The Political System of India
The political system of India is remarkably diverse, with no ideological or electoral hegemony. This article is part of a series on Indian democracy, and will examine some of the key institutions of the system. This article focuses on the Party system, class privileges, and inequity. It also looks at how democracy has developed over the years. Read on to learn more. This article is a short summary of some of the main challenges facing India's democracy.
The increasing inequality in India coincides with gains made by the poor in legal rights. This reflects the strength of the democratic processes. However, citizens are still not equal before the market. This unequal endowment, subordination to the market, and lack of access to opportunity perpetuate a society divided by inequities. Despite a growing public debate and political pressure, the state has not responded to demands for redistribution and has thus allowed the level of inequality to continue to rise. The premise behind equality is that everyone should enjoy the same rights and opportunities. This principle is called 'dignity' and refers to respect from others. This is a basic human right. However, in today's India, formal equality obscures deep social inequities. The lack of equality, despite the formal equality in the country, is so deep that the idea of an equal society is often existentially troubling.
Institutionalization of Democracy
In How India Became Democratic, Ornit Shani explores the story of the most radical democratic experiment in human history. She focuses on the institutionalization of democracy in India and offers a new perspective on the process. The task of turning all adult Indians into voters was daunting, largely because the country had just experienced partition and needed to draw up a new constitution. The drafting of the 1950 constitution grounded the abstract notion of universal franchise in a practical, concrete structure. In the past few years, the institution of formal panchayats in rural areas has been strengthened, and it is expected that this form of local government will continue to expand. As a result, these councils are now often involved in implementing development programs on behalf of the state, and they are able to link state actors with ordinary rural citizens. Despite these gains, the institutionalization of democracy in India is not without its challenges.
Party System
The Indian party system has gone through profound change in the last decade. The Congress Party, which brought India independence, has been in power for most of that time. Today, however, political parties that draw their support from specific groups have more influence than ever. The book Democracy Without Associations analyses the reasons why caste and religious parties are now dominant in Indian democracy. The article also makes a prediction about the future of Indian democracy. In the coming decades, India may move away from a single-party system to a multi-party system. While it is possible to have multiple political parties in a democracy, the two most popular types of party systems are the one-party system and the multi-party system. Both are based on the principle of representation. The primary difference between these two systems is the number of parties. In a one-party system, individual candidates cannot promise major changes to the policy. As a result, Indian politics has evolved from a system of tribalism into a multi-party system.
Class Privileges
A recent study suggests that class privileges are a powerful determinant of political power in India. The social structures of the Indian subcontinent have long been based on class. In India, the upper caste has long enjoyed privilege, while the lower caste is not so lucky. Even the upper caste is not exempt from the caste system. In fact, the lower caste is the majority of the population in most places, but this is not a fair representation. The Hindu community enjoys a unique position in Indian politics because it is caste-based. It is a privileged group that has long enjoyed social and political privileges. The reservation of OBCs exposed the general category of upper caste. The UK has an equality law that covers discrimination based on caste. This law threatens to brand cosmopolitan Hindus as lower castes and to undermine incorporated Hindu identity.
