Reflections on Pressure Groups and Democratic Governance in India
| Published date | 01 July 2015 |
| Date | 01 July 2015 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0019556120150316 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
REFLECTIONS ON PRESSURE GROUPS AND
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
IN
INDIA
KULDEEP
FADIA
The article highlights the problem
of
"special organised groups"
or
"Pressure Groups"
in
Indian
politics-a
subject which has
been hitherto neglected in India. The central theme embodies
the
idea
that
the
development
of
legitimate
and
stable
democratic political institutions in India depends upon our
ability
to
develop a responsive model
of
pressure groups. The
article throws light on the questions: what is the extent
of
the
stake
and
the involvement
of
pressure groups in the political
as well as
in
the policy making process? Are pressure groups
aligned with the political system? Can the pressure groups
lend
a
supporting
base
to the
democratic
governance?
Politics
in
India
is
arguably preeminently the politics
of
pressure
groups rather than the politics
of
parties. Socio-economic
infrastructures
of
Indian politics are the corollaries
of
India s
pressure group system.
ALMOST THE whole range
of
political problems may be called adjustment
and accommodation,
of
devising ways and means to curb particular 'wi
Us'
or 'interests', and thus clear the way for the realisation
of
common wills
and interests in fuller measure. This is the task
of
the government. And·
the government, from this point
of
view, is primarily an arbitrator. Since
practically every arbitration must result in giving to one side more than what
the other side is willing to admit, every governmental act can
be
viewed as
favouring in some degree some particular special interest. It is, therefore,
meaningless to criticise the government merely because it allows special
interests. The question is rather whether it allows 'the right side' or 'the
right special interest' to win, and the right special interest means only the
one whose will is most compatible with the right direction for the society's
development to take.1 That is why the subject
of
'interest' or 'pressure
groups' (basically interchangeable terms) has commanded considerable
attention in the democratic political process, such as ours, where it is most
conspicuous. As Gabriel A. Almond puts it, '
...
political systems
of
the
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