Study Circle on ‘Emergence of political parties in India’

   A study circle on ‘emergence of political parties in India’ was organized on 27th April, 2012. It was discussed in two references: pre-independence period and post-independence period. In pre-independence period the main cause for emergence of political parties was the attainment of freedom for India. In post-independence period the main reasons include regional needs and language and ideological differences.

Today most of the political parties work in alliances, so there are ideological differences among them. So they face challenges in taking decisions and framing policies. Moreover the main party in the alliance has to satisfy all the other parties in order to remain in power. In this way regional party leaders can force the main party to take decisions which satisfy their personal needs. Thereby the policy framing of the nation is harmed.

There was also a discussion on why people join political parties. The main reason that came to forefront was the need of power and fame. Another reason is that people are influenced by the ideology of certain political parties. Few people join politics for serving the nation.
One thing that came into light was that many people in political parties are uneducated and come to power because of support of few people. The main reason for this is that educated people do not vote. Due to this, only small population vote and most of which are illiterate. Some undeserving candidates are able to win over the votes of these people by money and other means. In this way undeserving people rise to power.

Finally there was a discussion on how can we contribute to the political system. The main point that came up was that we should vote. Our votes decide the leaders of our country. But we do not vote and give excuses that no candidate is right. But in this way there is no hope for change in system. We can vote according to party’s ideology or its leader.  Secondly we should be aware about the political system and also spread awareness among other people. We can also join a political party to create a change in system because ‘there is no bad game, only bad players’.