THE EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL PARTIES

IN INDIAN POLITICS, 1952-1996 : A STUDY

IN POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

Dissertation submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University in partial

fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY

Submitted by

PUSPITA DAS

Political Geography Division

Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament,
School of International Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi-II0067

1998
 · ,iiai~~HIM ~ fq~ctfctEIIM~
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY
NEW DELHI - 110 067

School of International studies,

centre of International Politics
Organisation and Disarmament
P.o~i tical Geography Division

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled "The

Emergence of Regional Parties in Indian Politics, 1952-1996:
A study in Political Geography" submitted by Ms. Puspita
Das, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award
of the degree of Master of Philosophy of this university has
not been previously submitted for any degree of this or any
other university. This is her original work.

We recommend that this dissertation be placed before

the examiners for evaluation.

Dr. Kanti Prasad Bajpai

Chairperson s
br. ·
b
. . Deora

Chairpen:on
Centre for J nter11ati onal Pditics.
Organizatior und Cisarm:;.ment
School d Internariond Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi - 110 061

GRAM : JAYENU TEL. : 6107676. 6167557 TELEX : 031-73167 JNU IN FAX : 91-011-6865886
 CONTENTS

Page No.

Acknowledgement

Preface i-iv

Chapters

I. Introdcution 1-15

II. Performance of Regional Parties in 16-44

General Elections

III. Regional Parties and the Federal 45-64

Structure

IV. Regionalism and National Integration 65-85

V. Conclusion 86-92

Appendix 93-104

Bibliography 105-112
 LIST OF APPENDIX

Page No.

Appendix I Map of Parliamentary Constituencies of 93

India

Appendix II List of the Parliamentary Constituencies of 94-97

India

Appendix III List of the State Parties as Recognised in 98

the 1996 Lok Sabha Elections

Appendix IV Data regarding the Performance of 99-104

Regional Parties in the General Elections
(1952-1996)

LIST OF MAPS

Page No.

1. India : Political Map 1(a)

2. India : Physiographic Divisions 16(a)

3. India : Regional Parties : Areas of Operation 43{a)

4. India : Parliamentary Constituencies 93

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to my Supervisor

Dr. S.S. Deora for his guidance and invaluable suggestions at various stages

without which this work would not have been possible.

I also extend my thanks to Prof. R. C. Sharma for taking out time

from his busy schedule and encouraging me during the course of this work.

I am thankful to the staffs of Nehru Memorial Library, the Election

Commission Library and the Central Library who helped me in procuring

relevant materials for this work.

I am grateful to Sailaja, Kavita and all my friends and well wishes for

the help and assurances throughout.

Lastly, I thank Mr. Ani/ Kumar for typing and giving final shape to

this dissertation.

PUSPITA DAS
 PREFACE

The contemporary Indian political scene is dominated by the

regional parties which are playing a decisive role in shaping the

present and future politics of the Indian republic. The regional parties

are the inevitable consequence of the multi-racial, multi-religious and

multi lingual society like India. These deep rooted cleavages in the

Indian society inspires a sense of regionalism which provides a fertile

ground for the development of the regional parties. The regional

parties take the causes and grievances of a particular community or

region and try to articulate them in order to gain further mass

support.

In the initial years of India's independence, the regional parties

were either non-existent o~ they were comparatively weak. With the

growing political awareness among the Indian masses, there arose a

series of conflicts and agitations primarily on the gr_ound of economic

regionalism. The regional parties exploited these situations and grew

in strength. With the breakdown of the "dominant party" system in

India, the regional parties posed a tough challenge to the national

parties. The failure of the national parties to secure adequate seats in

the Lok Sabha to form governments at the centre forced them to seek

help from the regional parties. With gaining of strength, the regional

i
parties filled the vacuum created by the national parties and ushered

in an era of "coalition politics". The "coalition politics" had an

immense impact on the centre-state relations. The regional parties

claimoured for devolution of power and stressed for "cooperative

federalism". The regional parties by emphasizing on amicable

solution to the problems also strengthen the unity and integrity of the

country.

The proposed research is an effort towards understanding the

dynamics of the regional parties and its consequences on the national

integration. The proposed research is divided into five chapters.

The first chapter i.e. the Introduction tries to assess the causes

of the emergence of the regional parties in the present Indian political

scene. It also provides a brief historical background of the elections

held during pre-independence India.

The second chapter deals with the regionalisation of India

according to the regional parties. It categories the regional parties

according to their ideologies and areas of operation. It is observed

that the regional parties though having more or less common origin

tend to manifest diverse ideologies over the period of time. For

example, the Asom Gana Parishad, Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Party

etc. are parties formed on the basis of nativist or "sons of the soil"

ii
movement. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and various parties in the

north east are all examples of parties based on tribal movements.

Likewise Akali Dal has religious ideologies. There are also caste

based parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samata Party, DMK,

AIADMK etc. This chapter also focuses on the performances of the

regional parties in the successive general elections from 1952 to 1996.

The third chapter assesses the significance of the regional

parties in terms of the functioning of the federal polity in the Indian

politico-constitutional setup. Parties and the nature of the party

system are one of the important political forces which shape the

nature of the federal polity and the centre-state relations. The rise of

the regional parties has led to a loosening of the tight constitutional

mould in which federalism was cast. However, this has not been seen

a continuous or smooth process, but viewed over number of distinct

phases with the balance of power tilting back and forth, between the

centre and the states. There has in fact been a development of a

"Federal political culture" which is not antagonistic to a strong

centre.

The fourth chapter provides an insight into the interaction

between the centre and the regional parties and tussle between the

centripetal and centrifugal forces. On one hand, the regional parties

iii
are disengaged from national politics and priorities and primarily

focus on regional and local issues. This may severely hamper the

unity and integrity of the country. On the other hand, these regional

parties provide an outlet for the regional and local grievances and

participate in the elections under the constitutional framework of the

country, thereby working together with the centre in finding amicable

solutions of the problems which are plaguing the country. This leads

to increased cooperation between the centre and periphery

strengthening the centripetal forces.

The fifth chapter concludes the discussions of the preceding

chapters.

The present study is based on primary and secondary sources.

It analyses and interprets the available literature and data. Maps and

diagrams are included for pictorial representation of the data.

iv
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The Indian constitution vests sovereignty in the "People of

India" and it is exercised through their elected representatives to the

1
Parliament and the State Assemblies. The democratic structure of the

constitution is maintained by holding periodical elections to the

Parliament and State Assemblies. The first general election in

independent India was held in 1952. Since then elections had been

held at regular intervals of time and the year 1996 marked the

eleventh round of Lok Sabha elections.

India did have some electoral experience prior to 1947

especially in two elections, in the decade prior to independence in

1937 and 1945-46 which profoundly affected the political destinies of

the people of the entire Sub-Continent and helped to determine the

bases of political power in the two states that emerged at the end of

the British rule. 2 However, the elections held in British India was a

restricted franchise merely whetted the country's desire for full and

universal adult suffrage. Restrictions were imposed on the right of

1
Aggarwal, J.C. and Choudhury, N.R., "Elections in India, 1952-56,
constitutency profile, results and analysing focussing on Poll 1996",
(Delhi: Shilpa Publications: 1996) p.l.
2
Dikshit, (Dr.) S.K., "Electoral Geography of India", (Varanasi : Viswa
Vidyalaya Prakashan: 1992) p.23.

1
 INDIA :POLITICAL MAP

ISO -,s 0 ISO 300

(,' ~
KMS
I i
It
I N
r

Ulc!UcOW
•

ARABIAN
SEA
BAY
OF
BENGAL

...
;,.. • --.......,)
• ( "'AHa-
•
,.
! ~~
~·
,.
.. ,
•·\ ..
0

0• 0
o•

IN Dl AN OCEAN

----------------------------- ------·--------~
franchise on the ground of qualifications based on properties,

3
payments of taxes, etc.

With the country gaining Independence, Indian political scene

was characterized and influenced by one dominant party i.e. the

"Congress Party", for a considerable time. The Congress Party had

played a very important role in India's independence struggle and it

represented a kind of historical consensus and enjoyed a continuous

support base.

However the successive eleven rounds of elections witnessed a

gradual transformation of the Indian political scenario from one party

dominance to a multi-party coalition politics. The gradual decline of

the national parties and the emergence, persistence and the growing

salience of the regional parties is one the most important political

developments since independence.

Prior to the fourth general elections of 1967, Congress was the

dominant party securing 70 to 80 percent of the seats, in the

Parliament as well as the State Assemblies, but over the years it

seems to have failed to live up to the expectations of the Indi~n

i

masses. The party was not insulated from dissents and factionalism

which led to its organisational breakdown. Many prominent leaders

3
Brass, Paul R., "Caste, faction and party in Indian politices, Vol.I,
Election Studies", (Delhi : Chanakya Publications : 1985) p.11.

2
left the party and formed their own parties or joined other parties.

The repercussions were felt in the 1967 elections when it suffered

severe reverses. It lost to other non-Congress and regional parties in

8 out of the 16 states which went to the polls, as a result of which, it

had to form government both at centre and state level with the help

of other regional parties like the Dravid Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK)

of Tamil Nadu.

The 1967 general elections was a turning point in the political

history of India. It witnessed the emergence and consolidation of

regional forces. The DMK and Akali Dal came to power in their

respective states of Tamil Nadu and Punjab. The 1967 elections also

ushered in an era of coalition polities in India. These processes were

further strengthened in the subsequent elections when other regional

parties like Telugu Desam, Asom Gana Parishad, National Conference,

etc. came to power in their respective states of Andhra Pradesh,

Assam and Jammu and Kashmir. At the national level, these regional

parties played a very decisive role in the formation of central

government. They were united under the banner of "United Front" or

"National Front" with a sole objective of keeping the dominant

national party (i.e. the IndianNational Congress) at bay. They tried to

form coalition governments at the centre in 1978-79, 1989-90 and in

1996-1997. But till date their efforts to sustain themselves in power

3
met with little success. Because the heterogeneous parties adhered

to diammetrically opposite principles, as a result of which, it was

very difficult to arrive at a consensus. Nevertheless, their rapid

emergence, persistence and. power sharing partnership in some

states and centre after 1967 elections have added to the legitimacy of

the regional parties.

"Regional parties are those which generally and exclusively

operate in a limited geographical area within a state or which

represent the interests of a particular linguistic, religious, ethnic or

cultural group whose population may be concentrated in a small area

as small as a single assembly constituency or as large as entire state

or region. In respect to their narrowly defined interests, regional

parties stand in sharp contrast to the broad ranging concerns of

4
national parties. "

The influence and sustainance of the regional parties are

basically derived from a concentrated support from a particular

geographical area. Since they project local or regional grievances the

regional parties enjoy a more or less stable support from the mass

which thereby proves beneficial for their sustainance. It is all the

4
Banerjee, (Dr.) Kishlay, "Regional political parties in India", (Delhi
B.R. Publishing Corporation: 1984) p.3.

4
more beneficial when these regional parties come to power in the

state in coalition which other parties.

The phenomenal rise of the regional parties in the post-

independence India is the consequence of complex interrelated

factors like regional consciousness along with different permutation

and combinations of social, economic and political factors. India is

5
perceived to be a "country consisting of regions". Language and

ethnicity provide the bases for regional identity and regional

cohesion. So, the first manifestation of regional identity was in the

form of demand for linguistic reorganisation of the states. This

demand was amply highlighted by the regional parties and by

garnering support from the regional and local masses they came to

power.

However, when the states· were reorganised among the

linguistic line as per the Linguistic State Reorganisation Act of 1956,

many smaller sub cultural groups in the states started harping the

tune of cultural discrimination. They asserted the topic of ethnicity

and tribal identity. As a result of which many politically - motivated

groups sprang up especially in the North-East protecting against the

5
Khan, Rasheeduddhin, "Political and socio-cultural determinants of
Indian Federalism" in K.R. Bombwall (Ed.), 'National Power and
State Autonomy', (Meerut: Asian Publishing House : 1978) p.122.

5
Assam State Language Act of 1960. They demanded the formation of

tribal states. Another aspect through which ethnicity was manifested

was the articulation of the local grievances against "the outsiders"

which they perceived were exploiting the local resources thereby

depriving them of economic development.

Moreover, the regional parties are almost an inevitable political

development as a consequence of the inauguration of the constitution

endorsing a federal polity as the federal organisation demands the

recognition of regional, local and territorial identity. More political

awareness leads to the emergence of regional parties promoting and

articulating local or regional issues. The establishment of such

parties marks the 'transition from the traditional class politics to

6
democratic mass politics .'

The secularisation of caste also catalysed the rise of regional

parties based on primordial lies. The crystallisation of electoral

process as a result of universal adult franchise, spread of literacy,

land reforms and Panchayati Raj led to a tussle between the elite

upper caste and the numerically preponderant middle and lower

castes which redefined the superior subordinate caste relationships.

The economic development of the middle caste led to the gaining of

6
Sadasivan. S.N., "Party and Democracy in India", (New Delhi Tata
Mcgraw New Publishing Co. : 1977) p.116.

6
political strength who now successfully challenged the upper caste.

On the other hand the lower peasantry and lower caste got

dissatisfied with the new emergent middle castes who defied the

prevalent system of patronage through the vulgar display of wealth

and political strength. They felt that they are the deprived lot. They

started uniting under those regional and local parties who were airing

7
the local grievances of lower caste and peasantry.

Apart from these, the notion of uneven economic development

of many regions led to the formation of many regional parties. The

regional parties which are deeply rooted in regional issues and

grievances projected the regional imbalance and protested against it.

They demanded separate state status to the economically

underdeveloped regions and also demanded more resources for the

development of these regions. Some regional parties also protested

against the perceived economic exploitation of their local resources

by the "outsiders" thereby demanding the ouster of the "outsiders".

Moreover, at the national level, the decline of the congress

party, its organisational breakdown leading to its failure to assimilate

diverse small groups resulted in the creation of a political vacuum.

This situation immensely helped the other non-Congress parties

7
Kothari, Rajni, "Politics and the people; in search of a Humane lnd:la,
Vol.I", (Delhi: Ajanta Publications : 1989) pp.105-108.

7
especially the regional parties as they represented platforms for

voicing regional and local issues and could absorb particular groups,

a movement hitherto a part of Congress. Now, these regional parties

growing in political strength rushed to fill the political vacuum at

national level by ushering in an era of coalition governments.

Last but not the least, the over centralisation of politics by the

dominant parties didnot allow the smaller regional parties to voice

their concerns. They had to conform to the national leaderships. And

a feeling of Pan-Indianism which was imposed upon them during the

movement of freedom struggle and thereafter, led to discontentment

among the regional masses and created fertile ground for the regional

parties to emerge and strike back. Moreover, the coercive tactics of

the central government/leadership to topple the democratically

elected government at the state level further accentuated the feeling

of deprivation and frustration among the regional parties.

Several studies have been conducted on national parties but

there is a dearth of material on the regional parties. This may be

attributed to the fact that regional parties have come to fore in recent

years only. Earlier they existed but didnot exert any importance.

That's why studies have been carried on only for some important

regional parties which came to power viz. the Dravida Munnetra

8
Kazhagham (DMK) of Tamil Nadu and Akali Dal of Punjab. However,

an assessment of the available literatures do highlight the fact that

there exist diverse views on the causes and consequences of the

emergence of the regional parties in India.

Robert Hardgrave (1983), while agreeing that roots of

regionalism lay in India's cultural and linguistic diversity, primarily

sees this phenomenon as a response of regional parties to the

ideological spectrum for greater autonomy for the states due to the

increasing centralisation of power in both government and Congress

party under Indira Gandhi. It is the politicisation of the identities of

the individual like language and religion as the sources in the

emergence of regionalism apart from other factors, as the author

notes "projected in geographical terms it (Regionalism) is at the State

level both an ethnic and economic phenomenon. It is an expression of

heightened political consciousness, expanding participation and

increasing competition for scarce resources. Competition by the

states for central assistance, central financial allocation and plan

investments, and for the individual, it involves access to education

and jobs. Economic grievances expressed in charges of unfairness,

discrimination on centre neglect may be fused with cultural anxiety

9
over language status and ethnic balance. It is this fusion that gives

8
regionalism its potency."

Sukhwal (1989), submits that the emergence of the regional

parties are a consequence of the failure of the Congress party. He

holds the view that the regional parties will exert positive influence

9
in the national developmental efforts and international issues.

Bombwall (1985), in his work highlights the fact that the

regional parties is the outcome of regionalism which denotes a

"territorially based identity consciousness rooted in the shared

language and culture of people living on a more less compact

10
territory." He notes that the regional parties have made politics

more competitive and popular participation especially at the grass

root votes. He views that the regional parties will have a tremendous

impact on the centre-state relationship.

Rajni Kothari (1989), submits that India is a plural society and

he emphasises that the emergence of the regional parties is because

.
of public discontentment with one party dominance i.e. the Congress

8
Hardgrave, Robert L., "The North-East Punjab and the remobilisation
of Indian politics", Asian Survey, Vol.XXIII, No.11, Nov.'83, p.1171.
9
Sukhwal, B.L., "Modern Political Geography of India", (New Delhi :
Sterling Publishers : 1985).
10
•Bombwall, K.R., "Regional political parties in India", in S.A.
Bhatnagar, et al (ed.) "Regional Parites in India", (New Delhi : ESS
ESS Publications : 1985) p.2.

10
 party. He stresses that there are other factors like social-conflicts,

ethnic identity, secularisation of caste, etc. which helped in

consolidation of the regional parties in various parts of this country.

He, however, holds a negative view regarding these regional parties

which according to him are threat to the national integration and

.
cautwns t h e e Iectorate agamst
. t h em. n

S.N. Misra (1997}, stresses that the regional party which is the

product of regionalism is the natural result of fast political

development and modernisation. He writes, "Regionalism in India is a

complex amalgam of economic, geographical, historico-cultural,

12
politico - administrative and psyche factor." He while taking up the

relation between regionalism and nationalism notes that it is only in

its extreme and negative form, it assumes secessionist posture and

becomes a threat to national integration.

lqubal Narain (1984}, acknowledge positive contribution of

regional identity, as it embodies a quest for self-fulfillment on the

part of the people of an area, and this urge of regional identity is not

necessarily antithetical to the urge for a national identity as both

these identities can be reconciled, provided the 'politico-bureaucratic

ilOt~,
11
Ro..j"""-, Op. e»:.
12
Mishra, S.N. "Politics of Regionalism in India with Spl. Refernce to
Punjab", (New Delhi : Deep and Deep Publications : 1997) p.16.

11
 and educational elite' 13 as he terms it, possesses the necessary will to

reconcile. He further notes that regionalism reflects, in negative

sense, a psyche of relative deprivation on the part of a people of an

area which may be real or nurtured deliberately by the powers that

can be in a milieu characterised by politics of scarcity in India.

Pradeep Kumar (1984). asserts the prevalence of fear psyche

among the religious minority which gives rise to communal

regionalism. 14 He notes that the demand of Akalis for separate state

in the 60's and the claimour of more autonomy and power to the state

in the 70's is the desire of the religious minorities to preserve their

identity and further their interest in their community.

Akhtar Mazeed (1984), views that the regional parties are the

outcome of the uneven economic development in a multi-ethnic

society like India. Many ethnic groups harboured the fear of being left

out in the race to development, tend to air their grievances and draw

13
Narain, Iqbal, "Regionalism; a conceptual analysis in the Indian
context", in Akhtar Mazeed (ed.) "Development tension in India",
(New Delhi : Cosmo Publications : 1984) p.22.
14
Kumar Pradeep, "Communal dimensions of regionalism in Indian
Federatiqn; a study of trends in Akali politics", in Akhter Mazeed
(ed) "Development tensions in India", (New Delhi Cosmo
Publications : 1984) p.25.

12
the attention of the central government towards them through the

.
regwna l parties.
. 15

Amalendu Guha (1982}, says that the dual nature of Indian

nationalism which was anti-colonial operated at two levels - at the all

India level, the anti colonial struggle united the people belonging to

diverse communities transcending the barrier of caste, language,

religion etc. simultaneously it also awakened the nascent linguistic

nationality which sowed the seeds for the rise of the regional

. 16
parties.

Sudhir Chander (1982}, also agrees with the fact that the

regional consciousness was slowly emerging along the national

consciousness during the process of national movement, which was

17
later exploited by the parties with regional perspectives.

Prakash Karat (1984}, stresses the fact that during the freedom

struggle the national and regional consciousness were merged

towards by prominent Congress leaders like Gandhi and Nehru. But,

after independence, the Congress leadership were reluctant to

15
Mazeed, Akhtar (ed}, "Developmental Tensions in India", (New
Delhi : Comas Publications : 1984).
16
Guha, Amalendeu, "The Indian National Question", Economic and
Political Weekly, July 1982, p.4.
17
Chander, Sudhir, "Regional conciousness in 19th Century India : A
preliminary note", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.XVII, August
7, 1982, pp.1275-83.

13
 concede the demands of the regional parties for separate identities

and tried to suppress them. As a result, the regional parties

consolidated their positions in their respective regions and pose a

18
challenge to the centralleadership.

R.N. Mishra (1984), holds the view that India had cultural

identity and different geographical regions have developed distinct

cultural identities. The realisation of this fact led to the process of

regionalism. He says that the growth of regionalism or sub-

19
nationalism, however, donot pose a threat to national integration.

Sudha Pai (1990), is of the view that regional parties are here to

stay and they will lead to the decentralisation of power and

20
strengthen the Indian federal set up.

Shaheen Akhtar (1997), believes that the emergence of regional

parties is a consequence of long drawn process and that they have an

21
important note to play in the future Indian polities.

18
Karat, Prakash, "Problems of National Unity, Historical and Econmic
roots of Regionalism", Social Scientist, Vol.12(9), Sept.'84, p.55.
19
Mishra, R.N., "Regionalism and State Politics in India", (New Delhi :
Ashish Publications : 1984).
20
Pai, Sudha, "Regional Parties and the emerging pattern of politics in
India", Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol.51(3), July-Sept.'90,
pp.393-415.
21
Akhtar, Shaheen, "Lok Sabha Elections, 1996", Regional Studies,
Vol.XV, No.(2), Spring 1997, pp.3-68.

14
 Perveen Farhat (1997), says that the regional parties are

parochial in nature and in near future the national parties have to

seek the support of these parties for the formation of the central or

22
state government there by giving in to the parochial interest.

22
Farhat, Parveen, "Ascendancy of Regional forces in Indian politics",
Regional Studies, Vol.XV, no.1, Winter 1996-97, pp.142-169.

15
 CHAPTER II

PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL PARTIES

IN GENERAL ELECTIONS

India is a vast country characterised by a great diversity in her

physical features. Nevertheless, there is a broad homogeneity in their

physical characteristics such as relief, geomorphological history,

drainage, climate, vegetation-, and soil which helps in the

identification of region. Broadly, India is divided in three macro

physiographic divisions viz.

1. The Himalayan Region

2. The North Indian Plain

3. The Plateau 1

The above mentioned regions are inhabited by people

belonging to different racial stocks. Their socio-economic, cultural

and political milieu is the manifestation of the interaction and

interrelationship with their physical environment. Consequently, each

region has its own life-style, problems and aspirations. These

problems and aspirations are highlighted manifested, and articulated

by people belonging to different political parties who identify

Raza, Moonis, et a1, "India, General Geography", (New Delhi

NCERT : 1990) p.8.

16
 INDIA
·PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVI SIGNS

~~ -.s- 0 ISO lOO

FaU : I
KMS

"·
- -=~·
= = == - ~:_
--- --
- - - -
- :- _'"'· l-·-·-:- --
- - -
.=----..:~<t·"'·..rr-
- - - ~~
- - ___...,~

-------1
-- - - - - ~.
- -
- - - ~
-'·
- - \

BAY OF BENGAL

ARABlAN
SEA REGIONS:-
:-THE HIMALAYAS
. THE NORTH INDIAN
PLAIN
.
, •
. - .I \
;-THE PLATEAU
p I

•I
!
r' /
I;

J\o~. !\I
I.'
I I/

,I' .v
\
INOlA N OCEAN
~
'-------··---·------·--------~--'
rv1 A p· - 2 \ &;. -ca.)
themselves with the people of their particular regions. The people of

the particular community or region support these political parties who

they think will try to solve their problems. This attitude leads to the

emergence of regional parties along with certain electoral patterns

which reflect the politico-geograp}lical variation of the region

concerned.

The electoral performance of the regional parties in the

successive parliamentary elections is analysed according to the broad

physiographic divisions of India, viz., The Himalayan Region,

consisting of the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,

Sikkim, Darjeeling, • Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram,

Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. The North Indian Plains, includes

the states and union territories of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi,

Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. The

Plateau consists of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Madhya

Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil

Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry and the islands of Aandaman and Nicobar

and Lakshadweep.

THE HIMALAYAN REGION

• Darjeeling (politically part of West Bengal) is included in Himalayan

region due to its similarity with other Himalayan states.

17
 The Himalayan Region encompasses the north and the north-

eastern part of the country. It is characterised by lofty mountains and

deep valleys. The terrain is highly rugged with steep gradients

making it the most inaccessible part of the Indian sub-continent. The

climate also displays a variance which gives rise to difference in the

natural vegetation as well. It is inhabited, in general, by tribals who

have their own customs and traditions which are quite different from

other regions of India. The electoral performances of the regional

parties are carried on statewise.

Jammu and Kashmir was integrated in the Indian union in

1947. It has 6 Parliamentary seats. Jammu and Kashmir took part in

the fourth general elections in 1967 for the first time. Prior to this, it

used to send its representatives to the Lok Sabha. The Jammu and

Kashmir "National Conference" is the prominent regional party of

Jammu and Kashmir. This party was formed prior to independence to

overthrow the monarchy in Kashmir. After independence, it

abandoned its communal character. It caters to the Kashmiri interests

who are basically confined to the Kashmir valley. In 1975, it reached

an agreement with the union government and merged with the

congress. It was, however, revived and rechristened as "National

Conference". In the 1967 Lok Sabha elections it secured only one seat

polling 24.9% of the votes. In 1977, it won two Lok Sabha seats and

18
got 33.9% of the votes. In 1980 Lok Sabha polls it increased the tally to

3 Lok Sabha seats and secured 36.9% of the votes. In 1984 and 1989

Lok Sabha polls it again bagged 3 Lok Sabha seats each with 46.2%

and 6.8% of the votes respectively. In 1991, Lok Sabha elections could

not be held due to increased disturbances in the state. The National

Conference did not contest the 1996 parliamentary elections.

Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union in 1975. It

has one seat in the Lok Sabha. Different regional parties emerged in

different points of time in this state. Sikkim is inhabited by Nepalese

speaking population of Mongloid origin. Sikkim first went to the

parliamentary polls in 1980, and the lone Lok Sabha seat was won by

the Sikkim Janata Parishad. In 1989 and 1991, the Lok Sabha seat

was wrested and retained by the Sikkim Sangram Parishad. Sikkim

Sangram Parishad was formed by a congress rebel, Nar Bahadur

Bhandari. The party demanded reservation of seats in state assembly

for the Nepalese. In 1989 Lok Sabha elections, the Sikkim Sangram

Parishad polled 68.5% of the votes. In 1991, it got an overwhelming

90.1% of the votes. In 1996, the Lok Sabha seat was won by Sikkim

Democratic Front, headed by Pawan Kumar Chamling. It

recommended the implementation of the Mandai Commission report

~hich would include the Nepalese of Mongloid origin. This party got

72.7% of the votes.

19
 In Darjeeling and the adjoining hill areas, the Gorkhas of the

Nepalese origin are numerically preponderant. The assertion of their

identity is well articulated by the Gorkha National Liberation Front

founded by Subhas Ghising. The party demands a separate

Gorkhaland within the Indian union in order to safeguard the Gorkha

identity and interests. The GNLF contested the polls in 1980 but

failed to get any seats but it managed to secure 0.5% of the votes. In

1989 parliamentary elections, it got one seat and polled 1.4% of the

votes. The Party, however, did not contest the 1996 elections as

according to them the centre failed to define the status of Darjeeling

and Kalimpong as "no man- no lease land".

Regional parties in the north-east constitute a distinct group.

They face special problems which largely shape their perceptions,

perspectives and political strategies. 2 It is predominantly a tribal area

inhabited by more than 150 odd tribes with numerous clans and sub

clans of immense diversity. Cultural heterogeneity is quite

conspicuous in a conglomeration of myriad ethnic groups and it is the

preservation of tribal heritage rather than manifestation of

chauvinistic patriotism that often matters to the most of tribes in the

2
Bombwall, K.R., "Regional Parties in Indian Politics A Preview",
(Delhi : ESS ESS Publications : 1989) p.9.

20
 region. 3 This was further accentuated by the fact that they belong to

altogether different racial stock and were not much exposed to the

national freedom movement. Moreover, the lack of adequate

commercial links, cultural and economic contacts with rest of the

country created a persisting feeling of psychological distance from

the Indians outside the region. They remained cocooned in their own

world shielded from the outside world by high mountains and

inaccessible terrain. Despite sincere efforts by the central

government to bring the tribal people in the mainstream of Indian

politics through various developmental project works and instil a

feeling of lndianess, the region remained occupied with its own

internal problems relating to socio-cultural integration.

There are numerous regional parties in the north-eastern states.

They are basically confined to the states and articulate the demands

and aspirations of the tribal groups residing in the respective states.

The performance of the regional parties in the successive general

parliamentary elections is analysed statewise.

The first Lok Sabha elections in Arunachal Pradesh were held

in 1977, after it was given the status of a union territory in 1972. In

Arunachal Pradesh, Congress emerged as the dominant party winning

3
Michael, (Captain) St. John F., "The North-East Frontie~ of India",
(New Delhi : Vivek Publications : 1973) pp.10-1l. 1-
DJSS
324.20954
21 02604 Em

IIi IIJ dM,iUIIIIII/iilllil

TH8192
all the parliamentary elections till 1991. In 1996 elections, 2

independent candidates won both the parliamentary seats with the

tacit support of the Chief Minister of the state. The Chief Minister,

then belonged to the Congress Party, but he was not happy with the

centre's decision to grant citizenship to the thousands of Chakma and

Hajong refugees from Bangladesh who were rehabilitated in the state

during 1960s. The Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) was another

party which was primarily opposed to the Congress Party. It failed to

secure a single parliamentary seat but did get a sizeable percentage

of votes. In 1980 Lok Sabha polls, it got 40.2% of the votes. In 1984 its

votes share fell to 0.69%, but surprisingly increased to 35.2% in 1989

parliamentary polls. It, however, merged with Janata Dal in 1991.

Manipur, after independence was integrated with India in

October 1949. It was made a union territory in 1956 and in January 21,

1972 it achieved full statehood. The most prominent regional party of

Manipur is the Manipur Peoples' Party (MPP). The Manipur Peoples'

Party asserted and articulated the Manipuri's interests. It fought for

the inclusion of the Manipuri language in the eight schedule of the

Indian constitution. It was firmly against any secession of its Naga

inhabited territory to Nagaland which had been seeking consolidation

22
 4
of contiguous areas including those areas across the border. Manipur

Peoples' Party fought the Lok Sabha elections for the first time in

1971. It, however, never managed to secure a Lok Sabha seat except

in 1991 elections. It always ended up second only to Congress party.

In 1971 Lok Sabha polls, it secured 12% of the votes. In 1977, the MPP

campaigned vigorously but managed to increase its votes share to

20%. In 1980, it was relegated to the third position with 6.9% of the

total votes cast. In 1984 and 1989 parliamentary elections, it secured

17.7% and 17.4% of the votes share. In 1991 polls, it managed to

secure one Lok Sabha seat with 20% of the votes. In 1996, it was badly

routed.

Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as an autonomous region

in April 2, 1970. It became a full-fledged state on January 21, 1972. It

has 2 Lok Sabha seats. Meghalaya does not have any prominent

regional party. Its political scene was dominated by Congress till

1991. In 1996 parliamentary elections, however, a consensus

candidate of Meghalaya Federation won one parliamentary seat.

Mizoram, the erstwhile L ushai hill district of Assam, was made

a union territory in 1972. It became the 23rd state of India in 1987. It

has one Lok Sabha seat. The most prominent regional party of

4
Shivlal, "Indian Elections since Independence", (New Delhi The
elections archieves : 1972) p.110.

23
 Mizoram is the Mizo National Front (MNF). It was MNF under the

leadership of Laldenga who had given a call for a sovereign Mizoram

in 1965, and the underground hostilities of MNF had stepped up

military operations in Mizoram. But the signing of the "Mizoram

Accord" by Laldenga with the government of India on June 30, 1986

brought peace to the region and the subsequent inauguration of

5
statehood ensued stability and cessation of hostilities. The MNF

fought the first Lok Sabha elections in 1989 and since then it

unsuccessfully contested all the elections. It however, did manage to

increase the percentage of votes share from 31.3% in 1989 elections to

34.1% in 1991 and finally to 37.6% in the 1996 parliamentary elections.

Nagaland, the former Naga Hills district of Assam and the

former Tueusang Frontier division of the North East Frontier Agency

(NEFA) was made a centrally administered area in 1957, conferred the

status of a state in January 1961, Nagaland was officially inaugurated

on December 1, 1963. It has one seat in the Parliament. The main

regional party is the United Democratic Front (UDF). This party

pledged to work for a "final negotiated settlement" of a political

problem in the spirit of reconciliation and unification of all Naga

5
Rahamatullah, R., "Obsolesceness of Nationalism : An appraisal of
anatomy forces in North Eastern India", in Bhatnagars, et al (ed),
Regional Political Parties in India", (New Delhi ESS ESS
Publications : 1966), p.24.

24
areas. 6 The first election for the Nagaland Lok Sabha seat was held in

1967. It was won by Nagaland National Organisation. In 1971, the

United Front of Nagaland (UFN) the forerunner of UDF won the lone

Lok Sabha seat with 60.5% of the votes. The Nagaland National

Organisation could secure only 39.5% of the votes share. In 1977 the

UDF won the Lok Sabha seat and polled 51.7% The Nagaland National

Organisation merged with the Congress in 1977. The UDF in 1980 was

relegated to a second position with 49% of the votes. In 1984, the Lok

Sabha seat was won by the Nagaland Democratic Party with 29.3% of

the votes. After the 1984 parliamentary elections, however, all the

regional parties in Nagaland lost their significance, giving a dominant

rote to the Congress Party.

Tripura became a union territory on September 1st 1956 and

acquired statehood on January 21, 1972. Tripura has two

parliamentary seats. Tripura politics has been greatly influenced by

the tribal non-tribal rivalries. Before 1947, the tribals - Tripuris,

Chakmas, Riangs, Halmas, Tamatias and other thirteen groups

constituted nearly 78% of Tripura's population. But huge influx of the

Hindu refugees from across the border changed the demographic

structure of the state and native tribals into a minority. The Tripura

25
Upajati Juba Samiti {TUJS) founded by Deb Burman agitated for their

language, restoration of lands transferred to non-Tribals and

formation of autonomous district councils for administering the tribal

7
areas. It fought the 1977 and 1980 Lok Sabha elections and secured

6.2% and 13.5% of the votes respectively. Another regional party

formed to counter the TUJS was Amara Bengali. This party

championed the cause of the Bengali population of the state. This

party fought the 1989 and 1991 elections. It could secured only 3% and

1.1% votes respectively.

THE INDIAN PLAINS

The Himalayan ranges overlook the great Indo-Gangetic Plain,

stretching in an area from sea to sea and drained by the mighty

streams of the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, alongwith their

tribularies. There rivers have played an important role in the

emergence and sustenance of the early civilization. They have also

contributed significantly to the cultural ethos of the Indian people.

The plains is an area of relatively level relief and its comparatively

8
uniform surface is as impressive as its vast extent.

7
Janardhan Thakur, "The Travails of Tripura", The Hindustan Times,
Sunday Magazine, New Delhi, Jan.4, 1987.
8
R.'U.a., MoonLs., Op. C..i..t.

26
 Unlike the Hills, the Plains is inhabited by the people of

different castes, creed and religion. However, the development of

transport and communication throughout the plains has led to a

better intermingling of diverse populations, giving rise to almost

similar socio-economic, cultural and political environment. The states

and union territories which form the part of the North Indian Plains

are Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West

Bengal and Assam.

Punjab was formed out of Punjab and Patiala and East Punjab

Union (PEPSU) under the state reorganisation Act of 1956. In 1966,

Punjab was further divided into the States of Punjab, Haryana,

Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Chandigarh. Punjab is

divided into three parts, the Malwa, Doaba and the Majha. Punjab has

13 seats in the parliament. It has a majority of Sikh population and the

scheduled castes comprise 28.5% of the population of Punjab. The

Punjab politics was always dominated by the Shiromani Akali Dal

(SAD), founded in the year (14th December) 1920 to, wrest the

Mahantas' control over the Gurudwaras. Subsequently, they assumed

the role of representing the Sikh communities' sentiments, and fought

to perform its role as a political party by striving to create an

environment conducive to its political aspiration by highlighting the

issues concerning the Sikh religion, culture and tradition, and the

27
control concept of Piri and Miri. After independence, the SAD fought

the Lok Sabha elections. The main issues, apart from the above

mentioned, for which they fought was creation of a Punjabi Suba

(which materialised with the creation of the state of Punjab in 1966),

decentralisation to give wider powers to the states and the abolition

of the Presidents power to dismiss state governments. In 1952 Lok

Sabha polls, the SAD secured 2 Lok Sabha seats polling 12.3% of the

votes. In 1957, the SAD was divided into Akali Dal headed by Fateh

Singh (ADFS) and the Akali Dal headed by Master Tara Singh. The

ADFS emerged winner in 1957 parliamentary polls with 3 sets and

22.6% of the votes share. In 1971, the SAD managed to get only one

seat with 30.99% of the votes. In 1977, SAD performed exceptionally

well by wining 7 Lok Sabha seats and 42.3% of the votes. This win can

be attributed to a strong anti-Congress wave which was witnessed

throughout the country then. In 1980, the SAD managed to secure only

one Lok Sabha seat with 23.4% of the votes share. In 1985, after

signing of the accord between Sant Longwal and Rajiv Gandhi, the

SAD secured 7 Lok Sabha seats and 37.2% of the seats. Between 1988-

89, during height of political disturbance in Punjab, the SAD got

divided into numerous factions. In 1989 the Akali Dal headed by

Simranjeet Singh Mann emerged victorians with 6 Lok Sabha and

29.2% of the votes share. In 1992, the SAD boycotted the

28
parliamentary as well as the State Assembly elections. The SAD

participated in the 1996 elections and once again emerged victorious

with 8 Lok Sabha seats and 29.7% of the votes polled Another party

which gained prominence in recent years in Punjab is the Bahujan

Samaj Party (BSP). The Bahujan Samaj Party broadly speaking is a

regional party formed in 1989 by Kanshi Ram. This party articulates

the interests of the downtrodden of the society especially the

scheduled castes or the Dalits. The popularity of BSP in Punjab is

attributed to the fact that largest percentage of scheduled caste

population resides in Punjab. In 1989 elections, the BSP secured one

seat and 8.6% of the votes. In 1992, it again got one Lok Sabha seat

but its votes share increased to 19.7%. In 1996, the BSP secured 3

seats with an immensely reduced 9.47% of the votes cast.

Haryana was carved out of the Hindi speaking areas of Punjab

in 1966. It became a full fledged state on January 27, 1971. It has 10

Lok Sabha seats. Generally speaking, the political scene of Haryana

was always dominated by national parties. Nevertheless, it has its

own regional parties which are launched by prominent personalities

of Haryana politics and they grow and survive till the charisma of its

founding father lasts. In the 1970s, the Vishal Haryana Party (VHP)

was formed by Rao Birendra Singh. It l:J.ad a clout in the Ahir

dominated areas of Haryana. The VHP fought the Lok Sabha elections

29
in 1971 for the first time. It managed to secure one seat and polled

9.1% of the votes cast. In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, it failed to win

any seats but managed to get votes share of 4.6%. Finally the VHP

merged with the Janata Dal. In 1991 Lok Sabha elections, another

regional party the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) formed by Bansi Lal

secured one seat and got 5.4% of the votes. In 1996, the HVP got 3

seats with 15.2% of the votes share. Another regional party the

Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) headed by Devi Lal fought the 1991

elections but failed to secure single seat even polling an impressive

25.4% of the votes.

Uttar Pradesh, the former United Province has 85 Lok Sabha

seats, the maximum number of seats in the Parliament. It has

substantial population belonging to different castes, communities

which helped the emergence of many regional parties. So, case and

community always play an important role in the UP politics. Despite

this fact, Uttar Pradesh politics has always been dominated by the

national parties especially the Congress Party. Right from 1952, all

the parliamentary seats were won by the national parties till 1996. In

1996, the Samajwadi Party (SJP) which was formed by Mulayam

Singh in 1991, emerged second with 16 Lok Sabha seats with 20.8% of

votes. The Samajwadi Party caters to the interest of the intermediate

castes or the Other Backward Castes (OBC). The third position

30
acquired by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) catering to the interests of

the Dalits. It polled 20.6% of the votes and got 6 seats.

Adjoining Uttar Pradesh is the state of Bihar. Its socio-

economic, cultural and political environment is quite similar to U.P.

Caste is again an important factor of Bihar polls. It has 54 seats in the

Parliament. Bihar's southern part, i.e. the Chhotanagpur plateau, is

inhabited by the tribals having their own ways of life. It is however

included in the North Indian Plains because its political destiny is

linked with the political happenings in the state of Bihar. The

Jharkhand Party (JHP) was formed to highlight and safeguard the

needs of the tribal people of Bihar. Interestingly it was formed prior to

independence. This party clamoured for separate statehood for the

regions inhabited by the tribals in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West

Bengal and Orissa because it perceived the tribal interests threatened

by the non tribal population which seemed to be gradually exploiting

the tribals and usurping the tribal land. The Jharkhand Party

contested all the Lok Sabha elections since 1952 and managed to stay

in the fray all through. In 1952, JHP secured 3 seats and polled 7.5%

of the votes. In 1957, it got 6 Lok Sabha seats but the percentage of

the votes remained the same. In 1957, another minor party the

Chhotanagpur and Santh~l Pargana Janata Party secured 3 seats

and polled 4.9% of the votes. In 1962 elections, the JHP got 3 seats

31
and polled 4. 7% of the votes. In 1967 it got merged with the Congress

Party. In 1977, the All India Jharkhand Party, a new regional party,

contested one seat and polled 0.6% of the vote. In 1991, the

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) headed by Shibu Soren secured 6

Lok Sabha seats and polled 4.5% of the votes. In 1996, a new regional

party the Samata Party (SP) founded by Nitish Kumar articulating the

needs of the intermediate caste of Bihar like the Kurmis and Keoris,

managed to secure 6 Lok Sabha seats and polled 14.5%$· of the votes.

Its alliance with BJP was the major cause of its success. The

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha could secure only one seat and polled 3.01%

of the votes share.

In West Bengal, the political scene is dominated by the

Communist Party (Marxist) and the Congress. However, in 1967 the

Bangia Congress, a state party founded by the defectors from

Congress Party managed to secure 5 seats and polled 9.4% of the

votes. But this party later got dissipated.

Assam has 14 Lok Sabha seats. Barak and the Brahmaputra

valley are the two major regions of the now remaining state of Assam.

The political scene of Assam has always been turbulent and it was

affected by internal as well as externally induced disturbances. In the

1950s and 60s, when small tribal dominated hill states were part of

32
Assam, there were demands for separate states which were thought

to be safeguarding the interests of the tribal people. In the 1952 and

the 1957 Lok Sabha elections, even though there were intrinsic border

problems with Nagaland this was not considered as a major issue.

The All Peoples' Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) formed in 1960

clamoured for separate hill state or the introduction of Scottish

pattern of administration for autonomous hill districts. In 1962

elections, the APHLC secured one Lok Sabha seat and got 3.7% of the

votes polled. In 1971, it again won one seat by polling 3% of the votes

cast. After the 1971 elections the APHLC lost its appeal as all the

tribal dominated areas were either converted into states or union

territories. Soon after the calling off of the agitation by the tribal

people demanding separate state, Assam was again plagued by

another disturbance of different nature. This was the successive

incessant waves of muslim Bangladeshi refugees which were

gradually and illegally filtering from the adjoining Bangladesh. The

peace loving and tolerant Assamese eventually realised that the

illegal immigrants were fast altering the demographic structure of the

state and increasing their clout in state politics. This was detrimental

to the Assamese interests. This situation was articulated by Asom

Gana Parishad (AGP). It was formed out of the students agitating

against the ever-increasing influx of the illegal Bangladeshi refugees

33
 in the seventies and eighties with the connivance of Indian

politicians. To end the agitation, the AGP signed an accord with the

union government. It contested the 1985 Lok Sabha elections for the

first time. It got 7 seats and polled 33.4% of the votes. In the same

elections the United Minorities Front (UMF) furthering the interests

of mainly the illegal muslim refugees from Bangladesh or the

erstwhile East Pakistan got one seat and polled 13% of the votes.

Elections were not held in 1989 due to increased political disturbance.

In 1991, the AGP secured only one seat with 17.6% of the votes. the

Congress emerged the clear winner. In 1996, the AGP improved its

tally to 5 Lok Sabha seats and polled 27.2% of the votes. The AGP is

still very relevant in Assamese politics.

THE PENINSULAR PLATEAU

Towards the South, the Plains meets the table land, where a

complex of plateau surfaces of highly denuded rocks has developed

series of scraps which in some areas are arranged like staircase and

in others rise steeply like a wall. The interior plateau, initially quite

extensive in Central India tapers towards, the south acquiring its

essentially Peninsular form. The peninsular plateau has a variety of

9
relief. The Plateau also witnessed intense mixing of people giving

9
Ibi.d

34
rise to similar socio-economic cultural fabric of society. The states

and union territories which are included in the Peninsular Plateau

are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Daman and Diu,

Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,

Pondicherry, Kerala and the Islands of Aandaman and Nicobar and

Lakshadweep.

The border state of Rajasthan does not have any regional

parties. It was always dominated by national parties since its

inception with the merger of erstwhile princely state and the

subsequent reorganise in the mid 1950s. It has 25 seats in the

Parliament.

Gujarat was formed on May 1, 1990 out of the main Gujarat

speaking areas of Bombay and the formed states of Saurashra and

Kutch. It has 26 seats in the parliament. There is no regional party in

Gujarat. However, prior to the formation of the state of Gujarat, there

was the Nutan Maha Gujarat Janata Parishad (NMGJP) which

fought for separate Gujarati speaking state. It won one Lok Sabha

seat in 1962 and got 5% of the votes. The party disappeared after

Gujarat was formed.

Madhya Pradesh is the largest state which was formed on 1st

November, 1956. It is a plateau except for the valleys of Narmada and

35
Tapti. It has 40 seats in the Lok Sabha. National Parties dominated

the politics of Madhya Pradesh. However, in the last 2 parliamentary

elections the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP} catering to the aspiration of

the 14% scheduled caste population managed to acquire Lok Sabha

seats. In 1991 elections, BSP got one Lok Sabha seat and polled 3.5%

of the votes. In 1996 elections, BSP increased its tally of seats to 2 in

Lok Sabha and polled 8.2% of the votes. Another party the Madhya

Pradesh Vikas Party (MPVP) floated by Madhavrao Scindia along

with Arjun Singh of the break away Congress managed to secure 2

seats. Apart from the above mentioned parties 2 unrecognised parties

gained one seat each in 1957 and 1977 elections. They were the Akhil

Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha which got one Lok Sabha seat polling

4.9% of the votes in 1957. And the Republican Party of India

(Khabragade) which got one seat and 1.3% of the votes share.

Orissa was· formed which the merger of 25 princely states on

August 19, 1949. It has 21 seats in the Parliament. Orissa do not have

any powerful regional party in the Contemporary politics. But in the

1950s and 1960s, the Ganatantra Parishad (GP) was a prominent

state party. This party had strong rightist ideologies. It fought for the

abolition of land revenue. It also stressed for blanket reservation of all

unskilled jobs in all projects within the confine of the state. In the

first parliamentary elections of 1952 the Ganatantra Parishad (GP)

36
secured 5 seats and polled 26.2% of the votes. In 1957 elections, it

increased it seats to 7 with 29.1% of the votes. In 1962, it managed 4

Lok Sabha seats and 17.4% of the votes share. After 1962, the

Ganatantra Parishad merged with the Swatantra Party. In 1971, the

Utkal Congress (UL) founded by Biju Patnaik got OI}.e Lok Sabha seat

and 23.6% of the votes. After a long gap, in 1996 elections the Samata

Party got one seat and polled 1.6% of the votes share.

Maharashtra continued to be a bilingual state of Bombay after

independence and became Maharashtra on May 1st, 1960 after the

separation of Gujarat. It has 3 prominent regions, the western

Maharashtra, Vidharbha and Marthwada. It has 7% scheduled caste

and 7% Buddhist population. It has 48 seats in the parliament.

Maharashtra had a variety of regional parties catering to different

regions, castes, communities in different points of time. In 1952 and

1957 Lok Sabha elections the All India Scheduled Caste Federation

was a prominent party. In 1952 it won one Lok Sabha seat and

secured 14.4% of the votes. In 1957, it gained 5 Lok Sabha seats and

8.1% of the votes share another regional party with strong rural base

was the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP). It had a leftists

ideology. It fought for the wresting for Maharashtra certain marathi

speaking areas bordering Mysore. PWP won one Lok Sabha seat in

1952 elections and polled 17% of the votes. In 1957 it secured 2 Lok

37
Sabha seats with 7.5% of the votes. In 1977, PWP got 5 parliamentary

seats and 6.1% of the votes. In the 1990s, another regional party the

Shiv Sena (SS) grew in prominence. Shiv Sena was formed in 1964 by

one time cartoonist Bal Thackeray to preserve the "Maratha Pride".

"Maharashtra for Maharasthian" was its slogan. According to the

organisation, people from other parts of the country especially from

the southern states are usurping the jobs in Bombay's factories and

10
offices at the cost of the "son of the soils" the Maharashtrian. It

fought the Bombay and the Thane municipality election in 1967. It,

however, shot to prominence after the Ayodhya issue. In 1991, it

secured 4 Lok Sabha seats and polled 9.5% of the votes. In 1996 Lok

Sabha elections it increased its seats to 15% with 16.8% of the votes.

Goa, Daman and Diu was liberated on December 10, 1961 from

the Portuguese occupation. Goa became a full fledged state of India

on May 30, 1987 while Daman and Diu was retained as the union

territory. Goa has 2 seats in the Lok Sabha. In Goa the major regional

party is the Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP). This party

propagates the merger of Goa with Maharashtra. In 1971, the MGP

fought the elections but failed to secure any seats. It however polled

23.29% of the votes. In 1977 and in 1980, it managed to secure one

10
Sh..:vlo..L, Op. Ci.l:. p..26

38
seat each with 40.5% and 36.0% of the votes share respectively. In

1984 Lok Sabha elections the party failed to get any seats but polled

20.3% votes share. In 1989 it got one Lok Sabha seat and 27.9% of the

votes share. in 1991, MGP did not secure any seats but got 20% of the

votes share. In 1996 parliamentary elections, MGP got one seat and

polled 26% of the votes share. Another party in Goa in the late 1960s

and early 1970s was the United Goan Sequeira Group (UGSG). It

bagged 2 Lok Sabha seats each in 1967 and 1971 parliamentary

elections. It polled 36.0% and 24.7% of votes share respectively.

Andhra Pradesh is the fifth largest state. It was carved out of

the Telugu speaking areas of Madras on October 1st 1953. Nine

districts from the Nizam's Hyderabad state were added to it on

November 1st, 1956. Andhra Pradesh has 3 main regions - Andhra,

Rayalseema and Telangana. Andhra Pradesh has 42 Lok Sabha seats.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is the most prominent and powerful

regional party of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu Desam Party was

launched by Nandamuri Tanaka Rama Rao on March 28, 1982. The aim

of the TDP was that of uniting the people of the state on the basis of

common bond of the Telugu language and to emphasise the pride of

the Telugu language. TDP won 30 seats with 44.8% votes on its first

run to the Lok Sabha polls in 1984 after the assassination of Indira

Gandhi. After five years in 1989 elections, Andhra switched back to

39
Congress and TDP's share dropped to 34.2% of the votes with only 2

seats. In 1991, the TDP vote dropped to 32.3% but it won 13

parliamentary seats. After the death of N.T. Rama Rao in 1996, TDP

split. One faction was headed by his widow Lakshmi Parvathi and

another by his son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu. In 1996, the TDP led

by Naidu won 16 seats with 32.6% of the votes. Earlier, the Telangana

Praja Samiti, a state party articulating the problems of the people of

the Telangana region was a prominent party. In 1952 Lok Sabha

elections, it won 7 seats and polled 28.2% of the votes. In 1957, it got

2 seats and 11.0% of the votes. In 1971, it secured 10 seats and polled

14.3% of the votes. There was the All India Majlis (MIM) which was

the part of All India Scheduled Caste Federation. It bagged on seat

in 1952 elections and got 6.3% of the votes. Again in 1989, it got 1 Lok

Sabha seat and got 2.1% of the votes.

Karnataka was previously the Mysore state. It was inaugurated

as a Kannada speaking state on November 1st 1956 with the inclusion

of areas of Hyderabad. Bombay and Madras. It was renamed

Karnataka on November 1st 1973. It has 28 Lok Sabha seats. Congress

Party dominated the political scene throughout the Lok Sabha

elections. There was no major regional party. There were only small

unrecognised party which manage to get few seats in the Lok Sabha. ·

In 1957, the All India Scheduled Caste Federation got one seat and

40
2.0% of the votes. The Lok Sevak Sangh got one Lok Sabha seat in

1962 and polled 3.3% of the votes. In 1991, the Samajwadi Party got

one seat and secured 3.8% of the votes.

Tamil Nadu came into being on 14th January 1969 when

Madras state was renamed Tamil Nadu. It has 39 seats in the Lok

Sabha. Tamil Nadu witnessed the emergence of two powerful regional

parties, The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India

Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) which was a

breakaway faction of DMK. In 1996 another party the Tamil Manila

Congress (Moopnar) also gained major political clout in Tamil Nadu.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was founded in 1926 by E.V.

Ramaswamy Naicker. It was a movement which converted itself into a

caste based party to project and defend the interests of the culturally

akin backward caste, Dravid people of all the four south Indian states

against Brahmin dominance. Over the time the movement narrowed

culturally to include only the Tamil speaking people, but broadened

socially to include all castes and classes of Tamil Nadu. As for its

political goal, the DMK began with a frankly secessionist aim

demanding an independent Dravidsthan, later scaled it down to a

sovereign Tamil Nadu and finally reconciled itself to a reorganised

11
and homogeneous state within the Indian union. DMK had an erratic

11 Sh.J.vWU., Op. C.iJ;., p. a

41
performance in the Lok Sabha elections. In 1962 Lok Sabha polls it

won 7 seats and secured 18.5% of the votes. In 1967, it got 25 seats

and polled 35.5% of the votes. In 1971, its strength decreased to 23 in

Lok Sabha and polled 35.3% votes. In 1980, it won 16 seats and got

23% votes. In 1984, it had a disastrous performance winning only 2

seats and secured 25.9% votes. In 1989, its percentage of votes share

increased to 26.1% but it failed to get any Lok Sabha seats. In 1991,

the DMK again failed to secure any parliamentary seat and its

percentage of votes decreased to 22.7%. In 1996 Lok Sabha polls, it

secured 17 seats and 25.8% of the vote. The next powerful regional

party is the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham. It was

launched by M.G. Ramachandran on October 18, 1972 after his

suspension from the DMK party. AIADMK's basic ideology is

"Annaism" which means anti-Brahminism. In 1977, the AIADMK

contested the Lok Sabha elections for the first time. It won 18 seats

and got 30.5% of the votes. In 1980, the percentage of votes declined

to 25.4% and it could manage only 2 seats in the Lok Sabha. In 1984

parliamentary polls, the AIADMK increased its strength to 12 in the

parliament by securing 18.4% of the votes. After the death of M.G.

Ramachandran, the AIADMK split into 2 factions. One faction was led

by his widow Janaki and another by Jayalalitha. The AIADMK led by

Janaki however disappeared after few years. In 1989, the AIADMK

42
(Jayalalitha) polled 17.1% of the votes and secured 11 seats in the Lok

Sabha polls. In 1991, the percentage of votes for AIADMK increased to

18.1% and it got 11 seats. In 1996, it failed to get any seats and its

votes share plummeted of 7 .8%. This failure is attributed to the

corruption charges against the AIADMK Chief Jayalalitha and her

colleagues. The 1996 Lok Sabha elections saw a new Regional Party,

the Tamil Manila Congress Party founded by G.K. Moopnar who

defected from the Congress party. This party secured 20 Lok Sabha

seats and 27% of the votes share.

Kerala came into being on November 1st 1956 by the merger of

Travancore - Cochin state and the Malabar districts of Madras. It has

three regions - highlands, midlands and the low lands. It has 20

parliamentary seats. Kerala has been the bastion of the Communist

Party of India (Marxist). But Muslim League is a major regional party

of Kerala and won seats in the parliamentary polls right from 1962.

The Muslim League articulate the needs of the 10% Muslim

community of the Malabar area. Prior to independence and partition of

the country, the Muslim League was the premier party representing

the Muslims. When Pakistan was formed the Muslim League became

extinct. It was, however, revived at a conference held in Madras in

1948 by Muslim leaders from Malabar under it modified name the

Indian Union Muslim League. Thereafter, the Muslim League has been

43
 ----~,--------------~--~~-----------------

!NotA · 1
REGIONAL PARTIES: AREAS OF OPERATIO~

ISO 'JS 0 l5o 300

P-t;J I I
KMS

-~·-. .r~
,.--' ~
.->

ARABIAN
SEA
BAY
OF
BENGAL

• •
•,. ••
0
..._
:I
C F~ 1UAj .;;, JJ.J. ¥~ p~
~ ~·~ ~Pa-r )U).c¥a)
D
..4.u 111
o.:..
,_
INDIAN OCEAN \)

MAP.3
-·~~: :(~) ~ . - -~- ·-·- -·-·----·----'
quite active in Kerala politics. It has always been able to send two

12
representatives to the Lok Sabha. The percentage of votes in 1967

and 1971 elections, it polled 6.6% and 6.4% of the votes. In 1977 it got

5.6% of the votes and in 1980 it polled 6.0% of the votes. And from

1984 to 1996, the percentage of votes polled remained around 5%.

Pondicherry was transferred to India by the French in 1954 and

it became an union territory in 1962. It has one Lok Sabha seat. In

Pondicherry, the DMK is the prominent regional party. It failed to

secure any Lok Sabha seats but remained a popular party polling 36

to 40% of the votes in the poll. In 1977, the AIADMK, however bagged

one seat with 53.3% of the votes.

From the above analysis of electoral performance it can be

discerned that emergence of different regional parties espousing

different ideologies are influenced by the geographical factors.

Because regional parties are the consequence of different socio-

economic cultural and political milieu which is again the outcome of

interaction with the physical environment by the people.

12
Bharadwaj, K.K., "An open government, Scenario political parites
and ninth Lok Sabha", (New Delhi : ABC Publishing House : 1990)
p.162.

44
 CHAPTER III

REGIONAL PARTIES AND THE FEDERAL STRUCTURE

The phenomenal growth and success of the regional parties in

contemporary Indian Politics has cast a tremendous impact on the

federal set up of the Indian political and constitutional system.

Regional parties have catalysed a realignment of political forces

posing a powerful challenge to the traditional one party dominance.

This in turn has a profound impact on the centre-state relations.

In a federation, a number of separate or autonomous political

units mutually agree to merge together to form a nation-state with a

single centre of federal government. The federating units delegate

some of their powers to the centre while retaining a degree of

guaranteed regional autonomy. Thus, the political units of a

federation enter into a compromise to create a halfway house

between complete unity and complete separation, and a Federation

results. 1

Our constitution does not describe India as a 'Federation' or a

"Federal system". The Federal arrangement in our constitution was to

Dikshit, R.S., "The Political Geography of Federation", (Delhi The

Macmillan Company : 1975) p.4.

45
a large extent decided by the existence of a strong national political

party, i.e. the Indian National Congress (INC) and the weak position

2
of the regional force in the constitutent assembly.

Moreover the framers of the constitution realised that in India

there exists a variety of cultural, linguistic, religious, regional,

economic and ideological differences which may pose a danger to

national integration. So, to unit India in presence of these fissiparous

3
and parochial forces a strong centre was considered necessary.

In India, political parties through competition among

themselves and by mobilizing public opinion on various issues have

played an important roie in the federalising process. Policies and

issues relating to centre-state relations were formulated and decided

'not with reference to formalised or constitutional procedures, but

rather by a bargaining process which reached a conclusion only after

each set of deciders have found out through elections or agitations,

4
what the unknown stage of public reaction was likely to be.

2
Pai, Sudha, Regional Parties and the emerging pattern of societies
in India", The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 51. No. 3,
July-Sept. 1990, p. 406.
3
Sukhwal B.L., "Modern Political Geography of India", (New Delhi :
Sterling Publishers : 1985) p. 88.
4
Franda, Marcus, "West Bengal and Federalising Process in India",
(Delhi: Prinection Press : 1968) p.7.

46
 During the initial periods of independence i.e. pre-1967 years,

India's central government effectively dominated the constitutent

states. This has been attributed to many factors such as Nehru's

leadership, the domination of a single party over both central and

state governments, centralising economic planning, the weakness of

regional parties and the initial enthusiasm of the Indian people for the

national building activities undertaken by the central government. For

the twenty years period after independence the congress party

cleavages did not threaten this hegemony. State-centre relationships

5
during this period established a pattern of centre domination. This

was the phase of "Unitary Federalism", the centre is strong and takes

responsibility for national planning and development and bold

initiatives and based on it, formulates programmes and policies even

in those sphere of activities which are in the state list.

However, the assertion of the regional forces seen in the

creation of separate linguistic states and other regional and linguistic

demands meant that different regions could throw up region based

political forces which would voice the aspirations of the region. Both

these factors have reinforced each other leading to important changes

in the nature of the working of the federal structure and the party

5
Bhambri, C.P., "Political parties and Centre-State relations in India;
in S.C. Kashyap (ed.), "Union state relations in India". (New Delhi :
Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies : 1969) p. 47.

47
system in India. The rise of regional parties had led to a loosening of

the tight constitutional mould in which federalism was cast. However,

this has not been a continuous or smooth process, but seen over a

number of distinct phases with the balance of power tilting back and

6
forth between the centre and state.

The fourth general elections of 1967 was a turning point in the

political history. It ended the single party dominance in centre as well

in states and witnessed the emergence of many regional parties

which captured power in the state assembly. This led to alternation

as well as redefining of the centre-state relationship.

The trend was now towards a politics of coalition. Before 1967,

there were only a few coalitions. There were two coalitions in the

period of 1952-57 in PEPSU and Andhra-Pradesh and each in Orissa

(1957-62) and Kerala (1960-64). After the 1967 general elections the

figure rose to eight. Coalitions were formed in Kerala, West Bengal ,

Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya

7
Pradesh.

6
Pai, Sudha, Op.cit., p. 406.
7
Hedge Ramakrishna, "Credible Coalition at the Center" in Sunder
Ram (ed.), "Readings in Indian Parlimentary Oppositions Vol. 2',
(New Delhi: Kanishka Publishers Distributors : 1996) p. 249.

48
 Even at the centre, as no single party got a absolute majority,

government was formed with the help of regional parties.

The Coalitions are product of politics in a parliamentary

democracy. It is a phenomenon of multi-party government where a

number of minority parties join hands for the purpose of running the

government, which is otherwise not possible in a democracy based on

party system.

The term coalition is derived from the Latin word 'Coalito'

which is the verbal substantive of coalescere, co-together and

alescere-to grow up, which means to go or grow together. According

to the dictionary meaning coalition means an act of coalescing, or

uniting in to one body: a union of persons, states: alliance. In strict

political sense the word coalition is used for an alliance or temporary

union for joint action of various powers or states also of the union into

a single government of distinct parties or members of distinct

. 8
parties.

Riker evolves that the general decision making policy of a

coalition depends upon its leader who might be an opportunist power

hungry or status seeker, or one who is selfless worker, believes in

8
Sahni, N.C., "The Theory of Coalition", in N.C. Sahni (ed.), "Coalition
Politics in India", (Jullunder: New Academic Publishing Company :
1971) p.18.

49
 duty and devotion and wants neither material gains, nor power nor

prestige, whether he is an idealist or a realist. Riker's theory further

finds support from Bryce who observes that administration formed by

a coalition of parties is usually weak, not merely because the

combination is unstable but because men who professed principles

differ are likely to be entangled in inconsistencies or driven by

9
unsatisfactory compromises.

In a Federation the centre has two choices open to it as is the

case with India. A coalition can be formed with country level parties

i.e. the all India parties, or the state level parties i.e. regional parties.

But to form a coalition with the regional parties has its disadvantages

also. A regional party with its unbending regionalist outlook and

stiffness might find it difficult to cope with the national level party.

As a result of which such coalition might have to sacrifice some

issues of vital social reforms and of national interest in face of

accomodatiori of one. Constituent of a coalition government and such

insurmountable problems. This fact was very much evident in the

result of 1967 elections. Many regional parties came to power in the

states and were also partners in the coalition government at the

centre. These regional parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham

9
Ibid., p.21.

50
(DMK) and the Akali Dal with regional support, ideology and

leadership advocate for greater devolution of power to the states.

Therefore, their impact on centre-state relations were greater and

encouraged regional forces in other states, giving rise to regional

ambitions, linguistic rivalries, territorial claims, river water disputes,

claims over capital cities and competition for establishment of new

steel mills or other industrial plants. 1° For e.g. the DMK government in

Madras and Swatantra party in Orissa government emphasised the

need for the curtailment of central authority and the re-allocation of

resources in favour of the states. The Tamil Nadu government led by

DMK chief Karunanidhi announced to set up a committee under

justice Rajamannar to look into the centre-state relations on 22nd

September 1969. The committee was asked to examine the entire

question regarding the relationship that should exist between the

centre and the states in a federal set up with special reference to the

provision of the constitution of India and to suggest suitable

amendments to the constitution so as to secure to the states utmost

autonomy. 11 The Rajamannar committee suggested sweeping

changes in the whole gamut of centre-state relations which, if

implemented, would effectively under-cut all the controls which the

10
Sukhwal, B.L., op cit., p.91.
11
Jain, S.K., "Party politics and centre-state relations in India",
Abhiman Publication, New Delhi, 1994, p. 48.

51
centre has upon the states in the legislative, administrative, financial

and judicial fields, and significantly alter the federal arrangement in

India. But the recommendations of the Rajamannar committee was

altogether ignored. So, Tamil Nadu's relations with the centre could

be described as antagonistic cooperation. 12 However, they did not

take the relations to a breaking point, their objective being to utilize

to the maximum the techniques of negotiations in order to secure as

much resources for development as possible. In contrast the CPI (M)

led United Font governments of West Bengal and Kerala attempted to

project centre state conflicts along class lines using regional

grievances in order to further their revolutionary aims. They followed

an extremely aggressive posture in their attitude towards the central

13
government by carrying federal issues to the streets. Thus, in the

new political environment the theory of state rights were

strengthened. The 1967 elections mark the first stage in the

development of a new pattern of centre-state relation arising out of

the assertion of regional forces in India.

12
Bombwall, K.R., "Regional Political Parties in India", in S.Bhatnagar
and Pradeep Kumar (ed.), "Regional Political Parties in India",
(New Delhi : ESS ESS Publication: 1988) p.206.
13
Ray, Ansal, "Tension Areas in India's Federal System", (Calcutta :
World Press : 1970) p. 32.

52
 The new coalition form of central government was subjected to

regional pulls and pushes. Different state governments who were

partners in the central government started putting pressure on the

centre to give concessions through one of the political parties. This

led to tensions between the states. Moreover, due to the weak centre

many regional sentiments became more vociferous in their demands.

However, due to internal contradictions in the ideologies, lack

of cohesion and leadership many non-congress state government

could not sustain for long. They fell in five states in less than three

months, from December 1967 to February 1968.

The 1967 elections highlighted both the fact that the Indian

voter had come of age and could not be manipulated by existing boss.

Structure and vote banks based on caste and communal loyalties and

the fact that the congress leadership in its preoccupation with

factional quarrels had failed to measure up to the peoples'

expectations. This defeat led to internal power struggle within the

congress which ended with the decisive win for Prime Minister Indira

Gandhi. This also led to a split in the congress party in August 1969,

the majority faction going with Indira Gandhi. 14

14
Kothari, Rajni, "Opposition in India", in S. Sunder Ram (ed.),
"Readings in the Indian Parliamentary Opposition. Vol. 2", (New
Delhi : Kanishka Pubilishers, Distributors : 1996) p.15.

53
 The fifth general elections were held in 1971. It ended the

period of instability and inaction and its result proved decisive for the

nature of Indian federalism in more than one way. Firstly congress

party was returned to power. It captured power in 14 out of 16 states.

Secondly, the lok sabha and assembly elections were delinked for the

first time. Thirdly, the parties with regional affinity and interest

suffered heavily. The elections marked the return of congress party to

a dominant position. Under the charismatic leadership of Mrs.

Gandhi, the new congress was transformed once again into a

monolithic organisation and state units of the party came under the

central control. This reestablishment of the one party dominance led

to unsettling of the old system-based on a shared consensus between

governing and opposition forces and led to a more hegemonial model

of dominance. On all policy issues like legislation on ceilings on

agricultural land, urban property, state governments accepted the

directions of the centre and the federal balance tilted towards the

state in the years 1967-71, once more tilted away from them. 15 For

sometime, regional forces remained subdued. Even such states as

Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu also toned down their

confrontationist attitude. The proclamation of emergency in June 1975

marked the climax of the concentration of power within the party as

15
Pai, Sudha, op cit., p. 409.

54
well as within the government. But this was a temporary

phenomenon.

The emergency was lifted in March in 1977 and fresh elections

were announced. All the non-congress parties united under one

banner to end the one party dominance. The political scenario was

tremendously changing. The long suppressed debate on centre-state

relations was again revived. The political leaders were appealing for

an end of unitarian attempts to undermine the federal system of India.

With the win of "Janata-Party", environment was created for the

reinforcement of federal system of India. Many states ruled by non-

Janata parties as well as some of the states ruled even by the Janata

party raised voices to get more powers for the states. Such state were

West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, Sikkim

and Nagaland along with the other north eastern states of India. The

opposition parties in power in various states were the AIADMK in

Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, the National Conference in Jammu and

Kashmir, CPI (M) in West Bengal, Akali Dal in Punjab, Regional

parties in Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura, Maharashtra Ganantak

Party in Goa, Congress(!) in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and

Maharashtra.

55
 After the 1977 state elections, the chief minister of West Bengal

Jyoti Basu (CPI-M) asked for a whole review of the question of

authority. The West Bengal Government's memorandum submitted to

the centre declares that nothing beyond foreign relations, defence,

communication, currency and related matters should be the exclusive

domain of the centre. It further demanded that the preamble of the

constitution should be amended to include the word 'federal' in the

description of the Republic of India. The chief ministers of Jammu and

Kashmir partially concurred with Jyoti Basu for more powers for the

states. In addition, the chief ministers of two Janata run states-

Gujarat and Bihar also asked for more powers for the states.

The Janata Party regime, however, maintained a status quoist

approach to the centre-state relation. They did not encourage any

proposal for devolution of power to the states. They rejected the West

Bengals memorandum. The Janata party rule at the centre was short

lived. It succumbed to internal squabblings, defections,

contradictions and organisational strains and governmental non-

performances.

The sixth round of general elections of 1980 brought back

congress at the helm of the affairs. It got a thumping majority. This

election again shifted the focus to centralisation. But by now the

56
regional forces have become very powerful. They were organising

themselves and were very vociferous in their demands of regional

recognition. A number of political parties with strong regional and

local base emerged like the 'Telugu Desam'. The birth of Telugu

Desam in Andhra Pradesh was the result of over centralisation and

growing discontentment against the centre's policy towards the

state. Telugu Desam heralded a new era with regard to regional

parties and with opposition parties to launch an offensive against the

central government's overriding powers and increasing encroachment

16
in the affairs of the state.

However, by 1982-83, there emerged a different political

complexion of the country, where quite a few states came under the

rule of non congress(!) parties leading to open political conflict

between them and the centre ruled by the congress(!). In fact, two

political trends emerged during the 1980s. First, most of the regional

parties particularly in the south came to power in the states and their

leadership enjoyed wide social base and share the regional emotions.

Secondly, there took place a convergence of opposition political forces

along with regional parties in the form of "conclave politics". This

17
opposition unity was forged to jointly resist the centre.

16
Jain, S.K., op·. cit, p.57.
17
Jain, S.K., op. cit, p.58.

57
 In 1983, the chief ministers of the southern states- Tamil Nadu,

Pondicherry, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, met in Bangalore. At the

first meeting the council demanded changes in the constitution so as

to give new definition to the centre-state relations and to set up a

fiscal commission to suggest a more equitable distribution of

resources between centre and the state. The chief ministers wanted

that the bulk of the financial resources should be transferred to the

18
states as a statutory rather than discretionary basis. This meeting

led to the setting up of Sarkaria Commission under the chairmanship

of retired justice R.S. Sarkaria to review the centre-state relations.

The decision of setting up of a commission was welcomed by all

political parties. The commission made 227 suggestions in order to

improve the centre-state relations. It stressed for "cooperative

federalism" between the union and states. But the centre did not pay

much attention to the recommendations of the Sarkaria commission.

The commission's report was kept in cold storage. In the "Srinagar

conclave" of opposition parties the vital issue of centre-state relation

and issue of state autonomy was raised. The opposition, both

national and regional were claimouning for more power to the states

and they were growing more and more powerful as well as assertive.

18
Pai, Sudha, op. cit, p.410.

58
 However, the 1984 general election again reinforced the one

party domination at the centre. This was primarily because the brutal

assassination of Indira Gandhi generated a sympathy have in favour

of congress in general and his son Rajiv Gandhi who was projected

as the Prime Ministerial Candidate in particular. The congress won

the elections with an overwhelming majority. It won 415 out of 517

seats. Once again the states became very much subordinate and

subdued. But voices of dissents were heard in the "conclave of

opposition parties". At the Surajkund 'conclave of nine opposition

parties, the Telugu Desam chief asked for the restoration of

"cooperative federalism".

All the opposition parties were stressing for a federal polity and

were working towards an alternative to congress(!), which ultimately

resulted in the form of "National Front". The erst while Janata Party,

Jana Moracha, Lok Dal(B) Congress(S), Telugu Desam, Dravida

Munnetra Kazhagham and Asom Gana Parishad came togeyther to

form a national front on August 7, 1988. The Telugu Desam chief N.T.

Rama Rao the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh was elected the

chairman of the National Front and Vishwanath Pratap Singh its

convenor.

59
 In the ninth lok sabha. elections held in November 1989,

although the National Front failed to secure the majority necessary for

forming government at the centre after defeating the congress(!), it

could, however, form minority government with the support and

cooperation of Bharatiya Janata Party without its participation in the

government. The left parties also supported the coalition government

19
from outside. V.P. Singh, the then Prime Minister strived hand to

built a consensus among the political parties and upheld the federal

polity. V.P. Singh government emphasised the need for setting up of a

inter-state council to reconcile the differences between the states.

This council consisted of the Prime Minister as the chairman and the

chief ministers as the members. It met twice a year to try and sought

out the difference between the states, enquiring and advising on the

disputes which have arisen out in the different states, investigating

and discussing subjects in which some or all the states, or the union

and one or more states have common interest. 20

However, this colalition government of V.P. Singh collapsed

after 11 months after MPs defected and joined Chandrashekhar camp.

19
Ram Sunder D., "Towards Opposition Unity in India : A Study from
Praja Socialist Party to National Front", in D. Sunder Ram (ed),
"Readings in the Indian Parliamentary Opposition, Vol.2", (New
Delhi : Kanishka Publishers, Distributors : 1996) pp.384-385.
20
Deccan Herald, 14 April, 1990.

60
Chandrashekhar formed government at the Centre with the support of

congress. But unfortunately, on 6th March 1991, Congress withdrew

support and the Chandrasekhar government fell after 4 months.

In 1991, the tenth general elections not a single party won a

majority to form government at the Centre on its own. The Congress

with the help of regional parties was able to form government at the

Centre. It was a minority government but it could sustain itself and

survived for full five years. But the government was marked by

corruption and non-performance. The states were dissatisfied by the

attitude of the Centre toward them. They were growing powerful and

the Centre was growing weak with every passing day.

The eleventh round of elections was held in 1996. In this

election also not a single party could gain an absolute majority. The

one time dominant congress was relegated to the third position. The

Bharatiya Janata party emerged as the single largest party. The

National Front along with the left party emerged as the second. So,

the major regional parties along with the left parties formed the

government at the Centre. The congress party supported it from

outside. The new government, having a majority of regional parties as

its partners in the central government took the issue of Centre-State

relations seriously. It reviewed the Sarkaria Commission report and

61
few of its recommendations was accepted by the Centre. However,

the H.D. Devegowda government fell as Congress withdrew its

support to it. And in his place I.K. Gujral became the new Prime-

Minister. By this time the Centre was becoming extremely weak. All

the time of the central government went on pacifying its allies and

partners in the government so that the government at the centre

could survive its full term of five years. This factor made the regional

forces very strong. They started asserting their identity. There was a

growing demand for the reorganisation of states as many smaller

local and regional forces within the states demanded for separate

state in order to preserve their identity. They alleged that they are

socially, economically, culturally and politically exploited by the

Centre as well as by the States in which they are situated. As a

consequence we find demands for separate Uttaranchal State from

Uttar Pradesh. In Uttar Pradesh there are also demarcations between

Poorvi (east), Paschimi (west) and Pahari (mountainerous) U.P. all

clamouring for separate states to preserve their identity. Likewise,

we hear demand for Poorvanchal and Jharkhand in Bihar, Gorkhaland

in West Bengal, Bodo Land in Assam, Telangana in Andhra Pradesh,

Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Chattisgarh in Madhya Pradesh and scores

of other such demands for separate states. These demands sometime

62
take extreme forms of agitation and become very violent causing a

threat to the unity and integrity of the country.

In India, the most inclusive segment is territoriaily defined

region. A region in India has its own composition of ethnic and

linguistic groups, religious communities and land based jatis. It has

its own specific pattern of economy, craft and loom and a local history

and psychological make up and behaviour, pattern of its people. India

21
essentially is a multi-regional federation. Historically, India had

been a federation. There were different autonomous provinces and

they all performed their duties independent of central authority. In

the medieval times also Ain-e-Akbari records the existence of

autonomous provinces under the Mughal rule.

Therefore, it can be argued that even if our constitution doe not

embodies the word "federalism", India with its diversities is a federal

state. So, efforts should be put towards making India's federalism a

"cooperative federalism". Cooperative Federalism is the promotion of

cooperation and minimisation of frictions between the various

constituent governments of the federal union whether it is centre vs.

state or state vs. state. The realisation that the promotion of the

general public welfare is the common goal of government at the

21
Khan, Rasheedudin, "Federal India, A Design for Change", (New
Delhi : Vikas Publishing House : 1992) p.30.

63
centre and in the states. They should work in concert and not in

complete isolation in their efforts to reach the goal. This is the

essence of "Cooperative Federalism". It is a system by which state

and national governments support and supplement each other in their

22
day to day working and jointly perform a variety of functions.

In this fast changing world of technological know-how,

globalisation, and competitions thrown open by liberalisation India

can no longer afford to stay cocooned in its own internal strifes. She

has to open up and face the challenges that are posed by the outside

world. And for this she should be united and internally strong. For all

these to be achieved, she should strike a balance between the

centripetal and centrifugal forces and work towards her own

betterment.

22
Tiwari, O.P., "Federalism and Centre State Relations in India,
towards a new era of Mutual Coopeation" in Balveen Arora et al
(ed), "Federalism in India, Origins and Development", (New Delhi :
Vikas Publishing House : 1992), p.223.

64
 CHAPTER IV

REGIONALISM AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION

The fast growth of the regional forces in India is a natural

consequence of the given widespread heterogeniety of Indian society

which is a "continent of many communities united through shared

experiences but powerfully motivated by parochial and regional

considerations" . 1 Hence, this problem can be seen as one dimension

of the unresolved "national question", which of late, has assumed

mounting importance in the context of regionalisation of Indian

politics particularly after 1967. This process of regionalisation is both

the cause and effect of indigenisation and democratisation of politics,

especially at provincial level which gave "a strong impetus to the

development of diverse regional political cultures". The political

manifestation of such cultures is evident in the emergence of

regionally based political parties and movements amidst a

2
multiplicity of political identities at different levels of Indian polity.

1
Lewis, P. Fickell Jr., "The Politics of Regionalism in India", Pacific
Affairs, Vol.XLIV, No.2, (Summer 1971}, p.193.
2
Verma, Rakesh Kumar, "Regionalism and sub-Regionalism in State
Politics, social, econmic and political bases", (New Delhi : Deep and
Deep Publications : 1994) p.8.

65
 Unlike many developing countries, India followed a path of

simultaneously achieving the goals of modernisation and nation

building and try to create a "comprehensive framework of concensus"

by following the "democratic path" without dealing with "distributive

justice" which it was presumed would automatically follow. This

strategy of gradual and necessary uneven development which suited

the system created regional awareness among the masses and new

groups emerged at different levels which in a situation of scarcity of

resources resulted in the competition among regional groups to get

the maximum share of the limited economic cake produced by the

3
modernisation.

This competition, a by-product of modernisation resulted in the

politicisation of primordial "givens" like caste, language, religion and

region, which in many cases superimposed one another. In a society

characterised by diverse regional political cultures these 'given' of

social existence became the symbols of groups identity. The political

manifestation of this competition is evident in the emergence of

regionally based political parties and movements admist the

multiplicity of political identities at the different levels of the Indian

polity. This trend is noticed in many states of the country from Jammu

Weiner, Myron, "Politics of Scarcity", (Bombay Asia Publishing

House : 1963).

66
and Kashmir in the North to the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in

the South which have been ruled by the regional parties. 4

In India, the wide variety of cultures and language gives rise a

multiplicity of identities which are spatial in character thereby

associated with specific regions. The spatia-cultural identities

became a vehicle for political phenomena called "Regionalism" and

"Sub-Regionalism". The emergence and growth of spatia-cultural

regionalism in the politico-economic processes of the country is often

treated as a threat to the national unity and integrity of the country.

This kind of perception is based on the view that the political

conflicts is marked by cultural and linguistic divisions and often

tends to be divisive and sectarian in nature, therefore, detrimental to

the national unity and integrity. 5

Regionalism and sub-regionalism are unavoidable in a country

as vast and expansive as India. Nothing is more basic to the very

concept of Federalism than regionalism and sub-regionalism because

Federalism presupposes the existence of diversity and endeavours to

guarantee the freedom of expression to the diverse elements India's

Federal System based as it is on an universal adult franchise,

4
Verma, Rakesh Kumar, op cit., p.9.
5
Singh, Ajay K., "Nation-building and Regionalism", Third Concept,
Vol.4(50-51), Apr-May, 1994, pp.57-58.

67
representative institutions, responsible governments, rule of law and

independence of judiciary supported by a vigilant media and active

organs of public opinion was abound to allow and even encourage the

crystallisation of interest-oriented and interest articulation of its

many segments - linguistic, religious, ethnic, regional, cultural and

6
politico ideological.

"Regionalism" refers to subnationalism demanding the

preference of one regional against the country as a whole .. Injustice

done to people of a particular region by the dominant political section

(of the other region) is one important factor for the growth of

7
regionalism in Indian politics. In other words, Regionalism has a

political dimension that involves a consciousness of kind, a collective

identity and a defence of territorial interest. Regionalism involves the

politicisation of regional concerns and the articulation of regional

8
commitment.

India has remained multi-lingual and multi-cultural from time

immemorial. It has remained so because variation is accepted and

6
Khan, Rasheeduddin, "Federal India, A Design for Change", (New
Delhi : Vikas Publishing House : 1992) p.24.
7
Rao, V. Krishna, "Regionalism", in P. Sayanarayan et al. (ed),
"Perspective on National Integration", (Hyderabad Prakasam
Institute of Development Studies : 1982) p.37.
B
Hillar, Harry H., "Canadian Society : A macro analysis", (Ottawa
1991) p.9.

68
differences are respected making conflict and conciliation a

continuous process. Regionalism is rooted in India's cultural and

linguistic diversity. However, the establishment of British rule

created in India a basic pre-requisite for the formation of such a larger

state the establishment of relations of the common market. Thus, was

formed the United Indian State with centralised economic institutions

and central administration. But the development economic, education,

administrations etc - which took place under the British regime was

uneven. Moreover, the major part of the country was under direct

British rule (the so called 'British Provinces') while rest was under the

Indian princes (the so called Indian state) who ruled over their states

under the British paramount power.

These differences in the economic and political set up of the

various parts of the country gave a particular political complexion to

every particular province and state. It therefore, developed what may

be called the provincial state or regional outlook to the people of the

respective regions.

The basis of putting an end to these diversities and thus

unifying the nation was laid in the post-independence year. This.

process was completed with the state reorganisation Act of 1956

69
 when all the part B and C states were formed more or less on the

linguistic principle.

An economic basis was laid for this political unification when a

common plan of economic development was formulated. A series of

Five Year Plans and a Perspective plan for long team development

came to be evolved and executed. In the actual execution of these

developmental plans, however, provincial, regional and other

discrepancies began to creep in. It is, therefore, not surprising that

the people belonging to those states and which didnot get an

adequate share in the fruit of development get dissatisfied conflicts

develop between people and even governments of the various states.

Therefore, it is the disparities in development that give rise to

9
passions leading to provincial and regional disparities.

While this is the material background against which

regionalism has developed and is developing, rarely does it expresses

itself as a single factor. It operates mostly along with certain other

forces.

Political regionalism joined hands with the linguistic factor and

gave rise to the movement of "linguism" for linguistic states. Out of

this movement arose regional linguistic passions. The formation of

9
Namboodripad, E.M.S., "Problems of National Integration", (Calcutta :
National Book Agency : 1966) p.48.

70
states on linguistic basis created a new identity and consciousness

among the people regarding their language, culture and territory.

Regional linguistic passion were raised so much so that the conflicts

and movements took the shape of sessionism. And the political

parties with narrow regional outlook acted as a catalyst to these

movements. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) of Tamil Nadu

initially preached sessionism on the basis of separate "Dravidstan'

comprising of four south Indian states. They emphasised the need to

secede from India in order to safeguard their language and culture.

The DMK had to abandon the plank of sessionism in 1963, when a

resolution was passed in the parliament banning all the political

parties harbouring sessionist ideas. After abandoning the idea of

secession from India, DMK gave a call for "Tamil nationalism". It took

up the issue of the Indian official language and vehemently opposed

the idea of Hindi as the official language. It staged an anti-Hindi

agitation in 1965, nursing Tamil nationalism to counter the

advancement of Hindi at the union level.

In other parts of the country, in the north-east especially,

Regionalism allied itself with the tribal factor and gave to the

movement the so called "tribalisms". The tribal population constitute

nearly 8% of t11e Indian population and they are predominantly

concentrated in the hill regions of the north-east India. The tribal

71
differentiation and their exclusive profile is a distinctive feature of

Indian society. Economically backward and impoverished, socially

alienated, politically segregated tribal population have always

manifested separatism and sessionism in different form. Tribals are

basically primordial communities with a deep sense of ethnic

consciousness intending to maintain their distinctive socio-cultural

identity. Tribalism may be viewed as expression of growing political

and social consciousness of the tribal people of India in the form of an

organised political behaviour and articulation.

After independence, tough considerable efforts were underway

towards tribal development yet the discontent among them has been

quite visible in the view of following factors. The role of Christian

missionaries in the north-east has been significant for it provided

considerable political awareness. However, the impact of Christian

missionaries on the tribals was viewed as anti-India or anti-Hindi for

its separatist and isolationist policy. Moreover lack of proper

coordination and planning, in the area of education and agriculture

hampered tribal development. In the first and second plans the

financial outlay on education for tribals was substantially high

compared to agriculture. Because of this, several tribals received

education devoid of proper employment avenues. And being educated

the tribal youth found themselves to be misfit in the traditional tribal

72
economy. This led to frustrations among the educated tribal youths

and they took to extremist activity indulging in insurgency.

In the contemporary north-eastern regions of India, almost all

the states have underground sessionist groups.

In Nagaland, the "Nagaland National Council" led by Zaphu

Angami Phizo preached the formation of separate Greater Nagaland

comprising parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and parts of

Manipur. To pacify the sessionist forces among the Nagas, the

Government of India granted statehood to Nagaland, in 1963, within

the Indian union. Despite this, the sessionist movement started by

Phizo in 1956 did not cease but took a new dimension because of T.H.

Muviah and !sac Sue, who together formed the "National Socialist

Council of Nagaland (NSCN)", on Jan. 31 1980. 10 The Government of

India, however, adopted a flexible attitude towards the Naga rebels

and talks between the Govt. of India and the rebels have taken place

in recent past still lot of matters stayed unresolved.

In Manipur, the banned Manipuri Meitei Extremist Organisation

Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA}, the Peoples' Revolutionary Party of

Kangleipak known as the PREPAK and its off shoots the armed wing

10
Rahmathulla, B., "Obsolescene of Nationalism : On Appraisal of
Autonomy Forces in North-Eastern India", in S. Bhatnagar et al
(ed.}, Regional Political Parties of India, (New Delhi : ESS ESS
Publications : 1988) p.18.

73
 of PREPAK called the Red Army. The Kangleipak Communist Party

(KCP), and the KCP's Red army have been indulging in guerilla

11
warfare and openly advocating the idea of independent Manipur.

In Mizoram, the Mizo National Front (MNF) under the leadership

of Laldenga had given a call for a sovereign Mizoram in 1965 since

then the underground hostilities have stepped up its military

operations in Mizoram. But the signing of the Mizoram accord by

Laldenga and the Government of India in 30 June, 1986 brought peace

and tranquility to the state of Mizoram. 12

In Tripura, there is a armed struggle between the Tribals and

the non-Tribal Bengalis. The Army of Tripura People Liberation

Organisation (ATPLO) the militant and clandestine unit of Tripura

tribal extremist had expressed its firmness to carry out armed

struggle with a view to form a "sovereign Tripura state". The Tripura

National Volunteer Force is another insurgent group of Tripura

fighting for autonomy of Tribals. 13

In Assam, the problem of Bodos demanding a separate

Bodoland has assumed a greater dimension. The Bodos claim to be

the oldest tribal or ethnic group, largely inhabiting the northern bank

11
Ibid., p.19.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.

74
of the Brahmaputra and the two districts of Nilanchal and Laulung on

the southern bank. The origins of the Bodo movement can be traced to

the passage of official language Bill in 1960 which led to the assertion

of separate tribal cultures by the All Party Hill Leaders' Conference,

the Mizo Hill District council and the Plain Tribals Council of Assam

(PTCA). The PTCA - the precursor of the present day All Bodo

Students' Union (ABSU) and the Bodo Peoples' Action Committee

(BPAC) - first articulated a larger version of the Bodo land demand

under the name of Udayachal. In 1987, the leadership of the bodo

movement passed into the hands of the ABSU-BPAC combine. Apart

from ethnic factors, complex economic forces played a part in the

origin of the Bodo movement. The major ones were the problem of

land alienation, poverty, indebtedness, unemployment and lack of

capital formation. The Bodo agitation became very violent leading to

lots of killings and blood bath. The government of India partially

conceded to their demand by forming the "Bodoland Autonomous

Council". But, the Bodes were not satisfied and are still indulging in

subversive activities in Assam.

The Tribals in other parts of India like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,

Andhra Pradesh etc. have also voiced their discontentment against

the state and the National government. The tribals of Jharkhand have

been demanding autonomous state comprising areas of Chhota

75
Nagpur and other contiguous parts of Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and

Madhya Pradesh. The government of India taking note of the demand

formed the Jharkhand autonomous council. But due to the

ineffectiveness of the council the tribals of Jharkhand are dissatisfied.

Again; Regionalism allied itself with the religious community

and gave birth to the movement for separation of pre-independent

India into Hindu and Muslim majority state. In the post-independent

years, it led to the slogan of Sikh Homeland or "Khalistan". Akali Dal

championing the cause of the Sikhs called for separate Sikh homeland

for the preservation of their language and culture. The Akali

movements can be attributed to the fundamentalism and its thrust on

sub-nationalism as a counter to Indian nationalism. During the

independence, the Akali Dal demanded the separate state of

Sikhistan. However, the demand for Khalistan-Sikh homeland was

modified and in its place a demand for Punjabi suba within the Indian

Union was put forth. Though the Akali Dal succeeded in getting the

Punjabi suba, it could not satisfy them because the Punjabi

reorganisation bill had excluded allegedly predominantly Punjabi

speaking areas from Punjab and it also placed the management of

Bhakra dam complex outside the control of Punjab. The concept of

76
 14
Khalistan was never away from the Sikh mind. The demand for

Khalistan grew momentum from 1971 and it gained a frenzied heights

after the 'operation Bluestar' in 1984. Presently, most of the factions

of Akali Dal have denounced the separatist tendencies and joined the

national mainstream by participating in the elections. Still, there are

few groups, especially operating from outside India who have kept

the idea of Khalistan still alive.

Another area where religious sentiments have fueled

subversive activities is in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The

insurgency and sessionist activities in Kashmir is, however, more

through outside help. Still there are some parties like the "Jammu and

Kashmir Liberation Front" and the "Hurriyat Conference" who add

fuel to the sessionist ideas.

It should be noted that regionalism does not on occasions

express itself, not in combination with other factors but all by itself.

The regional rivalries have no connection of any kind with the tribal,

communal or linguistic factors. Regional rivalries in such cases should

indisputably be treated to the uneven development of the respective

regions i.e. they are purely economic in character.

14
Gopal Singh and Rajendra Kaur, "Priorities of Sikh .Homeland" in
K.S. Sexena et. al. (ed.), "Indian Democracy: Recent Trends and
Issues, (Delhi: Anmol Publications: 1985) pp. 78-79.

77
 The economic aspect of regionalism assumes many forms ,such

as variation in economy among different sub-regions of a state as well

as one region compared to other, employment avenues and

opportunities manifest through "Sons of the Soil" theory, inter-state

river water disputes, boundary disputes and assets and liabilities.

The economic imbalances among the regions is a factor of

British legacy in India. Even after independence such uneven

development of regions in terms of agriculture, industry, percapita

income etc. is noticed. The planning commission no doubt had laid

the stress on even development of the country in utilising the

resources as well as the location of industrial plants, etc. But the

political pressure seems to have played a decisive role in the

allocation of resources for economic development leading to an

uneven distribution of resources in different states and regions. This

led to a lot of discontentment among the so called deprived and

hence underdeveloped regions which ultimately took the shape of

regional or sub-regional movements demanding greater share in the

national resources for catching up with the developed regions. It is in

this context that the DMK continued its agitation for greater

devolution of financial resources and also for the grant of greater

autonomy to the states. In Andhra Pradesh the less developed

Telangana region agitated against the Andhra leadership as they felt

78
that they are being economically deprived and called for bifurcation of

the Andhra state. Similarly, in Maharashtra, there are regional

rivalries between the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions with the rest

of Maharashtra as they felt economically neglected and called for

separate states of Vidarbha and Marathwada. In Uttar Pradesh, the

region of Uttarakhand is passing through turbulent crisis. An

imbalanced process of economic development has resulted in

distortions in the socio-economic structure of the region. The

Gorkhaland agitation in West Bengal got momentum only in 1986, on

the issue of Indo-Nepal treaty, inclusion of Nepalese language in the

Eighth schedule and other sundry economic factors and a separate

state for the Gorkhas to be called Gorkhaland, affecting the sub-

division Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong in the Darjeeling district

of West Bengal. The agitation was organised by the Gorkhaland

National Liberation Front (GNLF) led by the Subhas Ghising. From

time to time they have employed violent means of agitation. Similar

regional rivalries are underway in different parts of India.

Another dimension in this regard is that of the theory of "Sons

of the soil". It is a form of movement for the special privileges for the

natives of the particular state. The rise of "Shiv-Sena" in Bombay is a

valid example of the parochial attitud~ which led the movement of

driving away the non-Maharashtrians from the city of Bombay as they

79
felt that all the jobs in the city were given to the migrants from other

states. Likewise, in Assam, "Lachit Sena" was formed to agitate

against the cumulative dominance of the outside migrants like

Punjabis, Marwaris, Hindus Bengalis, Nepalis and Bangladeshis in all

the spheres of the economy of Assam. Similar senas like the "Gopal

Sena" of Kerala and other 'senas' were formed preaching an element

of sub-nationalism acting as a potential threat to nationalism.

As stated earlier, Regionalism is the politically articulated

aspirations of the people of different regions. The political dimension

is mainly an ultimate end objective of the sum total of various

manifestations of regionalism such as language, economy, religion

and ethnicity. The emergence of the elites in different states drawn

from rich peasantry and it allies and local level industrialists tend to

mobilise the people on linguistic, religious, cultural on economic

issues, whip up their sentiments and emotions and raise the issue of

distinctive regional group in order to acquire power and legitimacy.

The political aspiration of the regionalism is amply manifested by the

demand of the formation of new states. It has been seen that the

process of state formation has since independence taken place not for

reasons of strategic security or administrative efficiency, but most

frequently to accommodate primordial demands. In most instances,

the central government gave in the primordial demands with a view

80
to outbid the primordialists and to ensure the installation of a state

government that would support or at least not undermine national

unity.

As a result of regionalism certain centrifugal forces appear to

be strengthening, for example,

(i) sectarian pulls by regional political parties,

(ii) regional bias of the state units of all the political parties which

claim to be organised on a national basis;

(iii) inter-regional tensions and disputes over linguistic, economic

and political issues;

(iv) a discriminating type of regional ethnocentrisms

(v) regional movements for preservation of culture and

safeguarding the 'state rights'.

(vi) militant sub-nationalism subsequently expressed through the

activities of regional movements for greater autonomy or for

political separatism.

These centrifugal forces of regionalism are potential dangers to

national integration, and if they remain unchecked, may strike at the

81
 15
root of achieving a workable democracy. Therefore, the need of the

hour is suppressing the separatist tendencies of regionalism and

work towards national integration.

The term national integration implies a strong sense of national

identity and feeling. It involve a psychological and emotions

involvement in the nation and nationhood. The national integration

conference defines national integration as "a psychological and

educational process, involving the development of feeling of unity,

solidarity and cohesion, in the hearts of people a sense of common

citizenship and a feeling of loyalty to the nation" Myron Weiner

explained national integration involving following four dimensions, (i)

a process of bringing together culturally and socially discrete groups

into a single territorial unit and the establishment of national identity,

(ii) the process of establishing a central national authority over

subordinate political units and regions which may or may not coincide

with distinct cultural or ethnic groups. (iii) binding governments with

government, (iv) and evolving minimum value and consensus

necessary to maintain a social order with a reference to norms and

processes for achieving of goals. 16

15
Arun K. Chatterji, "Sociological content of Regionalism in India: A
conceptual framework", in Satish Chandra, et. al. (ed.), Regionalism
and National Integration", (Jaipur: Aalekh Publishers : 1976) p. 43.
16w.
emer, M yron, op c1t.
.

82
 The process of integration itself involves the integration of the

viable regions as a precondition for the development of national

identity. National integration is necessary for modernisation. It

involves readjustment of loyalties of the people. The values of a

tribal, a feudal and a parochial ethos give way to the ideas and ends

of a democratic, egalitarian and an evolving national society.

Integration is thus a movement away from traditionalist allegiances

and towards a modernist allegiance a movement for the

establishment of a new national identity.

In the language of functional politics, the term national

integration means and ought to mean cohesion but not fusion, unity

but not uniformity, reconciliation but not merger, accommodation but

not elimination, assimilation but not extinction, synthesis but not

non-existence, solidarity but not regimentation of the many segments

of the people in a territorial sovereignty.

National integration may be summed up to signify a condition

of unity in diversity in which the components and the whole are

equally valid and mutually inter-dependent. National integration

pressumes the existence both of unity and diversity. Because if there

is only diversity then integration is not possible. Obviously, then

integration is not a process of conversion of diversities into a

83
uniformity but a cognance of diversities leading to a higher level of

unity in which both the varieties and similarities are maintained. It

may be also remembered that all diversities are not and need not be

constructed as divisive in their operation. Viable plural societies

17
anyhow presume that diversities are reconcilable.

As India represents a plural society, integration becomes all the

more a prerequisite so as to accommodate the divergent elements

under a common fold. So, the constitution of India has provided an

institutional consensus in the form of democratic, secular and federal

republic so as to accommodate the diverse forces of Indian society

under a common body politics. It also emphasised the ideas of

common national culture, secularism and a common national language

as the basic elements of nation-building. Despite the five decades of

independent national life the consensus has been questioned and

challenged by the forces of separatism and fissiparous elements. The

efforts have been undertaken to pave for national integration in India.

National integration conference have been convened to discuss the

problem of nation integration since 1961. The conference emphasised

that no political parties should indulge in any activity which

aggravates the existing differences and causes tensions between

17
Rasheeduddin Khan, op cit., p.85.

84
various castes, communities and linguistic groups. The conferences

noted the role of education as an important variable in promoting

national integration and therefore suggested uniform and cohesive

education policy and even suggested making concurrent list.

Despite such positive efforts, there is rise in regionalism,

communal tensions and caste atrocities. These problems continue to

act as a challenge to the unity and solidarity of India. It will persist

and may even rise due to the paucity of any massive economic

transformation. The need of the hour is therefore for the union and

state governments to embark upon a few imaginative and progressive

policies for the economic development of the deprived groups and

regions thereby eradicating regional imbalances and bring about all

around socio-economic development. These measures may go a long

way in contributing to the long cherished dream of attainment of

national integration and national identity.

85
 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

India is a federal democracy which is functioning in the specific

context of its considerable size and diversity. It has evolved in

response to the challenges arising from increased political awareness

manifested periodically in electoral mobilisation based on universal

adult franchise. In a multi party democratic system, the emergence of

regional parties are an inevitable consequence of the intrinsic

diversity of India's socio-economic and cultural facets)These regional

parties articulate and provide a vent to the aspirations of the people

of that particular community or region they represen;) This in turn

paves the ground for regionalism and sub-nationalism.

'!'·
(.The successive rounds of general elections from 1952 till 1996

has witnessed the gradual growth and strengthening of the regional

parties. The emergence of the regional parties, however, provides a

specific pattern in terms of their areas of operation which is helpful in

the regionalisation of the regional partiesJ The mountaineous areas of

. I

the country has parties which have a strong support in the tribal

areas. These regional parties like Mizo National Front, Sikkim

Sangram Parishad, Gorkha National Liberation Front, etc{highlight

the problems of the people inhabiting the mountaineous regions.

86
Where as in Plains and Plateaus we find parties based on caste,

religion, language etc:'These regional parties fight for the problems of

I

particular caste like the Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Samata Party etc.,

religion like the Akali Dal, language like the Telugu Desam party .

.
(The first two decades after India gained independence,
\

however, didnot witness as the emergence of any major regional

partie,;} The representation of the regional parties in the Lok Sabha

was a mere one or two percent. {After 1967, with the split in the

Congress Party, there emerged numerous regional parties formed by

breakaway groups of the Congress part/') These regional parties,

despite being strong in the states, could not successfully challenge

the national parties at the centre. In many states they formed

governments with the help of national or other state parties, thus

ushering in an era of coalition governments. (Experimentation with

coalition government at the centre started in 1977, and again in 1989

and in 1996 when all the opposition national and major regional

parties came under a single banner to fight the dominant national

parties like the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party j But this

experiment met with failure primarily because different parties have

diverse ideologies and apart from preventing the Congress I or the

Bharatiya Janata Party to form governments at the centre they donot

have any common point. Moreover there are ego problems with the

87
prominent leaders which further pulls away different parties in

different directions. Apart from being providing unstable

governments the coalition government also have few drawbacks. For

instance, the decision making power shifts from the Prime Minister to

a Steering Committee or the Coordination Committee. The Prime

Minister cannot appoint Ministers to his cabinet according to his own

wish but had to relent to the demands of different parties which want

particular port folio to be given to their party. Moreover, norm of

secrecy is violated.{Nevertheless, the coalition governments have

their positive sides also. The coalition government gives opportunity

to each and every constituent to take part in the decision making

process. Every party which forms the part of the coalition

government are able to put forward the causes for which it is fighting

and can draw the attention of the central government to any

particular problem. Moreover, coalition government helps in

strengthening "cooperative federalism" thereby enhancing and

highlighting the rich diverse fabric of the Indian society. It also

provides a viable alternative in a parliamentary democrac0 There is

no doubt that coalition politics is here to stay. This fact is further

accentuated and strengthened by the election results of 1998, when a

coalition government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was formed at

the centre. The failure of the national parties to secure adequate

88
seats in the Lok Sabha force them to look towards the regional parties

to form governments at the centre. This coalition government have

immense impact on the federal system of the country. The regional

parties with gaining of strength successfully challenged the single

party dominance at the centre. They are in a better position to

bargain. They are able to stress for greater devolution of power,

equitable distribution of resources, greater cooperation between the

centre and the states and also between states for settling problems in

a more amicable manner. They stressed for "cooperative federalism".

However, the coalition governments formed with the help of smaller

parties primarily with regional parties have its disadvantages. Many

of the regional parties have narrow regional outlook and are

preoccupied with their petty regional politics. They try to forward

their causes with little understanding of the repercussions it might

have on the national politics. In order to sustain the coalition

governments, it is imperative for the coalition partners to shed their

narrow regional outlook, broaden their horizon and should help in

sustaining the government keeping in mind that a stable government

at the centre will be able to work and deliver the goods to people in a

better way and at the same time can improve the country's standing

in the international arena. For the sustenance of the coalition

government it was hitherto opined that pre-poll alliance is necessary.

89
But in the recent times it is seen that many parties in the coalition

defy the norms of alliance and resort to the tactics of blackmailing in

order to meet their demands by the coalition government. But, the

pre-poll alliance is very important as it provides a legitimacy to the

coalition and it also becomes decisive when after the election the

President calls any party to form the government.

The regional parties articulate and express the aspiration of the

people and provide a vent to the pent up demands of the people of

the particular region or community which they represent. They also

look up to the government at the centre with greater power to heed

their problems and find solutions. They also pressurise the

government to form policies and programmes for all round

development of their regions and implement it. This fact also inspired

them to ascertain that the government at the centre sustains itself to

work together with greater harmony among other states. Looking

from this perspective, the regional parties do have a positive impact

on the national integration and enhance a feeling of mutual habitation

among different units of the federal system thereby strengthening the

centripetal forces.

The regional parties, when further their petty, parochial

aspirations and acquire an unbending attitude threatening

90
sessionism, if their demands are not met, strengthen the centrifugal

forces. This causes serious threats to the unity and integrity of the

country. The main reason of the strengthening of the centrifugal

forces is the rise of the distorted form of regionalism and sub-

regionalism. Regionalism express itself in different forms like

linguism, religious fundamentalism, tribalism, racial attributes and

other forms of regionalism. The main reason which underline the rise

of regionalism is economic. The relative economic underdevelopment

of one region leads to the feeling of deprivation among the people.

This gives rise to mutual hatred among people of different regions

and raises the slogan of "sons of the soil". All the contemporary

agitation clamouring for further autonomy on the demand of new

states like Uttarakhand, Vananchal, Chhatisgarh etc. have the

common connotation of economic issue. The central government in

order to underplay the heightened emotions of regionalism which

threatens the basic fibre of the society thereby damaging prospects of

national integration, do give in to the demands of separate states,

sometimes partially and sometimes completely.

From the above discussion based on the spatial analysis of the

political process in context of election, it can be concluded that

regional parties is the, reality of the contemporary politics of India.

They are exerting a profound impact on the federal set up of the

91
country. They are redefining the centre-state relations by heavily

tilting the balance of power to the state. They are forming the part of

the central government which is providing with a greater say in the

decision making process. They are strengthening the concept of

"cooperative federalism". Moreover, the regional parties by

articulating and expressing the aspirations of the people are

strengthening the centripetal forces consequently enhancing national

unity and integrity.

However, for making India more stable and strong it is

imperative on the part of both national and regional parties to

understand the problems of the people and form policies and

programmes for all round socio-cultural and economic developments

of India and firmly implement it.

92
 INDIA
PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES

-- --
•tro 75 0 ISO ~

.. 1- 'J

BAY
ARABIAN OF
BENGAL
SEA

·:'
0
0
.·
0

( fott. 1<.<.'1 I.o ..tAL c-.w·~ .~.'

oo
~ .:lu. A~·"'>(_ II """' Pc..r- q~ )
I N_OI A N 0 C E A N
 APPENDIX II

LIST OF PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES

ARUNACHAL PRADESH 2. Silchar 38. Sesaram

3. Autonomous District 39. Bikramganj
1. Arunachal East 4. Dhuburi 40. Aurangabad
2. Arunachal West 5. Kokrahjar 41. Jahanabad
6. Barpeta 42. Nawada
ANDHRA PRADESH 7. Guwahati 43. Gaya
8. Mangaldai 44. Chapra
I. Srilal.:ulam 9. Tezpur 45. Kodarrna
2. Pan·atipuram 10. Nowgong 46. Girdih
3. Bobbill 11. Kaliabor 47. Dhanbad
4. Vishalapatnam 12. Jorhat 48. Hazaribagh
5. Bhadrachalarn 13. Dibrugarh 49. Ran chi
6. Anakapalle 14. Lakhirnpur 50. Jamshedpur
7. Kalmada 51. Singhbhwni
8. Raialunundry BIHAR 52. Khuti
9. Arnalapuram 53. Lohardaga
10. Narasapur 1. Bagaha 54. Palamu
11. Eluru 2. Bettiah
12. Mah.ilipatnam 3. Mothari GOA
13. Vijavawada 4. Gopalganj
14. Tenal 5. Siwan 1. Panaji
15. Guntur 6. Maharajganj 2. Marmagao
16. Bap.1tla 7. Chhapra
17. Narasarapet 8. Hajipur GUJARAT
18. Ongole 9. Vaishali
19. Nell ore 10. Muzaffarpur 1. Kachchh
20. Tirupati 11. Sitmarhi 2. Surendranagar
21. Chittoor 12. Sheohar 3. Jamnagar
22. Rajampet 13. Madhubani 4. Rajkot
23. Cuddaph 14. Jhanjharpur 5. Porbandar
24. Hindupur 15. Darbhanga 6. Junagadh
25. Anantpur 16. Rosera 7. Amreli
26. Kumool 17. Samastipur 8. Bha\11agar
27. NanJyal 18. Barhi 9. Dhandhula
28. Nagark:umool 19. Bali a 10. Ahmadabad
29. Mahbubnagar 20. Saharsa 11. Gandhinagar
30. Hvd.::rabad 21. Madhepura 12. Mahesana
31. Secunderabad 22. Araria 13. Patan
32. Siddtpet 23. Kishanganj 14. Banaskantha
33. MedJ.k. 24. Purnia 15. Sabarkantha
34. Nizamabad 25. Katihar 16. Kapadmnj
35. Adilabad 26. Rajrnahal 17. Doh ad
36. Peddapalli 27. Durnka 18. Godhra
37. Kannnagar 28. Godda 19. Kaira
38. Hanarnkonda 29 Banka 20. Anand
'u
_).,. Wara.ngal 30. Bhagalpur 21. Choota Udcpur
40. Khammam 31. Khagaria 22. Vadodara (Baroda)
41 Nalgonda 32. Munger 23. Bharuch (Broach)
42 Minalguda 33. Begusarai 24. Surat
34. Nalanda 2-5 MandYi
ASSAM 35. Patna 26. Valsad (Bubar)
36. Ara
Kanmganj 37. Buxar

94
HARYANA KERALA 36. Dhar
37. Indore
}_ Ambala }_ Kasargod 38. Ujjain
2. Kurukshetra 2. Cannanore 39. Jhabua
3. Kamal 3. Badagara 40. Mandsaur
4. Sonipet 4. Kozhikode (Calicut)
5. Rohtak 5. Manjeri MAHARASHTRA
6. Faridabad 6. Ponnani
7. Mahendragarh 7. Palghat }_ Rajapur
8. Bhiwani 8. Ottapalam 2. Ratnagiri
9. Hisar 9. Trichur 3. Raigad (Kolaba)
10. Sirsa 10. Muk--undapuram 4. Bombay South
11. Ernakulam 5. Bombay South Central
HIMACHAL PRADESH 12. Muvattupuzha 6. Bombay North Central
13. Kottayam 7. Bombay North East
}_ Shim Ia 14. Iddukki 8. Bombay North West
2. Mandi 15. Alleppey 9. Bombay North
3. Kangra 16. Mavelikara 10. Thane
4. Hamirpur 17. A door 11. Dahanu
18. Quilon 12. Nashik
JAMMU & KASHMIR 19. Chirayinkil 13. Malegaon
}_ Baramula 20. Trivandrurn 14. Dhule
2. Srinagar 15. Nandurbar
3. Anantnag MADRYA PRADESH 16. Erandol
4. Ladakh 17. Jalgaon
5. Udhampur 1. Morena 18. Bu1dana
6. Jammu 2. Bhind 19. Akola
3. Gwalior 20. Washim
KARNATAKA 4. gunja 21. Amravati
5. Sagar 22. Ramtek
}_ Bidar 6. Khajuraho 23. Nagpur
2. Gulbarga 7. Damoh 24. Bhandara
3. Raichur 8. Satna 25. Chimur
4. Koppal 9. Rewa 26. Chandrapur
5. Bellary 10. sidhi 27. Wardha
6. Davangere 11. Shahdol 28. Yavatmal
7. Chitradurga 12. Surguja 29. Hingoli
8. Turnk:ur 13. Raigarh 30. Nanded
9. Chikballapur 14. Janjgir 31. Parbhani
10. Kolar 15. bilaspur 32. Jaina
11. Kanakapura 16. Sarangarh 33. Aurangabad
12. Bangalore North 17. Raj pur 34. Beed (Bhir)
13. Bangalore South 18. Mahassarnund 35. Latur
14. Mandya 19. Kanker 36. Osmanadbad
15. Charnranjnagar 20. Bastar 37. Solapur
16. Mysore 21. Durg 38. Pandharpur
17. Mangalore 22. Raj Nandgaon 39. Ahmadnagar
18. Udupi 23. Balaghat 40. Kopargaon
19. Hassan 24. Mandla 41. Khed
20. Chikmagalur 25. Jabalpur 42. Pune
21. Shimoga 26. Seoni 43. Baramati
22. Ka.nara 27. Chhi.ndwara 44. Sa tara
n Dharwad South 28. Betul 45. Karad
24. Dharwad North 29. Hoshangabad 46. Sangli
25. Belgaum 30. Bhopal 47. Ichalkaranji
26. Chikkodi 31. Vidisha 48. Kolhapur
27. Bagalkot 32. Rajgarh
28. Bijapur 33. Shajapur MANIPUR
34. Khandwa
35. Khargon I. Inner Manipur

95
2. Outer Manipur 4. Jhunjhunun 32. Pudukkotai
5. Si.kar 33. Sivaganga
MEGHALAYA 6. Jaipur 34. Ramanathapuram
7. Dausa 35. Sivakasi
I. Shillong 8. Alwar 36. Tirunel veli
2. Tura 9. Bharatpur 37. Tenkasi
IO. Bayana 38. Tiruchchendur
MIZORAM II. Sawai Madhopur 39. Nagercoil
I2. Ajmer
I. Mizoram 13. Tonk TRIPURA
I4. Kota
NAG ALAND 15. Jhalwar I. Tripura West
I6. Banswara 2. Tripura East
I. Naga!and I7. Saiumber
I8. Udaipur UTTAR PRADESH
ORISSA I9. Chittaurgarh
20. Bhilwara I. Telui Garwal
I. Mayurbhanj 21. Pali 2. Garhwal
2. Baleshwar 22. Jalor 3. A! mora
3. Bhoadrak 23. Barmer 4. Naini Tal
4. Jajpur 24. Jodhpur 5. Bijnor
5. Kendra para 25. Nagaur 6. Amroha
6. Cuttak 7. Moradabad
7. Jagatsinghpur SIKKIM 8. Rampur
8. Puri 9. Sambhal
9. Bhubaneshwar I. Sikkim 10. Budaun
IO. Ask a II. Aonla
II. Bralunapur TAMILNADU I2. Bareilly
I2. Koraput 13. Phlibhit
13. No\nangpur I. Madras North I4. Shahjahanpur
14. Kalahandi 2. Madras Central I5. Kheri
15. Phulbani 3. Madras South I6. Shahabad
I6. Balangir 4. Sriperumbudur I7. Sitapur
17. Samba! pur 5. Chengalpattu 18. Misrikh
18. Dcogarh 6. Arakkonam 19. Hardoi
19. Dhenkanal 7. Veil ore 20. Lucknow
20. Sundergarh 8. Tiruppattor 21. Mohanlalganj
21. Kendujhar 9. Vandavasi 22. Unnao
10. Tindivanam 23. Rae Barelli
PUNJAB II. Cuddalore 24. Pratapgarh
I2. Chidambaram 25. Amethi
I. Gurdaspur 13. Dharmapuri 26. Sultanpur
2. Amritsar I4. Krishnagiri 27. Akbarpur
3. Tar Taran 15. Rasipuram 28. Faizabad
4. Ja1andhar I6. Salem 29. Bara Banki
5. Phillaur 17. Tiruchengodu 30. Kaiserganj
6. Hoshiarpur I8. Nilgiri 31. Bahraich
7. Rupnagar 19. Gobichettipalayam 32. Balrampur
8. Patia1a 20. Coimbatore 33. Gonda
9. Ludhiana 21. Pollachi 34. Basti
10. Sang.rur 22. Palani 35. Domariaganj
11. Bathinda 23. Dindigul 36. Khali1abad
12. Faridkot 24. Madurai 37. Bansgaon
13. FeroLpur 2.5. Peri\·aku1am 38. Gorakpur
26. Karur 39. Mal1araj ganj
RAJASTHAN 27. Tiruccirappalli 40. Padrauna
28. Perambadur 41. Deoria
I. Ganganagar 29. Mayi1aduthurai 42. Sa1empur
2. B1kaner 30. Nagappattinam 43. Balli a
3. Churu 31. Thanjavur 44. Ghosi

96
 45. Azamgarh 17. Diamond Harbour POND I CHERRY
46. Lalganj 18. Jadavpur
47. Machhlishahr 19. Barakpur I. Pondicherry
48. Jaunpur 20. Dum Durn (incl. Karaikal, Yanam
49. Saidpur 21. Calcutta North West & Mahe)
50. Ghazipur 22. Calcutta North East
51. Chandauli 23. Calcutta South
52. Varanasi 24. Haora
53. Robertsganj 25. Uluberia
54. Mirzapur 26. Serampore
55. Phulphur 27. Hugli
56. Allahabad 28. Arambagh
57. Chail 29. Panskura
58. Fatehpur 30. Tamluk.
59. Banda 31. Contai
60. Hamirpur 32. Medinipur
61. Jhansi 33. Jhargram
62. Jalaun 34. Puruliya
63. Ghatampur 35. Banl.."Ura
64. Bilhaur 36. Bislmupur
65. Kanpur 37. Durgapur
66. Eta wah 38. Asansol
67. Kannauj 39. Barddhaman
68. Farruk.habad 40. Katwa
69. Mainpuri 41. Bolpur
70. Jatesar 42. Birbhum
71. Etah
72. Firozabad AANDAMAN AND
73. Agra NICOBAR ISLANDS
74. Mathura
75. Hathras I. Aandaman and Nicobar
76. Aligarh Islands
77. Khurja
78. Bulandshahr CHANDIGARH
79. Hapur
80. Meerut I. Chandigarh
81. Bahpat
82. Muzffamagar DADRA AND NAGAR
83. Kairana HAVELI
84. Saharanpur
85. Haridwar 1. Dadra and Nagar
Haveli
WEST BENGAL
DE LID
Koch Bihar
2. Alipurduars I. East Delhi
3. Jalpaiguri 2. Chandni Chowk
4. Darjiling 3. Delhi Sadar
5. Raiganj 4. Karol Bagh
6. Balurghat 5. New Delhi
7. Maldah 6. Outer Delhi
8. Jangipur 7. South Delhi
9. Murshidabad
10 Baharampur DAMAN AND DIU
11 Krishnanagar
12. Navadwip I. Daman and Diu
13 Barasat
14 Basirhat LAKSHADWEEP
15. Jo~nagar
16. Mathurapur I. Lakshadweep

97
 APPENDIX III

LIST OF THE STATE PARTIES AS RECOGNISED IN THE 1996

GENERAL ELECTIONS

ABBREVIATION PARTY

ADMK All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

AGP Asom Gana Parishad
ASDC. Autonmous State Demand Committee
BSP Bahujan Samaj Party
DMK Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
FBL All India Forward Bloc
FPM Federal Party of Manipur
HVP Haryana Vikas Party
ICS Indian Congress (Socialist)
JMM Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
JPP Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party
KCP Karnataka Congress Party
KEC(M) Kerala Congress (M)
MAG Maharashtrawadi Gomantak
MDMK Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
MNF Mizo National Front
MPP Manipur Peoples Front
MUL Muslim League
NTRTDP (LP) NTR Telugu Desam Party (Lakshmi Parvathi)
PMK Pattali Makkal Katchi
RSP Revolutionary Socialist Party
SAD Shiromani Akali Dal
SDF Sikkim Democratic Front
SHS Shiv Sena
SP Samajwadi Party
SSP Sikkim Sangram Parishad
TDP Telugu Desam party
TMC(M) Tamil Mannila Congress (Moopanar)
TUJS Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti
UGDP United Goan Democratic Party

98
 APPENDIX IV

DATA REGARDING THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL PARTIES IN THE GENERAL ELECTIONS (1952-1996)

IV .a. THE IDMALAY AN REGION

YEARS-~ SEATS WON AND PERCENTAGE OF VOTES

STATES AND PARTIES .J..
1952 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1')91 1996
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
National Conference - - - 1(4) - 2(3) 3(5) 3(5) 3(3) - Did not
24.9 33.9 36.9 46.2 6.8 contest
SIKKIM

Sikkim Janata Parishad - - - - - - l(l) - - -

61.7
Sikkim Congress (R) - - - - - - 0(1) - - 1(1)
22.6
Sikkim Sangram Parishad - - - - - - 0(1) - I (I) 1(1) 0(1)
10.0 68.5 90.1 24.50
Sikkim Democratic Front - - - - - - - - - 1(1)
72.15
Rising Sun Party - - - - - - - - 0 - -
9.6
DARJEELING

GNLF - - - - - - O(l) O(l) l(l) - -

0.5 0.1 1.4
ARUNACHAL PRADESH

Peoples Party of Anmachal - - - - - - 0(2) 0 0(2) - -

40.2 34.6 35.2

99
 -
YEARS~ SEATS WON AND PERCENTAGE OF VOTES
STATES AND PARTIES J..
1952 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996
MANIPUR

Manipur Peoples' Party - - - - 0(1) 0(2) 0( I) 0(1) 0(1) 0(1) 0(1)

12.0 23.5 6.9 17.7 17.1 20.0 6.7
MEGHALAYA

All Party Hills Conference - - - - - - 0(1) - - - -

11.8
MIZORAM

Mizoram National Front - - - - - - -- - 0( 1) 0(1) 0(1)

31.3 34.1 37.6
Peoples' Conference - - - - - - 0(1) - - - -
42.0
NAGALAND

United Democratic Front - - - - - I (I) 0(1) - - - -

51.7 49.0
Nagaland National Organisation - - - - O(l) - - - - - -
39.5
Nagaland National Democratic Party - - - - - - - O(l) - - -
29.4
United Front of Nagaland - - - - I (I) - - - - - -
60.5
Nagaland People's Council - - - - - - - - 0(1) - -
39.7
TRIPURA

Tripura Upaj;Jti Tuba Samiti - - - - - 0(2) 0(2) - - - 0(2)

6.2 13.5 4.6
Amara Bengali - - - - - - - - 0(2) 0(2) -
1.1 3.0
*Source : /:'lee/ion Commission !<eporls

100
IV.h. TilE NORTil INDIAN PLAINS

YEARS-+ SEATS WON AND PERCENTAGE OF VOTES

STATES AND PARTIES -J..
1952 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996
PUNJAB
Shriomani Akali Dal .2(8) - 3(7) - 1(12) 9(9) 1(7) 7(11) 0(4) - 8(9)
11.4 12.3 30.9 42.3 23.4 37.2 1.3 29.7
Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) 0(4) - I (I) - - - - - 6(8) - -
2.2 2.3 29.2
Akali Dal (Sant Fateh Singh) - - - 3(8) - - - - - - -
22.6
Akali Dal (Master Tara Singh) - - 1(1) - - - - - - - -
1.7
Bahujan Samaj Party - - - - - - - - I (12) I (12) 3(4)
8.6 19.7 9.4
HARYANA

Haryana Vikas Party - - - - - - - - - 1(4) 3(4)

5.4 15.2
Vishal Haryana Party - - - - 1(3) 0(1) - - - - -
9.1 4.6
UTTAR PRADESH

Samajwadi Party - - - - - - - - - 5 16(64)

20.8
Bahujan Samajwadi Party BKD in - - - - 1(67) - - - 2(75) 2 6(85)
1971) 12.8 9.9 (3.54) 20.6
Samyukta Socialist Party 2(61) - I (51) 8(43) 0(25) - - - - - -
12.9 8.6 10.3 4.1

101
 YEARS~ SEATS WON AND PERCENTAGE OF VOTES
STATES AND PARTIES ,I,
1952 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996
Praja Socialist Party 0(37) 4(52) 2(48) 2(27) 0(7) - - - - - -
4.9 13.3 10.4 3.7 0.2
Doordarshi Party - - 3(33) I (38) - - - - 0(82) - -
5.0 4.8 1.3
Republican Party of India - - 3(22) 1(24) - - - - 0(4) - -
4.3 4.1 0.1
Samata Party - - - - - - - - - - I

BIHAR

Samata Party - - - - - - - - - - 6(4)

14.1
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha - - - - - - - - - 6(8) 1(20)
4.5 3.01
All India Jharkhand Party - - - - - 1(1) - - - - -
0.6
Jharkhand Party 3(7) 6(12) - - - - - - - - -
7.5 7.5
WEST BENGAL

All India Forward Bloc 0( (,) - I ((,) 2((>) 0(10) 3(1) 3(4) 2(4) 3(J) 3(3) 3(3)
4.5 6.3 4.9 2.7 4.3 4.6 4.1 4.0 3.7 3.42
Revolutionary Socinlist Party 2(4) - 1(2) - 1(5) 3(5) 4(4) 3(4) 4(4) 4(4) 4(4)
2.4 2.6 2.0 3.8 5.:2 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7
ASSAM

Asom Gana Parishnd - - - - - - - 7(10) - I ( 14) 5(11)

33.4 17.6 27.2
All Party Hill Leaders Conference - - 1(1) - 1(1) - - - - - -
3.7 3.0)
*,\'ourcc : !:'lee/ion Col!llllission Reports

102
IV.c. THE PLATEAU

YEARS~ SEATS WON AND PERCENTAGE OF VOTES

STATES AND PARTIES .J..
1952 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996
ANDHRA PRADESH

Te1ugu Desam Party - - - - - - - 30(34) 2(33) 13(35) 16(36)

44.8 34.2) 32.3 32.6
Telangana Praja Samiti 7(12) 2(8) - - 10(14 - - - - - -
28.2 11.0 14.3
GOA
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party - - - - 0(1) 1(2) 1(2) 0(2) 1(1) 0(2) 1(2)
23.2 40.5 36.0 20.3 27.9 20.6 26.9
United Goan Democratic Party - - I (2) - 1(1) - - - - - 1(1)
36.0 24.7 22.7
KARNATAKA
Samajwadi Party - - - - - - - - - 1(6) -
3.8
KERALA
Muslim Leage - - 2(3) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2)
4.5 6.6 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.3 5.2 5.0 5.1
Kerala Congress - - - - 3(3) 2(2) - - - - -
8.6 5.6
Revolutionary Socialist Party 1(1) 0(3) I (1) - 2(2) 1(1) 0(1) - 0(1) - -
6.3 5.1 3.6 6.4 3.1 2.3 2.4
MAHARASHTRA
Shiv Sena - - - - 0(5) - 0(2) - 1(3) 4(17) 15(20)
1.6 0.6 1.2 9.5 16.8
Peasants and Workers· Par1y I (I I) 4(7) 0( I 0) 2( II) 0(12) 5(6) 0(5) 1(3) 0(5) - -
7.0 5.5 6.3 7.5 5.3 6.1 2.5 2.1 2.3
Forward Bloc - - - - 1(3) - - - - - -
2.5

103
 YEARS~ SEATS WON AND PERCENTAGE OF VOTES
STATES AND PARTIES .J,
1952 1957 1%2 1%7 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996
ORISSA

Ganatantra Parishad 5(12) 7(15) 4(10) - - - - - - - -

26.2 29.1 17.4
Utka1 Congress - - - - 1(2) - - - - - -
23.6
Samata Party - - - - - - - - - - 1(2)
1.6
PONDICHERRY

Dravida Munnctra K;ll.hagham - - - - - - - 0(1) 0(1) 0(1) 0(1)

36.1 41.7 35.8 39.9
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra - - - - - 0(1) - 0(1) - - -
Kazhghmn 53.3 6.6
Pattati Makkal Katchi 0(1) - 0(1)
26.7 6.6
TAMIL NAOlJ
.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham - - 7(18) 25(25) 23(24) I (19) 16(16) 2(27) 0(31) 0(29) 17( 17)
18.5 35.8) 35.3 18.0 23.0 25.9 26.7 22.7 25.8
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra - - - - - 18(20) 2(24) 12(12) 11(11) 11(11) 0(10)
Kazhagharn 30.5 25.4 18.4 17.1 18.1 7.84
Tamil Manila Congress (Moopnar) - - - - - - - - - - 20(20)
27.0

*Source : Election Commission Reports

104
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARY SOURCES

The Election Commission Reports (New Delhi The Election

Commission of India).

SECONDARY SOURCES

BOOKS

Arora, Balveer and Mukherji, Nirmal, "The basic issue" in Arora,

Balveer and Mukherji, Nirmal (ed.), "Federation in India,
Origins and Development", (New Delhi : Vikas Publishing
House : 1992).

Banerjee, (Dr.) Kashalaya, "Regional Political Parties in India" (Delhi :

B.R. Publishing Corporation: 1984).

Baxter Craig, "The Jana Sangh, A Biography of an Indian Political

Party", (Philadelphia : Pennsylvania Press : 1969).

Bharadwaj, K.K., "An Open Government, Scenario, Political Parties

and Ninth Lok Sabha", (New Delhi : ABC Publishing House
1990).

Bhatt, Anil, "Dominant Caste and Political Process" in M.N. Srinivas

(ed)., "Dimensions of Social Change in India", (New Delhi :
Allied Publishers : 1977).

Bombwall, K.R., "Regional Political Parties in India", in Bhatnagar S.

Kumar, P. (ed.), "Regional Parties in India", (New Delhi : ESS
ESS Publications : 1988).

Brass, Paul R., "Caste, Faction and Party in Indian Politics, Vol.!;
Election Studies", (Delhi : Chanakya Publications : 1985).

Butler, David, et al., "India Decides- Elections 1952-1991", (New Delhi

: Living Media India : 1991).

Chatterji, Arun Kumar, "Sociological Context of Regionalism in India -

A conceptual framework", in Chandra Satish, et al. (ed.),
"Regionalism and National Integration" (Jaipur : Aalk~h
Publishers : 1976).

105
Chaube, S.K., "Nationalism and Regionalism in India", in Haggi, Prof.
SAH {ed)., "Democracy. Pluralism and Nation Building", {Delhi
: NBO Publishers Distributors : 1984).

Dikshit, R.D., "Political Geography, the Discipline and its

Dimensions", {New Delhi: Tata Megrew-hill publishing : 1994).

Dikshit, {Dr.) S.K., "Electoral Geography of India", {Varanasi : Vishwa

Vidyalaya Prakashan : 1992).

Dubhashi, P.R., "Centre-State Relations in India; A Debate

reconsidered in Kumar, Pradeep {ed), "Studies in Indian
Federalism", {New Delhi : Deep and Deep Publications : 1988).

Dutta Prabhat, "Regionalisation of India Politics", {Delhi : Sterling

Publishers : 1993).

Erdman, Howard L., "The Sawatantra party and Indian Conservation",

{Cambridge : Cambrdige University Press : 1967).

Grover, Verinder, "Elections and Politics in India", {New Delhi : Deep

and Deep Publications : 1988).

Hedge, Ramakrishna, "Credible Coalition at the Centre", in Ram, D.

Sundar (ed), "Readings in the Indian Parliamentary Opposition
- Vol.2" (New Delhi : Kanishka Publishers, Distributors : 1996).

Hillar, Harry H., "Canadian Society: A Macro Analysis", (Ottawa :

Asia : 1991).

Jain, S.K., "Party Politics and Centre-State Relations in India", (New

Delhi : Abhinav Publications : 1994).

Johnston, R.J., "Geography an the State : An eassy in Political

Geography", (London: Routlidge : 1980).

Johnston, R.J. et al. (ed.). "Development in Electroal Geography",

(London: Routlidge : 1980).

Key, V.O. (Jr.), "Politics, Parties and Pressures Groups", (New York :
Thomas Y. Crowell Company : 1969).

Khan, Rasheeduddin, "Political and Socio-cultural determinants of

India Federation" in Bombwall, K.R. (ed), "National Power and
State Autonomy", (Meerut : Asia Publishing House : 1968).

Khan, Rasheeduddin, "Federal India, A Design for Charrge", (New

Delhi : Vikas Publishing Hosue : 1992).

106
Kothari, Rajni, "Opposition in India", in Ram, D. Sunder (ed),
"Opposition Parties and Indian Party Politics, {New Delhi :
Kanishka Publishers, Distributors : 1996).

Kothari, Rajni, "Politics and the People; in search of a humane India -

Vol.I", (Delhi : Ajanta Publications : 1989).

Kumar, Arun, "The Turning Point 1996, Poll Story", {New Delhi
Konark Publishers : 1997).

Kumar, Pradeep, "Communal Dimensions of Regionalism in Indian

Federation : A Study of Trends in Akali Politics in Mazeed
Akhtar (ed.), "Developmental Tensions in India", (New Delhi :
Cosmos Publications : 1984).

Kumar, Pradeep (ed.), "Studies in Indian Federalism", (New Delhi

Deep and Deep Publications : 1988).

Maurice Dueeger, "Political Parties, their Organisation and Activity in

Modern States", (London : Methuen and Co. : 1955).

Mazeed, Akhtar (ed.), "Developmental Tensions in India", (New Delhi

: Cosmos Publications : 1984).

Michael, (Capt.) St. John F., "The North-East Frontiers of India",

(Delhi : Vivek Publications : 1973).

Mishra, R.N., "Regionalism and State Politics in India", (New Delhi

Ashish Publications : 1984).

Misra, S.N., "Politics of Regionalism in India with Spl. reference to

Punjab", (New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publication: 1997).

Narain, Iqbal, "Regionalism; a conceptual analysis in the Indian

context", in Mazeed Akhtar (ed.), "Developmental Tensions in
India", (New Delhi : Comas Publications : 1984).

Namboodiripad, E.M.S., "Problems of National Integration", (Calcutta

: National Book Agency: 1966).

Pande, K.C. "Regionalism and Problems of National Integraiotn in

India", in Chander Satish, et at (ed.), "Regionalism and
Naitonal Integration", (Jaipur: Aalekh Publishers : 1976).

Pattabhiram, Mamidipudi, "Opposition Parties in India - An overall

Assessment" in Ram, Sundar D. (ed) "Readings in the Indian
Parliamentary Oppositions. Vol.2", (New Delhi : Kanishka
Publishers, Distributors : 1996).

107
Raghavan, G.N.S., et al., "Forty Years of World's Largest Democracy, a
Survey of Indian Elections", (New Delhi : Gian Publishing
House : 1990).

Ram, D. Sunder (ed.), "Reading in the Indian Parliamentary Opposition

- Vol.2", (New Delhi: Kaniskha Publishers : 1996).

Ramu, P.S., "Eleventh Lok Sabha Elections Dangerous Portends :

Prospects of Parliamentary Democracy in India", (New Delhi :
Institute for Socialist Education : 1996).

Rao, V. Krishna, "Regionalism" in Satyanarayan P., et al. (ed.),

"Perspective on National Integration", (Hyderabad : Prakasan
Institute of Development Studies : 1982).

Rahmatulah, S., "Obsolesence of Nationalism, An appraisal of

autonomy forces in North-Eastern India", in Bhatnagar S. and
Kumar, P. {ed), "Regional Parties in India", (New Delhi : ESS
ESS Publications : 1988).

Ray, Amal. "Tension Areas in India's Federal System", (Calcutta

World Press : 1970).

Raza, Moonis, et al., "India, General Geography", (New Delhi: NCERT

: 1993).

Sadasivan, S.N., "Party and Democracy in India", (New Delhi Tata

Mcgraw Publishing Co. : 1977).

Sahni, Naresh Chander (ed}, "Coalition Politics in India", (Jullundhar:

New Academic Publishing Company: 1971).

Shivlal, "Indian Elections since Independence", (New Delhi The

Election Archives : 1972).

Singh Gopal and (Mrs.) Kaur Rajendra, "Politics of Sikh Homeland" in

Saxena K.S. and Gupta, Anil {ed.), "Indian Democracy : Recent
Trends and Issues", (Delhi : Anmol Publications : 1985).

Singh, V.B. and Bose Shankar, "Elections in India Data Handbook on

Lok Sabha Elections 1952-85", (New Delhi : Sage Publications :
1986).

Srinivasavaradhan, T.C.A. "Pluralistic Problems in the Federal

system", in Arora Balveer and Mukherji Nirmal {ed.),
"Federalism in India. Origins and Development", (New Delhi :
Vikas Publishgin: 1992).

108
Subramanya, K.N., "Development of Politics in India", (New Delhi
Deep and Deep Publications: 1984).

Sukhwal, B.L., "Modern Pol~tical Geography of India", (New Delhi

Sterling Publishers : 1985).

Tiwari, O.P ., "Federalism and Centre State Relations in India, towards

a new era of mutual cooperation", in Arora Balveer and
Mukherji Nirmal (ed.), "federalism in India, Origins and
Development", (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing : 1992).

Verma, Ramesh Kumar, "Regionalism and sub-Regionalism in State

Politics, social, economic and political bases", (New Delhi :
Deep and Deep Publications : 1994).

Weiner, Myron, "India at the Polls, 1980; a study of the parliamentary

elections", (New Delhi : Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers :
1984).

ARTICLES

Ahmed, Imitiaz, "Post Nationalist South Asia", Himal, Vol.9(5), July

96, pp.10-14.

Akhtar, Shaheen, "Lok Sabha Elections, 1996", Regional Studies,

Vol.XV, no.(2), Spring 1997, pp.3-68.

Chander, Sudhir, "Regional Conciousness in 19th Century India : A

preliminary note", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.XVII,
August 7, 1982, pp.1275-83.

Chatterjee, Ramanand, "Nationalism - Past, present and future",

Mainstream, Vol.31(22), 10 Apr'93, pp.24-26.

Dua, Dhagwan (D) and Singh, Mahendra P., "Wither Indian

Federalism. The Sarkaria Commission Report and Beyond",
Monthly Conventary on Indian Economic Conditions, Vol.31(1),
Aug'1989, pp.15-20.

Dutt, R.C., "Federalism and nation building", Mainstream, Vol.30(18),

22 Feb.'92, p.31-33.

Ghosh, Arun, "Federalism, democracy and decentralization. Economic

and Political Weekly, Vol.27(46), 14 Nov.'1992, pp.2453-55.

109
Gupta, Dipankar, "Indispensable Centre : Ethnicity and politics in the
Indian nation State", Journal of Contemporary Asia, Vol.20(4),
1990, pp.521-39.

Guha, Amalendu, "The Indian National Question", Economic and

Political Weekly, July 1982, p.4.

Hardgrave, Robert L. (Jr.), "The North-East, Punjab and the

remobilisation of Indian politics", Asian Survey, Vol.XXIII,
No.(11), Nov.'83, p.1171.

J ai Prakash, "Problems and Prospects of nation building in India",

Political Science Review, Vol.27(1-4), Jan-Dec., 1988, pp.109-
116.

Jain, S.K., "Indian Federation and Party System", Teaching Politics,

Vol.19(3-4), Nov. 1993.

Johnston, R.J., "Electroal Geography and Political Geography;

Australian Geographical Studies, Vol.18, pp.37-50.

Farhat, Perveen, "Ascendency of Regional forces in Indian politics",

Regional Studies, Vol.XV, no.1, winter 1996-97, pp.142-169.

Fernandes, George, "Indian Nationalism, Problems and Challenges",

Mainstream, (Annual), 1990, pp.19-26.

"Is Indian distintegrating", Radical Humanist, Vol.55(1), Apr.'91, pp.1-

59.

Karat, Prakash, "Problems of National Unity, Historical and Economic

roots of regionalism", Social Scientist, Vol.12(9), Sept. 84, p.55.

Kaushik, V.D., "Federalism, Parliamentary democracy and political

parties : The Indian experience", Teaching Politics, Vol.17(3-
4), 1991, pp.47-58.

Kothari Rajni, "Congress and Consensus", Seminar No. 94, 1967.

Kumar, Pradeep, "Regionalism and Regional Parties in the conflict of

the state politics; Indian", Journal of Political Science,
Vol.52(4), Oct-Dec.91, pp.554-567.

Mahajan, Gurpreet and Joseph Sarah, "Rethinking political options",

Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.26(26), 29 Jun. 1991,
pp.1598-1600.

110
Masaldam, P.N., "Concepts of Nationalism and the Question of
National Integration", Indian Journal of Political Science,
Vol.49(1), Jan-Mar. '88, pp.40-46.

Momoe, James, "Anomie in Indian Politics", Economic and Political

Weekly, Annual number, 1983.

Mukherji, Partha N., "Indian State in Crisis? : Nationalism and Nation

Building", Sociological Bulletin, Vol.43(1). Mar.94, pp.21-49.

"Nationalism Reexamined", Social Research, Vol.63(1), Spring 1996,

pp.3-286.

Noorani, A.G., "Serving Interests of India's Federal Polity",

Mainstream, Vol.30(49), 26 Sept. 1992, pp.7-8.

Pai, Sudha, "Reigonal Parties and the emerging pattern of politics in

India", Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol.51(3), July-
Sept. '90, pp.393-415.

Pai, Sudha, "Transformation of the Indian party system: The 1996 Lok
Sabha Elections", Asian Survey, Vol.36(12), Dec. 1996, pp.1170-
83.

Pathy, Jagnath, "Nation building in multinational state", Annals of

the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences,
Vol.13(3), Sept. 91, pp.1-10.

Puri, Balraj, "Popular upsurge or disintegration", Radical Humanist,

Vol.55(1), Apr'91, pp.35-38.

Puri, Yogesh, "Evolution of the Party System and Centrism in India",

Mainstream, Vol.29(12), Jan.'91, pp.13-18.

Sengupta, Bhabani, "People, Parties and Power", Economic and

Political Weekly, Vol.26(15), 13 April'91, pp.937-40.

Singh, Ajay K., "Nation-building and regionalism", Third Concept,

Vol.4(50-51), Apr-Mary'94, pp.57-58.

Singh, Mahendra Prasad, "Political parties and politial economy of

federalism : A paradigm shift in Indian politics", Indian
Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.7(2). Apr-June, 1994, pp.155-78.

Verney, Douglas V., "Federalism, Federative Systems and

Federations, the US, Canada and India", Publius, Vol.25(2),
Spring 1995) pp.81-98.

111
Vinod, M.J., "Indian Parliamentary Elections 1996, the message and
hope", Mainstream, Vol.34(33), 20 July 1996, pp.13-16.

Vinod, M.J., "The Message and the Hope", Mainstream, July 20, 1996,
pp.14-15.

NEWSPAPERS/WEEKLIES

The Times of India, New Delhi.

The Hindustan Times, New Delhi.

The Deccan Herald, Madras.

The Hindu, Madras.

The Statesman, Calcutta.

Frontline, Madras.

Sunday, Delhi.

112