History of the Republic of India

“Modern India” redirects here. For the book written bySwami Vivekananda, see Bartaman Bharat.

The history of the Republic of India began on 26 Jan-uary 1950. The country became an independent nationwithin the British Commonwealth on 15 August 1947.Concurrently the Muslim-majority northwest and east ofBritish India was separated into the Dominion of Pak-istan, by the partition of India. The partition led to apopulation transfer of more than 10 million people be-tween India and Pakistan and the death of about one mil-lion people. Nationalist leader Jawaharlal Nehru becamethe first Prime Minister of India and Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel became the Deputy Prime Minister of India and itsMinister of Home Affairs. But the most powerful moralleader Mahatma Gandhi accepted no office. The newconstitution of 1950 made India a secular and a demo-cratic state. It has a Hindu majority, a large Muslim mi-nority, and numerous other religious minorities includingSikhs and Christians.The nation faced religious violence, casteism, naxalism,terrorism and regional separatist insurgencies, especiallyin Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern India. Indiahas unresolved territorial disputes with China, which, in1962, escalated into the Sino-Indian War, and with Pak-istan, which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, 1971 and1999. India was neutral in the Cold War, but purchasedits military weapons from the Soviet Union, while itsarch-foe Pakistan was closely tied to the United Statesand the People’s Republic of China.India is a nuclear-weapon state; having conducted its firstnuclear test in 1974,[1] followed by another five tests in1998.[1] From the 1950s to the 1980s, India followedsocialist-inspired policies. The economy was shackledby extensive regulation, protectionism and public owner-ship, leading to pervasive corruption and slow economicgrowth.[2] Beginning in 1991, significant economic re-forms[3] have transformed India into the third largest andone of the fastest-growing economies in the world. To-day, India is a major world power with a prominent voicein global affairs and is seeking a permanent seat in theUnited Nations Security Council. Many economists, mil-itary analysts and think tanks expect India to become asuperpower in the near future.

1 1947–1950: Dominion of India

Independent India’s first years were marked with turbu-lent events – a massive exchange of population with Pak-istan, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 and the integrationof over 500 princely states to form a united nation. Creditfor the Political integration of India is largely attributed toVallabhbhai Patel (deputy Prime Minister of India at thetime),[4] who post independence and before the death ofMahatma Gandhi teamed up with Jawaharlal Nehru andthe Mahatma to ensure that the constitution of indepen-dent India would be secular.[5]

1.1 Partition of India

Main article: Partition of IndiaAn estimated 3.5 million[6][7][8][9] Hindus and Sikhs

A group photo of people accused in Gandhi’s murder case.Standing: Shankar Kistaiya, Gopal Godse, Madanlal Pahwa,Digambar Badge (Approver). Sitting: Narayan Apte, VinayakD. Savarkar, Nathuram Godse, Vishnu Karkare.

living in West Punjab, North-West Frontier Province,Baluchistan, East Bengal and Sind migrated to India infear of domination and suppression in Muslim Pakistan.Communal violence killed an estimated one million Hin-dus, Muslims and Sikhs, and gravely destabilised bothDominions along their Punjab and Bengal boundaries,and the cities of Calcutta, Delhi and Lahore. The vio-lence was stopped by early September owing to the co-operative efforts of both Indian and Pakistani leaders,

1

2 1 1947–1950: DOMINION OF INDIA

and especially due to the efforts of Mohandas Gandhi,the leader of the Indian freedom struggle, who undertooka fast-unto-death in Calcutta and later in Delhi to calmpeople and emphasize peace despite the threat to his life.Both Governments constructed large relief camps for in-coming and leaving refugees, and the Indian Army wasmobilised to provide humanitarian assistance on a mas-sive scale. The assassination of Mohandas Gandhi on30 January 1948 was carried out by Nathuram VinayakGodse, a Hindu extremist affiliated with the nationalistmovement, which held him responsible for partition andcharged that Mohandas Gandhi was appeasing Muslims.More than one million people flooded the streets of Delhito follow the procession to cremation grounds and paytheir last respects.In 1949, India recorded almost 1 million Hindu refugeesinto West Bengal and other states from East Pakistan,owing to communal violence, intimidation and repres-sion from Muslim authorities. The plight of the refugeesoutraged Hindus and Indian nationalists, and the refugeepopulation drained the resources of Indian states, whowere unable to absorb them. While not ruling out war,Prime Minister Nehru and Sardar Patel invited LiaquatAli Khan for talks in Delhi. Although many Indianstermed this appeasement, Nehru signed a pact with Li-aquat Ali Khan that pledged both nations to the protec-tion of minorities and creation of minority commissions.Although opposed to the principle, Patel decided to backthis Pact for the sake of peace, and played a critical rolein garnering support from West Bengal and across India,and enforcing the provisions of the Pact. Khan and Nehrualso signed a trade agreement, and committed to resolv-ing bilateral disputes through peaceful means. Steadily,hundreds of thousands of Hindus returned to East Pak-istan, but the thaw in relations did not last long, primarilyowing to the Kashmir dispute.

1.2 Integration of Princely States

Main article: Political integration of IndiaBritish India consisted of 17 provinces and 562 princelystates. The provinces were given to India or Pakistan,in some cases in particular — Punjab and Bengal — af-ter being partitioned. The princes of the princely states,however, were given the right to either remain indepen-dent or join either dominion. Thus India’s leaders werefaced with the prospect of inheriting a fragmented na-tion with independent provinces and kingdoms dispersedacross the mainland. Under the leadership of Sardar Val-labhbhai Patel, the new Government of India employedpolitical negotiations backed with the option (and, on sev-eral occasions, the use) of military action to ensure theprimacy of the Central government and of the Constitu-tion then being drafted. Sardar Patel and V. P. Menonconvinced the rulers of princely states contiguous to In-dia to accede to India. Many rights and privileges of therulers of the princely states, especially their personal es-

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as Minister for Home and StatesAffairs had the responsibility of welding the British Indianprovinces and the princely states into a united India.

General El Edroos (at right) offers his surrender of theHyderabad State Forces to Major General (later General andArmy Chief) Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri at Secunderabad.

tates and privy purses, were guaranteed to convince themto accede. Some of themwere made Rajpramukh (gover-nor) and Uprajpramukh (deputy governor) of the mergedstates. Many small princely states were merged to formviable administrative states such as Saurashra, PEPSU,Vindhya Pradesh and Madhya Bharat. Some princelystates such as Tripura andManipur acceded later in 1949.

3

There were three States that proved more difficult to in-tegrate than others:

1. Junagadh (Hindu majority state with a Muslimnawab) – a December 1947 plebiscite resulted in a99% vote[10] to merge with India, annulling the con-troversial accession to Pakistan, which was made bythe Nawab against the wishes of the people of thestate who were overwhelmingly Hindu and despiteJunagadh not being contiguous with Pakistan.

2. Hyderabad (Hindu majority state with a Muslimnizam)– Patel ordered the Indian army to depose thegovernment of the Nizam after the failure of nego-tiations, which was done between 13–17 September1948. It was incorporated as a state of India the nextyear.

3. The area of Kashmir (Muslim majority state witha Hindu king) in the far north of the subconti-nent quickly became a source of controversy thaterupted into the First Indo-Pakistani War whichlasted from 1947 to 1949. Eventually a UnitedNations-overseen ceasefire was agreed that left In-dia in control of two-thirds of the contested region.Jawaharlal Nehru initially agreed to Mountbatten’sproposal that a plebiscite be held in the entire stateas soon as hostilities ceased, and a UN-sponsoredcease-fire was agreed to by both parties on 1 Jan.1949. No statewide plebiscite was held, however,for in 1954, after Pakistan began to receive armsfrom the United States, Nehru withdrew his support.The Indian Constitution came into force in Kashmiron 26 January 1950 with special clauses for the state.

1.3 Constitution

Main article: Constitution of India

The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution ofIndia, drafted by a committee headed by Dr. B. R.Ambedkar, on 26 November 1949. India became asovereign, democratic, republic after its constitutioncame into effect on 26 January 1950. Dr. RajendraPrasad became the first President of India. The threewords 'socialist','secular' and 'integrity' were added laterwith the 42nd Constitution Amendment 1976.

1.4 1947 War with Pakistan

Main article: Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India

2 1950s and 1960s

India held its first national elections under the Constitu-tion in 1952, where a turnout of over 60% was recorded.The National Congress Party won an overwhelming ma-jority, and Jawaharlal Nehru began a second term asPrime Minister. President Prasad was also elected to asecond term by the electoral college of the first Parliamentof India.

2.1 Nehru administration (1952–1964)

Prime Minister Nehru, with his charismatic brilliance,led the Congress to major election victories in 1957 and1962. The Parliament passed extensive reforms thatincreased the legal rights of women in Hindu society,and further legislated against caste discrimination anduntouchability. Nehru advocated a strong initiative toenroll India’s children to complete primary education,and thousands of schools, colleges and institutions of ad-vanced learning, such as the Indian Institutes of Technol-ogy were founded across the nation. Nehru advocated asocialist model for the economy of India — no taxationfor Indian farmers, minimum wage and benefits for blue-collar workers, and the nationalisation of heavy industries

4 2 1950S AND 1960S

such as steel, aviation, shipping, electricity and mining.Village common lands were seized and an extensive pub-lic works and industrialisation campaign resulted in theconstruction of major dams, irrigation canals, roads, ther-mal and hydroelectric power stations and many more.

2.2 States reorganization

Main article: States Reorganization Act

Potti Sreeramulu's fast-unto-death, and consequent deathfor the demand of an Andhra State in 1953 sparked a ma-jor re-shaping of the Indian Union. Nehru appointed theStates Re-organisation Commission, upon whose recom-mendations, the States Reorganization Act was passed in1956. Old states were dissolved and new states createdon the lines of shared linguistic and ethnic demograph-ics. The separation of Kerala and the Telugu-speakingregions of Madras State enabled the creation of an exclu-sively Tamil-speaking state of Tamil Nadu. On 1 May1960, the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were cre-ated out of the bilingual Bombay state and on 1 Novem-ber 1966, Hindi speaking Haryana state was created outof bilingual Punjab. Telangana was created from AndhraPradesh on 2 June 2014.

2.3 Foreign policy and military conflicts

See also: Role of India in Non-Aligned Movement,List of conflicts in Asia § Republic of India and Indo-Pakistani War of 1965Nehru’s foreign policy was the inspiration of the Non-

Indian soldiers at war in 1947

Aligned Movement, of which India was a co-founder.Nehru maintained friendly relations with both the UnitedStates and the Soviet Union, and encouraged the People’sRepublic of China to join the global community of na-tions. In 1956, when the Suez Canal Company was seizedby the Egyptian government, an international conference

voted 18-4 to take action against Egypt. India was oneof the four backers of Egypt, along with Indonesia, SriLanka, and the USSR. India had opposed the partitionof Palestine and the 1956 invasion of the Sinai by Is-rael, Britain and France, but did not oppose the Chinesedirect control over Tibet and the suppression of a pro-democracy movement in Hungary by the Soviet Union.Although Nehru disavowed nuclear ambitions for India,Canada and France aided India in the development of nu-clear power stations for electricity. India also negotiatedan agreement in 1960 with Pakistan on the just use of thewaters of seven rivers shared by the countries. Nehru hadvisited Pakistan in 1953, but owing to political turmoil inPakistan, no headway was made on the Kashmir dispute.

1. India has fought a total of four wars/military con-flicts with its rival nation Pakistan, two in this pe-riod. In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 fought overdisputed territory of Kashmir, Pakistan capturedone third of Kashmir (which India claims as its terri-tory), and India reclaimed three-fifths (which Pak-istan claims as its territory). In the Indo-PakistaniWar of 1965 India attacked Pakistan on all frontsafter attempts by Pakistani troops to infiltrate intoIndian controlled Kashmir.

2. In 1961, after continual petitions for a peaceful han-dover, India invaded and annexed the Portuguesecolony of Goa on the west coast of India.

3. In 1962 China and India engaged in the brief Sino-Indian War over the border in the Himalayas. Thewar was a complete rout for the Indians and led toa refocusing on arms build-up and an improvementin relations with the United States. China withdrewfrom disputed territory in, what is to China SouthTibet, and to India part of the North-East FrontierAgency that it crossed during the war. Unrelated tothat war, India disputes China’s sovereignty over thesmaller Aksai Chin territory that it controls on thewestern part of the Sino-Indian border.

2.4 Post-Nehru India

Jawaharlal Nehru died on 27 May 1964. Lal BahadurShastri succeeded him as Prime Minister. In 1965 in theSecond Kashmir War India and Pakistan again went towar over Kashmir, but without any definitive outcomeor alteration of the Kashmir boundary. The TashkentAgreement was signed under the mediation of the Sovietgovernment, but Shastri died on the night after the signingceremony. A leadership election resulted in the elevationof Indira Gandhi, Nehru’s daughter who had been servingasMinister for Information and Broadcasting, as the thirdPrime Minister. She defeated right-wing leader MorarjiDesai. The Congress Party won a reduced majority in the1967 elections owing to widespread disenchantment overrising prices of commodities, unemployment, economic

5

Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi served as prime minister forthree consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term (1980–84).

stagnation and a food crisis. Indira Gandhi had started ona rocky note after agreeing to a devaluation of the Indianrupee, which createdmuch hardship for Indian businessesand consumers, and the import of wheat from the UnitedStates fell through due to political disputes.Morarji Desai entered Gandhi’s government as DeputyPrime Minister and Finance Minister, and with seniorCongress politicians attempted to constrain Gandhi’s au-thority. But following the counsel of her political advi-sor P. N. Haksar, Gandhi resuscitated her popular ap-peal by a major shift towards socialist policies. She suc-cessfully ended the privy purse guarantee for former In-dian royalty, and waged a major offensive against partyhierarchy over the nationalisation of India’s banks. Al-though resisted by Desai and India’s business commu-nity, the policy was popular with the masses. WhenCongress politicians attempted to oust Gandhi by sus-pending her Congress membership, Gandhi was empow-ered with a large exodus of Members of Parliament toher own Congress (R). The bastion of the Indian free-dom struggle, the Indian National Congress had split in1969. Gandhi continued to govern with a slim majority.

Gandhi meeting with Shah of Iran Mohammad-Reza Pahlaviand Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi during the latters’ State visit to In-dia in 1970.

3 1970s

In 1971, Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) were re-turned to power with a massively increased majority. Thenationalisation of banks was carried out, and many othersocialist economic and industrial policies enacted. In-dia intervened in Bangladesh Liberation War a civil wartaking place in Pakistan’s Bengali half, after millions ofrefugees had fled the persecution of the Pakistani army.The clash resulted in the independence of East Pakistan,which became known as Bangladesh, and Prime Min-ister Indira Gandhi’s elevation to immense popularity.Relations with the United States grew strained, and In-dia signed a 20-year treaty of friendship with the SovietUnion - breaking explicitly for the first time from non-alignment. In 1974, India tested its first nuclear weaponin the desert of Rajasthan. Meanwhile, in the Indian pro-tectorate of Sikkim, a referendum was held that resultedin a vote to formally join India and depose the Chogyal.On 26 April 1975, Sikkim formally became India’s 22ndstate.

3.1 Green revolution and Operation Flood

Main articles: Green Revolution in India and OperationFlood

India’s population passed the 500 million mark in theearly 1970s, but its long-standing food crisis was re-solved with greatly improved agricultural productivitydue to the Green revolution. The Government sponsoredmodern agricultural implements, new varieties of genericseeds and increased financial assistance to farmers that in-creased the yield of food crops such as wheat, rice andcorn, as well as commercial crops like cotton, tea, to-bacco and coffee. Increased agricultural productivity ex-panded across the states of the Indo-Gangetic plains andthe Punjab. Under Operation Flood, the Government en-

6 4 1980S

couraged the production ofmilk, which increased greatly,and improved rearing of livestock across India. This en-abled India to become self-sufficient in feeding its ownpopulation, ending two decades of food imports.

3.2 Indo-Pakistan War of 1971

Main article: Indo-Pakistan War of 1971

The Indo-PakistanWar of 1971 was the third in four warsfought between the two nations. In this war, fought overthe issue of self rule in East Pakistan, India decisivelydefeated Pakistan resulting in the creation of Bangladesh.

3.3 Indian Emergency

Main article: Indian Emergency

Economic and social problems, as well as allegations ofcorruption caused increasing political unrest across In-dia, culminating in the Bihar Movement. In 1974, theAllahabad High Court found Indira Gandhi guilty of mis-using government machinery for election purposes. Op-position parties conducted nationwide strikes and protestsdemanding her immediate resignation. Various politi-cal parties united under Jaya Prakash Narayan to resistwhat he termed Mrs. Gandhi’s dictatorship. Leadingstrikes across India that paralysed its economy and ad-ministration, Narayan even called for the Army to oustMrs. Gandhi. In 1975, Mrs. Gandhi advised PresidentFakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare a state of emergencyunder the Constitution, which allowed the Central gov-ernment to assume sweeping powers to defend law andorder in the nation. Explaining the breakdown of law andorder and threat to national security as her primary rea-sons, Mrs. Gandhi suspended many civil liberties andpostponed elections at national and state levels. Non-Congress governments in Indian states were dismissed,and nearly 1,000 opposition political leaders and activistswere imprisoned and programme of compulsory birthcontrol introduced.[11] Strikes and public protests wereoutlawed in all forms.India’s economy benefited from an end to paralysingstrikes and political disorder. India announced a 20-pointprogramme which enhanced agricultural and industrialproduction, increasing national growth, productivity andjob growth. But many organs of government and manyCongress politicians were accused of corruption and au-thoritarian conduct. Police officers were accused of ar-resting and torturing innocent people. Indira’s son andpolitical advisor, Sanjay Gandhi was accused of commit-ting gross excesses - Sanjay was blamed for the HealthMinistry carrying out forced vasectomies of men andsterilisation of women as a part of the initiative to con-trol population growth, and for the demolition of slums

in Delhi near the Turkmen Gate, which left thousands ofpeople dead and many more displaced.

3.4 Janata interlude

Main article: Janata PartyIndira Gandhi’s Congress Party called for general elec-

Morarji Desai, the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India,signing the “NewDelhi” declaration during a visit by US PresidentJimmy Carter.

tions in 1977, only to suffer a humiliating electoral de-feat at the hands of the Janata Party, an amalgamation ofopposition parties. Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India. The Desai adminis-tration established tribunals to investigate Emergency-eraabuses, and Indira and Sanjay Gandhi were arrested aftera report from the Shah Commission.But in 1979, the coalition crumbled and Charan Singhformed an interim government. The Janata party had be-come intensely unpopular due to its internecine warfare,and the fact that it offered no leadership on solving India’sserious economic and social problems.

4 1980s

Main articles: Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhiassassination, 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Bhopal disaster,Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War andSiachen conflict

Indira Gandhi and her Congress party splinter group,Congress (Indira) party were swept back into power witha large majority in January 1980.But the rise of an insurgency in Punjab would jeopardizeIndia’s security. In Assam, there were many incidents ofcommunal violence between native villagers and refugeesfrom Bangladesh, as well as settlers from other parts ofIndia. When Indian forces, undertaking Operation BlueStar, raided the hideout of self-rule pressing[11] Khalistan

4.2 Janata Dal 7

militants in the Golden Temple- Sikhs’ most holy shrine -in Amritsar, the inadvertent deaths of civilians and dam-age to the temple building inflamed tensions in the Sikhcommunity across India. The Government used inten-sive police operations to crush militant operations, but itresulted in many claims of abuse of civil liberties. North-east India was paralyzed owing to the ULFA's clash withGovernment forces.On 31 October 1984, the Prime Minister’s own Sikhbodyguards assassinated her, and 1984 Anti-Sikh Riotserupted in Delhi and parts of Punjab, causing the deathsof thousands of Sikhs along with terrible pillage, arsonand rape. Senior Members of the Congress Party havebeen implicated in stirring the violence against Sikhs.Government investigation has failed to date to discoverthe causes and punish the perpetrators, but public opinionblamed Congress leaders for directing attacks on Sikhs inDelhi.

4.1 Rajiv Gandhi administration

The Congress party chose Rajiv Gandhi, Indira’s olderson as the next Prime Minister. Rajiv had been electedto Parliament only in 1982, and at 40, was the youngestnational political leader and Prime Minister ever. But hisyouth and inexperience were an asset in the eyes of citi-zens tired of the inefficacy and corruption of career politi-cians, and looking for newer policies and a fresh start toresolve the country’s long-standing problems. The Par-liament was dissolved, and Rajiv led the Congress partyto its largest majority in history (over 415 seats out of545 possible), reaping a sympathy vote over his mother’sassassination.Rajiv Gandhi initiated a series of reforms - the license rajwas loosened, and government restrictions on foreign cur-rency, travel, foreign investment and imports decreasedconsiderably. This allowed private businesses to use re-sources and produce commercial goods without govern-ment bureaucracy interfering, and the influx of foreigninvestment increased India’s national reserves. As PrimeMinister, Rajiv broke from his mother’s precedent to im-prove relations with the United States, which increasedeconomic aid and scientific co-operation. Rajiv’s encour-agement of science and technology resulted in a major ex-pansion of the telecommunications industry, India’s spaceprogramme and gave birth to the software industry andinformation technology sector.In December 1984, gas leaked out at Union Carbide pes-ticides plant in the central Indian city of Bhopal. Thou-sands were killed immediately, many more subsequentlydied or were left disabled.[11]

India in 1987 brokered an agreement between the Gov-ernment of Sri Lanka and agreed to deploy troops forpeacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict ledby the LTTE. Rajiv sent Indian troops to enforce theagreement and disarm the Tamil rebels, but the Indian

Peace Keeping Force, as it was known, became entan-gled in outbreaks of violence - ultimately ending up fight-ing the Tamil rebels itself, and becoming a target of at-tack from Sri Lankan nationalists. VP Singh withdrewthe IPKF in 1990, but thousands of Indian soldiers haddied. Rajiv’s departure from Socialist policies did not sitwell with the masses, who did not benefit from the inno-vations. Unemployment was a serious problem, and In-dia’s burgeoning population added ever-increasing needsfor diminishing resources.Rajiv Gandhi’s image as an honest politician (he was nick-named Mr. Clean by the press) was shattered when theBofors scandal broke, revealing that senior governmentofficials had taken bribes over defence contracts by aSwedish guns producer.

4.2 Janata Dal

General elections in 1989 gave Rajiv’s Congress a plural-ity, a far cry from the majority which propelled him topower.Power came instead to his former finance and defenceminister, VP Singh of Janata Dal. Singh had been movedfrom the Finance ministry to the Defence ministry af-ter he unearthed some scandals which made the Congressleadership uncomfortable. Singh then unearthed the Bo-fors scandal, and was sacked from the party and office.Becoming a popular crusader for reform and clean gov-ernment, Singh led the Janata Dal coalition to a majority.He was supported by BJP and the leftist parties from out-side. Becoming Prime Minister, Singh made an impor-tant visit to the Golden Temple shrine, to heal the woundsof the past. He started to implement the controversialMandal commission report, to increase the quota in reser-vation for low caste Hindus. The BJP protested these im-plementations, and took its support back, following whichhe resigned. Chandra Shekhar split to form the JanataDal (Socialist), supported by Rajiv’s Congress. This newgovernment also collapsed in a matter of months, whencongress withdrew its support.

5 1990s

Main articles: 1990s in India, Rajiv Gandhi assassination,Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and Bombay RiotsThe then-Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir FarooqAbdullah (son of former Chief Minister Sheikh Abdul-lah) announced an alliance with the ruling Congress partyfor the elections of 1987. But, the elections were al-legedly rigged in favour of him. This led to the rise of thearmed Muslim insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir com-posed, in part, of those who unfairly lost elections. Pak-istan supplied these groups with logistical support, arms,recruits and training.Islamist Militants in Kashmir killed and tortured local

8 5 1990S

The stone mosaic that stands at the exact location where RajivGandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur.

Kashmiri Pandits, who were Hindu; forcing them to leaveKashmir in large numbers.[12] Around 90% of the Kash-miri Pandits left Kashmir during the 1990s (see Ethniccleansing of Kashmiri Hindus).On 21 May 1991, while former Prime Minister RajivGandhi campaigned in Tamil Nadu on behalf of Congress(Indira), a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)female suicide bomber assassinated him andmany others,setting off the bomb in her belt by leaning forward whilegarlanding him. In the elections, Congress (Indira) won244 parliamentary seats and put together a coalition, re-turning to power under the leadership of P.V. NarasimhaRao. This Congress-led government, which served a full5-year term, initiated a gradual process of economic lib-eralisation and reform, which has opened the Indian econ-omy to global trade and investment. India’s domestic pol-itics also took new shape, as traditional alignments bycaste, creed, and ethnicity gave way to a plethora of small,regionally-based political parties.But India was rocked by communal violence (see BombayRiots) between Hindus and Muslims that killed over10,000 people, following the Babri Mosque demolitionby Hindu extremists in the course of the Ram Janmab-hoomi dispute in Ayodhya in 1992. The final monthsof the Rao-led government in the spring of 1996 suf-fered the effects of several major political corruption

scandals, which contributed to the worst electoral perfor-mance by the Congress Party in its history as Hindu na-tionalist Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as largest singleparty.

5.1 Era of coalitions

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged from the May1996 national elections as the single-largest party in theLok Sabha but without enough strength to prove a major-ity on the floor of that Parliament. Under Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP coalition lasted in power13 days. With all political parties wishing to avoid an-other round of elections, a 14-party coalition led by theJanata Dal emerged to form a government known as theUnited Front. A United Front government under formerChief Minister of Karnataka H.D. Deve Gowda lastedless than a year. The leader of the Congress Party with-drew his support in March 1997. Inder Kumar Gujralreplaced Deve Gowda as the consensus choice for PrimeMinister of a 16-party United Front coalition.In November 1997, the Congress Party again withdrewsupport for the United Front. New elections in February1998 brought the BJP the largest number of seats in Par-liament (182), but this fell far short of a majority. On 20March 1998, the President inaugurated a BJP-led coali-tion government with Vajpayee again serving as PrimeMinister. On 11 and 13 May 1998, this governmentconducted a series of underground nuclear weapons testswhich caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that sameyear.[13] India’s nuclear tests prompted President of theUnited States Bill Clinton and Japan to impose economicsanctions on India pursuant to the 1994 Nuclear Prolifer-ation Prevention Act and led to widespread internationalcondemnation.In the early months of 1999, Prime Minister Vajpayeemade a historic bus trip to Pakistan and met with Pak-istan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and signed the bi-lateral Lahore peace declaration.[11]

In April 1999, the coalition government led by theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell apart, leading to freshelections in September. In May and June 1999, India dis-covered an elaborate campaign of terrorist infiltration thatresulted in the KargilWar in Kashmir, derailing a promis-ing peace process that had begun only three months ear-lier when Prime Minister Vajpayee visited Pakistan, in-augurating the Delhi-Lahore bus service. Indian forceskilled Pakistan-backed infiltrators and reclaimed impor-tant border posts in high-altitude warfare.[14]

Soaring on popularity earned following the successfulconclusion of the Kargil conflict, the National Demo-cratic Alliance - a new coalition led by the BJP - gaineda majority to form a government with Vajpayee as PrimeMinister in October 1999. End of the millennium wasdevastating to India, as a cyclone hit Orissa, killing at least10,000.[11]

6.2 Congress rule returns 9

6 2000s

6.1 Under Bharatiya Janata Party

In 2000May, India’s population exceeded 1 billion. Pres-ident of the United States Bill Clinton made a ground-breaking visit to India to improve ties between the two na-tions. In January, massive earthquakes hit Gujarat state,killing at least 30,000.

The skyline of Ahmedabad filled with smoke as buildings andshops are set on fire by rioting mobs during the 2002 Gujaratviolence.

Prime Minister Vajpayee met with Pakistan’s PresidentPervez Musharraf in the first summit between Pakistanand India in more than two years in middle of 2001. But,the meeting failed without a breakthrough or even a jointstatement because of differences over Kashmir region.[11]

Three new states - Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand andUttarakhand (originally Uttaranchal) were formed inNovember 2000.The National Democratic Alliance government’s credi-bility was adversely affected by a number of politicalscandals (such as allegations that the Defence MinisterGeorge Fernandes took bribes) as well as reports of in-telligence failures that led to the Kargil incursions go-ing undetected, and the apparent failure of his talks withPakistani President.[11][15] Following the 11 Septemberattacks, the United States lifted sanctions which it im-posed against India and Pakistan in 1998. The move wasseen as a reward for their support for the War on Ter-ror. The tensions of an imminent war between India andPakistan again rose by the heavy Indian firing on Pak-istani military posts along the line of control and the sub-sequent deadly Indian Parliament attack and the 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff.[11]

In 2002, 59 Hindu pilgrims returning fromAyodhya werekilled in a train fire, in Godhra, Gujarat. This sparkedoff the 2002 Gujarat violence, leading to the deaths of790 Muslims and 254 Hindus and 223 more people werereported missing.Throughout 2003, India’s speedy economic progress, po-litical stability and a rejuvenated peace initiative with

Pakistan increased the government’s popularity. Indiaand Pakistan agreed to resume direct air links and to al-low overflights and a groundbreaking meeting was heldbetween the Indian government and moderate Kashmirseparatists.[11] The Golden Quadrilateral project aimed tolink India’s corners with a network of modern highways.

6.2 Congress rule returns

In January 2004 Prime Minister Vajpayee recommendedearly dissolution of the Lok Sabha and general elections.The Congress Party-led alliance won an surprise victoryin elections held in May 2004. Manmohan Singh be-came the Prime Minister, after the Congress PresidentSonia Gandhi (born Antonia Edvige Albina Maino), thewidow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi declinedto take the office, in order to defuse the controversy aboutwhether her foreign birth should be considered a disqual-ification for the Prime Minister’s post. The Congressformed a coalition called the United Progressive Alliancewith Socialist and regional parties, and enjoyed the out-side support of India’s Communist parties. ManmohanSingh became the first Sikh and non-Hindu to date to holdIndia’s most powerful office. Singh continued economicliberalisation, although the need for support from IndianSocialists and Communists forestalled further privatisa-tion for sometime.[16][17]

U.S. President George W. Bush and India’s Prime MinisterManmohan Singh exchange handshakes in New Delhi on 2March 2006.

By the end of the year 2004, India began to with-draw some of its troops from Kashmir. And by mid-dle next year the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Bus Service wasinaugurated, the first in 60 years to operate betweenIndian-administered and Pakistani-administered Kash-mirs. However, in 2006 May, suspected Islamic extrem-ist millitants killed 35 Hindus in the worst attacks inIndian-administered Kashmir for several months.[11]

The Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 devastated Indiancoastlines and islands, killing an estimated 18,000 anddisplacing around 650,000. The Tsunami was causedby a powerful undersea earthquake off the Indone-sian coast. Natural disasters such as the Mumbai

10 6 2000S

Floods (killing more than 1,000) and Kashmir earth-quake (killing 79,000) hit the subcontinent in the nextyear. In 2006 February, the United Progressive Al-liance government launched India’s largest-ever rural jobsscheme, aimed at lifting around 60 million families out ofpoverty.[11]

United States and India signed a major nuclear co-operation agreement during a visit by United States Pres-ident George W Bush in 2006 March. According to thenuclear deal, the United States will give India access tocivilian nuclear technology while India agrees to greaterscrutiny for its nuclear programme. Later United Statesapproved a controversial law allowing India to buy theirnuclear reactors and fuel for the first time in 30 years.In 2008 July, the United Progressive Alliance survived avote of confidence brought after left-wing parties with-draw their support over the nuclear deal. After the vote,several left-wing and regional parties form new allianceto oppose government, saying it has been tainted by cor-ruption. Within three months, following approval by theAmerican Congress, George W Bush signed into law anuclear deal with India, which ended a three-decade banon American nuclear trade with Delhi.[11]

In 2007 India got its first female President as PratibhaPatil sworn in. Long associated with Nehru–Gandhi fam-ily, Pratibha Patil was a low-profile governor of the stateof Rajasthan before emerging as the favoured presiden-tial candidate of Sonia Gandhi.[18] In February, the in-famous Samjhauta Express bombings took place, killingPakistani civilians, in Panipat, Haryana. There have beena number of breaks in the investigation of the bomb-ings. As of 2011, nobody has been charged for the crimethough it has been linked to Abhinav Bharat, a shad-owy Hindu fundamentalist group headed by a former In-dian army officer.[19] In 2008 October, India successfullylaunched its first mission to the moon, the unmannedlunar probe called Chandrayaan-1. In the previous year,India had launched its first commercial space rocket, car-rying an Italian satellite.[11] In July 2009, the Delhi HighCourt decriminalises consensual homosexual sex, declar-ing the British Raj-era law, Section 377 of the Indian Pe-nal Code, as unconstitutional.[20][21]

In November 2008, Mumbai attacks took place and In-dia blamed militants from Pakistan for the attacks andannounced “pause” in the ongoing peace process.[11] Inthe Indian General Election in 2009, the United Progres-sive Alliance won a convincing and resounding 262 seats,with Congress alone winning 206 seats. However, theCongress-led government faced many allegations of cor-ruptions against it. Inflation rose to an all-time high andthe ever-increasing prices of food commodities causedwidespread agitation.However, 21st century India is facing the Naxalite-Maoistrebels, in the words of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,India’s “greatest internal security challenge”[22] and otherterrorist tensions (such as Islamist terrorist campaigns in

and out of Jammu & Kashmir and terrorism in India’sNortheast)[22][23] Terrorism has increased in India withbomb blasts in leading cities like Mumbai, New Delhi,Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad.[14] India in the new mil-lennium, improved relations with many countries and for-eign unions including the United States, the EuropeanUnion, Israel and the People’s Republic of China.[11] Theeconomy of India has accelerated by growing at a veryrapid pace. India is now being looked at as a potentialsuperpower.[16][17]

6.3 Economic transformation

Main article: Economic liberalisation in IndiaSee also: Indian CenturyUnder the policies initiated by Late Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh widely credited for initiating economic reformsin India.

Narasimha Rao and his Finance minister ManmohanSingh, India’s economy expanded rapidly. The Rao ad-ministration initiated the privatization of large, ineffi-cient, and loss-inducing government corporations. TheUF government had attempted a progressive budget thatencouraged reforms, but the 1997 Asian financial crisisand political instability created economic stagnation. TheVajpayee administration continued with privatization, re-duction of taxes, a sound fiscal policy aimed at reduc-ing deficits and debts, and increased initiatives for pub-

7.1 2014 – Return of Bharatiya Janata Party Government 11

lic works. Cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune andAhmedabad have risen in prominence and economic im-portance, becoming centres of rising industries and des-tination for foreign investment and firms. Strategies likeforming Special Economic Zones - tax amenities, goodcommunications infrastructure, low regulation - to en-courage industries has paid off in many parts of the coun-try.A rising generation of well-educated and skilled profes-sionals in scientific sectors of industry began propellingthe Indian economy, as the information technology indus-try took hold across India with the proliferation of com-puters. The new technologies increased the efficiency ofactivity in almost every type of industry, which also ben-efitted from the availability of skilled labor. Foreign in-vestment and outsourcing of jobs to India’s labor mar-kets further enhanced India’s economic growth. A largemiddle-class has arisen across India, which has increasedthe demand, and thus production of a wide array of con-sumer goods. Unemployment is steadily declining, andpoverty has fallen to approximately 22%. Gross Domes-tic Product growth increased to beyond 7%. While seri-ous challenges remain, India is enjoying a period of eco-nomic expansion that has propelled it to the forefront ofthe world economy, and has correspondingly increased itsinfluence in political and diplomatic terms.

7 2010s

Protest by civil society at India Gate in protest of the 2012 Delhigang rape case

The concerns and controversies over the 2010 Common-wealth Games rocked the country in 2010, raising ques-tions about the credibility of the government followed by2G spectrum scam and Adarsh Housing Society Scam.In mid-2011, Anna Hazare, a prominent social activist,staged a 12-day hunger strike in Delhi in protest at statecorruption, after government proposals to tighten up thean anti-graft legislation fall short of his demands.[11]

Despite all this, India showed great promise with a highergrowth rate in gross domestic product.[24] In January2011, India assumed a nonpermanent seat in the United

Nations Security Council for the 2011-12 term. In 2004,India had launched an application for a permanent seaton the UN Security Council along with Brazil, Germanyand Japan. In March, India overtook China to becomethe world’s largest importer of arms.[11]

Telangana movement reached its peak in 2011-12, lead-ing to formation of India’s 29th state - Telangana in June2014.The 2012 Delhi gang rape case and subsequent protestby the civil society, resulted in changes in the laws re-lated to rape and offences against women. In April 2013,Saradha Group financial scandal was unearthed, that wascaused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by SaradhaGroup, a consortium of over 200 private companies inEastern India, causing loss causing an estimated loss ofINR 200–300 billion (US$4–6 billion) to over 1.7 milliondepositors.[25][26][27][28] In December 2013, the SupremeCourt of India overturned the Delhi High Court ruling onSec 377, criminalising homosexual sex between consent-ing adults once again in the country.[29][30]

In August 2010, cloudbursts and the following floodingin the Ladakh region of North India resulted in thedeaths of around 255 people, while effecting 9,000 peo-ple directly.[31] In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst inUttarakhand and other north Indian states, caused devas-tating floods and landslides, with more than 5,700 people“presumed dead.”[32] In September 2014, floods in thestate of Jammu andKashmir, following heavy rains due tomonsoon season, killed around 277 people, and broughtextensive damage to property.[33] A further 280 peopledied in the neighbouring Pakistani regions, particularlyin Pakistani Punjab.[34]

In August - September 2013, clashes between Hindus andMuslims, in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh in resulted inat least 62 deaths,[35] and injured 93 and left more than50,000 displaced.[36][37][38][39]

In November 2013, India launched its first interplanetarymission, the Mars Orbiter Mission, popularly known asMangalyaan, to Mars and, was successful, so ISRO on24 September 2014, became the fourth space agency toreach Mars), after the Soviet space program, NASA, andthe European Space Agency.[40] ISRO also became firstspace agency and India First country to reach Mars on itsmaiden attempt.

7.1 2014 – Return of Bharatiya JanataParty Government

The Hindutva movement advocating Hindu nationalismoriginated in the 1920s and has remained a strong politi-cal force in India. The major party of the religious right,Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), since its foundation in 1980won several elections, and after a defeat in 2004 remainedthe leading force of opposition against the coalition gov-ernment of the Congress Party. The last national gen-

12 9 REFERENCES

eral election, held in early 2014, saw a dramatic victoryof BJP; it gained an absolute majority and formed thegovernment, under the Prime Ministership of NarendraModi, a prominent BJP leader and till then the ChiefMin-ister of Gujarat state. He contested the election with 'De-velopment of the country' as the slogan and it is to beseen what his government would achieve for the sluggisheconomy of this multi-cultural and multi-religious nation.The Narendra Modi government’s sweeping mandate andpopularity helped the BJP win several State Assemblyelections in India.

8 See also

• Ancient India

• Economic history of India

• Economy of India

• Military history of India

• Politics of India

• Indian Emergency

• India (disambiguation)

9 References[1] “India Profile”. Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). 2003.

Retrieved 20 June 2007.

[2] Eugene M. Makar (2007). An American’s Guide to DoingBusiness in India.

[3] Montek Singh Ahluwalia (2002). “Economic Reforms inIndia since 1991: Has GradualismWorked?" (MSWord).Journal of Economic Perspectives. Retrieved 13 June2007.

[4] The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 28, No. 4(October–December 1967), pp. 236-241

[5] http://www.thehindu.com/2002/04/06/stories/2002040600081000.htm

[6] Independence Day, Taj Online Festivals.

[7] KCM.

[8] Pakistan, Encarta. Archived 2009-10-31.

[9] Timeline, PBS.

[10] Gandhi, Rajmohan (1991). Patel: A Life. India: Navaji-van. p. 292. ASIN B0006EYQ0A.

[11] BBC India Profile and Timeline

[12] “Kashmiri Pandits offered three choices by radical Is-lamists”.

[13] CIA Factbook. Retrieved 22 December 2011

[14] “Serial bomb blasts leave 60 dead in India”. CNN. 14May2008. Retrieved 4 November 2008.

[15] Bedi, Rahul (16 March 2001). “Defence minister resignsin Indian bribery scandal”. TheDaily Telegraph (London).

[16] India Rising - Newsweek and The Daily Beast.Newsweek.com (5 March 2006). Retrieved on 12 July2013.

[17] Giridharadas, Anand (21 July 2005). “India welcomed asnew sort of superpower”. The New York Times. Retrieved4 May 2010.

[18] Profile: Pratibha Patil

[19] The Mirror Explodes - Outlook - 19 July 2010

[20] “Delhi High Court legalises consensual gay sex”. CNN-IBN. Retrieved 2009-07-02.

[21] “Gay sex decriminalised in India”. BBC. 2009-07-02.Retrieved 2009-07-02.

[22] www.bbc.co.uk

[23] India Assessment – 2007

[24] Kumar, Manoj (10 June 2011). “India’s FY11 growthcould be revised up-govt official”. Reuters.

[25] PTI. “More Saradha entities under SEBI scanner”. TheHindu. Retrieved 25 April 2013.

[26] Soudhriti Bhabani (23 January 2013). “Anger mountsover Saradha fund crisis as thousands of depositors faceruin”. Daily Mail. Retrieved 25 April 2013.

[27] “Cheat funds, again”. The Hindu. Retrieved 27 April2013.

[28] Dutta, Romita (20 June 2013). “Saradha raised depositsfrom 1.7 mn people, probe finds”. LiveMint. Retrieved 19August 2013.

[29] Harris, Gardiner (11 December 2013). “India’s SupremeCourt Restores an 1861 Law Banning Gay Sex”. The NewYork Times. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

[30] Shyamantha, Asokan (11 December 2013). “India’sSupreme Court turns the clock back with gay sex ban”.Reuters. Retrieved 11 December 2013.

[31] “Flash floods kill dozens in India”. BBC. 6 August 2010.Archived from the original on 6 August 2010. Retrieved6 August 2010.

[32] “India raises flood death toll to 5,700 as all missing per-sons now presumed dead”. CBS News. 16 July 2013. Re-trieved 16 July 2013.

[33] “Kashmir floods: phones down, roads submerged; tolltouches 200, rescue ops on”. Hindustan Times. 8 Septem-ber 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.

[34] “India and Pakistan Strain as Flooding Kills Hundreds”.New York Times. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 9September 2014.

10.1 Primary sources 13

[35] “Government releases data of riot victims identifying re-ligion”. The Times of India. 24 September 2013. Re-trieved 2014-07-11.

[36] “Troops deployed to quell deadly communal clashes be-tween Hindus, Muslims in north India”. Associated Press.Retrieved 8 September 2013.

[37] Adrija Bose (2013-09-08). “Firstpost India IBN7 jour-nalist killed in UP communal riots, Army clamps cur-fewIBN7 journalist killed in UP communal riots, Armyclamps curfew”. Firstpost. Retrieved 2013-09-08.

[38] Ahmed Ali Fayyaz (2013-09-08). “9 killed in communalriots in Muzaffarnagar, curfew clamped, army deployed”.The Indian Express. Retrieved 2013-09-08.

[39] “Fresh clashes in UPsMuzaffarnagar leave 26 dead, Armydeployed in affected areas”. The Hindustan Times. 2013-09-07. Retrieved 2013-09-08.

[40] “India Launches Mars Orbiter Mission”. Retrieved 6November 2013.

10 Further reading

• Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukherjee and AdityaMukherjee. “India Since Independence”

• Bates, Crispin, and Subho Basu. The Poli-tics of Modern India since Independence (Rout-ledge/Edinburgh South Asian Studies Series) (2011)

• Brass, Paul R. The Politics of India since Indepen-dence (1980)

• Dalmia, Vasudha and Rashmi Sadana (editors)(2012). The Cambridge Companion to Modern In-dian Culture. Cambridge University Press.

• Dixit, Jyotindra Nath (2004). Makers of India’sforeign policy: Raja Ram Mohun Roy to YashwantSinha. HarperCollins.

• Frank, Katherine (2002). Indira: The Life of In-dira Nehru Gandhi. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN9780395730973.

• Ghosh, Anjali (2009). India’s Foreign Policy. Pear-son Education India. ISBN 9788131710258.

• Gopal, Sarvepalli. Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography,Volume Two, 1947-1956 (1979); Jawaharlal Nehru:A Biography: 1956-64 Vol 3 (1985)

• Guha, Ramachandra (2011). India After Gandhi:The History of the World’s Largest Democracy. PanMacmillan. ISBN 9780330540209. excerpt andtext search

• Guha, Ramachandra. Makers of Modern India(2011) excerpt and text search

• Jain, B. M. (2009). Global Power: India’s For-eign Policy, 1947-2006. Lexington Books. ISBN9780739121450.

• Kapila, Uma (2009). Indian Economy Since Inde-pendence. Academic Foundation. p. 854. ISBN9788171887088.

• McCartney, Matthew. India – The Political Econ-omy of Growth, Stagnation and the State, 1951-2007(2009); Political Economy, Growth and Liberalisa-tion in India, 1991-2008 (2009) excerpt and textsearch

• Mansingh, Surjit. The A to Z of India (The A to ZGuide Series) (2010)

• Nilekani, Nandan; and Thomas L. Friedman (2010).Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation.Penguin. ISBN 9781101024546.

• Panagariya, Arvind (2010). India: The Emerg-ing Giant. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780198042990.

• Tomlinson, B.R. The Economy of Modern India1860–1970 (1996) excerpt and text search

• Zachariah, Benjamin. Nehru (Routledge HistoricalBiographies) (2004) excerpt and text search

10.1 Primary sources

• Appadorai A., ed. Select Documents on India’s For-eign Policy and Relations (Delhi: Oxford UniversityPress, 1982)

11 External links• BBC India profile

14 12 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

12 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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