State structure
India became a federal parliamentary republic in 1950, when the constitution came into force three years after the country's independence. The political institutions created were inspired by the British parliamentary model, the Westminster system. The federal government is divided into two branches: the central government on the one hand, and the governments of the States and Union Territories on the other. This federal system enables the country, with its vast ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural diversity, to maintain a degree of national cohesion thanks to sufficient political autonomy granted to the states.
Central government. The President of the Republic, elected for a 5-year term, is the head of state. The function is mainly symbolic, and the President actually holds little power. The current President is Droupadi Murmu, a member of the BJP party, in office since July 22, 2022. The central government is headed by the Prime Minister, who has authority over the executive branch. It is he who chooses the government's ministers, with the President's approval. Since 2014, the post of Prime Minister has been held by the BJP's immovable Narendra Modi. The central government has full powers over foreign policy, the country's defense, the national currency, citizenship, taxes on non-agricultural income, road infrastructure and the rail network.
Government of the States and Union Territories. India is currently made up of 29 States and 8 Union Territories, assembled on the basis of linguistic similarities since the country's independence. This policy is still evolving, with the state of Telangana created in 2014 and Ladakh becoming a Union Territory in 2019. Each state has a governor chosen by the President. The state government has authority over law and order, health, administration, agricultural taxation, as well as taxes on alcohol and entertainment. The Union Territories have more limited authority than the States, but have the power to create or modify the boundaries of the States included in the Union.
Legislative power. The Indian Parliament, established by the Constitution in 1950, sits at the Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi. It is a bicameral parliament with an upper house, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), and a lower house, the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The Rajya Sabha has 245 members, elected indirectly by the State and Territory legislatures, with the exception of twelve members appointed directly by the President for their expertise in specific fields (science, arts, sports, etc.). The Lok Sabha is made up of 543 members elected by the citizens of the States and Territories, and 2 members chosen by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian community (mixed Indian and British Christians who remained after Independence), which today numbers around 150,000 individuals. Recently, seats have been reserved for members of the minorities of the scheduled tribes, in the interests of fairness. All citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote, but you must be over 25 to be elected to the Lok Sabha. The States and Territories operate in the same way, each with a legislative assembly (Vidhan Sabha), and a governor appointed by the President of the nation.
Executive power. The President is the constitutional head of the executive branch and commander of the country's armed forces. In reality, the executive is headed by the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister.
Judiciary. The Supreme Court is the country's highest legal authority. In particular, it is responsible for settling disputes between the central government and the state and territory governments.
Political parties
In all its diversity, the country is home to over 200 political parties. The two major national parties are the Indian National Congress and the BJP.
The Indian National Congress (INC). Founded in 1885, at the time of the British Raj, it subsequently became the most active party in the Indian Independence movement, under the aegis of Jawaharlal Nerhu and Mahatma Gandhi. The Congress was the country's leading political force from 1947 to 1970. After taking a socialist turn, the party moved towards more liberal tendencies in the late 1980s. Today, it is a secular, center-left party. Its popularity in the country has been shaken by corruption scandals, and it suffered a stinging defeat in the 2014 parliamentary elections.
Bharatiya Janata Party (People's Party of India or BJP). Founded in 1980, it is a right-wing party oriented towards Hindu nationalism, with conservative and liberal tendencies. Jagat Prakash Nadda has been party president since January 2020. The BJP has considerable political clout in the country, not least thanks to its dominance in the so-called "Hindi Belt" region, which comprises all the Hindi-speaking states in the north and west of the country. The party exacerbates the religious feelings of Hindus in order to increase the number of its voters in the south of the country. In 2014, the BJP won the general election with 31% of the vote, and Narendra Modi was appointed Prime Minister. After campaigning on a populist nationalist ideology and capitalizing on identity and security sentiments, despite a disappointing economic record, the BJP was consolidated in power in the 2019 general election with 37.5% of the vote.
Defense
The Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces is the President of the Republic. In 2019, the military powerhouse comprises over 1,350,000 soldiers and 2,845,000 reservists. The country's defense is of vital interest to India, which has been involved in three different wars since 1947. To be able to compete with neighboring enemies Pakistan and China, India also acquired nuclear weapons in 1974. Today, India possesses an impressive military might, with medium- and long-range ballistic missiles, hundreds of combat aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles and an extensive naval fleet.
Foreign Policy
India's foreign policy was, until the early 1990s, a policy of non-alignment with the world's major powers. It was at the initiative of Jawaharlal Nerhu and other world leaders that the Non-Aligned Movement was created in 1961. This organization brings together states that do not wish to take sides with either the Eastern or Western bloc during the Cold War. Its goal is to fight against all forms of colonialism, segregation and racism. Since independence, India has maintained its membership in the Commonwealth and the country is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), but not of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Since the early 1990s, India has been trying to ease tense relations with its powerful neighbors (Pakistan and China) and form new agreements with the major powers. Considered as an emerging economic and political power, India is opening up more to the outside world. The country maintains and develops its diplomatic relations with other countries. In 2004, the European Union and India established a strategic partnership of cooperation. In 2006, a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States allows India to purchase uranium and India becomes the 6th nuclear power in the world. In December 2022, India chairs the G20 summit. In the field of space conquest, the country can count on the technological progress made by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the national space agency, which designs and launches satellites and probes. India even plans to send a manned mission into space in the very near future.
Domestic Policy
In office since 2014, Narendra Modi continues to modernize the country and attempt to bridge the economic gap between the poor and the middle class. In 2016, he launched a major campaign to demonetize Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bills in order to fight corruption, a real scourge in India. Demonetization is creating a real shockwave in a country where the majority of transactions are done in cash. The major challenge facing the Prime Minister is to improve the living conditions of farmers, who make up almost half the country's population. Farmers are over-indebted, their incomes are falling and they are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. Farmers across the country staged large-scale demonstrations in Delhi to protest the 2020 agriculture laws, which the government eventually scrapped.
Current issues
The 2024 national parliamentary elections will shed light on the BJP's ability to retain its aura after its mishandling of the health crisis in 2021-2022 and the ensuing economic recession. With its charismatic leader Narendra Modi at the helm, the BJP is looking to further expand its influence on the country's politics. For the Indian National Congress, the stakes are different: the party must halt its decline in the polls since 2014, restore its image tarnished by corruption cases and modernize its election campaigns based on outdated strategies. The Congress must also become more open to alliances with regional political parties to seize the opportunity to form a strong political opposition.
