Common Factors which affect both Political Development and Modernisation

Modernisation and political development go to together. There can be no doubt that is modernisation which brings political development. So political development is the political aspect of modernisation.

Therefore the factors which affect both are common. These factors are the following:

1. Traditions:

There is no denying the fact that traditions have a greater hold on the public than anything else. So the traditions play a major role in determining the form of political system which the country adopts. In Czarist Russia (before the revolution of 1917) there was a major problem how to adjust Russian traditions to Westernisation which in their wake were bound to bring innovations.

Though both U.S.A. and Russia have modernised themselves, yet they have a different political systems according to their own traditions. This is also the case with India and China which are modernising themselves with different political traditions.

2. Timing:

Time also affects both the process of modernisation and political development. When India became independent on August 15, 1947, then our political leaders were keen to have western model because of the long British rule in this country and the experience in the working of the Act of 1919 and 1935.

Moreover, the Act of 1935 with some adaptations was still in force. But when our leaders visited Russia, they saw that country had made tremendous progress because of socialism and planning. Therefore, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru also set up a Planning Commission and launched many Five Year Plans.

Now the Seventh Five Year Plan is in operation. Mr. Nehru also set the goal of Indian National Congress as the socialistic pattern of society in Avadi session (Madras) in 1955. It was repeated in the Congress session of Bhubaneswar (Orissa) in January, 1964.

3. Leadership:

The nature of modernising political leadership largely determines the extent up to which tradition is to be adopted in the process of modernisation and political development. If the traditions come in the way of modernising process, then the leadership determines to what extent the traditions are to be discarded.

Any how the leadership at the top decides the pace of political, economic and social modernisation, so that with the shortest possible time, the country may be able to catch with the developed countries like U.S.A., U.S.S.R., West Germany and Japan.

In India, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs. Indira Gandhi were very well familiar with the traditions and culture of their country, yet they were bent upon modernising the country in every way and they did their best in this direction.They have adjusted socialism, democracy and secularism to the traditions of the country.