EHI - 4

1st Part

Q.  Discuss the rise of Uzbeg and Safavid powers in Central Asia. Provide a brief on the tripartite relations between the Uzbegs, Persians and the Timurids.     

A.  Rise of Uzbeg power - After the death of Umar Shaikh and Sultan Ahmad Mirza, Sultan Mahmud Mirza was also assassinated. His two sons, Sultan Ali and Baisundhur Mirza, now became rivals for the throne of Samarqand and Hisar. During the anarchy which prevailed in the Timurid empire, the Tarkhan nobles became powerful. They not only usurped the entire revenue but made opportunistic alliances and used one prince as a counterpoise against the other. Taking advantage, Shaibani wrested Bukhara from its Timurid governor Baqar Tarkhan in 1499 and then besieged Samarqand. After negotiations, Shaibani occupied Samarqand in 1500 without a war. After the battle of Saripul(1501), where Babur was defeated by Uzbeg, again Uzbeg's power under Shaibani had to face Timurid power. In early 1503 Shaibani inflicted a crushing defeat upon the joint forces of Babur and his maternal uncles Mahmud and Ahmad Khan, both of whom were made captives. Babur's noble Tambal invited Shaibani to occupy Farghana. Shaibani conquered Farghana and Qunduz (1504) and overran Balkh, Memna, and Faryab in 1505. A galaxy of Timurid princes including Babur, Badiuzzaman and Muzaffar Hussain led by Sultan Hussain Baiqra planned to face the Uzbegs unitedly but failed due to death of Sultan Hussain in 1506. Soon Shaibani undertook a campaign against the Qazaqs of Moghulistan in 1508 and thus established Uzbeg power in Transoxiana. The immediate reasons for this transfer of power from the Timurids to the Uzbegs were:

#  the personal incompetence of the later Timurid Rulers;
#  their mutual rivalry;
#  the absence of any settled rule for succession, and
#  the lack of strong administration.
Rise of Safavid power in Central Asia -

    The power of Safavis (the new dynasty which lasted in Persia till 1736), was based on the support given by the Turcoman tribes, namely Shamlu, Rumlu, Takkalu, Zulqadar, Afshar, Qachar, Ustajlu, and Warsaq. The Safavi Empire sprang up almost in the same geographical area where the Ilkhanid state had once flourished. Hulaku's Empire re-emerged in a diminutive form (the Jalayrid Empire ) extending over Mesopotamia, Azerbaijan and later on covering the region of Shirvan also. The remaining portions of the Ilkhanid territory were lost to the two Turcoman confederations, namely Aq Quyunlu (the white sheep) and Qara Quyunlu (the black sheep). Aq Quyunlu extended their sway over Diyar-I Bakr with their center at Amid. Qara Quyunlus had their center at Arjish (on the eastern shore of Lake Van) spreading in the north to Erze Rum & in the south to Mosul. Under the enterprising Jahanshah, the Qara Quyunlu dynasty expanded from Van to the deserts between Persia and Khurasan and from the Caspian sea to the Persian Gulf. They had become independent of the Timurids. Jahanshah was widely known as a progenitor of the Shias while the Aq Ququnlus were Sunni's. The most famous Aq Quyunlu ruler was Uzan HasaniI1453-78) who defeated Jahanshah and established his suzerainty almost over the entire Persia. Hence, the borders of his Empire came closer to that of the Timurids. At the time of Uzun Hasan's death (in 1478), his Turcoman Empire extended from upper reaches of the Euphrates to the Great Salt Desert and the province of Kirman in South Persia, and from Transcaucasia to Mesopotamia and, the Persian Gulf. 

                Tripartite relations between the Uzbegs, Persians and the Timurids. The conquest of Khurasan had brought the border of the Shaibanid empire closer to the Safavi one. Since Shaibani was ambitious, he demanded allegiance from the Shah which eventually led to a war in 1510, in which Shaibani was defeated and killed. Shah Ismail not only occupied Khurasan but also assisted Babur thereafter to reoccupy Transoxiana from the Uzbegs. Babur received a very warm welcome from the Samarqandis, but the latter disapproved of his association with 'heretic' Shia' Shah Ismail. The subsequent reprisal perpetrated upon the subjects by Babur's greedy

followers further provoked the Central Asians to long for the Uzbeg rule.

Q.  How was the Portuguese Indian trade financed?      

A. Taking into account the details of the Portuguese trade on the Malabar coast in the period between 1500 and 1506, the total investment needed for conducting trade was met through different means. The king of Portugal provided only one-fourth of this amount and the rest was raised by the merchants and financiers who collaborated with the Portuguese king. In 1500 he issued an order permitting native as well as foreign merchants to fit, out their own vessels to the East. Revenues collected in the form of booty, tributes and taxes levied on ships of the private merchants also provided funds for the conduct of trade with India.

European Merchant-Financiers

Italians, especially the Florentines, occupied an important position among the financiers in the sixteenth century. Most of the Italian financiers concluded contracts with the Portuguese king. They supplied cash or materials to the king in Lisbon. The king used them to purchase pepper and other commodities from India. These commodities were given to these financiers at Lisbon in view of the contracts signed. However, some of the financiers also sent their own factors to India. Cash or commodities were always sent under the supervision of the Portuguese authorities to the East. Indian commodities also attracted the German financiers and merchants. Since copper was given in part-payment for Indian commodities, especially pepper and other spices, large quantity of copper was supplied  by the German merchant financiers like the Fuggers who could fit out their vessels, entrust cash and commodities to the India House in Lisbon to be taken to India under the Portuguese flag and buy the commodities from Lisbon according to the terms and conditions of the contracts signed.

Indian Merchants and Rulers

Several Indian merchants supplied commodities to the Portuguese on credit when the latter did not have cash or commodities to furnish in exchange. The merchants of Cochin, especially the Marakkars, was of great help to the Portuguese in this Respect. Some of the local rulers stood surety for the Portuguese when they did not have money to pay to the merchants for the commodities bought by them. For example, the king of Cochin came forward to help the Portuguese several times making the required volume of commodities available to them on credit.

Passes - 

The Portuguese had armed vessels plying in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea. Ships carrying commodities that were not given passes (cartaz) by the Portuguese officials were confiscated by them. The booty thus obtained yielded a sizeable source of income which was again invested in trade. Defeated rulers were compelled to pay tributes to the Portuguese, either in cash or kind. This source was also exploited by them several times for investment. The persons interested in sending their ships to other parts of India or to Asian countries were required to take passes (cartaz) from the Portuguese for which fees were charged. 

Q.  Discuss the nature of the Portuguese Indian trade. How was it financed?   

A.  Right from the time Portuguese arrived at Calicut they had demanded that other merchants, Indian as well as foreign, should be ousted and a complete monopoly over trade be granted to them. Portuguese ships equipped with arms and ammunitions threatened other merchants and confiscated their merchandise and vessels. Portuguese introduced an expedient under which those ships which carried a cartaz duly signed by the Portuguese authorities, namely the royal factor, were not to be attacked. Indian merchants, rulers and all those engaged in maritime trade, had to take cartaz from the Portuguese. While issuing such passes, it was specifically mentioned that certain items like pepper, horses, ginger, coir, ship pitch, sulfur, lead, saltpeter, cinnamon, etc. were not to be loaded on their ships. All these were monopoly items of the Portuguese Routes and destinations of such ships were also sought to be controlled. Rulers like Akbar and his successors, Nilam Shah of Ahmednagar, Adil Shah of Bijapur, kings of Cochin, the Zamorins of Calicut and the rulers of Cannanore purchased passes from the Portuguese to send their ships to various places.

Monopoly Trade -

     With the arrival of the Portuguese, this state of affairs underwent considerable change. Kings were pressurized to forbid other merchants from trading with their ports. Similarly, certain commodities were declared forbidden to be traded by others. In other words, the Portuguese demanded a monopoly of trade. The treaties concluded with the Indian rulers specifically mentioned this. The setting up of Portuguese fortresses at strategic places, surveillance by their patrolling vessels, and the insistence on passes for other ships were the attempts made to establish a monopoly of trade in Asian waters.

Passes - 

The Portuguese had armed vessels plying in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea. Ships carrying commodities that were not given passes (cartaz) by the Portuguese officials were confiscated by them. The booty thus obtained yielded a sizeable source of income which was again invested in trade. Defeated rulers were compelled to pay tributes to the Portuguese, either in cash or kind. This source was also exploited by them several times for investment. The persons interested in sending their ships to other parts of India or to Asian countries were required to take passes (cartaz) from the Portuguese for which a fee was charged. 

Q  Critically examine the political formations in South India in the 16th century.

A.  During the 16th century, there were four independent kingdoms in the Malabar region: Kolathunad (Cannanore), ruled by the Kolathiris, Kozhikode (Calicut) under the Samudri raja, Venad under the hegemony of the Tiruvadis and, the upcoming Cochin state. During the course of the 16th century, within the Vijaynagar empire, There was an emergence of the Nayak kingdoms of Ikkeri, Senji (Gingee), Odeyar Mysore, Madurai and Tanjore which continued to remain notionally subordinate to Vijaynagar.

Rise of The Nayak Kingdoms

Senji 

The kingdom of Senji (along the eastern coast) under a Nayak emerged during Krishnadevaraya's reign. Its first Nayak was Vaiappa. (1526-1544). Till 1592, all the Nayaks of Senji remained loyal to Vijaynagar. However the Vijaynagar ruler, Venkata I shifted his capital after 1592 from Penukonda to Chandragiri in order to strengthen Vijaynagar's hold over the Nayaks. This gave rise to resentment among the Nayaks as they expected Vijaynagar's interference in their internal affairs. Venkata I followed the.policy of 'divide and rule' to weaken the Nayaks of various tracts within the Empire. All this led to the Nayaks of Vellore and Senji to rebel (sometime after 1600). Later, Vellore and Senji were taken over by Venkata I (1600-1608).

Tanjore 

Tanjore under a Nayak emerged during Achyutaraya's reign in 1532 under Sewappa Nayak. The Nayaks of Tanjore remained loyal to Vijaynagar throughout the 16th century. They always sided with the Empire in its battles.

Madura

Madura (south of the Kaveri) was put under a Nayak sometime during the last years of Krishnadevaraya's reign (1529). The first Nayak was Vishvanath (d. 1564). By and large, he and his successors remained loyal to Vijaynagar even at the battle of Talikota. They helped the Empire against the Portuguese. But in the early 1580s. tension cropped up between Venkata I and Virappa Nayak as Nayak attempted to evade tribute which was taken care of by Venkata I by sending his army to collect revenue.

Ikkeri 

          The Nayaks of Ikkeri (north Karnataka) also arose during Krishnadevaraya's reign. The first Nayak was Keladi Nayaka Chaudappa who served Achyutaraya and Ramaraja. Sadasiva Nayak (1540-65), the successor and son of Chaudappa, was behind Bijapur's defeat at the hands of Rama Raya and, as a reward received the title of 'Raya'; later, his military exploits won him the title of 'Raja' from Ramaraya. Tulu Nayaks of Ikkeri remained loyal to Vijaynagar throughout the 16th century, but in the early years of the 17th century, they became practically independent under Venkatappa Nayaka I (1586-1629). The Nayaks of Ikkeri always remained under heavy pressure from Bijapur, but they were able to repel the latter's attacks.

Odeyar Mysore

         The history of the Odeyar chiefs goes back to 1399 when they settled in this region. But it was under Chamaraja III (1513-53) and his son Timmaraja (1533-72) that the Odeyars came into prominence. Vijaynagar's hold over this territory was never complete. Odeyar Nayaks continued to defy the Vijaynagar might till the Raja finally succeeded in 1610 in ousting the Vijaynagar viceroy of Seringapatam and made it his capital.

States in Malabar

              By the turn of the 15th century, there were three prominent kingdoms in Malabar:

(i) Kolathunad or Cannanore(ruled by Kolathiris) 

(ii) Kozhikode or Calicut(ruled by the Zamorin) 

(iii) Venad or Travancore and the upcoming Cochin state. 

                  The main feature of the 16th century Malabar polity was perpetual warfare between Kolathunad and Kozhikode; and between the latter and Cochin (Nayar) rajas. Both, Kolathunad and Cochin (Kshatriya) rajas claimed superior lineage. Besides these four major rulers, there existed a number of small chiefs/rajas at Tanur, Mangat, Idappalli, Vedakkumkur, Procaud, Kayamkulam and Quilon. The rajas of Cranganore, Idappalli, and Vedakkumkur were subordinated to Calicut. Idappali was important for Calicut for it provided a base for its operations against Cochin. During the 16th century, Calicut had certain distinct advantages over other Malabar kingdoms, first, it was the great center of Western trade; secondly, it had strong naval power and; thirdly, it had the support of Arab traders who provided arms and horses.

Q.  Critically examine the rise of Deccani powers in the 16th-17thcenturies.   

A.  The decline of the Bahmani power gave way to the rise of five kingdoms in the Deccan. The factors which contributed towards the establishment of the Deccan kingdoms had started emerging during the Bahmani rule itself. The founders of all the Deccani kingdoms were at one point of time Bahmani nobles who had served one or the other Bahmani ruler. Yusuf Adil Shah, the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty at Bijapur (1489) was the tarafdar of Bijapur; Nizam Shah Bahri, the founder of the Nizam Shah kingdom at Ahmednagar (1496) was in charge of a number of forts in the Sahyadri ranges; Qasim Barid ul Mamalik, founder of Barid Shahi dynasty at Bidar (1504) served as kotwal of Bidar as well as wakil during Mahmud Shah's reign; Fathullah Imad Shah, the founder of the Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar (1510) served as tarafdar of Berar; and Quli Qutbulmulk, the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty at Golkonda (1543) held the governorship of Telangana.

             Out of the five states that emerged after the decline of the Bahmani kingdoms, the founders of the three-Bijapur, Bidar and Golkonda-were Afaqi nobles. Ahmednagar and Berar were under the Deccani nobles. But the Afaqi-Deccani factor hardly dominated their relationships. Instead, it was based more on what suited their interests, circumstances, and exigencies of the time. Accordingly, even an Afaqi state could join hands with a Deccani power against another Afaqi and vice-versa.

               The geographic location of Ahmednagar (in the north), Golkonda (in the east) and Bijapur (in the south) was such that it provided them enough room for extension towards further north and south. Thus, these kingdoms had the natural advantage to

'gain strength. Bidar and Berar (situated in the central Deccan) sandwiched as they were between the power blocks, remained as mere pawns in the hands of one or the other Deccani power. However, the scene in the Deccan changed drastically with the rise of the Mughals who invaded Ahmednagar in 1595. This invasion compelled the Deccani kingdoms to seek for new compromises and balances.

Q.  Briefly discuss the nature of the Afghan theory of kingship. What were the changes introduced in it during Sikandar Lodi's period?     

A.   Afghan monarchy was primarily tribal in nature. For them. king was 'first among equals'. During Bahlul Lodi's time, Afghan nobles enjoyed complete local autonomy. The only bond between them and the Sultan was to render military service when the need arose or required to do so. Such was the position under Bahlul that he never ever sat on the throne in front of his fellow Afghan nobles, nor did he organized an open darbar. He used to call his Afghan nobles masnad-i-Ali.

         However, a distinct change came with Sultan Sikandar Lodi who clearly saw the danger of an unrestrained nobility. He is credited with having introduced such important changes into the political system of the Empire that transformed it into a highly centralized political entity. Unlike- Sultan Bahlul Lodi (his father), Sultan Sikandar Lodi demanded obedience from his nobles. His military success made the nobility completely loyal and Subservient towards him. It also suppressed its sentiments of equality with the Sultan. He is reported to have sat on the throne regularly in an open darbar where the nobles were required to stand showing due respect to the Sultan like servants. Even in his absence, his farmans were received by high nobles with respect. The noble to whom the far-man was sent had to come forward six miles to receive it. A terrace was prepared upon which the courier stood and placed the farman on the head of the noble who had to stand below. Then all those concerned had to listen to it standing. The nobles who failed to retain the confidence of the Sultan fell into disgrace. Though, in general, the Sultan did not tamper with their autonomy at the local level, at times the nobles were transferred and sometimes even dismissed.

         The nobles were also put to closer scrutiny of their iqtas. But, in spite of these changes, the Afghan kingship basically remained unchanged. Some of the offices were made hereditary. The Afghans continued to assume high titles, Khan-i Jahan, Khan-i Khanan, Azam Humayun, Khan-i Azam, etc. They also enjoyed the freedom to maintain informal relations with the Sultan on the playground, marches, hunting, etc. Thus, monarchy under Sikandar was more of a compromise between the Turkish and tribal organizations.

            The process of centralization accelerated under Ibrahim. He believed that "kingship knows no kinship". Under him, the prestige of the Sultan went so high that even the royal tent was considered worthy of respect.

Q.  Give an account of the administrative structure and economy under the second Afghan empire.                                    

A.  Under the second Afghan empire, a number of new administrative measures were taken -         

Administration -   Sher Shah seems to have been inspired by the history of Sultan Alauddin Khalji's (1296-1316) reign. He adopted most of the rules and regulations introduced by the Khalji Sultan. However, like Khalji he was not harsh in their implementation. In the doab region, the sarkar (the successor of shiqq under the Khaljis) was the administrative cum-fiscal unit; while wilayat, comprising a number of sarkars in the outlying regions, such as Bengal, Malwa, Rajputana and Sind, and Multan were retained for the convenience of defense. The sarkar comprised a number of parganas, each pargana consisting of a number of villages. The village was the primary fiscal unit. The noble posted as in-charge of sarkar or wilayat was not given unlimited powers. He was regularly directed through royal farman to implement new rules and regulations. The spies informed the king about the conduct of the officers. Anyone who was found failing in his work was punished.

            In organizing his nobility, Sher Shah took people belonging to different ethnic groups in such a way that his dynastic interest could be safeguarded. No group was strong enough to assume the shape of a pressure group. After Sher Shah's death, his second son Prince Jalal Khan ascended the throne under the title of Islam Shah. He took away the iqtas of the nobles and brought the whole Empire under khalisa. The officers were paid in cash instead of iqtas. The nobility and army were reorganized into new grades. Officers were appointed from among them to look after and inspect the proper maintenance of soldiers and necessary army equipment by the nobles. The nobles were also denied the possession of war elephants as it was king's prerogative. Like his father, Islam Shah ensured the administration of impartial justice in the Empire.

Economy - 

Agrarian Structure - 

     Sher Shah and Islam Shah overhauled the revenue administration of the Lodi period. Apart from appointing new revenue officials at the pargana and sarkar level, Sher Shah curtailed the powers and privileges of the land assignees (i.e. wajahdars and muqtas). The unruly zamindars, who often took to robbery and withheld the payment of land revenue due to the king, were forced into submission. They were also made accountable for every crime committed within the boundaries of their zamindari.

           The governors (for the muqtas) in the provinces, sarkar, and wilayats) were denied a free hand in adopting any of the known methods of revenue assessment at the time of harvest. The methods of crop-sharing and revenue farming were abolished and that of zabt (measurement) was enforced everywhere. The extra taxes called jaribana and muhassilana (fee for measuring the land and revenue collection) were also abolished. The offenders among the officials were punished. Sher Shah ordered the land under cultivation to be measured every year at the harvest time. The state's share in the product was determined according to the royal regulation. This system was prevalent throughout the Empire except for the combined provinces of Multan and Sind. The territory of Multan had been ruined by the oppressive Biloch rule. Therefore, Sher Shah directed its governor to develop the region and realize from the cultivators only one-fourth of the products in accordance with the crop-sharing method. The state revenue demand in other provinces was one-third of the agricultural produce.

             Sher Shah on the basis of the fertility of soil divided the lands into three categories, the good, middling and bad. The average produce of these three types of soil was taken as standard yield per bigha. One-third of this standard yield was fixed as state share. A rai (schedule of crop-rates) was prepared for the convenience and guidance of the revenue collectors. The state share now could be easily converted into cash rates, according to the market prices.

Iqta System

The entire empire was divided into khaIisa and iqta. The khalisa was administered by the state directly through, diwan-i wizarat i.e. the Revenue Ministry. The revenue collected from the khalisa went directly to the state treasury. Sher Shah made Iqta transferable. Any iqta could be transferred from one to the other noble. 

BPSE - 212

12th Part

Q.  Critically examine the nexus between bureaucrats, politicians &businessmen.

A.  After India gained independence Democratic Socialist or Nehruvian model of the economy was adopted. It is the mixed economic model where Public sector Units were the basis while the Private sector also survived under the protective umbrella of the state. While key infrastructure sectors like road, electricity, ports, etc were under the public sector while government permission or license was required for every small and big thing necessary for setting up a business for the private sector. This had a cascading impact as -

1. License Raj - The license to do business was responsible for the increase in corruption as the discretionary power rested with the bureaucrat who could grant the license against favors granted by the concerned businessman. Alternately, the bureaucrat also had the power to withhold the permission on the concerned party’s refusal to please the government official. Very often, the bureaucrat and the political boss to whom he reported shared in the spoils, as the ultimate sanctioning authority was the politician. This was the genesis of the notorious ‘Licence-Permit-Quota Raj’ which in about 20-30 years from independence completely derailed India’s socialist pattern of development. The planning process, the mixed economy, all got off track because of the immensely powerful and corrupt troika of the officer-politician-businessman often contemptuously described as the “Babu-Neta-Bania’ syndrome. The corruption among the nexus was responsible for the exploitation of natural resources, an increase in the divide between the rich and the poor, nepotism and many other social ills besides ruining the economy. 

2. Corruption and Rich-Poor Divide - The nexus resulted in an increase in corruption in all government departments as accountability towards people was absent. There was an increase in nepotism. Due to the policies adopted there was the accumulation of power and money in the hands of few. This resulted in the growth of a divide between rich who had the resources to pay and influence decisions and the poor who were at the mercy of the system. This led to widespread poverty as a large section of the population was illiterate and oblivious of their rights. The system slowly became completely ineffective and inefficient. The welfare policies initiated by the government failed to reach the people and they could not benefit as the money allocated is swindled by corrupt officials. Due to corruption the infrastructure created was also of poor quality thus Indian economy faltered. 

3. The politicization of Bureaucracy - Due to the sharing of money accumulated through corruption the ministers and bureaucrats in India enjoyed a highly mutually beneficial relationship based on a quid pro quo basis. This relationship was based on mutual exchange of favors between the two. The net result of all this has been a highly politicized bureaucracy. The officers who did not participate in corrupt practices faced many hardships like transfer or demotion. This further made the system inefficient and ineffective as political loyalty and political patronage became a necessity. Plum postings were offered to those bureaucrats who toe the line of their political bosses, while those who insisted on following an independent line based on professional opinion were punished. The punishment took the form of arbitrary transfers, postings to insignificant departments and in some cases, even suspension from service. A system of rewards and punishments got institutionalized in due course of time with civil servants being rewarded and punished on the basis of their loyalty and commitment to politicians or parties and not on the basis of their professional performance. Over a period of time, the resultant politician-bureaucrat nexus grew into a powerful force immensely benefiting both the parties, but spelling a blow to the concept of development and citizen-friendly administration. 

              Thus the politician-bureaucrat-businessman combine led to corruption, nepotism, stagnant economic growth, lack of accountability and thus increased poverty. The license raj was instrumental in increasing corruption in the bureaucracy.

Q.  Discuss the characteristics of the Dalit movement in India during the 1970s-1980s.

A.   This period between 1970-1980 is the second stage of the Dalit movement in post-independent India. The reasons for the rise of the Dalit movement during the 1970s and 1980s include the rise of a new generation of Dalits which were more articulate and conscious of their rights, explosion of mass media and impact of the ideas and life of Dr. B R Ambedkar. 

          This phase was marked by the combination of class and caste struggles. In the rural areas of West Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh the naxalite movement launched a struggle against the caste and class exploitation. In the cities of Bombay and Pune, the Dalit Panther launched a similar kind of movement. 

Dalit Panther Movement

         An educated group of dalits who were writers and poets set up an organization in two major cities of Maharashtra known as Dalit Panther in 1972. These dalits were Influenced by Amedkarism, Marxism and Negro literature and they aimed at rejecting the caste system which according to them was based on the Brahmincal Hinduism. Spreading their ideas through the media and communication network, through the discussions and debate in the public space, i.e., offices, houses, tea shops, public libraries, Dalit writes, and poets provided the critique of the Hindu caste system and exploitative economic system. The activists of Dalit Panther belonged to the first generation educated youth, whose parents were poor peasants and laborers, who had inherited the legacy of Ambedkar movement. 

            Initially, the movement proclaimed to have an alliance of exploited people like Dalits, backward classes, workers and peasants. Its program centered around the problems of women, rejection of Brahaminical principles of purity and pollution, and fight against all kinds of political and economic exploitation. In the tradition of Ambedakarism, they aimed at achieving political power. This movement grows in the wake of the failure of the Republican Movement of the 1970s which suffered because of the personality differences of its leadership. The Dalit Panther could not make an alliance of all exploited continue for long. It got divided between the Ambedkarites and Marxists.

Naxalite Movement - It was only in the late 1960s that dalits of central Bihar were initiated into the political movement. But it was not the exclusively on the caste lines rather it was on the mix of caste and class exploitation. In Bihar, there seemed to one to one relationship between caste and class to a considerable extent. The landlords formed their caste senas (private armies) in order to protect their class interests. The Dalits got organized there on the caste and class lines. Dalit mobilization in Bihar got momentum again in the 1980s following the spade of attacks by the private army of the landlords such as Bhoomi Sena (of the Kurmis) or Lorik Sena ( of the Rajputs) on dalits. In reaction to this, the laborers formed Lal Sena to violently attack the gangs of landlords. By 1985 a section of this naxalite group formed a public front called The Indian Peoples Front (IPF) and contested elections. This showed a change in the perspective of the Naxalite groups which changed from an emphasis on the agrarian revolution to taking state power.

Dalit movement in Karnataka

In Karnataka also dalits organized into the Dalit Sanghasrsh Samiti (DSS). It was an organization that was set up in 1973 and set up its units in most districts of Karnataka. Like Bihar, it also took up caste and class issues and attempted to build an alliance of diverse groups of the exploited classes. It also brought dalits of different persuasions – Marxism, socialism, Ambedkarism, etc, under the banner of a single organization. During 1974 and 1784 it took up the issues relating to wages of the agricultural laborers, devdasi and reservation. It held study groups to discuss the problems of dalits.

Q.  Discuss the major differences between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy.

A.   Fundamental Rights - are described as the basic rights guaranteed to every citizen of the country under the constitution that helps in the proper and balanced development of personality. These are written in Part III of the Constitution which ensures civil liberty to all the citizens so that they can lead their lives peacefully. Moreover, they also prevent the State from intruding on their freedom. Fundamental Rights apply to all the citizens of the country equally, regardless of their race, caste, creed, sex, place of birth, religion, etc. Violation of the fundamental rights may lead to punishment under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the discretion of the judiciary. At present, the Indian Constitution recognizes seven fundamental rights, they are:

# Right to Equality

# Right to freedom

# Right to freedom of religion

# Right against exploitation

# Cultural and Educational Rights

# Right to constitutional remedies

# Right to privacy

Directive Principles Of State Policy - Directive Principles of State Policy are the instructions given to the central and state government of the country so as to refer them while formulating the laws and policies and to ensure a just society. The principles are embodied in Part IV and listed in article 36 to 51 of the constitution. Directive Principles are cannot be enforced in the court of law. However, these are recognized as important in the governance of the State. These principles aim at creating such a socio-economic environment that can help the citizens to live a good life. Further, the directive principles also gauge the performance of government, concerning the objectives achieved by it.

Some other differences

# Fundamental rights are negative in nature in the sense that it prevents the government from doing certain things. In contrast, Directive Principles are positive, as it requires the government to do certain things. 

# While fundamental rights establish political democracy, directive principles set social and economic democracy.

# Fundamental Rights are legal sanctions. They do not require any legislation for their implementation rather they are automatically enforced. But directive principles are moral and political sanctions and hence they require legislation for their implementation.

# Fundamental Rights promote the welfare of the individual. Hence they are personal and individualistic. On the contrary, Directive Principles promote the welfare of the community as a whole.

# The courts are bound to declare a law violative of any of the fundamental rights as unconstitutional and invalid. But the court can not declare a law violative of any of the directive principles as unconstitutional and invalid. 

Q.  Explain the special provisions for Jammu and Kashmir in the Constitution of India.

A.  The whole state of Jammu and Kashmir enjoys a special status among the states in India under Article 370 of the Constitution. This state enjoys a special position because of the special circumstances under which it was brought under the governance of the Union of India. Special provisions were devised for the governance of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. These were incorporated in Article 370 of the Constitution. According to the provisions of this article, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was given a separate Constituent Assembly. It consisted of the representatives of people of the state. The aim of the Constituent Assembly was to write the constitution of the state and demarcate the jurisdiction of the Union of India over the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 

             The provisions of the Constituent Assembly were applied as interim arrangements. No law passed by the Parliament regarding the state of Jammu and Kashmir can be applied to the state without the Order of President of India in concurrence of the state government. No such conditions exist in the case of other states. In the original Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the provisions of Article 370 were described as temporary measures. Some of the  important provisions of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir can be summarized as follows :

i) The territory of Jammu and Kashmir consists of all those areas which were under the sovereignty of erstwhile ruler. These areas include that territory which is at present under the occupation of Pakistan.

ii) Out of 123 assembly seats of Jammu and Kashmir, 25 seats are allotted to the Pakistan occupied portion of Kashmir that remain vacant because the situation is unsuitable for the election there.

iii) Though the executive and legislative powers of the State government cover the entire state, yet these powers do not apply to those areas which come under the jurisdiction of Parliament;

iv) The permanent residents" of Jammu and Kashmir enjoy all rights which are guaranteed in the Constitution of the Country.

v) A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the house can amend the Constitution by passing a bill. But the bill can not make the changes in provisions relating to the relationship between the state and the Union.

Q.  Discuss the role of caste in Indian politics.

A.    The numerical strength of a group is important in a democratic polity. All the Jatis or castes do not have equal numerical strength and spread in a geographical region like the village, the cluster of villages, taluka or district. A few are very large, some are small and some are minuscule. Some are concentrated in a village taluka and some are scattered in four to five households in a village.                              Numerically large Jatis have an edge over others in political bargaining with the government and political parties. Castes confined to endogamous character alone cannot muster a very large number at district levels and beyond for political activities. Some of the leaders of such Jatis form caste associations called Sabha or Sangam consisting of a cluster of Jatis having similar social ranking in a region. A few caste associations also consist of multi -castes having different social rankings in the traditional order. They may be called caste federation. Similarly, several castes join together and launch political movements. Non-Brahmin movements in Tamilnadu and Maharashtra are examples of such combined efforts of different castes coming together. 

           Political parties accommodate certain castes in distributing party tickets. While nominating candidates parties take into consideration caste of the aspirant candidate and numerical strength of different castes in a constituency. Caste leaders also mobilized their followers on caste lines so that they could show their strength. The role of caste in elections has two dimensions. One is of the parties and candidates and the second is of the voters. The former seeks the support of the voters projecting themselves as champions of particular social and economic interests, the latter while exercising their vote in favor of one party or candidate keep caste consideration in mind. Caste has provided an institutional mechanism to the poor and traditionally deprived groups for political participation.

                 Caste has been politicized to pursue economic and social rather than ritual concerns of the members. In that sense, it is a democratic incarnation of caste. But this process has reached an impasse and caught into a vicious circle. Political leaders use caste consciousness for mobilization but do not pursue vigorously, economic and social problems that the majority members of the caste face. The caste framework has its own limitations and It is divisive and hierarchical.

Q.  Examine the notion of judicial review in India.

A.   The notion of judicial review means the revision of the decree or sentence of an inferior court by a superior court. Judicial review has a more technical significance in pubic law, particularly in countries having a written constitution, founded on the concept of limited government. Judicial review, in this case, means that Courts of law have the power of testing the validity of legislative as well as other governmental action with reference to the provisions of the constitution. The Supreme Court’s power of judicial review extends to constitutional amendments as well as to other actions of the legislatures, the executive and the other governmental agencies. However, judicial review has been particularly significant and contentious in regard to constitutional amendments. Under Article 368, constitutional amendments could be made by the Parliament. But Article 13 provides that the state shall not make any law which takes away or abridges fundamental rights and that any law made in contravention with this rule shall be void. According to SC, the constitutional amendment is law but if that amendment violated any of the fundamental rights, it can be declared unconstitutional.

              In 1967, SC observed that all former amendments that violated the fundamental rights to property were found to be unconstitutional. When a law remains in force for a long time, it establishes itself and is observed by the society. If all past amendments are declared invalid, the number of transactions that took place in pursuance of those amendments become unsettled. This will lead to chaos in the economic and political system. In order to avoid this situation and for the purpose of maintaining the transactions in fact, the past amendments were held valid. The Supreme Court clarified that no future transactions or amendments contrary to fundamental rights shall be valid. This technique of treating old transactions valid and future ones invalid is called prospective over-ruling. The Court also held that Article 368 with amendments does not contain the power to amend the constitution, but only prescribes the procedure to amend. 

           In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that while the parliament could amend even the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, it was not competent to alter the basic structure or framework of the constitution. Under the newly evolved doctrine of the basic structure, a constitutional amendment is valid only when it does not affect the basic structure of the constitution. One of the limits on judicial review has been the principle of locus standi. This means that only a person aggrieved by administrative action or by an unjust provision of law shall have the right to move the court for redressal.

Q)  Constituent Assembly - The Constituent Assembly, consisting of indirectly elected representatives, was established to draft a constitution for India. The Assembly was not elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage, and Muslims and Sikhs received special representation as minorities. The total membership of the Constituent Assembly was 389 of which 292 were representatives of the states, 93 represented the princely states and four were from the chief commissioner provinces. The Constituent Assembly (elected for an undivided India) met for the first time on 9 December 1946, reassembling on 14 August 1947 as a sovereign body and successor to the British parliament's authority in India and its last session was held on 24 January 1950.

Q)   Meaning of Liberalization - Liberalization primarily means the removal of controls and regulations at various levels of the economy facilitating market forces to determine its course and direction. Liberalization means rule of law, political rights, accountability of power, periodic elections, a multi-party system, and an impartial judiciary. These conditions are seen as holding public authority transparent and under scrutiny. liberalization proclaims freedom of trade and investment; creation of free trade areas; elimination of government controls on the allocation of resources in the domestic economy; progressive removal of restrictions on external trade and payments; expansion of foreign investment, loans and aid and rapid technological progress. Liberalization also advocates a balanced budget; reduction in progressive taxation, social security and welfare and a diminished role for the state in economic management. It does not favor subsidies and state protection and resource allocations through administrative means. It suggests that inefficiency, corruption, and mismanagement are built into regimes with excessive state control.

BPSE - 212

11th Part

Block -7 (Unit - 29)

Q. Evaluate the political impact of globalization.

A.  a)  It is argued that the great expansion of liberal democracy worldwide would not have been possible without the promises of globalization.

b) Globalization has strengthened accountability and transparency of power and led to good governance.

c) It has greatly limited the power of the nation-state. Opponents of the ruling government and the disadvantaged groups have access today to a wider world. In fact, several dissident voices and advocacy groups have effectively made use of globalization to advance their concerns. This has helped in pressurizing govt to

safeguard human rights violations.

d) There are new institutions of governance today at various levels for exm. Panchayati raj system. It led to the decentralization of power and empowered people at the grass-root.

e) Globalisation has affected class relations enormously. There is a shift of power to capital and to the developed world and transfer of decision making to an alliance of international financial organizations and corporate capital. There is a decline in the power of the organized working class.

f) Globalization has led to the migration of people in search of livelihood. At the same time, it has created a pool of migrant and local labor at the bottom of the labor market.

g) Globalization has led to the explosion of ethnic and community identities and the renewal of fundamentalism.

h) Globalization has reinforced inequalities within and between nations in terms of access to information and knowledge. They have created new social categories of 'information-rich' and information poor'. There are a group of ppl who have access to

technology and can benefit from it while a large section doesn’t have this technology.

i) The reigning ideology under globalization stresses on market freedom, private property,, and accumulation of wealth. It has little respect for alternative ideology. At the same time, globalization has led to the formation of a hierarchical world presided over by the US and global capital.

j) There has emerged an interesting coalition of the traditional 'left', as opposed to global corporate capital and the 'right' defending national culture. Globalization has led to the rise of new social movements that do not fall within the vortex of traditional class movements, such as women, peasants, ethnic communities, displaced people, etc.

Q. Comment on the cultural impact of globalization in India.

A. a) Globalisation has facilitated a phenomenal growth in the global circulation of cultural goods. They include printed matter, music, visual arts, cinema and photography, radio and television. These have the power to influence the ethnic cultures of India and can not be controlled. The ownership of these goods is concentrated in the hands of media corporations. Indian govt. have little control over them as they are dominated by transnational corporations such as Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, Telecommunications Inc., New Corporation, Sony, Seagram, General electronic, Dutch Philips, etc.

b)  Under globalization, there has been a great expansion of western and particularly American culture in India. There has been a great imbalance between cultural flows. There are frequent accusations of western cultural imposition and domination that has been widely heard. Cultures have become vulnerable. eg. vernacular languages in India which are facing the onslaught of the popular language which is circulated through mass media. However, the extent of domination of the western culture and the ability of the local cultures to contest it has been a debated issue.

c) The English language has emerged as a preferred language of communication within India and between global organizations and institutions. It has facilitated the inflow of western goods and services into India.

d) It is interesting to note that in spite of globalization certain institutions such as the press, television, national broadcasting are still reflected the national and the cultural ethos. Govt has also taken initiatives to support and popularize vernacular languages and culture. Debates, public discussions, and literary festivals are officially organized in vernacular languages and cultural festivals are organized to support ethnic culture.

e)  Globalization led to extensive migrations of people both within & across states. This strengthens the fabric of cultural pluralism as people from distinct backgrounds, cultures, and states merge together which confronts the tendencies for cultural domination.

Q. Comment on the Economic impact of globalization.

A. I) It has been beneficial to consumers. Due to globalization consumers have got value for money. The quality and quantity of goods are far better and caters to the needs of every strata of the population.

Ii)  It has released huge unutilized resources that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. This led to great economic recovery worldwide.

iii)  It has resulted in the opening of the economy, undermined bureaucracy, reduced monopoly of PSU and less control or intervention by govt. This has led to a spurt in entrepreneurship and a knowledge-based industry.

iv) It has introduced a great deal of flexibility in comparison to the rigidity that prevailed under the welfare regime and state control. There is now more flexibility in terms of production, work processes, labor markets, production, education, patterns of

consumption, savings, etc.

v) It has introduced and increased the process of mergers and acquisitions of enterprises, promising a global economic order of both scale and quality.

vi) Globalization has tightened the rules of the game while at the same time introducing flexibility. Within the nation-states, liberalization has enhanced fiscal discipline.

vii) Globalization has greatly facilitated the movement of capital and goods. This has reduced the dependence of developing countries on bilateral and multilateral agencies such as the IMF and world bank. They can make their options today for FDIs or have access to global capital markets to raise money.

viii) For several developing countries like India globalization has been instrumental in helping to upgrade their technology and get access to the global markets to sell their products.

ix) Globalization has led to the appreciation of several technological innovations that closed societies may not have encouraged.

x) Globalization has linked communities and cultures throughout the world.

Q. Comment on the response of the Indian state towards globalization.

A.  In the beginning the response of the Indian govt. to the larger measures of liberalization continued to be lukewarm and hesitant. The Indian economy was in a major crisis of repayment in 1991, with reserves of $1 billion, which forced the govt to take steps that started the integration of the Indian economy into the global economy. The economic reforms, Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization (LPG model) as they were called aimed at making the Indian economy fastest growing economy and globally. It involved the following major changes in policy:

Trade policy reform: Earlier there were qualitative and quantitative restrictions on the import of goods. The trader needs to obtain a license for the import of goods. The reforms led to the dismantling of the license system for the import of goods. Except for consumer

goods non-tariff barriers were phased out.

Industrial Policy Reform: It led to the abolition of the industrial licensing system for all sectors except for a few specified industries like defense, nuclear energy, etc. Mergers and acquisitions were encouraged, and restrictions on investment by large industrial houses were abolished.

Devaluation: To solve the balance of payment problem Indian currency was devalued by 18 to 19%.

Exchange rate reform: The rupee was devalued in 1991. Partial convertibility of the rupee was done in 1992-93 and full convertibility on the current account in 1994.

Disinvestment: To make the LPG model smooth, many of the public sectors were sold to the private sector.

Capital market reform: These were undertaken by setting up the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

NRI Scheme: The facilities which were available to foreign investors were also given to NRI's.

Financial Reforms: Private sector banks including foreign joint venture banks came to be permitted to undertake and expand their operations. A new policy was also introduced for private non-banking finance companies to operate in the market.

                The government has attempted to build in competition in sectors where hitherto the public sector enjoyed a monopoly. It had thrown open the insurance sector for market competition. The private sector which earlier enjoyed state patronage was thrown open for competition. Govt initiated the process of disinvestment and removed tariffs on a large number of items in accordance

with its agreement with the WTO.

Q. Define Liberalization.

A.  In the context of globalization, liberalization primarily means the removal of controls and regulations at various levels of the economy. It means facilitating the market forces to determine its course and direction. It favors a competitive market solution to

economic issues and a reduced role for the state in economic management. It also means accountability of power, periodic elections, a multi-party system, and an impartial and independent judiciary. 

       Govt functioning should be transparent, responsive and can be scrutinized. liberalization proclaims freedom of trade & investment; creation of free trade areas; elimination of government controls on the allocation of resources in the domestic economy; progressive removal of restrictions on external trade and payments; expansion of foreign investment, loans and aid and rapid technological progress. Liberalization also advocates a balanced budget; fiscal discipline, reduction in progressive taxation, social security and welfare and a diminished role for the state in economic management. It does not favor subsidies and state protection and resource allocations through administrative means.

Q. What are the main challenges to secularism? Explain.

A.  Some of the challenges are -

Politics - All major political parties do not subscribe to the ideals of secularism. These parties have repeatedly created the wedge among different religious communities by the exploitation of communal fears and sensibilities of the electorate. The cynical use of religion was perfected into an electoral strategy in the 1980s by parties leading to disastrous consequences. The political parties commitment to pluralism soon degenerated into politics of vote banks where only the numerical strength of the majority & the minority community mattered for electoral purposes. The sharpening of social and economic conflicts and the intensifying environmental degradation robbed the ordinary people of their livelihoods creating discontentment among the masses. 

            To tackle this problem and divert attention from its own governance failure, Congress party in 1980 adopted majoritarian politics which was a complete reversal of its historical role as the principal adversary of communalism. Congress thus adopted a strategy of downplaying broader social issues and decided to make a direct appeal to the majority community. The strategy was to define the Indian nation increasingly in terms of the majority community thus preparing the grounds for communal politics that took the form of cultural nationalism. Thus, instead of responding to popular discontent and demands, an attempt was made to foist

another set of issues by involving sentiments and feelings that engender communally attitudes.

The Nature of Capitalist Development - Decades of development have not altered the deeply uneven nature of Indian society; uneven capitalist development has actually heightened the social tensions. Given the limited nature of opportunities that are available, politics and ideology promoting narrow and exclusivist interests direct this social tension against the minorities. It is indeed a fact that conditions of life have worsened and alienation has increased, the dissatisfaction that people feel over the increasing gulf between the rich and the poor instead of being articulated through democratic struggles is being channelized into religious revivalism. Hence it is clear that the secular state, its structures and secular politics itself are today severely challenged by the growing forces of communalism that have its roots in various social, political, historical, economic and electoral factors.

Q.  Secularism in Constitution.

A.  Relevant constitutional provisions pertaining to secularism

Fundamental Rights

Article 14: Equality before law.

Article 15: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

Article 16: Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.

Article 19: Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.

Article 21: Protection of life and personal property.

Article 25: Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.

Article 26: Freedom to manage religious affairs.

Article 27: Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion.

Article 28: Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions.

Article 29: Protection of interests of minorities.

Article 30: Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.

Directive Principles of State Policy

Article 44: Uniform civil code for the citizens.

Article 48: Organization of agriculture and animal husbandry.

Article 51A: Fundamental duties

Clause (e): to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

Clause (f): to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Preamble:

42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 inserted the word ‘secular’ in the Preamble of the Constitution.

Q. Discuss the impact of reservation on social change and equality in India.

A.      The Constitution of India makes provisions for affirmative action or protective discrimination. In principle, the protective discrimination policy is one of the most important instruments for promoting social justice. These policies have provided an opportunity for a large section of society to participate in the decision-making process & become an integral part of the structure of governance. The emergence of a substantial middle class among the OBCs and to a certain extent among the Scheduled Castes and Tribes has been a major development of the post-independence period. Apart from job reservation, reservations in the educational institutions have also provided opportunities to the candidates

belonging to these groups.

               Articles 14, 15 (1) and 16(1) of the Constitution establish

the equality principle, Articles 15(4) and 16(4) incorporate the principle of social justice. If Article 14 proclaims equality before the law and equal protection of the law, Article 15(1) prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, caste, sex, religion or place of birth. Article 16(1) further provides equality of opportunity to all. The protective discrimination clauses of Article 15(4) and 16(4) become decisive with regard to the protection of rights of socially and economically deprived groups of the hierarchical system. These Articles follow the different principles leading to social justice.

                The abolition of Zamindari and the introduction of new

agricultural technology altered the class-caste structure in rural areas wherein the middle caste and backward castes maximized the benefits of the changes in their favor. As a consequence, they emerged as a visible force in the rural power structure, which enforced their significance in the political arena of the state. In many parts of the country, the backward castes emerged as dominant players in politics. The political assertion combined with the growing economic power of the backward castes has a direct bearing on the agenda of social justice and the politics of reservation.

BPSE - 212

10th Part

Block-6 (Unit -28)

Q. Describe the worker's movement in colonial times.

A. The modern working class made its appearance in India in the second half of the 19th century with the growth of modern industries, railways, post and telegraph network, plantation and mining. But the labor movement started in an organized way only after the Second World War. The organized workers’ unions are known as trade unions. The All India Trade Union Congress (A I T U C) was formed in 1920. Its objective was to coordinate activities of all organizations in all the provinces of India to further the interests of the Indian labor in economic, social and political matters. In the second half of the 1920s, there was a consolidation of left ideological forces in the country. In1928 the left-wing including the communists succeeded in acquiring a dominant position inside the A I T U C. The moderates started a new organization known as All India Trade Union Federation (AITUF). The 1930s was not a favorable period for the growth of trade union movement India. 

         The communists were implicated in the Meerut Conspiracy case and the Bombay Textiles strike of 1929 had failed. There was a lull in the activities of trade unions during this time. The serious economic depression of this period added to the woes of the workers further. It led to large-scale retrenchment. The main focus of the trade union movements during this period was maintaining wages and preventing retrenchment. To press for their demands, the trade unions resorted to strikes.

              The main issues which caused the worker's strikes to include wages, bonus, working hours, one day leave, accidental insurance, etc. The workers take recourse to various types of collective actions for getting their problems redressed. These are – strikes, satyagraha, hunger strikes, bandhs and hartals, gheraos, demonstrations, mass casual leaves, work to rule, cutting off the supply of electricity, etc. The most common form of workers’ collective action is the strike. There are examples of the railway, jute, plantation, mine and textiles workers strikes in the pre-Independence period. The centers of the strikes were Nagpur, Ahemadabad, Bombay, Madras, Howrah, and Calcutta. In 1920 Gandhi intervened in the strike the textile workers of Ahmedabad

and provided leadership to the workers.

Q. Describe workers movement in Independent India.

A. The National Level - The high hopes of workers were shattered after independence. There was hardly any improvement on the fronts of better wages and other service conditions. The workers had to struggle hard even to retain what they had achieved earlier. A series of strikes stirred the country. There were the highest number of strikes in 1947, i.e., 1811 strikes which involved 1840 thousand workers. The number of strikes and man-days lost had surpassed all the previous records. This declined in the 1950s, but the number of strikes and lockouts increased again in the 1960s-1970s. Another important development of the time period was the affiliation of workers with political parties led trade unions.                              According to the provisional figures released by the Chief Labour Commissioner in 1994 Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) which is an affiliate of BJP has acquired a total membership of 31.17 lakh workers has secured the top position. The INTUC a Congress affiliated body with a total membership of 27.06 lakh is on the second position. The third position is enjoyed by CITU affiliated to CPM with a total membership of 17.98 lakh. The fourth position is enjoyed by HMS(The Praja Socialist Party started the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) in 1948)

The Provincial Levels

Another remarkable development of the 1960s was the birth of trade unions of the regional parties like the DMK and AIDMK in Madras. The Shiv Sena was born in Bombay in 1967. It soon set up its labor wing called Bharatiya Kamgar Sena. It was generally believed that the Shiv Sena had the backing of the industrial houses in the Bombay -Pune belt to counter the strong influence of the Communists and Socialists in labor unions. It succeeded in achieving this objective and its trade union established its supremacy in the Bombay region by the mid -the 1970s.

The Trade Unions without Political Affiliations

The 1960s also witnessed the emergence of independent unions or “apolitical”. They were independent in the sense that they were not affiliated with any political party or federation. These kinds of “apolitical” trade unions emerged out of the dissatisfaction of the workers with the existing trade unions which were affiliated to the political parties. The leadership of these unions has largely come from the educated middle classes. Engineering Mazdoor Sabha led by R J Mehta is one of the earliest unions of this type. The demands of the workers included higher wages, making the badli (temporary) workers permanent, allowances for leave and travel and payment for house rent.

Limitations of the Trade Union Movement in India

1.  The Trade Union Movement in India is faced with many defects. Only a small fraction of the working class is organized. Even in the organized sector, a sizeable chunk of workers does not participate in the Trade Union Movement. Indian economy is largely agriculture-based. Small peasants and agricultural labor encounter the problems of seasonal unemployment and low income. They are forced to go to cities in search of employment. Most of these workers are illiterate, ignorant of rights, unorganized and have a migratory character. A large section of the workers does not

exhibit much interest in the trade union movement because city life for them is a temporary condition. So they do not realize the importance of unity among workers.

2.  Another major weakness of the trade unions is poor finance. This makes the trade unions dependent on external finance and influence.

3. Yet another weakness of the trade union movement has been the dominance of the leadership from outside. The main reason for this has been the lack of education among the workers. Mostly leadership is provided by professional politicians. Political leadership ignores the needs and welfare of the workers and tries to use the organization for the interest of the political party.

Q. Describe the response of the peasantry to the colonial rule in India.

A. The peasants reacted by revolting against the landlords, money lenders and agents of the colonial state. Leadership in the peasant movements was provided either by the rural intelligentsia or urban intelligentsia. Baba Ram Chand, the leader of the Oudh peasant movement belonged to the former. The Congress started mobilizing the peasants from the 1920s with the purpose to broaden its support base. The Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, no- rent campaign were examples of such a merger. But the Congress did not encourage the conflict between the landlords and the peasants to get sharpened. The Congress had been more interested in forging an alliance between the landlords, peasants and other classes. Soon the need to evolve an independent peasant organization led by peasant leaders to safeguard the interest of the peasants were being felt by them.

                It was under these circumstances that the first all India peasant organization the All India Kisan Sabha was formed in 1936 in Lucknow under the presidentship of Swami Sahjanand Saraswati, the founder of Bihar Pradesh Kisan Sabha. N.G.Ranga the pioneer of the Kisan movement in Andhra became its first General Secretary. Very soon the branches of the All India Kisan Sabha were established in many districts of the country.

                  Different Congress Ministries formed after elections in 1937 introduced agrarian legislation to provide relief to the peasants such as for debt relief, restoration of lands lost during the depression, for the security of tenure, etc. But these measures did not affect the conditions of the peasants of lower strata. The dissatisfaction of peasants found expression in a number of protest meetings, conferences, and demonstrations. The outbreak of World War II brought the resignation of the Congress Ministries and launching of severe repression against Kisan Sabha leaders. In the year 1939, the national convention of the All India Kisan Sabha was presided over by Acharya Narendra Dev. In his Presidential address, he emphasized the need for separation of Kisan Sabha from Congress. According to him, a separate Kisan Sabha was necessary in order to put pressure on Congress.

Q. Discuss the characteristics and nature of farmers' movement in independent India.

A.     By looking at the different farmer's movement we can understand the nature and characteristics of peasant movements in India.

The Tebhaga Movement of Bengal - was one of such movements. The provincial Kisan Sabha of Bengal launched this Movement in 1946. Gradually the influence of the left in general and the communists, in particular, increased in the Kisan Sabha. In 1947 the leadership of the All India Kisan Sabha went into the hands of the communists. The communists led the provincial Kisan Sabha of Bengal also. This movement soon took the form of a clash between the share-croppers and the jotedars, the employers. The share-croppers began to assert that they would no longer pay a half share of their crop to their jotedars but only one- third. They also insisted that before division the crop would be stored in their khamars (godowns) and not in that of the jotedars. Poor peasants, middle peasants and also some sons of jotedars led the movement. The middle peasants provided the bulk of the leaders and they supported the movement up to the end. The rich peasants slowly detached themselves. When the government resorted to severe repression in 1947 the movement came to an end.

Telangana Movement - It was launched in 1946 in the princely state of Hyderabad ruled by the Nizam. This movement started as a protest against the collection of excessive revenue using force by jagirdars. In the beginning, the leadership was in the hands of the rich peasants and the movement was directed against the big absentee landlords allied to the Nizamsahi. But soon the initiative passed into the hands of poor peasants and agricultural labor that started occupying lands of landlords, and wastelands and started distributing it among them. By 1947 this movement organized a Guerilla Army mobilizing poor peasantry and agricultural labor many of which were tribal and untouchables. This army snatched a large number of arms from the zamindars and drove away from the local government officials. They established their control over an area of 15,000 square miles with a population of 40,000. The

administrations in these areas were run by peasant soviets. 

          The army of independent India succeeded in crushing the Telangana Movement in 1951. This indicates the nature (peasants etc.) & characteristics (violence) of peasants movement in India. Peasants and landless labor that got nothing from the government except promises and whose condition showed no signs of improvement and were suffering oppression at the hands of rural dominant sections. They found a ray of hope in this militant philosophy. This philosophy continues to inspire that segment of the rural population who has lived at the receiving end. At many places, they are fighting for the security of employment, minimum wages, rights over a share of produce and against sexual abuse of their women. There are instances of violence when they exercise their right to vote. Most of the time they have to resort to violence to protect their rights and dignity which is under threat from the landowning and dominant sections of society. Their faith in violence is strengthened because of the find that the state and the police always taking sides with the landowning dominant

sections of society.

Q. Comment on the Naxalite movement.

A.   In 1967 there started a peasant protest at a place called Naxalbari in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal. The land reform policy of the government had not succeeded in taking lands from zamindars and big farmers and distributing among poor peasants and landless labor in any significant way. There existed discontent among peasants. In such situation the leaders of peasant organization gave a call for establishing the government of peasant committees, organizing armed struggle to end the ownership of the jotedars on land and distribute it among poor peasants and landless labor. They drew inspiration from the Telangana Movement. The

Naxalbari movement reached its zenith by the third week of May 1967. There was violence on a large scale. Naxalbari got enormous publicity largely because it was fighting a state government wherein C.P.I.M. was a major coalition partner and also because China believed that the Naxalites were following the correct line. In July 1967, movement was suppressed by security forces.