Public Opinion, Pressure Groups and Political Processes
This domain is conceptual: the exam wants definitions, Indian examples of pressure groups, and the difference between a pressure group and a political party.
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of views citizens hold on public issues. It is shaped by family, school, the press and electronic media, social media, political parties, religious and caste organisations, and the general climate of debate. It is measured through sample surveys, opinion polls and elections. The quality of opinion depends on access to information, which is why the Right to Information Act, 2005 matters here.
Pressure groups
A pressure group seeks to influence policy without seeking to form a government. Sectional groups defend members' interests - trade unions such as INTUC, AITUC and BMS; business bodies FICCI and CII; farmers' organisations; professional associations such as the Indian Medical Association and the Bar Council. Promotional groups pursue a cause - environmental groups, consumer forums, civil-liberties organisations, women's groups. Methods: lobbying, petitions, press campaigns, strikes and bandhs, satyagraha, supporting sympathetic candidates, and litigation through public interest petitions.
The political process
Political scientists describe the process as interest articulation (pressure groups), interest aggregation (parties), political socialisation, recruitment and communication.
Worked example
Farmers' organisations demand a legal guarantee of minimum support prices. Reasoning: the demand is articulated by sectional groups; because none has the numbers alone, they aggregate through opposition parties and a nationwide agitation; media coverage builds public opinion; the government responds through a committee. The group did not contest elections, which distinguishes it from a party.
Traps
Not every interest group is a pressure group; a pressure group that contests elections becomes a party. Bandhs and strikes have been judicially restricted as forms of protest.