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Our main sources of information about the social life of the people are the accounts left by the celebrated Chineses travelers Fahien and Hiuen-Tsang. About the Indian society during the Gupta Age, Fahien writes that the people led simple and honest lives. The Ahimsa sentiment was strong in Middle India. The people generally abstained from meat and liquor. Only the Chandals did not observe these rules of high morality and they had to live apart from the general public in special quarters assigned to them outside the city. Hiuen Tsang remained in India for about fifteen years during which he visited almost every province of his country. He was much impressed by the customer and manners of the people of Takashila. Shatadru and Strungha. But he condemned the people of Gandhara, Simhapura, Takka and Jalandhar. In general however, he praises the character of the people of India. He says the people were honest, truthful, fair and hospitable. He was much impressed by the charitable disposition of the people of India. He found a large number of charity houses, rest houses and benevolent institutions which provided food and medicine free of charge to the needy people. Hiuen Tsang writes that the people of India lived together on good terms and the criminal class was small. The punishments were severer than under the Guptas. The roads were less safe than in the time of Fahien. Hiuen Tsang had to face bandits more than once.

Religion had great impact on the social and cultural life of the people. The revival of old brahmanical faith during the Gupta age intensified the division of the society into four castes. But in practice, considerable freedom was allowed in the choice of profession. There are numerous examples of Brahmans and Kshatriyas adopting the occupation of the classes below them and the Vaishyas and Sudras following those of above them. Inter marriages between the castes and Varnas were not common. Inter racial marriages took place thus assimilating the foreign element in the Indian society. Untouchability, however, continued in a rigid form. Hiuen Tsang writes that butchers, executioners, scavengers, hunters and fishermen were living in dwellings outside the cities.

The population of India consisted mostly of the soldier communities. The people were sturdy and well built and valued their heroic traditions. The contemporary literature throws light on the status of women in those days. The girls were married at an early date consequently they had little choice in the settlement of their marriage. Though polygamy was very common, women were not allowed to contact second marriages. There was no Pardah system but the ladies of upper classes seldom came out of their walled houses. The custom of Sati i.e., the burning of a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband was coming in vogue among the royal families.

The dress of people particularly in the Northern India was affected by foreign models. The people wore clothes made of cotton and silk of different varieties. The coats, overcoats and trousers of the Scythian type came to be worn by the Indian Kings. The common people wore an upper garment and lower Dhoti. The use of shoes was not very common and most people went without them. The dress of women was almost the same as it is now. The Jacket, blouse, and frock of the Scythian women were not imitated by the Indian women except by the dancing girls. In the northern India, the people also wore Suthanas, or light trousers. A variety of ornaments were used by women. A large number of them were worn on forehead. The different patterns of necklace of gold and pearls in vogue are striking. Men wore gracefully designed ear rings and armlets. The use of paints, pastes, powders and lipsticks was also common.

Before and After Freedom In the twentieth century Indian subcontinent have witnessed an age of revolution the aim of which was to root out the Western colonialism and the ages-old feudal system and establish a such kind of rule so that the poor and the down-trodden will get justice or in other words to establish a democracy to its true terms. It was a time of a struggle between the capitalists and the communists. Indian freedom struggle was basically led by those people who were communists in true sense or by those who were following the ideologies that were very near to the Marxism. It was a misfortune that the task remained incomplete as the leftists failed to lead the Indian freedom struggle and Congress succeeded in grabbing the ruling power in its hands. It must be noticed that most of the Congress leaders were capitalists or the federals. Capitalists controlled Congress created such a constitution that was aimed to establish the capitalism in a long term. In 1952 the first Lok Sabha elections were held and Congress got the majority seats to form a government.

Failure Congress has always remained the main ruling party that has always followed the monopoly-favorable policies. It ruled India from 1957 to 1995 thought its monopoly was challenged thrice in 1967, 1977 and 1989 respectively. When in the late nineties its monopoly broke BJP came into power by playing the religious card. The Leftists could not present itself as a strong political option and the BJP came into power that proved out to be more dangerous to the unity of the nation in the future.

Alliance-Age According to communism’s scientific point of view, though democracy always looks impartial but it always favors the capitalism and capitalists always have their control over the ruling party. In such kind of situations the workers are always exploited that gives rise to unrest among the common masses. In amidst of social unrest and with the advancement of capitalism, various political groups rise to power at state and regional levels. These groups are generally those classes that have failed to grab some power at the central level. By proving their power at state levels they demand some kind of power-sharing at the centre level.  If they do not get their desired results then they form alliances. India is going through suck kind of phase as many small and regional parties have originated.

Tackling the Social Unrest Under the rule of Nehru led Congress bourgeois had taken the course of establishing capitalism in the country. In the nineties it had established itself very well and had started to work with the aim of bringing India in the row of developed capitalist countries. With this aim policies of globalization were implemented in the country. Congress, BJP and all the regional parties are implementing these policies. Because of these policies the divide between the ruling classes and the working class has increased a lot. At one hand there is 70 per cent working class population or ‘aam aadmi’ that earns only 20 rupees per day. They don’t have any pure water scheme, no roof over their heads, no health and no education facilities. At the other end, 30 per cent people have control over the 85 per cent revenue of the production sector of the country. They have first class facilities of travel. They have five star hotels and air conditioned bus stands. They have IITs and IIMs for the education of their children. There is a huge difference between the life standards of both the classes and this rift is widening day by day. This situation can create problems for the ruling capitalist class in future. Foreseeing this social unrest ruling capital class has invented the two-party system to keep itself established for forever and to provide a loophole to the social unrest. On the basis of this theory be can say that India is heading towards such kind of system as most of the regional parties have decided to go with Congress led UPA and BJP led NDA.

Hidden Truth The irony is that the UPA and NDA governments are being projected as coalition government. And the present political situation is being called as the ‘age of coalition governments’ by every political worker and media sources. According to the prevailing political definition coalition governments are formed by various classes of the society as working class, lower level capitalists etc. And all the political parties represent their classes and share the power. The theory of coalition government comes into existence on the basis of some strong fact. But in India, the truth is totally different. Congress, BJP and all the regional parties are controlled by the capital class. There is no basic difference in their economic polities. It is evident in itself that India has always been ruled by the capitalists since its independence. If India is being controlled by the capital class then why we call the UPA and NDA alliance governments, coalition governments. Both these alliances are projecting themselves as the true representatives of the people and trying to hide the truth.

Regional Differences During the fifty year rule of congress the increasing social unrest gave birth to multi-party system and in the present situation the two-party system is finding its way throughout the multi-party system. In reality this system is working in some states of the country. Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat are the perfect examples of it. If we notice then we will find that there is no difference between the economic policies of various political parties led centre and state level government. Only the multi-party system has kept the truth hidden. This multi-party system is very short-lived. When there is no difference in their economic policies then for how much time the small parties can keep themselves survived in the presence of the big parties like BJP and Congress. Under the pressure of globalization policies, the expansion of infrastructure, special economic zones and malls is happening at vary fast pace. And with the expansion of economic relations the regional differences have started to loose their importance and appeal. It indicates that after some time these small and regional parties will disappear.

Small Parties Another change is taking place internally and neither the experienced politicians nor the ‘alert’ media are sensitive enough to notice this change. The hidden truth is it that the people have started to loose their interest in the small and regional parties. Public has noticed the political character of these regional and small parties for last 20 years. In these 20 years they had ruled their states and various departments at the centre level many times. People have understood that these parties have no policies, no ideology and no political opinions. Their whole and sole aim is to grab the power. To loot with both hands is their religion. Most of their leaders are corrupt and almost all of them have been accused of collecting more money that their sources. There is not any party that has not aligned with any of the alliance. People don’t like such kind of political downfall in the character of these parties.

There is only one side that can stop the two-party system and it is the Left parties. Their economic policies are totally different from that of the Congress and the BJP. And if it wants to appear as the leader of the 70 per cent working class then it will have to unite under one flag. Without doing it neither the two party system can be challenged nor can a strong political option be presented.