Mrs Gandhi's Final Term and the Remaking of the Congress (I)'s Social Base

[en] This article examines the impact that national economic policies adopted during Indira Gandhi's final term in office (1980–84) had on four “national” social groups, namely the big industrialists, the middle class, the rich peasantry, and the poor. The study argues that the Congress (I) chose the former two as its major allies, while the rich peasantry and the poor were relegated to a secondary position. In the process, the focus of India's strategy of development shifted from the agrarian to the industrial sector, and from the rural to the urban world.

Disciplines :

Political science, public administration & international relations

Author, co-author :

Maiorano, Diego ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Institut des sciences humaines et sociales > Socio-anthropologie du développement

Language :

English

Title :

Mrs Gandhi's Final Term and the Remaking of the Congress (I)'s Social Base

Publication date :

March 2012

Journal title :

India Review

ISSN :

1473-6489

Publisher :

Routledge

Volume :

Issue :

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14736489.2012.649124#.UcQlQRY5wik

Available on ORBi :

since 21 June 2013

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Bibliography

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The same argument had been made the previous year,
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It is likely that Indira Gandhi used the Budget as an instrument to appease or penalize supporters and adversaries within the business community. This was the feeling of many observers at that time. However, no definite proof exists.
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Similar arguments can be found in Sunil Khilnani, The Idea of India (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1997), p. 48.
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The following factual information are taken from Finance Minister, Budget Speech (see note 57 above), 1980-84, and Ministry of Finance, Economic Survey, 1980-84, and major national newspapers.
Indian Express, June 19, 1980, p. 7.
Economic and Political Weekly, March 15, 1980, p. 545.
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Examples are the scheme providing incentives to those investing in a life insurance (1980), the National Savings Certificate (1981), the Social Security Certificate and the Capital investment Bond (1982), and the National Deposit Scheme (1984).
India Today, December 16, 1985, p. 1.
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Thus the latter group constitutes what we have called "rich farmers."
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Bihar and UP were probably the most striking examples see Francine R. Frankel, "Dominance in Bihar: Breakdown of the Brahmanical Social Order," in Frankel and Rao, eds., Dominance and State Power (see note 4 above).
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This was evident with respect to the Maratha lobby.
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Agriculture and allied services plus Irrigation and flood controls.
Minister of Finance, Budget Speech, 1980-1984 (see note 57 above),;
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Prices of agricultural inputs started rising from the 1970s. Seminar,No. 267 (November 1981), Tab. II, p. 29.
Ministry of Finance, Economic Survey, various issues. Prices were slightly lowered in following years.
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Annex Table 1.1. The "poverty line" is defined as an income of Rs 49 a month at Oct. 1973- Jun. 1974 rural prices. The national figure is 43%.
According to some scholars (e.g., Rudolph and Rudolph, In Pursuit [see note 14 above], p. 377) small farmers tend to identify more with independent farmers than with rural poor. However, for reasons spelled out below, small farmers will be included in our definition of poor.
Frankel, India's Political Economy (see note 27 above), p. 563.
Guha India After Gandhi (see note 33 above), p. 535.
Indian Express, December 12, 1980, p. 1.
In January, 1982 Mrs. Gandhi presented the "recast and redefined" 20-point programme,
Indian Express, January 15, 1982, p. 1.
Economic and Political Weekly, March 28, 1981, p. 585.
Many other smaller programs were financed by the central or the state governments, for example, the Small Farmers Development Agency, the Drought Prone Areas Programme and numerous programs for the betterment of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
N. G. Kurian, "Anti-Poverty Programme: A Reappraisal," Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 24, No. 12 (1989), p. A13.
Nilakantha Rath, "'Garibi Hatao': Can IRDP Do It?," Economic and PoliticalWeekly Vol. 20, No. 6 (1985), pp. 238-226.
Ministry of Finance, Seventh Five-Year Plan, 1985-1990 (New Delhi: Government of India), Vol. 2, Ch. 2;
Ministry of Agriculture, Concurrent Evaluation of IRDP: The Main Findings of the Survey for October 1985-September 1986 (New Delhi: Author, 1987).
K. Subbarao, "Regional Variations in Impact of Anti-Poverty Programmes-A Review of Evidence," Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 20, No. 43 (1985), pp. 1829-1834.
Jean Dreze, "Poverty in India and the IRDP Delusion," Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 25, No. 39 (1990), p. A96.
Madhura Swaminathan, "Village Level Implementation of IRDP: Comparison of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu," Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 25, No. 13 (1990), pp. A17-A27.
G. Hara Gopal and C. H. Bala Rumulu, "Poverty Alleviation Programmes: IRDP in an Andhra Pradesh District," Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 24, No. 35/36 (1989), pp. 2025-2024.
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Raghav Gaiha, "Do Anti-poverty Programmes Reach the Rural Poor in India?," Oxford Development Studies Vol. 28, No. 1 (2000), pp. 71-95;
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Rath, "Garibi Hatao" (see note 135 above), p. 240.
Figure calculated on the basis of the 1981 census. Indian Express, October 10, 1980, p. 6.
World Bank, India-Reducing Poverty (see note 126 above), Annex Table 1.1
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Stuart Corbridge and John Harris, Reinventing India-Liberalization, Hindu Nationalism and Popular Democracy (Cambridge: Blackwell, 2000).
Rudolph and Rudolph, In Pursuit (see note 14 above);
Panagariya, India (see note 27 above).
Indian Express, October 19, 1983, p. 7.
World Bank, India - Reducing Poverty (see note 126 above), Annex Table 1.2.
Finance minister, Budget Speech (see note 57 above), 1981-1982.
Reserve Bank of India, Handbook of Statistics (see note 41 above), p. 60.
Nayar L, "When Did the 'Hindu'" (see note 26 above).
This is also the view of several social scientists, bureaucrats, and senior journalists interviewed by this author in Delhi in late 2010-early 2011.
Praveen K. Chaudhry, Vijay L. Kelkar, and Vikash Yadav, "The Evolution of 'Homegrown Conditionality' in India: IMF Relations," The Journal of Development Studies Vol. 40, No. 6 (2004), pp. 59-81.