high, mid
d low echelons of the class system in society, as was clearly manifested in the political allianc
ong these categories.

De-ritualization of Caste, the Pull of Middle Classes, and the Weakening Link

wever, it is widelyhave
st-Mandalization, believed that
lead to the changes that of
a de-ritualization have occurred
caste. in the
This can Indian society,
be attributed to theespecia
provement of communication, the spread of education, a host of governmental policies favouri
weaker sections, and the political mobilization of the people, which have all greatly weakene
k between jati and traditional occupations. More so, monetization and market forces have furth
mbined to free economic relations from their traditional baggages.
In addition to the technological and institutional changes, new ideas of democracy, equality an
dividual self-respect have contributed immensely in altering the nature of these social relations

is is clearly evident in the behaviour of the so-called ‘lower’ castes and Dalits towards the hig
tes, and the concessions and benefits conferred on the former by the policy of affirmative acti
en up by the central and state governments. However, these developments cannot be attributed
dden change, but something, which has grown over a period of time.
It was as early as the 1920s that castes have organized themselves to obtain representation in th
ovincial legislatures. This phenomenon acquired further roots in the 1930s, with Independence
nging the realization, that people could now also be mobilized on the basis of caste, ethnicity
igion. This has instead resulted into a ‘horizontal stretch’ of caste. According to Srinivas, in f
hat are called castes today are more accurately described as congeries of agnate sub-castes tha
ve come together to compete more effectively with other similar formations for better access to
ch scarce political resources as political power, economic opportunities, government jobs and
ofessional education. As a result of this, resentment is greatest with Dalits and tribals since the
oy special representation in all legislatures from the village panchayats at the local level to
rliament itself.
However, this distribution of legislative power has acquired a very dynamic character over th
o decades, with the traditional relationship between caste and power being reversed altogethe
posedhttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
to the past, when power was concentrated in the hands of Brahmins, today the village 158/369
nchayat is controlled by non-Brahmins
8/18/2019 and theSociety,
Contemporary India Economy, traditional eliteChandhoke,
Politics - Neera is being relegated
Praveen to the
Priyadarshi

ckground.24
Power has also become relatively independent of class as compared with the past, with the
nership of land no longer being the decisive factor in acquiring power. Mobility in the caste
stem was always a slow and gradual process, wherin the acquisition of land and upward move
the hierarchy of class took a generation or two. Under the new set up, the shifts in the distribut
power are, by comparison, quick and radical in nature, says Beteille.

The paradox nevertheless remains that while caste as a system is dead or dying, individual ca
thriving. Srinivas, reiterating the sentiment, argues that on the positive side, the idea of hierar
s lost legitimacy both at the all-India and at the state levels. What is more viable, particularly i
ban areas, is the idea of difference. As is also propounded by Dipankar Gupta, for a true
derstanding of stratification, he stresses, we must conceptually isolate it from hierarchy as the
but ‘one of the manifestations of the former’. However, it is insufficient to just internalize or
ellectualize this separation and hierarchization. Thus, we can truly talk about social stratificat
ly when hierarchy and differentiation are externalized and socially demonstrated. 25
Nevertheless, with the articulation of differences being contextualized within questions of grou
ntity, one can witness considerable differentiation within the economic, social, and cultural
ectrums of each caste. Furthermore, according to Srinivas, with secularization making great str
India, and consequently leading to an erosion of rituality, a large part of the support system of
s collapsed. Caste, which is now believed as surviving in the form of a kinship-based cultural
mmunity, operates in a different system of social stratification. More so, by forming themselve
ger horizontal social groups, members of different castes now increasingly compete for entry i
middle class, which has undergone a radical change with regard to its old, pre-Independence
aracter and composition. These days, the Indian middle class—now believed to be around 200
llion people—is becoming even more unified politically and culturally, and highly diversified
ms of the social origins of its members. 26
The situation may be summed up by saying that a variety of forces are bringing about the
struction of the caste-based system of production in the villages and at the local level. With
dividual castes increasingly competing with each other for access to secular benefits, the confl
ly likely to become sharper.

Changing Class Fluidity in Contemporary India

conclusion, it would seem that social mobility in India is neither particularly fluid, as evidenc
large class inequalities, nor showing great signs of becoming so. The labour market too in the
al areas clearly reflects near-zero elasticity of employment . Even if agricultural productivity
tnesses a dramatic increase in the following decade, it will be unable to absorb much of the ru
our, considering the drastic fall in the contribution of agriculture to GDP from ‘50 per cent to
r cent by the beginning of this decade’.27 This has, instead, spurred an enormous rise in the stre
migrants in search of gainful employment. These migratory processes have been further159/369
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accele
a result of the rapid population
8/18/2019 growth
Contemporary and theSociety,
India Economy, breakdown of the
Politics - Neera jajmani
Chandhoke, system.
Praveen Consequently
Priyadarshi

gration is now accepted in rural areas as a ‘fact of life’, says Srinivas. Moreover, the developm
infrastructure and communications and expansion of the urban frontiers have further facilitated
enomenon, thus also considerably enlargening the social and mental space of villagers.
These migratory streams, however, also overlap with the innumerable workers who are emplo
the informal economy, and constitute around 90 to 93 per cent of the working populace. Aroun
r cent of the 10 per cent of the total workers employed in the formal sector have jobs in the pub

ctor. However, even here ( a) the low capacity of agriculture to absorb the workforce, and (b) j
ses in the public sector, have led to a decline in employment opportunities. 28
Consequently, these factors have triggered significant changes in the shape of the Indian class
ucture, along with the contraction of agriculture and a growing room at the top. In one sense, a
most all groups alike have been affected by these changes and the new opportunities for social
vancement, there have incontrovertibly been expanding opportunities in the Indian society.
wever, the changes in structure apart, one can witness no systematic additional weakening of
ks between caste and class positions.
Herein, with the key aspect of any society being the openness of jobs at the top, 29 in the case o
dia, these jobs have remained relatively closed. One possible explanation for this lack of fluid
n be that the occupational destiny is intimately tied to the caste or community of the people. A
nducted by Sanjay Kumar, Anthony Heath, and Oliver Heath does bring out some signs that son
nual workers and Dalits have improved their chances of gaining access to the salary at a great
e than other groups. Yet, it is evident that these gains have been nullified by declines in the ch
men from agricultural backgrounds and of Muslims, says Kumar. Moreover, few of these chan
very large; the resultant: the dominant picture remains as one of continuity rather than of chan

GLOBALIZATION, SOCIAL MOBILITY AND THE ‘INDIA-IN-TRANSITION’

e Indian social fabric, as is widely conceived today, and is aptly brought out by Rajni Kothari
writings, reflects an ‘India-in-transition’. The India that we know now is not only in a state of
isis’, but also is fast entering a ‘terminal phase’.30 The India one knew, he writes, is in shamb
d fast disintegrating internally, whether it be the social, or the political sphere. Culturally too,
a civilization, India is being subjected to manifold pressures, which could upset its traditional
ance. In addition, exacerbating the internal turmoil are forces of consumerism and globalizatio
hich are fast tearing apart the country’s social fabric.
The discourse of globalization, when conceived, claimed to establish a new global order, whi
uld mark an end to all sorts of demarcations—economic, cultural and political. Nonetheless,
obalization, instead, further intensified and expanded these divisive forces, without offering an
ble and dignified alternative. Simultaneously, it also strengthened the constituent elements of t
obalized power structure—the techno-scientific, bureaucratic, military, managerial and busine
tes and a small consumerist class.31

Consequently, the market, which increasingly became the only avenue for upward mobility
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wa
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o monopolized by the upper strata of caste society, using their traditional status resources.
 onomic globalization did,Contemporary
8/18/2019 however,India
offer increased
Economy, standards
Society, Politics of livingPraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, to those entering the m
Priyadarshi

th some entitlements usually available to members of upper castes, given their resources of lan
alth, social privilege and education. Yet, for large segments of the population outside this
ptivating humdrum of the market circle, and disadvantageously located in the traditional structu
ant more malnutrition, disease and destitution.
Subsequently, such anxieties have given way to a burgeoning sense of insecurity among large
ctions of the people, comprising the poor and the middle classes. There is also a growing feeli
t those who can attain these entitlements have it, while they relegate the ‘others’ to oblivion. T
specially the case among the ‘upwardly mobile’ middle class. But even in this hitherto upward
bile class, there has started taking place a downward mobility, induced by unemployment,
lation, and decline of various services, consequently unsettling their long-held assumptions ab
‘good life’ and human well-being.
With this decline in confidence and optimism about one’s life chances, the ability of the Indian
ate to deliver social goods to its citizenry is being questioned and, alongside, there is a search
w identities, and formation of new relationships across existing identities, and new understand
emerging shifts in relationships. It now seems that new configurations of caste and community
ntities will take shape, within the growing backwaters of the ‘unorganized sector’ and the
rgantuan presence within the migrant communities of the backwards, the Dalits, and the sociall
rooted men, women and children.
However, any transitional society is difficult to analyse. Such difficulties are experienced both
level of the structure and the superstructure and at crucial points of singularity where ‘structu
d super-structural elements blend and expose and create a new amalgam of structures and
perstructures’. The colonialist state apparatus in India sometimes preserved and sometimes
stroyed pre-capitalist structures to suit its own needs. World capitalism itself entered a defens
a flourishing phase, where it tried to forge social and political structures, which not only den
dividuality to individuals, but also strenuously concealed that denial. Herein, some of the mem
the traditional upper classes were trying to become modern, but full modernity in the sense of
pitalist rationality, which seeks to dissolve all ties between individuals except that of self-inte
s forever denied to them. Thus, it is in this backdrop of inherent internal contradictions—with
ciety that has been as heavily colonized as India, after experiencing several millennia of relativ
onomous but complicated evolution, along with the emergent interface of class, caste, gender a
nicity—that the real challenge of restructuring the Indian political and social fabric will be fac
the coming years.

SUGGESTED READINGS
ly, Susan. Caste, Society and Politics in India from Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 1999.
tinck, Lord William. ‘The Speech on November 8’. Reproduced in A. B. Keith, Speeches and Documents on Indian Policy
750–1921. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1829.
e, P K. ‘Social Mobility and Caste Violence: A Study of Gujarat Riots’, Economic and Political Weekly, (16), 1969: 713–16.
ndi, D. R. ‘How Close to Equality are Scheduled Castes?’ Economic and Political Weekly (4), 1969: 975–79.
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi 161/369
blin, L. J. ‘Shifting of Occupations Among Wage Earners’, Mon thly Labo r Review , 1924.
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
mont, L. Homo Hierarchicus . London: Wiedenfield and Nicolson, 1970.
ah, K. Why I Am Not a Hindu: A Sudra Critique of Hindu Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy. Calcutta: Samya,
set, Seymour Martin and Bendix Reinhard. Social Mobility in Industrial Society. Los Angeles, CA: University of California P
966.
naik, P ‘Democracy as a Site for Class-Struggle’, Economic an d Political Week ly, 2000.
ne, G. ‘Social Mobility’. The British Journal of Sociology, 40 (3), 1989.
okin, P Social and Cultural Mobility. New York: The Free Press, 1959.

QUESTIONS
1. What is social mobility, and what are the different approaches to studying social mobility?
2. Elaborate on the interlinkage between caste and class in India.
3. What effect has globalization had on the shaping of caste-class relations in India?

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 8/18/2019 12
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Social Movements: Challenges and Opportunities

Silky Tyagi

are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we shall have equality and in social and economic life, we w
e inequality …we must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else, those who suf fer f rom inequa
w up the structures of political democracy, which we have so laboriously built up. 1
—Ambedkar,

INTRODUCTION

the 1980s, voices were raised by the Narmada Bachao Andolan activists against the Sardar
rovar dam construction on the Narmada River. This led to large-scale displacement of adivas
ho were neither relocated to a proper area nor granted proper compensation. Besides, the dam
using serious environmental hazards. Why did no political party take up the issue? Or, for exam
the 1980s itself, we saw women from various strata of the society raising their voices against
olence perpetrated against them. Why did no political party take up the issues they raised or wh
d they just pay lip service to their cause?
Democracy is largely understood as popular sovereignty where people have control over the
cisions made by the State. Since it is not practically possible for the people in the modern

mocratic societies to participate

ough representatives. in the decision-making
This representation process
gets its institutional of the
form State directly,
in political partiesthey
anddo
it iss
ough political parties that the people wish to articulate and represent their demands. But when
litical parties become ineffective in representing the interests of the people, we see the emerg
social movements (SMs).2

Context
the 1970s, the political parties failed to adequately represent the interests of the people within
te, which was entrusted with the responsibility of nation-building, economic growth and socia
stice . What really happened? Why did we arrive at such a crisis?
When India became independent, it expressed its full faith in the State, its institution and its
licies. The State, in fact, came up as a promising figure that would take care of its people. In th
o decades following Independence, the Congress was considered the legitimate representative
people by a majority; after all, it was associated with the freedom struggle. People, therefore
gh hopes that the party would deliver to all basic primary education, health services, generate j
d incomes, remove poverty and inequality and protect the needy, poor and the vulnerable. But
se hopes were dashed as the Congress party not only failed to fulfil its promises but also
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 horitative and imposed anContemporary
8/18/2019 internal India
emergency in 1975.
Economy, Society, Politics The
- Neeraperiod was,
Chandhoke, therefore,
Praveen Priyadarshi marked by

tation against prevailing corruption, food scarcity, unemployment and the imposition of intern
ergency by the Union government. In fact, discontent spread to major parts of the country by th
e 1960s onwards.3
In fact, this very crisis of representation that resulted from failure of political parties to perfor
ties properly led to the emergence of, in the words of Rajni Kothari and D. L. Sheth, ‘non-part
mations .4 There was growing frustration among people who found that their most basic deman
citizens of this country were not being met. As a result, many new groups emersed as a ‘new s
ce’ and launched agitations against the State to press for their demands and rights, leading to t
ergence of ‘new social movements’ (NSMs)5 in India. The prominent movements that came up
ring this time included the civil liberties movement, Dalit movement, adivasi movement, wom
ovement and environment movement. These movements 6 became the thrust of Gail Omvedt’s w
inventing Revolution.
These new social movements that came up in the late 1970s and, more particularly, in the 198
re different from the political parties as they did not seek State power and were largely anti-S
ticizing the policies of the State and articulating the interests of the disadvantaged sections of t
ciety. They were different from various pressure groups because they did not function as lobbi
t depended on various political parties to protect their interests.

NEW SOCIAL FORCES AND NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

social force in general can be defined as any entity that has the capability to enforce, bring abo
hibit, direct or extend any change in society When social lobbies exert pressure, they create a f
t leads to social movements. These social movements then bring about change in the social,
onomic and political environment and, thereby, become a social force themselves. Ghanshyam
gues that the term social movement has no precise definition and that it is seen differently by
ferent social activists, political leaders and scholars. 7 However, there have been a few broad
finitions of the term. M. S. A. Rao defined social movement as a ‘sustained collective mobiliz
ough either informal or formal organization and which is generally oriented towards bringing
ange’.8 In fact, Shah also cited a broad definition given by Paul Wilkinson who called it, a
eliberative collective action to promote change in any direction and by any means … which ev

minimal degree of organization, though this may range from a loose, informal or partial level o
ganization to the highly institutionalized … its commitment to change and raison d’etre of its
ganization are founded upon conscious volition, normative commitment to the movement’s aim
iefs and active participation on the part of the followers or members’. 9
Social movement, involves:
a. collective mass mobilization
b. collective mass support
c. formal or informal organization
d. a conscious commitment towards its aims and beliefs
e. deliberative collective action towards change
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 India,8/18/2019
we have witnessedContemporary
various social uprisings
India Economy, Society,even
Politics in theChandhoke,
- Neera pre-Independence era; early trib
Praveen Priyadarshi

ovements like the Santhal uprising and Tebhaga movement of the peasants are cases in point. 10
hat made the movements of Dalits, OBCs, women, adivasis of the late 1970s and the early 198
ferent from the earlier social movement was a change in the kinds of issues and in the language
ertion. One of the major and largely accepted differences is that the old social movements (SM
lowed the Marxist paradigm and stressed on raising its voice against class domination, while
w social movements were not just about opposing class domination but also the domination of
te, race, gender, ethnicity and community. It, therefore, brought up the issues of human rights,
hts and issues of identity and specific interests to the forefront and expanded the realm of
mocracy. While the SMs were class based (subsuming other issues and groups) and mainly aim
taking over State power, the NSMs took up various issues (social, economic, political) of dist
oups and plural in character (for example, women’s movement, environment movement, etc.) a
y did not seek to take over any state or class.
However, not all are in agreement with this view and do not even identify these movements as
ew’. For example, Shah in his criticism of the concept argues that we can find struggles for ide
en in the pre-modern society and that the contemporary environmental movement, women’s
ovement and the Dalit movement have an economic context as well. He asserts that even though
re has been a change in the nature of classes and class relationship in the present global capita
classes still carry relevance in the perception of people towards the dominant ideology and
wer. 11 Similarly, what Katzenstein, Kothari and Mehta find distinctive about earlier movemen
ir links to political parties and the electoral process while, in the (chronologically) newer
ovements, the identity movements have captured the space of electoral politics and the non-iden
vements of the poor and underprivileged have carved out institutional spaces, depending on
reaucracy, courts, or global institutional fora.12
However, it can be counter-argued that when we talk of Dalits, OBCs, adivasis and women
ming a ‘new social force’ leading to the emergence of ‘new social movements’, we neither de
fact that there were earlier movements by these groups nor suggest that class character is rem
m contemporary movements. But what makes them stand apart from the earlier movements is th
t that the contemporary movements have highlighted the autonomous issues of each of these
ecific groups apart from the class character that it may entail. For example, take the case of
men’s movement in India: during the pre-Independence era, they were connected largely throu
national movement and would demand independence by supporting the ideas of liberty and
uality as a part of the mass movement. After Independence, for example in the Tebhaga movem
hich re-emerged in the 1960s, women were an important force, but their voices largely faded a
the peasant’s struggle. This was also true in the case of the Naxalite movement13 in which, aga
men were an active participant. But the major difference that one could encounter in the wom
vement during the 1970s and more particularly in the mid-1980s is that we see women’s voic
re raised not for freedom for all or in relation to questions of land or class issues but specific

women; women as an autonomous group raised issues specific to them. Thus, the women’s
ovement during this period had participants that cut across class character and had women
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te, poor and middle-class Contemporary
8/18/2019 sections. The issue that
India Economy, brought
Society, them
Politics - Neera together
Chandhoke, wasPriyadarshi
Praveen not class but gend
ations. Again, it does not mean that the class character vanished but rather it was given a new
mension, that is, women as a class was largely an economically dependent class—and that bec
issue of protest.
These social movements, therefore, sought to alter the prevailing structures of power, project
ues of justice, equality and freedom adding new dimensions to them14 and marked the rise of a
cial force in India. In fact, Omvedt suggests that ‘Marxism has been called the historical
terialism of the proletariat; what is needed today is a historical materialism of not only indust
tory workers but also of peasants, women, tribals, Dalits, and low castes, and oppressed
ionalities.’ 15

BOX 12.1

NSMs have the following characteristics:

a. They are SMs as they entail all its characteristics.

b. They are a response from the civil society that largely deals with the issues of human dignity and his/her relations with
nature.
c. NSMs radically alter the Marxist paradigm of explaining conflicts and contradictions in terms of class, thereby leaving
groups with issues like gender, ecology, race, ethnicity, etc. Thus, NSMs take up issues beyond class.
d. NSMs not only abandon the industrial workers model of union organization, but also the political model of political parties

w, within the paradigm of new social movements (NSMs), Andre Gunder Frank and Marta Fu
scribed new social movements as largely ‘grassroot’ and apolitical whose main objective is s
nsformation rather than State power. According to Dhanagare and John, this is a process of
politicization of the social realm. 16 Dhanagare and John argue that Frank and Fuentes conspire
e away political consciousness from exploited classes. 17 That the anti-caste movement in Indi
litical power as core thrust and that women’s movement having women from all classes and n
t grassroot sections negates the very argument of Frank and Fuentes that NSMs are apolitical a
assroot. New social movements, therefore, are not only social but can have varied dimensions
litical and economic and that it may not necessarily be grass-root but can include various othe
ctions too.
In this chapter, Part II will concentrate on the contemporary movements of Dalits, OBCs, adiv
d women in India and each movement will also deal with the question of representation of eac
se groups in Indian polity. However, the issues of representation in relation with social justic
ll be taken up in Part III of this chapter. Finally, Part IV will provide a concluding remark on t
e played by these new social movements, the issues raised by them, their present status and wh
can look ahead from these experiences.

The Rise of New Social Forces

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 18 The Dalit movement in India began around the mid-1
Brief8/18/2019
History of the DalitContemporary
Movement: India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

ntury. It was Jyotirao Phule, a middle-caste, social revolutionary from Maharashtra, who
estioned the caste system itself and its evil practices.19 By the end of the 19th century, there w
mber of anti-caste movements in various parts of India—Phule’s Satyashodhak movement,
mashudra movement,20 the Adi-Hindu movement, the Adi Dharma movement, the Ezahava
vement of Sree Narayan Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, the Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sama
JPS) and the Pulaya Mahasabha.21
However, these movements were largely socio-religious in nature. Later, Dalit movements go
liticized in the early decades of the 20th century, and especially, when the Britishers introduce
stem of a separate electorate in the Minto-Morley reforms of 1909. By 1917, Dalit movements
Ms) got separtated from non-Brahmin movements (NBMs) 22 and they got a further fillip after a
olution was passed in the Indian National Congress (INC) in the same year. 23 The resolution
essed on bringing the attention towards the socio-economic conditions and with the presidency
ndhi in 1920, this process gathered momentum. 24
By the 1930s, Gandhi and Ambedkar had emerged as competing spokesmen and leaders of the
pressed classes in India. Gandhi thought that untouchablility was a moral issue, which is intern
Hindu religion and that there should be a peaceful and gradual abolition of untouchability. To
ndhi, there was nothing wrong in the varna system and that ‘ati-shudras’ should be included in
as they also constitute the part of the Hindu religion. On the contrary, Ambedkar found
touchability to be a political and economic issue. He felt that abolition of the caste system was
ential for abolishing untouchability. Ambedkar favoured the issue of a separate electorate of
acDonald’s proposal of 1928. But, Gandhi was vehemently against it and went on a fast-unto-d
last, Ambedakar had to give in and signed the Poona Pact that gave reservations to Dalits with
Hindu community.25
Nevertheless, Ambedkar formed the Indian Labour Party (ILP) in 1936 bringing in all the
pressed sections of the society—Dalits, non-Brahmins, peasants and workers. However, unab
nsolidate and resolve differences between Dalits and non-Brahmins, he dissolved it and forme
l India Scheduled Caste Federation (AISCF) in 1942. Later, we find disintegration within the
SCI? as some of its non-Brahmin members got disillusioned and joined the Congress.26 Finally
mbedkar had a plan to establish the Republican Party of India (RPI), which got established

sthumously in 1956. But, eventually, it too met the same fate as the earlier ones, with most of i
mbers disintegrating and joining the Congress.

w Anti-caste Movement: The Emergence of Dalit Panthers (1970s): The first wave of the
i-caste movement began with the emergence of the Dalit Panthers in 1972.27 It mainly compris
untouchable youth of Maharashtra. The formation of the Dalit Panthers took place against the
ckground of continued atrocities by the upper-caste elites and ‘such oppressive developments—
mely, the repeated failure of the Republican party to fulfil any of the hopes of the Dalits, rising

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 28
urrection, which was crushed
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Contemporary State’.
India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

The movement was largely concentrated in cities like Bombay and Poona, which began with th
blication of creative literature (in socialist magazines such as Sadhna29 ). It was militant and a
power in its manifesto, yet it did not really carry any political strategy. 30 However, the Dalit
nthers fought their battle on two fronts: at the symbolic level against Brahminism and at the
ncrete level against Hindu peasants and artisans who were directly responsible for numerous
ocities committed against ‘ati-shudras’.31
But like many earlier Dalit movements, it too got engulfed in party politics. There was a split i
ganization when Raja Dhale and Namdev Dhasal (two prominent leaders of Dalit Panthers)
veloped differences of opinion. Differences arose over whether Dalit Panthers should be a cas
sed movement of Scheduled Castes or a class-based movement including the poor people of a
sses. Here Dhale was representing the Ambedkarite’ position and Dhasal a ‘Marxist’. The
mmunist Party of India (CPI) wanted to bring Dalits in its fold. But, in the end, it was the
mbedkarite’ position that easily won this battle, when in 1974, the Dhale group took control an
pelled Dhasal. This was largely due to the very real fear of the Panthers ‘of the control by Brah
tists of supportive organizations, platforms, money for campaigns, even the media. Their deep
ated suspicion was that they were now given only hypocritical support by communists.…’32
While the Marxist left accepted the idea that middle-caste or OBC rich farmers were the wors
emies of Dalits and ‘rhetorically pose the contradiction as savarna/Dalit’ or ‘caste Hindus ve
lits’, to this they simply added the need for a working-class alliance leadership of the working
ss party and so forth.33 Naxalites too, had fallen victim to this strategy of posing a dichotomy o
ste-Hindu’ versus ‘Dalit’ and even landholding peasants versus agricultural labourers. 34 In fa
Marathwada rioting in 1978 asserted this contradiction when Maratha Kunbis attacked and
aulted the Dalits over the issue of renaming Marathwada University after Ambedkar.
However, many failed to realize that it was a Congress strategy to divide the Dalits and OBCs
er all, the Congress in its bid to woo the Dalit community was working well under its KHAM
isan, Harijan, adivasi, Muslim) strategy35. At the same time, the continued propaganda that
ervations are for Dalits who are responsible for the unemployment of low-caste poor was
ective.36 However, this situation got transformed with the proposals of the Mandai Commissio
ppointed by Janata government in 1978), which led to violent protests by the higher caste ‘incl

gh-caste intellectuals who continued to emphasize that the backwards were the principal enemi
Dalits’.37
As far as the Dalit Panthers was concerned, it was more symbolic and cultural in focus. Thoug
litancy continued against the atrocities inflicted on Dalits, but at the broad political level, ‘Pan
e earlier Dalit leadership continually fell victim to Congress blandishments and Congress
ogressive rhetoric: both Dhasal and Dhale supported Indira Gandhi during Emergency and eve
organized Panthers gradually came to be a kind of political reserve army of the Congress’. 38

lit Movement in the 1980s: The 1980s can be seen as a period of Dalit and OBC unity.
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It wa
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ominently marked by the emergence of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as the party of Dalits,
ckwards and minorities. BSP
8/18/2019 emerged
Contemporary as a political
India Economy, wing
Society, Politics of the
- Neera Backward
Chandhoke, Praveen and Minority
Priyadarshi

mmunities Employees Federation (BAMCEF), launched by Kanshi Ram in 1978. 39 It made its
pearance particularly in the northern states of India, such as Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan, Bih
lhi, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh (MP).40 The primary agenda of the party was (and remains)
quire power through the electoral process, which it did achieve considerably. But it lacks a wi
cial, economic or political programme of action beyond uniting the SCs, STs, OBCs, and
norities—vote se lenge PM/CM, arakshan se SP/DM —shows its limited nature of acquiring
wer. 41 Later, by the end of the 1990s, it also became a part of coalition politics and even went
oin the BJP!
However, with regard to the Dalit-shudra unity during this period, we not only see Kanshi Ram
P but there were also Rajshekhar of Dalit Voice, Sharad Patil of the Satyashodhak Communist
rty and Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) of Karnataka (though we find shudras as the main enemi
Dalits at the village level).42
The issue of reservation for OBCs led to riots in Gujarat in 1981 and 1985 (after the Baxi and
ne Commission’s report, respectively), but unlike Marath-wada, here Dalits were targeted by
per castes who blamed them for the extension of reservation. In the first riots, the OBCs remai
ssive but in the second one, they attacked the upper castes. And then this Dalit/OBC conflict go
nsformed into communal riots.

90s and After: By the early 1990s, the debate about reservation for OBCs became more vehem
th the submission of the Mandai Commission report and its strong opposition by the upper cas
What we now see is a mere symbolic representation of caste politics, and according to Shah, t
lit movement has just narrowed down to pressure groups. The State has, besides providing an
titutional framework of incorporating identity politics, played a very critical role in bringing a
y substantial change as far as the Dalits are concerned. Yet, ‘within the Dalit politics, the new
neration of Dalit leadership has taken into transnational alliances and networks to further the D
use. As a result, Kuala Lumpur Dalit Convention (1998); the Voice of Dalits International, Lon
001); the International Dalit Conference, Vancouver (2003) and the World Conference against
cism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance mark the high water mark o
lit politics.’43
However, the recent incident in Khairlanji (Maharashtra) in which a whole Dalit family was k
OBCs depicts the persistence of the deep-rooted caste system and its oppression in this 21st
ntury India. The atrocities against the Dalits are still a part of everyday life in India 44. Accordi
akash Louis,
f one even gleans through the Annual Reports of the Commission for the SCs and STs, the volumes of atrocities unleashed on t
Dalits become amply clear. Significantly, the number of atrocities committed under the categories defined under ‘Prevention of
Atrocities Act’ is the highest.45

The OBC Movement

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ho are the other backwardContemporary
8/18/2019 castes? While it is difficult
India Economy, to- give
Society, Politics any precise
Neera Chandhoke, definition
Praveen Priyadarshi of caste, i

the more difficult to define ‘backward castes’. This is because ‘backward castes’ are not a
mogeneous category in India. Most of the scholars consider all castes other than dwija (the tw
rn who have the right to wear the sacred thread) as backward castes. But there are several cas
different parts of the country, which are not dwija (though many of them aspire to achieve dw
tus) and yet they do not consider themselves backward castes. They enjoy control over econom
ources and political power. They struggle and mobilize for power among themselves or again
ahmins, and hence, they cannot be considered deprived groups. These include Kayasthas of Bi
Jats of Rajasthan and the Patidars of Gujarat.46 But then again, all the backward castes do not
oy a uniform socio-economic status. In his study of the backward-caste movements, M. S. A. R
vides non-upper castes/classes into three categories: landowners, tenants and untouchables.47
The main debate in the Constituent Assembly was regarding the very definition of the the back
tes and who should be included in it and whether there should be class or caste as the main
teria of considering any section as backward. In fact, both Nehru and Ambedkar had a differen
inion regarding this, while the former preferred class, the latter stressed on caste as the basic
terion.48 As far as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were concerned, the situation w
ite clear. However, with regard to OBCs, the Constituent Assembly reached a decision that the
esident [of the republic] can, by decree, nominate a commission formed by persons he conside
competent to investigate, within the Indian territory, on the condition of classes suffering of
ckwardness as well in social as in education terms, and on the problems they meet, the way of
oposing measures that could be taken by the central or a state government in order to eliminate
ficulties and improve their condition.49
And this eventually became Article 340 of the Indian Constitution. Also, the adoption of
eferential treatment of backward-caste people was specifically sanctioned in Articles 15(4) an
(4).50

e Classification of OBC Movements: M. S. A. Rao classifies backward-caste movements in

ur types: 1) The non-Brahmin movements concentrated in the southern part of India, for examp
‘self-respect’ movement in Madras in the late 1920s. The non-Brahmin movements in Mahara
d Tamil Nadu raised cultural issues. 2) Movements led by low and inter-mediate castes such a
irs and the Kurmis in Bihar, the Noniyas in Punjab, the Kolis in Gujarat, and the Malis in
aharashtra. 3) Movements by the depressed classes or untouchables against upper and other
ckward castes. 4) The tribal movements.51
Further, Rao also deals with two kinds of ideologies with regard to the backward-caste
vements. First, many castes belonging to the other backward classes claimed a higher varna s
ough a reinterpretation of and recasting of appropriate mythologies of origin, such as Ahirs in
rts of north India, the Gopas in Bengal, the Gaulis in Maharashtra, the Gollas in Andhra Prades
d Karnataka, and the Konnars in Tamil Nadu claimed dissent from the Yadu dynasty. In the sec
cade of the 20th century, they organized themselves into an All India Yadava Association. In p
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hen the former donned the Contemporary
8/18/2019 sacred thread (symbol
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Society, twice-born) in public.
- Neera Chandhoke, (Another
Praveen Priyadarshi variation i

proach has been the search for self-determination like the Izhavas of Kerala in the SNDP mov

The second variety of protest ideology was based on the rejection of the Brahminical Aryan
igion and culture. Adherent of these views included the Dravida Kazhagam Movement in Tam
du, which idealized Dravidian culture and religion and attacked Aryan culture and religion. T
ahar movement in Maharashtra was another movement that abandoned Hinduism altogether. 52

e OBC Movement—Post-Independence Scenario: After India gained independence, the OB

vement in India concentrated on its demands for reservation and job quota. Considering Artic
0, the Government of India appointed the first Backward Classes Commission in 1953 with K
lelkar as its head. The Commission reported in 1955 identifying 2,399 castes as socially and
ucationally backward classes. The government, however, did not accept the recommendations
grounds that the commission had not applied any objective tests for identifying the backward
sses.53 In fact, the commission was also doubtful about identifying the backward classes.

wever, though the report of the first Backward Classes Commission was shelved, it created,
cording to Jaffrelot, a milestone for the low-caste movement in north India, as for example, we
emergence of the AIBCF (All India Backward Classes Federation). 54
The next step was to be accomplished by the political actors. From the late 1960s onwards, th
BCs were to advance through the socialist movements and Charan Singh’s political parties. Th
mer—especially the parties of Ram Manohar Lohia—were quick to use reservations as a mea
liticizing the lower castes. While the southern pattern of the low-caste mobilization was linked
nicization and strategies of empowerment, ‘quota politics’ in the north was the key factor.55
Then, it was in 1978 that the Janata coalitions displaced the Congress power at the centre. Wit
nsiderable support in north India from the backward caste groups, the central government again
k up the issue of the preferential treatment for the backward castes by appointing the Second
ckward Classes Commission (with B. P Mandai as its chairman). The second commission
plicitly recommended caste as criterion and identified 3,248 castes as backward. But by the tim
Commission submitted its report in December 1980, the Congress had returned to power. The
ngress government neither took a decision and nor did it reject the report. But it was in Augus
90 when Prime Minister V. E Singh, the leader of the fragile government in need of solidifying
ctoral base, announced a further 27 per cent reservation in addition to the 22 per cent set asid
s and STs.
The commission, here, recommended reservation of jobs for backward castes not as an egalita
asure or a step towards secularism or social justice, but primarily to boost the morale of the
ckward castes. It argued:
n India, government service has always been looked upon as a symbol of prestige and power. By increasing the representation
he OBCs in government services, we give them an immediate feeling of participation in the governance of this country. … Eve
when no tangible benefits flow to the community at large, the feeling that it has now its ‘own man’ in the ‘corridors of power’ a

s a morale booster.56
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 e centrality
8/18/2019 accorded to power wasIndia
Contemporary justEconomy,
as clear in the
Society, remarks
Politics of former
- Neera Chandhoke, Prime
Praveen Minister V. P
Priyadarshi

ngh, the chief architect of the social justice platform:

hrough Mandai, I knew we were going to bring changes in the basic nature of power. I was putting my hand on the real struct
f power. I knew I was not giving jobs, Mandai is not an employment scheme but I was seeking to place people in the instrume
f power.57

is phenomenon also led to the politicization of caste58 in India, which not only led to various
alitions, but also created various factions, for example, in the case of Janata Dal, which has ar
59
splinter groups. Further, as OBCs are not a coherent category, in the last decade divisions am
m such as rural/urban or poor/rich have been aggravated and a new category of the most back
tes as MBCs has taken shape.60 In recent years, a process of politicization and awareness of
BCs; of their lowly social and economic position has begun among them creating confrontation
OBCs and Dalits who they feel have received all the benefits from the process of developmen
In fact, caste conflict and competitions came into the forefront of Indian politics only after the
hru period, particularly after the split in the Congress in 1969 and during and after the 1971
ctions. The Congress led by Mrs Gandhi intensified its appeal to the disadvantaged group, und
KHAM strategy, to counter the power of the state party bases, which rested mostly on the upp
d landed castes. With this began the trend of political cooptation by various political parties to
ng in various factions into their fold. In north India, for example, several political parties,
rticularly the Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP) of Ram Manohar Lohia and Bharatiya Kranti Da
KD) of Charan Singh, developed strength among the backward castes and advocated policies
eferential treatment.61
While in south India, where the mobilization of the non-Brahmin castes took place earlier than
north, neither in Karnataka nor in Tamil Nadu were the non-Brahmin movements seeking a ra
ange but rather, aiming to gain greater power in administration and in local elected bodies and
islatures.62
In Karnataka, the Congress leadership in the 1950s came predominantly from Lingayats and
kkaligas.63 In the 1970s, Devraj Urs as permanent Congress leader in Karnataka broadened th
cial base of the party by appealing to the more disadvantaged backward castes and Scheduled
stes. However, after the defeat of the Congress by the Janata Dal in 1977 there were differenc
tween Urs and the Congress which led to a split in the party. After the split, the Congress redu
dependence upon the non-dominant backward classes and increased the representation of the
minant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities.64
In Tamil Nadu, the Dravidian movement was committed to the destruction of caste system but
actice, it used caste as a means of political mobilization and ultimately increased the political
portance of caste. Though the Congress initially succeeded in gaining the support of non-Brahm
tes, the DMK was ultimately able to win control of the State by transforming its anti-Brahmin
ology into an anti-northern one.65
Though caste lost its moral legitimacy in Independent India, but still the same middle and the l

tes sought equality with the upper castes through the process of ‘Sanskritization’. However,
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a
me time, they proclaimed Contemporary
8/18/2019 their status asEconomy,
India backward
Society,castes and Chandhoke,
Politics - Neera demanded greater
Praveen political powe
Priyadarshi

Another issue that arose after the Mandai report and during agitation against it was redefinition
overty’ and ‘backwardness’ by a section of dominant elite. 67 As a result, the Gujarat Kshatriya
bha argued that all Kshatriyas should be considered as backward because they were economic
ckward and the various castes among the Kshatriyas share a common culture and social custom
cording to Rajputs, those who were unable to compete openly should get the benefit of reserva
milarly, the Lingayats and the Vokkaligas communities, realizing that they would not get backw
tus, insisted that the Chinappa Reddy Commission adopt economic criteria to identify social a
ucationally backward classes.68 But again, one of the shortcomings of these reservations was t
d largely benefited the upper echelons of the social hierarchy, leaving large sections of the low
helons with no access to knowledge and political power and with no benefits whatsoever.

The Adivasi Movement

e adivasi or tribal movements have a long history. Numerous uprisings of the tribals have take

ace beginning with the one in Bihar in 1772, followed by many revolts in Andhra Pradesh,
daman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland. Tribal
ovements in early India had their origins in religious upheavals like Buddhism and Vaishnavism
ample, Meithie in Manipur, Bhumij in West Bengal, Nokte Naga in Assam, Bathudi in Orissa,
nds, Kols and Bhils in Rajasthan. Then in the 19th and 20th century, the British also faced trib
ovements when they stopped head hunting human sacrifice or slavery in north-eastern India. 69 T
re movements against oppressive landlords, moneylenders and harassment by police and fore
icials in Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and the central Indian states.70
The adivasis and their areas largely remained out of the purview of the administration in the p
dependence period. But the 1930s saw the emergence of a new discourse on tribal developmen
ctions 52 and 92 of the Government of India Act, 1935 provided for tribal majority areas to be
marcated into the excluded and partially excluded areas. This meant that these tracts were to b
ministered by the governor outside the framework of the Constitution, and norms and procedur
vernance in the Fifth and Sixth Schedule areas were to be different from the rest of the country
umption of this policy was that tribals have suffered a great deal during the colonial rule and t
ir cultural and economic rights should now be protected. The Nehruvian view essentially was
economic life of the tribals had to be upgraded and modernized even as their culture needed
otection.71
The Left had, in general, supported the Nehruvian position on both modern tribal development
need for protection of tribals from the market forces. The tribal activists have also backed the
a of Nehruvian protectionism for tribals but only to the extent that it should help in the revival
ditional tribal institutions. But their ideal is significantly different from the Nehruvian dream o
wly drawing the tribals into the mainstream of bourgeois democracy. The Left position also
ognizes the importance of democratization of the tribal society, but wanted to develop a differ
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democracy within India, that is, the future of tribals in the Indian democracy was thus 173/369
pendent not only on political
8/18/2019 freedom
Contemporary Indiaand self-governing
Economy, institutions
Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke,but also
Praveen on correcting the
Priyadarshi

quities between the tribal regions and the dominant political economy.72
Nehru’s ideas formed the basis of the tribal policy in Independent India and he argued that mo
as should be allowed to permeate the institutions of everyday life through the education and
ployment of tribals. The bulk of allocations for STs (as classified in Schedule VIII of the
nstitution) were as grants for education and social services.
Among the works on tribals in India, one that stands out is by Verrier Elwin.73 He was an Eng
hropologist who had spent almost his entire life in the tribal areas of India. What stands out in
rk is his close association and intimacy with the tribals in India.74 As an anthropologist since
ys of the British, a member of the Scheduled Caste Commission and then, later as an adviser fo
bal affairs to the administration of North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), he was a symbol and
ndard bearer of the movement for the recognition of tribal rights. In defending tribal people, h
shed often eloquently with those Hindu puritans who were trying to reform the tribal society i
ir ascetic mode. Elwin found through experiences with tribes of Gonds and Baigas that they d
quire a new religion but were desperately in need of moral and political support against the
pression and exploitation of the advanced communities. Elwin had also proposed a policy of
evelopment in isolation’ to the Brirish government in 1939 and its influence could be seen in th
e principles of Nehru’s tribal Panchsheel, namely to allow people to develop along their own
tural lines, to respect land rights, to train tribals for the administration of the schemes, to work
ough tribal social institutions, and to judge results not by statistics and expenditure, but by the
ality of human character that is evolved.75
But then again, the very adoption of the capitalist, economic, development paradigm weighed
avily on the tribals and resulted in marginalization and land alienation for 68 million tribals w
nstituted about 8 per cent of India’s population.
After Independence, the tribal movements may be classified into three groups: (1) movements
exploitation of outsiders (like those of Santhals and the Mundas), (2) movements due to econom
privation (like those of Gonds in Madhya Pradesh and the Mahars in Andhra Pradesh), and (3)
vements due to separatist tendencies (like those of Nagas and Mizos). 76
The tribal movements may also be classified on the basis of their orientation into four types: (
ovement seeking political autonomy and formation of a state (Nagas, Mizos, Jharkhand), (2)
rarian movements, (3) forest-based movements, and (4) socio-religious or socio-cultural
vements (the Bhagat movement among the Bhils of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, movement
ong the tribals of south Gujarat or Raghunath Murmu’s movement among Santhals). 77
Surajit Sinha has also referred to five types of tribal movements in India:
a. Ethnic (tribal) rebellions during the early days of the British rule in the 18th and 19th centuries: Sardar Larai (1885) and Bir
Movement (1895–1900) among the Munda; Ganganarain Hangama (1832) among the Bhumij; Kol rebellion (1832); Santhal
rebellion (1857–58); Rebellion of the Kacha Nagas (1880s) and so on.
b. Reform movements emulating the cultural pattern of the higher Hindu castes: Bhagat movement among the Oraon; Vaishn
reform movements emulating the cultural pattern of higher Hindu castes: Bhagat movement among the Oraon; Vaishnavite

reform movement among the Bhumij; social mobility movement Bhumij for Rajput recognition; Kherwar movement among
Santal and so on.
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c. Emergence of inter-tribal political associations and movements for recognition as ‘tribal’ states within the Indian Union in th
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
post-Independence period: the Jharkhand movement among the tribes of Chhota Nagpur and Orissa; hills states movement
the Assam hills; Adisthan movement among the Bhil and so on.
d. Violent secessionist movements among tribes located near the international frontier: the Nagaland movement; Mizo Nationa
Front movement and so on.
e. Pockets of violent political movements in the tribal belt linked with the general problem of agrarian unrest and communist
movement: Hajng unrest (1944); Naxalbari movement (1967); Girijan rebellion at Srikakulum (1968–69); Birsa dal movemen
Ranchi (1968–69).78

All the above-mentioned tribal movements in India were mainly launched for liberation from (
pression and discrimination, (ii) neglect and backwardness, and (iii) a government which was
lous to the tribals’ poverty, hunger, unemployment and exploitation. Here, it is also important
ntion that the withdrawal of the State from the social sector and its increasing tendency to priv
mmon and natural resources have further jeopardized the future of displaced people. For exam
controversy over the attempts to sell land to the S. Kumar Corporation on the banks of the
aheshwar dam by the Digvijay Singh government in the early 2000s is an example of the
ensitivity of the government towards the interests of the affected people. On the other hand, an
79
empt by the people to relieve their own stress has been hindered by the state governments.
Also, the recent Supreme Court verdict allowing the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam w
ousands of families still need rehabilitation is a violation of its own judgement of October 200
arch 2005, that unambiguously state that further construction cannot happen until rehabilitation
mporarily and permanently affected families is completed as per the Narmada Tribunal award.
spite overwhelming evidence, protests in Delhi and a 20-day hunger strike, the Supreme Cour
Government of India turned a blind eye to this grave injustice. 80

Women’s Movements
omen’s movements in India can be divided into three waves or periods: 81 ‘The first wave saw
cial reform movements that began in the 19th century and mass mobilization of women in the
ional movement.’
After Independence, between 1950 and 1960, we find the growing legitimacy and power of th
st-colonial State and various development plans that overpowered the other aspects of society
esult, there was a lull in the various campaigning and political activities on the part of women

The period
political from from
activity the late 1960sThe
women. onward
very can be called
futility of the the secondpolicies
economic wave, which
by thesaw the resurge
government th
growing unemployment and price rise in India led to mass uprising. In the 1960s, women
satisfied with the status quo joined the struggles of the rural poor and industrial working class
e activities of women during this period can be well explained in the following words of Nee
sai: ‘Participation of the women in Naxalbari movement, anti-price-rise demonstrations,
vnirman Movement in Gujarat and Bihar, rural revolt in Dhule District in Maharashtra and Ch
ovement provided a backdrop for the ensuing struggles on women’s issues.’ 83
But at the same time, with the splintering of the Indian left by the early 1970s, there was
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a
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 84 The Shahada movement in the Dhulia Distr
estioning of the earlier analysis
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Contemporary Indiarevolution.
Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

aharashtra saw an active participation of women who began to take action against physical
olence associated with alcoholism.85 The period also saw the emergence of various women’s
ganizations which included urban middle-class women as well as working women of various
ata. The Self-Employed Womens Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad and Working Womens
rum in Madras were formed in this period. 86
This phase of women s struggle was associated with movements which were anti-feudal, anti-
pitalist and anti-State in character as well as the beginning of women’s organization in the info
ctors apart from formal party lines.

e Third Wave: While ‘[t]his second wave saw mass participation of women in popular upsur
ainst the government and the power structures in general, but the third wave, which can be said
erge in the late 1970s, had a specific feminist focus’. 87 By the mid-1970s, devaluation of life
come an everyday experience for women.88 This point was driven home by the report on the st
women in India:
he committee’s findings made it clear that the disenchantment of women with the post-Independence development scenario w
ot a stance dictated by exogenous political considerations. Demographic indicators such as the accelerated decline in the sex r
ncreasing gender gaps in life expectancy, mortality and economic participation, or the rising migration rate were disturbing enou
ut the utter failure of the State policy to live up to its constitutional mandates in any field of national development was found to
ave, in fact, contributed, even accelerated these trends. The committee noted clear linkages between existing and growing soc
conomic disparities and women’s status in education, the economy, society and polity. 89

e period, therefore, saw the growth of ‘autonomous’ women’s groups in towns and cities with
rty affiliations or formal hierarchical structures, although individual members often had party
nnections. 90
he distinguishing features of the new women’s groups were that they declared themselves to be ‘feminist’ despite the fact tha
most of their members were drawn from the left, which saw feminism as bourgeois and diverse; that they insisted on being
utonomous even though most of their members were affiliated to other political groups, generally of the far Left; and that they
apidly built networks among one another, ideological differences notwithstanding’. 91

e critique from women in the left parties was that these ‘autonomous’ groups were urban and
ddle class and therefore could not represent the Indian women, and the role of feminists was
refore, to raise questions within mass organizations. 92 However, feminists within autonomous
oups pointed out that left parties and trade unions were as patriarchal as any other and so it wa
cessary to stay independent while allying on a broad platform.93 Many groups opted for autono
hich was defined by separate, women-only groups without any party affiliation or conventional
ganizational structure, for they considered this hierarchical, self-interested, and competitive’. 9
The women’s movement in the late 1970s added growing violence as a major issue. 95 The
vement, in its interaction with the State and other levels of society leaned heavily on the legal
ucational and political processes to redirect the change towards empowerment—for equality a
rticipation.96
The women’s campaign during this period, therefore, prominently focused on violence against
and included cases of dowry deaths and rape.97 Further, the growing forces of religious
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ndamentalism
8/18/2019 in the 1980sContemporary
also threatened women
India Economy, Society, sPolitics
interest.
- Neera The issuePraveen
Chandhoke, of personal,
Priyadarshi or religion

sed and differentiated family laws became especially controversial for feminists in 1985 in w
w referred to as the Shah Bano case. 98 Earlier, between the period of 1982 and 1983, attempts
re made by Hindu rightist forces to revive sati (the practice of immolating widows on their
sband s funeral pyres). The death of Roop Kanwar became the symbol of Rajput identity politi
fact, the 1980s saw the growth and spread of the politics of identity and the increasing use of
olence for political ends.100
The late 1980s saw a period when women’s autonomous groups became funded non-governme
ganizations (NGOs) along with large-scale co-option of the feminist rhetoric by the State. This
nding by international agencies, in addition to the danger of co-option of taking up and
ccessfully’ completing specific projects meant that there was hardly any thought given to what
nstitutes ‘feminism’.101 Thus, autonomous women’s groups, which emerged as an attempt to cr
aces outside the orthodoxies of party women’s wings, are now far from autonomous of the
mpulsions of getting and retaining funding.102
The 1990s, on the other hand, saw the emergence of a common platform for women at the natio
el with women’s wings of national level political parties—All India Democratic Women’s
sociation, All India Women s Conference, National Federation of Indian Women, Mahila Dak
miti—and three national level women’s organizations—the YWCA, the Joint Womens Program
d Centre for Women s Development Studies—getting together on specific issues, such as the re
l on reservations for women in Parliament103 and the Domestic Violence Act, 2006.104
Thus, the contemporary Indian women’s movement has turned out to be rather complex in its
aracter and ‘encompasses and links such issues as work, wages, environment, ecology, civil ri
x, violence, representation, caste, class, allocation of basic resources, consumer rights, health,
igion, community, and individual and social relationships’. 105 However, atrocities against wo
em to be on the rise, the court fights most often proved futile and for all its creativity and new
nking as well as assertion at the grassroots level, the new women s movement has been unable
ld a mass power to confront the forces of patriarchy and exploitation.106

Representation and Social Justice

e ‘new social forces’ that emerged through the movements of Dalits, OBCs, adivasis and wom
me up after there was a ‘crisis of representation’ as far as political parties were concerned. Th
ue of representation as an integral part of the contemporary democratic set up is mainly identif
various political parties taking up issues of various sections including the under-privileged
ctions of a society. However, when the interests of these very sections were found wanting,
vements came up to rescue them. The State on its part also provided certain safeguards to
advantaged sections of the society, through what is known as affirmative actions. Through
irmative actions the State grants certain privileges to the underprivileged sections of society,
hich include various land reforms, redistribution of society’s resources, reservations, etc., also
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as protective discrimination. This is in consonance with the very aim of social justice 107
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 ong with economic and political)
8/18/2019 enshrined
Contemporary inSociety,
India Economy, the very
Politicspreamble of our
- Neera Chandhoke, Constitution,
Praveen Priyadarshi thereby
anting special safeguards in Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution. Further, these special privi
presented various groups that were historically disprivileged and who required a level playing
ld to exercise their right to equality of opportunity. These included SCs, STs, OBCs and wom
However, the argument that is made for their respective representation is largely understood f
wrong reasons. It is either seen as compensation for historical deprivation (through reservati
otas in legislature, educational institutions and in employment alone), including the demand for

onomic criteria for reservation or as representation of various identities. But, here it is to be m

ar that for economic disadvantages there are ameliorative measures like poverty alleviation
ogrammes and as far as group representation is concerned, it should be argued that positive
crimination is not for accommodating differences but it is for doing away with unequal relatio
ong people that place them at a disadvantage, and social justice in India is basically furthering
m of egalitarianism.108
Social justice, therefore, invokes a substantive concept of justice and unlike procedural justic
also deals with background fairness. To elaborate this, we can say that all modern States are b
the belief in some sort of equality and claim to treat their citizens equally. Minimally, it impli
litical and civil liberties, equal rights before the law, equal protection against arbitrary arrest,
forth. These things provide a basis of a society of equal citizens.
However, these rights and freedom cannot stand by themselves. More than a formal level of
uality is required (if the minimal demands are to be met). It is a familiar point that equality bef
law does not come to much if one cannot afford a good lawyer. The ‘equal freedom’ of which
dern democratic states boast should amount to more (as Anatole France observed) than the
edom to sleep on park benches and under bridges. Every body needs the means to make use of
edom, which otherwise would be hollow.110
Social justice, therefore, tries to go behind the structure of rules to determine who is in need, s
alth care, educational opportunity, housing and so on. However, some economic and social the
ggests that these problems might be overcome by a welfare policy, which guarantees the payme
egative income’ tax to those where earning falls below a certain level. 111 A cash payment of th
nd could be spent by the individual as he wished. The school of social justice argues that this
nnot take into account special circumstances such as large families, or physical and mental
ndicap, which generates special needs. Social justice requires that structures should be adapte
luenced in ways that can give more people a better chance in the first place. That is why
portunities and breaking down barriers are so important.112 Thus, inequalities that are permiss
social justice through, say, affirmative actions and positive discrimination are acceptable. Thi
comes all the more necessary with regard to the vast inequalities (both horizontal and vertical)
st in our country.113 Therefore, protective discrimination authorized by the Constitution is
visaged as an exceptional and temporary measure to be used only for the purpose of mitigating
qualities; it is designed to disappear along with these inequalities. Nehru believed that the aim

otective discrimination was to eliminate114 inequalities based on past prejudices associated

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criminatory social structure of society. The Constitution-makers did not include it as a devi
nsolidate and protect the separate integrity of Society,
communal 115
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Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

However, it has been observed with regard to contemporary developments in case of affirmati
ion programme in general, and protective discrimination in particular under the rubric of soci
tice is that social justice seems to be missing and is being misinterpreted—whether it has been
obilization of caste groups for garnering votes and creating factions concentrating only on gettin
ervation and political power, or/and stressing the economic criteria (or economic backwardn
reservation. Social justice seems to be missing in all these cases. Amidst such trends, Hasan
serves: ‘Despite the steady increases in participation in elections from the lower social order
re remains a central contradiction at the heart of Indian democracy: an inclusive polity has so
t made for a more just and equal society’.116
Social justice in the present context has, therefore, been reduced to reservation, which is regar
the only criteria for social equality. However, what has been missed here is that without tough
asure at the basic level (for example, education, land reforms, etc.), this soft option of reserva
ll prove void. Long term measures are, therefore, found wanting in the present time.
Today, politicians pick and choose which identity they want to use as the basis for political
bilization and socialization. Whichever identity they emphasize, the rhetoric is invariably one
cial justice’ and equality.117
NSMs, which represented various group interests and could have played a key role in bringing
cial justice to Dalits, women, adivasis and OBCs, were found to be wanting in their very aim
w seem to have disappeared. The Dalit movement, which started with vigour got engulfed in p
litics, the OBCs seemed happy securing power through reservation, the fights of adivasis end
urts but they remain as ignored a community as they were before, and women s movements hav
en reduced to functioning as NGOs, or at the most end up in courts—social injustice, however
rsists.

CONCLUSION

e rise of new social movements in India marked an important phenomenon for the Indian
mocracy NSMs, in fact, deepened the very notion of democracy. India with its newly found
dependence and its establishment of democratic structure moved ahead in its assertion of the
ncept of democracy with the emergence of new social movements.

Democracy no longer remained an empty concept of mainly elections and plebiscite and thereb
itimization of State power. The very emergence of these movements made it clear that democr
ates its own space and is not just a State entity. The rise of Dalits, OBCs, adivasis and wome
w social forces enriched the democracy by invoking the very concept of a civil society.
Civil society has become the leitmotif of movements struggling to free themselves from
responsive and often tyrannical post-colonial elites. If the first wave of liberation took place a
th decolonization, the second wave comes up against those very elites who had taken over pow
er decolonization.118
The upheaval of new, social movements raises their voices against the authoritative, oppressiv
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d exploitative
8/18/2019 institutions,Contemporary
includingIndia
theEconomy,
State and itsPolitics
Society, notion ofChandhoke,
- Neera development and, thereby, revie
Praveen Priyadarshi

fact that democracy needs to be looked in its fundamental and value-based basic principles o
erty and equality. Chandhoke writes:
see the beginning of an authentic civil society in the voice of those who insist that the state listens, in the voice of those who ha
aised issues outside the ambit of norms laid down by the state—ecology, gender, class—in the resistance of those who refuse
he state site its projects wherever it places, in the voice of those who reject corrupt elites in the political passions of those whos
erves are not numbed by consumer capitalism, in the letters to the newspapers, in oral communication. These are people who d
ot opt out of civil society but who demand that the state deliver what it has promised in the Constitution and the law, who dema
11
tate accountability, who expand the sphere of rights to encompass those which has arisen out of the struggles of the people.
e NSMs have, therefore, made an important beginning in awakening the society against the
ustices that were being dished out in the immediate post-Independence period. But what needs
seen in today’s context is the fact as to whether they were able to achieve what they were mak
ir stand for. What have been the consequences of such movements? Have they been able to ass
very principles of democracy?
Today, we see NSMs are also about class because of the very socio-economic deprivation tha
l persists, thereby raising issues of rights, justice and equality. Also, we find that these movem
now struggling for State power (BSP struggles for power at the State). Thus, NSMs are now
ry different from social movements. What we now see is either an ‘NGOization’ of social
vements, which are like active citizens’ group but which stick to the limits because of the
volvement of large national and international funds, diverting from the real cause and end up
coming lobbies or politicization of various groups by various political parties for garnering vo
state power.120 Then, there are social movements, like the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA)
her women’s issues, which have ended in courts rather than active role by the State and the ver
the courts have not been that fair either. And, if there have been any issues that have come up i
ent times, they have all been mere campaigns.
The present scenario finds a critical situation for NSMs and which in the words of Omvedt ca
led as ‘the crisis of movement’. In fact, the NSMs find themselves in completely different
ection, somewhere in the politics of reservation, in the politics of power struggle, in the polit
whole notion of development. Today, we find the atrocities against Dalits, adivasis and wom
still persistent and social justice has lost its very essence.
So, where do we see ourselves from here? We started with great hope when the NSMs were
nched. However, all of it did not go in vain. NSMs did make an initiation in breaking down th
rriers of caste, class, gender and other such oppressions. But it seems that somewhere down th
e they lost their way. Perhaps, we need to review, relocate or, as Gail Omvedt suggests, reinv
revolution.

SUGGESTED READINGS
vedt, Gail. Reinventing Revolution . Armok: N. E. Sharpe, 1993.
, M. S. A. (ed.). Social Movements in India: Studies in Peasant, Backward Classes, Sectarian, Tribal and Womens
Movements. New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 2000[1984].

, R. and M. Katzenstein. Social Movements in India: Poverty, Power and Politics. Oxford, UK: Rowman and Littlefield, 20
h, Ghanshyam. Social Movements and the State . New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2002.
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——. Social Movements in India: A Review of Literature. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2004.
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QUESTIONS

1. What is a social movement? What is the difference between social movements and new social movements?
2. Discuss the various stages of the women s movement in India. Do you think it has positively impacted gender relations in
society?
3. Write a short essay on the Dalit movement in India.
4. How are representation and social justice related?

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8/18/2019
PART III
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Politics

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 8/18/2019 13
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

The Nature and Functioning of Democracy

Swaha Das and Hari Nair

s often claimed that India is the world’s largest democracy. This claim is based on the fact tha
re are more eligible voters in India than in any other country. But, if there are more eligible vo
s largely because of the overwhelming size of the Indian population. Nonetheless, would this
tistical detail make our country effectively democratic? We shall, in the following pages, attem
answer this question by discussing the nature of Indian democracy and its functioning. In other
rds, the aim of this chapter is to broadly map certain outstanding aspects of Indian democracy
turn of the century. These issues will be discussed in detail in the following chapters of this b
In order to engage with the broad theme of Indian democracy, we shall first try and understand
hat the term democracy in general implies and why it is so sought after. Then, we shall broadly
etch the origins of democracy in independent India. Afterwards, by broadly basing ourselves o
radigm suggested by Atul Kohli in The Success of India’s Democracy,1 we shall deal with the
nctioning of Indian democracy in two part. In the first part, we shall outline how the Indian Stat
rked towards consolidating its democratic institutions; and then we shall look at how margina
oups and the national civil society have used the democratic institutions of the Indian State to a
ir rights. Before concluding this essay, we shall consider the most disturbing critiques made
ainst Indian democracy because no overview of the subject would do justice to it otherwise.
wever, we must also remind ourselves that the scope of the subject of Indian democracy is so
t any attempt to sum it up in a few pages runs many a risk.

UNDERSTANDING DEMOCRACY

oft-quoted answer to the question, ‘What is democracy?’ is the phrase attributed to Abraham
ncoln from his Gettysburg address of 1863: ‘it is the government of the people, for the people

the people.’ This idea is also supported by the etymology of the word ‘democracy’, which me
rule (kratos) by many people ( demos). It could thus be distinguished from ‘aristocracy’, whic
ans the rule by the wise; from oligarchy, which means rule by strong groups like certain famil
d from monarchy, which means rule by an individual. It is, however, not easy to box democrac
o a definition because it is a multifaceted concept. Nonetheless, it is identified with political
uality of citizens on the basis of their equal moral status. Such a notion of equality is manifeste
ual political rights for all citizens. Nevertheless, democracy has of late been formally linked to
ctoral aspects.
Democracy has become increasingly appealing in the modern world, especially in the second
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h
 the 20th century. The reason
8/18/2019 for thatIndia
Contemporary lies in theSociety,
Economy, nature and- Neera
Politics functioning of thePriyadarshi
Chandhoke, Praveen contemporary Stat
e State is best understood as an institution with a monopoly over the legitimate use of force wi
ertain area, to maintain order within its territory as well as to secure its frontiers. Naturally, th
kes the governing authorities of a State extremely powerful as they control the instruments of f
th this arises the danger of their misuse of power and it is in this context that popular control o
vernment assumes such immense importance. It is believed that if popular sovereignty determi
ho should occupy positions of power and for how long, then, democratic governments could

nimize the possibility of the concentration of political power in the hands of one or a few.
The Prussian philosopher, Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), believed that if more countries acros
rld became democratic, then there would be a greater likelihood of perpetual peace because
mocracies have fewer chances of fighting each other. Such a belief is based on the assumption
blic opinion within democratic countries would prevent their governments from going to war.2
erefore, when independent India chose democratic institutions of government, she was greeted
eer but not without doubts about her ability to consolidate and deepen the country’s newly bom
mocratic structure.

Origins of Democracy in Independent India

dian democracy not only incorporates elements from Graeco-Roman, French, British and Amer
ditions but also certain indigenous aspects particular to our own culture. Democracy in
dependent India took root in a terrain, which was considered inhospitable.3 The pre-conditions
establishment of democracy, such as, an industrialized developed economy, an ethnically
mogenous population and a civic culture hospitable to democracy were all missing from the In

enario. Yet, the consolidation of democracy in the country, despite its many failures, is evidenc
emarkable achievement of the Indian people.
The makers of the Indian Constitution believed that democracy in independent India must initia
mocratic process of governance, but more importantly, it must also aid the growth of a democr
ciety. This broad conceptual understanding of democracy makes it the most crucial idea that is
esent in the Constitution of India, which is the founding document of our republic. Those who
med the Indian Constitution believed that democracy was necessary and inevitable for bringin
out equality between its citizens in all spheres of socio-political life, and thus, ensure justice f
.
The fundamental document for a study of the nature and functioning of democracy in independe
dia is our Constitution, promulgated on 26 January 1950. Ideologically and otherwise, many
rtions of this text derive from the Government of India Act of 1935, which was the last major
mework under which the British had ruled India till 1947. Many important features of the Indi
lity are a continuation of the British political practice. These include, amongst others, the liber
mocratic nature of the Indian constitution, parliamentary form of government, the Indian Civil
rvice and the unitary character of the Indian State, whereby the emergency and residual power
th thehttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
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However, the Indian Constitution
8/18/2019 broke
Contemporary away Society,
India Economy, from Politics
the colonial legacyPraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, in many important aspe
Priyadarshi

st, in defending the Indian Constitution, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan demonstrated that the repub
dition was not foreign to India, for we had had it since the beginning of our history. In saying s
s also arguing against the European historicist tradition, most clearly manifested in the works
hn Stuart Mill. The latter had declared that Indians were not as yet fit to rule themselves and th
ge illiterate population was a hindrance to the implementation of adult suffrage. Dr Radhakrish
missed Mill’s claim and declared that all Indians, irrespective of gender and education, were
ways suited for self-rule.4
Second, the Indian Constitution made the Fundamental Rights of citizens sacred. This was desi
avoid any arm of the Indian State from trespassing on the terrain marked out for citizens’ rights
nsequently, this has of late resulted in a kind of judicial activism. 5 However, the founding fath
the Indian Constitution believed that the rights discourse alone could not ensure equality of all
izens, which made it necessary for them to include a section called the Directive Principles of
ate Policy, whereby the State was directed to implement the necessary reforms to actualize the
ndamental Rights.6 Other important features of post-colonial Indian democracy like universal a
frage; federalism, particularly, the administrative division of India on the basis of linguistic st
irmative action for the depressed classes; and secularism, visible in the absence of a State reli
d the protection of the rights of religious minorities were influenced and shaped by the democr
ntent of the Indian national movement.7

Towards Consolidating Indian Democracy8

mocratic consolidation in India involves the entrenchment of democratic values among the
ellectual and social elites as well as strengthening democratic institutions of the State. Some o
ore significant features of the consolidation of Indian democracy are: an inclusive civil service
oiding nepotism in the administrative structure, the acceptance of parliamentary democracy by
jor communist and socialist organizations from their initial ambivalent or antagonistic attitude
wards electoral democracy, the decline of the Congress party with its family/personality-centr
e, the civilian control of the military and the latter’s non-interference in politics. In the follow
ragraphs, we shall take a look at some of the more outstanding phenomena of recent years in th
ocess of democratic consolidation in India:
i. judicial activism
ii. the recent work of the Election Commission of India
ii. the new panchayati raj or the consolidation of the institutions of local governance
v. the right to information

The Supreme Court and the high courts in the states, which comprise the higher judiciary, have
ayed an important role in the process of democratic consolidation. From the 1980s, the higher
diciary began to entertain public interest litigations (PILs) related to a wide variety of goals an
uses, but all of them were centred on the principle of acquiring the common good of Indian citi
d protecting their rights. These cases were often related to the protection of ecology, human
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 the poor and the powerless
8/18/2019 against India
Contemporary State abuses,
Economy, particularly
Society, custodialPraveen
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, torture and rape. Such
Priyadarshi

gations filed by members of civil society laid the foundation for what is commonly referred to
dicial activism. This term refers to the proactive role played by the higher judiciary in protecti
citizens’ rights and in safeguarding public goods.
The activism of the higher judiciary is founded on the Indian Constitution by virtue of its hybri
ure that conjoined the British tradition of parliamentary supremacy with the judicial review b
the American practice. The original powers of the Supreme Court of India include Article 131

ticle 32 of the Constitution. While the former grants it the exclusive jurisdictional authority ov
deral disputes, the latter permits the Supreme Court to issue directions, orders or writs for the
forcement of Fundamental Rights. However, in the case of India, this has sometimes led to a
nflictive relationship between Parliament and the Judiciary.
A few notable instances of such conflicts led to landmark judgements in two cases, Golaknath
njab (1967) and Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala (1973). The judgement in the first c
d that the Parliament could not amend Fundamental Rights, while in the latter, the court declar
t the basic structures of the Constitution cannot be altered. Very recently, the Supreme Court h
o questioned the rule of keeping certain laws and provisions outside the purview of the judici
efly put, public interest litigations form part of the attempt by the higher judiciary to protect th
w against abuses by the two other arms of the State. Votaries of judicial activism claim that thi
enomenon is a response to the moral corruption of other institutions of governance.
At the beginning of the decade of the 1990s, when trust of the people in the institutional arms o
dian State was fast eroding due to the phenomenon of the criminalization of politics, the Electio
mmission of India rose to the occasion by attempting to fulfil its constitutional obligations by
suring free and fair elections. The work of the Election Commission for consolidating Indian
mocracy is commendable for the following reasons: first, it deals with an electorate of 600 mi
ople, of which 57 per cent vote; second, it has been found that the participation in elections is
gher among the poorly educated as well as the depressed classes and castes than the ‘higher’ c
d classes.9 An interesting detail is that higher numbers have been noted at local levels than in
ctions to the Union parliament. Does the latter point towards a popular desire for the
centralization of governance?
The sharing of power among different politico-administrative units and the decentralization of
vernance is an important aspect of the Indian process of democratic consolidation. Within the
political studies, this subject has been discussed under the title of federalism or centre-state
ations and panchayati raj . The former refers to the capabilities of the federal-system to accep
commodate and even celebrate diversity in all its forms without sacrificing the stability of fede
vernance.10 The latter refers to the process of incorporating village, municipal/intermediate an
trict-level elites and masses into the democratic process. It became a law in 1992 and is often
erred to as the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. This form of governance had at least three
vantages: it offered a non-violent middle path between centralized bureaucratic planning and a
volution from below, it utilized resources tied down in the country side, and crucially, strength
economy.11 Experts like Subrata Mitra argue that in the case of India, in general, 186/369
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 st in 8/18/2019
local government is higher thanIndia
Contemporary that in state
Economy, governments
Society, or the central
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, government.
Praveen Priyadarshi

twithstanding this, he argues that there is a severe deficit in people s trust in panchayati raj
vernance in states like Bihar, while the case is the opposite in Maharashtra and Bengal. 12
On 15 June 2005, the president of the republic gave his assent to the Right to Information Act o
dia, which permits all Indian citizens to obtain information from any public authority in the
untry.13 Importantly, this Act places the onus on the government to deliver information to its
zens. The promulgation of the RTI Act is based on the fundamental belief that the production a
rage of information by the State actually belongs to its citizens and, therefore, the people have
ht to know how it is being put to use. Administrators have often inclined to widen the gap that
parates the rulers from the ruled by hoarding information. Such tendencies have resulted in
bitrariness, unaccountability and lack of transparency in decision-making regarding matters tha
the public domain.
The RTI Act (2005) attempts to consolidate democracy in India by strengthening the notion of
uality between the governing and the governed. It also works to offset the imperialist culture o
vernance created by the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act (1872) and the Official Secrets
923). Ever since the pioneering legislation in the field enacted by the Tamil Nadu legislature in
ril 1996, the movement to exercise the citizen s right to information has gained considerable
omentum. However, the history and the scope of the Right to Information Act, through its newly
unded institutional agencies represented by the Central and State Information Commissions, is
te of continuous evolution to anticipate a balanced critique of its functioning.14

Democratic Deepening in India

though democracy formally took root in India at the time of Independence in 1947, this was on
ginning. The prevalence of widespread economic inequality, the lack of access to primary
ucation and medical care, the absence of respect for cultures that are not one s own, and the
privation faced by marginalized groups are certain manifestations of the failure of both the Ind
ate and the national civil society. Both these actors have a long way to go before satisfactorily
lizing democratic egalitarianism in a substantive sense.
The complex process of deepening democracy in India necessarily involves two kinds of acto
State as well as non-State actors. While in the previous section, we discussed the efforts of th
ate at consolidating democratic institutions, we ought to realize that the role of non-State actor
epening democracy in India is equally striking. This process has involved the use of non-electo
ans, such as the expression of dissent through the mass media and through public demonstratio
rginalized groups to assert their rightful presence within the Indian nation. They demand that th
ate ought to respond satisfactorily to their claims of greater inclusion within the mainstream so
d the appropriate recognition of their rights and their differences. In this section, we will look
o instances of growing mobilization among marginalized sections to demand greater
mocratization.
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 rarchies of the traditionalContemporary
8/18/2019 caste system. However,
India Economy, Society,it is striking
Politics that members
- Neera Chandhoke, of the marginaliz
Praveen Priyadarshi

tes have asserted their caste identity and have politically mobilized themselves to demand an
ual status, on par with other castes rather than raising demands for the abolition of the caste sy
toto. The marginalized castes chose the term Dalit instead of the apparently patronizing term
rijan, which was introduced by Mahatma Gandhi to denominate the marginalized castes. This
uggle of symbols cannot be missed. A prominent Dalit activist from Maharashtra, Namdeo Dh
ught to convert the term into a rallying point in the fight for social injustice. This auto-referenti

m Dalit showed the importance of naming oneself through the agency of the oppressor. Howev
paradox of the political struggle by the marginalized castes has only resulted in the growing
litical importance of caste.15
The presence of democratic institutions is largely responsible for the growing consciousness a
litical mobilization of marginalized castes in their demand for equal status and equal respect.
ctoral process has not only enabled the expression of dissent but has also widened caste
tinctions. At the same time, the democratic process has incorporated castes previously exclud
m political power. It has provided spaces for the pursuit of self-protection, self-respect as we
material benefits to individuals through group membership. In this context, the steady rise of t
hujan Samaj Party founded by Kanshi Ram to represent Dalits in 1984 and claiming to be insp
the ideas of B. R. Ambedkar is the most noteworthy case.
We could understand social movements as a collective action on the part of civil society to eff
ange. These movements have for long been a permanent feature of Indian social life and have
plored and defined new democratic spaces in India. Such movements have highlighted the
rticipatory nature of democracy by aiming to achieve social justice in a more substantive sense
hile social movements centred on questions of identity formation have engaged with the electo
ocess, other issue-based movements like those concerned with ecology or women have largely
mained disengaged from the electoral process. The latter land of social movements have conce
mselves with grass-root level activism and have engaged with the judicial and bureaucratic w
the Indian State.
In the process of consolidating and deepening democracy, social movements have opened up n
aces for the identification and critical assessment of social practices as well as government
licies. Their vision of bringing about a democratic society, and not merely a democratic polity
powering marginalized groups has been carried out by imaginative and novel methods such as
eracy campaigns, workshops, nukkad natak, protests, dhama, publications and films. These ha
ated new, democratic spaces and have deepened consciousness on issues related to social jus
recently as September 2007, such activism was displayed by women students of the Universi
lhi, as they protested against the apathy of the administration in cases of sexual harassment—a
her common phenomenon in Delhi. This particular movement has created consciousness about
xual harassment policy of the University as well as the necessity of a gender-sensitization of th
lice force. It also sought to question societal and cultural prejudices against victims of sexual
rassment.
The role played by the Self-Employed Womens Association (SEWA), the Narmada Bachao
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 dolan (NBA), the Mazdoor
8/18/2019 Kisan Shakti
Contemporary Sangathan
India Economy, (MKSS),
Society, Politics and other
- Neera Chandhoke, similar
Praveen organizations i
Priyadarshi

sing political awareness about the aims and potential beneficiaries of public policy has provid
represented groups with the means to locate the structural causes of inequality in the developm
licies of the Indian State. The recent march of Janadesh (October 2007) from Gwalior to Delh
mprising tribes, Dalits and landless tillers from villages of 15 Indian states has raised question
out the need for land reforms, the demand for rights to land and livelihood, and the creation of
ecial economic zones that have led to widespread dispossession of land and displacement of th

possessed. The demands include the establishment of a national land authority to provide a cl
tement on land use in the country, the identification of lands available for redistribution and th
gularization of landholdings of the poor and marginal groups.

Critiques of Indian Democracy

spite the many successes attributed to Indian democracy, the State has failed in eradicating ma
verty and continuing violence against religious minorities, depressed castes, tribes and women
psided planning and the semi-feudal, semi-capitalist economic structure of the country have
ulted in armed struggles against the Indian State in many parts. Although the ethical nature of th
ans of such fights is debatable, their causes certainly are not. Huge portions of India’s populat
uggle weakly against inhuman living conditions. Therefore, the principal cause perhaps lies in
dian State’s failure to protect the rights of the poor and the landless. History has repeatedly sho
that the use of the repressive apparatus of the State against these genuine’ struggles for equality
ly aggravated problems rather than resolving them.
To make matters worse, the subject of economic equality is in the danger of disappearing from

bates on democracy. The ever-increasing power of private capital has resulted in the decline o
ative autonomy of the Indian State. This, in turn, threatens to debilitate the progress that the cou
s made through affirmative action in general. And in particular, certain important economic sec
t are vital to the sovereignty and security of the nation like agriculture, health and education ar
der grave threats. 16
It is on similar grounds that the Naxalite critique of the Indian State is based. The term comes
xalbari, a village in West Bengal, where a section of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
, led by Charu Mazumdar and Kanu Sanyal, were part of an uprising of peasants against the lo
dlords in 1967. Today, Naxal is an umbrella term, which includes armed revolutionary
vements, taking inspiration from Maoist thought, and are spread across rural central, southern
tern India. While the violent methods used by the Naxals to draw attention to their legitimate
tique of the Indian State may be condemnable, their critique indeed raises fundamental questio
out the very nature of the Indian State and its beneficiaries. The Naxal movements work towar
nsforming agrarian relations, securing the rights of tribal peoples, and resisting neo-imperialis
d globalization in realizing the wider aim of a democratic revolution and thus changing the ver
aracter of the Indian State.
Another devastating critique of Indian democracy was made by Jayaprakash Narayan when
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he
acked, in a rather Gandhian
8/18/2019 vein, the
Contemporary concept
India of parliamentary
Economy, Society, democracy
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveenper se for its democ
Priyadarshi

ficit. JP criticized the parliamentary system and party politics for breeding unscrupulousness a
its tendency towards centralism and dictatorships. His suspicions were proved right with the
oclamation of Emergency in India for approximately 18 months during 1975–77. This phase, w
tnessed restrictions on the Fundamental Rights of the citizens, has often been described as the
rkest chapter in the history of independent India.
However, the ghosts of such events are still alive as Emergency-like situations prevail in many

rts of northeastern India, which have been under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (1958
arly 50 years. This has resulted not only in a de facto suspension of the powers of the civil
ministration with the presence of the military, but has also converted military rule into one of d
e, especially when the Supreme Court of India declared in 1997 that AFSPA was constitution
itimate.

CONCLUSION

mocracy in independent India saw the transformation of the colonial Indian ‘subject’ into a
tizen’ of free India, where the citizen was recognized as a morally autonomous agent. In the
eceding pages, we have seen how the twin processes of consolidating and deepening democrac
dia is continuing with commendable success despite shameful blemishes. Nonetheless, the true
ength of a democracy lies in its ability to digest devastating criticism and in striving to better i
ord. Therein, lies the destiny of Indian democracy as well.

SUGGESTED READINGS
arwal, Bina. A Field of One’s Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
tin, Granville. The Indian Constitution: The Cornerstone of a Nation. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1966.
ss, Paul. The New Cambridge History of India. Vol. 4, The Politics of India Since Independence . 2nd edition. New Delhi
Cambridge University Press, Foundation Books, 1994.
ndra, Bipan. In the Name of Democracy: JP Movement and the Emergency. New Delhi: Penguin, 2003.
krabarty, Dipesh. Provincializing Europe: Post-colonial Thought and Historical Diff erence . New Delhi: Oxford Univers
ress, 2001.
ta, Nilanjan. ‘From Subject to Citizen: Towards a History of the Indian Civil Rights Movement.’ In Michael Anderson and Sum
Guha (eds.), Changing Concepts of Rights and Justice in South Asia . New Delhi: Oxford India Paperbacks, 2000, pp. 275–8
nkel, Francine, Zoya Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora (eds.), Transforming India: Social and Political Dynamic
Democracy. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002.
hli, Atul (ed.). The Success of Indian Democracy . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
, B. Shiv. The Framing o f India’s Constitution. New Delhi: Indian Institute of Public Administration, 1968.

QUESTIONS

1. Does democracy always mean the rule of the majority? What are the dangers inherent in such a conception of democracy?
How can we safeguard democracy against the dangers imposed by a majority?
2. How have the judiciary and the Election Commission consolidated democracy in India?
3. What is the significance of the right to information in a democratic polity? Discuss some of the key issues emerging from th
exercise of the Right to Information Act.
4. How have democratic institutions and practices been used by marginalized groups to assert their identities and press for the
demands?
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5. What measures would you suggest for consolidating and deepening democracy in your home state?
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

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arliamentary-federal’
8/18/2019 that Contemporary
suitably captures most
India Economy, of Politics
Society, its salient features.Praveen Priyadarshi
- Neera Chandhoke,

We referred to some cardinal principles that govern parliamentary relations. Those principles
os of what we call ‘parliamentary democracy’. Parliamentary democracy can be conceived of
o ways. One, as a set of principles that embodies a democratic polity in which the affairs of th
te and the business of the government are conducted by the means and devices of the parliamen
stem. Besides others, the main procedural connection between parliamentary democracy and th
rliamentary system is that the executive’s responsibility to the legislature is given priority ove
her democratic principles.
In this context, the Constitution of India enjoins upon the executive two types of responsibilitie
individual responsibility and (2) collective responsibility. The principle of individual
ponsibility to the head of the State, i.e. the President of India, is embodied in Article 75(2).1 I
be noted that the President of India is an integral part of Parliament (Art.79). Another type of
ponsibility, which the Constitution enjoins upon the government, is the principle of ‘collective
ponsibility’. This is embodied in Article 75(3) of the Constitution, which states that the ‘coun
nisters’ shall be collectively responsible to the ‘House of the People’. This means that the
ecutive must derive legitimacy and sanctity from the legislature. The life of the government dep
the will of the legislature. The government remains in power as long as it continues to enjoy th
nfidence of the House (Lok Sabha).
The other way in which parliamentary democracy is conceived is very broad and captures loft
as and aspirations of democratic life. It is all about developing a democratic political culture
hich people learn and inculcate such democratic values as belief in deliberative decision-maki
pose trust in parliamentary and representative institutions, accommodate and respect divergent
ws including that of the opposition, embed in participatory values, and use parliamentary lang
public life. Parliamentary democracy, conceived this way, acquires a moral and substantive
aracter. Democracy promises certain fundamental freedoms and rights to people in order to eq
m to make morally relevant choices in life, what we call autonomy. Moral autonomy is necess
capacitate people to make moral judgements about life and society. Democracy is ultimately a
out making decisions and judgements in social and political life. The parliamentary system’ is
e of the ways and means to keep this constitutional promise made to the people by the framers
Constitution.

Why India Adopted the Parliamentary System

dia has a long history of representative institutions. Some observers have remarked that India w
vilizational polity’. Ancient institutions like ‘sabha’ and ‘samiti’ were representative in chara
ey correspond to our modern parliamentary chambers—Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Howeve
rrent discussions, we find two clear views. According to one school, India’s democracy is a le
British colonialism. Atul Kohli has also observed that British colonialism was helpful and
mative for India’s democratic evolution. India experienced an early introduction to proto-
mocratic’ institutions and practices, like civil services and legislatures. India’s national
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elites
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come8/18/2019
socialized in liberal-democratic values Society,
Contemporary India Economy, and attuned to parliamentary
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen procedures.
Priyadarshi Even th
ople of India were also practically accustomed to the parliamentary system under the long spe
itish colonialism. According to another view, India’s national movement for Independence can
dited for the birth of India’s democracy.
One obvious reason for making a choice in favour of the parliamentary democracy was India’s
cial diversity. India is a multicultural society. Given the diversity and plurality in India’s socia
d cultural life, a unitary type of system would have been a complete misfit. For, a unitary system

rinsically and structurally conducive to a homogeneous society, having a uniform pattern of lif
ere would arise a problem of compatibility between the political set up and social set up in a
itary government with a plural society. Federal aspirations of the people would have been crus
der the weight of a centralized political structure. So the ‘parliamentary-federal’ model with m
rty system was the natural choice.

The Working of Parliamentary System in India

stated earlier, a system strikes specific relationship among a given set of institutions. Hence,
dy does not intend to analyse the working of parliamentary institutions independent of each oth
ther, the focus of our study is to analyse and examine them in their cross-connections and
nstitutional setting. Throughout this chapter, the terms ‘parliament’ and ‘legislature’ have been
nonymously used. Although the legislature is a general term, which also includes state legislatu
latter has been left out from this study. Similarly, the terms judiciary’ and ‘court’ have been u
make reference only to the Supreme Court and high courts. The lower judiciaries have been
cluded. For our purpose, we divide our study into the following heads:

1. Legislature-executive relations
2. Legislature-judiciary relations
3. Judiciary-executive relations

The yardstick for our analysis will be the three cardinal principles of a systemic relationship—
ponsibility, accountability, and stability.

Legislature—Executive Relations

e have outlined at the onset that the working of the parliamentary system rests on the accountab
the executive to the legislature. This is the cardinal principle of the parliamentary systems. To
amine the working of the Indian parliamentary system the questions we take up are: to what ext
Parliament can exercise legislative control over the political government? What are the
ocedural devices to ensure it and how well have they functioned? Is accountability at all an iss
dia’s parliamentary politics? In the following paragraphs, we will try to examine the above
estions. We divide our study of legislature-executive relations under two heads: (1) role of
rliamentary committees, and (2) president in legislature-executive relations. Towards the end
s chapter, we will also briefly focus on the role of the opposition in demanding accountability
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 le of8/18/2019
Parliamentary Committees. Parliamentary
Contemporary India committees,
Economy, Society, to somePraveen
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, extent, are the main site
Priyadarshi

m where the legislators can exercise structural and functional control over the government by
nipulating the legislative business. These committees are meant for assisting the legislature in
naging the affairs of the legislation. Sometimes they are also constituted for conducting
vestigations of a specific nature. Members are drawn from either or both houses. Depending on
ure of function and duration, parliamentary committees are of two types: ad hoc and standing
mmittees. Ad hoc committees, like a select committee or joint committee, are appointed for
ecific purposes, for example, considering and scrutinizing legislative bills. There are standing
mmittees in each house and they are functionally specialized. The Public Accounts Committee,
mmittee on Estimates, and the Committee on Public Undertakings are most important committe
ere is another set of standing committees, known as the Department Related Standing Committ
RSCs). They were created in 1989, and then expanded in 1993. DRSCs and other parliamenta
mmittees are very significant spots from where the legislature can exercise structural constrain
executives.
The very fact that we have been able to institutionalize and sustain these committees into our
rliamentary system is a big achievement, although the Constitution of India does not make any
ecific reference. Some departmental committees were in existence even prior to Independence
ey enjoyed advisory functions; however, Nehru dissolved them on the pretext that such commi
re not suited for a system that was modelled on the British Parliament. The re-creation of thes
mmittees into our parliamentary system is a major step to ensure greater governmental
countability to the legislature. There are now 17 standing committees related to various
partments, which cover the entire gamut of governmental activities.
However, there have been some misgivings. One is that parliamentary committees have very
mited utility. Their autonomy is badly impaired by partisan spirit. Their composition is depend
the majority party/combination in the legislature. Although they are parliamentary agencies, th
iberations and recommendations in shaping the legislation is influenced by the party/alliance
wer. But sometimes the converse can also be true, particularly when the majority is shaky and
alition partners have difference of opinion. For example, the recommendations of the select
mmittee on the bill provide reservations to the OBCs (other backward classes) in admissions t
ucational institutions differed from that of the government. It is to be seen how parliamentary
mmittees function with a government having majority in coalition.
There is also a serious apprehension that these committees are going to create competing centr
wer. We can look at this apprehension in two ways. On one hand, empirically such apprehensi
nnot be ruled out. Governments have been unstable and shaky in the coalition era. Their major
the House have been precarious. And, their capacities to assert have been impaired. On the oth
nd, theoretically, we should allay the fear that they are going to damage the parliamentary fabri
r system because of clashes regarding jurisdiction. These committees are not separate and
dependent centres of power. They have merely an advisory, supervisory, and supplementary ro
ay. They are a part of procedures meant for safeguarding the legislature from the institutional
cesses of the executive.
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What8/18/2019
is a bigger cause of Contemporary
worry is that their roles
India Economy, are
Society, sometimes
Politics utterly
- Neera Chandhoke, ignored
Praveen and undermin
Priyadarshi

government. Only a few bills are referred to the select committees and often they are passed i
m they were prepared by the minister’s department. For example, in the Ninth Lok Sabha, 19
re passed on a single day, which also included a Constitutional Amendment Bill. The select
mmittees were not engaged at any stage of legislation.
Notwithstanding the above, parliamentary committees have great educational value in the sens
ir findings and reports are brought to the public glare. It generates awareness among the legisl
d the general public. At least, it exerts moral pressure on the government and causes
barrassment. It also gives an opportunity to the political parties and other voluntary agencies t
cuss, debate and politicize the matter. In turn, it helps to create an informed citizenry, which is
ways healthy for parliamentary democracy.

esident in the Legislature—Executive Relations. In the Indian parliamentary system, the off
President is like a ‘pivot’ that joins the two wheels, namely the legislature and the executive,
hough his role is not so ‘pivotal’. As stated earlier, the parliamentary system belies the doctrin

ict separation of powers. Recall that, it is based on the fusion of powers wherein the executive
rt of the legislature. The office of the President is a constitutional conjunction where the legisl
d the executive organs meet. At the head of the union executive stands the President of India an
tue of this, all executive powers are constitutionally vested in him (Article 53). On the other h
president of India is also an integral component of the Indian Parliament (Article 79). No bill
thout the assent of the president can become a law. The president has the power to summon eit
use of the Parliament, prorogue either House, and dissolve the lower House. In addition to the
president also has the power to legislate while the houses are not in session. This will form th
sic premise on which the legislature-executive relations will be discussed. This segment tries
ke a brief historical survey of the ‘constitutional conjugation’ by situating the president betwe
islature and executive.
In our system, all governmental functions are carried in the name of the president. Article 74 o
nstitution puts on the president strict limitations on the exercise of executive powers. Prior to
nd amendment, 1976, there was a little bit of ambiguity contained in this Article. It was argued
president is not bound to render conformity to the ministerial advice. It was no secret that
esident (Dr) Rajendra Prasad had disagreements on many issues with Prime Minister Nehru. T
agreement erupted into the public arena. Public statements made by the president amounted to
led criticism of the government. Harnessing the ambiguity seemingly inherent to Article 74, D
asad ignited a public debate and called for the legal scrutiny of the president’s power.2
Later, it was judicially re-established by the Supreme Court3 that the Indian president was a
nstitutional head of the executive. His powers were like those of the queen in Britain. The Indi
ndhi government by the 42nd amendment, 1976, made it obligatory upon the president to act up
ministerial advice. The 44th amendment, 1978, empowered the president to revert the advice
onsideration.
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of the presidents after Dr Rajendra Prasad were far more restrained. The main issue here
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presidential activism is good India
Contemporary or bad. Does
Economy, it hurt
Society, Politics parliamentary sentiments?
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi To respond

s question, let us first appreciate the difference between ‘assertiveness’ and ‘activism’.
esidential assertiveness can be understood in terms of active assertion of the power and obliga
thin the constitutional ambit, whereas activism smacks of encroachment into another’s realm o
ion. Whether it hurts parliamentary sentiments is a normative question. We shall raise this que
some later stage. But what Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad did, when he endorsed the declaration of
mergency in 1975 at the behest of Indira Gandhi, was the height of presidential pliability. How

hen viewed sympathetically, his action can be condoned. Indira Gandhi had emerged as the mo
werful leader. She started a new brand of politics by relying more on her idiosyncrasy and les
organizational strength of her party. The Congress became a populist and personalistic organ
s Gandhi. She garnered terrific power around herself and reduced the party to an organization
cophants, making the party synonymous with her name. When challenged by a strident oppositio
e imposed national Emergency, bringing all democratic practices and parliamentary procedure
t. Paul Brass has commented that the Indian democracy was brought to the brink. Emergency w
ve been the fittest case for the president to have exercised ‘assertiveness’, if not activism, whi
uld not have amounted to a normative depreciation of parliamentary sentiments.
N. Sanjeeva Reddy (1977–82) and Giani Zail Singh (1982–87) can be called assertive presid
ani Zail Singh was made president during Indira Gandhi’s tenure in the hope that he would act
nstitutional puppet. The problem started when Rajiv Gandhi became prime minister with an
precedented majority in the Parliament, after the assassination of his mother and predecessor,
dira Gandhi. A feeling crept into Zail Singh’s mind that he was being ignored and treated with
nominy by Rajiv Gandhi. It was observed that Rajiv Gandhi did not even bother to meet
nstitutional obligations enjoined upon him by Article 78.4 The repercussion of this tussle becam
minent when Zail Singh threatened to withhold assent from a piece of legislation, the Indian Po
l. He started expressing exasperation in public interviews. The political atmosphere was full
eculation that he even considered dismissing the government for irresponsibility and corruptio
mming from the Bofors scandal. He also claimed that Rajiv Gandhi instructed an advisor to dr
documents to impeach him.5
The decade beginning 1989 can be periodized as the coalition era. This phase began with the
cline of the Congress hegemony and the emergence of many regional political parties to fill the
litical vacuum. These parties often tend to be ideologically fickle. Depending on the political
portunities available, they can swing to any side of the coalition, keeping the dynamics of coal
king always volatile. Hence, the coalition era makes governmental stability precarious. This c
gauged from the fact that four general elections were held in the 1990s producing hung
rliaments. There were eight appointments of prime ministers, in which, Vajpayee served two t
ring a span of 10 years. In such circumstances, the role of the president becomes ‘pivotal’,
rticularly in the appointment of prime ministers in a hung house. N. Sanjiva Reddy was the firs
ve used his presidential discretion in appointing a prime minister in an unstable house. A refle
President K. R. Narayanan’s tenure in office is worthwhile here. It can be said with sufficient
lumehttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
of evidence that K. R. Narayanan, in his style of functioning, broke with the past in sever
197/369
 nificant ways, which signalled
8/18/2019 ‘presidential
Contemporary India Economy,activism’.
Society, PoliticsWhen he assumed
- Neera Chandhoke, presidency
Praveen Priyadarshi in 1997,
nounced that he intended to be a ‘working President’ and, later, his public pronouncement that
s not a rubber stamp’ was a confirmation of the fact. He expressed the first clear sign in 1998
hen he sent back a Cabinet decision to impose the President’s rule in Uttar Pradesh. The Janata
vernment headed by I. K. Gujral had to abandon the proposal altogether. Given the public
enchantment with the repeated misuse of president’s rule for purely partisan purposes, the
esident’s assertiveness earned a lot of popular accolades.

Further, in 1998, he declined to address the nation on the eve of Independence Day. Presidents
nventionally make an address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day. Precedent and
nvention have it that a president sends the text of his speech to the government for vetting. The
the speech is subject to alteration on ministerial advice. Instead of the presidential address, he
ose to give an interview, the content of which could not be vetted by the government. In 1999, w
e of the larger parties in the BJP’s ruling coalition withdrew its support, the government was a
President Narayanan to demonstrate its majority on the floor of the House. President Narayan
ivered yet another unvetted speech at a celebration on the 50th anniversary of the Constitution
00. Again in 2000, Narayanan departed from the text of a speech, prepared by the external affa
nistry, which he delivered in the honour of US President Bill Clinton. Purportedly, it caused
ense anxiety in the external affairs ministry and invited media criticism. According to one
server, souring relation of the government with the President was one of the main reasons behi
setting up of a Constitution Review Committee in 2000. President Kalam’s tenure in office ca
scribed as prudently modest. He modestly asserted his position on various occasions. Howeve
endorsement of the president’s rule in Bihar on highly fictitious grounds earned more acrimon
n applause for being utterly submissive. The Supreme Court also expressed its displeasure an
noyance on the hurried manner in which the Bihar Assembly was dissolved.

Legislature—Judiciary Relations
e judiciary in India has emerged as one of the most crucial institutions of governance with imm
oral and legal responsibilities to administer constitutional justice. As described earlier, the
rliamentary system of the Westminster model belies the theory of separation of powers. In the
itish political system, the judiciary is not independent. Parliamentary sovereignty is the hallma

British political system. Here the Indian parliamentary system departs from the typical
estminster model. It partially adopts the separation of powers as far as the judicial organ of the
vernment is concerned. The reason is that, as democracy has progressed, India has gone federa
attitude and attribute. The State has provided space for the growth of numerous mobilized gro
d has allowed them power sharing. This is visibly evident in the changing character of federal
hich has helped the judiciary in evolving its more and more independent stature. However, this
urney has not been free from upheavals. It is important for us at this juncture to examine the
gislature—judiciary’ relations that have bearing on the workability of our parliamentary system
e judiciary-legislature relations can be studied under two heads:
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1. The struggle between judicial review and parliamentary sovereignty, and
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2. The judiciary as an institution of governance.

dicial Review vs Parliamentary Sovereignty. The tussle between judicial review and
rliamentary sovereignty dominated the judiciary-legislature relationship for the first 30 years s
50, when the Supreme Court of India was established. The court has consolidated the power o
dicial review by the creative interpretation of the Constitution. There has been a presumption th
judicial review in parliamentary systems happens to be weak. But just the opposite has happe
India. In India, as elsewhere, it is not simply the formal allocation of powers but an evolving
nstitutional jurisprudence that has enhanced the powers of judicial review.6 The magnitude of
sle can be gauged from the fact that out of the first 45 Constitutional Amendments, nearly half w
med at amputating the powers of the courts. Nehru was a champion of parliamentary sovereignt
said in a Constituent Assembly debate, ‘no Supreme Court and no judiciary can stand in judge
er the supreme will of parliament representing the will of the entire community’.7 A major wo
hich agitated Nehru and his socialist colleagues, was that the courts would create obstacles to t
lization of socialist goals. The left critiques have construed Indian judiciary as an agency of c
mination. The issues concerning the socialist objectives became the first venue of conflict betw
rliament and the judiciary. After Independence, a legislation for giving effect to abolition of fe
vileges was passed by Parliament. The court blocked it on the ground that it was violative of
ndamental rights under Articles 14, 19, and 31. In response to this, the first Constitutional
mendment was passed in 1951, which immunized such legislations from judicial review.
The intensity of struggle increased manifold during the Indira Gandhi regime. In 1970, the
vernment sought to nationalize 14 largest commercial banks, and to deprive the princes of their
vileges and privy purses. The court thwarted even this move. Again the government responded
th Constitutional Amendments. Prior to this, the Supreme Court questioned the amending powe
rliament of the Fundamental Right and declared Parliament incompetent to do so in its much-
bated decision in the Golak Nath vs State of Punjab case (1967). The Parliament passed the 24
endment in 1971, which over-rided the effects of the Golaknath case. Fundamental rights were
ain made amendable and once again the parliamentary sovereignty was pronouncedly establish
The struggle continued further. Neither side was ready to submit. It manifested in what we
pularly know as the Keshavanand Bharti vs State of Kerala case, 1973, in which the Supreme

urt made formidable pronouncements of constitutional importance. It sought to bring a thaw in

going strained relations between judicial review and parliamentary sovereignty. The ramificat
this landmark judgement could be easily felt. It gave a huge discouragement to the discourse o
ommitted judiciary’ which the political circle was enamoured with. In the Keshavanand Bharti
e, the Supreme Court enunciated the doctrine of the ‘basic feature’ of the Constitution. There
tain basic features implied in the Constitution. The basic features cannot be amended by the
rliament. However, any provision of the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights, can b
ended provided it does not damage the Constitution’s basic features. Judicial review was dec
be a http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
basic feature of the Constitution. By doing so, the court immunized the judicial review 199/369
fro
 islative incursions. What Contemporary
8/18/2019 is interesting to noteSociety,
India Economy, is that the- Neera
Politics courtChandhoke,
itself, on the Priyadarshi
Praveen basis of conceptua
nnectedness and organic unity of the Constitution, would evolve basic features. Later, during
mergency, the legislature tried to disarm the courts of their power of judicial review by the 42n
mendment Act, 1976; it was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional on the groun
t it was repugnant and violative of the Basic Features Doctrine. Later, in 1980, it was judicial
ffirmed in the Minerva Mills case. Yet once again, in January 2007, the Supreme Court in a
dmark judgement ruled that Parliament had the power to amend the Fundamental Rights only to

ent that it did not violate the basic features of the Constitution. Moreover, there could not be a
anket immunity from judicial review of laws inserted in the Ninth Schedule8 of the Constitution
now, it clearly appears that the pendulum has swung to the judiciary’s side and it can safely be
ncluded that the Indian Parliament is not as omnipotent as the British one.

e Judiciary as an Institution of Governance. Over the years, the judiciary has emerged as an
titution of governance, which ideally should have been the domain of the executive. Is this
velopment good for parliamentary democracy? This question needs to be debated on. Let us ag

ng in the basic feature doctrine into discussion. There are good reasons to believe that the
diciary9 has evolved itself as an institution of governance. The Basic Features Doctrine has bee
rceived in two different ways. Critics of the Basic Features Doctrine conceive this developme
judicial usurpation of the executive power and parliamentary sovereignty. On the other hand,
vocates of this theory appreciate this as a constitutional device to check the parliamentary
jorities, which sometimes become some sort of legislative tyranny. We can find some instance
parliamentary history of India. The passage of the 42nd Amendment Act (during Emergency),
hich is also described as a mini Constitution, was one such instance to reckon the rampage that
islative tyranny can do on the democratic fabric of India. The Basic Features Doctrine has ope
ange of issues that might be protected, for example, the protection of civil rights, liberties and
ualities of ordinary citizens. All these have added meaning to the theory and practice of
nstitutionalism and good governance.
The Supreme Court has discovered the ‘due process’ theory in the Indian Constitution in Artic
‘No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedur
ablished by law’. There is a judicial history of this invention. The expression ‘procedure
ablished by law’ meant that a person could be deprived of his life or liberty by a competent
islature. The right to life and liberty was at the mercy of legislative majorities. There was no
medy available if a competent legislature would intend to deprive a person of life and liberty.
ere was no scope of judicial intervention in such deprivations. This was the position of the
preme Court in the A. K. Gopalan vs State of Madras case, 1950. Procedure established by la
rmally finds expression in constitutions that embody a parliamentary system. The Supreme Cou
erturned its position in the Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India case, 1978 and invented ‘due
ocess’. It meant that the procedure prescribed by law to deprive a person of his/her liberty mu
unfair, unreasonable and arbitrary. This emphatically imposed a judicial restraint and brought
bitrary deprivation of liberty by legislative majorities under strict scanner. This is generally
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constitutions
8/18/2019 having presidential systems.
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

What seems an ostensible transformation to many observers of the Indian legal system in the
tlook and assertiveness of Indian judiciary is that it has exonerated itself from the charge of
pensing capitalist morality. The courts changed their stance towards the Directive Principles o
ate Policy and began to look at them as a progressive index of governance. The courts were
oactive in exerting considerable pressure on political governments at the centre and states to
ectively implement the Directives, as they were ruled to be fundamental in the governance of t

untry (Article 37). The court exercised ‘judicial assertiveness’ in extending rights, freedoms, a
tice to the socially excluded and marginalized groups of the society. The court’s decision in th
dira Sawhney case, popularly known as the Mandai commission case, enlarged the scope of
irmative action. The court has also laid down the guidelines on sexual harassment in the Visak
e. Despite disagreements, there seems to have emerged a common place in legal studies that I
diciary has not only kept its constitutional promise to hold India’s governing institutions
countable, but has also emerged as an institution of governance.

THE EXECUTIVE—JUDICIARY RELATIONS

e have discussed earlier how legislatures sometimes become helpless in ensuring the governm
countability. In parliamentary systems, the government commands a majority. Sometimes the m
the majority is so tyrannical that the question of responsibility and accountability is fictitious.
ve also seen how other constitutional means are puppeteered by the executive and belie the
ndamental norms of parliamentary democracy. More specifically speaking, parliamentary
mocracy often suffers at the hands of parliamentary sovereignty. On the other hand, parliament
ations and executive functions also suffer when the majority is precarious. Since 1989, India h
cessarily entered into a coalition era. The government cobbles up a majority in a clumsy fashio
dermining all parliamentary norms. Though the coalition has started a new democratic discour
dian politics, it entails an inherent instability. Lack of stability affects governance. It is here tha
diciary gets an opportunity to step in. There is a third reason that warrants repeated judicial
ervention. This is a chronic reason. When the executive bodies fail to discharge their
nstitutionally enjoined duties and belie the popular hopes and expectations, it becomes impera
the judiciary to step in. We often refer to this phenomenon as judicial activism. For quite som
me, the courts have demonstrated activism whenever governance appeared mired in malfeasanc
s contingently made public policy pronouncements, directly taken over the supervision of exec
encies, and endeavoured to hold the executive bodies accountable.
We can discern at least four sites of contention in the executive—judiciary relationship: (1) is
ecting the federal character and the federal polity, (2) appointment of judges, (3) court as an ac
politics, and (4) governance.
There can be even more sites, but we will limit our discussion within these contours.

Federal Issues in Executive—Judiciary Relationship

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 the early days, Nehru tartly
8/18/2019 attackedIndia
Contemporary theEconomy,
judiciary for
Society, having
Politics - Neera‘purloined constitution’. 10 The
the Priyadarshi
Chandhoke, Praveen

hru government found the judiciary obstructive of pursuing the socialist goals of the Indian Sta
e government resorted to Constitutional Amendments as a means of circumventing the judicial
erpretation of the Constitution. However, the independence of judiciary was in general respec
hich is an attribute of a federal polity. Although it has been interpreted that Nehru favoured and
pace a model of, to quote Rudolphs’s phrase, ‘command polity’,11 no attempt was made to
possess the judiciary of its power of judicial review.
Indira Gandhi was also at loggerheads with the judiciary. Three important events of federal
portance can be cited here in the context of soaring executive-judiciary relations:

1. In 1970, Indira Gandhi was heading a minority government. The Constitutional Amendment for the abolition of Privy Purse
short of the required majority by one vote. The government then issued an ‘executive order’ in this regard, which was struc
down by the court. The court was criticized for its class bias. But, from a constitutional point of view, the court’s judgement
was appreciated as the right recourse. This is plainly because there was a constitutional promise made to princely states wh
territories had been ceded to the Union of India.
2. During Indira Gandhi’s regime, the Parliament had virtually become subservient to the prime minister. The Constitutional
Amendments were used as an instrument to legitimize her highly personalized regime. The Allahabad High Court had set as
Indira Gandhi’s election to the Lok Sabha on grounds of corrupt electoral practices. She puppeteered the Parliament and go
39th amendment passed. This amendment inserted Article 329A into the Constitution. It removed the jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court over election disputes involving the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the President, and the Vi
President. It was a frontal attack on the independence of the judiciary, which is essential in a federal set up. Moreover, whe
Emergency was declared on whimsical grounds, the court endorsed its constitutionality. This is regarded as the darkest dec
in Indian judicial history. It badly besmirched the reputation of the judiciary. Nothing could be more damaging for a gradually
evolving federal political structure than the declaration of Emergency. Through a series of amendments, which were passed
the command of the political executive, the courts were disarmed of their power of judicial review. However, judicial review
was restored and established as a basic feature of Constitution in the Keshavanand Bharti case.
3. The repeated imposition of President’s rule in states, mostly on partisan than constitutional grounds, has attracted judicial
attention. The President’s rule is imposed on the basis of the Governor’s report and endorsed by the President. This power
virtually rests with the Union government. The Council of Ministers advises the President to make such an endorsement an
declare ‘President’s rule’. The Governor’s report must state that the constitutional machinery has broken down in the State
therefore, it is no longer possible for the government to be run in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. In the
Bommai vs Union of India (1994) case, the Supreme Court ruled that the subjective satisfaction of the executive’s reports
which warrants President’s rule is subject to judicial review. This landmark judgement is in the nature of tensional wariness
the part of the government in its relationship with the judiciary.

The Appointment of Judges

e appointment of judges has been an issue of fierce controversy in the relations between the
ecutive and the judiciary. It is one of the key elements in guaranteeing the independence of the
diciary. There is a constitutional basis for the appointment of judges, laid down in our Constitu
dges would be appointed by the president of India in consultation with such judges of the Supre
urt and of the high courts as the president may deem necessary, the Constitution says. There is
islative involvement in this process. There have been three stages in which the judiciary has
nsolidated its control over the appointment of judges. They are referred to as the ‘first judges’
cond judges’, and the ‘third judges’ cases. The basic thrust of these cases has been to secure
eater judicial independence.
In thehttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
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dges. 8/18/2019
The ‘second judges’Contemporary
cases reinstated the Society,
India Economy, ChiefPolitics
Justice’s veto overPraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, appointments.
Priyadarshi In the ‘t
dges’ cases, the Supreme Court finally settled the law relating to judges’ appointments in 1998
pointment is to be made by a collegium, consisting of the four seniormost judges of the Suprem
urt including the Chief Justice of India. The executive can make a request to the collegium to
onsider any of their recommendations. But the recommendations of the collegium are final and
ligatory upon the president. In December 2006, the appointment of the Chief Justice of Punjab
ryana High Court by the collegium raised some controversy. President Kalam made some

servations, which were clarified by the collegium. Effectively and legally, the judiciary has ga
mplete control over the appointment of judges.
What impact is the appointment of judges going to have on our parliamentary system? Arguabl
ll provide more legitimacy to judicial decisions. The Constitution envisaged an independent
diciary. The appointment of judges was one area in which judicial independence was prone to
ecutive misdemeanour. Successive law commissions have decried undue executive interferenc
pointments. A few examples can be cited here: Justice A. N. Ray was appointed Chief Justice
perseding three senior judges, Justices Hegde, Grover, and Shilat. They were superseded
pposedly because of their judgement in the Keshavanand Bharti case, which was unfavourable
government. Again, in 1997, Justice Beg was appointed Chief Justice of India by superseding
niormost judge, Justice H. R. Khanna. He suffered supersession due to his dissenting judgemen
ADM vs Shukla (1976) case, which approved the state of Emergency.

The Judiciary as an Actor in Politics

ost legal studies have focused attention on cross-examining the inter-institutional relationship o

verning institutions. They have not paid heed to the question of whether the judiciary can be
nstrued as a powerful participant in Indian politics. A line of argument that has recently emerg
t the judiciary is a powerful actor in the political life of India. The argument seems a little infl
wever, it can be said with conviction that some issues of normative importance in Indian poli
profoundly shaped by judicial interventions and judicial interpretations. The judiciary is the
stodian of constitutional values and it has well established itself as the authoritative interpreter
Constitution. The court’s interventions have been widely seen as legitimate. At the same time
presentative institutions have become corrupt and corrosive in the public eye. The courts have

ccessful in projecting its image as an institution of accountability of the last resort. Hence, its
ing, interpretations and interventions profoundly shape issues of Indian politics and influence
blic opinion. For example, the Allahabad High Court verdict pronouncing Indira Gandhi guilty
ctoral malpractices was a major one. In the S. R. Bommai case, the court made use of the Bas
atures Doctrine to uphold the dismissal of three BJP-ruled state governments after the demolit
Babri Masjid. The ground was that the government’s actions were violative of the principles
cularism, which is an important constitutional value. The court’s interpretation of Hinduism als
ovided some sort of political legitimacy to its advocates. At the same time, the court refused to
presshttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
its views on the Babri Masjid case when the executive sought an advisory opinion on thi
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tween8/18/2019
the form and substance of governance.
Contemporary India Economy, Ideally, the- Neera
Society, Politics representative institutions
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi should ow

ponsibility to ensure good governance, but as long as this does not happen adequately, the
diciary should exercise its Constitutional morality to the extent that it makes the executive organ
count’ for its ‘responsibility’.

Problems and Prospects

t us posit two questions: (1) What ails our parliamentary system? (2) How democratic is our
mocracy? To search for an answer we begin with Rudolphs’s observation that the parliamenta
e has deteriorated in India. Truly so. For a system to survive, grow and prosper, it needs to be
pported by a democratic political culture. There is an organic connectivity between a parliame
stem and parliamentary democracy. Given the current political scenario, it appears that India i
develop a strong parliamentary culture; the rulership and citizenship of the Indian State is yet t
rn the etiquettes of parliamentary life. We are reminiscent of what Ambedkar had said that the
rking of the Constitution and governing institutions would largely depend on the people. Grow
olerance for competing political greed, electoral victories of political representatives with co
d criminal backgrounds, deteriorating standards of political rhetoric and parliamentary debate
upting tendencies among political leaders, political parties, legislators and party cadres of pol
lignance often turning into political violence, ideological dissipation and fickleness on the par
litical parties are symptomatic of an impoverished state of our parliamentary politics, and a
multaneous corrosion of our governing institutions. What generally happens is that in such a
appointing state of affairs, the trust of the common people in the system becomes the first casu
e judicial conviction of a Cabinet minister and a legislator for murder, indictment of many on

minal charges, and the instance of MPs taking bribes for asking questions in the House indicat
gree of decline in the parliamentary profile of our lawmakers and law executors. What is
rrisome is that all this has morally hazardous consequences for parliamentary democracy. Peo
left with morally corrupt choices. They have to exercise their choice between the ‘bad’ and th
orse’. In the process, democracy becomes the victim and so do the common people. After all,
mocracy is all about making decisions in social and political life.
In this study, the yardstick of ‘accountability’ has persistently and predominantly been maintai
our analysis of legislature-executive relationship, we have noted that the legislature has been f

m successful as an institution of accountability. However, democratic societies have a range o

ocedural devices of accountability, for example, elections. Elections provide to people direct
portunities to exercise periodic control. Even they have made little difference. One reason, as
ve noted, is that people are left with corrupt choices. Another reason may be that the basis of
ctoral politics has shifted to communal and caste politics where performance and developmen
ues count for little. To quote Paul Brass’s term, an ‘institutionalized riot system’ has come into
stence wherein political parties and activists look for potential electoral gains by inciting
mmunal riots, for example, the Gujarat riots. This is a display of major disdain for parliamenta
mocracy.
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 A significant
8/18/2019 difficulty in Contemporary
the emergence of a robust
India Economy, Parliamentary
Society, Politics democracy,
- Neera Chandhoke, which could ma
Praveen Priyadarshi

government accountable for all its actions, is the absence of a meaningful opposition. Before
wn of the coalition era, there was hardly anything that could be called an opposition. All
rliamentary arrangements to seek accountability from the government would have earned nothi
t mockery in the face of successive tyrannical majorities of one party. We have noted that the
mergency was the worst manifestation of the mockery of the Indian parliamentary system. Altho
political configurations have changed in the coalition era, those in opposition have failed to
monstrate their democratic obligation to put pressure on the government and make it accountab
There seems to have emerged an invisible convergence and a tacit understanding among politi
rties across the political spectrum on issues of congruent interest. We can well discern this tre
r example, they demonstrate a vying unity when legislation for hiking their salaries and allowa
brought. They always shirk to persistently pursue issues like corruption and criminalization of
litics because they all are on the same footing. The result is that corruption and criminalization
ve become a non-issue in India’s parliamentary politics. The question of women s reservation
o met the same fate. The repeated postponement of women’s reservation bill reflects the
nservative social morality of all political parties. What is troubling is that it makes our
presentative institutions look deradicalized and completely immobilized.
It is in this context that Gandhi becomes inescapable from social and political thinking. Reade
ind Swaraj’ can recall Gandhi’s continued critiques of Western parliamentary institutions. He
vocated for even disbanding the Indian National Congress after Independence was achieved. F
ndhi, the very notion of parliamentary democracy conceived as a mechanism of distribution an
nagement of power was undemocratic. He was fully convinced that competitive and
titutionalized party politics would breed political and moral corruption and diminish the prosp
true Swaraj. Later, neo-Gandhians, like Jai Prakash Narayan (JP), built upon the idea of party
mocracy. Gandhi’s proposal concerning the new Constitution of India was based on a network
f-governing institutions of ‘village republics’ prospecting the attainment of Swaraj. The
erpretation of Swaraj as political self-determination is narrow and simplistic. Swaraj capture
a of moral and spiritual self-determination. Instead of legal responsibility, Swaraj is an ‘orde
oral responsibility’. Individuals are ‘self-ruled’. Hence, an individual is accountable to onesel
schema, a parliamentary arrangement for ensuring the executive’s accountability acquires no
aning.
India’s parliamentary institutions will witness a new spate of challenges. India has departed fr
cialist principles, enshrined clearly in the Preamble and the Directive Principles, to embrace
eralization. It is to be seen how our governing institutions, particularly the judiciary, respond t
s doctrinal shift. The judiciary will be tested in its authoritative interpretations of the Constitut
ecifically when they come into conflict with the bye-laws of the liberalization regime.
The problem of political instability has been arisen since we entered into the coalition era. It h
en argued and postulated that political instability seriously affects governance. Political stabil
nsidered as a prerequisite for sustained economic growth, social development, and national
urity.http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
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It has been projected that the prospects of India’s parliamentary future are murky. There are go
sons to allay this fear. India posits a complete paradox. Let us again raise the question of stab
is is a constitutional mandate that the framers of our Constitution preferred ‘accountability’ to
ability’. The biggest paradox that confounds many theorists of democracy is that the spell of
litical instability and economic reforms have dawned together. In terms of growth rate, the Ind
onomy has relatively prospered amidst governmental instabilities and uncertainties. It presents

culiar case. According to one school, there are reasons to believe that growing political
tabilities are indicative of setting a pace for the democratization process in India. Democratic
hts and freedoms have begun to be demanded and extended to hitherto marginalized and exclud
oups. Our political system and political culture is taking its time in mutual adjustment. The curr
ell of instability is the by-product of this process.
However, to attach more procedural stability in India’s parliamentary system, the adoption of
rman model can be a good prospect. This model will enable the Parliament to have its full term
e years. This system shall obligate the installation of a new government before the existing on
ought down by a ‘constructive vote of no confidence.’
Notwithstanding the problems of our parliamentary system stated above, there are good reason
rbour the hope that the prospects of parliamentary democracy in India are fair. The fact that Ind
mocratic journey has been full of upheavals does not belie this hope. As Robert Dahl has said,
chieving stable democracy is not just fair-weather sailing; it also means sailing sometimes in f
d dangerous weather’.12 What is exciting to note about India’s democracy is that it has develop
f-corrective mechanism. Although we find corrosive symptoms in the working of parliamentar
titutions, we continue to repose our trust in democracy and democratic institutions even when
ensibly appear to have lost or tend to loose the democratic character and credentials. Perhaps
ggest source of relief is that India’s democratic institutions have grown in resilience in dealing
th democratic and undemocratic infirmities arising from time to time. Ultimately, the working
dia’s parliamentary system will depend on the extent to which we internalize constitutional mo
the fabric of our political culture.

SUGGESTED READINGS
tin, Granville. Working a Democratic Constitution. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999.
u, D. D. Introduction to the Constitution of India . New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India, 1995.
hl, Robert. On Democracy. New Delhi: East-West Press, 2001
ur, Devesh and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds). Public Institutions in India . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005.
nor, James. ‘The Presidency’. In Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds.), Public Institutions in India . New Delhi: Ox
University Press, 2005.
hta, Pratap Bhanu. ‘India’s Judiciary: The Promise of Uncertainty.’ In Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds), Public
nstitutions in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005.
hta, Pratap Bhanu. ‘Inner Conflict of Constitutionalism.’ In Zoya Hasan, E. Sridharan and R. Sudarshan (eds). India’s Living
Constitution . New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2002.
ee, M. V. Constitutional Government in India . New Delhi: Asia Publishing House, 1965.
olph, Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph. In Pursuit of Lak shmi. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1987.
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 QUESTIONS
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the parliamentary system of government in India?
2. Account for the tension between the legislative and the judiciary in the contemporary Indian situation.
3. Write a short essay on the changing socio-economic background of the Indian parliament.
4. Identify the challenges that confront the Parliament of India.

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ntexts. There are two ways
8/18/2019 in whichIndia
Contemporary theEconomy,
link between the- Neera
Society, Politics StateChandhoke,
and its Praveen
socio-economic
Priyadarshi and cul
vironment is established. In democracies, people as citizens become participants in the decisio
king of the State. They are given equal rights on the basis of the principle of political equality
der to exercise their right to participate in State affairs with equal measure. However, problem
se when, in most of the cases, political equality provided by the State is also accompanied by
bedded social, economic and cultural inequalities. In other words, even as democratic States
nstitute its citizens as political equals, socio-economic and cultural inequalities instantly recas
m into political actors with unequal abilities. Thus, understanding the nature and functioning o
mocracy is not possible without taking into account its socio-economic environment. Finally, S
o have an ideological position on the socio-economic reality they represent and also on the so
ange they would like to bring about. The newly constituted Indian State was no exception in thi
gard.
At the time of Independence, the Indian State was also envisaged as a developmentalist State
cio-economic dimensions of democracy in India becomes all the more pertinent in this regard.
s a dual responsibility for the State. Its role as a developmentalist State required that it brough
out social transformation in line with ‘nation-building project’; it brought about industrializati
banization; created job opportunities; abolished social, economic and regional inequalities; an
ovided social, economic and cultural freedoms to its citizens. However, because it was also
visaged as a democratic State, it was expected that the processes of development will not only
ve the constant sanction of the people, but also ensure their active participation.
In other words, democracy turns the state-society relation into a dynamic one in which bounda
ever-shifting and difficult to identify. Thus, democracy as a form of government is difficult to
derstand unless we see it in tandem with the socio-economic reality and contextualize it histor
d ideologically.
In this respect, as the Indian democracy became operational it was also the beginning of a new
ationship between the Indian State and the socioeconomic and cultural environment of the Indi
ciety. In this chapter, we will try to understand this dynamic relationship in the context of
ntemporary India and see if it helps us answer the questions raised above.

I
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

e 1920s can safely be termed as a watershed in the history of democratization of the Indian
ionalist struggle. This is the decade that saw the advent of the Gandhian ideology and strategy
nationalist struggle. This was also the decade when the nationalist struggle purposefully bega
inclusive in terms of the socio-economic and religious diversity of the country. Most importan
wever, there were initiatives to institutionalize the mass mobilization that was made possible b
vements such as Non-cooperation and Khilafat. Most of these initiatives were in the form of f
ning the Congress organizational structure to make it a mass organization. Provincial party
ganizations were reorganized into 21 units, mainly keeping linguistic boundaries in mind. Attem
re also made to decentralize the party organization further. In order to do this, party branches
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 med 8/18/2019
in every district/taluka of British
Contemporary India. An
India Economy, annual
Society, Politics membership
- Neera Chandhoke,fee of four
Praveen ana was also
Priyadarshi

roduced by the party. In 1921, the year Gandhi led the Non-cooperation Movement, membersh
ngress climbed to 2 million people.2
This process of political involvement of ordinary people through mass movements led by Gan
d organized by the Congress party had not happened suddenly. It was preceded by a long proce
ellectual and ideological fermentations that had begun in the early 19th century. It was through
ocess that liberal values like equality and freedom began to be internalized by sections of the I

ciety that came in contact with such modern ideas of Western thinkers. A wave of social reform
19th century was the first articulation of such ideas as they were applied in interpreting not on
cial customs and traditions, but also religious practices. All social reformers of the 19th centur
m Raja Rammohan Roy to Sayeed Ahmed Khan, were reinterpreting the socio-economic and
tural reality in the light of modern ideas. Towards the end of the 19th century, this process of
nterpretation reached the arena of politics. As soon as the British rule in India began to be see
s light, it was quite clear that it does not necessarily conform to values such as freedom and
uality. It is at the turn of the century that we begin to see the first murmurs of protest against the
itish rule.
It was in this context that social practices based on caste and gender inequality came under atta
m social reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy and Jyotiba Phule. Later, when Dada Bhai Naroj
uld write ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’ explaining the colonial flight of capital from
Britain, it was as much because of his liberal awareness as because of his sound understandin
onomics.
Thus, it was the exposure to modern liberal ideas that laid the first seeds of democracy in Indi
ter, at least two other ideological sources contributed to the consolidation of democratic value
dia. The first major source was Gandhi and his ideas. Though Gandhi too had exposure to Wes
as, he was simultaneously exposed to their limits because of his experiences in South Africa.
hile placing human equality and human freedom at the centrestage, Gandhi did not stick to the
eral utilitarian framework to forge them together. His contribution was not limited to merely
actising such ideals in the course of the nationalist struggle, but also liberating them from the
litarian framework and expanding them to the extent that in his scheme of things, they became
portant on their own. Consequently, his notion of freedom for example, is defined as swaraj in
hich the material world is constructed to facilitate human freedom and not the other way round.
cond major ideological source that contributed to consolidation and expansion of democratic
actices in India was socialism. Around the same period when Gandhi began to transform the
ionalist struggle into a mass movement, socialism also began to catch the attention of many. In
ntext of a fresh socialist revolution in Russia and socialism fast emerging as the ideology of th
pressed, its popularity was only natural among those in India who had access to political and
ellectual trends of the outside world. However, Gandhi and his ideas remained more accessib
d popular with the illiterate masses. Socialism attracted more attention in the 1930s as USSR b
experience an economic turnaround under the socialist regime. Not only did it create a young
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of socialism-oriented nationalist leadership but for the first time, class-based organizatio 211/369
ch as 8/18/2019
kisan sabha and majdoor sabhas
Contemporary came into
India Economy, existence.
Society, Politics - NeeraSo influential
Chandhoke, Praveenwas this group of
Priyadarshi

cialist leaders in the 1930s that it seriously threatened to stage an ideological coup within the
ngress fold.
Socialist influence contributed in two important ways to the democratic roots of the Indian pol
begin with, socialism exposed the limits of liberal notions of equality and freedom as empty b
less located in and accompanied by socio-economic equality and freedom. Second, it led to th
ation of a new set of class-based democratic institutions in order to articulate the crucial link

tween socio-economic and political aspects of social life. In this respect, both Gandhism and
cialism deepened the democratic character of the nationalist struggle by adding to it the challen
refashioning of socio-economic life for political freedom to make any sense in it. At the end o
y, it was this aspect of the Indian nationalist struggle that made democracy look like a foregon
nclusion for future India.

II

e dynamism introduced by democracy in the relationship between the State and the socio-econ
d cultural environment it works in is best reflected in the relationship between the distribution
e of the State and bases of political mobilization.
In other words, what would the democratic Indian State do to the society? It will seek to chang
ciety in line with democratic principles and its own ideological position. In the Indian case, th
st-Independence State would have liked to take steps to eliminate socio-economic inequality,
minate caste- and religion-based boundaries, eradicate poverty; the State would do all such th
cause they are in line with democratic principles and the ideological position of the post-
dependence State. If we turn the question around and ask, what would society do to a democrat
ate? The society would try to influence the State according to its own values, would want to re
structure and would also want that its power dynamics is reflected in the State and not the oth
y round. Operationally, what would Indian society want to do to the Indian State? It would wa
example, that caste rather than being eliminated, is represented in the State and values associ
th caste also governs the State.
Further, this dynamism of State-society relationship is reflected in the working of actors and
titutions of democracy. For example, when political parties go for elections and mobilize peo
gamer votes, they represent the aspirations of the society. But once in power, they formulate an
ecute the economic and social policy to redistribute the resources at the disposal of the State. A
hile they do so, they have a notion of accountability, knowing that they have to go back to the sa
ople for political support for whom, or against whom they are making the policy.
Thus, it is through the lens of the distributional role of the State and basis of political mobiliza
t one can understand that socio-economic dimensions of democracy. If we take up the Indian c
post-Independence Indian democracy can be studied in the following phases.

Structural Social Change, Class-based Mobilization

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hen India became Independent,
8/18/2019 the Gandhian
Contemporary India Economy, principle of- Neera
Society, Politics village swaraj
Chandhoke, andPriyadarshi
Praveen notion of trustees
re not the most heard phrases in the political circles. It was the socialist principles of ‘State
nership, regulation and control over key sectors of economy’ that provided the economic
cabulary for the Indian ruling classes. The Congress party time and again reiterated its resolve
ort to the socialist principle of State ownership and regulation of the economy in its endeavor
her in a new phase of economic redistribution, curbing economic concentration and bringing ab
onomic equality.
It was the early days for the new democratic State in office. It was also a phase when the
mocratic impulse of the State was informed more by the freedom movement rather than dictate
mpulsions and agendas of parliamentary elections. It was also the early days of Nehruvian vis
grand changes leading to nation building. According to this vision, once the basics of politics
onomics are set right, ‘smaller details’ would be taken care of automatically. Based on this
derstanding, the State adopted the two-pronged strategy of industrialization under the aegis of t
ate-owned public sector, on the one hand, and redistribution of agricultural land under a radica
d-reform programme, on the other.
Throughout the first decade after Independence, the issue of land reform was high on the
vernment agenda, even though it triggered divisions within the ruling Congress party and a bar
court cases by the zamindars against the government.
The rhetoric of implementation of land reforms grew even louder in the aftermath of the second
rliamentary elections in 1957. This was the first general election when the Congress party was
rely evaluated on the basis of its role in the nationalist movement and promises it offered, but
the basis of its performance in office since the 1952 elections. In the 1957 elections, even thou
Congress showed a minor improvement in terms of percentage of votes, consolidation of
position votes, and particularly, the rise in strength of the Communist Party sent it in the reflec
ood. The dominant direction in shift in voters’ sentiment was perceived as a move towards the
e major issues raised by all economic groups were centred on economic discontent. The elect
view concluded. ‘So evident is this lesson of democracy that even communal organizations can
pe to win the ear of the people unless they talk the language of radicalism and socialism.’ 3 Neh
hoed the same sentiments in his review of the election results and stated that if forces released
mocracy and adult franchise were not mastered, they would march on leaving the Congress asi
Clearly, a section of the Congress party, including Nehru, believed that it is the issue of radica
d reforms that has to be addressed if the masses have to be mobilized under the Congress part
wever, it was the same radical agenda that began to create cleavages in the party organization
local levels. The party ranks were sharply divided on the issue of land reforms as it was too
dical to handle for the umbrella character of the party. The land reform was beneficial only to t
dless, who were mostly voiceless in the party, whereas it was going to hurt the interests of far
d erstwhile zamindars who were the most vocal sections of the party at the local level.
As activities for collectivization of agriculture, both in the party and government, began, it div

party
vour, vertically into
conservative two camps.
sections While
feverishly the socialist
opposed it. Theand Gandhian
Chinese groupsand
aggression in the
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party 213/369
Nehru’s argued
death p
 rupt end to the whole process.
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Retreat from Structural Socio-economic Change, Diminished Mobilization

e 1960s was a period of confusion when the substance of the radical agenda of land redistribu
s flattened out. On the political front, the overshadowing personality of Nehru, which helped t
ngress in building a consensus around the socialist path to nation building, received death blow
th the Chinese aggression. After Nehru’s demise, his successor Lal Bahadur Shashtri, lacked b
ological commitment as well as political capacity to carry out such an agenda. The conditions
us changed drastically in the post-Nehru era. By 1964, the entire planning process was in jeopa
e attempts to ‘reconcile economic growth with equity through structural changes like land tran
tenets and millions of subsistence and land cultivators as the condition of their effective
rticipation was rapidly being abandoned.’5 Similarly, in the wake of the Chinese aggression,
estion marks were put on the way the process of nation-building was envisaged during the Neh
riod. Since the basis of political mobilization was the success achieved in nation building, the
ngress found it difficult to cope with questions raised by its opponents from within and outsid
rty. As India faced another conflict in 1965 with Pakistan, national security, which was not giv
uch attention during Nehru’s tenure in the wake of his idealist foreign-policy pursuits, suddenly
quired utmost importance.
In the wake of such confusion at the ideological and policy levels, it was not surprising that th
ngress began to suffer electoral losses for the first time since Independence.6 Apart from the
mmunist Party, which had already formed the first non-Congress State government in Kerala, t
ces from the right—Jan Sangh and Swatantra Party—also began to gain strength. The Congres

ders of that time believed that the emergence of these parties signified the emergence of an
ganized rightist reactionary opposition in Indian politics; it signalled the determination of the
opertied classes to ‘fight with all resources their command and resort to all means and method
thout any scruples’.7
Thus, the emergence of these parties as electoral forces also meant that the political consensus
ound socialist principles that existed between the Congress and the Communist Party of India (
oke down. While echoing the Congress’s plank of socio-economic equality, Jan Sangha and
watantra Party attacked the Congress for ‘preparing the ground for communism in India’ by
roducing measures like cooperative farming.8 Given the ideological confusion and conflict tha
sted at the level of the top leadership of the Congress in the post-Nehru period, the Congress’s
ganization was not fine tuned, and the cadre not well equipped at the grassroots level, to count
opaganda launched by these parties against the socialist measures of wealth redistribution.
oreover, the opposition to socialist principles was not only from outside the party but also from
thin. The opponents of Nehru vian ideas were becoming vocal day by day. Morarji Desai, as
ance minister and number two in the Cabinet, was a self-proclaimed communist baiter, and ha
rted to defy Nehru’s attempts at keeping the planning process in line with the socialist princip
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the Congress was on the defensive trying to counter the attacks launched by the oppositio 214/369
rties 8/18/2019
from the right, not only on the issue
Contemporary of national
India Economy, security,
Society, Politics - Neera but also Praveen
Chandhoke, on thePriyadarshi
issue of the socio-
onomic policy. During most of the 1960s, the nature of political mobilization can be understoo
s context.

Poverty as a Slogan for Political Mobilization

e genesis of Indira Gandhi’s pro-poor and anti-princely class policies can be understood in th
ntext. Not only did she discontinue the privy purse of the former princely States but also went o
ionalize banks—a step considered quite radical at that time. If these steps went on to reinforce
te’s ideological position vis-à-vis the prevailing socio-economic structure and its willingness
ange it, politically it helped Mrs Gandhi tackle the Jan Sangh and the Swatantra Party, dominat
the propertied classes on the one hand, and the old guards of the Congress party on the other.
oreover, the Bangladesh war of 1971 and the perceived Indian victory in it also helped in war
apprehensions about national security.
In the early 1970s, Indira Gandhi launched poverty eradication programmes with the objective
ectly reaching out to the poor and helping them with their livelihood strategy, rather than waiti
the benefits of macroeconomic growth to reach to them. In any case, it was becoming difficult
intain the momentum of industrial expansion, which was achieved during the initial phases. At
me when poverty alleviation programmes were announced, at least two-fifths of the population
ound 220 million people, lived below the poverty line. 9
Further, it was also the stage when pure economic policy, intended to bring about economic
owth, was delinked from the social policy, which was intended to help the marginalized sectio
society live their lives. This meant that the issue of poverty alleviation was also delinked from

uctural issue of land redistribution. This reorientation of the State s policy of redistribution,
wever, has to be understood in the context of the compulsions of political mobilization. After t
it in the party, the government was left with no party structure to mobilize support for its radic
ogrammes like land redistribution. Indira Gandhi, on her part, never tried to build a party
ganization for the purpose; her own style of functioning was more suitable for direct communic
th the masses rather than approaching them through party intermediaries. But, as she wanted to
proach the people for political support on the basis of her personal appeal and charisma, the
ate’s policy had to be equally unequivocal and direct in solving their economic woes. It is not
prising, therefore, that poverty alleviation programmes launched in this period are not remem
much as social policies as they are remembered as garibi hatao—the political slogan given b
s Gandhi to mobilize the poorer sections of society in favour of her party.
After the Emergency, the Janata government, which was formed in the wake of the Jay Prakash
rain-led movement for ‘total revolution, had socialists of various strands and members of the
htist Jan Sangh. Despite the fact that this coalition was based on anti-Indira and exigencies
erging out of anti-Emergency movement, some kind of continuity can be found in the redistribu
licies of the Congress rule and the Janata rule in the 1970s. It was expected from a governmen
minated by the socialists that they would return to the structural issues of economic redistribut
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 d bring back the agenda ofContemporary
8/18/2019 land reforms in theSociety,
India Economy, political
Politics arena. However,
- Neera Chandhoke, in aPriyadarshi
Praveen short tenure laden
th fundamental, ideological and political contradictions arising out of the very nature of the
alition, the Janata government could never rescue social policy from being an instrument of
litical mobilization.

‘Structural Adjustments’ and Ethnic Mobilization

hen the Congress came back to power in 1980, it ushered in a different phase in the economic
licy. After decades of emphasis on self-reliance, the Indian economy began to be restructured
cordance with the guidelines of multilateral financial institutions. For the first time perhaps, th
dian State began to look for an external solution to the economic problems in the country. The l
s that a robust financial situation was essential to carry out pro-poor policies. How the financ
uation was made robust was of little relevance to the poor. Thus, the emphasis was on
hnological enhancements and upgradations to bridge the socio-economic divides of the Indian
ciety. Though the government and the ruling party desisted from making overt references to the
licy shift at political platforms, it was this approach now that guided the economic policy of th
ngress government in the 1980s.
By the 1990s, not only the pace of restructuring became faster and much more overt, many of th
tcomes of this new trend were also visible. As liberalization and globalization became buzzwo
policy circles, media, and general discussions of the common people, it created a new ideolog
mate that was opposite to that of the Nehruvian era of the 1950s. If the Nehruvian phase had
sited its faith in the ability of socialistic ideas to bring about a socio-economic turnaround, thi
me around the ability of the market.

Clearly, it was a major shift in the redistributive role of the State in India. From being the prim
over of the economy with the objective to bring about socio-economic equity, the State now had
rk as a facilitator for the market, which by definition worked on economic principles of dema
d supply and did not care much about political values like equality. Thus, the move towards
obalization was a move that not only furthered the distance between economic policy and socia
licy but also limited the capacity of the State to regulate the economic affairs to a great extent.
inking capacity of the State in the economic sphere was coupled with the democratic upsurge
untry that had begun since the 1970s and that had seen the marginal sections of the society stak

ir claim for political and economic largesse like never before. Various non-party political
ovements beginning from the 1970s had exposed the limits of conventional democratic institutio
e political parties and democratic processes, such as elections, in representing one and all
mocratically in the political arena. These movements also ensured that hitherto unrepresented
ctions—Dalits, women, adivasis—learned to put pressure on democratic, political institutions
eting their demands.
It was in this context of the changing nature of the State’s redistributive role as well as swellin
pectations of the ordinary people, importantly from marginalized sections, that the advent of
ntityhttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
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ass’ as a category for political
8/18/2019 mobilization
Contemporary was
India Economy, notPolitics
Society, so useful becausePraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, economic equality was
Priyadarshi

mething that was not on the agenda of the political elite. And ‘class’ could only be invoked as
there existed at least a rhetoric of structural economic equality. Further, by delinking poverty f
structural aspects, the logic of ‘class’ as an explanation of poverty and consequently class-bas
escription of its eradication had already been given up.
A close look at the elections held in the 1980s and the early 1990s makes the point clear. If the
mpathy wave following Mrs Gandhi’s assassination and the clean and young image of Rajiv Ga

w the Congress through in the 1984 general elections, the political agenda during the rest of the
80s was dominated either by ethno-religious issues such as Shah Bano and Ayodhya, or by the
ue of probity in public life that had come under the scanner with alleged kickbacks paid to the
litical leadership in a high-profile defence deal. As the ruling Congress was not very sure abo
ponse of the economic policy from the people, it tried to first appease the Muslims by overtur
Supreme Court ruling on Shah Bano through a Constitutional Amendment, and then win over t
ndu voters by unlocking the contentious Ram Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid site. This gave the rig
P, which was so far marginalized after the break up in the Janata Party, an opportunity to mobi
ndus for the construction of a Ram temple at the contentious site in Ayodhya. The rhetoric for
beration of Ram Janmabhumi’ was also accompanied by the rhetoric of ‘pro-minority characte
Congress party’ and how Hindus are discriminated against in their own ‘homeland’. It was on
Hindu rashtra that the Hindus could get their rightful place and, thus, it was not secular nationa
imed the ideologues of the BJP, but cultural nationalism that should be the guiding principle fo
dian State.

Globalization and the Fragmented Nature of Political Mobilization

th the accelerated pace of globalization in the 1990s that saw further limits on the State to inte
th the economic structure, we witnessed the true advent of identity as a basis of political
obilization in Indian politics. If the BJP increased the pace of its ethno-cultural nationalism and
ed successfully to mobilize people on that basis till it acquired political power at the Centre, c
came an important identity for parties to garner support. Even as the governments of the day to
-reaching decisions on the economic front, the combination of religion and caste more or less
ershadowed the economic concerns as issues of democratic process in the country for the bette

rt of the 1990s. The implementation of the Mandai Commission recommendations that led to
ervation of government jobs for ‘backward castes’ other than SCs and STs, ensured that caste
comes not only the basis of political allegiance, but also the basis of State’s patronage and sup
citizens. Similarly, with the BJP trumping up the issue of cultural nationalism through the Bab
asjid debate, plurality and secularism occupied the centrestage of public debate, relegating
onomic policies of the State to the sidelines.
The situation, however, seemed to have changed with the elections of 2004 in which the BJP’s
ims of how globalization had brought about positive changes in people’s lives was given a
ssivehttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
thumbs down by the electorate. The BJP which was in coalition with various region- 217/369
and
 te-based political groups,Contemporary
8/18/2019 was trying Indiato returnSociety,
Economy, to power
Politics - by shedding
Neera Chandhoke, its religious
Praveen Priyadarshihard line in

retain the coalition intact. However, as they tried to portray globalization as an achievement,
ople reacted with utter disapproval and ousted the combine from power. The Congress, which
ned power with the help of various groups, but most importantly with the help of the Left, has
en talking about ‘globalization with a human face’. Operationally, it means that while globaliz
he economic level is not revertible and, therefore, will go unhindered, the State through variou
cial policies will, however, ensure that the marginal sections are not hit too hard by it. Keepin

e with this thinking, initiatives like Bharat Nirman and employment guarantee schemes have b
roduced.
The implications of the changing nature of such a political mobilization were far too many and
reaching. First, identity-based political mobilization led to a democratic deficit. With caste a
igion becoming the basis of political support, we witnessed a spurt of caste- and family-based
rties in the political arena. These parties often worked like a family business operation and
thered very little about democratic principles, either in their intra-party dealings or in their
alings in the larger political arena.
Second, the advent of identity politics has seen the reconfiguration of the Indian political aren
ste and religious lines. Earlier, political parties and actors were identified with their ideologi
nings. Now it was through their caste and religious bases that the political parties and actors w
ntified.
Third, it also led to a very significant change in perception of people about the process called
litics. People also no longer associated it with a modern interaction based on secular identitie
a traditional process that worked on the basis of ascribed identities.
Finally, the politics based on identity has led to fragmentation rather than cohesion and
nfrontation rather than dialogue. It has also led to a fierce competition for State resources with
rious groups scrambling for them.

CONCLUSION

e changing nature of political mobilization in Indian politics can be better understood if we stu
a gradual historical continuum and in the context of the changing distributional role of the Stat
through its distributional role that the State seeks to change the socio-economic conditions of i
ople and society in general. People on the other hand, give their verdict on the nature of
distributions carried out by the State through the democratic processes. They approve or
approve the policies by voting or not voting in favour of the party in power. In turn, the State’
enda for redistribution is largely influenced by what it expects people to approve and otherwis
m, the dynamism introduced by democracy in the relationship between the State and the socio-
onomic and cultural environment it works in is best reflected in the relationship between the
tributional role of the State and bases of political mobilization. As is clear from the discussio
ove, a study of this relationship gives a very clear picture of the socio-economic dimensions o

dian
e hasdemocracy.
undergone On the historical
changes, so has thecontinuum, as we see
basis of political that the nature
mobilization. Whenof thetheState’s redistribu
State sought
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218/369
organize society in lines with
8/18/2019 socialist
Contemporary India principles, political
Economy, Society, actors
Politics - Neera sought
Chandhoke, to mobilize
Praveen Priyadarshi people
marily on the basis of class. However, as the determination to reorganize society on socialist
nciple diminished, class-based mobilization also gave way to other types of mobilization. As
tness a complete change in the State role vis-à-vis economy in the wake of globalization, it is
ntity that has become an important ground for political mobilization.

SUGGESTED READINGS

nkel, Francine. Indias Political Economy: 1947–2004 . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005.
al, Niraja. Democracy an d State: Welfare, Secularism and Development in Contemporary Ind ia. New Delhi: Oxford Univ
ress, 1999.
ur, Devesh and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds). Public Institutions in India: Performance and Design . New Delhi: Oxford Un
ress, 2005.
iraj, Sudipta (ed.), Politics in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997.
hari, Rajni. Rethink ing Democracy . Hyderabad: Orient Longman Press, 2005.

QUESTIONS

1. What weredemocracy
the Indian the challenges before the Indian democracy at the time of Independence? How do you assess the performance
so far?
2. Elaborate the major ideological influences on democracy in India. How do you see the relationship between the nature of
nationalist struggle and the Indian democracy?
3. Analyse the changing nature of political mobilization in the Indian democratic process since Independence.
4. Do you agree with the view that the processes of liberalization and globalization have changed Indian democratic politics fo
good? Explain.

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 8/18/2019 16
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

The Changing Nature of the Party System

Pushpa Kumari

modern democracies, parties are considered as indispensable vehicles of representation. They

rform a wide range of functions of interlinking people and the government, harmonizing differe
titutional orders and different political processes. Parliamentary democracy needs political p
articulation of people s will and for formation of the government. In a way, the political syste
rives its strength from the political parties. Party politics has been vital to the successful
nctioning of the Indian democracy. This chapter aims at introducing the basic features and expl
functioning of the party system in India since Independence, under the light of its gradual
nsformation from a one-party-dominant system to a multi-party system.
The existence and survival of political parties depend on their victory in capturing political po
ainst other parties or group. They rise and grow in response to the needs of the social and polit
stem in a particular milieu.1 Parties regulate individual and group behaviour in a society with t
m of influencing, moulding and controlling the behaviour of the voters. Political parties stand fo
of representation, with an electoral system and process of recruitment of leaders, defining go
d resolving internal system conflicts.2 Political parties in India are an integral and essential pa
r political culture.

POLITICAL PARTY AS VEHICLE OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

litical parties are seen as a distinctive feature of the process of political representation. They
lect the citizens’ consent and aspiration by representing their wishes through the electoral pro
the modern-day large democracies, it is not possible for all citizens to directly participate in th
litical process and speak for themselves. In this situation, political parties form a crucial link
tween citizens and the State. They articulate people s needs and aspirations and try to impleme

hen they come in to power. Political parties, therefore, stand to represent the citizens’ demands
shes. Hanna Fenichel Pitkin States that representation makes things present that are not literall
esent.3 The political representatives act as the voice of the people whom they represent after th
elected. They are entrusted with the position to make decisions that will benefit the district th
present. This makes it necessary for the representative to maintain a balance between the view
nstituents, personal belief, and the common goal of both maintaining and improving the nation
hole.4
Parties provide the organizational base for mobilization and participation of the people. They
ovidehttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
ideologies, beliefs and symbols for political identification to the people. The party syste
220/369
 5 It is generally agreed that demo
plies8/18/2019
an elective and, therefore, a representative
Contemporary government.
India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

quires groups such as political parties to perform critical functions—to recruit leadership,
mulate policy, organize decision-making, communicate upward and downward between leade
d public, promote consensus, enforce responsibility and, thus, move the society towards the
ective resolution of its conflicts.6
Political parties are not directly mentioned in the Constitution of India. However, the Tenth
hedule that was added by the Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985 refers to the
nctioning of the political parties. It deals with the disqualification of a person for being a memb
either House of Parliament [Art. 102(2)] or the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council o
ate[Art. 191(2)], on ground of defection. The responsibilities of framing and governing the rule
d regulations of political parties have been assigned to the Election Commission of India, whic
independent constitutional body. It monitors the conduct of elections and accords recognition t
litical parties.

DEFINITION AND TYPOLOGY

litical parties serve as a unifying force and perform the task of social and political integration
rties have been defined in various ways. According to Giovani Sartori, a party is any political
oup that presents at elections and is capable of placing through elections, candidates for public
ice.7 MacIver defined political party as an association organized in support of some principle
policy, which by constitutional means, endeavours to make the determinant of the government
litical party is a social group, a system of meaningful and patterned activity within the larger
ciety. Finer maintains that parties are legally defined by the strength shown at previous election
nimum being laid down in terms of votes or percentage of poll. 9 Newman defined a political p
an articulate organization of societies’ active political agents, those who are concerned with th
ntrol of the government and who compete for popular support with other group or groups holdi
version views. Political parties all over the world differ in term of the context of their rise and
owth, orientation, mode of operation and mobilizing strategies. A political party is a fighting
ganization, which exists in order to win battles against other parties or groups.
Generally, the party system is classified as a single-party, two-party and multi-party system ba
the numerical strength of parties in any political system. However, the party system in India d
10
t fit into any prescribed type of Western models of party system. The Indian party system has
scribed as the one-party-dominant system or the Congress system by Rajni Kothari, which can
en as a model of party system in itself. Indian party politics gives the impression of the country
uralist society, where the interests of multiplicity of private associations and other various forc
gregated, and they have considerable influence on policy formation.11
Unlike a one-party system, the Indian system is a competitive one with the constituent parts pla
similar roles.12 The ‘Congress system’ model suggests that the Congress has been pivotal in th
dian party system as it forms the core whereas, the rest of the parties operate from the peripher
der tohttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
put pressure on the core. They operate and exert pressure from the margins. The 221/369 Congres
hich has been the ruling party
8/18/2019 most of
Contemporary the
India time,Society,
Economy, survivedPolitics by sustaining
- Neera Chandhoke, the pressure,
Praveen Priyadarshi accommoda

d assimilating various forces like several opposition groups, interest groups, and dissident gro
t, such forces do not constitute any alternative to the Congress. The prime purpose of their
stence is to constantly put pressure on, criticize, censure and influence the ruling political pow
us, the role of the opposition basically has been to act as a watchdog and maintain a constant v
er the ruling Congress. Whereas this results in the latent threat14 from the margins, the factiona
ide the ruling party provides the instrument of inbuilt correction. In case of India, the oppositi
vided and fragmented due to a lack of consensus and coherence. The opposition survives on ga
here the Congress loses. The Indian party system consists of ‘party of consensus and parties of
essure’.15

LEGACY OF THE INDIAN PARTY SYSTEM

e rise of nationalism in the 19th century India is believed to provide the backdrop for the
ergence of political parties and the party system in the country. In the beginning, political part
erged as public forums in reaction to the colonial rule. The growth of national consciousness
adually led to its galvanization into a mass movement. The Indian National Congress is revered
oldest political party in India. It was created in 1885 through the union of presidency associat
middle-class professionals. The Indian National Congress was able to capture unexplored,
litical space at the national level and projected itself as an authentic repository of spirit of Ind
ionalism. By presenting the Indian interest to the British Crown in a systematic and organized
nner, the Indian National Congress soon became a leading voice of the Indian middle class,
nstantly clamouring for more jobs under the colonial government and for greater political
rticipation.16 From the time of 19th century nationalism till the present day, the Congress rema
rsistent political party. Most of the major non-Congress parties originated from within, and no
tside, the Indian National Congress; among them were the Congress Socialist Party, which bec
nucleus of the Praja Socialist Party, and even the Communist Party.
There have been lots of debates about the party system in India. M. K. Gandhi, the pioneer of t
dian liberation struggle, was never comfortable with party politics. He believed that the State a
its institutions represent violence in a concentrated and organized form that poses a threat to th
erty of the individual. He prescribed a democratic system based on village self-government an

led ithe
wer, Gram Swaraj,
believed thatwhere political
since there wasparties will have
no necessity no role. In his therefore,
of representation, scheme ofthere
decentralizatio
was no p
power seeking political parties.17 In his last piece of writing Last Will and Testament, Gand
ggested the dissolution of the Congress as a political organization and its replacement by the L
wak Sangh (Servant of People Association). 18 But the working committee of the Congress reje
ndhi’s proposal and decided that it wanted the organization to be a political party. Similarly,
yaprakash Narayan advocated for a partyless democracy with emphasis on decentralization of
wer, village autonomy and more representative legislature.19 He aimed to introduce democrac
grassroots level, based on the principle of unanimity and consensus.
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 20 Origin and Growth
8/18/2019 Indian National
Contemporary Congress:
India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

e theory of the Congress system has been widely acknowledged as a useful framework to anal
nature and significance of the party system in India. There has been dominance of the Congres
Indian political system, which reconciled the diverse interests and various layers of peripher
m State and regional levels. The Congress has played a crucial role in setting the basic param
party politics in India. It will be interesting to trace the trajectory of performance of the Congr
hich has gone through various changes and several splits.
The birth of the Indian National Congress has been seen as a milestone, which became the bed
the foundation of the party system in India. Mr Allan Octavian Hume facilitated its foundation
ntribution of the Indian National Congress is invaluable on several accounts. It provided a nati
atform to its members to represent India and address their colonizers. It inculcated a sense of
idarity and national consciousness among the Indians to oust the foreign rule eventually. After
dependence, the Congress was transformed from a movement into a ruling party and shifted its
ention from political mobilization to administrative consolidation except for the purpose of
ntending elections. However, Rajni Kothari maintains that even after Independence, the Congr
ained its legacy of being a movement, as it had to carry on with the formidable task of nation
lding.21

ganization: The Congress displays the character of a mass party with a well-developed
ganizational structure. It has an elaborate, hierarchical, organizational structure that extends fro
al to district to Stateto All India Congress Committee (AICC) culminating at the top in the wo
mmittee, which is the executive committee of the national party. The executive committee has a
cted president as its head. The working committee and the president look after the functioning
organization as a whole. Also, there are State and Central Parliamentary Boards, which play
ucial roles in the allocation of party nominations to Congressmen to contest the election to the S
islative assemblies and to Parliament. In its earlier days, Nehru remained in complete comma
licy and politics in the Congress party and also in the government. The national leadership
ovided by Nehru was called the high command and it included the trusted political confidants
hru. These political leaders performed the task of mediation and arbitration of factional confli
State level.22

cial Base of the Congress: The support base of the Congress is composed of varied sections
erest groups displaying the character of a mass organization. The leadership is also derived fro
fused social base. The Congress, by accommodating divergent socio-economic interest and
ological preferences, had projected itself as a party of broadest consensus.23 It has been seen
mbrella organization that provided a haven to all divergent forces belonging to different religion
tes, classes and cultures. The Congress has projected itself as the legitimate heir of nationalis
torical consensus. It has internalized and assimilated political competition, consequently form

stem http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
of factions at every level of political and governmental activity. These factions operated b
tics of pressure, mediation, conflict, bargaining, compromise and consensus.24 The Indian 223/369
par
 tem 8/18/2019
has taken the shape of a single-party-dominant
Contemporary system
India Economy, Society, Politics or Chandhoke,
- Neera the Congress
Praveen system
Priyadarshi or one-party

minance system25 in which, there has been monopoly enjoyed by the Congress and yet pluralis
ds its way in intra-party factions. Across four decades since Independence, both in terms of
rcentage of the votes received and the seats captured in parliament, the Congress has consisten
minated its rivals and its opponents have never forged a stable challenge. 26
In the first few decades, the Congress derived its strength from the landlords in the countryside
ban capitalist and the expanding middle class. However, the decade of 1980 marked a clear sh
support base of the Congress due to the new challenges put by the emergence of regional
urgeois in many parts of the country. In post-Green Revolution India, a new class of rich farme
d intermediate castes grew who did not see the Congress adequately representing their interest

ogramme and Ideology of the Congress Party: Given the socio-economic conditions in whic
herited our country after national liberation, the Congress had to play the role of a movement o
cial reconstruction in postcolonial India. This provided an opportunity to the people to particip
the political process at the local level, and in turn, the Congress acquired legitimacy as a
ponsive and responsible regime. It gained the symbolic value of people’s trust. Though the sp
the pre-Independence days was missing, yet, such initiatives helped the party to retain mass
pport.
The Congress declared itself in favour of a socialistic pattern of development for the Indian
ciety; together with this, the idea of ‘democratic socialism’ and secularism was stressed. From
ginning, the Congress has been committed to a democratic ideology.27 The concept of a planne
onomy was asserted as an economic policy. There was considerable expansion of the public
ctor, which sometimes proved to be very expensive in their operation. It tried to remove feuda
d took up the task of linguistic reorganization of the States in 1956. The objective of the agrari
orms was vigorously pursued. Several important sectors were nationalized. The slogan of ‘Ga
tao’ was advocated with the 1971 elections in mind.

itical Assessment of the Congress: In the later decades, many times the party showed a lack
alistic visions, as the leaders became more interested in nurturing their own ambitions. Slowl
nflicts originated and gradually it got aggravated between the legislative and organizational wi
the Congress due to personal rivalries and differing interests. In order to enjoy the continuing
egiance of heterogeneous interests, it worked on the principle of negotiation, bargain and man
mes compromised with its broad objectives. Nehru’s failure to provide a remedy to intra-party
ntradiction led to an erosion of his authority as a leader of the party and the government. Gradu
Congress went through various splits (1969, 1980, 1994 and 1999). One of these split groups
ngress-I, has projected itself as an inheritor of the Congress party. During the tenure of Mrs In
ndhi and Mr Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress displayed authoritarian and monopolistic tendencies
ample, emergency was imposed in 1977 by Mrs Gandhi. The governance became centralized a
rsonalized resulting in the decline and decay of the Party. From 1980s onwards, it became
reasingly difficult for the Congress to sustain its mass support. It gradually became incapable
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 28
oviding the leadership accommodating
8/18/2019 varied Society,
Contemporary India Economy, interests.
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

It can be observed that the Congress in its earlier phase used to perform to some degree the wo
a national Parliament where clashing viewpoints and concerns need to determine a generally
ceptable line of policy.29 As the oldest political party in India, the Congress has been successf
aining the goodwill of as many sections of society as it has been feasible. It has harmonized w
e its three basic elements of leadership with national appeal and acceptability, a pan-Indian
ology with recognition and accommodation of local and regional spirit and district-level cadr
en in a State of decline in the contemporary times, it retains this essential element of its cultur
erall assessment of the Congress party shows that it has attempted to sustain its propensity of
eservation of democratic tradition. The Congress has shown great sensitivity on the question o
pect for minorities, including political minorities.31 Several factors have helped the success a
vival of the Congress. Due to its heritage and the struggle for the history of Independence, the
ngress has always enjoyed tremendous amount of goodwill, respect and support. These factor
ve also helped the Congress in keeping itself in cohesion. The 2004 Lok Sabha election secure
ngress and its allies sizeable gains at the national level, leading to its victory and the formatio
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

HE CHANGING NATURE OF PARTY POLITICS: IMPORTANT NATIONAL P ARTIES AND THE RISE OF NEW FO

e nature of political participation has shown considerable changes in the 1990s. With the begi
coalition politics32, several changes such as the decline of the Congress, and the rise of the BJ
ve taken place. A clear shift can be seen from a one-party-dominant system to a multi-party sy
d minority government in Indian politics. The rise of regionalism has led to a growing demand
ater autonomy by the States in the 1980s, precipitating in the mushrooming of regional politica
rties. The regional parties have become prominent national actors in coalition formation in the
ntral and State governments. The change in the party regime has brought new castes and classe
folds. These positive changes have augmented the process of democratization in the country.
The democratic process has deepened with the dramatic participatory upsurge among the soci
derprivileged in class and caste hierarchy,33 which have been almost non-existent earlier. This
rease in participation and assertion by the marginalized strata of the society indicates a major
mocratic upsurge34 that has opened new avenues for the unprivileged. The first remarkable ups

s in the 1960s when expansion in participatory base took place in order to proceed towards a
ernative to hegemony of the Congress party. This downward thrust of mobilization of socially
prived people like Dalits, adivasi, Other Backward Castes and all other minorities continues w
ded vigour in the contemporary times. This symbolizes the second democratic upsurge. 35 How
s democratic wave has reached its saturation as the dominant language and politics of the suba
s been co-opted by the other parties. The distinctive shift of the 1990s is reflected in terms of t
ues—Mandai, Masjid and Market—referring to caste-based reservation, upsurge of Hindu
ionalism that led to demolition of Babri Masjid and the liberalization policy, respectively. Th
ults of the 1998 general elections gave the message that the electorate of India had endorsed
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a
 rty or8/18/2019
two-national-alliances systemIndia
Contemporary to Economy,
dominate thePolitics
Society, country’s politicalPraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, scene, one led by the
Priyadarshi

ngress and the other led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Bharatiya Janata Party

e 1990s saw the rise of the BJP as a ruling party at the national level, which tried to provide H
mmunal orientation to the governance process. Bharatiya Janata Party was founded in 1980;
wever, its legacy has been traced back to the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (1951) and Rashtriya
wayamsevak Sangh (RSS) (1925). These forces have been known as Hindu right wing that cher
desire of cultural nationalism under the slogan of ‘one country, one nation one culture and rul
w.’
The scene of Indian politics has undergone drastic changes from the 1980s. There has been a
ntinued decay of the Congress party creating a political vacuum that has been filled by the
ergence of the BJP as the single largest party in the recent elections. Earlier, the BJP was
nsidered basically as a part of the opposition bloc. However, the Lok Sabha election of 1998
ablished its centrality in coalition formation at national and regional level. It marked
precedented growth in the electoral gains of BJP which swung from two seats in the 8th Lok S
1984 to 182 seats in the 12th Lok Sabha Elections in 1998 (See Table 16.1). It coveted signifi
te share from the Congress and other parties due to a violent backlash by the upper castes agai
issue of reservation for OBCs advocated by the Mandai Commission. Now, BJP has been pla
ey role in formation of political alliance as a challenge to the Congress or Congress-led allian
centre and the states.

Table 16.1: Electoral Performance of Major Political Parties in Lok Sabha Elections, 1977–2004.

es: INC: Indian National Congress; BJP: Bharatiya Janata Party; CPI: Communist Party of India; CPI (M): Communist Party
a (Marxist); JP/JD: Janata Party/Janata Dal; BSP: Bahujan Samaj Party
he BJP was a constituent of the Janata Party in these elections.
rce: Election Commission of India, http://www.eci.gov.in.

The agenda of the BJP is formation of a Hindu nation based on the ideology of Hindutva.
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This
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 cultural nationalism posesContemporary
8/18/2019 a threat toIndiathe democratic
Economy, and- Neera
Society, Politics secular credentials
Chandhoke, of Indian politics.
Praveen Priyadarshi

o highlights the limitations of their commitment to the realization of substantive democracy. M

holars believe that it will be very difficult for the BJP to implement its agenda of hegemony an
ndutva due to the plural ethos of the Indian society. There has been considerable moderation in
ology and agenda of the party due to the electoral calculations and the pressure of the coalitio
litics. The BJP sought to accommodate its coalition partners by publishing a national agenda,
hich omitted the controversial issue of the building of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, the Uniform
36
vil Code, and Kashmir’s special constitutional status as a part of its moderation strategy. Th
s also broadened its Hindu nationalist agenda. Soon after coming into power in 1998, the BJP
ploding the nuclear bomb asserted its strength and tried to project Hindu nationalism as Indian
ionalism. Its policies show apparent support to liberalization, privatization and globalization.
s used the foreign policy, defence policy and issues of internal security to enhance its domestic
pport base. The BJP has periodically tuned up and subdued its Hindutva rhetoric to come to po
d to retain it, displaying cycles of moderation and militancy according to the contingent situatio
shes to gain support by presenting itself as a centrist party that endorses the common value of t
dian politics. At the same time, it appears problematic for the BJP to transform its fundamental
aracter and beliefs due to its affiliation, proximity and enduring ties with the RSS-VHP networ
yet to be seen whether BJP will succeed in moulding itself into a liberal framework to provide
ional leadership at the same time maintaining cordial relations with Hindu right-wing element
The support base of the party is limited to the upper caste and class of the northern Indian Stat
hich make it difficult for the party to provide the national leadership on its own. In non-Hindi
eaking states, the BJP mostly remains a marginal player. 37 Therefore, it has been trying to expa
support base by including the Dalits and Muslims in its folds. However, the Congress still enj
largest amount of support from the underprivileged sections of the Indian society. In the last th
ctions, BJP’s performance has shown a steady increase in the share of the seats reserved for th
heduled Tribes. This can be understood by studying the rising communal tensions in the tribal
central India, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. Three princ
stacles in the BJP’s path of further rise are opposition by Muslim voters, division in votes of t
ckward castes into BJP and the Left Janata parties and the near-total hold of the Scheduled Ca
tes by the BSP.
The BJP and the other Hindutva forces harbour a monolithic conception of the State, which is
oblematic for a multicultural and plural society like India. It is the multicultural nature of the In
ciety that is under attack by the proponents of Hindutva. 38 Since no political party can win with
jority, all parties are trying to compromise with their agenda and grant concessions to their pr
ction allies. The BJP wants to establish itself as an alternative to the Congress. According to t
ntingencies of the electoral processes, the BJP has been vacillating between extremism and
deration in its agenda and policy formulation. The defeat of the BJP in the 2004 parliamentary
ctions has been interpreted as the rejection of communalism and has reinforced faith in secula
ong people.
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 8/18/2019 The Communist Party of India
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

ere has been the presence of communist parties in Indian politics from the time of pre-
dependence days. They represent Marxist and communist revolutionary tradition in the modern
dian political history.39 Primarily referred to as reformist political parties, they have functione
erting pressure on the ruling parties rather than winning majority to form the government. Left
ces represent the radical forces, which aim at the transformation of the society in favour of the
ak and the marginalized. The communist parties have associated themselves with the Commun
ernational. There has been a split in the communist forces resulting in two prominent parties th
I and the CPI (M).
The communist parties have to redefine themselves in terms of their objective and methodolog
th the changing global context.40 The remarkable significance of the communist parties has bee
t they have been very critical of the nefarious ways in which the forces of globalization implic
lives of the working and poor classes. They have always scrutinized the neo-liberal policies
government in order to cater to the needs of the impoverished and helpless masses of the coun
ey are more successful in influencing the policies of the government as coalition partners in th
te and at the national level. Their presence is strong in some states like West Bengal, Tripura
rala. In contemporary times, there is an urgent need for the communist parties to rejuvenate
mselves in the wake of the changing pretext of the society and the world. They need to clearly
tline their objectives and methodology in order to reinforce their dominance in the Indian party
tem.

Regional Political Parties

art from the national parties, there are a number of political parties that define themselves wit
erence to a particular region or ethnic groups. Such parties are Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
MK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu, Telegu De
rty (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam, National Conference (N
mmu and Kashmir, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab, Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) in Hary
u Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa, Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, etc. Among all such force
iromani Akali Dal, National Conference, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Asom Gana Parishad,
na are results of a long-drawn struggle and sustained social movements. DMK is the strongest
regional parties and was formed in 1949 under C. Annadurai. This party took the shape of a
ovement that basked in the glory of the Dravidian past inculcating pride in people regarding the
guage, literature and Tamil culture. It was also an outburst against the social oppression suffer
the non-Brahmins at the hands of Brahmins and Aryan invaders of the north. In 1972, another p
na DMK, was formed under the leadership of M. G. Ramachandran. The TDP in Andhra Prad
s successfully projected itself as an alternate to the Congress dominance since 1980s. It was
med by N. T. Rama Rao in 1982. The TDP has been revered as the upholder of Telugu pride.
cured a great deal in development in its State, yet it put up a poor show in the 2004 elections. I
aharashtra, the Shiv Sena expanded its power and base in the 1980s and gained prominence
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 dubious activities adopted
8/18/2019 to raise India
Contemporary enormous amount
Economy, Society, of -money.
Politics TherePraveen
Neera Chandhoke, is a tendency
Priyadarshi in politica

rties to convert its governance into family business. In a way, the Congress displays ‘dynastic
ndrome, due to the domination of the Nehru-Gandhi leadership.
Many cases of rigging have been reported in the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northea
d in many parts in Bihar. There is a deterioration in the quality of leadership. In comparison to
w outstanding leaders of the past, the present day leadership does not seem to inspire the peopl
ere has been an increase in the authoritarian and undemocratic practices pervading the election

d party politics. Most of the political parties indulge in violence, and display disregard for
titutional norms. Besides, they also reflect a lack of coherence, clear vision and well-defined
ology. The growing intra- and inter-party conflicts have eroded the legitimacy and reputation
rties as well as leaders.48 Rampant illiteracy, lack of education and awareness in ignorant mas
d impoverishment in the Indian society enables the opportunist political leaders to misguide an
nipulate the masses.
There is increasing politicization of religion manifested in the onslaught of cultural nationalism
hich is excessively dismissive of rights of religious minorities.49 Religious fundamentalism, w
eflected in the programme and policy of communal forces in the party system, can do great har
Indian polity. It can destroy the social fabric of the Indian democracy with its advocacy of un
d undifferentiated culture. Parties are seen as oligarchic as the same leaders occupy the same
sitions for a very long time. Most politicians are busy in personal squabbles and are more
ncerned in protecting their own interests rather than the public interest. There is a need for ens
ner party democracy and discipline by all Indian political parties. Coalition alliances in
ntemporary Indian politics do not have any common objective to bind them together; they are
portunists and seek short-term tactical arrangements rooted in the exchange of mutual benefits
mpulsions of power. This leads to the volatility of the system. Also, there should be a check on
ocess of proliferation and splintering of political parties in order to stabilize the governance
ocess.
However, a remarkable feature of the Indian party system is that in contrast to the situation in m
anging societies, non-party actors like the army or militant movements have not taken place in
dia, but ethnic conflicts and communal violence, which place informal but effective restriction
political party, have continued to blight the party landscape.50 Some scholars sense that there
en a complete breakdown of the party system in India. As a consequence one can observe the s
m political parties to NGOs, civil society groups, social movements and other potential forms
pression of people s representation. Various groups are trying to assert their rights and demand
t through parties, but by other alternatives available. In light of such developments, some scho
ve also alluded towards the increasing irrelevance of political parties. They believe that parti
failing to respond successfully to the series of challenges and many of their functions are
rformed better by less-formally organized social movements, by direct contact between politic
d citizens, through broadcast media or the Internet, or by innovations in direct democracy.51

sThe problems
to be bolstered of in
theIndia.
partyVarious
system have to be sincerely
committees setup fortaken care of,
suggesting if the tradition
electoral reformsofindemocra
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230/369
mocracy have suggested the
8/18/2019 exigency
Contemporary Indiafor a comprehensive
Economy, legislation
Society, Politics - Neera for regulation
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi of function

the political parties. Such a legislation can identify the conditions for Constitution, recognition
gistration and deregistration of the political parties. Elections must be held to the various level
party organs at least once in three years. It has been suggested that political parties should en
east 30 per cent reservation for women at every organizational position in the party. All polit
rties should become more responsive, creative and truly representative. They should rediscov
mselves according to the changing time and socioeconomic context.

CONCLUSION

modern democracies, the political parties have to play a very constructive role in creation and
omotion of multicultural, pluralist and just societies. It is an achievement of the Indian politica
stem that despite inadequacies and hindrances, it has been successfully functioning as a liberal
mocracy, unlike its other Asian and African counterparts. India is among the few democracies
here the electoral turnout of the lower orders of society is well above that of most privileged
ctions.52 However, we have discussed some of the problems pervading the functioning of the I
rty system. The rise of Hindu communalism is undoubtedly one of the counter trends to the
mocratic process in India. Nevertheless, there are progressive forces of democratization that h
en into their fold all those deprived classes that suffered from historically constituted
crimination and disadvantages. It can be observed that the Indian democracy has been a succe
ny ways, due to the successful working of the party system in India.

SUGGESTED READINGS
ss, Paul R. The New Cambridge History of India: The Politics of India Since Independence . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 1975.
nkel, Francine R., Zoya Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora (eds.). Transforming India: Social and Political Dyna
f Democracy. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000.
an, Zoya (ed.). Parties and Party Politics in India . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002.
ra, Subrata K., Mike Enskat and Clemens Spiess (eds.). Political Parties in South Asia . Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004.

QUESTIONS

1. What are political parties? Describe their significance for any political system.
2. What do you understand by ‘one-party-dominant system’ or ‘Congress system’?
3. Discuss the remarkable changes in the nature of Indian party politics since the last two decades.
4. Enlist significant national and regional parties in Indian party system.
5. Critically analyse various challenges confronting the Indian political parties in the present times.

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 turing several hung parliaments
8/18/2019 and
Contemporary the
India arrival
Economy, of coalition
Society, politics.
Politics - Neera Chandhoke,This has
Praveen been accompani
Priyadarshi

mething of a participatory upsurge. Politics has shifted from the ‘all-India’ level to the states. 2
ensification of competitive politics has changed the party systems from being a rivalry betwee
ional parties into one between alliances and coalition of national and state parties. In the allia
d coalition arrangements, ideology and policy today generally do not appear as significant as
nerally construed.3 The 1989, 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2004 election results are indicative of a
nsition towards a new region-based, multiparty coalition system. This is a logical developmen
ederal society with diverse cultural and linguistic regions and is also part of the wider proces
mocratization since Independence. This transition towards a new party system is an outcome o
erlinked processes: the decline and breakdown of the Congress system in the 1980s and a para
ocess of regionalization of politics.

THE DECLINE OF THE CONGRESS SYSTEM

the 1960s, Rajni Kothari formulated a new conceptual category, the Congress system, to
aracterize India s party system.4 It was a bold attempt to theorize the unique party system that I
d developed that did not fit the straitjacket of the one-party system or multiparty competition. I
arty system, Kothari argued, should be described as a system of one-party dominance, a
mpetitive party system consisting of a party of consensus and a party of pressure. The Congres
stem formulation shows that in spite of an apparent one-party dominance, inter-party and intra-
mpetition takes place. The competition often took place within the confines of a consensus bec
Congress party occupied the centre and opposition was allowed both within the margins of th
ntre, inside the Congress party and outside. Apart from the structural features, Kothari’s
mulation involved an ideological component. The Congress system was a system of legitimacy
e issue was the establishment of democratic authority. This was achieved in India on the basic
torical consensus that was converted by the party system into present consensus. This was po
cause the Congress system encompassed all major sections and interests of society. It represen
oad social coalition and Kothari believed that the Congress system combined the efforts to gai
itimacy and the efforts towards social transformation.5
The Congress party represented a broad social coalition that encompassed the upper caste and
per-class elite, as well as the poorest and most marginalized sections of the Indian population.

ngress constituency projected itself as the protector of minorities, and as the natural party of
mbers of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The success of the Congress coalition,
en argued, was in fact made possible by the cross-cutting cleavages in Indian society that
evented polarization along any one cleavage, whether an ascriptive one such as religion or a
cular one such as class. It was this all-encompassing character of the Congress—famously
scribed as an umbrella party—along with its pre-eminent role as the party that had won India
dependence, which contributed immeasurably to the supremacy of the Congress in the early yea
The façade of consensus helped the Congress in two respects. In the first place, the Congress
stem http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
sought to make compromises with upper castes and allowed their domination in the politi
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t characterized
8/18/2019 by a singleContemporary
left-rightIndia
ideological axisPolitics
Economy, Society, but -multiple cross-cutting
Neera Chandhoke, axes, for examp
Praveen Priyadarshi

cular-communal, centrist-regional, autonomist and a variety of caste bloc-based axes, varying

se. Second, party identification in India is relatively weak both among politicians and voters a
rties tend to be clientelistic, lacking well-defined social bases compared to most Western
mocracies. Defections and splits that are common in Indian parties are virtually non-existent in
ost European parties because of well-defined party ideologies policy orientation and relatively
ble social constituencies. This is all the more the case in the post-1989 period of considerable

ctoral volatility with seismic shifts in the formerly stable Congress-dominated party system.
Since the resultant coalition alliances are neither ‘ideological’ nor have any common objectiv
ment them, they are merely short-term tactical arrangements established by ambitious politicia
t are rooted in the exchange of mutual benefits and compulsions of power. The mobilization of
ctorate is done through a strategy of support to regional cum segmental or ethnic issues withou
ving overriding support either to national or primarily local issues.
The last decade of the 20th century saw a sharp rise in political mobilization on the basis of so
avages based on ascriptive identities, in particular religion and caste. Casteism, communalism
rsonality domination have been the main planks around which the fragmentation of political pa
s taken place, which has resulted in more caste- and class-based political violence in the socie
litical parties have invariably exploited these sentiments to gain electoral support and politica
bilization of the voters. There was another significant development after the 1989 elections th
ected the party system. The coalition politics gained a new trend: parties tended to lend suppo
government from outside without formally joining it, thus ostensibly sharing power without
uming any responsibility. However, the experience of government formation with outside sup
th at the national and state level has invariably created instability in Indian politics. A corollar
se developments has been the emergence of an environment of blackmail within the party allia
here a minority government or an alliance of parties not only feels insecure to implement its
nimum election programme or polices but also faces considerable hindrances in taking hard
ecutive or routine administrative decisions in matters of appointments to the council of ministe
presenting a particular interest, constituency or any party’s viewpoint in any policy move.
In the six general elections spanning the decade since 1989, India has witnessed coalition
vernment of three important strands—Left-of-centre NF and UF, Right-of-centre NDA, Centris
ngress-led UPA. These coalition governments since 1989 have come in the wake of the end of
minance of the multi-ethnic, multi-class, multi-regional Congress party precipitated by three m
ological turning points in Indian politics, namely, economic liberalization and globalization,
andalization of OBC identity politics, and the advent of strong currents of Hindu, Sikh and Islam
vivalism and fundamentalism.

National Front/United Front Coalition Experiment

e National Front experiment, which was a federation of national and regional parties formed u
leadership of the Janata Party in 1988, provides the best example of the fragmentation236/369
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and re-
gnment within the party system
8/18/2019 along
Contemporary regional
India lines;Politics
Economy, Society, it consisted of thePraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, JD, TDP, Congress (S)
Priyadarshi

MK, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), and other small groupings. The objective of keeping the
ngress at bay brought two diametrically opposite political forces: the BJP and the Left under a
oad coalition. The NF government lasted barely 11 months in power, from December 1989 to
vember 1990. Weak coordination and fragmented collective responsibility of the Cabinet mar
end of the National Front coalition.
Following the collapse of the NF government in 1990, the Front went into oblivion and the var

nstituents, except for some adjustment, fought the 1991 election alone. From September 1995
wards, efforts were made to revive the front by the TDR Janata Dal and the ruling Left Front in
est Bengal encouraged by the poor performance of the Congress party in the 1994–95 state
sembly elections. By including many regional groupings, an idea of a ‘Third Front’ was moote
e opportunity came in 1996 when the JD-led United Front formed the government after the BJP
led to muster a majority in the hung parliament.
The basic constraint of the United Front, however, was its dependence on the Congress suppor
main in power. It had to look over it shoulders all the time to ensure that this support was not
thdrawn. Ultimately, it collapsed because of the withdrawal of the Congress support. Despite
ipse as a substantial political force in parliament especially after the 1997 national elections,
ird Front as a model continues to remain viable simply because the political space structured
ound the opposition to the BJP and the Congress exists. Despite its short tenure at the national
achievements cannot be undermined. In fact, it was the acceptance of the Mandai
ommendations, under the V. P. Singh-led National Front government that brought about radica
anges in India’s social fabric.

BJP and National Democratic Alliance

e BJP is a reluctant convert to the strategy of coalition politics. After the failure of the BJP to
oduce a majority in parliament in 1996, it resorted to the politics of alliance. Prior to 1989, the
d never exceeded 10 per cent of the votes. In 1989–91, the BJP contested alone with a commu
larized platform against the backdrop of the Babri Masjid agitation of the late 1980s, the uppe
te backlash against the National Front government decision to implement the Mandai
mmission’s recommendation for the reservation of government jobs for backward classes. By

ploying the aggressive strategy of Hindutva, the party witnessed a meteoric rise from just two
84 to win 120 seats, becoming the second largest party at the centre. In 1996, the BJP ran into
mits of contesting alone with a community polarizing agenda. Despite being catapulted to its hig
er seat tally of 161, it failed to win parliamentary support from enough other parties to form a
alition government.
Learning from the 1996 debacle, the party in 1998 and 1998 sought a wide range of alliances i
n-stronghold states, in the process shelving temporarily the main community divisible points on
enda, viz, construction of the Ram temple on the site of demolished Babri Masjid, repeal of Ar
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promulgation of a common civil code. 237/369
The 13th Lok Sabha yielded
8/18/2019 a decisive
Contemporary mandate
India Economy, to the
Society, political
Politics of thePriyadarshi
party Praveen
- Neera Chandhoke, Hindu Right and i
gional allies of varied character and background. The triumph of the BJP-led alliance implied
ther a polarization of the votes in its favour nor the emergence of a bipolar national electoral
ocess. There was no swing either towards the BJP (its votes share declined by 1.8 percentage
ints from 1998) or towards the BJP and its allies (their combined vote share declined by 1.5 p
nt from what they won in 12th Lok Sabha). In fact in 1999, the Congress contested 20 fewer sea
n in 1998 but improved its vote share by 2.7 percentage points.

Coalition Led by Centrist Congress (UPA)

e end of Congress dominance, and lack of a clear single-party majority since the assassination
dira Gandhi in 1984, ushered in an era of coalition politics in the context of a fragmented party
stem. Until as late as December 2003, the party appeared reluctant to concede that the country
ered an era of coalition politics in which a single-party government was ruled out in the
eseeable future. This presents an interesting contrast with the BJP Like the Congress, the BJP
98 saw coalitions as an aberration of sorts and insisted that they were a temporary phenomeno
e polity, the BJP then maintained, was inherently becoming bipolar with the Congress and BJP
presenting two poles. Subsequently, following the 1998 and 1999 general elections which thre
ng parliaments, the BJP modified its earlier position and accepted that coalitions were here to
east for some time. The Congress, on the other hand, continued to staunchly assert that it was
pable of governing India on it own. It was only in June 2003 at the Congress party conclave at
imla that party diluted its position over forming a coalition to oppose the BJP-led NDA. This c
se on the heels of the defeat in the state Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and

attisgarh in early December 2003. Thus, in January 2004, the party started negotiating with sec
rties to reach pre-poll alliances.
It reached a seat-sharing arrangement with the DMK and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) in T
du, National Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra, Telangana Rashtra Samti (TRS) in Andhr
adesh. In Bihar and Jharkhand, the Congress party began talks with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (R
d Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) (JMM) respectively. In UR the Congress despite keeping a negotia
ocess on with both Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP eventually failed to strike a deal. It was thi
alition strategy that struck rich dividends in the election to the 14th Lok Sabha. The National
mocratic Alliance (NDA), which was widely expected to obtain the highest number of seats a
formations in the fray, ended up with just 195 as against an impressive tally of 217 seats won
UPA. The Congress also emerged as the largest party capturing 145 seats as against 138 by th
P

CONCLUSION

th the 2004 elections to the 14th Lok Sabha, the Indian polity has entered a phase of fierce
mpetitive politics. The gradual decline of the Congress, the emergence of regional parties as
portant political players in a number of states, the strengthening of smaller parties (such
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as the
238/369
mata8/18/2019
Party, Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party,
Contemporary India Rashtriya
Economy, Janata
Society, Politics Dal,
- Neera and the
Chandhoke, Bahujan
Praveen Samaj Party)
Priyadarshi

ir specific group followings and limited areas of influence, mark the changes that are taking p
Indian party politics. The party system is arguably going through a transitional phase in which
ther of the two so-called national parties is capable of forming a government on its own. 12 Th
ngress, which once had this ability, has now lost it, partly through organizational attenuation a
rtly through the gradual loss of sections of its social base. The BJP has not yet developed such
pacity. Consequently, even as both these parties represent themselves as national forces, they a

cessarily dependent on the support of a variety of regional and state-level players that can deli
seats required to make up a majority. In themselves, they have come to constitute the two pole
ound which parties may cluster and coalition governments become viable. In the absence of vi
ms of electoral mobilization, what we are getting is politics of contingent coalitions.
Given the improbability of either the Congress or the BJP achieving a majority on its own coa
litics have clearly become the order of the day. The coalitions by its very nature involve a sha
power between its constituents, which make it difficult for any partner to misuse discretionary
wers. The texture of the United Front government between 1996 and February 1998 set the tren
the first time that the government at both the state and the centre across the country were form
d overtly very much part of the decisionmaking process in New Delhi. This has continued sinc
n. What is also significant is that the process which once appeared to have been in a state of fl
certainty and change seems to have stabilized now. Basically, the coalitions at the centre have
come more federal because they are critically dependent on state-based parties like the TDP, t
MK and AIADMK, the Trinamool Congress, Akali Dal and the BJD. The governments are also
coming more consensual than before.13 The very nature of coalitions in India allows even a mi
alition partners to play a more decisive role than the leading coalition party as the current poli
ocess well indicates.
What does this imply in representational terms? The Congress, for the first few decades after
dependence, represented a coalition encompassing a wide range of diversity. The erosion of th
ngress is accompanied today by the emergence of a large number of multiple regional/local pa
iming to represent particular sections. Notwithstanding their growing power and influence, it
l the mainstream parties like the Congress and the BJP that appear to have pretensions to bein
gregative parties seeking a broad social base. For the rest, the approach of smaller parties is m
rrowly focused on the particular social constituency they represent. They are happy to play a
ominent role in delivering the vote of their particular social constituency through a coalition w
ional party; these parties are generally content with exercising power at the state level rather t
coming national parties. It appears to confirm the hypothesis that, in multi-ethnic societies, nat
rties are forced to broad-base their appeal.14 However, there is an important caveat suggested
Indian case. The approach of the BJP is clearly not underwritten by the desire to create a soc
alition of diverse groups, but rather by the aspiration to homogenize and create a unity (Hindu
ntity) by submerging diversity.

SUGGESTED READINGS
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 ss, Paul R. The Politics of India Since Independence . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
an, Zoya (ed.). Parties and Party Politics in India . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002.
hari, Rajni. Politics in Ind ia. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1970.
hra, Anil and Mahendra Prasad Singh. Coalition Politics in India: Problems and Prospects. New Delhi: Manohar, 2004.
nald de Souza, Peter and E. Sridharan (eds.), India’s Political Parties . New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2006.

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the evolution and growth of coalition politics in the post-Independence era.

2. Do you think coalition politics has contributed to the deepening of Indian democracy? Give reasons.
3. Examine the role of regional parties in the present phase of coalition politics?
4. Critically examine the problems and prospects of coalition politics in India?

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 8/18/2019 18
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Why Is Secularism Important for India?

Neera Chandhoke

INTRODUCTION

e novels of Orhan Pamuk, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2006, are fascinating for m
sons : his style of writing, his imagination, and the sheer power of his prose. But for us in Indi
novels are riveting, simply because his representations of the moral dilemmas that confront h
untry, Turkey, are more than familiar to us. For instance, his novel Snow, in which Pamuk narr
debate between religious revivalism and secularism in his country in complex ways, practica
rrors the debates taking place in our country. Was the adoption of secularism as one of the mai
nciples of the Indian polity a wise decision? Can secularism prove effective in India, conside
t our society and our people are deeply religious? These are some of the troubled questions th
alysts and political theorists ask in India. But then as we read on, we find that the problems the
otagonist of Snow, Ka, identifies with political Islam in Turkey, are precisely those that democ
India identify with religious revivalism, whether of the majority or of the minority.
Consider the following passage in the novel. At one point in the conversation, Muhtar, a friend
, says: After my years as a leftist atheist, these people (Muslim conservatives) come as such a
at relief. You should meet them. I’m sure you’d warm to them too. Do you really think so? We
one thing, all these religious men are modest, gentle, understanding. Unlike Westernized Turk
y don’t instinctively despise the common people; they’re compassionate and wounded themse
hey got to know you, they’d like you. There would be no harsh words, replies Muhtar. Pamuk
ites about Ka’s response thus: As Ka knew from the beginning, in this part of the world faith i
d was not something achieved by thinking sublime thoughts and stretching one’s creative pow
ir outer limits; nor was it something one could do alone; above all it meant joining a mosque,
coming part of a community. Nevertheless, Ka was still disappointed that Muhtar could talk so
uch about his group without once mentioning God or his own private faith. 1
What are the questions this passage raises in our minds? First, are leaders who lavishly use
igious symbols in politics, themselves religious? Are they using religion for their own ends, th
pursuit of power? Second, cannot religion be experienced in other ways that are personal; wh
ve to do with the development of our creativity? Must religion only be experienced in the publ
here? Other troubling questions follow: why should political groups who swear by their own
igion harm other religious groups? If religion is important for me, is it not as important for tho
ho believe in a different God? Can one group deny other groups the freedom of their religion, j

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these groups are in a minority and, therefore, vulnerable? Above all, what is the 241/369 solution
problem of violence between religious communities, which has left thousands dead, many inj
hich has wreaked sexual violence
8/18/2019 upon
Contemporary India women of thePolitics
Economy, Society, other community,
- Neera and which
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshihas destroye

operty, homes, and the workplace? Is there a solution? Perhaps, we can find a possible solutio
mmunalism in the precepts of secularism.
However, this begs the following questions. What does secularism mean? Why is secularism
evant for India? And why is secularism a part of the democratic imagination? These are some
questions that this chapter will explore.

THE MEANING OF SECULARISM

e can go about exploring the many meanings of secularism in two ways. We could explore
cularism as a general concept, or we could look at the way the concept has evolved in India, an
e why secularism was adopted as the main organizing principle of the Indian polity. Or we cou
both, and see how the concept has evolved in a direction that is unique to India.
The concept of secularism, as it has come to us from the West, simply means that: ( a) the sphe
litics and that of religion is separated, (b) the State will not adopt a religion as the State religi
d (c) no one shall be discriminated against on the grounds that he or she belongs to a particular
igion. This meaning of secularism has been defined in the US context by President Thomas
ferson as a wall of separation that exists between the State and religion. The First Amendment
Constitution of the USA has made this clear. The Establishment Clause in the First Amendmen
ohibits the establishment of a national religion by the Congress, and prohibits preference for on
igion over another. In the famous Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District
umet case, Justice Souter interpreted the clause to mean that the government should not prefer
igion to another, or religion to irreligion. The second part of the clause, known as the Free
ercise Clause, states that the Congress cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion.
Why did the American Constitution erect this wall of separation between the State and religion
ere are two answers to this question. First, many of the European settlers in the USA had fled
igious persecution in their own countries. Since some states in Europe had adopted a particula
igion, which by that fact became the State religion, members of other religious communities w
criminated against. We see what problems the merger of politics and religion brings in its wak
e State exercises power; and the leaders of religious communities also exercise power. If the S
opts a particular religion, then the State possesses more power than it should: both secular and
igious power. But if one institution possesses and exercises too much power, this is always
ngerous for individual freedom. More importantly, if a State adopts a particular religion as the
ate religion, then other religious groups are not only denied the freedom to religion and to their
ief systems but they are also oppressed for this reason. The adoption of a State religion, in oth
rds, denies to people who may follow another religion, their beliefs, often through the use of f
s not surprising that many states in Europe, till the 17th century, were bogged down in religiou
rs against their own citizens, and against other States who may have adopted another religion.
cond, the right to religion is a Fundamental Right. The right to freedom of conscience is one of

portant rights that forms a part of the general right to freedom. To deny to individuals this
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to deny them freedom in general. This violates the basic principles of democracy, that each hu
 ng has rights merely because
8/18/2019 he or India
Contemporary sheEconomy,
is human, and
Society, that
Politics factors
- Neera suchPraveen
Chandhoke, as gender, caste, class,
Priyadarshi

igion, are simply morally irrelevant when it comes to recognizing individual rights.
Over time, religious wars that the State fought against its own citizens, and against other States
rope, were controlled through the adoption of the principle of toleration which had been enunc
the English political theorist John Locke. There was another reason why the religious conflict
rope could be controlled. The Enlightenment in Europe, the coming of the industrial age, and th
velopment of modem science gave to the people other ways of thinking and believing. Modem
ence challenged the power of the Church to tell people what to believe and how to believe.
dividuals, it came to be argued by many theorists, possessed reason, and reason gives us the po
think and to evaluate various options. To be modern is to have the capacity to question all rec
sdom and, in the process, to refashion this wisdom. To be modem is to chart out our own proje
association with others, without the Church or some religious leader telling us what to do and
t to do. Modernity in Europe did not reject religion; nor did the people become irreligious; rel
came just another way to help Europeans to understand ehe world. But there were other ways
derstanding the world available to the moderns, ways given by science, by literature, by
losophy, by art, and by the development of social sciences. Religion in effect became a privat
air and, in the process, societies became secularized. However, the suspicion that the mix betw
igion and politics is dangerous for individual freedom, remained. Therefore, the wall-of-
paration thesis is important because it separates the secular and the sacred. We can think of
cularism as another way of instituting a separation of powers, and checks and balances. Power
controlled, and the only way to do this is to separate the different forms of power.

THE CASE OF INDIA

India, however, the project of modernity, which was introduced by the colonial power in the f
modem education and emphasis on science, went in the other direction, that of strengthening th
e of religion. By the second decade of the 20th century, violence between religious communiti
rticularly the Hindus and the Muslims, had become a regular feature of Indian politics. Histori
ve wondered why people who had lived together for centuries, who shared a common history
ditions, a common language, shared practices, music, and culture, came to be divided in such
urderous fashion. For communal riots kill, maim, and erase all feelings of sharing and belongin
e kinds of atrocities that leaders of one group have subjected another religious group to, are bo
rrifying and saddening. How can people inflict such harm on fellow beings, on people who be
the same category of humankind? What motivates them to do so?
Historians give us two explanations to this question. The first explanation suggests that through
iberate policies, the colonial power tried to divide people along the lines of separate religiou
ntities, through what has been called the politics of enumeration or counting of populations. Th
st census of 1872 divided the Indian people into four categories—aboriginals, Aryans, mixed
ople, and Muslims. In the 1881 census, the categories of mixed people and aboriginals were

rged,http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
the Muslims were treated as a homogeneous category, and Hindus were sub-divided into
tes. The 1901 census further sub-divided the Hindu population along caste lines. Such243/369
egorization
8/18/2019 contributed to the making
Contemporary India of separate
Economy, Society,identities because
Politics - Neera people
Chandhoke, became aware of t
Praveen Priyadarshi

mographic strength; or of the lack of such strength of their own community; that they were in a
jority or in a minority, numerically speaking. They also became aware of the strength of the ot
mmunity. This encouraged the making of a group identity because it gave the leaders a handle t
uld exploit for political purposes, notably the pursuit of power. If the leaders of the Hindu
mmunity were to argue that the country belonged to them because this community was in a majo
ders of the minority communities began to play on fears of being oppressed by the majority.
Now, no community is homogenous because it is divided on the basis of the rich and the poor,
d women, on the basis of age and language, on the basis of caste, and on the basis of jati and
adri. Different Hindus worship different gods in the religious pantheon, often in ways that hav
le in common with each other. But when people are categorized as Hindus or as Muslims, as S
as Christians, inter-community differences are covered up, and people begin to think of themse
edominantly in religious terms. This was the legacy that the colonial power gave us. The tende
separatism was further reinforced by the recording of ordinary conflicts, over material issues
tance, as religious conflicts, by British colonial officers. The British believed, or at least claim
t Hindus and Muslims belonged to two separate cultures; and, in time, to two separate nations
en though they had much in common.
We have just begun to understand that colonialism is much more than political domination by
other country, or economic exploitation of the labour, the resources, and the markets of one cou
another. In the first place, Colonialism in India, as in other parts of the world, involved the
onization of the mind, through the interpretation of our histories, our languages, our traditions,
eratures, and through placing people in discrete categories. Colonized people simply lose cont
er their own shared histories and traditions, and come to understand themselves and their past
terms coined by the colonial power. This form of soft power is dangerous simply because it i
ting. And this is precisely what happened to religious identities. The categories created by the
tish government through the politics of ethnic mapping were internalized by the colonized. As
ult, individuals and groups began to construct different, even conflicting, identities for themse
e colonial practice of separate electorates, which was initiated in 1909 through the Morley-M
forms, was designed to further to further consolidate these identities. Even as groups began to
obilize for the reserved seats in the legislatures and local self-government bodies on the basis o
igious identity, shared histories and shared languages were driven even more apart and separa
o hostile and antagonistic categories.
Second, the Indian people were polarized with the arrival of communal organizations onto the
litical scene in the form of the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League. If the Muslim League
gan to speak of the two-nation theory, the Hindu communal organizations began to conceptualiz
ion as predominantly Hindu. The slogan of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883–1966), who wa
airman of the Hindu Mahasabha, was Hinduize all politics and militarize Hinduism. This, not
prisingly, alienated the Muslim community, and instilled fear that they were doomed to be
minated by the Hindu majority. The use of overtly Hindu symbols in political rituals helped to
engthen this alienation. Even as religious identities increasingly separated people, the resultan
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 sion 8/18/2019
led to the partition ofContemporary
the countryIndia in 1947.
Economy, Whatever
Society, be the
Politics - Neera reasons
Chandhoke, for Priyadarshi
Praveen the division of the
untry, Partition highlighted the hold of religion in politics. And the problem did not end with th
mation of Pakistan; recurrent communal riots have left a trail of death and destruction in their
ke.
Looking at the hold of religion on politics and on the collective mind, some scholars have
ggested that secularism is an alien concept for India, simply because the Indian society has not
cularized, or that people continue to be religious. T. N. Madan, for instance, writes that from th

int of view of a majority of the people, secularism is a vacuous word, a phantom concept, for
ople do not know whether it is desirable to privatize religion, and if it is, how this may be don
less they be Protestant Christians but not if they are Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs. For
cularist minority to stigmatize the majority as primordially oriented and to preach secularism to
ter as the law of human existence is moral arrogance and worse—I say worse since in our time
litics takes precedence over ethics—political folly. It is both these—moral arrogance and pol
ly—because it fails to recognize the immense importance of religion in the lives of the people
uth Asia.2
T. N. Madan is a respected scholar and we have to take his insights seriously. But at the same
are also compelled to ask the following question: why did secularism emerge as a viable opt
and for Indian politics if religion and politics cannot be separated because the Indian people a
eply religious? The answer to this question is, however, fairly simple; secularism is important
ecisely this reason. If people were not religious, we have little use for secularism. Secularism
ant to regulate relations between the State and various religious groups on the principle of
uality, on the principle that the State will not discriminate against one religion. This is most
portant because unless the State is prohibited from discriminating against minority religions, th
ll be subjected to oppression and denial of their rights to freedom of belief. Further, unless the
jority religious group is told that it does not have the right to control the country just because i
a majority, and unless the minority is assured that it will not be discriminated against even tho
n a minority, the country will be caught up in endless violence. The answer to destructive
mmunal riots is not to abandon secularism, but to deepen secularism. We can only understand t
a historical context.

REVISITING HISTORY

t us, therefore, go back to our history and see why secularism was adopted in India as the
verning principle of the polity. As suggested above, colonial policies, and the activities of
mmunal organizations, had sharpened religious polarization in the country.
It was in the precise context of politicized religious identities that Mahatma Gandhi tried in the
20s to bring together various communities to fight a sustained struggle for Independence under
mbrella of the Congress. Seeking to build a cross-community alliance, Gandhiji looked for a
nciple that could bind together people who subscribed to different faiths; a principle which co

ld them
igion, orinto
in onea mass movement.
tradition; it had This
to stand principle
outside could not be located
all traditions. Moreinimportantly,
one community,
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reassure minority groups that
8/18/2019 they would
Contemporary not be
India Economy, discriminated
Society, against,Praveen
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, as much as it had to war
Priyadarshi

jority that majority rule is not the right path to democracy, which is built upon the twin princip
freedom and equality for all.
Gandhiji found this particular principle in the doctrine of sarva dharma sambhava, which can
d as equality of all religions or that all religions should be treated equally. Given Mahatma
ndhi’s belief in religion, sarva dharma sambhava was not only a political principle designed
ng people together; it was also a normative principle that recognized the value of religion in
ople’s lives. In a society like India, where people worship different Gods and subscribe to
ferent faiths, it was important to respect each religion, and, thereby, respect the plurality of
igious belief. If religion is important to one person, it is equally important to another person.
ople have a right to religion and culture. To deny one religious group its rights would be
democratic and unjust. And, to impose a majority religion on the minorities would be equally
democratic and unjust. But it was democracy and justice, and the rights to freedom and equality
anti-colonial struggle was fighting for. It was not only fighting for Independence from the Bri
t also struggling to establish justice and democracy in the country. And, the principle of democ
tated equality of all religions. This was Gandhiji’s contribution to the resolution of religious
nflict in India.
On the other hand, Pandit Nehru, India’s tallest leader and the first Prime Minister of the count
s profoundly uneasy with the kind of political passions that religious identities had the power
oke. For him, secularism meant something else altogether. A modem Nehru’s preferred notion
cularism was that of dharma nirpekshata or that the State would not be influenced by religious
nsiderations in enacting a policy. Debates in India have been polarized between those who
bscribe to the Nehruvian meaning of secularism as dharma nirpekshata, and those who subscr
the meaning that Gandhiji gave to the concept of sarva dharma sambhava. But Pandit Nehru c
t continue to believe that the domain of policy making could be separated or abstracted from th
igion, or indeed that religion could be banished from the political and the public sphere, for lo
e phenomenon of communal riots throughout the first four decades of the 20th century, particul
communal violence that accompanied the partition of the country in 1947, proved that religion
come an intrinsic part of political life. To ignore this would have been bad politics because th
litics would have been based on bad historical understanding. Pandit Nehru was, reluctantly,
ced to come to terms with this. Resultantly, his understanding of secularism came closer to the
tion of sarva dharma sambhava.
Pandit Nehru made his notion of secularism clear on various occasions. First, secularism did n
an a state where religion as such is discouraged. It means freedom of religion and conscience
luding freedom for those who may have no religion. 3 Second, for Nehru the word secular was
posed to religion. It is perhaps not very easy even to find a good word for “secular”. Some pe
nk that it means something opposed to religion. That obviously is not correct. What it means is
s a State which honours all faiths equally and gives them equal opportunities; that, as a State, i

es
In not
sum, allow itself tothe
for Nehru, beconcept
attachedoftothe one faith or
secular religion,
State carriedwhich three then becomes
meanings: ( a) the
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freedom religion
of relig
irreligion for all, (b) the State
8/18/2019 will India
Contemporary honour allSociety,
Economy, faithsPolitics
equally- Neeraand discriminate
Chandhoke, against none, and
Praveen Priyadarshi

t the State shall not be attached to one faith or religion which by that act becomes the State
igion. In effect, the meaning that secularism acquired in the Indian context, added one more
mension to its general concept: not only did it recognize the freedom of faith and ensured that it
uld not adopt any single religion, but it also assured equal treatment of all faiths.
This understanding has been reinforced in various ways, in the decisions of the judiciary for
tance. Former Chief Justice of India P B. Gajendragadkar interpreted secularism as: (a) the St

es not owe loyalty to one religion, (b) it is not irreligious or anti-religious, (c) it gives equal
edom to all religions, and (d) that the religion of the citizen should not interfere in the resoluti
cio-economic problems.5 Jacobsohn, who has carried out a close reading of the various argum
ered by the Supreme Court during the Bommai case in 1994, has isolated the dominant theme i
se arguments as ‘equal treatment of religions, often referred to in Indian tradition as sarva dha
mbhava…. In the same vein, Justice Sawant emphasised that “The State is enjoined to accord e
atment to all religions and religious sects and denominations”. It is a theme that was echoed by
stice Reddy, who literally underlines the point by declaring “ Secularism is…more than a pass
itude of religious tolerance. It is a positive concept of equal treatment of all religions”’.6
cordingly, the judges ruled that the destruction of the Babri Masjid by a mob, which had been
couraged in this task by the state government and BJP party officials, was a clear violation of t
ual-treatment principle. Secularism, ruled Justice Sawant, was a part of the basic structure and
ul of the Constitution, and it could not be infringed in any way. For these reasons, the court uph
dismissal of four state governments ruled by the BJR and the imposition of President’s rule in
se states.

Minority Rights
s worthwhile to note that the leadership of the freedom movement continued to hold fast to its
mmitment to secularism despite the fact that the country was partitioned ostensibly in the name
igion. Given the polarization of the Indian society, and given the massive massacres and the
utality that marked the partition of India, the leadership could easily have swung in the other
ection. But it refused to be swayed by popular passions, and remained bound by its commitme
t all religions in a post-Independence India would be treated equally by the State. It was not e
nsidered important that the concept of secularism polity should be spelt out in the Constitution
m was the commitment of Pandit Nehru and other leaders, to secularism. The word secular on
me to be inserted in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution in 1976.
It is also important to note that in the 1920s the project of fashioning secularism was accompa
an overlapping project; that minorities had the right to their own culture and religion. This
mmitment formed part of the Nehru Constitutional Draft of 1928, the Karachi Resolution of 19
d later documents issued by the Indian National Congress. Admittedly, the commitment to mino
hts like the commitment to secularism, initially stemmed from pragmatic considerations. The
ngress leaders, who were to draft the Nehru Constitutional Draft, approached the Muslim
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 oin the project of writingContemporary
8/18/2019 a Constitution for a Society,
India Economy, free India.
Politics -But
Neerathe Muslim
Chandhoke, League
Praveen was by that tim
Priyadarshi

mmitted to separate electorates, and the Congress rejected this idea. The alternative was to gra
minorities the special right to religion and culture. But in time, minority rights like secularism
came a commitment for those Congress leaders who dreamt of a society after Independence, in
hich all religious communities would be able to live without fear that they were in constant dan
being dominated by the majority. It also recognized that religion and culture are important for
dividuals, because religion and culture give them the resources, which help them to understand

rld, and their own position in the world. For these reasons, individuals have a right to their
igion. It was also thought that minorities should have special rights to their religion and cultur
cause they were, numerically speaking, weak. Majorities are capable of exercising brute powe
d vulnerable sections have to be protected against the exercise of this power.
On the surface, the partition of India signified the failure of the secular/ minority rights project
ngress leaders failed to convince the leadership of the Muslim League that the members of the
uslim community would be given equal citizenship rights as well constitutional protection to th
n religion in post-Independence India. But in another sense, the secular project can be conside
uccess. Despite the fact that the Constituent Assembly met in the shadow of the Partition, amid
de-scale rioting, massacres, and looting of property, and despite the fact that the country had b
rtitioned in the name of religion, the makers of the Constitution stood firm when it came to
ularism and minority rights.
For example, during the course of the deliberations in the Constituent Assembly, Mahavir Tya
Congress representative from the United Provinces, suggested that any consideration of minor
hts should be postponed until Pakistan’s stand on minorities became clear. To this, Dr Ambed
s to state resolutely that the
ghts of minorities should be absolute rights. They should not be subject to any considerations as to what another party may like
o to minorities within its jurisdiction. I think that the rights, which are indicated in Clause 18 are rights, which every minority
respective of any other consideration is entitled to claim. 7

the Constituent Assembly, the suggestion that religious minorities should be represented throug
parate electorates was dropped because Partition was seen as a consequence of the introductio
parate electorates. But the right of minorities to their own culture and the right to run their own
igious institutions was granted vide Article 29 but more importantly by Article 30 of the
ndamental Rights chapter. In sum, whereas Article 25 of part three of the Constitution, grants
dividual rights, Articles 29 and 30 recognize groups as bearers of rights. Today, political theo
ve begun to conceptualize minority rights as important parts of the democratic project, simply
cause minorities are defenceless against majorities, but in India this project was initiated in 19

Secularism in India
sum, the first principle of secularism that was codified in the Constitution carried the assuranc
eryone had the freedom to practise their religion via Article 25 of the Fundamental Rights chap
w, strictly speaking we do not need to proclaim secularism in order to grant religious 248/369
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freedom
 is freedom
8/18/2019can emerge from, and form
Contemporary a part of
India Economy, the Politics
Society, Fundamental Rights
- Neera Chandhoke, thatPriyadarshi
Praveen are assured to eve
izen. But a secular State cannot stop at granting the right to religion. The principle of secularis
es further and establishes equality between all religious groups. Dr Radhakrishnan, the former
esident of India, was to phrase this understanding thus:
We hold that no one religion should be given preferential status, or unique distinction, that no one religion should be accorded spe
rivileges in national life, or international relations for that would be a violation of the basic principles of democracy and contrary
he best interest of religion and government…. No group of citizens shall arrogate to itself rights and privileges which it denies to
thers. No person shall suffer any form of disability or discrimination because of his religion but all alike should be free to share

he fullest degree in the common life.8

w just as the freedom of religion does not necessarily need secularism to support it, equality o
igions can be established via the Fundamental Right of equality vide Article 14. But if we wer
p at this, secularism would be rendered unnecessary. For secularism extends beyond equality
edom to declare that the State is not aligned to any particular religion. It is this particular
mmitment that establishes the credentials of a secular State. Or secularism, we can say, promis
t the State would neither align itself with any particular religion—especially the majority relig
nor pursue any religious tasks of its own.
The second and the third component of secularism, that is equality of all religions, and the
tancing of the State from all religious groups, was specifically meant to assure the minorities t
y had a legitimate place in the country, and that they would not be discriminated against.
rrespondingly, secularism established that the majority group would not be privileged in any
nner. The creed, therefore, discouraged any pretension that the majority religion had any right
mp the body politic with its ethos. It was necessary to send a clear message to the majority
mmunity. For various elements of the Congress were openly seeking to associate the State with
jority religion. This had become more than evident during the rebuilding of the Somnath templ
der to counteract this particular trend, Nehru in 1951 stated that a secular State is one in which
ate protects all religions, but does not favour one at the expense of others and does not itself ad
y religion as the State religion. 9
Thus, the concept of secularism that emerged in India possesses three substantial components.
The State will not attach itself to any one religion, which will thereby establish itself as the State religion.
All citizens are granted the freedom of religious belief.
The State will ensure equality among religious groups by ensuring that one group is not favoured at the expense of the other
Correspondingly, the minorities will not be discriminated against in any way.

In retrospect, it is not surprising that secularism was attractive to the Indian leadership. Secula
d historically emerged in the West as a formula to put an end to the religious wars that had
vastated Europe in the 16th century. It was on the principle of secularism that communities that
ne to war over religion, and societies who had tortured the non-believers throughout the period
Inquisition, could learn to live together. India faced similar problems. The articulation of the
nciple of secularism: a principle that was strictly outside any particular identity was designed
ow people to live together in civility. This is what contemporary critiques of secularism seem
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 8/18/2019 The Crisis of Secularism
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

hruvian ideas triumphed for some time, but over time, the commitment of the Congress party to
use of the minorities was weakened. In the troubled days following Nehru’s death, the Econom
d Political Weekly was to sum up the political mood thus:
he rudest shocks come from the manner in which the government and the country are allowing themselves to be pushed off th
dge of secularism into the abyss of communal reaction; falling back to the frightening atavism of stagnant, dark and medieval e
f the Hindi speaking areas, the Madhya Desa which had witnessed ages ago the finest blossoming of Indian culture. It spells d
10
nd dank reaction.
These fears were not unfounded, because the later prime ministers of the country belonging to
ngress party were to openly play the Hindu card. In fact, in sharp contrast to Nehru’s own pos
d commitment to the norm, the Congress has been remarkably vacillating when it comes to
cularism. At times, individual members of the party have flagrantly violated the secular princip
e Congress has still not been able to establish that its leaders were not involved in the 1984
groms against the Sikh community despite ample proof to the contrary. And, recollect that in 1
Congress government at the centre remained mute and inactive as the Babri Masjid was razed
ground. And this is a party that does not uphold the cause of Hinduism like other parties whic
enly defend the majority religion.
In the 1980s, we were to witness a decisive shift in the discourse on secularism and communa
the country. This was precisely the moment when the project of Hindutva made its appearance
political stage in the shape of a struggle to build a Ram temple on the ground where the Babri
asjid stood. At the very time, India was accepting its integration into the world via globalizatio
d as it was opening up its borders to the world outside, sections of the society were seeking to
country inwards. This turning inward, back to some unspecified Hindu tradition, took the shap
peals to ideas of a ‘strong’ nation based on cultural purity and exclusiveness. But the same rhe
t sought to mobilize the country on the grounds of a ‘regenerated’ Hinduism served to exclude
norities from the definition of the nation. After all, if the nation is to be defined by the fact that
jority belong to the Hindu religion, those who do not subscribe to the religion cannot be an equ
rt of the nation. Aggressive cultural nationalism, is undesirably because it is exclusive, it exclu
ople who do not belong. On the other hand, minorities have organized themselves under the pl
religious leaders. Both groups have retreated from a common civic space, which at one point
me was painstakingly constructed by the leaders of the freedom struggle.

Secularism and Democracy

s secularism in India failed because it just does not possess the potential to prevent the recurr
deadly communal violence? Perhaps, our leaders do not take secularism seriously. The fault i
th secularism, it lies in the violation of secularism. Therefore, instead of attacking the concept
portant that we, as democratic citizens, strengthen secular practices and restore these practices
ir rightful place in collective thinking and practice. This is because secularism is invaluable f
y society that is composed of diverse groups, each of which subscribes to different belief
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 Secularism
8/18/2019 has been historically designed
Contemporary to regulate
India Economy, relationships
Society, Politics between
- Neera Chandhoke, the State and grou
Praveen Priyadarshi

ho subscribe to different religious persuasions. Towards this end, all groups are promised equ
treatment, and the State is not aligned to any religion. Correspondingly, no person, no matter w
igious denomination she or he may belong to, can be denied full citizenship rights on the groun
r or his religious affiliation. Equally, the right to benefit from the distribution of goods, such as
alth, education, a fair wage, and equal protection of the law cannot be withheld from any indiv
the same ground. The status and the rights of citizenship are simply abstracted from a person’s
iliations.
If this is so, and if the basic aim of secularism as it has historically developed in India is to se
uality of all religious denominations, the concept of secularism is derived from the principle o
mocratic equality. In fact, let me suggest that secularism gains meaning and substance only whe
ers to the principle of democratic equality. Logically, there is no reason why a society should
mmitted to secularism, unless it is committed beforehand to the concept of democratic equality
or commitment to the principle of equality is a condition for equality of all religious groups. I
e-requisite for secularism. In effect, unless a polity subscribes to the principle of equality, ther
thing that compels it to subscribe to secularism, nothing unless democratic equality has been
dified as the organizing principle of the polity. Conversely, the principle of secularism is justi
reference to democratic equality. The justification of secularism by referral to the principle o
mocratic equality carries four distinct advantages.
First, even if a government is not committed to secularism, it cannot but be committed to equal
mply because equality is a constituent feature of the Constitution. This by itself should lead to
uality of treatment of all religious groups, which is the first constituent principle of secularism
ect, what I am suggesting is that even if a particular government dismisses secularism, it is stil
und by secularism, because it is bound by the Constitution and the Constitution prescribes equ
rther, equality is a part of the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Constitution vide Article 14, a
such it forms a part of the basic structure of the Constitution that cannot be tampered with. Thi
uld mean that if a religious group is discriminated against, or if one religious group is given
ecial privileges because it is in a majority, such discrimination constitutes a violation of the
nstitution. And violation of the Constitution is punishable, because such an act violates the bas
w of the land.
Second, the right to practise one’s own religion, which is the second constituent principle of
cularism, is a fundamental and indivisible right. Rights by definition are equally granted to eac
dividual. It is important that individuals possess status in a polity, a status that is guaranteed by
ognition of individual rights. But more importantly, each individual has equal rights, and this
nciple is inviolable. The virtue of rights is not only that they grant status to each individual bu
cause they grant equal status to every individual. Equality is built into the very structure of righ
k. Therefore, if the individual right to religious belief, which forms an integral part of Article
Fundamental Rights chapter, is infringed in any manner, the Constitution itself is infringed. An
ce governments as well as groups in the civil society are bound by the Constitution, an
ringement of constitutional rights has to be punished.
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Third, the virtue of securing
8/18/2019 secularism
Contemporary by placing
India Economy, Society, it in the
Politics principle
- Neera Chandhoke,of equality
Praveen is that equality
Priyadarshi

elf guarantees that minorities are protected against majorities. Let me explain this point. Forma
uality means that everyone should be treated equally. Therefore, each individual is to have an
ice in the decisions that a society takes, and each individual decision counts equally. This is b
the norm of equality. However, it is also true that if opinions clash and the matter is put to vote
vitably the minority will lose out simply because the other group has numbers on its side.
erefore, whereas formal equality dictates that every individual has an equal voice in decision-
king, the decision itself registers only the opinions of those who are in a majority. The fundam
nciple of equality that each individual counts equally in the makings of the decision is thus
olated. That is why liberal democrats have always feared the brute force of the majority, for th
ute force tends to trample upon the rights of the minorities. After all, we can hardly hold that th
ht to equality is indispensable because it guards the equal rights of each individual, and then ta
ay those rights because the majority so ordains. The only solution is that majorities cannot be
owed to ride roughshod over the rights of the minorities. And, that the minorities are given spe
otection against the kind of brute force that majorities tend to exert. This is fundamental to libe
mocracy, and that is why liberal democrats control majority opinion by laying down constituti
nciples, particularly Fundamental Rights, that trump every rule that is predetermined by the
jority. If this is so, then the grant of minority rights vide Article 29 and Article 30 of the
ndamental Rights chapter of the Constitution is perfectly legitimate, simply because it protects
norities against majority opinions that may be violative of individual rights. Minority rights ar
cordingly not a violation of secularism as equality of all religions; they concretize the principl
uality of all persons irrespective of what a majority believes at a particular point in time.
There is a fourth advantage of locating secularism in the principle of democratic equality. Con
t the principle of democratic equality applies to all persons across the board and there are no
emptions to this rule. Therefore, equality is applicable to both inter-group as well as intra-grou
ations. Secularism on the other hand cannot be so generalised for one very good reason. It is m
regulate inter-group relations and not intra-group relations. But it is possible that within the gr
dividual members may be treated unjustly, and in fact deprived of their individual rights. The c
women s rights within religious communities can be cited as one such example.
The case of gender justice has become a politically explosive issue in India. After Independen
government through a process of social reform gave Hindu women rights through the enactme
Hindu Code Bill. But minorities were allowed to retain their personal codes. The reasons wh
norities were allowed to do so are complex.12 But in short, the acceptance that the Muslim and
ristian minority could continue to be governed by their personal laws in matters of adoption,
rriage, divorce, and inheritance, had to do with the political need to assure the Muslims who
mained in the country (and the number of Muslims who opted to remain in the country was far m
n the number of those who migrated to Pakistan) that their identities would not be dominated b
jority. Though Article 44 of the Directive Principles of State Policy stated that the governmen
ould enact a Uniform Civil Code in due course, the time has still not come for the realization o
rticular idea.
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Matters came to a head inContemporary
8/18/2019 the mid-1980s withSociety,
India Economy, the ShahPolitics Bano case. The
- Neera Chandhoke, casePriyadarshi
Praveen at hand was fairly
aightforward. Shah Bano, an elderly woman who had been divorced by her husband, appealed
High Court of Madhya Pradesh that her former husband should pay her maintenance under Se
5 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). According to this section, the former husband of a
vorced woman has to pay her maintenance if she is destitute, and if she possesses no means for
n survival for as long as she lives or until she remarries. The High Court ruled in favour of Sh
no. However, Shah Bano’s husband Ahmed Khan, moved the Supreme Court as an appellant o
ound that he was not obliged to pay his former wife maintenance beyond the traditional three-m
riod of iddat under Section 127 (3) of the CrPC. This section rules that if under the personal la
tain communities, certain sums were payable to women in the form of meher or dower agreed
he time of marriage, then this along with maintenance for the period of iddat released the husb
m further obligation. The Supreme Court in effect had to pronounce on the relation between
ction 125, and 127 (3) of the CrPC on the one hand, and the relationship between the CrPC and
rsonal laws on the other.
On 23 April 1985, a Supreme Court Bench under Chief Justice Chandra-chud confirmed the
dgement of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and stated that Article 125 of the CrPC overrides
rsonal laws, and that it is uniformly applicable to all women. The Court thus subordinated not
ction 127, 3(b), of the CrPC to Section 125 but also personal laws to the civil code. The Benc
o called upon the Government of India to enact a Uniform Civil Code under Article 44 of the
nstitution. Expectedly patriarchal leaders of the Muslim community and in particular the Ulem
posed the judgement on the ground that it constituted a disregard for the personal laws of the
uslim community which are based on the Shariat. The controversy became a major political
oblem as thousands of Muslims took to the streets to demonstrate against the judgement. Ultima
me Minister Rajeev Gandhi’s Congress government, then in power at the centre, in February 1
roduced a Bill in Parliament, which sought to exempt Muslim women from the protection prov
Article 125 of the CrPC. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Bill in essen
ncelled the right to maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC. The Bill was passed despite the f
t thousands of women’s groups had protested against the passage of the Bill, because it violat
rights of Muslim women.
The Hindu Right accused the Congress of practising pseudo-secularism because the party did n
nt to interfere in the internal affairs of the minority communities. But secularism cannot handle
ue, simply because it is not equipped to deal with intra-group relations, neither is it meant to d
cularism regulates relationships between groups. A better way to approach the issue is to look
mocracy and equality. If we grant equality of status to all religious groups and deny it to memb
the group, we violate the basic precepts of equality and thereby of the Constitution. We can on
ercome this problem by appealing beyond secularism to the principle of equality, from which
ularism is derived. If this is so; then the same argument that we apply to the question of inter-g
uality, should be capable of proving relevant for intra-group equality. To grant vulnerable grou
society special protection and withhold this protection from the vulnerable sections within the
oup will be both politically inconsistent as well as morally flawed. The same principle253/369
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uality8/18/2019
can thus give us an Contemporary
argument that appliesSociety,
India Economy, across the
Politics board
- Neera to groups
Chandhoke, Praveenin society and indiv
Priyadarshi

mbers within the group.

CONCLUSION

nally, why is secularism important and relevant for us? First, taking the violence that has occur
tween religious communities on numerous occasions into account; we have to think of ways th
ll allow Indian people to live in some measure of civility; that will compel people to respect t
hts of those who they consider to be different. For, unless we address this mindless spiral of
mmunal violence that threatens our society and our body politic, we will not be able to do any
e—earn our daily bread; enter into social relations based on affection and engagement; or eve
nk of eradicating poverty, homelessness, and disease. This answer cannot but lie in the directio
cularism. Second, secularism is a part of democracy, which grants to citizens equal rights. Thir
cularism protects democracy by laying limits on the power of the majority. Fourth, secularism
ll as minority rights, protect the equal rights of minorities. Secularism is in essence normative
refore desirable for a plural society like India.
We have to admit that despite worrying developments, and despite setbacks, secularism has
cceeded in institutionalizing a system of checks and balances in the Indian polity in the shape o
e press, human rights, gender, and civil society groups, and an active judiciary. The national p
ays a stellar role in exposing communal violence, and civil rights and civil society groups try t
t the perpetrators of violence are brought to court. Six years after the Gujarat carnage, commit
man rights activists are trying to bring these agents of violence to the courts, and trying to resur
Rs which had been suppressed by the police. Yet, as long as a single Indian citizen is threatene
mmunal violence, as long as a single woman is subjected to discriminatory patriarchal norms
cause the democratic project stops short at personal codes, and as long as otherwise sane
dividuals articulate prejudices against people who are our own, the secular and the democratic
oject is incomplete.
Let me now wrap up the argument. I have suggested that secularism needs to be urgently
engthened. Secularism has to be cast in a new mode; it has to be located theoretically and
actically in the principle of democratic equality. It has to be seen as both a logical outcome of
nciple of democratic equality and as legitimized by the principle of democratic equality. This
ch the following results. Even if a government or group in civil society does not consider itsel
und by secularism, it is certainly bound by the principle of equality, which is one of the consti
tures of our Constitution. Respect for Article 14, which prescribes equality, respect for Articl
hich gives the equal right of religious belief to all individuals, and respect for Article 29 and 3
hich in the pursuit of equality grants certain protections for minorities rights, may perchance le
cularism. Locating secularism in the principle of democratic equality has one further advantag
ght ensure that both inter-group as well as intra-group relations are regulated by the norms of
uality. We can perhaps serve the cause of secularism by shifting the ground for the debate and

viting those
ularism, to who
engage denywiththeconcepts
principles suchof secularism,
as equality, even rights, if and
theythedo Constitution.
not deny the rhetoric254/369
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of
 SUGGESTED READINGS
8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
rgava, Rajeev (ed.). Secularism and Its Critics. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997.
ssman, Brenda and Ratna Kapur. Secularism’s Last Sigh? New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999.
obsohn, Gary Jeffrey. The Wheel of Law: India’s Secularism in Comparative Constitutional Context. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2003.
aik, Achin. Communalism Contested: Religion, Modernity and Secularisation . Delhi: Vistaar, 1997.

QUESTIONS

1. Do you agree with the proposition that secularism is a part of democracy? Give reasons.
2. Why is secularism, in your opinion, appropriate for plural societies?
3. What kinds of practices pose a threat to secularism in India?
4. Write a short story essay on the history of secularism in India.
5. What is the relationship between secularism and minority rights?

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 8/18/2019 19
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Contemporary Debates on Nationalism

Mohinder Singh

bindranath Tagore, who inspired many leaders of the Indian nationalist movement and who him
ively participated in it, wrote three essays intensely criticizing nationalism during the First W
ar. In one of these essays titled ‘Nationalism in India’, Tagore called nationalism a ‘menace’.1
ll appear very surprising to many, particularly to those who consider nation and nationalism to
ven and natural condition of human political community. For instance, when this fact is told to
dents in an undergraduate classroom, they usually react with utter disbelief. How can Tagore
ticize nationalism? This is perhaps because the most prevalent view in the popular perception
t although there can be many ways of organizing a nation and living as a nation, nation form is
ly available mode of political existence. As a result, nationalism is unquestionably considered
od thing, the legitimacy of which cannot be questioned. The success of the ideology of nationa
s made nationalism ubiquitous because of which it exerts a stronghold over the minds of the pe
around the world. Under these circumstances, the knowledge that Tagore, one of the leading l
the Indian freedom struggle, wrote a powerful critique of nationalism is not easily palatable.
The research in history and social sciences in the last three decades have questioned these
umptions by throwing critical light on the idea and practice of nationalism. There is now a gen
nsensus among scholars that nationalism in India originated in the 19th century and is a historic
oduct of the circumstances created by colonialism.2 In case of the European nationalism also, i
reed that nations originated in the modem age, mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. 3 In both c
emphasis is on the nation being a product of the modern age and a specifically modern politic
ncept. In other words, the emphasis is on establishing the historicity of the idea of nation.
nfusion usually occurs because this historicity is very different from the histories nations like
ve themselves, tracing their origins back to the remote past. To tackle this problem, scholars ha

ggested that for a better understanding of the phenomenon of nationalism, it is better to stand ou
autobiographies nations give to themselves. 4 These are some of the academic questions relev
understanding contemporary debates on nationalism in India.
On the political front, many important developments took place in India in the last two decade
ve brought the question of meaning and nature of Indian nationalism to the forefront once again
the most important events of this period is the rise of communal Hindu nationalism in India. A
tained campaign launched by a group of Hindu right wing political and cultural organizations
the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in December, 1992. This event challenged the

itimacy of the secular nationalism enshrined in the Constitution and also symbolized a 256/369
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crisis o
cular 8/18/2019
nationalism in India.Contemporary
The contemporary
India Economy, debates on- nationalism
Society, Politics Neera Chandhoke,in IndiaPriyadarshi
Praveen are dominated by
ute awareness of this crisis. Thus, two questions dominate the contemporary debate on nationa
India. The first is a simple question: what form should Indian nationalism take? The second
estions the very legitimacy of the idea of nationalism and asks whether nationalism creates a
sirable political community. The question that has always been raised in the discourse on Indi
ionalism and which is still asked is this: Is India a nation at all?
As noted earlier, the story of nationalism in India goes back to the 19th century when the anti-

onial freedom struggle began. From its inception, there have been debates on the nature and
aning of Indian nationalism. If a nation is usually defined as a community based on the
mmonality of culture, language, ethnicity, history and political destiny, then India from the very
ginning faced a major problem as it is a land of immense religious, linguistic and cultural
versities. For these reasons, articulating an idea of Indian nation was a very difficult task from
ginning, a task fraught with pitfalls and huge risks as it became clear with the eventual Partitio
itish Indian territories that gave birth to not one but two nations: India and Pakistan. In order to
derstand the idea of Indian nationalism, it must be asked who is an Indian and what constitutes
re of the identity that an Indian gives to himself/herself. We will begin our inquiry into the deb
Indian nationalism with this question.

THE QUESTION: WHO IS AN INDIAN?

e of the ways of understanding the concept of ‘nation’ is by trying to understand in what ways
ions respond to human beings’ need to have an identity. Who am I? This question, which huma
ngs confront many times in their lives, can be answered in different ways. We can answer this
estion by referring to one’s language, religion, caste, region, gender, profession, or nationality
swers to this question refer to one’s sense and sources of identity. In other words, there are va
urces from which a person can derive his/her identity: religion, gender, region, language,
ofession, nationality, etc. And many identities can exist in a person at the same time. For examp
e person can be a Christian, Malayalam speaking, and an Indian at the same time. There is no n
attach importance to any one of the identities over other. Yet, our different identities become
nificant in different contexts. For example, when we are abroad, we (i. e. the Indians) usually
ntify ourselves as Indians. In such contexts our nationality becomes important because most of
eigners may not know about all the cultural, religious, regional, and linguistic diversity that
evails within India, whereas in India, particularly in the big cities, we are more conscious of o
guistic and regional identity.5
In spite of the presence of so many sources of identities, human beings are capable of going be
these particular sources and relate to each other as simply human beings with a belief that all
man beings are equally dignified. As we mentioned above, a nation is one of the sources of ide
a person. What is the meaning of nation as a source of one’s identity? What does it mean when
y that we are Indians? Does it simply mean that we are citizens of a nation-state called India an

nnstitution
legitimately hold guarantees
of India an Indian passport.
all those This is certainly
people who are bom true inin aIndia
veryandimportant
who aresense
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because
naturalized
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a set of FundamentalContemporary
Rights along with other
India Economy, Society, rights, andChandhoke,
Politics - Neera of course a right
Praveen to hold an India
Priyadarshi

ssport. But the problem with this answer is that it is tautological, which means that it’s like say
n Indian is an Indian, who is a citizen of Indian nation-state.’ As we know, the nation-state call
dia came into existence in 1947. But there certainly existed Indian nationalism before 1947 and
ionalism was based on the claim that there existed a nation called India for which Independen
m colonial rule was demanded. Is there then any other, and stronger, sense of defining the sen
ng an ‘Indian’? All the versions of Indian nationalism claim that there is this stronger sense of

ng an Indian. The historical and contemporary debates on Indian nationalism are centred on w
s ‘sense’ is. We need to go into the historical background of Indian nationalism in order to loc
swers to these questions.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: COLONIALISM AND THE EMERGENCE OF INDIAN NATIONALISM

nation is usually defined as a political community with a shared history, culture, and a sense o
litical goals. By definition, nations are supposed to be culturally homogeneous. Or at least wh
imed on their behalf. The main question then in the Indian context is: if India is a nation, then h
we understand the shared history, culture, and a sense of political destiny of the ‘Indians’? Th
a broad consensus among historians that the idea of a nation, the sense of national identity, and
ionalism in India emerged very recently in history, and they are all products of political and
tural response by the English educated middle-class intelligentsia to the colonial rule.6
tionalism emerged as a reaction against and as a challenge to colonialism. Sunil Khilnani in h
ok, The Idea of India, writes:
After all,] before the nineteenth century, no residents of the subcontinent would have identified themselves as Indian. There ex
ntricate, ramified vocabularies of common understanding, which classified people by communities of lineage, locality and sect; b
Indian” would not have figured among its terms.7

Let us try to understand the meaning of Khilnani’s statement by reading it in the following mann
residents of the subcontinent before the 19th century could give themselves identities based o
igion, locality, caste, lineage, etc. because it was possible for them to do that and there was a
such identities. But they could not give themselves the national identity of being an Indian be
re was neither the need for such an identity nor was it possible to do so. If we first elaborate th
tors that led to the emergence of the Indian nationalism in the 19th century, we can understand
need for identifying oneself as an ‘Indian’ for a resident of the subcontinent were absent.
For an effective struggle to be possible against colonialism it was necessary to have an effecti
work of communication so that people from different regions of India could establish political
ks among themselves. There were certain conditions created by the colonial government that m
ch a unity at the level of the Indian subcontinent possible. The first condition was that the colon
vernment established a single unified administration for the whole country for an efficient
lection of revenue and for effective governance. It also provided a legal unity by creating a si
al system for the entire British India. The new means of transport and communication such as t

lways, postmuch
tish India and telegraph,
closer to each newspapers
other than and magazines
they had everalso been.helped in bringing of
The introduction
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various regions
English medi
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ucation also led to the emergence
8/18/2019 ofIndia
Contemporary a new middle
Economy, Society, class—the English Praveen
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, educated middle class. T
Priyadarshi

w education system also brought the educated Indians in contact with the modern political theo
d ideas of the post-Enlightenment Europe like equality, rule of law, self- determination, liberty
ove all the idea of nationalism. Even more significant was the fact that English became the com
dium in which the political leaders of different regions like Maharashtra, Bengal, Madras, Un
ovince, and Punjab communicated and in which they articulated their politics.
The importance of the English language for early nationalist politics can be judged from the fa
8
t it was the lingua franca of the Indian National Congress in its early phase. Similarly, the
ergence of literary modes of communication like newspapers and magazines both in English an
dian vernaculars played a significant role in spreading the feeling of anti-colonial nationalism
oss the subcontinent. The vernacular newspapers particularly helped in taking the politics of
ionalism beyond the confines of the English educated elites. 9 The resultant anticolonial movem
leadership of which was provided by the members of the English educated classes, was launc
d carried forward in the name of and on behalf of the Indian nation. The task of imagining India
ion also fell to the leaders and the thinkers of the nationalist movement. There were many pos
ys in which India as a nation could be imagined, elaborated, and defined. And many competin
ernatives also appeared in the course of the freedom struggle and after Independence. These
ernative perspectives presented different conceptions of nationalism, national history and natio
ture.10 One of the chief concerns of the debates on nationalism in India today too revolves aro
competing conceptions of national history and national culture.

Nationalism, History, and Culture

e history of a nation is an essential part of the nationalist project since by definition, a nation i
derstood as a community of people with a shared history. This was no different in the case of
dian nationalism. Thus, the genealogy of the nationalist historiography in India can also be trac
ck to the 19th century.11 It is generally accepted that history writing, both as a modem academi
cipline and as a thing of political use is a result of this profound rupture that British colonialis
oduced in colonized peoples modes of organizing time. Despite having a venerable written cul
ith its family genealogies, dynastic chronicles, histories of castes and religious sects, biograph
holy men), Indian ways of narrating the past were discounted by British historians. The coloni
torians, instead, wrote their own history of India. Knowledge of India and its past were an
ential part of the project of colonial domination. The European historians first began to carry o
earch into India’s past in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The colonial histories of India
ring this period mainly took two forms: the liberal and the orientalist histories. The liberals
ogantly deified the modem West and denigrated India’s past. The main emphasis in the orienta
holarship was on discovering greatness and glory of the ancient past of India. The European
torians introduced a tripartite division into the study of Indian history.12 According to this
erpretation, after the glorious ancient age there was a period of dark age identified with the M
e until the coming of the British. The main purpose of this strategy was to establish legitimacy
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 colonial rule. EuropeansContemporary
8/18/2019 historicalIndia
prejudices against
Economy, Society, Islam
Politics - Neera also fed into
Chandhoke, this
Praveen image of history
Priyadarshi

The Indians started writing the history of the country as a reaction against the foreign, particula
liberal, interpretation of the Indian past. The basis of this development was the desire to claim
st that was not distorted by such interpretations. But at the same time the methodological
umptions underlying these histories were the same as those of the colonial historiography. It
rticularly borrowed the basic orientalist notions about India’s past. Indian nationalism and the
iting of the Indian history developed in close connection and helped the flourishing of each oth
e most important feature of the 19th century nationalist history writing is that in this stage of th
velopment of historical and national consciousness the historians [mostly of the Hindu high cas
gin] tended to present the coming of the colonial rule as a boon for the country, as an event tha
erates the Hindus from the darkness of the Muslim rule. As we can see, already at the formativ
ge of historical consciousness in India, the sense of self and identity is based on religious
mmunity.14
The Hindu middle class intelligentsia blamed the corruption in the Hindu society on its long hi
subjection to Muslim rule. Thus begins the replication of the three-stage schema in the writing
tory: beginning (Hindu rule), middle (Muslim rule) and modem (Christian rule) first introduce
colonial historians of India like James Mill whose History of British India was very influen
formation of early discourse on history in India. 15 As a result of the combined effect of all the
tors the construction of prejudices against the Muslims begins. The period of ‘Muslim rule’ w
esented as a time of despotism, misrule and anarchy. The images of the Muslim and Islam are
nstructed in such a way that the Muslim is always named as the foreigner and aggressor.16 As w
all see shortly, there is one strand of nationalism that still identifies the history of India with th
tory of one religion community.
From the beginning of nationalism in India, therefore, there has always existed the problem of
lusion and exclusion of various communities into the entity called nation. The problem can be
ted in these terms: if the shared history and shared culture of the nation [and nation by definitio
ust have both] is based on the history and culture of one religious community, then the other
igious communities get excluded from the membership of the nation; if on the other hand, all th
igious communities are to have equal stake in the nation and its destiny, then the history and cu
the nation have to be discovered in some other, non-religious or secular way. This obviously
ected the inter-community relation during the colonial and post-colonial phase. From the late 1
ntury onwards, there have been various competing political constructs of Indian nationhood.17
mong these competing versions, there were two major interpretations of Indian nationalism: the
s communal nationalism and the second was secular nationalism. Both these strands of nation
ve played an important role in Indian politics for the last 100 years.

Nation and Religious Communities: Communal and Secular Versions of Nationalism in Indi
ndu nationalism in contemporary India is a variant of communal nationalism since it seeks to g
vileges to the Hindu religious community and identifies national history and culture with
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and culture understood exclusively
Contemporary from the
India Economy, perspective
Society, Politics - Neera of the Hindu
Chandhoke, community.
Praveen Priyadarshi In
ntemporary India, communal interpretation of nationalism is one of the many ways in which In
a nation is understood. It is particularly important to understand the politics of communal
ionalism or communalism as it has led to many tragic consequences for Indian politics and so
the last 100 years including the Partition of the country in 1947, the demolition of the Babri M
December 1992, and countless Hindu-Muslim riots that have taken place during this period. In
dia, the roots of communal nationalism go back to the 19th century and it is intimately linked w

specific question of nationalism in India. As we have noted above, to link the identity of Indi
ion with the identity of a particular religious community was one of the possible ways of imag
nation. How did this possibility play out in actual politics?
Two versions of communal nationalism were present during the freedom movement: Hindu and
uslim. The anti-colonial nationalism in India gained momentum during the Swadeshi movemen
ainst the partition of Bengal in 1905. During this agitation many leaders of the movement,
rticularly the leaders of the extremist faction of the Indian National Congress, started to make u
ndu religious festivals and symbols for the political purpose of mobilizing the masses against
onial rulers. The leaders of the swadeshi movement like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpa
o popularized the image of history in which the pre-colonial history of India was presented in
way that it became a history of conflict of communities and contained a negative representation
Muslims.18 The kind of history of India that we discussed in the last section came to be
seminated in the public sphere of political mobilization. This interpretation of the Indian histo
esented historical figures such as Shivaji and Rana Pratap as the heroes of Hindu resistance to
dieval Muslim tyranny. There were also many incidents of the Hindu-Muslim communal riots
ring this period of the anti-colonial agitation.
Meanwhile, a new sense of community identity was developing among the educated Muslims f
second half of the 19th century onwards. The English educated intelligentsia among the Musli
came concerned about some things related to the situation of the Muslims in India when they so
speak on behalf of the Muslims of India. These things were: the colonial census—which was b
religion as a category of enumeration—and told them of the ‘minority’ status of Muslims in B
dia compared with the Hindu ‘majority’; the Muslims were generally lagging behind the Hindu
articularly the upper castes) in the field of education and government jobs; the nationalism of th
dian National Congress under the leadership of the extremists was alienating the Muslim sectio
population. At the same time, the newly emerging politics of representation, where numbers
ttered, was making the educated Muslims acutely aware of the status of Muslim community as
inority’. This particular concern can be seen in Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan’s speech in the Gover
neral’s council where he said: The larger community would totally override the interests of th
aller community.19 It had many consequences. On the one hand, the educated Muslim leadersh
ked towards the British government for safeguarding the interests of the Muslim community. T
ucated Muslims floated a political party parallel to the Indian National Congress and named it
l Indian Muslim League in December 1906. One of the main demands of the Muslim League w
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Accordingly,
8/18/2019 the historiography of Hindu
Contemporary nationalism
India Economy, reduces
Society, Politics the complex,
- Neera Chandhoke, multiple and varie
Praveen Priyadarshi

tories of the Indian subcontinent to a narrow conflict of religious communities, basically to Hi

uslim conflict in the past. In constructing the history of India, the historiography of Hindu
ionalism closely follows the tripartite division of Indian history into Ancient, Medieval, and
odem discussed in the previous section. The main motif of the Hindu nationalist historiography
t it ceaselessly paints the picture of Muslims as the main villain of Indian history. According t
anendra Pandey, the Hindu communal historiography reduces all of India’s past to two
opositions. First is the glory of pre-Muslim or Ancient India; and second is the argument that th
rk period of Indian history and all the troubles of Indian history start with the coming of the
uslims to the subcontinent.31 It presents Indian history as a ‘history of perpetual Hindu-Muslim
nflict, Muslim aggression and Hindu resistance, Good versus Evil, the pure versus the Impure.
This history stubbornly refuses to recognize any contribution made by the Muslims to India’s a
ture, music, literature etc. and it systematically vilifies all the Muslim figures from the history
Indian subcontinent. Be it Akbar, Aurangzeb, Syed Ahmed Khan, Dara Shikoh, Maulana Azad
y other figure, they are all presented as the incarnations of evil by virtue of their very being the
lowers of Islam. In this way, no Muslim historical figure, no Muslim cultural or religious sym
ds any place in the conception of Indian culture as conceived by the Hindutva version of
ionalism except as negative and impure elements contaminating the pure, inner core of the Ind
ture which is of course made of Hindu ethos.33 The political agendas of contemporary Hindut
ovement such as the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya at the site of the demolished B
sque, repealing of Article 370, and Hinduization of the Indian culture, education, and politics
imately connected with this image of history. Quite consistent with their narrow communal
erpretation of history, the supporters of Hindu nationalism believe that the ‘Indian nation can o
reinvigorated when its rightful proprietors, the Hindu majority, resurrect a strong sense of
ndutva (Hinduness).’34

Secular Nationalism
against communal nationalism, secular nationalism in India is bom of a desire to construct an
ntity of Indian nationhood that recognizes the immense diversity that prevailed in India: the
versities of religion, sect, language, caste, regions etc. Secular nationalism thus promotes an id
dia that is acceptable to the different sections of the Indian society and in which all can share. T
basic idea is the idea of ‘unity in diversity’. From the very beginning of the nationalist politics
a of the nation constituted by diversity has been present. Mukul Kesavan, for instance, has arg
t the Indian National Congress from its very inception understood itself as a ‘self-consciously
presentative assembly of Indians from different parts of India.’35 From the beginning the Congr
dership sought to bring together diverse sections of the population on a common platform on th
enda of anti-imperialism. In the first phase of the Congress politics, it tried to create a sentimen
ity by highlighting the adverse economic impact of colonialism. 36
Yet ithttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
was only in the 1920s that an influential section of the Congress leadership started to
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8/18/2019 of secular
Contemporary India nationalism. Here- Neera
Economy, Society, Politics it should be clearly
Chandhoke, noted that the wo
Praveen Priyadarshi

cular had a special meaning in the Indian historical context. As Sumit Sarkar has argued in his
the politics of Hindutva, secular in this context basically meant anti-communal strand of
ionalism that based its idea of nationalism on the prior recognition of cultural diversity along
ecognition of the need to have an idea of one common culture.37 How to discover a common c
the face of so much diversity? This was a difficult task as it included the discovery of a culture
uld be non-sectarian, non-communal and inclusive. Jawaharlal Nehru’s Discovery of India is

ually considered the foundational text of secular nationalism wherein the Indian history is told
rrative of composite culture and unity in diversity.38
In Nehru’s Discovery of India , pluralism, syncretism, tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and
mposite culture appear as the main motifs. In this narrative, the heroes of Indian history too are
ry different figures than those foregrounded in the communal interpretation. They are all syncre
ures: Ashoka, Kabir, Nanak, Akbar, and Gandhi. They come from different religious communi
d tend to promote ideas of peaceful coexistence, unity of mankind, tolerance etc. Nehru also ha
ry different image, different from the communal version, of how the external interferences affe
Indian civilization. This is the quintessential image of ancient Indian that we get: ‘Ancient Ind
e ancient China, was a world in itself, a culture and a civilization which gave shape to all thin
reign influences poured in and often influenced that culture and were absorbed. Disruptive
dencies gave rise immediately to an attempt to find a synthesis. Some kind of dream of unity h
cupied the mind of India since the dawn of civilization. That unity was not conceived as somet
posed from outside, a standardization of beliefs. It was something deeper and within its fold, t
dest tolerance of belief and custom was practiced and every variety was acknowledged and ev
couraged.’39
The Nehruvian idea of the Indian national identity as based on composite and pluralist cultural
ditions was shared by many important leaders within and outside the Congress. Similar
erpretations of the Indian history and culture were promoted by influential leaders and activist
Congress Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India. This group of politicians also sou
relegate the role of religion to the non-political, private sphere. They believed that religion co
t play any important role in the political affairs of a modem society.40 Although Mahatma Gand
d not promote the separation of religion from politics, he also helped in promoting a pluralist
ional identity for Indian nationhood. 41 The same concept of pluralist and composite culture wa
omoted by prominent Muslim leaders not only in the Congress like Abul Kalam Azad but also
cialist and Communist parties. Thus, during the last two decades of the freedom movement, ma
der the influence of Gandhi and Nehru, a pluralist identity for the Indian nationhood emerged a
ong contender if not the dominant model. This stream of politicians promoted the struggle for
edom in India as a struggle for a secular republic where all of India’s inhabitants were entitled
e, irrespective of religious denomination.42
The events such as the partition, the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by a communal fanatic,

ergence of Nehru as the topmost leader of the Congress and the Prime Minister of the Interim
vernment provided the political background against which the post-Independent Indian 265/369
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secularism as the principle ofIndia
Contemporary State policy.
Economy, But
Society, the- Neera
Politics ideaChandhoke,
of secularism that was enshrined
Praveen Priyadarshi

Constitution and that which was practised was quite different. It was also different from the
ssical notion of secularism as a wall of separation between religion and State as practised in
A. Indian secularism was based on a much more modest idea according to which if the State h
al with religious communities, it would deal with them on the basis of symmetry of treatment
tween different communities. It was an idea of secularism based on neutrality and equidistance
ate with respect to religious communities.43 The problem of the other important diversity of Ind
mely, the linguistic diversity, was addressed with the adoption of federalism. Similarly, variou
her political aspirations of the Indian masses were sought to be accommodated by the instrumen
mocratic governance with universal franchise.44

Indian Nationalism: Critical Perspectives

hould be clear from the discussion above that the secular pluralist version of the Indian
ionalism is an inclusive and reconciliatory view in contrast to the exclusive and communal ve

esented by the Hindu

igious, ethnic, nationalist
and linguistic view. Theinsecular
communities pluralist
its definition of version seeks toThe
Indian identity. accommodate var
image of Indi
tory foregrounded by this version is also much more inclusive of India’s diversity in comparis
th the image of history presented by Hindu nationalism emphasizing basically the narrative of
ndu-Muslim conflict in the past. It must also be recognized here that the political vision that
pires the secular- pluralist construction of the Indian identity and the corresponding image of
tory is morally far superior to the one driving the Hindu nationalist notion of the Indian identity
wake of the general escalation of violence against minorities in India that accompanied the ri

ndutva it should not be difficult to see that the logic of Hindu nationalism like all exclusive
ionalisms leads to the imperative of ethnic cleansing. There have been too many such incident
recent past to ignore this danger. As we stated in the beginning of this essay, such events indi
risis of secular nationalism in India. In the wake of this historical predicament, many scholars
ently argued in favour of a need to go beyond the secular-communal dichotomy in understandi
dian nationalism. Thus, there have appeared many important critiques of Indian nationalism as
en interpreted so far. Some of them will be outlined briefly in the rest of the essay.
One line of criticism, while defending the need for a secular pluralist framework, Indian polity
estioned the construction of India’s past in both communal and secular historiography. They ha
gued that none of these historiographies presents the true picture of the relationship between
igious communities in India. They argue that both these versions of India’s past, secular no les
n communal, have been guilty of a selective reading of events from history. In Indian history, i
ssible to find incidents of sectarian conflicts between religious groups as well as incidents of
ncretism, harmonious relations and mutual influence of different religious cultures. As an exam
this approach, Sanjay Subramanyam, in a recent essay on medieval history, has recounted inci
sectarian conflicts—between Hindus and Muslims, between Shaivaite and Vaishnavaite sects
struction of temples by Muslim rulers, destruction of temples by Hindu rulers, desecration
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of
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aces of worship by both Hindus
8/18/2019 andIndia
Contemporary Muslims—sometimes forChandhoke,
Economy, Society, Politics - Neera politicalPraveen
and Priyadarshi
material reasons, b
metimes purely for the reasons of religious zeal and fanaticism.45 It follows from this that any
ding of India’s past from a nationalist perspective is not possible without gross distortion.
nversely, and more importantly, any derivation of India’s national identity from its past history
ll remain contested.
There is a second line of criticism, according to which, from its very inception Indian national
s always contained an idea of a ‘core’ in its definition in the sense that some category of peopl

ve been understood as more natural and important members than others. To be more specific,
dian nationalism, even in its secular-pluralist versions has always had overtones of majoritaria
d it has been a ‘majoritarian nationalism’ in a liberal garb.46 As the first articulation of Indian
ionalism historically was done by the members of Hindu intelligentsia, it has always been
companied by an ‘unself-conscious majoritarian conviction that there was no contradiction bet
indu’ and ‘Indian’ identities.’47 Gyanendra Pandey has argued in an essay ‘Citizenship and
fference: The Muslim Question in India’ that around the time of partition such identification of
ndu identity with the Indian identity became even more emphatic in political discourse so muc
t Hindus were given the status of the ‘natural’ citizens of India. Pandey writes: ‘For the Hindu
t a constituent [of the nation]. They are the nation, the ‘we’ who demand cooperation from the
norities, the ‘us’ that the Muslims have to learn to live with. Like the land and the trees, the riv
d the mountains, these invisible Hindus are the nation’s natural condition, its essence and spiri
eir culture is the nation’s culture, their history its history.’48
Such majoritarian assumptions of nationalism have been present not merely in the lower and
ddle level leadership of the Congress but reached the highest levels of the party. Leaders like
lllabhbhai Patel and Madan Mohan Malviya always promoted majoritarian tendencies within
ngress.49 Such assumptions have been recently shown to be very much present in Nehru’s
scovery of India , a very important document of secular nationalism in India. 50 Reflecting on th
ng history of majoritarian tendencies of Indian nationalism G. Balachandran writes: ‘Far from
cisively engaged and defeated, majoritarian nationalism in India has been able to preserve itse
tructural feature of the system, cloaked in passivity, as long as avenues for rapid employment
obility existed or the Unitarian political order was not under any palpable threat, by the rhetori
lding a strong, independent, self-reliant nation, but reappearing, once these avenues ceased or
ntralization of power at the centre was challenged, as an attractive alternative to any meaningfu
empt to reckon and deal with deep cleavages within Indian society.’ 51 The kind of self-assuran
th which legal reforms such as Hindu Code Bill were passed in Parliament also exposes the
joritarian assumptions of nationalism in India.
This critique strikes at the very root of Indian nationhood and points out the impossibility of a
lusive definition of India as a nation. Recently Pratap Bhanu Mehta has strongly argued that su
est for finding a clear cut definition of the Indian identity is indeed not possible without
rginalizing, or even putting at risk, some sections of Indians. Mehta argues that this happens
52
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of the obsession with benchmarking an essential identity for the Indian nation. This
session with benchmarking an identity for India or attempt to answer the question Who267/369 is an
dian?8/18/2019
in the strong culturalContemporary
sense hasIndia
been present
Economy, inPolitics
Society, both- Neera
secular and communal
Chandhoke, versions of In
Praveen Priyadarshi

ionalism. For Mehta the way out lies in giving up this quest entirely and in looking for ways o
knowledging our differences and in living to learn with these differences in politically accepta
ys. In Mehta’s words:
olitically what India needs is not a new conception of Indian identity, one that emphasizes pluralism and compositeness. Rather
what we need is a social contract over how we may respect and interact with those with whom we disagree about India’s identi
We don t need to ask; what do we share? Rather we need to ask: what are the terms on which we relate to those with whom w
isagree? The challenge is not to find what we share; the challenge is to find ways of acknowledging difference. 53

we recall, in this context, the question we posed in the beginning of this essay Who is an Indian
ehta is arguing that the very quest for answering this question in the stronger sense is a trap—a
ntity trap.54 According to this conception, an Indian is an Indian. No need to ask any further w
ans. At the same time, an Indian is also a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Punjabi, Bengali,
anipuri, and many more things.55

SUGGESTED READINGS

ua, Sanjib. India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001.
u, Kaushik and Sanjay Subramanyam (eds.). Unravelling the Nation: Sectarian Conflict and India’s Secular Identity . Ne
Delhi: Penguin Books, 1996.
m Hansen, Thomas. The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India . New Delhi: Oxford Univers
ress, 2004.
tterjee, P artha. The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories, in The Partha Chatterjee Omnibus.
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999.
an, Mushirul (ed.). Will Secular India Survive? New Delhi: Imprint One, 2004.
viraj, Sudipta. ‘The Imaginary Institution of India’. In Partha Chatterjee and Gyanendra Pandey (eds.). Subaltern Studies: Vo
New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1992.
avan, Mukul. Secular Common Sense . New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2001.
lnani, Sunil. The Idea of India . New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2004.
dey, Gyanendra (ed.). Hindus and Others: The Question of Identity in India Today . New Delhi: Viking, 1993.
kar, Sumit. ‘Indian Nationalism and the Politics of Hindutva’. In David Ludden (ed.), Mak ing India Hindu: Religion, Commu
nd Politics of Democracy in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996.

QUESTIONS

1. Analyse the ongoing debates on the nature of Indian nationalism.

2. Elaborate the ideological tenets on which Indian nationalism was constructed during the nationalist struggle.
3. How do you understand the emergence of Hindu nationalism in contemporary India? Make a distinction between secular In
nationalism and Hindu nationalism.
4. What are the major challenges to nationalism in India according to you? How, according to you, can these challenges be
negotiated?

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Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Dimensions of Indian Federalism

Rajesh Kumar

INTRODUCTION

s not uncommon to hear the states rail against the Centre for paltry financial handouts. For inst
hen the Tenth Plan and Eleventh Finance Commission sought to address the issue of poverty,
gional disparity and high population growth by enhancing financial allocations to the states in t
rth, the states in the South murmured amongst themselves that they were being penalized for
naging things better. In the current times, one may realize, representatives of political parties r
President more frequently to protest against the governor’s dismissal of governments formed
ir parties in the states. They term this as ‘undemocratic’ and a gross ‘constitutional violation’.
ell, this is Indian federalism at work, exhibiting its dynamism as well as contradictions.
If federalism in India is working in such a way, then there is a reason to be concerned. This is
cause, it was adopted as a principle and institutional arrangement for governing a large and so
turally and territorially diverse country that India is. One may sceptically ask: Why does
deralism work in India the way it does? How and why has the present constitutional federal
ucture come into being? What does it mean in the contemporary times when voices for separat
d secession have gained ground especially in the Nagainhabited areas in the North East and Ja
d Kashmir? Does the demand for and creation of new territorially reorganized states address a
ve the problems of federal arrangement? Or, more bluntly, is federalism worthwhile as a conc
the present context when ethnic resurgence world wide is getting political expression in violen
ms?
However, it is significant to note that the arrangement of a polity on federal principles still hol
omise for some violence-torn multi-ethnic political communities. Take the case of Sri Lanka w
ederation recognizing the rights of self-governance of different ethnic groups is being propose
is arrangement is being advocated as a solution to end its more than two decade- long conflict
tween the LTTE demanding for a separate statehood and the government refusing to yield anyth
ore than an ‘autonomous’ status to Tamil-dominated areas in the north and the east over which t
TE exercises its de facto jurisdiction.
The institutionalization of federal principles in India should be understood in terms of the pecu
eds of India as a ‘post-colonial’ society. Though, democracy and federalism are not synonymo
case of India, it has been made so by the makers of the Constitution, as they thought, this wou
ssibly take care of the socio-cultural diversity of India. However, over the years, the working

deralism has not been true to its promise. Without difficulty it can be understood that there has
mething wrong in the way it has worked. The states have been complaining constantly of
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otherly treatment and secessionist
8/18/2019 demands
Contemporary and
India Economy, politics
Society, Politicsof violence
- Neera in Praveen
Chandhoke, some Priyadarshi
areas has seen a
markable rise. The theoretical desire to fiise democracy and federalism, it seems, has not trans
ncretely into practice. A mere territorial ‘sharing of sovereignty’ and ‘distribution of resource
s proved to be insufficient. The possible solution, then?
Federalism still is a workable institutional arrangement for pluralistic societies. Federal syste
based upon a compromise between unity and social, ethnic and regional diversity, between th
ed for an effective central power and also the need for checks or constraints on that power.
wever, the need is to strengthen the link between democracy and federalism by extending the r
‘share in sovereignty’ to different groups and communities with adequate respect to their histo
d traditions.
The structurally federal India, in view of these aspects in contemporary times, needs to transfo
cordingly. This chapter first discusses the theoretical aspects of federalism as an institutional
angement. It then traces the historical origins of federalism in India. A brief discussion of the
ovisions of the Constitution which designates India a federation as well as the innovative
ovisions follows. Subsequendy, the chapter discusses the political and fiscal dimensions of Ind
deralism along three dimensions: Why the strong centre was preferred, what transformations ha
en place in the era of liberalization and globalization and; How has it functioned over the year
ce Independence. In the end, the chapter concludes that federalism remains the best hope for
verning a territorially diverse and pluralistic society like India.

Understanding Federalism: What and Why?

e organization of politics in modem times gives the central position to territorial nation-states.

ritorial state governs the citizens through the sovereign exercise of its power. Therefore, gover
ways has a territorial dimension.1 In modem times all nation-states are divided on a territorial
tween central and regional, provincial or local institutions. The two most common forms of
ritorial organization found in today’s world are the federal and unitary systems. The federal
stem, as a concept, offers to provide checks and balances on a territorial basis, keeping some
vernment functions closer to the people and allowing for the representation of ethnic, cultural
gional differences. Therefore, they have been considered to be more suitable institutional
angement for large and diverse societies. There is also a third form, known as confederation, b
s generally proved to be unsustainable.
A federal system creates two layers of government, with specific function allocated to each.
ither of the two distinct layers of governments is legally subordinate to the other. Legal sovere
shared between the federal government and the constituent states. In a federation, the existence
nctions of the states are entrenched. This means they can only be modified by amending the
nstitution. It is this protected position of the states that distinguishes federations (such as the U
d Canada) from unitary governments (such as the UK and France). Also, in nearly all federatio
states have a guaranteed voice in national policy making through an upper chamber of the
embly, in which each state receives representation. Thus, federalism is the principle of270/369
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sharin
vereignty between centralContemporary
8/18/2019 and state India
(or Economy,
provincial)
Society, governments. It is thus,
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveena part of a broader
Priyadarshi

ology of pluralism. Pluralism, broadly, can be understood as a belief in, or a commitment to,
versity or multiplicity i.e, existence of many things. It suggests that diversity is healthy and
sirable because it promotes liberty, participation and accountability. It also holds that power
ould be widely and evenly dispersed in society rather than being concentrated in one group or
titution. Consequently, it provides a basis for healthy functioning of a democracy.
The terms federation and confederation have been used interchangeably. However, a federatio

ferent from a confederation. In a confederation, unlike federations, the central authority remain
nior partner and is dominated by the component states. It is a looser link between participating
untries which retain their separate statehood. In a confederation, the decisions of the central
hority apply to the component states, rather than directly to the citizens, and unanimity may be
ndition of collective action in such cases.2 This is the reason why federal systems of governme
ve been more common than confederal systems. Over a third of the world’s population is gove
the States that have some kind of a federal structure. These States include the USA, Brazil,
stralia, Canada, Switzerland and India.
Although no two federal systems are identical, the central feature of each is a sharing of
vereignty between central and regional, provincial or local institutions. This ensures, at least i
ory, that neither level of government can encroach on the powers of the other. As a principle,
sures realization of democratic values such as participation, accountability, legitimacy and lib
local institutions are closer to the people, they are able to provide citizens more opportunities
rticipate in the political life of their community. Local sensitivities may be taken care of and, t
government can be made accountable and responsive at the same time not only to the overall
erests of society, but also to the specific needs of particular groups. Also, the decisions made a
cal’ level can be received as more legitimate. By dispersing government power it is also able
otect the liberty of individuals and the autonomy of institutions by establishing a network of ch
d balances.
Unlike some unitary States, federations are necessarily conscious creations, emerging from a
iberate constitutional settlement. The USA, for instance, emerged from a meeting of
presentatives of 13 American states in Philadelphia in 1787. This convention resulted in the
rld’s first federation, also considered to be the ‘model’ federation by many. All other federal
tems including India have been studied with reference to the USA. Characterizations such as
uasi-federalism’ associated with Indian Federalism is a product of such academic endeavour.
milar conventions, such as the one in the USA, happened in case of Canada and Australia also.
deralism, as we understand today, is usually a compact between separate units pursuing some
mmon interest. But why are federations created?
The creation of a federation is based on certain motives which are more often negative than
sitive: fear of the consequences of failing to join together must necessarily overcome the natur
sire to retain sovereignty. The most common motive, by far, is the ambition to secure the milita
d economic bonus that accrues to large countries. William Riker emphasizes upon the military
tor. Riker took up the project of establishing a general theory of federalism organized 271/369
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empt8/18/2019
both to explain the origins andIndia
Contemporary theEconomy,
sustainability of -federation
Society, Politics as aPraveen
Neera Chandhoke, formPriyadarshi
of government. In
64, he produced the seminal volume Federalism: Origin, Operation, and Significance , an up
d condensed version of which appeared in the 1975 Handbook of Political Science .
Riker dismisses the existing literature on federalism which he considered ideological rather th
entific. Riker characterizes federalism as a rational bargain between prospective national lead
d officials of constituent governments who come together for the purpose of creating a larger
ritory so as to better facilitate levying of taxes and the raising of armies. The two conditions 3 t

ker claims must always be present before a successful bargain is struck are, first, a desire on th
rt of those offering the bargain peacefully to expand territory of combining constituent governm
o a new political entity in order to meet an external military threat or threat to internal order.
cond, for those accepting the bargain some sacrifice of political control is exchanged for the
omise of security provided by the new federal government.
Accordingly, Riker explains post-Partition Indian federalism in terms of a need to offset extern
eats from Pakistan and internal threats from the princely states that historically had controlled
cts of territory before and during the British colonial period. However, in the case of India,
ntralizing Indian elites imposed federalism with little reference to provincial interests. Indeed,
undaries of the new states had, in many instances, little or no historical, cultural, linguistic or
nic basis. They were, instead, largely the construct of the framers. While security concerns loo
ger in the creation of the Indian State, it is not obvious that they were part of a Rikerian bargai
tween central and provincial interests that required specifically federal arrangements.
So military motives are not the sole or even the main reason for forming federations. The fede
rgain has often been based on economic rather than military reasoning. For instance, the Europ
ion, a federal arrangement, was originally called the European Economic Community, or in
pular parlance, ‘the common market’.
Threats can also come from within. Hence, federations are useful for bridging ethnic diversity
thin a society. They are a device for incorporating such differences within a single political
mmunity. People who differ by descent, language and culture can nevertheless seek the advanta
membership in a shared enterprise.
Nowadays, military as well as economic factors as the basis of formation of a federation are
sing importance. In the 21st century, there does not seem to be a common threat big enough to
quire sharing of sovereignty. Forming alliances can serve the purpose. Also, economic gains ca
ximised by creating free trade areas, again without compromising political sovereignty. Howe
nic federalism is attracting some attention from countries seeking to maintain the unity of the S
multi-national and pluralistic societies.4 Its is claimed that such a form of federalism permits
versity within unity and is, thus, an important model for situations of conflicting identities as fo
diverse political societies. This holds true for societies such as India and Sri Lanka.
The federal system has become a popular pattern of governance now especially suited for larg
d diverse countries. The federal principles and arrangements have become so widespread in
esent times because they not only suit the modem temper, and also federalism, more importantl
signed to achieve some degree of political integration based on a combination of a self-rule
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8/18/2019 Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

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 tes to8/18/2019
join in a federation,Contemporary
and that theIndia federation notPolitics
Economy, Society, being theChandhoke,
- Neera result ofPraveen
an agreement
Priyadarshi no state h
right secede from it’. 8 He strongly reiterated that this division was only for convenience of
ministration while the country continued to be one integral whole. The assembly, therefore afte
uch deliberation, produced a new kind of federalism, as Graville Austin puts it, to meet India’s
culiar needs.9
In some ways, it is possible to view Independence and the adoption in the early years after
dependence of a new Constitution as another stage in the evolution of India towards representa
vernment in a process that dates back to the Indian Councils Act of 1861 and continues through
orley-Minto Reforms of 1909, the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, and the Governmen
dia Act of 1935. India got its independence after a long struggle under the British rule. The col
counter with the British provided India with multiplicity of heritages and legacies which influe
post-Independence course in complex ways. The Constitution that was eventually adopted by
dian Republic closely followed the Government of India Act, 1935, with pronounced ‘quasi-
deral’ features.
The Government of India Act of 1935 is particularly significant for the post- Independence
nstitutional structure of India as there is a considerable degree of continuity10 between the Act
Constitution of India, such as the adoption of a federal system of government with three legisl
s of powers to be exercised exclusively by the Union, exclusively by the states, or concurrent
d a combination of a considerable degree of provincial autonomy with extensive powers left to
ntre, including emergency power which made it possible to convert the federal system into a u
e. Similarly, the Constitution of Independent India is federal, but contains strong unitary featur
luding a strong central government which retains not only extensive emergency powers but th
iduary powers of the Unions as well. The states are normally supposed to function autonomou
t the Centre retains the ultimate power to control, even take over the direct administration of st
der certain conditions.
The heavy reliance on the 1935 Act was justified on the grounds of ‘continuity and harmony’.
turally, many important features of the Act including a heavy centripetal bias and administrativ
d judicial arrangements enacted for the limited purpose of colonial administration were forma
orporated into the Constitution. Also, the imperatives of economic development provided a ba
assuming indispensability of centralization of powers in the centre.
The centripetal bias in fiscal matters can be seen mainly in the assignment of and vesting of
iduary powers with the Centre. The most important factor that concentrated economic powers
Union government, however, was entry 22 in the concurrent list—‘Economic and Social Plan
d the consequent experiment on social engineering attempted through centralized planning in a
xed economy framework.11 What is, however, significant is the fact that the development over
ars concentrated the financial powers with the Union government. 12

The Constitutional Structure of the Indian Federation

e British influence, experience with workings of provincial autonomy under the 1935 Act,
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and
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pularity of federalism in the
8/18/2019 20th century
Contemporary as a Society,
India Economy, desirablePolitics political system
- Neera Chandhoke, forPriyadarshi
Praveen plural societies
luenced the framers in favour of federalism.13
At the time of India’s Independence, the prevalent mood of the country was dominated by a sen
uniform nationalism shaped by the momentum of the freedom movement and the fear generated
partition of the country about centrifugal potentialities of sub-national identities. Although the
mers of the Indian Constitution were far-sighted enough to opt for a federal set-up, they were n
irely uninfluenced by the then national mood. The word ‘federal’, therefore, is not even mentio

the Constitution. However the Indian Constitution possesses essential federal features such as:
ual Polity (Two Layers of Relatively Autonomous Government): The Constitution of India
ognizes two layers of government—at the Union and in the states. The territory is divided into
enty-eight states and seven union territories. The Union government governs the entire territory
nsisting of all the units, and the state governments have their jurisdiction limited only to respec
gular units. Both the layers of government possess a range of powers that the other cannot enc
on. These include a measure of legislative and executive authority and the capacity to raise

venue, thus enjoying a degree of fiscal independence.

vision of Territorial Power and Power of Subjects: The Indian Constitution provides the
tribution of the executive, the legislative, and the judicial power between the centre and the st
e Constitution of Indian Republic, like the 1935 Act, provides for the three-fold division of
wers. The matters of national importance are placed in the Union list, those of regional import
placed in the State list and those that would require cooperative solution are placed in the
ncurrent list. The residuary powers are assigned to the Union government. The Seventh Sched

Constitution specifies the legislative, executive, judicial and fiscal domains of the Union and
vernments in terms of Union, State and Concurrent lists. While the state governments have thei
isdiction over the limited unit only, the government at the Union level has jurisdiction over the
ire Indian territory.

ritten Constitution as a Source of Power: The Constitution of India is supreme and both the
ion government and the state governments derive their power from the Constitution, which lay
wn the responsibilities and powers of each layer of the government. It provides for a formal le

mework within which the relationship between the centre and states is conducted.
This proves that the constitutional position of the states is somewhere in between the status of
rallel and co-equal government, or that of subordinate administrative units as they have been
ated by the Constitution. The Union Parliament, can reorganize them territorially, but it cannot
olish all of them completely.

e Supremacy of the Constitution: The Constitution is the supreme authority and acts as a sou
power for both—the Union and the states.

e Independent Judiciary: The Constitution guarantees the independence of judiciary to

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 conflicts between different
8/18/2019 levels of
Contemporary Indiagovernment
Economy, Society,when
Politics -the provisions
Neera are understood
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi in differ
ys by the governments. An authoritative interpretation that is binding on the governmental unit
ovided by the independent judiciary which acts as constitutional arbiter. In determining the
pective fields of jurisdiction of each layer, the Supreme Court of India is able to determine ho
deralism works in India.
But the Indian Constitution is generally described as federal with strong unitary features. It is
deral because it provides the duality of state and the national government with well-defined po

bject to the arbitration and authority of an independent judiciary. But the role of governors, cen
ergency powers, financial dependence of the states on the centre, provision of discretionary gr
d long concurrent lists are some of the obvious unitary features. Also, the Constitution provide
trong central government which retains not only extensive emergency powers but the residuary
wers of the Union as well. Though the states are normally supposed to function autonomously,
ntre retains the ultimate power to control, even take over the direct administration of states und
tain conditions.
The system of sharing of power as encoded in the design, clearly and deliberately, allows for
cisive advantage on the part of the central government. Whether in the matter of Constitutional
mendment or the division of powers or even with respect to the issue of altering the boundaries
states, the formal advantages of the Centre appear to be formidable.
However, it should be understood that this framework of federalism provided by the founding
hers of the Indian Constitution was an experiment in adapting the federal idea to a large and
remely diverse economic, cultural, social and linguistic society. India’s federal design was
visaged as a project to ensure reasonable national agreement across regions and communities t
pport and develop a durable political order. The new Constitution of 1950 was designed to pe
ational political system to reorganize the colonial inheritance of more than 500 units including
ovinces, princely states, and also the special territories in the frontier areas.

Political and Fiscal Dimensions (I): Why a Strong Centre ?

e reason why India adopted such a model of federation must be understood in a terms of the co
which the Constitution was framed. India’s Constitution was bom more in fear and trepidation
hope and inspiration.14 Its proceedings began on 9 December 1946 and concluded with the pa
the Constitution of India on 24 January 1950. In the intervening years, India saw final negotiati
the transfer of power which culminated in the country’s Independence on 15 August 1947. Bu
ents leading to Independence were associated with communal bloodshed due to the partition o
bcontinent. Negotiations were also taking place under the leadership of Sardar Patel for the
egration of the Indian states (i.e. princely states) into the Union of India. These negotiations w
ught with tension that culminated in the use of armed force in three situations, namely, in Junag
derabad and most seriously Jammu and Kashmir. Violence associated with these processes
imed a loss of several hundred thousand lives and raised alarming concerns in the minds of th
nstitution makers.
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 Other8/18/2019
ominous forces alsoContemporary
appearedIndia
onEconomy,
the Indian
Society,political scene
Politics - Neera likePraveen
Chandhoke, the militant
PriyadarshiHinduism an

volutionary communism. A militant Hindu had assassinated the country’s founding father Maha
ndhi on 30 January 1948. The act was followed by a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang
SS) with which Gandhi’s assassin had been previously associated. The issue of integration int
dian Union exhibited complications in the Telengana region of Hyderabad state due to the
mmunist-led insurrection there which was ultimately suppressed by the Indian Army after its
eover of the state.
As a consequence of the multiplicity of dangerous forces arising out of political movements
ociated with Muslim separatism, militant Hindu nationalism, Hindu-Muslim communalism,
essionism and revolutionary communism, India’s Constitution-makers thought they had good
son to be fearful of disorder and chaos. Extensive communal killings and significant acts of
lence made them respond to these threats and dangers by framing a Constitution with numerou
ovisions designed to deal effectively with the threat of disorder through the creation of a stron
ntralized state.
After Independence, the fear of disorder and the desire for a strong central government went
gether. On this subject, there was virtual uniformity of opinion in the Constituent Assembly eve
luding the critics of the draft Constitution who opposed some clauses that seemed to undermin
te autonomy and the Fundamental Rights of the people. There was a palpable feeling of uneasi
er the proposals of the Cabinet plan. In an early speech in the Assembly, before the acceptance
Partition plan, Dr S. Radhakrishnan, remarked in the context of the Cabinet plan that though ‘a
ong centre is essential to mould all the peoples [of India] into one united whole’ and ‘events …
har and Bengal’ had demonstrated ‘an urgent need for a strong centre’, members of the Assemb
uld have to accept instead the development of ‘a multi-national state.’15
Under the Cabinet plan, the centre was to be weak, its powers restricted to only three subjects
fence, foreign affairs and communication—and the residuary powers of the Union would lie w
provinces. Once the Cabinet plan was removed from consideration with the acceptance of the
vision of India, the strength of sentiment in the Assembly for a ‘strong Centre’ became evident.
ahavir Tyagi, a prominent Congressman from Uttar Pradesh, made it clear that he was in favou
ognizing the pre-eminent necessity to maintain the unity and peace of India at all costs. Accord
him, ‘the centre should be strong’ because, if it lacked the ‘right to interfere’ in the governance
states, ‘there will be a tendency towards disintegration’, revolt by parties ‘wedded to violenc
d secession on the part of state governments ‘in conjunction with a neighbouring province or a
eign country.’16 Advocacy of the right of the centre to ‘interfere’ in the affairs of states was giv
ramount importance in the Constituent Assembly debates on the powers of the President to
oclaim an emergency on the grounds of war or external aggression or internal disturbance. The
ue of defining ‘internal disturbance’ in precise terms or to put a limit (or not) on the powers o
esident in such matters dominantly preoccupied the minds of the constitution-makers.
Over and over again the members of the assembly justified the desire for a strong centre in term

aling with the threats

d indissoluble to the
and under nocountry’s unity and
circumstances, anyintegrity. The Union moves
further secessionist of Indiabywas anytogroups
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or un
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 Union or any of its peoples
8/18/2019 was toIndia
Contemporary be Economy,
tolerated. It is
Society, also
Politics evident
- Neera fromPraveen
Chandhoke, the constitutional
Priyadarshi

ovisions concerning the Fundamental Rights of citizens, as well as the assembly debates that to
ace concerning them, that the security of the Indian State took precedence over Fundamental Ri
the debate, the two values were presented as separate issues, requiring a choice between them
ajeshwar Prasad and Mahavir Tyagi favoured strongly the need to preserve the security of ‘an
dependent state of our own’. 17 Protests of H. V. Kamath, one of the tiny group of two or three
mbers in the entire assembly who consistently expressed their concerns over various aspects o

ergency provisions, including the complete abrogation of Fundamental Rights in the event of a
ergency, were conveniently ignored.
Nevertheless, there were other underlying reasons behind the desire for a strong centre. There
re indeed some positive goals expressed in the Constituent Assembly debates such as that of
onomic development and even ‘social revolution’. The immediate goals of ‘the social
volution’—improving the standard of living and increasing industrial and agricultural producti
provided, another good reason for a strong centre.18 Although some argued that the welfare of
ople was the responsibility of the provincial governments, most of the assembly members beli
t the burden rested with the Union government, and that only a national effort could effect the
cessary gains.
There was also the food crisis that faced India at Independence. An estimated three million pe
d perished in Bengal during the famine in 1943, precipitated by food shortages and the failure
tish during the War to take adequate measures to cope with them. The framers of the Constitut
doubt felt that stringent measures might have to be taken to deal with the continuing shortage o
od and potential price rises, as well as possible urban disorder. The national leaders feared th
ovincial governments might not be able to bear the strains under these and other threatening
cumstances of the times.
Also, the goals of economic development through centralized planning under the lead of the St
re shared by liberals, radicals and conservatives alike. Thus, it was both for the preservation
newly won Independence and the planned development of the country that the direction of the
ntre was considered essential. Accordingly, the decision was made that India needed a strong
ntre and comparatively weak states.

Political and Fiscal Dimensions (II): Indian Federalism in the New Contexts of Coalition Polit
Economic Reforms And Globalization
e process of evolution of Indian federalism has been influenced, inter alia, by political
velopment, including rise of regional identities, end of one-party dominant era, and judicial
erpretations of the Constitution.19 As discussed in earlier sections, three quarters of a century
ught and struggle over defining the Indian nation, over freeing the country from foreign occupa
d over the desirable shape of the social and economic order in a future independent India had
ovided the nationalist leadership at Independence with a set of ideas and goals that helped to
ucture their responses to the problems of governing the newly independent country. At 278/369
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the top
ir goals, the sine qua nonContemporary
8/18/2019 for everything else was
India Economy, anPolitics
Society, abiding- Neera faith in and
Chandhoke, determination
Praveen Priyadarshi to pres
national unity and integrity of the country against all potential internal and external threats to
costs. The partition of the country only strengthened their resolve.
Two strict rules have been followed since Independence20 in dealing with dissident domestic
nic, religious, linguistic, and cultural group demands. First, no secessionist movement will be
ertained and that any group which takes up a secessionist stand will, while it is weak, be igno
d treated as illegitimate, but should it develop significant strength, be smashed, with the help o

med forces if necessary. All secessionist demands in post- Independence India that acquired an
nificant strength have been treated in this way, especially in the northeastern part of the countr
ely in Punjab and Kashmir. Second, there has been a prohibition against concession of demand
y form of political recognition of a religious community. Religious minorities were free to pre
ir own law and practice their religion as they see fit, but not to demand either a separate state
ir community even within the Indian Union or separate electorates or any form of proportional
resentation in government bodies. Any such demand would not be considered legitimate.
Also shifts have occurred in the major thrust of centre-state conflicts and contradictions since
dependence. 21 The considerations of interest are major political tensions within the ruling party
centre and tension between it and a wide variety of opposition parties, which offer more or l
ausible alternative centres of power in different regions (and also at the centre, in form of coal
rtners) are clearly reflected in the unfolding of the centre-state tensions in any given period.
A parallel trend has been displayed by economic tensions. Contradiction between the rising ur
d rural working classes and the ruling classes and the subsequent fragmentation and emasculat
working class organizations due to the shift in logic of development can be noticed.
Cultural and linguistic differences have contributed to the political idiom specific to centre-sta
ations right from Independence. While political and economic conflicts develop centre-state
nflict dimensions of their own, conflicts involving linguistic and cultural (and even communal)
mensions have tended to assume significance under certain circumstances. Language and cultur
phasized (especially in the regions lying outside the Hindi-speaking heartland of India, embra
ar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan) as features unique to the different
ationalities’ comprising India. Demands for an equitable distribution of political power and
vileged access for the weaker regions to economic resources are often couched in the languag
mands for greater autonomy for the different states as well as for a more generous investment o
ntral plan resources in regions far away from the ‘heartland.’
The change in the nature of conflicts and their resolution has clearly followed the pattern of
litical development in India. Predominance of the Congress party at both the centre and state le
ring the early years of the post-Independence period provided for a unique mechanism for
olution of such conflicts. However, the Congress dominance began to wane when the party be
s democratic and more centralized in later years. The period of the Congress decline saw a re
enomenon of the increase in strength of regional or state parties who came to capture power in
tes. Their demand for more autonomy as well as for evolving proper mechanism for
plementation of federal features grew. Even as the political system demanded more federalism
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 ngress responded with less.
8/18/2019 But a transformation
Contemporary ofPolitics
India Economy, Society, the party system in
- Neera Chandhoke, the recent
Praveen Priyadarshitimes couple

th emergence of coalition politics as a norm at both the centre and states levels have rewritten
deral equation in cotemporary times.
The relationship between India’s parliamentary federalism and coalition politics is in some w
generis. 22 The distinction between national and state parties is not on the basis of the arena i
hich they compete. Most of them compete in both assembly and parliamentary elections. Since t
tes in India differ vastly in terms of population and size, they play for different stakes in

rliament. With their increasing importance at the national level, they have been able to minimi
noeuvrability and discretion of the centrist parties. This has resulted in the reconfiguration of
deral relationship in India.
A new shift has occurred in the economic domain also. The path of development which India
dertook in the initial years of the post-Independence period has undergone a change now with I
dertaking to reform its economy through liberalization. Economic reforms and the phenomenon
obalization has necessitated examination of India’s federal system, especially when all the lay
derations now simultaneously interact with foreign governments and corporations in the global
onomy. Contemporary India is characterized by transition from a planned to market economy,
definition of the role of the state’ and emphasis on decentralization.
The traditionally prevailing system has been of constitutional demarcation of fiscal power of
neration of resources. But adoption of centralized planning in a mixed economy framework for
cial engineering in accordance with entry 22 in the concurrent list—‘Economic and Social
anning’—concentrated economic powers with the centre. Development over the years such as
ation of the Planning Commission, nationalization of major financial institutions including ban
d insurance consolidated the financial position of the centre and enhanced their political contro
er the states by aggravating the financial dependence of the states over the centre.
The economic reform in India which began slowly in the 1980s accelerated its pace at the
ginning of the 1990s under the pressure of an external crisis. The most visible component of
orms so far, has been the relaxation of various internal and external controls on private econom
ivity, the scrapping of the ‘licence-permit quota raj’ and integration of India’s economy with t
t of the world. Mainly two groups of reform can be identified.23 The first involves redrawing
te-market boundaries, including changes in ownership and regulations, financial sector reform
ignment of regulatory powers, infrastructure reform and development, and privatization. The
cond is concerned with the reconfiguration of federal institutions themselves such as tax reform
orm of centre-state fiscal transfer mechanisms and local government reforms.
These reforms have restricted the role of the State machinery as a ‘facilitator’ or merely a
gulator.’ Developmental planning in India is now no more a command economy model which
led for a massive intervention of the State. With the restructuring of the State-market relations
hich saw an increased role for the private players, a loosening of control by the centre over sta
y to detect. Whereas, in the period just after Independence, strong faith in centralised planning
the concentration of the economic and political power in the centre, a move towards
centralization and shift to accommodate greater say of private players and the corporates
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anning process has yieldedContemporary
8/18/2019 more space for states
India Economy, and,
Society, thus,
Politics enhanced
- Neera Chandhoke,their manoeuvrability.
Praveen Priyadarshi St
w have more freedom to raise resources for their socio-economic development from the marke
mestic as well as global. This has redefined the nature of political control of the centre over th
tes. These reforms have re-defined centre-state relations.

Political and Fiscal Dimensions (III): An Assessment of Working of Federalism in India

e complex and culturally heterogeneous democracy such as India tried to manage its diversity
ough federal institutional arrangements. But the demands of groups in the Indian society for gre
wer, resources and autonomy have been growing. Some of those demands have been successfu
commodated by politicians, parties and governments through creative ‘management’ of the cen
te relations.24 The centre-state relations have tended strongly to remain ‘manageable’ because
st, powerful group demands remain mainly a product of intra-state conflict and seldom take the
m of states’ demands which impinge mainly on the centre and which if frustrated—might gene
cessionist sentiments. Nonetheless, in some cases, things have gone spectacularly wrong and
olent separatist movements have developed with implications for the democratic process
derlying the centre-state relations.
Second, secessionism requires a sort of state-wide solidarity. The social and cultural complex
d heterogeneity within most states are so formidable that they hinder any development of such
idarity.
Third, preoccupations of the Indian citizens from one to another of the many identities (such as
te, religion, regional, linguistic, communal or sectarian) which they have available to them sh
th great fluidity. This tendency reduces the severity and longevity of most conflicts within mos

tes and prevents tension and conflicts from building up along a single fault line in society.
Finally, the capacity of the political institutions (both formal and informal) to respond and
commodate successfully various demands (reflective of states’ politics of bargaining) remain i
spite suffering decay in recent years. It prevents escalation of conflicts into any major crisis.
During the first 20 years or so after Independence in 1947, the society in most of India was
ficiently self-regulating and posed few serious problems for political institutions—formal or
ormal. The Congress party’s cluster of regional political ‘machines’ possessed the substance a
reach to manage most of the social tension that arose.
Since the late 1960s, things have become more difficult on both the sociocultural and political
nts. On the one hand, interest groups have crystallized identities along language, culture and
igion. With the growing awareness of their political concerns, these groups have pressed hard
resources, power and respect and have exhibited growing impatience with mere tokenism. On
her hand, political decay has afflicted most formal and informal political institutions mainly du
attempts by politicians to erode the substance and autonomy of institutions in the interest of
rsonal rule, creating a crisis in ‘management’ techniques and sowing the seeds of frustration am
ganized interests. The result has been the production of far more strife of a destructive sort.
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paration. What has made ‘management’
8/18/2019 of these
Contemporary India Economy, violent
Society, Politics conflicts difficult,
- Neera Chandhoke, isPriyadarshi
Praveen the considerable
gree of overlap between expression of demands and politics in violent mode with identity issu
cessionist demands in states such as Punjab, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur can b
pressly interpreted in terms of ethnic/religious identity. Today, Punjab and Mizoram are post-
nflict societies but until the late 1980s these two states were wracked by tremendous violence
mands for secession. The other two states—Jammu and Kashmir, and Manipur—continue to be
art by the same phenomenon. It should be noted that the erstwhile militants in Punjab and today

litants in the Kashmir valley are caught in a fight in the cause of a religion that differs from the
minant religion in India which is Hinduism. The Mizo community is Christian. Radical section
Metei community in Manipur increasingly reject Hinduism and opt for their traditional Sanam
igion. Looking at the violent pattern of politics in such areas leads one to question the perform
democratic and federal institutions in this part of the country.
The conflicts have occurred when the ability of political institutions to contain the demands is
apacitated by the misuse of public office for private gain. This leads to misgovernance, on the
nd, and to lack of confidence in the capacity of institutions to govern according to rules, on the
her. These are the processes which breed such expected results. However, the other important
use for such instances is violation of democratic and federal principles and dissociation of
mocratic value from federal principles. If democracy rests on the normative principles of
rticipation and accountability, federalism best serves to realize them. When the federal princip
lated through infringement on regional autonomy by the centre, the democratic principles of
rticipation and accountability are also violated. The violations of the federal/democratic princ
hen combined with politicization of ethnicity lead to conflicts, which become intractable. 26
But politics of violence and secessionism has inflicted incalculable harm in the form of
locations, homelessness, violations of human rights and loss of lives. The fragmentation of
mands reflect democratization of society. The challenge cannot be responded merely by territo
tribution of resources and power. Principles of democracy and federation, in its truest sense,
uld demand extension of rights, opportunities and resources to diverse groups and communitie
ll.

CONCLUSION

deralism, historically, has been a natural and practical choice for large countries such as India
dying the constitutional structure we can conclude without difficulty that India is a federation.
centre and the states derive their authority from the Constitution. However, it is interesting to
t the Indian constitution itself contains explicit provisions which make the centre so powerful
der normal circumstances as to make India appear more like a unitary political system. It is cle
nifested in the political and fiscal dimensions of Indian federalism.
But the dynamics of Indian federalism cannot be understood only through its structure. The
gionalization of politics, the loss of authority of central government institutions, the rise of

paratist movements in Punjab and Kashmir, the growing pattern of politics of violence 282/369 and dem
sovereignty in the North East, especially in Naga-inhabited areas, and the erosion of cultural
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 t is being undermined by Contemporary
8/18/2019 religious and caste identities,
India Economy, Society, Politicshave
- Neera exposed the limitation
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi of the stru

proach. Preoccupation with legal formalism, it was felt, at the cost of ignoring social and cultu
sis of state has yielded myopic understanding of the nature of the Indian federalism.27 The conc
federalism is composed of three determinants: federalism as a socio-cultural theory of plurali
deralism as a political principle involving a diffusion of power, and federalism as an
ministrative arrangement based on distribution of power and jurisdiction. Federalism also
compasses four ideological principles: composite nationalism, participatory democracy,
ularism, and social justice. In short, the study of federalism, must focus not only on the
onstruction of centre-state relations, regionalism and reorganization but also on issues of soci
tural pluralism and accommodation. Thus, federalism must build and sustain not only the unity
polity but also promote the plurality of the society.
Federalism, in the Indian context, remains a potent concept despite failing in some cases to ke
omise of providing a democratic institutional mechanism for its diverse society. Despite its
ortcomings, it remains the best hope for governing a territorially diverse and pluralistic society
dia. Its ability to make the centre strong as well as sustain itself in view of the growing demand
gional and group autonomy gives it a unique flexibility, and hence, is its strength. The only
quirement in the present time is to ensure sharing of resources and opportunities with different
nic and cultural groups and communities as well to reconcile democratic polity with increasin
mocratization of society. In short, federal India needs only to contemporize itself.

SUGGESTED READINGS
tin, Granville. The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1966.
ss, Paul R. The Politics of India Since Independence , 2nd edition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

tterjee,
nkel, Partha
E R., (ed.), State
Z. Hasan, and Politics
R. Bhargava and B.inArora
India(eds.),
. New Delhi: Oxford University
Transforming Press,
India: Social 2000.
and Political Dynamics of Democracy
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000.
ue, R. and M. Harrop, Comparative Government and Politics: An Introduction (Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 200
, L. C. (ed.). Decentralisation and Local Governance: Essays for George Mathew. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2005.
iraj, Sudipta (ed.). Politics in India . Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002[1997].
hli, Atul (ed.). The Success of India’s Democracy . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

QUESTIONS

1. Why is federalism important for India?

2. Does it hold significance in view of growing demands of secessionism? What alternatives would you suggest?
3. Do you agree that India needs to have unique unitary features?
4. Is it correct to say that India is federal in structùre but unitary in spirit?
5. What future, in your view, does federalism have in a polity like India?

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 8/18/2019 21
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Democratic Decentralization and Panchayati Raj

Moitree Bhattacharya (Mukhopadhyay)

mocratic decentralization provides an opportunity to resolve the problems inherent in the

rking of our system. It is an opportunity that can easily be lost unless implemented properly. T
ncept of democratic decentralization has dominated the development discourses over the last t
d a half decades. It became a popular policy in many Asian, African and Latin American count
ce the 1960s. The idea behind democratic decentralization is that people will become the end
ll as the means of development. Democratic decentralization rejects the idea of a highly
ntralized State and replaces it with the concept of distribution of power to people at large. In t
ocess, the government represents a variety of people, responds to a variety of interests, and
tributes power and resources in an effective manner. People occupy the centre-stage of the
velopment process. Like many other countries, India too has adopted the policy of democratic
centralization. Panchayats were considered its key institutions. At the beginning, it started as
rt of the administrative reforms to enable rural development projects to be implemented well i
mote areas. Later, the same panchayats were sought to be utilized as institutions of self-govern
rural areas when the idea of people’s participation through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)
ned popularity.
The chapter reviews democratic decentralization in India with the objective of exploring key
ues like people’s involvement in issues of governance, accountability of the government to the
ople, reaching the fruits of development to the people and also bridging the gaps in fulfilment o
se objectives, that is, failures in the course of implementation. On the whole, it demonstrates t
hough some of the expectations have been fulfilled, many have not been met, thus, the results h
en mixed. The project of democratic decentralization through local governments has neither be
ly realized nor completely unrealized. Despite various achievements, there are several areas t
ed to be addressed.

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE

centralization is the transfer of planning, decision-making or administrative authority from the

ntral government to its field organizations, local administrative units, afid semi-autonomous
rastatal organizations.1 It brings administration closer to the people. But mere administrative
centralization means delegation of functions along with some financial powers in order to
plement the policies that central authorities cannot undertake. What makes administrative
centralization more meaningful is when it is combined with political decentralization. Politica
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centralization
8/18/2019 gives the decentralized
Contemporary Indiaunits notSociety,
Economy, onlyPolitics
the authority to implement
- Neera Chandhoke, policies but also
Praveen Priyadarshi

e decisions themselves. Democratic decentralization is different from fiscal decentralization (

hich case funds are not only transferred to the local bodies, but the power of raising funds is al
ven to these bodies although they are not necessarily elected bodies) as well as mere administr
centralization (which envisages deconcentration and transfer of administrative power and func
m higher to lower levels). Democratic decentralization combines both administrative and fisc
centralization as well as something more. It envisages devolution of decision-making powers a

th funds to elected bodies at local levels which enjoy some degree of autonomy. The Indian m
decentralization, which began in the 1990s, was intended to conform to democratic
centralization.
Decentralization ensures wider participation. Wider, because people at lower levels get the
portunity to participate as a result of decentralization. Being away from the top layer, it enhanc
oximity towards the base, that is, the people. It is this participatory aspect that lends the prefix
mocratic to the term decentralization. Participation, however, cannot be absolute. First of all,
ve to think that each and every person in a village or any rural area can sit together and decide
ery matter. It amounts to direct democracy, which is unrealistic in today’s world. Second, it is
mmon illusion that the poor people want to participate in deciding community affairs leaving
hind their bread-earning activities. Thus, to make decentralization really democratic there is a
make profound socio-economic changes. Third, it is wrong to think that higher authorities are
lling to promote decentralization. On the contrary, the higher authorities, be they elected
presentatives at higher forum, or bureaucrats, are reluctant to make room for popular governan
rticipation of the people, therefore, has its own limitations. We cannot achieve it; we can at be
proximate to the goal.3
Although participation has its own limits, it is not desirable to confine people’s participation t
ercising electoral choice after every five years. Democratic decentralization at least increases
ope for active participation of the people in local institutions of government. It gives the peopl
local level an opportunity to influence decisions that affect their lives. It widens the democra
se of the country. It is considered better in terms of economy in time and cost. If decisions are
he local levels, planning and implementation take place locally, obviously the cost of develop
rks come down. It makes decisions more sensitive towards local needs. The common saying i
wearer knows where the shoe pinches. The local people know their needs better than those
ming from outside. Instead of central officers, if the local people take decisions, they are likely
sensitive to local requirements. It makes the government more accountable to the people. At th
al level, the elected representatives and the people know each other due to their physical
oximity. It, therefore, becomes difficult for them to ignore their voters.
The absence of people’s participation in governance and effective accountability mechanisms
portant loopholes in the Indian system. It could not improve its service delivery system in spit
fact that it is the world’s largest and highly competitive electoral democracy. Mere democrac
limited sense of electoral competition, cannot improve services. As a result, India’s achievem
economic and human development terms remains quite low. Of course, less democracy285/369
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 ution8/18/2019
either. There must be accountability
Contemporary within
India Economy, democracy.
Society, The twin
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, objectives
Praveen Priyadarshi of participa

d accountability can be obtained through democratic decentralization.

Being such a huge and highly populated country, India felt the need for introducing democratic
centralization as a way to make democracy more sustainable. Reform was initiated from the to
t as a result of demands made from below. The panchayats, which are the key institutions in In
bringing about democratic decentralization, were enforced upon us by administrative regulati
vernmental legislation and political interference.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

nchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are not new in India. They have existed in India since time
memorial. The age-old village society used to have a sort of a village council which was popu
own as a panchayat. Such panchayats were barely representative of the whole village but they
last word in the internal matters of the village. They also assessed what should be the tax
ntribution of each villager and negotiated the village’s collective tax with the king’s
presentative.4 They collected tax from villagers and transferred a part of it to the king’s
presentative. In all other ways, they were independent of the king.
The British period witnessed the destruction of these village bodies. The tentacles of the Briti
ministration could reach even the remotest areas due to the growth of communication. There us
a British representative, tax collector, in every district to administer development works and
lect taxes from that area. The village bodies lost their autonomy. The villagers increasingly
came dependent on State administration for even the minutest needs. Administration became th
main of imperial bureaucracy, law and order came under the British police and justice deliver
nger remained in the hands of the nyaya panchayats. Statutes like the Indian Penal Code and
iminal Procedure Code were created by the British to replace traditional and customary laws.
llectorates and courts usurped the powers of village panchayats. The rigid structure of the rule
w replaced flexible customary laws. However, after some years, the British understood the nee
dianization of services, and decentralized administration. 5 Accordingly, District Boards and U
ards were created under provincial governments. But these were aimed at channelizing the Br
vernment’s authority down to the village level. The spontaneous, autonomous village panchaya
ver came up again. The imperial bureaucracy upheld the cause of colonial masters and thwarte
y attempt to develop autonomous panchayats.
When the British left and the Draft Constitution was being prepared, debates arose as to which
m of government India should follow to establish democracy in the country. The Westminster
odel was not considered ideal by many. They wanted to strive for something more participative
mocratic. They suggested alternative forms of government to achieve the ideal. One of the mos
athing critics of the western democratic model was Mahatma Gandhi. He thought that swaraj w
an absurdity if we surrendered to the judgement of the majority. The weakest should have the
portunity as the strongest. He felt democracy could not be successful unless power was shared

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this was possible only in a decentralized structure of a self-sufficient village republic w
the whole, was a self-regulated system where no representation was required. But Ambedkar 286/369
 supporters
8/18/2019 felt that only a strong, centralized
Contemporary StatePolitics
India Economy, Society, could deliver
- Neera the goods
Chandhoke, and developmenta
Praveen Priyadarshi

vices to the downtrodden.6 They rejected the idea that parliamentary democracy leads to the
ncentration of powers in a few hands.
After all the debates that took place, we finally adopted the parliamentary form of government
post-Independence period. Centralized control was compatible with development theories th
erged at that time. Development was to concentrate in a few centres and trickle down to the w
onomy. It was hoped that in this process disparities would reduce and the fruits of developmen
uld reach the majority. To bring development to rural areas under the leadership of the central
vernment, a community development programme was initiated in 1952. But India in the mid-19
s still to reach the take-off stage7 and it was understood that government officers at the block a
trict levels would not be able to deliver, in the absence of the local people s participation. Po
mers realized that only panchayat institutions could provide a new leadership in the rural area
ng about faster development.
A committee was formed under the chairmanship of Balwantrai Mehta to study the possibility
ablishing Panchayati Raj Institutions in India. The recommendations of the Balwantrai Mehta
mmittee led to the formation of the PRIs all over the country.8 While distributing powers betw
ion and states, the Constitution referred to panchayats as a subject under the jurisdiction of the
tes but did not elaborate further. A passing reference to panchayats was made in Article 40
irective Principles of State Policy) which stated that, the State shall take steps to organize vill
nchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them
nction as units of self-government.
After the Balwantrai Mehta Committee gave its recommendations, panchayats were formed in
the states but they were not very successful at the beginning. The panchayati raj system initiate
t time faced several problems. The absence of regular elections; supersession of panchayats fo
ny years; non-participation of various marginalized sections in PRIs like women, Dalits and
bals; lack of funds; deliberate attempts made by bureaucracy to thwart the functioning of
nchayats; and a lack of political will were some of the reasons which made panchayats unviab
ey also suffered from a lack of resources. At the village level, the panchayats used to be hijack
the social and economic elites and vested interests. The local bureaucracy resisted the devolu
powers to panchayats. Traditional rivalry in village societies was also a cause for concern.
nchayats even lacked a uniform structure. While in some states there were three-tier panchaya
me had two, some even had a four-tier structure, giving rise to a lot of confusion and structural
onsistencies. Therefore, several high-level committees were set up from time to time to study
ys in which they could be made more viable. These were the Balwantrai Mehta Committee 19
hok Mehta Committee 1978, G. V K. Rao Committee 1985, L. M. Singhvi Committee 1987, an
ungon Committee 1988.
The Ashok Mehta Committee report recommended a two-tier system removing the block-level
dies. It also recommended direct party-based elections to these bodies. Many state governmen

wever, rejected these

ommendations. Theseproposals.
were the Rao Subsequently,
and Singhvitwo other committees
committees. The Thungonwere set up to make
Committee,
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the
287/369
me, recommended
8/18/2019 the needContemporary
for constitutional recognition
India Economy, Society, Politics for strengthening
- Neera thePriyadarshi
Chandhoke, Praveen PRI system.
cordingly, the 64th Amendment Bill was drafted, placed before Parliament in 1989. The Bill
ssed in the Lok Sabha but could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha. However, it opened the. sub
countrywide deliberations and discussions. On the basis of the overall consensus arrived from
se discussions, the 73rd Amendment was drafted and could easily be passed.
The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992, which came into force in April 1993 introduce
rt 9 (Articles 243–2430) and Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects on which PRIs would work) to th

nstitution of India. The state laws on panchayats were also amended in conformity with the 73
mendment. It was binding on the states to pass the conformity acts within one year of the
mmencement of the 73rd Amendment Act.

Basic Features of the 73rd Amendment

gid Structure. It provided for a three-tier structure in the village, intermediary, and district lev
ther said that intermediary panchayat may not be constituted in a state with a population not
ceeding 20 lakhs. This uniform pattern of PRIs was necessary to reduce the structural confusio
sted in the pre-amendment period (Article 243B).

ntinuity. The Amendment made it clear that PRIs shall be constituted for a fixed period of fiv
ars from the date of its first meeting. In case a panchayat is dissolved and a new election takes
ace, the newly elected panchayat shall work for the remaining period and not for the full five y
election shall take place before expiry of six months from the date of dissolution. (Article 243
l this was necessary to provide a continuity to the panchayats and to reduce the possibilities of
ng-term supersessions of elected panchayats on political grounds.
presentativeness. Seats were mandatorily reserved for the SC/ST population and women in a
rs of panchayats by the Amendment Act. Article 243D provided for reservation of seats for SC
every panchayat on the basis of their proportion to the total population of that panchayat, and s
ats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the panchayat. Not less than one-th
the total seats in the panchayat and those reserved for SC/ST shall be reserved for women and
ats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a panchayat. This was an enabling
ovision that gave an opportunity to the hitherto marginalized sections to get represented in
nchayats.
The article further stated that reservation of seats for SC/ST shall cease to have an effect on
piration of period specified in Article 334. Sub-clause 6 stated that the state legislatures can
erve seats for backward class of citizens in panchayats and nothing shall prevent them from do
t.
Political space to the marginalized was further widened vide clause (1) of Article 244. Parliam
ended the 73rd Amendment to the scheduled areas by legislating the Panchayats (Extension to
heduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA). PESA is supposed to apply to scheduled areas located
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in e
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tes—Andhra
8/18/2019 Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Contemporary Rajasthan,
India Economy, Gujarat,
Society, Politics - NeeraMaharashtra,
Chandhoke, PraveenBihar, Orissa, and
Priyadarshi

machal Pradesh.

countability. The provision of the gram sabha attempts to bring about accountability of the ele
presentatives at local levels. Article 243A provided that a gram sabha may exercise such pow
d functions at the village level as the legislature of a state may provide by law. Article 243 de
am sabha as a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village

mprised
izens canwithin the area
participate, of panchayat
discuss, at thecriticize,
deliberate, village level.
reject,Gram sabha
approve is the only
proposals forum
made where
by pancha
pecially gram panchayats; act as a watchdog, provide transparency to panchayat activities and
accountability at grassroots level. They have been endowed with powers to identify beneficia
various poverty-alleviation programmes, propose and approve annual plans of gram panchay
.

nstitution of the State Election Commission. The governors of states have been empowered
ticle 243O of our Constitution to appoint a State Election Commission. Elections to panchayat
be held under supervision of this body. This was necessary to bring the panchayats out of the
tches of state bureaucracy and state governmental machinery.

nstitution of the State Finance Commission. The governors of states are also empowered t
nstitute the State Finance Commission (Article 243L) to review the financial position of panch
d to make recommendations to the governor on financial matters like division of funds and fina
tween states and PRIs, grants-in-aid to PRIs. Without a strong financial base PRIs cannot funct
viable units.

nstitution of District Planning Committee. Under Article 243 ZD of the Constitution, distri
anning committees (DPCs) are to be set up in every state except Meghalaya, Mizoram, J&K,
galand, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, at the district level to consolidate the plan
epared by panchayats and municipalities in the district and to prepare a draft plan for the distri
whole. The state legislature is to make a law regarding composition of the DPCs and the manne
hich seats are to be filled.

e 11th Schedule. The Amendment provided for the special list of 29 subjects which would be
volved to PRIs by the state government. This list was provided so that the powers and function
ually devolved to local levels, and by performing those functions the panchayats maintain thei
bility and do not become defunct as it used to become earlier. Some of the subjects included i
t are drinking water, rural electrification, village markets and fairs, roads, culverts, fisheries,
mal husbandry, village industry, etc.
But legislations with such enabling provisions become meaningful when implemented with car
d interest. This legislation sought to strengthen local governments, improve delivery of public
viceshttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
in rural areas, instil in villagers a sense of empowerment, enhance communication betw
289/369
 government
8/18/2019 and citizens,Contemporary
increase governmental accountability
India Economy, Society, and improve
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, management of
Praveen Priyadarshi

velopment works and fiscal management. Could PRIs achieve all these goals as envisaged? Th
ual progress of democratic decentralization has been uneven across states. While some states
ed well, others have not.

Initiatives Taken and Gaps to Be Addressed: The Post-1993 Period

e panchayats in the post-73rd Amendment period have, more or less, a uniform structure. They
ve been able to institutionalize and create strong panchayats. However, although structural
pediments could be removed procedural anomalies still remain. Elections are being held, mor
s, regularly. Most of the states passed their Conformity Acts within one year as directed, and
rted making preparations for elections, although with some exceptions. Today, more than 21 la
presentatives stand elected to three tiers of panchayats. Of these, more than 40 per cent are wom
per cent belong to SCs and 11 per cent to STs, making India the largest democratic country w
widest possible democratic base. 9
With reservation, women, SCs and STs have become a part of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Wit
s, panchayats would continue to remain in the hands of the rural elites as they were earlier. In
this, there are some provisions which are creating practical difficulties and need to be
onsidered. With reservation many who are coming to power are first-timers and lack experien
en many of the chairpersons are first-timers and bureaucracy usurps the power and functions o
se novice persons and exercises indirect control over them. 10 The concept of rotation prescrib
the Act in respect of reserved seats has posed certain problems. It was said that seats shall be
otted by rotation to different constituencies in a panchayat at the end of every five years. If this

licy is followed, no such candidate will have the opportunity to be reelected to that seat the se
me as it is highly unlikely that these persons will be allowed to contest from the same seat once
ervation is removed. If we take it for granted that most of the reserved candidates are first-tim
d do not have much experience, then the chances are that many of these first-timers will also be
t-timers and, by the time they gather experience, it is time for them to leave office. However, i
y be argued here that even if he or she is not re-elected, the exposure and experience will not o
power them but also enhance their awareness levels. A woman or a lower-caste person who g
cted for at least one term is no longer the same ignorant person as earlier. S/he is bound to be
are, confident and likely to be more involved in all collective matters.
One of the concerns of the 73rd Amendment was how to involve the common people into the
litical system, give them decision-making powers by providing centrality to gram sabhas. Sev
ggestions were made to revitalize the gram sabhas. The year 1999–2000 was declared the Yea
am Sabha by the Government of India to popularize the idea among the people. But in reality, i
en found in many cases, that gram sabhas, which were supposed to be the pivot of panchayati r
new dispensation, have not been given due importance. First, gram sabhas usually constitute o
g village or two to three villages together making the gathering very large. Participation in such
ge gatherings cannot be meaningful. Very often, villagers are reluctant to express their 290/369
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needs a
 orities in front of so manyContemporary
8/18/2019 people. So India it is only
Economy, those
Society, in -the
Politics leadership
Neera category
Chandhoke, Praveen who speak wh
Priyadarshi

hers remain mere spectators. It is being recommended that there is a need to reduce the size of
bhas. West Bengal, for example, constituted smaller unit, called gram sansads or ward sabhas
fil this purpose. If their size is reduced, it will not only make the gram sabhas a well-knit body
will also make it easier for the villagers to attend such meetings. Now they have to travel long
tances to attend them which acts as a deterrent and many do not want to participate. Hence, w
bhas should be formed everywhere. Second, gram sabhas do not meet often. According to our

nstitution, it should meet at least twice a year. Unfortunately the minimum is being interpreted
maximum and most of the sabhas are meeting only twice. If they do not meet more often, it wi
possible for them to make any meaningful contribution in deciding the affairs of the village.
Devolution of funds and functionaries is one of the pre-conditions of successful decentralizatio
e decentralized units must have autonomy in exercising their functions. For this, they must have
equate funds as well as functionaries. Otherwise, their dependence on state governments and t
reaucracy will continue. But in reality, the absence of adequate finance from above and the ab
mobilization from below has made the PRIs constitutionally mandated structures without the
quired fuel. Economic backwardness of masses made local fund mobilization very difficult. M
the states in India have devolved as many as 29 subjects to the PRIs, some of them devolved l
n that but most of the PRIs do not have adequate funds and functionaries for functional devolut
ere should be a clear understanding that local bodies are institutions of self-government and n
re delivery agencies.
Another problem is the lack of coordination and harmonious understanding among the three tie
Is regarding which function will be undertaken by which strata of PRI. There is a need to do
ivity mapping as was discussed at the First Round Table Conference in Kolkata. It was said th
re is a need to attribute each of the 29 subjects to the appropriate level of panchayat keeping i
nd the principle of subsidiarity. It was agreed in the First Round Table that activity mapping s
undertaken for this purpose, by all states and this work should be over by the end of 2004–05
al of seven round table conferences were held in 2004 to deliberate on the blueprint for future
ion and sought the cooperation of state governments in implementing the 73rd Amendment in l
d spirit.
Regarding devolution of functionaries, it is often alleged that PRIs do not have adequate
nctionaries. The problem is specially faced by gram panchayats who have only one secretary a
e job assistant at their disposal. With such a lot of responsibility, they need more functionaries
garding funds, efforts are on to make PRIs more independent by raising resources of their own
sing tax from village markets, on fairs, house building tax, and vehicular tax. States have
nstituted their respective state finance commissions to advise them on issues of distribution of
es, and other ways by which panchayats can be made financially more viable.
The 73rd Amendment not only visualized administration of development works by PRIs it also
nted to initiate planning from below. The states were directed by the 73rd Amendment to set u
ir District Planning Committees DPCs and go for decentralized planning. The DPCs were entr
th thehttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
task of making composite plans for the districts. However, what is unfortunate is 291/369 that ma
tes are still reluctant to setContemporary
8/18/2019 up DPCsIndia
in Economy,
their own states,
Society, Politics thereby thwarting
- Neera Chandhoke, the
Praveen idea of planning
Priyadarshi

ow. States like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarancha
aharashtra and Jharkhand, are yet to form DPCs of their own states. 12 What is interesting is tha
evading their constitutional responsibility without being punished. Some of the states which h
nstituted DPCs have either ministers or any government official as their chairperson. Others, g
the spirit of the Constitution, have constituted the DPC in such a way that it is being chaired b
cted chairperson of the zilla parishad. There is a need to develop political will in order to

plement these things properly. Experience from the field level reveals that grassroots planning
to be taken seriously by the states. It may be noted here that the People’s Plan model of Keral
nched in 1996 with the aim of empowering local bodies and local people, got wide- scale
preciation and is worth replicating in other states incorporating some modifications, if necessa
a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister in June 2005, it was decided that the Planning
mmission and Ministry of Panchayati Raj would work together and prepare the 11th Five-Yea
an based on district plans.
Another area of concern is the rise of parallel bodies in many states which are transgressing th
hority of PRIs as mandated by the Constitution. It creates duality in functions, and responsibili
me view it as an opportunity to ensure development of villages through involvement of alterna
dies while others think that the duality it creates leads to distracted efforts and wasteful
penditure. What is creating great concern in some quarters is that these bodies are usurping the
democratically elected and constitutionally created PRIs. In Haryana, the gram vikas samitis, i
dhra Pradesh the janmabhoomi scheme, in Uttar Pradesh the users’ groups, are some of the
amples of parallel bodies that were running in different states along with the PRIs. The most
mmon parallel body is the District Rural Development Agency (DRDAs). They came into exis
the early 1980s and got funds directly from central government programmes. After 1993, when
cted panchayats came to be set up, the DRDAs continued to exist as parallel bodies and contin
receive funds from the Central government. Setting up such parallel bodies goes directly again
ter and spirit of the 73rd Amendment. It undermines panchayats empowered under law to unde
veral functions.
Capacity building, a popular term today, needs to be applied to panchayat members and villag
ncludes complete awareness of the whole panchayati raj system, proper training in panchayat
ivities, education of rural development schemes, fiscal prudence, attitudinal changes, etc. With
this, they would not be able to make the best use of the Constitutional Amendment. At present
ining and capacity-building initiatives are not adequate. Emphasis should be given to neo-liter
men and weaker sections. Databases to pool all national-, state- and district-level resources
ould be created and updated from time to time. States are already undertaking e-govemance for
nchayats. If implemented well, it is going to have a positive impact on the delivery of services
nchayats. It may also enable information sharing which is otherwise very limited. There should
eater accessibility to official records for public accountability. There cannot be any significant
pact of democratic decentralization when voters and elected representatives at local level are
orly http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
informed. 292/369
The PESA
8/18/2019was passed in Contemporary
1996 and India
is applicable to Politics
Economy, Society, Fifth- Schedule areas
Neera Chandhoke, only.
Praveen Under PESA, th
Priyadarshi

am sabha is empowered to approve the plans, programmes, and projects for social and econom
velopment, identify beneficiaries under poverty alleviation and other programmes, certify
lization of funds by the gram panchayat, protect common property resources and be consulted p
land acquisition.

CONCLUSION

centralization has its own possibilities. Although PRIs in India have multifarious problems, w
ed to remove the impediments in its path and make it successful instead of rejecting it. There a
ormous regional variations of the manner in which states design and implement decentralizatio
dia. There is a lot to learn and unlearn from Indian states and any comparative study of Indian s
d their PRIs can be very helpful. A proper evaluation of the working of PRIs in different states
able us to correct ourselves wherever necessary and to proceed ahead with confidence.
Panchayati Raj in India has gone a long way despite its shortcomings. It still faces problems ar
t of paucity of funds, lack of involvement of people in planning, continuing weakness of gram
bhas and administrative interference. But despite these problems it is evident that there has bee
precedented widening of the democratic base of our country due to PRIs. Thousands of men an
men have occupied the seats of power, something that was unthinkable earlier. It empowered
men, Dalits, tribals, and others who earlier remained absolutely marginalized. They have the
wer to alter development priorities today. This enables them to address their own needs and
orities and bring about development. This, in itself, is no mean achievement and raises hopes
panchayat system. The PRIs have also inculcated the idea of collective decision making, and
mmitment towards community interests. This culture of collective approach should permeate th
nds of the people. It is only then that they will take interest in panchayat activities and aspire to
ke it successful.
In the age of globalization, decentralization of governance is all the more important for these
rginalized sections. The regulatory role of the State is being discouraged in order to facilitate
onomic integration. The losers in this process are the poor masses who need to empower
mselves, use the decentralized governance process as a protective shield to fight against wron
ne towards them and take care of their lives themselves.
In assessing the achievements of India in this sphere it is necessary to distinguish between
mocratic ideals, democratic institutions and democratic practice. 13 India has inherited democr
als ever since the freedom movement. In terms of democratic institutions, India did reasonabl
ll. The main limitation of the Indian democracy relates to democratic practice. The performan
mocratic institutions is contingent on a wide range of social conditions, from educational leve
d political traditions to the nature of social inequalities. 14 Achieving local democracy is an
portant component of a successful democracy. Local democracy increases public accountabili
ntributes to social equity, and is potentially a stepping stone towards democratic participation

o helps in better management of the local public services. Higher level governments may estab
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r price shops, health centres, and schools in villages. But who will ensure that teachers293/369 and do
 ually8/18/2019
come in time and deliver services
Contemporary as desired?
India Economy, Only- Neera
Society, Politics an informed and active
Chandhoke, Praveen village
Priyadarshi

mmunity can exercise restraint upon persistent dereliction of duty. The idea of social audit has
refore, gained grounds. In fact, no amount of financial auditing by auditors coming from outsid
prove the system as much as social auditing itself. But the importance of local democracy cann
nfined to these instrumental roles only. Participation has an intrinsic value, too. Being able to b
rt of some decision making is something people have reasons to value and for that all efforts sh
made to strengthen our local institutions.

SUGGESTED READINGS
dhan, Pranab. ‘Decentralization of Governance and Development.’ Journal o f Economic Perspective 16 (4), 2002: 185–205.
ttacharya, Moitree. Panchayati Raj in West Bengal. Delhi: Manak, 2002, esp. the Introduction.
krabarty, Sukhamoy. Development Planning: The Indian Experience . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1987.
roy, Bibek and P D. Kaushik (eds.). Emerging Rural Development Through Panchayats. New Delhi: Academic Foundatio
005, esp. Ch. 5.
ze, Jean and Amartya Sen (eds.). India: Development and Participation . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002, Ch. 10
al, Neeija Gopal, Amit Prakash and Pradeep K. Sharma (eds.). ‘Introduction’ in their Local Governance in India: Decentra
nd Beyond . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006.
istry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India. The State of the Panchayats: A Mid-Term Review and Appraisal. New Delh
Government of India, 2006.
DP Decentralisation in India: Challenges and Opportunities . New Delhi: Human Development Resource Centre, UNDR

QUESTIONS

1. PRIs in India are facing multifarious problems. Explain them.

2. Discuss the basic features of the 73rd Amendment.
3. What are the problems that first-generation panchayats faced in India? Do you think that the post-73rd Amendment period
an improvement over it?

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 8/18/2019 22
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

The Changing Nature of Public Administration

Suranjita Ray

INTRODUCTION

blic administration is both a profession as well as a discipline. As a profession it is as old as

ilization itself. But it emerged as a discipline only after Woodrow Wilson first systematically
nceptualized it in 1887. As a great protagonist of the managerial approach to public administra
oodrow Wilson was the first to shift the focus from exclusive discussion on the nature of the S
d the purpose of government to ‘government in action’. He believed that ‘if administration had
ective role in a democracy then its practice must be constantly improved by studying its proble
one’s country as well as learnt by carefully examining the ways and means by which foreign
vernments conduct their own public business’. 1 Thus, he emphasized the importance of
mparative administration. Ever since then the study of the discipline has been focusing on revi
meaning, nature and scope of public administration keeping in mind the practice of administra
e perspectives, views, theories and approaches to understand public administration have,
refore, been developed empirically.
Public administration has been defined and redefined in terms of its meaning and scope in spe
ntexts with the change in time and space. It has evolved and grown over the years and in the
ocess of its evolution the gap between public administration in practice and its study as a disci
s been reduced. In the context of India, the planners were conscious of the need for a different
ministrative system to implement the planned objectives of development. Thus, many committe
re appointed by the government to suggest changes in the administrative system. It was becaus
concern for reforms in administration that public administration emerged as an academic
cipline aimed at providing an intellectual background for suggestions to improve public
ministration in practice.2 Therefore, it is important to analyse the historical growth of the disci

public administration
ministration to capture central
is the government’s the growing complexity
instrument to dealofwith
government activities.
the problems PublicThe
of society.
determinate boundaries of public administration and the expansion of governmental programme
dress the problems have resulted in the broadening of the concept of public administration.3 In
dition, the government in transition often reinforces a new paradigm. It is the new paradigm wh
ls for reinventing public administration both as a discipline as well as in practice. Therefore,
mprehensive understanding of public administration requires engaging in the continuing proces
cio-economic transformations and political developments, which shape the character of public
4
ministration.
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In recent years, public administration
8/18/2019 Contemporary Indiahas acquired
Economy, new -characteristics
Society, Politics in thePriyadarshi
Neera Chandhoke, Praveen context of
eralization in the decade of the 1990s, which saw the advent of a new corporate millennium. T
ulted in the movement towards a new era of corporate forms and processes which affected the
sting forms of governance.5 Important structural as well as ideological changes have contribut
changing character of public administration. Though the diversified and complex character of
uctural and ideological changes raises several important issues, questions and debates, this ch
nfines itself to looking at the changing character of public administration and corporate govern
rticularly in the context of India, without going into the ideological debates.
It is significant to conceptualize the evolution of public administration, which reflects its chan
aracteristics worldwide. Though there are several approaches to conceptualize its evolution on
n broadly divide the process of evolution into two dominant phases based on significant
aracteristics as the traditional/classical or Weberian and the non-classical/behavioural or non
eberian model of administration.6 While the first phase belongs to the pre-Second World War
riod, which focused on formal structures of administration, the later phase in the post-Second
orld War era shifted its focus to informal and behavioural factors.

THE EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AS A DISCIPLINE

nce the approaches to understand the discipline developed empirically one can understand the
aracteristics of public administration in specific social and historical contexts dominated by
ferent schools of thought. A systematic study of the discipline first began with the publication o
mous essay of Woodrow Wilson, ‘The Study of Administration’, published in the Political Sci
arterly in 1887. He referred to public administration as a science, which was an intrinsic par
orderly, organized and efficient world of business. 7 It was separate from politics and was
nfined to the execution of policies.
The justification for politics-administration dichotomy laid the foundation for identifying obje
nciples and specific functions of administration. Frank Goodnow—an advocate of juridical
proach—in his book, Politics and Administration, stated that politics had to do with formulat
licies or expressions of the states’ will while administration was concerned with the execution
se policies.8 Public administration was defined in a narrower sense which was apolitical in
ure. In the 1920s, it began picking up academic legitimacy when Leonard D. White’s book,

roduction to the Study of Public Administration, in 1926 reflected the general characteristics
ministration as non-partisan. Public administration was stated to be a ‘Value-free’ science and
ministration in practice would aim at economy and efficiency. It was a scientific enquiry based
ts, which kept the social, psychological and behavioural factors out of its study. W. F.
lloughby’s 1927 book, Principles of Public Administration reinforced the scientific principle
ministration, which could be applied successfully in any administrative setting. The notion of
rposive State with a proactive administration was also developed by Fredrick W. Taylor in 19
his work, Principles of Scientific Management. He believed that the State is a scientifically
9
ided http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
enterprise dedicated to ensure the wellbeing of the people. The focus of the mechanical 296/369
proach was on formal, structural,
8/18/2019 technical,
Contemporary and
India Economy, managerial
Society, factors
Politics - Neera to Praveen
Chandhoke, enhance efficiency in the
Priyadarshi

ministrative system.
A structural approach to study public administration based on seven principles, which was co
‘POSDCORB’ (Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budge
Luther Gullick and Lyndall Urwick in their 1937 essays in The Science of Administration. ‘It
uld be studied as a technical question, irrespective of the purpose of the enterprise, the person
mprising it or any constitutional, political or social theory underlying its creation.10 Thus, the s

public administration repeatedly focused on a centralized model of administration as a requisi

efficient and effective functioning of democracy.
Mary Parker Follett was amongst the foremost administrative thinkers who discussed new
aracteristics of administration. As a protagonist of the behavioural approach, she stated that
urposive administration should be participatory and democratic and suggested a location speci
ministration capable of controlling the situation only through unity of views’.11 It is, therefore,
portant to understand the theories and approaches that defined the essential characteristics of
ministration. In fact, no discourse on administration is complete without referring to Max Web
ws on bureaucracy, which was central to public administration.
Max Weber in his ideal theory of bureaucracy refers to the class character of society. He belie
t capitalism and bureaucracy mutually reinforce each other. He defined bureaucracy in terms o
uctural and behavioural characteristics. Unlike many scholars, he applied the concept of
reaucracy to all forms of large organizations, such as the civil service, political parties,
iversities and industrial enterprises, and asserted that both public and private administration w
coming more and more bureaucratized. He advocated a kind of organization which is imperson
here authority is exercised by administrators only by virtue of the office they hold. It should be
sed on defined hierarchy of authority, written rules and regulations, division of labour and pol
utrality. He argued that bureaucracy based on such principles has advantages of certainty,
utrality, precision and predictability.
Weber’s ideal theory of bureaucracy became the reference point to justify an administrative
ucture based on hierarchical and centralized authority. All the classical thinkers defended pub
ministration that was Weberian in nature. Even the British in colonial India practised an
ministrative system based on the Weberian principles of an ideal form of organization. The ad
ative system was hierarchical, bureacratized and centralized and was isolated from the people
eber’s interpretation that bureaucratic behaviour was predictable was proved wrong in practic
veral scholars from the behavioural school challenged the focus on non-behavioural character
bureaucracy by Weber, which was based on certain universal principles to be applied irrespe
socio-economic circumstances.
It was Elton Mayo from the human relations school and Herbert Simon from the behavioural s
ho focused on socio-psychological dimensions of human action as an important determinant of
ministrative behaviour in an organization.12 The mainstream public administration as separate
litics was challenged by Chester I. Barnard’s work, The Functions of the Executive, in 1938.
orstein Marx, in his edited book Elements of Public Administration in 1946, questioned
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297/369
 umption that politics andContemporary
8/18/2019 administration couldSociety,
India Economy, be dichotomized. In 1950,
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, the
Praveen dichotomy died w
Priyadarshi

declaration that ‘A theory of public administration means in our times a theory of politics als
a consequence, the nature of public administration was fundamentally altered and instead of a
ence based on facts, the focus was on social psychology, administrative behaviour and democ
ues.
The public choice approach is another landmark in the evolution of public administration. As
tique of the hegemony of bureaucracy, Vincent Ostrom conceptualized democratic administrati

being based on two underlying assumptions: ( a) individuals act rationally with adequate
ormation and ordered preferences and (b) individuals are utility maximizers.14 Thus, a theory
blic organizations to serve consumer’s interest and preferences was constructed. This approac
allenged the hegemonic position of the State as well as bureaucracy and emphasised the role o
n-State agencies such as the private sectors, which are citizen-friendly and can cater to the inte
the consumers. The critical theorists also believe that public interest and bureaucratic interest
oggerheads and concentrating power in the hands of bureaucracy alienates it from the public.1
is view suggests that democratization of management and a customer-driven government will
able to build a relationship with the citizens who are customers and should be offered choices.
Thus, the evolutionary process illustrates the shifting boundaries of the discipline in response
nstant changes in society. While in the past, public administration was claimed to be a neutral
ue-free science, ‘the New Public Administration postulates that public officials should drop t
ade of neutrality and use their discretion in administering social and other programmes to pro
d advance the interests of the less privileged groups in society’.16 Osborne and Gaebler’s
inventing Government in 1992 was a landmark in building new public administration as his id
luenced scholars to redefine the functions of the government as an ‘entrepreneurial governmen
blic management would be improved through performance, measurement and evaluation, reduc
dgets, downsizing the government, selective privatization of public enterprises and contracting
selective areas.17 The traditional organizational principles of the classical theory based on
ntralization became irrelevant and the post-Weberian public administration has been people-
ented as distinguished from structure-oriented. The rigid structural characteristics were reject
d instead adaptability, flexibility, initiative and participation by the people at the grassroots w
couraged. The focus on debureaucratization, democratization and decentralization of administr
ocesses in the interest of social equity and humane delivery of public services became importa
velopment administration.18
Thus, in the post-Second World War period, public administration was more than structures,
nagement techniques and principles as it became result-oriented, goal-oriented, client-oriented
ange-oriented. It was important to emphasise the political character of public administration. T
blic administration was to adjust itself to the continuous process of popular criticism, attitudes
eds.19 It is not merely governance but also a process in which administration is meaningfully
iculated. While in the past, the internal dynamics of the domestic needs influenced the

aracteristics of public administration, today, international factors also play a vital role.298/369
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It is,
refore, important to capture the changing characteristics of public administration.
In the8/18/2019
1980s and early 1990s in the India
Contemporary globalizing era,Politics
Economy, Society, there- Neera
wasChandhoke,
a need for governments
Praveen Priyadarshi to reinv
mselves less in terms of power and hierarchy and more in teVms of partnerships and
laboration. The hegemonic role of the State was challenged due to the economic reforms base
o-liberal ideologies. The government was no longer the sole provider of goods and services. T
cus shifted to market mechanisms, which promoted competition between diverse providers of
ods and services. This shift is called new public management (NPM), which focuses on the
repreneurial government. Today it is a catalytic government, which is catalysing all sectors—
blic, private and voluntary—to compete in order to maximize the level of performance and
nimize the cost. It is a participatory management and community-owned government, in which
nsumers are reconceptualized as active customers and not as passive recipients of policies. To
blic administration should empower citizens. The focus is on outputs, performance appraisal a
iciency outcomes rather than inputs and processes.20 Decentralization and strengthening of loc
vernments is critical to ensure greater accountability. Unlike the past where ‘accountability wa
sically an internal organizational affair to bring congruence between top-down policy and bott
e implementation, accountability under New Public Management has undergone radical change
izens are customers and State and public administration accountability is ascertained through
rious external agencies, including the Citizen’s Charter.22
The philosophy of good governance has redefined public administration beyond the monopoly
mal government where multiple actors play a vital role in governance:
n this definitional shift we are moving away from government towards governance or configurations of laws, policies, organizat
nstitutions, cooperative arrangements, and agreements that control citizens and deliver public benefits. It was crucial to strength
emocracy by focusing on greater participation, transparency, openness, flexibility, rule of law, human rights, delivery of high qu
ervices which citizens’ value, rigorous performance measurements of individuals and organizations. 23

us, in the recent years, public administration has been given the task to manage the complex ar
vernance that is being reinvented both structurally as well as ideologically to provide space fo
il society organizations.
Today, the traditional State system has lost its relevance and instead the corporate State has
come important with the shift in the paradigm. The State- centred theories of bureaucracy, its
ganizations, structures and functions have been challenged and the network-based organization
awn on the neo-liberal values and market economy play a critical role in the era of a globalizin
rld. The State no longer continues to be the only actor in welfare and development activities.
ther, the role of a corporate State is to engage in facilitating the latter activities, which are the
main of non-State actors. The distinction between public as well as private does not appear to
critical as it was in the past in conceptualizing public administration. Instead, it is the public-
vate partnership that characterizes public administration in the recent years. 24

Chancing Characteristics of Public Administration in India

me of the major landmarks in the evolution of public administration in India illustrate how the
anging needs of the society and the role of the State influence characteristics of the administrat
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stem.8/18/2019
One can divide the phases of its
Contemporary Indiaevolution as pre-Independence
Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, and post-Independence
Praveen Priyadarshi

riod to identify the distinct characteristics of public administration in the changed context.
In British India, there was a structurally monolithic hierarchical administrative structure with
command running from the Viceroy and Governor- General to the village.25 The purpose of
ministration was to protect the interest of the British and it was confined to maintenance of law
der and revenue collection. However, several Acts were passed to change the structures of
ministration for efficiency in administering India as a colony. The Regulating Act, 1773 was a

jor milestone in the history of India’s public administration, as it was the outcome of concern
rulers in England about the governed in India. 26 The Govemor-General-in-Council was requi
consult the council and was accountable to the British Parliament. But the administrative
tortions in India could not be addressed and as the latter lacked control over the company, it l
onstitutional crisis. In response to this, the Pitts India Act of 1784 was enacted and structural
chanisms were adopted to make the system of governance different from that in the past. It wa
w the crown that controlled the territories under the company. One of the most significant
islative interventions in India’s public administration was the Charter Act, 1833, which marke
culmination of the process of centralized administration by establishing the authority of the cr
er public administration in India.27 The nature of public administration was radically altered b
vernment of India Act of 1858, which transferred the government’s territories and revenues fr
company to the crown. Unlike in the past the Indian Councils Act, 1861 introduced non-offici
mbers in administration. As a political strategy, the 1909 Act introduced a separate electorate
blic administration continued to remain partisan in nature. The Government of India Act, 1919
ritical step, which empowered governors to exercise control over transferred subjects in the
ovinces. The Government of India Act, 1935 redefined the public in public administration as
ovincial autonomy enabled the Indian ministers to be directly involved in administration thoug
der the restriction of colonialism.28 Public administration in the colonial administrative culture
sed on the Weberian characteristics of a centralized hierarchical structure and rigidity of rules
gulations.
In the post-Independence period this model of a centralized, status quoist administrative struct
s inadequate to meet the new challenges of economic development and social change. The
nsition from a colonial system of government to a parliamentary democracy with federal struc
d commitment to welfare State compelled the planners to bring about reforms in public
ministration.29 Though the framework of the British bureaucracy was accepted because of its
uctural utility, the adoption of the socialistic pattern of society called for a committed
reaucracy. Thus, it had to undergo structural, functional and ideological reforms. The democr
ministration of independent India went beyond parochial interests and was ideologically differ
m that of the British.
Since administration is not a mechanical device but one that is intertwined with the environme
hich it is based and from which it draws its sustenance as well, administrative reforms are entr

ints to trace the

cumstances. evolution of is
Administration public
purpose administration
driven and as a process located
is constantly engagedinwith specific
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socio-econ
negotiations wit
300/369
anging nature of the State.Contemporary
8/18/2019 Therefore, inEconomy,
India spite of accepting
Society, the Chandhoke,
Politics - Neera framework of Priyadarshi
Praveen the British
reaucracy, the founding fathers sought to radically alter its nature by locating its functioning wi
ystem of democratic governance. Its functions were to serve the interest of the indigenous
pulation and were thus geared to the task of development—it focused on results rather than
ocedures. The First Five-Year Plan pointed out that economic planning was not merely
velopment of resources in a narrow, technical sense, but development of human faculties as w
lding institutional frameworks to meet the needs and aspirations of the people. Thus, it admitt

t the administrative agenda changed from maintenance of law and order and revenue collection
e development of human and material resources and the elimination of poverty and want’. 30 Th
ategy of planned economic growth adopted in the five-year plans to tackle the problems of pov
quired democratic decentralization. The Gandhian model of rural development based on
centralization was adopted to increase people’s participation. The three-tier Panchayati Raj sy
d urban local bodies were conceived as institutions to accelerate participatory development. 31
wever, the Community Development Programme remained a bureaucratic activity and did not
volve people’s participation until 1992 when the 73rd and 74th Amendments brought about
nificant changes to strengthen the financial and administrative capacity of the local bodies by
oviding for regular elections and vesting them with adequate financial resources and powers. I
tructured rural administration by bringing peripheral sections into decision-making.32
Several suggestions for reorganizing and improving the administrative machinery to secure
egrity, efficiency, economy, public cooperation, ensuring speed implementation of plans,
ectiveness and accountability, training to avoid nepotism and patronage, establishment of
gilance, focus on poverty alleviation and people’s participation in development were emphasi
the five-year plans.33 In 1966, the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) played a vital
bringing about administrative changes in India keeping in mind the goals of a socialist pattern
ciety. It recommended that a close relation between civil service and politics should be arrest
us, public administration was not merely an instrument of rule based on control and authority b
o an instrument of development based on democratic decentralization. The focus on participat
velopment from the Sixth Five-Year Plan onwards emphasised the role of non-State actors and
n-government organizations as new actors in development activities. It is significant to analyse
portant role of the non- State actors in the process of development.
Traditionally, public administration has basically been an inward looking discipline concerne
th the management of the country’s domestic public affairs. But, in the recent years it has respo
the processes of globalization and their impact on domestic administrative management. The s
s been to reinvent the discipline in the context of a newly emerging world order. Therefore, rec
anges in Indian administration owe a great deal to the new economic policy in the 1990s, whic
empted to dismantle the centralized administration by making it a part of a network involved in
blic affairs. Administration was to become representative and responsive in character by invo
al people in the planning and implementation of development programmes. De-bureaucratizing

blic administration has legitimized civil society organizations, which play a vital role 301/369 in
nventing the government. Civil society has emerged as a third sector along with the State
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uctured bureaucracy had aContemporary
8/18/2019 critical role to playSociety,
India Economy, in thePolitics
development of the
- Neera Chandhoke, country
Praveen and its people
Priyadarshi

day this role has been altered. The need to de-bureaucratize and democratize the administration
ocess by focusing on structures based on decentralization, delegation, increasing people’s
rticipation, transparency, openness, cooperation, coordination and accountability has been
oritized. The ideological pressures of globalization and neo-liberalism have compelled the
wnsizing of the functions of public administration. Therefore, the State should confine itself to
se functions which cannot be performed by the market and the development sectors. It plays on
hno-managerial role in development. ‘Government through public administration is being trea
just one form of governance. The concept of governance opens up possibilities of government
ough non-bureaucratic agencies, other than formal government’. 41 Thus, it is important to
derstand the changing characteristics and spatial nature of public administration.
The democratic upsurges in a pluralist society of India based on class, caste, gender and ethnic
ng with globalization and its ideological package of structural adjustment radically altered the
ministrative structures and the values on which it was based. The structural adjustment program
orld Bank, IMF; WTO and IT revolution led to a free flow of funds as well as collaboration,
rtnership, corporatization and networking. This shift in the paradigm called for a new
ministrative role of the State based on the two-pronged strategy of making way simultaneously
GOs and the market forces, which is more complex and challenging than the past. The State has
eract with multiple partners/actors from diverse regions, cultures, occupations and interests in
ocesses of planning, negotiating and decision-making. The need for the Indian State to roll back
gulate and support the private community is a difficult task. The contemporary enabling and
gulating role of public administration calls for a networking capacity to function in association
ny agencies and organizations both at the national and international levels. Unlike the tradition
blic administration, this agenda raises the possibility of conflicting pressures for the
ministration. It might not always represent the publicness of public administration.42

SUGGESTED READINGS
ttacharya, Mohit, New Horizons of Public Administration . New Delhi: Jawahar Publishers and Distributors, 2003.
——. Restructuring Public Administration: Essays in Rehabilitation . New Delhi: Jawahar Publishers and Distributors, 2006
kravarty, Bidyut, Reinventing Public Administration: The Indian Experience . New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2007.
kravarty; Bidyut and Mohit Bhattacharya (eds.). Public Administration: A Reader . Oxford University Press, 2003.
——. Administrative Change and Innovation: A Reader. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005.
nry, Nicholas. Public Administration and Public Affairs. New Delhi: Prentice- Hall of India, 2007.
heswari, S. R., Administrative Think ers . New Delhi: Macmillan India Limited, 2007.

QUESTIONS

1. What do you understand by public administration? Discuss the evolution and growth of the discipline.
2. Over the years, the characteristics of public administration have changed in the context of India. Discuss with examples.
3. Examine the model of rural development based on decentralization and increasing people’s participation in the recent years
4. Critically analyse the increasing role of non-State actors in the process of development in, the context of a globalizing world

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Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

India in the Global Strategic Environment

Satyajit Mohanty

e end of the Cold War resulted in a major transformation of the global security and strategic
vironment. It marked the end of superpower confrontation based on the principles of nuclear
errence, containment and balance of power. The fall of the Berlin Wall established the
eponderance of American power. 1 It also resulted in the broadening and transformation of the
curity agenda and rise of political and economic regionalism. The global financial and
vironmental crisis attract as much attention, if not more, as military and defence-related issues
rking a shift in the security paradigm from ‘military alone’ to ‘military plus’. 2
The combined impact of the above changes has led to an ascendancy of neo-liberal values like
operative security, economic interdependence and democratization. 3 While the significance of
litary security is not denied, the post- Cold War international system, assigns a great value to s
wer. The soft power resources of a country rests primarily on its culture (in places where it is
ractive to others), its political values (when it lives up to them at home and abroad), and its fo
licies (when they are seen as legitimate and having moral authority. 4
A nation’s ranking in the global pecking order is measured by how successfully it has been ab
vetail its hard and soft power resources into its grand strategy. 5 The focus of this chapter will
ess how India is augmenting its hard power resources to enhance its security, on the one hand
w it is using its foreign policies to bolster its status in the international system, on the other.

INDIA: HARD POWER RESOURCES AND IMMEDIATE SECURITY CONCERNS

tions apportion a premium to territorial and military security because the history of war and
olence, far from ending, has taken newer forms. India’s security, as understood in the traditiona
nse of the term, rests on the twin pillars of nuclear and conventional deterrence.

Nuclear India
clear weapons are supposed to be a currency of hard power—the military equivalent of the do
the international financial system. Although India could have gone nuclear in the 1960s, the
ndhi-Nehru moral framework of governance instead ensured that India strives for universal
armament.6
The post-Cold War era resulted in perpetuation of the iniquitous global nuclear system through
7
definite extension
eaty (CTBT) sought of the
to ban Nuclear Non- explosions,
all nuclear Proliferationbut Treaty
left a(NPT).
windowThe openComprehensive Test B
for the recognized
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 8
clear8/18/2019
powers to continue with sub-critical
Contemporary tests.
India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Disillusioned, India crossed the nuclear ‘lakshman rekha’ in 1998 and has since continued its
an track record of being a responsible nuclear weapon state—a fact that has got a stamp of
proval with the Indo-US Nuclear Cooperation Act, 2006 (Hyde Amendment). France, Germany
ina have also evinced interest to establish civilian nuclear cooperation with India.
The anti-nuclear voice has maintained that India’s going nuclear acted as a trip wire for Pakist
oss the nuclear rubicon. Pakistan also effectively blunted India’s conventional weapons superi
resorting to nuclear blackmail during the 1999 Kargil conflict.9 However, Kenneth Waltz
cefully argues that the limited nature of conflict both during the Kargil war and in the aftermath
December 2001 terrorist attacks on the Indian Parliament show that ‘the presence of nuclear
apons prevented escalation from major skirmish to full-scale war. This contrasts starkly with
oody 1965 war, in which both parties were armed only with conventional weapons’. 10 As nuc
apons limit escalation, they may tempt countries to fight small wars—a phenomenon identified
strategic stability/tactical instability paradox.11 Prominent Indian strategic thinkers like K.
brahmanyan also believe that nuclear India can seek strategic parity with China, deter outside
wers from interfering in South Asia, and stabilize the regional military situation, allowing Indi
ger economy and cultural superiority to prevail in the broader competition between India and
kistan.12
India’s nuclear doctrine is ‘based on the principle of a minimum credible deterrent and no-f
e as opposed to doctrines or postures of launch- on-waming’.13 Deterrence requires India to
intain sufficient, survivable and operationally prepared nuclear forces with a robust command
ntrol system. While not specifying ‘how much is too much’, ‘sufficiency’ factors in the capabil
vive surprise first strike attacks with adequate retaliatory capabilities for a punishing strike w
uld be unacceptable to the aggressor. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has made a guesstima
t India has a stockpile of approximately 40–50 assembled nuclear warheads. 14

India’s Missile Programme

dia’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), launched in 1983, compri
e core systems, namely, the Agni range of intermediate ballistic missiles (IRBMs), Prithvi sho
nge ballistic missiles, the Trishul surface-to-air missiles, the Akash medium-range missiles, an
g anti-tank guided missiles. India is also developing Sagarika, a 300-km submarine-launched
clear capable cruise missile, and the BrahMos range of supersonic missiles. 15 India also has p
add to its deterrence arsenal the Surya range of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) wit
next decade. Our ‘minimal deterrent’ based on a triad of land-, air-, and sea-based nuclear fo
ll rely heavily on the strike capabilities of these ballistic and cruise missiles.
In November 2006, India successfully conducted the Prithvi Air Defence Exercise (PADE) an
came the fourth nation to acquire a missile defence system.16 India and the US Defence Policy
oup have also decided to step up cooperation in Missile Defence to make it more robust. 17
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 8/18/2019 India’s Conventional
Contemporary Defence
India Economy, and Border
Society, Politics Management
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

e conventional wing of India’s defence forces is expected to manage an array of internal secur
eats, protect India’s land and maritime borders and participate in regionally or globally
ordinated efforts for conflict management such as ensuring safety of global supply chain or
ntributing to in the United Nations peacekeeping operations. India maintains the third largest
litary force and the largest paramilitary force in the world. The defence allocation was raised
r cent from $18 billion in 2005–06 to $20 billion in 2006–07. But at 2.3 per cent of its GDR
dia’s defence spending as a proportion of GDP is much lower than that of China or Pakistan. P
ojection through military means and translation of economic gains into defence spin-offs have n
en India’s strategic goal.
India has 14,880 kilometres of land borders, whose management becomes difficult due to
hospitable terrain and extreme climatic conditions. India shares over 3,000 kms of land border
th Pakistan and China. India’s border situation remains fluid particularly due to the easy flow
rorists, insurgents, illegal migrants and smugglers, often aided and abetted from across the bor
ur of the seven north-eastern states of India share a 1,643 kilometre- long land border with
yanmar. Prospects of peace and economic prosperity in the North East is intricately linked to th
bility across both sides of the Indo-Myanmar border. 18 The task force on border management,
hich submitted its report in 2000, has reported that about 1.5 crore Bangladeshi nationals have
egally entered India and altered the demographic profile in states like Assam. The Indo-Nepal
rder has traditionally been an open border and this has helped Maoists to establish a contiguou
d corridor from south India right into the heart of Nepal. However, the participation of Maoists
newly elected democratic government in Nepal has raised hopes of a peaceful frontier with I
e military operations conducted by the Royal Bhutanese Army in 2003–04 against Indian insur
oups was a milestone in our joint response to terrorist activities.
India also has a long coastline of 5,422 kilometres. The 1,197 islands account for 2,094 kilom
additional coastline. Certain Myanmarese islands like the Coco Islands, where China has
portedly established radar and communication signalling equipment, are very close to the And
ands. We have a dispute with Pakistan over Sir Creek Island and a joint survey has been accep
both countries to arrive at an amicable solution. Security threats also arise from plans by terro
oups to use the sea route to infiltrate and induct arms and ammunition into India and occupy
19
inhabited islands for attacking coastal areas and vital oil installations.
To manage India’s land and maritime borders, a number of proactive measures, such as increa
number of border outposts and fencing and floodlighting the borders, have been undertaken.
manned arial vehicles (UAVs), advanced land nagivation systems (ALNS) and global position
stems (GPS), night vision devices and thermal imagers have already been provided to the Bord
curity Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Coast Guard. The Border Area
velopment Programme (BADP) was started in the Seventh Five-Year Plan to fill up critical g
the social and physical infrastructure so as to negate the attractiveness of anti-State violence a
ans of protest. A proposal to build 600 kilometres of road along the borders at a cost of
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The end of the Cold War Contemporary
8/18/2019 made non-alignment, the cornerstone
India Economy, Society, of Indian
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, foreign
Praveen policy, passé.
Priyadarshi

lapse of the USSR with whom India shared a very close relationship and economic crisis and
stable governments resulted in an uneasy transition in Indian foreign policy in the early 1990s.
By the mid-1990s, Indian foreign policy submitted itself to a process of adaptive learning to b
status and influence in the global pecking order. Our foreign policy has shifted from an
eremphasis on idealism during the Cold War era to pragmatic realism in the post-Cold War er
oactive ‘catch-all’ diplomacy fanning in an omni-directional manner to establish tangible econ
d security partnerships with major regions and countries of the world. While India felt the need
ch out to countries beyond its immediate neighbourhood, the world also took cognizance of In
owing economic, political and military might and its potential for positive contribution to the
ernational system. Within this overarching scheme, the focus nonetheless remains on forging
onomic and strategic partnerships with the major powers in the system, pursuing a proactive
lomacy in Asia and securing South Asia. Indias big emerging market, 9 per cent GDP growth
d growing export basket have also contributed in building mutually synergetic relationships wi
her countries and trade blocs across the globe. As a result, the economic and energy security
mponents have become as strong as the strategic, security and defence components of our
plomacy. As C. Raja Mohan puts it,
f a single image catches India’s strategic style in the past, it was that of a porcupine—vegetarian, slow-footed and prickly. The
amous defensiveness of the porcupine became the hallmark of India’s approach to the world. India was a reactive power; whe
he world impinged on it, India used to put up its sharp quills to ward off the threats. The quills symbolized the principles of fairn
ustice and equality as defence against what India saw an unacceptable demand from the international system. India, it was wid
elieved at home and abroad, would not seek opportunities or be opportunistic in pursuit of its national interests. In the domain o
oreign policy the decade of the 1990s, however saw a sea-change in India’s foreign policy. It was as if the porcupine became
ger.23

INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES: MOVING TOWARDS A NATURAL PARTNERSHIP

we were to identify the single great transformation in Indian foreign policy in the last decade it
dia’s changed relationships with the USA. We have moved from estranged to engaged democra
th a mutually beneficial strategic partnership.24 Post 9/11, the USA’s revised strategy towards
eral democratic India was not to contain but to engage and ‘help India become a major world
wer in the 21st Century’.25 The highpoint of our relationships has been the de-hyphenation of th
do-US relations from US-Pakistan relations and intensified defence and security engagement. T
do-US civilian nuclear cooperation deal has been the icing on the cake.
In June 2005, India and the USA entered into a 10-year defence partnership agreement, which
volves arms trade, technology transfer and even coproduction of military equipment.26 In the sa
ar, both India and the USA reiterated their support for a global democracy initiative and for the
ited Nations Democracy Fund. The first phase of the 2004 Next Steps in Strategic Partnership
SSP) agreement has been implemented with the USA lifting sanctions against India’s space
ogrammes. Greater Indo-American cooperation in tackling terrorism through Indian participati
Container Security Initiative (CSI) and bilateral intelligence sharing is in the offing.
The Hyde Amendment is a quid pro quo arrangement that will allow India access to all308/369
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 omplete nuclear fuel cycle
8/18/2019 in returnIndia
Contemporary forEconomy,
India’s assurances
Society, ofChandhoke,
Politics - Neera separating itsPriyadarshi
Praveen civilian reactors fr
military ones. The joint statement of 18 July 2005 and, subsequently, the separation plan of 2
arch 2006 requires India to place the civilian nuclear facilities under the full scope Internation
omic Energy safeguards, but only when all nuclear restrictions have been withdrawn. For its p
USA had to change the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to facilitate such cooperation and appr
Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) to enable international civilian nuclear cooperation betwee
dia and the international community.

This deal will be the first step in increasing our reliance on nuclear energy. Nuclear energy
counts for a paltry 3 per cent of our energy needs as against 79 per cent for France, 60 per cent
lgium, 31 per cent for Japan and 20 per cent for the U SA. High import bills due to the rising p
crude have made energy security one of the foremost issues of Indian foreign policy. By 2030,
dia will be the third largest energy consumer in the world and, thus, greater reliance on nuclear
ergy is necessary to keep our economy growing.27
Both countries have decided to increase bilateral trade from $27 billion in 2005 to $40 billion
07–08 and measures like the establishment of the Indo- US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) and the
chnology Cooperation Group (HTCG) to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade will ser
s end.
Although we recognize that good relations with the USA are in our national interest, this does
an compromising with the independent nature of India’s foreign policy or the integrity of our
ategic programmes. 28 While India supported the USA in voting against Iran in IAEA on the nuc
ue, it has made it clear that the US intervention in Iraq has been a mistake and, hence, did not
ops to Iraq. India has refused to accept an annual audit of India’s fissile material stock or a
ratorium on the production of fissile material.

INDIA’S RELATIONS WITH MAJOR NON-ASIAN POWERS

dia’s policy has been one of ‘association maximization’ to secure wider international support.
ught to take off its relationship with the Russia Federation from where it had left off with the U
though Russia mooted the idea of a ‘strategic triangle’ with India and China in the mid-1990s,
ssia’s current President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that Russia did not visualize a Mosco
ijing-New Delhi axis to evolve into a political or military bloc, least it be perceived as one
ected against the USA. In 2000, India and Russia signed a Declaration on Strategic Partnershi
lowed it up with the 2002 New Delhi declaration to deepen and diversify cooperation in area
ergy security, information technology and fight against international terrorism. Stability in
ghanistan and the Central Asian Republics (CARs) also remains an immediate internal securit
ncern to both India and Russia.
Russia is the largest source of Indian weapons and it has agreed to extend its defence knowhow
p India acquire the advanced technology vehicles (ATV), multi-role transport aircraft and fifth
neration unique interceptor fighters. Both countries are keen to arrest the decline in bilateral tr

hich has slipped from $950 million in 2000 to $650 million in 2005, by exploring the feasibilit
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). Prospects for energy cooperation
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main 8/18/2019
bright as India’s ONGC VideshIndia
Contemporary Limited
Economy, (OVL) and- Neera
Society, Politics Russian firmsPraveen
Chandhoke, havePriyadarshi
cooperated in the
khalin-1 project. OVL is interested to buy Russian firms and exploit oil and gas in areas like
beria.
On global concerns related to democracy, human rights, terrorism and environment, both India
European Union have a common approach. Recognizing India’s growing power and economic
portance, the 2004 Indo-EU Summit upgraded bilateral relationship to that of a ‘strategic
rtnership’. India had already entered into a ‘strategic partnership’ with Germany in 2001. Indi
d for a permanent membership in the Security Council has the support of France, Britain, Germ
xembourg and Romania. One of the significant outcomes of Indo-EU political relations has bee
U’s balanced position that the Kashmir dispute be resolved through political dialogue—a posit
ceptable to India. India and the EU have been cooperating in the International Thermonuclear
perimental Reactor (ITER) Project and the Indo-US nuclear deal might enhance civilian nucle
operation between India and the EU.
However, till date the thrust remains trade and economic relations. The EU accounts for more
per cent of India’s exports and 16 per cent of our imports and our target is to achieve the $50
lion trade in the next couple of years. The EU is also one of the most important sources of
vestment in India, although we get only one-sixth of European investments going to China. Som
most contentious trade issues like restricted market access to Indian agro and marine product
tiles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals due to the Technical and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SP
rriers need to be addressed. Indian products have also not been accorded preferential market
cess under the generalized system of preferences (GSP) scheme.
Earnest efforts to facilitate trade have been undertaken by signing the Bilateral Investment
otection Agreement (BIPA) and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with a
jority of the European countries like France, the Czech Republic and Serbia-Montenegro. Indi
EU have formed a Joint Task Force (JTF) to negotiate a Comprehensive Economic Cooperat
d Partnership Agreement. India and many European countries like Denmark, and Sweden have
ned joint agreements in the fields of biotechnology and information technology.
India is also improving its relationships with countries in Latin America and Oceania. The rec
med India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) forum has already shown spark by reaching agreem
the field of shipping and finance and the aim is to double trilateral trade and investments by th
the decade. India is engaged in Regional Trading Arrangement (RTA) negotiations with South
rican Customs Union (SACU) in which South Africa is the major economy and Mercosur, in w
azil and Argentina are the major economies. Indian goods have a very low penetration in Latin
merica and the Mercosur RTA along with the Preferential Trading Agreement (PTA) with Chil
ll increase India’s visibility in Latin America. A proposed RTA encompassing SACU, India a
ercosur (SIM) is also being contemplated at the highest levels. Argentina, Brazil and India (AB
ve formulated a common position on a host of global trade issues notable being the common
sition on the Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) negotiations at the Doha Round of Tra
gotiations. In 2005, India and Venezuela inked an oil-for-knowledge deal, where long-term su
oil would be available to India at a discount if prices rose above $50 per barrel in exchange
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owledge transfer, investments
8/18/2019 in medicines
Contemporary and
India Economy, the Politics
Society, IT sector.
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

Nearly half of India’s coking coal requirements come from Australia but India, like China, is m
erested in getting access to Australian uranium. While China has access to this, India has so fa
en denied it, as it is not a signatory to the NPT.
India’s African diplomacy fits into a classical emerging power diplomacy framework. India h
pped up its aid to and economic diplomacy with African nations to ensure its economic and en
curity and obtain political support on critical issues like permanent Security Council members

dia has extended economic support for the New Partnership for African Development (NPAED
d signed an MoU with eight east African states for assistance in critical sectors like informatio
hnology, education, healthcare, transportation, tourism and agriculture under the Techno-Econ
proach for Africa-India Movement or TEAM 9 initiative. The pan-African e-initiative involv
ation of a distance education network and telemedicine facilities. India is also in the process
oviding preferential market access to LDCs through the Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) Scheme
luence of Indian diaspora in Africa is also gradually increasing and Indian presence in the R&
ojects, educational sector, construction industry, tourism and health sectors has led to capacity
lding in various African countries like Ghana and Nigeria. India has reached out to oil and ga
h African nations like Nigeria and Angola for oil and gas exploration ventures.
In a nutshell, Indian foreign policy has broken itself free from the shackles of idealism and for
utually symbiotic political and economic relationships with countries across the globe.

India in the Asian Security System

dia’s Asia policy has three parallel but mutually interdependent tracks. First, as part of our ‘Lo

st policy, India seeks to establish close ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
SEAN) and maintain cordial relations with other East Asian nations such as China, South Kor
d Japan. Second, India’s ‘Look West’ policy strives to forge geo-strategic ties with countries l
udi Arabia and Iran and ensure energy security. Finally, securing South Asia and engaging and
intaining cordial ties with our neighbours has been the prime goal of India’s neighbourhood po
India’s Look East policy, launched in 1991, should aim at specific gains by, say, 2010. Such a
gagement needs to take place at four different levels. India needs to engage China politically a
onomically at the most proximate level and extend non-reciprocal support to Cambodia, Laos,

yanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) in line with something contemplated in the Gujral doctrine for So
ian LDCs. At the next level, it should intensify economic engagement with the original ASEAN
untries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore and explore options o
fence diplomacy, democratic alliance and trade and investment options with Japan and South
rea at the final level.
While some Asian countries have tried to project India as a counter to the growing Chinese
luence, India has dispelled notions of both Asian giants being strategic competitors. Smilarly,
ina has propounded the doctrine of ‘peaceful rise’ to show that it is in the mutual economic
erestshttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
to cooperate and intensify the regional economic integration process. The visit of311/369 Premi
ng to8/18/2019
India in 1991 and President R.India
Contemporary Venkataraman to China
Economy, Society, Politics - Neerain 1992 led
Chandhoke, to the
Praveen decline of mutu
Priyadarshi

stilities, establishment of a joint working group to resolve the boundary issue and resumption o
rder trade. India reiterated that Tibet is an autonomous region of China. The visit of President
min to India in 1996 marked a breakthrough as both countries decided not to use force against
her, reduce troops and armaments across the border and not to cross the Line of Control. Howe
dia is still worried about Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh from certain Chinese quarters a
reased PLA accessibility and activity along the Indo-Tibetan border.

The year 2006 was designated as the ‘Sino-India Friendship Year’ and in the 21 November 20
nt statement issued during the visit of the Chinese President Hu Jintao to India, both countries
terated that the tempo built up in the earlier Declaration on Principles for Relations and
mprehensive Cooperation in 2003 and in the April 2005 Joint Statement on Strategic and
operative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity should be sustained. A ‘ten-pronged strategy’,
hich included a plan for comprehensive development of bilateral relations and an endeavour to
se the volume of bilateral trade to $40 billion by 2010 was also chalked out. The Nathu-La Pa
s opened up for trade and both countries are exploring the feasibility of an FTA in the near fut
dia has welcomed China’s observer status in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperatio
AARC) and China has supported India’s observer status in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
CO). Both countries have taken interest in a proposed Asian energy grid and have agreed to sh
ormation while bidding for oil and gas contracts and, if possible, undertake joint bids to ensur
ergy security.
India has extended multi-sectoral economic and technical assistance for capacity building of th
LMV countries in a bid to enhance its soft power and has already committed itself to non-recip
iff preferences under the proposed Indo-ASEAN FTA. India’s interests particularly lie in
bilizing the border with Myanmar and in having access to Myanmarese oil and natural gas.
esident A. P J. Abdul Kalam visited Myanmar in March 2006 and entered into an MoU on
operation in the petroleum sector. However, Myanmar has declined gas supply to India while
ving agreed to supply 6.5 trillion cubic feet of gas to China. The Myanmar-Bangladesh-India g
peline has also not kick started due to security concerns and differences with Bangladesh over
nsit fees.
The original Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations visualize India not onl
ation with tremendous economic opportunities but also as a country which could provide strat
bility over land and sea and counter terrorism, sea piracy and drug trafficking. On the econom
nt, at the Twelfth ASEAN summit meeting in January 2007, as China and ASEAN signed an
reement to open up key sendees sectors, India and ASEAN finally settled their differences ove
gative list so that the FTA could be finalized quickly. The Indo-Singapore Comprehensive
onomic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and the Early Harvest Scheme (EHS) of Indo-Thaila
A have already been put in place. Singapore has emerged as India’s third largest investor and
de with Thailand has doubled since operationalisation of the EHS. Indo-ASEAN trade had gro
about 30 per cent in 2005 and was set to surpass the target of $30 billion by 2007. A swathe o
onomic cooperation agreements like the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical
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 onomic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
8/18/2019 ContemporaryFTA, deepened
India Economy, Society,Asia-Pacific Trade Praveen
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Agreement
Priyadarshi(APTA) cou

th gradual opening up of services and investment sectors and open skies policy will definitely
ensify Indo-ASEAN relations and possibly lead to the creation of a Pan-Asian Free Trade
reement (PAFTA)—a goal laid down by India in the 2005 East Asian summit meeting.
India, Japan and South Korea, with fairly long democratic traditions, can put in place a
emocratic troika’ to act as a model for other Asian countries. India and Japan are ‘determined
ke up for the lost decade in bilateral relations’ 29 and go beyond the mono-dimensional econom

mponent and cooperate to formulate joint naval exercises, disaster management etc. In 2005, b
untries reiterated their commitment to the global partnership agreement of 2000 and announced
ht-fold initiative to boost bilateral cooperation. India and Japan began engaging in regular
mprehensive security dialogues and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a strat
logue between the USA, India, and Australia.
India has started Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations with both Jap
d South Korea. India can act as a hub for South Korean and Japanese investments and be a part
ir regional production networks (RPNs). Although Japan is one of India’s largest trading partn
dia accounts for less than 1 per cent of Japan’s total trade, whereas, China accounted for about
r cent of Japan’s trade in 2004. The quantum of Japanese investments in India is still minscule
hen compared with their investments in ASEAN although we are the largest recipient of Japane
ficial Development Assistance (ODA). Future cooperation in nanotechnology, health sector, b
hnology and energy security will boost India’s relations with Northeast Asian democracies.
After strengthening India’s Look East policy, India looks forward to provide stability to its hit
e-saw Look West policy. The Gulf accounts for more than 70 per cent of India’s oil imports an
trong 3.7 billion Indian presence that remit around $8 billion per annum. India and Israel open
mbassies in each other’s country in 1992 and the later is one of the major suppliers of defence
uipment like Phalcon Advanced Air Warning System and Barak-II Air Defence Missiles to Ind
dia has helped Kuwait’s reconstruction, held military exercise with Oman and signed the Indo-
operation Council Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation to explore the possibility
FTA. India and Saudi Arabia signed an anti-terrorism pact to fight money laundering, drug me
d arms smuggling and entered into a strategic energy partnership to channel Saudi investments
dian energy infrastructure and further Indian participation in Saudi oil ventures. India hopes tha
ain in the US-Iran relationship over Iran’s nuclear policy will not affect Indo-Iranian relations
Last, but not the least, India seeks to follow a good neighbourhood policy. Emergency and pol
tability in Bangladesh, nascent and fragile democracy in Nepal, decades of civil insurgency in
nka, the drug-tom economy of Afghanistan and terrorism, fundamentalism and dictatorship in
kistan affect India’s growth. India’s main foreign policy dilemma over the past 50 years has be
olve its bilateral disputes with Pakistan. Both nuclear powers have fought four wars over Kas
the past. Our relations go through good, bad and ugly phases of the roller coaster ride. Howev
ce 2004, overall relations have been less tense. Under the ‘Composite dialogue’ process we h
reed to discuss the Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek issue and undertake confidence- building
asures through establishment of rail and road links, troop reduction at the borders, prior
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tification of any ballistic missiles
8/18/2019 tests,
Contemporary exchange
India Economy, ofPolitics
Society, lists- Neera
of nuclear installations
Chandhoke, and facilities
Praveen Priyadarshi

vered under the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks on nuclear installations. Visa restrictions
ve been eased to allow movement of goods and people across the Line of Control and Track-II
logue mechanisms are firmly in place.
However, several contentious issues apart from Kashmir remain to be resolved. The cross-bo
pport and abatement of terrorism has been strongly condemned by India and, despite evidence,
kistan denies any involvement in terror attacks like the Mumbai blasts. India has also rejected

kistan’s proposals for demilitarization of Kashmir, joint control and self-governance stating th
se are internal issues of the country. The World Bank brokered Indus Water Treaty of 1960, a
odel of Indo-Paldstan cooperation for distribution of six river waters, is under strain. Islamaba
eady knocked on the doors of World Bank to arbitrate the issue of India’s construction of Bag
m on Chenab river, while India has shared technical details with Pakistan to negate claims tha
olating the Indus Water Treaty. India has also protested against the proposed construction of th
asha Dam on Indus in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir while Pakistan, in turn, has raised the issue
nstruction of Wullar Barrage on Jhelum by India.
Although South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) became operational, Pakistan has refused to
nfer India with the Most Favoured Nation status even though studies have shown conclusively
kistan will stand to benefit from it. A strong SAFTA will promote interdependence and reduce
oclivity for disputes. Another area of Indo-Pakistan cooperation is the Iran-Pakistan-India Gas
peline project and both India and Pakistan hope that their anti-Iran vote in IAEA will not derai
oject. Only through mutual cooperation and political will can both countries resolve these disp
d devote more time energy and resources for socio-economic development.
India has traditionally shared warm and cordial political, economic and cultural ties with Bhu
d Maldives. Relations with Nepal have been strained in the past when Nepal tried to use the C
d to leverage concessions from India and contemplated allowing China and Pakistan to open
nsulates on the sensitive Indo-Nepal border. Infiltrations from both sides of the border, treatme
dians in Nepal and vice versa, issues related to trade and transit have hamstrung efforts to
engthen bilateral relations. However, bilateral relations are poised to takeoff with restoration
mocracy which has been supported by India with about Rs 1,000 crore economic assistance fo
palese reconstruction.
A poverty-stricken Bangladesh has been the hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism, and anti-India
opaganda and a safe haven for Indian insurgent groups like ULFA. The recent Mumbai terror
acks had a Bangladesh link. Thus, India needs to bolster its economic and political influence in
ngladesh to promote mutual cooperation. Politically, India has had a strained relationship with
ngladesh due to differences over drawing of water from Ganga and Teesta rivers, border
rmishes and differences over border fencing, dispute over sovereignty of New Moore island,
gal immigrants etc. A host of summit level and joint working group meetings have led to a mu
preciation of such problems. On the economic front, India and Bangladesh entered into a Revis
ade Agreement in 2006 to reduce the latter’s trade deficit. India has extended significant
ncessions under the Asia-Pacific Trading Agreement (APTA) to Bangladesh and, under314/369
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dia brought
8/18/2019 its tariffs down to nil forIndia
Contemporary LDCs starting
Economy, Society, 1 January
Politics - Neera 2008, thereby
Chandhoke, providing major m
Praveen Priyadarshi

Bangladeshi products.
Indo-Sri Lankan relations in the field of trade and investment have increased dramatically. Ind
ned its first FTA with Sri Lanka and both sides will soon enter into a Comprehensive Econom
rtnership Agreement. While Sri Lanka is keen on a defence agreement with India to end the
untry’s long-standing ethnic conflict, India has followed a ‘hands-off’ policy on the issue statin
t the dispute be resolved internally. Although India has resumed non-lethal military aid to Sri

nka after Pakistan pitched in to supply military equipment, it has refused to join Norway, Japa
EU to broker a peace deal between the LTTE and Sri Lankan government.
Afghanistan’s entry into SAARC, which India supported, will firmly establish it as a South As
untry. India signed a Preferential Trading Agreement with Afghanistan in 2005 and facilitated
ghan reconstruction through bilateral aid and assistance package amounting to about $550 mill
ghanistan is key to India’s energy security due to its borders with both Central and West Asia.
keen on getting gas from Turkmenistan via Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, strained
ghanistan-Pakistan relations in the post-Taliban period and an upswing in Indo-Afghanistan
ations have made Pakistan wary about India’s influence in the region. Bilateral relationships s
ve to overcome significant obstacles to be dubbed as a diplomatic success. China is increasing
luence in South Asia through measures like construction of the Gwadar port in Pakistan, biddin
oil and gas in Bangladesh, providing military assistance to Nepal and India needs to and esta
endly ties with all its South Asian neighbours to emerge as a great power. It is rare in history f
gional power to emerge without securing its own backyard.

CONCLUSION

dia has augmented its hard power resources, propped its global diplomatic presence with an 8–
r cent GDP growth rate per annum and enhanced its soft power with a vibrant multicultural
mocracy, long civilization and contribution to the philosophical and scientific body of knowle
However, not all that is associated with India’s growth story is rosy. The huge population grow
ewed regional development, growing unemployment, struggles for resources and basic civic
enities and stark class differences emerging alongside the already existing ethno-religious and
guistic inequalities put enormous pressure on the distributional capacities of the State. India a
pears to be facing a siege within as a plethora of internal security crises, ranging from ultra-Le
aoist violence to secessionist movements, which threaten to dismantle the composite socio-cul
bric of India.
As part of South Asia, India still has to deyote most of its diplomatic and security resources in
naging the traditional and non-traditional threats arising from within the region. The demands
gional great power nomenclature have not been met successfully as India’s ambiguity and
plomatic silence on many of the burning regional issues points at the ineluctable tension betwe
ideal and pragmatic strands in Indian foreign policy. We have not been able to prove our cris

evention
n contributecapabilities
positivelyininSouth Asia and
resolving it remains
the Iranian a matter
or North of conjecture
Korean whether
nuclear crisis.
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our
Our diplomac
limited lev
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d influence
8/18/2019 to resolve these mattersIndia
Contemporary only indicates
Economy, Society,that our
Politics power
- Neera ascendancy
Chandhoke, has relied heavil
Praveen Priyadarshi

economic dimension of power.

Thus, from the above balance sheet, we can say that India is a middle power on the rise. At
esent, India cannot be called a great power and it does not appear that India will emerge as on
next decade or so. Great powers have tremendous military, political and economic strength an
endowed with soft power which bestows them with system-shaping capabilities. On the cont
ddle powers are those
… special category of states that lack the system-shaping capabilities of the great powers, but whose size, resources and role,
onetheless, precludes them from being ignored by the great powers. The middle powers score fairly high in the major indices o
ard and soft: power to have a generalized influence in the international system and in the regional affairs in particular. 30

Rapid economic growth is likely to increase India’s hard and soft power resources, but, at this
int, we do not rank high on the various indices of power resources that are possessed by the U
ates, Europe and Japan. As the Cold War alliance and counter alliance system fades into histor
n be expected that middle powers like India having an economic prowess and soft power will
exert greater influence in the regional state of affairs.

SUGGESTED READINGS
hen, Stephen P. India: Emerging Power . New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001.
han, C. Raja. Crossing the Rubicon: The Shaping of India’s New Foreign Policy . New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2003.
yar, Baldev Raj and T. V. Paul. India in the World Ord er: Searching For Major- Power Status . Cambridge, UK: Cambridg
University Press, 2003.

QUESTIONS

1. Write an essay on the ideological tenets of foreign policy of Independent India.

2. Elaborate the changes taking place in global strategic environment in the postcold war era. Analyse the changes in India’s
foreign policy in this wake.
3. Write an essay on the Indian foreign policy in a world dominated by the United States of America.
4. Do you agree with the view that in the contemporary global environment, foreign policy is influenced by economic factors?
arguments.

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 In Jawaharlal
8/18/2019 Contemporary, India
Nehru’s Speeches Vol. 3, March
Economy, Society,1953—August , 3rdPriyadarshi
1957Praveen
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, edition (Delhi:
Government of India, Publications Division, 1983), p. 138.
In response to the write petition filed by the PUCL in 2001, the Court issued a series of interi
orders, directing the Central and State governments to ensure nutritional security. Above all, th
Court ruled that the right to food directly emanates from Article 21 of the Constitution of India
which protects the right to life, and from Article 47 of the Directive Principles of State Policy
which inter alia provides that the State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the
standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary dut
The Court has, in effect, accorded legal backing to the right to food.

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HAPTER 1
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Alan Heston, ‘National Income’ in Dharma Kumar and Meghnad Desai (eds.), The Cambridge
Economic History of India, Vol. 2 : C. 1957-C. 1970 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press, 1983), p. 377, 379–80.
Ibid.
Eric Stokes, ‘Agrarian Relations’, in The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol. 2.

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Around 300 million people in India are poor. India has the highest number of the malnourished
children in the world. We have just 180 million employed people in a population of over one
billion. The effective literacy rate in India is 65.4 per cent. For more details, see Council for
Social Development, India: Social Development Report (New Delhi: Oxford University Pres
2006). According to The Times of India, 6 July 2008, although India has one of the biggest
education systems in the world, over 380 million people are illiterate—which is the largest
number of illiterates in any one country.
This consensus is emphasized by Prabhat Patnaik, ‘Some Indian Debates on Planning’, in T. J.
Byres (ed.), The Indian Economy: Major Debates Since Independence (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1998).
According to Jagdish Bhagwati, accelerated growth was regarded as a variable that would red
poverty, which was the real objective of our efforts. See Bhagwati, ‘The Design of Indian
Development’, in I. J. Ahluwalia and I. M. D. Little (eds.), India’s Economic Reforms and
Development (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998).
Partha Chatterjee argues that it was in planning that the post-colonial state in India would claim
legitimacy as a single will and consciousness or the will of the nation, pursuing a task that was
both universal and rational: the well-being of the people as a whole. See Partha Chatterjee (ed
State and Politics in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000).
The Harrod-Domar model with some modifications was the underlying model for the First Pla
The Mahalanobis model is viewed as a variant of the Soviet planning model and the Lewis mo
For more on land reforms, see the First and the Second Plan Documents, and the Planning
Commission, Progress of Land Reforms (New Delhi: Government of India, 1963).
See Niraja Gopal Jayal, Democracy and the State (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 200
Also see Zoya Hasan (ed.), Politics and the State in India (New Delhi: Sage, 2000). In the la
Rajni Kothari argues that the Indian state has been made into an instrument of human freedom a
social justice.
For more on this strategy see Meghnad Desai, ‘Development Perspectives: Was There an
Alternative to Mahalanobis?’ in Ahluwalia and Little (eds.), India’s Economic Reforms and
Development.
For details, see C. H. Hanumantha Rao, ‘Agriculture: Policy and Performance’, in Bimal Jal
(ed.), The Indian Economy: Problems and Prospects (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1992).
This plan was based on a variant of the agricultural-development-led-growth (ADLG) strateg
strongly recommended to India by J. W. Miller.
James Manor first used these terms in this context. See V. Joshi and I. M. D. Little, India:
Macroeconomics and Political Economy 1964–1991 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
1998). I have borrowed liberally from this book for this section.
The world situation was characterized by massive flow of foreign capital and increasing role
multinational corporations due to internationalization of production.
On the theme of state-market relationship, many writings have appeared in recent times. See P
Streeten, ‘Markets and States: Against Minimalism and Dichotomy’, Political Economy Journ
India , 3(1), 1995, and Amit Bhaduri and Deepak Nayyai; The Intelligent Persons Guide to
Liberalization (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1996). Except for the extreme left-or right-leaner

balanced
carefully view has been
delineated that it iscontexts.
in specific not an either/or proposition and the role of the two have
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to b
320/369
 Sukhamoy
8/18/2019 Chakravarty, Contemporary
Development Planning:
India Economy, Society,The
PoliticsIndian Experience
- Neera Chandhoke, Praveen(New Delhi: Oxfor
Priyadarshi
University Press, 1988), p. 88.
Patnaik, ‘Some Indian Debates on Planning’, p. 186. Patnaik provides strong arguments for th
relevance of planning for the internationalization of capital.
Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen emphasize human capability and the role of basic education in th
regard. They highlight the role of public action in eliminating deprivation and expanding huma
freedoms in India. See Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen, India: Economic Development and Soci
Opportunity (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995).
A brilliant analysis of the adverse impact of the current development strategy on land, water
trees, and on survival and livelihood, can be found in Nivedita Menon and Aditya Nigam, Pow
and Contestation: India Since 1989 (London: Zed Books, 2007).
The SDSA Report, a result of the CSDS-Lokniti-led research collaboration of academics fro
India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, based on simultaneous survey of people’s
attitudes to democracy, conveys the message that liberal democracy and market economy are
compatible as well as complementary. See State of Democracy in South Asia: A Report (New
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2008).

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Vijay Joshi and I. M. D. Little, India’s Economic Reforms, 1991–2001 (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1996) pp. 64–65.
Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen, India: Economic Development and Social Ofjportunity (New
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995).
Rakesh Mohan, Indian Economy Since Independence, ed. by Uma Kapila (New Delhi: Acade
Foundation, 2003).
Joshi and Little, India’s Economic Reforms.
Arvind Virmani, ‘Economic Reforms: Policy and Institutions—Some Lessons from Indian
Reforms’, Working Paper No. 121, Indian Council for Research on International Economic
Relations, January 2004.

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The 8 MDGs break down into 18 quantifiable targets that are measured by 48 indicators. The
targets are set for the year 2015 with 1990 being the benchmark year for comparison. For the
complete list of MDGs along with the list of indicators see http://www.un.org/millenniumgoa
(last accessed on 19 May 2008).
The dollar value is adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) across the countries.
The centrality given to food is obvious considering its primary significance for the survival of
The differentiated per capita calorie norms for rural and urban areas is based on the perceived
difference in calorie needs of rural and urban population and their respective living conditions
It was found to be approximately Rs 49 and Rs 56 per capita per month for rural and urban are
respectively at 1973–74 prices. These figures are periodically revised and adjusted for price
differentials over time and across the states. In December 2005, these figures were approxima
Rs 368 per person and Rs 559 per person for rural and urban areas, respectively.
Mohan Guruswamy and Ronald Joseph Abraham, ‘Myth of the Poverty Line’, in Redefining
Poverty: A New Poverty Line for a New India (New Delhi: Centre for Policy Alternatives, 1
2006). The article even argues for a revision of the minimum food basket because it only satis
the basic calorie norm instead of meeting the requirements of a nutritious diet.
Angus Deaton and Jean Drèze, ‘Poverty and Inequality in India: A Re-examination’, Economic
Political Weekly , 7 September 2002: 2479–85.
This is the current official estimate of poverty in India based on the National Sample Survey 2
05 results. Planning Commission, Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth: An Approach
the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (New Delhi: Government of India, 2006).
Deaton and Drèze, ‘Poverty and Inequality in India’.
Using a more ‘realistic and holistic’ poverty line by taking into account the non-food basic nee
as well as an improved dietary norm, one estimate of poverty in India comes to nearly 69 per c
of the total population and nearly 85 per cent of the rural population for the given period. See
Guruswamy and Abraham, ‘Myth of the Poverty Line’.
These goods and services carry significant externalities and are often categorized as ‘public
goods and services’ in economic literature. The rationale for the public provision of such goo
and services stems from the social value attached to them .and the failure of the market to
adequately provide them.
Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen, India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity (New
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 11.
UNFAO, The State of Food Security in the World: Eradicating World Hunger—Taking Sto
Ten Years After World Food Summit (Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization of United
Nations, 2006).
Michele Gragnolati et al, India’s Undernourished Children: A Call for Reform and Action
(Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2005).
Indian Institute of Population Sciences, National Family and Health Survey-I: India 1992–9
(Mumbai: Indian Institute of Population Sciences, 1995).
Indian Institute of Population Sciences, National Family and Health Survey-II: India 1998–
(Mumbai: Indian Institute of Population Sciences, 2000).
Planning Commission, Tenth Five-Year Plan 2002–2007 (New Delhi: Government of India,

2002).
Ministry of Finance, Economic Survey 2004–2005 (New Delhi: Government oflndia,323/369
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi 2005).
 The8/18/2019
Green Revolution inContemporary
the 1960sIndia
widened the regional
Economy, Society, gapChandhoke,
Politics - Neera in terms of economic
Praveen Priyadarshi growth
between the north-western states, which were the major beneficiaries and relatively richer to
with, and the poorer states in northern and eastern parts of the country.
Martin Ravallion and Gaurav Dutt, ‘India’s Checkered History Against Poverty: Are There
Lessons for the Future?’, Economic and Political Weekly , Special Number, September 1996:
2479–85.
Montek S. Ahluwalia, ‘Rural Poverty and Agricultural Performance in India’, Journal of
Development Studies, 14 (3), April 1997: 298–323.
K. S. Parikh, Who Gets How Much from PDS: How Effectively Does It Reach the Poor?
(Bombay: Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, 1993).
George Cheriyan, ‘Enforcing Right to Food in India: Bottlenecks in Delivering the Expected
Outcomes,’ Paper for Second International Workshop, ICSSR-WIDER/UNV Joint Project on F
Security (in Collaboration with UN-FAO), 2005.
Jean Drèze, ‘Poverty in India and the IRDP Delusion’, Economic and Political Weekly , 25 (
1990: 94–104.
Eight per cent growth in industries and 8.9 per cent growth in the services largely contributed
the average 7 per cent growth in GDP in the Tenth Five-Year Plan period (2002–03 to 2006–0
Agriculture grew at a mere 1.8 per cent.
Deaton and Drèze, ‘Poverty and Inequality in India’.
Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.
In development literature, it is known as the ‘inverted-U hypothesis’ proposed in the 1960s b
economist Simon Kuznets. The strange name of the hypothesis comes from the observed upside
down ‘U’ shaped trend when per capita income is plotted on one axis, and some measure of
inequality on the other.

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The classic formulation on this is found in John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Oxford, UK: Oxf
University Press, 1971).
This is except for the period between June 1975 and January 1977, when Prime Minister Indir
Gandhi’s Government had imposed an internal emergency on the country, and had, thereby,
suspended democratic life.
Planning Commission, Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth: An Approach to the 11th
Five-Year Plan (New Delhi: Government of India, 2006), p. 4.
Ibid., p. 4.
At its forty-third annual session in 1927, the Indian National Congress resolved that a working
committee be empowered to draft a Swaraj Constitution of India on the basis of a declaration
rights.
B. Shiva Rao, Constitution of India, Select Documents, Vol. 2 (Delhi: Indian Institute of Pub
Administration, 1967), p. 168.
B. Shiva Rao, The Framing of India’s Constitution (Delhi: Indian Institute of Public
Administration, 1968), p. 329.
Granville Austin, Working a Democratic Constitution: The Indian Experience (New Delhi:
Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 8.
Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen, India: Development and Participation (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2002), p. xiv.
Seetha Prabhu and R. Sudarshan (eds.), Reforming India’s Social Sector: Poverty, Nutrition
Health and Education (Delhi: Social Science Press, 2002), pp. 4–5.
Prafulla Das, ‘Hunger and Death’, Frontline, 27 August 2004, pp. 49–52.
Aditi Nigam, ‘Social Sector Spending by States Dips in 2007–08’, Financial Express, 13
January 2008, www.financialexpress.com/news (last accessed on 10 February 2008).
N. S. Deodhar, Health Situation in India (Delhi: Voluntary Health Association of India, 200
p. 8.
Rajiv Misra, Rachel Chatterjee and Sujatha Rao, India Health Report (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2003), p. 3.
Ibid., pp. 1–2.
Ibid., p. 2.
www.cehat.org (last accessed on 17 May 2008).
This had originally been conceptualized as a fundamental right, but deliberations in the
Constituent Assembly reduced education to a Directive Principle of State Policy.

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James Burke, Jules Bergman and Isaac Asimov, The Impact of Science on Society, prepared b
Langley Research Center, NASA SP-482, http://history.nasa.gov/sp482.pdf (last accessed on
May 2008).
Science and Technology Policy 2003, http://dst.gov.in.
Deepak Kumar, ‘Science and Society in Colonial India: Exploring an Agenda’, Social Scienti
(5,6), May–June 2000: 24–46.
Zaheer Abbas, The Science of Empire: Scientific Knowledge, Civilization and Colonial Rule
India (New York: State University of New York Press, 1996), pp. 186–87.
Ibid.
S. Irfan Habib, ‘Reconciling Science with Islam in 19th Century India, Contributions to India
Sociology (n.s), 34 (1), 2000: p. 64.
Kumar, ‘Science and Society in Colonial India.
Research, Reference & Training Division (ed. and comp.), India 2006 (New Delhi: Governm
India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Publication Division, 2006).
Approach Paper to the Eleventh Five-Year Plan 2007–2011, www.planningcommission.gov.i
U. R. Rao, ‘Indian Space Odyssey’, in Asoke N. Mitra (ed.), India in the World of Physics:
and Now (Delhi: Pearson Longman and PHISPC, 2009), pp. 541–61.
www.deathofdistance.com (last accessed on 14 May 2008).
Lucy Kellaway, ‘Enough! I’ve Had E-nough’, Financial Times, 7 February 2000.
Nirvikar Singh, ‘Information Technology and India’s Economic Development’,
http://129.3.20.41/eps/dev/papers/0412/0412007.pdf (last accessed on 14 May 2008).
Roli Varma and Everett Rogers, ‘Indian Cyber Workers in the US’, Economic and Political
Weekly, 39 (12), 25 December 2004.
Kalyan Raipuria, ‘What Size the “New” Economy? A Conduit Approach’, Economic and
Political Weekly , 37 (11), 16 March 2002.
Brishti Guha, ‘IT: Deconstructing the Bust that Followed the Boom’, Economic and Politica
Weekly 38 (24), 14 June 2003.
Chithelen Ignatius, ‘Outsourcing to India’, Economic and Political Weekly , 39 (10), 6 March
2004.
Manorama Yearbook, 2006.
Manu N. Kulkarni, ‘Asia’s Technology Future Transforming Business or People?’, Economi
Political Weekly , 36 (24), 16 June 2001.
Editorial, ‘E-Commerce: Issues for Developing Countries’, Economic and Political Weekly
(16), 21–27 April 2001.
Thomas L. Friedman, ‘Hacker Lesson: Wired Citizens Need Government’, International He
Tribune, 16 February 2000.
C. Satapathy, ‘Perspectives’, Economic and Political Weekly , 23 September 2000.
Carol Upadhyaya, ‘A New Transnational Capitalist Class’, Economic and Political Weekly ,
November 2004.
http://papers.ssm.com/so/3papers.cfm?abstract-id=994912#paper .
www.pledgebank.com/bakul-library.

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B. R. Ambedkar, ‘Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development’, in Manoranj

Mohanty (ed.), Class, Caste, Gender (New Delhi: Sage, 2004), pp. 131–53.
Ibid., p. 150.
Andre Beteille, Caste, Class and Power (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1965).
M. N. Srinivas, India: Social Structure (New Delhi: National Book Trust, 1969).
Ibid., p. 15.
M. N. Srinivas, Indian Society Through Personal Writings (New Delhi: Oxford University
Press), p. 143.
M. N. Srinivas, Social Change in Modern India (Berkeley, MA: University of California Pre
1966), p. 6.
Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1970).
A. R. Desai (ed.), Rural Sociology in India (Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1978), p. 38.
B. T. Ranadive, Caste, Class and Property Relations (Calcutta: National Book Agency, 198
Surinder Jodhka, Agrarian Structures and Their Transformations, in Veena Das (ed.),
Handbook of Indian Sociology (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 1213–42.
Susan Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India : From the Eighteenth Century to the Mod
Age (Delhi: Permanent Block, 2002), p. 345.
C. J. Fuller, ‘Caste’, in Veena Das (ed.), The Oxford India Companion to Sociology and So
Anthropology (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003), pp. 477–501.
Uma Chakravarti, Gendering Caste (Calcutta: Stree, 2003), p. 1.

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Gurcharan Das, India Unbound: From Independence to the Global Information Age (New D
Penguin, 2002), p. 347.
Shashi Tharoor, citing NCAER statistics in ‘Who Is this Middle Class?’ The Hindu, 22 May 2
Vir Sanghvi, ‘Two Indias’, Seminar, 1 February 2005.
Jan Nijman, cited by Darryl D’Monte in ‘Middle Class Palaces’, India Together, 20 July 200
Ashish Nandy, The Secret Politics of Our Desires: Innocence, Culpability and Indian Popu
Cinema (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 6.
What is ‘Middle Class’, in http://www.indiatogether.org/photo/2003/class.htm.
Although the American sociologist William Warner talks of subdivisions within the upper cla
and the lower class in his study of class in American society, this view is not dominant and ha
exists in the popular imagination in India.
For the definition and detailed discussion of ‘class’, refer to Chapter 11 in this volume.
‘Middle Class’ in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class (last accessed on 14
2008).
Cited in Pavan K. Varma, The Great Indian Middle Class (New Delhi: Viking, 2000), p. 2,
italics mine.
Ibid., pp. 4–5.
Partha Chatterjee, ‘A Religion of Urban Domesticity: Sri Ramakrishna and the Calcutta Midd
Class’, in Partha Chatterjee and Gyanendra Pandey (eds.), Subaltern Studies VII (New Delhi
Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 24.
For a powerful critique of city planning and its concerns for the urban poor, see Jai Sen, ‘The
Unintended City’, http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/500/500%20jai%20sen.htm (last acce
on 14 May 2008), repr oduced from ‘Life and Living’, Seminar, 200, April 1976.
Jawaharlal Nehru, An Autobiography (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1980), p. 48.
Ibid., p. 138.
D. L. Sheth, ‘Caste and Class: Social Reality and Political Representations’, in Ghanshyam S
(ed.), Caste and Democratic Politics in India (Delhi: Permanent Black, 2002), p. 213.
See Varma, The Great Indian Middle Class, pp. 93–94.
Sheth, ‘Caste and Class’.
Ibid.
See the discussion of the middle-class basis for the formation of the BSP in Ashutosh Varshn
‘Is India Becoming More Democratic?’ The Journal of Asian Studies, 59 (1), February 2000:
25.
For a discussion of its middle-class politics, see M. K. Raghavendra, ‘Globalism and Indian
Nationalism’, Economic and Political Weekly , 22 April 2006.
Thomas Blom Hansen, The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern I
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 6–7.
See the discussion of Lipset’s influential proposition in Edward Muller, ‘Economic Determin
of Democracy’, American Sociological Review, 60 (6), December 1995, pp. 966–82.
See Meghnad Desai and Aitzaz Ahsan, Divided by Democracy (New Delhi: Roli Books, 200
D. L. Sheth, ‘Democracy and Globalization in India: Post Cold War Discourse’, Annals of th
American Academy of Political and Social Science , 540 (July 1995): 36.

D. L.
(ed.), Sheth,and
Caste ‘Caste and Class:
Democratic Social in
Politics Reality
India and Political
(Delhi: Representations’,
Permanent Black, 2002), in Ghanshyam
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Emile Durkheim, The Division of Labour in Society (New York: Free Press, 1893).
Emile Durkheim, Moral Education (New York: Free Press, 1925 [1961]).
Max Weber, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology (Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press, 1968).
Krishna Kumar, Political Agenda of Education: A Study of Colonialist and Nationalist Ideas
(New Delhi: Sage, 2005 [1991]).
Pierre Bourdieu, ‘The Forms of Capital’, in Stephen J. Ball (ed.), The Routledge Falmer Rea
in Sociology of Education (New York: Routledge, 2004 [1983]).
Ibid.
Michael W. Apple, ‘Cultural Politics and the Text’, in Stephen J. Ball (ed.), The Routledge
Falmer Reader.
Anupama Roy, Gendered Citizenship: Historical and Conceptual Explorations (New Delhi:
Orient Longman, 2005).
Susie Tharu, ‘Citizenship and Its Discontents’, in Mary E. John and Janaki Nair (eds.), A Que
of Silence: Sexual Economies of Modem India (New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1998).
B. R. Ambedkar, ‘Adult Franchise’, in The Essential Writings of B. R. Ambedkar, edited by
Valerian Rodrigues (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002).
Virginius Xaxa, ‘Tribes in India’, in Veena Das (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Sociology
Social Anthropology (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003).

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James Curran, ‘Mediations of Democracy’, in James Curran and Michael Gurevitch (eds), Ma
Media and Society (London: Hodder Arnold, 2005).
Thomas McPhail, Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders and Trends (Oxford, UK:
Blackwell Publishing, 2006).
Jurgen Habermas, ‘The Public Sphere’, in S. Seidman (ed.), Jurgen Habermas on Society and
Politics (Boston, MA: Beacon Press 1989 [1973]).
Ammu Joseph and Kalpana Sharma, Whose News? Media and Women’s Issues (Delhi: Sage
Publications, 1994).
P Kitley (ed.), ‘Introduction in Television, Regulation and Civil Society in Asia. (London:
Routledge Curzon, 2003).
Kalyani Chadha and Anandam P Kavoori, ‘Globalization and National Media Systems: Mapp
Interactions in Markets, Policies and Formats’, in James Curran and Michael Gurevitch (eds),
Mass Media and Society.
Robin Jeffery, India’s Newspaper Revolution: Capitalism, Politics and the Indian Language
Press (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000).
Vanita Kohli, Indian Media Business (Delhi: Response Books, 2006).
Gaye Tuchman, ‘The Symbolic Annihilation of Women by the Mass Media’, in Gaye Tuchman
al. (eds), Home and Hearth: The Images of Women in Mass Media (London: Oxford Univers
Press, 1978); Gaye Tuchman, Making News (NewYork: Free Press, 1978).
Tod Gitlin, The Whole World Is Watching (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 19
William A. Gamson and Gadi Wolfsfeld, ‘Movements and Media as Interacting Systems’, An
of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences , 528 (1993): 114–27.
Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci , Quintin Hoare
Geoffrey Nowell-Smith (eds. and trans.) (New York: International Publishers, 1971).
Ramachandra Guha, The Unquiet Woods (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989).
Amit Mitra, ‘Chipko: An Unfinished Mission, Down to Earth, April 1993.
Gaye Tuchman, ‘The Symbolic Annihilation of Women’.
Bradford Morse and Thomas Berger (eds.), Sardar Sarovar: Report of the Independent Rev
(Ottawa: Resource Futures International, 1992).

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S. Aldridge, Social Mobility: A Discussion Paper, 2001, http://www.strategy.gov.uk/down-

loads/files/socialmobility.pdf (last accessed on 15 May 2008).
Ioan Davies, Key Concepts in Political Science: Social Mobility and Political Change (Lon
Macmillan, 1970).
Wilbert E. Moore, ‘Changes in Occupational Structures’, in Neil J. Smelser and Seymour Mar
Lipset (eds.), Social Structure and Mobility in Economic Development (London: Routledge a
Kegan Paul, 1964).
Dipankar Gupta (ed.), Social Stratification (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1991).
Amiya Kumar Bagchi, ‘The Ambiguity of Progress: Indian Society in Transition’, Social Scien
13 (3), 1985.
D. L. Sheth, ‘Secularisation of Caste and Making of New Middle Class’, Economic and Polit
Weekly, 1999: 2502.
Gupta, Social Stratification, p. 10.
E Osella, ‘The Interpretation of Caste’, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 2
1996.
M. N. Srinivas, ‘An Obituary on Caste as a System’, EPW Special Article, Economic and
Political Weekly , 2003, P K. Bose, Classes and Class Relations Among Tribals of Bengal (N
Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1985).
Raymond Williams, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (London: Fontana Pre
1983).
K. Marx, Pre-capitalist Economic Formations (London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1964 [1857
pp. 101–02.
http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/WEBERW7.HTML.
Max Weber, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, 2 volumes, edited
Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1978), p. 927
Nicholas Gane, ‘Max Weber as Social Theorist: Class, Status, Party’, European Journal of
Social Theory, 8 (2), 2005: 211–26.
P Bardhan, The Political Economy of Development in India (New Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 1984).
Ramakrishna Mukherjee, ‘Caste in Itself, Caste and Class, or Caste in Class’, EPW Perspect
Economic and Political Weekly , 1999.
However, some European scholars in late 20th century have argued that the manorial system
present in India from early times in pre-British India, and that the village community system is
myth. Nonetheless, Kosambi (1955) and as later elaborated by Irfan Habib have documented t
the village community system had originated at the threshold of the present millennium or some
centuries earlier, and flourished up to the 11th century AD. The steady but the slow growth of
indigenous capitalism in India did try to undermine the village community system, especially d
the Mughal period, and ventured upon establishing the manorial system.
Ramakrishna Mukherjee, The Dyanamics of Rural Society (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1957)
1–58.
M. N. Srinivas, Social Change in Modem India (Bombay: Allied Publishers, 1966).
Prabhat Patnaik argues that the ‘Mandal phenomenon’ was believed to have had far more to i

mere job reservations

of the or poor.the For
economic
details,threats to the middle
see Prabhat Patnaik,class; it signified
‘Democracy as athe
socialhttp://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
assertion political
Site and
for332/369
Class-
Struggle’, Economic and Contemporary
8/18/2019 Political India
Weekly , 18Society,
Economy, March 2000.
Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
I. P Desai, ‘Should Caste Be the Basis for Recognizing Backwardness?’ Economic and Poli
Weekly, 19 (28), 1984: 1115.
Mukherjee, ‘Caste in Itself’.
P K. Bose, Classes and Class Relations Among Tribals of Bengal (New Delhi: Ajanta
Publications, 1985).
Andre Beteille, Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore
Village (Bombay: University of California Press, 1966).
Gupta, Social Stratification. He further argues that the differentiation is always on the basis
criterion, or a set of criteria. However if inequality is the key feature, then the stratificatory sy
can be characterized as a hierarchical one. If difference is more important than various social
orders, then the various social orders face each other as horizontal and equal blocs.
Vir Sanghvi, ‘Two Indias’, http://www.india-seminar.com/2005/545/545, 2005. Membershi
today’s middle class is signified by new lifestyles, ownership of certain economic assets, and
consciousness of belonging to the middle class. Though there are different levels within the m
class, yet, once members of any caste group reach even the lower levels, they aspire to and wo
for higher levels. With education, professions, and lifestyle becoming indicators of status, cas
seems to have been relegated to the background. For a detailed discussion on the Indian middl
class, see Chapter 8 by Sujit Mahapatra.
Neera Chandhoke, ‘Democracy and Well Being in India’, draft working document for the
UNRISD Project on Social Policy and Democratization, 2005.
Ibid.
S. Kumar, A. Heath, and O. Heath, ‘Changing Patterns of Social Mobility Some Trends over
Time’, EPW Commentary, Economic and Political Weekly , 2002.
R. Kothari, ‘Restructuring the Indian Enterprise’, reproduced from ‘India 1992’, Seminar 40
1993. The expression ‘India-in-transition’ is also borrowed from Rajni Kothari’s paper.
Sheth, ‘Secularisation of Caste’.

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Quoted in Gail Omvedt, Reinventing Revolution (Armok: N. E. Sharpe, 1993), p. xi.

However, this in no way means that political parties were not representing people’s interest, i
ust that political parties were more interested in gaining power by politicizing people’s issue
Thus, we find various coalitions or even providing reservation to certain castes or groups with
really doing much at the concrete level.
See Neera Chandhoke, ‘Revisiting the Crisis of Representation Thesis: The Indian Context’,
Democratization, 12 (3), June 2005: 308–30.
Ibid.
The term ‘new social movement’ first appeared in Western society, in the wake of the post-W
War II scenario and the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
Chandhoke, ‘Revisiting the Crisis’. 308–30.
Ghanshyam Shah, Social Movements in India: A Review of Literature (New Delhi: Sage
Publications, 2004), p. 18.
See M. S. A. Rao, ‘Conceptual Problems in the Study of Social Movements’, in his (ed.), Soci
Movements in India—Studies in Peasant, Backward Classes, Sectarian, Tribal and Women
Movements (New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 2000).
Shah, Social Movements in India, pp. 19–20.
In fact, a group of historians called ‘subalterns’, which included people like Ranajit Guha, Pa
Chatterjee, and Shahid Amin wanted to look at the ‘history from below’, i.e., they were critica
the fact that history is largely viewed from the elitist perspective and that larger toiling masses
were ignored. They, therefore, looked at history through the struggles of the marginalized secti
of society.
Shah, Social Movements in India, p. 23.
Mary Katzenstein et al. ‘Social Movement Politics in India: Institutions, Interests, and Identit
in Atul Kohli (ed.), The Success of India’s Democracy (New Delhi: Foundation Books, 2002
260.
Named after the Naxalbari region of West Bengal, a section of CPI(M) who believed that
democratic revolution could only be achieved through armed struggle erupted out of the party i
1967.
Manoranjan Mohanty, ‘Social Movements in Creative Society: Of Autonomy and
Interconnection’, in Manoranjan Mohanty and P N. Mukherji with Olle Tornquist (eds.), Peop
Rights: Social Movements and the State in the Third World (New Delhi: Sage Publications,
1998), pp. 65–66. See Rajendra Singh, Social Movements, Old and New: A Postmodernist
Critique (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2005), pp. 99–106.
Omvedt, Reinventing Revolution, p. xvi.
Shah, Social Movements in India, p. 23.
Omvedt, Reinventing Revolution, p. xv.
The term ‘Dalit’ literally means ‘ground down’ or ‘broken down to pieces’ and it was first u
by B. R. Ambedkar in 1928 in his newspaper Bahishkrit Bharat . See Amrita Rao, ‘Represent
Dalit Selfhood’, Seminar, February 2006, p. 34. Dalits occupy the lowest rank in the Hindu ca
system and are called avarna, i.e. those which are outside the chaturvarna system. Their touc
sometimes their shadows and even their voices were believed to pollute Hindus. Legally, they

no longer
Movements untouchable,
in India , p.though115. Thein practice many ofrefers
term generally themto still bear theand
exploited stigma. See Shah,
oppressed
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Social
social grou
334/369
but is8/18/2019
more particularly used for members
Contemporary of Scheduled
India Economy, Society, Politics -Castes. The other
Neera Chandhoke, Praveenterm used synonymo
Priyadarshi
them are ‘untouchables’, depressed classes, ‘Harijan’ (children of God). But the ‘Harijan’
nomenclature given by Gandhi was rejected by many Dalit leaders including Ambedkar. Rathe
than soothing names and soft palliatives they preferred ‘Untouchable’ or ‘Dalit’, which repres
a truthful reflection of the actual situation. They are also known as perial, panchama, atishudr
antyaja or namshudra in different parts of the country. See Ghanshyam Shah, Social Moveme
India , p. 118 and V Suresh, ‘The Dalit Movement in India’, in T. V Sathyamurthy (ed.), Regio
Religion, Caste, Gender and Culture in Contemporary India (New Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 1996), p. 362.
In Maharashtra, the peasant movement and the women’s movement also look upon him as a
founder. In fact, he began a new discourse and a new understanding of Indian history from the
point of the shudra-atishudra (Dalit-Non-Brahmin) peasantry, which continues to be relevant
today. Gail Omvedt, ‘The Anti-Caste Movement and the Discourse of Power’, in Ghanshyam S
(ed.), Caste and Democratic Politics in India (Delhi: Permanent Black, 2002), pp. 416–17.
See Shekhar Bandopadhyay, ‘Caste, Class and Politics in Colonial Bengal: A Case Study of
Namashudra Movement’, in K. L. Singh (ed.), Caste and Class in India (Jaipur and New Delh
Rawat Publications, 1994), pp. 19–46.
Suresh, ‘The Dalit Movement in India’, p. 356.
Ibid., p. 357.
Marc Galanter, Competing Equalities: Law and The Backward Classes in India (New Delh
Oxford University Press, 1984), p. 26.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Suresh, ‘The Dalit Movement in India’, p. 357.
Omvedt, Reinventing Revolution, p. 47.
Omvedt, ‘The Anti-Caste Movement and the Discourse of Power’, p. 422 .
Omvedt, Reinventing Revolution, p. 48.
Omvedt, ‘The Anti-Caste Movement and the Discourse of Power’, p. 423.
Ibid.
Omvedt, Reinventing Revolution, p. 54.
Ibid.
Ibid., p. 52. While both the communist mainstream and the Naxalites wanted to bring in both t
class caste contradiction together into one realm or rather incorporate caste differences into cl
but in vain. Though Naxalites were not much of a success in Maharashtra, they were quite a
success in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. However, Dalits have been rather apprehensive of joini
with the class struggle largely because of ‘upper caste’ dominance even in this struggle.
Congress in its KHAM strategy wanted to incorporate Kisans (peasants), Harijans (Dalits),
adivasis (tribals) and Muslims in its fold to gamer the vote bank.
Omvedt, ‘The Anti-Caste Movement and the Discourse of Power’, p. 424.
Ibid.
Omvedt, Reinventing Revolution, p. 57.
Suresh, ‘The Dalit Movement in India’, p. 368.
Omvedt, ‘The Anti-Caste Movement and the Discourse of Power’, p. 427.
Ibid.
Ibid., p. 426.
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 Manish K. Thakur, ‘DalitContemporary
8/18/2019 Politics inIndiaIndian
Economy,State:
Society, Changing
Politics - Neera Landscape, Emerging
Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi Agendas’,
(unpublished paper). Besides, today, we also find opening up of debates in Dalit consciousnes
both literature and sociology, which make important contributions to Dalit politics at large. Se
Seminar edition of December 2005, and Gopal Guru, ‘The Dalit Movement in Mainstream
Sociology’, in S. M. Michael (ed.), Dalits in Modem India: Vision and Values (New Delhi:
Vistaar Publications, 1999), pp. 35–145.
Meena Kandaswamy (translated work of Thirumaavalavan), Talisman: Extreme Emotions of
Dalit Liberation (Kolkata: Samya, 2003), pp. 9–10.
Prakash Louis, The Political Sociology of Dalit Assertion (New Delhi: Gyan Publishing Ho
2003), p. 254.
Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Caste and Democratic Politics in India (Delhi: Permanent Black, 20
p. 137.
Ibid., pp. 137–38. M. S. A. Rao includes untouchables in other backward castes and Christop
Jaffrelot also clubs Dalits and ‘other backward castes’ together as low castes. But, here in our
discussion, we will exclude Scheduled Castes from backward caste and treat them separately.
Christophe Jaffrelot, India’s Silent Revolution: The Rise of Low Castes in North Indian Po
(Delhi: Permanent Black, 2003), pp. 215–21.
Ibid., pp. 219–20.
Article 15 provides special privileges to SCs, STs, OBCs, i.e. those who are socially and
educationally disadvantaged, while Article 16 gives special privileges to them with regard to
employment and admissions in State offices and educational institutions respectively.
M. S. A. Rao, ‘Conceptual Problems in the Study of Social Movements’, in his (ed.), Social
Movements in India , Vol. 1 (Delhi: Manohar, 1979) pp. 191–215.
Ibid., pp. 197–198.
Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Caste and Democratic Politics in India , p. 404.
This strategy of empowerment had already been implemented by the non-Brahmin movement
south India during the colonial era.
Ibid.
Ghanshyan Shah, Social Movements and the State (New Delhi: Sage, 2002), p. 400.
Zoya Hasan, ‘Representation and Redistribution: The New Lower Caste Politics of North Ind
in her (ed.), Parties and Party Politics in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002)
380.
Politicization of caste can be defined as something in which both the forms of caste and the fo
of politics are brought nearer to each other, in the process changing both. See Rajni Kothari, C
in Indian Politics (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2008, orig. Rubo in 1970).
These include the Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav; Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Sing
Samajwajdi Janata Party (Rashtriya) of Chandra Shekhar; Indian National Lok Dal of Om Prak
Chautala; Janata Dal (Secular) of H. D. Deve Gowda; Rashtriya Janata Dal of Laloo Prasad
Yadav; Biju Janata Dal of Naveen Patnaik; Samata Party of Nitish Kumar and George Fernand
and Lok Shakti of Ramakrishna Hegde.
The term MBCs refers to those castes that stand lowest in the caste hierarchy among the
backwards.
Paul R. Brass, ‘The Politics of India Since Independence’, in Gordon Johnson and C. A. Bay
(eds.), The New Cambridge History of India—IV.1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
1990), pp. 21–45.
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University
8/18/2019Press, 1999), p. 19.
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
Radha Kumar, ‘From Chipko to Sati: The Contemporary Indian Womens Movement’, in Amr
Basu (ed.), Women’s Movement in Global Perspective (New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1995),
60–61.
Nivedita Menon, ‘Introduction’, p. 19.
Ibid.
Vina Mazumdar and Indu Agnihotri, ‘The Women’s Movement in India: Emergence of New
Perspective’, in Bharati Ray and Apama Basu (eds.), From Independence Towards Freedom:
Indian Women Since 1947 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 229.
Ibid., pp. 229–30.
Menon, ‘Introduction’, p. 19.
Kumar, ‘From Chipko to Sati’, p. 64.
Menon, ‘Introduction’, p. 19.
Ibid.
Kumar, ‘From Chipko to Sati’, p. 64.
Mazumdar and Agnihotri, ‘The Women’s Movement in India’, p. 230.
Ibid.
In fact, domestic violence as a criminal offence was first recognized in India in 1983 and the
penal code was amended to include cruelty by the husband or his family against married wom
a crime. Those found guilty could be imprisoned for up to three years and fined. See FACTBO
Some Facts about Domestic Violence in India, 26 Oct 2006 in http://www.alertnet.org/the
newsdesk/DEL271185.
Kumar, ‘From Chipko to Sati’, pp. 77—83.
Ibid.
0. See Radha Kumar, ‘Identity Politics and the Contemporary Indian Feminist Movement’, in
Valentine M. Moghadam (ed.), Identity Politics and Women: Cultural Reassertions and
Feminisms in International Perspective (Oxford, UK: Westview, 1994). Also see Anand
Patwardan’s film, Father, Son and the Holy War.
1. Menon, ‘Introduction’, pp. 20–21.
2. Ibid., p. 21.
3. Ibid.
4. See ‘Domestic Violence Act Takes Effect Today’, The Hindu, 26 October 2006, p. 1.
5. Kumar, ‘From Chipko to Sati’. p. 83.
6. Gail Omvedt, p. 97. For example, in 2005, 6,787 cases of dowry-related deaths were recor
According to 2005 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), more than two-third
married women in India between the ages of 15 and 49 are victims of wife beating, rape or for
sex. According to National Crime Records Bureau, there were 155, 553 crimes committed aga
women in 2005 and according to women s groups the real figure could be ten times more as m
cases go unreported with victims unwilling to speak out fearing the shame and stigma associat
with being a divorced or separated women. ‘FACT-BOX—Some Facts About Domestic Viole
in India, 26 Oct, 2006’ in http://www.alertnet.org/thenewsdesk/DEL271185.htm.
7. The term social justice is a combination of two words, ‘social’ and ‘justice, where ‘social’
means pertaining to society including various socio-economic relations. ‘Justice’, if viewed in
relation with the social aspect, is an intelligent cooperation of people in producing an organic
united society with every member having an equal and real opportunity to live and grow.
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 ustice, therefore, stands for
8/18/2019 revision
Contemporary Indiaof socialSociety,
Economy, orderPolitics
and- Neera
a redistribution ofPriyadarshi
Chandhoke, Praveen rights and which
includes remedial actions towards the disprivileged sections of society, which have been
historically deprived of material resources as morally equal beings.
8. Egalitarianism holds that if people are unequally situated in a given social order, then they
should be treated differently. Therefore, it reconsiders that procedural fairness needs to be
supplemented by measures so that those who are unequally situated can enjoy rough and ready
equality.
9. Procedural justice is associated with various rights of the individuals and in narrowed sens
used to morally evaluate the actions of the individuals in terms of fairness.
0. Commission on Social Justice, ‘What Is Social Justice?’ in Christopher Pierson and France
Castles (eds.), The Welfare State: A Reader (Oxford: Polity Press, Blackwell, 2000), p. 54.
1. See Milton Fisk, The State and Justice: An Essay in Political Theory (Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 185–86.
2. Commission on Social Justice, ‘What Is Social Justice?’, pp. 55–57.
3. Zoya Hasan, ‘More Equal but Still Not Equal? State and Inter-Group Equality in Contempor
India’, in Imtiaz Ahmed, Partha S. Ghosh and Helmut Reifield (eds.), Pluralism and Equality:
Values in Indian Society and Politics (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2000), pp. 80–100.
According to Hasan, inequality in India is historical as well as modern, horizontal as well as
vertical. Historically, horizontal inequality is marked by the pluralism of religious, regional,
linguistic and ethnic communities, while vertical inequalities can be illustrated by reference to
hierarchically ordered caste system and socio-economic inequalities expressed through class
structure.
4. P Singh, Equality, Reservation and Discrimination in India: A Constitutional Study of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Delhi: Deep and Dee
1982), p. 99.
5. Weiner, ‘The Struggle for Equality’, p. 20. See Constituent Assembly Debates, Vol. 8, 16th
May–16th June 1949 (New Delhi: Lok Sabha Secretariat, 2001), p. 311.
6. Hasan, ‘Representation and Redistribution’, p. 370.
7. Weiner, ‘The Struggle for Equality’, p. 208.
8. Neera Chandhoke, ‘The Assertion of Civil Society Against the State: The Case of the Post-
Colonial World’, in Manoranjan Mohanty, Partha Nath Mukherjee with Olle Tomquist (eds.),
People s Rights: Social Movements and the State in the Third World (New Delhi; Sage
Publications, 1998), p. 30.
9. Ibid., p. 41.
0. In a survey conducted to explore the crisis of representation, people were asked which agen
they would generally approach to solve their problems, and it was noted that not a single perso
had taken the help of NGOs. See Chandhoke, ‘Revisiting the Crisis of Representation Thesis’,
308–30.

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Atul Kohli, ‘Introduction, in his (ed.), The Success of India’s Democracy (Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 3–4.
However, recent international events would remind us that popular protests across the world c
not deter the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. This shows that the historically unprecedented a
venting of public opinion by large sections of the international civil society through global ma
media, which was exerting popular pressure on governments was not sufficient to avoid wars.
The author of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville, was a Frenchman who travelled
through the United States of America in the 19th century. He believed that the prevalence of
democracy in the USA was the consequence of two conditions: civic culture and equality of
condition. By the term equality of condition, he was referring to the process of conducting
elections, the equal access of citizens for holding public office and to anti-aristocratic tendenc
By the term civic culture, he was referring to the involvement of the Americans in popular
organizations and their participation in democratic organs of local self-rule, which in turn led
citizens to develop a democratic civic spirit. Thus, for Tocqueville, the foundations of democr
government had to be rooted in the ‘habits and hearts’ of the citizens.
Dipesh Chakrabarty, Provincializing Europe: Post-colonial Thought and Historical Differen
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007), pp. 9–10.
By judicial activism, we are referring to the acts by various strata of the Indian judiciary in
proactively harnessing the obligations of the legislative and the executive wings of the Indian
The Indian Constitution does not explicitly define a Fundamental Right.
Rajeev Bhargava, ‘Democratic Vision of a New Republic: India, 1950’, in Francine Frankel, Z
Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora (eds.), Transfonning India: Social and Political
Dynamics of Democracy (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 26–59 and Sumit
Sarkar, ‘Indian Democracy: The Historical Inheritance’, in Atul Kohli (ed.), The Success of In
Democracy (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 23–46.
Democratic consolidation refers to the recognition of democracy as the only acceptable way to
resolve conflicts in society. This process includes three important elements: the behavioural, t
attitudinal and the constitutional aspects. First of all, the behavioural aspect refers to a situatio
where no significant actors try to achieve their objectives by creating a non-democratic regim
turning to violence or foreign intervention to secede from the State. The attitudinal aspect refer
a situation where most citizens believe that democratic procedures and institutions are the bes
means to govern their collective life. The constitutional aspect refers to a situation where the
governmental and non-governmental forces become accustomed to the idea of resolution of
conflicts within the specific laws, procedures and institutions sanctioned by the democratic
process. See Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and
Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America and Post-Communist Europe (Baltimore, MD
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996).
Lloyd I. Rudolph and Susan H. Rudolph, ‘Redoing the Constitutional Design: From an
Interventionist to a Regulatory State’, in Kohli (ed.), The Success of Indian Democracy, p. 15
This subject will be dealt in much detail elsewhere in this book.
Subrata K. Mitra, ‘Making Local Government Work…’, in Kohli (ed.), The Success of India
Democracy, p. 109–10.

Ibid.
As is the case with most laws, there are exceptions to this rule as well. Please refer to340/369
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particular Act.
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Given the quasi-judicial, quasi-executive nature of the Information Commission, which is the
appellate authority as envisioned in the Right to Information Act, 2005, it so appears that the In
State is moving towards a more democratic and more egalitarian culture of governance.
Myron Weiner, ‘The Struggle for Equality: Caste in Indian Poltilics’, in Kohli (ed.), The Suc
of Indian Democracy, pp. 193–225.
Refer to the works of Sudipta Kaviraj, who has incisively intervened in the debate on inequa
in the context of Indian democracy.

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‘The ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.’
At a ceremony of the Indian Legal Institute, in 1960, he expressed that the position of the India
president was not identical with that of the British Crown.
Sanjivi vs State of Madras 1970, Rao vs Indira 1971, Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab, 19
See D. D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India
1990), p. 193.
To furnish such information as the president may call for.
James Manor, ‘The Presidency, in Public Institutions in India,’ in Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bh
Mehta (eds.), Public Institutions in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 11
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, ‘India’s Judiciary: The Promise of Uncertainty,’ in Kapur and Mehta (ed
Public Institutions in India, p. 164.
Lloyd Rudolph and Susanne Rudolph, In Pursuit of Lakshmi (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 19
p. 106.
The Ninth Schedule was introduced first of all in 1951 to keep certain laws, particularly those
land reforms, beyond the scope of judicial review. The number of laws in the Ninth Schedule
gone up now to 284. The Supreme Court, on 11 January 2007, decried the absence of any
guidelines or constitutional control regulating the insertion of laws into the Ninth Schedule and
held that all laws inserted into this Schedule after 24 April 1973, i.e., the date of judgement in
Keshavnand Bharti case to escape judicial scrutiny shall be subject to the same.
See Pratap Bhanu Mehta, ‘Inner Conflict of Constitutionalism’, in Zoya Hasan, E. Sridharan an
Sudarshan (eds.), India’s Living Constitution (New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2002).
Mehta, ‘India’s Judiciary, p. 106.
Rudolph and Rudolph, In Pursuit of Lakshmi , p. 212. In a command polity, autonomous Stat
sovereign. Extractive and allocative decisions reflect the preferences of the elected and appoin
officials who choose and implement policies. A necessary condition for the command polity’s
ability to formulate goals, strategies and policies is the State’s ability to free itself from the
constraints of the societal demands through leadership, persuasion or coercion.
Robert Dahl, On Democracy (New Delhi: East-West Press), p. 156.

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Niraja Jayal, Democracy and State: Welfare, Secularism and Develojmient in Contemporary
India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999).
Francine Frankel, India’s Political Economy: 1947–2004 (New Delhi: Oxford University Pre
2005), p. 29.
AICC Election Review, quoted in Frankel, India’s Political Economy, p. 158.
Ibid.
Frankel, Indias Political Economy: 1947–2004 (New Delhi: Oxford University).
The Congress lost the Kerala Assembly elections in 1957. However, the situation was much m
serious in 1967 when it lost many State governments and came back to power with a reduced
number.
Frankel, India’s Political Economy, p. 209.
Ibid., pp. 208–09.
Ibid., p. 493.

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Samuel J. Eldersveld, Political Parties: A Behavioral Analysis (Bombay: Vora and Co., 196
2.
Ibid., p. 1.
Hanna Fenichel Pitkin, The Concept of Representation (Berkeley and Los Angeles: Universit
California Press, 1967), p. 144.
Ibid., p. 144.
R. M. MacIver, The Modem State (London: Oxford University Press, 1926), p. 396.
Eldersveld, Political Parties, p. 22
Giovanni Sartori, Parties and Party System: A Framework of Analysis (London: Cambridge
University Press, 1976), p. 1.
Ibid., p. 396.
Herman Finer, Theory and Practice of Modem Government (New York: A. Henry Holt and
Company, 1950), p. 220.
Political parties are accorded the status of a national or state political party in India in
accordance with the review of their status, based on their performance in the elections. Import
national political parties at present are the Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party,
Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Janata Dal and Bahujan Samaj
Party.
Paul R. Brass, The New Cambridge History of India: The Politics of India Since Independe
(Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press), p. 65.
Ibid, p. 40.
Rajni Kothari, ‘The Congress “System” in India’, in Zoya Hasan (ed.), Parties and Party Po
in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 41.
Ibid, p. 41.
Ibid, p. 40.
Subrata K. Mitra, Mike Enskat and Clemens Spiess, ‘Introduction’, in their (ed.) Political Pa
in South Asia (Praeger: Westpost, 2004), p. 8.
J. P Narayan, ‘Gandhi and Politics of Decentralization’, in Sibnarayan Ray (ed.), Gandhi, In
and the World (Bombay: Nachiketa Publication Limited, 1970), p. 240.
Ibid., p. 235.
J. P Narayan, A Plea for Reconstruction of Indian Polity (Kashi: Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva
Sangh, 1959), p. 66.
Indian National Congress and Congress have been used synonymously.
Kothari, ‘The Congress “System”’, p. 47.
Brass, The New Cambridge History of India, p. 66.
Ibid, p. 41.
Ibid, p. 42.
Kothari, ‘The Congress“Systern”’, p. 40.
Pradip K. Chhibber and John R. Petrocik, ‘Social Cleavage, Elections, and Indian Party Syst
in Hasan (ed.), Parties and Party Politics in India , p. 62.
Kothari, ‘The Congress “System”’, p. 46.
Zoya Hasan, ‘Introduction’, in her (ed.), Parties and Party Politics in India , p. 11.

Library, p. 35. The Government and Politics in India (London: Hutchinson University
W. http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi
H. Morris
1964), Jones, 344/369
 Harish Khare, ‘ProblemsContemporary
8/18/2019 of Survival and Reinvention
India Economy, Society, Politics -in Political
Neera Parties
Chandhoke, Praveen in South Asia’, in
Priyadarshi
Subrata K. Mitra, Mike Enskat and Clemens Spiess (eds.), Political Parties in South Asia
(Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004), Introduction, p. 32.
Kothari, ‘The Congress “System”’, p. 50.
For a detailed discussion on coalition government and politics, please refer to Chapter 17 in
volume.
Zoya Hasan, ‘Representation and Redistribution: The New Lower Caste Politics of North Ind
in Francine R. Frankel, Zoya Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora (eds.), Transformin
India: Social and Political Dynamics of Democracy (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2
p. 147.
Yogendra Yadav, ‘Understanding the Second Democratic Upsurge’, in Frankel et al. (eds.),
Transforming India, p. 121.
For a detailed discussion, refer to ibid.
Amrita Basu, ‘The Transformation of Hindu Nationalism? Towards a Reappraisal’, in Frank
al. (eds.), Transforming India, p. 399.
In recent years, though, the party has been gaining in strength in the South. It first formed a
coalition government with the Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka in 2006, and in 2008 won in
Karnataka state elections, thus forming a government in South India without a coalition.
Neera Chandhoke, Individualism and Group Rights: A View From India, in Granville Austin
(ed.), India’s Living Constitution (New Delhi: Oxford University Press), p. 210.
Brass, The New Cambridge History of India, p. 64.
With the downfall of the Soviet Union, and neoliberal principles and policies becoming the b
word of the administration and government, communist parties have to contextualize and reinfo
the needs and aspirations of poor masses. They should try to monitor the process of liberalizat
privatization and globalization in all possible ways.
Suhas Palshikar, ‘Shiv Sena: A Tiger with Many Faces?’ Economic and Political Weekly , 3
(14, 15), 3–10 April 2004: 1497.
Ashutosh Kumar, ‘Electoral Politics in Punjab: Study of Akali Dal’, Economic and Political
Weekly, 39 (14, 15) April 3–10, 2004: 1515.
A. K. Venna, ‘Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh’, Economic and Political Weekly , 39 (14, 1
3–10 April 2004: 1509.
Mitra, et al., ‘Introduction’, p. 9.
Manoranjan Mohanty, ‘Theorising Indian Democracy’, in Rajendra Vora and Suhas Palshikar
(eds.), Indian Democracy: Meaning and Practice (New Delhi: Sage, 2004), p. 110.
Refer to the Report of the Law Commission of India on Electoral Reforms submitted to the
Government in May 1999, for detailed discussion.
M. V. Pylee, Emerging Trends of Indian Party (Delhi: Regency Publications, 1998), p.16.
Hasan, ‘Introduction’, p. 2.
Chandhoke, ‘Individualism and Group Rights’, p. 217.
Mitra, et al., ‘Introduction’, p. 9.
Richard Gunther, Jose Ramon Montero and Juan J. Linz, ‘Introduction’, in their (ed.), Politic
Parties: Old Concepts and New Challenges (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), p.
Zoya Hasan (ed.), Parties and Party Politics in India , p. 6.

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The Janata Party drew sustenance from diverse ideological groups. There were those who had
been in Congress but had left the party (like Charan Singh, Morarji Desai) at some point the
socialists, the right-wing Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and also the CPI(M).
Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar, ‘Party System and Electoral Politics in the Indian State
1952–2002: From Hegemony to Convergence’, in Peter Ronald de Souza and E. Sridharan (ed
Indias Political Parties (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2006), pp. 73–74.
The Left Front, for example, was a partner in the Janata Party coalition government formed in
1971. Further, in 1989, both the Left Front and BJP supported the National Front government l
V. P. Singh from outside.
Rajni Kothari, ‘The Congress System in India’, Asian Survey, 4 (12), December 1964.
Yadav and Palshikar, ‘Party System and Electoral Politics’, pp. 76–80.
For details, see Ajay K. Mehra, ‘Introduction’ in Ajay K. Mehra, D. D. Khanna and G. W. Kn
(eds.), Political Parties and Party Systems (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003), pp. 30–31
Frontline, 18 June 2004, pp. 4–5.
Sudha Pai, State Politics: New Dimensions (Delhi: Shipra Publication, 2000), pp. 6–10.
Demands have been made for the creation of separate states such as Uttarakhand in Uttar Prade
Gorkhaland in West Bengal, Khalistan in Punjab, Bodoland in Assam, etc.
Except for two seats won by TDP, no regional party could capture a seat. The strength of tota
members elected from regional parties, however, was 45.
E. Sridharan, ‘Electoral Coalitions in 2004 General Elections: Theory and Practice’, Econom
and Political Weekly, 18 December 2004: pp. 5418–19.
It is important to remember that the combined vote share of the Congress and the BJP added u
ust over 50 per cent in the Lok Sabha elections of 2004.
Even the formation of the BJP-led coalitions after the general elections of 1998 and 1999
required the shelving of the BJP’s controversial Hindutva agenda for most of its pre- and post-
election coalition partners to be able to join it in government.
See for details, Niraja Gopal Jayal, Representing India: Ethnic Diversity and the Governan
of Public Institutions (New York: Palgrave Macmillan [UNRISD], 2006), pp. 101–13.

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Orhan Pamuk, Snow (New York: Vintage Books, 2005), pp: 60–61.
T. N. Madan, ‘Secularism in Its Place’, in Rajeev Bhargava (ed.), Secularism and Its Critics
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997), pp. 297–315, pp. 298–99.
S. Gopal(ed), Jawaharlal Nehru: An Anthology , (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1980)
327.
Ibid., p. 330.
Brenda Crossman and Ratna Kapur, Secularism’s Last Sigh? (New Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 1999), p. 58, note 12.
Gary Jeffrey Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law: India’s Secularism in Comparative Constitution
Context (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003), pp. 146–47, italics in the original.
Constituent Assembly Debates, Official Reports, Vol. 3, 28th April to 2 May 1947 (Delhi: Lo
Sabha Secretariat, 1989), pp. 507–508.
S. Radhakrishnan, Recovery of Faith (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1956), p. 202.
Cited in D. E. Smith, Nehru and Democracy: The Political Thought of an Asian Democrat
(Calcutta: Orient Longman, 1958), p. 154.
‘Government Abdicates’, Economic and Political Weekly , 5 November 1966: 476.
This, of course, implies that religious practices have to fall within the realm of what is
democratically permissible.
See Niraja Gopal Jayal, Democracy and the State: Welfare, Secularism and Development i
Contemporary India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), Ch. 3.

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Rabindranath Tagore, ‘Nationalism in India’, in Nationalism (New Delhi: Rupa and Company
2002), p. 121.
Sudipta Kaviraj, ‘Crisis of Nation-State in India’, in John Dunn (ed.) Contemporary Crisis of
Nation-State? (Oxford and Cambridge, UK: Blackwell, 1995), pp. 118–19; Sekhar Bandopad
From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2004),
184.
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (London: Verso, 1983).
See, for instance, Sudipta Kaviraj, ‘The Imaginary Institution of India’, in Partha Chatterjee an
Gyanendra Pandey (eds.), Subaltern Studies, Vol. VII (New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
1992), pp. 1–39.
Amartya Sen, Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (London: Allen Lane, 2006), pp
39; for the working of multiple identities in pre-colonial India, see Kaviraj, The Imaginary
Institution of India.
Bandopadhyay, From Plassey to Partition , pp. 205–18.
Sunil Khilnani, The Idea of India (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2004), p. 154.
Kaviraj, The Imaginary Institution of India; Sumit Sarkar, Modem India (Madras: Macmillan I
1983), pp. 89–92.
Sarkar, Modem India , p. 96.
Kaviraj, ‘Crisis of Nation-State in India’.
Partha Chatterjee, The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories, in T
Partha Chatterjee Omnibus (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 76–115; Ranaj
Guha, An Indian Historiography of India: A Nineteenth Century Agenda and Its Implication
(Calcutta: Centre for the Study of Social Sciences, 1988), pp. 1–26.
Neeladri Bhattacharya, ‘The Problem’, Seminar 522, special issue on Rewriting History, 20
pp. 12–13.
Chatterjee, The Nation and Its Fragments , pp. 102–06.
Ibid, pp. 95–115.
Sumit Sarkar, Writing Social History (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997), pp. 1–49
Ranajit Guha, An Indian Historiography of India: A Nineteenth Century Agenda and Its
Implications (Calcutta: Centre for the Study of Social Sciences, 1988), p. 13.
Chatterjee, The Nation and Its Fragments , pp. 102–06.
Kaviraj, ‘Crisis of the Nation-State in India’, pp. 118–19.
Bandopadhyay, From Plassey to Partition , pp. 250–51, 269–70; Sarkar, Modem India , pp.
23.
Khalid Bin Sayeed, Pakistan: The Formative Phase 1857–1948 (Karachi: Oxford Universit
Press, 1998), p. 18.
Cited in Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, Modem South Asia: History, Culture, and Political
Economy (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 100.
Aditya Nigam, The Insurrection of Little Selves: The Crisis of Secular-Nationalism in Indi
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 68.
Cited in Gyanendra Pandey, ‘The Civilized and the Barbarian: The “New” Politics of Late
Twentieth Century India and the World’, in Gyanendra Pandey (ed.), Hindus and Others: The

Question
Cited of IdentityVarshney,
in Ashutosh in India TodayEthnic(New Delhi:
Conflict andViking,
Civic Life: 1993), p. 15.and Muslims of348/369
Hindus
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contemporary-india-economy-society-politics-neera-chandhoke-praveen-priyadarshi India (
Haven and London: Yale Contemporary
8/18/2019 University Press,
India 2002),
Economy, Society,p. 71.- Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
Politics
Yogendra K. Malik and Dhirendra K. Vajpeyi, ‘The Rise of Hindu Militancy: India’s Secula
Democracy at Risk,’ Asian Survey 29 (3), March 1989: 308–325.
Mukul Kesavan, Secular Common Sense (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2001) pp. 41–47
Sumit Sarkar, ‘Indian Nationalism and the Politics of Hindutva’, in David Ludden (ed.), Mak
India Hindu : Religion, Community, and Politics of Democracy in India (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1996), p. 274.
Ibid., p. 274.
Varshney, Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life , pp. 65–66.
Kesavan, Secular Common Sense, p. 100.
Ibid., pp. 100–101.
Pandey, ‘The Civilized and the Barbarian’, p. 12.
Ibid.
Ibid., pp. 12–14.
Thomas Blom Hansen, The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modem In
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 4–5.
Kesavan, Secular Common Sense, p. 3.
Ibid., p. 5.
Sarkar, ‘Indian Nationalism and the Politics of Hindutva’, p. 273.
Nigam, The Insurrection of Little Selves, p. 70.
Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India, (New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund,
1981), p. 62.
Ravinder Kumar, ‘The Secular Culture of India’, in Rasheeduddin Khan (ed.), Composite Cu
and National Integration (Shimla and New Delhi: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, in
association with Allied Publishers, 1987), p. 371.
Ibid., p. 370.
Ibid., pp. 367–71.
Amartya Sen, ‘Secularism and Its Discontents’, in Kaushik Basu and Sanjay Subramanyam (e
Unravelling the Nation: Sectarian Conflict and India’s Secular Identity (New Delhi: Pengu
Books, 1996), pp. 13–14, and Ashutosh Varshney, Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus an
Muslims of India (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002), pp. 55–64. Also se
Blom Hansen, The Saffron Wave, p. 11.
Sudipta Kaviraj, ‘Crisis of the Nation-State in India’, p. 119.
Sanjay Subramanyam, ‘Before the Leviathan: Sectarian Violence and the State in Pre-Coloni
India’, in Basu and Subramanyam (eds.), Unravelling the Nation, pp. 44–80.
G. Balachandran, ‘Religion and Nationalism in Modern India’, in Basu and Subramanyam (e
Unravelling the Nation, pp. 108–11.
Ibid., p. 89.
Gyanendra Pandey, ‘Citizenship and Difference: The Muslim Question in India’, in Mushirul
Hasan and Nariaki Nakazats (eds.), Unfinished Agenda: Nation Building in South Asia (New
Delhi: Manohar Publishers, 2001), p. 120.
Balachandran, ‘Religion and Nationalism in Modem India’, pp. 108–11.
Nigam, The Insurrection of Little Selves, pp. 70–76.
Ibid. p. 111.
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, ‘Secularism and Identity Trap’, in Mushirul Hasan (ed.), Will Secular
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Survive? (New Delhi: Imprint
8/18/2019 One),
Contemporary pp.
India 72–81.
Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi
Ibid. p. 81.
Ibid.
Pandey, ‘Citizenship and Difference’, p. 127.

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See R. Hague and M. Harrop, Comparative Government and Politics: An Introduction

(Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), p. 202.
Ibid.
See William Riker, Federalism: Origin, Operation and Significance (Boston: Little, Brown,
1964); and William Riker, ‘Federalism’, in F. I. Greenstein and N. Polsby (eds.), The Handbo
of Political Science, Vol. 5, Government Institutions and Processes, (Reading, MA: Addiso
Wesley, 1975).
G. Smith, cited by Hague and Harrop, Comparative Government and Politics, p. 206.
See Daniel J. Elazar, Exploring Federalism (Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alalama Press, 1
pp. 83–84.
Cornelius Castoriadis, cited by Sudipta Kaviraj, ‘Introduction’, in his (ed.), Politics in India
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002 [1997]), p. 12.
Kaviraj, ‘Introduction’, p. 13.
Cited by Jyotirindra Dasgupta, ‘India’s Federal Design and Multicultural National Constructio
in Atul Kohli (ed.), The Success of India’s Democracy (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Universi
Press, 2001), p. 50.
Granville Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1966), p. 186.
See Paul R. Brass, ‘Introduction: Continuities and Discontinuities Between Pre- and Post-
Independence India’, in his The Politics of India Since Independence, 2nd edition (Cambridg
UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 2.
M. Govinda Rao, ‘Fiscal Decentralization in Indian Federalism’, paper for the Institute for S
and Economic Change, 2000, p. 6.
M. Govinda Rao and Nirvikar Singh have shown in their hook The Political Economy of
Federalism in India (New York: Oxford Univesity Press, 2005) how planned economy and
nationalization of hanks and financial institutions led to strengthening of already created centra
polity. He studies the present context of economic reforms and liberalization and points out the
trends towards greater federalization and decentralization in the recent years.
H. M. Rajashekara, ‘The Nature of Indian Federalism: A Critique’, Asian Survey, 37 (3), Ma
1997: 245.
Paul R. Brass, ‘The Strong State and the Fear of Disorder’, in F R. Frankel, Z. Hasan, R.
Bhargava and B. Arora (eds.), Transforming India: Social and Political Dynamics of Democ
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 60.
Cited in ibid., p. 67.
Cited in ibid., p.67.
Ibid., p. 68.
See Austin, The Indian Constitution, p. 191.
Balraj Puri, ‘The Evolution of Indian Federalism: Strengths and Weaknesses’, in L. C. Jain (e
Decentralisation and Local Governance: Essays for George Mathew (New Delhi: Orient
Longman), p. 91.
See Brass, ‘Introduction’, pp. 6–7.
T. V Sathyamurthy, ‘Impact of Centre-State Relations on Indian Politics: An Interpretative

Reckoning
University 1947–1987’,
Press, 1997), in pp.Partha
232–36. Chatterjee (ed.), State and Politics in India (New Delhi:
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O
 See8/18/2019
Balveer Arora, ‘Negotiating
ContemporaryDifferences: Federal
India Economy, Society, Politics Coalitions andPraveen
- Neera Chandhoke, National Cohesion’, in
Priyadarshi
Frankel, et al. (eds.), Transforming India, p. 179.
Nirvikar Singh and T. N. Srinivasan, ‘Indian Federalism, Economic Reform and Globalisatio
Working Paper No. 150, Centre for Research on Economic Development and Policy Reform,
Stanford University, pp. 2–5. M. Govinda Rao has sought inclusion of the Panchayati Raj
Institutions as the third level of federation. See Rao, ‘Fiscal Decentralization in Indian
Federalism’.
James Manor, ‘Centre-State Relations’, in Kohli (ed.), The Success of India’s Democracy, p
Neera Chandhoke, ‘A State of One’s Own’: Secessionism and Federalism in India’, Working
Paper No. 80, Crisis States Research Centre, London School of Economics, p. 1.
Ibid., p. 8. In such cases, identities are politicized, and harnessed to projects of violent
resistance/secessionism due to violation of political agreements, decay of institutions and non
realisation of popular expectations due to denial of opportunity for participation and lack of
accountability.
See Rasheeduddin Khan (ed.), Rethinking Indian Federalism (Shimla: Inter-University Cent
for Humanities and Social Sciences, 1997).

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G. S. Cheema and D. A. Rondinelli (eds.), Decentralisation and Development: Policy

Implementation in Developing Countries (New Delhi: Sage, 1983), p. 18.
Moitree Bhattacharya, Panchayati Raj in West Bengal: Democratic Decentralisation or
Democratic Centralism (New Delhi: Manak, 1992), p. 7.
Ibid., p. 8.
A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India (Calcutta: Rupa, 1991), pp. 105–08, section on V
Administration.
Reference may be made to the Indian Council’s Acts 1861, 1892 and 1909, Lord Mayo’s
Resolution, 1870, Lord Ripon Resolution, 1882, the 1909 report of Royal Commission on
Decentralisation under the chairmanship of Hobhouse, and the Montague-Chelmsford Reform
1919.
Rajendra Vora and S. Palshikar (eds.), Indian Democracy: Meanings and Practices (New D
Sage, 2004), pp. 12–14.
The notion of ‘take off’ has been taken from W. W. Rostow, The Stages of Economic Growth—
Non-Communist Manifesto (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press).
Rajasthan was the first state to introduce PRIs after this.
According to Annual Report 2005–2006 of Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India,
are total 2,34,676 village panchayats in India to which there are 20,73,715 elected representat
6,097 intermediate panchayats to which there are 1,10,070 elected representatives; and 537 d
panchayats to which there are 11,825 elected representatives (see page 8 of the report).
P D. Kaushik, ‘Panchayati Raj Movement in India: Retrospective and Present Status’, in Bibe
Debroy and P D. Kaushik (eds.), Emerging Rural Development Through Panchayats (New D
Academic Foundation, 2005).
Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Annual Report 2005–2006, (New Delhi: Government of India, 2
p. 12.
Ibid., p. 40.
Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen (eds.), India: Development and Participation (New Delhi: Ox
University Press, 2002), p. 347.
Ibid., p. 350.

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S. R. Maheshwari, Administrative Thinkers (New Delhi: Macmillan India Limited, 1998), p.

Kuldeep Mathur, ‘Administrative Reforms in India: Policy Prescriptions and Outcomes’, in B
Chakravarty and Mohit Bhattacharya (eds.) Administrative Change and Innovation: A Reader
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 279.
Because public administration has so greatly broadened its role and borrowed from many
disciplines some writers believe that it suffers from identity crisis. Also see A. Felix Nigro an
Lloyd Nigro, Modem Public Administration, 6th edition (New York: Harper and Row, 1984)
Dwight Waldo cautions us against the dangers of defining public administration as he stated th
‘The immediate effect of all one sentence or one paragraph definition of public administration
mental paralysis rather than enlightenment and stimulation.’ See Mohit Bhatacharya, New Hor
of Public Administration (New Delhi: Jawahar Publishers and Distributors, 2003), p. 6.
R. B. Jain, Public Administration in India: 21st Century Challenges for Good Governance (
Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications, 2001), p. 30.
Frederickson stated that public administration is rich with theories and perspectives and there
probably no need for there to be one single agreed upon theory. In fact, those who manage the
affairs of government are engaged in highly varied and differing activities and no single theory
concept could possibly hope to comprehend all these activities. Also see Nigro and Nigro, Mo
Public Administration, p. 16.
R. K. Sapru, Administrative Theories and Management Thought (New Delhi: Prentice-Hall o
India, 2006), p. 31.
Nicholas Henry, Public Administration and Public Affairs (New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of Indi
2007), p. 28.
Ibid.
Ibid., p. 30.
Maheshwari, Administrative Thinkers , p. 142.
Elton Mayo and his colleagues through the Hawthorne experiments rejected the formal
institutionalization and rrfechanistic study of structure and principles of organisation. Herbert
Simon considered decision-making as the heart of public administration and therefore it was
important to understand the behavioural factors in the processes of decision-making.
Henry, Public Administration and Public Affairs, p. 30.
Bhattacharya, New Horizons of Public Administration , p. 22.
Ibid.
H. George Frederickson stated that ‘A public administration which fails to work for changes
which try to redress the deprivation of minorities will likely be eventually used to repress tho
minorities.’ H. George Frederickson, ‘Organization Theory and New Public Administration’,
Frank Marini (ed.), Toward a New Public Administration: The Minnow- brook Perspective (
Delhi: Scranton, PA: Chandler, 1971).
Also see Bidyut Chakravarty and Mohit Bhattacharya (eds.), Public Administration: A Read
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 24.
Also see Nigro and Nigro, Model Public Administration, p. 14.
Paul Appleby pointed out that administration must orient itself to the general political situatio
the time. Also see Mathur, ‘Administrative Reforms in India’, p. 282.

Also see Bhattacharya, New Horizons of Public Administration, p. 22.

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 Under the Charter, citizens
8/18/2019 have been
Contemporary brought
India Economy, at the
Society, centre
Politics - Neeraof all government
Chandhoke, activities and ai
Praveen Priyadarshi
demanding from the government and all service organisations accountability, transparency, qu
and choice of services provided to the people. See Bidyut Chakravarty, Reinventing Public
Administration: The Indian Experience (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2007), pp. 260–62.
Ibid.
The approach paper to the 11th plan also focuses on public-private partnership as an importa
strategy for development. For details, see Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth: An
Approach to the 11th Five Year Plan (New Delhi: Government of India, 2006), p. 29.
Jain, Public Administration in India, p. 4.
Chakravarty, Reinventing Public Administration, p. 153.
Ibid, p. 157.
Ibid.
The debates in the Constituent Assembly are important to understand the nature of public
administration in India. The report of the Secretariat Reorganisation Committee commented on
unresponsive nature of the administration, which was incapable of handling the new challenge
the aftermath of British withdrawal.
Planning Commission, First Five-Year Plan (New Delhi: Government of India, 1956), p. 12
also see Mohit Bhattacharya, Social Theory: Development Administration and Development
Ethics (New Delhi: Jawahar Publishers and Distributors, 2006), pp. 40–41.
The B. R. Mehta Committee’s recommendations marked beginning of people participation an
process of democratic decentralization. The Ashok Mehta Committee Report proposed structu
and organizational changes in 1977 to revitalize the Panchayati Raj System. Also see Chakrav
Reinventing Public Administration, p. 233.
Refer to Chapter 21 in this volume.
During 1952–66, policies of administrative reform were influenced by disciplinary understan
of public administration in United States as well as several suggestions by scholars and exper
public administration. See Mathur, ‘Administrative Reforms in India’, p. 282. The report of A
Gorwala in 1951 suggested steps to ensure efficiency and discipline in the civil service. It
emphasized that coordination between the politics and administration was important for efficie
and smooth functioning of public administration. It influenced the five-year plans as well as th
Administrative Reforms Commission to bring efficiency in achieving socio-economic goals an
be responsive to people. See Chakravarty Reinventing Public Administration, p. 275. In 1953
Paul Appleby was invited by the Government of India to report on Indian administration. He
suggested structural changes in the basic principles and concept of the administrative system,
which was feudalistic and inadequate with a long colonial history. La Palombara Stated that
‘Public Administration steeped in the tradition of the Indian Civil Service may be less useful a
developmental administrators than those who are not so rigidly tied to the notion s of bureaucr
status, hierarchy and impartiality’. J. la Palombara (ed.), Bureaucracy and Political Developm
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963), p. 1. The Santhanam Committee in 1964 als
recommended the creation of central vigilance commission as a permanent administrative win
keep watch on civil servants. See Jain, Public Administration in India, pp. 21–24; also
Chakravarty, Reinventing Public Administration, pp. 225–26 and 227.
The Committee made a total of 581 recommendations. Also see Maheshwari, Administration
Thinkers. The most significant recommendations of ARC were the appointment of Lok Pal and
Lokayukta at the centre as well as in the States, introduction of the concept of performance
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budgeting and the need forContemporary
8/18/2019 depoliticization of Society,
India Economy, services,
Politics also
- Neerasee Chakravarty,
Chandhoke, Reinventing Pub
Praveen Priyadarshi
Administration , pp. 231–32.
Chakravarty, Reinventing Public Administration, p. 321.
Planning Commission, Government of India, 1995, pp. 4–5.
R. B. Jain, ‘Striving for Governance: Fifty Years of India’s Administrative Development’, in
Public Administration in India Public Administration, p. 34.
Ibid, p. 32, also see Chakravarty and Bhattacharya (ed.), Public Administration, pp. 349–58
Chakravarty, Reinventing Public Administration, pp. 258–59.
Mathur, ‘Administration Reforms in India’, p. 350.
Hoshiar Singh (ed.), Administrative Reforms in India and the Agenda for the Future in
Expanding Horizons of Public Administration (Jaipur: Aalekh Publishers, 2005), pp. 109–10
Administrative reforms can be divided into several phases. The first phase is from 1947–64, w
is a period of institutional building, the second phase is from 1965–76, which is a period of
comprehensive reforms and era of ARC, the third phase is from 1977–90, which is a period o
ideas and reforms, and the fourth phase is from 1990 onwards, which has responded to the neo
liberal ideology and international economic changes.
Chakravarty and Bhattacharya, Public Administration, p. 25.
Ali Farazmand has pointed out several challenges that public administration faces today. He
states that ‘the increasing dominance of the corporate sector, government’s role in the allocatio
resources and equitable distribution of wealth, the stabilisation of economy and economic grow
has been overruled by the globalising corporate elites’. As a result, the public sphere and publ
participation have shrunk and public administration should resist shrinking this realm of public
services by engaging citizens in the administration of public affairs and by playing a proactive
in managing societal resources. Therefore, nothing less than the future legitimacy of public
administration is at stake. Second, the challenge is the shift from civil administration to non-ci
administration. Now, the balanced administrative State has been replaced by the corporate-
coercive State and thus public administration is being transformed from administrating public
affairs to administrating the public itself, ‘for social control and facilitation of capital
accumulation’. Public administration with a social conscience, he argues, should resist this cha
Third challenge of privatization promotes greater opportunities for commtion. Public
administration he contends must resist the market-based concepts of treating the citizens as
customers and degrading them to market commodities quoted in Mohit Bhattacharya, New Hor
of Public Administration, pp. 445–46.

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Charles Krauthammer, ‘The Unipolar Moment’, Foreign Affairs , 70, 1990–91: 23–33; and Jo
S. Nye, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (New York: Basic Books,
1990).
Barry Buzan, ‘Rethinking Security After the Cold War’, Cooperation and Conflict, 32 (1), M
1997: 5–28; and Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver, Regions and Powers: The Structure of
International Security (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003).
The realist tradition in international relations argues that State capabilities measured primarily
terms of military power determine State behaviour. For realists, cooperation in the internation
system is not possible as relative gains affect the balance of power. The liberal tradition gives
importance to State preferences, rather than State capabilities. Liberalism believes that nation
states are concerned first and foremost with their absolute gains rather than relative gains to ot
nation-states. Liberalism also holds that interaction between States is not limited to the politic
(high politics), but also economic (low politics) whether through commercial firms, organizati
or individuals. Thus, instead of an anarchic international system, there are plenty of opportunit
for cooperation amongst State and non-State actors. See James E. Dougherty and Robert L.
Pfaltzgraff, Contending Theories of International Relations: A Comprehensive Survey (New
York: Longman Publishing Group, 2000).
Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affa
2003), p. 11.
Grand strategy refers to the collection of military, economic and political means and ends with
which a State attempts to achieve security, prosperity and power in both war and peace. See
Baldev Raj Nayar and T. V Paul, India in the World Order: Searching for Major-Power Sta
(Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 61.
Homi J. Bhabha claimed in a conversation in February 1965 that India could go nuclear within
eighteen months. See Stephen P Cohen, India: Emerging Power (New Delhi: Oxford Universi
Press, 2001), p. 147.
Article IX (3) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, 1968 states that for the purposes of thi
Treaty, a nuclear-weapon State is one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon
other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January, 1967.’
In a sub-critical test no critical mass is formed and no self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction ca
occur. This technically does not qualify to be called a nuclear explosion, which is prohibited u
Article 1 of the CTBT. Between 1997 and August 2006, the United States has conducted 23 su
tests maintaining that such tests are within the ambit of the CTBT and are fully consistent with
nuclear moratorium it has maintained since 1992.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200608/sl728616.htm (last accessed on 16 May 2008
Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik, South Asia on a Short Fuse: Nuclear Politics and the Futu
Global Disarmament (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999); Kanti Bajpai, ‘The Fallac
an Indian Deterrent’, in Amitabh Mattoo (ed.), India’s Nuclear Deterrent: Pokhran II and Be
(New Delhi: Har-Anand Publishers, 1999).
Scott D. Sagan and Kenneth N. Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed
(New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2003), pp. 115–22.
Ibid., p. 122.

the India:
Cohen, Emerging
full report, refer toPower , no.of
Ministry 6,Defence,
p. 167. Government of India website
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http://mod.nic.in/reports/welcome.html,
8/18/2019 p. 12Society,
Contemporary India Economy, (last Politics
accessed- Neera on 16 May
Chandhoke, 2008).
Praveen Priyadarshi
http://www.thebulletin.org/article_nn.phpPart_ofn=so05norris
For details refer to Ministry of Defence Annual Report, no. 13. pp. 88–90.
‘Prithvi Missile Interception Test a Success’, Indian Express, 28 November, 2006.
Refer to the 23 May 2002, India-US Defense Policy Group Joint Statement issued at Washing
DC. http://meaindia.nic.in/declarestatement/2002/05/23jsl.htm (last accessed on 16 May 2008
For a general overview of border issues and management, see Sanjai Singh, ‘Management of
Western Land Borders of India’, World Focus, 320, August 2006, pp. 3–12, and Anil Kamboj
‘Border Management: Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan’, World Focus 320, August 2006: 22–29
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.aspPNewsID=1065520 (last accessed on 16 May 2008).
Bhartendu Kumar Singh, ‘China Comes Closer’, Peace and Conflict, 9 (6), June 2006: 20–2
Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Suresh Mehta, speaking on the occasion of Navy Day on 4th
December 2006. http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/currentaffairs/navydaysinoindian
rivalry/sinoindianrivalryoverindianoceanoutopen/market/stocks/article/254225 (last accessed
19 May 2008).
For an overview of India’s defence modernization, refer to the Annual Defence Report 2004
13.
C. Raja Mohan, Crossing the Rubicon: The Shaping of India’s New Foreign Policy (New D
Penguin Books, 2003), pp. 260–63.
See Dennis Kux, India and the United States: Estranged Democracies, 1941–1991
(Washington: National Defense University Press, 1992).
US Department of State, ‘Background Briefing by Administration Officials on US-South Asia
Relations’, 25 March 2005, available at www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/2005/43853.htm
Baldev Raj Nayar, ‘India Rising, but Uphill Road Ahead’, Asian Survey, 46 (1), January/
February 2006.
Abhishek Singhvi, ‘1, 2, 3, and Go’, Hindustan Times , 20 December 2006.
Manmohan Singh replying to a discussion on the Indo-US civilian nuclear issue on 17 August
2006. Strategic Digest, 36 (9): 1151–59.
Jerry Pinto, ‘Japan and India: Making Up for the Lost Decade’, Economic and Political Wee
24 June 2006, p. 2519.
Varun Sahni, ‘From Security in Asia to Asian Security’, International Studies, 41 (3), 2004.

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 8/18/2019
Glossary
Contemporary India Economy, Society, Politics - Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi

bsolute Poverty: Subsistence below minimum, socially acceptable living conditions, usually
ablished based on nutritional requirements and other essential goods.

sic Needs: A term used by the International Labor Organization to describe the basic goods an
vices (food, shelter, clothing, sanitation, education, etc.) necessary for a minimum standard of
ing.

lance of Payment: A statement of the transactions of a country with foreign countries and
ernational institutions.

reaucratic Rationality: The term was coined by Max Weber. It signifies that the authority of
reaucracy is based on rational rules and procedures, and not on any tradition or charisma. In o
rds, it means institutionalization of the official machinery, in which rules and procedures base
ionality are the guiding principles of the decision-making process. In turn, people abide by the
cisions because they follow set rules and procedures.

pital Goods Industries: Industries that produce materials basic to production process, such a
el, machines and chemicals.

ste: Society in India is divided into a number of social groupings, membership of which is

erminedOriginally
clusive. by birth. The relationship
a feature between
of Hindu these
society, castegroups
is nowisahierarchical,
part of otherdiscriminatory andsuc
religious groups
uslims, Sikhs and Christians as well. It has often been used for political mobilization and maki
mands upon the State.

ntralization: It means the concentration of political powers or government authority at the nat
el, a tendency that goes against the federal division of power between the centre and the state
also considered to be a problem for democracy. De-centralization became one of the major
litical values that led to induction of local governance institutions—the Panchayati Raj—in the
dian constitutional scheme.

haracter of Economic Growth: The distributive implications of the process of economic grow
other words, how that economic growth is achieved and who benefits.

vil Society: A notional space between the state and the family where people engage in politica
ivities. It is the domain where competition and struggle for political power play themselves ou
e power dynamics in the state is but a reflection and codification of the power dynamics in civ
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institutions
8/18/2019 such as parliament, the seat
Contemporary of the Society,
India Economy, president
Politics and the
- Neera supreme
Chandhoke, court
Praveen and divides and
Priyadarshi

fines their authorities. It also has a set of Fundamental Rights that is available to the people.
nstitutions are generally typified as rigid or flexible, depending on the strictness of rules of
endment.

urrency Devaluation: A deliberate downward adjustment in the official exchange rate establis
a government against another currency.

urrent Account: A part of balance of payment consisting of visible trade (goods) and invisible
de (services).

urrent Account Balance: The difference between the nation’s total exports of goods, services
nsfers and its total imports of them. Current account balance calculations exclude transactions
ancial assets and liabilities.

lit: The term ‘Dalit’ literally means ‘ground down’ or ‘broken down to pieces’. It was first us
B. R. Ambedkar in 1928 in his newspaper Bahishkrit Bharat . Dalits occupy the lowest rank i
ndu caste system and are called ‘avama’ that is, those who are outside the ‘vama’ system. The
nerally refers to exploited and oppressed social groups but is more particularly used for memb
Scheduled Castes. The other terms used are ‘untouchables’, ‘depressed classes’, and ‘Harijan
hildren of God).

mocratic Decentralization: This is a process whereby power and resources are delegated to
al authority to ensure accountability and enable participation.

-ritualization: De-ritualization refers to the breakdown or loss of ritualized activities that occ
ly life within a society. It often happens with changing economic or social status of a caste or
mmunity.

valuation: This is a reduction in the external value of the domestic currency made by the
vernment.

velopmentalist State: This refers to the State with development as its most important concer
e term is used to describe some post-colonial states, which sought to transform people’s econo
es through controlled economy and centralized planning. The post-Independence (but pre-
eralization) Indian State is one such example.

sarmament: It refers to the movement for abolition of arms, particularly nuclear arms, in the w
the arms race that began between the two dominant blocks during the Cold War. India, as a pa
n-aligned movement, favoured such an initiative.

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rule. Dadabhai Naoroji was the
Contemporary Indiafirst to use
Economy, this
Society, concept
Politics to denote
- Neera Chandhoke, the Priyadarshi
Praveen transfer of wealth
onies like India to colonial powers like Britain. He adopted two crude methods to prove his c
e was to give extensive quotations from his observations of Bristish administrators in India to
ow how the drain had impoverished the country. The other was to make a rough calculation of
ual extent of the drain. By taking the total value of exports and imports of India from 1835 to 1
concluded that Britain had drained out £500 million for its own benefit.

commerce: commerce conducted over the Internet, most often via the World Wide Web. E-
mmerce can apply to purchases made through the Web or to business-to-business activities suc
ventory transfers. A customer can order items from a vendor’s Web site, paying with a credit c
e customer enters account information via the computer) or with a previously established ‘cyb
h’ account. The transaction information is transmitted (usually by modem) to a financial institu
payment clearance and to the vendor for order fulfillment. Personal and account information i
pt confidential through the use of ‘secured transactions’ that use encryption technology

governance: It means utilizing the Internet and the World Wide Web for delivering governmen
ormation and services to citizens. It has become a buzzword in post-liberalization India, with t
ief that information technologies can be used to make government practices more accessible,
nsparent and responsive.

onomic Growth: The steady process by which the productive capacity of the economy is
reased over time to bring about rising levels of national output and income.

alitarianism: This holds that if people are unequally situated in a given social order then they
ould be treated differently. Therefore, it reconsiders that procedural fairness needs to be
pplemented by measures to ensure that those who are adversely situated in the socio-economic
der, can also enjoy equal opportunities in society.

asticity of Employment: It is a measure of the percentage point change in employment within

ven sector associated with a 1 percentage point change in value added in the sector.

ection: The procedure for authoritatively aggregating political preferences of the mass elector

s a process in which people participate to choose their representatives as well as to accept or

ect political agendas. It is one of the most important markers for democracy. Presence or abse
democracy has often been associated very closely with regular elections.

te: An elite is a small group of people that are at the top of some sphere of social life, or has
dership of society as a whole. Every political system, according to elitist theory, whatever its
icial ideology, is in fact ruled by a political elite or elites.

mergency
ow normal Powers:
legislativeThey are special
procedures powers
and/or granted
judicial to a government
remedies or executive
to be by-passed agency
or suspended.
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In a
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mocratic set up such emergency
8/18/2019 powers
Contemporary are strictly
India Economy, controlled
Society, Politics by the legislature
- Neera Chandhoke, and are permi
Praveen Priyadarshi

ly for the duration of the emergency. These powers may be used during wartime or a national
curity or domestic crises.

dogamy: Endogamy signifies the practice of marrying within a specific social group, classes,
nicities. Herein, despite the fact that most of the people are inclined to marry members of their
n social group, there are some groups that practice endogamy quite rigidly in simulation with
oral values, traditions or religious beliefs. The caste system of India itself is based on an order
ostly) endogamous groups. Consequently, endogamy also encourages group affiliation and bon
encouraging group solidarity and ensuring greater control over group resources.

hnic Mobilization: As opposed to class mobilization, ethnic mobilization privileges and appe
various ascribed identities such as caste, religion, region, and tribe. See Class; Class
obilization.

hnicity: It refers to a sometimes rather complex combinatiQn of racial, cultural and historical
aracteristics by which societies are occasionally divided into separate, and probably hostile,
litical families. Ethnicity becomes politically significant when one of all these identities, or a
mbination of some sort, is privileged to mobilize people and to make political demands.

port Pessimism: This was the prevalent notion during the 1950s and 1960s. It states that a nat
t is primarily exporting the primary commodities cannot gain from participation in the internat
de.

deralism: It refers to legal and political structures that distribute power territorially within a S
e word federalism has been derived from the Latin foedus , which means ‘pact’ or covenant. T
m originally indicated a loose alliance or union of States for limited purposes, usually military
mmercial. It is now used to describe such a form of government, in which power is constitutio
vided between different authorities in such a way that each exercise responsibility for a particu
of functions and maintains its own institutions to discharge those functions.

nancial Institution: An institution that uses its funds chiefly to purchase financial assets (loans

curities), as opposed to tangible property.

cal Policy: It is concerned with the revenue and expenditure of the government. This policy ha
portant bearing on macroeconomic variables.

od Security: The condition when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access
ficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active
althy life.

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Bank of India and special drawing
Contemporary rightsSociety,
India Economy, of the International
Politics Monetary
- Neera Chandhoke, Fund.
Praveen Priyadarshi

nder Gap: Any statistical gap between the measured characteristics of men and women in are
ch as educational attainment, wage rates, or labour force participation.

obalization: The increasing integration of national economies into expanding international ma

ad Count Ratio: It is a method through which the percentage of population living below the
verty line is calculated.

entity: It is the awareness of an individual about themselves. In social sciences, identity is use
note the way an individual relates with a social or a political group. In political science, it is u
synonymous with ethnic and other types of ascribed identities. In India, it has emerged as an
portant conceptual category after preponderance of caste and community based mobilizations
1980s.

port Substitution Strategy: This is a strategy of producing domestically the commodities tha
ported in the country. The basic rationale of the policy has been to provide the protection to
mestic industry to help them grow.

come Gap: The gap between the incomes accruing to the bottom (poor) and the top (rich) sect
a population. The wider the gap, the greater the inequality in the income distribution.

come Inequality: The existence of disproportionate distribution of total national income amon
useholds, whereby the share going to rich persons in a country is far greater than that going to
orer persons.

come Per Capita: Total gross national product of a country divided by total population.

flation: The persistent rise in the general level of prices.

tegrated Child Development Programme: In 1975, the Government of India launched the
egrated Child Development Programme, which aims to provide a package of services to ensur
-round development of the child, such as early child care, schooling, health and nutrition, and
nking water.

mani System: This system constituted a significant component of the socio-economic instituti
religious and at the economic plane of the pre-industrial self-subsistent Indian village econom
man was one who employed a Brahmin for the performance of any solemn or religious ceremo
ligiously, it was an institutional arrangement that made the Brahman dependent for subsistence
jajmans who comprised his clients. On the economic plane, this was marked by the exchange
oducts and services between the followers of various occupations within the framework
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dicial Review: The power possessed by the high courts and the supreme court to review and
onounce on the constitutional validity of legislative acts and its implementation.

bour-intensive Industries: Industries that need relatively more labour value as input per unit
tput than other factors of production.

beral Theory: The theory based on the basic liberal principle that considers individual freedo
d rights as the most important. It believes in the minimum intervention of the State in the affairs
individual.

beralization: It refers to the process of loosening of State restrictions from private and foreign
rticipation in economic process of the country. The post- Independence Indian State strictly
ntrolled private and foreign participation in most of the areas of economy. However, they have
en encouraged since 1991 through a series of changes in the policy regime.

acro Economy: This term refers to the whole economic system or the aggregate of the function
individual economic units.

acroeconomic Crisis: Price level, inflation, balance of payment, interest rate, fiscal deficit,
employment, and GDP growth rate are some of the prime indicators of macroeconomic health o
ion. When these indicators turn severely unfavourable, this is termed as a macroeconomic cris
e Macro Economy.

alnutrition: A condition resulting from the interaction of inadequate diet and infection. It is
lected in poor infant growth and an excess of morbidity and mortality in adults and children al

arket Failure: A situation where a market, left to itself, does not allocate resources efficiently

edia: Systems specially designed to disseminate news and information to a large audience. Th
m is used interchangeably with mass media. The media have existed in some form for centurie
hnological advancements such as invention of printing press, radio, television and, now, the
ernet have enhanced their speed, reach and power.

llennium Development Goals (MDGs): Eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to th
rld’s main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contain
the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state
vernments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

nimum Credible Deterrent: It refers to notion according to which nuclear weapons become

cessary for a country when it has a clear nuclear threat. In such a situation, having nuclear
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comes inevitable in orderContemporary
8/18/2019 to deter and neutralize
India Economy, thePolitics
Society, threat. India,
- Neera for example,
Chandhoke, while developi
Praveen Priyadarshi

nuclear weapon system, argued that it had such a threat from China. Pakistan, in turn, used the
gument against India when it developed its own nuclear weapons.

tion: A nation is a political community that has one or more identities that unite people. It is a
oup of people bound together by a common language, religion, history and traditions or a
mbination of these, who regard themselves as a natural political community with a desire to
ablish or maintain statehood. The most popular academic understanding of the term is the one
ggested by Benedict Anderson in his Imagined Communities . He refers to the nation as an
magined community’. When a nation identifies substantially with a State, the political entity of a
ion-state is formed.

tionalism: It is an ideology that seeks to establish a relationship between individuals on the b

a common membership of a territory, language, histoiy or ethnicity. In the process is constructe
litical unit called the nation. In the colonial context, a national movement has the objective of
ging links among members of a colonized country in order to seek freedom from the colonial
wer and to constitute an independent nation. Nationalism normally has two variants: civic, as
e of France, and cultural, as in the case of Germany.

ne-Party-Dominant Syste m: The term refers to an overwhelming dominance of one political

er others; that is, even though the number of parties may be many, one party dominates the othe

ganic Solidarity: Emile Durkheim saw ‘modem’ society as a place where the individual is
ionally (Weber would say bureaucratically); rather than morally or socially, tied to the commu
is the case with mechanical solidarity (in ‘primitive’ societies).

nchayat: Panchayats are traditional village councils that discuss and decide issues related to
lage. Traditional panchayats were not representative in nature. Panchayats also refers to caste
nchayats that are exclusive to a particular caste, as opposed to a village panchayat that include
ire village community. After the introduction of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, the villag
nchayats are democratically elected and are vested with powers of local governance.

rliamentary System: This is a form a government in which, within the constitutional framewo
parliament as the citizens’ representative is supreme, as opposed to the presidential system in
hich the executive is supreme.

litical Economy: It refers to economic analysis of political phenomena. It implies offering an

count of socio-economic forces, and analysing economic relationships between individuals or
oups, in terms of their implications for politics (such as the role of the government).

litical
wer; a Party: A group
party usually of people
displays some organized
measureto ofgain formal representation
ideological cohesion. or win government
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 p of 8/18/2019
external labour’, Pierre Bourdieu
Contemporary explains
India Economy, social
Society, capital
Politics as ‘embodied’
- Neera Chandhoke, capital, which ca
Praveen Priyadarshi

passed down like pocket money, salary or alms but can be acquired from one’s parents, famil
roundings, culture, etc. Everyone invariably has some social capital, owing to where one is b
d where one grows, but the one that most often is most coveted by the society is that of a partic
nd of culture, the possession which is to have ‘cultural capital’. The expressions like ‘A is
tured’ denote, not that B to Z people are uncultured, but that A’s etiquette, knowledge, success
. are part of a culture(s) that appears most desirable in a given society.

cial Indicators: Non-economic measures of development, such as life expectancy at birth, infa
ortality rate, literacy rate, and physicians per 100,000 population.

cial Justice: Social justice stands for revision of social order and a redistribution of rights. It
ludes remedial actions towards the unprivileged sections of society who have been historical
prived of material resources.

mbolic Violence: Social actors, especially children, who do not see themselves as part of the
ture that has the most legitimacy in society, and find their own familiar cultures completely ab
m their textbooks and from the mores of the ‘successful’, they assert themselves in various wa
use, graffiti, brash living, imitation and ridicule of the authorities are some of the ways in whi
seen to be expressed; statistically, however, ‘drop-outs’ are the strongest indicator of symboli
olence.

ghtening of Monetary Policy: When a monetary policy is used to control and reduce the grow
onetary supply, this is called tightening of the monetary policy.

ade Deficit: The excess of exports over imports.

ickle-down Theory of Development: The notion that development is purely an economic

enomenon in which rapid gains from the overall growth of gross national product and income p
pita would automatically bring benefits to the masses in the form of jobs and other economic
portunities.

nemployment Rate: The ratio of unemployment to the labour force of a country.

nderdevelopment: An economic situation in which there are persistent low levels of living alo
th absolute poverty, low income per capita, low rates of economic growth, low consumption
els, poor health services, high death rates, high birthrates, dependence on foreign economies,
mited freedom to choose among activities that satisfy human wants.

dernutrition: A form of malnutrition due to a deficiency of caloris and vitamins and minerals
eracting with acute infection.
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