Religion and politics

Politics

Religious ideology, particularly that expressed by the Hindutva movement, has strongly influenced Indian politics in the last quarter of the 20th century. Many of the elements underlying India's casteism and communalism originated during the rule of the British Raj, particularly after the late 19th century; the authorities and others often politicised religion.^[55] The Indian Councils Act of 1909 (widely known as the Morley-Minto Reforms Act), which established separate Hindu and Muslim electorates for the Imperial Legislature and provincial councils, was particularly divisive. It was blamed for increasing tensions between the two communities.^[56] Due to the high degree of oppression faced by the lower castes, the Constitution of India included provisions for affirmative action for certain sections of Indian society. Growing disenchantment with the Hindu caste system has led thousands of Dalits (also referred to as "Untouchables") to embrace Buddhism and Christianity in recent decades.^[57] In response, many states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) introduced laws that made them more difficult; they assert that such conversions are often forced or allured.^[58] The BJP, a Hindu nationalist party, also gained widespread media attention after its leaders associated themselves with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and other prominent religious issues.^[59]

A well known accusation that Indian political parties make for their rivals is that they play vote bank politics, meaning give political support to issues for the sole purpose of gaining the votes of members of a particular community. Both the Congress Party and the BJP have been accused of exploiting the people by indulging in vote bank politics. The Shah Bano case, a divorce lawsuit, generated much controversy when the Congress was accused of appeasing the Muslim orthodoxy by bringing in a parliamentary amendment to negate the Supreme Court's decision. After the 2002 Gujarat violence, there were allegations of political parties indulging in vote bank politics.^[60] During an election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP released an inflammatory CD targeting Muslims.^[61] This was condemned by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) as playing the worst kind of vote bank politics.^[62] Caste-based politics is also important in India; caste-based discrimination and the reservation system continue to be major issues that are hotly debated.^[63][64]

Education

Several political parties have been accused of using their political power to manipulate educational content in a revisionist manner. During the Janata Party government (1977–1979), the government was accused of being too sympathetic to the Muslim viewpoint. In 2002, the BJP-led NDA government tried to change the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) school textbooks through a new National Curriculum Framework.^[65] Some media referred to it as the "saffronisation" of textbooks, saffron being the colour of BJP flag.^[65] The next government, formed by the UPA and led by the Congress Party, pledged to de-saffronise textbooks.^[66] Hindu groups alleged that the UPA promoted Marxist and pro-Muslim biases in school curricula.^[67][68]