Over the week end of 16th March, Nitish Kumar , the Chief Minister of Bihar and the leader of Janata Dal (United), held a huge rally to flex his muscles and to show that he had no less a clout than his perceived rival , Narendra Modi of the Bharitiya Janata Party . The latter is the perceived leading candidate for the Prime Minister's role, in the event that the Opposition were to gain more votes than the ruling Congress Party.In his speech, Nitish Kumar made a point that there if any party wanted to rule at the national level, they would have to depend on the regional dominant parties who rule Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.
Prior to the entry of the British , Mughal India which extended from Afghanistan to almost Myanmar, the overlords were the Mughals, but they relied on alliances with the smaller kingdoms of the Maharaja's to control and ensure that no one stepped out of line. In turn, these nobles were rewarded by increased estates or alliances sealed by marriage. This was constantly a fluid situation as at various times, ambitious satraps tried to break away and extend their territories . The Emperor would then send his troops which would be supported by the smaller kingdom who would provide the logistical and manpower support to put down these upstarts.Alliances were made and broken and re-made depending upon the circumstances.
After India gained independence, the Congress Party was the dominant national ruling party until the seventies. Since then it has been a roller coaster ride with Congress increasingly becoming dependent on regional parties to be able to rule at the National level. Even within the regional parties, you have caste,community or provincial overlords who play in a strong role in the decisions and policies.
In turn for supporting the Congress ( or the BJP) at the center, these regional parties are rewarded by plum ministries where there is considerable opportunity to extend their influence , financially and otherwise because they control large expenditure budgets and where "leakages"of large amounts occur. The ruling party in the meantime had the exclusive control over certain areas, such as defence, national security, and foreign policy.
However , of recent the Congress seems to be loosing their grip even on such matters. You had Mamta Banerjee putting the government in a embarrassing position by staying away from a meeting with the Bangladesh head of state and refusing to be part of a water sharing agreement. At present you have the politicians from Tamil Nadu influencing the government from voting in a matter which is in the national interest to please their own state constituency. Similarly you have the state government and in some cases, not even the state government , but a regional party threatening to disrupt sporting and cultural events if these included Sri Lankan and Pakistani participants. While these might be private events , it nevertheless has a ripple effect on the relationship with the neighbors, which China and Pakistan are quick to exploit.
Unfortunately it does not appear that going forward the situation is going to get any better. Looks like we will be back to the Mughal days, where the central government will continue to depend on the regional satraps to be able to rule. The days of single national political parties are sadly over.
Prior to the entry of the British , Mughal India which extended from Afghanistan to almost Myanmar, the overlords were the Mughals, but they relied on alliances with the smaller kingdoms of the Maharaja's to control and ensure that no one stepped out of line. In turn, these nobles were rewarded by increased estates or alliances sealed by marriage. This was constantly a fluid situation as at various times, ambitious satraps tried to break away and extend their territories . The Emperor would then send his troops which would be supported by the smaller kingdom who would provide the logistical and manpower support to put down these upstarts.Alliances were made and broken and re-made depending upon the circumstances.
After India gained independence, the Congress Party was the dominant national ruling party until the seventies. Since then it has been a roller coaster ride with Congress increasingly becoming dependent on regional parties to be able to rule at the National level. Even within the regional parties, you have caste,community or provincial overlords who play in a strong role in the decisions and policies.
In turn for supporting the Congress ( or the BJP) at the center, these regional parties are rewarded by plum ministries where there is considerable opportunity to extend their influence , financially and otherwise because they control large expenditure budgets and where "leakages"of large amounts occur. The ruling party in the meantime had the exclusive control over certain areas, such as defence, national security, and foreign policy.
However , of recent the Congress seems to be loosing their grip even on such matters. You had Mamta Banerjee putting the government in a embarrassing position by staying away from a meeting with the Bangladesh head of state and refusing to be part of a water sharing agreement. At present you have the politicians from Tamil Nadu influencing the government from voting in a matter which is in the national interest to please their own state constituency. Similarly you have the state government and in some cases, not even the state government , but a regional party threatening to disrupt sporting and cultural events if these included Sri Lankan and Pakistani participants. While these might be private events , it nevertheless has a ripple effect on the relationship with the neighbors, which China and Pakistan are quick to exploit.
Unfortunately it does not appear that going forward the situation is going to get any better. Looks like we will be back to the Mughal days, where the central government will continue to depend on the regional satraps to be able to rule. The days of single national political parties are sadly over.
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