CORE Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    Identity Politics — Definition and Origin

    • Political mobilisation based on shared characteristics — caste, religion, language, tribe, gender — rather than class or ideology
    • In India, caste has been the primary axis of identity politics since the 1970s
    • Mandal Commission Report (1980) and its 1990 implementation triggered OBC political consolidation
  2. 2

    Issue-Driven Politics — Shift and Limits

    • Focuses on policy outcomes — economic development, corruption, governance quality, welfare delivery — rather than community identity
    • The 2014 General Election marked a partial transition: Modi campaign focused on "development" (vikas) and "corruption-free governance"
    • However, caste coalitions remained relevant sub-nationally — identity politics did not disappear
  3. 3

    Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023

    • Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 — also called Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam
    • Reserves 33% of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women
    • Will be operative after the next delimitation and census (expected 2026–2028)
  4. 4

    Women's Representation — Current Numbers

    • Lok Sabha 2024: 74 women MPs (13.6%) out of 543 — below global average of 26.9%
    • India ranks 148th in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) gender ranking (2024)
    • Rajasthan Legislative Assembly 2023: 30 women MLAs out of 200 seats = 15% (16 BJP, 14 Congress/INC bloc)
  5. 5

    Caste-Based Politics — Evolution

    • The Mandal moment (1990) under V.P. Singh politicised OBC identity at the national level
    • Subsequent developments: SP-BSP alliance in UP (OBC+Dalit), Bihar's "MY" (Muslim-Yadav) coalition under Lalu Prasad, Tamil Nadu's Dravidian parties representing non-Brahmin identity
    • By 2024, caste census demand (nationwide caste data collection) emerged as a major electoral issue
  6. 6

    Communal/Religious Identity Politics

    • From Nehru's secular consensus, India witnessed periodic communal mobilisation — Jan Sangh (1951), RSS-BJP ideological platform, Hindutva as political identity
    • Babri Masjid demolition (1992) and subsequent Ram Mandir movement transformed religious identity into electoral politics
    • Ram Mandir consecration (January 2024) became a key BJP electoral issue in 2024 General Elections
  7. 7

    AI-Enabled Political Mobilization — Key Tools

    • Targeted advertising on social media using voter profiling by age, location, caste, and interests
    • Deepfakes and synthetic media for disinformation; AI-generated voice bot campaigns for voter outreach
    • NLP sentiment analysis on social media to track opinion; chatbot-based voter helpdesks
    • The 2024 Indian elections saw extensive use of AI-generated content; ECI issued guidelines against misuse
  8. 8

    Social Media and Political Mobilization

    • India has 760+ million internet users (2025), 500+ million WhatsApp users, and 360+ million YouTube users — world's largest base for each
    • Political parties maintain dedicated social media cells: BJP's IT cell, Congress's digital media team
    • WhatsApp forwards are key vectors for political messaging and misinformation in India
  9. 9

    Secularisation of Caste — Sociological View

    • Sociologist M.N. Srinivas described Sanskritisation — lower castes adopting upper caste practices for social mobility
    • Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar described the "second democratic upsurge" post-Mandal — lower castes and OBCs became assertive political agents, not just vote banks
    • Caste has been both an instrument of mobilisation AND a unit of welfare policy (reservation) in India
  10. 10

    Gender Gaps in Political Participation

    • Women face structural barriers: patriarchal family norms, financial dependency, violence threats, lack of party tickets, few women in party leadership
    • The Gram Panchayat 33%–50% reservation under 73rd Amendment has created lakhs of women panchayat representatives
    • However, proxy "sarpanch pati" phenomenon persists — male relatives effectively govern in place of elected women
  11. 11

    Dalit Politics After Mandal

    • Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's political legacy transformed into BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party, 1984) under Kanshi Ram and then Mayawati
    • BSP's Social Engineering formula combined Dalit-OBC-Muslim-upper caste ("rainbow coalition") — won UP 2007 with full majority
    • Post-2012, BSP's decline reflects the volatility of identity-based politics when issue expectations are unmet
  12. 12

    Intersectionality in Indian Politics

    • Women from Dalit/OBC/Muslim backgrounds face double marginalisation — gender + caste/religion combined
    • SHG (Self-Help Group) movements, ASHA workers, and Anganwadi networks have created new channels of political awareness for rural women
    • These pathways operate largely outside formal party politics, building bottom-up political agency

PREDICTED Predicted RAS Questions

Based on PYQ trends and 2026 syllabus analysis

1 5M What is the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023? State its key provisions. 5 marks · 50 words

Model Answer

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Constitution 106th Amendment Act, 2023) reserves not less than one-third (33%) of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women, including within SC/ST reserved constituencies. The reservation will take effect after the next delimitation following the next Census. Seats will be allocated by rotation after each delimitation. The reservation lasts 15 years from commencement. Delhi Assembly is also covered. No OBC sub-quota is included.

~50 words • 5 marks

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