India

=== Politics ===
{{Main|Politics of India}}
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| caption1          = As part of [[Janadesh 2007]], 25,000 pro-[[land reform in India|land reform]] [[landless]] people in [[Madhya Pradesh]] listen to [[Rajagopal P. V.]]<ref name="Johnston2019">{{Citation |last=Johnston |first=Hank |title=Social Movements, Nonviolent Resistance, and the State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSiFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT83 |page=83 |year=2019 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-429-88566-2}}</ref>
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A [[parliamentary republic]] with a [[multi-party system]],{{sfn|Burnell|Calvert|1999|p = 125}} India has six{{Nbsp}}recognised [[List of political parties in India#National parties|national parties]], including the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC) and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), and more than 50{{Nbsp}}[[List of political parties in India#State parties|regional parties]].{{sfn|Election Commission of India}} The Congress is considered [[Centrism|centre]] in Indian [[political culture]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sáez |first1=Lawrence |last2=Sinha |first2=Aseema |year=2010 |title=Political cycles, political institutions and public expenditure in India, 1980–2000 |journal=[[British Journal of Political Science]] |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=91–113 |doi=10.1017/s0007123409990226 |s2cid=154767259}}</ref> and the BJP [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]].{{sfn|Malik|Singh|1992|pp=318–336}}{{sfn|Banerjee|2005|p=3118}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Halarnkar |first=Samar |date=13 June 2012 |title=Narendra Modi makes his move |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18352532 |quote=The right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's primary opposition party}}</ref> For most of the period between 1950—when India first became a republic—and the late 1980s, the Congress held a majority in the [[Parliament of India|Parliament]]. Since then, however, it has increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP,{{sfn|Sarkar|2007|p=84}} as well as with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-party [[coalition government]]s at the centre.{{sfn|Chander|2004|p=117}} India was 2023 the 19th most electoral [[democracy in Asia|democratic country in Asia]] according to the [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] .<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref>

In the Republic of India's first three general elections, in [[1951 Indian general election|1951]], [[1957 Indian general election|1957]], and [[1962 Indian general election|1962]], the [[Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]-led Congress won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] briefly became prime minister; he was succeeded, after his own unexpected death in 1966, by Nehru's daughter [[Indira Gandhi]], who went on to lead the Congress to election victories in [[1967 Indian general election|1967]] and [[1971 Indian general election|1971]]. Following public discontent with the [[The Emergency (India)|state of emergency]] she declared in 1975, the Congress was voted out of power in [[1977 Indian general election|1977]]; the then-new [[Janata Party]], which had opposed the emergency, was voted in. Its government lasted just over two years. There were two prime ministers during this period; [[Morarji Desai]] and [[Charan Singh]]. Voted back into power in 1980, the Congress saw a change in leadership in 1984, when Indira Gandhi was [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi|assassinated]]; she was succeeded by her son [[Rajiv Gandhi]], who won an easy victory in the general elections [[1984 Indian general election|later that year]]. The Congress was voted out again in [[1989 Indian general election|1989]] when a [[National Front (India)|National Front]] coalition, led by the newly formed [[Janata Dal]] in alliance with the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|Left Front]], won the elections; that government too proved relatively short-lived, lasting just under two years. There were two prime ministers during this period; [[V.P. Singh]] and [[Chandra Shekhar]].{{sfn|Bhambhri|1992|pp=118, 143}} Elections were held again in [[1991 Indian general election|1991]]; no party won an absolute majority. The Congress, as the largest single party, was able to form a [[minority government]] led by [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 December 2004 |title=Narasimha Rao Passes Away |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.hindu.com/2004/12/24/stories/2004122408870100.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=2 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213181659/https://www.hindu.com/2004/12/24/stories/2004122408870100.htm |archive-date=13 February 2009}}</ref>

{{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=220|image_style = border:none;| align = right |image1=Barack Obama at Parliament of India in New Delhi addressing Joint session of both houses 2010.jpg|caption1=US president [[Barack Obama]] addresses the [[Member of Parliament (India)|members]] of the [[Parliament of India]] in [[New Delhi]] in November 2010.}}

A two-year period of political turmoil followed the general election of [[1996 Indian general election|1996]]. Several short-lived alliances shared power at the centre. The BJP formed a government briefly in 1996; it was followed by two comparatively long-lasting [[United Front (India)|United Front]] coalitions, which depended on external support. There were two prime ministers during this period; [[H.D. Deve Gowda]] and [[I.K. Gujral]]. In [[1998 Indian general election|1998]], the BJP was able to form a successful coalition, the [[National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA). Led by [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]], the NDA became the first non-Congress, [[coalition government]] to complete a five-year term.{{sfn|Dunleavy|Diwakar|Dunleavy|2007}} Again in the [[2004 Indian general election]]s, no party won an absolute majority, but the Congress emerged as the largest single party, forming another successful coalition: the [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA). It had the support of [[Left-wing politics|left-leaning]] parties and MPs who opposed the BJP. The UPA returned to power in the [[2009 Indian general election|2009 general election]] with increased numbers, and it no longer required external support from [[List of Communist Parties in India|India's communist parties]].{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 384}} That year, [[Manmohan Singh]] became the first prime minister since [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in [[1957 Indian general election|1957]] and [[1962 Indian general election|1962]] to be re-elected to a consecutive five-year term.{{sfn|Business Standard|2009}} In the [[2014 Indian general election|2014 general election]], the BJP became the first political party since 1984 to win a majority and govern without the support of other parties.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 May 2014 |title=BJP first party since 1984 to win parliamentary majority on its own |work=[[Daily News and Analysis|DNA]] |agency=Indo-Asian News Service |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-first-party-since-1984-to-win-parliamentary-majority-on-its-own-1988981 |access-date=20 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521032413/https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-first-party-since-1984-to-win-parliamentary-majority-on-its-own-1988981 |archive-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> In the [[2019 Indian general election|2019 general election]], the BJP was victorious again. The incumbent prime minister is [[Narendra Modi]], a former [[Chief minister (India)|chief minister]] of [[Gujarat]]. On 22 July 2022, [[Droupadi Murmu]] was [[2022 Indian presidential election|elected]] India's 15th president and took the oath of office on 25 July 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 July 2022 |title=Droupadi Murmu Swearing-in Live: My election is the greatness of India, mother of democracy, says President Murmu |publisher=The Indian Express |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/droupadi-murmu-swearing-in-live-updates-8049577/ |access-date=26 July 2022}}</ref>