Recent Developments in Indian Politics

Introduction

Since the late 1980s, Indian politics has been transformed by FOUR interconnected forces — often summarised as MANDAL, MANDIR, and MARKET (to which a fourth was added: the rise of a NEW POLITICAL CLASS). The Congress system that had dominated India for decades DECLINED. Caste-based parties emerged. The BJP rose from the margins to become the dominant national party. Coalition governments became the norm for 25 years — and then gave way to a NEW era of single-party majority. This chapter traces these transformations.

1. The Context — Decline of the Congress System

By the late 1980s, the Congress party that had dominated Indian politics since independence was in DECLINE:

'The Congress system was BUILT on a grand coalition of castes, classes, and regions. By the 1980s, that coalition was FRACTURING — and no single leader could hold it together.'

2. Mandal — The Caste Revolution

The Mandal Commission

In 1979, the Janata Party government appointed the SECOND BACKWARD CLASSES COMMISSION, chaired by B.P. Mandal. Its report (1980) made a REVOLUTIONARY recommendation: 27% RESERVATION for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in central government jobs and public educational institutions.

The report gathered dust for a decade — until Prime Minister V.P. Singh's government IMPLEMENTED it in August 1990.

The Protests and the Politics

The implementation SPARKED massive, sometimes violent, protests:

The Impact of Mandal

• OBCs became a MAJOR POLITICAL FORCE. Caste-based parties — Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) — emerged and thrived, especially in the Hindi heartland
• The upper castes' political monopoly was BROKEN. 'After Mandal, no government — at the Centre or in the states — could ignore the OBC voter'
• Caste became an OPEN and CENTRAL axis of political mobilisation. 'Mandal did not INVENT caste politics. But it made caste an EXPLICIT, legitimate basis for claiming a share of state power'
• The Supreme Court upheld OBC reservation in the Indra Sawhney case (1992) but imposed a 50% cap on total reservations and excluded the 'creamy layer'

3. Mandir — The Ayodhya Movement

Background

The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was built in 1528 by Mir Baqi, a general of the Mughal emperor Babur. Many Hindus believed it was built on the BIRTHPLACE of Lord Ram — a site where a temple had stood before. The dispute over the site dated back to the 19th century.

The BJP and the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement

In the late 1980s, the BJP — then a marginal party with only 2 seats in the Lok Sabha (1984) — adopted the Ram Janmabhoomi issue as its CENTRAL political plank:

The Political Impact

The Ayodhya movement TRANSFORMED the BJP:

• From 2 seats (1984) → 85 (1989) → 120 (1991) → 161 (1996) → 182 (1999) → majority in 2014, 2019, 2024
• 'The Ram temple was the defining cultural-political issue of a generation. The BJP built its national presence on the twin planks of HINDUTVA (cultural nationalism) and DEVELOPMENT.'
• The movement also DEEPLY DIVIDED Indian society along religious lines and raised fundamental questions about SECULARISM — which the BJP argued should mean 'sarva dharma sambhava' (equal respect for all religions), while critics argued it was majoritarian.

4. Market — The 1991 Economic Reforms

The Congress government of P.V. Narasimha Rao, with Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister, launched the LPG reforms — Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation. The economy was opened. The Licence Raj was dismantled. India's growth rate accelerated from ~3.5% to 6-8%.

Political impact: The reforms created a NEW MIDDLE CLASS — aspirational, urban, globally connected. The Congress — which implemented the reforms — ironically lost the political benefits. The BJP successfully captured the imagination of this new middle class by combining economic nationalism with cultural nationalism. 'The reforms changed India's economy. But they also changed India's POLITICS — creating a constituency for growth and governance that both national parties now court.'

5. The Coalition Era (1989–2014)

For 25 YEARS, no single party won a majority in the Lok Sabha:

Why Coalitions Happened: The rise of REGIONAL PARTIES. The Congress was no longer nationally dominant. The BJP was still growing. State-based parties (SP, BSP, TMC, DMK, AIADMK, TDP, BJD, Akali Dal, etc.) became KINGMAKERS. 'Coalition politics made Indian federalism MORE AUTHENTIC. The Centre HAD to negotiate with states. But it also made governance SLOW — every decision required coalition consensus.'

6. Return of Single-Party Majority (2014 onwards)

In 2014, the BJP under NARENDRA MODI won 282 seats — the first single-party majority since 1984. It was repeated in 2019 (303 seats) and 2024.

Factors behind the BJP's rise:

7. Exam Focus

8. Key Dates

Self-Test

Q1. What was the MANDAL COMMISSION? How did it change Indian politics? A1. The Second Backward Classes Commission (chaired by B.P. Mandal, 1980) recommended 27% reservation for OBCs in central government jobs and educational institutions. Implemented by V.P. Singh in 1990. IMPACT: (1) OBCs became a major political force. (2) Caste-based parties (SP, RJD, BSP) emerged. (3) Upper caste political monopoly was broken. (4) Caste became an explicit, legitimate basis for claiming state power. (5) The Supreme Court upheld OBC reservation (Indra Sawhney, 1992) with a 50% cap and creamy layer exclusion. 'Mandal democratised power — even if imperfectly.'

Q2. What factors led to the RETURN OF SINGLE-PARTY MAJORITY after 2014? A2. (1) CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP — Narendra Modi's direct connect with voters and extraordinary campaigning skill. (2) HINDU NATIONALISM — Hindutva as a clear, emotionally resonant ideology. (3) DEVELOPMENT AGENDA — welfare schemes (Ujjwala, Awas, Swachh Bharat), infrastructure, Digital India. (4) ORGANISATIONAL STRENGTH — BJP-RSS cadre, booth-level presence, disciplined campaigning. (5) CONGRESS DECLINE — organisational weakness, leadership crisis. (6) SOCIAL COALITION — the BJP united upper castes, OBCs, and sections of Dalits/Adivasis into a broad Hindu vote. Outcome: BJP won clear majorities in 2014 (282), 2019 (303), and 2024.