India After Gandhi - The History Of The World's Largest Democracy (2016)
Author: Ramachandra Guha
(Updated and Expanded) 10th Anniversary version
My knowledge of Indian history is limited to what I was taught in school, which only covered up to the time when MK Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. Since then, for someone from Malaysia, it was patchy, relying on whatever few articles and newsreels managed to reach us.
This book helps to bridge that gap. It provides a detailed account of the critical events that took place after Nehru’s ‘tryst with destiny’ speech up to circa 2014, when a milestone event emerged. It mainly describes the political landscape and major events during that period.
All these were penned by one of India’s eminent contemporary historians, Ramachandra Guha. Historically, Indian history throughout the 20th century, both before and after independence, was crafted by left-leaning historians under the influence of the Congress leadership. These historians are said to elevate the Imperial rulers, attempt to gloss over their mistakes, and depict colonial masters as saviours of the nation. On the other side of the rink are the bad boys, as determined as the British and other imperial powers, the members of the Hindutva movements. Guha is classified as a centrist liberal historian. The challenge with such a stance is that he will be criticised by both the left and the right.
The British did not have much hope for India’s future when they left. They predicted that the union would balkanise within ten years along ethnic, religious or linguistic lines. Anyway, towards the latter part of the 20th century, India became too expensive and rebellious to administer. The natives had wised up. The British had to leave to cut their losses.
While celebrations continue in Delhi with pomp and splendour, chaos reigned in Calcutta at best. The exchange of people between the newly formed Pakistan and India did not proceed in an orderly manner. People were unaware of where the actual demarcation line was.
From the get-go, India had to confront border skirmishes and the opposition of many princely states to joining the union. In Kashmir, with a Hindu ruler and a Muslim majority, Pakistan wanted Kashmir to cut itself away from India and join Pakistan. Maharajah Hari Singh wished to remain independent, but when Pakistani soldiers disguised as herdsmen infiltrated Kashmir to cause trouble, he abdicated to Jamu and sought assistance from India.
Instead of deploying troops to take control of the situation, as his team advised, Nehru, in his great wisdom, believed the United Nations should intervene. The consequences of this quick, arguably mistaken decision are still apparent today.
Then, the princely states had to be coaxed into staying within the coalition. The Nizam of Hyderabad gave India the runaround. Their situation was the opposite of Kashmir — a Muslim monarch and a Hindu majority. The Nizam was reluctant to hand over his wealth to India. Just a few years earlier, the Nizam was crowned the wealthiest man on Earth. He was adamant about either remaining independent or forging a close relationship with Pakistan. The problem was that Hyderabad was a landlocked state. The Islamic fanatics among the ruling class, the Razakkers, went on a killing spree to usurp lands from peasants. At that time, the Communists were also attempting to expand their influence.
Vallabhai Patel, during Nehru’s absence in the UK, took the bold step of deploying his tanks to annex Hyderabad in a police action codenamed Operation Polo. The Nizam abdicated to Pakistan. It was not called a military action to avoid it being seen as an invasion of a sovereign nation.
The Portuguese aimed to retain Goa as a Portuguese colony. However, the Goans did not share their sentiments. This prompted India to invade Goa and annex it through Operation Vijay.
The states in the North East region also experienced their own resurgence. Conflicts between tribes over land rights and reservations persisted. These conflicts continue in various forms even today.
China and India were not on the best of terms after the Chinese Communist Party took control of China. The writing was on the wall that China posed a threat to India’s sovereignty. Despite the albatross around India's neck, Nehru thought it was wise not to strengthen defence within its borders. China had been encroaching into Tibet. In Nehru's view, after achieving independence through satyagraha (passive resistance), maintaining a large army was inappropriate. Nehru promoted the idea that China was a friend. The slogan of the early 1960s was 'Chinni Chinni Bhai Bhai' (Chinese and Indians are brothers). The Chinese later backstabbed India by attacking and taking over Aksai Chin, west of Nepal.
It was a wake-up call for India. They strengthened their military with help from the Soviet Union. In 1965, Pakistan, supported by the USA, provoked India by claiming a barren piece of land in Gujarat. Through Operation Gibraltar, they infiltrated Kashmir. India, following its humiliating 1962 encounter with China, quickly defeated Pakistan in 22 days, gaining confidence.
States in India underwent division along linguistic and administrative lines. Punjab was divided to form Haryana. Bombay was separated from Maharashtra. Himachal Pradesh was established. Telangana broke away from Andhra Pradesh. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, and Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, the Madras Presidency was divided into Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh attempted to claim Madras as its capital but had to relinquish it.
MK Gandhi once described India's heart as residing in its villages. Farming was the primary livelihood for the majority. Nehru promoted industrialisation, machinery, and the expansion of higher education to help the country progress towards modernity. IITs were established to support this goal. The Soviet Union provided assistance. On the international stage, Nehru, with his Fabian ideology, advocated for the Non-Aligned Movement, which aimed to remain independent of either side of the Iron Curtain. The US was quite agitated when he was seen as influential in the 1955 Bandung Conference, where China participated and its premier, Zhou Enlai, attended.
Nehru died in 1964 and was briefly succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was beloved by the public and considered a hero of the common man. His rallying cry, 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer), boosted the nation's morale during India's 1965 war with Pakistan. He mysteriously returned in a body bag after signing a peace treaty in Tashkent to end the conflict.
Indira Gandhi was quickly promoted to the position. Throughout, she had been mentored by Nehru for the role. As with Shastri, Indira’s appointment was supported by a committee led by Kamaraj, a Congress leader.
One of Indira Gandhi’s legacies must surely be when West Pakistan attacked East Pakistan after Mujibur Rahman’s party won the 1971 elections. Somehow, West Pakistan thought it was not appropriate for them to be governed by dark-skinned Bengalis. They sent in the army, and East Pakistan turned to India for help.
In a swift and decisive 13-day war, India's security forces compelled West Pakistan to surrender unconditionally. India concluded the conflict before the arrival of US naval ships to support the West Pakistani forces.
On Buddha Purnima, 18th May 1974, India became the sixth nation with nuclear capability, joining the USA, UK, USSR, France, and China, when it tested its nuclear bomb in Pokhran. The operation was named the Smiling Buddha.
Another indelible event in Indira Gandhi’s leadership is the declaration of the National Emergency in 1975. After being guilty of electoral malpractice for using government machinery in her 1971 elections, the Allahabad Court declared the election invalid. This would automatically disqualify her from appointment and prevent her from holding any political post for 6 years. As the public cries grew louder, Indira Gandhi declared an Emergency. Hundreds of opposition leaders, social activists, student leaders, and journalists were arrested under the MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act), which allows detention without trial. Prominent leaders arrested included JP Narayan, a key icon of the post-Emergency era; Morarji Desai, who became Prime Minister in 1977; LK Advani, later a deputy Prime Minister; Atal B. Vajpayee; and the rebellious George Fernandez. The radio, TV, print media, and cinema were placed under strict government control.
The Emergency period saw Indira Gandhi preparing her son, Sanjay, in an attempt to ensure dynastic continuity. He was granted extra-constitutional powers to undertake tasks not approved by the cabinet. He gained considerable notoriety through his unsavoury activities. He attempted to promote forced sterilisation and oversaw slum demolitions. There was an effort to mass-produce India’s affordable people’s car, the Maruti, which did not succeed at the time but was revived much later.
When the Emergency was lifted and elections took place, Indra was defeated. A fragile coalition was formed. The Emergency period, in a way, demonstrated to Indians that there is life after the Congress Party. In fact, this period also saw the splitting of the Congress.
The following years saw a few landmark events. The first non-Congress coalition did not remain in power for long. Due to internal conflicts, the government collapsed. Indira Gandhi returned as Prime Minister in 1981. Sadly, her dynastic ambitions of passing her realm to Sanjay Gandhi were shattered when he was killed in a plane crash.
1984 was another sad year when Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguard just months after she ordered Operation Blue Star. In that operation, the Indian Army entered the Golden Temple in Amritsar to suppress arms-wielding Sikh extremists. Rajiv Gandhi, Indira's other son, was promoted to fill the gap. The 1984 elections saw Congress winning a large majority due to Indira's assassination. Rajiv Gandhi became the youngest Prime Minister at 40.
His premiership was marred by a few controversies. First, there was the Bofors scandal, India's disastrous meddling in the Sri Lankan issue with their ethnic Tamils, the Bhopal tragedy, and Shah Bano's Supreme Court decision on her divorce maintenance settlement. He lost the 1989 elections.
For the second time, a non-Congress coalition formed the government under the leadership of VP Singh. Singh's tenure marked the beginning of the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid controversy in Ayodhya. The Mandal Commission, established in 1979 to identify socially or educationally backward classes, had its recommendations implemented in 1990. 27% of government jobs were reserved for backward castes. The Mandal-Mandir issue was not well-received by the citizens and contributed to the coalition's loss in the subsequent election.
1991 was a tragic year for the Nehru dynasty. A suicide bomber from Sri Lanka's LTTE detonated an RDX explosive while Rajiv Gandhi was campaigning in Tamil Nadu. The 1991 elections resulted in Narasimha Rao becoming the Congress' Prime Minister. Rajiv's widow, Sonia Gandhi, was disqualified due to her Italian origin.
The 1996 elections resulted in a hung parliament with no clear majority. The previous Congress government was plagued by the 1992 Bombay stock market scandal. Kashmir experienced renewed violence in 1995. The BJP was invited to form the government. Atal Bihari Vajpayee failed to secure enough support and had to relinquish the premiership after thirteen days. Following a series of appointments, resignations, and splits within parties, the 1998 elections were called. Once again, the results were hung, but Vajpayee became Prime Minister again.
The following year, Vajpayee lost a vote of confidence when the AIADMK withdrew its support. Vajpayee had refused to dismantle the Tamil Nadu government led by Karunanidhi. The 1999 elections took place after the Kargil War. With that morale-boosting victory in Kargil and Sonia Gandhi, an Italian by birth, on the opposition side, the BJP won.
There was a surprising leadership change in Congress in 2004. Manmohan Singh led the country for two terms until 2014, after which the BJP, under Narendra Modi's mentorship from Gujarat, has held power to date.
India, with its complexities, never fails to fascinate. It is a place to learn about humanity, the evil that men do, a treasure trove of knowledge, and a bottomless pit filled with mysteries of a bygone era.
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