Spectrum Summary: Developments under Nehru's Leadership (1947-64) | History for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Introduction

Jawaharlal Nehru, as the first prime minister of independent India, along with other leaders, laid the foundation of a new India. The period between India’s independence and the death of Nehru, in May 1964, has been often termed as ‘Nehruvian Era’ due to Nehru’s iniluence on almost all aspects of decisions taken in India during that time.
Nehru was influenced by many streams of thought, some imported from his association with Europe and some imbibed from his close association with Gandhi, besides what he perceived in the nation on his tours across its regions.

Political Developments

• In the first general elections in 1952, the Congress won a huge majority and formed the government at the Centre headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. Rajendra Prasad was elected president by the electoral college of the first Parliament of India.
• Nehru led the Congress to major election victories in 1957 and 1962, though the winning majority was reduced towards the end.
• Debate over National Language- the Language Committee of Constituent Assembly decided that the Hindi in Devanagari script was to be the ‘official’ language, but transition to Hindi would be gradual. The language issue was further clarified by Parliament in 1963 through the Official Languages Act which stated that Hindi was to become the official language in India from 1965.
• Linguistic Reorganisation of the States- The Congress in its 1920’s session in Nagpur had made efforts to recognise regional linguistic identities and divided India into 21 linguistic units for its organisational set up. In December 1948, to pacify the vocal votaries of linguistic states, the Congress appointed a committee (JVP), with Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya as its members. Its report which is known as the JVP Report—also went against the creation of linguistic states in the interests of national unity. The government conceded the demand for a separate state of Andhra, which finally came into existence on October 1, 1953 with the region being separated from the Tamil speaking Madras state. In November 1956, the States Reorganisation Act was passed which provided for fourteen states and six centrally administered territories.

➢ Growth of other Political Parties

• The Socialist Party- Formed in 1934 as Congress Socialist Party (SP), with its own constitution, membership, discipline and ideology, it remained within the Congress Party till March 1948. In September 1952, the CSP merged with the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP) to form a new party - Praja Socialist Party (PSP).
• Praja Socialist Party- In September 1952, the Socialist Party and the KMPP merged to form Praja Socialist Party (PSP), with J.B. Kripalani as the chairman and Ashoka Mehta as the general secretary. Rammanohar Lohia’s approach. Lohia believed in a position of equidistance from both the Congress and the Communists, and supported the organisation of militant mass movements.
• The Communist Party- The official stand take by the Communist Party of India towards the changing sociopolitical dynamics went through alterations. It first accepted India’s independent foreign policy though it still considered the government to be an agent of imperialism. Split in CPI-In 1964, the party got divided into, CPI—representing the earlier ‘right’ and ‘centrist’ trends, and CPM or the Communist Party (Marxist)—representing the earlier left' trend.
• Bharatiya Jan Sangh- The Bharatiya Jan Sangh, founded on October 21, 1951, was based on right wing ideology.
• The Swatantra Party- Founded in August 1959, the Swatantra Party was a nonsocialist, constitutionalist and secular conservative party.
  The social base of the party was narrow and consisted of:
  (i) A section of industrialists and business class, discontented with government control, quotas and licences and fearful of nationalisation
  (ii) Landlords, jagirdars and princes, annoyed due to loss of fiefdoms, social power and status, and deteriorating economic conditions
  (iii) Exlandlord-turnedcapitalist farmers and rich and middle peasants, who had welcomed the abolition of landlordism but were fearful of losing part of their land
  (iv) A few retired civil servants.
• Communal and Regional Parties- The Hindu Mahasabha, which was founded in 1915 at Haridwar by Madan Mohan Malaviya, gradually disappeared from the political scene after 1952 and lost its support base to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. The Muslim League, owing to its association with the demand for Pakistan, lay dormant and many of its leaders joined the Congress Party and other parties. Later, it revived in parts of Tamil Nadu and in Kerala and was to become coalition partners of the Congress, CPI and CPM in coming years. The Akali Dal gave way to Shiromani Akali Dal and remained limited to Punjab.The other regional parties came into prominence
• An Undemocratic Deed- Trouble began with the introduction of the Education Bill which was, in actuality, a progressive measure. Nehru, though he had little objection to the education bill, maintained a neutral front in public. In the end, he succumbed to pressure from within and outside his party and advised the dismissal of the EMS government and imposition of President’s Rule in Kerala in July 1959. A democratically elected government was thus, for the first time in independent India, dismissed under emergency powers.

➢ Concept of Planning for Economic Development

• The Planning Commission, an extra-constitutional body, was set up in March 1950 by a simple resolution of the Government of India. The National Development Council (NDC), which was to give final approval to the plans, was established on August 6, 1952.
• The First Five Year Plan (1951-1956), based on Harrod-Domar model, sought to get the nation’s economy out of the cycle of poverty. It addressed, mainly, the agrarian sector including investments in dams and irrigation.
• The Second Plan, drafted under the leadership of P.C. Mahalanobis, stressed on heavy industries.
• The Third Plan was not significantly different from the Second.
• Under the guidance of Nehru, who believed in 'democratic socialism', India opted for a 'mixed economy’, i.e., elements from the capitalist model and socialist model were taken and mixed together.

➢ Progress of Science and Technology

To emphasise the value of science and scientific research, Nehru himself assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Some of the strides taken in this direction, are given below.

• In January 1947, to promote self-sustaining, scientific and technological growth, the National Physical Laboratory - India’s first national laboratory - was set up; which was followed by the setting up of a network of seventeen national laboratories, focusing on different areas of research.
• In 1952, the first of the five institutes of technology, patterned after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was set up at Kharagpur.
• The Atomic Energy Commission, headed by Homi J. Bhabha, was set up in August 1948. Nehru personally encouraged Bhabha to do his best. In 1954, the government created a separate Department of Atomic Energy with Homi Bhabha as secretary. In August 1956, India’s first nuclear reactor in Trombay (Asia’s first also}, became critical.
• In 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), together with a Rocket Launching Facility at Thumba (TERLS), was established.
• Steps were taken to increase India’s capacity in production of defence equipment.
• A change over to decimal coinage and a metric system of weights and measures, in line with international standards, was made in phases between 1955 and 1962.

➢ Social Developments

• Developments in Education- In 1951 only 16.6 per cent of the total population was literate and the percentage was much lower in rural areas. In 1949, the Indian University Education Commission, under the chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was set up. On the recommendation of the commission, the University Grants Commission (UGC) was set up in 1953, and University Grants Commission Act was passed in 1956. To assist and advise the Central and state governments on academic matters related to school education, the National council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) was established in September 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable society.
• Social Change Under Nehru- In 1955, the government passed the Anti-Untouchability Law, making the practice of untouchability punishable and a Cognisable offence. For women’s equal rights in the society, the Hindu Code Bill was moved in Parliament in 1951.

➢ Foreign Policy- The basic principles of India's foreign policy, during Nehruvian Era, broadly revolved around the premises given below.

• Disapproval of participation in any military alliance either bilaterally or multilaterally.
• An independent foreign policy not tied to any of the two contending power blocs, though this was not a synonym for a neutral foreign policy.
• A policy of friendship with every country, whether of the American bloc or of the Soviet bloc.
• An active anti-colonial policy which supported decolonisation in Asian-African-Latin American countries.
• Open support to the policy of anti-apartheid.
• Promotion of disarmament as the key to world peace.

➢ Relations with Neighbours

• India and Pakistan-
  (i) Kashmir Issue- Pakistan refused to accept Kashmir’s accession to India on October 26, 1947. In response to the Pakistan-sponsored tribal attack, India, supported by the local population under Sheikh Abdullah, undertook a swift military action. But, unfortunately, before the task of rescuing the territory could be accomplished, a complaint was lodged by Nehru with the Security Council in January 1948. This resulted in a ceasefire on January 1, 1949.
  (ii) Indus River Water Dispute- Equitable sharing of the waters of the Indus system had been an issue of discord since partition. The partition gave India 5 million of the 28 million acres of land irrigated by the Indus. So, under the guidance of the World Bank, aninterim agreement on canal waters was signed on April 17, 1959. Subsequently, a comprehensive agreement between the two countries, was signed on September 19, 1960 in Karachi.
• India and China
  (i) Developments in Tibet and Panchsheel- To maintain peace, Nehru in 1954 concluded an agreement with China, which formalised the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The agreement is popularly known as Panchsheel.
  (ii) Sino-India War, 1962- In October 1962, China attacked India in NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) and Ladakh. Thus, a war between the two countries started, which ended in a military debacle for India. The Western powers - the US A as well as Britain - pledged support to India and were already flying arms to India. In November 1962, China made a unilateral declaration of its withdrawal.
  Consequences of Sino-Indian War:
  a. The war gave a big blow to the self-respect of India.
  b. The policy of nonalignment came under question.
  c. The Congress lost three parliamentary by elections in a row and Nehru had to face the first no- confidence motion of his life.
  d. The Third Five-Year Plan was badly affected as resources were diverted for defence.
  e. India’s foreign policy took a change, as the US and the UK had responded positively in the crisis, they were to be considered in future. US intelligence agencies developed links in the name of countering the Chinese threat and even planted a nuclear-powered device in the Himalayas.
  f. Pakistan, encouraged by the Indian debacle in the war, was to attack India in 1965, covertly helped by China.
• India and Nepal- The geographical location of Nepal has made it inseparable from India from the point of view of India’s external security. Being conscious of this factor, India signed a treaty with Nepal in July 1950 by which it recognised Nepal’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.
• India and Bhutan- In August 1949, the two countries signed a treaty for perpetual peace and friendship. India undertook to exercise non-interference in the internal administration of Bhutan, while Bhutan agreed to be guided by the advice of government of India in regard to its external relations.
• India and Sri Lanka- The Tamil-Sinhalese riots of 1958 and thereafter attracted the sympathy of some Indian leaders for the Tamilian population of Sri Lanka. This open sympathy, inside and outside Indian Parliament, was disliked by the Sri Lankan government.