India Since Independence

Bipan Chandra

Description

A thorough and incisive introduction to contemporary India The story of the forging of India, the world's largest democracy, is a rich and inspiring one. This volume, a sequel to the best-selling India's Struggle for Independence, analyses the challenges India has faced and the successes it has achieved, in the light of its colonial legacy and century-long struggle for freedom. The book describes how the Constitution was framed, as also how the Nehruvian political and economic agenda and basics of foreign policy were evolved and developed. It dwells on the consolidation of the nation, examining contentious issues like party politics in the Centre and the states, the Punjab problem, and anti-caste politics and untouchability. This revised edition offers a scathing analysis of the growth of communalism in India and the use of state power in furthering its cause. It also documents the fall of the National Democratic Alliance in the 2004 General Elections, the United Progressive Alliance's subsequent rise to power and the Indo-US Nuclear Deal that served to unravel the political consensus at the centre. Apart from detailed analyses of Indian economic reforms since 1991 and wide-ranging land reforms and the Green Revolution, this new edition includes an overview of the Indian economy in the new millennium. These, along with objective assessments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, constitute a remarkable overview of a nation on the move.

Sujets

• Histoire
• History of Asia
• India

Informations

• Publié par: Penguin Books Ltd
• Date de parution: 11 février 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9788184750539
• Langue: English

Extrait

A thorough and incisive introduction to contemporary India
The story of the forging of India, the world’s largest democracy, is a richand inspiring one. This volume, sequel to the best-selling India’s Struggle forIndependence , analyses the challenges India has faced and the successes it hasachieved, in the light of its colonial legacy and century-long struggle for freedom.
The book describes how the Constitution was framed, and also how the Nehruvianpolitical and economic agenda and basics of foreign policy were evolved anddeveloped. It dwells on the consolidation of the nation, examining contentiousissues like party politics at the Centre and the states, the Punjab problem, andanti-caste politics and untouchability.
This revised edition offers a scathing analysis of the growth of communalism inIndia and the use of state power in furthering its cause. It also documents the fallof the National Democratic Alliance in the 2004 General Elections, the UnitedProgressive Alliance’s subsequent rise to power and the Indo-US Nuclear Dealthat served to unravel the political consensus at the Centre.
Apart from detailed analyses of Indian economic reforms since 1991 andwide-ranging land reforms and the Green Revolution, this new edition includesan assessment of the Indian economy in the new millennium. These, along withobjective profiles of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan,Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayeeand Manmohan Singh, constitute a remarkable overview of a nation on the move.
‘An outstanding book...the best of its kind. It is a masterly overview of politicaland economic developments in India over the last fifty years.’ —Prof. Atul Kohli,Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
‘As an introduction to the history of post-Independence India, it is non-pareil.’—M.V. Kamath
‘The book fills a major gap in the literature on contemporary history and is a mustread for the general public, especially students of history, sociology, economics andpolitics.’ — The Tribune
‘A comprehensive volume...These scholars have succeeded in presenting thestory of an extremely difficult and challenging journey.’ —C.P. Bhambri, formerProfessor of Political Science and Distinguished Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru
‘Rewarding reading for students of Indian politics and economy.’— Business Standard
 
Cover photograph courtesy Dinodia Photo Library Cover illustration by Geetika Alok

PENGUIN BOOKS
INDIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE
 
Bipan Chandra was born in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. He was educated at Forman Christian College, Lahore, and at Stanford University, California. He was Professor of Modern History at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, where he is currently Professor Emeritus. He is also National Professor and Chairperson of the National Book Trust. Prof. Chandra is the author of several books on nationalism, colonialism, and communalism in modern India.
Mridula Mukherjee was educated at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi and at JNU. She is Professor of Modern Indian History at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU and Director, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Her areas of special interest are agrarian history, peasant movements and the national movement.
Aditya Mukherjee was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and at JNU. He is Professor of Contemporary Indian History at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU and Director, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Study at Jawaharlal Nehru University. His research interests are in modern business history and capitalist development, and contemporary economy and politics.

 
India Since Independence
 
 

 
Bipan Chandra
Mridula Mukherjee Aditya Mukherjee
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110017, India Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Group (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published as India After Independence , 1947–2000 in Viking by Penguin Books India 1999
Published in Penguin Books 2000
Twelfth reprint 2007
This revised edition published as India Since Independence by Penguin Books India 2008
Copyright © Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee 2008

All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-01-4310-409-4

This Digital Edition published 2011. e-ISBN: 978-81-8475-053-9
Digital conversion prepared by DK Digital Media, India.

This e-book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above-mentioned publisher of this e-book.





 
 
To Late Professor V.D. Mahajan


Contents
Copyright
Preface to the Revised Edition
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. The Colonial Legacy
3. The National Movement and its Legacy
4. The Evolution of the Constitution and Main Provisions
5. The Architecture of the Constitution: Basic Features and Institutions
6. The Initial Years
7. Consolidation of India as a Nation (I)
8. Consolidation of India as a Nation(II): The Linguistic Reorganization of the States
9. Consolidation of India as a Nation(III): Integration of the Tribals
10. Consolidation of India as a Nation(IV): Regionalism and Regional Inequality
11. The Years of Hope and Achievement, 1951–1964
12. Foreign Policy: The Nehru Era
13. Jawaharlal Nehru in Historical Perspective
14. Political Parties, 1947–1964: The Congress
15. Political Parties, 1947–1965: The Opposition
16. From Shastri to Indira Gandhi, 1964–1969
17. The Indira Gandhi Years, 1969–1973
18. The JP Movement and the Emergency: Indian Democracy Tested
19. The Janata Interregnum and Indira Gandhi’s Second Coming, 1977–1984
20. The Rajiv Years
21. Run-up to the New Millennium and After
22. Politics in the States (I): Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Assam
23. Politics in the States (II): West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir
24. The Punjab Crisis
25. Indian Economy, 1947–1965: The Nehruvian Legacy
26. Indian Economy, 1965–1991
27. Economic Reforms Since 1991
28. The Indian Economy in the New Millennium
29. Land Reforms (I): Colonial Impact and the Legacy of the National and Peasant Movements
30. Land Reforms(II): Zamindari Abolition and Tenancy Reforms
31. Land Reforms (III): Ceiling and the Bhoodan Movement
32. Cooperatives and an Overview of Land Reforms
33. Agricultural Growth and the Green Revolution
34. Agrarian Struggles Since Independence
35. Revival and Growth of Communalism
36. Communalism and the Use of State Power
37. Caste, Untouchability, Anti-caste Politics and Strategies
38. Indian Women Since Independence
39. The Post-colonial Indian State and the Political Economy of Development: An Overview
40. Disarray in Institutions of Governance
41. The Dawn of the New Millennium: Achievements, Problems and Prospects
Notes
Select Bibliography
A Note on Style

Preface to the Revised Edition
This book was conceived as a sequel to our Struggle for India’s Independence , (1857-1947) which was very well received, selling over 100,000 copies in English and many more in translations into Hindi and several other Indian languages. We were persuaded by David Davidar of Penguin, who had published this book, to write a companion volume covering the period from Indian independence to the end of the millennium. We did manage to finish the manuscript by end of 1999 so that it could come out in beginning of the new millennium as the first edition of this book titled India After Independence: 1947-2000 .
We were persuaded to work on a second edition of this book for a number of reasons. The response the book got from the general public and especially students of hi