Political parties in India

The party phenomenon in Asia goes back to the historical heritage of Asian societies on the one hand, and to the effects of the colonial presence in those societies on the other hand. The interaction between sect leaders and the employee class led to the emergence of skills in aspects related to party organization and party strategy. Party life in The Indian subcontinent began many decades before independence, as there was a well-established history of local elections dating back to the 1840s and 1850s, and various groups and blocs had begun to compete in those elections and may have actually begun to form political parties, but the traditions that were associated with those Beginnings in local government were pushed aside by subsequent nationalist movements.

     There are those who believe that the early modern political groups in South Asia can be characterized more as interest groups rather than political parties. The Indian National Congress and other organizations began small and narrowly based on interest groups mainly concerned with the interests of a small, Western middle class. The establishment of the National Congress Party was to represent the political vessel for all Indian intellectuals and politicians, but the superiority of the Hindu majority in it and the ideological composition of the party made it far from the direct demands and interests of the various sectors of Indian society at that time. The Congress was a gathering of English-speaking intellectuals.