Transforming political culture: A journey from independent India to new Bharat

A Political Culture reflects the orientation and attitudes of citizens towards their Political System and nurtures the values and beliefs, narratives among the citizen to supports the political and democratic system. Democratic Political System gets strengths from civic virtues, democratic beliefs, attitudes and citizen’s vibrant participation in political activities. After independence, the Indian Political System was formed on the basis of liberal democratic values and debate was to nurture and build Political Culture around constitutional values like Socialist, Secular, Democratic ethos. The vision was to make Democratic Republic of India which would ensure social justice and freedom in Pluralist Modernist India. But the changes in economic policies 1990s led the shift in value from socialist to liberal identity and efforts were made to make liberalist identity around the market economy. The emergence of Regionalism, Coalition government politics led the discussion of Cooperative Federalism in Indian politics. The recently emerging trend in New Bharat (Making New India), the Political Culture is getting transformed around the emerging new discourse to build a homogeneous identity (One Nation, One People, One Culture) around the brotherhood in saffron. The efforts in every arena are making to reconnect the ancient glory, advocating for a strong and charismatic leadership. The paper tries to understand the changing dynamics of Indian Political culture and its emerging trends by applying the Habermas’ concept of Public Sphere transformation discussion. Article is based upon the assumption ’the transformation in the public sphere’s issues of discussion led to the changing of political culture which has survival impacts upon the existing political system.’ It also examines the impacts of personality cult, centralised commands and control of centralised leadership and its impacts on shrinking space for democracy in the public arena.