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Parties, Party Systems and the Political Process in India

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

If India is to be regarded as a free democracy, its government must be formed through free and fair elections based on competition between two or more parties that claim to represent the demands and interests of the people. Political parties helped to create a national consciousness during the British Raj, and guided the course of national integration and nation-building after Independence. The present era of coalition governments features segregated political competition, increasingly regionalized parties and the emergence of caste-, ethnic-, and religion-specific parties. This chapter will examine these and other issues of the Indian party system.

CHAPTER MAP ...

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