TYBA-History-SEM-6-Paper-V-History-of-Contemporary-India-English-Version-munotes

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FEATURES OF THE INDIAN
CONSTITUTION
Unit Structure
1.0 Objective
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The Salient Features of Constitution of India
1.3 Making of the Constitution
1.4 The Constituent Assembly
1.5 Role of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in Making of the Indian
Constitution
1.6 The Indian Constitution: Main Features
1.7 Conclusion
1.8 Summary
1.9 Questions
1.10 References and Additional Readings
1.0 OBJECTIVE In this Unit, the student will understand
 Framing of the Indian Constitution & working of the Constituen t
Assembly
 The main features of Indian Constitution
 The contribution of India with a successful Constitution
1.1 INTRODUCTION Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was not only the first Prime Minister of India but
also considered as the main architect of modern India. As a President of
the Indian National Congress, he made continuous efforts to fulfil his
many duties to bring change in India post -independence. He was keen to
bring a uniform subtle country and therefore the establishment of
Constituent Assembly was a sin cere attempt to frame the Constitution of
India. The All -India Congress committee meeting in 1927 provided a
platform to discuss the complex constitutional problems of the country and
find out the possible solutions to such problems. The Motilal Nehru
Repo rt on the Constitution of India in 1928 was a guide for the future
Constitution of free India and in 1936 a resolution was passed during the
Congress Session at Faizpur in 1936 to convene a Constituent Assembly
representing all sections of people to frame the Constitution of India. munotes.in

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2 The approach of Nehru was to have parliamentary democracy was totally
supported by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as the Chief architect of
Constitution of India. India came a long way. The freedom struggle,
community challenges, assimi lation of every cast in the country was not
an easy task therefore, the Constitution of India which sought to establish
a sovereign, secular, democratic republic to secure its citizens justice,
liberty, and equality.
India got its independence on 15th August 1947 but accepted the dominion
status in the British Commonwealth and adopted its Constitution on 26th
January 1950. With the adoption of Constitution, India became the
sovereign republic. Nehru requested as head of the interim government
and Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India. Lord
Mountbetten was the last Viceroy of India and served as the first
governor -general of Independent India. Rajagopalachari succeeded Lord
Mountbetten in 1948. On 26th January 1950, Rajendra Prasad replaced
Rajagopalachari and he became the first President and head of state of the
republic of India.
Nehru mentioned that Constitution of India should be framed in such a
way which promote true nationalism, integrate the various parts of creeds
and religions and em power the nation to be launched into real
internationalism. In this unit, we shall explore the historical background of
the Constitution of India and its salient features.
1.2 THE SALIENT FEATURES OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA The Constitution of India was ado pted by the Constituent Assembly in
November 1949, and it came into force on 26th January 1950 establishing
India as a sovereign, democratic and republic. Though the Constitution of
India borrowed Constitution philosophies from the West but represent
truly the aspirations of India leaders. It promotes the welfare of the people
by securing and promoting a social order with justice, social, economic,
and political to build the institutions of national life.
India which has a history of agony, challenges and a dversity post -
independence was determined to establish a secular state. Therefore, a
need was felt that after independence, there would be a concrete political
practice which popularized the notions of parliamentary democracy,
republicanism, civil libertie s, social and economic justice etc. India was
always dreamt for Swaraj and it was not given to Indians by the Britishers.
The freedom fathers of India were statesman and introduced the
Constitutional reforms on their own initiatives. The continuous efforts of
pressure tactics and intellect of Indian nationalists provided certain rights
to citizens in 1861, 1892, 1909, 1919 and 1935. However, in every act,
there was certain shortcomings and did not fulfil the democratic demands
of Indians. Still the Constitu tional makers kept the base of Constitutional
legacy of the pre -independence period after independence and wrote the
Indian Constitution with its legacy which proved the independent
credentials of India‟s efforts to build its own constitution. munotes.in

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Features of the Indian Constitution
3 1.3 MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION By independence we have lost the excuse of blaming the British for
anything going wrong. If hereafter things go wrong, we will have
nobody to blame except ourselves.
– Dr. B.R. Ambedkar :
The Constitution of India was a not a day effort. It has been built through
ages gradually. The Constitutional developments in India started from
1880s and 1890s and the demand for responsible government reached in
the form of self -determination at the end of the 20th century.
The Home Rule Move ment started by Tilak and Annie Besant during the
period of First World War was an effort to awaken Indians for their rights
and freedom against the British rule. The Congress -Muslim League Pact
of 1916 demanded the four -fifths of the members of the provi ncial
legislatures be elected „by the people on as broad a franchise as possible‟.
(Ref – Bipin Chandra p. 34) . The 1919 act of dyarchy was not acceptable
by Indians which was set up with an assertion that the ‟timing and pace‟ of
Constitutional reform wou ld be decided by the British alone. After the end
of non -Co-operation movement in 1922, the Swaraj Party was established
by a section of Congressmen with an objective to contest the elections.
This was no doubt, was a renewed vigour for Constitutional batt le. The
efforts undertaken by the Congress members to play an active role in
politics and bring the changes in India for the rights through constitutional
reform was a bold decision. Motilal Nehru was summoned as a
representative in the Central Legislative Assembly in Round Table
Conferences on 8th February 1924. He was asked to recommend for the
protection of rights and interests of important minorities as a scheme of a
Constitution for India. It further suggested that the Constitutional scheme
for India w ould be ratified by newly elected Indian legislature and then
sent to the British parliament to be embodied in a statute. This is quite
remarkable because it was for the first time the demand for Constitution
and procedure for its adoption were mentioned c learly.
On 7th July 1925, Lord Birkenhand, the Secretary of State had given
challenge to Indians to produce a constitution on the ground of fair
measure of general agreement among the great people of India. Post the
boycott of Simon Commisssion, Lord Birk enhand reiterated the challenge
and Congress accepted the challenge. The All -Parties Conference was
called in May 1928 to appoint a committee under Motilal Nehru to
establish the principles of the Constitution of India. The Nehru Report of
10 August 1928 w as an outline of a draft Constitution of India. it
visualised the important aspects of today‟s Constitution such as
parliamentary system with full responsible government; joint electorates
with time -bound reservation of seats for minorities; securing funda mental
human rights; freedom of conscience, free profession and practice of
religion; the right of free expression of opinion; right to assemble
peacefully without arms; to form associations or unions; equal rights for
men and women; and right to free elem entary education. The State secular
character was listed as fundamental right and Nehru report also munotes.in

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4 recommended that the „redistribution of provinces should take place on a
linguistic basis.‟ The Nehru Report was followed by a boycott of the
Simon Commissi on. In December 1929, the Congress declared complete
independence and launch of Mass Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930
made it clear that Indians were not satisfied with anything less than the
right to frame their own Constitution via a Constituent Assem bly based on
the widest possible franchise. Jawaharlal Nehru articulated the idea in
1933 based on the suggestions of M.N. Roy. In June 1934, Congress
Working Committee rejected White Paper and resolved to set up a
constitution drawn up by a Constituent As sembly elected based on adult
suffrage or as near it as possible.
Congress kept on demanding the Constituent Assemble repeatedly
frequently after 1934 and incorporated in their election manifesto from
time to time. In August 1937, the Congress Working Com mittee accepted
a draft resolution prepared by Acharya Kriplani and passed a resolution in
all the Congress Provinces – Bombay, Madras, U.P., Bihar, Orissa,
Central Provinces, North West Frontier Province and Sind to repeal and
replace the Government of In dia Act 1935 by a constitution framed by the
Constituent Assembly and introduced in the Central Legislative Assembly.
Congress ministries resigned in 1939 following the outbreak of the Second
World War in protest for being made a party to the war without e liciting
their opinion or consent. Gandhiji in his article titled „The Only Way‟,
declared about his enthusiasm to set up the Constituent Assembly. The
„August Offer‟ by Viceroy Linlithgow in 1940 was an attempt to secure
India‟s cooperation in the War eff ort and for the first time consented to
frame the new Constitution by Indians themselves (though not solely). The
August Offer further suggested to „set up a body representative of the
principal elements in India‟s national life to devise the framework of the
new Constitution post the war. Congress launched in 1940 the individual
Civil Disobedience campaign to register its protest being a party of the
war without its consent. In March 1942, Winston Churchill, the prime
minister of Britain sent Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of Labour Party to
the War Cabinet and for the first time, there was a discussion in regard to
setting up of the Constituent Assembly. The Cripps proposals were
significant in many aspects as for the first time, it was clearly accepted
that the Constitution would be the sole responsibility of Indians. However
other aspects of Cripps proposals which had divisive potential, were not
accepted by the Congress and it was failed. India was adamant for setting
up its own Constitution through Const ituent Assembly. There was no
stone unturned to register their protest. Therefore, soon after the war
ended in Europe in May 1945, a White paper was issued followed by the
Shimla Conference in June - July 1945. The Viceroy Lord Wavell
announced the India po licy of the new government on 19 September 1945
to convene a constitution making body as earliest. On 19 February 1946,
The British government declared a Cabinet Mission was sent to resolve
the issue of freedom and Constitution making.
The Cabinet Mission on 16 May 1946 announced a scheme to setting up a
constitution making machinery. It further decided that the newly elected
legislative assemblies of the provinces were to elect the members of the munotes.in

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Features of the Indian Constitution
5 Constituent Assembly based on one representative for roughl y one million
of the population. The Sikh and Muslim legislators were to be elected
based on their populations. There were also many details about procedures
and suggestions about the Union powers and the provinces. The grouping
of provinces into sections A, B, and C.
Section A consisted of Madras, Bombay, Bihar, U.P., the Central
Provinces and Orissa.
Section B and Section C consisted of Punjab, NWFP, Sind in the West,
Assam and Bengal in the East.
The scheme also proposed that the Constituent Assembly a fter meeting to
elect the Chairman. The Provincial representatives in their respective
sections should first decide the Constitution of the constituent provinces.
Based on the completion of the process of representatives of all the
provinces and princely s tates were to meet to settle the Constitution of the
Union. It also mentioned about the Union of India to deal with foreign
affairs, defence, and communication. Congress finally nevertheless
decided to put forth an argument and accepted the scheme with a v iew that
outright rejection would again delay the process of transfer of power. The
Muslim League at every stage was not in favour of the Constituent
Assembly before and after it was constituted.
1.4 THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY Before the setting up the Const ituent Assembly Nehru expressed his hope
to form a assembly with a task through a new constitution to feed the
starving people and fullest opportunity to develop himself/herself
according to their fullest capacity in the free world.
In the Constituent Ass embly, there were 389 members out of which 296
members were from the British India and 93 from the princely Indian
states. Initially, all members of the Constituent Assemble were British
however post elections which were held in July -August 1946, out of 21 0
seats which were allotted in the general category, Congress won 199 along
with 3 out of the 4 Sikh seats from Punjab. Congress also won 3 out of the
78 Muslim seats and the 3 seats from Coorg, Ahmer -Merwara and Delhi.
The total Congress tally was 208. Th e Muslim League won 73 out of the
78 Muslim seats.
Later, The Congress Working Committees instructed Constituent
Assemble to include the representatives of Scheduled Castes, Parsis,
Indian Christians, Anglo -Indians, tribals and Women in the Congress list
for the general category. With lots of deliberations and positive gestures,
the first session of the Constituent Assemble was scheduled on 9
December 1946. Dr. Sachchidanand Sinha became the provisional
president. The first session was attended by 270 membe rs. Dr. Rajendra
Prasad was elected the permanent chairman, an office later designated as
President of the Assembly on 11 December 1946. On 13 December 1946, munotes.in

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6 Jawaharlal Nehru moved his famous objective resolution which was
debated till 19 December 1946. It was passed in January 1947.
On 3rd June after the announcement of Mountbetten plan and decision of
partition, completely altered the perspectives of the Constituent Assembly.
After India became independence on 15th August 1947, the Constituent
Assembly b ecame a sovereign body and responsible for framing the
Constitution to make ordinary laws. The work of Constituent Assembly
was organised into five stages: - (p.41)
1. Committees were asked to present reports on basic issues.
2. B.N. Ra o the Constitutional advis or, prepared an initial draft based on
the reports of these committees and his own research into the
Constitutions of other countries.
3. Drafting committee, chaired by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar presented a
detailed draft Constitution which was published for pub lic discussion
and comments.
4. The draft Constitution was discussed, and amendments proposed.
5. The Constitution was adopted.
1.5 ROLE OF DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR IN MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION The contribution made by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar has been exemp lary
by drafting the Constitution of India. Dr. Ambedkar was the first Law
Minister of India and considered as the Father of the Indian Constitution.
He was very clear while mentioning that the political democracy cannot
stay longer unless the base is soci al democracy. Social democracy is
nothing but it is a way of life and recognises liberty, equality and fraternity
as the principles of life. He affirmed to set up a democracy on the basis of
equality and dignity in the people‟s life. Framing a secular cons titution
was not an easy task post -independence. But the wisdom, perseverance
and acumen of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was aptly reflected logically in
the chapters of the Constitution of India. He is also popularly known as the
chief architect of the Indian C onstitution. On August 29, 1947,
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was appointed as the chairman of the drafting
committee, constituted by constituent Assembly to draft the Constitution
of free India. The legal scholars who were actively involved in fra ming the
Constitution of India along with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar such as
Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, B.N. Rao, Alladi
Krishnaswamy Ayyar etc. were impressed by his idea, knowledge and
vision of secular state.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, s peaking after the completion of his work
found the constitution workable and strong enough to hold the country
together both in peace and adverse times. There is no one supreme before
the Constitution of India. the justice prevails for all at social, polit ical and
economic level irrespective of any religion, castes and creed. Pandit Nehru munotes.in

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Features of the Indian Constitution
7 wholeheartedly acknowledged the efforts of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and
expressed that it would not have been possible to frame the constitution
with care without him.
Apart from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, every Congress leader such as Asaf
Ali, K.T. Shah, D.R. Gadgil, K.M. Munshi, Humayun Kabir, R.
Shanthanam, N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar worked with the team and gave
timely suggestions for improvement in the important features in t he
Constituent Assembly.
Jawaharlal Nehru‟s Objective Resolution was the philosophy and basic
features of the Constitution. Sardar Patel played a decisive role to bring
the representatives of the princely states into the Constituent Assembly.
Rajendra Pra sad won the title of impartial and dignified President of the
Assembly, Maulana Azad brough his scholarship wisdom with due
importance.
G. Austin in his book the ‘Indian Constitution’ expressed the role played
by Congress while framing the constitution and mentioned that the
Constituent Assembly was a one -party body and one -party country. The
Assembly was the Congress and the Congress was India. The elected
members in both provincial and national also put forth their contribution
and suggestions. He furthe r explained that quote , “One might assume,
aware of the character of monolithic political systems in other countries,
that a mass party in India would be rigid and narrow in outlook and that its
powerful leadership would silently dissent and confine policy and
decision -making to the hands of the select few. In India the reverse was
the case. The membership of the Congress in the Constituent Assembly
and outside held economic, social and political views ranging from the
reactionary to the revolutionary, and it did not hesitate to voice them. The
leaders of the Assembly, who played the same role in the congress and in
the union government, were national heroes and had almost unlimited
power; yet decision making in the Assembly was democratic. The Indian
Consti tution expresses the will of the many rather that the needs of the
few.” (p.8-9)
Overall, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar‟s contribution were crucial in the
making of the Indian Constitution. His vision and values continue to shape
India‟s democracy and social fabr ic to this day.
Check Your Progress
1) Elaborate the importance of Constituent Assemble before the adoption
of Constitution of India. munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
8 2) Explain in Brief the significant role played by Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar in framing of the Constitution of Ind ia.
3) The process of framing the Constitution of India was not an easy task.
Explain in brief the making of Constitution and its salient features.
1.6 THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION: MAIN FEATURES Federal Structure:
The Indian Constitution is not rigid in terms of its federal or unitary
structure. G. Austin in his book mentioned that Constituent Assembly was
aware of the challenges which India had post -independence therefore,
while using the sources of federation from other countries such as U nited
States, Canada, Switzerland, and Australia, the approach was liberal and
termed by A.M. Birch and others as „cooperative federalism‟. The term
defined as increasing interdependence of federal and regional governments
without destroying the principle of federalism. After partition decision,
India moved in the direction of a federation with a strong centre. Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar aptly explained the term „Union of States‟ rather
„Federation of States‟ because the federation is Union and it is
indestruc tible. He further states though the country and its people may be
divided into different States for administration convenience, the country is
one and whole and living under a single imperium derived from a single
source. The Constitution of India also spe cifying legislative powers clearly
between the Union and the states and contains three lists of subjects:
Union list, State list and Concurrent list. The Union list subjects can be
legislated upon by the union parliament; state list subjects by state
legis latures, and concurrent list come in purview of both union and state
lists. However, in case of conflict between Union and state legislation then
Union law will prevail. However, there are provisions to convert it into a
unitary or quasi federal system und er specified exceptional circumstances.
The flexible structure of Constitution enabled the Constitutional
framework to accommodate the wide variety of centre -state relationships.
b) Fundamental Rights:
The constitution guarantees , certain fundamental right s to every citizen of
India, such as the right to equality, freedom of speech and expression and munotes.in

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Features of the Indian Constitution
9 the right to life and liberty. These rights are enshrined in Part III of the
constitution and are justiciable meaning that citizens can approach the
court if t heir fundamental rights are voileted.
Institutions of Governance:
The President:
The President of India is a Constitutional head. He is head of the State but
not of the Executive. He represents the nation but not rule the nation. The
elected President is t he symbolic head of the state. The President is
conferred with enormous powers but to be exercised in accordance with
the Cabinet advice. The President of India has a power to appoint various
high functionaries such as judges of the higher courts, governor s,
ambassadors, the Attorney -General, the Comptroller and Auditor General
of India etc on the advice of the Cabinet. He is also the supreme
commander of the armed forces and can issue ordinances when parliament
is not in session. The term of President elec tion is for five years, and is
eligible for re -election. He can also be removed through impeachment for
Constitution violation. The elected members of both Houses of Parliament
and of State Legislative Assemblies participate in the process of election
of President by a method of proportional representation through single
transferable vote of each MP or MLA with a value corresponding to the
population represented by him.
Vice -President:
Vice -President of India is also elected for five years by both Houses of
Parliament but is not a member of any legislature. He also acts as the
chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and can act as the President if the existing
President dies in office, absent due to illness or any other reason, removed
or resigns according to the Art icle 65 of the Constitution of India.
The Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister:
The Council of Ministers are the executives headed by the prime minister.
Prime Minister is appointed by the President the leader of the party who
has a majority in the Lok Sabha or confidence of the majority of the
members of the Lok Sabha. Other ministers are selected by the prime
minister and appointed by the President. The council of minister is
collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. Nehru described the prime
minister as the „linchpin of Government‟. Prime minister is the link
between the President, the Cabinet and the parliament. He has enormous
powers of patronage. All the cabinet meetings are chaired by the prime
minister.
The Parliament;
The Indian parliament h as two legislatures – the upper house being called
the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States and lower house the Lok Sabha
or the House of the People. The Rajya Sabha has 250 members of whom
238 members are elected by elected members of the state legislativ e munotes.in

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10 assemblies or Vidhan Sabhas via a system of proportional representation
by means of single transferable vote and another 12 are nominated by the
President on the advice of the government, to represent different fields
such as education, social media, spo rts etc. every two years, one third of
Rajya Sabha members are retired but every individual member has a term
of six years which makes Rajya Sabha, a permanent body. The Vice -
President of India is the chairperson and deputy chairperson is elected by
Rajya Sabha members amongst themselves.
The members of Lok Sabha are elected by people of India for the term of
five years. It may be dissolved in case of emergency and its term can be
extended for one year at a time but not beyond six months after the
emergency .
There is also another important feature in India‟s Constitution related with
constituencies which are territorial and single member and divided among
states in proportion to the population. The reservation for other castes is
also defined in proportion to their population in that particular state. There
are no separate electorates.
Lok Sabha has maximum seats is 552 out of which 550 represent
territorial constituencies and two are nominated by the Anglo -Indian
community. The Lok Sabha is chaired by the Speaker who is elected by
members from amongst themselves.
The Parliament has extensive legislative powers and to become a law of
any bill, it needs to be in accordance with both the houses on presidential
assent. Thus, the Constitution has empowered parl iament as an institution
with great dignity and provided privileges to its members according to
their positions.
The Government in the States and Union Territories:
The centre position of parliament, President and Prime minister also laid
down by the Cons titution as the system of government at the state level
with the chief minister and his council of ministers with legislative power
and responsible to the state legislature. The expectation of setting up the
position of government while framing the Constit ution was that governors
would be „people from outside -eminent people, sometimes people who
have not taken a great part in politics. An eminent educationist or a person
in other walks of life‟ (p.59 Chandra Bipin).
All states have legislative assemblies w hich consists of not more than 500
and not less than 60 members. A few states have second chambers or
legislative councils. States have rights to legislate on items in the State list.
For concurrent list, the Union law stands however states also legislate on
items in the concurrent list.
The Union Territories are directly administered by Lieutenant Governors
appointed by the President.
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11 Local Government :
The Directive principle of state Policy laid down that states should take
steps to organise village pa nchayats (Article 40) . There is a need to set up
local self -governing bodies. The Balwantrai Mehta Committee (1956)
recommended to set up Panchayati Raj with three levels of representative
bodies. The gram panchayat at the village level was to be elected b y all
adult residents of the village, panchayat samiti at the block level and Zilla
parishad at the district level.
The Judiciary :
Article 124 -147 and 214 -237 of the Constitution lay down the system of
justice in India. The judiciary is the upholder of th e Constitution and every
detail related with the method of appointment, the years of service,
qualifying conditions, powers of each court, size of the bench, pay and
perquisites, and others all was specified in the Constitution.
The Supreme Court at its ap ex came into existence in January 1950. The
chief justice of Supreme Court was appointed by the President after
consultation with such judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts
as may be though necessary. They hold office till the age of sixty -five. To
enforce the rights related with Fundamental rights, a person can
straightway appeal to the Supreme Court without going through the
judicial hierarchy.
Directive principles of state policy:
Principals of state policy, which provide guidance to the go vernment in
matters such as Social Welfare, economic development and environmental
protection. These principals are enshrined in Part IV of the constitution
and are not justiable, meaning that citizens can not approach the courts if
the governments fails t o implement them.
High Courts in the states have powers over all the subordinate courts in
their jurisdiction. All the other subordinate courts are directly under the
control of the High Court. District judges are appointed by the governor in
consultation with the High Court.
The Administrative Services :
The Constitution in Part XIV: services under the Union and the States laid
down the Union and state legislation and provided Constitutional
guarantee against arbitrary dismissal. The Article 315 ensures fa irness in
recruitment and provided independent Public Service Commissions for the
Union and for each state. The commissions are given the task related with
recruitment, appointment, promotion, transfer and disciplinary action
against civil servants. The al l-India services have been a significant force
for national integration. The Constitutional safeguards were given to
encourage independence and integrity in the bureaucracy. This is
important to avoid any political pressure.
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12 Constitutional Amendments:
The constitution can be amended, but the process for amending the
constitution is elaborate and requires the approval of a two -thirds majority
in both houses of Parliament. This ensures that the constitution remains a
living document that can adopt to chan ging times and aspirations of the
people.
Check Your Progress
1) What are the main features of the Indian Constitution?
1.7 CONCLUSION The quote of G. Austin is quite significant in terms of Constitution
framing and its importance which is as qu otes, “India would do as she had
done for centuries; take what she desired from other cultures and bend it to
her needs”.
The framers of Indian Constitution borrowed from other Constitution the
key features of the Indian Constitution so that the base of co nstitution
should be based on successful implementation and modified according to
the exotic plants and homegrowns. The Constitution of India is significant
in terms of its democratic structures, framework of responsible
government, balance between elected legislatures, functional executives,
and vigilant judiciary are important aspects. The Constitution of India not
only protect the Fundamental Rights of freedom of speech and expression,
including the freedom of the press, freedom of association, including the
right to join political parties of one‟s choice and form trade unions etc.
The Constitution of India is flexible and amended its own laws from time
to time according to the needs of the society. Thus, the Constitution of
India also considered as a boo k of social change. As Rajendra Prasad, the
first President of India said while framing the Constitution that a
constitution can only be as good as the people who work it. The
Constitution of India, with testing times, commands respect in diversity
and com plexity. The clear and transparent commitment of Constitution for
a democratic, secular, egalitarian and civil libertarian society provide the
significant aspects of maintaining law and order and unity in diversity in
country.
1.8 SUMMARY The first Prime m inister of India Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru is considered as
the main architect of modern India. The Motilal Nehru Report on the munotes.in

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Features of the Indian Constitution
13 Constitution of India was like a guide for the future Constitution of free
India. The approach of Nehru was to have parliamentary dem ocracy was
totally supported by Dr. Ambedkar as the Chief architect of Constitution
of India. On 26th January 1950, the Constitution of India came into force
and the sovereign republic of India was established.
The contribution made by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedka r has been exemplary by
drafting the Constitution of India. Dr. Ambedkar was the first Law
Minister of India and considered as the Father of the Indian Constitution.
He is also popularly known as the chief architect of the Indian
Constitution. On August 29 , 1947, Dr. Ambedkar was appointed as the
chairman of the drafting committee, constituted by constituent Assembly
to draft the Constitution of free India. The legal scholars who were
actively involved in framing the Constitution of India along with Dr.
Amb edkar such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, B.N.
Rao, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar etc. were impressed by his idea,
knowledge and vision of secular state. The several features of Indian
Constitution related with federal structure, appointme nt, selection and
election of key administrative positions such as President, Prime -minister,
Council of ministers, Chief ministers, Judges of the courts, and
administrative set up etc. are important and significant to maintain the
integrity and uniformity of nation. Apart from these, the Constitution of
India also protect the fundamental rights of citizens and provide the
directive principles of state policy to maintain the moral, ethics and
integrity of the nation.
1.9 QUESTIONS 1) Discuss the stages of deve lopment of the Indian constitution.
2) Analyse the main features of the Indian Constituion .
1.10 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  Granville Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of A Nation,
Oxford 1966.
 S.C. Kashyap, Our Constitution, New Delhi , 1994.
 D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India, New Delhi, 8th
Edition, 1984.
 M.V. Pylee, Constitutional Government in India, New Delhi, 4th
edition, 1984.
 Bipin Chandra, et. al., India‟s Struggle for Independence 1857 -1947,
New Delhi, 1988.
 Bhagwanrao Deshpande, Jawaharlal Nehru and Making of Indian
Constitution, edited by Ankush Sawant and Parvathi Vasudevan,
Lenin Media, Delhi 2019 munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
14  The Making of India: A Political History –Ranbir Vohra, 3rd Edition,
M.E. Sharpe, New York, 2019
 Bipin Chandra , Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee – India
after Independence (1947 -2000), New Delhi 2000 (pp. 31 to 67) .
*****
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15 2
INTEGRATION AND REORGANIZATION
OF STATES
Unit Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Accession of Junagarh
2.1.2 Accession of Hyderabad
2.1.3 Accession of Jammu and Kashmir
2.2 Reorganization of States
2.3.1 Introduction
2.3.2 Need for the L inguistic Organization of states
2.2.3 The Linguistic Provinces Commission 1948
2.2.4 The JVP committee and its role
2.2.5 Creation of the State of Andhra Pradesh
2.2.6 The formation of States Reorganization commission
2.2.7 Bifurcation of the Bombay State into the Maharashtra and
Gujarat
2.2.8Creation of Punjab and Haryana
2.3 Conclusion
2.4 Summary
2.5 Questions
2.6 References and Additional Readings
2.0 OBJECTIVES After completion of the unit, students will be able to understand
 Efforts undertaken for integrating Indian States post -independence
 The problems and challenges faced by Indian government to integrate
and reorganize the Indian states
 The history of making Indian states post -independence.
2.1 INTRODUCTION India after independence dreamt for a nation of life and freedom. India on
15th August 1947 took the pledge of dedication to the service of India and
her people and humanity. Independence with joy also accompanied with
many challenges. The peop le and the political leadership fueled by an
optimism worked to handle the challenges. The leaders such as Sardar
Patel, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajgopalachari munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
16 worked relentlessly to shape a new India. these leaders were committed to
the values of democracy, civil liberties, secularism, and independent
economic development, anti -imperialism, social reforms and many more.
Sardar Patel and his team did a thoughtful work while unifying under one
administration, post -partition India and t he princely states. India became
as an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations.
There were 565 princely states within its boundaries. When British left
India, the future of the princely states became a matter of concern. The
announcemen t of the Independent Dominion in the British Commonwealth
of Nations and lapse of the British Paramountcy under the Indian
Independence Act left the daunting task of unity of princely states and it
had been advised them to join either Pakistan or India or to remain
independent. India decided to tackle this issue with sensitivity and
maturity. The challenges of free India led to the urgent requirement of
arranging essential defenses and security requirements of the country.
India was dealing with internal an d external danger. On external front, to
protect the boundaries of the nation from external aggression and
internally, the task to prevent the balkanization of the country and unity of
integration of princely states. Therefore, the Government of India
appe aled to the princes of states to take the conscious decision and
integrate themselves with either India or Pakistan. Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel, the deputy Prime Minister of India with Jawaharlal Nehru and
trusted officials, took the task and advised the pri ncely states to not to
ignore realities and make an effort to raise the country to new greatness.
On 27th June 1947, the States Department Committee was set up under the
Prime -minister ship of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to deal with integrity of
princely stat es, headed by Sardar Patel and Dr. V.P.Menon, secretary who
was an able administrator and bureaucrat. The task of integrating Princely
states was very complicated as every state at that time had smalls states for
e.g., Orissa had 26 small states. Saurashtr a region of Gujrat had 14 big
states etc. Government divided the task into three agendas mentioned as
below:
 Princely states accession on ‘’Defense, External affairs and
Communication”.
 Signing of standstill agreement
 To set up advisory council for the S tates’ department and
 To maintain and efficient administration to provide adequate health
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Integration and Reorganization of States
17

Source – Figure 1: - https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/hess206.pdf

Lord Mountbetten, the Governor general of India at that time, conducted a
meeting of 75 greatest of the princes on 25th July 1947 and he successfully
persuaded the Maharaja of Gwalior, Bikaner, Baroda, Indore, Jodhpur and
many others to sign the instrument of accession. Instrument of Accession
was a legal instrument which was first establi shed by the Government of
India Act of 1935 and used in 1947 to integrate the princely states within
British paramountcy to accede to either India or Pakistan post partition of
India on the ground of defense, external affairs and communications. As a
resul t of persuasion and constructive approach, almost all the princely
states acceded to India before independence except three Junagarh,
Hyderabad and Kashmir. We shall study their accession one by one: -
Check your progress
1. Define the instrument of acces sion and why was it compulsory for the
Princely States to Sign it?
2.1.1 Accession of Junagarh :
Junagarh was a small state on the coast of Saurastra surrounded by Indian
territory and it had not geographical contiguity with Pakistan except for
the South and South -west. The history of Junagarh state documented it as
Rajput state under the Chudasama dynasty until 1472 -73. The state later
captured by Mughals and administered by Sherkhan Babi, an officer under
the Subah. Sir Mahabatkhan Rasulkanji, las t Nawab of Junagarh, was a
descendant of Sherkhan Babi. During the meeting with Lord Mountbetten,
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
18 Dewan Nabi Baksh and he gave impression to accede to India. However,
early in 1947, the De wan invited Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, from Karachi
Muslim League to join the State Councils of Ministers in Junagarh. In
May 1947, Mr. Bhutto took over the position of Dewan in the absence of
its Dewan due to his medical treatment in abroad. India, sent the
Instrument of Accession to Nawab for signing but did not receive a reply
upto 12th August 1947. As India was waiting for the reply, a news came in
the press about the accession of Junagarh to Pakistan and its Nawab
announced accession of his state to Pakist an on 15th August 1947 even
though people of the state, Hindu desired to join India. The rulers of other
state in Kathiawar condemned the Junagarh accession to Pakistan and
asked Nawab of Junagarh to reconsider his decision. But the Nawab did
not reply pos itively. Due to the request of Jamsaheb of Nawanagar who
came to Delhi and narrated the harassment incidents of people of
Kathiawar, Government of India decided to ensure the security of the
country and maintaining law and order in Kathiawar. Indian troops were
sent in Junagarh. However, before the Indian troops entered Junagarh, the
Nawab of Junagarh fled to Karachi with his family and then Dewan Sir
Shah Nawaz Bhutto invited the Indian government to intervene. Indian
troops thereafter marched into the sta te. A plebiscite was held in the state
in Junagarh in February 1948 and went in the favour of joining India. The
Executive council was set up on 1st June 1948. Junagarh under a special
act of the state administration, elected seven representatives on a wi de
franchise to the Constituent Assembly for the Union. Junagarh integrated
with Saurashtra on 20th February 1949 at a simple ceremony in which the
Chief Secretary of Saurastra took over the charge from the administrator
of Junagarh.
Check your progress
1. Do you think, accession of Junagarh was an easy process? What
would have the current situation in Junagarh, had it not been acceded
by India?
2.1.2 Accession of Hyderabad :
Hyderabad was the largest state in India and completely surrounded by
Indian territory. The ruler of Hyderabad carried the tittle, ‘Nizam’. The
Nizam of Hyderabad declined to accede to India and desired to be an
independent status. But the Government of independent India was
knowing the importance of Hyderabad to be integrated in India because of
its geographical contiguity. In November 1947, the Government of India
had signed a stand -still agreement with the Nizam, hoping that while the
negotiations proceeded, the Nizam would introduce representative
government in the state, wh ich would make the task of merger easier. But munotes.in

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Integration and Reorganization of States
19 the Nizam had other plans. He alleged that the Indian government was
controlling essential services and on the other hand India claimed that the
government of Hyderabad was divesting itself to its Indian securi ties. The
Nizam was building up his military strength. He also engaged the services
of the leading British lawyer Sir Walter Monckton, a friend of
Mountbetten, to negotiate the government on his behalf. He was
determined to create pressure on India to acce pt his sovereignty or
acceding to Pakistan.
The attempt of Nizam had created a strong internal situation in the
territory and there were other political developments took place within the
state. The growth of militant communal organization, Itihad ul Musl imin
and its para -military wing, the Razakars had crippled the state on one hand
and on the other, on 7th August 1947, the Hyderabad state congress
launched a powerful satyagraha movement and went to the Jail to
convince Nizam to join the Indian Union. As a result, the attack of
Razakars and repression by the state authorities, thousands of people fled
the state and took shelter in temporary camps in Indian territory. This
unrest situation convinced the Government of India about the unrest
situation in Hyde rabad and undermine peace in the whole of India.
By June 1948, Sardar Patel wrote to Nehru and strongly recommended to
take strong actions to set up responsible government inspite of
provocations by the Nizam and the Razakars and patience of Government
of India of several months. Finally, on 13 September 1948, the Indian
army moved into Hyderabad. The Nizam, left with no choice surrendered
and acceded to the Indian union in November. The Indian army retained
Nizam as former ruler of the State or its Rajpra mukh and given a privy
purse of five million rupees along with permission to keep his immense
wealth.
After successful accession of Hyderabad, Patel with elation wrote to
Suhrawardy on 28th September quote, “ on the question of Hyderabad, the
Indian Union M uslims have come out in the open on our side and that has
certainly created a good impression in the country.”( Ref. Chandra Bipin
p.no. 76).
2.1.3 Accession of Jammu and Kashmir :
The Indian Independence Act on 3rd June 1947 made it clear that
integration o f Princely states was necessary. The major concern of
integration of Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir, a biggest area in India
bordered on both India and Pakistan. Its ruler Hari Singh was a Hindu and
indecision to join either India or Pakistan. Immediately afte r the transfer of
power, he did not sign India and Pakistan and desired to be continue as an
independent ruler. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir announced for
standstill agreement with both India and Pakistan. Pakistan signed a
standstill agreement but India asked for some more time to understand its
implications. The relations between Kashmir and Pakistan were not in
good terms. The Indian political leaders wanted the people of Kashmir to
decide whether to link their fate with India or Pakistan. Gandhij i also munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
20 supported this and in August 1947, he declared that Kashmir was free to
join either India or Pakistan according to the will of the people.
However, Pakistan was continuously building the pressure on Government
of Jammu and Kashmir into acceding and cutting off the supply of
essential commodities like food, petrol and others. The Government of
India, on a request sent the essential commodities to meet the immediate
necessity to avoid the complete breakdown in Srinagar. On 22nd October
1947, several P athani tribesmen, led unofficially by Paksitani army
officers, started an all -out invasion and sent a large number of traibal
raiders like Afridi, Waziri, Mahsud and Swasthi along with Pakistan
soldiers. They had captured important areas and pushed towards Srinagar,
the capital of Kashmir. On 24th October, the Maharaja, in a state of panic
appealed to India for help and military assistance. Nehru at this stage did
not favour accession without ascertaining the will of the people and a
meeting of defense coun cil was called on 25th October under the
chairmanship of Lord Mountbetten. Mountbetten advised India to send its
troops under international law to Kashmir only after the state’s formal
accession to India. After that on 26th October, Maharaja signed the
instrument of accession to India and India announced to hold a referendum
on the accession decision once peace and law and order restored in the
valley. The Indian troops fled to Srinagar and on 27th October 1947, the
Royal Indian Air Force planes, an operati on took place and saved
Srinagar.
Jinnah got impatient and invited Nehru and Lord Mountbetten at Lahore
for a conference to discuss the Kashmir problem. Nehru did not go to
Lahore. Mountbetten on 1st November flew to Lahore to meet Jinnah and
conversation between them was inconclusive. Nehru on 2nd November
broadcasted a message and showed his readiness to have a referendum in
Kashmir under United Nations. On 3rd November Sardar Patel and Baldev
Singh, defense minister visited Srinagar and strengthened Ind ian army.
The tribesmen in West Pakistan were continuously creating troubles to the
citizens. Finally, the Kashmir operation referred as the “Battle of
Jawans” was started in the last week of December 1948 and Government
of India accepted the cease fire w hen the members of United Nations
Commission visited New Delhi and Karachi provided Pakistan also
assured of immediate effective reciprocal action from their end. With the
assurance of Pakistan, the cease fire was ordered by both Army commands
with immedia te effect from 1st January 1949.
Check your progress
1. Why Hyderabad integration was a difficult task for Government of
India? Elaborate your answers. munotes.in

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Integration and Reorganization of States
21
2. Whether Kashmir Instrument of Accession was necessary? Why is
there a continuous fight between Ind ia and Pakistan over Kashmir
issue? Elucidate the answer.
2.2 REORGANIZATION OF STATES 2.2.1 Introduction :
The reorganization of the Indian states on the basis of language, came
immediately after independence. The British while departing from Ind ia,
haphazardly drew the boundaries of provinces. The importance of drawing
boundaries on the basis of language or culture was not given. Bipin
Chandra , a famous historian was of the view that the reorganization of
states on the basis of language was a maj or aspect of national
consolidation and integration. The formation of state on the basis of
language is useful for manifolds such as for administrative units,
preserving culture, using medium of mother tongue for education, judicial
activity and democracy. After independence, India faced many serious
administrative, economic and political dislocation. The other problems
like princely states integration, continuous warlike situation with Pakistan
and Kashmir issue, the leadership felt that nation’s importanc e is to
consolidate its unity. Also, they were convinced that if the efforts
undertaken to redraw the internal boundaries might dislocate
administration and economic development, regional and linguistic rivalries
and damage the unity of the country. Nehru, echoed his words for national
security on 27th November 1947 as quote, ‘First things must come first,
and the first thing is the security and stability of India’.
2.3.2 Need for the Linguistic Organization of states :
The need for the linguistic reorganiz ation of states is mentioned below: -
1. It is important to form the linguistic states for educational, judicial
and administration activities of people through regional language and
literature;
2. The importance of mother tongue was recognized by Congre ss in
1919 and 1921 when congress undertook political mobilization and
amended the constitution and reorganized its branches on a linguistic
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
22 3. Gandhiji suggested the redistribution of provinces on a linguistic basis
was necessary to grow of provi ncial languages in their full height.
4. To avoid any threat of division and separatism.
5. To accommodate regional demands and foster the culture and
integrity of the nation.
6. To adopt unity in diversity and follow the principles of democracy. It
will also help to bring more unity and togetherness in nation as a
whole.
2.2.3 The Linguistic Provinces Commission 1948 :
The linguistic reorganization of India was raised during the Constituent
Assembly. In 1948, under the Justice S.K.Dar, a commission was
appointed to enquire into the desirability of linguistic provinces. The Dar
commission did not favour to build the nation on the basis of linguistic
convenience and decided not to incorporate in the constitution. The
commission report was not satisfactory especially in the South and the
problems remained politically active.
Check your progress:
1. Do you think reorganization of states on the basis of language
necessary? Analyze its advantages and disadvantages.
2.2.4 The JVP Committee and its Rol e:
The Congress understood that the Dar commission did not satisfy the
majority of Indians therefore in December 1948, to please the vocal
votaries of the linguistic states, Congress appointed a JVP committee
which consists of its members Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Pattabhi
Sitaramaya. This committee considered to be a ‘Coldwater therapy’.
Though the committee accepted the recommendation made by Dar
commission and did not favour the creation of linguistic states, it did not
oppose any popular demand too. The report further stated that on the basis
of linguistic demand and involvement of other language groups in
agreeable terms then in that case, a new state could be formed. As a result,
the JVP report followed by the popular movements for states’
reorganization all over the country and demand was intensified in the
coming times.
2.2.5 Creation of the State of Andhra Pradesh :
After JVP report, the demand for a separate Andhra state for the Telugu
people became popular. The JVP accepted that a strong c ase for the munotes.in

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Integration and Reorganization of States
23 formation of Andhra out of the Madras presidency existed. However, the
Andhra leaders were not willing to concede Madras in spite of its
belonging to linguistic and geographical grounds to Tamil Nadu. The
difference between the Tamil and Telugu speaking Andhra’s led the
clashes between them and there was protest in the Telugu speaking areas
of the old Madras province, which was covered under the areas of Tamil
Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. The Vishal Andhra
movement was ca lled to separate the Telugu speaking areas from the
Madras province and supported by all the linguistic reorganization of then
Madras province. Nehru was not in favour of such demands but on 19th
October 1952, when a popular freedom fighter Potti Sriramulu was died
after the indefinite fast of 58 days to fulfill the demand for a separate
Andhra followed by mass agitation, hartals, strikes, violence all over
Andhra, the Government accepted the demand for a separate state of
Andhra which came in October 1953. Tamil Nadu was also created as a
Tamil speaking state.
2.2.6 The formation of States Reorganization Commission (SRC) :
The success of Andhra gave an opportunity to other linguistic groups as
well to agitate for their own state to form the boundary on ling uistic basis.
Nehru was not in favour of redraw the map of India on the basis of
violence. Therefore, to meet the demand, Nehru appointed the States
Reorganization Commission (SRC) in August 1953. The SRC committee
consisted of Justice Fazl Ali, K.M. Panni kar and Hridyanath Kunzru as its
members. The commission was asked to examine the reorganization of
states on the basis of language ‘objectively’. The commission worked
almost for two years and faced with meetings, hartals, demonstrations,
agitation and hu nger strikes. The SRC submitted its report in October
1955 and suggested to create the boundaries in nation on the basis of
different languages.
The SRC recommendations were accepted and SRA (States
Reorganization Act) was passed by Parliament in November 1956. The
points which were states in SRA as follows: -
a) The SRA provided for the creation of 14 states and 6 centrally
administered Union territories.
b) It also stated that the Telangana area of Hyderabad state to be
transferred Andhra.
c) The state of Kerala was formed by merging the Malabar district of the
old Madras Presidency with Travancore Cochin.
d) In the Mysore state, the certain Kannada speaking areas of the state of
Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad and Coorg were added.
e) The boundary of Bombay s tate was expanded and states of Kutch and
Saurashtra were merged along with Marathi speaking areas of
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
24 f) The formation of Madhya Pradesh, Vindhya Pradesh, Bhopal and
certain territories carved out from Rajasthan, Patiala and East Punjab
States Union (PEPSU) was added to the state of Punjab. Ajmer was
given to Rajasthan.
g) The 14 states were divided into Group A and Group B .
Under Group A the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Kerala,
Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Orissa, Punjab, Rajas than, Uttar
Pradesh, and West Bengal whereas on Group B Jammu and Kashmir
was given special status.
The 6 Union territories were Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi,
Himachal Pradesh, Tripura and Lacadives.
h) India was grouped into five zones with a zona l council. In the
Northern zone there were Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir,
the Union territories of Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. The Central
zone had Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Eastern Zone
states were comprised of Bihar, West Bengal, Oriss a, Assam,
Nagaland and union territories of Manipur and Tripura. The West
zone had Maharashtra and Gujarat since 1960 and the Southern zone
states were Andhra Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, and Kerala.
i) The Delimitation committee was formed to identify the p opulation
figure and reservation of seats for the scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes in every state of the Lok Sabha and the state legislative
assemblies.
Check your progress:
1. Explain the formation of states Reorganisation Commission (SRC)
2. Describe the provisions of States Reoragnisation Commission (SRC)
2.2.7 Bifurcation of the Bombay State into the Maharashtra and
Gujarat :
The Maharashtra were not satisfied with SRA and a widespread riot broke
out. 80 people were killed in pol ice firing in January 1956. There was munotes.in

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Integration and Reorganization of States
25 widespread protest across the cities from all strata of the society including
farmers, students, workers, unions, businessmen. Government under
pressure, in June 1956 decided to divide the Bombay state into
Maharashtra and Gujarat states however, the move of government was
opposed by the Maharashtrians. Nehru, considering the feeling of the
masses, decided to formation of bilingual grater Bombay which was not
accepted by Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti
and Maha Gujarat Janta Parishad launched the movements into the states.
In Maharashtra, the demand for the creation of unilingual Maharashtra
with Bombay as its capital were arose. C.D. Deshmukh, the finance
minister in the Central Cabinet resigned from his office. The Gujaratis, in
fear to be in the Minority were not ready to give up their demand for
Bombay city. Violence were everywhere and spread to Ahmedabad which
led to the death of 16 persons and injured of 200 people in police firings.
The po pular agitation was continued for five years and the Government
finally agreed in May 1960 to divide the state of Bombay into Maharashtra
and Gujarat wherein the Bombay city was included in Maharashtra and
Ahmedabad became the capital of Gujarat.
2.2.8 Creation of Punjab and Haryana :
In 1956, the states of PEPSU were merged with Punjab which had three
languages Punjabi, Hindi and Pahari. There was a continuous demand for
a separate Punjabi Suba in the part of states where the majority of
population was spea king to Punjabi. The demand was so strong that it
turned into communal issue. The Sikh groups led by the Akali Dal and the
Hindu groups led by the Jan Sangh used linguistic issue as a communal
politics. The continuous demand of a Sikh state, got mixed with religion.
Nehru and the Congress leaders were clear to oppose the demand of a
separate state based on the agenda of religion or communal grounds. The
SRC also rejected its demand. The Akali Dal under its leader Sant Fateh
Singh continued its agitation for a separate state for the Sikhs and
ultimately in 1966 under the leadership of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the division
of Punjab took place into two Punjabi and Hindi speaking states of Punjab
and Haryana. The Pahari speaking districts of Kangra and a part of the
Hoshiarpur districts merged with Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh became
the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana and Union territory.
Thus, with the struggle of almost ten years and continuous strife and
agitation, more or less India created many states on t he basis of language
and gave the larger room for a greater participation by the people.
Thought the reorganization of states on the basis of language led to many
adverse situations in country but according to the political scientist, Rajni
Kothari it has also rationalized the political map of India without
weakening its unity. It has also created a homogenous political unit and
cemented integrated influence of the nation.
Though the reorganization of states on the basis of language could not be
considere d as an effort to completely cementing the state and central
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
26 between different states, linguistic minorities and economic issues such as
sharing of waters, power and surplus food.
Check your progress?
1) Narrate in Brief the existence of Bombay and Gujrat as separate state?
2) Do you think the creation of state on the basis of language was
essential? State you answer with suitable explanations
2.3 CONCLUSION India d ecided to build its own destiny and never given up the multifold
challenges which were existing from all areas. Post -independence, Nehru
and Congress leaders were determined to unite and integrate India. The
period from August 1947 to 1950 was a challengin g one but a progressive
one. Integrating the princely states, tackling the problems of partition and
communal holocaust, building the future of country with democracy,
establishing a equal society with written constitution were a dream of
every Indian. The Indian leaders with their astute statesmanship showed
their zeal and commitment to provide a peaceful state. Within 21 months,
integration of the princely states was done which brought a great change in
life of people politically and socially through resp onsible government and
industrial development.
Similarly, the reorganization of Indian states on the basis of language and
culture was not an easy task. It has defined the politics of the states but did
not affect on the federal structure of the Union. The struggle for existing
of separate states on the basis of religion and culture strengthened the
existence of many cultures and religion. Though, the struggle of separate
states were also painful and difficult to tackle sometimes, the government
of India ha d clear mindset which focused on the development of nation.
2.4 SUMMARY Thus, it is observed in this chapter that India had faced multiple challenges
post-independence but established the unity and integrity of the nation
with strong determination and cou rage. The lapse of British paramountcy
post the act of 1947 left the princely states indecisive which led to the
growth of challenges and problems. However, the able leadership of
Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, V.P.Menon, and others managed the task munotes.in

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Integration and Reorganization of States
27 skillfully. The unity of 565 princely states was a daunting task and
challenges received from the states of Junagarh, Hyderabad and Kashmir
were enormous. The sacrifices of Indian Jawans and life of citizens were
painful and difficult to narrate. India followed the principles of democracy
and peace in every step and proved that India is a country of progress and
development. Junagarh was acceded by India after the plebiscite according
to the wish of its people to merge with the Indian Union. The Nizam of
Hyderab ad dreamt of being independent but when it started facing trouble
because of the Pakistan troops, the Indian troops were sent and after that
Hyderabad was acceded to the Indian Union. Kashmir challenge and
struggle is continued till today because of the in terest of India and
Pakistan. the ceasefire was announced from both the sides but still the
situation is not in good condition.
2.5 QUESTIONS 1. Why the integration of Princely States was necessary for India?
Explain.
2. Discuss the role played by Sarda r Patel to integrate the Princely states
in India?
3. Analyse the process of integration in to India n Union.
4. Explain in detail the efforts undertaken by India to tackle the situation
in Hyderabad .
5. Explain in detail the integration process of Jammu and Kashmir?
6. Analyse the challenges faced by Indian government while dealing
with the integrat ion of Princely states in India.
7. Why did the demand of Reorganization of states on the basis of
language occur? Comment.
8. Explain in brief the JVP comm ittee and SRC Commission.
9. Review the formation process of the states . Post States Reorganization
act,.
2.7 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  Chandra Bipin & others. India after Independence New Delhi; New
York, NY: Penguin Books, 1999
 Menon V.P. Inte gration of the Indian States. Orient Longman. 1999
 Chopra Pran. Uncertain India: A Political Profile of two Decades of
Freedom. Asia Pub. House. 1st Edition (January 1, 1968)
 Padre Y.D. 1979. Politics and Language. Himalayan Publishing
House
 Rai, Satya M. 1986, Punjab since Partition. Durga Publications Delhi
***** munotes.in

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28 3
SOCIO -ECONOMIC REFORMS AND
FOREIGN POLICY
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Social Reforms during Nehru Era
3.2.1 Land Reform
3.2.2 Abolition of Untouchability
3.2.3 Reforms for Women Emancipation
3.2.4 Reforms through Education
3.2.5 Community Development Programme
3.3 Economic Reforms during Nehru Era
3.4 India’s Foreign Policy post -independence
3.4.1 India and its International relations from other Countries Post -
Independence
3.5 Summary
3.6 Conclusion
3.7 Questions
3.8 Refere nces and Additional Readings
3.0 OBJECTIVES This unit will help to understand the reader about
 Various Socio -Economic changes during Nehru era post -
independence
 The foreign policy of India post -independence
 Challenges faced by Indian government to bring so cio-economic
changes in India
 The relations of India to other countries post -independence
 The philosophy of India’s foreign policy
3.1 INTRODUCTION Jayprakash Narayan, before forming the Socialist party worked with
Nehru for decades. According to him Nehru apart from being a politician,
also had the soul of a poet, kind heart and sensitive mind and felt the
agony of poverty and human misery. He was bold and had a courage to
put his ideas into practice. Nehru has a dream of bring the whole picture of munotes.in

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29 India’s future -agricultural, industrial, social and economic to put into a
single framework of thought and action. He aspired for equality of all
people and attains their standard of living in the society. His ideas of
social change based on the socialism borrowe d from the Fabians, Marx
and Gandhi. Based on his idea, the Congress in 1955 passed a resolution
and adopted the “socialistic pattern” of society. It is important to
understand the ideas of socialism through Nehru lens rather in the current
contexts of fre e market approach.
The socio -economic reforms during Nehru era can not be studies in
isolation. The social development and economic development go hand in
hand. Therefore, post -independence, India which was facing many
challenges in terms of dealing with its poverty, and backwardness of
industrial development, Nehru came up with a democratic -socialist model
which focused on economic development of nation for removal of poverty
and raising the standard of living. The socio -economic reforms during
Nehru era should be looked at nation’s economic development and
economic arena.
3.2 SOCIAL REFORMS DURING NEHRU ERA Post-independence, though India was battling on many fronts, the most
important reforms were expected in the social arena. The national
integration a nd political stability were the prior agendas of India. The
Constitution of India embarked a journey of social change and the Article
36 of the Directive Principles of State Policy stressed to promote the
welfare of the people by securing and protecting a social order based on
justice, economic, and political in all the institutions of the national life.
The socialistic pattern of society was introduced in 1955 and was
accepted by the Congress in its Avadhi session and later incorporated in
second and third five years plan’s objective. There were series of social
reforms introduced during Nehru era which are as follows: -
3.2.1 Land Reform:
Post-independence, the Congress established an Agrarian Reforms
Committee in December 1947. Previously, the land syste m was associated
with jagirdars and zamindars. The Article 39 of the Constitution ensured
for no concentration of wealth and means of production to the common
detriment. The zamindari abolition bills which was proposed in 1950
eliminated jagirdars and zami ndars and brought the government in direct
contact with all cultivators, who were below poverty line and benefited
from lower taxes and state programmes such as public works, education,
and health. In the second step of land reforms, government -imposed
ceilings on land holdings and third step were to introduce cooperatives to
help the weaker sections of the rural community by providing credit and
assistance with marketing and processing. In 1959, Nehru got the
Congress to pass resolution voluntary cooperati ves run by Village
panchayats. He introduced the concept of cooperative farming. Though the
land reforms did not get success as expected, it eliminated the jagirdars
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30 3.2.2 Abolition of Untouchability :
Government of India inco rporated a provision abolishing untouchability.
The Anti -Untouchability Law in 1955 made the practice of untouchability
punishable and a cognizable offence. Government also proposed for
reservations in educational institutions and government employment in
favour of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and other
weaker sections of society. Government also provided special facilities
such as scholarships, hostels accommodation, grants, loans, housing,
healthcare and legal aid services. A Commissi oner of SCs and STs were
appointed to monitor the effective implementation of such measures and
constitutional provisions.
Labour Reforms:
Jawaharlal Nehru was committed to improving the condition of workers
and initiated several measures to protect th eir right s. The Industrial
Disputes Act was passed in 1947, which provided for the settlement of
industrial disputes through arbitration and conciliation. The Minimum
Wages Act also passed in 1948, which was ensured that workers were paid
minimum wage.
3.2.3 Reforms for Women Emancipation :
A country like India which has a huge civilization to worship women, also
witnessed the exploitation and violence again women in social arena.
Women’s groups and organizations were continuously demanding the
revision of l aws regarding women’s rights in the family. Nehru, as a firm
supported took a major step towards in this direction and moved in
parliament in 1951 The Hindu Code Bill. The government passed the bill
in the form of four separate acts which introduced monoga my and the
right to divorce to both men and women, raised the age of consent of
marriage and gave women the right to maintenance and to inherit family
property.
3.2.4 Reforms through Education :
According to the census of 1961, there were only 16.6 percent of total
population was literate and in rural families, it was only 6 %. The
Constitution of India in 1961 provided free and compulsory education to
every child upto the age of 14 and later the target was shifted in 1966.
Government kept the huge budget for education development which was
increased from Rs. 198 million in 1951 -52 to Rs. 1462.7 million in 1964 -
65. Nehru urged all state governments to keep the sufficient budget in
education development as it is a base for nation’s development. Nehru
period witnessed the rapid expansion of education. It is registered that the
enrollment in schools between 1951 -61 were doubled for boys and tripled
for girls. The number of students enrolled for secondary schools were also
increased from 7,288 to 24,477. There w as total 18 universities at the time
of independence but by 1964, it has rose to 54. Nehru since beginning
worked hard to remove the shortage in education level at society and put
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31 3.2.5 Community Development Programme :
The community development programme and Panchayati Raj were
introduced in 1952 and 1959. The basic objective for launching these two
programme for the welfare of the state and changing the quality of life of
the people. in 1952, the community development programme reached to
55 development blocks in which each bloc consists of about 100 villages
with a population of sixty to seventy thousand. This programme covered
all aspects of rural life related with agricultural methods, communications,
health and education. However, the success of the programme was far
from achieving its true result and in 1957, Balwantrai Mehta Committee
was established to evaluate which has strongly criticized its
bureaucratization and lack of popular involvement. On the basis of
committee’s recommendation, the Panchayati Raj was set up to
democratize the process and decentralization was established in rural and
district development administration in 1959. The three -tier was set up in
which gram panchay at (directly elected village); panchayat samitis
(indirectly elected bloc level panchayats); and district level zilla parishads.
Nehru got enthusiastic. Along with Panchayati Raj, there were thousands
of cooperative institutions such as cooperative banks, land mortgage
banks, and service and market cooperatives, which were autonomous and
managed by elected bodies.
The introduction of Panchayati raj and cooperative institutions brought a
change in the outlook of the people and initiated the process of creat ing
better human beings.
Overall, Nehru era was characterized by commitment to social reform and
the promotion of social welfare. Nehru recognized the importance of
addressing social inequalities, health care and labour reforms. These
reforms laid the fou ndation of India’s progress and development in the
years to come .
Check your Progress
1. What were the social reforms undertaken during Nehru Era?
Elaborate with suitable examples
3.3 ECONOMIC REFORMS DURING NEHRU ERA The Indian economic scenario post -independence was very dismal.
Majority of the population were living in mass poverty and there was
shortage of labour capital, machinery capital, infrastructure, energy
production, inadequate banking system and negligible participation of
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
32 Nehru was committed to set up a coordinated programme of planned
development and this approach was institutionalized with the set up of
National Planning Commission (NPC) in March 1950. The setting up of
NPC h ad an objective for assessment, utilization and if possible,
augmentation of ‘material, capital and human resources . Commission’s
first task was to prepare the six -year plan of economic development of
India for the Commonwealth Consultative Committee for S outh and
Southeast Asia, popularly known as the Colombo plan. The five year plans
- a reflection of India’s admiration of the Soviet model became a fixture of
India’s development policy.
The National Planning Commission was a strong institution and extra
constitutional body of experts, not accountable to the parliament. The first
five-year plan (1951 -1956) began with a limited resources and equally
divided between the public and private sectors. While introducing the first
plan in Parliament, Nehru said th at he supported large -scale industries but
the most important thing which needs to be developed at that stage was the
village and cottage industries. The first five -year plans were critical
considering the condition of India post -independence; however it h as
achieved several laudable results such as increase of 17.5 percent national
income; a 10.5 percent rise in personal income; 11 million tons of extra
food; a 660 percent increase in the fleet of locomotives; a 400 percent
increase in the holding of railw ay wagons; a 168 percent increase in
engineers; and many more. The industrial growth index rose from 105 in
1950 (base year 1946) to 170 in 1956. The commencement of huge
multipurpose dam projects such as Bhakra -Nangal, which produced the
required electric ity in the country in 1950 along with increasing the land
under irrigation by 1.3 million acres were huge achievement.
The second five -year plan (1957 -1961) :
nvisioned the ‘socialistic pattern’ and closer to Nehru’s notion of
socialism. This second plan w hich is celebrated as Nehru -Mahalanobis
plan (Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis played a leading role in drafting the second
plan) focused on the rapid development of heavy and capital goods
industries in India mainly in the public sector. Nehru adopted his model
and focused on rapid industrialization and emphasis on heavy industries
producing basic machines and heavy metals. The major objective is to
achieve self -reliant with heavy investment strategy for a strong and self -
reliant economy and avoiding dependence on i mports of essential
machinery and equipment. The second five -year plan focused on raising
national income, rapid industrialization, large expansion of employment
opportunities and reduction of inequalities in income and wealth and
distribution of wealth am ong stakeholders. In the second five -year plan,
India embarked its journey of industrial development and three steel mills
were set up in Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela for the steel production. The
coal production and addition of extra railway lines were a lso built up.
India allocated $ 4.8 billion to the private sector. Homi Bhabha became
the first head of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1957 and TIFR was
also established. India also offered scholarship to the exceptional young
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33 was to enhance its development at all levels which include atomic energy,
heavy machinery, aircraft, and shipbuilding. The second five -year plan
was continued in the Third plan (1961 -66) which was mentioned as
“socialistic pattern of society”. In this, the shift in favour of heavy
industry was combined with promoting labour intensive and small and
cottage industries for the production of consumer goods. The basic
objective is to make India self -sufficient in foo d grain production with
limited foreign aid. India during this time, faced Indo -China war in 1962
wherein the focus was shifted to defense, but the aid provided by the
United States and the Soviet Union compensated the fund shortage. India
faced another wa r during this period was Indo -Pakistan in 1965 which
impacted on the development plan due to the lack of aid of the United
States and diversion of national funds to war. India devalued the rupee by
36 percent to gain foreign exchange which made the thwarte d industrial
production due to the expensive imports. India in spite of facing such huge
difficulties did not give up, and observed that steel production increased
from 4.3 million tons to 7 million tons and India enhanced its ranking and
went till 7th rank as an industrialized country of the world. Thus, the
economic reforms during Nehru were an honest attempt to put in the
center of democratic socialism and strategy for economic development.
India, inspite of all difficulties and challenges, embarked a jo urney and
growth for nation’s development through economic reforms and achieving
sustainable development.
The Third Five Year Plan (1961 -1966) :
The Third Five Year Plan was launched during the Nehru era in 1961 with
the objective of achieving rapid indust rialization and economic
development in India. The plan was formulated against the backdrop of a
rapidly changing global economy, with an emphasis on promoting self -
reliance and reducing dependence on foreign aid.
Some of the key features of the Third Five Year Plan were:
Investment in Heavy Industries: The plan placed a strong emphasis on
investment in heavy industries such as steel, machinery, and chemicals.
The goal was to build a strong industrial base that would provide a solid
foundation for future ec onomic growth.
Agricultural Development: The plan also focused on agricultural
development, with an emphasis on increasing productivity and improving
the living standards of farmers. Measures such as the introduction of high -
yield seeds and the expansion o f irrigation facilities were undertaken to
achieve this objective.
Infrastructure Development: The plan placed significant emphasis on
infrastructure development, with investments made in the construction of
roads, railways, and airports. This was aimed at improving connectivity
and promoting economic growth in remote areas.
Employment Generation : The plan also had a strong focus on
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34 millions of people in the country. The emphasis was on p romoting labour -
intensive industries and providing training and skill development
programs.
Education and Health: The plan recognized the importance of human
capital development and made significant investments in education and
health. The emphasis was on improving the quality of education and
expanding access to health care facilities.
The Third Five Year Plan was successful in achieving its objectives, with
significant progress made in industrial development, agricultural growth,
and infrastructure develo pment. The plan laid the foundation for India's
rapid economic growth in the years to come and was instrumental in
transforming India from a primarily agrarian economy to a modern
industrial economy
Check your Progress
1. What were the economic reforms und ertaken during Nehru Era?
Elaborate with suitable examples.
3.4 INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY POST -INDEPENDENCE “What does independence consist of? It consists fundamentally and
basically of foreign relations. That is the test of independence. All else i s
local autonomy. Once foreign relations go out of your hands into the
charge of somebody else, to that extent and in that measure, you are not
independent”.
Jawaharlal Nehru during a debate in the Constituent Assembly in
March 1949.
The Constitution of I ndia in its Article 51 the Directive Principles of State
Policy laid down the principle of ‘promotion of international peace and
security’. It further stated that the state shall endeavour to promote
international peace and security and maintain honourable relations
between nations along with fostering respect for international law and
treaty in the dealings of organized people with one another and settlement
of international disputes with arbitration. India, a nation born in the
backdrop of the world war a nd division of boundary line which led to the
creation of another country, decided to be patient and conduct its foreign
relations with an objective to respect sovereignty of all other nations and
achieve security through maintenance of peace. There are ma ny factors
which influence the nation’s foreign policy. It could be either internal or
external. India decided to pursue an independent foreign policy post 1947
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35 minister was the princip al architect and advocate of an independent
foreign policy. His idea was well depicted in the form of non -alignment
and organizational cohesion through the non -alignment. Post second world
war, world countries were divided into two groups – one led by the USA
and the western powers and the other by the Soviet Union. Nehru was
aware that a country like India rather being a part of any group must focus
on align the development needs of the nation which were to fight against
poverty, illiteracy and disease and establishing peace. Therefore, India
neither joined nor approved the Baghdad pact, the Manila treaty, SEATO,
and CENTO. India was able to pursue the peace on the basis of its neutral
foreign policy.
The foreign policy of India was based on the principles of
Five Principles of Peaceful Co -existence :
(Panchsheel which was based on the Mutual respect for each other’s
territorial integrity and sovereignty, Mutual non -aggression, Mutual non -
interference, Equality and mutual benefit, and Peaceful co -existence.
Policy of Non -Alignment :
Non alignment is the most important feature of India’s foreign policy and
considered to be universal principle for staying equidistant from the two
super powers. The post cold war, emergence of USA and Soviet Union
camp in 1950s, also saw the emergence of new Asian and African nations.
Non -alignment should not be confused with neutrality of non -
involvement in international affairs or isolationism. The term non
alignment stands for taking an independent stand on international issu es
according to each case without coming under the influence of any military
bloc. India got many supporters in developing countries of Asia, Africa
and Latin America as the non -alignment policy of India provided them an
opportunity as well to bear the pol itical pressure post cold war and focus
on nation’s development. The first Asian relations Conference in 1947
was convened in New Delhi for the idea of Asian solidarity. Second Asian
relations conference which was convened in 1949 discussed the
independent status of Indonesia and opposed colonial rule in other
countries. The Bandung conference in 1955 attended by 29 countries of
Asia and Africa focused on Afro -Asian unity. In conference, there were
ten principles proposed out of which five principles were b ased on the
Nehru’s idea of Panchsheel. The leaders who attended the conference
pledged to work together for colonial liberation, peace, cultural, economic
and political cooperation among developing countries. The Non -
Alignment Summit was held in 1961 at B elgrade.
Distance from two camps :
As we have already studied that India followed the principle of distancing
themselves for joining any powerful camps post -independence and
pursued the dream of a peaceful world and contributed human resources to
the UN pe acekeeping operations. India decided to maintain distance from
military alliances led by US and Soviet Union against each other. Though munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
36 the NAM was a difficult foreign policy approach, India considered this as
an ideal policy. Due to its independent stand on various international
issues, India could get aid and assistance from members of both the blocs.
Pakistan joined the US military alliances. US was not happy about India’s
independent initiatives and the policy of non -alignment and growing
partnership wi th the Soviet Union.
Check your Progress
1. What were the basic principles of Nehru’s foreign policy during the
Nehru era?
3.4.1 India and its International relations from other Countries Post -
Independence :
Korean War :
Post World War II, Korea w as divided into two parts wherein a
Communist North was controlled by the Socialist camp and a South Korea
by the Western Powers. K.P.S. Menon, Chairman of the United Nations
Commission on Korea in late 1947, in his report to the UN appealed for
Korean Uni ty. North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950. India supported
the US in the UN Security Council and condemned North Korea attach
and demanded for ceasefire however, India kept her away from voting for
setting up of unified command. General MacArthur, head o f US forces
under UN command pushed North Korean forces out of South Korea
without the UN approval. US was very aggressive at that time and
continued towards the Yalu River, that separated Korea from China.
Chou -En-Lai, the Chinese prime minister warned th e western powers
through the Indian ambassador to China, K.M. Panikkar. China sent its
armed volunteers and pushed back American troops which resulted huge
Chinese, Korean and American casualties. India tried its best to make both
the parties to be agreed for ceasefire and finally Krishna Menon a Neutral
Nation Repatriation Commission was set up.
Indo -China :
India since beginning post -independence always maintained a friendly
relation with China. India was the first country to recognize the
communist gover nment post Chinese revolution in 1949. Nehru was
impressed from China’s struggle to come out of the western domination
and helped the new government at international forum. Though, there
were some political leaders who were not sure of China’s loyal friend ship
with India, Nehru was completely in believe that China would not attack
on India. The Chines border was guarded by para -military force and not
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37 of peaceful co -existence together on 29 April, 1954 which was considered
a step in the direction of strong relationship between the two countries.
Through this treaty, India recognized China’s rights over Tibet. Hindi -
Chini bhai -bhai was a major slogan and the leaders of both the countries
were greeted by large and friendly crowds in their respective countries.
However, during the visit of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama along
with the Chinese Premier in 1956 led Nehru knew about the worsening
situation in Tibet and suppression of Tibe tan culture. China ensured India
about the greater autonomy of Tibet than any other region of China. In
1958, there was an armed uprising in Tibet against China’s occupation.
Chinese forces suppressed the revolt. In 1959, Dalai Lama crossed over
into the I ndia border with thousands of refugees and sought asylum which
was granted to him. However, he was not allowed to set up a government
in exile and carrying any political activities. The Chinese government
strongly protested the move. Many Tibetans crossed the border and settled
in various parts in India. Dharmashala in Himachal Pradesh became the
largest refuge settlements of Tibetan refugees. Many political leaders and
parties in India supported Tibetan’s independence. China created the Tibet
autonomous re gion, an integral part however Tibetans opposed the
Chinese claim and opposed to be a part of China. China was convinced
that India was allowing anti -China activities to take place within India.
There was another dispute which rose between these two countr ies related
with their boundary line. China claimed Aksai -chin area in the Ladakh
region of Jammu and Kashmir and much of the state of Arunachal Pradesh
in what was then called NEFA (North Eastern Frontier Agency). China,
between 1957 and 1959 occupied the Aksai -chin area and built a strategic
road there. China also launched a massive invasion in October 1962 on
both the disputed regions. China captured Indian Aksai -chin area in the
Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and much of the state of Arunachal
Prade sh in what was then called NEFA (North Eastern Frontier Agency).
On 20th October, thirteen forward posts were captured by the Chinese in
the western sector. Nehru wrote two letters to US president and asked for
military help. He also requested for Britain assistance. After 24 hours
later, the Chinese declared ceasefire and withdrew its troops. The Chinese
invasion was a big blow on India’s self -respect. It induced a sense of
national humiliation and also the sense of nationalism. Some of the top
commanders either resigned or retired. V. Krishna Menon, then Defence
minister had to leave the cabinet. Nehru was criticised at national and
international front. The Chinese invasion exposed the lack of military
preparedness of India and also alerted the Indian lead ership to the volatile
situation in the Northeast region. India soon began the process of its
reorganisation post the Chinese war and many states like Nagaland,
Manipur, Tripura were granted statehood and right to elect their own
legislative assemblies.
Indo-Pakistan :
The difficult relations which characterized Indo -Pak relations was a great
source of sadness to Indian political leaders especially Nehru and Indians
in general. A country which has common history, geography, culture,
problems, challenges, ag ony, suffering should had come together to munotes.in

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38 support each other and developed a cooperation. Nehru tried his best to
bring unity and personally visited Pakistan in 1953. India post -
independence also faced the challenges related with the Kashmir issue and
ceasefire was declared in 1949. However, the Kashmir issue was always
an unresolved issue between these two nations. India on one hand
followed the philosophy of non -Alignment whereas on the other hand
Pakistan integrated into the US western alliance system v ia membership of
SEATO, CENTO, the Bhaghdad Pact and a military pact with US in 1954.
India since beginning was cleared to not join any camps whereas Pakistan
was more than willing to be in the camp of US and western allies. India
had a tough time to prote ct its position in UN on Kashmir issue. The
Soviet Union understood the policy of India’s non -alignment and
supported India on Kashmir issue. From 1956 onwards, the Soviet Union
used its veto -powers in the UN Security Council to not accepting all
resolutio ns on Kashmir unacceptable to India.
India - Congo :
India helped Congo to maintain its integrity and independence. Congo
gained its independence on 30 June 1960 from Belgium. Its copper rich
province Katanga announced its independence and backed by Belgium .
The Prime minister of Congo Lumumba appealed to the UN, US and
USSR for help. The tactics of these superpowers led to the murder of
Lumumba which shocked the entire world. Nehru compelled the UN to
stop the civil war and added the willingness of India to commit troops for
the purpose. The UN agreed. On 21st February 1961, the Security Council
adopted a resolution and Indian armed forces ended the Civil war and
restored the authority of the central government over Katanga. India’s
non-alignment policy help ed newly -independent countries of Africa and
Asia and strengthen their role in multilateral bodies such as the UN.
Check your Progress
1. Explain in brief the relations of India with other foreign countries
especially with China and Pakistan post -independe nce.
2. Do you think, the Indo -China war was necessary? Explain your
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Socio-Economic Reforms and Foreign Policy
39 3.5 SUMMARY The Nehru era saw many upheaval changes and challenges in India post -
independence. He can be correctly called as an architect of modern India.
Nehru was a democrat, socialist, humanist, visionary, and a human. Nehru
inspite of having complex and difficult situation in India, did not loose his
patience and rooted the cause of many socio -economic and strong foreign
policy in India . In Bipin Chandra book, he is called as the Renaissance
man, a product of the Enlightenment with his commitment to rationality,
humanity, respect for the individual, independence of spirit and
secularism. His commitment for the growth of India as a nation could be
observed in his letter addressed to the chief ministers in 1954 which stated
that, “If India is to be really great, as we all want her to be, then she is not
to be exclusive either internally or externally. She has to give up
everything that is b arrier to growth in mind or spirit or in social life.”
Post-independence consolidation, unity, integrity and strengthening India
as a nation was a challenge. The world which was divided into two super
blocs, the philosophy of Nehru’s non aligned developed India outside the
world and did not bring country under the direct influence of the
superpowers. Nehru till his death, pushed back the penetration of any
outside agencies on India’s political and economic structure. Nehru’s
foreign policy was extraordinary phenomena. He used his foreign policy
to strengthen and defend India’s national interests to develop self -reliance,
self-confidence and the pride nation to set up world peace.
Nehru also proposed many socio -economic reforms such as building
socialism, ed ucation development, village development, eradicating
zamindari system, women emancipation and planned for economic
development through the five -year plans.
3.6 CONCLUSION Thus, it is concluded that Nehru wanted to build an independent self -
reliant econom y with economic strength and capacity to resist economic
and political domination. He put a great emphasis on rapid
industrialization, agricultural self -sufficiency, planning, public sector, and
heavy capital good industry, minimum use of foreign capital a nd aid,
development of science and technology and technical modernization,
training of a technical and scientific cadre and atomic energy was largely
seen in Nehru’s efforts with his trusted political leaders. India during his
period transferred herself fr om a colonial to an independent economy.
Nehru as first prime minister of India faced with many challenging tasks
but he dealt with challenges. He executed each task and rooted the values,
approaches, objectives, goals, and an outlook which made them an in tegral
part of the ethos of Indian people. Geoffery Tyson one of his biographers
remarked quotes, “if Nehru had been a different kind of man, India would
have become a different kind of country”.
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40 3.7 QUESTIONS 1. Analyze in details the education status in India pre - and post -
independence .
2. Describe the key reforms introduced by Nehru for educational
development in India post -independence .
3. Explain in brief the types of social reforms introduced during Nehru
era in India?
4. Do you think, the social ref orms which were undertaken post -
independence brought changes in society? Explain with suitable
examples.
5. Analyse the key economic reforms introduced in three five -year plans
in India?
6. Elaborate India ’s Principle of Non-Alignment post -independence and
its key features .
3.8 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  K. Subrahmanyam ‘Evolution of Indian Defence Policy (1947 -64),’ in
B.N. Pandey, ed. A Centenary History of the Indian National
Congress, Vol IV, New Delhi, 1990, pp. 512 -13.
 S. Gopal, Jawaharlal Neh ru: A Biography, vol 2, p.155.
 Geoffery Tyson, Nehru – The Years of Power, London, 1966, p. 149.
 Rajni Kothari, Politics in India, New Delhi, 1986, reprint pp.114 -15.
 Bipin Chandra, et.al., India after Independence, New Delhi, Chapter
7,11,12, and 26 .

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41 4
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS AFTER
NEHRU ERA; GREEN REVOLUTION
(1964 CE – 1984 CE)
Unit Structure
4.0 Objective
4.1 Introduction
4.1.1 Political Development in India post - Nehru
4.1.2 Phases of Political Development in India
4.2 Green Revolution
4.2.1 Introduction
4.2.2 Need for Green Revolution
4.2.3 Achievements of Green Revolution
4.2.4 Analyses of Green Revolution
4.3 Summary
4.4 Conclusion
4.5 Questions
4.6 References and Additional readings
4.0 OBJECTIVE This Chapter will help reader to understand: -
 The progress steps undertaken by India post Nehru
 The challenges faced by India in economy and importance of green
revolution
 Emergence of political parties and their reasons of existence
4.1 INTRODUCTION India after independence focused first to reconstruct the nation. There
were a series of constitutional reforms initiated by the British government
with limited democratic rights in order to draw the selection sections of
Indian society into the business of governance. During the time of
freedom movement, all strata of communities participated in the
countrywide agitations and post -independence, they all aspired to develop
a new cultural, intellectual and aesthetic movements within society. India
was keen to have a democratic nation and p ractice liberal practice for
sound governance. The Constitution of India was not only a written
document for Indians but was a dream of a just and equal society. India
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42 popular repre sentation, and great strength on democratic institution to
ensure the firm establishment of representative politics within India.
India was aware of its background of tragedy and partition. The
Constitution which was adopted in 1950 represented the plurali ty of
diversity and protection of unity, secularity and administrative efficiency.
Therefore, the concept of secularism and federalism were adopted in the
Constitution of India at a very early stage itself. The political development
of India was always roo ted in her past. Therefore, post -colonial political
economy of India was neither capitalist not feudal but was a mix of the
two.
The Preamble of the Constitution of India established the foundation of
the socialistic pattern of society and state remained the important agency.
The Directive Principles of State Policy encouraged the goal of the Indian
polity is to be a welfare state to achieve equality, justice, dignity of the
individual and maintaining unity and integrity of the nation. The
fundamental righ ts of citizens enshrined in the Constitution of India is an
essence of an individual rights and justice. To make sure, the economy of
nation to be also progressed, a regulatory regime was required, consisted
of public sector expansion, control over markets , private economic
activities, foreign exchange and import controls. The political economy of
nation had its roots in the ideology of socialism and nationalism.
Jawaharlal Nehru supported the idea of industrialization and planning for
sustainable economic development of India.
The new government was well aware about the importance of Indian Civil
Services (ICS). The ICS were succeeded by IAS (Indian Administrative
Service) because of its efficient role in conducting Indian administration
according to the r ules and regulations. Nehru considered its importance for
the security and stability of India. Patel also strongly supported their
existence and his views were reflected in building the clause in the
Constitution of India’s Article 311 wherein the removal, dismissal or
reduce of rank of civil servant protected. The parliamentary system of
government and election of executive through the citizens of India made
them responsible towards them. Thus. India’s political development
during Nehru era was stable, pro gressive and one -party dominance.
However, post -Nehru, the system started breaking down and it was
evident in 1969 when Mrs. Indira Gandhi faced opposition strength and
she ignored the party and centralised the power and authority. India faced
the darkest phase of democracy and suspension of all rights given to the
citizens by the Constitution of India.
4.1.1 Political Development in India post - Nehru :
India since independence was profound in terms of its vision towards
democracy and secularism. After t he sad demise of Nehru, there was a
need to have a stable and strong successor. There was a group of political
leaders, known as Syndicate, formed in 1963 consisted of K. Kamraj, the
Congress president, Atulya Ghosh of Bengal. S.K. Patil of Bombay, N.
Sanjeeva Reddy of Andhra Pradesh, and S. Nijalingappa of Mysore. Mr. munotes.in

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Political Developments After Nehru Era; Green Revolution (1964 CE – 1984 CE)
43 Lal Bahdur Shastri was chosen by them due to his humble and polite
nature. He was also very popular in the party. Mr. Shastri was a man of
principle and believed in the philosophy of ‘Saada Jeevan, Ucch Vichar’.
He was sworn as prime minister on 2nd June 1964. His tenure was short -
lived and since joining, he focused on various aspects to stabilize the
agriculture and economy of the nation. He also followed the policy of non -
alignment while dea ling foreign countries. The Indo -Pak war which
occurred in 1965 was a painful event. Mr. Shastri was very proactive to
deal with it and confronted ‘invasion by infiltration’ successfully. His
stand during war and diplomacy made him national hero and domina nt
political figure. The war was inconclusive and reached to an agreement as
Tashkent agreement in Soviet Union on 4th January 1966. Mr. Shastri died
because of cardiac arrest on 19th January 1966. He served as a prime
minister for 19 months.
After the de ath of Mr. Shastri, Mrs. Indira Gandhi became the next prime
minister after receiving the support from Congress leaders. There was a
secret ballot in the Congress Parliamentary party held on 19th January
1966 to choose the prime minister between Mrs. Gandh i and Mr. Morarji
Desai. She defeated him and secured 355 votes to 169. Mrs. Gandhi post
coming to power, dealt with many challenges and adversaries at political,
economic, social, and international level. The linguistic creation of states
and regional po litics tested the nation’s image as a peaceful state. The
famine and draught situation disturbed the growth of nation as an
economic state. The war between India, Pakistan and China challenged the
military strength of nation. The growing inflation, adminis trative
expenditure and internal and external challenges were widening. India
dealt with issue diplomatically and carved the path of nation’s
development and progress calmly. The politics also saw the paradigm shift
in terms of its approach and defining th e parties. There were many
political parties emerged and started focusing to take the advantage of
nation’s mass discontent and agitations. The opposition political parties
such as CPM, Socialists, Jan Sangh emerged as a strong rival to congress.
The year 1966 witnessed factionalism and party politics. Parliament
became a place of commotion, indiscipline and disturbances. Mrs. Gandhi
also termed as ‘goongi gudiya’ by Mr. Rammanohar Lohia which was an
objectional remark for the prime minister. Though at pol itical level the
situation was brimmed and disrespectful, citizens of India were awakened
to exercise their voting rights. It is observed that during the fourth general
elections in the Lok Sabha and the State assemblies, which was held in
February 1967, v oters who turned out were high in the percentage and it
was around 61.1 percent. Party politics, factionalism and groupism
became the new dynamics and congress as an umbrella party started losing
its control over the others. The other parties or coalition parties were also
not loyal to each other. It is witnessed that between 1967 and 1970, nearly
800 assembly members crossed the floor and nearly 155 of them were
rewarded with ministerial offices. Congress split in 1969 and created into
two groups: Congress (R-Requisitions) and Congress (O). Mrs. Gandhi
gradually started becoming powerful and gaining the trust of masses. This
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44 would not see the existing problems and situations at br oader level. The
various steps undertaken by Mrs. Gandhi at social, political and economic
level such as nationalization of Indian banks, abolition of privy purses,
appointment of Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP)
Commission to check the co ncentration of power in the hands of a few
leading business families, launching of the five -year economic plan and
many more stabilized the situation in India. The opposition parties focused
to attack on her at individual level and she counter attacked whi le focusing
her campaign and ideology based on the national issues and emphasis on
social change, democracy, secularism and socialism. She also focused on
public sector growth, imposition of ceiling on rural hand holdings, urban
property, and abolition of princely privileges. Mrs. Gandhi won the
election with majority. India faced another major political crisis which
broke out in East Pakistan (Bangladesh). India settled the matter with its
valour, determination, courage and bold military actions. India als o signed
a 20 -year Indo -Soviet treaty of peace, friendship and cooperation.
Congress under Mrs. Gandhi again came into one -person power and she
initiated many developments related with mixed economy, banks
nationalization, strengthen planning commission an d planning mechanism.
Parliament also got the power to abolish privy purse and titles of the
princely state rulers through the amendment of 24th and 25th. Government
tried to take all the effective measures to make sure that the Indian
economy and Indian p olity go hand in hand. The continuous challenges
and changes at social and economic level impacted the political
development in India.
Check your progress
1. State in brief the changes in politics post -independence?
2. What is the coalition gover nment and why did it form? Explain in
brief.
4.1.2 Phases of Political Development in India :
According to Partha Chatterjee, the whole political development in India
is divided into four sections from the period from 1947 to 1960, from 1967
to 197 7, from 1977 -1984 and in the last week of the year following the
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Political Developments After Nehru Era; Green Revolution (1964 CE – 1984 CE)
45 From 1947 - 1967 :
As it has been widely observed and agreed that the first 20 years of Indian
politics was a congress dominant party. It is mentioned by Morris -Jones
that th e dominance of congress existed with competition but without a
trace of alternation. Congress was ruling because of the available
consensus in party and opposition parties were just pressure parties. All
the major political leaders were skilled, farsighted and committed for
nation’s development. The experienced leaders who had seen the nation
before independence too were aware of available challenges and problems.
They were getting the support of masses and aspired to execute the ideas.
The fabric of closen ess and knotting it together had connected the state
and society and developed India as an integrated institution. Congress was
able to maintain plurality because of its diverse nature and flexibility to
absorb groups from outside the party. They were able to prevent other
parties as well to gain the strength. Though, the birth of many other
political parties happened, congress was always able to lead from the front
till the time of Nehru’s prime ministership.
From 1967 to 1977 :
The period 1967 -1977 saw ma ny upheaval changes in India and its
political developments. Due to changes in the socio -economic and
demographic profile of the polity and the mobilization of new recruits and
groups into the political process has given rise to the development of new
and more differentiated identities and patterns of political cleavage. This
focused on government performance. Because of the changes, the
dominant party model shifted its focus towards building the differentiated
structure of party competition. In 1967 electi on, congress lost power in six
states and led the to the emergence of opposition parties into market place.
This also witnessed that the competition that had previously occurred
within the Congress was now bought into the realm of interplay conflict.
After 1964, the power of state level congress leaders had become both
greater and more apparent. There was also a dramatic split of the Congress
in 1969 and led Mrs. Gandhi won the election of 1971.
From 1977 to 1984 :
The third phase was the most difficult and challenging period of India’s
politics. The defeat of Mrs. Gandhi and reentry into politics with the
support of masses and need to fulfil the social, economic and political
gaps witnessed the dynamic changes in the political development of the
nation. The period of 1977 to 1984 was known as the period of awakening
and decay. There was an abrasive conflict between political parties which
was marked by decay and fragmentation within parties. The period was
registered as awakening period because of the citize ns got conscious and
aware about their rights as voters and understood the logic of electoral
politics. The voters became more assertive and competitive. The
democracy ruled but governance became weak. Parallelly, there was decay
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46 society. These combinations of awakening and decay generated five
changes as by products which are as follows: -
1. Election result :
Post-emergency, the citizens shown the power of democracy. Congress
under Mrs. Gandhi lost the power and coalition government came in
power. However, when it was observed that they were also unable to
perform, citizens again voted for Congress on the ideas of social change
and reform according to the societal expectations and needs. Thus, it was
cleared that citizens voted for progress and development rather aspiring
one person. The assertiveness and expectations of the masses have
increasingly demanded response.
2. The change for democracy and people’s rights were visible in the
government and political agenda. The upliftment of masses and social
action are crucial and all the other coercive power was asked to be
isolated to maintain order.
3. Whenever, the response emerged or shown, that political party as a
supreme power, t he response was bitter and tough. The society and
politics can not be separated.
4. Inspite of saying so, there is always a need to clear the boundaries
of political parties and their base at national level and many Indian
states.
5. At the end, the emer gence of various regional parties in 1980s in
several states and no uniform coordination between the Centre and
states resulted various other issues and conflicts at political level.
Check your progress
1. Analyze in brief the various phases of political dev elopment in India?
4.2 GREEN REVOLUTION 4.2.1 Introduction :
India since Nehru years till his death focused on institutional reforms and
not on the technological base for agriculture. The first plan of economy
gave the weightage to agriculture an d irrigation for total 31 percent. India
came up with massive irrigation and power projects like the Bhakra -
Nangal, numerous agricultural universities and research laboratories
fertilizer plants etc. G.S. Bhalla one of the major scholars of the Green
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47 India named as the green revolution which came after Nehru’s death
however, the technological development was laid during Nehru’s times.
The Green revolution were considered as a period o f new agricultural
strategy. Due to the massive growth of India’s population, there was a
shortage of food in mid 50s and 60s. India was importing foods and under
the agreement with US, India was importing food from the US under the
PL-480 scheme in 1956. It was around three million tonnes and it was
increasing from year to year. The Chinese invasion and Pakistan war along
with the two successive draughts in 1965 -66 led the fall of agricultural
output by 17 percent and food output by 20 percent. India was g etting
dependent on foreign foods and number of tonnes imports were increasing
every subsequent year. Thus, considering the current scenario of mid 60s,
the focus of India was to be food self -reliant.
4.2.2 Need for Green Revolution :
The new Agricultural strategy was beginning to implement by then the
prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Food minister, C. Subramaniam, and
Indira Gandhi. The world bank appointed Bell Mission recommended
transition and US favoured this. The high -yield variety seeds (HYV)
Mexi can dwarf wheat proved to be scientific, chemical fertilizers,
pesticides, agricultural machinery including tractors, pump sets etc, soil
testing facilities, agricultural education programmes and institutional
credit were identified. Around 32 million acre s of land was thus chosen
for cultivation on top priority.
Government established the Agricultural Price Commission in 1965 to
assure the farmers at sustained remunerative prices. The many benefits
which were given to farmers significantly rose the total g ross capital
formation in agriculture. The rate of increase in the gross irrigated area
rose from 1 million hectares per annum during the seventies. Similarly,
there was a significant growth electrical, diesel pump sets, tube wells
consumption of chemical fertilizers, etc. As a result, it has impacted in
foodgrain production rose by 35 percent. The green revolution in India
became successful and put an end of India’s ‘begging bowl’ image. India
also started exporting buffer food stocks.
Green revolution he lped India to increase its agricultural yields and
growth since independence. It also generated a rapid increase in the
marketable surplus of foodgrains. It also enabled the internal procurement
of food by the government and the building up of large food s tocks. It also
made India self -reliance and liberation from PL -480.
4.2.3 Achievements of Green Revolution :
The first phase of green revolution from 1962 -65 to 1970 -73 an all -India
compound growth rate was 2.08 % per year. In the second phase from
1970 -73 to 1980 -83, the green revolution spread to other parts of the
country notable eastern UP, Andhra Pradesh, parts of Karnataka,
Tamilnadu and many more. The third phase was 1982 -83 to 1992 -95, it
has reached to the lower growth areas of eastern region of Wes t Bengal,
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
48 region also increased more than the northern regions. There were a series
of programmes such as the Rural Works programme (RWP), Small
Farmers Development Agency (SFDA), Margi nal Farmers and
Agricultural Labourers Scheme (MFAL), Crash Scheme for Rural
Employment (CSRE), The Employment Guarantee Scheme (ESG), were
launched. All these schemes were useful for farmers and gave loans to
them through institutional credit cooperative societies, land development
banks, nationalized commercial banks, agriculture refinance corporation
etc.
Thus, the green revolution was considered to be one of the most impactful
initiatives undertaken by the Indian government.
4.2.4 Analyses of Green Rev olution :
According to Antony Usha and others (2019) the green revolution in
India which was started in the 1960s and introduced high yield varieties of
rice and wheat to increase food production. The objective was to end
hinger and poverty in India. The me asures undertaken by the Government
increased the production of rice, wheat, pulses and other crops and led
India towards self -sufficiency of food in the country. The dramatic
transformation of agriculture practices and use of new methods of
cultivation an d inputs improved the food growth in India and made an
attempt to bring the significant changes in the agricultural growth. The
main component of green revolution such as use of High Yielding Variety
of Seeds (HYV); Application of fertilizers, manures and chemicals;
Multiple Cropping Patterns; Mechanization of farming; Better
Infrastructure facilities; Price Incentives and better financial assistance
resulted quantitative and qualitative development in the agriculture in
India.
Check your progress
1. What is Green Revolution?
2. Why India decided to go for Green Revolution? Analyze the
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Political Developments After Nehru Era; Green Revolution (1964 CE – 1984 CE)
49 4.3 SUMMARY A careful study of the electoral trends in India reveals that the India is a
fragmented country. The state an d politics are not two different identities.
The party politics and social change are interlinked and interconnected.
The political mobilization of masses faced the competitive politics. The
careful study of Indian politics from the period of 1947 -1984 nar rated the
history of electoral politics, nation identities, democracy and introduction
of adult suffrage in independent India. Thus, in the word of Partha
Chatterjee and other historians which state that the Indian politics is not
merely a laboratory for different kinds of experiments involving diverse
social groups; it is also an arena of diverse social, economic and political
activities that are hardly comprehensible if conceptualized in ethnocentric
theoretical paradigms.
William S. Gaud of United State s Agency for International Development
(USAID) in 1968 coined the word ‘Green Revolution’ in 1968. This term
was used to introduce new technology to be introduced in the developing
nations to increase agricultural productivity. The High Yielding Variety of
seeds were introduced by International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Centre, Maxico and the international Rice Research Institute (IRRI),
Philippines, respectively. Indian scientists tested varieties of wheat and
rice in 1962 and 1964 respectively. And then it was taken for cultivation
during the crop year of 1965 -1966. Apart from high yielding variety of
seeds, it has also introduced the new agricultural practices such as use of
chemical fertilizers, pesticides, tractors, water pumps etc. this has resulted
well and the food production of India went from 50 million tonnes in 1950
to 79 million tonnes in 1964 and later to 95.1 million tonnes in 1968.
4.4 CONCLUSION Constitution was drafted and adopted after an elaborate and detailed
discussion by its founders and leaders. It had taken 2 years 10 months to
prepare the Constitution of India and translate the nationalist and
democratic aspirations of an independent polity after the British departure.
The 1950s constitution focused to establish a liberal democratic polity in
structural and procedural terms. It is important to understand the political
development of India in its larger context. The Congress as an umbrella
party, emergence of various other coalition governments, revival of
congress and again the domin ance of other political parties were the
important features in political system in India and a lesson as well. India
saw a political development which was conceptualized on the basis of
Nehruvian goal of ‘unity in diversity’. Cultural pluralism, diverse
background, different states, social cultures, added the vibrant features of
existence. However, as the society progressed the single party majority
was no longer feasible. The coalition party perhaps the only institutional
mechanism to accommodate the ident ities at regional and sub -regional
levels. Multicultural nationalism was another political development which
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
50 Therefore, Indian politics is a very complex admixture of various
influences, drawing on the past as wel l as present experiences and there is
therefore no straightforward way to easily delimit its domain.
Another important part of this unit is about understanding the success of
the Green Revolution in India in terms of using high yield variety of seeds
and i ntroduction of new methods of agriculture practices. There were
many agencies and institutions were involved for the process such as the
government of India, international agricultural research institutions (IRRI
and CIMMYT), multilateral and bilateral don or agencies (Ford
Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and USAID), and the farmers. The
Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) relentlessly executed the task of smooth transmission
and distribution of new tec hnology to farmers.
4.5 QUESTIONS 1. Analyse the political developments in India and its impact on India’s
democracy .
2. Compare the political development in India between the period from
1947 -64 and 1964 -85. What are significant differences?
3. Is Gree n Revolution in India a success? Critically Analyse.
4.6 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  Partha Chatterjee (ed.), State and Politics in India - Parties and the
Party System. Delhi; New York : Oxford University Press, 1997 x,
576
 Chandra Bipan el al. ( 2002). India after Independence (1947 -2002)
 Hiranmay Karlekar Module 1 Polity (p.g 3 to 55)
 The Green Revolution in India retrieved on 30.12.2022
https://www.afsahighschool.com/cms/lib/MN50000145/Centricity/Do
main/1165/The%20Green%20Revolution%20in%20India.pdf
 Antony Usha el.al. The impact of the Green Revolution on indigenous
crops of India. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2019).
 Karlekar Hiranmay (ed), Independent India: The First Fifty Years.
Indian Council of Cultural Relations (1998).

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51 5
ABOLITION OF PRIVY PURSES AND
TITLES, NATIONALIZATION OF BANKS;
THE EMERGENCY
Unit Structure
5.0 Objective
5.1 Introduction
5.1.1 Process of abolition of Titles and Privy purses of the Princely
Rulers?
5.2 Nationalization Banks
5.2.1 Introduction
5.2.2 Process of Nationalization of Banks
5.2.3 The Pai Panandikar Report
5.2.4 Nationalisation
5.3 The Emergency
5.3.1 Background of the Emergency
5.3.2 Gujrat and Bihar Movements
5.3.3 Differences with Judiciary
5.3.4 Declaration of Emergency
5.3.5 Consequ ences of Emergency
5.3.6 Public Response to the Emergency
5.3.7 Surprise Elections 1977 and Lifting of the Emergency
5.4 Summary
5.5 Conclusion
5.6 Questions
5.7 References and Additional Readings
5.0 OBJECTIVE This chapter will help the reader
 To und erstand the various initiatives undertaken by the Government
of India post -Nehru.
 To analyse Challenges and Problems faced by India during the
abolition of titles and privy purses.
 To find out the process of nationalisation of Banks and necessity of
doing so.
 To know the reason of imposition of emergency. munotes.in

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52  To analyse the consequences of emergency and lessons learnt of
emergency for Indian democracy.
 To explore the various changes introduced to fulfil the social,
economic and political goals of the nation.
5.1 INTRODUCTION India after independence and lapse of British Paramountcy worked hard to
consolidate India as a nation and integrated princely states in India. In
previous chapter, we have seen the efforts undertaken by political leaders
to integrate the p rincely states and challenges faced into it. India, a strong
ardent of democracy and justice, made sure the accession of princely states
into the independent dominions must be achieved via a constitutionally
guaranteed exchange mechanism under which an an nual privy purse was
allowed to retain by the princely rulers as their personal properties and
received the privileges like exemption of central taxes, provincial arrests
and import duties. These privileges and offers have given them the rights
and control over the land. Several princes were also labelled as
‘Rajpramukh’ (governor) of states. It is also noticed that they were in
some states emerged as the mass leaders. India while moving towards
progress and institutionalization of land reforms, brought the ten-point
socialist program in 1967 under Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
Under these two -point socialist programme, efforts were undertaken to
bring the reforms which would benefit the largest sections of society such
as control of banking institutions; nationaliza tion of general insurance;
export and import trade; distribution of food in public; removal of
monopolies and concentration of economic power; limits on urban
incomes and property; land reform implementation and end of princely
states privileges and privy purses.
5.1.1 Process of abolition of Titles and Privy purses of the Princely
Rulers?
The process of integration of the Indian states post -independence was not
an easy one. It was complex and difficult. Sardar Patel and his team
worked meticulously to so lve the problems without much blood bath and
followed the process of constitutional mechanism and reciprocal function.
Those princely states during integration decided to merge their states with
India was assured to receive privy purse, a specific amount o f money
annually to them and their successors. These money to them and their
successors were granted under Article 291 of the Indian constitution. The
amount of privy purse was determined on the basis of state’s revenue,
status under British rule. It is ob served that the total amount of privy
purses was amounted in 1970 approximately 58 crore rupees. The highest
privy purse was received by the ruler of Mysore which was around 26
lakhs per annum and lowest amount by the ruler of Kotadia i.e., 192
rupees per annum. The article 362 of the Indian constitution also bestowed
them some customary privileges and official recognition as princely rulers.
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Abolition of Privy Purses and Titles, Nationalization of Banks; the Emergency
53 prince or the chief of a state as the ruler. The official titles, rights to
conduct their ceremonial durbars, official vehicles and inviting dignitaries
and many more were their privileges which made them elite and exclusive
than the citizens of India. Apart from these, they also received the
exempti on from the operation of Indian laws, jagirdari system, grant from
states of the marriage expenses of their family members and concessions
from some process of the court of law. While signing the instrument of
accession with India post -independence, they h ad also signed the merger
agreement under which they had handed over the all authority of the states
to the Indian government. There were few states who did not sign merger
agreement earlier however, by 1949, except J &K, all the stated had
signed the merg er agreement and given control to the Indian states. This
merger agreement given the power of Indian government to implement
‘one nation, one policy’. Thus, India which accepted and followed the
merger agreement under federal structure had to take a stand to abolish
any privileges to any citizens of India and treat them equally before the
Constitution.
Therefore, to protect the rights of the Constitution of India, India brought
the 26th Amendment act in 1971 under Mrs. Indira Gandhi as Prime
minister who s tated that quote , ‘the concept of rulership, with privy purses
and special privileges unrelated to any current functions and social
purposes, is incompatible with an egalitarian social order.’ This act
abolished all the privileges, titles and privy purses of the princely rulers.
The article 291 and 362 were also deleted from the Indian Constitution
and the President of Indian no longer recognized any of the princes as
chief of the rulers.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain in detail the specific features of the Constitution of India and
26th Amendment Act?
5.2 NATIONALIZATION OF BANKS 5.2.1 Introduction :
India decided to nationalize its fourteen private sector banks on 20th July
1969. The idea of social control found its first voice in 1967. The
Econ omic Programme Committee of the All -India Congress Committee
(AICC) submitted its report in 1948 and recommended to nationalize
banking and insurance for establishing a just social order. This
recommendation was endorsed in April 1948’s meeting in Bombay a nd
Jaipur in December 1948. However, nothing has been discussed on this
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54 disturbing because of the invasion of China and Pakistan. India post Sino
war in March 1963 faced a huge budgeta ry cost and there was shortage of
resources and funds for the third plan. It was a critical period because the
challenge in India was not related with economy alone but also impacted
on public and political morale. Inflation started increasing, forex reser ves
were low and general dissatisfaction with the government. India faced
challenges like the death of Nehru, intense succession battle of Congress,
Lal Bahadur Shastri’s prime ministership and Indo -Pakistan war (1965),
monsoon failure, famine and drought, toll of public finances and death of
Lal Bahadur Shastri (due to cardia arrest) in Tashkent. These unwanted
and sudden disaster movement in Indian politics impacts the fate of nation
and its dream for planned economy as well.
After his death of Lal Baha dur Shastri, when Indira Gandhi came in power
at that time, she was not an independent ruler and considered as a leader of
the ‘syndicate’. She has reluctantly accepted the offer. In the 1967 general
election, the Congress lost a large number of seats in Parliament due to
war, famine, political uncertainty, and economic distress. Mrs. Gandhi was
pushing hard to battle internally in the party wherein she has to project her
image strongly and come out of the ‘syndicate’ pressure. She chose to put
her firm in control and started supporting the poorest through various
social programs. Bank nationalization was also one of her agenda. Bank
nationalization was one of her election agenda in 1967 to bring banking
institutions under social control to serve the cause of economic growth
effectively and to make credit available to the producers in all fields
wherever it is needed. Her demands of nationalization were not supported
by the internal team of Congress however, it was her firm stand to not to
lose before the op position. As a result, Congress party splits into two
factions, one led by Mrs. Indira Gandhi (Revolutionary) and other by
Syndicate. The later labeled as anti -people and pro -rich. Indira Gandhi
also assumed the portfolio of Finance ministry to drive her end effectively.
The strong leadership, political acumen and bold decision of Mrs. Gandhi
determined India to hold the process of Bank nationalization.
5.2.2 Process of Nationalization of Banks :
After losing many seats in Parliament during the 1967 genera l elections, in
the meeting of Congress committee on May 1967, party started
introspecting their stand on ‘democratic socialism’. Bank nationalization
became one of the crucial agenda to discuss. Some leaders favoured
nationalization to ensure credit facil ities for deserving units from small -
scale sector or the large sector. Some leaders opposed the idea. A third
group were neutral and favoured social control of banks and
nationalization of general insurance. Finally, the Congress Working
Committee (CWC) de cided for increased participation in banking, foreign
trade, insurance and foodgrains distributions. The first step was to set up
the control of Reserve Bank’s over scheduled banks. It was also suggested
to modify the lending portfolios of banks to the mid dle and lower middle
sectors of industry, trade and agriculture etc. Leaders like Y.B. Chavan,
Jagjivan Ram and Kamaraj favoured for immediate implementation of the
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Abolition of Privy Purses and Titles, Nationalization of Banks; the Emergency
55 Morarji Desai then d eputy prime minister asked to adopt a cautious
approach. V.A. Pai Panandikar, advisor in the Finance ministry was asked
to present a report and conduct a study based on Congress Working
Committee’s resolution on social control over banks.
5.2.3 The Pai Pa nandikar Report :
In August 1967, Pai Panandikar submitted its report and suggested the
following points:
 The amendment of existing banking legislation is required to achieve
the ten -point economic programme to fulfil the objectives of social
control.
 Ther e is a need to take a step towards social control of banks to
provide credit to certain specified and special sectors.
 Government should have a voice to appoint bank directors.
 A national commission should be set up to study the organization and
structure of banking. Thus, Banking Commission was set up.
 Industrial planning and licensing policy committee was set up by the
Planning Commission to advocate state control of banking.
 Report also pointed about the inadequacy of the policies and practices
of comme rcial banks in mobilizing deposits and channeling funds
towards the priority sectors.
 Report further suggested to establish a coordination between the Bank
and the government.
Based on report and frequent interaction with RBI and government, a draft
bill n ames as ‘Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 1967’ were proposed. The
bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23rd December 1967. The bill
proposed amendment of certain provisions of the Banking Regulation Act,
1949, the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and the State Bank of India
Act, 1955 in view of social control over banks. Also, it proposed to set up
a National Credit Council to discuss and assess credit priorities on an all -
India basis. The government resolution took place on 22nd December and
it was publis hed in the Gazette of India on 23rd December 1967. After a
frequent deliberations, suggestions and reconsiderations the bill received
the assent of the President of India on 28 December and came into force
from 1st February 1969. The important provisions of the act are as
follows: -
 The boards of directors in banks should have special knowledge or
practical experience in the areas of accountancy, agriculture, rural
economy, small scale industry, cooperation banking, economics,
finance and law and their num bers should be a total of 51 percent.
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56  The Reserve Bank of India were given powers to appoint, removal or
terminate the appointment of the chairman with necessary approval.
5.2.4 Nationalisat ion:
On 9th July 1969, Indira Gandhi through Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, minister
for Industrial development suggested for nationalisation of major banks
against the social control of banks policy by Congress.
The Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings)
Ordinance stated the acquisition and transfer of the undertakings of certain
banking companies to serve the needs of economic development of
country in align with national policy and objectives. The fourteen major
banks were nationalised on 1 9th July 1959 with a condition to have
deposits exceeding Rs. 50 crores with immediate effect. The acting
President of India gave his assent in absence of then President V.V. Giri
who died a few months ago.
Banks Nationalization Chronology :
• 1955 – State Bank of India nationalized.
• 1959 – 7 subsidiaries nationalized and associated with SBI.
1. State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
2. State Bank of Hyderabad
3. State Bank of Indore
4. State Bank of Mysore
5. State Bank of Patiala
6. State Bank of Saurashtra
7. State Bank of Travancore
• 1969 – 14 major commercial Banks nationalized on 19th July 1969.
1. Allahabad Bank
2. Bank of Baroda
3. Bank of India
4. Bank of Maharashtra
5. Canara Bank
6. Central Bank of India
7. Dena Bank
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Abolition of Privy Purses and Titles, Nationalization of Banks; the Emergency
57 9. Indian Overseas Bank
10. Punjab National Bank
11. Syndicate Bank
12. UCO Bank
13. Union Bank of India
14. United Bank of India
The nationalisation of banks was analysed differently by different people
as it was mentioned that nationalisation had brought the confidence of
masses into the banking system and mobilised private savings through
banks. Savings were used for public borrowing and credit needs. Later in
1980, Mrs. Indira Gandhi proposed to nationalise six more commercia l
banks under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of
Undertakings) Ordinance, 1980 amounted to not less than Rs. 200 crores.
These banks were:
1. Andhra Bank
2. Corporation Bank
3. New Bank of India
4. Oriental Bank of Commerce
5. Punjab & Sindh Bank
6. Vijaya Bank
Mrs. Gandhi found this very important and stated that the purpose of
nationalisation to make sure that economy was heightened and serve the
needs of the economy development. It also envisioned to promote the
people welfa re in conformity with the policy of the state. The bill received
President’s assent on 11 July 1980. Mrs. Gandhi said the whole process of
nationalisation timing as the timing which she did not choose but by her
adversaries. She further elaborated by sayin g that she was driven to the
wall and had no option.
Check your progress
1. Why Nationalization of Banks considered as an important political
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
58 2. What is the difference between Bank’s social control and
nationalisation?
5.3 THE EMERGENCY 5.3.1 Background of the Emergency :
Indira Gandhi emerged as the strong personality in Indian politics post
1967 elections. The congress party also became bitter and polarized. There
were many initiat ives undertaken by the government for which the
supreme court found violative of the Constitution. Congress at this period
was trying to be authoritative. Wherever the opposition of Congress was
happening, it was perceived against the principles of democra cy and
parliamentary supremacy. The internal differences of opinion within the
party also created many factions and complex situations. During the
elections of 1971, the congress had given the slogans of Garibi Hatao but
still there were not much improveme nt in the economic condition in the
country. The Bangladesh crisis, refugee aid, war with Pakistan, stoppage
of all aid to India by US, increase of oil prices at international market,
increase in the prices of commodities and inflation caused many problems
in the life of the people. The increase of unemployment growth and low
growth of industries in the rural areas impact the nation’s economy.
Government also froze the salaries of its employees to reduce the
expenditure which caused further dissatisfaction among government
employees in 1972 -73. The decline in agricultural productivity, failure of
monsoon, continuous protests against government by opposition parties,
students’ unrest, increase in the activities of Marxist groups in West
Bengal created an over haul situation in the nation.
5.3.2 Gujrat and Bihar Movements :
Students started protesting in Gujarat and Bihar, both of which were
Congress ruled states in 1974. This agitation of students started against
rising prices of food grains, cooking oil, other essential commodities and
against corruption in high places. The students’ protest was joined by
major opposition parties and became widespread leading to the imposition
of President’s rule in the state. The opposition parties took the advantage
and start ed demanding for fresh elections to the state legislature. Morarji
Desai announced for an indefinite fast in demand of fresh elections. Under
the extreme pressure of students protest, assembly elections were held in
Gujrat in June 1975. The result was not in favour of Congress.
Similar movement of protest came in Bihar in March 1974 against rising
prices, food scarcity, unemployment and corruption. The students;
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Abolition of Privy Purses and Titles, Nationalization of Banks; the Emergency
59 movement. He accepted to lead the movement and decided to lead it on
non-violent basis. This movement had national appeal and supported from
all walks of life. JP movement also known as Total revolution (Sampoorna
Kranti) to establish the true democracy in the social, political a nd
economic levels. The non -violent tactics such as strikes, gheraos, bandhs
etc. were organized in protest against the Bihar government. There was a
slogan spread out which says that quotes, ‘ Sampoorna Kranti ab nara hai,
bhavi itihas hamara hai ’. Here, t he government refused to resign.
Loknayak JP spread the Bihar movement to other parts of the country and
led the peoples’ march to Parliament. His action against the government
were supported by the opposition parties such as BJP, Jan Sangh,
Congress (O), the Bhartiya Lok Dal, the Socialist Party and others.
Loknayak JP was projected as an alternative to Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
Parallelly, there was also a railway strike in 1974 by the National
Coordination Committee led by George Fernandes for fulfilling the
demands of employees related to bonus and service conditions. The
Government did not favour these demands. The employees of railways
went on strike in May 1974. Government declared the strike illegal and
arrested its leaders. The territorial army was also d eployed to protect
railway tracks. Though the government was successful to suppress the
strike, the labour unrest was obvious.
5.3.3 Differences with Judiciary :
There were three constitutional issues had emerged and questions related
with the protection of fundamental rights of people; amendment of the
Constitution to curtain the property rights of people and abridging
fundamental rights for giving effect to Directive Principles. The famous
Keshavananda Bharti Case also favoured the court decision to not to
change the basic features of the Constitution which cannot be amended by
the Parliament. It was also observed that post the Keshavananda Bharati
case in 1973, when there was a vacancy for the post of the Chief Justice of
India, Government set aside the se niority of three judges and appointed
Justice A.N.Ray as the Chief Justice of India. The three judges went
against the government and the climax was to declare Indira Gandhi’s
election invalid by the High Court. People who were close to the prime
minister made up their opinion that judiciary and bureaucracy needed to
be aligned to the vision of the executive and the legislature.
5.3.4 Declaration of Emergency :
Justice Sinha of the Allahabad High Court on 12 June 1975 declared
Indira Gandhi’s election to th e Lok Sabha invalid. There was a petition
filed by Raj Narain, a socialist leader and challenged the election of Indira
Gandhi on the ground of corruption charges. The judgement came against
Mrs. Indira Gandhi and stated that she would not remain the prime
minister unless she gets elected again as an MP in six months’ time. The
order of Supreme Court after the judgement of High court granted her to
remain an MP but could not take part in the Lok Sabha proceedings. There
was a nation -wide protest against Mrs . Gandhi and opposition parties
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60 demonstrations. On 25th June 1975, the government announced that there
was threat to internal disturbances and invoked article 352 of the
Constitution. Thi s article gave the power to the government to declare
emergency and suspension of federal distribution of powers. This article
also gives the power to the government to restrict or curtail fundamental
rights during the emergency. The government gets the sp ecial powers
during emergency. The prime minister of India recommended President of
India to impose emergency and it had been immediately implemented.
Emergency brought the state of status quo in people’s mobility. The
electricity connection of newspaper o ffices was disconnected. A large
number of leaders and workers of the opposition parties were arrested. A
special cabinet meeting was called on 26th June at 6 a.m. wherein
government had centred the power and asked all leaders to cooperate. The
other salie nt activities which disturbed the democratic rights of people of
India during the Emergency are as follows: -
 During Emergency, government had banned the demonstration of
strikes, put leaders in jail, and suspended the freedom of the press.
 Newspapers wer e not allowed to publish any news item without the
prior permission of government and introduced the press censorship.
 The political parties like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and
Jamait -e-Islami were banned.
 The fundamental rights of the Citizens of I ndia were also seized
including the right to move the court for restoring their fundamental
rights.
 The preventive detention was also taken placed wherein the
government was able to detain any person on the ground of
apprehension to commit an offence.
5.3.5 Consequences of Emergency :
Thus, it was observed that Emergency was a danger state wherein the
rights of people were suspended. Instead of allowing people to analytically
crticise and giving them a power to showcase their suggestions,
government had use d the disturbing power curbing activity which had
given the negative environment. Many cases were filed in the High Court
and Supreme court on behalf of the arrested persons but government went
ahead of their decision to arrest any people without even info rming them
as well. The power of judiciary itself was contradicting. The High Courts
on one hand allowed people to go for a write petition of habeas corpus
wherein a person can challenge his/her detention but on the other hand, the
Supreme Court over ruled the High Courts and accepted the government’s
plea. In April 1976 Supreme Court announced the judgement in favour of
government’s plea and gave them power to curb the citizen’s right to life
and liberty. Many political leaders went underground and launche d overall
protests. There were few newspapers who stood courageous and
demonstrated their protests against censorship. The Indian Express and the
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Abolition of Privy Purses and Titles, Nationalization of Banks; the Emergency
61 items. Magazines like the Seminar and Mai nstream shut down by them.
Many journalists were arrested. Writers like Shivrama Karanth (Kannada),
and Fanishwarnath Renu (Hindi) returned their Padma Bhushan and
Padma Shri awards to the government on the ground of suspension of
democracy. The Parliament also introduced significant changes to the
Constitution and amendment was made related tot the non -challenge of the
elections of Prime Minister, President and Vice -President. Duration of the
legislatures was termed for six years than previous five years. It was
further suggested to postpone elections by one year. Thus, effectively,
instead of 1976, elections would hold in 1978.
5.3.6 Public Response to the Emergency :
People initially who supported or responded with passivity the
Emergency, found it unpopu lar only at the beginning of 1976. However,
the illusion of positive benefits from emergency eroded from mind 1976
when India suffered badly on economic growth. The decline of
Agricultural output, rampant of corruption, hoarding of grains for black
marketi ng, slow progress of poor welfare, limits on workers’ wages, bonus
and dearness allowances and their rights of strike made people unhappy.
The government and teachers were also unhappy because of controlling
their work on the ground of discipline and force ful sterilization.
Emergency also made people see the increased power of the bureaucracy
and the police. Denials of civil liberties of common people and delay in
lifting emergency generated fear among the minds of people against the
autocratic nature of go vernment’s actions. The introduction of
amendments, insertion of 42nd amendment in the Constitution and conflict
of judiciary and executive powers viewed by the intelligentsia, teachers,
journalists, professionals and small -town lawyers in September 1976 a s an
effort to subvert democratic rights of the people.
Emergency also witnessed the extra - constitutional centre of power in the
hands of Mr. Sanjay Gandhi, youngest son of Mrs. Gandhi who was
controlling the parallel activities during emergency without holding any
portfolio in the cabinet. By April 1976, he was being obeyed by ministers
and bureaucrats and emerged as the leader of the Youth Congress. In July
1976, Mr. Gandhi put forward his four -point programmes such as
prohibition of dowry at the time o f marriage; practice family planning;
plant trees and promote literacy. There was an abnormal action promoted
by the government which was pushed by Mr. Gandhi to control the
population and compulsory sterilisation was performed. Teachers,
workers, employee s of the governments were assigned the fixed number
of quotas and had to motivate the people to undergo sterilization. People
who were residing in rural areas faced the worst and resisted everyday
against the forceful activity of sterilisation. The slum cl earance in the
name of beautification of cities also repressed the poor people in India.
5.3.7 Surprise Elections 1977 and Lifting of the Emergency :
Mrs. Gandhi surprised the country with her sudden announcement of
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62 Apart from the announcement, she had also released the political
prisoners, removed press censorship and all restrictions imposed during
the Emergency. The sudden announcement of election whether it was a
political move or nat ure’s instant instinct became the reason of analysis by
many historians and thinkers. Marry C. Carras , her biographer argued
that Mrs. Gandhi throughout her life was a strong proponent of liberal
democracy. Her movement of lifting emergency was an attempt to prove
the world about her inherent philosophy of democracy and people’s rights.
Another writer however, put forward other view as lifting emergency by
Mrs. Gandhi was not her principle of democracy opinion but her inability
to bear the pressure and burn t of the masses. Another argument also
proposed about her misread the people’s opinion, misinformation by
sycophants and intelligence agencies. She was confident about her win in
the elections to legitimize the emergency. However, the election results
were not in favour of Congress at all. On 16th March, elections were held
in a free and fair atmosphere. Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi lost
their seats and Mrs. Gandhi accepted the defeat with ‘due humility’.
Bipin Chandra stated that the whole era of emergency, JP movement,
announcement of free elections by Mrs. Gandhi and her defeat was
remarkable achievement of Indian democracy. He further observed that
the years of 1975 -77 were the years of ‘test of democracy’ and Indian
people passed the test with full distinction. (p.260)
Check your progress
1. Do you think Emergency was necessary in India? What were the key
feature during Emergency?
2. Why Emergency was considered as ‘test of democracy’ by Historian
Bipin Chandra? Elaborate your answer with suitable examples?
5.4 SUMMARY Post-independence, India was very straightforward in terms of keeping its
expectations to establish a democratic, equal and secular state. The rajas of
princely states enjoyed the supremacy and control over land s and property.
After the integration of princely states, government had allowed them to
maintain their property, titles and privy purses. However, when started munotes.in

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Abolition of Privy Purses and Titles, Nationalization of Banks; the Emergency
63 making their economic plans, it was necessary for them to acquire the
rights on land and develo p its infrastructure. Therefore, the government of
India abolished their titles and privy purses in democratic structure and
brought the 26th amendment act in 1971. The article 291 and 362 of the
constitution of India was also deleted wherein the recogniti on of princes as
chief of rulers were removed. Similarly, the nationalisation of banks was
also another step taken by the Government of India with an intention to
provide the credit facilities to the poor masses of India so that more
development and progre ss could be taken place. The process of
nationalisation spanned over two times i.e., 1969 and 1980. Though, there
were divergent views on it, finally government was successful to do so.
Later on, the country was pushed towards the darkest phase of democrac y
and emergency was implemented. The rights of people were curbed and
first time, in the Indian history, the emergency was imposed to curb the
internal disturbances or oppositions.
5.5 CONCLUSION Thus, the changes in the political, social and economical l evels at this
chapter brought not only transformation and transactional phases in India
but also experimented the various phases towards leading the country to
built a social and equal society. The political leaders amended the
constitution of India to bri ng changes, curb resistance and fulfil their
aspirations but people of India demonstrated their resistance through their
power of vote during elections and participation in rallies. The other
political leaders or opposition parties took the advantage of si tuations but
were also conscious to bring social reforms to protect the rights of people
and their citizens. The whole era and period od this phase focused on Mrs.
Indira Gandhi’s leadership. Though she had a basic intention to bring
about radical socio -economic change and justice, she was failed to achieve
as per her promise. All the changes in society and economy at some extent
was desirable, however the process was painful and test of democracy.
5.6 QUESTIONS 1. Describe in detail the process of abolit ion of titles and privy purse .
2. Do you think government of India may introduce the amendment in
the Constitution of India? Explain the process.
3. Explain the objective of nationalisation of banks .
4. Many historians and thinker considered emergency as the darkest
phase in the history of India? Do you agree? Support your answer
with suitable examples/
5. Examine the political development during the period of 1969 to 1984
as the period of one person rule .
6. Assess the challenges faced by India post Nehru’s death at society,
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64 5.7 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS Abolition of Titles and Privy Purses
 https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/privy -purses -the-
forgotten -part-of-indian -integration -553640.html
 https://www.news18.com/news/india/when -indira -gandhi -pulled -the-
strings -of-nizam -other -princely -state-rulers -over-privy -purses -
6273661.html
 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et -commentary/march -
to-socialism -under -prime -minister -indira -gandhi -offers -an-
interestingparallel/articleshow/9715049.cms?fr om=mdr
 https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2019/07/the -curious -case-of-privy -
purse/
 Hiranmay (ed.) Independent India - the First Fifty Years. Oxford
University Press (1998), Del hi
 Nationalization of Banks
 Dr. K. Parvathi, Indian Economy During Indira Gandhi’s Regime - A
Study, International Journal of Social Sciences Research and
Development (IJSSRD), 1 (2), 2019, pp 36 -42.
 The Reserve Bank of India Report (1967 -1981).
 Karlekar Hiranmay (ed.) Independent India - the First Fifty Years.
Oxford University Press (1998), Delhi
 The Emergency
 NCERT Class Textbook - Chapter 6 The Crisis of Democratic Order.
leps206.pdf (ncert.nic.i n)
 (1975) The emergency in India, Bulletin of Concerned Asian
Scholars, 7:4, 2 -16, DOI: 10.1080/14672715.1975.10406386
 Sudipta Kaviraj (1986). Indira Gandhi and Indian politics. Economic
and Political Weekly Vol XXI, Nos. 38 and 39, September 20 -27,
1986 .
 Ghosh Jhumur (2017). Indira Gandhi’s call of emergency and press
censorship in India: the ethical Parameters Revisited. Global Media
Journal Vol 7, Nos. 2 ISSN 2249 – 5835 pp. 1 -pp 14.
 Chandra Bipan el al. (2002). India after Independence (1947 -2002)
Chapter 18. The J.P. Movement and the Emergency: Indian
Democracy Tested pp. 246 – pp. 260.
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65 6
JANATA GOVERNMENT; RETURN OF
CONGRESS TO POWER; FOREIGN
POLICY
Unit Structure
6.0 Objective
6.1 Introduction Janta Government
6.1.1 Introduction – Politics and Lok Sabha elections after
Emergency
6.1.2 Janta Government and the appointment of Shah Comm ission
6.1.3 Janta party in Crisis and the revival of the Congress
6.2 Return of Congress to Power and Role of Mrs. Indira Gandhi
6.3 Foreign policy of India between the period of 1964 CE – 1984 CE
6.3.1 Introduction
6.3.2 India’s Foreign Policy after Ne hru
6.3.3 Mrs. Indira Gandhi Tenure
6.4 Summary
6.5 Conclusion
6.6 Questions
6.7 References and Additional readings
6.0 OBJECTIVE This chapter will help the reader
 To understand the Indian politics after emergency
 To find out the dynamics in Indian po litics
 The changes in Congress party under Mrs. Gandhi
 The efforts undertaken by the government of India to strengthen the
democracy of India
 The emergence of India as a developing country through its foreign
policy
6.1 INTRODUCTION JANTA GOVERNMENT 6.1.1 Introduction – Politics after Emergency :
The period of emergency both exposed the strength and weakness of
India’s democracy. It has given many lessons and strengthened the faith
towards democratic rights. Mrs. Gandhi imposed emergency on the munotes.in

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66 ground of ‘internal disturbance and threat of chaos and order’ but the
provision of emergency contradicted her interpretations and it is stated that
it could only be proclaimed on the grounds of ‘ armed rebellion’ and on
the advice of President which must be given in writing by the Council of
Ministers. The rights of civil liberties were understood by people and
judiciary also became active to protect the civil liberties of individual. The
most important lesson from emergency period was learnt by the Congress
governme nt post announcement of elections of the Lok Sabha and defeat
of Congress. The merger parties of opposition which comprised of
Congress (O), Jan Sangh, Bhartiya Lok Dal and Socialist Party formed the
Janta Party. Other political leaders of Congress Jagjiva n Ram, H.N.
Bahuguna and Nandini Satpathy came together and formed the Congress
for Democracy (CFD) party, later merged with the Janata party. All of
them came together to fight to Congress in the month of March elections
to the Lok Sabha. Jayprakash Naray an became the symbol of restoration
of democracy. As a result, the Janata Party and its allies won the elections
and won 330 seats out of 542 seats. The response of voters were varied
from states to states. The Janata government came in power. Mrs. Indira
Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi also lost their seats from Rae Bareli and
Amethi.
6.1.2 Janta Government and the appointment of Shah Commission :
There was a strong competition among the party leaders over prime
ministerial issues. There were three aspirants for the post of Prime
minister – Morarji Desai who was a rival of Mrs. Indira Gandhi ever since
1966 -67, Chaudhary Charan Singh, socialist leader from UP and Bhartiya
Lok Dal and Jagjivan Ram a senior minister in the Congress government.
The matter referred to Jayprakash Narayan and J.B. Kriplani who favoured
Morarji Desai to be the prime minister of India and he took an oath on 23rd
Match at the age of 81. N. Sanjeeva Reddy became the President in July
1977.
The Janta government immediately started taking appr opriate steps to
dismantle all the authoritative features of emergency and restore the liberal
democracy. All the suspended rights and freedom were restored to the
press, political parties and citizens. The 44th Constitutional amendment
was implemented to repeal all the provisions which had disturbed the
liberal rights of Citizens through the Constitution of India under 42nd
Amendment. Judiciary also got its structure back and enjoyed its
supremacy over executive powers of the state.
In may 1977, Janata par ty government appointed a Shah Commission
headed by Justice J.C. Shah , retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
of India. the report was constituted to enquire the various allegations
against the government during the time of emergency proclaimed in June
1975. These allegations and complaints including arrests, censorship,
urban clearance, sterilisation programme and abuse of authority. The
commission enquired rigorously and documented the testimonials of
witnesses. The commission also called Mrs. Indira Gandhi who appeared
before the enquiry but refused to answer any questions. There were two munotes.in

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67 interim reports of the Shah commission and one final published report in
1978. The report of Shah Commission verified the actual situations faced
by people during th e emergency which was painful, and out of democratic
rights of people.
6.1.3 Janta party in Crisis and the revival of the Congress :
Though the Janata Party came in power as an alternative and made
significant changes to restore democracy however, it had s oon begun to
decline due to their non performance in administration, implementing
development policies, providing social justice.
They were in power for a short period of time till July 1979. The decline
of Janata party happened for many reasons as follo ws: -
 They were unable to deal social tensions in rural areas;
 Wide prevalence of caste tensions and violent attacks on other castes
in northern India;
 Increase of communal violence, growing agitations, lawlessness and
violence which were impacting the da ily lives of society;
 Unable to deal with economic underdevelopments;
 Though the government launched some positive programme as well
such as ‘food for work’ programme to improve village infrastructure,
they had made no efforts to fulfil its other demands f or land reform
and payment of higher wages to agricultural labourers;
 The inflationary impact on economy was increasing due to low rates
of growth;
 Janata government tried to align with non -alignment policy of India
and worked for strengthening ties with U S and Britain and moderating
its close relation with the Soviet Union but the tenure of Janata
government was very short;
 Janata government was unable to hold its leaders as well together.
There was no direction, unity of command both at the centre and the
states. As Janata government was a mix of many other political
parties, they all supported each other to fulfil their objectives and
agendas. The party lost its essence of existence and became a victim
of factionalism, manipulation and personal ambitions of its leaders.
As a result, the party was split and under Morarji Desai lost its
majority in less than 18 months. Another government under Charan
Singh with the support of Congress party lost its power in four months
due to withdrawal of support from the Congress government.
On the other hand, Congress also witnessed split and revival. Congress
again split in two parts i.e. Congress (I -Indira) and Congress (U -Devraj
Urs). The February 1978 elections in Karnataka and Andhra witnessed the
victory of Congres s (I). Indira Gandhi during the period of her, out of munotes.in

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68 power focussed more to reform her image and kept on advocating the
social and economic development. People also started looking at her and
considered her as their saviour Indira Amma or mother India. T he
elections which were held in January 1980, Indira Gandhi proved her
popularity again and people gave a massive support to Congress (I).
Congress won 353 seats out of 529 seats.
Check your progress
1. Why Janata Party unable to remain in power inspite of wining the
elections? What is your learning?
6.2 RETURN OF CONGRESS TO POWER AND ROLE OF MRS. INDIRA GANDHI Congress came in power once again after winning the elections of 1980
after thirty -four months. Mrs. Indira Gandhi became the prime mini ster
once again. The majority of Congress proved in almost all the states and
Congress predominantly came in power in fifteen states out of the twenty -
two states. Congress was under the full control of Mrs. Gandhi and people
again started expecting her to provide the solutions of all the problems in
India. Indira Gandhi faced many internal and external adverse situations in
all those years without power. This time she had an approach of hesitation
and consciousness. After the death of her son Sanjay Gandhi in flying a
plane on 23rd June 1980, she tried to fill his place with her elder son Rajiv
Gandhi who got elected as an MP and became the general secretary of the
party in 1983.
The second inning of congress was also full of confusion and
indecisiveness. C ongress slowly started projecting as weak organisational
structure. There was continuous civil war within the state units of the party
and the state governments. Congress party suffered serious defeat in the
assembly elections of Andhra and Karnataka in 19 83. In Andhra, Telugu
Desham Party won under the film start turned politician N.T. Rama Rao
and in Karnataka, Janata led front won 95 seats against the 81 seats of
Congress out of 224 assembly seats.
Congress also faced the communal, linguistic and caste c onflicts. The
communal tensions in Kashmir, Assam and Punjab led India suffered
more and due to delay tactics of government and less attention to these
states communal tensions increased communal riots, and hostility against
each other. There were also ins tances of scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes’ atrocities. India, tried to revamp the task of planning and economic
development through strengthening public sector and economic
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69 raised the rate of economic growth to over 4 percent per year with a large
increase in agriculture and petroleum production. Congress under Mrs.
Gandhi also focussed to strengthen the foreign relations which we will
discuss in detail in the next section of unit. On 31st October 1984, Mrs.
Gandhi’s long tenure as prime minister of India came to an end when she
was assassinated by her bodyguards over the issue on sending troops in
Golden temple to curtail the militants and terrorist situations in India. Her
son Rajiv Gandhi nominated the next prime minister by Congress
Parliamentary Board immediately after her death and he became the next
prime minister of India.
Check Your progress
1. Why Congress was unable to sustain its power? What was the
approach of M rs. Gandhi in her second tenure as prime minister?
Explain with suitable examples.
6.3 FOREIGN POLICY OF INDIA BETWEEN THE PERIOD OF 1964 CE – 1984 CE 6.3.1 Introduction :
India post -independence was very clear and firm to maintain a strong and
neutral foreign policy. According to J.N.Dixit, India’s foreign policy
could be studies in four different chronological phases due to changes in
international context and national events. These four phases are as
follows: -
1. First phase from 1947 -1964
2. Second p hase from 1964 -62
3. The third phase from 1962 till mid -80s
4. The fourth phase from mid 1980s till date.
The first phase was to deal with its territorial consolidation. India
focussed on integration of its princely states, recovering the trauma of
partition and creation of another country i.e., Pakistan. Dealing with
Hyderabad and Kashmir and maintain the panchsheel and non -alignment
foreign policy was a major concern for India. India -Pakistan situational
war for Kashmir increased the pressure of India throughou t the phase and
later as well.
The second phase was to focus more on defining the world India’s
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70 led by United States of America and the Socialist and Communist group of
nations led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
The third phase was a period of war. India faced the invasion of China,
Pakistan and Bangladesh. The war at international level also defined the
national politics and interference of various regional par ties to maintain
peace and order in society. India continuously tried to maintain and
strengthen its foreign policy but the internal disturbance in nation kept on
troubling the situations.
The fourth phase was portraying the image of India a strong nation and
advocates of democracy and secularism. There were many large numbers
of states in Asia and Africa. India tried to maintain its political influence
in these countries for their own strategic and economic interests.
Rauch Carsten (2008) presented a diag rammatic representation of India’s
foreign policy: -

Mondel Saptarshi (2021 ):
In the research found Indira Gandhi’s foreign policy, a successful attempt
in the context of external affairs. Mrs. Gandhi was the first prime minister
to condemn external terr orism. She was considered a leader of South Asia
in a larger context. She had not only made an attempt to unite India at its
national boundary but also against the external dangers and disturbances.
As a prime minister of peace, she was very pragmatic to m aintain peaceful
application of foreign policy. But before we discussed the tenure of Mrs.
Gandhi and her role to maintain India’s foreign policy, in between India
also witnessed other political leaders who tried to shape the relations of
India at foreign context. We shall study their roles as well in brief.

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71 Check your progress
1. What are the different phases in India’s foreign policy ? Explain in brief.
6.3.2 India’s Foreign Policy after Nehru :
After Nehru’s sudden demise in 1964, Lal Bahadur Sh astri became his
successor. His short tenure focused more to dealing with India’s
neighbourhood and faced the biggest war in India i.e., history of India and
Pakistan in 1965. During his tenure, India first criticised the US bombing
of North Vietnam. The K ashmir issue kept on coming. Pakistan tested
India’s response and occupied the marshy Rann of Kutch in April 1965.
The Rann of Kutch territory bordered the Arabian Sea and Gujrat. India
was hesitant to respond due to the nature of the terrain. The dispute was
referred to international arbitration by mutual consent on Britain’s
intervention. Pakistan tried to disturb the peace while sending its well -
trained infiltrators into the Kashmir valley. Shastri was cautious of
Pakistan’s approach. He ordered the army to cross the ceasefire and seal
the passes through which the infiltrators were entering in India. Pakistan,
on 1st September started attacking India in the Chhemb sector which was
situated in the south -west of Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only road link
with Kashmir and sharing the borders towards Lahore and Sialkot. USA
and Britain decided to not to interfere and left them on their own to deal
with destiny. China considered India as an aggressor. Soviet Union was
only the country who was empathetic to India . UN security council asked
both the countries to maintain ceasefire. On 23rd September, it came into
effect and war was inconclusive. The fight with Pakistan was a test to
India’s democracy. Shastri became national hero and dominant political
figure.
On 4th January 1966, Shastri and General Ayub Khan, president of
Pakistan met in Tashkent in Soviet Union to sign the Tashkent declaration.
This declaration made both the parties to be agreed to withdraw from all
occupied areas and return to their pre -war pos itions. India found this
condition very unfavourable because it also meant to withdraw from the
strategic passes from Kashmir through which Pakistan infiltrators may
made a move and enter in Kashmir. India was not in position to lose the
Soviet Union suppo rt over the Kashmir issue in the UN security council
and supply of defence equipment. Shastri with a heavy heart, accepted the
agreement and died due to cardiac arrest on 10th January for being the
prime minister of India for the tenure of nineteen months.

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72 Check your Progress
1. Discuss the foreign policy of India post -Nehru and role of Lal
Bahadur Shastri as a prime minister during India -Pakistan war of
1965?
6.3.3 Mrs. Indira Gandhi Tenure :
Mrs. Gandhi succeeded Lal Bahadur Shastri as the Pri me Minster. She
stayed in Indian politics for a longer period of time and considered only
the prime minister of India post -Nehru who was equally powerful at
national and international context. While dealing with nation’s politics,
her stand on Bangladesh war gave her incarnation image of ‘Durga’.
Dealing with Bangladesh issue was not less than a rollercoaster ride for
India. In 1970, post December democratic election, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won in West Pakistan and Awami League
won in East Pakistan with absolute majority. The leader of Awami league
was Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and he was not invited as the Prime minister
of Pakistan by Yahya Khan, military dictator in Pakistan. On the other
hand, he imposed military law. Shaikh Reh man was arrested and
imprisoned din West Pakistan. The population of East Pakistan resisted
the situation and demonstrated strikes, bandhs, riots against the military
dictatorship. Military was brutal towards the masses and violated human
rights in the wor ld history. The mass massacre was performed. Brutal
atrocities and painful violence and systematic genocide of Hindus in East
Pakistan was reported. As a result, 12 million Bangladeshis, Muslims and
Hindus came to West Bengal especially in Calcutta as refu gees. India
faced problems in terms to maintain economy and peace in West Bengal.
Indira Gandhi went on western countries tour to let the world know about
the tragedy of East Pakistan and prepared the army for military
intervention. The army wanted this in tervention during winter to take the
benefit of natural situations. Pakistan attacked on 3rd December 1971.
India, with its profound force and preparation, intervened heavily. As a
result, East Pakistan was liberated and Bangladesh was born. The 90000
Pakistani troops were surrendered and India won the war. India signed the
Shimla agreement with Pakistan. This agreement proposed that both the
countries to resolve their differences by peaceful means; respect each
other’s national unity and territorial integr ity. It also encouraged to not
assist any acts which would disarm the peace of the nation. Due to this
agreement, Pakistan regained its territory which was lost during War.
India also released Prisoners of War and gained assurances of good
behaviour in ret urn. The opposition party particularly Bhartiya Janata
Party criticised India’s move.
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73 Check your progress
1. Analyse the Bangladesh War of 1971
2. What was the key points of Shimla Agreement of 1972?
Another foreign relation which w as maintained in this period was an
Indo -Soviet treaty of peace and friendship in 1971 between India and
Soviet -Union and this treaty agreed on ‘immediate mutual consultations’
of both the parties during military threat. The treaty also proposed to adopt
the effective measures and acceptance of the policy of ‘non -alignment’
which was introduced by India. This treaty was a strong move by India to
maintain its position at global level and find an ally during threatening
situation which was faced by India from time to time from its neighbour
invasion.
Mrs. Gandhi proved her valour again in the history of India for her strong
determination to take the country to a major power. The conduct of
nuclear test in 1974 in Pokhran was a great achievement of success. In dia
was under continuous pressure of conducting nuclear tests after China
conducted the test in October 1964. Shashti was indecisive but his external
affairs minister, Swaran Singh favoured the idea to acquire nuclear
capability. India authorised Atomic En ergy Commission in 1964 to work
on the bomb design. India conducted the test to prove its nuclear
capability and claimed it as peaceful nuclear explosion. The move to
conduct nuclear test was basically to project India as a self -reliant nation
for her secu rity and response to the pressure of world country leaders.
During the post elections of emergency in India, Mrs. Gandhi was out of
power and Janata government became the leader of India under Morarji
Desai as the Prime minister of India. Mr. Charan Singh succeeded him for
a six months term in 1979. Mrs. Gandhi again came in power in January
1980. During the short tenure of non -Congress party, there was no
significant development in India’s foreign policy. A major foreign policy
event that took place in 197 9 when nation was facing the election process
in December 1979. The military intervention of Soviet Union in
Afghanistan, and declining the advice of India to withdraw its troops to
non-aligned country portrayed Soviet Union ‘a danger to India’. The US
also asked India to support them to get Russians out of Afghanistan to munotes.in

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74 perform bombing in Vietnam in response to the Soviet Union’s military
intervention in Afghanistan. India did not get agree to cooperate with the
US against the Soviets. Americans in respon se to India went to Pakistan
for support. Pakistan supported America and sent weapons to Afghan
guerrillas (mujahidins). Pakistan received the military and economic aid
package of $ 7.4 billion. This had created a more chaos in the country and
in the name of religion, since then Jihad continued.
Check your progress
1. What was the key achievement of India in foreign policy during the
period of 1964 -1984?
6.4 SUMMARY India witnessed dramatic changes in politics and foreign policy. The
period of 196 4-1984 was largely based on one -person rule in politics and
nation and that was Mrs. Indira Gandhi. As Bipin Chandra in his book
while making an evaluation acknowledged that she was a complex person.
On one hand, she was a naïve, simple and straightforward on the other
hand, she was unpredictable and complex. Suring her almost 16 years of
power she had made remarkable contribution, contradictions in her
political and personality approach.
The challenges of India’s politics shaken the world. There were many
challenges through which India dealt firmly and assertively. The entry of
Janata government in the Indian politics was not a sudden or temporary
phase. It was a response of citizens of India to keep the democracy alive
and established the supremacy of the Constitution of India. The
emergency proclamation and seizing of Indian rights was not appreciated
by the masses event though the towering personality of Mrs. Gandhi was
very fascinating and admiring. Congress revived and corrected its mistake
at some ext ent. The dwindling condition of the Janata government put
them again out of power and established Mrs. Gandhi again on power.
However, the second phase of Mrs. Gandhi was short -lived and forced her
to take the tough decision within the country to deal with regional politics
and fanaticism in the name of religion.
India also made an attempt to save its democratic principles and
sustainable position at world level through its non -alignment policy. The
non-alignment policy of India was to bring the peace at w orld and also not
to involve in any other nation’s aspirations due to its own unstable
conditions. Despite of enormous diversities and forces, India remained a
united country and dealt with all the adverse situations boldly and
courageously. India had not only maintained the good or neutral munotes.in

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75 associations with its foreign allies but also safeguarded its territorial
integrity despite external threats and pressures mounted through military
threats, invasions and internal political challenges.
6.5 CONCLUSION The politics of India and politics of world which represented in foreign
policy were full of challenges and complex. The debacle of Congress
power, entry of Janata government, again coming to power by Congress
government and maintaining a strong and neutral foreign policy was not
an easy task. The phase of 1964 -1984 CE also saw the major
transformations of many political leaders who played the supportive rule
during this tenure but later became the political leaders. Indira 1.0 and
Indira 2.0 were two differ ent personalities. Mrs. Gandhi in her first phase
of leadership from 1966 -1977 CE was subservient, cautious, calm and
patient but in her second phase from 19801984 CE, she was more
courageous, bold and astute politician. But in both the phases, she has
dealt with administration swiftly.
The foreign policy of India witnessed many changes on account of many
factors. The changes happened due to the international environment with
the end of the Cold War, relations with US and USSR, continuous
invasion from Pak istan, India -China war etc. The domestic changes and
entry of coalition government also formed its own perspectives. Having
said so, no one would deny that the core principles of foreign policy of
India was pure, practical and relevant. India never said no to maintain
friendly ties with any foreign countries, however, it was very clear that
India would not fall pray and support any country without takings its due
consideration and own response.
6.6 QUESTIONS 1. What is Coalition government? Describe the p rocess of the formation
of Janata Government.
2. Inspite of involving many political parties and leaders, Janata
government tenure was short -lived? Explain.
3. Analyse the role of Mrs. Indira Gandhi as a leader of the nation .
4. Explain in brief the f oreign policy of India from the period of 1964
CE- 1984 CE.
6.7 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  Minoo Masani, Is J.P. The Answer, Delhi, 1975.
 C.P. Bhambari, the Janata Party: A Profile, New Delhi, 1980.
 Inder Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Pol itical Biography,
London 1989. munotes.in

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76  Popular Jaykar, Indira Gandhi -A Biography, London 1975.
 Mondel Saptarshi. Rethinking Indira Gandhi’s Foreign Policy: Peace
and Pragmatism. International Journal of Research on Social and
Natural Sciences Vol. VI Issue 2 Dec 2021 ISSN (Online) 2455 -5916.
 Rauch Carsten. Phases of Indian foreign policy since independence.
Peace Research Frankfurt Jstor (2008).
 Karlekar Hiranmay (ed), Independent India: The First Fifty Years.
Indian Council of Cultural Relations (1998).

*****











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77 7
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS FROM
1984 – 2000
Unit Structure
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Major Happenings during Rajiv Gandhi Period
7.3 Rajiv – Longowal Accord
7.4 Operation Black Thunder
7.5 Assam Accord
7.6 Bofors Scandal
7.7 National Government Under V.P. Singh
7.8 Mandal Commission Report
7.9 Ram Janmabhoomi Issue And Fall Of National Front Government
7.10 Chandra Shekar As The Prime Minister
7.11 General Election Of 1991
7.12 Assassination Of Rajiv Gandhi
7.13 Economic Ref orms
7.14 National Security
7.15 Political Developments Since 1996
7.16 Decisive Moments As Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
7.17 Conclusion
7.18 Summary
7.19 Questions
7.20 References and Additional Readings
7.0 OBJECTIVES To understand the political development from 1984 to 2000
 Development of the government under different Prime Ministers
 Reforms introduced by the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
 Need to form the National Front government
 Reforms and Scandals during P.V. Narsimha as a Prime Mini ster
 General Election of 1996 & 1998 and various events during that
period.
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78 7.1 INTRODUCTION 7.1.1 Rajiv Gandhi as a Prime Minister:
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by two of her Sikh
bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, to avenge the military attack
on the Golden Temple during Operation Blue Star. Rajiv Gandhi who was
in West Bengal was impressed by Sardar Buta Singh and President Zail
Singh to succeed his mother as Prime Minister within hours of her murder.
Rajiv Gandhi who was elect ed in Lok Sabha of the Parliament only in
1982, not had much political experience. But his youth and inexperience
were considered as advantageous by many people were tired of the
inefficiency and corruption of many politicians. There was hope and
aspiratio n among the people who were looking for progressive policies
and a fresh start to resolve the country’s long -standing problems.
As the harbinger of a generational change in the country, Rajiv Gandhi
received the biggest mandate in the nation’s history. He ordered general
elections to the Lok Sabha, the directly elected house of the Parliament, as
soon as mourning for his slain mother was over. In that election, riding on
the sympathy wave over the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the Congress
got a much high er proportion of the popular vote than in the preceding
seven elections and captured a record 401 seats out of 508. Rajiv Gandhi
took oath as the Prime Minister on 31 December 1984 at the age of 40 and
became the youngest Prime Minister of India.
7.2 MAJOR HAPPENINGS DURING RAJIV GANDHI PERIOD Anti -Defection Law:
Rajiv Gandhi’s first action as Prime Minister was passing the anti -
defection law in January 1985. The 52nd amendment to the Constitution
added the Tenth Schedule which laid down the process by whi ch
legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection.
It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on
grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a
petition by any other member of the House. A legislat or is deemed to have
defected if he either voluntarily gives up the membership of his party or
disobeys the directives of the party leadership on a vote. This implies that
a legislator defying (abstaining or voting against) the party whip on any
issue can lose his membership of the House. The law applies to both
Parliament and state assemblies.
According to this law, an elected Member of Parliament or legislative
assembly could not join an opposition party until the next election.
Economic Policies:
Rajiv Gandhi initiated a series of reforms. He tried to loosen he Licence
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79 government restrictions on foreign currency, travel, foreign investment
and imports. He reduced tax on technological ind ustry, reformed import
policies related to telecommunication, defence, and commercial airline.
He put emphasis on introduction of contemporary technological advances
in various sectors, thus modernizing industries to attract higher foreign
investment in th e economy.
Progress in Technology:
Rajiv Gandhi encouraged the science and technology which resulted in a
major expansion of the telecommunications industry and India’s space
programme, and gave birth to software industry and information
technology sector.
Rajiv Gandhi employed former Rockwell International executive Sam
Pitroda as his adviser on public information infrastructure and innovation.
During his period in office, public sector telecom companies MTNL and
VSNL were developed. According to Piroda, R ajiv Gandhi’s ability to
resist pressure from multi -national companies to abandon his plan to
spread telecommunication services has been an important factor in India’s
development. According to news website One India, “About 20 years ago
telephones were co nsidered to be a thing for the use of the rich, but credit
goes to Rajiv Gandhi for taking them to the rural masses”. Pitroda also
said their plan to expand India’s telephone network succeeded because of
Rajiv Gandhi’s political support. Gandhi’s governmen t also allowed the
import of fully assembled motherboards, which led to the price of
computers being reduced. Therefore, the seed for the Information
Technology (IT) revolution was also planted during Rajiv Gandhi’s time.
The Shah Bano Case:
The 1985 Shah Bano judgment was a landmark in India’s constitutional
history, with vexed questions flaring up about the role of a secular state in
matters of religion, the disorderly intersection of religious principles and
individual rights as enshrined in a liberal de mocracy, and the gendered
perspective on the need for reform in Muslim personal law.
Shah Bano in April 1978 filed a petition in a court in Indore, demanding
maintenance from her divorced husband Mohammed Ahmad Khan, a
well-known lawyer. The two had marrie d in 1932 and had five children —
three sons and two daughters. Shah Bano’s claim was premised under
Section 123 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which stipulates
that a man will have to provide for his wife during the marriage and after
divorce if s he cannot sustain herself financially on her own.
However, Khan contested the claim on the grounds that the Muslim
Personal Law limited the payment of maintenance till only the period of
iddat. Iddat is a period, usually of three months, which a woman must
observe after the death of her husband or a divorce before she can remarry.
In April 1985, the Supreme Court of India upheld the decision of the High
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80 Chief Justice Y.V. Chandrachud said that the moral edict of Section 125
was to provide a quick and summary remedy to a class of persons who are
unable to maintain themselves and that morality cannot be clubbed with
religion.
However, caught between the protesting Muslim clergy, who were back ed
by the All -India Muslim Personal Law Board, and the Hindu right wing
that had leaped on the verdict to push for a uniform civil code, the then
Rajiv Gandhi government passed the Muslim Women (Protection on
Divorce) Act, 1986, essentially overturning the Supreme Court verdict.
Counted as one of Rajiv Gandhi’s most misguided decisions, the Shah
Bano moment deeply antagonised the Indian middle class and powered the
Hindu right wing’s subsequent attempts to pillory and erode the ideals of
Nehruvian secularis m.
Another failure of Rajiv Gandhi was when, he ordered reopening of Ram
Janmabhoomi temple, which was locked since 1948 to please the Hindus.
This decision too placed Rajiv Gandhi in a precarious predicament. While
the reopening of the temple caused anxie ty among the Muslims, the
reversing the court judgement in the Shah Bano Case upset the Hindus.
7.3 RAJIV – LONGOWAL ACCORD Rajiv Gandhi soon initiated negotiations with the Akali leaders in the
belief that a settlement with them would provide a lasting s olution to the
Punjab problem. The result of this policy, however, was that the advantage
acquiring from Operation Blue Star was lost. After their release the Akali
leaders were divided, confused and disoriented. Many of them, including
Longowal, tried to consolidate their position vis -à-vis the terrorists by
taking recourse to militant rhetoric. Finally, in August 1985, Rajiv Gandhi
and Longowal signed the Punjab Accord. The government conceded the
major Akali demands and promised to have others reviewed. In particular,
it was agreed that Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab, a
commission would determine what Hindi -speaking territories would be
transferred from Punjab to Haryana, and an independent tribunal would
adjudicate the river water dispute. Ele ctions for the state assembly and the
national parliament were to be held in September 1985.

On 20 August, the day Longowal announced that the Akali’s would
participate in the elections, the terrorists assassinated him. The elections
were, however, held o n time. Over 66 per cent of the electorate voted as
compared with 64 per cent in 1977 and 1984. The Akalis secured an
absolute majority in the state assembly for the first time in their history.

The Akali government, headed by Surjit Singh Barnala, was ho wever from
the beginning ridden with factionalism and, consequently, immobilized.
Its most important administrative step was the release of a large number of
peoples accused of terrorist crimes, most of whom re -joined the terrorist
ranks, giving terrorism a major fillip. The militant groups soon regrouped
taking advantage of the soft policies of the Barnala government. There
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81 ridden with factionalism, was unable to contain them. C onsequently, the
central government dismissed the Barnala ministry and imposed
President’s Rule over Punjab in May 1987.
7.4 OPERATION BLACK THUNDER In May 1988, Gandhi launched the Operation Black Thunder to clear the
Golden Temple in Amritsar of arms and gunmen. Two groups called
National Security Guard and Special Action Group were created. They
surrounded the temple in a 10 days long siege during which the
extremists’ weapons were confiscated. Congress leader Anand Sharma
said, “Operation Black Thunder effectively demonstrated the will of Rajiv
Gandhi’s government to take firm action to bring peace to the Punjab”.
7.5 ASSAM ACCORD Rajiv Gandhi’s prime – ministership marked an increase of insurgency in
northeast India. Mizo National Front demanded indepe ndence for
Mizoram. In 1987, Rajiv Gandhi solved this issue by giving the status of
states to Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, which were earlier union
territories. Rajiv Gandhi also ended the Assam movement, which was
launched by Assamese people to protest against the alleged illegal
migration of Bangladeshi Muslims and immigration of other Bengalis to
their state, which had reduced the Assamese to a minority in the state.
Under these circumstances, Rajiv Gandhi signed the Assam Accord on 15
August 1985. Acc ording to the accord, foreigners who came to the state
between 1951 and 1961 were given full citizenship but those who arrived
there between 1961 and 1971 did not get right to vote for the next ten
years.
7.6 BOFORS SCANDAL Rajiv Gandhi had to face the wo rst phase in his prime ministership due to
the so called Bofors Scandal. On 18 March 1986, India signed a Rs. 1, 437
– crore deal with Swedish arms manufacturer. AB Bofors for the supply of
400 Howitzer guns with 155 mm calibre for the Army. A year later, on
16th April 1987, a Swadesh radio channel alleged that the company had
bribed top Indian politicians and defence personnel to secure the contract.
The scandal rocked the Rajiv Gandhi led government in the late 1980s .
On 22nd January 1990, the Central Bu reau of Investigation (CBI) lodged
an FIR against the then president of Bofors Martin Ardbo, the alleged
middleman Win Chadda and the Hinduja brothers for criminal conspiracy,
cheating and forgery.
The first charge sheet in the case was filed on 22nd Octob er 1999, against
Win Chadda, Ottavio Quattrocchi, the then defence secretary S.K.
Bhatnagar, Martin Ardbo and the Bofors company. A supplementary
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
82 The Bofors Scandal greatly damaged the r eputation of Rajiv Gandhi as
‘Mr. Clean’, and led to the decline of his popularity as the opposition used
the Bofors Scandal to tarnish his image.
Check your progress
1) Describe the contribution of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi as a Prime Minister of
India.
7.7 NATIONAL GOVERNMENT UNDER V.P. SINGH V.P. Singh, who was defence minister in the Congress government was
sacked from the cabinet because of his suspicious motives against Rajiv
Gandhi, with regard to Bofors defence deal. V.P. Singh, floated an
opposit ion party named Jan Morcha. Later, on 11 Oct 1988, Jaya Prakash
Narayan, V.P. Singh founded the Janata Dal by the merger of Jan Morcha.
V.P. Singh was elected the president of the Janata Dal. An opposition
coalition of the Janata Dal with regional parties including the Dravida
Munnetra Kazhgam (DMK), Telugu Desam Party, and Asom Gana
Parishad, came into being, called the National Front, with V.P. Singh as
the Convenor, NT Rama Rao as President, and P. Upendara as General
Secretary.
The National Front fought 1989 General Elections and he was supported
by BJP and the leftist parties from outside. The National Front with its
allies, earned a simple majority in the Lok Sabha and decided to form the
government. V.P. Singh sworn in as India’s next Prime Minsiter o n 2
December 1989.
V. P. Singh faced his first crisis within few days of taking office, when
Kashmiri militants kidnapped the daughter of his Minister, Mufti
Mohammad Sayyed, V.P. Singh’s government agreed to the demand for
releasing militants in exchange of Mufti Mohammad Syyed’s daughter.
With an attempt to end the storm of criticism that followed, on the
insistence of the Bhartiya Janata Party, V.P. Singh appointed Jagmohan
Malhotra, a former bureaucrat, as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
7.8 MANDAL C OMMISSION REPORT V.P. Singh decided to implement the recommendations of the Mandal
Commission which suggested that a fixed quota of all jobs in the public
sector be reserved for members of the historically disadvantaged called
Other Backward Classes (OBC) . This decision led to widespread protests
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83 7.9 RAM JANMABHOOMI ISSUE AND FALL OF NATIONAL FRONT GOVERNMENT One of the coalition partners in the National Front Government, the
Bhartiya Janata Par ty (BJP) was moving its own agenda forward to gain
support for the majority community in the country. It planned to promote
the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation, which served as a rallying cry for several
radical Hindu organisations. The Party President, L.K. Adv ani, with
Pramod Mahajan, undertook the Rathyatra from Somnath in Gujarat to
Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, with the intention of garnering support from
the Hindu Community. However, before he could complete the rathyatra
by reaching the disputed site in Ayodhy a. LK. Advani was arrested on
V.P. Singh’s orders at Samastipur on the charges of disturbing the peace
and stimulating communal tension.
The action of V.P. Singh prompted the BJP to withdraw support to the
National Front government. V. P. Singh faced the v ote of no confidence in
the Lok Sabha. However, V. P. Singh’s Government lost the vote of
confidence in the Lok Sabha and he resigned on 7 November 1990.
7.10 CHANDRA SHEKAR AS THE PRIME MINISTER Chandra Shekhar who was the member of Janata Dal left immed iately
with his own supporters after the V.P. Singh’s government lost the vote of
confidence and formed Samajwadi Janata Party. With the support of the
Congress, Chandra Shekar won the confidence motion and was sworn in
as the Prime Minister.
Within short period (seven months) in the spring of 1991, former Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi decided to precipitate a new election and withdrew
the support to Chandra Shekar government forced him resign from the
office of Prime Minister on 6 March 1991.
7.11 GENERAL EL ECTION OF 1991 The 1991 General Election was held because the previous Lok Sabha had
been dissolved just 16 months after government formation. The National
government falling apart, the Congress managed to make the most of the
polarisation by getting the most seats and forming a minority government.
7.12 ASSASSINATION OF RAJIV GANDHI A day after the first round of polling took place on 20 May 1991, former
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while campaigning for the
Congress at Sriperumbudur in T amilnadu. The remaining election days
were postponed until mid -June and voting finally took place on 12 and 15
June 1991.
The Congress party did poorly in the pre -assassination phase of election
where as it swept the post -assassination phase of the electio n. The end
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84 P.V. Narsimha Rao as Prime Minster form Minority Congress
Government on 21 June, but which gradually achieved a majority, and
lasted a full five year term.
P.V. Narsimha Ra o was the first person outside the Nehru -Gandhi family
to serve as the Prime Minister for a complete term of five years. His
cabinet included Sharad Power, himself a strong contender for the Prime
Minister’s post, as Defence Minister and Manmohan Singh as his finance
minister.
Check your progress
1) Review the achievements of National Government under the
leadership of V.P. Singh as a Prime Minister.
7.13 ECONOMIC REFORMS P.V. Narsimha Rao’s major achievement generally considered to be the
libera lization of the Indian economy. The reforms were adopted to avoid
the impending international default in 1991. The reforms progressed
furthest in the areas of opening up to foreign investment, reforming capital
markets, deregulating domestic business, and reforming the trade regime.
His government’s goals were reducing the fiscal deficit, privatization of
the public sector, and increasing investment in infrastructure. Trade
reforms and changes in the regulation of foreign direct investment were
introduced t o open India to foreign trade while stabilizing external loans.
P.V. Narsimha Rao’s Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, an acclaimed
economist, played a central role in implementing these reforms.
7.14 NATIONAL SECURITY P.V. Narsimha Rao strengthened the nat ional nuclear security and ballistic
missiles programme which ultimately resulted in the 1998 Pokhran
nuclear tests during the prime ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. P.V.
Narsimha Rao increased military spending, and strengthened the Indian
Army to fi ght the emerging threat of terrorism and insurgencies, as well as
Pakistan and China’s nuclear potentials. It was during his term that
terrorism in the Indian state of the Punjab was finally defeated. Also,
incidents of plane hijackings, which occurred dur ing P.V. Narsimha Rao’s
time ended without the government conceding the terrorists demands. He
launched the ‘Look East’ foreign policy, which brought India closer to
ASEAN. He decided to maintain a distance from the Dalai Lama in order
to avoid aggravating Beijing’s suspicions and concerns, and made
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Political Developments From 1984 – 2000
85 through vigorously by him. The crisis management of P.V. Narsimha Rao
was highly esteemed after Mumbai Bombings on 12 March 1993.
The major thing which went wrong during his tenure was demolition of
Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992 by the ‘Kar Sevaks’ that
plunged the country in a major crisis. Massive rioting spread across all
major city including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad,
Bhopal and it became very difficult to control the struggle and to bring the
peace.
7.15 POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1996 Since the General Elections of 196 there up an unclear mandate and
resulted in a hung parliament. H.D. Devegowda and I.K. Gujral become
Prime Minister for short period. After the fall of the two United Front
governments between 1996 and 1998, Lok Sabha was dissolved and fresh
General Election was held in 1998.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was formed and made Atal Bih ari
Vajpayee as Prime Minister. Since it is coalition government, lasted only
13 months due to withdrew of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (AIADMK). Since the NDA government was unable to come
up with the required numbers to form government, the L ok Sabha was
once again dissolved and fresh elections were held in 1999.
In the 1999 General Election, the BJP led NDA won 303 seats mainly
after the Kargil operations and formed a government with Atal Bihari
Vajpayee as a Prime Minister of India for the t hird time.
7.16 DECISIVE MOMENTS AS PRIME MINISTER ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE In December 1999, Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to New
Delhi was hijac ked by terrorists and flown to Taliban ruled Afghanistan.
Due to extreme pressure, the government r eleased terrorists Maulana
Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Omar Saeed Sheikh to secure
release passengers on the aircraft hijacked from Kathmandu.
In March 2000, Bill Clinton, the President of the United States visited
India. It was a milestone rela tion between the two nations. Vajpayee and
Clinton had wide -ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and
international developments. A vision document on the future course of
Indo-U.S. relations was signed during the visit.
In addition to these various o ther incidents to be mentioned during his
period were – Agra Summit of July 2001, Gujarat Riots, December 2002,
Parliament Attack, December 2001 and Composite Dialogue between
Vajpayee and Musharraf in Islamabad during SAARC summit. In spite of
challenges and problems, the NDS government under the leadership of
Atal Bihari Vajpayee continued till 22 May 2004.
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86 7.17 SUMMARY The period from 1984 to 2000 was a time of significant political
development in India. This period witnessed a significant changes and
upheaval in India. The country underwent economic social reforms, while
also grappling with issues, economic social reforms, while also grapping
with issues such as caste politics, regionalism and communal tensions.
This developments set the stage for fur ther changes in years to come.
7.19 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the achievements and failures of the Rajiv Gandhi
government?
2. Who formed the National Front government ? and state the
circumstances.
3. State in brief the reasons for the failure of National Front
Governm ent.
4. Trace the emergence of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister
of India.
5. Asses the period of P.V. Narsimha Rao as a Prime Minister
6. Write short notes on the following:
a. Bofors Scandal
b. Mandal Commission Report
c. Ram Janmabhoomi Issue
d. Kargil War
. Exami ne the India's relations with her neighbouring countries.
2. Discuss India’s relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
3 Give an account of the Sino -India relations since t947.
4. Discuss India’s relations with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
7.20 REFER ENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  Bhabani Sen. Gupta, Rajiv Gandhi: A Political Study, New Delhi,
1989
 Nicholas Nugent, Rajiv Gandhi: Son of a Dynasty, New Delhi, 1991 munotes.in

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Political Developments From 1984 – 2000
87  S.S. Gill, The Dynasty: A Political Biography of the Premier Ruling
Family of India, New Del hi, 1996.
 Raju G.C. Thomas, Indian Security Policy, Princeton, 1986.
 Paul R. Brass, The New Cambridge History of India, IV,: The Politics
of India Since Independence, Cambridge, 2nd edition, 1994.

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88 8
RELATION WITH NEIGHBORING
COUNTRIES
Unit Structure
8.0 Objective
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Historical Background
8.3 Strengthening The National Defense
8.4 Strengthening The National Economy
8.5 Indo – Pakistan Relations
8.6 The Kashmir Dispute In 1 947
8.7 India And Afghanistan
8.8 Indo – Nepal Relations
8.9 India And Bhutan
8.10 India And Bangladesh
8.11 India And Sri Lanka
8.12 Sino – Indian Relations
8.13 Summary
8.14 Conclusion
8.15 Summary
8.16 Questions
8.17 References and Addit ional Readings
8.0 OBJECTIVE  Understanding India’s geo -political situation.
 Does it strategic neighbourhood or its geographical one? .
 Management of relations with its neighbours.
 India’s border dispute with neighbouring countries.
 Economic relations with neighbouring countries.
8.1 INTRODUCTION In the formulation of the foreign policy of any country, there are some
factors that are of a permanent and temporary importance. One of the
factors that influences the policy makers permanently is the geopolitical
situation of the concerned country. Geopolitical situation provides the
geographical and political setting of the country. It tells us who its
neighbours are, the interests of big powers in the neighbourhood and the
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89 The region in which India is situated is known the South Asia. In India's
immediate neighbourhood lie Pakistan, the Peoples' Republic of China,
Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and
Myanmar. After the disinteg ration of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan, one of
the many countries that emerged from the erstwhile Soviet Union, has
become India's neighbour. Pakistan has chosen to be India's enemy
number one and India's policy -makers cannot overlook suck a political
situation. Sino -Indian relations had got strained in the late fifties because
of the border dispute.
As India has some enemies around her, she has some friends too, a
friendship which is rooted in a common religious and cultural background.
Some friendly neig hbours are Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The religious
bonds of Hinduism and Buddhism have played a major role in fostering
close ties between India and these countries. In addition to such cultural
factors, both Nepal and Bhutan have been landlocked countr ies to depend
upon either India or China for an access to the rest of the world. This is
another reason for their friendliness with India.
8.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Indian National Congress, which spearheaded India’s freedom
movement, provides a histo rical background to India’s foreign policy. The
party had a separate Foreign Policy department which was headed by
‘Jawaharlal Nehru’ from its inception. The Congress had definite views on
world developments. Through its resolutions passed in the Congress
sessions and the working Committee meetings, the Congress used to put
forward its opposition or support to various developments. While it
expressed its support to the freedom movements in the Afro -Asian
countries, it also passed resolutions condemning the policies of the
colonial powers. In its various resolutions the Congress had criticized the
Japanese attack on Manchuria and the Italian invasion of Ethiopia The
party had even sent a doctor's delegation to China to express India's
solidarity with the Chin ese people. Following two points are taken in to
consideration when relations with a neighbouring country are fixed.
8.3 STRENGTHENING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE There is nothing permanent in the foreign policy of a country but its
national interests. Nationa l interests include national defense and the
strengthening of the national economy. This is the reason why alliance
systems and foreign trade constitute an important part of the foreign policy
of a country. A Statement of Molotov, a Russian diplomat is oft en
discussed about as how it served the Russia's defense interests. If national
defense ceased to be the major concern of the policy -makers, then they
give importance to the abstract principles, which definitely lead the
country into trouble within a short span of time .

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90 8.4 STRENGTHENING THE NATIONAL ECONOMY The policy makers have to formulate the foreign policy, keeping in mind
the principal objectives of the country. The foreign policy of a. country
should increase its foreign trade with economically developed nations, to
help improve the national economy of the country Soviet Russia was
unable to benefit herself from such trade transactions, ultimately collapsed
due to its own economic stagnation. After the disintegration of the USSR,
both Gorbachev a nd Yeltsin have supported all the US measures against
Iraq in the Gulf War. Deng's China also has taken the similar stance. The
reason for the one time enemies to take such a stance has been the
extension of American aid to reconstruct their economies. Gor bachev and
Yeltsin had also accepted a series of nuclear disarmament measures. Due
to this reason India could not antagonize the two superpowers because her
40 per cent foreign trade has been with the USA and the USSR.
The need to develop strong bonds of balanced foreign trade with the
Western countries had a moderate effect on Nehru's anti - colonial rhetoric.
The People's Republic of China had agreed to maintain Hong Kong as a
free port and was not interested in making it a part of mainland of China.
This was because it needed Hong Kong's Capital for modernizing China's
economy. These are the economic constraints of foreign policy which no
statesmen can afford to ignore.
The USA, USSR, Japan, UK and Germany had figured among the first
five countries in Ind ia's foreign trade. The non -aligned countries hardly
formed a quarter of India's total foreign trade. Such a harsh reality puts
limits to hostility of the developing countries towards the developed
world. This is why non -alignment has almost been eclipsed over the years.
It goes without saying that the first priority in the foreign policy of any
country is the management of relations with its neighbours. A stable
neighbourhood strengthens a country's foreign policy posture an unstable
and troubled neighbour hood saps its ability to act forcefully and
effectively on the international stage. The credibility of a country's
regional and global posture is undermined if it is seen as embroiled
disputes and conflicts with neighbours. The time and energy spent in
controlling events in the neighbourhood is at the cost of pursuing wider
interests at the regional and global level.
Today, in the age of globalisation, differ and pressures operate, and these
could be helpful or harmful depending on circumstances. The s is t hat
countries cannot act in their neighbourhood as they please depending on
local advantage equations. Outside forces will be there to provide a
counterbalance, because a particular country mi to bring an external power
into the neighbourhood to reduce the weight of a perceived regional
hegemony or external powers themselves, impelled by balance of power
considerations or policies of containment, may intrude into the region on
their own and manipulate their local partners for large strategic purposes.
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91 Chec k your progress
1) Discuss the main objective towards India’s relation with neighbouring
countries.
8.5 INDO – PAKISTAN RELATIONS India's relations with Pakistan are conditioned by historical factors such as
the partition of India on a communal b asis, the three wars that the two -
countries fought against each other and the unresolved Kashmir dispute.
India was partitioned by the British on a communal basis. The Muslim
League had spearheaded an agitation for the creation of Pakistan which
was oppos ed by the Congress up to last moment. The resolutions passed
on 23 March 1940 for the creation of Pakistan, was based on communal
ideology. Jinnah's pet slogan was that the Hindus and the Muslims were
not two communities, but constitute two nations. Since Pakistan was
created on such ideological foundation, naturally hatred for India formed
the basis of Pakistan's foreign policy. India is industrially better developed
and politically well administrated country while Pakistan has been
desperately in search o f security and national identity from the very
beginning. The communal riots rocked both the countries after the
partition, massacred lakhs of people and dislodged millions from their
countries.
The question of the distribution of Indus waters was resolve d by the
signing of the Indus Water Treaty on 9 September 1960, but such amity
did not last long. Pakistan joined the US -led military alliances, while India
remained non -aligned. Joining the military alliances gave Pakistan much
strength; which grew her an tagonism towards India more and more. The
growing antagonism between the two countries resulted in three wars. The
first was a proxy war, fought in 1948 in Kashmir, some tribes in Kashmir
revolted against the Maharaja of Kashmir on the support Pakistan had lent.
The Maharaja, however, merged the state with India) which started aware
resulting in the partition of Kashmir.
8.6 THE KASHMIR DISPUTE IN 1947 Some Muslim tribes revolted against the Maharaja of Kashmir and
reached Srinagar, the Maharaja, Hari Singh , rushed to New Delhi for help.
The Indian government told him that if he wanted India to send her army
to drive away the enemy out of Kashmir, the State of Kashmir should
become a part of the Indian Union. Accordingly, the Maharaja signed an
Instrument of Accession, which was unconditional. In those days Nehru
was under the total influence of Lord Mountbatten who wanted a munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
92 plebiscite to be held in Kashmir to ascertain the wishes of the people. V.P.
Menon states that at the time of the Junagadh issue, Mountb atten also
wanted the matter to be taken to the United Nations Organisation for a
solution. Sardar Patel and Nehru opposed to it and the suggestion was
dropped’.
The Government of India was committed to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir
and on its own took the issue to the United Nations Organisation on 31
December 1947. In order to take this matter to the United Nations
Organisation for the solution, the fighting in Kashmir was unilaterally
stopped. Maj Gen Kulwant Sing, who was commanding the Indian forces,
wanted four more days to clear the invaders from the state, and then
declare ceasefire. Nehru did not heed to his suggestion and stopped the
fighting before the issue was taken to the United Nations Organisation.
Although, Jinnah wanted his C -in-C to send Pa kistani forces to fight in
Kashmir, his Supreme Commander Field Marshal Auchinleck opposed to
it then.
Simla Conference 1972:
If Nehru committed a blunder in internationalizing a domestic issue, Mrs
Indira Gandhi did no better when she lost an opportunity of permanently
settling the Kashmir problem at the Simla conference in 1972 The Simla
Conference was held after the Indo -Pakistan War of 1971, in which
Pakistan was defeated. About two lakh Pakistani soldiers were languishing
in the prison of India's war camps. Some Pakistani territory in Punjab was
under the Indian Control. The Simla Conference was held to solve all the
problems arising out of the war. Had Mrs Gandhi insisted on Pakistani to
accept the Line of Actual Control as a frontier between India an d Pakistan,
Mr Bhutto would have agreed to do so and the Kashmir dispute would
have resolved. Before the Conference was started, the Government of
India had repeatedly made public its determination to solve the Kashmir
dispute. Mr. Bhutto pleaded for stren gthening his hands and the
democracy at home, but not committed to solve the tangle. Thus Gandhi
could not impress Z.A. Bhutto and lead him to resolve the problem.
Kashmir and the Security Council:
The Security council had made some efforts to solve. the Kashmir dispute
in its resolution of 6 February 1948 the council ordered for withdrawal of
all irregular forces from Kashmir; the restoration of law and order setting
up of interim administration in the state and holding a plebiscite under the
'authority' of the UNO. India objected to this resolution. The Security
Council then passed another resolution on 21 April 1948, permitting India
to retain her forces in Kashmir to support the civilians and appoint a
Plebiscite Administrator. But Pakistan did not agre e with the resolution
and sent its forces to fight with the Indian army. Then Security Council
was forced to one more resolution on 13 August 1948 which had three
plans as In part I, both India and Pakistan were asked to withdraw their
troops and the armed tribesmen from Kashmir. A local administration was
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Relation with Neighboring Countries
93 of India permitted to maintain minimum forces to assist the local
authorities in the observance of the law and order in the state. Th us, the
cease fire took place on first Jan1949 and the Line of the Actual Control
was established on 14 July 1949.Subsequently the Dixon Mission came to
India under the leadership of the UNO to implement the UN resolution,
but it failed to do so. because P akistan refused to withdraw her forces from
Azad Kashmir, while India ignored to hold a plebiscite in the changed
circumstances. The Dixon Mission thus failed. In April 1951 the UN
appointed Frank Graham one man commission as its new representative.
Graham 's Mediation also was failed. even then Graham recommended that
India and Pakistan should solve the dispute by negotiation. In mean time
Pakistan joined the US military alliances and the Soviet Union adopted a
pro-India stand, thus the Kashmir question bec ame a part of the Cold War
politics which the UNO could not settle the problem till today.
The war of 1965 :
The Pakistani intruders divided Kashmir in two parts. The territory under
India is known as Kashmir while the territories under Pakistan is Known
as Azad Kashmir. The Kashmir question can be solved if the status quo is
retained. But that is not done because Pakistan is continuously helping
Kashmiri terrorists and supplying them with sophisticated weapons.
Pakistan has never tried to establish the self -rule in her occupied Kashmir.
The communal agenda of Pakistan in Kashmir led her to fight with India
on an often. The first conflict broke out in 1947, while the second conflict
was fought in 1965.The war in 1965 was a short war which lasted for 21
days. This war led to the Tashkent conference and the adoption of the
Tashkent declaration. According to this declaration both the countries had
to agree to solve their dispute in a peaceful manner. Soviet Russia was the
mediator at the conference However; antag onism between the two
countries remained unabated. In 1971, the third Indo -Pak war was fought,
which was lasted for eleven days. In this war Pakistan was defeated,
miserably and the East Pakistan emerged as Bangladesh as an independent
Country in the Map o f the world. Subsequently, both the countries signed
an agreement. Known as the Simla Agreement by which both India and
Pakistan pledged to solve their outstanding disputes through bilateral
negotiations.
Pakistan a Nuclear Power:
The first phase of the I ndo-Pakistan relations lasted till the mid -eighties.
During this period, the balance of power position in the subcontinent had
largely tilted in favour of India. The Simla Agreement of 1972 was the
product of such a situation. Subsequently, India conducted an underground
nuclear test in 1974 and joined the nuclear club, without openly admitting
as nuclear power. This development promoted the leaders in Pakistan to
assemble their own nuclear weapons 'in which they succeeded with the
help of China in May 1983 . Pakistan conducted several nuclear tests in the
span of six years and possessed a short -range surface to surface missiles in
1989. It is said that the Pakistanis missiles could reach India and her all
territories including cities within no time. This was boosted Pakistan to be munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
94 powerful and more belligerent towards India. Even then India has been
trying to maintain peace in the subcontinent
India and Pakistan relations after Gujral doctrine :
The new realities of international and regional politics have bro ught home
to Pakistan the realisation that it can be no longer invite intrusive powers
like the USA and China to help and sustain its confrontationist policy
against India. Pakistan too realize that it is better to lower its level of
tension with India in order to get on with the process of development by
promoting trade and commercial relations with India. India’s Gujral
doctrine created some unilateral and confidence building measures in
favour of Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan has started secretarial leve l talks
with India. To build the confidence -building measures between the
countries, what India offers Pakistan today is constructive cooperation in
trade and business for mutual benefit and prosperity. India is willing to
accommodate Pakistan’s demand for more concessions in trade, tariff and
transit facilities. It is also ready to open border trade between the two
Punjab’s. This would help both sides and perhaps Pakistan more than
India.
Now the ball is in the court of Pakistan; it is for its leadership t o respond.
That response will decide the future of Pakistan and perhaps of the South
Asian region also. Pakistan needs to come out of the traditional mind -set
and respond positively to India’s overtures.
Check your progress
1) Review the Indo and Pak rela tions . With special reference to Kashmir
dispute
2. Write a note on Simla conference 1972.
8.7 INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan has been one of the north west frontier neighbours of India. it
has no lengthy border with Afghanistan as Afg hanistan has with Pakistan
the immediate north west frontier neighbour. Naturally Pakistan and
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Relation with Neighboring Countries
95 the Durand Line which was fixed by the British in 1947~The dispute
between the above two nei ghbours was advantageous for India. Because it
forced Pakistan to divide her forces to defend two frontiers, one with
Afghanistan and the other with lndia. But India never desired any serious
conflict between them. India knew that Afghanistan was a weak c ountry
and might turn to USSR for help. India therefore always provided
economic and military assistance to Afghanistan and made her friendly
Neighbour. This friendship of India with Afghanistan brought India in
convenient position when Soviet Union made d irect intrusion in
Afghanistan in 1979 Prime Minister Charan. Singh had prepared to take a
strong note of it. The general election in the country in 1980 averted this
critical position of India. Indira Gandhi who became Prime minister again
supported Russi an position indirectly but after sometime Indira Gandhi
changed her stand and called for withdrawal of foreign troops from
Afghanistan. The USSR was kind enough for soft stand of India on the
Afghan issue and became a close friend of India.
8.8 INDO – NEPA L RELATIONS Nepal is one of the Himalayan neighbours of India. Nepal maintained
good relations with India since the ancient times. It is being in a strategic
position Indian relations with Nepal are governed by some security
considerations. Nepal and Ind ia signed a friendship Treaty in 1950 and
established close relations between them, but king Mahendra who
succeeded his father in 1955 changed his mind. He also strengthened
Nepal's relation with China and made Nepal a neutral country. During the
border di spute of India with China in 1962 Nepal tried to increase its
importance and got sanctioned some of the demands from lndia. However,
the treaty of peace was not amended as desired by the Nepalese King.
King Birendra, who came to power in 1972 insisted on I ndia to recognize
Nepal as a peace zone but due to security constrains India could not do it.
Nepal is heavily dependent on India economically. India often used
economic tactics to pressurize Nepal whenever Nepal turned to China for
any other requirement. Although Nepal tried to find out any solution to
economic dependence on India but could not succeed so far – India is
helping Nepal whatever she required from India.
8.9 INDIA AND BHUTAN India and Bhutan share a unique and time -tested bilateral relationsh ip,
characterized by utmost trust, goodwill and mutual understanding. The
special relationship has been sustained by a tradition of regular high level
visits and dialogues between the two countries. Bhutan had friendly
relations with the British India It h ad signed a friendship treaty with India
in 1910 and agreed to accept friendly guidance on foreign policy from
lndia. This relation continued even after the independence of India in
1947.In 1949, Bhutan a Buddhist monarchy signed one more treaty of
1910 an d kept her independence intact. The basic framework of India
Bhutan bilateral relations is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation
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96 But in the wake of Chinese occupation of Tibet in 195 0 raised some basic
defense problems in these two neighbours. When China became aggressor
in 1962 Bhutan accepted all necessary security help from India. India
extended every possible assistance to Bhutan in the fields of Politics and
economics. Even both the neighbours signed a defense deal between them
by which India shouldered the security of Bhutan. India supported
Bhutan's involvement in the international forums and admission to the
UNO. Although Bhutan Projected herself independent in several matter
and voting’s in the UNO and the Nonalignment Movement, India backed
her as a big brother and permitted her to have her direct relations with
China.
Check your progress
1) Comment on the Indo - Nepal relations.
2. Describe the relations between Indi a and Bangladesh.
8.10 INDIA AND BANGLADESH After the partition of India in 1947 the Muslims got divided Pakistan as
the East Pakistan and the West Pakistan. The west Pakistan never treated
the East Pakistan cordially. The East. Pakistanis decide d to declare their
Independence in which they sought the help of India. consequently, it
became independent and came to be known as Bangladesh in 1972.
Bangladesh is surrounded by Indian territory and is in the most secured
position. She is not exposed to any other country on any side. Therefore,
India and Bangladesh signed a friendship Treaty in1972. India and
Bangladesh bear several problems in common. one of them is distribution
of water of rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra. The water is a precious
commodity which is needed by both the countries. Mostly Bangladesh is
in desperate need of water in the dry seasons. India suggested a link canal
to supply the water to the Western Bangladesh in the hours of need.
Bangladesh rejected this suggestion and advised Indi a to have a huge
water reservoir in Nepal to distribute water to India and Bangladesh as and
when required. But there is no green signal from Nepal. One more
problem festered the relations between the neighbours is the illegal
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97 several rounds of talk between the two neighbours, the problem has not
been solved so far.
8.11 INDIA AND SRI LANKA Sri Lanka is a neighbour of India in the Indian Ocean. India therefore has
taken much care while framing her relations with Sri Lanka. The historic
neighbours faced no problem up to mid -1980.Although the problem of the
Tamil - Sinhalese dispute bedraggled the relations India often cleared her
stand and helped Sri Lanka to overcome the problem. Even I ndia did not
object on the tie -up between Sri Lanka and Britain on the issue of the
British retention of Trincomalee as a naval base. But India was
apprehensive when Sri Lanka began to build relations with China in 1962.
Due to geo -political factors the re lations with China could not be
materialized, Thus the apprehension of India about Sri Lanka - China
honeymoon came to an end automatically. During the Pak war of 1971,
India advised all neighbours mostly Maldives and Sri Lanka to keep away
from aligning w ith any western powers. There was much apprehension for
India in 1989 when Sri Lanka was trying to reach some understanding
with the US for military assistance. But Indo -Sri Lankan accord was
signed by which India shouldered the responsibility of establish ing peace
in the Tamil dominated Sri Lanka. Accordingly, India sent peace keeping
force to Sri Lanka. Although, the Indian policy was criticized, it gathered
no support in and outside of India. It is a clear warning to every ethnic
community that India wil l not support any secessionist activity anywhere
in the region. India is not interested in further bifurcating the Indian
subcontinent. India will not only not encourage, but condemn civil war,
terrorism or any type of insurgency in the area and help to pu t an end to
such activities, not only in Sri Lanka and Kashmir, but in Afghanistan too.
8.12 SINO – INDIAN RELATIONS The relationship between India and China goes back to pre -- Christian era
when Asoka sent Cultural ambassadors to China and other parts of Asia.
The factors which governed the friendship according to Michael Brescher
were three
1) Geography, a common border of 2500 miles
2) History of two thousand years of peace and cultural relations and
3) Emotional anti -Colonialism.
When India becam e a British colony there was no foreign policy.
But there used to be mutual sympathies Sun -Yat-Sen was the first Chinese
leader who sympathized with India and encouraged the non -cooperation
Movement of Gandhiji. The Indian National congress supported the
Chinese on many occasions in their struggle against imperialism. Nehru
visited China in 1939.with the sentiments of love and friendship India
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98 Though initially India’s relations with China were very cordial and the
two countries developed friendly relations. Tibet became a hot issue in the
Sino-Indian relations. The Tibetans revolted and declared their
independence in March 1959. The revolt was ruthlessly suppressed.
Panshan Lama became thei r protégé, while Dalai Lama and his followers
took refuge in India The political asylum given to them was construed as
an offensive action on the part of India. Border incidents and
consequential causalities began to increase. The major one was at Longgu
a territory deep inside India Nehru had to request Chou En -lai to look into
the incidents personally and persuade the armed forces to withdraw The
Chinese reply was more aggressive. India was shocked Sir Henry
Macmohan was a Scottish officer. He did not inv ent a new Sino Indian or
Indo-Tibetan boundary. What he did was to delimit the boundary on the
basis of historical and factual data.
India also signed Panchaseel expressing faith in principles of mutual
respect for each other’s domestic affairs, mutual ben efit and equality; and
peaceful co -existence. In the sprit of Panchaseel the two countries co -
operated and desisted from intervening in each other’s affairs. The Sino -
Indian relations became as China crossed the Sino -Indian relations became
incompatible as China crossed the international boundary at the Thagla
Ridge, Tibet, and Bhutan on September 8 1962. It was followed by a
massive attack on territories of India on October 20,1962. They withdrew
unilaterally on November 21, 1962. Six non -aligned nations, namely
Ceylon, Burma, Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia and the United Arab
Republic made some concrete proposals Known as Colombo Proposals for
a settlement. the proposals were accepted by both China and India in
principle; but there was difference in interpreta tions.
China desired to become a great power India and China are often
described as rivals in Asia. Both the countries influenced the whole area of
South and South East Asia culturally. Cultural expansion could be a factor
of conflict which was latent and became overt in the border disputes.
India's is an open society whereas China's is a closed one. It was a false
dogma of China that both were involved in a test of strength. If China was
able to make greater progress than India it would achieve the status of
great power. It was possible that to achieve its objectives, China wanted to
weaken and humiliate India.
The relations between the two countries further tense following open
support to Pakistan in its conflict with India in 1965 and 1971. In short on
account of China’s occupation of vast Indian territories and open support
to Pakistan against India, the relations between the two countries are took
place which ge strained.
However, serious efforts to improve relations between India and China
started in 1981. It resulted the provision to confer on each other ‘most
favoured nation’ status and to increase bilateral trade. During Prime
Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi both countries announced a joint
communique that they had agreed to develop their relations act ively in
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99 for a fair and reasonable settlement of the boundary question. They also
agreed to set up a joint working group on boundary questions as well as a
joint group on economic r elations, trade, science and technology. Further,
a series of high -level exchanges took place which greatly contributed to
the building of trust. As a result, the hostility between the two countries
showed a decline while their trade increased.
A further b id to improve relation between the two countries was made in
February 1992 when the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries agreed to
establish a hot line between the border personnel twice a year as a part of
series of confidence building measures.
In Se ptember 1993 the two countries reached an accord for Maintenance
of Peace and Tranquillity along the line of actual control and decided to
set up an expert group comprising of experts from military and foreign
ministries under the aegis of the Joint Workin g Group to complete the task
of full delineation of the line of actual control The two countries also
agreed to hold regular meetings between military commanders in the
Eastern and Western Sectors. They agreed to inform each other about all
significant mil itary exercises in the two sectors.
In August 1997, at the meeting of India -China Joint Working Group the
two countries not only exchanged instruments of ratification in respect to
Confidence Building Measures agreement, but also addressed themselves
to the issue of Sino -Indian border and clarifications on the Line of Actual
Control. In April 2000 India and China celebrated 50th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations and reiterated their commitment to
improve their ties. Despite growing un derstanding between the two
countries there are still several irritants in their relations.
Check your progress
1) Highlight on Sino -Indian relations.
8.13 SUMMARY Under the British, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were
together, while Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives were outside the British
Empire Naturally, the British chalked out their foreign policy but after the
transfer of power to India and Pakistan in 1947, they began to execute
their own independent foreign policy. As India occupied the centre of the
sub-continent, tried to maintain hegemonic status in this region India had
desired to maintain status Quo and stability in the subcontinent. Actually,
what is feared by our neighbours is India’s size. They feel that it is a giant
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100 uncomfortable towards us. The Post -Cold War orientation of India’s new
foreign policy of good neighbourliness under the Gujral doctrine will
project the weight and size of India as an asset to these co untries. It seems
to a large extent that India has been successful in generating this
confidence in its neighbourhood except in Pakistan.
The Geographical location of the Himalayan states like Nepal, Sikkim and
Bhutan made them inseparable from India. Nepa l had been traditionally
close and occupies a strategic position between India and China. King
Mahendra, who came to throne in 1955, tried to amend the peace and
Friendship Treaty signed in 1950 between Nepal and India Even King
Birendra, who succeeded his father in 1972 had been of the same
viewpoint. But India never wanted to amend the treaty and risk her
security. After the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1951, Bhutan realized
the danger from China and accepted full support from India on security,
politic al and economic issues. India therefore, sponsored Bhutan ‘s
admission to the United Nations, and helping her generously on her
requirements. India has' been the liberator of. Bangladesh However this
liberator ship is seen evaporated. Because Bangladesh be came more
ambitious and not co -operating with India on several issues Out of those
the problem of Ganga River water and the illegal migration of
Bangladeshis to India created unrest in the north -eastern territories of
India. The cordial relationships betwe en India and Sri Lanka, one of the
neighbour’s worked well up to 1980. However, the Tamil Sinhalese
struggle in Sri Lanka created complications in the two neighbours. Sri
Lanka tried to expand relations with China when Sino -Indian relations
were sore but t hey could not carry on for a long time due to the limits of
geo-political factors. India also became assertive to limit foreign
involvement in the Indian Ocean and advised Maldives to reject any
external access to it.
In later time India was much apprehen sive that Sri Lanka might accept
assistance to suppress the Tamil - Sinhalese conflict, However, such
situation did not arise. Moreover, the Sri Lanka -India Accord was signed
in July, 1987, under which India assumed the peace keeping responsibility
in the T amil dominated territories of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, India sent
her peace keeping force to Sri Lanka and the relations between the two
countries became normal with the consideration of India’s dominant role
in the South Asian region. Good relations betwe en India and its
neighbours depend not only on wise policies on our side but, equally, the
pursuit of wise policies by our partners, with Pakistan and China and other
external interests not allowed to upset the building of positive equations to
mutual adva ntage.
8.14 CONCLUSION Overall, India’s relationship with its neighbouring countries is a mix of
cooperation and occasional tensions. India, being one of the largest and
most popular countries in the world has a significant role to play in
shaping of geo -political land scape of South Asia. As the regional power,
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101 Asia, and its relations with its neighbours will continue to be a key faeter
shaping the regions’s future.
8.16 QUESTIONS 1. Examine the India's relations with her neighbouring countries.
2. Discuss India’s relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
3 Give an account of the Sino -India relations since t947.
4. Discuss India’s relations with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
8.17 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  V.P. Dutt, India’s Foreign Policy in a changing world, New Delhi,
1998.
 Lalit Mansingh, et al., Indian Foreign Policy: Agenda for the 21st
Century, New Delhi, 1997.
 V.P. Dutt, India’s Foreign Policy in a changing worl d, New Delhi,
2007
 J.N. Dixit, India - Pakistan in War and Peace, Routledge, 2003
 Air Commodore Jasjt Singh, Kargil 1999: Pakistan’s Fourth War for
Kashmir, Knowledge World, New Delhi, 1999
 Mohan Ram, Sri Lanka: The Fractured Island, New Delhi, 1989
 Ramesh Thakur, The Politics and Economics of India’s Foreign
Policy, London, 1994
 Rikhi Jaipal, ‘Ideas and Issues in Indian Foreign Policy’, in B.N.
Pande, ed., A Centenary History.


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102 9
LIBERALIZATION, PRIVATIZATION AND
GLOBALIZATION
Unit Structure
9.0 Objective
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Need for NIP
9.3 New Industrial Policy (N IP) Of 1991:
9.4 Features of NIP
9.5 Liberalization
9.6 Advantages of Liberalization
9.7 Disadvantages of Liberalization
9.8 Privatization
9.9 Features of Privatization In India
9.10 Advantages of Privatization
9.11 Disadvantages of Privatization
9.12 Globalization
9.13 Features of Globalization In India.
9.14 Advantages of Globalization
9.15 Disadva ntages of Globalization
9.16 Summary
9.17 Questions
9.18 References and Additional Readings
9.0 OBJECTIVES  Need of New Economic Policy
 Concept and meaning NIP
 Features of NIP
 Understanding of Liberalization with its features, Advantages and
Disadvantage s.
 Understanding of privatization with its features, Advantages and
Disadvantages.
 Understanding of Globalization with its features, Advantages and
Disadvantages.

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103 9.1 INTRODUCTION India had introduced mixed economy after independence as per the new
industrial policy resolution (IPR) of 1948, and adopted the concept of the
‘Five-year Plan’ from Russia with a aim to provide fast development in
Indian economy. With the gradual liberalisation of the 1956 Industrial
policy in the mid -eighties the tempo of ind ustrial development started
picking up. But the industry was still feeling the burden of many controls
and regulations. For a faster growth of industry, it was necessary that even
these impediments should be removed. Realising various drawbacks, the
Govern ment of India announced the New Economic Policy (NEP) 1991
under the Late Prime Minister Mr. Narasimha Rao. The policy has brought
comprehensive changes in economic regulation in the country. The NEP is
commonly known as the LPG or Liberalization, Privatis ation and
Globalisation. As the name suggests, the reform measures were made in
different areas related to the industrial sector.
9.2 NEED FOR NEP In 1947, India was a new country racked by pains of the Partition and the
dire poverty of her people. For ec onomic arrangements, the Constitutional
Assembly considered the idea of declaring India a socialist nation.
However, socialism was not just in the air but also in the hearts and minds
of most intellectuals and political leaders. Unlike in the Soviet Union and
China that abolished private property and put the government directly in
charge of all economic affairs, India followed a middle path. The Indian
state implemented central planning with myriad controls over prices and
quantities to achieve a “socialist pattern of society.”
Development of the License Raj:
 Industrial Policy Resolution, 1948: government monopoly was
established in armaments, atomic energy, railroads, minerals, iron &
steel industries, aircraft, manufacturing, ship building and telephone
and telegraph equipment
 Industrial Policy Resolution, 1956: extended the preserve of the
government from 17 industries to a further 12 industries.
 1956: Life Insurance business nationalized
 1969: Large commercial banks nationalized
 Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1970: designed to
provide the government with additional information on the structure
and investments of all firms with assets of more than Rs 200 million,
to strengthen the licensing system. This was done in order to decrease
the con centration of private economic power, and to place restraints
on business practices considered contrary to public interest.
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104 1973: General Insurance business nationalized :
Over the years, the central and state governments formed agencies and
companies enga ged in finance, trading, mineral exploitation,
manufacturing, utilities and transportation like Hindustan Insecticides,
Ashoka Hotel Corporation, Tyre Corporation of India, Air India, GAIL,
SAIL, ONGC, etc.
Rajiv Gandhi Government and New Industrial Policy :
Rajiv took a number of initiatives which could be called the first steps in
economic reforms. Rajiv was the first prime minister to signal a new
approach to the private sector. The symbolic steps were accompanied by
efforts to create an environment condu cive to private investment. Tax
rates were lowered with a promise of stability. Rajiv saw telecom
connectivity not as a demand of upper -income groups in urban areas, but
as something that was equally important for those in rural areas. The real
telecom re volution happened only a decade later, when mobile telephony
became possible and the sector was opened for private -sector service
providers. But it was in the Rajiv years that telecom became a priority
area. Privately managed STD booths were a major innova tion that made a
huge difference to the lives of many people. He was an early advocate of
computerisation, pushing for its induction in different parts of the
government. He also contributed to India’s subsequent emergence as a
software player. The aim of his reforms was lifting the economy of the
country to a more proficient level. All these economic reforms led to the
overall economic growth fo the country.
9.3 NEW INDUSTRIAL POLICY (NIP) OF 1991: Due to continuous increase in government expenditure, hig h growth of
imports, insufficiency of foreign exchange reserves and high level of
inflations, India decides to take a historical step of changing trade in 1991.
It embarked on a comprehensive reform of the economy Out of
Liberalization, Privatization and G lobalization the first two are policy
strategies and the third one is the outcome of these strategies. When P.V.
Narsimha Rao, became Prime Minister, he took bold measures to
rejuvenate the economy and to accelerate the pace of development. Dr.
Manmohan Si ngh who was the finance minister under the Government of
India headed by P.V. Narsimha Rao implemented the reform policies.
Further, the Government of India announced its New Industrial Policy
(NIP) on 24 July 1991.
Objectives of NIP:
The New Industrial Po licy,1991 seeks to liberate the industry from the
shackles of licensing system Drastically reduce the role of public sector
and encourage foreign participation in India’s industrial development.
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105  Providing support to the small -scale sector.
 Increasing competitiveness of industries for the benefit of the
common man.
 Ensuring running of public enterprises on business lines and thus
cutting their losses.
 Providing more incentiv es for industrialisation of the backward areas,
and
 Ensuring rapid industrial development in a competitive environment.
 To ensure the increment in exports and liberalize imports.
 To increase the domestic and foreign demand of Indian goods
 To use the lates t technology in order to make Indian industry more
competitive in the world market.
 To increase the foreign exchange reserve
 To liberate the private sector, to work independently
 To increase employment opportunities.
 To increase innovations and developing a competitive culture among
the industries in India.
To turn Indian economy into the market economy by removing unwanted
restrictions in the economy.
The New Industrial Policy has made very significant changes in four main
areas viz., industrial licensing role of public sector, foreign investment and
technology and the MRTP act.
Check your progress
1) Discuss the new Industrial Policy of 1991.
1) Discuss the objectives of New Industrial Policy of 1991. munotes.in

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106 9.4 FEATURES OF NEP The NEP have sa lient features which are
 Liberalization
 Privatization
 Globalization
All these three are known as LPG.
9.5 LIBERALIZATION The idea of liberalization relaxes the industrial sector from all the
restrictions on domestic economic activities along with the trad e relation
with foreign countries, resulting in benefit to the economy of India.
Liberalization releases the thread of the economy from bureaucracy and
restrictions imposed by the state. This policy seeks to provide greater
freedom to the businessman by re ducing the governmental control
instruments. The entrepreneur now is not required to get any approval
from the government for setting up any new industry, trade and business
venture.
Main features of liberalization in India :
Deregulation of Industries:
The government has removed the industrial licensing requirement from all
industries except for a short list of 18 industries; which number has been
now reduced to only six industries. The six industries are alcohol,
cigarettes, industrial explosives, defense products, drugs and
pharmaceuticals, hazardous chemicals and certain others reserved for the
public sector irrespective of how big investment is involved, have been
freed from the provisions of compulsory licensing. The exemption from
licensing will be pa rticularly helpful to many dynamic small and medium
entrepreneurs; who have been unnecessarily hampered by the licensing
system.
Amendments in MRTP (Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices)
Act:
With a view to ensuring higher productivity and competitiv e advantage in
the international market; the interference of the Government through
MRTP was restricted.
There would now be no need for the firms covered under MRTP, to obtain
prior approval of the government for establishment of new undertakings,
mergers and amalgamations, expansion of operations and appointment of
certain directors. In fact, the new industrial policy unshackled many of the
provisions which acted as brakes on the growth of large private corporate
sector. The Central Government has enacted a new law, the Competition
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107 Reforms in Foreign Exchange Management:
The Central Government has abolished FERA (Foreign Exchange
Regulation Act) and enacted FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management
Act). Un der the liberalized exchange management system, value of rupee
is determined by the market forces of demand and supply.
Exporters are free to sell their foreign currency in the open market; while
the importers can freely buy it from the market. This is cal led free
convertibility of rupee.
Financial Sector Liberalization:
(i) Restrictions on operations of foreign banks were eased and new ones
were allowed to enter.
(ii) There has been liberalisation of the regulations with respect to
listing of companies o n the stock exchanges.
(iii) New private banks were allowed operations, infusing competition
into the financial system.
(iv) Case reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio have been brought
down in stages, giving the bank an increased capacity to creat e
credit.
(v) Banks and non -banking financial companies have been permitted to
enter the insurance business.
(vi) Liberalisation of rates of interest i.e. these are to be determined by
the free play of the forces of demand and supply, and not by the
decision of the RBI (Reserve Bank of India).
Foreign Investment:
Earlier maximum limit of foreign equity participation was 40% for
industrial units open to foreign investment.
Under the new economic liberalisation policy, the following
concessions were allowed :
(i) Foreign equity participation was raised to 51% for 34 high priority
industries.
(ii) Government also added another list of 9 industries for which
automatic approval up to 74% would be allowed.
(iii) 100% foreign equity is permitted in cases of mini ng; projects for
electricity generation, transmission and distribution; ports; harbours;
oil refining; all manufacturing activities in SEZs (Special Economic
Zones) and some activities in telecom sector.

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108 Foreign Technology:
The Government will provide au tomatic approval for technology
agreements related to high priority industries within specified parameters.
Indian companies will be free to negotiate the terms of technology transfer
with their foreign counterparts, according to their own commercial
judge ment.
Public Sector Policy:
Public sector has shown a very low rate of return on capital invested. Most
of public sector enterprises have become a burden rather than being an
asset to the nation.
New industrial policy, 1991, has classified public sector units into
three categories:
(i) Those which fall in the reserved area of operation or are in the high
priority areas or are generating good profits. These units should be
strengthened.
(ii) Those which may be faltering (becoming weaker) at present but are
potentially viable; must be reconstructed.
(iii) Those which are chronically sick and incur heavy losses must be
closed down or their ownership passed on to the private sector.
9.6 ADVANTAGES OF LIBERALIZATION 1. Increased the foreign exchange reserve
2. Helped to increase foreign investment
3. Increase in consumption
4. Helped to control price
5. Helped ot keep a check on corruption
6. Reduced dependence on external commercial borrowings.
9.7 DISADVANTAGES OF LIBERALIZATION 1. Increase in Unemployment
2. Result in loss of domest ic units
3. Resulted in unbalanced development
4. Increased dependence of foreign nations.

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109 Check your progress
1) Analyse the main features of liberalization
2) Examine the advantages and disadvantages of liberalization
9.8 PRIVATIZATION This is another feature of New Industrial Policy of 1991. Privatization
refers to transfer of ownership, property or business from the government
to the private sector is termed as privatization. The government will not be
the owner of the entity or busine ss. The public sector is experiencing
various problems, such as efficiency and profitability, mounting losses,
excessive political interference, lack of autonomy, labour problems, delays
in completion projects and many more. All these factors forced to
introduce Privatization.
The process in which a publicly -traded company is taken over by a few
people is also called privatization. The stock of the company is no longer
traded in the stock market and the general public is barred from holding
stake in such a company. The company gives up the name 'limited' and
starts using 'private limited' in its last name. Privatization is considered to
bring more efficiency and objectivity to the company, something that a
government company is not concerned about.
9.9 FEAT URES OF PRIVATIZATION IN INDIA  Greater autonomy was given nine PSUs referred to as ‘Navaratnas’
(ONGC, HPCL, BPCL, VSNL, BHEL, BALCO, HCL, HZL) to take
their own decisions.
 The number of industries reserved for the public sector were reduced
in a phased ma nner and at the end it become only 3 that is Railways,
Atomic energy and specified minerals. Due to this Private sector has
entered in many fields and it increased competition for the public
sector forcing greater accountability and efficiency.
 To reduce t he financial burden on the government finances,
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110 private firms, which eventually leads to better capital markets and
efficient allocation of resources. It raised money to facilitate long -
term government goals of growth and development of the country.
9.10 ADVANTAGES OF PRIVATIZATION  Helped to reduce the burden of the government
 Made public sector units more competitive
 Improved performance in the organization and employees.
 Better customer serv ice.
 increased the industrial growth
 privatization enhanced management of a company.
 Increased the foreign investment
9.11 DISADVANTAGES OF PRIVATIZATION  The private sector can manipulate their monopoly and neglect social
costs.
 The public does not have an y control or administration of private
companies.
 There was a political pressure.
 Greater disparities in income and wealth
 Lack of welfare measures.
 Increased in rural unemployment.
 Unassured in terms of the success rates of any individual unit, due to
which many private sector companies suffer huge losses.
Check your progress
1) Review features of privatization in India.
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111
9.12 GLOBALIZATION This is one of the features of N ew Industrial policy of 1991. Globalization
means integrating the domestic economy with the world economy.
Globalization refers to a process where the free flow of goods and services
across the political boundaries is allowed. It means opening up of the
economy for FDI and by creating favourable socio -economic and political
climate for global business. It reflects the continuing expansion and
mutual integration of market frontiers and the rapid growing significance
of information in all types of productive activities and marketization are
the two major driving forces for economic globalization.
9.13 FEATURES OF GLOBALIZATION IN INDIA. Liberalization:
It stands for the freedom of the entrepreneurs to establish any industry or
trade or business venture, withi ng their won countries or abroad.
Free trade :
It stands for free flow of trade relations among all the nations. Keeping
business and trade away from excessive and rigid regulatory and
protective rules and regulations
Globalization of economic activity :
Here economic activities are in the process of integrating the domestic
economies with the world economy.
Liberalization of import -export systems :
It stands for free flow of goods and services across borders.
Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) :
Foreign Ex change Regulation Act was liberalised in 1993 and later
Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999 was passed to enable
foreign currency transactions. India signed many agreements with the
WTO affirming it’s commitment to liberalize trade such as TRIPs (T rade
Related Intellectual Property Rights), TRIMs (Trade Related Investment
Measures) and AOA (Agreement on Agriculture)
9.14 ADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION  Tremendous growth in trade in goods and services
 Brought new opportunities to access the markets and t echnology and
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112  Increased global competition in goods and services and that resulted
in higher standard of living of the people
 Development of service sectors.
 Raised the level of FDI.
 Expansion of market
 Helped in maintai n world peace by bringing the countries closer.
9.15 DISADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION  Growing inequality by increasing specialization and trade.
 Increasing of the unemployment rate
 Exploitation of labour
 Caused environmental pollution
 Failed to preserve the old tradition, customs and culture.
 Gap between the rich and the poor.
 Local industries could not compete with their global counterpart.
 Few employments opportunity for unskilled labours in a global
environment.
 Agriculture witnessed a negative growth rate of employment.
Check the Progress
1. Describe the features of globalization in India.
2. Comment on the advantages of globalization in India.
9.16 SUMMARY Liberalisation, privatization and globalization (LPG) are a set of economic
polic ies that were introduced in the early 1990s. The main objective of
those policies was to open up the Indian economy to the world and
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Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization
113 9.17 CONCLUSION LPg policies had a significant impact on the Indian economy and their
legacy can still be seen today. While the policies were successful in
promoting economic growth and integration with the global economy,
their impact on social welfare and income distribution remains a matter of
debate.
9.18 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the need to introduce New E conomic Policy 1991
2. Describe the features of New Economic Policy 1991 .
3. Give an account of the liberalization of the Indian economy.
4. Discuss in brief liberalization, privatization and globalization.
5. Assess the impacts of New Industrial Polic y 1991 growth by reducing
government control and increasing private sector participation.
9.19 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  Ajit Singh, ‘Liberalisation, the Stock Market, and the Market for
Capital Control’, in Isher Ahluwalia and I.M.D. Little, eds, India’s
Economic Reforms and Development, Delhi, 1998.
 Bimal Jalan, India‘s Economy in the New Millennium, New Delhi,
2002
 Bharat Pagare,A Research study on Liberalization, Privatization and
Globalization, Create space free publication, 2017
 Ramesh Chandr a, Globalization, Liberalization Privatization and
Indian Polity, Gyan Publishing House, 2004
 Suresh D. Tendulkar, ‘Indian Economic Policy Reforms and Poverty:
An Assessment’, in Ahluwalia and Little, eds, India’s Economic
Reforms, 1998,
 Vijay Joshi and I. M.D. Little, India’s Economic Reforms, 1991 –
2001, Oxford, 1996, pp. 222, 225


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114 10
GROWTH OF COMMUNALISM AND
SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS
Unit Structure
10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Communalism: Origin and Growth
10.3 Communalism and Separatist Movements: The Crisis in Punjab
10.4 Separatist Movements in the Northeastern Ind ia
10.5 Summary
10.6 Questions
10.7 References and Additional Readings
10.0 OBJECTIVES After the completion of this unit the student will be able to
 Understand the meaning of communalism and its role in politics
 Recognize the separatist movements in P unjab and the spread of
terrorism in the state.
 Explain the separatist movements in North east
 Understand the secessionist movement in Kashmir.
10.1 INTRODUCTION Communalism is the creation of conflict between two communities on the
basis of religion. Si nce colonial times, the question of Communalism has
been an important social, as well as political, question in India. Even in the
post-independence period, it seems to have existed as a burning social and
political issue, undermining the cultural diversit y of the country. The
complexity of this question increased when democratic politics became
prevalent in the post -independence period. The discussion of
Communalism seems to have been predominantly around Hindu -Muslim
riots on the one hand, and on the othe r hand, the understanding of history,
the treatment of religion, the formation of secular nationalism.
Communalism threatened the stability and integrity of the country. In
Kashmir and Punjab, communal and separatist forces increased violence
and the commo n people had to suffer a lot.
10.2 COMMUNALISM: ORIGIN AND GROWTH According to Bipin Chandra, communalism comprises of three basic
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115 religion have common political, economic, social and cultural interests,
which has been the basic foundation of communal ideology. The second
element is the secular interest of the followers of a religion, which is
dissimilar from the interest of the followers of another religion. The third
element is that t he interest of the followers of different religion is mutually
irreconcilable. Hindus and the Muslims cannot have common secular
interest, means they are bound to be against of each other. This thinking is
the base of the communal politics. The Muslim com munalism led to the
partition of the country while the Hindu communalism converted into
Hindu nationalism.
After the foundation of Indian National Congress, a counter political
organization of all India Muslims came into existence in 1906, which
came to be known as the Muslim League. This was followed by the
emergence of the All Indian Hindu Mahasabha, which claimed to be the
representative of the Hindus in the country. In 1920, two Sikh
organizations came into being. The first organizations is the Shiromon i
Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee and the second is the Akali Dal. This
development weakened the Indian National movement in some
proportions. Because this stratified India into three main streams. The
Muslim League rejected the claim of the Indian National Congress as the
spokesman of entire India.
Communal leaders in India were active in propagating various ideologies
and consolidated their bases within their respective communities. This
encouraged communalism in the society and generated communal riots in
the post independent India. Jabalpur riots in 1961 led Pandit Nehru to
establish the National Integration Council. Communalism began to feel its
presence in the Indian politics during the mid -sixties, there were many
communal riots took place during this period in the country. There were
1070 riots in 1964, 520 in 1969 and 521 in 1970. When Indira Gandhi
came to power the number of communal riots considerably went down.
During the period of emergency, communal leaders from both the
communities were detaine d and the activities of communal organizations
such as Jansangh and Jamat -Islam were banned. Hindu communalism in
1970s and 1980 gradually got crystallized in the Hindu nationalism based
on the ideology of Hindutwa. This ideology had offered the prospect o f
uniting the country around those people who considered themselves
Hindus. Muslims took the position that all the Muslims of South Asia
constituted one nation different from the Hindus. Muslim leader
emphasized that Muslims and Hindus could live together only on the
principle of sharing power equally between them. Otherwise they would
have to part and live in separate states. These differences led the secular
nationalists to emphasize that religion and the sense of community should
be removed from the Indi an politics.
Communal Violence :
Communal violence is the outcome of communal politics. Communal
violence mostly have been local, specific, accidental, incidents of minor
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116 belonging to rival communities. These reasons often flared up communal
violence in rural and urban parts of India. As a matter of fact, where ever
people of different religious groups live with minimum interaction create
mutual suspicion and hatred toward each othe r. Under this situation a
minor incident such as eve teasing may result in a communal violence on a
large scale. The Government machinery has not been effective in dealing
and curbing the communal violence in the country. It is said that many
government of ficers directly or indirectly support the communal forces.
This has increased the political opportunism. The political leaders do not
hesitate to compromise with the communal parties or forge alliance for a
short term political benefits. The political oppo rtunism at the central and
the state level accorded respectability to the political parties and indirectly
legitimized communalism in the country. Communalism is one of the
dangers that India is facing since the early part of the twentieth century.
Althoug h, it has assumed dangerous proportion, the secular fabric of the
Indian nation has been strong enough so far to bind the country together
firmly. If the nation has to survive and progress, it is utterly necessary that
basic needs of the people such as edu cation and job opportunities should
be fulfilled.
Communalism in Contemporary Times :
In the post -independence period, religious fanaticism or intolerance issues
became acute till today. Fanatical forces in both Hindu and Muslim
societies are the reason beh ind all these developments. The Indian
Constitution embraced the principle of secularism. Accordingly, India was
declared a secular nation. But India's secular social and national
integration continued to suffer. Hindu -Muslim communal organizations
have be en spreading extreme caste hatred in recent times. Communalism
is equally fatal for minorities and majority of the population. After the
1984 elections, communalism began to grow in Indian politics. At the
same time, this was the failure of the so -called p rogressive and secular
Rajiv Gandhi government. Because the Congress indirectly nurtured
Muslim and Hindu communalism . BJP leader L. K. Advani took out a
Rath Yatra across the country. On December 6, 1992, The Babri Masjid
was demolished by kar sevaks. Aft er 1992, there have been large -scale
riots in the country in which both Hindu and Muslim communities
suffered major losses.
According to Bhaskar Bhole, it is a constant effort of communal politics to
hold a particular society responsible for all problems. Hindus are not the
only ones responsible for communal riots in India. The Muslim fanatical
forces have little to do in promoting repressiveness and bigotry in the
Muslim community and spreading tribalism and Hindu hatred among
them. Muslim communalism is p romoted by religious revivalist
movements like Jamaat -e-Islami, Tablik, Jamaat -e-Ulema, SIMI, Jamaat -
e-Islami, Hizbul Mujahideen, All India Muslim Law Board, Jamaat -e-
Tulba, Majlish Mashawarat, etc. Therefore, just as Hindu bigotry is
responsible for growi ng tribalism, Muslim bigotry is also responsible.
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Growth of Communalism and Separatist Movements
117 of theology, or some religious leaders in the society, the ulema (religious
leaders) are opposed.
Check your progress
1. Explain Ori gin and Growth of Communalism.
10.3 COMMUNALISM AND SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS: THE CRISIS IN PUNJAB After the independence, Congress tried to settle the grievances of all the
groups in the country. But the Congress promises did not have any impact
on s eparatist groups. The political leaders also have not been able to
resolve the political demands of the non -Hindu and tribal minority groups.
States reorganization also failed to come to concrete conclusions to satisfy
the demands of the above groups. Ther efore, separatist movements started
violent confrontation with the government forces in various states like
Punjab, Assam, northeast India and Kashmir.
The Sing Sabha Movement was initiated to spread literacy and religious
awareness among the Sikhs in 187 0. The Chief khalsa Dewan was formed
to coordinate the Singh Sabha Movement and to unite the Sikhs. The
Singh Sabha and the Khalsa Dewan dominated Sikh public life for fifty
years and led the foundation for the political movements of the 1920‘s
when the re ligious and political leadership of the Sikhs was taken over by
the Siromoni Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee and Akali Dal. They
were thinking of a sovereign state where Sikh identity would be protected.
On 5 June, 1943, the Shiromany Akali Dal announced t he demand for
Azad Punjab. Thus, the problem of Punjab can be traced in a growth of
communalism in the state in the twentieth century. The Gurudwara
Reform Movement of 1920s brought into existence two political
organizations. One of them was the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak
Committee, which became the central managing committee for the Punjab
Gurudwaras and began to control all Sikh Shrines and its vast resources.
The other one was the Akali Dal, which became the chief political
organization of the Sikhs in the country.
Communalization of Politics :
The demand of khalistan by the secessionist movement in Punjab was one
of the greatest challenges to the unity of India. Khalistan means the
separate homeland for the Sikhs. In order to achieve the separate st ate,
they began a reign of terror in which huge loss of lives and property took
place throughout the state. The movement took a violent turn when the
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118 hiding in the Golden Temple of Amri tsar in 1984. Eventually, this led to
her assassination in the same year. This was so happened that the Akali
Dal claimed and asserted a separate identity of the Sikhs on the ground
that they were discriminated, humiliated and prosecuted for a long time by
the majority people in the country. They raised the slogan of Sikh religion
in danger in 1953. Master Tarasing, the Akali leader said that the so called
liberty for the Sikhs was simply a change of masters from white to black.
Thus, the communal sentiment was promoted by the Sikh leaders in
Punjab that led the Sikhs to clash against the various groups in the state.
The crisis in Punjab was enhance by major two issues. The first issue was
of the language of administration and education. The Hindus wanted H indi
as the language of administration and education while the Sikhs demanded
Panjabi with the Gurumukhi script. But the Hindus were not in favour of
the only Gurumukhi script, they demanded Devnagari script also. Thus,
the Punjabi Language issue communali zed the atmosphere in Punjab. The
second issue, which precipitated the crisis was the rejection of the
reorganization of Punjab on the basis of language by the Reorganization
Commission of the central Government. Consequently, the Akali Dal
launched an agi tation under the leadership of Master Tara Singh for a
separate Punjab for Sikhs. The Jan Sangha and other Hindu organizations
opposed to the demand of the Sikhs. Pandit Nehru, the Prime Minister of
India rejected the demand on the recommendation of Darbar a Singh and
Pratap Singh Kairon, the two prominent Sikh leaders of the Congress. But
the demand for separate Punjab was conceded by Indira Gandhi in 1966.
The state of Punjab was divided into a Punjab for Sikhs and Haryana for
Hindi speaking people.
Separa tism in Punjab :
Following the creation of separate Punjab state for Punjabi speaking
people, the Akali Dal began to control the political power in the state. But
it could not secure the power through the democratic process. Although,
the percentage of Sik hs had been more than 50% around 25 to 30 percent
schedule caste and economically backward Sikhs were voting in favour of
the Congress and other lefist parties. Naturally the Akali Dal was unable
to come to power on its own strength. The Akali Dal was to f orm and
alliance with the Jan Sangh that had opposed for the creation of separate
Punjab for Punjabi speaking people. Thus, the Akali Dal policies were not
approved and supported by the majority Sikhs in Punjab. This was the
reason why the Akalis began to emphasis more on the aggressive
communal politics. Akali Dal launched a greater and wider communal
movement under the leadership of sant Longowal and submitted a long list
of demands to the central Government.
The terrorist groups in the state supported t he demand. Thus a separatist
movement to form a separate sovereign state for the Sikhs was begun. To
counter the separatist movement launched by Sant Longowal, the
Congress decided to support the extremists. Sikh Sant Bhindranwale, who
had been a strong co mpainer of Sikh orthodoxy. The terrorist activities of
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Growth of Communalism and Separatist Movements
119 Singh began in 1980. Sant Bhindranwale supported the activities of the
Federation. Due to the murder of the head of the Niranskari s ect, the
violence spread throughout the state of Punjab in which innocent people
were targeted. It is said that Giani Zail Singh, who was the Home Minister
of India in 1982 began to support the activities of sant Bhindranwale. Due
to the indirect support o f the Congress leaders the group of Bhindraswale
began to kill innocent people indiscriminately and loot shops and banks
daily. The inaction of the central Government encouraged Bhindranwale
to give a call for armed struggle against the central Government for
realization of separate sovereign theocratic state for Sikhs. Bhindranwale
shifted his base to the Golden Temple in 1982, and to the Akal Takht
within the Golden Temple itself in December, 1983 with his all followers.
Blue Star Operation :
During the t errorist activities of Bhindranwale, the Akali Dal came into
difficult position. Although the Akalis shared the same political ideology
with Bhindranwale they could not openly support him. Even the central
government did not take any firm action against Bh indranwale. This
inaction did a irreparable loss to India in general and Punjab in particular.
Indira Gandhi tried to negotiate with the Akali leaders like G. S. Tohra,
Prakash Singh Badal and Sant Longowal but she could not succeed and
stop the terrorist activities in the state. The security forces began to
demoralise when Pakistan involved in these terrorists activities in India.
Pakistan opened training centers for Sikh terrorist and provided them with
sophisticated weapons. Even Sikhs living in other co untries extended fund
and weapons for the cause of separate independent Sikh state. Under these
circumstances, the Government of India decided to purge the Golden
Temple of the terrorists, who had been using the scared shrine as base of
their activities. O n 3 June, 1984, the armed forces of India under Blue Star
operation surrounded the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The armed forces
opened fire on 5 June, 1984 on the terrorists hiding in the Temple. In this
Blue Star operation many soldiers and terrorists with Bhindranwale lost
their lives. But it is proved that more than the material loss, the severe hurt
to the sentiments of Sikh community had taken place due to the damage
caused to the Golden Temple.
Assassination of Indira Gandhi :
Blue Star operation caused the deep anguish among the Sikh people. They
held Indira Gandhi responsible for this hurt and damage and took a vow to
avenge against Mrs. Gandhi and her family. Two Sikh body guards of
Mrs. Gandhi assassinated her on 31 October, 1984. This was followed b y
a blacklash of killing of several thousand innocent Sikhs in various parts
of the country. As a matter of fact Punjab is remained integral part of the
country due to the sacrifice of Hindus Sikhs and defense forces.

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120 Check your progress
1. Explain Communa lism and separatism in Punjab.
10.4 SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS IN THE NORTHEASTERN INDIA The Government of India faced several problems in her northeastern
provinces. There were several tribal groups inhabiting in that area, which
often clashed against each other. Among them Hindus and Muslims,
linguistic groups of Assamese and Bengalis, tribal people and plain people
and the large migrated population generated a number of problems which
required constant attention of the government. In order to solves t he tangle
in that area, the Government of India reorganized the northeastern part of
the country and brought into existence four new states as under: - 1)
Nagaland, that was granted statehood in the year 1963. 2) Meghalaya, the
tribals like Garo and Khasi w ere treated badly by the people of Assam,
therefore, they launched an agitation and was given a statehood in 1970. 3)
Arunachal Pradesh, was initially a Union Territory and then transformed
into a full statehood in 1972 and named as North Western Frontier
Agency. 4) Mizoram : - In 1981, it was granted the status of Union
Territory and carved a full state in 1987.
The Kashmir Problem :
Separatist movement in Kashmir is one of the problems which India faced
after its independence. India fought three wars with P akistan on the
problem of Kashmir. There are several militant organizations, which have
been undertaking guerilla tactics with India. Although, India has spent
much money and lost her several thousand security forces, the problem of
Kashmir is still not re solved
Origin of the Problem :
Jammu Srinagar and Ladakh are the three districts form the state of
Kashmir. They are distinct and different from each other in language,
religion and ethnicity. The people in Kashmir are Muslim and speak
Kashmiri language. Th e majority people in Jammu are predominantly
Hindus who speak a language belonging to the Indo -Aryan family and the
people inhabiting Ladakh belong to the Tibeto – Mongoloid group who
projects themselves as Buddhists. These three parts formed one political
entity. In 1846, the British conquered Kashmir from the sikh ruler and
handed it over to Dogra ruler Gulab Singh of Jammu for Rs 75 Lakhs.
Thus Kashmir was under the rule of a Hindu King Harisingh when it was
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Growth of Communalism and Separatist Movements
121 Kashmir‘s incorporation into India on the ground that it has been a
predominant Muslim populated state. Pakistan, therefore, sent Pathan
tribesmen and armed forces to invade the state. On the request of Sheikh
Abdullah, the leader of the National Conference, the State of Jammu and
Kashmir was acceded to the Indian Union.
The first phase of Kashmir problem :
This phase lasted between 1947 and 1953. During this phase, Sheikh
Abdullah was the Prime Minister of the state. He had close relat ions with
the Central Government. Sheikh Abdullah was Sandwiched between the
two forces as the one was the pro -Pakisthani and the other one was the
pro-Indian. The later force was represented by the Praja Parishad of
Jammu. This force demanded the withdraw al of Article 370 which was
granted to the people of Kashmir. The Hindu nationalist parties in
Kashmir supported this view. Sheikh Abdullah did not like to align with
any one of the forces. He tried to be distinct and assertive something
beyond regional au tonomy to the State of Kashmir. Fearing the
consequences of this assertion, the Central government dismissed Sheikh
Abdullah from the Prime Ministership of Kashmir and imprisoned him in
1953.
The Second phase of the Kashmir problem :
This phase began in 195 3 itself and ended in 1984. During this phase, the
Kashmir leadership established closer relationship with the central
Government than earlier. Due this loyalty of the Kashmir leaders to the
Central Government led them to receive enormous funds for the 312
development of Kashmir. But this relationship did not resolve the Kashmir
problem and create amicable relations between the Hindus and the
Muslims. On the pretext of some religious rumours, severe riots broke out
in the state, which strained the relations between the Hindus and the
Muslims. Although, Sheikh Abdullah was released from the prison, he
was rearrested on the profession of the right of self -determination. The
pro-Pakisthani group in Kashmir was not happy with him because he was
against the merge r of Kashmir with Pakistan.
The Third Phase of Kashmir Problem :
Sheikh Abdullah remained as the Chief Minister of Kashmir till his death
in 1982. Farooq Abdullah, the son of Sheikh Abdullah became the next
chief Minister of Kashmir. But he did not keep goo d terms with the central
government. He was often criticized as anti -national leader by the Hindu
groups. This was a good reason for toppling the government of Farooq
Abdullah. G. M. Shah, dissatisfied son in law of Sheikh Abdullah worked
out a split in th e National Conference on the directives of the Central
Government. Naturally, G. M. Shah was appointed as the Chief Minister
of Kashmir in 1984. This was the beginning of the third phase of the
Kashmir problem. G. M. Shah also was not able to run the state smoothly.
There were attacks and counter attacks on Hindus & Muslims. He failed to
curb the communalism in the state. Eventually, G. M. Shah was dismissed
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122 Check your progress
1. Trace first phase of sepa ratist movement in Kashmir.
2. Review the second and third phase of separatist movement in Kashmir.
Revival of secessionist Activities :
Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India tried to normalize the situation
in Kashmir in 1986. He wanted to revive the cordial relationship between
the Congress and the National Conference and fight the Kashmir
Assembly election jointly in 1987. Rajiv Gandhi, therefore reached an
accord with Farook Abdullah in 1987. Although, there was much
opposition to the coalition of the Congress and the National Conference in
Kashmir, Farook Abdullah managed his victory and became the Chief
Minister of the state once again in the same year, i.e. 1987. However, as
he managed the election, could not manage the state administration.
Several complaints against the Farookh Government led the Centre to
dismiss the government in Kashmir and bring the state under the
President‘s Rule again. As a result of this event, several secessionist
organizations raised their head aga in. Among such pro – Pakistani
organizations were Hizbul Mujahiddeen and Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front. These outfits were trained, financed and armed by
Pakistan to separate Kashmir from India. Thus Kashmir has been the
biggest headache since the ind ependence of the country. Although,
Government has been spending much amount and ready to resolve the
problem by negotiating with Pakistan, still the country is not able to do so.
On August 5, 2019, a proposal to remove Article 370 of the Constitution
was introduced in the parliament of India . The Presidential Order states
that all the provisions of the Indian Constitution apply to Jammu and
Kashmir. This meant that the separate constitution of Jammu and Kashmir
was abolished. The order is said to have been issued with the "consent of
the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir", which apparently meant a
Governor appointed by the Central Government.

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123 10.5 THE IMPACT OF COMMUNALISM AND SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS The impact of communalism and Separatist Movements on In dis’s socio -
political land scape has been significant. The issue have led to the
violence, displacement and loss of life and property and have created deep
seated division among different communities. However, the Indian
government has taken steps to addr ess the issues and engaging in dialogue
with separatist groups to find peaceful solutions to their demands.
10.6 SUMMARY Communalism divided the two prominent communities of India and
created social instability permanently in the country. There had been a
number of communal riots in the different parts of the country over a
period of time which has led to massacre innocent people belonging to
both the communities and suffered a huge loss of properties through arson
and looting. Communalism comprises of thre e basic elements as first, the
people following the same religion have common political, economic,
social and cultural interests. This gives birth to the socio – political
communities based on religion. The second, the communal ideology
differs from one an other religion. The third, the interest of the followers of
different communities are mutually incompatible and antagonistic. It does
mean that the Hindus and the Muslims who cannot have common secular
interests are bound to be opposed to each other.
10.7 COCLUSION Communalism and Separatist Movements continue to be major challenges
for India. It is important for the Indian Government and civil society to
work together to address these issues and promote peace, harmony and
inclusivity among all communities
10.6 QUESTIONS 1. Give a brief account of communalism in independent India.
2. Examine the factors that were responsible for the rise of
communalism in India.
3. Account for the separatist and secessionist movement in Punjab.
4. Assess the rise a nd Growth of secessionist movement in the north
eastern states of India.
10.7 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  Dr. Eugene D. Souza, Modern India, Marian Prakashan, Vile –
Parle, Mumbai 2004. munotes.in

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124  Sajal Nag, Nationalism, Separatism and secessionism, Rawat –
publication, New Delhi, 1999.
 Markl Juergensmayer, Religious Nationalism confronts the secular
state, oxford university Press, Bombay 1993.
 Andersen, Walter K, and S. D. Damle, the Brotherhood in Saffron :
The Rashtriya sweyamsevak sough and Hindu Re vivalism, Boulder:
Colo, west view press, 1987.
 B.L. Grover, Alka Mehta, yash Pal, Adhunik Bharat ka Itihas, Ed
Naveen Mulyankan (Hindi), S. Chand & company Ltd., 2011.
 Shyam Sayanekar, History of Contemporary India, sheth
Publication, 2018
 Bipin Chandra , History of Modern India, orient Blackswan, 2009.
 Bhaskar Bhole, Bhartiy Ganrajyache Shasan ani Rajkaran,
Pimplapure Prakashan, Nagpur, 2003.

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125 11
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND POLICY
OF RESERVATION
Unit Structure
11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 A Journey of Women Empowerment in India
11.3 Women in Indian National Movement
11.4 Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Role in emancipation of women
11.5 Policy of Reservation
11.6 Progression of Reservation policy
11.7 Reservations under the Constitution
11.8 The Mandal Commission
11.9 Summary
11.10 Questions
11.11 References and Additional Readings
11.0 OBJECTIVES After completing the study of this u nit the student will be able to :
 Recognize the reforms carried out in the nineteenth century in
connection with Indian Women.
 Realize the political rights and constitutional guarantee given to
women.
 Understand the economic development of Indian Women.
 Know the reservation Policy in pre -independent India.
 Explain the Reservation Policy in independent India.
11.1 INTRODUCTION Empowerment of women is very essential to brighten the future of the
family, society and the country. Women need a new and more empowered
environment so that they can make their own right decisions in every field,
whether they belong to themselves, their family, society or the country.
The real meaning of women empowerment in India is to educate them and
give them freedom so that they can make their own decisions in any field.
Women and the lower classes have been remained victim of social system
based on caste and religion. Mahatma Phule described women of all castes
and lower castes as Shudras and Atishudras (Depressed group). He nce, the
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126 Both these group lacked representation in social and political structure of
the country. The idea of reservation came out of this. Reservation to
women and depressed castes is a step for representation to the groups
hitherto denied the opportunity.
11.2 A JOURNEY OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA In order to understand the present status of women it would be necessary
to study the process of women empowerment from the pre -independe nt
era.
Position of Women in the Society:
Position of women in Indian society differed from age to age. The general
condition of women was derogatory in early 19th century. The women
were treated as inferior and put in chains of unjust religious customs a nd
traditions. The high caste women suffered due to the heavy restrictions on
their day to day life. The social evils like sati, prohibition on widow
remarriage, child marriage and prohibition of women education made their
life miserable. The orthodox forc es prevailed on the Indian society at
larger extent. The killing of female child, burning the widows, forced
widowhood and many other inhuman practices were carried by the people.
The lower castes and women from upper castes as a widow and child bride
were subject to suffer by religious hypocrisy and traditional orthodox
forces in society.
Social Reforms before Independence:
The gradual deterioration in the status of the women began during the
Smriti period. In society women could not have an independent s tatus and
became entirely dependent on the men in socio -economic matters. With
the passage of time women became victims of various social evils such as
female infanticide, seclusion and dowry. They were denied education. Due
to the impact of western educat ion and the educated Indians such as Raja
Ram Mohan Roy, Mahatma Jotirao Phule, Swami Dayananda Saraswati
and other social reformers, an attempt was made to liberate women from
the shackles of ancient social disabilities through the socio -religious
reform movements. The Brahmo Samajists sought to bring women into
new roles through schools and prayer meetings. Swami Vivekananda was
arguing that women could become a powerful regenerative force.
Mahatma Jotiro Phule started first public school for girls in 184 8.
Dayananda encouraged female education and condemned all evil customs.
M.G. Rande, Malabari, D.K. Karve tried to educate young widows and
made them teachers in girl‘s schools. R.V.R. Naidu opposed the devdasi
system while Pantulu worked for marriage refo rms. Ishwar Chandra
Vidysagar supported the female education and advocated the widow
remarriage. Although, the widow remarriage Act was passed in 1856, the
status of women was not changed and never received the approval of the
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Women Empowerment and Policy of Reservation
127 Check your progress
1. Give an account of the problems faced by Indian women.
11.3 WOMEN IN INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT Indian national movement became a mass movement since 1920 under the
leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The participation of women in the
national movement made a steady progress from the non -cooperation
movement to the Quit India movement in 1942. During these mass
movements, the women shouldered the responsibilities such as march on
the streets, raising slogans, picketing shops of foreign goods and liquor,
facing police lathi charge and bullets. Due to Gandhiji’s appeal the Indian
women fought shoulder to shoulder with men in the freedom Struggle of
India, which enhanced their status and brought to the fore several issues
related to women. The national move ment was the first forum where the
women participated in public life, to acquire rights and positions hitherto
denied to them. Mahatma Gandhi understood the potential of women as
political agitators and partners in the process of building up a nation.
The national movement acted in liberating women in drastic way. They
showed their capability as socialist, communist and militant
revolutionaries. They also fought under the leadership of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose for the liberation from the British rule. In 1890
Swarnakumari Ghosal, a novelist and Kadambiri Ganguly, the first women
in the British Empire to receive BA and the India‘s first lady doctor
attended as delegates. Saraladevi, Muthulakshmi Reddy and Amrit Kaur
followed Gandhi in the movement. Sarojin i Naidu, Goshiben Naoriji and
Avantikabai Gokhale were attached to Rashtriya Stree Sangha. Urmila
Devi, Shanti Das and Bimal Protiba Devi in Bengal and Smt. S.
Ambujammal, Krishnabai Rau and Rukmani Lakshmipathy from south
were ahead in the movement.
Check your progress
1. Examine the role of Indian women in the freedom struggle of India.
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128 Political Rights to Women:
Following independence, attempts were made to give legal and
constitutional rights to women. They are granted the right to vote along
with men, irrespective of their educational status or qualifications. The
Constitution of India, promises to all citizens; justice, social, economic
and political and equality of status and opportunity. Parts III of the
Constitution have provided many prov isions for preferential treatment for
promoting socio -economic status of women. Directive Principles of State
Policy of the Constitution provides that the State should endeavour to
eliminate inequalities in status and opportunities. Article 39 of the
Const itution lays down that the State shall, direct its policy towards
securing adequate means of livelihood to men and women equally, equal
pay for equal work for both men and women. It is further provided that the
health and strength of women should not be ab used and that citizens are
not forced to enter avocations unsuited to age or strength. The State should
secure just and human conditions of work for women.
11.4 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR’S ROLE IN EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar rendered great service to all the women by his
emphasis on equality. As a Labour minister in Viceroys Executive Council
(1942 -1946), he enacted various laws especially for the betterment of
women. Because of his efforts, working women got the full pay maternity
benefit. The preamble of the constitution of India promises to secure to all
citizens justice. Parts III and IV of the constitution have provided these
objectives which contain many provisions providing for preferential
treatment for promoting social status of wome n and children. As a Law
Minister, Dr. Ambedkar submitted a Hindu Code Bill which sought to
raise the age of marriage, upheld monogamy, gave women the right of
divorce and right to inherit property of fathers. However the conservative
opposition to the rad ical proposals led to the postponement of the Hindu
Code Bill. Dr. Ambedkar resigned in disgust due to attitude of the
conservative members of the Constituent Assembly. Later sections of the
Bill were passed as four distinct Acts which gave women various r ights.
Political representation to women:
In 1974, a government committee suggested to set up statutory women’s
panchayats at the village level to look after the welfare programme for
women and children. The committee recommended their election and not
nomination. And they in turn would depute women to the bloc and district
level. After submission of the report, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh
only constituted all -women panchayats. In 1978, the Ashok Mehtas
Committee recommended the panchayats should be the decision making
instead of only implementing agencies. In order to implement this
recommendation, the need for a constitutional amendment was felt. It took
more than one decade for the 64th Constitution Amendment Bill, which
was passed in 1992. The Act pr ovided that at least one -third of the total
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Women Empowerment and Policy of Reservation
129 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Thus, the women at all level
became part and parcel of the decision making body.
Women and Economic Iss ues:
The economic condition of women is not improved drastically as far as
ownership of property, control of resource, wages earned, food consumed,
access to medical care and sex ratio are concerned. Most researchers agree
that female survival chances are lower than those for males because of
different feeding and health care. Jocelyn Kynch and Amartya Sen have
drawn our attention to the combination of the lowness of the female -male
ratio. The answer to this is the women’s low rate of participation in the
market economy and low valuation of woman as human beings. Recent
data also calls into question assumptions about the benefit to women of
family prosperity that richer families would provide better food, clothing
and medical care for their daughters.
Check your progress
1. Which political rights were safeguarded for women in India after
independence?
2. Describe women’s economic condition in India?
11.5 POLICY OF RESERVATION The constitution of India promises to all citizens, justice, so cial, economic
and political equality of status and opportunity to all citizens including
deprived castes. Reservation is an affirmative action plan in India.
Historically disadvantaged groups get representation in education,
employment, government schemes , scholarships and politics. Based on the
provisions of the Constitution of India, it recommends the central
government and the states and territories of India to "reserve certain
percentages of seats for socially and educationally backward citizens in
educational admissions, employment and political institutions.

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130 11.6 PROGRESSION OF RESERVATION POLICY Reservation policy before Independence:
In 1885, the Madras Government framed a grant in aid code to regulate
financial aid to educational institutions, prov iding special facilities to
student‘s belongings to the Depressed classes. In 1918, the Maharaja of
Mysore had appointed a Committee under the Chairmanship of Sir L.C.
Miller, the Chief Justice of Mysore, to recommend the adequate
representations for non -Brahmins in the services of the state. In 1921, on
the basis of the Miller Committee Report, the Mysore Government issued
orders extending the facilities to the Depressed Communities regarding
education and recruitment in state services. At the all India le vel, the first
systematic attempt for the welfare of the Depressed Classes was made
with the introduction of Montague Chelmsford Reforms in 1919. A
separate representation was given to these classes on various public bodies
not by elections but by nominati ons. Under the Reforms of 1919, very few
untouchables could qualify for the restricted franchise because this was
based on education and holding of property qualifications. This situation
deprived the untouchables from the right to vote, the plight was con tinued
up to the formation of the Constituent Assembly.
In 1921, the Madras state legislative council passed a resolution for higher
representations of non -Brahmins in the government services. In 1921, the
ruler of the Mysore State, Krishna Raja Wodeyar in troduced the
reservation in government jobs for the non -Brahmins. The Madras
Presidency also made similar reservations, in the government jobs on the
basis of reservations granted by the Mysore state. In 1921, the ruler of the
Mysore State, Krishna Raja Wo deyar introduced the reservation in
government jobs for the non -Brahmins. The Madras Presidency also made
similar reservations, in the government jobs on the basis of reservations
granted by the Mysore state. The British had provided reservation of seats
for the Muslims in legislatures. Untouchables were recognized as a
separate group through the Communal Award of 1932. That was
strengthened by the Poona pact between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R.
Ambedkar, the leader of Depressed Classes. They were provided
reser vation of seats in legislatures. The Government of India Act, 1935,
for the first time made the special provisions for these castes.
The scheme was reviewed in 1927 and its scope was enlarged further,
dividing all the communities in the state into five bro ad categories and
earmarking separate quota for each category. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj
of Kolhapur granted special scholarship and established special boarding
houses for untouchable students. He also provided financial assistance to
an untouchable to st art a hotel in Kolhapur. He did drink tea in that hotel
which was indeed a very symbolic act of inducing others to take their tea
in the hotel. It is well known that Shri Sayajirao Gaikwad, the Maharaja of
Baroda, who had sanctioned special scholarship to Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar for his studies abroad. The British had provided reservation of
seats for the Muslims in legislatures. Untouchables were recognized as a
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Women Empowerment and Policy of Reservation
131 strengthened by the Poona pact betwe en Mahatma Gandhi and B.R.
Ambedkar, the leader of Depressed Classes. They were provided
reservation of seats in legislatures. The Government of India Act, 1935,
for the first time made the special provisions for these castes.
Check your progress
1. Examin e the reservation policy under the British in India
11.7 RESERVATIONS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION In post Independent era, the Indian leaders wanted to create a modern and
egalitarian state. They aimed at the upliftment of the depressed strata of
the s ociety. While promoting equality of citizens, the Constitution of India
accepted the idea of reservation. The ideals of the Constitution are
outlined in its Preamble. The ideals reaffirm in the Directive Principles of
State Policy, whereby the state is obl iged to promote the welfare of the
people effectively. In the pluralistic society of India the problem is that
certain backward groups have to be given some preferential treatment so
that justice may operate in the society.
Hence, the Constitution -makers i ncorporated provisions of reservation.
They are meant for the special care and advancement of untouchables and
tribals. In administrative language, they are called Scheduled Castes and
Tribes. An article 15 and 17 of the Constitution does away with the
discrimination and exclusion of the untouchables. The Article 17 declares
that untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.
The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an
offence punishable in accordance with law. Article 15 Says that no citizen
shall, on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex be subject to any disability
should be discriminated. Article 46 stands for providing special benefits
for those classes who are deemed to be tribal or low caste b irth. This
Article declares that the State shall promote with special care the
educational and economic interest of the weaker sections, in particular the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from
injustice and exploitation. Ar ticle 16 of the Constitution provides for
protective discrimination in favour of backward classes which in the
opinion of the state, is not adequately represented in the services. The
problem, which the Court faced, is that the government‘s policy is not
clear about who are the consumers of protective discrimination.
The Other Backward Classes (OBC):
The Constitution has wider category of depressed castes. The identity of
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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
132 there is no consti tutional or exclusive method for their designation and
determination. Only untouchables and tribals, are specifically singled out
in these provisions. The Article 340 lays down that the President may by
order appoint a commission to investigate the conditi ons of socially and
educationally backward classes within the territory of India.
Kaka Kalekar Commission:
In 1955, The Central government appointed a Kakasaheb Kalekar
Commission to identify the other Backward Classes. The Kaka Kalekar
Commission used fou r criteria for identifying the OBCs: as, low social
position in the society; lack of educational advancement, lack of
representation in government service; and inadequate representation in
trade, commerce and industry. In the report, it was pointed out tha t of the
2,399 communities listed, 930 communities accounted for population of
11.5 crores with the SCs and STs making up another seven crores. When
the efforts of the government to devise some workable criteria other than
caste failed, it did not draw the all-India lists of the OBCs and extending
reservation for any groups other then the SCs and the STs. However, in
1961 the Central government informed the state governments that they had
the discretion to apply their own criteria for defining backwardness. It is
said that the Government did not accept the report of the Kalekar
Commission because it failed to evolve the distinct criteria to determine
the backwardness. When the Government rejected the report five out of
eleven members of the Commission had ex pressed their opposition to the
decision. The Second Backward Classes Commission was appointed on 20
December, 1978. In the report submitted in 1980, the Commission has
listed 3743 castes as Backward Classes. The Government has not accepted
this report als o and no action has been taken so far.
Check your progress
1. Explain the reservation measures in the Indian constitution.
2. Trace the development of OBC reservation.


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Women Empowerment and Policy of Reservation
133 11.8 THE MANDAL COMMISSION By the mid -1970s states as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had made moves to
fix high OBC quotas in education and public employment. It had been the
official policy of these states to bring under the majority population to be
used for their political purpose. The Janata Party government under the
prime minister ship of Morarji Desai appointed a second commission in
January 1979 under the chairmanship of Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal.
The Mandal Commission was assigned the task of establishing a formula
to be used throughout the country in the task of reserv ing posts in Central
and state Governments for OBCs. In 1981, the Commission greatly
extended the criteria of defining caste -based backwardness and placed a
total of 3,248 communities in the OBC category that is 350 million people
or 54.4 per cent of the c ountry’s population. This was unprecedented
increase in reserving 27 per cent for Other Backwards in addition to 22.5
per cent for Scheduled Castes and Tribes which the Congress did not like.
When the Congress returned to power in 1980, like the Mandal
Com mission‘s Report was shelved and its recommendations were kept in
the cold storage. However, the reservations for the OBCs remained
widespread.
V. P. Singh, prime minister of India announced 27 % reservation for other
backward castes in 1990. The announc ement of the implementation of
reservation to the OBCs led to anti -reservation agitations in some states
and cities of India. Particularly in Gujarat and Bihar. The implementation
of the Mandal Commission was challenged in the Supreme Court and the
Court g ranted a stay order. In November 1992, the Supreme Court upheld
the decision of OBC reservation.
11.9 SUMMARY Women were made subservient and entirely dependent on men. The
impact of western education, people like Rajaram Mohan Roy, Mahatma
Jotirao Phule and the other leaders made an attempt to liberate women
from the shackles of ancient disabilities. The participation of women in it
from non -cooperation to the Quit -India movement was a steady progress
of them. The constitution promises to all citizens, ju stice, social, economic
and political equality of status and opportunity. The lower strata of the
society was deprived of education, social status, economic advancement
and religious freedom. There had been several attempts to bring such less
privileged pe ople into the mainstream of the society. Therefore, the policy
of reservation or the preferential treatment to the deprived strata in the
society comes in to existence.
11.10 QUESTIONS 1. Assess the political rights and the constitutional guarantee in
connection with Indian women.
2. Examine the reservation policy under the British in India. munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
134 3. Discuss briefly the evolution of reservation policy in India.
4. Explain the reservation policy through the Constitution of India.
5. Give a brief account of the Other Backward Classes Commission.
11.11 REFERENCES  Dr. Eugene D‘Souza, Modern India, Manan Prakashan, Mumbai,
2004.
 Arol Sakala, Women of South Asia: A Guide to Resources, Millwood,
N.Y. Kraus International Publications, 1980.
 Kalpana Das Gu pta, Women on the Indian Scene, Delhi, 1976.
 Padmini Sen Gupta, The Story of Indian Women, Indian Book
Company, Delhi, 1974.
 Shyam Sayanekar, History of Contemporary India, sheth Publication,
2018..
 Galarter Mare, Untouchability and the Law – The Untouc hables in
Contemporary India.
 Sandanshiv, D.N. Reservations for social Justice – A Socio
Constitutional Approach, Current Law Publishers, Bombay – 6. 1986.

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135 12
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN
CONTEMPORARY INDIA
Unit Structure
12.0 Objectives
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Indian Space Research Programme
12.3 Atomic Energy Commission
12.4 Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO)
12.5 Green Revolution
12.6 White Revolution
12.7 C-DOT and Telecom Revolution
12.8 IT Revolution and Railway Computerisation
12.9 Blue Revolution
12.10 Science and Technology in the Health Sector
12. 11 Summery
12.12 Questions
12.13 References and Additional Readings
12.0 O BJECTIVE In this Unit, the Student will understand -
• Ancient, medieval and modern developments in science and
technology
• Achievements of various Indian scientist
• Indian Space Research Programme and their achievements
• Green Revolution and Whi te Revolution and their impact.
• IT Revolution and its significance
• Science and Technology in the Health Sector
12.1 INTRODUCTION There was a widespread misconception among educated people that
science originated only in Europe. Alchemists from Arab nations were
occasionally mentioned, but India and China were barely recognised. But
the reality remains that India is the nation of Kanad, Vishwamitra, C.V.
Raman, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and last but not least, Vishwamitra. munotes.in

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History of Contemporary India (1947 CE- 2000 CE)
136 The growth of science in Ind ia throughout the ancient period has caught
the attention of academics in the 20th century thanks to the activity of the
Indian National Science Academy and other learned bodies. These studies
and investigations make it clearer that India has always been a scientific
nation, from Vedic times to modern eras, with the typical oscillations that
might be expected of any nation. We don't actually come across any
civilizations that gave knowledge and science the same elevated status as
India did, with the possibl e exception of ancient Greece.
The Muslim reign which started from 13th century A.D. and lasted for
almost 500 years, which came to an end after significant advancements in
many fields of science and technology. There was a flourishing of sciences
includin g mathematics, medicine, astrology, and astronomy. It is also true
that kings and other state officials did not promote science as a state policy
in mediaeval India. It is regrettable that science and technology were not
properly pursued while they were be ing developed in Europe. Although
enormous monuments, observatories, and writings were translated, the
volume was too low by the time of Emperor Aurangzeb's death in 1707. It
is also regretful that science and technology were not vigorously pursued
while t hey were being developed in Europe. Although enormous
monuments, observatories, and writings were translated, the volume was
too low by the time of Emperor Aurangzeb's death in 1707. Compared to
the west during this time In spite of this entire obstacle th e sciences
managed to survive and continued to flourished and still thriving at its
own pace.
Before independence, numerous groundbreaking works have been
produced in India by well -known scientists. In addition to the state -led
initiatives, there were a lo t of other private ones from people and political
leaders who were zealous "nationalists" at the time. The formation of
organizations like as the Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Institute for
the Cultivation of Science, the Bose Institute, and othe rs. Both in terms of
scientific productivity and scientific collaboration, these institutions were
quite successful. The foundation of contemporary science in India is still
held by these colonial -era institutions. Indian scientists achieved
significant ad vancements during the Indian Renaissance around the
beginning of the 1900s, which was a time of the independence movement.
After the nation gained its independence in 1947, this intrinsic aptitude to
perform creatively in science was supported by an instit utional system and
a strong state backing. Since that time, the Indian government has made
every effort to build a state -of-the-art infrastructure for science and
technology.
Tthe Nobel prize was established in 1901, four Indians have triumphed in
bringing honour to their country. It was given out in recognition of
exceptional achievement in the domains of economics, literature, peace,
physiology or medicine, and physics, chemistry. Indians who have earned
the prestigious award include Chandrasekhara Venka ta Raman for physics
in 1930, Har Gobind Khorana for physiology or medicine in 1968,
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar for physics in 1983, and Venkatraman
Ramakrishnan for chemistry in 2009. Thus Department of Science and munotes.in

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Science and Technology in Contemporary India
137 Technology played a vital role in the pr omotion of science and technology
in India.
India has developed nuclear power plants, obtained nuclear weapon
capability, launched missions to the moon and Mars, created satellites, and
developed a variety of missiles to demonstrate its firepower over the
previous few decades. These are without a doubt all wonderful
accomplishments of Indian scientists and technologists. India is now self -
sufficient in producing food, milk, fruits and vegetables, pharmaceuticals,
and vaccinations thanks to scientific resear ch and kind public policy. The
lives of common Indians have both directly and indirectly been impacted
by all of this, which has had significant social and economic effects.
Technology advancements in communications and information have
allowed for accurat e weather forecasting and cyclone early warning,
saving thousands of lives. All of them are outcomes of investments made
in scientific research shortly after independence and a network between
science and politics established decades before. In 1947, 0.1 p ercent of the
GNP was allocated to scientific research. Within a decade, it increased to
0.5 percent. In addition to establishing scientific institutes, scientists like
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, and Shanti
Swarup Bhatnagar contrib uted to the development of the country's
policies.
Early in the 1960s, when satellite applications were still in the
experimental stage even in the United States, India began its space
research efforts. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the man behind the inception of the
Indian space programme, was quick to see the advantages of space
technologies for India after the live broadcast of the Tokyo Olympic
Games by the American satellite "Syncom -3" across the Pacific
demonstrated the power of communication satellites.
The Indian National Committee for Space Research, led by Dr. Sarabhai
and Dr. Ramanathan, was established by the Department of Atomic
Energy in 1962 as a first step. Later, on August 15, 1969, the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) was established. The development of space
technology and its application to varied national needs is ISRO's main
goal. It ranks among the six largest space agencies worldwide. In 1972,
the Department of Space (DOS) and the Space Commission were
established, and on June 1 of th at year, ISRO was placed under DOS.
Since its inception, the Indian space programme has been carefully
planned and contains three different components, including satellites for
remote sensing and communication, a space transportation system, and
applicatio n programmes. The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) for
communications, television broadcasting, and weather services, as well as
the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) for resource management and
disaster support, have both been established as key oper ational systems.

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138 12.2 INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH PROGRAMME ISRO is a significant organisation in India that leads the country's efforts
to advance space science research while simultaneously making
significant contributions to the country's growth through in itiatives in the
fields of education, agriculture, communication, and defence. The Indian
Space Research Organization, also known as ISRO, was established in
1969 to support the creation of an independent Indian space programme.
Currently, it is among the six largest space agencies in the world. Through
a network of centres, offices, and research institutes spread across the
nation, ISRO maintains one of the largest fleets of remote sensing (IRS)
and communication (INSAT) satellites to serve the needs of th e country
The following are some of the tasks performed by ISRO such as: satellite
broadcasting, weather forecasting, disaster management, geographic
information systems, navigation, cartography (maps), telemedicine, and
remote learning.
The space era bega n in the 1960s with space research. Each nation was
competing with the others in space research. Jawaharlal Nehru created the
Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) under the
Department of Atomic Energy in 1962. (DAE).
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, a renowned scientist, who was called as ‘Father of
Indian Space research’ played a significant part in this advancement. He
recognised the value of space research and was convinced of its ability to
advance a country.
Indian Space Research Programme began at Thumba Equatorial Rocket
Launching Station (TERLS) located at Thumba near Thiruvanathapuram.
Thumba was chosen as a rocket launch site because it is located where the
earth's geomagnetic equator passes through. Thumba is located near the
earth's geomag netic equator. The first sounding rocket was launched from
TERLS on November 21, 1963. The US provided the first rocket, a Nike -
Apache. A sounding rocket is a rocket used to measure the upper
atmosphere's physical characteristics. The Satellite Telecommuni cation
Earth Station was set up at Ahmedabad on January1, 1967 and India’s first
indigenous sounding rocket, RH -75,was launched on November 20,1967.
In 1969, the INCOSPAR evolved into ISRO. The Department of Space
was established in 1972, ISRO joined it an d has remained a part of it ever
since. The Space Department reports directly to the Prime Minister of the
country.
The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), which was
carried out in 1975 –1976, was carried out. It was hailed as "the world' s
largest sociological experiment." The "Kheda Communications Project
(KCP)" was the one that came after it. It served as a field laboratory for
the transmission of need -based and location -specific programme in
Gujarat State.
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139 On April 19, 1975, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was launched. It
was launched from the former Soviet Union.. It gave India the foundation
for learning about and designing satellites. The ISRO and Post and
Telegraphs Department (P&T) collaborated on the Satellite
Telecommuni cation Experiments Project (STEP), which used the Franco -
German Symphonie satellite, from January 1, 1977, to January 1, 1979.
STEP was intended as a follow -up to SITE, which concentrated on
television, and was for telecom experimentation. On June 7, 1979,
Bhaskara -I, an experimental earth observation satellite, was launched into
space. On April 10, 1982, the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) -
1A was launched. This method was used for meteorology, broadcasting,
and communication. On March 17, 1988, th e IRS -1A, the first operational
remote sensing satellite of India, was launched.
On April 18, 2001, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
(GSLV) -D1 launched its first test flight from Sriharikota carrying the
GSAT -1 satellite. It was created with the larger, more demanding
eosynchronous communication satellites in mind. On October 22, 2008,
the CHANDRAYAAN -1 spacecraft was successfully launched by PSLV -
C11 from Sriharikota. Chandrayaan -1 is a spacecraft that is exploring the
Moon scientifically. In Sa nskrit and Hindi, the term Chandrayaan, which
refers to the lunar spacecraft, means "Chandra - Moon, Yaan - vehicle". The
first planetary research and exploration mission from India is called
Chandrayaan -1. Up till August 28, 2009, Chandrayaan -1 was in opera tion
for 312 days. On November 5, 2013, PSLV -C25 successfully launched the
Mangalyaan spacecraft for the Mars Orbiter Mission from Sriharikota.
On July 22, 2019, the GSLV MkIII -M1 rocket, a satellite launch vehicle,
launched the Chandrayaan -2 spacecraft fr om the SatishDhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It is India's second lunar mission,
called Chandrayaan -2. It has a Rover, Lander (Vikram), and Orbiter that
are all completely indigenous (Pragyan). The Vikram lander contains the
Pragyan R over. The science packages of Chandrayaan -2 will help us to
comprehend the Moon's history and evolution in greater detail.
12.3 ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was setup on August 3, 1954
under the direct charge of the Prime Minister through a Presidential Order.
Subsequently, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was constituted
inside the Department of Atomic Energy in line with a government
resolution dated March 1, 1958. A copy of this Resolution was also placed
on the Lok S abha's table by the Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru) on
March 24, 1958. According to the Resolution creating the AEC, the
Secretary to the Government of India's Department of Atomic Energy
serves as the Commission's ex -officio Chairman. On the Chairman of the
AEC's recommendation, and following the Prime Minister's consent, the
other members of the AEC are chosen for each year.
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140 12.4 DEFENCE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION (DRDO) The government of Independent India setup the Defence Science
Organizat ion in 1948to advise and assist the Defence Services on
scientific problems and to undertake research inareas related to defence.
The Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) was
setupin1958,by
mergingtheunitsofDefenceScienceOrganizationwiththeth enexistingTechni
calDevelopmentEstablishmentsofthethreeServices.Subsequently,aseparate
Department of Defence R&D was formed in 1980, to improve
administrative efficiency. The Department's goal is to make defence
systems and weaponry technologically independe nt. To achieve this, the
Department is required to design, develop, and oversee the production of
cutting -edge weapon systems, platforms, sensors, and auxiliary equipment
to meet the needs of the Armed Forces as well as to offer support in areas
of militar y sciences to increase the combat effectiveness of the
troops.Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification, the Department
of Defence Research and Development carries out numerous R&D
projects and programmes (CEMILAC). Additionally, it oversees the
Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), a department -funded
organisation working on the design and development of light combat
aircraft (LCA). These facilities and laboratories operate on many
programmes and projects in the areas of engineering systems, agr icultural
and life sciences, advanced materials and composites, naval research and
development, and weaponry, missiles, combat vehicles, electronics and
instrumentation. In certain areas, they also run specialist training
programmes. The programmes are ca rried out by a staff of over 30,000
people, including over 6,000 scientists and engineers, who worka on
various programmes, which are funded by a budget of roughly Rs. 30,000
million.
Apart from all these there were several other defining contributions of
Indian science and technology since 1947:
12.5 GREEN REVOLUTION In 1947, India produced about 6 million tonnes of wheat which was
grossly inadequate to meet the total demand forcing the country to depend
on large scale imports. With measures such as land reforms, improvements
in irrigation facilities, fertilizer production and Intensive Agriculture
District Programme, wheat production rose to 12 million in 1964 – which
was still insufficient to feed all Indians. While all this was going on, plant
breeder B enjamin Peary Pal at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute
was working on improving wheat varieties to achieve disease resistance
and yield. The first breakthrough came in 1961 when a dwarf spring wheat
variety with the Norin -10 dwarfing gene – develop ed by Normal Borlaug
in Mexico - was grown in IARI. It had reduced height but long panicles.
Later semi -dwarf varieties were grown in farmers’ fields, yielding great
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141 Programme covering not just wheat but rice, maize, sorghum and pearl
millet. The All India Coordinated Wheat Research Project under Pal
remains an outstanding example of agriculture research. By 1970, wheat
production went up to 20 million tonnes and rice production to 42 m illion
tonnes.
Thus,the adoption of genetically improved seeds, which produced hybrid
crops more suited to severe climates, more responsive to fertilisers, and
overall more high -yielding and efficient, was another significant
technological innovation that altered agriculture during the Green
Revolution and made India self -sufficient in foodgrain production in the
decades to come.
12.6 WHITE REVOLUTION At the time of the independence, India was not only importing foodgrains
but also milk products like bab y food, butter and cheese In 1955, India
was importing 3000 tonnes of infant food and 500 tonnes of butter from
European dairy producers. Under Tribhuvandas Patel's direction, the Kaira
District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited was established in
1946, which marked the beginning of the dairy movement. Verghese
Kurien arrived in Anand in 1949 to fulfil the requirement set down in the
bond he had previously made with the government, which called for him
to pursue a higher education in America on a go vernment scholarship. He
persisted, and in 1950 he was appointed general manager of the
cooperative. The dairy had to deal with inconsistent milk production.The
dairy was faced with an issue of varying milk production since surplus
milk would not find buye rs. As the buffalo milk cannot be processed into
milk powder, European dairy companies were unwilling to give up their
technology. Young diary engineer H. M. Dalaya, who collaborated with
Kurien in Anand, conducted tests to show how buffalo milk might be
turned into milk powder. In order to create powder from buffalo milk for
the first time ever, Dalaya put together an apparatus utilising a spray paint
gun and an air heater. Later, he demonstrated that a machine sold in stores,
the Niro Atomizer, could acco mplish the same task. The nation of India
became self -sufficient as a result of this, which also provided the
groundwork for a national milk grid and the country's dairy revolution.
12.7 C -DOT AND TELECOM REVOLUTION Like most other industries, the telecom sector also relied on supplies from
global businesses, and new technology could not enter the market due to
exorbitant costs and a lack of foreign exchange. Only a small number of
businesses had the switching technology, which was seen as strategic. In
the 1970s, India had a lengthy waiting list for a phone line, and
connectivity in rural areas was terrible. The Telecom Research Centre
(TRC) launched the first attempt to create an indigenous electronic
exchange in the 1960s, and the first success came in 1 973 with the
creation of a 100 -line electronic switch.
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142 At about the same time, scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research (TIFR), along with those from IIT Bombay, developed a digital
Automatic Electronic Switch for the army. These initiativ es gained
momentum in 1984 when the government, under the direction of Sam
Pitroda, formed the Centre for Development of Telematics (C -DOT) by
combining scientific teams from TRC and TIFR. Indians created a rural
telephone exchange that could function in e xtreme temperatures and
without air conditioning. The monopoly of multinational goliaths was
broken and rural areas quickly gained connectivity thanks to the open
transfer of technologies created in the public sector to private businesses.
Numerous develop ing countries adopted C -DOT exchange.
These initiatives gained momentum in 1984 when the government, under
the direction of Sam Pitroda, gathered scientific teams from TRC and
TIFR to form the Centre for Development of Telematics (C -DOT). Indians
created a rural telephone exchange that could function in extreme weather
and without air conditioning. The monopoly of multinational goliaths was
broken and rural areas quickly gained connectivity thanks to the open
transfer of technologies created in the public s ector to private businesses.
Numerous developing countries adopted C -DOT exchange.
12.8 IT REVOLUTION AND RAILWAY COMPUTERISATION IT revolution and railroad computerization: IBM and ICL, two global
corporations, controlled India's data processing market i n the decades
following independence. These two companies' data processing equipment
was used by the government, the public sector, the armed forces, and
research institutions.
These companies brought old and discarded machines to India and leased
them at high rentals. India needed latest computers for applications like
National Sample Surveys, nuclear reactor development and other research.
In order to break the monopoly of big companies and spur indigenous
software and hardware development, the Department of Electronics was
established in 1970. Public sector companies like Electronics Corporation
of India Limited (ECIL), Computer Maintenance Corporation (CMC) and
state electronics development corporations were established. As a result,
private industry ben efited from the acquired skills and knowledge. The
Railways' 1986 -launched passenger reservation programme was the
industry's first significant use of information technology. It was the largest
experiment of its kind that showed how technology can enhance
productivity, reduce corruption, and impact millions of people's lives
without requiring them to own a digital device.
12.9 BLUE REVOLUTION The ‘blue revolution’ refers to adoption of a set of measures to boost
production of fish and other marine products . Adoption of a series of
initiatives to booat the production of fish and other marine goods is
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143 Agency was officially established in 1970 as part of the Fifth Five -Year
Plan, marking the b eginning of the initiative. Later, to support aquaculture
in several states, similar development organisations were established for
brackish water development. All of this was done to introduce new
methods for breeding, raising, and marketing fish as well as to start
producing other marine products including prawns, oysters, seaweed,
pearls, and other marine items utilising new methods and scientific inputs.
Numerous novel technologies created by research facilities affiliated with
the Indian Council of Agr iculture Research (ICAR) have been
disseminated to fish farmers across the nation.
Robotics:
It is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction,
operation, structural depositions, manufacture and application of robots.
Today, robotics is rapidly growing field and it is continue in research,
design, and build new robots that serve various practical purposes
such as Military Robots, Industrial Robots, Agri -Robots, Medical Robots ,
Domestic Robots etc.
12.10 SCIENCE AND TEC HNOLOGY IN THE HEALTH SECTOR Scientific advancements and their practical applications have improved
people's health and slowed the trend of high mortality and fertility rates in
India. In the Indian context, science and technology laid the groundwork
for the largest -ever cumulative advancements in human health over the
previous century. In 1950 -51, there were only 725 Primary Health Centres
and in 1999, these rose to 22,446.by 1999. . According to the Rural Health
Statistics -2019, the country has 30,045 P HC that are operational in both
urban and rural locations. It represents a significant victory for India.
The 2019 –21 National Family Health Survey (NFHS –5) has provided a
conflicting picture of the nation's health indicators. On the one hand, it
shows a d ecline in infant mortality rates (IMR) (40.7 in NFHS 4 to 35.2 in
NFHS 5) and 0 (49.7 in NFHS 4 to 41.9 in NFHS 5), but on the other, it
shows a rise in anaemia among women and children, which will have an
effect on malnutrition in the future.The life expe ctancy of an average
Indian was 33 years in 1951 which increased to 69.66 years in 2019.
Drugs and vaccines manufacturing:
Manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and vaccines: Due to Indian companies'
ability to provide both developing and developed nations wit h affordable
pharmaceuticals and vaccinations, India is now referred to as the
"pharmacy of the world." The Indian pharmaceutical business has come a
long way since the days when foreign corporations predominated and
pharmaceuticals were prohibitively expe nsive. The federal government
founded Hindustan Antibiotics Limited in 1954, followed by the Indian
Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), with help from the Soviet
Union, in an effort to loosen the grip of international firms. Along with munotes.in

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144 national labs like the National Chemicals Laboratory (NCL), the Regional
Research Laboratory Hyderabad (now known as the Indian Institute of
Chemical Technology), and the Central Drug Research Institute, these
public sector organisations were crucial in developing the k nowledge base
and human resources needed.
The Patent Act of 1970 allowed for the creation of duplicates of patented
medicines using different manufacturing techniques simply because it is
the only recognised process patents.CSIR labs developed processes fo r a
range of drugs – ciprofloxacin, diclofenac, salbutamol, omeprazole,
azithromycin etc. – and transferred the technology to private companies.
All of this contributed to the growth of domestic R&D and manufacturing
capabilities over the following two de cades.
Control of Communicable Diseases:
The number of deaths from diseases like Malaria, Smallpox, Tuberculosis,
has been declined.
Smallpox: Since April 1977, India has been free of this disease. The
health care programme had made significant progress.
Malaria: At the time of independence, malaria claimed the lives of more
than 10 lakh people annually. We were able to control it because of
advances in science and technology, along with greater planning. In 1958,
the government launched the National Malari a Eradication Programme,
which was a significant step in combating the disease.
Polio: India received 'Polio -free certification' from World Health
Organization on 27 March 2014, with the last polio case being reported in
Howrah in West Bengal on 13 January 2011.
Tuberculosis: The National TB Control Program was established in 1955
to combat the disease. In different parts of the nation, new TB hospitals
have been established. In April 1977, the revised national tuberculosis
control programme was introduced . In order to eliminate tuberculosis in
India by 2025, the National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis Elimination
(2017 –2025) aims to achieve a rapid drop in TB burden, morbidity, and
death.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM): It was launched in
Septembe r 2021 is a necessary intervention to enable a National Digital
Health Ecosystem. There are numerous ramifications for how this mission
is carried out. For example, developing a digital health ecosystem will
make it possible to establish health provider re gistries, assisting in the
eradication of quack medicine.Digital prescriptions can aid in preventing
patients from being prescribed by unlicensed doctors.The creation of an
individual health ID for each person, the advantages of documenting
patient case hi stories, diagnostic tests performed and their results, test
intervals, etc., all of which are lost in a pen -and-paper system and suffer
from patient ignorance.Even the The "Make in India" project is also
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145 reducing the cost to patients of items like implants and stents, which were
previously imported.
Thus,with technologically driven advances, the Indian healthcare sector is
become increasingly appealing to investors.
CoWIN Platform:
The platfor m, which handled 2.5 crore vaccines in a day at a load of more
than 800 vaccinations per second during the epidemic, has proven to be
effective in India. Without it, India would not have been able to reach the
milestone of 100 crore vaccines in such a shor t period of time.
India has released its CoWIN Platform, a digital platform for the Covid19
immunisation effort, open -source so that any nation may utilise it. Perhaps
for the first time ever, a nation made a software platform created by its
public sector available to the entire world.
Despite not getting much support India's pushed for COVID vaccine
patent waiver, medicines at WTO.
This strategy demonstrates how India views the globe as one big family
and translates the guiding principle of "Vasudhaiva Kut umbakam" while
also highlighting the significance of healthcare in the development of a
nation.
Simply expressed, technology is a means of harnessing and exploiting our
knowledge of nature and resources to enhance human welfare, the
environment, or engage in other socio -economic activities.
12.11 SUMMARY India has made significant strides in science and technology in recent
years, positioning itself as a key player in the global scientific community.
India has also developed its own regional navigation sys tem called NavIC
(Navigation with Indian Constellation), which provides accurate
positioning and timing services within the country and the surrounding
region. Indian scientist and their important role played in the advancement
of all factors of science an d technology in Indian and also global level.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that these
advancements benefit all segments of the population and help to drive
inclusive economic growth.
12.12 QUESTIONS 1. Describe in details va rious experiments of Indian Space Research
program.
2. Write a note on the Defence Research Development Organization (
DRDO).
3. Discuss the role of science and technology in white and green
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146 4. Analyse the impact of Telecom and IT revolution .
5. Review the role of science and technology in the development of
health sector.
12.13 REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READINGS  Balkrishnan, M. R. , (ed.), Collected scientific papers of Dr. P. K.
Iyengar, vol. 5 : selected papers and speeches on Nuclear po wer and
science in India, Bombay, Bhaba Atomic Research Centre,1991.
 BC. Berndt and R.A. Rankin, Ramanujan: Essays and Surveys,
Hindustan Book Agency, 2003.
 Bhatnagar Suresh “Kothari Commission Recommendations and
Evaluation with a Text on National
 Policy on Education.” International Publishing House, Meerut.
 Bose, D. N., 1989. A Concise History of Science in India, New Delhi,
Indian National Science Academy, Government of India, 1991.
 Chintamani Deshmukh, Homi Jehangir Bhabha, National Book Trust,
India, 2003.
 Dasgupta, Subrata, 1999. Jagadish Chandra Bose and the Indian
Response to Western Science, Delhi, Oxford University Press,
Dharmapal, 1971.
 Dash M. (2000), Education in India: Problems and Perspectives,
Eastern Book Corporation.
 Dr. kohli V. K. “Ind ian Education and it’s Problems” Vivek
Publishers, Harayana.
 G. Venkataraman, Bhabha and his Magnificent Obsessions,
Universities Press, 1994.
 G. Venkataraman, Raman and His Effect, Universities Press, 1995.
 Glimpses of India‘s Statistical Heritage, Edited by: J.K. Ghosh, S.K.
Mitra, K.R. Parthasarathy,Wiley Eastern Limited, 1992.
 Gopal, S. and Kumar Ravindra, Colonial Development, Education and
Social Awareness up to 2000, PHISPC, Delhi, Oxford University
Press.
 Dharampa, Indian Science and Technology in t he Eighteenth Century,
Impex India in July 1971, Delhi.
 Jagjit Singh, Some Eminent Indian Scientists, Publications Division,
Ministry of Information andBroadcasting, Govt., Of India, 1991.
 National Education Policy 2020, Ministry of HRD, Government of
India. munotes.in

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147  R. Parthasarathy, Paths of Innovators in Science, Engineering and
Technology, EastWest Books(Madras) Pvt. Ltd, 2000.
 Robert Kanigel, The Man Who Knew Infinity, A Life of the Genius
Ramanujan, Rupa & Co., 1992.
 Sharma R (2006) History of Indian Ed ucation, Shubhi Publishers.
 S.R. Ranganathan, Ramanujan: The Man and the Mathematician,
London, 1967.
 Satish Tandon, Globalization: Impact on Education, September 2005.
 (www.satishtandon.com/globaledu.html)
 Subrata Dasgupta, Jagadish Chandra Bose and the Indian Response to
Western Science, OxfordUniversity Press, 1999.
 Thapar Romila., Interpreting Early India. Oxford University Press,
1992.

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148 13
EDUCATION
Unit Structure
13.0 Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Modern Education in India: The Evolution of the System through
various policies
13.3 The Education related development programmers
13.4 Description of the education system in India, fr om earlier stages to
Graduation & Post -Graduation, Graduation
13.5 The New Education Policy
13.6 India’s Educational Governing Bodies
13.7. Summary
13.8 Questions
13.9 Reverences and Additional Readings
13.0 OBJECTIVES In this Unit, the Student will understand -
• Various Education commissions and their achievements in pre and
post independence period.
• Government’s education related programs
• India’s Educational Governing Bodies and their functions
• Concept and various provisions of The New Educ ation Policy
13.1 INTRODUCTION Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes
through various forms of learning. The term ‘Education’ comes from the
Latin words: ‘Educare‘and ‘Educere’ Educare means to inculcate, nourish,
and bring forth the sublime qualities in a child. Educere means to lead out.
It’s a powerful instrument to inculcate the true sense and scientific temper
that defines the mental perception of humans. A person with scientific
perception is open -minded and does not ta ke anything for
granted.Traditional Hindu education was limited to Brahmin families and
favored high -caste boys. This elitist trend continued under Mughal and
British rule. Nehruvianism sought to address social inequality through
socialist policies and the promotion of secularism. Development efforts in
India have been focused on reducing poverty, improving infrastructure,
and increasing access to education and healthcare, among other things.
However, the effects of elitism have persisted in some sectors of Indian
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Education
149 growth of education in modern India can be traced back to the colonial
period when the British introduced a modern education system to India.
However, it was only after India gain ed independence in 1947 that the
country witnessed significant growth in education.
13.2 MODERN EDUCATION IN INDIA: THE EVOLUTION OF THE SYSTEM THROUGH VARIOUS
POLICIES The education system in India has undergone significant changes over the
years, from a ncient times when education was limited to a select few, to
the modern era where education is a fundamental right for all citizens.
This evolution of the education system has been driven by various policies
and initiatives taken by the government.
Pre-Independence Era: Before India gained independence in 1947,
education was limited to a few elite sections of society, and the majority of
the population was illiterate. However, various social reformers like Raja
Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Mahat ma Pule and others,
advocated for the spread of education to all sections of society.
Macaulay's Minute on Education (1835): Lord Macaulay, the then
Governor -General of India, introduced the English education system,
which aimed at producing a class of peo ple who could serve as
intermediaries between the British rulers and the Indian population. This
system laid the foundation of the modern education system in India, and
English became the medium of instruction in schools and colleges.
The Wood's Dispatch ( 1854): The Wood's Dispatchis also considered as
'Magna -Carta' of English Education in India It aimed at the expansion of
the education system in India, especially in rural areas, and the
establishment of universities in different regions of the country.
The Government of India Act (1919):This act is also known as the
‘Montagu -Chelmsford’ Reforms, introduced a system of provincial
autonomy in education, which allowed provinces to set up their own
universities and educational institutions.
Post-Independence E ra: After gaining independence, India's government
made education a fundamental right, and various initiatives were taken to
ensure that education reached all sections of society.
In Post -independence, the Indian government made education a top
priority an d established several educational institutions at all levels, from
primary to higher education. The first Five Year Plan (1951 -56) laid the
foundation for the development of education in the country by focusing on
increasing access to education, reducing i lliteracy rates, and improving the
quality of education. The government also appointed several commissions
to review and recommend changes to the education system in the country.
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150 The Radhakrishnan Commission (1948 -1949): This co mmission was
headed by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and was tasked with examining the state
of university education in India. The commission recommended the
establishment of a University Grants Commission (UGC) to provide
financial support to universities and to p romote higher education in the
country. Also this commission recommended the establishment of new
universities, the reorganization of existing universities, and the
introduction of new disciplines and courses.
The Mudaliar Commission (1952 -1953): The Gover nment of India
established the Secondary Education Commission on 23 September 1952
under the chairmanship of Dr. Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar. It was called
the Mudaliar Commission after him. This commission was headed by Dr.
A.L. Mudaliar and was tasked with e xamining the medical education
system in India. This commission was appointed to review the state of
secondary education in India and to make recommendations for its
improvement. The commission recommended the establishment of new
secondary schools, the im provement of curriculum and teacher training,
and the promotion of vocational education. The commission
recommended the establishment of a centralized medical council to
regulate medical education in the country.
The UGC (1953): The UGC was established bas ed on the
recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Commission. The UGC is
responsible for providing financial support to universities and colleges in
India. It promotes the research and maintain the standards in higher
education in India
The Govt. of India acT he Kothari Commission (1964 -1966): This
commission was headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari and was tasked with
examining the state of education in India. The commission recommended
a number of reforms, including the expansion of primary education, the
establishment of vocational and technical education programs, and the
introduction of a common curriculum for all students up to the 10+2 level.
National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT):NCERT was established in the year 1961 by the Government of
India, with the aim of improving the quality of school education in the
country. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi, India. NCERT is an
autonomous organization that works under the Ministry of Education,
Government of India. Its primary objectives incl ude conducting research
in various aspects of education, developing educational materials and
resources for students and teachers, providing training and support to
teachers, and promoting innovations in the field of education. NCERT is
also responsible fo r developing the National Curriculum Framework
(NCF) for school education in India
Based on the recommendations of these commissions, the government of
India has framed several educational policies over the years, including the
National Policy on Education 1968, the National Policy on Education
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Education
151 to improve the quality of education in India and to make it more accessible
and inclusive for all students.
National Policy on Education 1968:
This policy was introduced to provide a comprehensive framework for the
development of education in India. The policy aimed to promote national
integration, social and gender equality, and the development of scientific
and technological capabilities. The po licy also introduced the concept of
"Operation Blackboard" to provide basic facilities to primary schools.
The NPE 1968 aimed at providing free and compulsory education for all
children up to the age of 14 years.
The policy recommended the establishment of a common educational
structure, which would integrate vocational and academic streams.
It advocated for a national system of education, with the medium of
instruction being the mother tongue or the regional language at the
primary level.
The policy emphas ized the need for the education system to be relevant to
the socio -economic needs of the country.
It called for the promotion of science education and the development of
scientific temper among the masses.
The NPE 1968 also highlighted the importance of ed ucation in promoting
national integration and social cohesion.
National Policy on Education 1986:
The NPE 1986 aimed at improving the quality of education in India and
making it more relevant to the needs of the country.
The policy emphasized the need for a decentralized system of education,
with greater involvement of local bodies, community organizations, and
parents in the management of schools.
It recommended the introduction of a 10+2+3 system of education, with
10 years of general education followed b y two years of specialized
education and 3 years of higher education.
The policy highlighted the importance of teacher training and professional
development.
It called for the introduction of vocational education at the secondary level
to provide opportuni ties for gainful employment.
The NPE 1986 also emphasized the need to promote education among
disadvantaged groups, including girls, SCs, STs, and minorities.

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152 National Curriculum Framework (2005):
This framework was introduced to provide a roadmap for t he development
of a new curriculum for school education in India. The framework
emphasized the need to promote critical thinking, creativity, and problem -
solving skills among students.
National Education Policy 2020:
The NEP 2020 aims at transforming the e ducation system in India and
making it more inclusive, holistic, and flexible.
The policy emphasizes the importance of early childhood care and
education, with a focus on the development of cognitive, social, and
emotional skills.
It recommends a new 5+3+3 +4 curricular and pedagogical structure, with
five years of foundational education, followed by three years of
preparatory education, three years of middle education, and four years of
secondary education.
The policy highlights the importance of multidisci plinary and vocational
education, with a focus on experiential learning and the development of
21st-century skills.
It calls for the introduction of a new regulatory framework for higher
education, with greater autonomy and accountability for institutions.
The NEP 2020 also emphasizes the need to promote research and
innovation in education and to harness the potential of technology for
teaching and learning.
In conclusion, the National Policy on Education 1968, the National Policy
on Education 1986, and th e National Education Policy 2020 represent
significant milestones in the development of the education system in India.
These policies have aimed at improving access to education, promoting
quality and relevance, and addressing the needs of a changing socie ty. The
NEP 2020 represents a major shift in the education system in India, with a
focus on a more flexible and holistic approach to learning that prepares
students for the challenges of the 21st century.
The Government of India also made efforts to bring the marginalized
groups into the mainstream of education. It has implemented various
educational programs over the years to provide access to education to all,
especially to children from marginalized sections of society.
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153
2) Describe the various education commissions and their provisions.
13.3 THE EDUCATION RELATED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMERS Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA):
Launched in 2001, Sarva Shiksh a Abhiyan aimed at providing free and
compulsory education elementary education to all children in the age
group of 6 -14 years and reducing the dropout rate. The program focused
on bringing marginalized groups such as girls, children with disabilities,
and children from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds
into the mainstream of education. SSA provided support for infrastructure
development, teacher training, and curriculum development. The program
also focused on promoting community particip ation in education and
improving the quality of education.
District Primary Education Programme (DPEP):
Launched in 1994, the District Primary Education Programme aimed to
provide access to quality education to all children in the age group of 6 -14
years. The program was implemented in a phased manner across 272
districts in India, covering around 85% of the country's rural areas. The
main objectives of the program were to provide universal primary
education, reduce dropout rates, and improve the quality o f education.
Under the program, the government provided financial and technical
assistance to states for infrastructure development, teacher training, and
curriculum development. The DPEP played a vital role in improving the
education system in India, lead ing to an increase in enrollment rates and a
reduction in the gender gap in primary education.
Operation Blackboard or Operation Digital Board (ODB):
Operation Blackboard was Launched in 1987 to improve the quality of
primary education by providing essent ial infrastructure and basic
amenities such as blackboards, chalk, and desks in government schools
across India.
In 2019, The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has
launched Operation Digital Board (ODB) in place of Operation
Blackboard, to leve rage technology in order to boost quality education.
The objective of the program was to enhance the quality of education by
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154 across the country. ODB aims to have digital and interacti ve boards in
every classroom. The main objective of ODB is to provide a 360 -degree
solution for digital learning, which included not only the provision of
digital boards but also teacher training, assessment tools, and e -content.
The initiative aimed to tr ansform traditional classrooms into interactive
and engaging learning spaces, where students could learn using digital
tools and resources.
Mahila Samakhya Scheme:
This scheme was launched in 1988 with the aim of empowering women
through education. The sc heme focuses on mobilizing and empowering
women from marginalized communities to participate in social and
economic activities. The scheme uses a participatory approach, where
women are involved in planning, implementation, and monitoring of the
programme. The scheme provides for a range of activities such as literacy
classes, vocational training, and health care services.
Special Girl -Oriented Program:
Launched in 1992, the Special Girl -Oriented Program aimed to provide
access to education to girls from s ocially and economically disadvantaged
backgrounds. The program aimed to promote the enrollment and retention
of girls in schools by providing them with a conducive learning
environment. The program provided support for the construction of girls'
schools, the provision of textbooks, uniforms, and scholarships, and the
introduction of special programs for girls' education. The program also
aimed to empower girls by promoting gender equality and providing them
with life skills education.
Mid-Day Meal Scheme ( MDMS):
Launched in 1995, the Mid -Day Meal Scheme aimed to provide free meals
to children in government schools across India. The program was
introduced to promote enrollment and retention of children in schools,
especially those from socially and economic ally disadvantaged
backgrounds.
In 2021, it was renamed as 'Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman'
scheme (PM Poshan Scheme) and it also covers students of balvatikas
(children in the 3 –5-year age group) from pre -primary classes. Provides
Millets ( nutri -cereals, which include Jowar, Bajra, and Ragi, are rich in
minerals and B -complex vitamins, as well as proteins and antioxidants,) to
every child within the age group of six to fourteen years studying in
classes I to VIII who enrolls and attends the school. T he scheme provides
a hot and nutritious meal to children every school day, which has
significantly contributed to reducing the dropout rates and improving the
health and nutrition of children.

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155 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV):
KGBV is a scheme la unched in 2004 aimed at providing education to girls
from disadvantaged sections of society in rural areas. The scheme focuses
on setting up residential schools for girls from Class VI to Class VIII. The
schools provide a safe and enabling environment for girls to learn and
grow. The scheme provides for a range of facilities such as boarding and
lodging, health care, and uniforms to the students.
National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level
(NPEGEL): This programme was launched in 2008 with the aim of
providing quality education to girls in elementary schools in educationally
backward blocks. The programme focuses on improving access to
education, reducing gender disparities, and enhancing the quality of
education for girls. The scheme provi des additional resources such as
teachers, teaching -learning materials, and other facilities to the schools.
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA):
Launched in 2009, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan aimed to
improve access to secondary education f or all children in the age group of
14-18 years. The program focused on bringing children from socially and
economically disadvantaged backgrounds into the mainstream of
education by providing support for infrastructure development, teacher
training, and c urriculum development. RMSA also aimed to promote
vocational education and skill development to enable children to acquire
relevant skills for employment.
National Scholarship Portal (NSP ):
Launched in 2015, the National Scholarship Portal is a one -stop p latform
for all scholarships offered by the government of India. The portal aims to
provide financial assistance to students from socially and economically
disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue their education. The portal offers
scholarships for students pur suing higher education, technical education,
and research.
The Right to Education Act (2009):
This act made education a fundamental right for all children in the age
group of 6 -14 years, and the government was required to provide free and
compulsory educa tion to them.
The evolution of the education system in India has been shaped by various
policies and initiatives taken by the government, with the aim of providing
education to all sections of society. These programs have played a crucial
role in bringing marginalized groups into the mainstream of education,
promoting equity and inclusivity in the education system. However,
despite these efforts, there are still significant challenges in ensuring
quality education and equal opportunities for all.
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156 Check you r Progress:
1. Describe the concept and nature of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and Mid day
meal.
2. Comment on the Operation Blackboard or Operation Digital Board.
13.4 DESCRIPTION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA, FROM EARLIER STAGES TO GRADUATI ON &
POST -GRADUATION, GRADUATION Pre-Primary Education:
Usually for children aged 3 to 6 years
Focuses on early childhood development, play -based learning, and
socialization
Not mandatory but becoming increasingly common
Primary Education:
For children ag ed 6 to 11 years
Mandatory and free in government schools
Curriculum includes language, math, science, social studies, and physical
education
Secondary Education:
For children aged 11 to 16 years
Divided into two stages: middle school (classes 6 -8) and hig h school
(classes 9 -10)
Curriculum includes more specialized subjects such as Science, Maths,
history, geography, economics, and additional languages
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157 Higher Secondary Education:For children aged 16 to 18 years (classes 11
& 12)
Specialisation in Arts, Com merce, Science, MCVC (Minimum
Competency Vocational Courses) or Diploma Courses
Students prepare for Board Exams at the end of class 10 and 12
Higher Education:
Higher education: generally of three levels:
After completing secondary education, students ca n pursue higher
education in colleges and universities
Includes Undergraduate, → Postgraduate&→ MPhil/PhD (Doctoral
Programs). To cater to the requirements of higher education, the
government has introduced Rashtriya Uchhattar Shiksha Abhiyan(RUSA).
Underg raduate programs are typically 3 -4 years long, while postgraduate
programs can be 1 -2 years or longer
Fields of study include science, engineering, medicine, business, law, arts,
and humanities
Post-Graduation:
Students who have completed their undergradua te program can pursue a
postgraduate program
Includes Master's degree and PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
Generally, a Master's degree is 2 years long and a PhD can take 3 -5 years
or more
Involves specialized study and research in a specific field of interest
Overall, the Indian education system is designed to provide a broad range
of knowledge and skills to students, starting from the early stages of
childhood and progressing to higher education opportunities.
13.5 THE NEW EDUCATION POLICY The New Education Po licy (NEP) of India was introduced in 2020 is
applicable from 2023. It is a comprehensive framework for the
development of education in India, aiming to transform the education
system and make it more inclusive, equitable, and accessible to all. The
NEP co vers various aspects of education, including early childhood
education, school education, higher education, vocational education, and
adult education.
Under the NEP, the focus is on a holistic and multidisciplinary approach
to education, with an emphasis o n experiential and inquiry -based learning.
The policy aims to promote critical thinking, creativity, and problem -munotes.in

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158 solving skills among students, along with a strong foundation in core
subjects like math, science, and languages.
In terms of higher education, the NEP aims to transform universities into
multidisciplinary institutions, offering a wide range of undergraduate and
postgraduate programs. The policy also emphasizes the importance of
research and innovation in higher education and aims to create a rob ust
ecosystem for research and development in India.
Overall, the NEP is a significant step towards modernizing and
transforming the education system in India and preparing the youth for the
challenges of the 21st century.
The description of the education system in India, from earlier stages to
graduation and post -graduation, according to the NEP:
Early Childhood Education (ages 3 -8):
The NEP emphasizes the importance of early childhood education and
aims to ensure that all children in this age group have access to quality
pre-school education. The focus is on developing cognitive, social,
emotional, and physical skills through play -based and activity -based
learning.
Foundational Stage (ages 9 -12):
The foundational stage includes classes 1 -5, and the focus is on building
foundational literacy and numeracy skills, as well as critical thinking and
problem -solving abilities. The NEP emphasizes the use of mother tongue
or regional language as the medium of instruction in this stage.
Preparatory Stage (ages 13 -15):
The preparatory stage includes classes 6 -8 and aims to provide a broad -
based education that includes languages, mathematics, science, social
sciences, art, and physical education. The NEP emphasizes the need for
experiential and multidisciplinary learn ing in this stage.
Secondary Stage (ages 16 -18):
The secondary stage includes classes 9 -12, and the focus is on providing a
holistic education that prepares students for higher education and the
workforce. The NEP proposes a flexible and multidisciplinary curriculum
that allows students to choose subjects based on their interests and
aptitudes.
Higher Education (Graduation and Post -Graduation):
Higher education in India includes undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate
(PG) programs. UG programs typically last for three years, while PG
programs can range from one to three years depending on the field of
study. The NEP proposes several reforms for higher education, including a
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159 research and innov ation, and the promotion of vocational education and
skills development.
Overall, the NEP aims to transform the education system in India by
providing a more flexible, multidisciplinary, and inclusive approach to
learning, from early childhood education to higher education.
Check your progress: -
1. Describe the various recommendation of New Education Policy, 2020
13.6 INDIA’S EDUCATIONAL GOVERNING BODIES In India, the education sector is governed by a variety of boards and
councils at the state, national, and international levels. Each of these
educational governing bodies has its own set of objectives, policies, and
procedures for regulating and promoting education in the country. Some
of the most prominent educational governing bodies in India are:
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE):
CBSE is a national level board of education in India for public and private
schools, managed and controlled by the Union Government of India. It
conducts two major examinations – All India Secondary School
Examination (AISSE) for class 10th and All India Senior School
Certificate Examination (AISSCE) for class 12th. It also provides
curriculum, textbooks, and teaching aids to schools. CBSE is
headquartered in New Delhi and is considered to be one of the most
prestigious boards in the country.CBSE also conducts several other exams
like Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility cum
Entrance Test (NEET).
Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE):
ICSE is a private, non -governmental board o f school education in India
that conducts examinations for class 10th and 12th. The ICSE syllabus is
considered to be more comprehensive and challenging than the CBSE
syllabus.
International Baccalaureate (IB):
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an i nternational educational
foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It offers a range of
programmes for students aged 3 to 19 years, including the Primary Years
Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma
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160 The IB program is designed to develop critical thinking, communication,
and research skills in students.
Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE):
CISCE is a private, non -governmental board o f school education in India
that conducts examinations for class 10th (ICSE) and 12th (ISC). The
CISCE syllabus is considered to be more comprehensive and challenging
than the CBSE syllabus.
State Government Boards:
Each state in India has its own board of education that regulates and
oversees the education system in that state. These boards conduct exams
for secondary and senior secondary levels, and issue certificates to
successful candidates. Some of the popular state boards are Maharashtra
State Board o f Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE),
Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education, and Gujarat Secondary and
Higher Secondary Education Board, and Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik
Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP).
National Open School (NOS):
The National Insti tute of Open Schooling (NIOS), formerly known as the
National Open School, is a board of education under the Ministry of
Education, Government of India. It provides education through distance
learning mode and conducts exams for secondary and senior second ary
levels. The board aims to promote education among those who could not
complete their formal education due to various reasons.
These are some of the most prominent educational governing bodies in
India. Each of them has a unique role in regulating and p romoting
education in the country. These educational governing bodies are
responsible for setting syllabus, conducting exams, providing
certifications, and maintaining standards for education in their respective
regions. They play a crucial role in ensurin g that the education system in
India is of high quality and meets the needs of students and society.
University education in India is an important aspect of higher education. It
plays a crucial role in the country's development and progress. It is
consider ed as the next step after completing secondary education, and it
offers students the opportunity to specialize in their chosen field of study.
As on 16 November 2022, the UGC lists 459 active state universities.
Universities by state and type:
State Total
State Universities 459
Deemed Universities 127
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161 Total 1070
In India, universities can be divided into several categories, including:
Central Universities: These are universities established by the central
government of India, such a s the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal
Nehru University.
State Universities: These are universities established by the state
governments of India, such as the University of Mumbai and University of
Calcutta.
Deemed Universities: These are institutions th at are granted the status of
a university by the University Grants Commission (UGC), such as the
Birla Institute of Technology and Science and Tata Institute of Social
Sciences.
Private Universities: These are universities that are established by private
entities, such as Amity University and Manipal University.
Distance Education:. It allows students to pursue education from
anywhere, at any time, and at their own pace.
Some of the popular distance education universities in India include Indira
Gandhi Nati onal Open University (IGNOU), Institute of Distance and
Open Learning (IDOL) at the University of Mumbai, Yashwantrao
Chavan Maharashtra Open University(YCMOU), Delhi University School
of Open Learning , Sikkim Manipal University etc. These universities
offer a wide range of courses and programs at the undergraduate,
postgraduate, and diploma levels. Due to its flexibility and accessibility
Distance Education has become very popular.
The COVID -19 pandemic has brought significant changes to the education
system in India, including distance education. With the closure of
educational institutions, distance education and E -Learning has emerged
as a viable alternative to traditional classroom -based education.One of the
challenges of university education in India is the limited availability of
seats in top universities, leading to intense competition among students.
Another challenge is the need to ensure that university education is
affordable and accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status or
background .Overall, university education in India is a critical component
of the country's growth and development, and efforts are being made to
improve its quality and accessibility.
Apart from regular education, India offers wide range of professional
courses in v arious fields, including engineering, medical, and management
etc. that can help individuals to acquire specialized skills and knowledge
in their respective domains.The duration of professional undergraduate
courses is typically of three to four years, whi le postgraduate courses can
last up to two years.In addition to classroom instruction, universities in
India also offer various extra -curricular activities, such as sports, cultural
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162 develop their skills and interests and to become well -rounded individuals.
Here are some examples of popular courses in each of these fields:
Engineering:
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Computer Science Engineering,
Electronics and Communication Engin eering, Mechanical Engineering,
Civil Engineering, etc.
Master of Technology (M.Tech) in various specializations
Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in various fields
Medical:
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS)
Doctor of Medicine (MD)
Master of Surgery (MS)
Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS)
Management:
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
Executive MBA (EMBA)
There are numerous professional courses available in India, offered by
various universities and institutions. Some of the popular professional
courses in India are:
Law courses - LLB, LLM, BA LLB, BBA LLB, etc.
Accountancy courses - CA, CS, CMA, etc.
Architec ture courses - B.Arch, M.Arch, etc.
Design courses - Fashion Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, etc.
Pharmacy courses - B.Pharma, M.Pharma, etc.
Journalism and Mass Communication courses - BA Journalism and Mass
Communication, MA Journalism and Mass Communication, etc.
Education courses - B.Ed, M.Ed, etc.
These are just a few examples of the many professional courses available
in India. Students can choose the course based on their interests, skills,
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163 in India, including architecture, design, journalism, and more. Students
can choose the course that best fits their interests and career goals.
Overall, India's rich and diverse education system offers a plethora of
professional co urses that cater to the needs of different learners and
industries, making it a great destination for pursuing higher education and
professional development.
In recent years, the growth of education in modern India has been driven
by the adoption of techno logy in education. The government has launched
several initiatives to promote digital education, such as the Digital India
campaign and the National Digital Library of India. The COVID -19
pandemic has further accelerated the adoption of technology in educa tion,
with schools and universities adopting online learning platforms to ensure
continuity of education during the pandemic. But inspite of all these
efforts.
Check your Progress
1. Write a note on the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and
Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE)
13.7 SUMMARY In conclusion, all these educational policies and programs have been
instrumental in improving the education system in India, providing access
to quality education to all, and reducing th e gender gap in education.
Despite their success, there is still a long way to go in ensuring that every
child in India has access to quality education. Overall, it is crucial to
continue working towards providing quality education to all children in
India and reducing the gender gap in education. This requires a sustained
effort from all stakeholders, including the government, educators, parents,
and civil society.
13.8 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss the various education related commissions and their
achievements in pre - and post Independence period.
2. Describe the various governments education related development
program and their impacts on Indian education system.
3. Analyse the role of India’s Educational Governing Bodies in Pre -
primary to Higher education sy stem.
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Department of Higher, Planning, and Statistic Bureau.
 Basu, Aparna . 1979. The growth of Education and Political
Development in India: 1893 -1920, Oxford University Press. Delhi
 Basu, Aparna. 1982. Essays in the Policies of Indian Education.
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 Chaube, S.P. 1988. History and Problems of I ndian Education. Vinod
Pustak Mandir. Agra.
 Ghosh, S. C. 1987. Education Policy in India since Warren Hastings.
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165  Scharfe, Hartmut. 2002. Education in Ancient India. Brill Academic
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