Congress Restored,
Abstract
The electrons of 1980 restored the Congress party of India to the preeminent position that it has held since independence. Once again, the party has an overwhelming majority of parliament, controls all but a handful of state governments, and has a national leader who commands both domestic support and international attention. In retrospect, then, can one view the emergency, the defect of Mrs. Gandhi and the Congress party in the electron of 1977, and the emergence of an alternative government under the Janata party as a brief (five year) break in what is otherwise a remarkable pattern of continuity and stability in basic institutions and processes? Or were fundamental tensions in the system revealed that foreshadow still another breakdown in the parliamentary and democratic system? This paper considers first the continuities by comparing the 1980-1981 political scene with the last elected Congress government of 1971 and how it considers some of the ways in which the character of the Congress party and the position of Mrs. Gandhi in 1981 differs from what existed earlier.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA102602
Entities
People
- Myron Weiner
Organizations
- foreign affairs ministry