Recent Developments in Indian Politics — the Coalition Era, Mandal and a New Consensus
The Politics of the Backward Classes — Mandal
The Other Backward Classes (OBCs) — communities other than the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes that suffer educational and social backwardness — had been growing in political weight since the 1960s. In 1978 the Janata government appointed the Second Backward Classes Commission, chaired by B.P. Mandal and known as the Mandal Commission, to identify the backward classes and recommend steps for their advancement. Its report, submitted in 1980, recommended 27 per cent of seats in government jobs and educational institutions for the OBCs, along with land reform and other measures. The report lay unimplemented until August 1990, when the V.P. Singh government decided to implement the reservation in central government jobs. The decision set off violent protests in many north Indian cities as well as strong support elsewhere; it was challenged in court, and in the Indra Sawhney case (1992) the Supreme Court upheld it, while excluding the better-off among the OBCs, the "creamy layer".
The same years saw the rise of parties that drew their support from Dalits and backward classes. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), founded in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram, built on an organisation of government employees and sought political power for the "bahujan" — the majority made up of Dalits, backward classes, Adivasis and religious minorities; it later formed governments in Uttar Pradesh. Parties rooted in the backward classes became central to coalitions in several north Indian states and at the centre.
Economic Reform, Ayodhya and the Emerging Consensus
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991 during the election campaign, and P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister. His government launched the new economic policy of liberalisation in 1991; the reforms were continued, in their main direction, by every government that followed, whichever party led it. The Bharatiya Janata Party, formed in 1980, rose rapidly from the late 1980s; its campaign on the Ayodhya dispute, including the Rath Yatra led by L.K. Advani in 1990, became a central issue in national politics. In December 1992 the disputed structure at Ayodhya was demolished, an event followed by communal violence in several parts of the country and a sharp debate about secularism. The title dispute was finally decided by the Supreme Court in November 2019.
Beneath the intense competition of these years, the book sees a growing consensus among most parties on four points:
- Agreement on the new economic policies — most parties support them in their broad direction, though they differ on details.
- Acceptance of the political and social claims of the backward castes — all parties now support reservation for them in jobs and education.
- Acceptance of the role of state-level parties in national governance — the distinction between regional and national parties has become less important.
- Emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideology — coalitions are formed between parties that do not share an ideology, on the basis of a common programme.
Key takeaways
- 1989 ended Congress dominance at the centre: the National Front government under V.P. Singh was backed from outside by the BJP and the Left.
- From 1989 to 2014 no single party won a Lok Sabha majority — the coalition era (National Front, United Front, NDA, UPA).
- In 2014 the BJP became the first party since 1984 to win a majority on its own; it did so again in 2019, and in 2024 the NDA retained power with the BJP short of a majority alone.
- Mandal Commission: appointed 1978 (B.P. Mandal), reported 1980, recommended 27% for OBCs; implemented in central jobs from August 1990; upheld in Indra Sawhney (1992) with a creamy-layer exclusion.
- The BSP was founded in 1984 under Kanshi Ram; the BJP was formed in 1980.
- Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991; P.V. Narasimha Rao’s government began the new economic policy in 1991.
- The emerging consensus: economic reforms, OBC claims, the role of state parties, and pragmatism over ideology.
Practice questions (8)
Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.
The Mandal Commission, whose recommendations on reservation for OBCs were implemented in 1990, was appointed in 1978 by:
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Answer: A — The Janata government
The Janata government appointed the Second Backward Classes Commission under B.P. Mandal in 1978. The National Front government of V.P. Singh is the trap: it implemented the report in 1990, twelve years after the commission was set up.The National Front government formed in 1989 under V.P. Singh was supported from outside by:
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Answer: C — The BJP and the Left Front
The National Front was propped up from outside by two parties that opposed each other ideologically — the BJP and the Left Front — united by their opposition to the Congress. The Congress supported later minority governments, of Chandra Shekhar and of the United Front, which is why it tempts here.The Bahujan Samaj Party was founded in 1984 under the leadership of:
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Answer: D — Kanshi Ram
Kanshi Ram founded the BSP in 1984 to win political power for the bahujan — Dalits, backward classes, Adivasis and minorities. B.P. Mandal chaired the backward classes commission and did not found a party, and Jagjivan Ram was a Congress and then Janata leader.Arrange the following Prime Ministers in the order in which they first took office:
A. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
B. P.V. Narasimha Rao
C. V.P. Singh
D. H.D. Deve GowdaShow answer
Answer: B — C, B, A, D
V.P. Singh took office in 1989, Narasimha Rao in 1991, Vajpayee first in May 1996 for a government that lasted only days, and Deve Gowda later in 1996. The order C, B, D, A is the trap: it is right only if you count Vajpayee’s full term from 1998 and forget his first, brief one.Consider the following statements:
1. No single party won a majority in the Lok Sabha in any general election held between 1989 and 2009.
2. The Mandal Commission recommended reservation of 27 per cent for the OBCs.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?Show answer
Answer: C — Both 1 and 2
Both are correct. Every election from 1989 to 2009 produced a hung Lok Sabha, which is why the period is called the coalition era; the next single-party majority came only in 2014. The Mandal Commission’s recommendation was 27 per cent for the OBCs in government jobs and educational institutions.Which of the following is NOT one of the points of growing consensus among parties that the book identifies after 1989?
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Answer: C — Agreement that coalitions should be formed only between parties with the same ideology
The book’s fourth point is the opposite: pragmatic considerations have replaced ideology, so parties with different ideologies form coalitions on a common programme. The other three — economic policy, backward-caste claims and state parties — are exactly the consensus it describes.Assertion (A): The elections of 1989 are seen as the end of the "Congress system" at the centre.
Reason (R): The Congress never again formed a government at the centre after 1989.Show answer
Answer: C — A is true, but R is false
A is true: after 1989 the Congress was no longer the natural party of government, and no party won a majority on its own until 2014. R is false — the Congress led governments again, under P.V. Narasimha Rao from 1991 and as head of the UPA from 2004 to 2014 — but it did so without the dominance of the old system.In the Indra Sawhney case of 1992, the Supreme Court:
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Answer: D — Upheld OBC reservation but excluded the "creamy layer"
The Court upheld the decision to reserve government jobs for the OBCs while excluding the better-off among them, the "creamy layer". Fifty per cent is the overall ceiling on reservation that the Court laid down in the same case, not the OBC share — which is why it tempts.