POLITICS OF INDIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE

Acquaintance with the Past

1857 - British took over India:

All the money India had went to the British crown

Concept of development changed; game of development was now being decided

internationally
1828 Railway lines being laid in India
British capitalist ideologies impacted our agricultural production. High produce of Cotton

and Indigo impacted Indias agriculture sector

English Education: Made people aware of the concept of Indian National Movement as

people of India could now aggregate and revolt against the British system
Britishs unified the princely state and earned revenue through taxes
There was no tariff protection for Indian industry, to import in India it was much easy, but

to export finished products (like handicraft materials) it was made difficult.

Britishs destroyed the traditional structure of India, they did not encouraged the culture

of mono-cropping which had high profits attached with high risks

Distortion was extremely bad: India had very high poverty rates, illiteracy rate and poor

health services
The priority for Britishs was to get surplus labor from India

1935 and towards 1946 Government system in place in India

Legal system came into picture. India did not have a legal code of conduct before British came
in. Justice was what king said and did.
Indian Penal Code 1860 1861 was given by Britishs.
Moral Ethics became part of the judicial system.
Infrastructure Development began in this phase.
Charkha became an economic tool.
Journey of Indian politics from 1947

On August 14, 1947 India began its experiment of democracy against all odds.
It was not even six months after India gained independence, when Father of the Nation
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948. His untimely death was a big blow to
the nation, which was struggling hard to establish state authority, manage the accession of
princely states among other Herculean tasks
India and Pakistan, who were separated at the birth of their independence soon were embroiled
in battle over the claim of Kashmir when Pakistan sent tribes, the Maharaja quickly accede to
India. By this time Nehru made one of the most disputed decisions and halted the Indian Army in
its track and seeds of discord were sown.
Karachi Agreement was signed in 1949. Under this agreement a ceasefire line was established
that had to be supervised by UN observers and Kashmir issue would be solved through
arbitration.

First elections in independent India

1951-52 saw the first general election of India. These were the first ever polls to be held under
the new constitution, drawn up with the British parliamentary system as a model.
The Congress party won 249 of the 489 seats. Congress, however, suffered some unexpected
setbacks in three southern states Tamil Nadu (Madras), Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad) and
Kerala (Travancore) where the party failed to win majority in the face of strong support of the
Communist Party.
Nehrus government undertook a lot of economic measures to push India on the path of
industrialization and modernization. A lot of efforts were invested to create big dams, vast
industrial plants, institutions like Atomic Energy, Planning Commissions. All these institutions
were temples of growth of a New India.
Nehru led Congress to another victory in the 1957 polls.

But CPI in Kerala, who swept polls, outnumbered Congress. A Left government was formed in
the state. It was the first time a Communist party anywhere in the world won a democratic
mandate. However, Centred dismissed the Left government and Presidents rule was declared in
1959 in the state.
In 1959 Indira Gandhi made her presence felt in the political arena. She was elected the Congress
chief in 1959 and was also a constant confidante of Nehru.
Decline of Nehru Charm
During 1962 63 Nehru saw the lowest point of his career. It was the humiliating defeat suffered
at the hands of China over border dispute that caused him certain loss of face and undermined his
position.
As a result, Nehru had to face the first no-confidence motion in Parliament. He started facing
rising problems and criticism.
Despite all the odds, Nehru went to polls in 1962 and led the Congress Party to victory though
with a diminished majority.
But Congress Party was in a major shock when in 1964 Nehru era came to an end. The entire
nation mourned the death of a towering figure.
Meanwhile, Gulzarilal Nanda was sworn in as an interim successor.
Soon, Congress handed over the responsibilities of Prime Ministership to Lal Bahadur Shastri, a
Nehru loyalist.

Emergence of Indira
At the urgings of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira contested elections and was inducted in the Cabinet
as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
The chief problem of Shastris administration was the first Indo-Pakistan war in 1965. Pakistans
aggressive intentions were focused on Kashmir.

India emerged victorious and Shastri flew to Russia to sign the Tashkent ceasefire declaration
with Pakistani President Ayub Khan. Unfortunately, Shastri died of cardiac arrest the next day
after inking the declaration in Tashkent.
There was chaos in the political circles and Indira Gandhi was elected as his successor. She thus
became the first woman to hold the Prime Ministerial position of the world`s most populous
democracy.
She passed the test of mandate by getting herself easily elected in the 1967 elections. Indira and
the Congress Party returned to power but with a sharply reduced majority.
The support base of Congress had shrunk due to the wide array of economic and social problems
and public dissatisfaction with the Government.
Though Indira tried several measures but could not beat the food shortage back-breaking
poverty, ignorance and economic stagnation.
1967 also saw the rise of Naxalbari movement in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh. The root of the
problem was seen in the inequitable agrarian structure. But the authoritarian handling of this
crisis by the Left gave reasons to this movement to spread.
This was also the time when the nation saw the formation of regional political parties like
Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD) in Uttar Pradesh, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil
Nadu and the Vishal Haryana Party in Haryana.
Indiras Charisma
Coming back to the political scenario it seemed Indira had to reinvent the Congress as the party
was a divided house, when she decided to back V V Giri in place of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy for
the post of President on the death of Zakir Hussain in 1969.
In 1971, Indira galvanized her mass support with the "Garibi Hatao" campaign. The Congress
Party won with a huge majority in Parliament giving her unprecedented power.

The same year India supported Bangladeshs struggle for freedom and Pakistan was forced to
concede and it was declared an independent nation.
Rejoicing the victory of 1971 war, Indira Gandhi signed the Simla Agreement with Pakistan
Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. This agreement aimed to put an end to the conflict, maintain
LoC and that the two nations would settle their differences through bilateral negotiations.
Troubled times: Emergency
In June 1975, the Allahabad High Court found the sitting Prime Minister guilty of election fraud.
It ordered her to be removed from her seat in Parliament and barred from running in elections for
six years.
As a result, Indira got President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare a state of emergency.
Emergency rule lasted for 19-months. This period witnessed protests at various levels. Her
popularity dipped miserably and was pressured into holding fresh elections.

Fall on Indira government

The general elections of 1977 saw the fallout of Emergency rule.
Indira was badly routed by her opponents. Congress failed to win a single seat in Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.
Janta Party came to power. Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister and Sanjiva Reddy was
elected the President of India.
Congress Party split, and veteran Indira supporters like Jagjivan Ram abandoned her for Janta
Party.
Unable to govern, owing to internal fighting in the coalition, Janta governments Home Minister,
Choudhary Charan Singh, ordered the arrest of Indira and Sanjay Gandhi on a slew of charges.

However, her arrest and long-running trial projected the image of a helpless woman being
victimized by the Government. This triggered Indiras political rebirth.
Desai resigned in June 1979, and Charan Singh was appointed Prime Minister by the President.
He attempted to form a government with his Janata (Secular) coalition but lacked a majority.
He then bargained with Indira for support of Congress MPs causing uproar by his political
opponent. After a short interval, Indira withdrew her initial support fresh elections were called in
1980.

Comeback of Indira
During this election it was the rise of Congress to power with a landslide majority. They
provided a stable government and a powerful Prime Minister to the country.
This time rise of insurgent movements in Assam and Punjab, and the continuing instability of
Kashmir proved to be the stumbling blocks before her government.
Operation Bluestar
In 1984, she ordered Operation Bluestar to storm Golden Temple where Jarnail Singh
Bhindrawales had taken refuge.
He was advocating Sikh rights in the Harmandar Sahibs premises as months of negotiations
failed to resolve the standoff. He was besieged in the premises of the gurduwara.

Assassination of Indira
Sikhs everywhere were outraged at the desecration of their holiest shrine.
On October 31, 1984 she had to pay heavy price of this. Two of her Sikh bodyguards, Beant
Singh and Satwant Singh assassinated her at her residence.

This resulted in anti-Sikh riots that spread across the nation, killing thousands of innocent
people.
Rajiv comes to power
Void of Indiras death was filled by Rajiv Gandhi winning the year-end elections by a landslide
margin. He set a record of winning 401 Lok Sabha seats out of 508. His government contributed
a lot for the economic growth of the nation.
However, the biggest mistake of Rajivs government was misreading of the Shah Bano case.
Shah Bano Case: The Supreme Court questioned the validity of the shariat for Muslims as well
the competence of the Muslim jurists to interpret the shariat. Rajiv Gandhi tried to overturn
Supreme Courts judgment in this case to pacify the Muslims. This led to a protest.
Yet another failure was when, he ordered reopening of Ram Janambhoomi temple, which was
locked since 1948 to please the Hindus.
The decision of reopening of Ram Janambhoomi temple rebounded and caused anxiety among
the Muslims and reversing the court judgment upset the Hindus.

Controversies plaguing Rajiv government

Controversy that marred the Rajiv Gandhi government was the financial irregularities associated
with the Bofors scandal. It was alleged that Rajiv Gandhi himself had received kickbacks from
the Bofors deal. This scandal tarnished his clean and honest image.
As if this wasnt enough, Rajiv sent Indian Peacekeeping Force to Sri Lanka to check the LTTE
menace. The Army was bogged down by the civilian war in an unfamiliar terrain. And this
proved to be Indias most disastrous overseas military operation.
In 1989, Rajiv was voted out of power. He could only manage 197 seats in Lok Sabha and
became the Leader of Opposition.

Meanwhile, the 1989 elections inaugurated the new electoral era. The BJP and the lower caste
parties began to eat into the social base of the once mighty Congress.
1989 elections saw the beginning of coalition government in India. In these elections Janta Dal,
BJP and Left Front cobbled together to form the National Front government. V P Singh was
made the Prime Minister

Mandal Commission execution

V P Singhs government got a major upset while trying to implement the Mandal Commission
recommendations.
Though the motive behind the implementation was to give 27% reservation in government jobs,
schools and colleges to backward classes. But this resulted in nationwide protests in the form of
student immolations etc.
The basic move was to cut the BJPs vote bank along caste lines but it turned out to be a big
fiasco. In a major showdown, BJP withdrew support from the V P Singh government forcing it
out of power within less than a year.
At the same time (beginning of 90s), L K Advani undertook the famous political procession
Ram Rath Yatra from Somnath to Mumbai propagating national integration. But most
importantly, he vouched that the construction of Ram Mandir would begin on October 30, 1990
no matter what. He also gave the message of BJPs association with RSS-VHP.
But again the national focus shifted to Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. While on a campaign for the
Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Sriperumbudur, Rajiv was assassinated by a female LTTE
suicide bomber. The whole nation went into mourning.

Ramjanambhoomi Spotlight
Time flew and Ramjanambhoomi again came in spotlight. But the movement reached its peak
when thousands of kar sevaks converged in Ayodhya and demolished within minutes the Babri
Masjid on December 06, 1992. This act was condemned across the globe.

Just to settle scores for razing Babri Masjid, Dawood Ibrahim planned 1993 Mumbai blasts that
left scores dead and innumerable injured.
Two separate cases were filed one pertaining to the Babri Madjid demolition which is still
subjudice. While 1993 Mumbai blast case has just concluded awarding death sentence to 12 and
lifers to 19.
BJP in power for 13 days
Elections in 1996 resulted in a hung Parliament.
BJP emerged as the single largest party with 161 seats followed by Congress with 140 seats. BJP
was invited to form the government and Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed the government only for 13
days, as it could not manage support from other parties.
Exit of Vajpayee government, saw another coalition government known as the United Front at
the centre stage. All the non-BJP, non-Congress parties got together to form this government.
This government, however, had external support from Congress. United Front government saw
two Prime Ministers Deve Gowda and I K Gujral and lasted only two years in power.
The moment Jain Commission named DMK members behind Rajivs assassination, Congress
withdrew support from United Front government. This resulted in Gujrals resignation.
Birth of NDA
When the United Front government fell, National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a constituent of
13 parties, was formed led by BJP and they formed the government.
This government collapsed within a year due to the pull out of AIADMK. This led to elections in
1999. And this time around NDA was elected with a popular mandate and it served its full term.
During his tenure as the Prime Minister of India in 1999, Vajpayee made a historic bus trip to
Lahore and had met held peace talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. But just two
months after the visit, Pakistan waged the Kargil war. Pakistani armed infiltrators had crossed

over into Indian side of LoC and tried to push back the Indian troops. However, Indian Army
successfully recaptured its lost territory.
Crisis for the Vajpayee government did not end after the Kargil War. The government faced
another difficult time when Indian Airlines flight IC-814 was hijacked demanding release of
three terrorists. The Indian government gave into the demands of the hijackers and got the safe
release of all the passengers but one, who was killed.