Sociopolitical Situation
Recently, the government introduced the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill. According to this bill, which cannot be overridden or withdrawn, every adult head of household is eligible for 100 days of work per year by the government. The government plans to implement this within the next five years.
The recent assembly elections in a few states were held in free, fair and peaceful way and again witnessed the strong democratic nature of the country. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is a minority government supported by various progressive parties.
Presently, the government is facing protests and agitations against the recent price hikes in petrol and diesel even from their political allies. However, in general these protests are seen as people-friendly and as examples of creative opposition.
Since the 1990’s, economic reforms, which sparked infrastructure development and reduced government ownership, have yielded impressive industrial performance and GDP growth. A GDP growth of 8.4 percent is indicated in 2005-06, primarily owing to the last quarter agricultural growth of 5.5 percent.
Religious Situation
There was a recent communal outbreak in Gujarat connected to the government’s demolition campaign of structures to widen the roads. Although it led to few deaths, the government contained the violence. Barring this, the religious situation in India in general is very peaceful. All religions enjoy freedom in practicing their faith. More over, there is no overt governmental support of fundamental religious groups.
Christianity, after Hinduism and Islam, is the third largest religion in India, representing 2.5 percent of the population. Although there is religious freedom in the country, Christian missionaries are facing tremendous opposition for their evangelization efforts, particularly in the north.