UNIT 1

Nation-Building and Its Problems: Nehru’s approach to nation-

building: Legacy of partition: the challenge of ‘refugee’
resettlement, the Kashmir problem
Organization and reorganization of states; Political conflicts
over language

Nation-Building and Its Problems

Challenges for the new nation

the famous ‘tryst with destiny’ speech at the hour of midnight on 14-15 August 1947, India attained
independence. Jawaharlal Nehru.

Three Challenges
 The first and the immediate challenge was to shape a nation that was united, yet accommodative of the
diversity in our society. India was a land of continental size and diversity. Its people spoke different
languages and followed different cultures and religions.
 The second challenge was to establish democracy. You have already studied the Indian Constitution. You
know that the Constitution granted fundamental rights and extended the right to vote to every citizen.
(India adopted representative democracy based on the parliamentary form of government)
 The third challenge was to ensure the development and well-being of the entire society and not only of
some sections. Here again the Constitution clearly laid down the principle of equality and special
protection to socially disadvantaged groups and religious and cultural communities.

(In this chapter, we focus on the first challenge of nation building that occupied centre-stage in the years
immediately after Independence)

Partition: displacement and rehabilitation

According to the ‘two-nation theory’ advanced by the Muslim League, India consisted of not one but
two ‘people’, Hindus and Muslims. That is why it demanded Pakistan, a separate country for the
Muslims.

The Congress opposed this theory and the demand for Pakistan. But several political developments in
1940s, the political competition between the Congress and the Muslim League and the British role led to
the decision for the creation of Pakistan.
 Process of Partition

 It was decided to follow the principle of religious majorities

 This basically means that areas where the Muslims were in majority would make up the territory of
Pakistan. The rest was to stay with India.

Difficulties

First of all, there was no single belt of Muslim majority areas in British India. There were two areas of
concentration, one in the west and one in the east. There was no way these two parts could be joined.
So it was decided that the new country, Pakistan, will comprise two territories, West and East Pakistan
separated by a long expanse of Indian territory.

Secondly, not all Muslim majority areas wanted to be in Pakistan. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, the
undisputed leader of the North Western Frontier Province and known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’, was
staunchly opposed to the two-nation theory. Eventually, his voice was simply ignored and the NWFP was
made to merge with Pakistan.

The third problem was that two of the Muslim majority provinces of British India, Punjab and Bengal,
had very large areas where the non-Muslims were in majority. Eventually it was decided that these two
provinces would be bifurcated according to the religious majority at the district or even lower level. This
decision could not be made by the midnight of 14-15 August. It meant that a large number of people did
not know on the day of Independence whether they were in India or in Pakistan. The Partition of these
two provinces caused the deepest trauma of Partition.

The fourth and the most intractable of all the problems of partition. This was the problem of ‘minorities’
on both sides of the border. Lakhs of Hindus and Sikhs in the areas that were now in Pakistan and an
equally large number of Muslims on the Indian side of Punjab and Bengal (and to some extent Delhi and
surrounding areas) found themselves trapped. They were to discover that they were undesirable aliens
in their own home, in the land where they and their ancestors had lived for centuries. As soon as it
became clear that the country was going to be partitioned, the minorities on both sides became easy
targets of attack

Consequences of Partition

 There were killings and atrocities on both sides of the border. In the name of religion people of one
community ruthlessly killed and maimed people of the other community.
 Amritsar and Kolkata became divided into ‘communal zones’. Muslims would avoid going into an area
where mainly Hindus or Sikhs lived; similarly the Hindus and Sikhs stayed away from areas of Muslim
predominance.
 Thousands of women were abducted on both sides of the border. They were made to convert to the
religion of the abductor and were forced into marriage. In many cases women were killed by their own
family members to preserve the ‘family honour’. Many children were separated from their parents.
Those who did manage to cross the border found that they had no home.
 The Muslim population in India accounted for 12 per cent of the total population in 1951. So, how would
the government of India treat its Muslim citizens and other religious minorities (Sikhs, Christians, Jains,
Buddhists, Parsis and Jews)? The Partition had already created severe conflict between the two
communities.

Integration of Princely State

The British Indian Provinces were directly under the control of the British government. On the other
hand, several large and small states ruled by princes, called the Princely States, enjoyed some form of
control over their internal affairs as long as they accepted British supremacy. This was called
paramountcy or suzerainty of the British crown.

The problem
Princely States: 565

The British government took the view that all these states were free to join either India or Pakistan or
remain independent if they so wished. This decision was left not to the people but to the princely rulers
of these states.

The ruler of Travancore announced that the state had decided on Independence .

The Nizam of Hyderabad made a similar announcement the next day. Rulers like the Nawab of Bhopal
were averse to joining the Constituent Assembly.

This response of the rulers of the Princely States meant that after Independence there was a very real
possibility that India would get further divided into a number of small countries.

Government’s approach

Sardar Patel was India’s Deputy Prime Minister and the Home Minister during the crucial period
immediately following Independence. He played a historic role in negotiating with the rulers of princely
states firmly but diplomatically and bringing most of them into the Indian Union.

It may look easy now. But it was a very complicated task which required skilful persuasion. For instance,
there were 26 small states in today’s Orissa.

Saurashtra region of Gujarat had 14 big states, 119 small states and numerous other different
administrations.

The government’s approach was guided by three considerations.

Firstly, the people of most of the princely states clearly wanted to become part of the Indian union.
Secondly, the government was prepared to be flexible in giving autonomy to some regions.

Thirdly, in the backdrop of Partition which brought into focus the contest over demarcation of territory,
the integration and consolidation of the territorial boundaries of the nation had assumed supreme
importance.

The rulers of most of the states signed a document called the ‘Instrument of Accession’ which meant
that their state agreed to become a part of the Union of India. Accession of the Princely States of
Junagadh, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Manipur proved more difficult than the rest.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad, the largest of the Princely States was surrounded entirely by Indian territory. Some parts of
the old Hyderabad state are today parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Its ruler carried
the title, ‘Nizam’, and he was one of the world’s richest men. The Nizam wanted an independent status
for Hyderabad. He entered into what was called the Standstill Agreement with India in November 1947

a movement of the people of Hyderabad State against the Nizam’s rule gathered force. The peasantry in
the Telangana region in particular, was the victim of Nizam’s oppressive rule and rose against him.
Women who had seen the worst of this oppression joined the movement in large numbers.

The Nizam responded by unleashing a para-military force known as the Razakars on the people.

In September 1948, Indian army moved in to control the Nizam’s forces. After a few days of intermittent
fighting, the Nizam surrendered. This led to Hyderabad’s accession to India.

Manipur

A few days before Independence, the Maharaja of Manipur, Bodhachandra Singh, signed the
Instrument of Accession with the Indian government on the assurance that the internal autonomy of
Manipur would be maintained. Under the pressure of public opinion, the Maharaja held elections in
Manipur in June 1948 and the state became a constitutional monarchy. Thus Manipur was the first part
of India to hold an election based on universal adult franchise.

Reorganization of State

The process of nation-building did not come to an end with Partition and integration of Princely States.
Now the challenge was to draw the internal boundaries of the Indian states. This was not just a matter
of administrative divisions. The boundaries had to be drawn in a way so that the linguistic and cultural
plurality of the country could be reflected without affecting the unity of the nation

Our national movement had rejected these divisions as artificial and had promised the linguistic
principle as the basis of formation of states. In fact after the Nagpur session of Congress in 1920 the
principle was recognized as the basis of the reorganization of the Indian National Congress party itself.
This decision of the national leadership was challenged by the local leaders and the people. Protests
began in the Telugu speaking areas of the old Madras province, which included present day Tamil Nadu,
parts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka.

The Vishalandhra movement (as the movement for a separate Andhra was called) demanded that the
Telugu speaking areas should be separated from the Madras province of which they were a part and be
made into a separate Andhra province. Nearly all the political forces in the Andhra region were in favour
of linguistic reorganization of the then Madras province.

The movement gathered momentum as a result of the Central government’s vacillation. Potti Sriramulu,
a Congress leader and a veteran Gandhian, went on an indefinite fast that led to his death after 56 days.
Finally, the Prime Minister announced the formation of a separate Andhra state in December 1952.

A States Reorganization Commission in 1953 to look into the question of redrawing of the boundaries
of states. The Commission in its report accepted that the boundaries of the state should reflect the
boundaries of different languages. On the basis of its report the States Reorganization Act was passed in
1956. This led to the creation of 14 states and six union territories.
 POINTERS

 The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were created in 1960.

 1966, when the territories of today’s Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were separated from the larger
Punjab state.
 Major reorganization of states took place in the north east in 1972. Meghalaya was carved out of Assam
in 1972. Manipur and Tripura too emerged as separate states in the same year. The states of Arunachal
Pradesh and Mizoram came into being in 1987. Nagaland had become a state much earlier in 1963.
 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950): Leader of the freedom movement; Congress leader;
follower of Mahatma Gandhi; Deputy Prime Minister and first Home Minister of independent
India; played an important role in the integration of Princely States with India; member of
important committees of the Constituent Assembly on Fundamental Rights, Minorities, Provincial
Constitution, etc.

Mahatma Gandhi’s sacrifice On the 15th August 1947 Mahatma Gandhi did not participate in any
of the Independence Day celebrations. He was in Kolkata in the areas which were torn by
gruesome riots between Hindus and Muslims. He was saddened by the communal violence and
disheartened that the principles of ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (active but non-violent
resistance) that he had lived and worked for, had failed to bind the people in troubled times.
 UNIT 2
The era of One-Party Dominance: First three general elections,
nature of Congress dominance at the national level, uneven
dominance at the state level, coalitional nature of Congress.
Major opposition parties.

The era of One-Party Dominance

 The leaders of the newly independent India decided to take the more difficult path.( the path of democracy ) .The
freedom struggle was deeply committed to the idea of democracy. Our leaders were conscious of the critical role
of politics in any democracy. They did not see politics as a problem; they saw it as a way of solving the problems.
 Every society needs to decide how it will govern and regulate itself. There are always different policy alternatives
to choose from. There are different groups with different and conflicting aspirations. How do we resolve these
differences? Democratic politics is an answer to this question. While competition and power are the two most
visible things about politics, the purpose of political activity is and should be deciding and pursuing public interest.

Preparing for the first

The general election was a mammoth exercise. No election on this scale had ever been conducted in the
world before. At that time there were 17 crore eligible voters, who had to elect about 3,200 MLAs and
489 Members of Lok Sabha .Only 15 per cent of these eligible voters were literate. Therefore the Election
Commission had to think of some special method of voting. The Election Commission trained over 3 lakh officers
and polling staff to conduct the election .

The first general election was also the first big test of democracy in a poor and illiterate country. Till then
democracy had existed only in the prosperous countries, mainly in Europe and North America, where nearly
everyone was literate. By that time many countries in Europe had not given voting rights to all women.In this
context India’s experiment with universal adult franchise appeared very bold and risky.

 An Indian editor called it “the biggest gamble in history”.

 Organiser, a magazine, wrote that Jawaharlal Nehru “would live to confess the failure
of universal adult franchise in India”.
 A British member of the Indian Civil Service claimed that “a future and more enlightened age will view with
astonishment the absurd farce of recording the votes of millions of illiterate people”

 The elections had to be postponed twice and finally heldfrom October 1951 to February 1952. But this election is
referred to as the 1952 election since most parts of thecountry voted in January 1952. It took six months for the
campaigning, polling and counting to be completed.
 Congress dominance in the first three general elections

 The party won 364 of the 489 seats in the first Lok Sabha and finished way ahead of any other
challenger. The Communist Party of India that came next in terms of seats won only 16 seats.
It won a majority of seats in all the states except Travancore-Cochin
(part of today’s Kerala), Madras and Orissa.

 Finally even in these states the Congress formedthe government. So the party ruled all over the
country at the national and the state level As expected, Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime
Minister after the first general election.

 The extent of the victory of the Congress was artificially boosted by our electoral system. The Congress won three
out of every four seats but it did not get even half of the votes. In 1952,for example, the Congress obtained 45 per
cent of the total votes.But it managed to win 74 per cent of the seats. The Socialist Party, the second largest party
in terms of votes, secured more than 10 per cent of the votes all over the country. But it could not even win three
per cent of the seats.

Nature of Congress dominance

India is not the only country to have experienced the dominance of one party. If we look around the world,
we find many other examples of one-party dominance. But there is a crucial difference between these and the
Indian experience. In the rest of the cases the dominance of one party was ensured by compromising democracy.
In some countries like China, Cuba and Syria the constitution permits only a single party to rule the country. Some
others like Myanmar, Belarus,Egypt, and Eritrea are effectively one-party states due to legal and military measures.

Tolerance and management of factions

Firstly, a coalition accommodates all those who join it. Therefore, it has to avoid any extreme position and strike a
balance on almost all issues.

Secondly, in a party that has the nature of a coalition, there is a greater tolerance of internal differences and
ambitions of various groups and leaders are accommodated.

Most of the state units of the Congress were made up of numerous factions. The factions took different ideological
positions making the Congress appear as a grand centrist party. The other parties primarily attempted to influence
these factions and thereby indirectly influenced policy and decision making from the “margins”. They were far
removed from the actual exercise of authority. The system of factions functioned as balancing mechanism within
the ruling party. Political competition therefore took place within the Congress. In that sense, in the first decade of
electoral competition the Congress acted both the ruling party as well as the opposition.That is why this period of
Indian politics has been described as the ‘Congress system’.

Important opposition parties

Socialist Party ( 1934 )
 The origins of the Socialist Party can be traced back to the mass movement stage of the Indian National
Congress in the pre-independence era.
 Based on the idea of a more radical and egalitarian Congress This forced the Socialists to form a
separate Socialist Party in 1948 the socialists faced a dilemma when in 1955 the Congress declared its
goal to be the socialist pattern of society.
 The Socialist Party went through many splits and reunions leading to the formation of many socialist
parties.

These included the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, the Praja Socialist Party and Samyukta Socialist Party.
Jayaprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan, Asoka Mehta, Acharya Narendra Dev, Rammanohar Lohia
and S.M. Joshi were among the leaders of the socialist parties. Many parties in contemporary India, like
the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United) and the Janata Dal (Secular) trace
their originsto the Socialist Party.

The Communist Party of India

 In the early 1920s communist groups emerged in different parts of India taking inspiration from the
Bolshevik revolution in Russia and advocating socialism as the solution toproblems affecting the country.

 From 1935,the Communists worked mainly from withinthe fold of the Indian National Congress. A parting
of ways took place in December 1941, when the decided to support the British in their war against Nazi
Germany.
 In 1951 the Communist Party abandoned the path of violent revolution and decided to participate in the
approaching general elections. In the first general election, CPI won 16 seats and emerged as the largest
opposition party.

 K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, P.C. Joshi, Ajay Ghosh and P. Sundarraya were among
the notable leaders of the CPI. The Party went through a major split in 1964 following the ideological rift
between Soviet Union and China.The pro-Soviet faction remained as the CPI, while the opponents
formed the CPI(M).

Bharatiya Jana Sangh

 The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was formed in 1951 with Shyama Prasad Mukherjee as its founder-President

 The Jana Sangh was different from other parties in terms of ideology and programmes. It emphasised the
idea of one country, one culture and one nation and believed that the country could become
modern,progressive and strong on the basis of Indian culture and traditions.The party’s leaders included
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Balraj Madhok. The Bharatiya Janata Party
traces its roots to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Swatantra Party
 Swatantra Party was formed in August 1959 after the Nagpur resolution of the Congress which called for
land ceilings,take-over of food grain trade by the state and adoption of cooperative farming.

 The Swatantra Party wanted the government to be less and less involved
in controlling the economy. It believed that prosperity could come only through individual freedom.

 The Swatantra Party was against land ceilings in agriculture, and opposed cooperative farming and
state.It was also opposed to the progressive tax regime and demanded dismantling of the licensing
regime.

 The industrialists and business class who were against nationalisation and the licensing policies also
supported the party.
UNIT 3
Politics of Planned Development: Five- year plans,
expansion of state sector, and the rise of new economic
interests. Famine and suspension of five-year plans.
Green revolution and its political fallouts

Politics of Planned Development

As the global demand for steel increases, Orissa, which has one of the largest reserves of untapped iron
ore in the country, is being seen as an important investment destination.

The iron ore resources lie in some of the most underdeveloped and predominantly tribal districts of the
state. The tribal population fears that the setting up of industries would mean displacement from their
home and livelihood.

Political Contestation

It is important to take advice from experts on mining, from environmentalists and from economists. Yet
the final decision must be a political decision, taken by people's representatives who are in touch
with the feelings of the people.

All these decisions were bound together by a shared vision or model of economic development.

It was also agreed that this matter cannot be left to businessmen, industrialists and farmers themselves,
that the government should play a key role in this.

Ideas of Development

Development would mean different things for example, to an industrialist who is planning to set up a
steel plant, to nurban consumer of steel and to the Adivasi who lives that region. On the eve of
Independence, India had before it, two nodels of modern development: the liberal- capitalist model is in
much of Europe and the US and the socialist model as in the USSR.

This reflected a broad consensus that had developed during the national movement. The nationalist
leaders were clear that the economic concerns of the government of free India would have to be
different from the narrowly defined commercial functions of the colonial government.

Planning:

In fact the idea of planning as a process of rebuilding economy earned a good deal of public support in
the 1940s and 1950s all over the world.
The Bombay Plan wanted the state to take major initiatives in industrial and other economic
investments. Thus, from left to right, planning for development was the most obvious choice for the
country after Independence.

The Early Initiative: out of the cycle of poverty. K.N. Raj, a young economist involved in drafting the plan,
argued that India should hasten slowly for the first two decades as a fast rate of development might
endanger democracy. Agricultural sector was hit hardest by Partition and needed urgent attention. Huge
allocations were made for large- scale projects like the Bhakhra Nangal Dam.

Rapid Industrialisation:

The Second FYP stressed on heavy industries. It was drafted by a team of economists and planners
under the leadership of P. C. Mahalanobis. As savings and investment were growing in this period, a bulk
of these industries like electricity, railways, steel, machineries and communication could be developed
in the public sector. Indeed, such a push for industrialization marked a turning point in India
development.

Agriculture versus industry:

Many thought that the Second Plan lacked an agrarian strategy for development, and the emphasis on
industry caused agriculture and rural India to suffer. Others thought that without a drastic increase in
industrial production, there could be no escape from the cycle of poverty.

They argued that Indian planning did have an agrarian strategy to boost the production of food grains.

Public versus private sector:

India did not follow any of the two known paths to development - it did not accept the capitalist model
of development in which development was left entirely to the private sector, nor did it follow the
socialist model in which private property was abolished and all the production was controlled by the
state. A mixed model like this was open to criticism from both the left and the right. Critics argued that
the planners refused to provide the private sector with enough space and the stimulus to grow.

The state intervened only in those areas where the private sector was not prepared to go. Thus the state
helped the private sector to make profit.

Major Outcomes

Land reforms did not take place effectively in most parts of the country; political power remained in the
hands of the landowning classes; and big industrialists continued to benefit and thrive while poverty did
not reduce much.

Land reforms:

Perhaps the most significant and successful of these was the abolition of the colonial system of
zamindari. Attempts at consolidation of land - bringing small pieces of land together in one place so that
the farm size could become viable for agriculture - were also fairly successful.

It was not easy to turn these well-meaning policies agriculture into genuine and effective action.

This could happen only if the rural, landless poor were mobilised.
 The Green Revolution:

The government adopted a new strategy for agriculture in order to ensure food sufficiency. Thus the
government offered high-yielding variety seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and better irrigation at highly
subsidised prices. The government also gave a guarantee to buy the produce of the farmers at a given
price. The green revolution delivered only a moderate agricultural growth (mainly a rise in wheat
production) and raised the availability of food in the country, but increased polarisation between classes
and regions. Some regions like Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh became agriculturally
prosperous, while others remained backward.

EDU POINTERS
 Planning: A systematic regulation to optimum use of resources and to reduce wastage of time.
 Capitalist Economy: The economy in which private sectors are prioritised in place of social welfare.
 Socialist Economy: It aims at the public sector and planning with the aim to establish egalitarian
society.
 Bombay Plan: It was a joint proposal of a section of big industrialists for setting up a planned
economy in the country to be drafted in 1944.
 Planning Commission: It is an extra-constitutional body to make plans for the country to set up in
March 1950 with the Prime Minister as its Chairman.
 Plan Budget: It is the amount that is spent on a five- year basis as per the priorities fixed by the
plan.
 Mixed Economy: The economy in which the private and the public sector both co-exist.

That is Left and what is Right

In the politics of most countries, you will always come across references to parties and groups with a Left
or Right ideology or leaning. These terms characterise the position of the concerned groups or parties
regarding social change and role of the state in effecting economic redistribution. Left often refers to
those who are in favour of the poor, downtrodden sections and support government policies for the
benefit of these sections. The Right refers to those who believe that free competition and market
economy alone ensure progress and that the government should not unnecessarily intervene in the
economy.

P.C. Mahalanobis
(1893-1972):
Scientist and statistician of international repute; founder of Indian Statistical Institute (1931); architect of
the Second Plan; supporter of rapid industrialisation and active role of the public sector
 UNIT 4
India’s External Relations: Nehru’s foreign policy. Sino-
Indian war of 1962, Indo-Pak war of 1965 and 1971.
India’s nuclear program and shifting alliances in world
politics.
International Context or Relations

 In post-independence period, India faced many challenges to make a strong foreign policy.
 India shaped its foreign relations with an aim to respect the sovereignty of all other nations and to
achieve security through the maintenance of peace.
 In post Second World War period, world politics led to the division of countries of the world into
two clear camps-one under the United States and other under the Soviet Union.

The Policy of Non-Alignment

 The Cold War era marked the political, economic and military confrontation at the global level
between the two blocs led by the superpowers, the US and the USSR.
 Along with this in other prevailing world politics Indian leadership was in the direction to pursue its
national interests with these international context.

Nehru Role:

 Nehru exercised foreign policy from 1946 to 1964. The three major objectives of Nehru’s foreign
policy were to preserve the hard-earned sovereignty, protect territorial integrity and promote rapid
economic development.
 Despite the fact that many leaders from India, wanted India to follow a pro-US foreign policy; Nehru
wished to achieve his objectives of foreign policy through the strategy of non-alignment.

Distance From Two Camps

 India wanted to keep away from the military alliances led by US and Soviet Union against each
other. The US was not happy about India’s independent initiatives the policy of non-alignment.
 During 1950s India took an independent stand on various international issues and could get aid and
assistance from members of both power blocs.
 India’s independent stand and her growing relations with USSR hurt the sentiments of USA.
Therefore, there was a considerable unease in Indo-US relations during 1950s.

Afro-Asian Unity
 Nehru era marked the establishment of contacts between India and other newly independent
states in Asia and Africa.
 Under the leadership of Nehru, India convened the Asian Relations Conference in March 1947.
 India supported the process of decolonisation and opposed racism, especially apartheid in South
Africa.
 The Afro-Asian Conference held in the Indonesian city of Bandung in 1955 which is known as
Bandung

Conference and marked the establishment of the NAM.

The first summit of the NAM was held in Belgrade in September 1961.

Peace and Conflict with China

 Independent India began its relationship with China on a friendly note as India was one of the first
countries to recognise the communist government.
 Some of Nehru’s colleagues like Vallabhbhai Patel, were worried about possible Chinese aggression
in future but Nehru thought it was exceedingly unlikely that India will face an attack from China.
Panchsheel (The five principles of peaceful co- existence)
 Agreement signed between Indian Prime Minister Nehru and the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai on
29th April, 1954 was a step in the direction of stronger relationship between two.

Tibet
 Tibet, a plateau of the Central Asian region, is one of the major issues that historically caused
tension between India and China.
 After the Panchsheel Agreement of 1954 India conceded China's claim over Tibet.
 In 1959, the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama was given asylum (refuge) by India
 which worsened the relations between both countries.

The Chinese Invasion, 1962

 China annexed Tibet in 1950 and removed historical buffer between two countries. The issue of
Dalai Lama added fuel to the fire.
 China claimed two areas within the Indian territory: Askai-Chin area in the Ladakh region of Jammu
and Kashmir and state of Arunachal Pradesh in North Eastern Frontier (NEFA).
 China launched a swift and massive invasion in October 1962 on both the disputed areas.
 The China war dented India’s image at home and abroad.
 The Sino-Indian conflict and the growing rift between China and the Soviet Union
created irreconcilable differences within the Communist Party of India (CPI). The Pro-USSR faction
remained within the CPI and moved towards closer ties with the Congress.Wars and Peace with
Pakistan
 The conflict started with Pakistan just after independence over the dispute on Kashmir.
 The India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty was signed by Nehru and General Ayub Khan in1960 which
has worked well despite all ups and downs in the Indo- Pak relations in April 1965, Pakistan
launched armed attacks in the Rann of Kutch area of Gujarat which was followed by a bigger
offensive in Jammu and Kashmir in August- September.
 The hostilities came to an end with the UN intervention. Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
and Pakistans General Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Agreement,
brokered by the Soviet Union, in January 1966.Bangladesh War, 1971
 In a dramatic internal politics during 1970 the East and West Pakistani rulers were not willing to
accept the democratic verdict.Throughout 1971, India had to bear the burden of about 80 lakh
refugees who moved to East Pakistan and took shelter in the neighbouring areas in India.
 After months of diplomatic tension and military build-up, a full-scale war between India and
Pakistan broke out in December 1971. On 3rd July, 1972 the Shimla Agreement was singned
between Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

India’s Nuclear Policy

 The first nuclear explosion undertaken by India in May 1974.
 In India nuclear program was initiated in the late 1940s under the guidance of Homi J. Bhabha.
 Nehru was against nuclear weapons and India wanted to generate atomic energy for peaceful
purposes.
 The five permanent members of the UN security council-tried to impose the Nuclear
 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 on the rest of the world.
 India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it.
 India conducted a series of nuclear tests in May 1998, demonstrating its capacity to use
 nuclear energy for military purposes.

Edu Pointers
1. Immediately after independence, India faced the twin challenges of Welfare and democracy.
Moreover, India started participating in the world affairs as an independent nation state with the
overall context like the legacy of many international disputes left by the British, pressures created
by partition and poverty alleviation.

2. India was born in the backdrop of world war, hence it decided to conduct foreign relations with
an aim to respect the sovereignty of other nations to achieve security through maintenance of
peace. For this, India laid down directive Principles of State Policy in the Article 51 of Indian
Constitution.

3. The foreign policy of a nation is the interplay of domestic and external factors. Pt. J.L. Nehru was
the & Chief Architect of India’s Foreign Policy with the objectives of preserving sovereignty of India,
protection of territorial integrity and promotion of rapid economic development. Hence India
adopted NAM to stay away from any military blocs.

4. Nehru’s Era established the contacts between India and States in Asia and Africa by convening
conferences on Asian Relations (March 1947), Indonesia’s Freedom Struggle (1949), decolonization
process, and engaged herself in Bandung Conference in 1955.with the newly independent Asian and
African Nations.

5. Panchsheel, the five principles of peaceful co-existence (29 April 1954) between India and China
was a stronger step towards friendship and relations. India advocated China’s new government as a
communist even in the UN after Chinese revolution in 1949 to ahead a friendly step.
6. India and China began to conflict on annexation of Tibet by China and suppressed Tibetan culture
also. China claimed Aksai Chin area and NEFA within the Indian territory, which differences could
not be resolved despite correspondence and discussions and led India to indulge in conflict.

7. India and Pakistan conflicted on initiative of Pakistan’s serious armed conflict over Kashmir issue
in 1965. The UN intervened and made the both to sign Tashkent Agreement in 1966 to relieve the
situation. But 1965 war added to India’s already difficult economic situation.

8. India’s foreign policy reflects her desire to be an important regional power which reflected during
Bangladesh War 1971 when there were clashes between East and West Pakistan and India
supported freedom struggle in Bangladesh and declared unilateral ceasefire with the surrender of
Pakistan. India and Pakistan signed Shimla Agreement on 3rd July 1972 to formalise the return of
Peace.

9. India’s Nuclear Policy advocates no first use and reiterates India’s commitment to global
verifiable on non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament leading to nuclear weapons free world. Pt.
J.L. Nehru was against nuclear weapons, so he placed nuclear disarmament and considered NPT as
discriminatory and India has always been committed to use these weapons for peaceful purposes.

Edu HOTS

Non-alignment: A policy not to join any military alliances created due to cold war.
Foreign Policy: It is an interplay of domestic and external factors of a nation.
Panchsheel: Five principles of peaceful co-existence to be signed in 1954 between India and China.
Bandung Conference: An Afro-Asian conference in Bandung in 1955 to establish NAM and India’s
engagement with Asian and African nations.
NEFA: North-Eastern Frontier Agency known much of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in
1960s.
UNIT 5
Challenge to and Restoration of Congress System:
Political succession after Nehru. NonCongressism and
electoral upset of 1967, Congress split and
reconstitution, Congress’ victory in 1971 elections,
politics of ‘garibi hatao’
Challenges to and Restoration of The Congress System
Challenge of Political Succession
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru passed away in May 1964. The 1960s were labelled as the
“dangerous decade” when unresolved problems like poverty, inequality communal and regional
divisions etc. could lead to a failure of the democratic project or even the disintegration of the
country.

From Nehru to Shastri:

Shastri was the country’s Prime Minister from 1964 to 1966. During Shastri’s brief Prime
Ministership, the country faced two major challenges. While India was still recovering from the
economic implications of the war with China, failed monsoons, drought and serious food crisis
presented a grave challenge. The country also faced a war with Pakistan in 1965. Shastri’s famous
slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” symbolised the countay’s resolve to face both these challenges.
Shastri’s Prime Ministership came to an abrupt end on 10 January 1966, when he suddenly expired
in Tashkent, then in USSR and currently the capital of Uzbekistan.

From Shastri to Indira Gandhi

Within a year of becoming Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi had to lead the party in a Lok Sabha
election. Around this time, the economic situation in the country had further deteriorated, adding
to her problems.

Fourth General Elections, 1967

One of the first decisions of the Indira Gandhi government was to devaluate the Indian rupee,under
what was seen to be pressure from the US. Earlier one US dollar could be purchased for less than
Rs. 5; after devaluation it cost more than Rs. 7 People started protesting against the increase in
prices of essential commodities, food scarcity,
growing unemployment and the overall economic condition in the country.
Non-Congressism
Opposition parties were in the forefront of organising public protests and pressurising the
government. Parties opposed to the Congress realised that the division of their votes kept the
Congress in power.
The socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia gave this strategy the name of “non-Congressism”;. He also
produced a theoretical argument in its defence: Congress rule was undemocratic and opposed to
the interests of ordinary poor people; therefore, the coming together of the non-Congress parties
was necessary for reclaiming democracy for the people Electoral verdict
The Congress was facing the electorate for the first time without Nehru. The Congress lost majority
in as many as seven States. In Madras State (now called Tamil Nadu), a regional party-the Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) - came to power by securing a clear majority.

Coalitions.The elections of 1967 brought into picture the phenomenon of coalitions. Since no single
party had got majority. various non-Congress parties came together to form joint legislative parties
(called Samyukt Vidhayak Dal in Hindi) that supported non-Congress governments. That is why
these governments came to be described as SVD governments.

Defection
Defection means an elected representative leaves the party on whose symbol he/she was elected
and joins another party. The constant realignments and shifting political loyalties in this period gave
rise to the expression “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” Split in the Congress
We saw that after the 1967 elections, the Congress retained power at the Centre but with a
reduced majority and lost power in many States.

Indira vs.Syndicate.
The Syndicate had played a role in the installation of Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister by
ensuring her election as the leader of the parliamentary party. Indira Gandhi adopted a very
bold strategy. She converted a simple power struggle into an ideological struggle. She launched a
series of initiatives to give the government policy a Left orientation.

Presidential election, 1969 Following President Zakir Hussain’s death, the post of President of the
India fell vacant that year. Indira Gandhi retaliated by encouraging the then Vice-President, V.V.
Giri, to file his nomination as an independent candidate.

She also announced several big and popular policy measures like the nationalisation of fourteen
leading private banks and the abolition of the privy purse or the special privileges given to former
princes.

Morarji Desai was the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

The election ultimately resulted in the victory of V.V. Giri, the independent candidate, and the
defeat of Sanjeeva Reddy, the official Congress candidate.

The 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress .In order to end her dependence on other political
parties, strengthen her party’s position in the Parliament, and seek a popular mandate for her
programmes, Indira Gandhi’s government recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in
December 1970.

The contest Indira Gandhi said that the opposition alliance had one common programme: Indira
Hatao (Remove Indira). In contrast to this, she put forward a positive programme captured in the
famous slogan: Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty). She focused on the growth of the public sector
imposition of ceiling on rural land holdings and urban property, removal of disparities in income and
opportunity, and abolition of princely privileges.
The outcome and after Indira Gandhi’s Congress (R) won 352 seats with about 44 per cent of the
popular votes on its own.

With this the Congress party led by Indira Gandhi established its claim to being the “real”
Congress and restored to it the dominant position in Indian politics. The Congress was now in power
in almost all the States. It was also popular across different social sections. Within a span of four
years, Indira Gandhi had warded off the challenge to her leadership and to the dominant position of
the Congress party.

Restoration
Despite being more popular, the new Congress did not have the kind of capacity to absorb all
tensions and conflicts that the Congress system was known for. The popular unrest and
mobilisation around issues of development and economic deprivation continued to grow.
 UNIT 6
Crisis of the Constitutional Order: Search for ‘committed’
bureaucracy and judiciary. Navnirman movement in
Gujarat and the Bihar movement. Emergency: context,
constitutional and extra-constitutional dimensions,
resistance to emergency. 1977 elections and the
formation of the Janata Party. Rise of civil liberties
organizations

Background to Emergency

 1970's was a period of political turmoil in India. This period witnessed tensions in relationship between
the government and the judiciary.
 Ideological differences erupted within the Congress and it sharpened the division between Indira Gandhi
and her opponents.

Economic Context

 Congress gave the slogan of Garibi Hatao in 1971 elections. Due to various national and international
factors, the social and economic condition in the country did not improve much after 1971-72.
 In such a context non-Congress opposition parties were able to organise popular protests effectively.

Gujarat and Bihar Movements

 Gujarat and Bihar were Congress ruled states. Despite these fact students from both the states started
agitation against rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and other essential commodities, and against
corruption in high places.
 Jai Prakash Narayan from Bihar gave a call for total revolution in the social, economic and political
spheres.
 In 1975, Jai Prakash led one of the largest march to the Parliament.
 The Naxalite Movement

 In 1967, a peasant uprising took place in Naxalbari area of Darjeeling (West Bengal) under the leadership
of CPI (M), headed by Charu Majumdar.
 After sometime one branch broke off from them and was known as Communist Party (Maxist-Leninist)
(CPI-ML). It was founded by Charu Majumdar.
 Government have taken stern measures in dealing with the Naxalite movement.

Railway Strike of 1974

 A nationwide strike by all employees of the Railways was led by George Fernandes.
 Its main demand was related to bonus and service conditions.
 The government declared the strike illegal and it had to be called off after 20 days without settlement.

Conflict with Judiciary

 1970s witnessed a bitter relationship between legislature and judiciary.

 Constitutional Amendment and its interpretation was a pivotal point of bitter relations.
 In 1973, issue of appointment of Chief Justice of India worsened the condition.
 Highest point in controversy came when High Court declare Indira Gandhi's election invalid.

Declaration of Emergency

 On 12th June, 1975, Justice Jagmohan Lai Sinha of the Allahabad High Court declared Indira Gandhi's
election to the Lok Sabha invalid. This decision. created a political crisis.

Crisis and Response

 In response to rapid changing political situation and JP Movement, the Government of India on 25th
June, 1975 recommended the imposition of emergency President Fakrudin Ali Ahmed. The President
issued the proclamation immediately.
 The emergency was proclaimed under Article 352 of the Constitution which declare a state of
emergency of grounds of external threat or a threat of internal disturbances.
 The cabinet was informed about it at a special meeting at 6 am on 26th June, 1975 after all this had
taken place.
 Consequences

 Freedom of Press and some of the Fundamental Rights of the citizens were suspended. All the ongoing
protests ended, strikes were banned, opposition leaders were put in Jail.
 The Parliament also brought in many new changes to the Constitution.
 Prior approval of government was needed to publish any article or matter it is called press censorship.

Controversies regarding Emergency

 After emergency, an investigation was done by Shah Commission. It found that in some areas excess
restrictions were implied during emergency.
 The government argued that in a democracy, the opposition parties must allow the elected ruling party
to govern according to its policies.
 The critics say that Indira Gandhi misused constitutional provision meant for saving the country to save
her personal power.
 The Shah Commission estimated that nearly one lakh people were arrested under preventive detention
laws.
 Apart from the arrests of political workers and the restrictions on the press, the emergency directly
affected lives of common people in many cases.

Lessons from Emergency

 It is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.

 'Internal' emergency can be proclaimed only on the grounds of 'armed rebellion'. Advice to the
President to proclaim it must be given in writing by the Council of Ministers.
 The emergency made everyone more aware of the value of civil liberties.

Politics after Emergency

 The experience of emergency was quite visible in 1977 Lok Sabha Elections. The people's verdict was
decisively against the emergency.

Lok Sabha Elections, 1977

 The Janata Party made this election into a referendum on the emergency.
 For the first time since Independence, the Congress Party was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections.
  The Congress could win only 154 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The Janata Party and its allies won 330
out of 542 seats in the Lok Sabha; Janata Party itself won 295 seats and thus enjoyed a clear majority.

Janata Government

 After the election of 1977 there was stiff competition among three leaders for the post of Prime
Minister Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram. Finally Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister
 The Janata Party split and the government which was led by Morarji Desai lost its majority in less than
18 months.
 Fresh Lok Sabha elections were held in 1980 in which the Janata Party suffered a comprehensive defeat
and Congress Party came back in power.

Return of Congress

 By 1970s the Congress Party identified itself with a particular ideology, claiming to be the only socialist
and pro-poor party..
 In an indirect manner the issue of welfare of the backward castes also began to dominate politics since
1977.
 The issue of reservations for 'other backward classes" became very controversial in Bihar and following
this, the Mandal Commission was appointed by the Janata Party government at the centre.

EDU POINTERS

1. The non-Congress parties opposed the Congress due to personalisation of politics. The 'Marxist-Leninist"
groups were strong in West-Bengal, which used arms and insurgent techniques to overthrow capitalist
order to establish political system. But the state government took stringent measures to suppress them.

2. The first nationwide Satyagraha was organised by Jayaprakash Narayan for Indira Gandhi's resignation.
He made people aware not to obey illegal and 'immoral orders' by a massive demonstration in Delhi's
Ramlila ground on June 25, 1975, as well as Indira Gandhi's elections were also declared invalid on
grounds to use government servants inter-election campaign on an election petition filed by Raj Narain,
a socialist leader.

3. Railway strike of 1974 was called by National Coordination Committee' led by George Fernandes for
pressing their demands related to bonus and service conditions. The government declared the strike
illegal and deployed the territorial army to protect railway trades. Thus, strike was called off after
twenty days without any settlement.
4. Before, the declaration of emergency, many differences arose between the government and the ruling
party leading to a strain between judiciary, legislature and executive on issues of intervention in
constitutional provisions by government or parliament. It was proved in the case of Keshavanand Bharti,
where the judiciary declared that parliament cannot amend in constitutional basic features in a
controversial manner. It mixed up constitutional interpretations and political ideologies rapidly.

5. In response to Raj Narain's petition, on 25 June 1975, the government declared emergency on
recommendation of Prime Minister on a ground of threat of international disturbances, which invoked
Article 352 of Constitution to bring law and order, restore efficiency and above all, implement the pro-
poor welfare programmes.

6. The proclamation of Emergency in 1975 had far reaching consequences and affected every spheres of
life such as: (a) It affected civil liberties by making large-scale arrests as well well as citizen's right to life
and liberty were also taken away. (b) It affected relationship between the executive and judiciary to
bring new changes in the constitution by 42nd amendment like duration of legislatures, elections can be
postponed by one year during an emergency. (c) It affected Mass Media also i.e. 'Press censorship'.

7. After emergency was imposed, question and debates arose either emergency was necessary or not. The
government argued that opposition party must allow elected ruling party to govern according to its
policies whereas critics argued that people had the right to publicly protest against the government.

8. The State commission headed by J.C. Shah, was appointed in May 1977 by Janata Party government to
enquire into several aspects of allegations of abuse of authority, excesses and malpractices committed
and action taken in the wake of emergency and Shah Commission found out to be many excesses
committed, maximum arrests under preventive detention law, illegal restrictions on press and verbal
orders to cut electricity at 2 a.m. of all newspaper presses.

9. Emergency taught many lessons firstly, to be difficult to do away with democracy, secondly, necessary
made the advice to proclaim emergency in writing (by president) by council of ministers, thirdly, it r
everyone more aware of the value of civil liberties.

10. As soon as the emergency was over and the Lok Sabha elections were announced in 1977 to be turned
into a referendum. Hence politics after emergency was characterised by two major developments (a)
1977 elections defeated Congress on people's verdict against emergency and opposition fought of the
slogan 'save democracy'. (b) Midterm elections 1980 were held due to Janata Party lacked direction,
leadership and a common programme as well a could not bring any fundamental change in policies
pursued by Congress.

11. The legacy of emergency of 1975 was felt in every spheres of life and the politics which can be described
as a period of constitutional and political crisis to have its origin in constitutional battle over the
jurisdiction of the parliament and the judiciary.
 EDU OPENERS :

1. Emergency: In an emergency, the federal distribution of power remains practically suspended and all
powers were concentrated in the hands of Union government.

2. Press-censorship: Newspapers were supposed to get prior approval before publishing any material.

3. Preventive Detention: The people were arrested on the ground/apprehension to commit any offence in
future.

4. Marxist-Leninist: This group was strong in West Bengal which had taken to arms and insurgent
techniques for overthrow of capitalist order and established political system.

5. Twenty Point Programme: It was announced by Indira Gandhi to bring law and order and restore
efficiency including land reforms, land redistribution, eradication of bonded labour etc.

6. Satyagraha: It emphasised on peaceful demonstration as if people are fighting for truthfulness and
lawfulness, no need to adopt violent methods against the government or entities.

Naxalite movement

In 1967 a peasant uprising took place in the Naxalbari police station area of Darjeeling hills district in West of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist). Beginning from the Naxalbari police station, the peasant movement spread to
several states of India and came to be referred broadly as the Naxalite movement. In 1969, they broke off from the
CPI (M) and a new party, Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML), was formed under the leadership of Charu
Majumdar. It argued that democracy in India was a sham and decided to adopt a strategy of protracted guerrilla
warfare in order to lead to a revolution.

The Naxalite movement has used force to snatch land from the rich landowners and give it to the poor and the
landless. Its supporters advocated the use of violent means to achieve their political goals. In spite of the use of
preventive detention and other strong measures adopted by the West Bengal government run by the Congress
party, the Naxalite movement did not come to an end. In later years, it spread to many other parts of the country.
The Naxalite movement has by now splintered into various

parties and organisations. Some of these parties, like the CPI – ML (Liberation) participate in open, democratic
politics.

Morarji Desai
(189 -199 ): Freedom fighter; a Gandhian leader; Proponenet of Khadi, naturopathy and

prohibition; Chief Minister of Bombay State; Deputy Prime Minister (1967-1969); joined Congress
(O) after the split in the party; Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979 first Prime Minister belonging to a

non-Congress party.
 UNIT 7
Rise of New Social Movements: Farmers’ movements,
Women’s movement, Environment, and Development-
affected people’s movements. Implementation of
Mandal Commission report and its aftermath
Chipko movement

 Location- Uttarakhand in early 1973

 Villagers protested against the practices of commercial logging that the government had permitted.
 They used a novel tactic for their protest-that of hugging the trees to prevent them from being cut
down.
 The struggle soon spread across many parts of the Uttarakhand region.
 Larger issues of ecological and economic exploitation of the region were raised.
 The villagers demanded that no forest-exploiting contracts should be given to outsiders and local
communities should have effective control over natural resources like land, water and forests.
 The movement took up economic issues of landless forest workers and asked for guarantees of
minimum wage.
 Women's active participation in the Chipko agitation was a very novel aspect of the movement.
 The movement achieved a victory when the government issued a ban on felling of trees in the
Himalayan regions for fifteen years.
 The Chipko movement, which started over a single issue, became a symbol of many such popular
movements emerging in different parts of the country during the 1970s and later.

Party based movements

 Popular movements may take the form of social movements or political movements
 Example of Political movement - nationalist movement
 Example of Social movements - the anti-caste movement, the kisan sabhas and the trade union
movement in early twentieth century. These movements raised issues related to some underlying social
conflicts.
 The peasants' and the workers' movements mainly focussed on issues of economic injustice and
inequality.
 These movements did not participate in elections formally.

Non-party Movements

 In the 1970s and 1980s, many sections of the society became disillusioned with the functioning of
political parties.
 In spite of the impressive growth in many sectors of economy in the first twenty years of independence,
poverty and inequalities persisted on a large scale.
 A sense of injustice and deprivation grew among different groups.
 Many of the politically active groups lost faith in existing democratic institutions and electoral politics.
 They therefore chose to step outside of party politics and engage in mass mobilisation for registering
their protests.
 Because of the voluntary nature of their social work, many of these organisations came to be known as
voluntary organisations or voluntary sector organisations.
 These voluntary organisations chose to remain outside party politics.
 They did not contest elections at the local or regional level nor did they support any one political party.
 These organisations were called 'non-party political formations'.
 They hoped that direct participation by people will reform the nature of democratic government.

Dalit Panthers

 Dalit Panthers, a militant organisation of the Dalit youth, was formed in Maharashtra in 1972.
 In the post-Independence period, Dalit groups were mainly fighting against the perpetual caste based
inequalities and material injustices
 Effective implementation of reservations and other such policies of social justice was one of their
prominent demands.
 The Dalit Panthers resorted to mass action for assertion of Dalits' rights.
 As a result of sustained agitations, the government passed a comprehensive law in 1989 that provided
rigorous punishment for doing atrocities on Dalits
 The movement provided a platform for Dalit educated youth to use their creativity as a protest activity.
 In the post-Emergency period, Dalit Panthers got involved in electoral compromises which led to its
decline.
 Organisations like the Backward and Minority Communities' Employees Federation (BAMCEF) took over
this space.

Bharatiya Kisan Union

 Meerut agitation - January 1988

 Around twenty thousand farmers had gathered in the city of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
 They were protesting against the government decision to increase electricity rates.
 The farmers camped for about three weeks outside the district collector's office until their demands
were fulfilled.
 The Meerut agitation was seen as a great show of rural power-power of farmer cultivators.
 These agitating farmers were members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), an organisation of farmers
from western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana regions.
 The BKU was one of the leading organisations in the farmers' movement of the eighties.
 Most of the BKU members belonged to a single community.
 The organisation used traditional caste panchayats of these communities in bringing them together over
economic issues.
 The BKU distanced itself from all political parties. It operated as a pressure group in politics with Like the
BKU, farmers' organisations across States recruited their members from communities that dominated
regional electoral politics.
 Shetkari Sanghatana of Maharashtra and Rayata Sangha of Karnataka, are prominent examples its
strength of sheer numbers of such organisations of the farmers.

Anti-Arrack Movement

 When the BKU was mobilising the farmers of the north, an altogether different kind of mobilisation in
the rural areas was taking shape in the southern State of Andhra Pradesh.
 It was a spontaneous mobilisation of women demanding a ban on the sale of alcohol in their
neighbourhoods.
 Rural women in remote villages from the State of Andhra Pradesh fought a battle against alcoholism,
against mafias and against the government during this period (1992).
 These agitations shaped what was known as the anti-arrack movement in the State.

Origins

 In a village in the interior of Dubagunta in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.

 The habit of alcoholism had taken deep roots among the village people and was ruining their physical
and mental health.
 Women were the worst sufferers of these ill- effects of alcohol.
 It resulted in the collapse of the family economy and women had to bear the brunt of violence from the
male family.
 Women in Nellore came together in spontaneous local initiatives to protest against arrack and forced
closure of the wine shop.

Linkages

 Gradually this anti-arrack movement touched upon larger social, economic and political issues of the
region that affected women's life.
 Groups of local women tried to address these complex issues in their agitation against arrack. They also
openly discussed the issue of domestic violence.
 Their movement, for the first time, provided a platform to discuss private issues of domestic violence.
 Thus the anti-arrack movement also became part of the women's movement.
 As a result the movement made demands of equal representation to women in politics during the
nineties. (73rd and 74th amendments have granted reservations to women in local level political
offices.)
 Narmada Bachao Aandolan

 An ambitious developmental project was launched in the Narmada valley of central India in early
eighties.
 The project consisted of 30 big dams, 135 medium sized and around 3,000 small dams to be constructed
on the Narmada and its tributaries that flow across three states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
Maharashtra.
 Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat and the Narmada Sagar Project in Madhya Pradesh were two of the
most important and biggest, multi- purpose dams planned under the project.
 Narmada Bachao Aandolan, a movement to save Narmada, opposed the construction of these dams.

Sardar Sarovar Project

 It is a multipurpose mega-scale dam.

 In the process of construction of the dam 245 villages from these States were expected to get
submerged.
 It required relocation of around two and a half lakh people from these villages.
 Issues of relocation and proper rehabilitation of the project-affected people were first raised by local
activist groups.
 It was around 1988-89 that the issues crystallised under the banner of the NBA- a loose collective of
local voluntary organisations.

Demands raised by the voluntary organisations

 The movement demanded proper and just rehabilitation of all those who were directly or indirectly
affected by the project.
 The movement also questioned the nature of decision-making processes that go in the making of mega
scale developmental projects.
 The NBA insisted that local communities must have a say in such decisions and they should also have
effective control over natural resources like water, land and forests.

Achievement of the movement

 Right to rehabilitation has been now recognised by the government and the judiciary
 A comprehensive National Rehabilitation Policy formed by the govemment in 2003.

Construction of the dam

 The Supreme Court upheld the government's decision to go ahead with the construction of the dam
while also instructing to ensure proper rehabilitation.

The course of NBA

 Narmada Bachao Aandolan continued a sustained agitation for more than twenty years.
 It used every available democratic strategy to put forward its demands.
 However, the movement could not garner much support among the mainstream political parties -
including the opposition parties.
 By the end of the 'nineties, however, the NBA was not alone.
 There emerged many local groups and movements that challenged the logic of large scale
developmental projects in their areas.

Movement for Right to Information

 The movement started in 1990, when a mass based organisation called the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan took the initiative in demanding records of famine relief work and
accounts of labourers.
 In 1996 MKSS formed National Council for People's Right to Information in Delhi to raise RTI to the
status of a national campaign.
 Prior to that, the Consumer Education and Research Center, the Press Council and the Shourie
committee had proposed a draft RTI law.
 In 2002, a weak Freedom of Information Act was legislated but never came into force.
 In 2004 RTI Bill was tabled and received presidential assent in June 2005.
 UNIT 8
Regional Aspirations and Conflicts: Rise of regional
parties. Punjab crisis and the anti Sikh riots of 1984. The
Kashmir situation. Challenges and responses in the North
East.
Regional Aspirations
Region and the Nation: Indian Approach

 The Indian approach in nation building is to balance the principles of unity and diversity. The nation
would not mean the negation of the region.
 The one basic principle of the Indian approach to diversity is, the Indian Nation shall not deny the rights
of different regions and linguistic groups to retain their own culture.
 India adopted a democratic approach to the question of diversity. Democracy allows the political
expressions of regional aspirations and does not look upon them as anti-national.
 Democratic politics also means that regional issues and problems will receive adequate attention and
accommodation in the policy making process. Soon after Independence, Jammu and Kashmir and some
parts of North-East faced mass agitations in many parts for separation from India.
 These events were followed by mass movement in many parts for the formation of linguistic states, such
as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
 In some parts of Southern India, there were protests against making Hindi the official language of the
country.
 With the passage of time the challenge of diversity was met by redrawing the internal boundaries of the
country.

Jammu and Kashmir

 The 'Kashmir issue' is always seen as a major issue between India and Pakistan.
 Jammu and Kashmir comprises three social and political regions. Jammu-a mix of foothills and plains,
Kashmir- heart of Kashmir region; Ladakh- mountainous region with very little population which is
equally divided between Buddhists and Muslims.
 Before 1947, Jammu and Kashmir was a Princely State. The state was having majority population of
Muslims but Hari Singh was a Hindu ruler of the state.
 In October 1947, Pakistan sent tribal infiltrators from its side to capture Kashmir. This forced Hari Singh
to ask for Indian military help.
 Indian Army successfully drove out infiltrators from Kashmir valley and Hari Singh signed an Instrument
of Accession1 with the Government of India.
 It was agreed that once the situation will be normalised, the views of the people of Jammu and Kashmir
will be ascertained about their future and India agreed to maintain the autonomy of Jammu and
Kashmir.

External and Internal Disputes

 Externally, Pakistan has always claimed that Kashmir valley should be part of Pakistan.
 Pakistan sponsored a tribal invasion of the State of 1947 and consequence of it, a part of the state came
under Pakistani control.
 India claims this area under illegal occupation whereas Pakistan describes this area as 'Azad Kashmir."
 Internally, there is a dispute about the status of Kashmir within the Indian Union.
 Article 370 gives greater autonomy to J&K compared to other state of India. State has its own
Constitution.
 The special attention provokes two opposite reactions.
 A section of people outside J&K feels that Article 370 should therefore be revoked and J&K should be
like any other state in India.
 Another section, mostly Kashmiries, believe that autonomy conferred by Article 370 is not enough.

Politics Since 1948

 Between 1953 and 1974, the Congress Party exercised a lot of influence on the politics of the state.
 National Conference remained in power with the active support of Congress for some time but later it
merged with the Congress. Thus, Congress gained direct control over the government of the state.
 In 1974, Indira Gandhi reached an agreement with Sheikh Abdullah and he became the Chief Minister of
the State.
 Farooq Abdullah succeeded after death of his father as Chief Minister in 1982.
 Farooq Abdullah was soon dismissed by the Governor, his dismissal due to the intervention of the centre
generated a feeling of resentment in Kashmir.
 Ups and down in state politics continued till 1986 when National Conference agreed to have an electoral
alliance with the Congress.

Insurgency and Effect

 In 1987 assembly election the National Conference- Congress alliance gained a massive victory and
Farooq Abdullah returned as Chief Minister.
 By 1989, the state had come in grip of a militant movement mobilised around the cause of a separate
Kashmir nation.
 Throughout the period from 1990, J&K experienced violence at the hands of the insurgents and through
army action.
 In 2002 J&K experienced a fair election in which National Conference was replaced by People's
Democratic (PDP)-Congress Party coalition government.

Separatism

 Separatism surfaced in Kashmir 'rom 1989 and is made up of various strands.

 One strand of separatists wanted a separate Kashmir nation, independent of India and Pakistan.
 Jammu and Kashmir is one of th; living examples of plural society and politics.
 Despite diversities and divergence on the one hand and the continued situation of conflict on the other,
the plural and secular culture of the state has remained largely intact.

Punjab

 The decade of 1980s witnessed major developments in the State of Punjab.

 Social composition of the state was changed first with partition and later-after the carving out of
Haryam and Himachal Pradesh.
 The Akali Dal, which was formed in 1920 as the political wing of the Sikhs, had led the movement for the
formation of a 'Punjabi Suba.'
 Punjab had to wait till 1966 to be reorganised on linguistic lines for the creation of a Punjabi speaking
state.

Political Context

 After the reorganisation, the Akalis came to power 1967 and then in 1977.
 During the 1970s a section of Akalis began to demand political autonomy for the region. This was
reflected in a resolution passed in a conference at Anandpur Sahib in 1973.

Cycle of Violence

 The militants made their headquarters inside t Sikh holy shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar and
turned it into an armed fortress.
 In June 1984, the Government of India carried o 'Operation Blue Star' code name for army action in the
Golden temple in which the government could successfully flush out the militants.
 In this operation temple was damaged, which hurt the Sikh sentiments and their faith was betrayed.
 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31st October, 1984 outside her residence by her Sikh
bodyguards as a revenge of 'Operation Blue Star"
 In many parts of Northern India violence broke give space out against Sikh community and continued for
almost a week which results in the killings of more than two thousand Sikhs.

Road to Peace

 In 1984, The new Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi initiated a dialogue with moderate Akali leaders and in
July 1985 a peace agreement was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal (the
President of Akali Dal).
 The agreement known as Rajiv Gandhi- Longowal Accord or the Punjab Accord.
 The cycle of violence continued nearly for a decade and peace returned to Punjab by the middle of
1990s. The alliance of Akali Dal (Badal) and the BJP scored a major victory in 1997, in the first normal
elections in the state in the post militancy era.

The North-East

 The North-East region of the country now consists of seven states, also referred to as the 'seven sister.'
 The region witnessed a lot of change in 1947.
 The entire region of North-East has has undergone considerable political reorganistation.
 The vast international border and weak communication between the North-East and the rest of India
have added to the delicate nature of politics there.
 Three issues dominate the politics of North-East: demands for autonomy, movements for secession and
opposition to 'outsiders,'

Demands for Autonomy

 At the time of independence the entire region except Manipur and Tripura comprised the State of
Assam opposition and protest riots throughout
 There were opposition and product right through the state on various issues.
 At different points of time the Central Government had to create Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal
Pradesh out of Assam.
 The reorganisation of the North-East was completed by 1972.
 Secessionist Movements

 For autonomy there were secessionist movements in North-East region like Mizoram and Nagaland etc.
 After independence, the Mizo hills area was made an autonomous district within Assam.
 Movement for secession gained popular support after the Assam Government 'failed to respond
adequately to great famine of 1959 in Mizo hills.'
 Mizo's anger led to formation of Mizo National Front (MNF) under the leadership of Laldenga.
 MNF fought guerilla war, got support from Pakistani Government and secured shelter in East Pakistan.
In 1986 a peace agreement was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Laldenga.
 This accord granted Mizoram as full fledged statehood with special powers, and MNF agreed to give up
secessionist struggle.
 Thus, the accord turn Mizoram as one of the most peaceful places in the region.
 The story of Nagaland is similar to Mizoram except that started much earlier and had not yet such a
happy ending.
 After a section of violent insurgency a section of the Nagas signed an agreement with the Government
of India but it was not acceptable to other rebels.

Movements Against Outsiders

 The large scale migration into the North-East gave rise to a special kind of problem that pitted the 'local'
communities against people who were seen as 'outsiders' or migrants.
 The issue has taken political and sometimes violent form in many states of North-East.
 The Assam movement from 1979 to 1985 is the best example of such movements against 'outsiders'.
 In 1979, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), a students' group not affiliated to any party, led an anti-
foreigner movement. Movement demanded, outsiders who had entered the state after 1951 should be
sent back.
 With the successful completion of the movement. the AASU and the Asom Gana Sangram Parishad
organised themselves as a regional political party called Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which came to
power in 1985 with the promise of resolving the foreign national problem as well as to build a 'Golden
Assam.'

Sikkim's Merger

 At the time of independence Sikkim was a 'protectorate (A state that is controlled and protected by
other) of India. Chogyal was its monarch.
 In 1975, Sikkim was merged with India and it became the 22nd State of the Indian Union.

Accommodation and National Integration

 Regional aspirations are very much a part of democratic politics. Expression of regional issues is not an
aberration or an abnormal phenomenon.
 The best way to respond to regional aspirations is through democratic negotiations rather than through
suppression.
  Regional imbalance in economic development contributes to the feeling of regional discrimination.

Goa's Liberation

 After independence 1947, British withdrew but Portuguese who were ruling since 16th century in Goa,
Daman and Diu refused to withdraw themselves.
 Goa was liberated in 1961 from Portuguese by an army operation. Goa, Daman and Diu was declared an
Union Territories.

Edu Facts

1. 1980s may be seen as a period of rising regional aspirations creating various regional movements which
conclude in a negotiated settlement or accords between the government's groups. Indian approach
maintained a balance in the principles of unity and diversity even by redrawing the internal boundaries
of country in response to preserve the culture of different regions and linguistic groups.

2. Immediately after independence, India had to cope up with the issues of partition, displacement,
integration of princely states and reorganisation of states i.e. Jammu and Kashmir issues political
aspiration, North-East had no consensus to be a part of India and Dravidian movement briefly toyed
with the idea of separate country.

3. Jammu and Kashmir comprised of three social and political regions namely Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh
region. On the issue of regional autonomy, Accession was promised on reference of people. Special
federal status guaranteed by Article 370, to protect regional autonomy.

4. During most of the period between 1953 to 1974, Congress exercised a lot of influence on the politics of
Jammu and Kashmir. Finally, in 1974, Sheikh became Chief Minister of the state. Except it, from 1989,
separatist politics was also surfaced in Kashmir with the stronger demand for intrastate autonomy
rather than state autonomy. In present scenario, most of separatist in dialogue are trying to re-
negotiate a relationship of the state with India.

5. In Punjab, Anandpur Sahib Resolution was passed at the conference of Akali Dal at Anandpur Sahib in
1973 to ascertain regional autonomy and to redefine centre-state relationship. It had a limited appeal
and Akali government was dismissed in 1980. Afterwards, the movement launched by Akali Dal took the
form of armed insurgency and resolution became controversial.

6. In 1985, Punjab accord was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal, President of
Akali Dal to transfer Chandigarh, appointment of a commission to resolve border dispute and agreement
for compensation to better treatment. But peace did not come easily, violence led many excesses and
fragmentation of Akali Dal. Hence, it led to president's rule in the state. In 1997, first normal elections in
Punjab were held in post militancy era and alliance of Akali Dal and BJP scored a major victory.

7. The North-East region consisted of seven states referred to as 'Seven Sisters'. The reorganisation of
North-East was complete by 1972 but did not end the autonomy demands i.e. Bodos, Karbis, Dimasas
 demanded separate state in Assam and issues were resolved with the grant of some autonomy to these
issues. Even 'Assam Accord' was signed over the issue of Outsiders' in Assam in 1985.

8. The Assam movement was combination of cultural pride and economic backwardness as it was against
outsiders to maintain cultural integration and poverty, unemployment also existed despite natural
resources like oil, tea and coal.

9. Regional aspirations range from demands of statchood and economic development to autonomy and
separation were coming up which taught many lessons to us i.e. expression of regional issues is not
abnormal phenomenon, to respond through democratic negotiations, power sharing among groups and
parties, economic development of region and flexible federal system.

10. Goa was under the Portuguese along with Daman and Diu, which expected freedom in 1947 but
Portuguese refused. Goa wanted to be merged with motherland and suppressed from religious
conversions and civil rights known as 'Goa Problem'. In 1961, Government of India sent army under
'Operation Vijay' and liberated Goa from Portugal rule and in 1987, Goa attained the status of 'State'
position.

Edu opener

1. Instrument of Accession: An accord signed between Maharaja of Kashmir and government of India on
the accession of state.

2. Insurgency: An affair to be directed against one's own constitutional government within national
boundary with the support of local people.

3. Khalistan: A separate state of Sikh community to maintain the autonomous Sikh identity.

4. Operation Blue Star: A code name for army action in Golden Temple in June 1984 by Government of
India when Sikh militants made their headquarters inside Golden Temple.

5. Seven Sisters: It is referred to seven states of North East region to be referred as Seven Sisters.

6. Mizo National Front (MNF): It was formed in 1959 by the groups of Mizo under the leadership of
Laldenga for autonomous States of Mizos.
 UNIT 9
Recent Issues and Challenges: Challenge of and
responses to globalization: new economic policy and its
opposition. Rise of OBCs in North Indian politics. Dalit
politics in the electoral and non-electoral arena.
Challenge of communalism: Ayodhya dispute, Gujarat
riots.. Implementation of Mandal Commission report and
its aftermath.

Recent Development in Indian Politics Context of the

1990s
Developments

 Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
 Congress won the Lok Sabha elections held immediately thereafter in 1984.
 Congress party got defeated in the elections held in 1989.
 The Congress came back to power after the mid-term elections held in 1991.
 The elections of 1989 marked the end of what political scientists have called the 'Congress system'.
 Another development was the rise of the 'Mandal issue' in national politics.
 Recommendation of Mandal Commission - jobs in central government should be reserved for the Other
Backward Classes.
 The dispute between the supporters and opponents of OBC reservations was known as the 'Mandal
issue' and was to play an important role in shaping politics since 1989.
 The new economic reforms first became very visible in 1991 and radically changed the direction that the
Indian economy had pursued since Independence.
 These policies have been widely criticised by various movements and organisations. But the various
governments that came to power in this period have continued to follow these.
 A number of events culminated in the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya (known as Babri
Masjid) in December 1992.
 This event symbolised and triggered various changes in the politics of the country and intensified
debates about the nature of Indian nationalism and secularism.
 These developments are associated with the rise of the BJP and the politics of 'Hindutva'.
 Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

 The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 led to a change in leadership of the Congress party.
 He was assassinated by a Sri Lankan Tamil linked to the LTTE when he was on an election campaign tour
in Tamil Nadu.
 In the elections of 1991, Congress emerged as the single largest party.
 Following Rajiv Gandhi's death, the party chose Narsimha Rao as the Prime Minister.

Era of Coalitions

 Elections in 1989 - Congress was the largest party in the Lok Sabha but it did not have a clear majority
 The National Front (which itself was an alliance of Janata Dal and some other regional parties) received
support from two diametrically opposite political groups: the BJP and the Left Front.
 On this basis, the National Front formed a coalition government, but the BJP and the Left Front did not
join in this government.

What happened after 1989

 Emergence of several parties in such a way that one or two parties did not get most of the votes or
seats.
 This also meant that no single party secured a clear majority of seats in any Lok Sabha election held
since 1989 till 2014.
 This development initiated an era of coalition governments at the Centre, in which regional parties
played a crucial role in forming ruling alliances.

Alliance politics

 The nineties also saw the emergence of powerful regional parties

 These parties played an important role in the United Front government that came to power in 1996.
 The United Front was similar to the National Front of 1989 for it included Janata Dal and several regional
parties.
 This time the BJP did not support the government. The United Front government was supported by the
Congress.
 In 1989, both the Left and the BJP supported the National Front Government because they wanted to
keep the Congress out of power.
 In 1996, the Left continued to support the non- Congress government but this time the Congress,
supported it, as both the Congress and the Left wanted to keep the BJP out of power.
 BJP emerged as the largest party in the 1996 election but could not secure a majority in the Lok Sabha.
 It finally came to power by leading It finally came to power by leading a coalition government from May
1998 to June 1999 and was re-elected in October 1999.
 Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister during both these NDA governments and his government
formed in 1999 completed its full term.
 Thus, with the elections of 1989, a long phase of coalition politics began in India.
 Government formed with the participation or support of many regional parties.

1. National Front in 1989

2. United Front in 1996 and 1997

3. NDA in 1997

4. BJP-led coalition in 1998

5. NDA in 1999

6. UPA in 2004 and 2009.

This trend changed in 2014.

Political Rise of Other Backward Classes

 One long-term development of this period was the rise of backward Classes as a political force.
 OBC These are communities other than SC and ST
 The rise of these parties first found political expression at the national level in the form of the Janata
Party government in 1977.
 The decision of the National Front government to implement the recommendations of the Mandal
Commission further helped in shaping the politics of 'Other Backward Classes'.
 In 1978 the Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) was formed. It took a
strong position in favour of political power to the 'bahujan'-the SC, ST, OBC and minorities.
 It was out of this that the subsequent Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti and later the Bahujan Samaj
Party (BSP) emerged under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.
 The BSP began as a small party supported largely by Dalit voters in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
 But in 1989 and the 1991 elections, it achieved a breakthrough in Uttar Pradesh.
 This was the first time in independent India that a political party supported mainly by Dalit voters had
achieved this kind of political success.
 The Mandal Commission

 Reservations for the OBC were in existence in southern States since the 1960s
 But this policy was not operative in north Indian States.
 During the tenure of Janata Party government in 1977-79, the demand for reservations for backward
castes in north India and at the national level was strongly raised.
 The central government appointed a Commission in 1978 to look into and recommend ways to improve
the conditions of the backward classes. This was the second time since Independence that the
government had appointed such a commission.
 Therefore, this commission was officially known as the Second Backward Classes Commission. Popularly,
the commission is known as the Mandal Commission, after the name of its Chairperson, Bindeshwari
Prasad Mandal.
 The Commission gave its recommendations in 1980. By then the Janata government had fallen.
 The Commission recommended reserving 27 per cent of seats in educational institutions and
government jobs for these groups.
 The Mandal Commission also made many other recommendations, like, land reform, to improve the
conditions of the OBCs.
 In August 1990, the National Front government one of decided to implement recommendations of
Mandal Commission
 This decision sparked agitations and violent protests in many cities of north India.
 The decision was also challenged in the Supreme Court and came to be known as the 'Indira Sawhney
case', after the name of one of the petitioners.
 In November 1992, the Supreme Court gave a ruling upholding the decision of the government.

Communalism, Secularism, Democracy

 The other long-term development during this period was the rise of politics based on religious identity
 After the fall of the Janata Party and its break- up, the supporters of erstwhile Jana Sangh formed the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980.
 The BJP pursued the politics of 'Hindutva' and adopted the strategy of mobilising the Hindus.
 Hindutva literally means 'Hinduness' and was defined by its originator, V. D. Savarkar, as the basis of
Indian (in his language also Hindu) nationhood.
 It basically meant that to be members of the Indian nation, everyone must not only accept India as their
'fatherland' (pitrubhu) but also as their holy land (punyabhu).
 Two developments around 1986 became central to the politics of BJP as a 'Hindutva' party.

The first was the Shah Bano case in 1985.

 In this case a 62-year old divorced Muslim woman, had filed a case for maintenance from her former
husband.
 The Supreme Court ruled in her favour.
 The orthodox Muslims saw the Supreme Court's order as an interference in Muslim Personal Law. On
the demand of some Muslim leaders, the government passed the Muslim Women. (Protection of Rights
on Divorce) Act, 1986 that nullified the Supreme Court's judgment.
 This action of the government was opposed by many women's organisations, many Muslim groups and
most of the intellectuals.
 The BJP criticised this action of the Congress government as an unnecessary concession and
'appeasement' of the minority community.

The second was the Ayodhya dispute

 The second development was the order by the Faizabad district court in February 1986.
 The court ordered that the Babri Masjid premises be unlocked so that Hindus could offer prayers at the
site which they considered as a temple. A dispute had been going on for many decades over the mosque
known as Babri Masjid at Ayodhya.
 The Babri Masjid was a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya and was built by Mir Baqi - Mughal emperor
Babur's General.
 Some Hindus believe that it was built after demolishing a temple for Lord Rama in what is believed to be
his birthplace.
 The dispute took the form of a court case and has continued for many decades.
 In the late 1940s the mosque was locked up as the matter was with the court.
 As soon as the locks of the Babri Masjid were opened, mobilisation began on both sides. This large scale
mobilisation led to surcharged atmosphere and many instances of communal violence
 The BJP made this issue its major electoral and political plank.
 The BJP, in order to generate public support, took out a massive march called the Rathyatra from
Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in UP.

Demolition and after

 Thousands of people gathered from all over the country at Ayodhya on 6 December 1992 and
demolished the mosque.
 This news led to clashes between the Hindus and Muslims in many parts of the country.

Gujarat riots

 In February-March 2002, large-scale violence took place in Gujarat.

 The immediate provocation for this violence was an incident that took place at a station called Godhra.
 A bogey of a train that was returning from Ayodhya and was full of Karsevaks was set on fire. Fifty-seven
people died in that fire.
 Suspecting the hand of the Muslims in setting fire to the bogey, large-scale violence against Muslims
began in many parts of Gujarat from the next day.
 This violence continued for almost a whole month. Nearly 1100 persons, mostly Muslims, were killed in
this violence.
 Lok Sabha Elections 2004

 The NDA was defeated and a new coalition government led by the Congress, known as the United
Progressive Alliance came to power.
 The party system has now changed almost dramatically from what it was till the seventies. The situation
suggests that political competition will be multi-cornered.
 By implication the situation also assumes a divergence of political ideologies.
 However, on many crucial issues, a broad agreement has emerged among most parties.
 In the midst of severe competition and many conflicts, a consensus appears to have emerged among
most parties.

This consensus consists of four elements.

1. Agreement on new economic policies

2. Acceptance of the political and social claims of the backward castes

3. Acceptance of the role of State level parties in governance of the country

4. Emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideological positions and political alliances without
ideological agreement

 Coalition politics has shifted the focus of political parties from ideological differences to power sharing
arrangements.
 Thus, most parties of the NDA did not agree with the 'Hindutva' ideology of the BJP.
 Yet, they came together to form a government and remained in power for a full term.