Politics of India India Republic of India A
Politics of India
India
Republic of India • A federal republic with a parliamentary system of government • capital: New Delhi
2 nd most populous nation • Population: over 1. 3 billion • Growing at 1. 1% a year – versus 0. 3% in China • More than a quarter aged 14 or younger • Most Indians aged 28 or younger
A nation of diversity: languages • Constitution lists 22 official languages • English • Hindi (44%)
A nation of diversity: religions • Religions: – Hindu (about 80%) – Muslim (about 14%) – Christian, Sikh, etc. • all major religions in the world are present • one of the major causes of conflict • religion can become a political vehicle for social movement
Brief history • One of the world’s oldest civilizations – 5, 000 years • foreign incursions – Aryans, Arabs, Turks, Portugal, France, and Britain – from 1, 500 B. C. to 19 th Century A. D.
190 years of British colonial rule • Informal colonial rule through the British East India Company (1750 s-1850 s) • formal colonial rule after the Mutiny rebellion of 1857
Struggle for independence • Indian National Congress was formed in 1885 • non-violent resistance to colonial rule • Mohandas Gandhi (1869 -1948) – transformed INC – unity within diversity – non-cooperation movement • Nehru (1889 -1964)
Independence & partition • Division of the subcontinent (1947) – India – Pakistan
Republic of India • Prime Minister Nehru (1947 -1964) • His daughter (Indira Gandhi) as Prime Minister (1966 -1977, 1980 -1984)
Nehru’s legacies • His grandson – Rajiv Gandhi – Prime Minister (1984 -1989) • His granddaughter-in-law – Sonja Gandhi – Congress party president (1999 - )
World’s largest democracy • Resilient democratic institutions, processes, and legitimacy – except 1975 -1977 – Indira Gandhi declared national emergency • politics in India is characterized by – governments of precarious coalitions – weakened political institutions – political activism along ethnic lines
A federal system • 28 states and 6 centrally administered Union Territories – 2 states are partially claimed by Pakistan and China
Federal system • Relatively centralized • federal government controls the most essential government functions – defense – foreign policy – taxation – public expenditures – economic (industrial) planning
The legislature • Parliamentary system of government – the executive authority is responsible to the Parliament
The legislature • bicameral Parliament – Rajya Sabha (Council of States) – Lok Sabha (House of the People)
Elections to Lok Sabha • Vote share of 3 major political parties
Prime Minister • Leader of the majority party leader in Lok Sabha becomes the prime minister • prime minister nominates a cabinet – members of Parliament in the ruling coalition – Council of Ministers • effective power is concentrated in the office of the prime minister – where most of the important policies originate
Prime Ministers of India • 1947 -1989: – 3 prime ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi family served a total of 38 years during the first 42 years of the republic • 1989 -1998: – 7 rapid turnovers in 9 years • Since 1998: – 3 prime ministers have had longer tenures
Economic development • Under Prime Minister Nehru (1947 -1964) – private property and government guidance – powerful planning commission – government rules and regulations • opportunities and incentives for corruption – self-sufficiency • domestic sector was protected from foreign competition • protected industries became inefficient
Economic development • The “green revolution” in agriculture – new agricultural strategy in late 1960 s – seeds, fertilizer, and irrigation – India became self-sufficient in food
Economic development • state-led economic development – government-planned private economy – substantial industrial base
Economic liberalization • Dissatisfaction with the relatively slow economic growth – dismantle controls over private sector – further integrate into global economy • Financial crisis in early 1990 s – emergency funds from IMF & World Bank – conditional on economic liberalization • reduce government budget deficit • selling government shares in public enterprises
Economic liberalization • India has large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language – India is a major exporter of software services and software workers
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