Pressure groups in policy
Pressure groups in policy
12 min read · Updated 2026-05-25
What is a pressure group?
A pressure group is an organised body of people who share a common interest and try to influence government decisions without seeking to govern themselves — the line that separates it from a political party. Indian examples run from FICCI and CII in business to AITUC and BMS in labour, BKU and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha among farmers, and advocacy bodies such as MKSS.
The story
It is 9 December 2020. Singhu border, Delhi-Haryana. Tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab + Haryana + Western UP, dig in. They are protesting the three farm laws — Farmers' Produce Trade + Commerce Act, Farmers (Empowerment + Protection) Agreement Price Assurance Act, Essential Commodities Amendment Act — passed by Parliament in September 2020 without extended public consultation.
The protest mobilises a coordinated network of pressure groups: Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) — a federation of 500+ farmer unions including Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. Behind them are decades-old farmers' lobbies dating to Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana (1979), Mahendra Singh Tikait's BKU (1978). Year-long agitation; over 700 deaths reported; on Guru Nanak Jayanti (19 Nov 2021), the PM announces repeal of all three laws.
This is one canonical Indian case of pressure-group politics shaping public policy — alongside the anti-corruption mobilisation of 2011 (India Against Corruption), Nirbhaya protests (2012), anti-CAA protests (2019-20), JEE-NEET demand (2010s), trade-union strikes against labour codes (2020- ongoing). Pressure groups are also business associations (FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM), professional bodies (Bar Council, IMA, ICAI), environmental NGOs (CSE, Greenpeace).
For UPSC, this unit tests the theory + typology + Indian examples of pressure groups and their influence on the policy cycle (agenda → adoption → execution).
Why this matters for UPSC
- Prelims: 1-2 questions per year on theorist names (Truman, Almond, Bentley), Indian pressure group taxonomy.
- Mains GS-II: Pressure group + civil society stems (2014, 2017, 2020, 2022).
- Interview: Farm law repeal, ICAI / IMA standoffs, trade union protests.