Unit 4 of Political Science – II (syllabus: Module IV — the significance of political parties in India, how they differ from interest groups, the features of Indian parties and coalition politics; political legitimacy and democracy — the consent of the governed, the conditions essential for success, ethical decay, and the old and new challenges to Indian democracy; and democratic decentralisation — Gandhian Gram Swaraj, Article 40 and the 73rd and 74th Amendments, the Gram Sabha and participatory democracy, and the implications for gender and social inclusion). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- What is a political party, and what functions does it perform?
- What is the difference between a political party and a pressure group?
- What are the features of the party system in India?
- What are the defects of the party system, and why is a non-party democracy not the answer?
- How does an election confer legitimacy, and what makes an election genuine?
- What conditions are essential for the success of democracy, and how do the challenges to Indian democracy map on to them?
- How did Article 40 come into the Constitution, and what compromise does it represent?
- What did the 73rd and 74th Amendments change, and how far has social inclusion through them succeeded?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Constitution of India, s. Article 40
- Constitution of India, s. Part IX and Part IXA; Articles 243D, 243G and 243K