Recent Developments in Indian Politics Test - 1

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on 21 May 1991 in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, when he went there for election campaign. He was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam for supporting the Sri Lankan government against the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

A bogey of a train returning from Ayodhya carrying Karsevaks was set on fire, which resulted in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The coalition government led by the Congress (UPA) came to power in 2004.

Hindutva implies ''Hinduness '', was coined by Vir Savarkar. After 1986, the BJP began to emphasise the Hindu nationalist element in its ideology. The BJP pursued the politics of ‘Hindutva ’and adopted the strategy of mobilising the Hindus.

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, but the BJP and the Left Front did not join in this government.

On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was forcibly stopped and attacked by a large mob. Following this, Riot erupted between the Muslims and the Hindus.

In 1996 elections, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party and was invited to form the government.

In August 1990, the National Front government decided to implement one of the recommendations of Mandal Commission pertaining to reservations for OBCs in jobs in the central government and its undertakings. All the recommendations of the report are not yet implemented. The recommendation of reservations for OBC 's in government services was implemented in 1993. The recommendation of reservations in higher educational institutes was implemented in 2008.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the 11th Prime Minister of India. After a brief stint as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from 19 March 1998 until 19 May 2004. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from Lucknow until 2009.

B. P. Mandal was a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha for the state of Bihar from 1977-1979. He chaired the second backward classes commission. He joined the Janata Party in 1977.