Match List – I with List - II.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
(1) (A)-(III), (B)-(IV), (C)-(I), (D)-(II)
(2) (A)-(IV), (B)-(I), (C)-(II), (D)-(III)
(3) (A)-(IV), (B)-(II), (C)-(I), (D)-(III)
(4) (A)-(II), (B)-(III), (C)-(I), (D)-(IV)

1

Elections in 1989 led to the defeat of the Congress party but did not result in a majority for any other party. Though the Congress was the largest party in the Lok Sabha, it did not have a clear majority and therefore, it decided to sit in the opposition. The National Front (which itself was an alliance of Janata Dal and some other regional parties) received support from two diametrically opposite political groups: the BJP and the Left Front. On this basis, the National Front formed a coalition government in the 1989 elections, but the BJP and the Left Front did not join in this government.

The Mandal Commission was set up to investigate the extent of educational and social backwardness among various sections of Indian society and recommend ways of identifying these ‘backward classes’. It was also expected to give its recommendations on the ways in which this backwardness could be ended. The Mandal Commission gave its recommendations in 1980. By then the Janata government had fallen. The Commission advised that ‘backward classes’ should be understood to mean ‘backward castes’, since many castes, other than the Scheduled Castes, were also treated as low in the caste hierarchy. The Commission did a survey and found that these backward castes had a very low presence in both educational institutions and in employment in public services. It therefore recommended reserving 27 per cent of seats in educational institutions and government jobs for these groups. The Mandal Commission also made many other recommendations, like, land reform, to improve the conditions of the OBCs.

The 1980s also saw the rise of the political organisation of the Dalits. In 1978 the Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) was formed. This organisation was not an ordinary trade union of government employees. It took a strong position in favour of political power to the ‘bahujan’ – the SC, ST, OBC and minorities.

Two developments around 1986 became central to the politics of BJP as a ‘Hindutva’ party. The first was the Shah Bano case in 1985. The second development was the order by the Faizabad district court in February 1986.
The Shah Bano Case- In this case, a 62-year-old divorced Muslim woman filed a maintenance claim against her former husband. The Supreme Court ruled in her favor. This judgment was perceived as an intrusion into Muslim Personal Law by orthodox Muslims. Following the demand of certain Muslim leaders, the government introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which effectively nullified the Supreme Court's verdict.