Recent Developments in Indian Politics- Class 12 Political Science

Class 12 Political Science Chapter 8 is denoted as the Recent developments in Indian politics. The chapter discusses the Recent developments in Indian politics based on the different subparts including the Era Of Coalition, the Decline Of Congress, Alliance Politics, Mandal Commission and Its Implementation, Political Fallouts, Communalism, Secularism, Democracy, and Emergence Of A New Consensus. All of these subparts are important because these developments changed the landscape of Indian politics in different ways.

In this article, we are going to discuss the Class 12 Political Science Chapter 8 Recent Developments in Indian Politics in detail.

Recent Developments in Indian Politics

Recent developments in Indian politics started after the assassination of Srimati Indira Gandhi. After her death, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India with a massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections in 1984. During this time, the country experienced five major developments which had a long-lasting impact on our politics.

• This period came with a crucial development in Indian politics as in the 1989 Lok Sabha election congress lost its majority from the whole country. It denotes the end of the Congress System.
• The Mandal Commission was established at this time and it caused so many problems in Indian politics.
• The economic policies started by Rajiv Gandhi radically changed the Indian economy. These policies were widely criticized by the various governments that came into power later times.
• The demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya created so many problems. The incident gave birth to the Hindutva in Indian politics.
• In 1991, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi changed the leadership of the Congress party, and again in the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, Congress established its power in the Indian government.

Era Of Coalition

• The Era Of Coalition started after the 1989 Lok Sabha when the Congress party was totally defeated.
• At this time, no party did not receive the majority in the election process.
• The Congress was the largest party in Lok Sabha but they do not have that majority also. But they were strong enough to be eligible for the main opposition party.
• The National Front at last formed the coalition government.

Decline Of Congress

• The defeat of the Congress already flagged the end of the Congress System. It ended the dominance of the Congress party and started the multi-party system in Indian politics.
• After the Lok Sabha election in 1989, the alliance politics and coalition government started in a fluent manner.

Alliance Politics

• The year of the nineties saw the evolvement of so many powerful parties. These parties belonged to the Dalit and OBC classes.
• The parties played major roles in the United Front which ruled the country in 1996. Janata Dal and so many regional parties also joined the United Front later.
• After that, there were so many governments that came into Indian politics those created coalition governments to run the country.
• At this time, most of the alliances were formed through the regional parties.

Mandal Commission and Its Implementation

The Mandal Commission was also known as the SEBC or the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission. It was first established in 1979 under the Morarji Desai government.

• The objective of the commission was to address the different issues and problems that were faced by the Other Backward Classes all over India. The chairman of the commission was Mr. B P Mandal.
• The commission recommends the government increase the representation of the OBCs in the different sectors of India.
• The commission recommends that the government take care of the mobility of the OBCs to ensure their social status.

Communalism, Secularism, Democracy

• Communalism is an economy based and political ideology that only supports resources and wealth. This type of ideology is majorly found in small communities. The believers only affiliate only one group and neglect the whole society.
• Secularism is a principle that is skeptical, critical, or indifferent to all religious beliefs. It is a commitment that maintains the state by ensuring neutrality on different religious matters. The secularism principle neither favors nor promotes any religious belief nor discourages it at all.
• Democracy is a form of government where the state power is totally vested in the population. Democracy ensures that to participate in the voting system and elect their political leaders in free and fair ways through election.

Emergence Of A New Consensus

• The Emergence of a New Consensus describes the political period after 1989. It was a transition time in Indian politics. It denotes the decline of the oldest party of India aka congress and the rise of a new one the BJP.
• In the 2004 Lok Sabha or General Election, the congress formed its alliances with so many South Indian Parties like DMK, PMK, and AIADMK.
• The NDA alliance was defeated in the 2004 Lok Sabha Election and Congress formed a coalition government.
• But the major problem was, that the different ideologies and the thinking of competition divided the people or the coalition at this time.

Recent developments in Indian Politics- FAQs

What are the major issues in Indian politics?

Law and order, Terrorism, Naxalism, religious violence and caste-related violence are important issues that affect the political environment of the Indian nation.

What is the new political front in India?

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, commonly known by its backronym INDIA. is an opposition front announced by the leaders of 28 parties to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The name was proposed during a meeting in Bengaluru and was unanimously adopted by the 28 participating parties.

What are the basics of Indian politics?

India is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary form of government which is federal in structure with unitary features. There is a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minster as its head to advice the President who is the constitutional head of the country.

Who is the most powerful position in India?

The president of India is the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces, while the elected prime minister acts as the head of the executive and is responsible for running the Union government.

What was the political development of India after independence?

The constitution adopted in 1950 made India a democratic republic with Westminster style parliamentary system of government, both at federal and state level respectively. The democracy has been sustained since then. India’s sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world’s newly independent states.