indian political system (final).docx

8/9/2019 INDIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM (final).docx

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INDIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

India is a Sovereign, Secular, Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary form ofGovernment. The onstitution was adopted by the onstituent !ssembly on "#th $ovember%&'& and came into force on "#th $ovember %&(). The onstitution advocated the trinity of

*ustice, liberty and e+uality for all the citi ens. The onstitution was framed -eeping in mindthe socioeconomic progress of the country. India follows a parliamentary form of democracyand the government is federal in structure.

In Indian political system, the President is the constitutional head of the e ecutive of the/nion of India. The real e ecutive power is with the Prime 0inister and the ouncil of0inisters. !ccording to the !rticle 1'2%3 of the constitution, the ouncil of 0inisters underthe leadership of the Prime 0inister is responsible to aid and assist the President in e ercisingthe Presidents function. The ouncil of ministers is responsible to the 4o- Sabha, the 5ouse

of People. In states the Governor is the representative of the President, though the reale ecutive power is with the hief 0inister along with his ouncil of 0inisters.

6or a given state the ouncil of 0inisters is collectively responsible for the elected legislativeassembly of the state. The onstitution administrates the sharing of legislative power betweenParliament and the State 4egislatures. The Parliament has the power to amend the

onstitution.

President of IndiaThe President of India is the constitutional head of India and is the supreme commander ofthe nation7s armed forces. The President is elected by members of an 8lectoral ollegeconsisting of elected members of both the 5ouses of Parliament and 4egislative !ssembliesof the states, with suitable weightage given to each vote. 5is term of office is for five years.!mong other powers, the President can proclaim an emergency in the country if he issatisfied that the security of the country or of any part of its territory is threatened by thefollowing situations. ! war or e ternal aggression, an armed rebellion within the country andcollapse of state machinery in terms of economic and political crisis. 5ence when there is afailure of the constitutional machinery in a state, the President can assume all or any of thefunctions of the government of that state.

Vice-PresidentThe 9ice:President of India is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting ofmembers of both 5ouses of Parliament. The method of electing the 9ice President is thesystem of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. 5e li-e thePresident holds office for five years. The 9ice:President also happens to be 8 :officio

hairman of the Ra*ya Sabha and presides over its proceedings.

Council of Ministers

The ouncil ;f 0inisters is the supreme governing body in the country and is selected fromthe elected members of the /nion Government. The ouncil of 0inisters comprises of


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abinet 0inisters, 0inister of States and Deputy 0inisters. Prime 0inister heads the ouncilof 0inisters and communicates all decisions of the ouncil of 0inisters relating toadministration of affairs of the /nion and proposals for legislation to the President.Generally, each department has an officer designated as secretary to the Government of India

to advise the 0inisters on policy matters and general administration. The abinet Secretariathas an important harmoni ing role in decision ma-ing at the highest level and operates underthe bearing of the Prime 0inister.

ParliamentThe Parliament is the legislative arm of the /nion. It consists of the President, Ra*ya Sabhaor the /pper 5ouse and 4o- Sabha or the 4ower 5ouse. !ll bills to be made into law re+uirethe consent of both the houses of parliament. 5owever, in case of money bills, the 4o- Sabhais the supreme authority.

Ra !a Sa"#aThe Ra*ya Sabha consists of not more than "() members. ;f these, "


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Political Parties In IndiaIn India a recogni ed political party is categori ed either as a $ational Party or a State Party.If a political party is recogni ed in four or more states and is either the ruling party or is in theopposition in these states, it is considered as a $ational Party. The ongress, >haratiya ?anata

Party, ?anata Dal, ommunist Party of India and ommunist Party of India 20ar ist3 are the prominent $ational Parties in the ountry. Some of these parties have e isted before theindependence of the country while few of these emerged after political dynamism flourishedin the country in post independent years.

Telugu Desam in !ndhra Pradesh, !som Gana Parishad in !ssam, ?har-hand 0u-ti 0orchain >ihar, 0aharashtra Gomanta- Party in Goa, $ational onference in ?ammu and @ashmir,0uslim 4eague in @erala, Shiv Sena in 0aharashtra, !-ali Dal in Pun*ab, !ll:India !nnaDravida 0unnetra @a hagam and Dravida 0unnetra @a hagam in Tamil $adu, >ahu*anSama* Party and Sama*wadi Party in /ttar Pradesh and !ll:India 6orward >loc- in Aest>engal are the prominent state parties which are the ma*or political players in their respectivestates. In fact in most of the states where the regional parties have come to the foreunderstanding the nuisance of their respective state better, there the scope of $ational partiesemerging victorious is barely present.

Political administration of India

India is a democracy. >efore its independence its future leaders chose the liberal democraticsystem as the administration system of India. ;n "#B)%B%&(), India declared itself asRepublic. ;n this day the onstitution of India came into force. Today India is a federation

of "= states and 1 union territories and formally this federation is -nown as a /nion.

$ominally the head of the country is the President in whom all e ecutive powers are vested, but the real administrator of the country is the Prime 0inister. !fter the national elections areheld the President calls the most suitable candidate to form a government, -nown as thecentral government. $ormally this candidate is the head of the largest party in the parliament.In case the government resigns because of any reason, the President can call the othercandidate to form the government. The President can also declare, according to governmentadvice, on new elections and if necessary an emergency state. The President has the right to

be updated about crucial government matters and other rights li-e giving amnesty to prisoners etc. !ccording to the onstitution, elections are to be held once in every five years,unless the parliament dissolves earlier or on the other hand, emergency is declared and insuch a case parliament can continue another year.

The Indian Parliament consists of two houses. The 4ower 5ouse called the 4o- Sabha andthe /pper 5ouse called the Ra*ya Sabha. In the national elections candidates are chosen forthe 4ower 5ouse. The candidates are elected in territorial constituencies. There are ('<territorial constituencies. Two members from the !nglo:Indian community are nominated tothe 4ower 5ouse by the President. The law, which obliges Government office to reserve %(C

from the Scheduled astes and 1C from the Scheduled Tribes, also e ists in the Parliament.!t least ""C of the Indian Parliament members belong to these two communities 2see aste

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system in modern India 3. In the past few years there is an attempt to oblige a law to allowabout


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at all levels of the panchayat system and now ()C of them will be women. They representmore than "'),))) gram panchayats, #,()) intermediate tiers 2bloc- panchayats3 and morethan ()) district panchayats. The fact that the Indian system of local governance :: the

panchayat system :: has its roots in the cultural and historical legacy of India ma-es it

different from many other initiatives of decentralisation of governance. he idea of panchayatsand sabhas has travelled a long way from institutions of traditional local governance to animportant cornerstone in the onstitution of India. The 1 R !mbed-ar warned that suchlocal governments would be captured by local caste and feudal elites, perpetuating themarginalisation and e clusion of dalits and other e cluded sections of society.

The present three:tier panchayat ra* system, with ()C representation for women and provision of representation for dalit and tribal communities, provides a much:needed spacefor inclusive democracy. In spite of the promises of grassroots democratisation, there arestructural and political impediments to realising the Gandhian proposal for real Gram Swara*.The idea of panchayati ra* emerged through a series of policy proposals and processes afterindependence. The >alwantrai 0ehta ommittee 2%&(13 came out with the firstcomprehensive policy proposals in the conte t of community development. Though thecommittee recommended early establishment of elected local bodies and devolution to themof necessary resources, power and authority, the primary thrust was on implementation ofcommunity development pro*ects rather than true devolution of political power.

6ollowing the >alwantrai 0ehta committee, four other committees in the ne t


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IndiaE FThe State shall ta-e steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as unit of self:government.

t too- '( years of political and policy process to move this from an aspiration of the DirectivePrinciples to a *usticiable guarantee of the constitution. !part from the 1


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vehicles for substantive democratisation at the grassroots level. Some of them are to do withthe very architecture of the governance process in India and some of them are to do with thecharacter and nature of political power in India.

Some $e! c#allen'es and issues are(

The challenge of transforming PRIs as the location of countervailing power of people toclaim their rights and demand direct social accountability.

The potential for PRIs to become the -ey vehicles for social transformation by ensuringthe active agency and participation of women and marginalised sections of society. Such arole for PRIs would help women and marginalised sections of society to assert their politicalspace and demands for an inclusive social and economic agenda.

There seems to be a strong lin- between a vibrant local democracy and human

development, as there would be more strategic allocation and effective e penditure ofresources to promote primary healthcare, education and sustainable environment. 5owever,PRIs play a lesser role in ensuring +uality primary healthcare and education at the grassrootslevel.

The success of PRIs is also influenced by the effective delivery of basic services to the poor and marginalised sections. 5ence, the macro:policy framewor-, that ensures the right tolivelihood, is critical to the success of PRIs as an important vehicle for poverty eradication.

Devolution of finance, particularly untied funds, is crucial to the success of PRIs as the

means for local governance. Deliberate efforts to remove the administrative, legal and procedural anomalies would be

important to ma-e PRIs effective.

PRIs offer the most effective means for social accountability and transparency. 5ence,devolving financial control to them would help reduce instances of large:scale andentrenched corruption. The 8leventh 6inance ommission, analysing the issue of centre:statefinancial relations, highlighted the need to strengthen the finances of local bodies. 5ence,there is a need to have broader finance reform to ensure fiscal devolution through the nationaland state finance commission.

The e perience of @erala, 0adhya Pradesh, @arnata-a and /ttar Pradesh demonstrates thatthe transfer of funds, functions and functionaries would be critical to effectivedecentralisation. !n effective policy framewor- for decentralisation from above needs to becomplemented with social mobilisation and democratisation from below. In @erala, socialmobilisation through neighbourhood groups and women7s groups such as @udumbasree,

proved to be an effective means to strengthen the demand at the grassroots level and facilitatethe participation of women and marginalised groups in governance.

Democrati ation at the grassroots level re+uires space for the voices of the poor andmarginalised to be heard through networ-s of social mobilisation. Such a space for


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participation, demand for effective delivery of services, and demand for accountability, canstrengthen the process of socio:political empowerment and capabilities of the poor. ! humanrights:based approach to governance is crucial for grassroots democratisation. 5ence,empowerment of gram sabhas is critical to the claiming of rights and asserting the voice of

the marginalised and poor. /nless the legal and administrative hurdles that often constrain theeffective role of the gram sabha are removed, the potential of the PRIs will not be realised. Itis important to recognise that there are entrenched pathologies of caste discrimination,

patriarchy and identity:based political dynamics at the grassroots level. It is thus veryimportant to have a safeguard mechanism to ensure transparency and accountability. Therecan be systematic efforts for participatory governance assessment such as social audit and

people7s report card, to ma-e sure that PRIs are not captured by the elite or by one political party or group.

Ahile PRIs are still a wor- in progress, there are many initiatives that undermine the role of

PRIs. 6or e ample, more than Rs ",))) core is spent annually through the 4ocal !reaDevelopment 6und of 0Ps and 04!s. 0ost of these funds are spent independent of thesocial and economic priorities of the PRIs. Such parallel systems of financing can underminethe real governance role of PRIs, according more powers to the elites of a particular political

party and to bureaucratic elites at the district level.

There is also potential for PRIs to become the primary institutions for disaster mitigation,sustainable development, and water conservation, facilitation of local economies and creationof employment opportunity at the grassroots level through small and medium enterprises thatma-e use of the local natural and agricultural resources.

The 1


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to remain the dominant party for at least " decades, while its *ourney post % saw manychanges, in terms of party splits, its loss in the %&11 elections and thumping victory in the%&=) elections. 6rom independence to the present day, the Indian political scene has beenwitness to several party formations, splits, conflicts and reconciliations.

5owever, I personally feel that the last ":< years have been the most dynamic period inIndian politics, in the positive sense. !wareness of the people is pivotal to the efficientwor-ing of a democracy. It has been #" years since India emerged as a functioningdemocracy and it has ta-en about #) years for the population to reali e its role in public life.8ven then it is a positive development. Today while on the one hand, caste is increasingly

becoming a dominant factor in politics, corruption and dereliction of duty have becomesynonymous with politiciansJ we have on the other hand initiatives li-e ?aago ReK, whichspread awareness about the importance of casting one7s vote. They even help people get theirvoter id cards. The "))& general elections saw a mar-ed difference even in terms of the

people contesting them. Ae had an increased participation of educated and well:informedcandidates, li-e Shashi Tharoor 2who represented the ongress3, 0alli-a Sarabhai 2whostood as an independent candidate from Gandhinagar3, 0eera 5 Sanyal 2she contested as anindependent candidate from the 0umbai South constituency and is currently the chairpersonand country e ecutive for !>$ !0R; >an-3. Some of these new faces lost, some of themwon. >ut what emerged victorious was the spirit which propelled these people to enter

politics. They wanted a change in the way the country functions, so they decided to ta-e theroad less traveled and be the change.

India has a population of more than one billionJ therefore a change in the mindset of every

individual cannot come about over night. 8ven with all the awareness campaigns, a city li-e0umbai registered a voter turnout of 'eing a huge and diverse country in terms of culture, geography, population, income levelsand literacy every area has its own problems. The new entrants into politics have a huge tas-in front of them, they have to ma-e themselves -nown in every part of the country and win

credibility in the eyes of every Indian, as presently their influence is restricted only to a fewurban centres. To all the politicians, old and new, I would li-e to say, borrowing a line fromthe Spiderman movie FAith great power comes great responsibility , hope they carry it outwell.

Indian Politics: We Want it to Change

Politics in India or in any other nation has always been a prime issue, because the entiresociety rests upon the government of the country. The peace and prosperity of a country isdirectly proportional to the -ind of government that rules it. ! healthy government leads to

the formation of a healthy nation. India is a democratic country. 5ere, the people choose their own leaders through the voting system. There are many political parties in India, ma*or ones


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being >?P and ongress. !t present, the Indians politics is li-e a game of tug:of:war betweenthese two ma*or parties. In the past, India has witnessed many e amples of an efficientgovernment.

>ut in the past few years, various evils have crept into the system, bribery being the mostimportant one. During the election campaigning, the party people bribe the common man tovote in their favour. They offer them gifts, money or anything else to convince them in thisregard, and even appeal to them on cast lines. 0oreover, these parties get attractive

pamphlets published at the time of elections, which mention numerous social services. >utthey are literally meant to be thrown into the dustbin after the elections, because even half ofthese promises are not fulfilled once the party comes into power.

This cheating is rarely possible in the metro cities where the citi ens are educated and smartenough to *udge who is better and who can actually promote their welfare. >ut at the very

base of our country, the villages face this problem every time the elections are conducted,since most of them are illiterate and unaware of the pros and cons of the situation. !s a result,they can easily be persuaded and hence, their precious votes are misused.

The recent elections in !merica came out with such positive results, that the whole world hadto agree that Lnothing is impossible7. 6or the first time, !merica got a blac- man as their

president: >arac- ;bama. >ut apart from this, what surprised me more was that the leader ofthe opposition party: 0c ain did accept his defeat in the end. 5e wished the new presidentwith e+ual warmth as the others. 5is statement that Lwe will wor- together for the prosperityof /S!7, was remar-ably startling.

India ought to learn from the /S!, that who wins is not important. Ahat is more important isthe progress of the nation by any means. !nd this is e actly what is lac-ing in the Indian

political system. $ot only before or at the time of elections, but even after the governmenthas come into power, the opposition accepts its faults. They are always is search of issues thatcan cause the failure of the ruling party.

8ven if there are no such issues, the opposition unnecessarily tries to create irrelevant issuesand thus hamper the wor-ing of the government. !s India is a democratic country,, theopposition party ha full right to claim the faults of the ruling party but to forget the ultimate

goal of improving the country and only search for one7s own benefit is not *ustified.It is said that the students are the future of the nation. >ut if the present leaders are li-e this,what can be e pected out of the future leadersM It7s but obvious that they will also startwal-ing on the same illegal path. !nd this is e actly what is happening in the studentelections in the universities. 6rom the college level itself, they learn the tactics of convincing

people for votes by any means, legal or illegal. They offer all the stuff that can persuade thestudents for votes: parties, discos, free meals at restaurants and free movie tic-ets. So whenthe entire basis of the Indian political system is threatened, how can anybody e pect thefuture of the country to be in the safe handsM


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It is time that the entire Indian political system undergoes a revolution. That is the need anddemand of the time. 0ore and more e amples of efficient government are coming up fromacross the world, especially in the /S!. India must learn from them. ;nly then can wee pect to have better governments in the future and hope for the prosperity of the country.

Towards becoming a matured democracy

India is today the largest democracy in the world .>ut, we Indians should ta-e some time offto analy e this fact. The picture has not been as rosy as it seems. Democracy is five decadesold in India. >ut has it grown or is it moving in the right directionM India is undoubtedly thelargest democracy. >ut is it a successful oneM

In India, democracy is a mere fight between innumerable political parties that mushroom withevery single issue. >ut, every time an election is held, Indians are a touch concerned aboutone thingE Fhung parliament J a condition in which no single political party gets an absolute

ma*ority. The only way out is the formation of a coalition government. Aith a coalitiongovernment comes, an iety, dirty political tric-s, eventually holding the democracy atransom. Thus, it can be said that cause of many evils that afflicts our political system is

because of coalition governments and hung parliament. !nd the root cause of coalitiongovernments is the multiparty system followed in India.

0ultiparty system allows innumerable political parties to thrive.. oalition governments areformed with a national party ta-ing the lead and regional parties playing second fiddle. Sucharrangements formed usually only on the basis or greed for power, rather than political

philosophies or moral values has been the bane of Indian politics. In such coalitions, the firstcasualty usually is national interest. Ahen the regional parties who hold the national parties atransom for petty political gains, matters related with national importance ta-es a bac- seat.Since the chances of regional parties withdrawing their support always e ists, they end up

being the -ingma-ers. In case the regional parties withdraw support, an election becomesimminent, thereby resulting in the wastage of ta payer7s money. /nder such an atmosphereof doubt, how can a democracy in its true form e istM 5ow can the government policies beimplemented effectivelyM Ahen coalition formation becomes the paramount issue, partiesresort to horse trading thereby touching the nadir of political decency. This will involve

barons as well, who by contributing the money, will control the path of administration.

This brings us to the +uestion about the means to get out of this situation. The most effectivesolution is a conversion to bi:party system as done in /@ and /S. This can do way with theills of coalition politics, such as elimination of chances of a hung parliament or an unstablegovernment. ! government can be sure about the allotted timeframe for administration. Thiswill help them in effective governing. >ut how able will this method be in India, is the multidollar +uestion, as Indian situation is +uite different from the /S and the /@. India7s identityitself is her diversity. Aith so many diverse cultures, the problems afflicting the masses areentirely differentJ the threads that bind them are different. /nder such circumstances, a partrooted in the soil alone can understand and solve the problems.


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This means that changes should be made at the elementary level, where a discipline and professionalism should be introduced in our political system. Nualification should be mademandatory for politicians. The parties should be selective in giving tic-ets to the candidates,and those having a criminal bac-ground should be permanently barred from contesting

elections. 0oreover, the attitude should change. The parties should have a Lnation:first7approach. The parties, ruling and the oppositions should wor- as a team, instead of indulgingin head:loc-s with each other. ! more solid anti:defection rule should be implemented, notallowing the politicians to change loyalties between parties.

Though these may appear too utopian a policy, these are the only things that can bring about achange in the way our political system wor-s. 4et7s hope that steps ta-en in this directionmateriali e, thereby ma-ing India a matured democracy.

Evolution of the complex Indian political system

The world7s largest democracy is busy electing it7s representatives to the parliamentas 8lections "))& in India is on its way. The Indian political system has evolved from few tomany parties with each of them having some controlling sta-e in the democratic system. Inlast ") years 2= general elections3 the country has seen state:level political parties grow from"1 to "#( O a %) fold growth. The number of national parties have however stayed around 1throughout this period.

Contesting political parties - trend in last ! years

Interestingly, the number of parties that had at least %)C of the votes polled in seats theycontested has grown from "( to '' O a 1#C growth in ") years. The number of parties whichone at least one seat has grown from %1 to


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"ote share and #ins in Indian $eneral Elections

T#ere are a fe) t#in's to o"ser&e a"out t#is trend(

%. The growth of politically competent state parties have been consistent and gradual over lasttwo and a half decades. This has been driven by disintegrating national parties, s-ewednational growth 2see image below3 and increasing disparity in inter:state level of living2leading to unemployment and migration of population between states3, andcommunali ationBregionali ation of the electorate 2The Si-h movement in %&=)s, The >abri0as*id demolition and 5indu:0uslim riots in %&&", rise of the armed struggle in north:eastIndia in late %&=)s, and steep growth in the $a al movement since late %&&)s3.

India - %ectoral $ro#th &source: India evelopment (eport !!)*

". ! government at the center will be a coalition of several political parties with a national party as its focal point. This will be e tremely demanding and re+uire greater politicalleadership. 6or a prime minister it will be distracting to manage this political horde and it is

probably a good idea to have a dedicated manager of the coalition. I personally appreciate thedivision of responsibilities between the Prime 0inister and the oalition chair:person of thee isting /P! Government.


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'. Grass:root politics is there to stay. $ational political parties need to focus on local policiesto survive and grow better.

The political pundits have already predicted an even more fractured verdict in the "))&General 8lections. I hope this changes over time and the country gets good solid governancefree from bic-ering political partners.

C*RRENT C+ALLEN%ESCorruption

%. $o bac-ground chec- for leaders". $o specific +ualification re+uired for minister Io Policeo 4aw courts in countryo

Government ;ffices etc.o Income ta departments etc.

• ;utdates methods of communication and verification e.g. Paper format verificationta-es many days and is hard to detect their validity best e.g. P.?.Thomas O ta28 . 9 of India3

• Ground level implementation of policies made for common man• Poorly managed Real 8state sectorE

a. Price b. 4and allocationc. 4and 0ania 2Delhi:Gurgaon:$oida3

• IRD! improvement not effective as e pected

+earings from developed nations*SASocial security database allocating SS$ 2Social Security $umberE Indian copy !!D5!R 2not powerful3

• redit reports maintained by three agenciesEa. 8+uifa

b. 8 perian

c. Transunion

• !dvanced redit reports includesa. Personal details

b. 5ealth details 20edical database3c. 6inancial details

long #ith estimates of current financial state

• omparison with respect to India• !adhar new e periment includes only personal details

• redit reports maintained by I>I4 RQS includes mostly credit details


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• Still credit reference chec- is done ma*or for loan purpose.• *, ,

redit reports maintained by 8 perian other agencies!dvanced communication methods used e.g.!lmost all transaction communication are done on the internet for which company records

print screen or I9R or recorded telephone conversation well transaction notes maintained.• Technological advancement• rimeBInsuranceB4aw databases are shared with different agencies li-e 2her ma*esty

secret service3 0I#B0IDB;49!• Strong communication networ- • Strong cyber crime laws

Comparison #ith respect to India• redit reports are not dynamic• >est e ample of communication is Government offices• $o or hardly any entral databases are maintained• 4ac- of server data sharing with respect to Indian 4awB rimesBInsurancesBRT;

Ways to improve political%. ! predefined criteria of education for ministers". People having criminal records are allegation of crime should be dis+ualified from

entering in political system


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What is social policy all about?

In essence, social policy . or rather, the comple web of related policies, schemes andinstitutions that are concerned with the social conditions of economic activity . reflects the

broad social contract between capital and labour. In developing economies this refers to thesocial contract between capital and labour specifically for the management of thedevelopment pro*ect. The latter in turn has been defined for much of the past half century, asthe pro*ect of increasing material welfare for most of the citi enry through economicdevelopment, using the agency of the nation state. 6or many developing countries, includingIndia, this pro*ect remains partially or largely unfulfilled . although this state of incompletionstill has not prevented it from being very nearly abandoned in several instances.

It is increasingly evident that social policy has a significance that goes beyond even the validconcerns about basic e+uity and minimal living standards, which form part of the social andeconomic rights of citi ens. In fact, it can play a ma*or role in the capitalist development

pro*ect, at several levels. !t the most basic level, social policies of different types are crucialto the state.s capacity to .manage. modernisation, and along with it the huge economic andsocial shoc-s that are necessarily generated. Thus, for e ample, social policies of affirmativeaction in parts of Southeast !sia 2as in 0alaysia3 have been essential to maintaining ethnicharmony over periods when e isting income ine+ualities and social imbalances across groupswithin the aggregate population would be otherwise accentuated by economic growth

patterns. Similarly, when overenthusiastic and possibly insensitive developmental pro*ects

overturn e isting local.ommunities or destroy material cultures without satisfactory replacement, social

policy can become the basic instrument for rehabilitation and renewed social integration. Themassive human shifts 2geographic, economic, social3 that most development pro*ects entailare potentially sources of much conflict, and often social policy is the most effective meansof containing such conflict or at least -eeping it within levels that do not destabilise society or derail the development pro*ect itself.

The second important, and related, role of social policy is of course that of legitimisation. $ot only of the state, but of the development pro*ect itself. This need for legitimisation arises both for the long run process and in terms of short run crisismanagement. Thus, over the long run, or planning hori on, it is especially important ingrowth tra*ectories that rely on high investment and savings rates, thereby suppressingcurrent consumption in favour of high growth for larger future consumption, and whichtherefore imply sacrifices typically made by wor-ers and peasants. In such a scenario, social

policy that is directed towards providing basic needs and social services to those who areotherwise deprived of the gains from economic growth in terms of increased currentconsumption would be not *ust important but even necessary to ensuring social stability andcontinuity of the process itself.

In so far as the growth process also generates or entails cyclical volatility in growth or incomes, or has a tendency towards periodic crises of whatever sort, social policy can also

serve as a cushion for dampening the worst social effects of crisis, which in turn cancontribute to the feasibility and sustainability of the entire process. 6or e ample, sudden and


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severe economic contractions causing sharp pea-s of unemployment may be socially easier totolerate if some forms of unemployment compensation or benefit are provided. 8ven whenthe shoc-s stem from natural rather than economic causes 2such as earth+ua-es or cyclones3social policies in the form of say, public insurance schemes or micro credit schemes cancushion the worst effect of such shoc-s, in addition to direct relief. Such strategies have

macroeconomic conse+uences as wellE thus, it is now accepted that economies with a large public sector presence 2in terms of share of GDP or employment3 have more muted businesscycles or tend to suffer less e treme recessions.

The fourth crucial role of social policy is in terms of affecting the conditions of labour suchthat there is an increase in the aggregate social productivity of labour, rather than simplyincreases in labour productivity in particular sectors which reflect different technologicalchoices. It is now widely recognised that the universal provision of good education and basichealth services is an important condition for raising aggregate labour productivity levels. >uteven other aspects of social policy, such as wor-ing conditions, access to other publicservices, etc., play important roles in this regard. It is even being accepted that the latter can

in turn influence technological choices themselves, and nudge growth tra*ectories towards.high road. Paths rather than. 4ow road. Strategies which are chiefly dependent upon cheaplabour.

In capitalist economies which are +uite closely integrated with international mar-etsor rely on e port mar-ets as an engine of growth, social policy has played a very important

but largely unsung role in terms of underwriting a significant part of labour costs for privatecapital and therefore providing employers greater fle ibility and contributing to their e ternalcompetitive strength. 6or e ample 2but not e clusively3 in some countries of 8ast !sia, the

publicly assisted provision of cheap food to the urban population, along with basic housing,cheap and ade+uate public transport, basic public health and education services, and so on,effectively meant that substantial portions of the wage bas-et were at least partly provided by

the state. This in turn meant that wages paid by private employers could be correspondinglylower, since basic needs were already to a significant e tent ta-en care of, and this gave suchemployers a ma*or competitive edge in e port mar-ets.

In addition to being an integral part of the economic growth process, social policyalso evolves with this process, and changes depending upon how the development processimpacts upon different classes and groups. In other words, both the economic policy and thesocial policy patterns, even when they appear to be unchanging in a statutory sense, areactually +uite dynamic and intertwined with the political economy configurations, which also

constantly evolve. % In case this sounds e cessively complicated, consider this e ampleEertain types of industrialisation strategy generate particular types of employment, for

e ample a small scale engineering industry may grow based on supply and demand lin-agesemanating from a large publicly funded railway e pansion programme. Such increases inemployment in turn generate demands for certain types of social policy such as provision of housing, health and education facilities for wor-ers. families, and so on. This in turn cancreate not *ust greater political voice for such groups but also more productive wor-forceswhich in turn encourage the demand for certain types of technological change in products and

processes, which in turn leads to pressure for certain types of public investment which couldincorporate such technological innovation.

In contrast to such a positive dynamic process, consider a different pattern of industrialisation in which relatively few new *obs are generated, but the profits from such

economic activity are +uite high. The shift in income distribution will not only shift demandin favour of certain types of non:mass consumption goods, but also increase the political and


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lobbying power of capital in various ways. This in turn can influence state policy toencourage fiscal patterns 2whether in the form of ta ation, direct spending, or subsidies3,which further accentuate the income and employment ine+ualities, and so on. ;r they caninvolve the e pansion of certain types of employment, effectively creating or enlargingcertain classes such as the urban middle classes, which then can become important in terms of

political voice and the ability to influence economic policy decisions as well as to demandcertain social policy measures which largely benefit these groups only.

It thus emerges that while social policy is both a desirable and a necessaryconcomitant of the development process, its e istence and form in each social conte t cannot

be ta-en for granted, but rather depends upon political economy configurations whichinfluence both its e tent and its evolution. This is clearly evident from the Indian e perience,which shows both the clear need for effective social policy and the relative inade+uacy of what has been provided by the state in terms of meeting the basic ob*ectives of the nationalistdevelopmental pro*ect. It is argued in this paper that the relative inade+uacy of social policyin India over the post:independence period is one important reason why the development

pro*ect itself has remained incomplete and unsatisfactory in terms of fulfilling the basicre+uirements of the ma*ority of citi ens. These issues are discussed in more detail below.

Social policy in the Indian development process

Political theorists may be tempted to draw insights from the rather hapha ard patternof social policy implementation in India, finding in its very lac- of direction and vision someassociation with the chaotic democratic polity within which it occurred, and the variegateddemands which were sought to be fulfilled at different points of time. 0ost social policy

provisioning has not been universal in terms of actual effects, even when it has been declaredas such. Rather, it has been directed to specific 2and restricted3 target groups. !nd almost

always, these groups included those with sufficient political voice, such as urban organisedwor-ers, or increasingly in the %&&)s, particular caste groupings. There have also been muchtrumpeted attempts to include 2in however limited a fashion3 a small proportion of those whonaturally appear to be .deserving., such as households under the poverty line, women fromlower income groups, and so on. 5owever, because such provisioning, whether in terms of

protective legislation or in terms of actual resource transfers, has been e tremely limitedrelative to the scale of re+uirement, it has meant that social policy has not been a basicinstrument of development strategy in the manner outlined in the previous section. Rather, ithas emerged essentially in the form of ad hoc responses to particular demands emanatingfrom groups that 2at least temporarily3 have ac+uired some degree of political voice.

$evertheless, it is also true that the overall development strategy, however flawed itwas in terms of low social development and lac- of fulfilment of basic needs, did at leastmeet some of the functions of social policy mentioned above. Thus, in very broad terms, themanagement of at least some of the social effects of modernisation was achieved in that themost destabilising effects were avoided. Similarly, the legitimisation of and indeed the socialacceptance of the suppression of current consumption on the part of wor-ers and peasants,was also achievedJ however, as pointed out above, the same was not true of the capitalistclass and the elites who were unwilling to accept the economic discipline necessary for asustained path of aggregate development. It is also true that the growing si e of the publicsector served as a cushion against very sharp fluctuations in aggregate economic activity.5owever, in a longer term sense the economic regime and associated social policy failed

miserably in raising aggregate social labour productivity and reducing the employment slac- in the system, or in underwriting labour costs for employers, including e porters.


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The more significant forms of social policy in the Indian conte t have includedE agrarianreformJ food procurement and distributionJ educationJ employment creation through publicwor-sJ affirmative action in the form of reservation for public services employment andeducational institutionsJ antipoverty programmes directed towards small asset creation or

micro creditJ changes in forms and structures of governance through decentralisation andsome devolution of resources.

Some of these are considered in some more detail below. It should be remembered that otheraspects of social policy that have been significant elsewhere have been missing. Thus, thesubstantial public provision of basic housing and of basic health services, that werecornerstones of social policy in 8ast !sia , has been absent in the Indian case in almost all thestates. Similarly, there has been very little in the form of social insurance programmes.

indian political system (final).docx

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