Coalition Politics & Mandal Commission

~: Presented By :~
@manish.dav2009@gmail.com
(2nd Year)
Course –B.A(Hons) Political Science
~:Topic:~
Developments in the 1980’s:
(i)Coalition Politics & (ii)Mandal Commission

INTRODUCTION
 The term 'coalition' is derived from the Latin word 'coalitio' which
means 'to grow together'. Thus, technically, coalition means the
act of uniting parts into one body or whole.
 Politically, coalition means an alliance of distinct political parties.
Coalition is a phenomenon of a multi-party government where a
number of minority parties join hands for the purpose of running
the government which is otherwise not possible.
 A coalition is formed when many groups come into common
terms with each other and define a common programme or
agenda on which they work.
 A coalition government always remains in pulls and pressures
particularly in a multinational country like India.
 When several political parties join hands to form a government
and exercise political power on the basis of a common agreed
programme/agenda, we can describe the system as coalition
politics or coalition government.

WHAT IS A COALITION GOVERNMENT?
 Coalition is a direct descendant of the exigencies of multi-party system in a
democratic setup. It is a phenomenon of a multi-party government where a
number of minority parties join hands for the purpose of running the
government.
 A coalition is formed when many splinter groups in a House agree to join
hands on a common platform by sinking their broad differences and form a
majority in the House.
 As far as definition is concerned there is difference between coalition politics
and political alliance. A political alliance, also referred to as a political
coalition, political bloc, is an agreement for cooperation between different
political parties on common political agenda, often for purposes of
contesting an election to mutually benefit by collectively clearing election
thresholds, or otherwise benefiting from characteristics of the voting system
or for government formation after elections.
 A coalition government is formed when a political alliance comes to power,
or when only a plurality (not a majority) has not been reached and several
parties must work together to govern. One of the peculiarities of such a
method of governance results in Minister of State without Portfolio.

FEATURES OF COALITION GOVERNMENT
1. Coalitions are formed for the sake of some reward, material or
psychic.
2. A coalition implies the existence of at least two partners.
3. The underlying principle of a coalition system stands on the simple
fact of temporary conjunction of specific interest.
4. Coalition politics is not a static but a dynamic affair as coalition
players and groups dissolve and form new ones.
5. The keynote of coalition politics is compromise, and rigid dogma
has no place in it.
6. A coalition government works on the basis of a minimum
programme, which may not be ideal for each partner of the coalition.
7. Pragmatism and not ideology is the hallmark of coalition politics. In
making political adjustments, principles may have to be set aside.
8. The purpose of a coalition adjustment is to seize power.

FORMATION OF COALITION GOVERNMENTS
In our country, we have seen coalitions coming up either before the
elections or after the elections. The pre-poll coalition is
considerably advantageous because it provides a common platform
to the parties in order to woo the electorate on the basis of a joint
manifesto. The post- election union is intended to enable
constituents to share political power and run the government.
In the first four Lok Sabha elections (1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967),
the Congress party secured the required majority to form the
government at the Centre. Even though there was a split in the
Congress party in 1969, the minority government of Indira Gandhi
managed to continue with the outside support of the CPI, the DMK
and other parties.
Congress party won the 1971 elections and formed a single-party
government. However, the dominant Congress party was badly
defeated in the 1977 elections.

THE JANTA INTERREGNUM:
 The opposition front that emerged after emergency was opposed to Indra Gandhi's
Emergency and even released in large numbers. After Emergency, the Opposition leaders
announced the merger of Congress (O), the Jan Sangh, Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) and the
Socialist Party into the new Janata Party.
 The Opposition front made the Emergency and its excesses, as a referendum on the
Emergency. With the popular upsurge in favour of them, the Janata Party and its allies were
victorious with 330 out of 542 seats. Congress trailed far behind and was virtually wiped
out in North India. Both Indira Gandhi and Sanjay were defeated.
 There was a near-crisis over the issue of prime ministership between the three aspirants,
Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram. Senior leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan
ruled in favour of the Morarji Desai, who was sworn in as prime minister on 23 March
1977. He was the oldest man to become prime minister of India (81 years old).
 The Janta government remained in power for about two years i.e, 1977-1979. The power
struggle in the government did not allow Desai to continue anymore. Once the no
confidence motion against Desai was discussed in the lower house, Desai tendered his
resignation.
 A week later, Charan Singh formed the government in alliance with the Congress (U) and
some of the Socialists and with the outside support of Congress (1) and the CPI. But he
never got to face parliament as, a day before the confidence vote, Indira Gandhi withdrew
her support after Charan Singh rejected her demand for the scrapping of special courts set
up to prosecute her. On Charan Singh's advice, the President dissolved the Lok Sabha and
announced mid-term elections.

UNDER MORARJI DESAI
Thus the first experience of coalition in free India at the union level
goes back to 1977 when non congress forces united under the
leadership of Morarji Desai in the name of Janta government.
One of the first steps taken by the new government was to try to
consolidate its hold over the states. Arguing that in those states
where Congress had lost in the national elections, it had also lost the
mandate to rule even at the state level, the government dismissed
nine Congress-ruled state governments, and ordered fresh elections
to their state assemblies.
The Janata government took immediate steps to dismantle the
authoritarian features of the Emergency regime and to restore liberal
democracy. It restored Fundamental Rights and full civil liberties to
the Press, political parties and individuals.
Through the 44th Constitutional Amendment, it also modified the
42nd Amendment passed during the Emergency, repealing those of
its provisions which had distorted the constitution.

JANTA PARTY IN CRISIS
Given its nonperformance in administration, implementation of developmental
policies, and realization of social justice, the Janata Party began to disintegrate.
The Janata Party's social base in North India consisted primarily of large landowners
belonging to upper castes and the urban and rural shopkeepers, small businessmen
and the petty bourgeoisie.
In many states landowners tried to forcibly take back the plots given to the poor
peasants and money lenders began to reclaim debts cancelled during the
Emergency. On the other hand, the rural poor largely belonging to the Scheduled
Castes, too had become conscious of their rights and started defending their rights
and benefits that they had obtained under the Twenty -Point Programme of Indira
Gandhi. The result was the wide prevalence of caste tensions and violent attacks on
the Scheduled Castes in North India.
The Janata regime explicitly repudiated the Nehruvian vision of rapid economic
development based on large-scale industry and science.
Janata's economic policy merely counterposed rural development to industry -
oriented growth. This policy came to be based on three pillars: labour-intensive
small-scale industry (not as complementary to but in place of large-scale industry);
decentralization in place of national planning; and rich- peasant-led agricultural
development.

After the first year of Janata rule, the economy started drifting with
both agriculture and industry showing stagnation or low rates of
growth.
Holding the party together seemed to have been a major
preoccupation of the Janata leaders. Already disintegrating by the end
of 1977, by 1978-79, the government, lacking all direction, was
completely paralysed by the constant bickering and infighting in the
party both at the Centre and in the states. Each political component
tried to occupy as much political and administrative space as possible.
In the ideological sphere, the Jan Sangh tried to promote its
communal agenda via textbooks and recruitment to the official
media, educational institutions and the police.
The Janata Party remained a coalition of different parties and groups
and was a victim of factionalism, manipulation and personal
ambitions of its leaders.

REVIVAL OF CONGRESS
In the meantime, the Congress witnessed both a split and a revival.
Seeing a lot of congress leaders turning against her, Indira Gandhi split
the party in 1978, with her wing being known as Congress (1) (for
Indira), and the other later as Congress (U).
Thereafter, Indira Gandhi's political fortunes began to revive and in
the February 1978 elections to state assemblies Congress (1) defeated
the Janata.
After having been out of office for thirty-four months, Indira Gandhi
was once again the prime minister and Congress was restored to its
old position as the dominant party.
In 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated followed by Rajiv Gandhi
reluctantly accepting the position of next Prime Minister (1984-1989).
Despite of various successes, Rajiv Gandhi failed to win elections in
the next slated elections of 1989.

DECLINE OF CONGRESS
 The defeat of the Congress party in the elections of 1989 marked
the end of Congress dominance over the Indian party system. The
nineties show the predominant position of the Congress was
challenged. It did not, however, mean the emergence of any other
single party to fill in its place.
 Elections in 1989 led to the defeat of the Congress party but did
not result in a majority for any other party. Though the Congress
was the largest party in the Lok Sabha, it did not have a clear
majority and therefore, it decided to sit in the opposition.
 The National Front (which itself was an alliance of Janata Dal and
some other regional parties) received support from two
diametrically opposite political groups: the BJP and the Left Front.
On this basis, the National Front formed a coalition government,
but the BJP and the Left Front did not join in this government.

V P SINGH (1989-1990)AND THE NATIONAL FRONT
 V P Singh had begun to build an anti-Rajiv political bloc. He called leftist and BJP
towards his side and maintained close links with Vajpayee and Advani. A new party
called as National Front was formed by him and contested the elections of 1989.
 In the elections of 1989, no single party was able to secure a majority and even though
Rajiv Gandhi's congress was the single largest party, he stood aside. He made it clear
that Congress was not interested in trying to form a government.
 With the left parties and the BJP quickly declaring that they would support a National
Front government from the outside, the stage was set for the second non-Congress
government in post-independence India to take office. V.P. Singh took oath as prime
minister on 2 December 1989.
 During his tenure, V.P Singh made the most controversial decision of his rule. On 7
August 1990, he announced in parliament that the report of the Mandal Commission
about which we would be studying a different presentation.
 Meanwhile, the BJP had its own agenda to complete., L.K. Advani (1990) embarked on
his 6,000-mile-long rath yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya (to lay the
foundation stone for the Ram mandir). The rath yatra, Advani's arrest and the firing at
Ayodhy a aroused communal passions and the ensuing riots led to many deaths in
North India.
 On 5 November, 1990 the Janata Dal split and fifty-eight legislators elected Chandra
Shekhar as their leader. On 7 November, the second attempt at running a non-Congress
government came to an end after eleven stormy months. (1990-1991)

ADVANTAGES OF COALITION GOVERNMENT
 The government's operation accommodates a variety of interests. A coalition
government is a vehicle for meeting and addressing the needs of various
parties.
 The federal fabric of the Indian political system is strengthened by coalition
politics. This is because a coalition administration is more receptive to
regional requests.
 Despotic control is less possible with a coalition administration. Because the
government's activities are not dominated by a single political party, this is the
case. The coalition's members are all participating in the decision-making
process.
 A coalition government is made up of a variety of political parties, each having
its own ideology and objectives. On the other hand, government policy
necessitates the cooperation of all coalition partners. As a result, a coalition
government encourages political consensus.
 India is a vast country with a wide range of interests. Cultures, languages,
castes, religions, and ethnic groupings are all present. This means that the
coalition government is more representational of the electorate and reflects
public mood.

DISADVANTAGES OF COALITION GOVERNMENT
 They're either unstable or on the edge of becoming so. The government is
falling apart due to differences of opinion among coalition members.
 The Prime Minister's leadership is a fundamental principle of the
parliamentary system of government. In a coalition government, this
principle is constrained because the Prime Minister must consult with the
coalition partners before making key decisions.
 Regional leaders participate in national decision-making by bringing
regional realities to the fore. They put pressure on the alliance's central
executive to comply with their requests, threatening to depart if they
don't.
 Members of the coalition government refuse to take responsibility for
administrative shortcomings and blunders. To avoid assuming personal
and group responsibility, they may conduct blame games.
 The smaller constituency of the coalition government could play a "king-
maker" role. They demand more than just parliamentary strength.
 The coalition partners' Steering Committee or Coordination Committee
serves as a "Super-Cabinet," undermining the cabinet's role and position
in government operations

Introduction
The Mandal Commission, headed by Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal
(M.P.) was established in India, in 1979, by the Janata Party
government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to
identify the socially or educationally backward.
Stratification on the basis of caste, class and religion is a very
significant aspect of life in India and its impact on the people of the
country has been deep and lasting. Equality and liberty - elements
which are very important for giving people a chance to lead a happy
and meaningful life, have constantly come under threat because of
these institutions which have divided the nation and afflicted large
sections of the population for a very long time.
It considered the question of seat reservations and quotas for
people to redress caste discrimination, by using eleven social,
economic, and educational indicators to determine backwardness.

Setting Up of Mandal Commission
The plan to set up the Second Backward Classes Commission was
taken by the Morarji Desai government in 1978.
In 1979, by a Presidential Order under Article 340 (Appointment of
a commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes in
India every 10 years) for the purpose of Articles 15 (Prohibition of
Discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of
birth) and 16 (Equality of opportunity in public employment), the
Commission was set up. While the First Backward Classes
Commission had a broad-based membership, the Second
Commission seemed to be shaped on partisan lines, composed of
members only from the backward castes.
Of its five members, four were from the OBCs; the remaining one,
L.R. Naik, was from the Dalit community, and the only member
from the scheduled castes in the Commission

Reservation Policy
 The Mandal Commission adopted various methods and techniques to
collect the necessary data and evidence. In order to identify who
qualified as an "other backward class," the commission adopted eleven
criteria which could be grouped under three major headings: social,
educational and economic. 11 criteria were developed to identify ÓBCs.
Social
 Castes/classes considered as socially backward by others,
 Castes/classes which mainly depend on manual labor for their
livelihood,
 Castes/classes where at least 25 per cent females and 10 per cent males
above the state average get married at an age below 17 years in rural
areas and at least 10 per cent females and 5 per cent males do so in
urban areas.
 Castes/classes where participation of females in work is at least 25 per
cent above the state average.

Educational
 Castes/classes where the number of children in the age group of 5-15 years
who never attended school is at least 25 per cent above the state average.
 Castes/classes when the rate of student drop-out in the age group of 5-15
years is at least 25 per cent above the state average,
 Castes/classes amongst whom the proportion of matriculates is at least 25
per cent below the state average
Economic
 Castes/classes where the average value of family assets is at least 25 per
cent below the state average,
 Castes/classes where the number of families living in kuccha houses is at
least 25 per cent above the state average,
 Castes/classes where the source of drinking water is beyond half a kilometer
for more than 50 per cent of the households,
 Castes/classes where the number of households having taken consumption
loans is at least 25 per cent above the state average.

Observations and findings
 The commission estimated that 52% of the total population (excluding
SCs and STs), belonging to 3,743 different castes and communities, were
'backward'.
 The number of backward castes in Central list of OBCs has now
increased to 5,013 (without the figures for most of the Union
Territories) in 2006 as per National Commission for Backward Classes.
 Figures of caste-wise population are not available beyond. So the
commission used 1931 census data to calculate the number of OBCs.
 The population of Hindu OBCs was derived by subtracting from the total
population of Hindus, the population of SC and ST and that of forward
Hindu castes and communities, and it worked out to be 52 per cent.
Assuming that roughly the proportion of OBCs amongst non-Hindus was
of the same order as amongst the Hindus, the population of non-Hindu
OBCs was considered as 52 per cent.

Recommendations
The introduction to the Recommendations, as stated in the report, presents
the following argument:
"It may appear the upliftment of Other Backward Classes is part of
the larger national problem of the removal of mass poverty. This is
only partially correct. The deprivation of OBCs is a very special case of
the larger national issue: here the basic question is that of social and
educational backwardness and poverty is only a direct consequence
of these two crippling caste-based handicaps. As these handicaps are
embedded in our social structure, their removal will require far
reaching structural changes. No less important will be changes in the
perception of the problems of OBCS by the ruling classes of the
country."

Implementation
In December 1980, the Mandal Commission submitted its Report which
described the criteria it used to indicate backwardness, and stated its
recommendations in light of its observations and findings. By then, the Janata
government had fallen. The following Congress governments under Indira
Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were not willing to act on the Report due to its
politically contentious nature. After being neglected for 10 years, the Report
was accepted by the National Front government led by V.P. Singh. On August 7
1990, the National Front government declared that it would provide 27 per
cent reservations to "socially and educationally backward classes" for jobs in
central services and public undertaking. Having released the Government
Order on 13 August, V.P. Singh announced its legal implementation in his
Independence Day speech two days later. That same year in September, a
case was brought before the Supreme Court of India which challenged the
constitutional validity of the Government Order for the implementation of the
Mandal Report recommendations. Indra Sawhney, the petitioner in this case,
made three principal arguments against the Order: The extension of
reservation violated the Constitutional guarantee of equality of opportunity.
Caste was not a reliable indicator of backwardness.

Protest & Criticisms
The criticism was sharp and colleges across the country held massive protests against it.
On 19th September 1990, Rajiv Goswami, a student of Deshbandhu College, Delhi,
committed self-immolation in protest of the government's actions. His act made him the
face of the Anti- Mandal agitation then. This further sparked a series of self-immolations
by other upper-caste college students like him, whose own hopes of getting a
government job were now at threat, and led to a formidable student movement against
job reservations for Backward Castes in India. Altogether, nearly 200 students committed
self-immolations; of these, 62 students succumbed to their burns. The first student
protestor who died due to self-immolation was Surinder Singh Chauhan on 24
September, 1990.
The National Sample Survey puts the figure at 32%. There is substantial debate over the
exact number of OBC's in India, with census data compromised by partisan politics. It is
generally estimated to be sizeable, but lower than the figures quoted by either the
Mandal Commission or and National Sample Survey.

Coalition Politics & Mandal Commission

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