Pressure Groups in India

The term pressure group originated in the United States. A pressure group is an organised body of people that actively works to promote and defend the shared interests of its members. The term derives from their characteristic method of operation - applying pressure on the government to bring about desired changes in public policy. Pressure groups also serve as an intermediary between the government and the citizenry, channelling group demands into the political process.

They are also referred to as interest groups or vested groups. The fundamental distinction between pressure groups and political parties is:

• Pressure groups do not contest elections
• They do not seek to capture political power
• Their focus is on specific issues or interests, and they work by influencing those who hold power

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Pressure groups employ both legitimate and, at times, illegitimate methods.

Legitimate methods include:

• Lobbying (direct persuasion of legislators and officials)
• Correspondence with policymakers
• Publicity and propagandising
• Petitioning
• Public debating
• Maintaining regular contact with sympathetic legislators

Illegitimate methods (sometimes resorted to) include:

• Strikes and work stoppages
• Violent agitations
• Corruption

According to Odegard, pressure groups use three broad techniques:

1. Electioneering - placing sympathetic persons in public office
2. Lobbying - directly persuading officials and legislators to adopt favourable policies
3. Propagandising - shaping public opinion to indirectly influence government, which in a democracy must respond to public sentiment

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A large number of pressure groups operate in India, though they are less organised and developed than their counterparts in Western democracies like the USA, UK, France, or Germany. Indian pressure groups are broadly classified into the following eleven categories:

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1. Business Groups

Business groups are the most powerful, sophisticated, and largest of all pressure groups in India. Key organisations include:

• FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) - Represents major industrial and trading interests. Major constituents: Indian Merchants Chamber of Bombay, Indian Merchants Chamber of Calcutta, South Indian Chamber of Commerce of Madras.
• ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) - Represents foreign British capital. Major constituents: Bengal Chamber of Commerce (Calcutta) and Central Commercial Organisation (Delhi).
• FAIFDA (Federation of All India Foodgrain Dealers Association) - Sole representative of grain dealers.
• AIMO (All-India Manufacturers Organisation) - Represents concerns of medium-sized industries.

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2. Trade Unions (Labour Groups)

Trade unions voice the interests of industrial workers. A distinctive feature of Indian trade unions is their close association with political parties - most are affiliated, directly or indirectly, to a particular party. Major unions include:

Historical Note: The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was India's first central trade union, founded in 1920 with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first president. Until 1945, Congressmen, Socialists, and Communists worked together within AITUC. Subsequently, the trade union movement split along political lines.

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3. Agrarian Groups

These groups represent farmers and agricultural labour. Key organisations include:

• All India Kisan Sabha - The oldest and largest agrarian pressure group
• Bhartiya Kisan Union - Led by Mahendra Singh Tikait; active in the wheat belt of North India
• Shetkhari Sanghatana - Led by Sharad Joshi in Maharashtra
• Revolutionary Peasants Convention - Organised by the CPM in 1967; gave rise to the Naxalbari Movement
• Bhartiya Kisan Sangh - Gujarat
• R.V. Sangham - Led by C.N. Naidu in Tamil Nadu
• Hind Kisan Panchayat - Controlled by the Socialists
• United Kisan Sabha - CPM-controlled

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4. Professional Associations

These represent the interests of professionals - doctors, lawyers, journalists, and teachers. They use agitations, correspondence, and lobbying to improve service conditions. Key associations include:

• Indian Medical Association (IMA)
• Bar Council of India (BCI)
• Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ)
• All India Federation of University and College Teachers (AIFUCT)

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5. Student Organisations

Like trade unions, student organisations in India are typically affiliated with political parties. Key student bodies:

• ABVP (Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) - affiliated to BJP
• AISF (All India Students Federation) - affiliated to CPI
• NSUI (National Students Union of India) - affiliated to INC
• PSU (Progressive Students Union) - affiliated to CPM

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6. Religious Organisations

Organisations based on religion have come to play an important role in Indian politics, often representing narrow communal interests. They include:

• RSS (Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh)
• VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad)
• Jamaat-e-Islami
• Ittehad-ul-Mussalmeen
• Anglo-Indian Association
• All-India Conference of Indian Christians
• Parsi Central Association
• Shiromani Akali Dal - Noted as more of a religious pressure group than a political party, being primarily concerned with protecting the Sikh community's religious identity.

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7. Caste Groups

Caste remains a significant determinant of political behaviour in India. State-level politics in many states is essentially a contest between dominant caste blocs - e.g., Kamma vs. Reddy in Andhra Pradesh; Lingayat vs. Okkaliga in Karnataka; Nair vs. Ezhava in Kerala; Brahmin vs. Non-Brahmin in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Notable caste-based organisations:

• Nadar Caste Association (Tamil Nadu)
• Marwari Association
• Harijan Sevak Sangh
• Kshatriya Maha Sabha (Gujarat)
• Vanniyakul Kshatriya Sangam
• Kayastha Sabha

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8. Tribal Organisations

Tribal pressure groups are concentrated in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and North-Eastern states. Their demands range from administrative reforms to, in some cases, secession from India. Some are involved in insurgency. Major organisations:

• NSCN (National Socialist Council of Nagaland)
• TNU (Tribal National Volunteers, Tripura)
• People's Liberation Army (Manipur)
• All-India Jharkhand
• Tribal Sangh of Assam
• United Mizo Federal Organisation

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9. Linguistic Groups

Language has been so powerful a force in Indian politics that it became the principal basis for the reorganisation of states. The creation of the first linguistic state - Andhra (carved out of the then Madras state in 1953) - triggered a nationwide demand for linguistic states, leading to the large-scale reorganisation of 1956 on the recommendations of the States Reorganisation Commission. Linguistic pressure groups include:

• Tamil Sangh
• Anjuman Tarraki-i-Urdu
• Andhra Maha Sabha
• Hindi Sahitya Sammelan
• Nagari Pracharani Sabha
• Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha

The enactment of the Official Language Act (1963) making Hindi the official language of the Union triggered anti-Hindi agitations in South India and West Bengal, forcing the Central Government to assure that English would continue as an associate official language.

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10. Ideology-Based Groups

More recent pressure groups are formed around a cause, principle, or ideology rather than sectional interests. These include:

• Environmental groups - Narmada Bachao Andolan, Chipko Movement
• Democratic rights organisations
• Civil liberties associations
• Gandhi Peace Foundation
• Women's rights organisations

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11. Anomic Groups

According to Almond and Powell, anomic pressure groups represent spontaneous, unorganised breakthroughs into the political system from society - through riots, demonstrations, assassinations, and similar disruptive actions. In India, these arise when particularistic demands are denied legitimacy by a technocratic government focused on development, causing interest groups to become alienated from the political system.

Examples of anomic groups:

• All-India Sikh Students' Federation
• Nava Nirman Samiti (Gujarat)
• Naxalite Groups
• Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)
• All Assam Students' Union
• ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam)
• Dal Khalsa

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• Pressure groups are distinguished from political parties by their non-participation in elections and focus on specific interests rather than broad governance.
• The three Odegard techniques - electioneering, lobbying, propagandising - are frequently tested.
• Indian trade unions have a unique feature: party affiliation. AITUC (founded 1920, first president: Lala Lajpat Rai) is the oldest.
• The All India Kisan Sabha is the oldest and largest agrarian group.
• Shiromani Akali Dal is categorised as a religious pressure group rather than a purely political party in academic analysis.
• Anomic groups (Almond and Powell's concept) are spontaneous and unorganised - distinct from other structured pressure groups.
• Caste, religion, language, and tribe are the four major social bases of pressure group formation in India.