After 1990 India underwent various changes. The highlight of this year was the New Economic Policy and also the changing behavior of various Hindu Organisations. Both the economic and religious structure of the nation were about to be changed. After the Bofors Scam (weapons-political scandal between India and Sweden), the Janata Dal grabbed this opportunity and took a hit at Rajiv Gandhi. This led to congress’s loss in 1989 Lok Sabha elections. But even after winning elections on the sole basis of the scandal, VP Singh’s government was not able to work towards social development and they could not even curtail corruption.

One thing that occurred during this period was related to reservations to the backward committee under the Mandal Commission. But this was not accepted by the Brahmanvadi people of the Janata Party. This party could not stand strong for a longer period of time, and after some outside support from the Congress, Chandra Shekhar became the Prime Minister in 1990 and stayed till 1991. He headed the minority faction of the Janata Dal. This government was also not able to stay in the long race as there were some factions from the Janata Dal which were more concerned about the issues of the Ram Mandir. Due to multiple differences between the party itself the party was not able to run smoothly.

PV Narsimha Rao’s government came into being after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination during the election campaign in Tamil Nadu. Surprisingly, Rao is known as the “Accidental Prime Minister’, as he had rejected a Lok Sabha seat of Congress, and was ready to move back home to Hyderabad but Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination changed everything for him. He became the first Prime Minister of India from Southern India and also the first Prime Minister from a non-Nehru family to complete his tenure of five years. His period is known for the New Economic Policy and the abolition of License Raj. Although the star of this period was the former Governor of RBI, Dr. Manmohan Singh who then became the Finance Minister under Rao’s government. His policies drastically changed the economic spheres of the country, and also the opening of Indian borders to foreign companies. Opening up of the borders brought money to India by the IMF. Not only economically the physical borders of India and the concept of National Security was also achieved. 

PV Narasimha Rao is recognized for leading the economic liberalization in India. Little is mentioned regarding his political skills. The Congress secured a comparable number of seats in the 1991 election to the count the BJP achieved in 2024. Rao discreetly orchestrated a division among smaller factions and transformed a minority Congress into a majority party within two years. Rao’s government also witnessed the rise of BJP after the Babri Demolition Incident and the Left which was at its peak. The demolition of the Babri Masjid inflicted wounds on many people, and created a tension between the hindu-muslim community. Along with this his period also suffered some blows because of the Harshad Mehta Scam of 1992, which did not reflect  well on his image. 

 

 

Ban on female infanticide – This was a huge step which was taken during this period. People were educated about the evils of female infanticide. It helped bring the numbers down, but did not fully eradicate the problem. Rao’s period in the Indian history of politics helped in improving the economic conditions of the country and he laid a foundation for the future governments.

 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee – The Bridge Between Two Eras : Congress and the Right Wing 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the most enigmatic politician of the times. One cannot say much about social work in his period but his party’s main work was privatization. Various companies like Bharat Aluminium Limited Company, Hindustan Zinc, Indian Petroleum Corporation, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. all these companies sold to private players. This step of the government had various repercussions, as there is no concept of reservation in private companies and this also led to the end of pension of government employees. With this step, all the initiative for the Mandal Commission, which was done, was of no use. This process of privatization was started by Vajpayee’s government and it is still continuing till date. For example, the Union Budget 2024 targeted privatization of the IDBI Bank. Those steps by the then government created a lack of harmony in the public. This led to more divisions in the society and especially the debate of Hindu-Muslim.
Before Vajapyee’s government, the department of insurance was controlled by the government. Later, the situation was tossed, and a new provision was added that foreign companies can invest upto 26% in the Indian Insurance Companies. It only made premium’s expensive. Even at the time of accidents and claims, they lacked help. 

 

13th May 1998 was the date when India’s first nuclear test occurred in Pokhran. This incident helped India in gaining a great position in the world. Initially, it was Narsimha Rao’s idea, but when the American agencies got to know about it, the event got canceled. The Narsimha government came under American pressure, and thus Pokhran occurred during Vajpayee’s tenure. The world also knows that after India, Pakistan also tested their nuclear weapons, and became nuclear power. This incident also became one of the reasons behind vast differences between the two nations. 

The Kargil war was also a significant victory of the Vajpayee government. The war took place at Kargil, Ladakh, at the borders of the Line of Control. The Kargil War 1999, is one such war which will always be remembered for the valour of the soldiers and the diplomacy of Vajpayee, who traveled to meet Nawaz Sharif from Delhi to Lahore by bus. This trip was a peace building gesture from India’s former Prime Minister.  But somehow such steps, despite the fact how great they were, could not come to anyone’s help, for example, the 2001 Parliament Attacks. Thus, the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act, 2002 was introduced with an objective of strengthening anti-terrorism operations in the country. The major idea behind this act was to define how cases against terrorists will be conducted in India.  Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a great parliamentarian, who had a great command over language and a great orator, who brought people together. Before the 2004 General Elections, BJP came up with the slogan, “Shining India”. But the 2002 Gujarat communal carnage, created a situation in the country where the people were discontent, and communal tensions were all over the country. This was one of the major reasons behind Vajpyee’s loss in the 2004 General Elections.