Q8 of 10 Page 44

What would you consider as the main differences between Mexico and India under one party domination?

India is not the only country who has experienced the one party dominance system. One such county is Mexico. In Mexico Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) exercised its power for almost 6 decades. Over a period of time the party was able to capture the organization and thereby the government.

There was a difference between one party domination in India and Mexico. In Mexico, this was a one party system only not dominance because:-


a. In India, the congress party dominated on behalf of popular consensus but Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) ruled on behalf of the people.


b. In India, free and fair elections took place, where the losing the elections was also fair but in Mexico, elections were based on Malpractices and were rigid, dominated by PRI.


c. in India, the opposition contested elections to win and form a government. But in Mexico other parties existed only to give ruling party greater legitimacy.


d. The one party dominance in India was a phase but in Mexico it took a different turn and changed into ‘the perfect dictatorship ‘but later the party lost in Presidential elections held in 2000.


In our opinion one party dominance like India is better because this sort of dominance:


a. Accommodates social diversities


b. Encourage large number of participations.


c. Ensure democratic spirit as well maintains the same.


d. Tolerate respect even for the opposition.


e. Ongoing development process and constant change.


More from this chapter

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6

Did the prevalence of a ‘one party dominant system’ affect adversely the democratic nature of Indian politics?

 8

Bring out three differences each between Socialist parties and the Communist party and between Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party.

 9

Take a political map of India (with State outlines) and mark:

(a) two states where Congress was not in power at some point during 1952-67.


(b) two states where the Congress remained in power through this period.

 10

Read the following passage and answer the questions below:

“Patel, the organisational man of the Congress, wanted to purge the Congress of other political groups and sought to make of it a cohesive and disciplined political party. He …. Sought to take the Congress away from its all-embracing character and turn it into a close-knit party of disciplined cadres. Being a ‘realist’ he looked more for discipline than for comprehension. While Gandhi took too romantic a view of “carrying on the movement,” Patel’s idea of transforming the Congress into strictly political party with a single ideology and tight discipline showed an equal lack of understanding of the eclectic role that the Congress, as a government, was to be called upon to perform in the decades to follow.” — Rajni Kothari


(a) Why does the author think that Congress should not have been a cohesive and disciplined party?


(b) Give some examples of the eclectic role of the Congress party in the early years.


(c) Why does the author say that Gandhi’s view about Congress’ future was romantic?