Aspirant Academy

Polity, Governance and Current Affairs

Predicted Questions with Model Answers

Identity-Based to Issue-Driven Politics, Gender Participation, AI-Enabled Mobilization

Paper III · Unit 1 Section 9 of 11 0 PYQs 27 min
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Predicted Questions with Model Answers

Q1 (5 marks — 50 words): What is the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023? State its key provisions.

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.

Q2 (5 marks — 50 words): What is the Mandal Commission? What political changes did its 1990 implementation trigger?

Model Answer:

The Mandal Commission (chaired by B.P. Mandal, 1979–1980) recommended 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in central government jobs and educational institutions, identifying 3,743 backward communities. V.P. Singh government implemented it in August 1990. Political consequences: (1) Upper-caste anti-Mandal agitation (self-immolations); (2) OBC political consolidation — SP, RJD, BSP rose as mass parties; (3) BJP's simultaneous Ram Mandir campaign ("Mandir vs. Mandal"); fundamentally transformed India's caste-based political arithmetic.

Q3 (5 marks — 50 words): Write a short note on AI-enabled political mobilization in India.

Model Answer:

AI-enabled political mobilization in India's 2024 elections included: micro-targeted advertising using voter demographic data on social media; AI-generated deepfake audio/video of politicians (ECI issued guidelines against misuse); AI voice bot campaigns making millions of personalised voter calls; NLP sentiment analysis of social media for real-time opinion tracking; and WhatsApp mass forwarding by organised IT cells. Challenges: ECI lacks specific AI regulation; DPDP Act 2023's enforcement in political advertising is unclear; deepfakes threaten election integrity.

Q4 (10 marks — 150 words): Analyse the transition from identity-based to issue-driven politics in India with reference to women's political participation.

Model Answer:

India's political landscape has partially shifted from identity-based (caste/religion/gender group as bloc) to issue-driven politics (development, governance, welfare delivery). The 2014 Modi campaign on "vikas" and anti-corruption, the Anna Hazare movement (2011–12), and AAP's governance model all demonstrated that issue-based mobilization can create political majorities. Yet caste and religion remain structurally embedded — the 2024 opposition's caste census demand and PDA coalition (Pichhra-Dalit-Alpasankhyak) show identity politics is adaptive, not disappearing.

Women's participation illustrates this tension. The 73rd Amendment's 33% panchayat reservation has produced 15 lakh+ women elected representatives — the world's largest exercise in mandated political inclusion. Yet Lok Sabha women representation remains a mere 13.6% (74/543, 2024) — ranking India 148th globally (IPU). The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Amendment, 2023) promising 33% reservation in LS/State Assemblies will be operative only after the next delimitation.

The "sarpanch pati" problem (male relatives governing through women proxies) illustrates that formal inclusion without agency is incomplete. SHG movements (10 crore+ women) and ASHA/Anganwadi networks have created bottom-up political capacity, while role models — Indira Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Draupadi Murmu — inspire across the spectrum.

The synthesis for 2026: India needs both issue-driven political competition AND structural inclusion — reservation is a necessary but insufficient tool; cultural change, party willingness to give tickets, and financial empowerment of women are the real determinants.

Q5 (10 marks — 150 words): What is identity politics? Examine the role of caste in Indian democracy.

Model Answer:

Identity politics is political mobilization based on shared group characteristics — caste, religion, language, gender, ethnicity — rather than economic class or ideology. In India, caste has been the dominant axis of political identity since independence.

Caste in Indian democracy has played multiple roles:

  1. Electoral mobilization: Caste determines voting behaviour — candidates chosen by caste, governments formed by caste coalitions, and policies framed as caste entitlements. The Mandal Commission's 27% OBC reservation (implemented 1990) created the most significant caste-based political realignment since independence.

  2. Social justice mechanism: Reservation (SC 15% + ST 7.5% + OBC 27% + EWS 10%) attempts to correct historical injustice through preferential access to government jobs and educational institutions. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's vision of "annihilation of caste" through constitutional mechanisms shaped this approach.

  3. Democratic deepening: Caste-based parties (BSP, SP, RJD, DMK) have brought marginalised communities into political power — giving political agency to Dalits, OBCs, and tribals previously excluded. Mayawati's four terms as UP CM and Draupadi Murmu as President represent this inclusion.

  4. Democratic distortion: Caste loyalty reduces accountability — voters choose candidates based on caste rather than performance. It reinforces social hierarchy rather than dismantling it. Communalisation of caste politics (Hindutva seeking to subsume caste into Hindu identity) adds complexity.

Transition: India is experiencing a partial shift from pure caste politics to "caste + aspiration" politics — voters want both their caste represented AND their economic aspirations served.

Q6 (5 marks — 50 words): State any five challenges to women's political participation in India.

Model Answer:

Five challenges to women's political participation in India: (1) Party gatekeeping — political parties award fewer than 15% of LS/Assembly tickets to women; (2) Financial barriers — campaigns cost crores which women rarely possess independently; (3) Patriarchal social norms — families and communities resist women's public roles in conservative regions; (4) Online harassment — women politicians face targeted abuse on social media deterring candidacy; (5) "Sarpanch Pati" proxy governance — even reserved panchayat seats are effectively controlled by male relatives.