<h5 id="context-of-the-1990s">Context of the 1990s</h5> <ul> <li>The Congress party, which won 415 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in 1984, was reduced to 197 seats in the elections held in 1989, marking the end of the ‘Congress system’.</li> <li>The ‘Mandal issue’ emerged in national politics following the decision of the National Front government in 1990 to implement the Mandal Commission’s recommendation of job reservations for Other Backward Classes, leading to violent protests.</li> <li>The economic policy followed by various governments took a radically different turn with the initiation of structural adjustment programmes or new economic reforms, which have been criticized but followed by subsequent governments.</li> <li>The demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya in December 1992 symbolized and triggered changes in the country’s politics, associated with the rise of the BJP and the politics of ‘Hindutva’.</li> <li>The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 led to a change in leadership in the Congress party, with Narsimha Rao becoming the Prime Minister following the party’s victory in the 1991 elections.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="era-of-coalitions">Era of Coalitions</h5> <ul> <li>The 1989 elections resulted in the defeat of the Congress party and marked the end of its dominance over the Indian party system. This led to the beginning of an era of multi-party system.</li> <li>The National Front formed a coalition government in 1989 with the support of the Left Front and the BJP, despite not joining the government. The United Front government, which came to power in 1996, was supported by the Congress and the Left, while the BJP did not support it.</li> <li>The 1990s saw the emergence of powerful parties and movements representing Dalit and backward castes. These parties played an important role in the United Front government.</li> <li>Since 1989, all governments at the Centre have been coalition or minority governments supported by other parties. Any government could only be formed with the participation or support of many regional parties.</li> <li>The coalition governments era may be seen as a long-term trend resulting from relatively silent changes that were taking place over the last few decades. The Congress party itself was once a ‘coalition’ of different interests and social strata, giving rise to the term ‘Congress system’.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="political-rise-of-other-backward-classes">Political Rise of Other Backward Classes</h5> <ul> <li>The period saw the rise of Other Backward Classes (OBC) as a political force, following a decline in Congress support among many ‘backward castes’.</li> <li>The Mandal Commission was set up in 1978 to investigate and recommend ways to improve conditions of backward classes, leading to the reservation of 27% seats in educational institutions and jobs for OBCs.</li> <li>The National Front government’s decision to implement Mandal Commission recommendations in 1990 was met with agitations, protests, and legal challenges, but was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1992.</li> <li>The 1980s also saw the rise of political organizations like BAMCEF, DS-4, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), focusing on empowering Dalits, OBCs, and religious minorities.</li> <li>The BSP, under Kanshi Ram’s leadership, achieved significant political success in Uttar Pradesh, becoming a major political player with strong Dalit voter support.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="communalism-secularism-democracy">Communalism, Secularism, Democracy</h5> <ul> <li>The period saw the emergence of politics based on religious identity, leading to a debate about secularism and democracy.</li> <li>The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed in 1980, initially adopting a broader political platform than the Jana Sangh. It later emphasized the Hindunationalist element in its ideology from 1986.</li> <li>The Shah Bano case in 1985 and the Faizabad district court order in 1986 were central to the politics of BJP as a ‘Hindutva’ party. These events led to communal tensions and the Ayodhya dispute.</li> <li>The BJP, along with other organizations, convened a series of symbolic and mobilisational programmes, leading to a large scale mobilisation and instances of communal violence.</li> <li>The demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992 led to clashes between Hindus and Muslims, the dismissal of State governments, and a serious debate over secularism. This raised questions about India’s commitment to equal protection of law and citizenship rights for all, regardless of religion.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="emergence-of-a-new-consensus">Emergence Of A New Consensus</h5> <ul> <li>The period after 1989 is seen as the period of decline of Congress and rise of BJP, with both parties engaged in tough competition.</li> <li>The combined votes polled by Congress and BJP do not add up to more than fifty per cent, and the seats won by them do not add up to more than half the seats in the Lok Sabha.</li> <li>The political competition during the nineties is divided between the coalition led by BJP and the coalition led by Congress. There are also other parties not part of these two coalitions.</li> <li>After the 1990s, the party system has changed dramatically with the emergence of broadly four groups of parties - parties that are in coalition with the Congress, parties that are in alliance with the BJP, Left Front parties, and other parties who are not part of any of these three.</li> <li>A broad agreement has emerged among most parties on new economic policies, acceptance of the political and social claims of the backward castes, acceptance of the role of State level parties in governance of the country, and emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideological positions.</li> </ul> <p>======</p>