India: Government and Political Challenges Chapter 9 Section 2

Indian Government Federal System: #1 –power divided between central gov’t and state gov’t –In India Federal gov’t more powerful than state gov’t

Indian Government World’s largest democracy Constitution (1950): –individual rights and social services Outlawed: Untouchability Healthcare Federal Union of States –28 states and 7 territories Parliamentary Democracy: #2 –Form of government in which power lies in the hands of the political party that wins a majority of seats in parliament –Prime Minister: leader of political party wins majority

Indian Government 3 Branches of Government #3 Parliament Two houses: #3 –Council of State: members are chosen by the state legislatures: Upper House – Rajya Sabha –House of the People: elected directly by the people – Lower House – Lok Sabha Council of Ministers – Cabinet – executive powers

Indian Elections 2014 The 2014 general election took place in nine phases in India, the longest election in the country's history, from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha.

Emblem of India Dr. Manmohan Singh Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister 2004 INC OUT 2014 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi 2014 BJP Party

Political Parties Many political parties: federal and state level –To represent the interests of different caste, language, religious, or regional groups #4 INC: dominated for years – party of independence #5 BJP: Bharata Janata Party #5 –Cultural Nationalism - Hindutva –Coalition of opposition to INC –Coalition: #6 If no party wins a majority of seats in parliament Government in which several parties join to rule - issues

Dividing Forces #7 Divisions: –Caste system –Cultural Diversity –Treatment of Sikhs and Separatism –Muslim-Hindu clashes –Modern nationality limited

Government Weakens the Caste System #8 Obstacle to ModernizationObstacle to Modernization Outlawed Untouchability - ConstitutionOutlawed Untouchability - Constitution –Discrimination illegal –Compensatory discrimination: quota system – to help Harijans/Dalit (p.207) Set aside openings for Untouchables –Government, public jobs, education –Still not fully accepted - Why? gap between law and traditiongap between law and tradition

Unifying Forces #9 Bonds: –Commitment to Democracy –Millions of Indians share a common faith –Hindu traditions create important ties for the majority of Indians –Strong leaders

What force both divides and unifies the people of India? #10 Religion

India’s Persecution of the Sikhs Punjab Operation Blue Star June 1984 was an Indian military operation, ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, under the pretext of removing Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The activists, led by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, were accused of amassing weapons in the Sikh temple.Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

Indian Leaders

Nehru Family

First Prime minister of India ( ) –Ally of Gandhi Goal: to create a modern industrialized secular nation #11 –casteless –Secular: without official religion –socialism Jawaharlal Nehru

Non-Alignment Movement

 Nehru’s daughter.  Prime Minister of India,  Continues Nehru’s policies.  Faced corruption charges & internal rebellion.  Assassinated in 1984 by Sikh assassin Indira Gandhi #11

 Indira’s son.  Prime Minister of India,  Liberalization of the Economy  Also faced rebellion.  Assassinated in 1991 while campaigning  Show Assassination Video Rajiv Gandhi #11

Why do you think India has been able to remain the world’s largest democracy?