Pressure groups and civil-society associations are protected under Article 19(1)(c) but increasingly squeezed by regulatory frameworks. With reference to cooperative societies, farmer producer organisations and trade unions, comment.
Subtopic: Polity · Pressure Groups & Associations
How to structure your answer
Introduction: Article 19(1)(c) protects the right to form associations and unions, subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(4); the 97th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011 made cooperative-society formation a fundamental right.
Body: Three dimensions — (i) cooperatives — Article 19(1)(c) right to form cooperatives, Part IXB (Articles 243ZH to 243ZT) struck down for States in Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (2021); Ministry of Cooperation set up 2021; National Cooperative Policy 2025; (ii) FPOs — Companies Act Section 581A category, Central Sector Scheme for 10,000 FPOs (2020) led by SFAC and NABARD; (iii) trade unions — Trade Unions Act 1926, Industrial Relations Code 2020 raising recognition threshold; All India Trade Union Congress and other federations facing eroded bargaining space.
Way forward / Conclusion: A facilitative-regulatory balance, judicially enforced under Article 19(1)(c), is the basis for healthy pluralism.
Written within the word limit
138 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction: Article 19(1)(c) protects the right to form associations and unions, subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(4); the 97th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011 elevated cooperative-society formation to fundamental-right status.
Body: Three dimensions show the regulatory squeeze. First, cooperatives — Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (2021) held Part IXB (Articles 243ZH-243ZT) inapplicable to State cooperatives, while the Ministry of Cooperation (created 6 July 2021), the National Cooperative Policy 2025 and the Amul-IFFCO success anchor the 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' vision. Second, FPOs — the Central Sector Scheme for 10,000 FPOs (2020) led by SFAC, NABARD and NCDC under Section 581A Companies Act extends collective bargaining to small farmers. Third, trade unions — the Industrial Relations Code 2020 raised recognition thresholds, eroding bargaining space for the All India Trade Union Congress, AIBOC and federations.
Conclusion: A facilitative-regulatory balance, judicially enforced under Article 19(1)(c), is the basis for healthy pluralism.
What an examiner expects to see
- Article 19(1)(c) — right to form associations and unions
- 97th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011 — cooperatives as fundamental right
- Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (2021) — Part IXB inapplicable to State cooperatives
- Ministry of Cooperation created 6 July 2021
- National Cooperative Policy 2025 — Sahkar se Samriddhi vision
- Central Sector Scheme for 10,000 FPOs (2020) — SFAC, NABARD, NCDC
- Industrial Relations Code 2020 — recognition threshold for unions
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- National Cooperative Policy 2025
- Lakhpati Didi Scheme via SHGs
- Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (2021)
- Amul, IFFCO — successful cooperative federalism
- All India Bank Officers' Confederation strikes