Conservatism in India refers to expressions of conservative politics in India. Conservative-oriented political parties have included the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress Nationalist Party,[1] and the Uttar Pradesh Praja Party. In addition, a number of figures within the Indian National Congress, such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were conservative.[2]

A Pew research survey conducted between late 2019 and early 2020 found that India is a largely conservative country.[3]

History

National level

19th Century : Rise of modern conservatism

Modern Indian conservatism arose as a reaction to colonialism under European powers and the subsequent loss of sovereignty and political power-it harkened back to a glorious Hindu past before the time of foreign invasions.Social and cultural changes laid the groundwork for Hindu revivalism as well as traditionalism.[4]

1906 - 1933 : Establishment of political organisations take place

All-India Muslim League was a political party formed as a response to Hindu opposition(supported by Congress party)to Bengal partition of 1905.It aimed to safeguard the interests of Muslims.This along with the creation of a separate Muslim electorate under Morley-Minto reforms in 1909 consolidated the Hindu Right, resulting in formation of Hindu Mahasabha.[5] Later Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was started by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar[6] after being disillusioned by the participation of INC in the Khilafat Movement.

1934 - 1976 : Splits from Indian National Congress and formation of Jan Sangh

Conservatism manifested under the aegis of Indian National Congress as well in early to mid 20th century.[7]

Madan Mohan Malaviya along with Madhav Shrihari Aney split away from the party in 1934 in protest of the Communal Award (announced in 1932). They began Congress Nationalist Party afterwards.[8]

Syama Prasad Mukherjee started Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1951 as a nationalistic alternative to Congress after he left Hindu Maha Sabha.[9]

The Swatantra party was formed by right-leaning congress members in response to the socialistic turn of INC after the Nagpur resolution of 1959.They stood for free markets and dismantling of dirigiste policies prevalent at the time.

Later another conservative faction known as the Indian National Congress (Organisation) also split from INC in 1969 due to the left-wing economic policies of Indira Gandhi, like bank nationalisations.[10]

The Swatantra party later merged into Bharatiya Lok Dal in 1974.

Conservative political parties had very limited success in the national arena even in the late 1970s.[11]

1977 - 1979 : Interregnum between Indira governments and Janata Party rule

Congress(O) and Jan Sangh merged into the Janata Party in 1977. The big tent arrangement led to a government whose foreign policy led India towards closer relations with the United States. But it also caused the exit of several multinational companies from the Indian market due to economic nationalism under the Janata rule.[12]

1980 - 1998 : Emergence of BJP and ascent to power

The electoral misfortune of political conservatism changed with the formation of Bharatiya Janata Party and its later adoption of Ram janmabhoomi campaign which ultimately resulted in BJP going from two seats in 1984 to leading government at the central level in 1996 and 1998.

1999 - 2004 : First full term by non-Congress-led government

BJP retained power after the success of Kargil war in 1999 elections but lost 2004 polls in spite of its India shining campaign.

2005 - present

Later BJP returned to power with larger mandates in the 2014 and 2019 elections[13] and is currently leading opinion polls for 2024 election as well.[14]

State/Regional level

Shiromani Akali Dal was formed in 1920 as a vehicle for Sikh conservatism in Punjab.[15]

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen was founded in Hyderabad in 1927 as a party which wanted setting up of a separate dominion instead of integration with India.[16] [17]

Indian Union Muslim League is the successor of All-India Muslim League in post-independence India. Its first council was held on 10 March 1948 in Madras (now Chennai), adopting a constitution on 1 September 1951.[18] The party is primarily active in Kerala.

Uttar Pradesh Praja Party was formed in the state of Uttar Pradesh to oppose the abolition of the zamindari system on April 5-6 1951.But the party soon disappeared after 1951-52 Lok Sabha elections.[19][20]

On 19 June 1966, Mumbai-based cartoonist Bal Thackeray founded Shiv Sena as a Marathi nativist organisation.[21]

Current conservative parties

Defunct conservative parties

See also

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Sanderson. South Asia 1800-1950.
  2. ↑ McLeod, John (2015). The History of India (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-61069-765-1.
  3. ↑ "India is a tolerant, largely conservative country: A political reading of the Pew survey". Times Of India. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Where Are The Conservative Intellectuals in India". March 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  5. ↑ Bapu, Prabhu (2013). Hindu Mahasabha in Colonial North India, 1915-1930: Constructing Nation and History (1st ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 3, 16. ISBN 978-0415671651.
  6. ↑ "RSS founder Hedgewar was with Congress, and other facts you didn't know". 25 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (6 October 2017). "How Gujarat Congress embraced conservatism: The story of MK Gandhi, Indulal Yagnik and Sardar Patel". Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Beck, Sanderson. South Asia 1800-1950.
  9. ↑ "Founding of Jan Sangh". www.bjp.org. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  10. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (October 2017). "The Roots and Varieties of Political Conservatism in India". Studies in Indian politics. Sage Journals. 5 (2).
  11. ↑ Erdman, Howard (October 1978). "Conservatism in India". Journal of Contemporary History. Sage Publications, Ltd. 13 (4): 791–802.
  12. ↑ Shashi Tharoor (2006). India: From Midnight To Millennium and Beyond. Arcade Publishing. pp. 164–66. ISBN 978-1-55970-803-6.
  13. ↑ "The rise of BJP and the shifting political landscape in India". 14 December 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Opinion poll predicts hat-trick for Modi, limits INDIA bloc to 163 seats". 18 December 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Glorious past, but Shiromani Akali Dal faces serious crisis of identity, popularity & credibility". The Times of India. 14 December 2020. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  16. ↑ Sudhir, TS (17 September 2018). "Telangana polls: BJP borrows from Hyderabad history to recast Modi as Vallabhbhai Patel, paints KCR as 'new Jinaah'". Firstpost.
  17. ↑ Dasgupta, Swapan (22 March 2016). "Statute vs sacred: Owaisi's game has a familiar ring". The Times of India.
  18. ↑ Wright, T. (1966). The Muslim League in South India since Independence: A Study in Minority Group Political Strategies. The American Political Science Review, 60(3), 579-599. JSTOR 1952972
  19. ↑ Richard Sisson; Stanley A. Wolpert (1 January 1988). Congress and Indian Nationalism: The Pre-independence Phase. University of California Press. pp. 174–179. ISBN 978-0-520-06041-8.
  20. ↑ Vasanti Pratapchandra Rasam (1997). Swatantra Party: a political biography. Dattsons. p. 56. ISBN 978-81-7192-033-4.
  21. ↑ "Know Your Party: Shiv Sena". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
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