Politics of India :Politics of India


India :India


Republic of India :Republic of India A federal republic with a parliamentary system of government capital: New Delhi


2nd most populous nation :2nd most populous nation Population: over one billion Growing at 1.5% a year


Population in 2005 :Population in 2005


A nation of diversity: languages :A nation of diversity: languages Constitution lists 14 official “principal languages” English Hindi (30%)


A nation of diversity: religions :A nation of diversity: religions Religions: Hindu (~81%) Muslim (~12%) others (e.g. Buddhist 0.7%) 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 :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 19th Century A.D.


190 years of British colonial rule :190 years of British colonial rule Informal colonial rule through the British East India Company (1750s-1850s) formal colonial rule after the Mutiny rebellion of 1857


Struggle for independence :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 :Independence & partition Division of the subcontinent (1947) India Pakistan


Republic of India :Republic of India Prime Minister Nehru (1947-1964) His daughter (Indira Gandhi) as Prime Minister (1966-1977, 1980-1984)


Nehru’s legacies :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 :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


Turnout % in General Elections :Turnout % in General Elections


A federal system :A federal system 28 states and 6 centrally administered Union Territories 2 states are partially claimed by Pakistan and China


Federal system :Federal system Relatively centralized federal government controls the most essential government functions defense foreign policy taxation public expenditures economic (industrial) planning


The legislature :The legislature Parliamentary system of government the executive authority is responsible to the Parliament


The legislature :The legislature bicameral Parliament Rajya Sabha (Council of States) Lok Sabha (House of the People)


Elections to Lok Sabha :Elections to Lok Sabha Vote share of 3 major political parties


Prime Minister :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 :Prime Ministers of India 38 years in the Nehru-Gandhi family more and more rapid turnover


Economic development :Economic development Under Prime Minister Nehru’s rule 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 :Economic development The “green revolution” in agriculture new agricultural strategy in late 1960s seeds, fertilizer, and irrigation India became self-sufficient in food


Economic development :Economic development state-led economic development government-planned private economy substantial industrial base


Economic liberalization :Economic liberalization Dissatisfaction with the relatively slow economic growth dismantle controls over private sector further integrate into global economy Financial crisis in early 1990s emergency funds from IMF & World Bank conditional on economic liberalization reduce government budget deficit selling government shares in public enterprises


Foreign direct investment :Foreign direct investment


Economic liberalization :Economic liberalization Economic performance average growth rate of 6% since 1990 reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points purchasing power parity GDP: $3 trillion


Economic liberalization :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