The Indian Presidency: Pluralism and Aspirations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61462/cujss.v53i1.1058Keywords:
Indian Studies, Indian politics, plural society, Multiculturalism, reduced inequalitiesAbstract
This article is an independent study and introduction to Indian presidential elections from the country’s founding up to the present. The objective is to analyze Indian social pluralism and aspirations through the Presidential Office by collecting secondary and tertiary levels of information from Indian government offices and news agencies. The study results reveal: (a) the importance of selecting the right candidate by a political party and its allies, which is a variable in determining whether or not they can reinforce the party’s political identity; (b) the electoral college vote is a procedure that determines which direction the party would lean; and (c) the political context, society and changing times all affect the formulation for selecting an individual with the desired social identity. This expresses pluralism and helps identify an individual who can lead by example. Such a person can be aspirational for the society and set off ripples of creativity. Therefore, the position of President of India plays significant a part in helping to reinforce Indian pluralism with respect to caste, ethnicity and religion. This is especially the case post-2000, since when the position of president has played a more active and admirable socio-cultural role in India.
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