1. The most important development of this period was the defeat of the Congress party in the elections held in 1989. The party that had won as many as 415 seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 was reduced to only 197 in this election. The Congress improved its performance and came back to power soon after the mid-term elections held in 1991. But the elections of 1989 marked the end of ‘Congress system’. 

2. Second development was the rise of the Mandal issue in national politics. This followed the decision by the new national Front Government in 1990, to implement the recommendation of reserved for the Other backward Classes. This led to violent anti-Mandal protests in different parts of the country. 

3. Third, the economic policy followed by the various governments took a radically different turn. This is known as the initiation of the structural adjustment programme or the new economic reforms. These changes first became very visible in 1991 and radically changed the direction that the Indian widely criticised by various movements and organisations. But the various governments that came to power in this period have continued to follow these. 

4. Fourth, a number of events culminated in the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya (known as Babri Masjid) in December 1992. This event symbolised and triggered various changes in the politics of the country and intensified debates about the nature of Indian nationalism and secularism.

5. Finally, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 led to a change in leadership of the Congress Party. In the elections of 1991, Congress emerged as the single largest party. Following Rajiv Gnadhi’s death, the party chose Narshimha Rao as the Prime Minister.