As per the ECI’s Political Parties and Election Symbols, 2019 handbook, a political party would be considered a national party if:
- It is ‘recognised’ in four or more states; or
- If its candidates have secured at least 6% of total valid votes in at least 4 states (in latest Lok Sabha or Assembly elections) and the party has at least 4 MPs in the last LS polls; or
- If it has won at least 2% of the total seats in the LS from at least 3 states.
Benefits of recognised as a National/State Party:
- Provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television, Radio stations.
- Star campaigners: These parties are allowed to have 40 “star campaigners” during the time of elections
- Exclusive symbols: Every national party is allotted a symbol exclusively reserved for its use throughout the country.
- Government Land Allocation: A party with the ‘national’ status gets land from the government to build its headquarters.
- Single Proposer: National parties need to have just one proposer to submit a nomination.
- Access to electoral rolls : They are given two free sets of electoral rolls during the roll revision. They also get one free electoral roll for each candidate during general elections.
In multilingual India, language plays a pivotal role in shaping regional identities and mobilizing political support, influencing both policy and power dynamics.
Role in Political Mobilization:
- Linguistic Reorganization of States (1956): Result of popular agitations demanding states based on language (e.g., Andhra for Telugu speakers).
- Electoral Mobilization: Political parties often use regional languages to build strong voter bases (e.g., DMK in Tamil Nadu).
- Language-based Movements: Movements like Gorkhaland, Kokborok demand reflect linguistic assertion tied to political claims.
- Resistance to Hindi Imposition: Anti-Hindi agitations (esp. in Tamil Nadu) became political rallying points against perceived central dominance.
- Regional Political Parties: Many emerged from linguistic roots (e.g., Shiv Sena for Marathi identity), using language to consolidate regional power.
Role in Regional Identity Formation:
- Cultural Assertion: Language fosters pride and cultural distinctiveness (e.g., Kannada, Marathi, Bengali).
- Media & Literature: Regional literature, films, and press strengthen linguistic consciousness.
- Policy & Education: States promote regional languages in education and governance, reinforcing identity.
- Festivals & Heritage: Language-linked festivals (e.g., Kavi Sammelan, Sahitya Sammelan) promote cultural unity and pride.
- Official Language Status: Granting official status to regional languages reinforces administrative identity and autonomy.
- Controversy over Official Language: The Official Languages Amendment Act of 1967 established English as an associate language for official work at the central level.
- Politics of Reorganization: Potti Sriramulu’s Fast unto Death led to formation of andhra pradesh. The Fazl Ali Commission (1955) accepted language as the basis for the reorganisation of states.
- Effective Electoral Factor: notably reflected in the agitation against the imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu and the Assamese-Bengali language conflict in the northeast.
- Religious and Communal Politics: In states like Uttar Pradesh, language often intersects with religious and communal politics, with Hindi symbolizing Hindu identity and Urdu representing Muslim identity, leading to communal tensions and political movements.
- One Nation, One Language Debate: Debates surrounding Article 351 highlight the tension between promoting a common national language and preserving linguistic diversity.
- Demand by various linguistic groups for inclusion in 8th schedule → E.g. recent demand for rajasthanti
- The NEP’s emphasis on mother tongue-based education reflects the recognition of linguistic minorities’ rights and cultural diversity.
Thus language created a great problem in the post-independent era and continues to be one of the heavy weights on a country’s political system.
